Explorations in Mysia Author(s): J. A. R. Munro and H. M. Anthony Source: The Geographical Journal, Vol. 9, No. 2 (Feb., 1897), pp. 150-169 Published by: geographicalj Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1773503 Accessed: 27-06-2016 08:50 UTC Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at http://about.jstor.org/terms JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), Wiley are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The Geographical Journal This content downloaded from 198.91.37.2 on Mon, 27 Jun 2016 08:50:42 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms ( 150 ) EXPLORATIONS IN MYSIA.* By J. A. R. MUNRO and H. M. ANTHONY. TIHE following paper is based upon notes taken on a journey in the autumn of 1894 through the country described. The party consisted of Professor W. C. F. Anderson, of Firth College, Sheffield; Mr. H. M. Anthony, of Lincoln College, Oxford; and myself. Our original intention was to ascend the valley of the Rhyndacus, and strike north- eastwards from its headwaters across the Sangarius to the Black Sea. But the prevalence of cholera in that direction, with its baffling cordons and quarantines, compelled us to change our plan and confine ourselves to the western districts. It will be noticed that our tortuous route, sufficiently explained by the accompanying map, often brought us back near to places which we had passed before. From one point of view this fact is a great advantage, for it enables us to check our geographical observations on one road by those on another, and by no other course could we have got any tolerable idea of the complicated hill and forest country of the interior. But, on the other hand, it makes our itinerary a very unsatisfactory basis for purposes of description. It seems better, therefore, to follow the natural divisions of the land, and leave the mapl to speak for itself. Our account will then fall into three parts- I. The plains and lakes. II. The Macestus valley. III. The hill country between the Rhyndacus and the Macestus. Of these parts Mr. Anthony has contributed the third; I have written. the other two. The map owes much to the skill and pains of Mr. B. V. Darbishire, who has set forth in a special note the principles andi materials on which it is based. An unfortunate accident to our aneroid and the uncertain state of the weather render our readings very untrust- worthy. We have not thought it worth while to record the altitudes. calculated from them on the first portion of our journey, and althouglh the instrument was put right before we set out for the second time froni Brusa, those given must be accepted with caution. They have, perhaps, little more than a relative value. The extent of our debt to Mr. W. M. Ramsay's ' Historical Geography of Asia Minor,' and to Kiepert's. excellent map, will be obvious on every page of this paper. I. THE PLAINS AND LAKES. (By J. A. R. Munro.) The visitor to Brusa who has climbed the shoulder of Mount Olympus above Chekirge can hardly fail to remember the view which opened to him as he ascended. To the west stretches the long vista of the great plain, with its two bright lakes gleaming far off in the sunshine. It is. Map, p. 248. This content downloaded from 198.91.37.2 on Mon, 27 Jun 2016 08:50:42 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms EXPLORATIONS IN MYSIA. bounded on the north by low bare hills, over which shows the wide- expanse of the AIarmara. To the south the hills are higher, and rise abruptly from the flat. They roll away inland as far as the eye can, follow, one billowy sea of ridges green with underwood, and crested with pine forest. Only here and there does some mountain pinnacle tower aloft to arrest attention. One deeper, larger furrow may be traced through the middle distance; it is the rift of the Rhyndacus. Not many travellers care to explore more closely the country they have thus surveyed. A journey into the hills is indeed a toilsome undertaking. But a tour round the lakes may be made in such luxury as the vehicles of Brusa and the local khans can afford, and will touch many points of picturesque and historical interest. Two roads lead westwards from Brusa. The one, a regular chaussee, with bridges, kilometre posts, and telegraph, runs about due west through the plain, and passes along the north shore of the lake of Apollonia to Ulubad and Mikhalich. The other is not a metaled road, but is quite practicable for wheels, at least in dry weather. It forks from the highway a few miles out of Brusa, bears gradually away to the left, and skirts the southern shore of the lake to Kassaba Kirmasti. East of the lake the plain is very level for its length, although broken by slight undulations of a hundred feet or two. The flattest section is about the village of Podura, where it may be 6 or 7 miles broad. Villages are rare on the low ground, but fringe the skirts of the hills on both sides. The northern range is perhaps 1000 feet high, the southern about 2000. The former is brown with burnt grass, the latter green with underwood and forest. There is little water il autumn, but the frequent beds show that it must come down from every side in winter and spring. The plain is well cultivated with corn and maize, and thickly dotted with trees, mostly squat bulbous oaks. Towards the southern hills there are also vineyards, and mulberries for the culture of the famous silks of Brusa. It is about 15 miles from Brusa to the lake of Apollonia, and the lake itself must be nearly 15 miles long from east to west, with a breadth of about half its length at the widest part. There is a strong contrast between the two sides. The northern shore is bare and feature- less. The hills rise gently, and present no striking outlines. Their slopes, exposed to the blazing noon, are burnt to a dusty drab colour. There is no shade, and the only verdure (in August) is the belt of turf between the winter and the summer levels of the water. The corn- stubble by the roadside tells of the cultivation, but the only building between Ikisja and Ulubad is an empty caravanserai, Issiz khan, a prominent object from many miles off on the desolate shore. The khan is massively built in the old Turkish style, and its frowning blank walls and dark cavernous portal suggest rather a robber's fortress than a hospitable shelter. Two interests solace the wayfarer on this This content downloaded from 198.91.37.2 on Mon, 27 Jun 2016 08:50:42 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms 152 EXPLORATIONS IN MYSIA. dreary road-first, the fine views over the lake, with its many islands and mountainous background; and, second, the teeming birds that haunt the water's edge. The shore is alive with waterfowl-ducks, herons, curlews, and others; immense flocks of white geese congregate on the water; the bushes are full of pigeons and magpies; and half a mile of swallows may be seen at a stretch on the telegraph-wires. The southern shore of the lake is bolder. Here the steep hillsides scarcely leave room for the road, and when the water is high there must be some difficulty in passing. The shady slopes are clothed with trees and grass, and the road fringed with luxuriant vegetation of figs, vines, bays, clematis, and other plants. Agigantic plane tree near the east end of the lake deserves special mention. We estimated its girth at40 feet. The north-eastern part of the lake is dotted with rugged islands, the larger of which support a growth of stunted pines. The easternmost of the group, which in the dry season becomes a peninsula, is joined by a long wooden bridge to a rocky tongue of land projecting from the north ;shore. It is occupied by the town of Apollonia, one of the most ancient, most picturesque, and dirtiest towns in this part of Anatolia. Ap- proaching from the north along the promontory, one comes first to the ancient cemetery, which lies along both sides of the road. At the southern end of the necropolis the promontory narrows to an isthmus, and at this point, at the corner on the west side, stands the famous temple in the lake. The water was so low at the time of our visit that we were able to ride out to it on dry land. Of the temple itself few traces are now visible, but the massive walls of its island temenos are still standing. Beyond the isthmus rises a conical hill, the rocky slopes -of which are relieved by a sprinkling of cypresses. Beyond the hill lies the island of Apollonia, almost circular in shape, and rising gently to the centre. The town, which entirely covers the island, is built in narrow tortuous lanes with high overhanging houses.