DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.5541#0087
Chap, iv.]
FOUGES, ANCIENT PHOCyEA.
59
strangely clashes with the white shroud or cloak thrown
over their heads, and which almost envelopes their bodies
in its ample folds. It is rare indeed that any other part of
their dress can be seen but the hem of a robe or the tip of a
yellow boot.
But Smyrna must be seen to be understood; the soft
Ionian climate must be felt before it can be appreciated • and
with the change which has of late taken place in the Turkish
character, a residence in Smyrna or its neighbourhood would
be as free from alarms as any part of Italy or Spain : indeed,
I might say, much more so. There is an exquisite softness
in the air of this climate at the commencement of spring,
when the ground is enamelled with flowers, of which no
description can convey an idea. But I must not anticipate;
we are still in the middle of winter ; and a most severe one
it proves to be.
At the end of December the kindness of Captain Mundy
offered me a cruise on board the "Favorite," and as I
trusted that a month or six weeks at sea would remove all
remains of fever, I accepted the proposal. We were bound
in the first place for Athens; but contrary winds compelled
us to put into the small harbour of Fouges, the ancient
Phoca3a. This place, conveniently situated near the northern
entrance of the Gulf of Smyrna, was one of the most cele-
brated on the coast of Asia Minor, in the early days of
Greek navigation, and till the fortunes of war drove its
inhabitants to become the founders of Marseilles. The har-
bour is very snug, and protected from all winds except
the west. The modern town is situated on a narrow tongue
of land, extending into the little bay from the east, and
corresponding with the description of it, and the two har-
bours Naustathmon and Lamptera, given by Livy * in his
account of the war with Antiochus.
It now contains 1,000 houses, of which 600 are Turkish,
and the remainder Greek. It is built on the peninsula and
surrounded by walls, which appear to be Genoese. Some
* Lib. xxxvii. c. 31.
FOUGES, ANCIENT PHOCyEA.
59
strangely clashes with the white shroud or cloak thrown
over their heads, and which almost envelopes their bodies
in its ample folds. It is rare indeed that any other part of
their dress can be seen but the hem of a robe or the tip of a
yellow boot.
But Smyrna must be seen to be understood; the soft
Ionian climate must be felt before it can be appreciated • and
with the change which has of late taken place in the Turkish
character, a residence in Smyrna or its neighbourhood would
be as free from alarms as any part of Italy or Spain : indeed,
I might say, much more so. There is an exquisite softness
in the air of this climate at the commencement of spring,
when the ground is enamelled with flowers, of which no
description can convey an idea. But I must not anticipate;
we are still in the middle of winter ; and a most severe one
it proves to be.
At the end of December the kindness of Captain Mundy
offered me a cruise on board the "Favorite," and as I
trusted that a month or six weeks at sea would remove all
remains of fever, I accepted the proposal. We were bound
in the first place for Athens; but contrary winds compelled
us to put into the small harbour of Fouges, the ancient
Phoca3a. This place, conveniently situated near the northern
entrance of the Gulf of Smyrna, was one of the most cele-
brated on the coast of Asia Minor, in the early days of
Greek navigation, and till the fortunes of war drove its
inhabitants to become the founders of Marseilles. The har-
bour is very snug, and protected from all winds except
the west. The modern town is situated on a narrow tongue
of land, extending into the little bay from the east, and
corresponding with the description of it, and the two har-
bours Naustathmon and Lamptera, given by Livy * in his
account of the war with Antiochus.
It now contains 1,000 houses, of which 600 are Turkish,
and the remainder Greek. It is built on the peninsula and
surrounded by walls, which appear to be Genoese. Some
* Lib. xxxvii. c. 31.