Page:The geography of Strabo (1854) Volume 2.djvu/290

 282 STRABO. CASAUB. 538. fertile island, which Archelaus furnished with excellent buildings, where he passed the greater part of his time. In the Cilician province, as it is called, is Mazaca, 1 the capital of the nation. It is also called " Eusebeia," with the addition " at the Argaeus," for it is situated at the foot of the Argaeus,' 2 the highest mountain in that district ; its summit is always covered with snow. Persons who ascend it (but they are not many) say that both the Euxine and the sea of Issus may be seen from thence in clear weather. Mazaca is not adapted in other respects by nature for the settlement of a city, for it is without water, and unfortified. Through the neglect of the governors, it is without walls, per- haps intentionally, lest, trusting to the wall as to a fortification, the inhabitants of a plain, which has hills situated above it, and not exposed to the attacks of missile weapons, should addict themselves to robbery. The country about, although it con- sists of plains, is entirely barren and uncultivated, for the soil is sandy, and rocky underneath. At a little distance further there are burning plains, and pits full of fire to an extent of many stadia, so that the necessaries of life are brought from a distance. What seems to be a peculiar advantage (abundance of wood) is a source of danger. For though nearly the whole of Cappadocia is without timber, the Argaeus is surrounded by a forest, so that wood may be procured near at hand, yet even the region lying below the forest contains fire in many parts, and springs of cold water ; but as neither the fire nor the water break out upon the surface, the greatest part of the country is covered with herbage. In some parts the bottom is marshy, and. flames burst out from the ground by night. Those acquainted with the country collect wood with caution ; but there is danger to others, and particularly to cattle, which fall into these hidden pits of fire. 8. In the plain in front of the city, and about 40 stadia from it, is a river of the name of Melas, 3 whose source is in ground lower than the level of the city. It is useless to the 1 Kaisarieh. above the sea. 3 The Kara-su, the black river, a branch of the Kizil-Irmak. The modern name appears common to many rivers.
 * Edsehise-Dagh, the highest peak, has been estimated at 13,000 feet