sticks, whose upper ends are lashed together, while the lower rest apart on the ground like the supporters of a surveyor's theodolite. Through the gaping neck the dasher is introduced and worked up and down, while the shaking of the suspended skin increases the motion. of the milk within, and thus hastens the production of the butter. I noticed on the Plains of Beersheba the same process of making butter, and believe it is common throughout the East.

At 9 o'clock it was evident, from the great improvement in cultivation, that we were approaching a large town. The vine was the most prominent growth, and the vineyards were large, and generally in excellent order. The mode of cultivation is peculiar. The vines are not trained on trees, as in Italy, nor upon stakes, as in France and Germany, but form rows of small black stumps from eighteen to twenty inches in height, from which the shoots put forth every spring, and, having yielded the vintage, are pruned off.

At 11 o'clock we entered the large town of Tyria, occupying probably the site of the ancient Tyrinthio. It is beautifully situated on the lower declivity of Mount Messogis, and is adorned with many clumps of luxuriant trees, growing in large open courts, and spreading their branches over the houses. Above all rise the swelling domes and slender minarets of many mosques. Though the place is exceedingly beautiful at a distance, we experienced, on a near approach, the disappointment which invariably awaits the traveller upon entering an Eastern town. The streets were narrow, crooked, and filthy; the houses of mud or wood, and of a frail and mean appearance; the groups of trees were not visible, being concealed within the courts, whose high blank walls bordered the narrow streets, many of

136

PRIMITIVE MEAL.- -ODEMES.

which were channels for the waste water of the fountains. We turned into the large and roughly-paved court of an old khan to obtain refreshment for ourselves and our horses. The servants brought us from the public oven an overdone sheep's head in a coarse black earthenware dish, some black but sweet bread, and a wooden canteen of bad wine. The whole was placed upon a coarse, dirty mat, that covered the floor of a small room at the entrance of the khan, and we squatted around it in the manner of the Turks. Having no knives, forks, or spoons, we pulled the food to pieces with our fingers and quickly devoured it, while a crowd stood around the door gaping at us. The table being cleared, we stretched ourselves upon the same matting, and slept until three o'clock, when we departed for Odemes, about fifteen miles farther up the river

Between Tyria and Odemes the valley was much better cultivated, and large herds of cattle, horses, and sheep were feeding under the care of half-naked, savage-looking herdsmen. During the afternoon we met a regiment of soldiers which appeared to be without officers, without order, without uniform; some on foot, some mounted, occasionally two on a horse; some with shoes, some without; some very young, and all in miserable plight. They seemed like a straggling portion of a routed army retreating in haste. So decayeth the empire of the Turk.

From Tyria to Odemes the road crossed the Cayster several times; we found it a clear, bold stream, about seventy-five feet wide. Odemes is situated in the plain near the foot of Mount Tmolus, in the midst of extensive orchards and vineyards. Though not so large, it is much more commercial than Tyria, and has one of the best khans in the East. This induced us to turn a

A GOOD NIGHT'S REST.

137 little out of the direct road to Philadelphia, for we felt the need of one good night's rest. The khan, indeed, was good, but, unfortunately, we arrived too late to obtain provisions from the bazars, as they were closed at dusk. However, a light supper made profound sleep, and we rose in the morning very much refreshed.

M 2

138

PHILADELPHIA.-A PALTRY PALACE.

CHAPTER XVII.

PHILADELPHIA.-LAODICEA.

From Odemes to Philadelphia.-Fortifications.-A Paltry Palace.-Associations.-Promises to the Church of Philadelphia.-Their Fulfilment.-Corruptions of Worship.-Reverence of the Turks for Philadelphia.-Failure to visit Laodicea.-Brief Account from Chandler.-History of the Church in Laodicea.-Its present Desolation.

FROM Odemes the road to Philadelphia ascends the Valley of the Cayster, and turns the eastern extremity of Mount Tmolus, upon the declivity of which, amid gardens, vineyards, and orchards, is situated the city of Philadelphia.

As seen at a distance, it is extremely beautiful, and its turreted walls and overhanging Acropolis, though rent, and in some places thrown down, still give it an air of strength and importance. These walls and fortifications belong to the time of the lower empire, perhaps to the period of the Turkish invasion, when this city alone of all the Greek towns resisted the arms of Bajazet and secured an honourable capitulation. The entrance is through a rent in the wall rather than through a portal; and the passage through the narrow, dirty, ill-built streets to the bishop's palace effectually dispels from the traveller's mind the pleasing images with which history and the first glance at the city from a distance may have inspired him. The palace, where all Christian travellers find a warm welcome, is a very ordinary house, of some half dozen rooms, whose only furniture is a plain divan running around each.

Seated amid the fallen walls of the Acropolis, and