Asia Minor now belongs to Turkey—in fact, it is about all there is left of Turkey except Istanbul, although before World War I, Turkey owned much more land.

You have probably seen Angora cats—beautiful cats with long hair and bushy tails. They come from Angora, the capital of new Turkey. In the country round Angora is raised a peculiar kind of goat which has long silky hair. The hair from this Angora goat is used to make lovely rugs and shawls which can be bought here in America. Mohair suits which men wear in hot summer weather because they are so thin and cool are made of Angora goats’ hair—if genuine.

In Asia Minor is a very crooked river that flows lazily along to the sea, turning this way and that way as if it had no particular place to go. Its name is the “Meander.” So when a boy goes lazily along to school, turning this way and that, or when he goes along on an errand and does not go straight there but wanders along as the Meander goes to the sea, we say he “meanders.” Girls sometimes "meander" too.

Figs grow in the valley of the Meander River and dates grow in many parts of Asia. Figs and dates are brought on camel back across to a beautiful city called Smyrna on the Mediterranean Sea, and from there are shipped to us in America. You can probably get at your corner grocery store a package of Smyrna figs or “Dromedary Dates” that have been picked far away in Asia, carried by caravan to Smyrna, and shipped here. Another thing sent us from Smyrna is sponges. Sponges grow in the sea near Asia Minor. Naked men dive for the sponges and pull them off the rocks, where they grow on the bottom of the sea. They gather as many as they can at a time, as long as they can hold their breath.