Chapter VIII: Preface (8)

The town of Guzel-Hissar, the caravansary of which is given in the illustration, is supposed to be the ancient Tralles, stigmatized by Juvenal for sending its effeminate inhabitants to corrupt the Romans. It is situated in Asia Minor, on the north side of the Meander, about thirty miles from Ephesus. It is approached by an excellent road, with rich gardens on either side, planted with vines, olives, and other Oriental trees. On ascending the hill on which the Acropolis of the ancient city stood, the eye commands a magnificent view of the rich plain beneath, with the Meander twining its tortuous current in such a way, as conveys in a striking manner the character of the stream, and why it gave its name to all winding rivulets. The modern town contains a large population of about fifty thousand inhabitants. The Jews have ten synagogues, and the Greek and Armenian Christians two churches.

Our illustration presents the arrival of a caravan, with all its busy accompaniments; the patient camel, “the ship of the desert,” and the great medium of communication in these countries, discharging its cargo. Contrasted with this enormous and misshapen beast of burden, is the Arabian courser, on which is mounted the tchelebi, or Turkish gentleman, seated on his lofty saddle, his feet thrust into his fire-shovel stirrups, and his knees protruding above his horse’s back by the shortness of his stirrup-leather. On the ground is seated the disengaged traveller, solacing his fatigue with his nargillai, and behind him a pious Mussulman, preparing by ablution for the namaz, or evening prayer.

ANADOLI-HISSAR,--OR CASTLE OF ASIA, AND THE HILL OF KANDELI.

ON THE BOSPHORUS.

ASIA MINOR.]

This castle was originally built, with that on the opposite shore, by the Greek emperors, to command the passage of the strait at its narrowest part. It was falling into ruins by the neglect and supineness of the sovereigns of the lower empire, but the site was appropriated and the edifice rebuilt by Mahomet I., when the Turks extended their dominion to the Asiatic shores of the Bosphorus, as an effectual step in his advance to the capital. Its fate was soon after sealed by Mahomet II., who completed his line of approach by seizing on and rebuilding the castle on the European shore.

The Asiatic castle stands, somewhat elevated, on a low promontory, which, with a village around it, it covers. Near it is the Guyuk Sou, or Sweet Waters of Asia, frequented as one of the favourite scenes of Turkish enjoyment. The neighbourhood, on both sides the Bosphorus, possesses springs of great celebrity. They are called by the Greeks _ayasma_, or “holy wells,” and held in high repute for the sanctity and efficacy of their waters, their spiritual and physical qualities healing all diseases both of mind and body. Within the cavity which covers the well, there is a shrine dedicated to the patron saint, at which the pious are constantly seen, by boats passing along the Bosphorus, offering up prayers and vows for the forgiveness of sins, or the recovery of health.

Rising from the low and alluvial soil below, is the beautiful and romantic eminence of Kandeli. This lovely hill projecting into a promontory, commands an extensive view on both sides, up and down the strait, nearly to its opening at both seas. It is the favourite residence of the rich Armenians, who, retiring from the dismal obscurity of their shops in the bazaars, or the cell-like offices where they are engaged in the city and confined all day, indulge here in airy and splendid mansions, an evening repose in more than Asiatic luxury.

OUTER COOLING-ROOM OF THE BATH, NEAR PSAMATIA KAPOUSI.]

A district of Constantinople is called Psamatia, from a miracle of the Greek church. During one of those verbal and frivolous controversies which divided it, a priest was reproved by a young child for some unsound opinion. He replied, he would hold it till convinced by a sensible miracle that it was wrong. The child was immediately seized by an invisible hand, and held suspended in the air over the heterodox priest, till he confessed and recanted his error. This miracle, called in the Greek church _ypsomathea_, or “the divine elevation,” gave a name to the whole district, where it is firmly believed at this day. It is one of the quarters inhabited by the Armenians, and presents many indications of the wealth and industry of that thriving people.

It contains one of the principal baths of the city, in the luxury of which, Oriental Christians, as well as Moslems, indulge. After the process we have already described is gone through, the bather, purged from all corporeal impurities, and escaped from the sensations of suffocation and dislocation, is led by the tellah to enjoy the luxury he has, in the opinion of many, dearly earned. Here, in an apartment reduced to a moderate temperature, reclined at ease on a divan, his purified person slightly covered with shawls, entirely divested of his clothes, and perfectly free from all pressure or restraint, he feels a renovated existence. Refreshments of various kinds are brought to him, and, after taking them, he lies for some time sunk in that dreamy repose of half-conscious existence, which is the very paradise of an Oriental. When this is past, and the heat of his body is reduced gradually to its usual temperature, so that he apprehends no peril from sudden change, he resumes his clothes, and goes on his way rejoicing.

Nothing can afford a stronger contrast than the cautious effeminacy of a Turk, and the rude hardihood of his neighbour and enemy the Russian, in this particular. Both equally indulge in hot-baths; but the one reduces the temperature of his body afterwards, by careful gradations, even in the midst of summer, and dreads any extreme sensation as mortal; while the other rushes from burning heat, with every pore streaming with perspiration, into the intense cold of frozen snow, in the depth of winter, and thinks the luxury and salubrity of the bath increased by the contrast.

By a return of the Stambol effendi, or Turkish lord-mayor, there were in the city 88,115 houses, 130 of which were public baths, in which most of the inmates of the other houses daily indulged. To accommodate the number, men and women were obliged to have recourse to the same bath, at different hours.

THE ACROPOLIS OF PERGAMUS.

ASIA MINOR.]

This city of the Apocalypse was distinguished by many circumstances worthy of record, both in profane and sacred history. It was erected by Philoterus, a eunuch, into the capital of many nations, comprising Lydia, Caria, Phrygia, and other states of Asia Minor, two centuries and a half before the birth of Christ. It possessed the greatest library then known in the world, consisting of 200,000 volumes, afterwards brought by Cleopatra to form that of Alexandria. It gave rise to a material for writing which has since been invaluable in the world. Ptolemy had prohibited the exportation of papyrus from Egypt, and an artist of Pergamus invented parchment, thence called “pergamea.” It was celebrated for the worship of Esculapius, who had a splendid temple there. The priests were the physicians, and the temple was crowded with patients, who invoked succour by watching and prayer. This was communicated by means of dreams and visions through the priests, who administered the remedies which they affirmed the god directed. Mighty sovereigns were among the number of these patients. The last king, Attalus, was noted for his tyranny and singularity. He obtained the name of Philometor, for his love to his mother, and became a brass-founder, in order to cast for himself a statue of her. While engaged in his forge, working as a common artisan, on a hot day, he was seized with a fever, of which he died. His will was another mark of singularity: it consisted of one line−-“Let the Roman people inherit all I possess.” The Romans were charged with forging this will, and poisoning the waters of the city, to compel the inhabitants to comply with it. The state from that time became a Roman province; and it was thus, by force or fraud, this ambitious people finally became masters of the then known world.

When Christianity expanded itself in Asia, Pergamus became the third church of the Apocalypse; but it appears, from the reproach of the evangelist, that it was early infected with that heresy, which has caused, in all ages, such injury to the church of Christ. “So hast thou also them which hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which I hate,” says St. John.[14] These heretics were the followers of Nicolas−-a proselyte of Antioch, and one of the seven deacons mentioned in the Acts.[15] They were “addicted to the vain babblings of science falsely so called,”[16] pretended to a more deep and mysterious knowledge of spirits and angels, and were the origin of the sect of “Gnostics,” who, in the early ages of the Gospel, degraded it by absurd opinions and foul practices. This church fell like the others, and less perhaps to be regretted, under the dominion of the Osmanli, when, with the sword in one hand, and the Koran in the other, they left the inhabitants of Asia no alternative but death or Mahomet. As they advanced among the Greek cities, they made their perfection in the arts the means of subduing them. They not only cut their beautiful marble columns into portions, and rounded them into cannon-balls, but they perforated the larger pillars into artillery for throwing the pieces of the smaller. At Pergamus many of the shafts of the columns of their temples were thus converted into cannon.

The present city, now called Bergamo, by a slight corruption of the original name, contains 50,000 inhabitants, of whom 1700 are Christians of the Greek and Armenian churches, and 100 Jews, who have a synagogue. It is approached by an ancient bridge passing over a tributary stream of the Caicus. It forms the front ground of our illustration, with a caravan passing it. In the background is seen the Acropolis, commanding a splendid view over the vast and rich plain below, as far as the Egean sea. On this grand elevation stood the magnificent temple, extensive remains of which still exist, visible from the sea. On the plain below was the Naumachia, where naval combats were held, supposed to be the most splendid in Asia; and among the remains of ruder works is a portion of a common sewer, consisting of a cylinder of brick, thirty feet in diameter. But the ruin most interesting to the Christian traveller is that of Agios Theologus, the Evangelist St. John, erected by Theodosius, when he surmounted the Globe he held in hand with a Cross−-to declare that Christianity had now become the paramount religion of the world.

THE TRIPLE WALL OF CONSTANTINOPLE.

ON THE LAND SIDE, NEAR TOP KAPOUSI.]

The walls of Constantinople, notwithstanding the shocks of earthquakes, the numerous assaults of besiegers, the decay of time, and the dilapidations of neglect, are at this day surprisingly perfect; and though fifteen centuries have passed since their first erection, they include the same space, and stand at the same elevation. The great wall, forming as it were the base of the triangular area on which the city is built, and running from sea to sea, is nearly five miles in extent: a broad high road passes parallel to and just under it, so that a traveller can view without interruption the whole line, from the Golden Horn to the Propontis, and contemplate, during a delightful walk, the most interesting remains perhaps existing in the world. In some places the rising ground so elevates him, that he sees a considerable part of the interior of the city over the walls, and he looks down upon places, hallowed by various recollections, which the narrowness and obscurity of the streets prevent his viewing from within.

This wall, originally erected by Constantine the Great, was enlarged by Theodosius, and is therefore called after his name. It suffered various shocks by violence of different kinds−-of nature, time, and the hand of man−-and was finally repaired by Leo and Theophilus. From the district called Blachernæ, where it meets the harbour, it rises to an immense height, and towers to a surprising elevation above the head of the passenger. The uniformity is broken, however, by the remains of edifices on the summit of the wall, and the rich drapery of ivy and various trailing plants, which cover it. Here the wall, secured by its magnitude, is single, and presents but one defence. But at the gate called Egri Kapousi, or the crooked gate, where it forms an angle, the elevation is less, and the defence increased by a triple wall of three parallel fortifications, which extend to the Seven Towers and the sea. The walls are eighteen feet asunder, crowned with battlements, and defended by fifty-nine towers, of various forms and sizes. Inserted in different places are tablets of stone or iron, containing inscriptions which commemorate events, or persons who repaired the walls; but most of them are now entirely effaced, particularly those on iron, by the rust and corrosion of the metal. The masonry in some parts consists of huge blocks of granite, resembling those early structures in Greece called Cyclopean, from the fancy of mythologists, that they had been erected by gigantic architects. In others, they are composed of alternate courses of broad flat bricks, resembling our tiles, and stones twice the thickness. Arcades and arches, both in the walls and towers, are formed, in a curious manner, of similar materials. The wall is entered by seven gates, called by the names of the towns to which they lead, or some circumstance connected with them. Of the latter, is the gate of Top Kapousi.

This gate, called also _Porta Sancti Romani_, as leading to the Greek church of St. Romanus, was that rendered memorable by the final attack of the Turks. Before it stands the Mal Tepé, one of those artificial mounds, supposed to be sepulchral tumuli, which are spread for many hundred miles over these regions, both in Europe and Asia. The summit commands an extensive view of the interior of the city, and here Mahomet II. erected the Sandjak-sheriff, or great standard of the Prophet, and directed the operations of the siege. Beside the gate are seen, yet unrepaired, the breaches made in the walls by that enormous artillery which he caused to be cast for the purpose, and on the summit of the gate are placed some of the huge granite balls discharged from them, in memory of the event; and hence the gate is now called Top Kapousi, or “Port of the Cannon.” When the cross was sinking under the crescent, and the great capital of the Christian world was just falling into the hands of the followers of Mahomet, Constantine retired to the church of Sancta Sophia, and, after receiving, with his few faithful adherents, the solemn eucharist, proceeded to make his last effort in the breach. He was killed in the attack, and the Turks poured into the devoted city over his body. There is no tomb, or coin, or other artificial memorial, to preserve the name of this good and gallant man; but nature has herself supplied the neglect. There grows out of the breach some picturesque and venerable trees, on the spot where tradition says he fell; and travellers gather the red berries in their season, to sow and propagate at home these testimonials of the last and best of the Palæologi.

YÈRÈ-BATAN-SERAÏ, CONSTANTINOPLE.]

This appellation literally means “The Subterranean Palace,” and it is given to the only one of the many cisterns with which the city was excavated, now remaining in use for the purpose for which it was erected. Some are filled up, and converted into gardens; one called Bin bir Derek, which we have before noticed, and given in our illustrations, is a silk factory; but the “Subterranean Palace” still remains a cistern filled with water.

When the Turks took possession of the city, this magnificent work of Grecian art escaped their notice, and remained unexplored and unknown till the time of Gillius, who was in Constantinople in 1550. He appears to be the first who discovered and described this curious subterranean edifice; and so ignorant were the Turks then of its existence, that the houses in the streets above drew water from it, and knew not whence it came. From that time the memory of it was again lost; and travellers, taking Gillius for their guide in exploring the city, searched for this curiosity in vain; and some pronounced that it had no existence, or was confounded with some other. In this state it remained for two centuries more, till Andreossi, the French ambassador, discovered and described it. Again the mysterious edifice was lost, and Janissaries attending travellers as guides could give them no clue to discover it,−-this singular and magnificent excavation appearing and disappearing to human sight, like some enchanted palace in Oriental fiction. Finally, it was searched for by a Frank resident of Pera, and, after two years’ diligent inquiry, was at length discovered by him, under the foundation of a private house, in a remote and obscure street. Part of a wall had fallen in, and discovered to the astonished proprietor innumerable marble columns, of various orders of architecture, rising out of a vast lake of water, and supporting a lofty arched roof, on which his house stood. From that time, easy access has been afforded to it; every stranger visits it; and there is no probability that the Turks, now so much more enlightened and inquisitive, will again suffer the memory of this noble work of Grecian art to perish among them.

As we have already mentioned this cistern with others, we refer to our former notice. We will merely add, that the actual extent and beauty, though sufficiently great to excite our admiration, are extravagantly exaggerated by the credulous Turks, who now begin to regard it with awe and astonishment. Some places at a considerable distance have fallen into other subterranean cavities, and they are asserted to be parts of this cistern not yet explored. The number of columns is nearly the same as that of the Bin bir Derek, and both excavations are supposed to be of the same extent. But the proprietor of the house, through which is the only known access, tells of fearful perils encountered by intrepid navigators, who attempted to explore this inland sea; of lost adventurers, who never returned to tell them; and, in the still unchanged spirit of a Turk, relates as true all the figments of an Oriental imagination.

KIZ-KOULASI.−-LEANDER’S, OR THE MAIDEN’S TOWER.

ON THE BOSPHORUS.]

Immediately opposite Scutari, and where the rushing current of the Bosphorus meets that of the Golden Horn, is seen a tower rising out of the midst of the turbulent estuary, and forming a striking and singular object, emerging with its white walls from the dark-blue waters. It is a small, square, castellated structure, standing on an insulated rock, and surmounted by a lantern and spire. It is now used as a beacon for ships entering the strait, and boats passing the estuary. It sometimes happens that sudden gusts, like typhoons, come on, attended with a dense fog, so dark as at once to obscure both sides of the Bosphorus. The passage is generally crowded with caïques, which are thus left in the midst of peril without any guide to extricate them. In this blind commotion, the _pazar caïque_, or “great ferry boat,” is an object of great dread, running down and sinking the slight and fragile barks driven against it. The tower is a kind of refuge to which they betake themselves. It was originally built by the emperor Manuel, and formed part of the chain of obstructions thrown across the entrance to the Bosphorus and harbour, in the decline of the lower empire. The other parts have been carried away by the torrents of the strait, and this alone remains on the firmer rock on which it was erected.

From the traditionary story of Hero and Leander, this tower takes its name: the Franks confer upon it the name of the unfortunate lover who lost his life in attempting to cross the current to his mistress; but the Turks assign it to the lady, and model the tale after their own fashion. One of their sultans, whose name is not agreed upon, was warned by his astrologer, that his daughter would perish by the bite of a venomous serpent; so, to obviate the danger, she was sent to this insulated tower. The rugged rock, scantily covered with sea-weed, afforded no harbour for venomous reptiles, and her father never contemplated the possibility of one reaching her place of seclusion. Her lover, however, separated from personal intercourse, opened a communication by the language of flowers, and had a basketful conveyed to her. She pressed to her bosom his fragrant emblems, which conveyed to her the sentiments of his heart, when a treacherous asp concealed among the leaves stung her to death, and thus the immutable decree of Allah was accomplished by the very means taken to defeat it; and the Turks, in memory of it, call the castle Kiz Koulasi, or “the Maiden’s Tower.”

MOSQUE OF SHAHZADEH DJAMESI.

CONSTANTINOPLE.]

This mosque was erected on the following occasion. The fame of Soliman the Magnificent was stained by the murder of two of his sons, Mustapha and Selim, by his own orders. When in an interval of peace, he directed his attention to beautify the city, and erected the splendid edifice which bears his name: he also ordered one to be built in 1544, to the memory of his murdered son Mustapha, and as a mausoleum for his remains. Thence it was named Shahzadeh Djamesi, “the mosque of the king’s son.”

The area of this mosque, like that of many others, is open to the public, and a mart, where fruit and various articles are sold. Our illustration represents a scene among the groups of persons, of frequent occurrence−-a Turkish functionary flogging a Greek fruiterer for false weights, while the rest look on and enjoy the chastisement he is receiving.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] The word _Islam_ is mentioned in the Koran as, “the true faith.” It signifies, literally, “resignation.” A professor of it is called _Moslem_, and, in the plural number, _Moslemûna_, which is corrupted, by us, into “Mussulman.”

[2] He was lame of one leg, and hence called _Demur lenk_, which we have corrupted into Tamerlane.

[3] The origin of this word is a subject of controversy. Some suppose it derived from the Greek εις την πολιν, eis tēn polin, which they used when going to the capitol. It is, with more probability, a simple corruption of the former name. The barbarians who pronounce _Nicomedia, Ismid_, would be likely, in their imperfect imitation of sounds, to call Constantinople, Stambool.

[4] The fondness of the Turks for flowers was remarked by Busbequius, in his embassy to Soliman the Magnificent, a century before−-_Turcæ flores valde excolunt._ Busb. p. 47. He notices the _tulip_ as a flower new to him, and peculiar to the Turks.

[5] It is, however, more generally supposed that Olympus in Thessaly and Macedon is that designated by Homer.

[6] Exod. xxiv. 4. Joshua iv. 3.

[7] As it may be agreeable to some of our readers to know how to make this ancient food, the following is the mode pursued by the Turks:−-A quart of boiled milk is poured upon barm of beer, and allowed to ferment. Of this fermentation two spoonsful are poured into another quart of milk. When this process is repeated, the flavour of barm is altogether lost. The yaourt thus made becomes the substance which forms the future food without more barm. A tea-spoonful is bruised in a vessel, and a quart of tepid fresh milk is poured upon it, and set aside in an earthen vessel: in two hours it will be a rich, thick, subacid fluid, covered with a coat of cream.

[8] It is supposed the Hummums in Covent Garden, whose etymology has puzzled so many, were so called from the warm-baths they contain, first introduced from Turkey.

[9] To this the Greek girls form an exception. Refined by education, strongly attached to their families, and abhorrent to slavery, their natural vivacity is overcome by their state, and they appear sad and dejected amid the levity that surrounds them.

[10] This practice is resorted to on other occasions. When any article is dropped into the water too minute to be discovered by the eye above, or dragged for, a small quantity of oil is thrown upon the surface, and rings and other trinkets have thus been recovered in a depth of ten or twelve feet of water.

[11] “Les Grecs appellent Saint Jean Ayos Seologos an lieu d’Agios Theologus, le Saint Theologien, parce qu’ils prononcent le theta comme un sigma.”--TOURNEFORT.

[12] Horologia in publico haberent nondum adduci potuerunt.--BUSBEQ.

[13] Caravan Seraï, the “Merchants’ Palace.”

[14] Rev ii. 15.

[15] Acts vi. 5.

[16] 1 Tim. vi. 20.

CONSTANTINOPLE
AND THE SCENERY OF
THE SEVEN CHURCHES OF ASIA MINOR

ILLUSTRATED.

IN A SERIES OF DRAWINGS FROM NATURE
BY THOMAS ALLOM.

WITH

AN HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF CONSTANTINOPLE, AND DESCRIPTIONS OF THE PLATES,
BY THE REV. ROBERT WALSH, LL.D.
CHAPLAIN TO THE BRITISH EMBASSY AT THE OTTOMAN PORTE.

SECOND SERIES.

FISHER, SON, & CO.
NEWGATE ST., LONDON; & QUAI DE L’ECOLE, PARIS.

OBELISK OF THEODOSIUS, IN THE ATMEIDAN.

Constantinople.]

This splendid ornament of the ancient Hippodrome was brought from the Thebaïd in Egypt, and is one of those spoils which Constantine and his successors tore from their pedestals, to enrich and adorn New Rome with the pillage of ancient art. It was erected by the emperor Theodosius in thirty days, by means of machinery invented for the purpose, and of which some notice has been already taken in our description of the Atmeidan. The Obelisk consists of a single quadrangular block of Egyptian granite, sixty feet high, beautifully polished, and covered with hieroglyphics, still in perfect preservation. Of all the remains of antiquity, those of Egypt seem to be most perfect, though probably the most ancient. The hardness and durability of the material, the sharp and deep sculpture, and the mildness of the climate where they were erected, confer upon them an almost undecaying permanency; and while others of a more recent date, in the capital, appear defaced and nearly destroyed by the ravages of time and barbarism, the Obelisk of Theodosius is as beautiful and perfect, as when first finished by the hands of the workmen in the remotest ages.

The base on which it stands is in strong contrast with the pillar: originally of rude sculpture, and corroded by time, its figures and letters are scarcely to be deciphered. It contains four compartments on the four faces, in high relief. On the first are represented the emperor, his wife, and sons, sitting in state on thrones. In the second, he is receiving the homage of captive nations. In the third, he is alone, surveying the games of the Hippodrome. In the fourth he is holding a wreath between his sons. Portions of a Greek and Latin inscription appear on the base, alluding to the prostrate condition of the pillar, the artist employed, and the time occupied in its re-erection; but the greater part is now effaced, and covered by the soil. We give them in their original perfect form:−-

ΚΙΟΝΑ . ΤΕΤΡΑΠΛΕΥΡΟΝ . ΑΕΙ . ΧΘΟΝΙ . ΚΕΙΜΕΝΟΝ . ΑΚΘΟϹ .
ΜΟΥΝΟϹ . ΑΝΑϹΤΗϹΑΙ . ΤΗΕΥΔΟϹΙΟϹ . ΒΑϹΙΛΕΥϹ .
ΤΟΛΜΗϹΑϹ . ΠΡΟΚΛΟϹ . ΕΠΕΚΕΚΛΕΤΟ . ΚΑΙ . ΤΟϹΟϹ . ΕϹΤΗ .
ΚΙΩΝ . ΗΕΛΙΟΙϹ . ΕΝ . ΤΡΙΑΚΟΝΤΑ . ΔΥΟ .

DIFFICILIS . QUONDAM . DOMINIS . PARERE . SUPERBIS .
JUSSUS . ET . EXTINCTIS . PALMAM . PORTARE . TYRANNIS .
OMNIA . THEODOSIO . CEDUNT . SOBOLIQ; PERENNI .
TERDENIS . SIC . VICTUS . EGO. DOMITUSQ; DIEBUS .
JUDICE . SUB . PROCLO . SUPERAS . ELATUS . AD . AURAS .

THE SULTAN’S NEW PALACE ON THE BOSPHORUS.]

Among the symptoms of growing European habits and usages, which are daily seen creeping over the metropolis of the Osmanli and its vicinity, one of the most remarkable perhaps is the change which is daily introduced into their public edifices, and the substitution of a chaste and classic, for a fantastic Oriental style of architecture. When the rude ignorant Turks first rushed among the monuments of European art, what they did not utterly destroy, they perverted. Ionic shafts were pierced for cannons, Corinthian capitals were rounded into balls; and wherever they were applied to their original purpose, they were invariably inverted; and to this day are seen everywhere Turkish houses built with remains of Grecian temples, sculptured architraves laid for door-steps, and pillars standing on their smaller ends with the base uppermost, as the preferable position. “I have grieved,” said Gillius, “not so much at the broken and prostrate monuments of ancient art, as at the barbarous, perverted uses to which they were applied.”

The most distinguished of the kiosks of former sultans was that of Beshiktash, on the Bosphorus, forming one of the first objects which presents itself to a stranger ascending the strait in a caïque. The style is very remarkable, and truly Oriental. In the centre is an edifice with projecting roofs, and surrounded by a cluster of similar ones, intended, it is said, to represent the original warlike habitations of the Turcomans−-the tent or pavilion of the khan, in the centre, and those of his officers pitched round it as in encampment: but the present sultan, in his zeal to abolish the old and establish a new order of things, is everywhere changing the architecture, as well as the dress, of his subjects, and his new erections bear the stamp of this improvement, and form strong contrasts with those of his predecessors. His factories and founderies resemble those of Manchester and Sheffield, and his palaces are revivals of ancient Grecian art.

On the Asiatic shore of the Bosphorus, nearly opposite to Beshiktash, and the old palace, he has erected a new one, displaying a taste very different from the former, and a design equal in beauty and arrangement to any of those erected by European sovereigns. It consists of a centre with two extensive wings. The long façade presents, not foundation-walls of rude masonry supporting a barbarous superstructure of wood, with windows darkened by dense blinds, like all the imperial palaces on the opposite coast; but a Doric colonnade of marble is approached by spacious flights of steps of the same material; these elevate stately fronts of sculptured stone, pierced by regular open windows, ornamented with mouldings and architraves, and surmounted by cornices and balustrades. The centre is a superb entrance of six Corinthian pillars, crowned by a noble pediment, enclosing a sculptured tympanum. This central portion is the residence of the sultan; the left wing contains the harem of his establishment, and the right the various offices of his household. The edifice stands on a quay of hewn granite, and forms the most noble and novel object of all the buildings that line the shores of the Bosphorus.

The palace was commenced at the termination of the Greek revolution, and the acknowledgment of their independence, when the sultan, conquering the feelings of anger and vengeance, again received them into his favour. It was observed at the time, that he showed not only an extraordinary placability of disposition towards his revolted subjects, altogether extraordinary in one of his character, but conferred on them such favours, that his enemies circulated a report that he was about to abjure the faith of Mahomet, and adopt, among other European innovations, the religion of the Gospel. It was remarked, that he had built his new palace near Istauros, the ancient “city of the cross.” It had been so called because Constantine, when he embraced Christianity, had erected here a large golden cross, to commemorate the event of his conversion; and the sanguine Greeks did not fail to seize on it as a proof of the same intention of the sultan, that he chose the city of the cross as the site of his new palace, as if to record his conversion. That nothing might be wanting, a report at the time was circulated in the Fanal, that a large aërial cross, like that seen by Constantine, had just appeared over the dome of Santa Sophia--a certain indication that it was about to be purified from its desecration, and again consecrated to the service of Christ, for which it was originally built.

A STREET IN SMYRNA.

ASIA MINOR.]

This second church of the Apocalypse is, with the exception of Philadelphia, the only one that retains any thing of its former consequence. Its palaces, theatres, pagan temples, and Christian churches have passed away, but its riches, its commerce, its population, and its extent have been probably increased; and modern Smyrna is a more wealthy and prosperous town than either its pagan or Christian predecessor.

It was from the earliest ages celebrated as one of the most distinguished and frequented sea-ports of Asia Minor. It is approached by a noble and spacious bay, penetrating deeply into the country, expanding its capacious bosom to the Egean, and inviting the commerce of the world. Its waters are daily ruffled by the _Inbat_, a trade-wind, which blows with unerring regularity, morning and evening, bearing ships in and out, so that they enter and depart with the most perfect certainty and security; and it is a locality where the riches of the East and West most conveniently meet together. Such permanent characters, impressed by the hand of nature, are of every age; and Smyrna has at all times been a great commercial emporium, as well of the ancient as the modern world.

The founder of Smyrna is disputed; some confer the reputation of it on Tantalus, others on the Amazons; but after various vicissitudes of earthquake, conflagration, war, and pestilence, it was splendidly re-edified by Alexander the Great, and became the chief of the twelve cities of the Ionian confederacy, and distinguished for its magnificence as well as its power. It contained temples of Jupiter, Cybele, Apollo, and Diana, the latter more beautified, though less extensive, than that at Ephesus. Games were periodically celebrated, like those of Elis and Olympia; and the reputation of being a learned people, was among the laudable ambitions of the citizens of Smyrna. They laid claim to Homer as a native, and pointed out the cavern, on the banks of their river Meles, where his immortal Iliad was composed, and from hence the poet is called _Melesigenes_, and his works _Meletææ chartæ_. The people erected statues to him, taught rhetoric in a temple dedicated to him, and impressed his head and name upon their coins; and of all the seven towns[1]

Which claim the poet dead,
Through which the living poet begged his bread,

the assumptions of Smyrna seem to be the best founded; but whatever doubt may rest on Homer’s place of nativity, it is certain that Bion, Mimnermus, and other distinguished writers, were natives of Smyrna, and ennobled the city of their birth.

Thus distinguished as an honoured and enlightened city of the pagans, its citizens were among the foremost that embraced the doctrines of Christianity when proposed to them. The apostle established here one of the seven churches; and while he denounced that “the candlestick of Ephesus should be removed,” he exhorted the Christians of Smyrna “to be faithful unto death, and he would give them the crown of life.” Ephesus is no more, but Smyrna still flourishes. It was assaulted by the Saracens, and nearly extinguished as a Christian city; it was restored by the emperor Alexius, and greatly enlarged when it was captured by the Turks. In the beginning of the last century it contained 28,000 persons, of whom 11,000 were Christians of the Greek, Armenian, and Latin churches, which have their respective temples, monasteries, and bishops. The present population is estimated at 100,000. It contains a number of Protestants sufficient to form a congregation for religious worship; and it is the only one of the towns of the Apocalypse in which is established a church of the Reformation.

The city describes a semicircle, at the lower termination of its noble bay; its site is low and alluvial, and embosomed in a range of hills. The Franks carry on an immense trade, by exchanging the produce of the West for that of the East. Caravans daily arrive from Persia, bringing raw silks and drugs, and ships from Europe with cochineal, indigo, &c.; but the most remarkable commodity in which the English trade, is fruit. Charles II., it seems, was so fond of figs, that he directed his ambassador, Sir T. Finch, to conclude a commercial treaty, by which two ship-loads should be allowed for the king’s table; and under the shadow of this, all England has since been supplied with them. The drying and packing of these form an animated and entertaining scene in Smyrna at the season.

The Frank quarter, which Europeans occupy, forms a spacious terrace, or marino, along the sea-shore, ventilated by the fresh and wholesome breath of the never-failing Inbat. The edifices in which the merchants reside, are divided into stores and offices below, and above into corridors and galleries which communicate with various apartments and saloons opening on the sea, the breezes from which circulate through them with a constant current. The Turkish quarter is perfectly Oriental, consisting of narrow streets, with balconies projecting one over the other till they nearly meet at top, excluding light and air. One is given in our illustration, its dark and distant prospect terminated by the hill of the Acropolis, and its narrow passage nearly obstructed by a single file of loaded camels, bringing to the Frank quarters the produce of Persia and India, to be exchanged for that of Europe and America.

MOSQUE OF BUYUK DJAMI, SCUTARI.

ASIA MINOR.]

This epithet “Buyuk,” or great, was conferred upon it, to distinguish it from the lesser mosques which adorn Scutari. It is known by the smallness of its dome, and by the balcony or gallery which runs round the outside. It stands on the edge of the water, near the scala, or landing-place for passing caïques. Beside it is the usual fountain, covered with the common aquatic birds, which the considerate charity of the Turks renders so tame, that they mix undisturbed with the bustle of the passengers. On the right is seen the distant summits of the cypress which fill the great cemetery.

FOUNTAIN NEAR THE BABU HUMMAYOUN,

OR GREAT GATE OF THE SERAGLIO.]

After climbing through various narrow, winding, steep, dark, and dirty streets, which form the great interior of the avenues leading through the city, the stranger emerges near the summit of one of the seven hills; and here the town assumes somewhat of a new and spacious character. He enters an irregular but open and extensive area, which was the “Forum Augusti” under the Greek empire, and which the Turks have not yet entirely choked up with narrow lanes. Here he walks through wider, more level, and better-paved streets, and sees, almost clustered together, the mosque of Santa Sophia, a noble kisla, or barrack, the opening of the Atmeidan, a beautiful fountain, and the Babu Hummayoun, or great entrance into the seraglio.

The fountain, somewhat similar to that already described, was erected by Achmet III. in the beginning of the last century. It is crowned with domes, and ornamented with the usual arabesque sculpture, but it is particularly distinguished by bearing sundry poetical inscriptions composed by the imperial builder of it.

Between the fountain and one entrance to the mosque of Santa Sophia is seen that of the seraglio. This gate, distinguished by its lofty arch, was therefore called Babu Hummayoun, or “the high door,” by the Turks, which the French translate into “Sublime Porte:”[2] the term has become a designation for the cabinet of Turkish diplomacy, as before noticed. The gate was originally erected by Mahomet II. when he entered the Christian capital, and converted the residence of the priests of Santa Sophia into a palace for himself. It consists of a massive and clumsy pavilion, formerly crowned with turrets; it is pierced by the high door from which it takes its name, and under the arch is an inscription on a broad tablet. Above are one large and three smaller apertures for windows at each side, and below, the dead wall is excavated by two deep niches. It has undergone changes for improvements, but it still resembles rather the strong-hold of a military station, than the great entrance to the most extensive and gorgeous palace in the world; yet it is from hence the sultans of the East for centuries dictated to the sovereigns of Europe, and issued the mandates of the “high door” from the city, or of “the imperial stirrup” from the field.

Much of the brutal and bloody barbarism which the Osmanli brought with them into Europe, is still displayed in their most characteristic manner at this imperial gate. Here it is that noses and ears are exhibited as trophies of victory, like Indian scalps. In the year 1822, the conqueror of Patrass sent many sacks of those trophies; they were shaken out before the Babu Hummayoun, and formed two large piles of various mutilated portions of the human countenance; and through these ghastly and festering heaps of his subjects’ flesh, the sultan and his officers passed every day, till they rotted and dissolved away. In the niches, the heads of deposed Turkish officers were exposed; and the ambassadors of European sovereigns proceeding to an audience, saw them kicked about in sport and derision, and were threatened themselves with being pelted with human sculls. Within the gate, the heads of pashas of rank, Halet Effendi, Ali Pasha, and other great delinquents, were allowed the indulgence of silver dishes to support them, and were daily exposed to the multitude, like that of John the Baptist, in a charger.

THE CASTLE OF SMYRNA.]

Ascending from the alluvial and marshy soil below, are seen various ruins indicating the more healthy and elevated site of the ancient city. Crowning the summit of Mount Pagus, are what remains of the Acropolis, consisting of ramparts and embattled walls, flanked by numerous towers, some of which are square, and some circular. These walls enclose a very extensive area of many acres, which seem never to have been built on, or filled with any kind of edifices. It was a clear space, on which the garrison defending the town pitched their tents as on a field of battle, so that the whole formed a strong walled camp.--Here are still seen the remains of a temple, and the cistern that conveyed water. Here it was the knights of Rhodes took their stand, when they defended the Christian city against the infidel invasions. It was dilapidated by Tamerlane and his Tartars, who brought down the stones from the hill, and threw them into the harbour, in order at once to destroy both the security and commercial prosperity of this great emporium of the Oriental Christians. Over one of the gates is an inscription, implying that the walls were repaired by one of the Comneni, and his wife Helena. But the most interesting of sculptured remains, is a bust and head of marble, in good preservation, and highly finished. It represents a female with a profusion of long hair, which has given rise to various conjectures; some affirming it to be part of the statue of the empress Helena, who, with her husband, rebuilt the fortress. It seems, however, a better specimen than could be executed during the total decay of the arts of that period, and displays a boldness of design belonging to a more perfect age of Grecian skill. It is therefore with greater probability supposed to represent Smyrna, the heroic Amazon, who, according to Pliny, founded the city, and conferred on it her own name.

On the slope of the hill on one side, are the ruins of a stadium, or theatre. The stones were formerly removed to erect a khan, and displayed under the foundation of the walls, the cells where those wild beasts were confined, with which the early Christians were compelled to fight, as St. Paul, “after the manner of men,” at Ephesus. To this fate, St. Polycarp, the first Christian bishop, was condemned. He was the disciple of St. John, and appointed by him to superintend his church of Smyrna. He proceeded to Rome, at the age of one hundred and four, to confer with the Christians of that city about some subjects of controversy, which even then divided the infant church; and on his return he was, by the order of the emperor, thrown to the beasts of this theatre, and devoured, for the recreation of the assembled people of one of the most opulent and polished cities of the heathen world: some, however, say he was burned alive. The persecution of Christians has distinguished this church of the Apocalypse even in modern times. In the year 1770, after the defeat of the Turkish fleet, orders were given by the pasha to retaliate on the Greeks of Smyrna. Armed men were let loose on them at five o’clock on Sunday morning, who rushed into their houses, and the churches where they were assembled, and in five hours one thousand five hundred Greeks were sacrificed in cold blood. In the year 1822, similar cruelties were perpetrated. The massacre of Scio extended to Smyrna. For several days the Greeks were hunted out, and brought, as they were seized, to a spot below the ascent of the hill, as to a favourite place for immolation. Eight hundred were here murdered, and their putrid remains were left for a long time tainting the air, and spreading pestilence among their executioners.

In the front ground of our illustration is a bridge thrown over the mouth of the Meles, where it debouches into the harbour. Over it is constantly passing an uninterrupted current of caravans, bearing merchandise, indicating the immense commercial intercourse of the city. It is known, that eight hundred laden camels a day, cross the Meles at this one point. Beside the bridge, is a tree, noted as the instrument of the summary justice of the Turks. When a suspected delinquent is seized in the neighbourhood, he is dragged to it, and immediately hung up to one of the branches.

THE CITY OF MAGNESIA, AND MOUNT SIPYLUS.]

Two cities in Asia Minor of this name were known to, and recorded by the ancients: one at the base of a mountain, and called “Magnesia on Sipylus;” the other on the banks of a river, denominated “Magnesia on Mæander.”−-The first is that given in illustration.

This city, though not hallowed by the notice of the sacred penman, or selected as a beacon on which the early light of Christianity was to shine, has yet many claims on the notice of a traveller. Mythology and history contribute to the interest it excites, nor is its name unconnected with the arts and sciences.−-Here it was that Niobe lamented the loss of her children, and the effects of her grief still appear in her supposed transformation−-here it was that Scipio defeated the Asiatic confederacy, and obtained the first permanent footing in Asia−-and here it was that extraordinary substance was first discovered, whose properties and affinities have since become the wonder and guide of man in the trackless ocean.

The city of Magnesia was founded by Tantalus, whose fabled punishment renders his name so notorious in the world. The situation is striking; it stands near the foot of a lofty mountain, on the edge of a vast and fertile plain, and its site and soil resemble those of Brusa; but it wants those important advantages which the other enjoys. The ridges of Sipylus afford no perennial snows like those of Olympus, to refresh the inhabitants below; nor is there any solution of the frigid element, to ripple in copious currents through the streets, or meander through the fertile plain. Its site, however, is very beautiful. Above it rise in majestic grandeur the rugged and romantic precipices of a mountain once celebrated for its thunder and lightning, and which still seem to be the shattered and splintered effects of those electric storms; and below it, lies one of those vast and exuberant levels, which, in Asia Minor, are found at the base of its hill, endued with the capabilities of all the luxury of life. This majestic plain is eight or ten miles in breadth, and fifteen in length. Through the centre flows the river Hermus, which, like the Pactolus its tributary stream, abounds in auriferous sands, but, like the Nile, has the more valuable property of fertilizing its soil, and, by the deposit of its rich mud, producing golden harvests. This was so remarkable formerly, that medals in honour of the river were struck, representing its course; having on one side the branch of a fruit-tree, and on the other a cornucopiæ, emblematic of its abundant produce. The fate of Turkey has, however, now blasted it. The luxuriance of a wild vegetation covers its corn-fields, and its former crops are converted into groves of tamarisk; still it abounds in many indications of its former state. Gardens and vineyards cover extensive spaces, verdant pastures are filled with snow-white sheep, and the landscape is varied by herds of those sable goats peculiar to Anatolia, whose dark and silky coats contrast in so striking a manner with their woolly companions. The camel is nowhere more noble and majestic. The breed is here particularly attended to. They are seen gaily caparisoned, winding in long lines through the plains, laden with Oriental produce for exportation, to the mart of Smyrna, where the camel of Magnesia is particularly prized and admired.

The local attractions have rendered it in all ages the abode of a numerous community, and the selected residence of the great and the powerful. It was to Magnesia that Themistocles retired[3] from the resentment of his fellow-citizens, when the Persian king afforded him a tranquil retreat, to close his turbulent life. It was here that Andronicus Palæologus sought repose, when he resigned the sceptre of the Greek empire, and was no longer able to contend with the growing power of the Osmanli. Here Turks as well as Christians sought a retreat. Kiorod, son of Bajazet, and Selim, son of Soliman, dwelt in Magnesia; and Murad, the father of the mighty Mahomed, the scourge of Christians, when he abdicated, betook himself to the solitude of this city, to seek that quiet which a throne denied him; and being again called to public life, he once more retired to this favourite abode.

The early history of this town is connected with interesting events, the records of which are still preserved in England. The noble bay of Smyrna being the great outlet for the produce of the fertile plains of Magnesia, a league was entered into by these free and polished cities, for mutual benefit and protection. The citizens of one were admitted to all the rights and immunities of the other; and the mutual alliance was ratified by erecting marble pillars in both cities, with the terms of the compact inscribed on them. One of these interesting documents has escaped the ravages of time and accident. The tremendous earthquake, in the reign of Tiberius, that prostrated thirteen noble cities in Asia, and with them Magnesia, respected this monument, and it is now preserved among the marbles which enrich the university of Oxford.

The citizens of Magnesia had been long celebrated for their skill in staining glass, and still retain some beautiful specimens. Travellers see with surprise, in the houses they enter, the floors covered with varied forms in vivid colours, and find them caused by “storied windows, richly dight,” through which the sun’s rays had passed. The glass here manufactured possesses a brightness and transparency of colours superior to those of Europe. It is thus that, while the arts have long fled from this barbarized region to the more polished people of the west, a beautiful one remained behind, the loss of which Europe long regretted.

Indications of the wonderful substance to which the city gave its name, is yet found in the mountain over the town. Pliny affirms that the appellation of magnet was derived from Magnes, the shepherd, who discovered it in mount Ida, by the iron attached to his crook; but Lucretius, the philosophic poet, and others, say it took its name from the place where it was first found.[4] Travellers in modern times endeavour to settle the question; they bring with them ship and pocket compasses, to ascertain the existence of the magnetic stone in this place. They find the needle pointing to different quarters, as the compass is moved from place to place, and at length losing its quality of being attracted altogether; a circumstance known to be the effect produced on magnetic needles, when brought near other bodies possessing the same property.