Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 2.djvu/774

708 The western portion of Asia Minor, between the Gulf of Adramyttium and the frontiers of Caria, is traversed by four considerable streams, which flow through parallel valleys from the uplands of the interior to the ^Egean Sea. The most northern of these is the Caicus, now called the Bakyr Tchai, which rises in the chain of the Demirdjt- dagh (Mount Temnus), and flows through the whole of Mysia, passing within about 5 miles of the city of Pergamus, and falling into the sea about 20 miles below that city, between the sites of Pitane and Elaea. Much more impor tant, as well as more celebrated, is the Hermus, now known as the Ghediz Tchai, from the town of Ghediz, the ancient Cadi, in Phrygia, near its sources. These are derived from the two mountain masses called Ak-dagh and Morad-dagh, the latter being the more considerable stream. After their junction the river flows in a S.W. direction for about 30 miles, and then turns due west ; it traverses the volcanic district of the Katakekaumene, and emerges below Adala into the broad and fertile valley, through which it continues to flow to the sea. It passes only about 5 miles to the north of the celebrated city of Sardis, and almost close to that of Magnesia. It appears to have in ancient times pursued its westerly course to the sea, which it entered near Phocaea ; but at the present day it makes a turn abruptly to the S., and enters the Gulf of Smyrna about 10 miles from that city. Its only important tributary is the Hyllus, called also the Phrygius, which joins it at Magnesia from the N.E., having its sources above Thyatira. The Pactolus, so famous for its golden sands, which flows under the walls of Sardis, is a very trifling stream. Next in order, proceeding south, comes the Cayster, a stream very inferior in magnitude to the Hermus and Mseander, which rises in the knot of mountains at the junction of Mount Messogis and Tmolus, and flows through a broad, fertile valley for above 70 miles, till it enters the sea just below Ephesus. It is now called the Kutschuk Mender or Little Meander. The true Maeander (now called Bojuk Mender, or Great Mseander) is much the most considerable of the four rivers. It takes its rise at Apamea (previously called Celaenos) in Phrygia, above 175 miles in a direct line from its mouth, and is derived from abundant sources of water, so as to form a deep and clear stream almost immediately below its origin. Thence it flows for some distance to the N.W. as far as the site of Peltse, where it receives a tributary called the Sanclukli Tchai (the ancient Obrimas), sometimes erroneously regarded as the main stream, and there, turning to the S.W., pursues a course a little to the southward of west to the sea. It preserves this general direction with no great change, the numerous windings for which it was famous in antiquity being of no great magnitude or extent, but after passing through a series of mountain gorges between Peltse and Tripolis, it emerges into a broad and rich alluvial valley, through which it holds its winding course to the sea. This valley is bounded immediately on the north by the lofty range of Mount Messogis, the streams descending from which have only a very short course, and the Mseander, in consequence, receives no affluents of any importance from this side. From the south, on the contrary, it receives several considerable tributaries, which have their sources in the mountains of Caria. The most important of these are the Tchoruk Su, which flows by Colossse and Laodicea, the Arpas Su (the ancient Harpasa), and the Tchinar Tchai (the Marsyas of ancient writers), which rises in the moun tain mass of Boz-dagh, on the confines of Caria and Lycia, and flows by the site of Alabanda at Arab Hissar. The total course of the Mseander is estimated at about 240 miles. All these rivers which we have just been considering ore remarkable for the great amount of alluvial matter which they bring down, and the extensive deposits which they in consequence form where they enter the sea. Thus the Cayster, though the least considerable of the four, has not only filled up the port of Ephesus, but has pushed forward the shore for more than two miles beyond its site. The Meander has blocked up the deep gulf formerly extending inwards from near Miletus to the foot of Mount Latmus, so as to convert the inner portion of the gulf into a lake, while it has entirely filled up the port of Miletus, united the island of Lade with the mainland, and formed a broad space of alluvial marshes extending thence to the foot of Mount Mycale. At the present day the alluvial deposits are advancing with such rapidity in the Gulf of Smyrna as to threaten Smyrna with the same fate as has befallen Miletus. Of the rivers of Lycia the only one which deserves notice is the Xanthus, which rises in Mount Taurus, and falls into the sea about 1 2 miles below the city of the same name. But a much more considerable stream is that now known as the Gerenis Tchai, which rises on the northern side of Mount Taurus, at a short distance from the sources of the Xanthus, and flows in a northerly direction through the upland district of Cibyra, then turns suddenly round, and pursues a course about S.S.W., traversing the whole of the mountain region on the borders of Caria and Lycia, until it falls into the sea between Cauuus in Caria and the Gulf of Macri. It was called Calbis in the lower part of its course, and Indus in the upper, but ancient geographers were apparently not aware that the two were in fact the same river. The rivers which flow from the main chain of Taurus to the Mediterranean are very numerous, and many of them in winter bring down a large body of water. But they have necessarily but short courses, and few of them have much geographical importance. Of those which traverse the plain of Pamphylia it will be sufficient to mention the Cestrus and the Eurymedon, both of them considerable streams, pursuing parallel courses to the sea, which they enter within less than 20 miles of one another. The one flows beneath the ruins of Perge, the other by those of Selge and Aspendus. The rugged and mountainous country of Cilicia, which adjoins Pamphylia on the east, is furrowed by numerous streams flowing through deep and narrow valleys, the largest of which is the Calycadnus (now called the GbkSu, or &quot;Blue River&quot;), which has a direction nearly from W. to E., taking its rise in a lofty spur of Mount Taurus that advances close to the sea, so that its sources are not more than about 20 miles from the sea at Alaja, while it has a course of more than 100 miles (in a direct line) from thence to its mouth. It falls into the sea about 12 miles below Seleucia (still called Selevke), and is a deep and rapid stream of considerable magnitude. The broad alluvial plain which forms the eastern portion of Cilicia is traversed by several rivers, two of which, the Sarus and Pyramus, now known as the Sihun and Jihun, are among the most important rivers of Asia Minor. Both of them alike take their rise far in the interior, in the high lands beyond the Taurus, and force their way across that great chain through deep and narrow gorges. The Sarus is indeed formed by the junction of two branches, both of which descend from the ranges of the Anti-Taurus through two parallel valleys, and after traversing for a long distance the mountain gorges, pour their united waters into the plain about 20 miles above the town of Adana. The Pyramus takes its rise in the upland district called Cata- onia, near the modern town of Albistan, flows by Marasch, where it receives a considerable tributary from the east, bringing with it the waters of some small lakes on the reverse of the mountains of Commagene, and after passing near the ruins of Anazarbus, falls into tie Gulf of Issus or