Chapter VIII: Book I: Chap. I (2)

The Ridge of the _Promontory_ rising a little higher, and the two Valleys adjoining to it, make the second Hill. The first Valley divides, at East, the first from the second Hill; the other Valley, Westward, divides the second from the third. On the North ’tis bounded by a Plain on the Sea Shore. The Ridge of the _Promontory_ extends from South to North to the Distance of one thousand Paces in Length, and four hundred in Breadth. The different Breadth of the Vales varies the Breadth of the whole Hill. For where the Valleys which bound the Sides of it at the Top are more contracted, the Hill widens, and at the Foot of the Hill, where they are much wider, the Hill is less. The lesser Hills which stand upon it, extend its Length, two of which hang over the Bay. Its Height varies according to the different Height of the three Clifts, or small Hills which rise upon it. For the Clift lying to the South-east, rises moderately, from the lowest part of the Valley to the Top of the Hill, to the Height of about a thousand Paces; afterwards, as the Valley widens, it grows less, and is rendered more steep by two small Valleys (branching out of the great Valley) which indeed are somewhat upon the Descent, but not above a hundred Paces high. The different Heights of the Clifts which hang over the Bay, may be best discover’d by considering the different Heights of the five _publick Ways_, which reach from the Ridge to the Foot of the Hill. The first of these Ways rises to the Height of five hundred Paces, two hundred of which from the Foot of the Hill are very easy of Ascent, the other three hundred are very steep. The second _Road_ is six hundred Paces high, a hundred of which rise through the lowest of the small Valleys by a gentle Ascent, the next hundred are almost perpendicular, so that you must climb them by Steps; the other four hundred rise gradually to the Top of the Hill, which is sixty Paces in Breadth. This Hill, on the Ridge of it, shoots Southward to the Distance of a hundred and fifty Paces, quite from the Church of St. _Sophia_ to the _Porphyry Pillar_. The other three _publick Ways_, from the Bottom of the Hill, are for the first hundred Paces upon a gentle Rise, the next two hundred are a mighty Declivity, so that you are obliged to ascend them by Windings and Turnings; the remaining five hundred, up to the Plain upon the Hill, rise moderately. I would observe farther, that on the Side of the Clifts which project over the Bay, two small Hills jetted out, one to the North, and the other to the East; both which uniting form a little Valley, which is bounded on the East by a Hill which rises eighty Paces in Height, and has in some Places very agreeable Descents. This is the Reason that most part of the lesser Clifts, which bear upon this Hill, stand to the East, and that the Side of the Hill which looks Westward, is in some Parts of it more shelving than in other: For its Eminencies falling into the lowest Plain in the Valley, to the Length of three hundred Paces, from the Foot of the Hill up to the Middle of it, are almost perpendicular, and from the Middle to the Top they slope but little. As for those Hills which project over the Head of the Valley, they are not above two hundred Paces high, often of a different Ascent: For as the Valley rises, the Clifts seem lower. Indeed all the lesser Clifts of this Hill have a double Descent; one length-ways, and the other broad-ways: For those of them which stand East and West are seated in such a manner, that they also lye to the North. In short, all the Sides of this Hill, in the most steep Ascents of them, are not above a Furlong in Height; in other Places they fall into a moderate Declivity, and at the Bottom of them they gradually enlarge themselves into a Plain. The upper Clifts at the Top of them are half shelving, and half upon the Plain. The Plain adjoining to the Sea, and dividing the Hill from the Bay, spreads itself into a Latitude of three hundred Paces, but immediately widens again into a Breadth of five hundred Paces, and so visibly enlarges itself, the farther it extends itself into the Valleys.

And thus having given the Reader some Account of the Front or fore-part of the _Promontory_, I shall now give him a short Description of the back-side of it, which faces the Sea. Behind the second and third Hills there are two lesser Hills, which hang over the _Propontis_. Between these Hills descends a hollow Valley. These Hills stand in the Middle of the Valley. That which lies Eastward, as well as that which lies to the West, exalts itself to the Height of more than two hundred Paces. At the End of the Valley, between these Hills, is a well built Harbour enclosed with a Wall. ’Tis seated upon the Plain on the Shore, near that part of the Sea which runs up to the Front of the _Hippodrom_. The Mouth of this Harbour is three hundred Paces in Breadth. From the Bay call’d _Cornu_, the Breadth crossing the Hill to the _Propontis_, widens to the Distance of two Miles.

CHAP. X.

_Of the second Valley, which divides the second from the third Hill._

That Valley which divides the second from the third Hill, begins at the _Promontory_, and ends in the Plain adjoining to the Sea. It contains in it the Fish-Market and the Ferry, whence you cross the Water to _Syca_. From hence to the Entrance of the Valley, a Plain expands itself to the Breadth of four hundred Paces so much upon the Level, that the Water falls from thence into the Bay with almost an imperceptible Descent. When it has contracted itself into the narrow Compass of two hundred Paces in Breadth, it gradually straightens itself into a less, even to the Middle of the Valley, where ’tis but fifty Paces in Breadth, and afterwards is no broader than the _common Way_. ’Tis above six hundred Paces in Length, three hundred of which are almost upon a Level, the other three hundred upon the Descent. It rises easily to that part of the _Promontory_, where the second and third Hills join. In the lowermost part of the Valley runs the _broad Way_ that faces _Galata_. This Way, on both Sides of it, is full of Merchants Houses, cover’d with a kind of transparent Slat, which have here and there a small Casement. The Merchants of _Galata_ frequent the grand _Bezestan_, or Place of _Exchange_. ’Tis situate partly on the Head of the Valley, and partly on an Eminence of the third Hill. In the Year of our Lord 1546 it was wholly burnt to the Ground, except two _Basilica’s_ roof’d with Brick-work, which were lock’d up every Night, and their Windows secured by Iron Bars, when the Fire was over. I was allowed after the Fire to view their grand _Forum_. I found it lie so much upon the Level, that it had but a small Ascent either from the West to the East, or from the South to the North. I observed that it stood upon more than five Furlongs of Ground; on the highest part of it, which lies to the East, I was permitted to see a _Nymphæum_, adorn’d with five and forty Marble Pillars, which supported a Brick Roof. The old _Basilica_, of which I could have no Prospect before, by reason of the Shops and publick Houses, the Fire had lain open to my View. I observed farther, that it had two additional Buildings like Wings, joining to the main Building, each of which was divided into sixty Apartments, which were all arched, and over the Roof cover’d with Lead, as their Shops and Places of publick Entertainment are. The inward Chambers of these Apartments, for Privacy, are always lock’d, and are secured by an Iron Door. The _Basilica_ itself consists of fifteen large Apartments, in the Figure of a _Dome_, has four Doors, and is supported by eight Pillars; the Roof is Brick-work, and leaded at Top. The new _Basilica_ is supported with twelve Pillars built of a square Stone; four Arches bear upon these Pillars, which support twenty small Roofs, built in the Form of a _Dome_. There stand round about sixty Merchants Warehouses, or Shops with arch’d Roofs. Within the _Basilica_ there are two hundred and twenty more of these Warehouses, which are made after the following Manner. Round the Walls of the _Basilica_ are built abundance of very broad Pews, where the Merchants expose their Goods to Sale, which they take out of Presses, (when they would shew them to their Chapmen) which have Boxes of Drawers in them, the Masters always sitting before them. These Presses are fasten’d to the Wall, have two Folding Doors, and are removable at Pleasure.

CHAP. XI.

_Of the third Hill._

The third Hill is bounded on each Side by two Valleys: That which lies to the East, divides it from the second Hill, the Western Valley divides it from the fourth. The Ridge of this Hill is above a thousand Paces in Length. It shoots from the Top of the _Promontory_ Southward, Northward to the Bay of _Ceras_, almost in an equal Height. The second Hill on the contrary falls with a surprizing Descent, from the utmost Height of the _Promontory_, to the lowest Plain on the Bay Shore. The third Hill, at the Top of it is a Level of a great Length. It extends itself at the Foot of it, more by three hundred Paces to the North, than the Foot of the second Hill. It is not in all Places of an equal Breadth; at the Top of the _Promontory_ itself ’tis every way about eight hundred Paces. Here ’tis that the _Seraglio_ stands. On that part of the Plain which lies to the East, stands the Merchants _Forum_, a _Caravansera_, and the Sepulchre of _Bajazet_ the Emperor. On the South Side of it is an open _Area_, round which stand the Booksellers Shops. On that part of it which lies Northward, stand the Works which the Emperour _Solyman_ is now building, namely his Tomb, a _Caravansera_, and a magnificent and expensive Mosque. They are built not only upon the natural Situation of the Ground there, but also upon artificial Foundations. This Hill, on three Sides of it, descends upon three lesser Hills. For on that Side of it which lies Eastward, where stands the Tower of _Hirena_, a small Hill jets out into the second Valley. The long Projecture of this Hill, on the Ridge of it towards the Bay, makes another small Hill which lies Northward, and from that Side of it which points Westward, where stands the Church of St. _Theodore_, there shoots another little Hill out of the Middle of it, to the Plain which lies on the Sea Shore. Two Sides of this Hill descend in a double Declivity, one in a strait, and the other in an oblique Line. The Eastern Side of the third Hill, after it has extended itself to thirteen hundred Paces Distance, abates somewhat of its winding Descent, but the nearer you descend to the Plain, it falls with a more direct and confined Declivity. The Descents falling from the Ridge of the Hill to the Valley differ very much, the uppermost of them hanging over a very deep Valley, rise to the Height of five hundred Paces, the lowest three hundred of which are very steep, the three hundred Paces above them are scarce half of that Steepness. The other Descents of this Hill are not so shelving, where the Valley rises higher. The Western Side of the Hill, as to its Declivities, is like the Eastern. The Northern Side of it has several Descents: For a lesser Hill, shooting from the Ridge of this Hill, is five hundred Paces high, the lower most three hundred of which fall so precipitately, that the Buildings which stand upon them, are all under-propp’d, the two hundred Paces above them fall with an easy Descent. The Descents on this Side of the Hill, the farther they lie from the Plain on the Sea Shore, the more are they lengthen’d by a sideling Fall, which rises on the Eastern Side of the Hill. The Plain on the Shore, as discontinued by the Inlet of the Bay, is not above two hundred Paces in Breadth, but at the Foot of the Hill, in other Parts of it, it sensibly widens up to the Entrance of the Valleys. The _Grand Seraglio_, seated on the Side of this Hill, when I first arrived at _Constantinople_, was little less than six thousand Paces in Compass, but is at present more closely straiten’d, since the _Caravansera’s_ have been built there by the Sultan _Solyman_, and the burying Place for the Women (which is at least half the Ground) has been taken out of it and enclosed. The left Side of the _Promontory_, which lies behind the third Hill to the South, jets out with two lesser Hills; from one of which that shoots Eastward, the Side of the _Promontory_ which winds round Westward to the other Hill, which is seated a little above the Foot of the Promontory; and at the Bottom of this Hill, the _Promontory_ admits the third Valley, which lies behind it, and from thence stretches full North. The left Side therefore of the third Hill hath a double Descent; the one towards the South, which is six hundred Paces high, another extending itself South South-west, seven hundred Paces high; but at full West it falls very short of that Height. The Plain that lies between the back Southern Parts of the third Hill, and the Shore of the _Propontis_, is in no part of it less than three hundred Paces broad, nor above seven hundred Paces long. The Plain of the Valley which encloses the Foot of the Hill Westward, and which divides the seventh Hill from the _Promontory_, reaching from the Shore of the _Propontis_, where the Walls are not encompassed by the Sea, is almost upon a Level, and is in every part of it five hundred Paces in Breadth. The three Hills I have mention’d, may very properly be called the _Promontory_ of the _Bosporus_; for they hang over the Sea in such a manner, that whether you sail to _Constantinople_ out of the _Black Sea_, or the _Propontis_, you may see them at a great Distance, prominent over the Chaps of the _Bosporus_. The third Valley seems to separate the other three Hills, which lie farther into the Continent from these. The Reason why I place six Hills in the _Promontory_ of the _Bosporus_ is, because these latter Hills all stand in a Row near the Bay, and are join’d together both at the Top and the Sides of them. The Plain which unfolds itself on the Ridge of the third Hill, descends gently into a Plain which hangs over the third Valley, and is six hundred and twenty Paces in Length, and as many in Breadth.

CHAP. XII.

_Of the third Valley._

The third Valley, which lies between the third and the fourth Hill, seems to be a double Valley; for in the Middle of it, it rises high, which makes it doubtful whether it be a part of the Valley, or the _Promontory_. That the Height of it is a part of the Valley, seems plain from the Height of the Arches, which reach from one Side of the Valley to the other; and it may be look’d upon to be the Ridge of the _Promontory_, from the Descent of the extreme Parts of it falling to the right and left, on each Side of the _Promontory_. On the right Side of which, it descends into a very low Plain, which, at its first Entrance, is three hundred Paces broad, and continues on upon a Level to the Length of five hundred Paces more; and though it sinks at Bottom into an equal Depth, yet the Pitches or Sides of it, in some Places, are higher than in others. For where the Plain is most hollow, there one of the Sides of it is three times higher than the other. From this Plain you ascend by easy Steps to the Top of the Middle of the Valley, which is six hundred Paces wide, except that small part of it in the Middle, where it is not above four hundred Paces in Breadth. Through the Top of this Valley, or _Promontory_, run the Arches of an _Aqueduct_ from the fourth to the third Hill, of the same Height, at the Top of them, with the Hills themselves. The Altitude of these Arches discovers how great the Descent is from them. For though they are alike equal in Height at the Top of them, yet this Height is very different, according to the Difference of their Situations. For they are very high at the Top of the Valley, which is a plain level Ground, but upon the Descent of the Hills not near so high, and continue to the Length of eight hundred Paces in the same Height, though the higher they stand upon these Hills, they are less tall. The Top of this Valley or _Promontory_, descends with a gentle Fall of seven hundred Paces into a Plain, which divides the _Promontory_ from the seventh Hill, and from thence extends itself to the _Propontis_. The City from the Bay to the _Propontis_, passing thro’ the third Valley, is more than ten Furlongs in Breadth.

CHAP. XIII.

_Of the fourth Hill._

The fourth Hill is enclosed with two Valleys, the Ridge of the _Promontory_, and the Shore of the Bay. Upon the Side of it stands the Tomb of _Mahomet_, (who took _Constantinople_) several _Caravansera’s_ and _Bagnio’s_. It is above three thousand six hundred Paces in Compass. The Length, from the Ridge of it to the Bay, is a thousand Paces; the Breadth of it, from East to West, is at least eight hundred. As you take a View of it from the Top, stretching in a Square towards the Bay, you perceive it to end in two Windings, though very different from each other. For that which points Northward stretches on in a continued Ridge, and has its Descents on both Sides, whereas that which shoots Eastward lies so low, that it seems to be only an Ascent to the other. At the End of it it winds Westward, where it forms a little Valley. This Hill Eastward is bounded by a Valley, and is parted from the third Hill; on the North by the Plain on the Shore, on the East partly by a Valley, which divides it from the fifth Hill, and partly by the winding of the _Promontory_, which rises in so gradual and delectable a manner, from the Top of the fourth to the Top of the fifth Hill, that you discover the Ridge of it to be uneven, more by a nice Discernment of the Eye, than by any Difficulty in walking it. For these Hills are join’d together in such a manner, that they seem to lie upon a Level. They are both of them one Plain, which, covering the Top of the fourth Hill, is not above four hundred Paces in Length, nor more than two hundred in Breadth, tho’ afterwards, when continu’d to the fifth Hill, it widens into the Breadth of five hundred Paces. The fourth Hill, tho’ it is equal in Height to any of the other six, yet its Ascents, whether they lie in a strait Line, or more obliquely, are more moderate, by reason it is a long Tract of Ground with three Declivities. The first of which, thro’ the Length of the whole, descends from the Southwest full North more than a thousand Paces; two hundred of which rising from the Sea Shore are a more easy Ascent, the rest rise so very gently that you can scarce perceive them, although the uppermost hundred of them, which reach to the Top of the Hill, are very steep. The cross Descent which runs athwart the Breadth of the Hill is double, one of which falls Westward; the other, which shelves Eastward, rises from the Valley, which divides the third and fourth Hill. From the highest part of this Valley you climb an Ascent two hundred Paces in Height. Below the Top of it is another Ascent, which is five hundred Paces high, one hundred of which rising from the Bottom are very steep. The Height of the rest, which are an easy Ascent, you discover by the Level of the _Aqueduct_. From the Bottom of the Valley you ascend four hundred Paces, the first hundred and eighty of which are very steep, after which you may walk two hundred more almost upon a Level. From hence you rise to the Middle of it, which is higher, and is a hundred Paces in Breadth. It is also elevated eight hundred Paces in Length, from the Top of it to the Bottom. From hence you descend two hundred Paces Westward to the lowest Part of the Valley, which divides the fourth and the fifth Hill, which is all a narrow Piece of Ground, and about four hundred Paces in Length. The first two hundred Paces upon the Shore of the Bay are all upon a Level; but it is an Uncertainty whether they are a part of the Valley, or the Sea Shore. For this Valley is enclosed in such a manner by these two Hills, as the fourth is bounded by the Plain upon the Shore, which is two hundred Paces broad, whereas the fifth does scarce descend so far. The following eight hundred Paces are much upon the same Level, the last four hundred of which, stretching to the Top of the _Promontory_, are very steep. The Plain upon the Shore, passing between the Bay and the fourth Hill, is of a different Breadth. For that part of it which extends itself to the South-western Point of the Hill, is four hundred Paces broad, whereas that part of it which extends itself to the Northern Point, is no more in Breadth than two hundred Paces. In short, such is the Situation of the fourth Hill, that when you sail along the Bay, you would take it to be an advanced part of the third Valley. For the Top of this Hill runs so far Southward, that its Descents, shelving very moderately, seem almost upon a Level; whereas the Top of the fifth Hill, which is of the same Height, projects beyond the fourth directly Northward. The Descents on the Back of the third Hill, which lie Southward, are very easy and agreeable, till you come to the Plain of the Vale, which divides the _Promontory_ from the seventh Hill; so that the back part of this Hill shoots Southward, and is not bounded on either Side of it by the third Valley. This Southern Part of it is somewhat narrow, just beyond a little Hill of the third Valley, near a _Caravansera_, built by the _Sultan Mahomet_; but behind the fifth Hill, below the _Columna Virginea_, ’tis straitned much more.

CHAP. XIV.

_Of the Fifth Hill._

The Bottom of the fifth Hill, on the Top of which stands the Tomb of _Selymus_ the Emperor, as bounded partly by the Bay, and partly by an Eastern and Western Valley, is four thousand Paces in Compass. The Pitch of this Hill hangs so far over the Bay Northward, and the Pitch of the fourth Hill lies so low towards the same Point, that the fourth Hill seems to be a kind of Valley, situate between the third, and the fifth Hill. For the fifth Hill does not join at Top, and continue the Ridge of the _Promontory_ as other Hills do, but being of an equal Heighth with it, shoots to a great Distance beyond it running as far Northward, as does the Foot of the fourth Hill. It has a Descent on three Sides of it; one to the North, the Steepness of which the Reader may learn from hence, that altho’ it is very near the Heighth of the fourth Hill, which is above a thousand Paces high, yet the highest Ascent of this Hill comes nearer upon the Line, than that of any other Hill, to the lowest Ascent from the Bottom; for you ascend thro’ a little Valley, no more than three hundred Paces high to the Top of it. This Valley is form’d by two small Hills adjoining to the Shore of the Bay, upon which, at about four hundred Paces distance, you discover some Stone Steps, belonging to a Foundation of a _Caravansera_, built by the Emperor _Selymus_. This Northern Side of the Hill has four small Hills jetting out of it, three small Valleys running between them, which rise from the Top of the Hill, and are situate at such a Distance from the Plain upon the Shore, that two of them touch the Wall which stands upon it; the other two are a hundred Paces from it. The Plain upon the Shore is in no Part of it narrower than it is at the Foot of this Hill; for to the Distance of a thousand Paces, it does not exceed a hundred Paces in Breadth, and in some Places not fifty. Two of these Hills are very steep, so that the Buildings you see upon them, as tho’ they were in danger of falling, are all underpropp’d, and the Inhabitants have been oblig’d to cut Windings in the Rocks to moderate the Descent. The other two are less Precipitate, the Valleys which enclose them not lying so deep. The Side of the Hill which shoots Eastward is one thousand four hundred Paces in Length, and two hundred in Breadth, and its Altitude two hundred Paces upon the Perpendicular. The Height of the Side of it, which falls Westward, shelves into a different Depth, according as the Valley sinks. Where it descends into a Level Plain, it advances its Top to the Height of five hundred Paces. In other Places it rises no higher than three hundred, with a very moderate Ascent. The Side of the _Promontory_ which points Southward, situate behind the fifth Hill, ends in the Plain of the Valley, which divides the _Promontory_ from the seventh Hill. In other Places it falls with a more confined, and sometimes with a more expanded Descent, upon a small thick Hill, which hangs over the fifth Valley; as also over that Valley which parts the _Promontory_ from the seventh Hill. The back Part of the fifth Hill does also wind it self into a small Valley, which rises at the Brow of the _Promontory_, where not long since was remaining the _Columna Virginea_. From hence the Ridge of the _Promontory_ somewhat bends over the Top of the Plain of the fifth Hill, which in some Places is six hundred, and in others seven hundred Paces broad. But beyond the Ridge of this Hill it widens to a great Distance, as far as the Plain of the fourth Hill, and shoots on with the Plain of the _Promontory_, and falls down to the Neck of the _Isthmus_, and so extending it self still on, is at least two thousand Paces in Length.

CHAP. XV.

_Of the Fifth Valley._

The fifth Valley, which divides the fifth from the sixth Hill, winding from North to South, is as long as the _Promontory_ is broad; that is, about twelve hundred Paces; the first eight hundred of which have no Ascent. The Valley, at the first Entrance into it, is at least four hundred Paces broad, but is afterwards straitned into half that Breadth; and yet to the Length of six hundred Paces, ’tis in no Place less than two hundred Paces broad. Farther, ’tis at least five hundred Paces wide. Above this, is the Top of the Valley, or the Ridge of the _Promontory_, opening upon a Level Breadth of two hundred Paces. From the Top of this _Promontory_, to the left Side of it, there falls a Valley with a gentle Descent, to the Distance of five hundred Paces, where it descends into another Valley, which divides the _Promontory_ from the seventh Hill. The fifth Valley seems to cut through the Ridge of the _Promontory_. This may easily be discerned by the right and left Descent of the two Hills which lie nearest to it; for there is a very easy Ascent from the Height of this Valley, to the Top of either Hill.

CHAP. XVI.

The sixth Hill is just as long as the _Promontory_ is broad, which is widen’d upon this Hill to the Breadth of two thousand four hundred Paces. The City Walls shoot over the Ridge, and the North Side of it down to the Sea Shore. You descend gradually from the Top of it within the Walls; without the Walls it lies upon a Level, and is join’d to the Continent by a Field in the Suburbs. The broadest part of it is not above eight hundred Paces, the narrowest but four hundred. It descends with a treble Declivity; one on the left Hand of the _Promontory_, with an easy Descent at South-east; another on the right falling to the Bay Northward, which extends itself to the Distance of fifteen hundred Paces. There are two lesser Hills, separated by a small Valley, which run between them. At the Foot of that lesser Hill which stands nearest to the City Wall, there is an _Aqueduct_. Between this Hill and the Bay, there formerly stood the Church of the _Blachernæ_, which has been recorded in the Writings of many Historians. The Foundation of this Church was remaining, when I first arrived at _Constantinople_. From the Foot of this Hill, which stands above the Church I have mention’d, there rises a Spring, whose Waters are convey’d thro’ arch’d subterraneous Passages into the City, where, appearing above Ground, they flow constantly into a Marble Cistern. That Side of the sixth Hill which lies Eastward, is as long as the Hill itself; but does not, in all parts of it, fall with the same Descent. For the Descent varies, according as the Valley adjoining lies higher or lower. Where the Valley lies upon the Level, the Pitch of the Hill rises to the Height of six hundred Paces; where it does not lie so low, ’tis not above five hundred Paces high; where it rises higher, not above four hundred. Nor does this Side of the Hill shoot only Eastward, but does also, on the right Side of it, project Northward, and on the left Side of it extend itself full South-west. The Plain on the Shore, which lies between the Foot of the Hill and the Bay, in the narrow part of it, is not above eight hundred Paces broad, I mean in that Place where the Church of the _Blachernæ_ stood formerly, as did also a _Triclinium_; but farther on it winds round into the third Valley, and widens much more.

CHAP. XVII.

_Of the Valley which divides the_ Promontory _from the seventh Hill_.

The Valley which divides the seventh from the six Hills of the _Promontory_, is an easy Descent. It extends itself in Length to the Distance of four thousand Paces, if you take in the Plain on the Sea Shore. If you exclude that, and take your Dimensions from the winding of the seventh Hill, ’tis not above three thousand three hundred Paces long. It lies so much upon a Level, that you cannot perceive by walking it, that it has the least Ascent; yet you may discover by the Discernment of the Eye that it sensibly lengthens and widens itself into a greater Breadth. It bounds the Sides of the third and the fifth Valley, and the lowest Eminences of the fifth and sixth Hills. It is full of Gardens and pleasant Meadows. Here the Soldiers sometimes act their Mock-Fights. There’s a Rivulet which runs through the Middle of it, which is often dry in Summer Time.

CHAP. XVIII.

_Of the seventh Hill._

The seventh Hill is called the _Xerolophos_, on which stands the Pillar of _Arcadius_. This Hill is little less than twelve thousand Paces in Circumference, and contains more than a third Part of the City. The other two Parts are comprehended in the Compass of the _Promontory_, which is above twenty thousand Paces in Circumference. By _Paces_, I would here be thought to mean the ordinary Steps we take in Walking, which I cannot exactly reduce to a just Mensuration with the _Roman Pace_, by reason of the Turnings and Windings of the Ways, and the Differences of Paces, which are longer or shorter, according to the different Ascents and Descents of the Ground we walk. This Hill makes the third Angle of the City, from whence _Constantinople_ is look’d upon to be of a triangular Figure. It lies shelving with a very moderate Descent, and has a double Declivity; one of which falls gently into the Valley, which divides the seventh Hill from the _Promontory_, and is of an equal Length with the Valley itself. The other Descent, which partly lies to the South-east, and partly to the South, falls into the _Propontis_, and is in some Places five hundred Paces steep, in others four hundred, three hundred, a hundred, nay even fifty, till it comes to the Point of the third Angle of the City, whence a large Plain shoots out towards the Sea, which, in different Places, is of a different Breadth. The Entrance of this Plain, at the Angle of the City just mention’d, is very narrow; it afterwards widens, which is occasioned by the Winding of one of its Sides, from whence it gently rises to the Foot of a small Hill, where ’tis four hundred Paces broad; onwards it is straiten’d into fifty, and afterwards is widen’d into a Breadth of a hundred Paces only. The End of this Plain, to the Distance of a thousand Paces, is more than four hundred Paces broad. On the Ridge of this Hill, there is a Plain of some Length and Breadth; the Hill itself is bounded by the Land Wall, and on the Top of it is a Cistern which is call’d _Mocisia_, which is wholly unroof’d, and stripp’d of its Pillars. This Cistern is nine hundred and seventy Paces in Circumference. The Walls of it, which are made of squared Free-stone, are still remaining; and the Ground where it stands, is now turn’d into a Garden.

Thus is it that I have laid before the Reader a _Plan_ or _Description_ of the Situation of the City of _Constantinople_, by which means the Situation of the _Wards_ of that City will be more easily discovered. I hope I shall not be thought to have dwelt too long on this Subject, since a verbal Delineation of it is the most concise way of coming to the Knowledge of it. For although _Constantinople_, by reason of the Eminency of its Situation, affords a most agreeable Prospect at the remotest Distance, yet thus to particularize the several Parts of the City, leads the Reader into a more exact and more expeditious Insight into it, than any other Method of Information whatsoever.

CHAP. XIX.

_Of the Walls of the City._

The Walls of _Constantinople_, in some Places, are built with squared Free-stone, in others with rough Stone, and in many Places with an Intermixture of Brick and Stone together. The Walls on the Land Side are double, secured with a large Ditch five and twenty Paces broad. One of the Walls is carry’d somewhat farther than the Length of the Ditch, and is very strongly fortified. These Walls stand at eighteen Foot Distance from each other. The inward Wall is very lofty, and more than twenty Foot in Thickness, upon which are built two hundred and fifty Towers with Steps, facing the Continent. The outward Wall is not above half as big, but has the same Number of Towers. As to the Nature of its Fortification, the Ground that takes up the Distance between the Ditch and the outward Wall, is higher than the adjoining Side of the Ditch, and the Ground between the two Walls is higher than that. The Countrey opening without the Walls is not incumber’d with Buildings, and is partly hilly, and partly upon the Level, but chiefly upon the latter, so that you have a delightful Prospect over the Fields before you, and a very extensive View all about you: And there is no Doubt to be made, but that _Constantinople_ might be made a terrible strong Place. The Walls which run round the Sea, are not so high as the Land Walls; they are a plain Building, but very thick, and well guarded with Towers. On the Side of the Bay _Ceras_, they are about fifty Paces distant from the Shore. On the Side of the _Bosporus_ and the _Propontis_, they are built upon the Shore, except where they are discontinu’d by some Port or Landing-place. _Zonaras_ relates, that _Theophilus_ the Emperor not only repaired, but raised these Walls higher, after they had been much impair’d by Time, and the Dashings of the Sea. This is also confirm’d to us down even to the present Age; for in many Places of them, I observ’d the Name of _Theophilus_ the Emperor was cut in very large Characters. The Emperor _Nicephorus_ was hated by his People for levying a Tax upon them, which was call’d _Diceraton_, for repairing these Walls. I learn from the _Constitutions_ of _Justinian_, that in his Time the Walls were commonly call’d the _old_ and the _new_ Walls, where he decrees, _That a larger Fee shall be paid the Bearers, and those who attend a Corpse beyond the_ new _Walls of the City_. What I would observe from hence is, that the old Walls which were built by _Constantine_, and that the new Walls which were built by _Theodosius the Less_, were both standing in the Reign of _Justinian_. The Walls of old _Byzantium_ I have described in the Beginning of this Book; and as to the Condition they were in formerly, we may learn more fully from _Herodian_, who writes, that _Byzantium_ was inclosed with a very large and a very strong Wall, made of square Stones of a great Size, so artfully cemented, that it was look’d upon as one compacted Piece of Work. This is also confirm’d by the Authority of _Pausanias_, who tells us, _That he never saw the Walls of_ Babylon, _or of_ Memnon, _nor ever heard of any Person who had seen them: But the Walls of_ Byzantium _and_ Rhodes, says he, _are accounted exceeding strong; and yet the Walls which inclose_ Messene _are stronger than these_. ’Tis recorded by some Historians, that the _Athenians_ kept their Treasury at _Byzantium_, because it was a well fortify’d Place. Whether those Walls which the Author of the _Ancient Description of the Wards_ calls the double Walls are the same which we see at _Constantinople_ at present, or whether they were built by _Theodosius_, I leave it to the Judgment of the Reader. Thus far I shall give my Opinion, _viz._ That they do not seem to me to be entirely the same Walls which that Author describes. For he places the Church of the _Apostles_ in a _Ward_ which is near to the Walls of the City, and places the fourteenth _Ward_ without the Walls of the City, which at present, if not all of it, at least the best part of it, is within the Walls. I would add, that _Theodosius the Less_, who reign’d before _Justinian_, does not place the _Blachernæ_ within the Walls of the City, and yet I have the Authority of _Procopius_, that these were apart of the Suburbs in the Time of _Justinian_, tho’ at present they are enclosed within the Walls, as were also the seven Towers, and the Church which was built by _Stadius_, (or rather _Studius_) who was afterwards _Consul_.

CHAP. XX.

_Of the Gates of_ Constantinople, _and the seven Towers of Old_
Byzantium.

The Walls on the Side of the Continent have six Gates; one within the Palace of _Constantine_, another, which is call’d the _Adrianopolitan_ Gate, and a third on the Brow of the seventh Hill. Besides these, there is the _Porta Aurea_ or _Gilded Gate_, the Gate of _Selymbria_ or _Rhegium_, and the Gate of the seven Towers. On the Side of the Bay _Ceras_ is the Gate of the _Blachernæ_, at present call’d _Xyloporta_, seated near the third Angle of the City. There are also the Gates call’d _Cynigos_, or _Porta Palatina_, _Phanaria_, _Agia_, _Porta Jubalica_, _Farinaria_, _Lignaria_, _Seminaria_, _Piscaria_, the Gate of the _Neorium_, and the Gate of _Demetrius_, which stands on the Ridge of the first Hill. On the Side of the _Propontis_ there are about five; every one of which has _Stairs_, or a _Landing-place_, and a Haven for Ships, besides the Gates of the Imperial Palace. There is also the _Porta Stercoraria_, _Leonina_, _Condescala_, two of which stand at the Foot of the seventh Hill. Those which have been principally taken Notice of by Historians, are the Gates of _Cynigos_, _Rhegium_ and _Xylocerum_, also the Gate of _Eugenius_, the _Porta Aurea_, that call’d _Myriandros_, the _Porta Condescala_, and _Porta Carsiana_. In old _Byzantium_ there was the _Thracian Gate_. For we are told by _Dion_, that the seven Towers reach’d from the _Thracian_ Gate to the Sea, which _Cedrinus_ tells us was the Bay _Ceras_. If any one spoke any thing in the first of these Towers, it immediately flew to the second, and so through all the rest, so that you might hear the Voice distinctly repeated in every one of them. _Pliny_ tells the very same Story of _Cyzicus_. In that City, says he, near the _Thracian_ Gate there are seven Towers, which multiply the Voice by Repetition, or Reiteration, more than seven times. This, he adds, was look’d upon by the _Grecians_ as somewhat miraculous, and was call’d the _Echo_. I never found any Mention made of the _Thracian_ Gates in any Historian but in _Pliny_, though it is not altogether improbable, that there were such Gates there; for _Apollonius_, in the _first Book_ of his _Argonauticks_, mentions the _Thracian_ Haven in _Cyzicus_; and _Plutarch_ is very express, that near this City there was a Street call’d the _Thracian Street_. This is also attested not only by some more modern Writers of _Constantinople_, but also by _Dion_ and _Xenophon_; the latter of whom writes, That when _Alcibiades_ appear’d before the Town, the _Byzantians_ open’d the _Thracian_ Gates to him of their own Accord.

CHAP. XXI.

_Of the long Walls._

The Suburbs and Fields adjoining were inclosed with Walls of such an immoderate Length, that they extended themselves from the City to the Distance of a two Days Journey. They were built by _Anastasius_ the Emperor to prevent the Incursions of the _Scythians_ and _Bulgarians_, reach’d from the _Black Sea_ to the _Propontis_, were forty thousand Paces remote from the City, and twenty _Roman_ Foot in Breadth. These Walls were often taken and batter’d by the barbarous Nations, but repair’d by _Justinian_; and that the Soldiers garrisoned there might defend them to the best Advantage, he order’d the Passages of one Tower to another to be stopp’d up, no Entrance being allow’d, but the Door at the Bottom of the Steps, by which it was ascended; so that by this means it was sufficiently guarded, though the Enemies Forces were in the Heart of the City. _Evagrius_ the sacred Historian tells us, that _Anastasius_ built the long Wall, which was two hundred and eighty Furlongs distant from the City, that it reach’d from Sea to Sea, was four hundred Furlongs in Length, that it was a good Security to those who sail’d out of the _Black Sea_ to the _Propontis_, and that it put a Stop to the Excursions of the barbarous Nations.

_The End of the First Book._

THE ANTIQUITIES OF CONSTANTINOPLE.