Haifa; or, Life in modern PalestineOliphant, Laurence
History
Haifa; or, Life in modern Palestine
Oliphant, Laurence
Palestine -- Description and travel
From an architectural point of view there is absolutely nothing left
worth looking at. Lines of broken stone mark the limits of the principal
buildings. The Stadium, which accommodated 76,000 persons, and one of
the theatres, which accommodated over 56,000, are almost shapeless
mounds. The whole scene is one of most complete desolation, and we are
driven to our imagination to realize what Ephesus once must have been.
In the case of Palmyra and Baalbec no such effort is necessary; enough
is left for us to repeople without difficulty those splendid solitudes;
but in Ephesus all is savage and dreary in the extreme; deep fissures
run into the rock, which must have formed nearly the centre of the town;
huge boulders of natural stone suggest the wild character of some
portion of the city in its palmiest days. It is difficult to conceive to
what use the citizens devoted this Mount Pion, with its crags and
caverns and fissures. The lines of the old port are clearly defined by
the limits of a marsh, from which a sluggish stream, formerly a canal,
runs to the sea, about three miles distant, not far from the debouchure
of the Meander. No doubt the mass of the city surrounded the port, but
there is a marvellous lack of débris in this direction. Between the
Temple of Diana and the foot of Mount Pion there is not a stone, so that
the probability is that the temple was situated amid groves of trees. On
the hill there are stones, or, rather, rocks, enough, but they are of
huge size, and for the most part natural. Of actual city comparatively
few remains still exist. No doubt its columns and monuments and slabs
have supplied materials for the ornamentation and construction of many
cities, and the convenience of getting to it by sea has materially aided
the spoilers. Still, the site of ancient Ephesus affords abundant
material for conjecture, and the more one studies the local topography
the more difficult is it to picture to one's self what the ancient city
was like.
From historical association it must ever remain one of the most
interesting spots in the East, while, even from a purely picturesque
point of view, the wild and rugged grandeur of the scenery amid which it
is situated cannot fail to stamp it upon the memory. As I believe it is
intended to continue excavations, we may hope for still further results,
and there can be no doubt that, when once the obstacles which are now
thrown in the way by the present government, to all scientific or
antiquarian research in Turkey, are removed by the political changes new
pending in the East, a rich field of exploration will be opened, not at
Ephesus alone, but throughout the little-known ruined cities of Asia
Minor.
THE RUINS OF ATHLIT.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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