The Ancient Witnesses

Chapter 1: A Journey to Nicaea • 25

“Where are you going to look?” I asked when we caught up to the others. Cesar handed me a map—Historical Sites of Nicaea— he’d picked up in the motel lobby. “According to this,” he said, “the ruins of Constantine’s summer palace may have been flooded by the lake.” The street we were walking on led to Lake Iznik on the western edge of town. There in the distance was an ancient stone wall which, from our viewpoint, appeared to hold back the water. The evening was cool and peaceful, and the wall slowly rose before us as we approached it. It was almost dark when we reached the wall. Cesar read aloud from the map in the fading light: The fortified city walls provided a barrier against attack in medieval times, guarding the city’s access to water and supplies when under siege . “We should probably head back now,” I suggested. Cesar, pretending not to hear me, began climbing a heap of rocks piled against the wall. “Where are you going?” I called. “We haven’t found the palace yet,” he called back. We watched as he scaled the rubble, and then used cracks in the wall to climb the rest of the way up. On top, the wall was apparently flat. Cesar stood up and looked out, comparing the map to whatever lay beyond the wall. Joseph, Preacher and I stretched out on the grass to wait. When we looked up again, Cesar was gone. We got up and moved back from the wall for a better view, but Cesar was nowhere in sight. “Maybe he climbed down the other side,” said Joseph. “Into the lake?” asked Preacher.