Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - II. From Constantinople to Batum
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
Below is the raw OCR text
from the above scanned image.
Do you see an error? Proofread the page now!
Här nedan syns maskintolkade texten från faksimilbilden ovan.
Ser du något fel? Korrekturläs sidan nu!
This page has never been proofread. / Denna sida har aldrig korrekturlästs.
ARMENIA AND THE NEAR EAST
50
own, her picture being hung above the sick-bed ; and the
invalid drinks forbidden wine from the old chalice which is
preserved and looked upon as a holy relic by the entire
community, probably without knowing why. This may be
compared with the old charms and other witchcraft and magic
that many Christian people still retain from the religions
and superstitions of the past.
We had a look at the west side of the old castle and imperial
palace. With its lofty battlemented walls and towers it rose
high above the deep western gorge, which lay beneath us in
its luxuriant richness as we stood on the bridge, making one
think of some mysterious wonderland of shady thickets and
glades, with all kinds of southern trees, laurels, myrtles, vines,
and ivy climbing far up the face of the cliff. It is a perfect
site for a mediæval castle, and one can well understand that
it was able to hold out for a long time against the besieging
Turks.
The empire in Trebizond was founded by Alexius—a
descendant of the imperial house of Comnenus, and a nephew
of Queen Thamara of Georgia, when Constantinople fell in
1204 during the miserable fourth crusade, and the feeble
Latin empire was set up there. Even after the Greek empire
was restored in Constantinople sixty years later, the empire
in Trebizond remained independent until the town was tåken
by the Turks under Muhammed 11. The last emperor was
tåken as a prisoner to Europe, and on his refusing to renounce
the Christian faith was murdered along with the princes who
attended him, their bodies being thrown to the dogs outside
the walls of Constantinople.
Right down to the shore the walls were remarkably well
preserved. In this lower part of the town we also came upon
a massive, castle-like old warehouse, built by the Genoese,
who up to the time the Turks took the country controlled the
trade of these coasts of the Black Sea and threatened even the
supremacy of Trebizond. That they could build such a
stronghold right in the middle of the town is a tangible sign
of their power. But the armed protection of commerce was
naturally necessary in those days, when the coasts of the Black
Sea were infested with pirates.
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
