DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.5542#0032
Chap, xxxu.]
AIASALUCK.
23
ing by a narrow valley, in a recess of which lies the village
of Arvajia, picturesquely situated in an amphitheatre of
wooded hills on our right, and keeping close under Mount
Coressus, we entered the plain of Ephesus. A stream of
clear water, the course of which indicates the line of commu-
nication between the ancient city and the harbour, crossed
our path; and we soon reached one of the beds of the
Cayster. The supposed ruins of the temple of the Ephe-
sian Diana, near the harbour, the piles of ruined edifices
crowding the rocky sides of Mount Prion, and the line of
Hellenic walls on the heights of Coressus, formed an assem-
blage of highly-interesting objects as we advanced towards
Aiasaluck, where we soon established ourselves in the cafe,
and then started to visit the remains of the church of St. John
and the mosque of Sultan Selim.
But the ruins and antiquities of Ephesus have been so
often described, that I need not linger long- within its
remains. Aiasaluck, which rose into notice upon the de-
truction of the ancient city, is about a mile to the N.E.
of Mount Prion. It is marked by a ruined castle on the
summit of an insulated hill, by huge overturned masses
of solid brickwork lower down, which appear to have be-
longed to a Byzantine church or Basilica, by a portion of
the walls of the town, and the beautiful aqueduct at the foot
of the hill, constructed chiefly of ancient fragments and in-
scriptions, and by the marble mosque, which it is an error
to suppose could ever have been a Christian church. The
edifice is of Saracenic construction, and enriched with the
appropriate ornaments of the wild and fanciful architecture
of the East. It is situated on the western side of the hill,
and forms a large square, the southern half of which con-
tains a ruined mosque built entirely of marble, and sup-
ported by four gigantic granite pillars supposed to have
been derived from the Temple of Diana, while the northern
half which was left open is now choked up with trees and
bushes.
We spent several days exploring the neighbourhood of
AIASALUCK.
23
ing by a narrow valley, in a recess of which lies the village
of Arvajia, picturesquely situated in an amphitheatre of
wooded hills on our right, and keeping close under Mount
Coressus, we entered the plain of Ephesus. A stream of
clear water, the course of which indicates the line of commu-
nication between the ancient city and the harbour, crossed
our path; and we soon reached one of the beds of the
Cayster. The supposed ruins of the temple of the Ephe-
sian Diana, near the harbour, the piles of ruined edifices
crowding the rocky sides of Mount Prion, and the line of
Hellenic walls on the heights of Coressus, formed an assem-
blage of highly-interesting objects as we advanced towards
Aiasaluck, where we soon established ourselves in the cafe,
and then started to visit the remains of the church of St. John
and the mosque of Sultan Selim.
But the ruins and antiquities of Ephesus have been so
often described, that I need not linger long- within its
remains. Aiasaluck, which rose into notice upon the de-
truction of the ancient city, is about a mile to the N.E.
of Mount Prion. It is marked by a ruined castle on the
summit of an insulated hill, by huge overturned masses
of solid brickwork lower down, which appear to have be-
longed to a Byzantine church or Basilica, by a portion of
the walls of the town, and the beautiful aqueduct at the foot
of the hill, constructed chiefly of ancient fragments and in-
scriptions, and by the marble mosque, which it is an error
to suppose could ever have been a Christian church. The
edifice is of Saracenic construction, and enriched with the
appropriate ornaments of the wild and fanciful architecture
of the East. It is situated on the western side of the hill,
and forms a large square, the southern half of which con-
tains a ruined mosque built entirely of marble, and sup-
ported by four gigantic granite pillars supposed to have
been derived from the Temple of Diana, while the northern
half which was left open is now choked up with trees and
bushes.
We spent several days exploring the neighbourhood of