DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.5541#0016
INTRODUCTION.
No country in the world presents, perhaps, more interesting-
associations to the geographer, the historian, and the anti-
quary than Asia Minor. It has hitherto, however, been
comparatively but little visited, and its geography has been
very superficially explored. It is no exaggeration to say
that there is scarcely a spot of ground, however small,
throughout this extensive peninsula, which does not con-
tain some relic of antiquity, or is not more or less connected
with that History which, through an uninterrupted period
of more than thirty centuries, records the most spirit-stir-
ring events in the destinies of the human race, and during
which time this country attracted the attention of the world
as the battle-field of powerful nations.
Other countries and other people have flourished for a
time, and may have left behind them a stronger feeling of
interest in the thoughts and speculations of mankind. But
this remarkable difference exists between them, that, while
they have attracted paramount attention for a century or
more, having risen to eminence only to fall into a greater
depth of barbarism, Asia Minor has continued to be a main
point of interest and attraction from the very beginning of
the historic period.
It may indeed be true, when we turn over the first pages
of the Annals of the World, that Asia Minor was only of
secondary importance when the dynasties of the Pharaohs
ruled in Egypt. When the sons of Israel went down to
No country in the world presents, perhaps, more interesting-
associations to the geographer, the historian, and the anti-
quary than Asia Minor. It has hitherto, however, been
comparatively but little visited, and its geography has been
very superficially explored. It is no exaggeration to say
that there is scarcely a spot of ground, however small,
throughout this extensive peninsula, which does not con-
tain some relic of antiquity, or is not more or less connected
with that History which, through an uninterrupted period
of more than thirty centuries, records the most spirit-stir-
ring events in the destinies of the human race, and during
which time this country attracted the attention of the world
as the battle-field of powerful nations.
Other countries and other people have flourished for a
time, and may have left behind them a stronger feeling of
interest in the thoughts and speculations of mankind. But
this remarkable difference exists between them, that, while
they have attracted paramount attention for a century or
more, having risen to eminence only to fall into a greater
depth of barbarism, Asia Minor has continued to be a main
point of interest and attraction from the very beginning of
the historic period.
It may indeed be true, when we turn over the first pages
of the Annals of the World, that Asia Minor was only of
secondary importance when the dynasties of the Pharaohs
ruled in Egypt. When the sons of Israel went down to