CHAP. XVIII.
AMASIA TO CONSTANTINOPLE.
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.