The Author sets out for Smyrna--Etienne--Port of
Marmora--Arabkui--Oolah--Moolah--Aharkui--Ancient temple--Capu
Rash--Sarcophagi--Chinny Su--River Meander--Ferry--Guzel
Issar--Frank doctor--Ruins of Magnesia--Chapan Oglu’s
officers--Baynder--Civility of the governor--Pressing a
horse--Smyrna--Visit to the consul--Purchases--Renegado
Welchman--Mustafa lays a plan to rob the Author--Departure
for Rhodes--Eleusis--Scio--Stancho--Cavo Crio, the ancient
Cnidus--Ruins--Wall--Temple--Theatre--Stadium--Rhodes--New
dresses--Servants cabal--Georgio Dallegio--Town of
Rhodes--Embarkation in the Salsette frigate--Harbour of
Marmora--Arrival at Alexandria.
On the 22nd of December, 1811, I crossed from Rhodes in an open boat
for the coast of Caramania, accompanied by Mustafa, the chaûsh, and
Etienne, servant to Mr. Pearce, whose capacity as a linguist induced
Lady Hester to request his master to spare him to serve me as dragoman
on the road.
We entered the bay of Marmora about midnight, and soon afterwards
landed at a small town of the same name. Mustafa conducted me strait
to the aga of the place; whom he knocked up, and then made known to
him our business. The aga read the order with which I was furnished,
and immediately procured horses for us. Whilst these were getting ready
he treated us with coffee and pipes. On settling for the horses, it
appeared that all I was expected to pay for them was two piasters to
the servants of the aga, and two and a half to the postmaster, which
for about fifteen leagues (the distance we were to ride them before
changing), must be called cheap travelling. It will be seen hereafter
how trifling were the expenses of this journey.
The horses were most miserable jades, and five in number; it being
customary to have a spare one in case of accidents. Our saddles were
put on them; pieces of felt being previously laid on their backs here
and there to save rubbing the old sores. We departed a quarter of an
hour before the dawn. The road lay by the side of a little brook, which
was almost hidden by a vast number of oleander bushes. We soon came
to the foot of a mountain, which we ascended by a path that would not
admit two horses abreast. The mountain was well wooded with pines,
being one of a chain which seemed to extend in every direction. After
toiling for two or three hours to the summit, which we reached about
three in the afternoon, Mustafa’s horse knocked up, and he was obliged
to shift from him to the spare one, and to leave the poor fatigued
animal there to perish (so at least I supposed) by cold and wild
beasts: for through the whole day we had seen no hamlet or village.
There was, however, at the top of the mountain, where the horse was
left, a small caravansera containing a cistern supplied with rain
water where a traveller might shelter himself from the inclemencies of
the weather, and where perhaps the horse found (to him) a comfortable
stable.
A succession of ascents and descents, always over mountains covered
with firs, brought us at night to a village called Arabkui, which we
dared not enter on account of the huge dogs that guarded it; and,
turning somewhat to the left, our guide led us to a shed about two
hundred yards from the village, where we passed an uncomfortable night.
Etienne made a fire, expecting that somebody would come out from the
village of whom we might purchase provisions. At length, a tall,
dark-complexioned, ill-dressed fellow made his appearance, and we
begged him to get us something to eat. He gave us little hope; but
disappeared, and soon afterwards returned with bread, milk, and a
chicken, for which he was contented with one piaster and three paras.
As soon as day broke, we pursued our journey. In the course of about
three hours, the face of the country began to change. We quitted
the mountains for beautiful plains covered with verdure, watered
by rivulets, and adorned with natural groves of trees. We passed a
caravansera, like that of the preceding day, having nothing but bare
walls and a roof, and not a person in it.
Soon after noon we saw the minarets of mosques at a distance, and in
a short time arrived at Oolah, a large village, but with mean houses.
We stopped at the posthouse, where we found a fire, and an old carpet
spread before it. Here we dried our clothes and ate some bread and
honey whilst the horses were getting ready; in three hours, we reached
the town of Moolah, and at sunset the village of Aharkui, where we were
to stop for the night. We were shown into a cottage, where a dish of
eggs fried in butter and a dish of milk were served up to me; and for
this supper and the night’s lodging I was called upon to pay ten paras
only.
During this morning’s journey, after descending a mountain which
brought us into a most beautiful valley, terminated on the left by a
deep bay of the sea, we came, on a sudden, at a turn that led us from
the valley to the ascent of the mountain on the opposite side of it, to
a small ancient temple hewn out of the rock. It was a single chamber,
a few feet in depth, and from twenty to thirty broad. An architrave
formed the front, supported by six Ionic pillars, two in the centre and
two at each extremity.
At a place called Capu Tash, or stone gate, (where I remarked a great
number of stone sarcophagi, which lay scattered about, and which might
have given rise to the name,) we took horses for Guzel Issar, and, as
night overtook us, came to the banks of a broad river, which we forded
with much risk; for the continuance of the rains had swollen it greatly.
At length, through the obscurity of the night, we saw innumerable
lights; and Mustafa told me, with much exultation, that they marked
the site of Guzel Issar. These lights were the lamps which the Turks
suspend at the top of their mosques during the Ramazàn; and, as this
was the last day, which is called with them the feast of the Beyràm,
they were more than usually brilliant. We hurried on until we found
ourselves on the edge of a sedgy marsh, where we proceeded with great
caution upon narrow causeways, made to prevent animals from sinking
into the mire. To the right and left of us was a flooded marsh, and
in some places the causeway was so much covered that our guide could
scarcely find his road. In half an hour we came to the bank of a broad
and rapid river, the Meander: and our guide and Mustafa tired their
lungs in bawling for the ferryman. At length, a boat, of triangular
shape, was hauled across the stream, by means of a rope from bank to
bank, upon which traversed a pulley. The barge would hardly contain
us and our horses, and the apprehension of danger blinded me to the
beauties of the river, so celebrated by poets.
Proceeding again along other causeways similar to those we had passed,
we at last reached dry ground. Every thing now marked our approach to
a city-- gardens, extensive cemeteries, and a wide and beaten road;
until at last we entered it, amidst the light of thousands of lamps,
which illuminated the coffee-houses, the mosques, and the streets. Our
guide conducted us to a miserable room, from whence I hastened to the
bath, which, during Ramazàn, and particularly on the last day of it, is
open by night as well as by day. This served better than any thing else
could have done to refresh me after the fatigues of the journey; and,
returning from it to my bed on the floor at the posthouse, I slept as
comfortably and profoundly as I had ever done in my life.
I rose early in the morning, wishing to get a sight of whatever
antiquities the place might contain, and for this purpose I accosted an
apothecary’s boy; whom I saw standing in a small shop just out of the
caravansera door, dressed in Frank clothes; considering that he most
likely had a Frank master, who would be more or less informed on these
points. I was not mistaken, and he immediately sent a man to show me
the house of his master. On going up stairs, and telling him in Italian
what I wanted, he professed to be able to satisfy my curiosity. He
introduced me to his wife, a pretty woman, and made me go through the
usual civilities of a spoonful of preserve and coffee. He then took me
to an eminence, a little way in the suburbs, where I saw the remains
of several buildings. These were the ruins of Magnesia: but I had no
time to examine them in detail. The face of the country was extremely
beautiful: but the beauties of the Meander and its banks must not be
insisted on by one who passed it in a shower of rain in the winter.
On resuming our journey, we again entered among the mountains; and,
continuing to ascend, stopped about noon at a hovel by the road-side,
where a dirty-looking Greek sold coffee, bread and cheese, and other
provisions for the accommodation of travellers. Whilst we were
refreshing ourselves, three horsemen, exceedingly well mounted,
arrived, and, by their commanding air, showed themselves to be people
in authority. Mustafa told me they were officers of Chapan Oglu,
carrying treasure from some governor to their master, and made me
observe a pair of saddle-bags on a led horse, which he said were full
of specie; and indeed, though nothing in bulk, the horse seemed much
oppressed with the weight.
For many succeeding hours, the route lay over mountains, and always on
the ascent; until at last, from the summit of one that had caused us
more fatigue than the rest, the view of the city of Teery broke upon
us, situate in a fine plain, but seemingly so immediately under our
feet that it was difficult to conjecture how we should descend to it.
A winding and zigzag path brought us rapidly down, and we entered the
streets, proceeding, as usual, to the posthouse.
Teery struck me as a city with well built houses, and of much neatness.
We quitted it early, and proceeded on our way to Baynder, where we
slept. Baynder is a place of about the same class as Teery.
In the morning, when the horses were brought to the door, Mustafa
objected to them as sorry beasts that would not take us to Smyrna by
nightfall, and he insisted, as there was no intermediate stage, that
they should be changed. He might have insisted in vain, however, unless
backed by some authority; he therefore advised me to go to the governor
of the place, where, he said, he would show our order, make known who
I was, and see what that would do: we accordingly went. His palace was
a large wooden building, painted on the outside, and the room we were
ushered into was a long saloon, with sofas on the three sides, rich
and handsome. The governor, a fine-looking man, sat in the right-hand
corner, and invited me to come and seat myself beside him. He very
civilly desired to know who I was, and ordered some refreshment to be
set before me, treating me with so much politeness, that, instead of
coming to the point about better horses, to which Mustafa urged me by
winks and signs, I felt ashamed to trouble him; and, after satisfying
his curiosity about Lady Hester, concerning whom he asked many
questions, I rose and took my leave, putting Mustafa greatly out of
sorts for losing so favourable an occasion of getting what we wanted,
and, above all, for increasing the exultation of the postmaster over
him.
At last we mounted and rode off. The rain had not ceased from the
morning we left Marmora. The road lay for the most part of this day
through a level country, and we proceeded slowly and with little
prospect of reaching Smyrna by night, when, about three o’clock, as
we were passing over a widely extended down, we saw coming towards us
a solitary traveller. By his motions it was evident that he wished to
avoid us, for he struck out of the road: but Mustafa had marked him
for his prey; and, quitting the straight road likewise, he soon came
up with the traveller, who proved to be a Christian with a pair of
saddle-bags under him, mounted on a young horse. “Dismount, infidel,”
were Mustafa’s first words to him; “I must have your horse.” The man
remonstrated, saying he was going a long journey; that his horse was
his property and would be lost in Smyrna, and alleged several other
good reasons for refusing compliance: but Mustafa made no other reply
than that he would have the horse, and, raising his whip, used such
threatening gestures that the Christian dismounted, and prepared to
ungirth the saddle. Whatever I could say to Mustafa of the injustice
of what he was doing was in vain; my servant told me that such was the
practice of Turkish Tartars, and I desisted. The traveller then named a
particular caravansera in Smyrna, where he begged me to see his horse
stabled, and mounting the posthorse rode off, somewhat relieved of his
sorrow by a small present which I made him, and by my assurances that I
would see his beast taken care of.
Mustafa was now contented, and we galloped on more rapidly than ever.
Night soon overtook us, and about half an hour after sunset the barking
of dogs gave us notice that we were near the suburbs of Smyrna. We
reached the city gate, now shut, which was opened for a trifling
consideration. We entered on the land side, and, as the Frank quarter
is by the quays, we had nearly the whole town to traverse, under a
deluge from all the waterspouts, which in Turkish towns are generally
made to carry the rain from the roofs of the houses into the middle of
the street. I inquired for a Frank inn, where I was accommodated with
a very good chamber; and, having consigned the horses to the guide and
desired Mustafa to lodge himself where he thought proper, after a good
supper, I enjoyed a night’s refreshing sleep, which I had not been able
to do since leaving Rhodes.
I may here observe that the country through which I had just passed,
though at a season of the year when most naked in appearance, presents
richer scenery than I had ever beheld, excepting perhaps in the
environs of Brusa. There are magnificent mountains, vast forests,
fertile plains, rivers with their banks overhung with myrtle, oleander,
and willow, roaring cascades, rivulets--in fine, whatever Nature has to
boast of may be seen in the space between Marmora and Smyrna.
How often, as we traversed the country, with timber, limestone, and all
the facilities for colonizing, did I not regret the obstacles arising
from religion and prejudices, which must ever prevent the amalgamation
of Western and Eastern nations!--that our superabundant population
should be compelled to go in search of settlements to distant islands
and continents, instead of recovering from their neglected state these
once flourishing regions! Asia Minor is the field for emigrant labour;
a country where the bounties of Nature are so happily distributed, in
a climate so genial and so favourable to pleasurable life. Look at the
bays, the gulfs, the havens, the harbours, that gird its shore; examine
its mineral productions, its forests, its mountains, valleys, plains,
and rivers: and description would fail in the imperfect attempt to
paint such a noble region.
Baynder is twelve hours from Smyrna.
I did not forget, on awaking in the morning, to inquire, by means of
Etienne, after the Christian’s horse, and I found that Mustafa had,
according to my orders, consigned him over-night to the keeper of the
caravansera which had been indicated by his owner.
I now turned my thoughts to the business on which I was come. Dressing
myself in my still damp clothes, I inquired for the English consul’s
house, and was shown up into a very handsome breakfast-room, quite
in the English style, where a lady was preparing breakfast for two
gentlemen, one of whom was Mr. Werry, the consul, the other Captain
Beaufort.[16] My shabby clothes and somewhat equivocal appearance
procured me no great civility from any of them, until I presented my
letters to Mr. Werry, who, immediately on reading them, invited me
to breakfast, condoled with me on the misfortunes we had suffered,
and offered me every assistance in his power. Under his guidance, I
employed my time in buying all sorts of articles, so that the merchants
and shopkeepers could not imagine who I was, or why I could be laying
in such a stock of goods.
I was one morning visited by a man in Turkish clothes, who addressed me
in English. He told me he was a Welchman, and had come with a secretary
to the English embassy, in the quality of servant, to Constantinople,
where he had been induced to turn Mussulman. He said that he was poor
and miserable, and was desirous, through my assistance, of escaping
on board the Frederickstein, a British frigate, lying in the harbour,
in order to quit the country. I professed my inclination to aid him,
and addressed myself to Mr. Barthold, a gentleman connected with the
consulship, to whom I told the story, and engaged him in the man’s
interests. The means of his escape were all contrived; and, under the
pretence of buying himself some necessaries, he obtained from us a few
shillings, and left us under promise to come to the waterside at the
time we appointed: but he never came, and, apparently, his object was
no other than to get a little money from us.
Mustafa paid me regular visits every morning, being on board-wages of
sixty paras a day. When the time drew near for our departure, Etienne
told me many stories of the plots that Mustafa had laid in conjunction
with a gang of thieves to rob and assassinate us on our return, and
prayed me on no account to go back by land; I resolved to profit by his
advice, but pretended not to take it. Foreseeing that my only chance
of thwarting Mustafa, if he really were so disposed, was to mislead
him, I desired Etienne to agree with the postmaster for what horses
would carry the luggage, and continued my preparations as if going by
land until the 17th of January, when, having everything in readiness,
I found out a captain of a Greek saccolava or sloop, bound for Egypt,
took him, for greater security, to Mr. Werry’s, and having agreed, in
the presence of the consul, for my passage and my private accommodation
in the small cabin, at the price of one hundred piasters, I, to the
great astonishment of Mustafa, embarked the effects and ourselves the
same day, and by evening we were on our passage to Rhodes.
We anchored that night under Yenghy Kalés, the castle that defends the
entrance of Smyrna Bay. I had now time to examine my fellow-passengers,
of whom there was a great number, but the only one with whom I could
converse was a Catholic priest, who had studied at Rome, and spoke good
Italian. Mustafa, disliking his berth in the hold, had made a bold
attempt to obtrude himself into my little cabin, which I absolutely
opposed, as the medicine-chest, containing four or five hundred pounds
in money, was there.
At noon the next day we weighed anchor, and, at sunset, reached a
chiflik, or village, nearly opposite to Karabornu, where we cast anchor
for the night. In the morning we proceeded for Scio, which we reached
two hours after sunset, passing, in our way, the island of Eleusis.
The wind and weather had been variable all day, and we had scarcely
anchored in the harbour of Scio when a tremendous storm of wind,
thunder, and rain, came on, and lasted all night: so we remained here,
weatherbound, for three days.
On the 24th, a strong north wind having set in, we quitted Scio, and
on the following morning found ourselves in sight of Stancho, which we
were abreast of at sunset.
In the morning of the 26th, we weighed before daylight. Our course,
owing to the nature of the coast, was very winding, and the wind that
carried us from our anchorage would serve us no farther than to a port
on the main land, called by the sailors Cavo Crio, which we entered.
Perceiving on the shore, and around the port, the ruins of a city,
which I could distinguish by the columns and the size of the stones to
be of no modern date, my impatience would scarcely allow me to wait
until the vessel was moored, when I was put on shore; and the fruits
of my observations during this and the following day were as follows:
premising that I discovered afterwards that these were the ruins of the
city of Cnidus.
The ground is strewed with hewn stones, chiefly of the same materials
as the rock on which they lie, but here and there of marble: the former
seeming to be of a date more recent than the latter. In general, time
and other circumstances have so entirely demolished the structures
that it is impossible to trace out many of them with exactness. What I
clearly ascertained were these:--
1. A portion of the city wall, passing at the back of the ruins to the
south, parallel with the mole of the harbour: it had towers at certain
distances, and bears marks of being the work of later ages.
2. A temple of the Doric order, the columns fluted and about three feet
in diameter: of these none were standing. I could not make out the
outline of the foundations of this temple sufficiently to ascertain its
dimensions: neither could I discover any inscription that might throw
light upon it.
3. A theatre in tolerable preservation, the benches being nearly all
perfect, and only here and there overgrown with bushes. I counted
thirty-six rows from the bottom to the top: there were two entrances,
one at each wing, arched, and opening into the theatre about half the
height of the benches. Within, close to the entrance on the right side
(looking from the proscenium), there is a broad pedestal of marble
somewhat mutilated, but for what purpose designed I know not. Four
alleys, about two feet broad, facilitated the passage of the spectators
to the several benches. The whole is of an indifferently white marble.
There were two doors in front, with a few steps, the traces of which
are yet visible.
4. Adjoining to the theatre, the outline of a stadium may likewise (I
think) be traced: but, as it was not very evident, I give this as a
conjecture only.
5. At some distance from the theatre, and about halfway up the
mountain, (for the site of the city is on a rocky soil, which comes
down with a gradual slope to the harbour,) in prying among some bushes
almost so thick as to be impenetrable, I discovered the ruins of
another temple, the columns of which were much smaller than those above
mentioned, and fragments of the capitals showed that they were of the
Corinthian order. Portions of the entablature lay on the ground in the
same disposition that they had occupied when upright.
A person versed in antiquities would have been able to distinguish
many other interesting things. For instance, near the last mentioned
temple is a structure which I knew not what to call. Its dimensions are
too small to constitute it a theatre: it represented the segment of a
circle, less than a semicircle: it had benches, beneath which ran a
vaulted passage which served as an entrance.
After having finished my examination of the ruins, I climbed up the
rock at the back of the city wall; but it was barren, and I found
nothing to repay the fatigue.
The 26th, during the night, we had a tremendous storm, which continued
until the noon of the 27th. On the 28th the weather set in fine.
We weighed anchor, and, quitting our snug little port with a fine
and favourable breeze, we were not long before we saw Rhodes, which
we entered at sunset. It being too late to land, I deferred my
disembarkation until the following morning, when the cases were all
safely conveyed to the Frank quarter.
I found Lady Hester established in a small cottage by the sea-side,
about a league from the town, in a straggling village, named Trianda,
whither Christian inhabitants are accustomed to retire in the summer
season: and from this spot she addressed a letter which may find a
place here without impropriety.
_Lady Hester Stanhope to ----._
From a little habitation three miles from the town of Rhodes.
January 13th, 1812.
My dear ----,
Captain Beaufort will tell you in what sort of situation he and
Captain Hope found us here, and that the latter is so good as to
give us a passage to Egypt. I cannot say how much I feel obliged
to both of them for the kindness they have shown us. Probably we
shall see something more of Captain B. when he returns to this
part of the world, and then I shall have the pleasure of hearing
again about you.
I know no news of any kind, as our Firmans are not yet come from
Constantinople; when they do, I suppose I shall hear from his
Excellency.
I hear a party of fine gentlemen are come out to fish up
curiosities, and that Mr. Gell is amongst the number. If I
see anything of them, I will send you an account of all their
learned airs, and the wise faces they will probably make over
every crooked stick and worn-out stone which may meet their eye.
I find poor Mr. Taylor has been ill. Pray mention how he was
when he got to Malta; he is such an amiable man I cannot but
feel interested about him; and, if he is still with you,
remember me very kindly, and say I beg another time he will
travel with plenty of medicine and a few more comforts, in case
of illness. Poor François must have been half out of his mind
when he saw his master so ill, and without assistance, though I
am sure he would do all he could for him, and he is an admirable
nurse.
Captain Barrie, I find, has lost his fine ship. He had on board
a most magnificent dress B. had sent home, and some beautiful
Dresden china I picked up in a Jew’s shop, for which I paid
about the tenth part of its value: also a very fine pelisse for
old Mr. B.---- and all these things are lost. I am so sorry,
too, for Captain B.; but as for the quiz of an ambassador, his
losses concern me not at all.
If Captain Whitby should come into Malta, pray tell him that I
bore in mind how much cold affected him, and had got him a very
good pelisse, but that it is gone to the bottom with everything
else. I think I have little more to add than my constant good
wishes for your health and comfort. Do forgive this sad scrawl,
but I write upon my knee, having no table in the house. B.
desires to be most kindly remembered to you, and believe me,
Ever yours, most sincerely,
HESTER LUCY STANHOPE.
Much anxiety had been caused by my long absence. The cases were opened,
and the party assumed their new dresses. Ignorant at that time of the
distinctions of dress which prevail in Turkey as in all countries,
every one flattered himself that he was habited becomingly. Lady Hester
and Mr. B. little suspect what proved to be the case--that their
exterior was that of small gentry; and Mr. Pearce and myself thought
we were far from looking like chaôoshes with our yatagans stuck in our
girdles. For each, in the choice he had made, had been guided by fancy:
not considering that in all countries particular costumes are affected
by particular ranks and professions: and that, excepting in the case of
public functionaries, simplicity combined with the intrinsic value of
the materials is, more than show, the mark of the private gentleman.
All the servants had been dismissed. As a recompense for their losses
in the shipwreck, they had been promised each a new suit of clothes,
and Lady Hester, not finding cloth to make them in Rhodes, had deferred
giving them until we should get to Alexandria. This was construed by
them into an evasion; and they thought, by threatening in a body to
give up their service, that they should compel her into a compliance:
but she immediately turned them off. Etienne, who was absent, though
not involved in the cabal, having been detected in administering
remedies as a doctor, was likewise dismissed. One servant only was now
left--Georgaki Dallegio, a native of Syra, in the Archipelago, who had
offered himself as a footboy to me, whilst I was at Constantinople. He
served me in this capacity for some weeks: and, being then somewhat
under the eye of Lady Hester, who observed his attention and activity,
he was taken into her service. He was a dark-complexioned boy,
extremely alert, intelligent, and speaking three or four languages.
The island of Rhodes is no doubt more picturesque and fertile than any
other in the Archipelago. The town of Rhodes must have once been very
handsome and regularly constructed, since those parts of it, built
by the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, which still remain, attest
its former respectability. There is still one street nearly perfect,
where, according to tradition, the Knights resided. Escutcheons are
sculptured over several doors. The fortifications, if kept in repair,
might still be formidable. In several streets are to be seen those
large stone balls which were thrown from the cannon during the siege of
the place by the Turks; and one of these enormous guns still exhibits
its immense, but, I believe, harmless mouth from the castle. It is well
known that the Jews, for having betrayed the place to the Ottomans,
obtained the privilege of residing within the city walls, which is
generally denied them in other parts of the Turkish dominions.
The town has baths, several mosques, and derives much wealth from the
passage of shipping to and from Egypt, which generally touch here. Of
the ancient colossus I can say nothing. There are two harbours, and it
is even disputed across the entrance of which the giant strode. The
harbour where vessels enter is more properly a basin, with hardly water
enough to float a small ship; although, not many years back, it is said
a frigate could enter. There is a small dockyard here, and the bey
builds annually, I was told, a sloop of war, which he presents to the
Porte, as part probably of his tribute.
The inhabitants often mention the vast sums of money which were spent
by the English here, when, on the Egyptian expedition, the fleet
rendezvoused in Marmora harbour. Oranges, usually sold forty for a
piaster, rose to a piaster apiece; and so of other provisions. The fact
is, that the English, go where they will, raise the price of articles
unnecessarily to the most exorbitant pitch.
The city stands on the north-east extremity of the island, on a sandy
tongue of land, which exposes it in the winter to the storms prevalent
in that season, but gives it an agreeable freshness in the summer.
There are several windmills on the point. The Frank quarter is removed
from the town a few hundred yards: it is composed of a mixture of
Greeks and Franks; which latter give themselves, by wearing a Frank
dress, the only title they have to the name. The wife of the Imperial
agent, or, as he styled himself, consul, was my washerwoman.[17] The
women of Rhodes weave good silk shirts, which are esteemed in the
Levant. I bought a few that lasted me in very constant wear for three
years.
Captain Henry Hope, of the Salsette frigate, having heard of Lady
Hester’s shipwreck, sailed to Rhodes from Smyrna, and offered her
and her party a passage to Alexandria. A ship, riding at anchor off
the island, was by no means safe at this season of the year, and he
became very urgent for us to embark, which we did about a week after
my arrival. Nothing contributed so much to banish the recollection of
the past shipwreck as the security we now enjoyed. The wind began to
blow strongly the night we embarked, and compelled us to seek refuge
the following morning in the harbour of Marmora. I had entered it on
a former occasion by night, but I now had a complete view of it. Its
mouth is between two mountains, wooded with firs down to the water’s
edge, and affords a zigzag channel deep enough for the largest ships.
After running some considerable distance, until the sea is lost
sight of, the harbour then opens, landlocked on all sides. Around it
considerable mountains rise from its strand, excepting where the little
valley shuts in the town of Marmora. It is said that the bottom is
excellent for anchorage, and that a more secure haven cannot be found.
The storm lasted throughout the following day; but on the 11th we
sailed again with a fair wind for Alexandria. On the 13th, before
sunset, we made Pompey’s Pillar, which serves as a landmark to
mariners; and, standing off for the night, we entered the west harbour
of Alexandria about nine on the following morning.
Alexandria strikes the spectator, when seen from the sea, as a handsome
town; and it is the same with all Turkish towns up the Levant, which
have much beauty in the exterior of the buildings; but, unlike many
others, Alexandria does not belie its external appearance: it was then
spacious, and adorned with handsome and lofty buildings, and I have no
doubt is now much more so.
Colonel Misset, the British resident, immediately sent Mr. Thurburn,
his secretary, to compliment Lady Hester on her arrival.