Page:Travels & discoveries in the Levant (1865) Vol. 1.djvu/84

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58
TRAVELS AND DISCOVERIES

that some years ago some unhappy Hebrews came here to settle as merchants. The first morning after their arrival they took a walk in the bazaar, where they saw the Mytileniotes weighing the eggs they bought, to see if they were worth the paras they gave for them. "This is no place for us," said the Jews, "these Greeks would be too knowing for us;" and so away they went from Mytilene, where no Jew, said my old Turk, has ever attempted since to settle. The entii'e population of the town of Mytilene is reckoned at about 8,500, of whom from 200 to 300 are foreigners, protected by their several consulates. These are mostly Hellenic or Ionian subjects. The number of Mussulmans probably does not exceed 2,000.

I have been employing my time lately in exploring the country in the immediate vicinity of Mytilene itself. The first place which I visited was the Roman aqueduct at Morea, a 'illage distant about an hour to the N.W. of Mytilene. The road to Morea, issuing from the north gate of Mytilene, passes through an Hellenic cemetery, where sarcophagi and tombs are occasionally found. The remains of the aqueduct at Morea extend across a small valley. It consists of three rows of arches, of which the uppermost is of brick. The lower part is built of squared massive blocks. It is beautifully proportioned, and, from the style, may be ascribed to the Augustan period (Plate 3). On a stone in one of the pillars I noticed the letters D M 0, probably a mason's mark. Remains of this aqueduct are to be met with at St. Demetri, two hours and a half from Ayasso, on the road to