Il Gaz.

This is coolbert:

Thanks to Silver Fox we have this comment to the blog:

"THE ONLY OTHER SOURCE OF A SOURCE OF WHITE PINE- TODAY IS THE SEA OF PINES' in the IL GAZ MOUNTAINS OF WESTERN TURKEY...WHAT A Sight to be hold ..THE STATE PARK AND PROTECTED AREA IS 7.3 SQUARE KILOMETERS. Yes in old day the Ottoman navy felled trees for their tall ships as ship masts on White Pine."

Thank you Silver Fox.

That white pine considered the best [??] as for shipbuilding providing masts of the tallest and sturdiest type, without knots or blemish for the greatest length in most instance.

The colonies of British North America prior to the American Revolutionary War providing the finest examples of white pine, marked and deemed as CROWN PROPERTY! That marking of trees designated as Crown Property [the best of most perfect specimens] a strong point of contention between the colonists and the English King.

That Ottoman Empire also a sea-going and naval power for many centuries. And ADEPT AT THE AMPHIBIOUS OPERATION.

This is contrary to the normal perception of the Ottoman as normally a LAND POWER!

Sea power consisting of both naval forces and merchant marine. The Ottoman a trading nation constantly enlarging their domain and encroaching on the dominion of the Venetians. And vassals such as the Barbary Pirates renowned for their slave-raiding expeditions along the southern European coastline of the Mediterranean.

That Ottoman again adept and proficient at the amphibious invasion. NOT merely raiders but to stay and conquer, sustaining an invasion force, mission accomplished. As occurred at:

* Malta. [albeit a defeat]

* Rhodes.

* Cyprus.

* Crete.

Indeed, that entire landscape of the Mediterranean even from the time of the ancient Greeks to a large extent laid waste, the felling of trees wanton, but deemed as necessary for the building of large sea-going fleets, naval and commercial both.

Remnant white pine reserves still surviving and preserved with care rare in the extreme. The mountainous forests of Il Gaz in Turkey merely one example. Extraordinary to behold in all cases.

coolbert.