_ M.ytUéhë! l e ancient Lefbos, is fhe moft northerly and krgeft io|
I MytUene. ‘ thefe ifles; being about 40 Britifh miles in length by 24 at i t s j^ t p t
-■ . breadth. The mountainous appearance of this ifle is agreeably diverg
e d with'bays, and inlets of theTea;’ and- plantations of plives, vines,
and myrtle.1 ' There areshotteths iffuing. from .cliffs -refembhtjgj tho e
of. St. Vincent near Briftol,- and which indicate the ifle to be chiefly_ca-
careous. The climate is exquifite ; and it was anciently .noted for .wines,,
and the beauty of the womens, , a i '
: -Scio, the ancient Chios,;is about 36 Britiffi-mdes an length, but only
about .13 hi medial breadth. The Chian wine is cdebtated by Horace,
and retains its ancient fame. The town of-Scio, on t^ e a f - f id e of the.
ifle is handforae-and convenient.' T h e ^ e e k s here W coni^rable
freedom and eafe; and difplayfuch induftry
a garden. This particular favour arifes from the ^ultivation of the
maftic trees, or rather fhrubs,
ply the gum, fo acceptable to the ladies ofth o fultan’s ha.ram, or, as ;we
term it, the-Terkglio. - The beauty o l the w'omen is confined to one
form o f features, as in the Grecian ftatues;
their complexion cannot atone Tor the prepofterous form of their die s,
which is hefe, if poffible, more ridiculous than in the other Egean dies.
Pococke s- figure of Homer, which v he péetehds to have found here,,is
imaginary ; and - the original feetns to be an image of Cybele. ; This
ifle t i l l very mountainous. The.earth of Scio was. celebrated by the
ancients, hut was:odly a common bole like that of Lemnosd Tourne-
fort obferved here tame partridges,-kept like poultry; and it us .probable
the cuftom is retained, for among the Turks .every thing is fetipnary,
except deftruction. Chandler faw numerous groves of lemons, oranges,
and citrons,- .perfuming the air with the odour of their bloffoms, and
delighting the eye with their golden fruit. Tfle Genoefe poffeffed this
beautiful ifle about 240 years, but loft it in 1566., Opppfite to Scio
' on the Afiatic fhore, is Chefmej where the Turkifh-fleet was deftroyed
by the Ruffian, 1770. The inhabitants of Scio .are fuppofed tOlbe about
” 6o,Qoè^-iS
1 pallaway’s Conftafltinojpk? p* 5* 3* '*
- ■ s-Toumefort, p. z8 n Van Egmont, 1, 437, fee. Chandler,-48.
Samos
uj. Sard.as is.about 30 miles in length, and 10 in breadth. This ifle is
alfo croffed by a chain pf hillsj and the moft agreeable part is the plain
of Cora; Tournefort computes, the inhabitants at 12,000, all Greeks ;
witfj a Tur.ki^ f^ g a itiwrailiAry‘officer, and a cadi or judge, magi-ftrateS
nfuat in every, Turkifh diftriâi. 7The women are celebrated for their
complete ■ want- of beauty, thus forming a remarkable exception to the
'«their ifleq« The pottery of Samos i^as; anciently excellent ; at
prefept of negleaed ; but, nitre, emery, and
iron, might. ftilLbe worked.. Pitch is prepared from the pine trees in'
, the, dorthpart'of the ifland ; and t-he.fllk, honey, and wax, are efteemed.
Moft of mountains- are. of white marble, and fwarm with , game of
be|!^hayen*ia;t l |^ p b ^ ti'_ ïo ''>tfiï1ê’'N. W.
SoÉçikrjemains' are obferve|^f;;the^ ç ^ r ^ t e d j t ^ ip 'l f -of'^
^ji<|Qg4 s# b ^ t j24 i 'but $$£'
been little vifited>y hk% ^ravej|q|;s. Tlii^ÿ^'Mç?o|i a moft noble
iflê Ç and from it was firft d g iW tffe namejn^ fubftance, of the whet-,
lone. It is now^cpWered' with groves, of lemon trees, and there is an
■ oriental pianetree of-vaft fize. The chief trade is in oranges and
lemons ; and Cos is.the refidcnce of a Turkifh pallia.4 Rhodes is about
36 Britifh miles in length, by 1.5 in breadth, an ifland celebrated in ancient
and modern times. It is fertile in wheat, though the foil be^Ta
fandy"naturel The population is Computed ababoni ^of^ù. Thé city
of theJamlbame, in which no"Chriftiati is now permitted to dwell, ftands
in the north end of'the ifle ; and was- anciently noted for a coloffus in
bronze, aboiit 1311 feet high, which could not have ftood over the harbour
as fabled, for it was foon caft down by an earthquake, and the fragments
many „centuries’ afterwards were fold by the-Saraoens ; while if it
had flood over the port it mu ft have fallen into the- fe,a.- This ifle was
for two centimes poffeflêd . by the knights of St. John of Jerufalem,
thence ftyled of Rhodèà, till 1523, when it was taken by the Turks;
and the emperor Charles V affigned to the knights the* ifland of Malta.
1 Along the' fouthern fhore of AfiaMinor .there are fome fmall ifles,
among which is-that of'Caftel Roffo, S. E. of Patira. But they , are of
* Tourncfortji i. 307. ' Dallaway, 251. ' 4 Égoeont, 1. 261. ,
■ 5 Gibbon, ix. 425. ' û Van Egmont, i. 268jwbo gives along defenption o.-Rhodes. =
I 9/ 1 I
I s l a n d s .
Samos.
Rhodes-•