AMASIA: EXCAVATIONS—MARCIVAN—OSMANJIK—PRECIPICES: ROAD OF THE GENOESE—TOSIA—THE DELHIS—CHERKES: REMAINS—STORM—GEREDÉH—IMPORTANCE OF THE TATARS—PERSIAN DRESS—INSCRIPTION—BOLI: FOREST: GUARDS OF THE MOUNTAINS: TIMBER FOR THE ARSENALS—LANDSCAPES: KHANDACK; OUTLAWS—SABANJA: CAUSEWAY; LAKE—ISMID—GEVISA—CONSTANTINOPLE.
Amasia is situated in the recess of an amphitheatre of strong featured lands, which arise almost abruptly from the banks of a beautiful stream, the Tozzan Irmak, that winds majestically at their roots. The houses are built on either side, on the gradations of the declivities; and the town extends itself all around. On the North, situated in the highest and most conspicuous part of the mountains, is the castle, which appeared to me much in ruins; and on the same portion of land, just upwards from the boundaries of the town, are five very conspicuous monuments cut into the rock. I crossed the river over a stone bridge, and ascended the mountain in which they were excavated, escorted and guided by a young Turk. We passed by the ruins of a fort built upon a projecting part of the range, and came to three excavated chambers. The first has a triangular ornamented front. The others have platforms before them, and a vestibule cut into the rock behind. We then proceeded on towards the left, and arrived at the two largest excavations. A path of about three feet in breadth, cut deep within the front of the mass into the appearance of a covered gallery, and guarded by a parapet wall of solid rock, leads along the side of the mountain. One of these monuments is a mass of hard granite twelve paces square, severed completely from the mountain by an interval (about four feet broad) all around and above it, and excavated into a chamber. The other contiguous and last monument has no passage behind or around. These chambers are said to have been the retreats of St. Chrysostom;46 but I could discover no inscription upon them, which might throw any light upon the subject. In the castle above indeed, my young conductor told me there were not only inscriptions but sculptures; but my time would not permit me to ascend, and I had now only a momentary leisure to enjoy the beauty of the view; where was the town arranged all about me, the river winding at my feet and struggling under numerous water wheels, and the whole scenery enriched by the last rays of the setting sun. The minarets of many mosques, (of which one near the river is a very fine building,) break the sameness of the flat-tiled roofs.
The inhabitants of Amasia are distinguished for their urbanity and attention to strangers; and their women particularly are celebrated as the fairest and most engaging of Asia Minor. Of this I had but a single and chance opportunity to form a judgment: in riding through the streets, I saw an unveiled female who was joking at the door of her house with a black slave girl, and who was more beautiful than any whom I had long seen; nor as I passed did she shrink from my observation, for our curiosity was equal. We had a lodging assigned to us in the dwelling of an opulent Turk, close on the banks of the river. He had three brothers who lived in three houses contiguous to his own, and who severally came to pay their respects to us. They were all fairer than any Turks or Asiatics whom I had ever seen. Their manners were peculiarly mild and agreeable, and they treated us with the greatest civility. They spoke in raptures of their own city, although none of them had ever seen any other place.
I was anxious to reach Constantinople as soon as possible, and resolved therefore to leave the Persian Envoy to follow at his leisure, and to proceed myself with increased expedition. Taking fresh horses then, I set off from Amasia at the close of the night. There is an ascent of two hours towards Marcivan; and then, as far as I could judge in the dark, the road leads through one uniform plain. The total distance from Amasia is reckoned twelve miles, which we had travelled two hours before the sun rose. [11th.] Marcivan abounds with walnut-trees, and is surrounded by corn fields, which, as we were leaving the place at break of day, were animated by the reapers.
Four hours from Marcivan, on the left of the road is the large village of Haji Kieu, where the great caravan roads from Smyrna, Angora, &c. meet. Shortly after we came to a house where travellers usually stop; but the inhabitants had now fled to the mountains, in consequence of the passage of the Delhis; and we found only one old man, who brought us some yaourt and cold pillau, and some bread that had been concealed. Then again proceeding, we struck into a steep mountain pass, at the foot of which led a torrent strewed with immense fragments of rocks, that (by an earthquake, or by the washing away of the soil beneath them) had been dislodged from the heights around: and vast masses, which seemed to threaten our destruction as we passed, were still sustained only by large poles or trunks of trees.
After this pass we entered into a rich but limited plain, thickly studded with trees of every kind, and abounding in corn. At its extremity we stopped at a delicious grove of immense walnut-trees beautifully watered. In this charming spot was encamped a bayrack or company of soldiers going from Marcivan on their road towards Constantinople. The passage of this species of troops is not dreaded by the country, as they are composed of respectable men, who go to the war through a spirit of religion.
From an eminence on the road we first discovered the rock of Osmanjik, forming a striking point amid the green and lively scenery of the plain. On this aspect no part of the town of Osmanjik appears, except a few houses on the skirts of the rock. The bridge, indeed, which leads out of the place is a conspicuous object in the view. On a nearer approach, that which at a distance appeared an immense black mass is found to be broken into several detached heights, all of the same species of stone, and all originally connected by the art of man into one impregnable fortress. The walls and turrets, which still cover the various surfaces, appear the remains of Saracenic work. Osmanjik in its present state is only a large village; the distance from Marcivan is reckoned a march of fourteen hours. The plain around is cultivated principally with corn and vines; it is thickly wooded and well watered by the Kizzil Irmak, the ancient Halys, in its course to the W. The river is a deep yellow bordering on the colour of sand, and very much troubled. We crossed it over a well-built bridge of fourteen arches, the materials of which (still white and fresh) attest that it was a structure of the best times of the Government. Four arches on the left are dry, the earth having encroached upon the bed so substantially, that houses and gardens exist now where the water once flowed.
The passage of the Delhis through this place was marked with peculiar acts of hostility. The inhabitants, who found themselves outraged by their insolence, actually came to blows with them; and, when at length the troops departed, for several days kept closed the wooden gate on their bridge, until the soldiers were completely out of their neighbourhood.
We departed from Osmanjik about an hour before sun-set, and paced the banks of the Halys as far as our next stage Haji Hamza, called eight hours from Osmanjik. The scenery of the river appears to partake of every quality which can make landscape admirable. Very fine lands rise above it; along which, still following the stream in all its windings, the road is carried, presenting to the travellers at every reach new and striking pictures. Here and there we came to fine collections of walnut-trees; and then crossed large plantations of rice, which, for the facility of irrigation, were situated immediately on the borders of the water. At about two hours from Osmanjik we turned to the left, and ascended a very steep part of the mountains, on a broad paved road, which, as far as the dusk of the evening permitted me to observe, seemed good. On reaching the extreme eminence, I perceived that we were on the brink of an immense precipice, under which the river was winding; and that we were enclosed on all sides by stupendous heights. The obscurity and stillness of the night gave a solemnity to the scene which I cannot describe. We continued along this precipice, viewing the same grandeur of scenery for some time, but in perfect security: for we were travelling on a road of a smooth and easy surface, and guarded on the side of the danger by a parapet wall. My Janizary told me that the road was cut into the vivid rock by the Genoese. He was probably right in the materials, as in the present age nothing but rock would have been in so good order: perhaps he was right also in the founders, to whom he ascribed the original work; but the darkness prevented my forming any judgment of the correctness of his information.
We came to Haji Hamza in the dead of the night. The post-house is on the banks of the river. There are few other habitations, except indeed the fort. We had scarcely taken the rest of an hour, when we were again on our horses, on the road to Tosia, called a distance of twelve hours. We came to Tosia about four hours after sun-rise, after having met several caravans, the mules of which were the finest that I had seen in the country. In fact, the mules of Turkey, and particularly in this part of it, are much larger and finer limbed than any of the sort in Persia. So that the Mirza, when we were travelling together, was on the point of buying several as a present for the King, declaring that His Majesty had none of equal beauty.
Tosia is a large town situated among beautiful environs on the slope of a hill, and presents itself in its whole extent intermixed with several handsome mosques. The post-house is just on the skirts of the town.
We proceeded from Tosia to Coja Hissar, distant eight hours. On leaving Tosia we entered on an amphitheatre of land, rising in gentle acclivities all around, cultivated more richly than I can describe. The bed of the valley was one layer of corn fields, fenced off by hedges of evergreens and fine trees. We then came to large plantations of rice, and extensive tracts of vineyards. The road was beautifully shaded on both sides, until we came to a station of guards of the mountains, where we entered their waste district, and quitted the cultivation. We reached Coja Hissar about three hours before sun-set. I went into the coffee-house attached to the post-house; and after having eat some soup and meat-balls,47 I laid myself down to sleep. We had heard that two thousand of the Delhis were encamped in the neighbourhood, about two hours distant from the place; and accordingly determined to pass them in the night. Little sleep is necessary to the body: when I was awakened by my Janizary, just at the dusk of the evening, I thought that it was the grey of the morning, and that I had slept through the night; and I upbraided him therefore with laziness, for not having proceeded as we had agreed the night before. I felt as refreshed with the three hours rest, as if I had slept undisturbed through a whole night, although I had taken no sleep since I had left Amasia, except what had been forced upon me when on my horse. Though sleep will certainly overcome us in defiance of all our efforts, a few minutes suffice; and when the strongest paroxysm is over, refresh indeed as much as hours in bed. We are seldom aware how little food and how little sleep are necessary for health and strength.
When we left Coja Hissar the weather portended a storm. Dark clouds were gathering over the mountains; and as the night closed, we now and then only got a glimpse of a star. This proved very favourable to us, for we had not rode long before we discovered the numerous fires of the Delhis that illuminated the whole of the country to a considerable distance. They were encamped on the opposite side of the river to that on which our road lay, so that guarded by the water and by the darkness, we passed them without being challenged by a single one.
On the 13th, about one o’clock in the morning, we reached Carajol, a distance of eight hours; and departed again to Carajalar, distant four hours. It is remarkable that the country from Carajol is entirely destitute of trees; losing, as it were by magic, all that variety of foliage which characterizes the preceding region. We were detained at Carajalar, from the morning till the evening, by a deficiency of horses. Although we gave five piastres for the hire of each, yet it was not till we had witnessed a scene of strife and contention amongst the villagers, in which there was some blood shed, that we were supplied. The post-house had been broken up for some time past; and the burthen, in consequence fell upon the people, who, in their several turns, furnished the travellers with horses at the rate of five piastres each; though on every emergency there was a similar difficulty to enforce the regular levy in succession. As I was waiting for my horses, a deputation from this village returned, which had been sent to the Chief of the Delhis for the purpose of offering him a certain sum of money, in case he did not remain there with his troops longer than one night. The object was attained, though I could not learn the amount of the stipulated payment. In this manner the Bey commanding the Delhis enriches himself during his march.
At length, after having collected my horses from various quarters, I departed for Geredéh, distant sixteen hours. At six hours from Carajalar is a large town called Cherkes, situated in a plain, environed by some pretty groupes of trees. It is surrounded by a wall, and on entering one of the gates, I casually observed on the outside a Greek inscription in good character, carved on a stone which formed the lowermost part of the arch. On quitting the place I noticed on the road side, at several intervals, shafts of small columns terminated on either side by a plinth and tores, and apparently erected as monuments in places of burial; for all around were spread other blocks of stone, more obviously designed to cover graves. As the night closed we deviated from the road to avoid Hamanlee, the town and fortress of a man (Hajee Ahmet Oglu,) who, being a rebel to the Porte, is always in arms; and whose parties (patroling the hills in watch for his safety) infest the whole country, and sometimes have not spared travellers. Instead, therefore, of ascending the mountain, we turned to the left through a valley. There was every appearance of a storm as the night fell; and our apprehensions were soon realized. We were overtaken in the open country by one of the severest tempests of rain, thunder, and lightning, that I ever witnessed. Our horses refused to proceed, and turned their backs instinctively to the storm. The whole country was lighted by the flashes, which, ceasing at intervals, left us in impenetrable darkness. I can bear witness in this instance to the excellence of English broad cloth, a cloak of which preserved me from the heaviest torrents of rain, whilst my Janizary, who had a Turkish cloak made of a species of felt, was drenched from head to foot. After the storm had expended itself, we proceeded, till we reached the skirts of a village, where we fed our horses, and slept for an hour on the wet grass. 14th. The morning broke with unusual splendour, and introduced a most romantic country to us. We had now ascended to a region, the elevation of which was marked very sensibly by the increase of the cold, and by the tardiness of vegetation in comparison to that of the plains below. The peasantry were here ploughing the ground; and some delightful patches of cultivation were interspersed amongst the ranges of pines and other forest trees, that covered the summits and enlivened the declivity of the mountains.
Geredéh is a large town; at the entrance is a very extensive tannery. The shops and coffee-houses of the bazars seemed also well peopled by a great number of well-looking Turks, sitting down and enjoying themselves with their pipes. We had been taught to apprehend here also a second detention for horses, from the great number of Tatars who had been passing. One of them indeed had just preceded us; and had left us a part of his meal of fried eggs and soup. The Tatars look upon themselves as great personages on the road; and expect proportionate attention at the post-houses, which, as I observed, was scarcely ever denied to them. The Tatar who accompanied me was so tenacious of this consequence of his class, that he always took the best things for himself, and treated me as his inferior. Whenever he arrived, a soft seat and a cushion were spread for him, and, as he lighted his pipe, a dish of coffee was prepared for him; whilst to me he transferred an indifferent seat and the second dish. The fact is, indeed, that my appearance bespoke very little of the master; and I could hardly wonder therefore that the Tatar was treated with all the respect which I might have expected as due to myself. My black skin cap was become very dusty; my silk trowsers were all torn; my Persian boots were soaked with rain and twisted under the heel; whilst my coat and great coat were all in dirt and in rags. As I did not wish to travel in my own character, knowing how extravagantly Frangees (and Englishmen in particular) are made to pay, I was well content to pass for a Persian: and the little notice that was thus taken of one looking so miserable, gave me liberty to walk about and make my observations at my ease. Of all this contrast of our appearance however, my Tatar profited; travelling as a gentleman at my expence, whilst I as easily passed for his attendant.
| No. 6. From Boli. | No. 1. From Shapour p. 87. Two Colossal figures on horseback: figures on the right. |
| No. 3. Sculptures at Nakshi Rustam p. 127. Greek Inscription on the rock under the Horses belly nearly obliterated: then the following |
No. 2. From the first Sculpture to the N. at Nakshi Rustam p. 126. |
| No. 4. Inscription on the Windows of the Rock p. 128. | No. 5. Inscription at Mesjed Madré Suleiman, p. 144. |
From Geredéh to Boli is twelve hours. On quitting Geredéh we crossed one of the most beautiful regions that I had ever seen. It was a continual garden of vineyards and corn-fields, shaded by walnut and oak trees, growing here to a greater size than any that I had hitherto found in the country. At very frequent intervals, on each side of the road, were large collections of blocks of stone, of different shapes, squares, oblongs, and pillars of five or six feet high: several with Greek inscriptions upon them. That these spots were ancient places of burial is more certain, because there are now mixed among them many modern tomb-stones. There are two inscriptions near the durand or guard-house: one, on a column on the left of the road; and one, inserted in a wall on the right. I did not care for the chance of decyphering them to stop the rapid progress of our journey, (for we now went generally on a full gallop;) but on coming up to a very conspicuous pillar on the side of the road near a fountain, I could not neglect the opportunity of copying it, (see plate XXIX.) while our horses were drinking. It was terminated by a cross, which was an evidence that the monument had some connection with the primitive Christians. I wished much to have taken the other inscriptions; as, in general, they seemed legible; but I found that any notice of Greek was incompatible with the character of a Persian, and might have excited a suspicion of my disguise. As we approached Boli, the beauty of the country and the richness of cultivation increased. The plain, in which the town is situated, is quite a garden; and was then displaying all the lively green of the height of spring, except where the ripened corn broke in upon the general verdure. The quantity of rain, that had so lately fallen, had left this brilliant freshness on nature; but, even without this extraordinary supply, there is never any dearth of water. Boli, on the side by which we approached it, is not seen until we enter its very streets, as it is situated behind a hill. It is a large place surrounded by an open palisade, which indeed is its only defence. From the appearance of the streets and bazars the place is well peopled. As we galloped into the town in the true haste and style of couriers with our surujees (or conductors), making a kind of hideous noise to announce our approach, a company of Turkish soldiers, with colours flying (and preceded by a man beating a sort of little kettle drum tied to his middle) entered at a very slow and admirably-contrasted pace.
We departed from Boli in the evening; and, having quitted its delightful plain, begun to wind among mountains, and entered the large forest to which Boli gives its name. Through the whole there is a fine causeway made by some pious Mussulman48, which is a sufficient guide to the traveller if he will only follow it through all its windings. The Tatars prefer the side to the road itself; though the path which they thus make for themselves may be full of water and mud. We chose the same, even when it was dark; for of the two evils, the fatigue of wading is less to the horses and mules, than that of scrambling and stumbling over the pavement.
Having rode six hours through the forest we reached a small wooden hut, the station of the guards of the mountains. Here we determined to wait till morning, as my Tatar told me that the forest grew so much thicker as we advanced, that in so dark a night it became dangerous to proceed. We unloaded therefore our baggage, and seated ourselves among a party of a dozen Turks, the chief of whom, a merry fellow, did the honours of his hut very agreeably. He was seated in the corner, and his men were strewed around him on the floor. Pistols, swords and muskets, and every implement of a soldier, were hung along the walls. Whilst the oldest of the party made some coffee for us, the youngest took down a rude guitar from a peg, and broke the stillness of the night by a song, to which he applied the whole force of his lungs, and which did not ill express the wild life of himself and his companions. I attempted to compose myself to sleep in a corner, but the heat of an immense wood-fire had given so much animation and impertinence to the fleas and vermin of the hut, that I was obliged to take refuge in an open shed on the outside, where I slept very soundly till the morning.
15th. As the morning broke, we proceeded on our journey, and penetrated the deeps of the forest. The road, in some of its windings through the rich woodland, presented some of the most fanciful and picturesque landscapes that the imagination of a painter could wish. I remarked some of the finest specimens of ash, elm, plane, poplar, larch and beech; with, now and then, some oaks larger than any that I had ever seen in Asia. This forest, which extends over a vast tract of country49, supplies an unceasing source of timber to the arsenals of Constantinople. Their mode of felling the tree is susceptible of much improvement; for they first burn it towards the root, (by which they injure the finest part of the wood) and then apply the axe. In our progress we overtook immense spars which were dragged by buffaloes, and by slow journies are thus brought to Constantinople. Each end is supported on a light carriage of two wheels; but it requires all the prodigious strength of the buffaloe (and no other animal is equal to the attempt) to be able to cope with the difficulties which the extreme badness of the roads in the rainy season presents. We heard the howling of wolves all around us; and their great numbers are sometimes fatal to those travellers, who risk themselves at night through the wilds of the forest.
Khandak, our next stage, twelve miles from Boli, is famed for the ferocity and wild freedom of its inhabitants. It is a village situated in the very heart of the forest, and its first appearance presents all the beauty that an intermixture of wood, water, cultivation, and buildings can combine. The low houses, with their shelving roofs nicely tiled, at the foot of lofty trees, (with partial openings here and there, where murmured a stream of pure water); still more enlivened by the most picturesque looking men and women, really formed a landscape which a Claude, a Hobbima, or a Ruysdael would have envied. We soon discovered however the temper of the inhabitants: all the men and even boys of ten years old, wore a brace of pistols, and a large knife in their girdles; and displayed countenances more expressive of savage hardihood than I recollect to have ever seen. This horde of desperadoes is extremely obnoxious to the Porte; but, entrenched in their woods, they bid defiance to firmans or Capidgi Bashees. Within these few years (and the fresh appearance of the houses attests the fact) an officer from Constantinople was sent with a large body of men to surprise the inhabitants, and either to destroy them or take them prisoners; but they had notice of the design, and fled into the fastnesses of the woods, leaving their homes as the prey of the invaders, who immediately burnt them to the ground, destroying all the poor creatures that happened to fall into their way. No sooner however had the troops of the Porte quitted the territory than the natives returned, cleared away the smoking rubbish, and rebuilt their houses, as if nothing had happened.
16th. We were here obliged to pay five piastres a horse to proceed to Sabanja, distant twelve hours. As we departed from Khandak, the road begun gradually to open, and presented to us extensive tracts of cultivation. We came to a long causeway of wood, formed indeed only of trees thrown across and so completely out of repair, that we passed it in many places at the hazard of our lives. At its termination (several hours from Khandak) there is a wooden bridge of considerable extent, but a part of it had fallen; and we were obliged therefore to ford the river over which it is built, and which was broad but not deep or rapid, although much rain had lately fallen. We followed a cart dragged by buffaloes across the stream, and got in safety over it. After the passage of the river we reached the borders of the beautiful lake of Sabanja, surrounded on all sides by the most enchanting scenery; its distant mountains and waters dying away in the softest tints on the horizon. We traversed its shores for nearly three hours, passing lands the fine projections and woods of which reflected in the water below the most beautiful pictures.
Sabanja is a place situated in a very thick wood, and notorious equally for the impudence and the independance of its inhabitants. We were not long detained at the post-house; and departed for Ismid, hoping to reach it before the close of night, as the road was reported unsafe after a certain hour. Although it was too dark to analyse the beauties of the plain towards Ismid, yet the general outline of the country was sufficiently discernible to impress me with an idea of its beauty and magnificence: and something also I gained by the solemn and dubious light of evening, as it softened and harmonized the whole landscape.
It was, however, entirely dark when we crossed the long causeway that leads into Ismid. The plain was here and there illumined by the fires of the caravans that had encamped for the night. We put up at the coffee-house adjacent to the post, and early in the morning departed for Gevisa, distant nine hours. Ismid is a large town most delightfully situated on the declivity of the mountain bordering on the branch of the sea, that forms its deep and beautiful gulph. In my rapid progress I could just ascertain that the place contained some well-built houses, and some in situations that must have commanded fine and extensive views of all its scenery. The water is so girt around with high mountains that it appears a great lake; but the imagination is soon undeceived by remarking the large boats which navigate it, and which I soon recognized to be those of Constantinople and the Bosphorus. My anxiety to reach the end of my journey was now increased; and I stopped not to examine the antiquities of Ismid.50
At about four hours from Ismid, having in many parts of the road paced the shores of the sea, we reached a small village situated on the very borders of it. Here were passage-boats to Constantinople, and many persons were going. I preferred, however, the surer route, and continued with my post-horses to Gevisa, ascending a steep road near an old and ruined fortification.
Gevisa is a small town with a good mosque and neat minarets nicely white-washed. The country around it was little cultivated and less wooded, so that it excited in me no other interest than that which its vicinity to the capital might give. Yet, in any other circumstances than those of my eagerness to reach Constantinople, I should not have overlooked the delight of searching for the tomb of Hannibal. I now however, made every haste to get to Scutari before dark, but I did not succeed, and was obliged to pass the night in a coffee-house on the borders of the Bosphorus.
The next morning, the 18th July 1809, I crossed from Scutari, and took up my abode in Pera, having completed the journey from Teheran in two months and ten days, in which time I had not once slept out of my clothes.