acrossasiaminoro00chiluoft

370 ACROSS ASIA MINOR ON FOOT
hours without seeing it, and now it figured as a
legendary thing that never had actual existence.
But somewhere about four o'clock we reached a clean
sandy path going through a ragged cane-brake ; and
then, in a few hundred yards, came the metalled road,
and we stepped upon it gratefully, first washing the
mud from our boots and legs, thinking we had come
to the end of our troubles, and that now Osmanieh
and a comfortable khan would soon be reached. A
glance at the map would have corrected this fond
idea, for we were only abreast of Toprak Kale, but
in our present state of hopefulness the map seemed
unnecessary.
Toprak Kale is a castle which stands in a curious
gap in the hills of Jebel Nur. Through this gap, at
its narrowest point only a hundred yards in width
between cliffs, is the way down to the Mediterranean
and the battlefield of Issus. Alexander's army, coming
from the west and the Cilician Gates, had turned
through the gap to reach what is now called Beilan
Pass, forty miles to the south of Toprak Kale, and
there cross the Amanus mountains. Meanwhile the
Persians, marching from the east, had crossed the
same mountains by the present Baghche Pass, which
enters the Cilician plain above Osmanieh. On reaching
Toprak Kale they were in Alexander's rear.
Following him they arrived at the plain of Issus, and
there, in the narrow space between the mountains
and sea, encountered the Macedonians hurrying back
to meet them on the news of their whereabouts.
Travel over the ground, and follow their marchings
and counter-marchings, and these armies of long ago
seem to come back out of the centuries and to have
fought their hot campaign only yesterday.
Osmanieh proved to be an elusive place, for after
eleven hours of severe tramping, a day harder than
any other of the journey, darkness overtook us before
the town was in sight. But at last the path entered
orchards, and now it seemed the khan must be reached
in a few minutes. That, however, turned out to be