Hawkins (DD 873) - Naval Cruise Book

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I to H ruRKcy

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S !I1 ' JW 00-04 As the New Year arrives here in strange, foreign lands The port anchor holds firmly in the bay Rade de Cannes. The waters edge marks fifty fathoms of chain Which, from calm sea and no wind, lays with nearly no strain. From the drop of the lead line tis easy to know We stand in eight fathoms to the bottom below. Californiae Tower on a bearing of 042 105 to Casino, both in degrees true. 322 degrees true to the Jetee Quest light These bearings will plot our position tonight. Another destroyer with status the same, DD 770; USS LOWRY by name. Helps keep the vigil here in the bay Welcoming in the New Year, the first day. The CVA 60, called USS SARATOGA ls anchored near by and is home to our SOPA He makes the decisions which control all this power COMCARDIV 6 is the man of the hour. The harbor abounds with craft of various measure Some are for work, but most are for pleasure. Throughout the ship condition YOKE has been set But the crew is not quiet; There ' s revelry yet. Now the darkness slips by; we ' re awaiting the dawn The New Year is here. The old one is gone. And I can ' t help but think of next year at this time There will be a new watch, new poet, new rhyme. And the log will be better, the wording less terse, If the man be more gifted putting fact into verse. B. P. GORDON Lt. (jg) USN

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BLACK SEA - A, ' % AEGEAN SEA CJ SEA OF MARMARA O o « TURKEY The present city of Istanbul (population 1,200,000), includes all the little villages and towns on both sides of the Golden Horn, which takes its name from its shape and the amount of commerce carried on here throughout the centuries. The original Aden quarters is on the south side of the Golden Horn on the site of Byzantium, the first Greek settlement founded in 658 B.C. which was in txirn under the domination of Persia and Macedonia and later destroyed by the Persians. In 196 A.D., the city was taken by the Romans, and in 328 A.D., Byzantium was the capital of the Great Roman Empire and renamed New Rome. In 423 A.D., the city fell to Constantine who rebuilt it as his capital and renamed it Constantinople. Due to quarrels of various factions in 552 A.D., the city was almost destroyed. Justinian, the great legislator, was responsible for rebuilding the city and con- structing the church of St. Sophia. In the years following, the city suflFered from many civil and foreign wars, but always remained the capital and the center of Orthodox Christianity. Constantinople fell to the Turks in 1453 and was made the chief city of the still greater Ottoman Empire. It remained the capital of the Ottoman Empire until the end of the first quarter of the twentieth century when, in 1922, Byzantinism was swept away and the last Sultan of Turkey was dethroned. The modernization of Turkey was started by the young Turks in 1908 when they forced the grant of a constitution. After the foreign military occupation during World War I, the Turks under Ataturk cleared the country of its enemies and assured its complete independence with the Treaty of Lausanne, July 1923- The Republic was proclaimed in October. The Sultanate and Caliphate were abolished and all members of the Otto- man Imperial Family left the country. In 1924, the capital was moved to Ankara, and Constantinople was officially re-named Istanbul. Sunday 27 September was Turkish Navy Day, and we participated in a ceremony placing a wreath at the base of a monument in honor of the day. We saw most of the sights of Istanbul which are grouped around St. Sophia, the oldest religious building in the city. Also there was the beautiful Blue Mosque, which takes its name from its blue porcelain mosaics. Just after leaving Istanbul we acted as support ship for an amphibious landing at Dikili, Turkey.