THE burning of Smyrna and the massacre and scattering of
its inhabitants has aroused widespread humanitarian and religious interest on
account of the unparalleled sufferings of the multitudes involved. But there
is another element in the United States, not numerous, that has been more
deeply saddened by the fate of this ancient town—the classical scholars and
historians.
The eyes of scholars, ever since the great discoveries
of Schliemann, have been turned toward the island of Crete, where it is now known
that a highly developed civilization existed, contemporaneous with early
Egyptian, and of which the ancient cities of Tyrins and Mycenae were outposts.
It is believed that the ancestors of the royal houses of these settlements came
originally from Asia Minor, and it is possible that the conception of the grim
old lions above the gate of Mycenae, symbolizing the courage of its kings, may
have been imported from Asia. Theseus, that attractive and romantic hero, who
finally became one of the rulers of the Mythical Age of Athens, is connected
with Asia Minor through the Amazons, who were feminine priestesses of the old
cult of the many-breasted nature goddess of Ephesus.
From Ionia, the mother civilization spread to
old Greece, to Sicily, to Italy and along the shores of the Black Sea, and
finally to Europe and America! It is more than probable that Homer was a
Smyrniote, or an inhabitant of Asia Minor, and for countless years his writings
were a sort of Bible or sacred book, molding the character of millions. Perhaps the earliest conception
of monogamy, certainly the most beautiful, comes from Homer’s poems. Our
conception of the family is Greek; we get it from the Odyssey, very probably
written in Smyrna, thousands of years ago.
During the days of the Byzantine Empire, that splendid,
romantic and tragic power which developed a magnificent civilization and kept
the lamp of learning alight all through the darkness of the Middle Ages, Asia
Minor flourished and was the province which contributed most to the strength
and firmness of the general fabric. The exploits of Nikephoros Phokas and the
romance of Diogenes Akritas, immortalized in verse, are well known even to
those scholars who are not Byzantine specialists. Those were the days of the
great land barons who kept regal state and whose forgotten history should be a
vast treasure-house for romantic novelists. Later,
Ionia is of intense interest to the whole Christian world. It is the land of
the Seven Cities of the Revelation, of the Seven Churches and the wonderful
mystical poem of St. John the Divine. Six of the candles went out in eternal
darkness long ago, but that of Smyrna burned brightly until its destruction on
the thirteenth of September, 1922, by the Turks of Mustapha Klhemal and the
death of the last of its great bishops whose martyrdom fitly ended its glorious
Christian history.
Polycarp, the patron saint of Smyrna during the
long years of its existence as a Christian city, was burned alive in an ancient
stadium whose contour is still plainly visible, on February twenty-sixth, in
the year A. D. 156; Chrysostom was tortured and torn in pieces by a Turkish mob
in front of the military headquarters of the Khemalist forces in Smyrna on
September ninth, A. D. 1922. In Asia Minor were held the great Christian
assemblies: at Nicea, Ephesus and Chalcedon, were born the Church fathers, St.
Paul and the two Gregories. It was at Ephesus, near Smyrna, that St. Paul
fought with beasts after the manner of men.
Greek civilization has again and again developed in Asia
Minor to be crushed by Asiatic invasion. At its height it produced the immortal
cities of Pergamus, Smyrna, Colophon, Philadelphia, Ephrsus, Halicarnassus. The
whole land was dotted with lesser towns adorned with schools of art and beautiful
temples from many of which sprang famous philosophers and poets. Ionia is a
graveyard of ancient Greek cities and marble villages toward which the interest
of American scholars has been turning more and more. A pioneer in this field
was J. R. Sitlington Sterrett, who has left an unforgettable name among
American archeologists.
The climate of Smyrna resembles very much that of
Southern California. Snow rarely, if ever, falls in winter, and during the
summer the country is daily refreshed by a breeze from the sea, the embates, or, in the Smyrna dialect, the imbat.
The route to Smyrna from Athens lies between Euboea and
Andros and between the islands of Chios and Mytilini, the ancient Lesbos, famous
as the home of Sappho. It skirts the great promontory of Kharabournou and
enters the Hermian Gulf. To the left is the ancient city of Phocea. A colony from Phocea founded Marseilles, France, some
thousands of years ago. It is interesting to know that the massacre and
expulsion of the inhabitants in June, 1914, excited special interest and
sympathy in the modern French city.
The harbor of Smyrna is one of the best in the world,
comparable to that of Vancouver. At the bottom of the Hermian Gulf we come to a
sort of sea-gate, the entrance to the harbor proper, in which the largest
sea-going craft can safely anchor. Smyrna has attained great importance in
late years as a commercial port. While other harbors, especially that of its
ancient rival, Ephesus, have been filled by deposits brought down by the
rivers, that of Smyrna has not suffered the same fate, the silt of the delta of
the Hermus having tended only to narrow its mouth.
Among the first objects pointed out to the traveler on
entering the bay are the “Two Brothers,” or twin mountain peaks, which are
identical in appearance. At the right is the ancient fortress bombarded by the
British fleet during the war whose guns can plainly be seen by passengers upon
steamers. Soon after passing the fortress, Smyrna appears nestling in the arms
of a long, white, semicircular bay, resembling that of Naples, to which it is
scarcely second in beauty, and climbing the slopes of Mount Pagus, crowned by
an ancient wall and fortress. The city itself, with its suburbs, stretched far
around the semicircle on both sides.
At the time of its destruction it is probable
that the inhabitants exceeded five hundred thousand in numbers. The latest
official statistics give the figure as four hundred thousand, of whom one hundred
and sixty-five thousand were Turks, one hundred and fifty thousand Greeks,
twenty-five thousand Jews, twenty-five thousand Armenians, and twenty thousand
foreigners: ten thousand Italians, three thousand French, two thousand British
and three hundred Americans.
The principal promenade was the quay, on which were
located the American theater, the prettiest building of its kind in the Ottoman
Empire, many cinemas, the best hotels, various modern and well-constructed
office buildings, besides the residences of the most prosperous merchants,
among whom were Greeks, Armenians and Dutch. On this street also were several
of the Consulates, the building owned by the French Government being an imposing
structure, suitable even for an embassy.
The residences mentioned were elegant in appearance and
contained treasures of rugs, expensive furniture, works of art and Oriental
curios.
The city was divided largely into quarters, though this
was not a rigid arrangement. The Turkish lay to the east and south, and, as is
usual in all mixed Ottoman towns, occupied the highest part, extending up the
sides of Mount Pagus, (and does still, for that matter,
as it was not burned). Architecturally it is a typical jumble of
ramshackle huts, with very few, if any, buildings of a superior order. To the
east are grouped most of the Jews, while the Armenian quarter lay to the north
of the Turkish and contiguous with it. The Greek area was north again of the
Armenian.
In speaking of the population of Smyrna one should not
forget to mention the “Levantines.” There seems to be some doubt in the
American mind as to who these really are. The term is usually applied to any
inhabitant of the Near East, and is supposed to carry with it an implication of
deceit and sharpness in business. A “Levantine” is really a foreigner whose
forefathers settled in that country one or more generations ago, who has become
thoroughly versed in Oriental dealings, who speaks the languages, and some of
whose ancestors may have intermarried with Greeks or Armenians.
As the Oriental understands it, the population of that
country consists of Turks, Greeks, Armenians, Jews and Levantines. The latter
have thriven immensely, and there are two small towns, Boudja and Bournabat,
both within half an hour by rail from the metropolis, inhabited principally by
descendants of British, French and Dutch, whose ancestors settled a hundred
years or so ago in the Near East. These two villages are very beautiful. Many
of the residences are imposing, and the parks and rose gardens surrounding them
are not surpassed anywhere in the world. Their owners lived, (or live, such of
them as have gone back) the lives of merchant princes. They have been able,
protected by the capitulations, to amass great fortunes. These people generally
resent being called “Levantines,” and cling to their original nationality.
During the Great War their sons enlisted with enthusiasm, and the German and
Turkish cannon and other instruments of destruction took heavy toll of the
debonair and wealthy youth of Boudja and Bournabat.
The principal business thoroughfare of Smyrna was the Rue
Franque, on which were situated the great department and wholesale stores of
the Greeks, Armenians and Levantines. At the shopping hour in the afternoon,
this street was so crowded that one moved through it with difficulty, and among
the motley throng ladies in costumes of the latest fashion, looking for that
sort of merchandise that ladies shop for everywhere, formed a large part.
Social life presented many attractions. Teas, dances,
musical afternoons and evenings were given in the luxurious salons of the rich Armenians and Greeks.
There were four large clubs: the “Cercle
de Smyrne”, frequented mostly by British, French and Americans; the “Sporting”
with a fine building and garden on the quay; the Greek Club and a Country Club
near the American college with excellent golf links and race course.
In no city in the world did East and West mingle
physically in so spectacular a manner as at Smyrna, while spiritually they always
maintained the characteristics of oil and water. One of the common sights of
the streets was the long camel caravans, the beasts passing in single file,
attached to ropes and led by a driver on a donkey in red fez and rough
white-woolen cloak. These caravans came in from the interior laden with sacks
of figs, licorice root, raisins, wood, tobacco and rugs. While the foreigner is
apt to be afraid of these ungainly beasts, one often saw a Greek or Armenian
woman in high-heeled boots and elegant costume, stoop and lift the rope between
two camels and pass under. At the north end of the city is a railroad station
called “Caravan Bridge”, because near by is an ancient stone bridge of
that name over which the camel caravans arriving from as far away as Bagdad and
Damascus, used to pass.
Reference has already been made to the gaiety of the
natives. One of the chief institutions of Smyrna about which naval men always
inquire, was the “Politakia”, or
orchestras of stringed instruments, guitars, mandolins and zither. The players
added great zest to the performance by singing to their own accompaniment
native songs and improvisations. The various companies gave nightly concerts
in the principal cafes and were often called upon for entertainments in private
houses.
The lightheartedness of the Smyrniotes was well-nigh
irrepressible and continued almost until the last days when it was extinguished
forever. During the Great War the British bombarded the fortress. At first the
sound of the big guns terrified the inhabitants, but when it was discovered
that there was no intention of throwing shells into the city itself the whole
population gathered on the housetops and at the cafes to witness the flashes
and the bursting of the projectiles. The cannonading was plainly visible from
the quay and became a regular theatrical performance, chairs on the sidewalks
being sold at high prices.
Passing from the European quarter—Greeks and Armenians
are here classed as Europeans—into the Turkish, one found himself in the days
of the “Arabian Nights”. The
civilization, the manners, the isolation of the women, who were either not
seen at all or passed through the streets closely veiled, were all such as one
finds described in the “Thousand and One
Nights”. Mention should be made particularly of the letter-writers,
generally kindly old hodjas, who sat at tables taking down the love-letters and
other missives that were whispered in their ears. Groups of befezzed Mussulmans
sat about smoking their water pipes beside antique fountains or in the shade of
clambering grape-vines.
The American interests in Smyrna were very important.
Besides the omnipresent Standard Oil Company, there were the great McAndrews
and Forbes licorice firm with its spacious offices and thousands of employees
and laborers, all the principal tobacco companies whose business amounted to
millions yearly, the exporters of figs and raisins and carpets, and after the
Greek occupation, the importers of agricultural implements and automobiles.
There were important American educational and
humanitarian institutions as well as archeological expeditions to Sardis and
Colophon. The excavators at Sardis during their last campaign made a notable
discovery of thirty gold coins of Croesus, which were taken charge of by me and
brought to the United States immediately after the Smyrna disaster. They also,
with my aid, succeeded in obtaining the first large consignment of original
marbles that has ever been sent to any American museum. These latter were
shipped to America for the Metropolitan Museum of New York. All these marbles
and coins were, for political reasons, sent back to Constantinople from New
York.
I shall permit myself to digress sufficiently at this
point to make the observation that I took keener satisfaction in bringing
these remarkable antiquities to the United States than in any other single act
of my entire consular career. This satisfaction was shared by the late Howard
Crosby Butler, who added to my pleasure by his unstinted commendation. Perhaps
if this great scholar and courtly gentleman had not died suddenly in Paris, he
might have prevented the sacrifice of these treasures to business and
political interests—futilely and unreasonably sacrificed.
Among the interesting ancient monuments existing in
Smyrna are two aqueducts, which can be seen from the railroad running to
Boudja. There is also the so-called “Tomb of Tantalus,” the mythical founder
of the town. The excellent water supply of the city is still derived from an
ancient source known as the “Baths of Diana.”
The road from Smyrna to Boudja skirts the beautiful
Valley of St. Anne, so named because she is supposed to have been buried there.
Through this flows the river known as the Meles, by the banks of which Homer
may have composed his great epics.
The civilization of this ancient and beautiful
city was essentially Greek. The great mills of
Nazli, which before the war supplied an excellent quality of flour not only to
Smyrna vilayet, but to the rest of Turkey and even exported to Europe, were
founded by a Greek. Of the three hundred and ninety-one
factories at Smyrna, three hundred and forty-four were Greek and fourteen
Turkish. Statistics of this nature could be multiplied indefinitely.
The two principal native schools—both Greek—were the
Homerion, an institution for girls, and the Evangelical School for Boys, the
latter under British protection. These were academies of great merit,
affording a liberal course of education, and their graduates, many of them
successful men and women, are to be found in all parts of the world. The
library of the Evangelical School was recognized by scholars as containing a
large and invaluable collection of books, manuscripts and inscriptions, many
of which can never be replaced.
Among other irreparable losses caused by the fire should
be mentioned two very ancient copies of the Bible, one kept in a church in
Smyrna, and the other the special charge of a small community of Christians who
are said to have fled from Ephesus when that city was sacked by the Turks
centuries ago, and to have founded a small village whose sole object was the
preservation of this venerable book. This part of the tale should not be
finished without reference to the records of the American Consulate. Smyrna was
one of the oldest of our foreign offices and contained many dispatches signed
by Daniel Webster and others equally famous in our history, besides interesting
references to incursions of the Barbary pirates, and an account of the saving
of a famous Polish patriot by a small American cruiser, which cleared for
action and demanded his release from an Austrian battle-ship. There have been
many thrilling and inspiring episodes in the history of our navy where
commanders have acted on their own responsibility in behalf of justice and
humanity. Such episodes were more frequent before the perfection of the
wireless and the submarine telegraph. It is a consolation to reflect that the
spirited incident mentioned above occurred in the harbor of Smyrna, to
balance, as it were, the history of the locality.
I was engaged before the fire in going through the
ancient records and preparing a resume of their contents. Among the treasures
of the Consulate were twelve magnificent old wood-prints of the battle of
Navarino, giving different stages of the action, with faithful reproductions of
the various ships with their names, which, as they were my personal property, I
had intended to present to our navy department. I believe that there are no
other copies of these prints in existence.
Smyrna is now a mass of ruins and a Turkish
village. It should be borne in
mind, however, that history repeats itself. Smyrna was
rebuilt by Greeks after its destruction by Lydians, and Hellenic civilization
again reasserted itself after the ferocity of
the Turkish pirates of 1084, and the frightful butcheries of Tamerlane.
A great city is the flower of industry and a peaceful and prosperous
civilization. When the farmers swarm over the plains and the sailors go down to
the sea in ships, then the bazaars and warehouses are built, the banks and the
counting-houses and the shops of the cunning artisans. Smyrna will grow great
again when a live and progressive Western civilization once more develops in
Ionia. History has demonstrated that the Greeks, from their geographical
position, their industrial and economic enterprise, and their relative
maritime supremacy in the Mediterranean are the people ultimately destined to
carry European progress into Asia Minor unless, indeed, Christianity should
utterly fail, and with it, the civilization founded upon it. Smyrna is too near
Europe for Turkish retrogression and blight to rest there indefinitely. Its
fields are too rich and too valuable to the human race to remain permanently in
the bands of a sparse population of incompetent shepherds. The question is
often asked: “When will the Turks rebuild Smyrna!” Turkish
Smyrna was not burned.
Next: Chapter XIV | Previous: Chapter XII | Book Contents | Book main page