acrossasiaminoro00chiluoft

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4 ACROSS ASIA MINOR ON FOOT
were vague and fearful, like those held of it by oldtime
Greeks.
But for one who likes to connect scene with event
who in spirit can get himself into the past ; who
delights in the sun and wind and open sky upon
unknown roads of adventure, this ancient Eastern
land holds pleasure beyond most.
Consider for a moment its seaboard alone, and
what comes to the eye and imagination in passing.
At Beirut you are upon the coast of Phoenicia, and
have in view the site of Sidon, and look southward
to the hills of Palestine. At Trebizond you may
count yourself not only in Meshech, but also on the
coast of Colchis, with its legends of Argonauts, and
Golden Fleece, and the witcheries of Medea. And
between these two extremities of coast are enchanting
islands and mainland, and narrow waters that
comprise much of the ancient Greek world ; that hold
the scenes of Homer and holy Paul ; that saw the
vast and gorgeous Byzantine pageant ; saw, too, the
rise and culmination of Ottoman power, and are seeing
now its closing struggles. Consider, also, that
during twenty-five centuries every great empire of the
world, from the Persian to the British, has appeared
on this coast in war ; and that of great conquerors
and soldiers it has seen nearly all.
Little wonder there is scarce a mile of shore that
has not looked upon some event chronicled in immortal
story—from the legendary combats of Troy
to yesterday's authentic Landing on the Beaches of
Gallipoli. True, many of these old sites are not easy
to identify as you go. You stumble upon them as it
were ; and sometimes they are passed unrecognised,
for Turkish place-names give little clue as a rule ; but
good fortune in this respect generally attends the
traveller. For example, you may go ashore at Ordu,
a small town on the Black Sea, not far from Trebizond,
and by the accident of meeting with a communicative
Greek are shown the remains of a little ancient port.
It is a port like many others on the coast ; but here