Page:Travels & discoveries in the Levant (1865) Vol. 1.djvu/252

202 This is a wild country; the women are all shepherdesses. Colnaghi, who had never seen a live shepherdess before, was very much disappointed when he saw these gaunt creatures striding along in great jack-boots, with drapery which appeared to him no better than a smock-frock, but in which I discovered a grand Phidiac composition of folds.

In the evening we had a dance in the open air; the elders and matrons all sat round a semicircular wall, some on the stone seat at the bottom, some on the top of the wall. It was moonlight; a wood fire in the centre of the dance cast its flickering light on the scene, which was most picturesque. I sat in the middle on the chair of state, and the primate of the village did me the honour of bringing me his own pipe, a particularly dirty one. The inhabitants were very kind, hospitable people, full of friendship and fleas.

I was so fortunate as to meet with at Siana the rare silver coin of Hidrieus, Prince of Caria, which I purchased for twelve piasters, or rather more than two shillings. While staying here I visited some ruins on the shore at a spot called Basilika, to the N.W. of Siana. Our road skirted the north side of Mount Akramytis, having Atabyron on the right. Thence we turned to the west, and came in sight of the sea. Descending towards the shore, we came to a place called Stellio, where is a rock with three square apertures cut in it, probably tombs. A little further on, we passed on the right the ruins of a tower of Hellenic masonry, the W. side of which measured 34 feet 10 inches, and the S. side 29 feet