bling a church that an unwary traveller may easily be deceived. Passing through this, we crossed the Pactolus, and on the opposite side met some of the few Turcomans who live here. They brought for sale several ancient coins found on the spot, all of which we bought one of them bears the inscription Ihsчs XRISTYS BASILEYS BASILENN, Jesus Christ, King of kings; among the more ancient are two of the reign of Philip of Macedon. In a retired spot between the acropolis and the main range of Tmolus, in a valley watered by the Pactolus, are the remains of a temple constructed of white marble, supposed to have been dedicated to Cybele, and to have been first damaged in the burning of Sardis by the Milesians. Its antiquity is believed to be very great, the style of architecture sanctioning the opinion that it was the work of one of the Lydian kings in the sixth or seventh century before Christ, and thus cotemporary with the temple of Juno at Samos, that of Jupiter Panhellenius in the isle of Ægina, and that of Diana at Ephesus. Of the last-named no trace remains, while of the first but a single column is standing; so that, as a relic of a heathen temple, fallen as it is, that of Cybele at Sardis is 78 TEMPLE OF CYBELE. probably without a rival except in the ruins at Ægina. Only two columns now remain with the architrave they support, and one of them has its capital out of place; still, even these convey an exalted idea of what must have been the grandeur of the building: they are partly sunk in the earth; but the visible portions are composed respectively of eleven and twelve single stones reaching to a height of about twenty-five feet, exclusive of the capital: each stone is a circle, six feet in diameter and varying from two to four in thickness. From the dimensions it is thought that fifteen feet of the columns lie buried under the soil which has accumulated from the débris of the acropolis. The capitals are of the Ionic order, and are said by Mr. Cockrell, an able judge in such matters, "to surpass any specimen of the Ionic he had seen, in perfection of design and execution." Within thirty yards of these columns a sufficient number of entire stones and capitals lie scattered over the ground to form six or seven more pillars, besides such as may be buried in the accumulated rubbish of centuries. Amidst this fallen mass, in only a single case does one stone remain upon another. This poor remnant is now the habitation of three swarms of bees, and is covered with the bramble called "Christ's REFLECTIONS ON SARDIS. 79 thorn," which had proved a more appropriate accompaniment of the walls of the Christian church! The heart becomes heavy among the ruins of this mighty city. The desolation is appalling, the silence unnatural. The only animals we saw were a few wild dogs, a solitary owl, and some degenerate individuals of the human species; and we were forcibly reminded of the language of Scripture addressed to Babylon and Tyre; for, indeed, Sardis the great is fallen, is fallen! Wild beasts of the desert now lie there; her houses are full of doleful creatures; owls dwell there, and wild beasts cry in her desolate houses. A possession for the bittern, and pools of water, and swept with the besom of destruction, they that see her narrowly look upon her and consider her, saying, Is this the city that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms? Is this your joyous city whose antiquity is of ancient days ?* * Vide Rev. xviii. 2; and Is. xiii. 21, 22; xiv. 16. 23 ; and xxiii. 7. 888 80 CHAPTER XVIII. THE APOCALYPTIC CHURCHES. - AND LAODICEA. PHILADELPHIA Saliklee.- Aga. Caféné. - Turks. -Armless musician.Uncultivated lands. - Oppression of peasantry.-Road to Philadelphia. Instance of cruelty. - Scenery. - Tombstones. Approach to Philadelphia. First cultivated field. Fulfilment of prophecy. - Name, origin, and history of city. Its situation.-Wall.-Turtle-doves.-Archbishop. Incivility of aga.-Paucity of travellers.-Modern buildings. Ancient remains.-Church of St. John.-Turkish superstition. Acropolis. View. Population. Mosques. Churches.-Schools.-Palace of Archbishop.— Greek inscriptions. Furniture. - Dinner. -Wine.—Attendants. Subjection to Turks.-Opinion of missionaries. -Fulfilment of prophecy.-Road to Laodicea. — Tripolis. -St. Bartholomew and St. Philip. Hierapolis. - Epaphras.-Ruins.-Petrified waters.-Colosse. - Laodicea.Origin of name. Present desolation. - Fulfilment of prophecy. - Two hours distant from Sardis on the road to Philadelphia is the village of Saliklee, containing about forty huts; and the aga, who lives in a house with paper windows, could provide for us no other accommodation than the caféné, kept by a Greek. We overheard his order, 66 CAFÉNÉ AT SALIKLEE. 81 Take them to the giaour's;" and to the giaour's we went. On both sides of the room were raised platforms, one of which was divided by rails into three partitions, the other into two, the fireplace occupying the middle. All the compartments except the one we occupied were filled with Turks from the village, who spent the evening in smoking and listening with imperturbable gravity to the discordant symphony of an armless musician, who sang almost without intermission, accompanying himself on a sitarah which he played with his toes. There were upwards of twenty Mussulmans in the room, yet not a sound but the music was to be heard; and before the musician commenced, the silence that prevailed was equally striking. Our supper was provided by the only two Greek families in the village, and the proprietor of the caféné supplied us with coffee. On our departure both parties refused payment, and it was with difficulty that we could persuade them to receive The sitarah is an instrument of eastern invention confined, as its Persian name imports, to three strings. When the strings are increased in number, the sitarah becomes a khitarah; and hence Europeans have adopted the instrument to which the Italians have given the name of chitarra, the Germans guitarre, the French guitare, and the English guitar. The Germont VOL. II. F |