DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.4719#0104
CONSTANTINOPLE TO NICiEA.
83
its summit st
work; eight
Turkislim
<1 it lias proli
3 of a slatvl
On the oppos
n us. lav a dt
' »
>artv which:
vittly. twoeij
i were contii
■ three crom,i
i other eagle. |
hoofs. Sok
if oar In
oned guest
composure,.
or did tlit t.
beautiful Wi
ite. It per.
silently k
I; my servant
j, which helm
; failing to &
the birdW
f the black:
rich earth; in
.• all abrupt
mdslipsjW
vatrJ, and^
milling At I
uihcrryis^
l silk sent
shrubs, all evergreens, and to the eye of an Englishman the
richest that could be. There were the common and dwarf
daphnes, the blossom of the latter scenting the air; many-
varieties also of the laurestinus, and among them the straw-
berry-tree#, whose luxuriant foliage and beautifully clean
and oriental stem distinguished it above its rivals. It grows
so large and plentifully as to be the principal firewood,
burning rapidly with a great blaze. Amidst this perfect
garden,—for beneath our feet were violet, hyacinth, and
anemone, in great variety,—the most beautiful view opened
before us, not grand, but of perfectly lovely beauty. In the
extreme distance was the snowy range of Olympus, and be-
fore it a series of fine mountains, with their feet bathed in
the most placid of lakes, the ancient Ascania, which is about
ten miles long and four in breadth. At the southern end of
the lake, beautifully situated, stood the ruined towers of the
many times famous INTiesea. Beneath us, sloping from our
feet to the edge of the lake, was a highly cultivated and rich
valley. "We were still twelve miles distant from the town of
INicasa, and every turn we made in the descent only varied
the beauties of the scene. After a ride of about forty-six
miles, we arrived before six o'clock, on the 19th of March,
at the ancient INTiesea. Entering through a hole in the walls
of this famed and fated city, we had still another mile to
travel through fields and mulberry plantations before we
arrived at the village of Isnik, a small place standing within
the walls, which form a circuit of four miles around it. As
I passed on to this village everything has shown such variety
of interest that I have determined to rest a day here.
March 20th.—Seldom have I had a harder day's work
than in attempting to see and comprehend this ruin of ruins.
The points of the greatest interest are the relics of its
earliest age; little of that date now remains standing in its
ogh
undergo!
* Arbutus Unedo.
83
its summit st
work; eight
Turkislim
<1 it lias proli
3 of a slatvl
On the oppos
n us. lav a dt
' »
>artv which:
vittly. twoeij
i were contii
■ three crom,i
i other eagle. |
hoofs. Sok
if oar In
oned guest
composure,.
or did tlit t.
beautiful Wi
ite. It per.
silently k
I; my servant
j, which helm
; failing to &
the birdW
f the black:
rich earth; in
.• all abrupt
mdslipsjW
vatrJ, and^
milling At I
uihcrryis^
l silk sent
shrubs, all evergreens, and to the eye of an Englishman the
richest that could be. There were the common and dwarf
daphnes, the blossom of the latter scenting the air; many-
varieties also of the laurestinus, and among them the straw-
berry-tree#, whose luxuriant foliage and beautifully clean
and oriental stem distinguished it above its rivals. It grows
so large and plentifully as to be the principal firewood,
burning rapidly with a great blaze. Amidst this perfect
garden,—for beneath our feet were violet, hyacinth, and
anemone, in great variety,—the most beautiful view opened
before us, not grand, but of perfectly lovely beauty. In the
extreme distance was the snowy range of Olympus, and be-
fore it a series of fine mountains, with their feet bathed in
the most placid of lakes, the ancient Ascania, which is about
ten miles long and four in breadth. At the southern end of
the lake, beautifully situated, stood the ruined towers of the
many times famous INTiesea. Beneath us, sloping from our
feet to the edge of the lake, was a highly cultivated and rich
valley. "We were still twelve miles distant from the town of
INicasa, and every turn we made in the descent only varied
the beauties of the scene. After a ride of about forty-six
miles, we arrived before six o'clock, on the 19th of March,
at the ancient INTiesea. Entering through a hole in the walls
of this famed and fated city, we had still another mile to
travel through fields and mulberry plantations before we
arrived at the village of Isnik, a small place standing within
the walls, which form a circuit of four miles around it. As
I passed on to this village everything has shown such variety
of interest that I have determined to rest a day here.
March 20th.—Seldom have I had a harder day's work
than in attempting to see and comprehend this ruin of ruins.
The points of the greatest interest are the relics of its
earliest age; little of that date now remains standing in its
ogh
undergo!
* Arbutus Unedo.