Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 2.djvu/771

Rh great upland tract of Phrygia, at an elevation of 3500 feet above the sea) into the valley of the Xanthus in Lycia, and descends to the city of the same name. 2. That which leads from Afiom Kara Hissar, in the centre of Phrygia, by Isbarta and the ruins of Sagalassus, to Adalia on the Mediterranean. This is one of the most important lines of route in Asia Minor, being the high road from Constan tinople to the flourishing seaport of Adalia, at the present day one of the chief ports on the south coast of Asia Minor. 3. A route leading from Konieh (Iconium) by Karainan (Laranda) to Mout, in the valley of the Calycadnus, and thence to Kelenderi (Celenderis) on the coast of Cilicia. This was the route followed by Colonel Leake in 1800, and is the most direct line of communication with Cyprus. 4. The celebrated pass called the Cilician Gates (Pylaa Cilicia), which is not only the direct route from Konieh and Kaisariyeh on the north, to Tarsus and Adana on the south of the Taurus, but has been in all ages the great highway from Asia Minor into Syria and the valley of the Euphrates. It is a narrow gorge or defile between two lofty mountain masses, and derives great military impor tance from its being easily defensible, while it absolutely commands the entrance into Asia Minor on this side. Hence it is mentioned as a point of special interest during the march of the younger Cyrus towards the Euphrates, as well as in the advance of Alexander previous to the battle of Issus. In modern times it was strongly fortified by Ibrahim Pasha, during the short period for which the Egyptians held possession of Syria (1833-1840) : but these fortifications have since been abandoned. This celebrated pass, which crosses the central ridge at an elevation of only about 3300 feet, marks the line of separation between two of the loftiest masses of the moun tain chain, the Bulghar-dagh on the west and the Ala-dagh on the east, both of which are estimated to attain to a height of from 10,000 to 11,000 feet. Thus far the mountain range of the Taurus may be considered as form ing a continuous chain, the boundaries and direction of which may be readily described. But from this point its character is altogether changed, and it is very difficult to determine, among the numerous mountain masses which are found on the borders of Asia Minor and Syria, which is most properly entitled to be regarded as the main chain of the Taurus. Strabo, the only ancient writer who appears to have had any clear ideas on the subject, describes the Taurus as sending forth two distinct branches, the one called Mount Amanus to the south, which bounds the Gulf of Issus, and forms the limit between (Jilicia and Syria ; the other, to which he gives the name of Anti-Taurus, striking off in a north-easterly direction through the eastern portion of Cappadocia, and gradually sinking into the plain. This last chain is clearly the one which forms the continuation of the Ala-dagh towards the north-east, between the valley of the Sarus and that of the Halys, and is continued, though at a lower elevation, till it joins the mountains that separate Pontus from Armenia. The name of Taurus is given by the Greek geographer to the mountain masses which extend more towards the east, between the districts of Melitene and Commagene, and are prolonged across the Euphrates into Armenia, where they are connected with the more lofty ranges and high table lands of that country. All this mountain region is still very imperfectly known, and it will require much investi gation before its orographical relations are fully under stood; but it is clear that there is such a mountain mass as that supposed by Strabo, and which may be regarded as continuous, though cut through by deep and narrow gorges, through which the rivers Sarus and Pyramus force their way from the elevated valley of Cataonia to the low of Cilicia. Just in the same manner the Euphrates, further east, forces its way through the same mountain ran^a by a channel so narrow and tortuous as to afford no means of communication, so that travellers proceeding south from Malatiyeh (Melitene) to Samosata on the Euphrates, have to cross a pass over the mountains known as the pass of Erkenek. The range here traversed, which is of very considerable elevation, appears to be continuous with that which forms the boundary of Commagene on the west, and is continued under the name of Mount Amanus to the Gulf of Issus. Strabo is also certainly correct in regarding it as connected with the mountains of Armenia, but these lie beyond the limits which we are at present considering. At a short distance from the chain of the Taurus and Anti-Taurus to the west, but wholly unconnected with them geologically or in a true geographical sense, is a remarkable series of volcanic peaks or groups, extending in a direction from N.E. to S.W., through an extent of more than 150 miles. The northernmost and most elevated of these was known to the ancients as Mount Argseus, and is still called by the Turks Erdjish-dagh. It is the highest mountain in Asia Minor, attaining to very nearly (if it does not exceed) 13,000 feet, and its base is upwards of 60 miles in circum ference. About 60 miles S.W. of this rises the volcanic mass of Hassan-dagh, the highest peak of which attains an elevation of above 8000 feet, and which has covered the whole country to the north-east with a vast extent of volcanic deposits. Beyond this, towards the S.W., ia situated the volcanic group of Karadja-dagh, of very inferior altitude, but interesting as exhibiting a well-marked series of volcanic cones, having in some instances very well preserved craters, extending through a range of above 35 miles, as far as the village of Kara Bounar. About 25 miles S.W. of this rises the insulated mass of Kara-dagh, of similar volcanic character, and estimated to attain to a height of about 8000 feet. All these volcanic mountains are composed principally of trachyte, and though separated by intervening spaces, either of level plain or gently undu lating country, may be regarded as forming part of the same line of volcanic action, the axis of which has a direc tion nearly from N.E. to S.W. It is remarkable that this is almost precisely parallel with the line of the Anti-Taurus, as formed by the Ala-dagh and its continuation towards the north. Nearly at right angles with the series just described is the range called the Sultan-dagh, which extends through a space of more than 120 miles from the neighbourhood of Afiom Kara Hissar to that of Konieh. It has a general direction from W.N.W. to E.S.E., and is separated from the neighbouring portions of the Taurus by a broad valley having an average elevation of over 3000 feet, as well as by the three upland lakes of Egerdir, Kereli, and Soghla. Its central and highest portion rises to more than 6000 feet in height, and forms a continuous barrier between the valley above described and that known to the ancients as Phrygia Paroreios, through which lay the high road from the central plain of Phrygia to Iconium and the passes of the Taurus. Nearly parallel with the chain of the Sultan- dagh, and of about equal altitude, is that now known as the Emir-dagh, which forms the boundary of Phrygia Paroreios on the north, separating it from the great open plains of Galatia and Lycaouia, the latter of which extend without interruption to the great salt lake of Tatta. We now come to consider the numerous mountain chains that branch off from the borders of the great central plateau to the west, and descend to the shores of the JEgean, leaving between them valleys of surpassing beauty and fertility, which were in ancient times thickly studded with towns and cities of Greek origin. As these valleys widen out in approaching the sea, the mountain chains that separate them become clearly marked, and can be readily