Between this strip of land and the coast of
Asia Minor is a narrow strait, the outer mouth of which is called
the Dardanelles, the inner gateway being the famous Hellespont.
Here it was that Xerxes crossed over on a bridge of boats at the
head of his Persian army to invade Greece, only to meet disaster
at Thermopylae, and here Alexander of Macedonia crossed over to
begin his march of conquest which was to extend his power as far
as India. And about this narrow strait is centered the ancient
Greek myth about Hero and Leander, which inspired Byron to swim
across from Asia to Europe.
How well the Turks have fortified this approach to their capital
is well enough indicated in the story of the operations of the
allied fleets in their attempt to force the passage.
From the Hellespont to Constantinople is a sail of forty miles,
along a coast steep and rugged, destitute of any harbor or even a
beach where a boat might land. Nor is there a more beautiful sight
than that which is presented on approaching the Turkish capital
from this direction, especially of an early morning. Against the
dawn in the East are silhouetted the minarets and domes and the
palace roofs of the city; then, as the light increases, the white
buildings are distinguished more clearly through a purple mist
that rises from the waters, until the ship enters the Bosphorus,
gliding past the shipping and the boat traffic along the shore of
the harbor.
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