Constantinople and the Scenery of the Seven Churches of Asia Minor: Series One and Series Two in one VolumeWalsh, R. (Robert)
History
Constantinople and the Scenery of the Seven Churches of Asia Minor: Series One and Series Two in one Volume
Walsh, R. (Robert)
Istanbul (Turkey) -- History; Istanbul (Turkey) -- Pictorial works
of rendering himself immortal by destroying it. He set it on fire on
the night Alexander the Great was born, when, as the mythologists say,
the goddess to whom it belonged was so engaged in one of her functions
at this important birth, that she neglected the care of her temple, and
the splendid fabric was burnt to the ground. To defeat the hopes of
this incendiary, a decree was issued, rendering it penal to pronounce
his name, but this only contributed to preserve it the more.
The vicinity of this ruin to the amphitheatre is an additional and
deeply interesting reason for supposing it to be what remains of the
ancient temple of Diana. Here was the place where St. Paul excited
the disturbance among the silver and brass smiths who worked for the
temple; and opposite was the great public resort, where the people were
assembling for the exhibition of spectacles, into which they rushed,
carrying with them Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul’s companions. Here they
had a full view of the magnificent front of the temple “which all Asia
worshipped,” and in their enthusiasm they cried out, “Great is Diana of
the Ephesians!”
Passing these ruins, the traveller arrives at Aiasaluk, situated on a
hill near the upper extremity of the valley. Beside it is the ancient
aqueduct which conveyed water to the great city; and near it a church,
supposed to be that of St. John, rebuilt by the emperor Justinian,
but now converted into a Turkish mosque. All that remains of the
habitations of the living is now contained in this Turkish village,
whose name still reminds him of its former Christian population.
Aiasaluk is a corruption of Ayas Theologos,[11] the name by which
the Greeks denominate St. John, to whom the neighbouring church was
dedicated.
Such is the brief account of the great and interesting city of Ephesus!
Its “candlestick has been removed,” as the prophet predicted. All that
remains of the Gentile population are, one hundred Turks, enclosed
within narrow limits on the summit of a hill; and its numerous
Christian congregation is reduced to two individuals, one a Greek
gardener, and the other the keeper of a coffee-house,--and these are
the representatives of the first great church of the Apocalypse!
The Illustration represents these objects. On the right, in front, are
the remains of the theatre, ascending the side of the hill; and before
it, extensive ruins are scattered over the surface. Other fragments
of edifices are strewed about, and beyond is the humid plain of the
Ca ster. In the back ground are the hills which terminate the plain;
and under them, on a lower eminence, the town of Aiasaluk, having below
all that remains of the church of St. John, and the aqueduct, built by
Herodes Atticus from the ruins of the great city.
[Illustration: T. Allom. J. Sands.
GREEK PRIEST’S HOUSE NEAR YENI KUEY.
ON THE BOSPHORUS.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account