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Art. III.—The Seven Churches of Asia in 1846
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 14 March 2011
Extract
Under the impression that any notice, however scant, bearing on the present state of the sites of the Seven Churches of Asia, will not prove wholly unacceptable to the Society, I have ventured to offer a few notes taken during a recent tour to these interesting localities.
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- Copyright © The Royal Asiatic Society 1852
References
page 82 note 1 Mr. W. J. Hamilton, in his interesting Researches in Asia Minor (vol. I. p. 541), states that between five and six miles from Ephesus (Ayasalúk), on the Smyrna road, he passed round the eastern foot of Mount Gallesus, on the lofty and almost inaccessible summit of which is perched the solitary castle of Getchi Kaleh. He did not visit it himself, and says that he “was not aware that any traveller had visited it, although it would be interesting to ascertain whether such a, conspicuous point from all the surrounding country is Hellenic, Byzantine, or even of a still later period. Mr. Arundell suggests the possibility of its having been an old Persian watch-tower.’ I visited this mountain fortress en route to Ephesus; and found it to be Byzantine of a bad style. The position is strong— precipitous on every side, except along the ridge to the north. The castle presents a mere shell, of moderate dimensions, and in shape an irregular rectangle. The walls, about twenty feet high, are flanked by towers, and constructed, like those of several other Byzantine castles, in Asia Minor, of alternate courses of small slates and thicker cut stones, cemented by a hard mortar, containing small fragments of brick and stone. The layers of slate represent the layers of square brick seen in the construction of some Roman fortresses. The entrances are narrow, and square at top. Over the lintel is a small round arch of square brick. The interior is filled with rubbish and vegetation. A few pieces of marble, apparently taken from some older structure, are seen built into the walls. I could not find any inscriptions. The position ia very commanding, and was no doubt selected as the key of the pass by the valley of the Cayster, between Ephesus and Smyrna.