Steinaker (DD 863) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 43 text:

H El -. ' or nl , Q R A . .- f A 'f f775?iE . . g Win ff WN faffff . 4,5 Y A I- ,f l X 5' PJ ' A J f : 2'f2' ?f- :figs k .r' 4333 I A If ff X F 3 A it fl H Rlsyi r W. 1 f ' 'Q I A A L ,?! A ' ink! A ,Q 3 3 f 1--2: 1 X Neil' if Q X I A - J L f 65 ff ff! X i x - xr lf. ws N' ' X 4 ff , f f ,ff ' .N H M K iQ Q K X E Q Q Nj V X ' 1.1 -5 Q ll ir ri- GJ? -... A f ' ' .rl I Aihcns' - .S'io.cZLz,Lrn 4. ':,'i:.Q 92 Salorzilza Affrrns' ' fYON.j'li!QfLlf.LO77f Jquonrf Salonika While kwer' 1- . llwyhu. - ff ffxfflff Greek - 5Z.LZkQO. Z,Qf7f Border ,g ruff, Big! Q4 Affmzzs- .ccnirafzce fU.jg,.1fiCLl,f77' Carman fqaly, Bay - V li 5. T- ff- ,A r. , , ' 'T --2- 1 Q-be ' fj, ,g -3,4 . . 1-aw Q ' fx ,Q :P , 'glut -.JJ 1-fl, , PTT L ll 41: :XFVV Q-iiizp-'M A UK '- ',Jrrv,7E- fit ' ,. xpign' 51--ii' - fr s -wg-7 1 Q Tit:-1 ' ' -' 5:1 4Hz3r1.s'.f4f'rolnalLs W. Siufe ,,1-T-. liken: -Ac'r'0p0li-1 :MQ . fV1f1 rw fff'Q l 1 -'fuf:iL1rr1f' 1 .FB www nk 5 4? wh! . 141. V U t , ' I -'N ' V 2:21, ' ' HT .W V, i .Jsux Q- t , , ' t N,,.i-,al H. J- 4 5 ig f -.1-3:5 134 , ' ' N he-,h aww' K Ya in fp ' , C lil? un : -1-gm.:-.--, .1-12,-1,:.pw-.:.'fqrafgn-'-'wuz'-'Ziav.x-111'-rif:gn'-1.:-21 - vw ' . -www -N. '- .-A ,, .Q . . .. -, -,, ul,-.H , .nu-. .,, .u.x,--. I.. w..-I-.1-g-Mn-' .Sy N X ,mn 5 I .,, v 'Fl .. .-.. . A, '-.,..-- :., ' . f Q?xiI-,ifrffff Lf?-'W 4.473 a'f. i-!Qt:4Me'xf.'-5111 1-T.-2 f-P3 Jn-..:: :I-'E Jah- A ---1-1

Page 42 text:

THE BULGARIAN TRIP Mined roads, tank traps and Greek soldiers every half-mile greeted us as we approached the Bulgarian border on a tour sponsored by the American Consulate at Salonika and under the auspices of the Greek Army. Bouncing over the roughest roads imagineable for the last 15 miles of our journey we saw, for the first time, what the Greek countryside was really like. Most of the land was poor by American standards, the people managing to exist mostly by sheep herding and by farming the 'rocky soil. Almost every small town had it barracks and soldiers, and as we ap- proached the border, the road became rougher. We passed over a railroad bridge, hoping that a train wouldn't choose that particular moment to come charging down the tracks. On the last ten miles, barbed wire, tank traps and barricades were everywhere. Upon our arrival we were' greeted by two Greek majorsrand some other oflicers who showed us the Greek-Bulgarian border. We had a chance to inspect the cclron Curtainn, in this case, merely a wooden fence designed to keep the Bulgarians from looking out into Greek territory. SALONIKA GREECE Salonika, known as Thessaloniki in Greece, with a population of 350,000 was founded by Carsander, king of Macedonia, in 315 B.C. and was named for his wife Thessalonika, the sister of Alexander the Great. Its location on the Via Egnatia, the main line of communication from Rome to the Near East, gave it considerable importance as a commercial and intellectual center in Bome and Macedonia. St. Paul preached here and founded the church to which his Epistles of the Thessalonians are addressed. The history of Salonika is a repetition of siege and occupation by all the great powers that dominated the Eastern Mediterranean at various times for the last two thousand years. During World War 1, Salonika was a center of ope- rations against Bulgaria and the central powers by the Allies, and in 1917, some 600,000 men were stationed in the district. The city was the scene of northeastern Greece's resistance to guerrilla warfare after the close of World War II. Points of interest in the city include the White Tower constructed in the 15th century by the Venetians and used by the Turks as a prison. It stands as a prominent landmark of the harbor. The Citadel or Acropolis, is of Byzantine age, 6th century, and occupies the highest point of the city. It is now used as a military prison. Remains of the ancient city walls which were built in the 6th century extend for several miles through the northern and eastern portion of the city. Greek soldiers still maintain a lookout from the .fortifications along the walls. The Church of St. Sophia resembles the celebrated church

Page 44 text:

1 ,x rf gi fiyf 52 Pg! L awww- , was vm-.mvv-nv-vnnmuvunv ,,.,..,.-....-...i -v.-s..-.f 5 n F r 4 'Lvl wt' 1 , ,- ima-a GPERATICNS DEPARTMENT fconhj Have you ever heard the term ccPing Jockeys? That's a phrase used when referring to sonarmen, and they play a very vital part in the anti-submarine phase of our navy. The only reward for the many long une- ventful watches is an occasional SONAR CONTACTn at which time all sonarmen man their attack team stations and assist the Captain in making a successful attack. In the recent fleet wide advancement in rating examinations the sonar gang batted 100 CX, Three men were recommended for advancement and all three came through with flying colors by passing the exa- mination and being advanced to the next higher pay grade. W The post war era left the U.S. Navy with the tremendous task of patroling the seas of the world. In order to coordinate the activities of it's global units the navy relies chiefly on its radio communications. The major systems of radio communications are radio telegraph, radio telephone, and radio teletype. Radio- telegraph is the primary system in use because it is best adapted where large distances and poor atmo- pheric conditions are to be contended with. Radio- telephone is the voice radio system that is controlled by C.I.C. personnel and is used for short distances only Q15 - 50 milesj. Rapid radio communications in peace and war are one of the important factors that make the U.S. Navy the ruler of the seas and we of the STEINAKER are fortunate in having a well trained, efiicient Radio gang. ISTANBUL Istanbul, formerly Constantinople and named after Constantine the Great is located on the European Continent at the southern entrance of The Bosporus, that narrow strait where Europe and Asia face each other. It commands the gateway between the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara, which 160 miles away opens out into Mediterranean waters through' the Dardanelles. The Hellespont - as the Dardanelles were formerly called - has a wealth of historical and romantic memories about it - memories of ancient Troy that once dominated its southern entrance, legends of Leander who swam the I-Iellespont to visit his sweetheart, Hero, and of Alexander the Great leading an army into Asia by a bridge of boats in 330 B.C. Since prehistoric times there has been a settlement on the site of Istanbul. The Golden Horn, a iive-mile- long inlet from the Bosporus, provided an attractive, safe harbor. At about 667 B.C., seafaring Greek colonists from Megara took possesion of the place and called it Byzantium. Nearly 1,000 years later the Romans, 11nder Constantine the Great, captured the city, en- larged and beautified it and strengthened its fortifica- tions. In 330 A.D. Constantine gave it his name and made it the capital of his empire. It continued as the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire fByzantine Empire, until the Ottoman Turks captured it in 1453. The Byzantine Empire was the strange oriental after-glow ofthe sinking Roman Empire. Constantinople became the capital of the Christian Roman Empire. Constantinople became the capital of the Christian Roman Empire after the fall of Rome. Roman law and the ancient Roman traditions persisted in the East, though Greek soon replaced Latin as the popular tongue, and life and art became more and more oriental in tone. It is precisely for its preserva- tion of the civilization of Rome and Greece, and for its service as a bulwark against invasion from Asia, that the Byzantine Empire is credited with a work of incalculable value. To be sure, the scholars of Constantinople were so dazzled by the wealth of learning they had inherited that they did little with it except study it and compile books of extracts and summaries. v The emperor Justinian ruled the Byzantine Empire during the period of its greatest glory from 527 to 565. At this time the empire extended from southern Spain to the valley of the Tigris and Euphrates, and from the Danube River to upper Egypt. In Justinian's glowing church of Santa Sophia the sunlight poured down from 40 windows in the great dome, washing in golden light the gold mosaics with their bright-colored saints, the columns of jasper, marble, alabaster and porphyry, and the designs of mother-of-pearl. Heart of the life of Constantinople was the Hippodromes where 30,000 people sat under purple awnings of silk to watch the chariot races and to enjoy the triumpllal processions of victorious generals, who distributed to the crowd loot taken from the Vandals. Constantinopl0 grew more and more oriental in tastes and sympathies- gayer, and also weaker. , When the Crusaders came at the close of the 11th century, they were amazed to find a city of a million people, with paved and lighted streets, great parks, hospitals, theatres, efiicient police, fine palaces, and v Ll., I