Mytilehe^
Scio.
Myti-lene," the ancient Lefbos, is the moft northerly and largeft ( f
thefe ifleSj being about 40 Britilh miles in length by 24 at its .gceateft ,
breadth. The mountainous ;ap.pearance~ of this ifle is. agreeably diver-
fi tied with bays, and' inlets of the fea, and plantations pf.Qfiyes^ vines,
and myrtle.1 " These.-are hot baths iffuing from cliffs ugfemblmg thofe
of St. .Vincent near Briftol, and which indicate .the ifle to be chiefly-cal-
careens, . The climate. isexquifite ; and it was anciently noted for wines,
and the beauty of the women. ' , . 5 * ‘„A
:'Scio, the ancient Chios,«, about 36 Britilh miles-in lengtlj^ but,, only
about 13 in-medial breadth. The Chian wine i$.celebrated.by Horace,,
, apd retains its ancient fame.- T h e town o f Scio, on the eaft fide of the
ifle, is handfome and convenient. T.he Oreeks here enjoy-xonfiderable
• freedom, and. eafe ; and difplay fuch iaduftry that the c o u n try ^ fem b je s ^
a -garden. This particular favour arifes from the, cdtivation^of,tfie
m a ftic trees, or rather fhrubs, for they are fmall evergreens which fi$>-
. p ly .the gum, fo acceptable .to the ladies, o f the fultan’s haram^pr, as we
term it, the feraglio. T h e beauty- o f the women - iaxonfined tO. (p n ^
form o f features,: as in the Grecian flatties; aad^even ^h g .cle^fnefs
their -complexion .cannot a tope-ior tfte prepofterous form of.thedr drefs,
which is hern, if p©ffiblp»qnabre ridjcHlpus than in the other , Egean.ifles.
Boeocke’s figure o f H ome r, which rhe pretends to hav e.fo u n d h e re ,;i|^
imaginary .4 and the driginal,feems, tq ;b e ap image o f Gy^^n.. *^h|s
ifle is alfo >very mountainous. The jearth..of.S^owas sslefirated by the;
ancients, but was only a common bole like that of Lemnos.. - Tourne-
fort obferved here tame partridges, kept'like poultry; and it, is, probably
.the cuftom is retained, for among the Turk#; every thing is^ftatiQt^ry,
.except deftru&ion. Chandler faw .numerous groves of le mons, oranges,
.and citrons, perfuming the air with the odour of their bloffoms, and
.delighting the eye with their goldemixuit. . The Genoefe poffeffed thi#
beautiful ifle about 240 years, but loft it in 1566. Oppofite to Scie,
4 on the Afiatic flbore, is Chefme, where-the Turki£h fleet was deftroyed
fby the Ruffian, *1770. The inhabitants of Scio are fiippo&d to be about
«60,000.*
1 Dallaway’ s Constantinople, p. 513.
» Tournefort, g. 281. VanEgmont, 1.S37, &c. Chantlkr, 48.
Samos
Samps'tsftftjoub'ga miles^kUength,. andViQ injbreadth. .This ifie is.
alfo ^rdffed rbyj$.chain, ofibillvaod -the mof&sagreeable part ip, the plain
of Corai Tburhefsmti hoi^hlfesifihq inhah'itants' at 1 all|Greeks ;
with a TurMlhtAga ommilifaF^'pffiqei^^nil.^.^dg’or judge, apagiftra^efc
ufuah in* 'every . Turkifh'.diflribti [ The- W,ora,en. are ceiebrated for their
complete» want'o'fcobehaty, thusffbVmi&gx^emarkable exception to the
•Otheri G-r.eek'iftds, .rJCfie pottery „of ‘.S^mqsflw^s1 ^ieptly^^^le|it| at
prefent;moft branches,of.ind^ry3arn■ n«gle£t^|f^^ nitre? emery^.and
irem.,miigbt'hill;be^wbrked.fi.|^ch;is,prepared tfce pine(tfees i,a
th&fnorth part' of .'the ifiandftj and^tshe^lk, honeys a|>d- wa^^re-^eiped.
■ Moft of tfte^punta'in's,arp of white marble, anef ^aym. with..game, of
variousjJiofe^ptit^s. , yhe^l^ft.J^ to 'the. N. W.
Some 'remains arojpbfeyved qf .the celefij^tedftpipl^^
-ix C os ns-aboutr 24 mile® iWlength, by tfi^eeor, four, in' |t£adfh; but has
been little vifitedThy model® tra^ersns^hnyafty|^^s^a poft noble
jfle and from it was5 fir ft derived the name and^bftanc^oftthe whet-
.ftane.g$ft is,;now coyered, jyi|h sfoveSr.oPdpnpn .trees, and" there"is aft
'oriental-plane tree ofrWft ftze.W,Tfie chief jtfade « i n g B l | .and
.lemons-^land^i^p^.isrhere{^ehce;of.nrTurkilmp,^ma.+ Rhodes is"about
.36 Britilh miles in length, by i^ ia breadth, an .iflmd ce/^Med in ancient,
>oA 'modern times, 4 It is feutUe in wheat,|hS^^^
fandy nature.' Thp' population is computed,at abopt The city
.of the fame name, in which -no Chnftian is now permitted to dwefflftands
in the north end .of the'ifletj'.and^ -Ms anpiently TtotoF for A cWofcs, in
rbronze, about i^O.feet'high^which^cduld’^nbt have ftood oyter flie hap-
bour, as, fabled, for it was fogn fcaft down by an earthquSkg", and the fragments
many centuries afterwards were fold by-the Saracens'; while 'if it
had ftood oyer the .port it muff haye faften i n t o ' " T h i s ifle Was
.for two centuries poffeffed by Jke knights o^St^Johtt of Jerufalefe,
ftyled "of Rhodes,'till i& z fir tiin it w-as taken'by^fheTurks;
and the,emperor'- Charles V affigned td’tlie knights‘tStf ifland fif'Malta.®
Along the fouthei'n fhore of Afia Minbf- there areTome'finall ifles,-
among which is that bf Caftel Roffo, S. E. of Patira. Brit they are of;
1 Tourneforti'i; 3A7. Dal]Wsyt<4jT. ' ' Van. EgifeottA- ■£6t‘. \ <b
» Gibbon, ix. 425. 0 Van Egmont; i. 268, who gives along defeription of Rhodes.-
.. '9 / 1 - no
I slands.
Samos.-
Rhodes;-