Page:Lands of the Saracen 1859.djvu/300

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THE LANDS OF THE SARACEN.

CHAPTER XXIII

KIUTAHYA AND THE RUINS OF ŒZANI

Entrance into Kiutahya — The New Khan — An Unpleasant Discovery — Kiutahya — The Citadel — Panorama from the Walls — The Gorge of the Mountains — Camp in a Meadow — The Valley of the Rhyndacus — Chavdür — The Ruins of Œzani — The Acropolis and Temple — The Theatre and Stadium — Ride down the Valley — Camp at Daghje Köi.

"There is a temple in ruin stands,
Fashioned by long-forgotten hands;
Two or three columns and many a stone,
Marble and granite, with grass o'ergrown!
Out upon Time! it will leave no more
Of the things to come than the things before!"

Daghje Köi, on the Rhyndacus, July 6, 1852.

On entering Kiutahya, we passed the barracks, which were the residence of Kossuth and his companions in exile. Beyond them, we came to a broad street, down which flowed the vilest stream of filth of which even a Turkish city could ever boast. The houses on either side were two stories high, the upper part of wood, with hanging balconies, over which shot the eaves of the tiled roofs. The welcome cannon had just sounded, announcing the close of the day's fast. The coffee-shops were already crowded with lean and hungry customers, the pipes were filled and lighted, and the coffee smoked in the finjans. In half a minute such whiffs arose on all sides as it would have cheered the heart of a genuine smoker to behold.