Page:Travels & discoveries in the Levant (1865) Vol. 1.djvu/76

50 mediaeval castle, once held by the Genoese family Gateluz, now occupies the site of the Acropolis, and most of the lower ground which formed the site of the ancient town is covered with the houses of the Greek and Turkish inhabitants. The Turks live principally in one quarter, near the north harbour. On the land side the to^vu is nearly surrounded by lofty bills, which completely shut in the 'iew to the west. At the foot of these hills rims a low wall, which surrounds the town from harbour to harbour, and served for its defence during the Greek Revolution. It was built by the father of the present Pasha at that time.

The site of Mytilene resembles that of many other Hellenic cities.$20$ At a very early period, as Thueydides tells us, the Greeks selected such sites for their cities, cutting off the isthmuses. The advantage of such positions was obvious. The headlands were strong and sometimes inaccessible positions; the two ports connected by a canal enabled their vessels to put out to sea either with a north or south wud, and the narrow strip of rich land along the shore served for gardens for the supply of the city.

Of the two harbours, that to the south was anciently used for triremes, and therefore closed with a chain: it could contain fifty vessels. The remains of two moles are still visible at its entrance; two small lighthouses mark the width across which the chain must have been stretched. The depth varies at present from three to one fathom; but, as is constantly the case in Turkish ports, it has