Part 80

=Post Offices.= _British_ (Pl. H, 4); _Turkish International_, Rue Voïvode in Galata (Pl. H, 4), Grande Rue de Péra, opposite the Galata Seraï, near the Yeni Valideh Jami (Pl. H, 5) in Stambul, and at the railway-station. France, Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Russia also have their own post-offices. French is generally understood. Postage within Turkey ½–2 pias. for 10 grammes, post-card 20 paras; foreign letters 1 pias. per 20 grammes.

=Telegraph Offices.= The _Turkish International Post Offices_ (see above) send telegrams to foreign countries as well as within Turkey. _Eastern Telegraph Co._, at the Turkish post-office, Grande Rue de Péra (see above), for foreign parts (to Great Britain each word 66 c.).

=Steamboat Agents= (offices mostly behind the custom-house at Galata; comp. Pl. H, 4). _Messageries Maritimes_, Mumhaneh Street; _N. Paquet & Co._, T. Reboul; _Società Nazionale_, Barboro, Cité Française: _North German Lloyd_, Mewes, Mumhaneh Street, Charab Iskelessi 7–9; _German Levant Line_, Mehemed Ali Pasha-Han; _Austrian Lloyd_, Mumhaneh Street; _Khedivial Mail_, Silley, Galata Quay, Meimanetli Han; _Russian Steam Navigation & Trading Co._, Petcheneff, Kiretsh Kapu; _Rumanian State Maritime Service_, Galata Quay.—=Tourist Agents=, _Thos. Cook & Son_, Rue Kabristan 12, opposite Pera Palace Hotel.

=Guides.= The _International Courier’s and Guides Office_, near the Pera Palace Hotel (p. 537), provides reliable guides (10 fr. per day for Constantinople and its environs, including the Bosporus).

=Embassies and Consulates.= GREAT BRITAIN: Ambassador, _Right Hon. Sir G. A. Lowther_ (office, Pl. H, 2; in summer at Therapia). Consul-General, _H. Eyres_ (office, Pl. H, 4); consul, _A. T. Waugh_; vice-consul, _W. S. Edmonds_.—UNITED STATES: Ambassador, _O. S. Straus_ (office, Pl. I, 2). Consul-General, vacat; vice-consul, _O. S. Heizer_.

=Physicians.= English, German, and others (addresses at the hotels or at the chemists’).—=Chemists.= In the Grande Rue de Péra, _Ehrlich_, No. 579; _Canzuch & Giannetti_, No. 247; _Matkowitsch_, No. 420; _Della Sudda_, No. 298; _Liechtenstein_, Helvaji Street, Galata.

=Baths= at the hotels.—Addresses of _Turkish Baths_ may be obtained at the hotels.—SEA BATHS at the European places on the Bosporus.

=Banks.= _Banque Ottomane_, Rue Voïvode, Galata, and Grande Rue de Péra 407, with exchange offices; _Crédit Lyonnais_, near the New Bridge, Galata; also _German_, _German Orient_, _Vienna_, and others.—MONEY CHANGERS (_sarráf_) abound in the Rue Karakeuï (Pl. H, 4; p. 543), Grande Rue de Péra, etc.

=Booksellers.= _Economic Book Store_, Passage du Tunnel; _O. Keil_, No. 457, and _S. H. Weiss_, No. 481 Grande Rue de Péra.—NEWSPAPERS (¼ pias.). _Levant Herald_, with Engl. and Fr. editions; _Le Stamboul_, _Moniteur Oriental_, French; _Osmanische Lloyd_, German and French. All have steamboat and other time-tables and notices.

=Photographs & Picture Post Cards.= All in Grande Rue de Péra, _Fruchtermann_, No. 335; _Keil_, No. 457; _Sébah & Joaillier_, No. 439; _Berggren_, No. 414 (line views of the city and environs). Photographic materials sold by _Caracache Frères_, Nos. 675 and 398, and _Weinberg_, No. 467.

=Theatre= in the grounds of the Petits Champs (Pl. H, 2).—A BAND plays on summer evenings in the same grounds and in the Taxim Park (Pl. I, 1); adm. 1–2 pias.

=Churches.= _Church of England_, at the chapel of the British Embassy (Pl. H, 2), during summer at Therapia (see p. 559); _Christ Church_ (Pl. H, 3), in the Rue Yazidji; _Presbyterian Church_, in the chapel of the Dutch Legation, Rue des Postes, near the Grande Rue (Pl. H, 3).

=Sights.= _Antiquities, Collection of_, see New Museum.

_Bazaar, Great_ (p. 551), best visited early; closed 1 hr. before sunset; Frid., Sat., and Sun. are respectively Moslem, Jewish, and Christian holidays. Inexperienced travellers may bring a guide or the dragoman of their hotel (but see p. xxvi). Large purchases may be sent home by a goods-agent.

_Beylerbey Seraï_ (p. 558), adm. as in the case of the Seraglio.

_Chinili Kiosque_ (p. 547), see under New Museum.

_Egyptian Bazaar_ (_Missir Charshi_; p. 545), as the Great Bazaar.

_Galata Tower_ (p. 543), all day, 5 pias. (custodian with light, 2 pias.).

_Mosques_ (Turk. _Jami_; very small, _mesjid_), all open to Christians till sunset; during Ramadan, the Moslem month of fasting, they are gorgeously lighted and then open in the evening also (comp. p. 549). At the inner door the sacristan provides overshoes, or visitors may take off their own. Hats also are removed (comp. p. xxv). There is no charge for admission but it is usual to give the sacristan a fee of 5 pias. per person (less for a party) for the loan of overshoes.—The _Tomb Chapels_ (Turk, _türbeh_) are open on similar conditions; fee 1–5 pias., according to their importance.

_Museum, Janissaries’_ (p. 550), all day, 3 pias.—_Military Museum_, in the Church of Irene (p. 548), Sun., Tues., & Thurs. 10–4.—_New Museum_ (p. 546), daily except Frid., 9–5, in winter 10–3, adm. 5 pias.; tickets available for the Chinili Kiosque also.

_Seraglio Palace_ (p. 548). The consulates, to which application should be made a few days beforehand, arrange for visits to the _Treasury_ and part of the old Seraglio on Sun & Tues. (small fee).

_Türbeh_, see under Mosques.

TWO DAYS (when time is limited). 1st. Forenoon, *_Galata Tower_ (p. 543), _Yeni Valideh Jami_ (p. 545), *_New Museum_ (p. 546), _Chinili Kiosque_ (p. 547); afternoon, trip on the *_Bosporus_ (p. 557), or to _Scutari_ (p. 556); summer evening in the _Gardens of the Petits Champs_ (p. 544) or the _Taxim Park_ (p. 544).—2nd. Forenoon, *_Aya Sophia_ (p. 548), _At Meïdán_ (p. 549), *_Great Bazaar_ (p. 551), *_Suleiman Mosque_ (p. 552); afternoon, _Land-Wall_ (p. 553); _Eyúb_ (pp. 555, 556); _Serasker Tower_ (p. 551).—Visitors should be on their guard against pickpockets, especially in Galata and Pera.

_Constantinople_, Turk. _Stambul_ or _Stamboul_, Ital. _Costantinopoli_, Slav. _Tsarigrad_ (emperor’s town), capital of the Turkish empire and residence of the Sultan (since 1909 Mohammed V., b. 1844; successor of Abdul Hamid, p. 544), is the seat of the government (the ‘Sublime Porte’), and also of the Sheikh ul-Islam, of the patriarchs of the Greek and Armenian churches, and of a papal legate. It lies on the Sea of Marmora, at the mouth of the Bosporus, in 41° N. lat. and 28° 58′ E. longitude.

The CITY consists of several distinct quarters. _Stambul_, in the narrower sense, forms a nearly equilateral triangle between the Golden Horn (p. 555) and the Sea of Marmora; to the N.E., on the slopes of the opposite bank of the Golden Horn and on the adjacent shore of the Bosporus, lie the Frank quarters of _Galata_ and _Pera_ and their suburbs; and to the E., on the gently sloping Asiatic shore of the Bosporus, lies the Turkish town of _Scutari_ with its suburbs. According to recent estimates Constantinople contains 1,125,000 inhab. (or, without the Asiatic quarters, 943,000), incl. about 500,000 Turks, more than 200,000 Greeks, 180,000 Armenians, 65,000 Jews, mostly Spanish (see p. 542), and 70,000 Europeans. The foreign residents are said to number 130,000.

The SITUATION of Constantinople has justly won the admiration of all ages. The vast city of Stambul curving over the slopes between the Sea of Marmora and the Golden Horn, the suburbs on the Bosporus, its green banks studded with villages, palaces, and mosques, the Golden Horn with its busy bridges and its countless vessels, all combine to form a picture of matchless beauty.

The CLIMATE of Constantinople, which lies in the same latitude as Naples (p. 137), is unsettled and comparatively cool. During the greater part of the year the city is exposed to N.E. winds from the Siberian steppes, which sweep through the Bosporus and in winter occasionally bring snow. The best season for a visit is autumn (end of Sept. to beginning of Nov.). The summer, however, is usually fine and not unbearably hot, the coolest places being those on the Bosporus, a little to the N., which are sheltered from the due S. winds (as Therapia, Büyükdereh, etc.). The mean temperature of the year is 57½° Fahr., that of the hottest month (Aug.) 74°, and that of the coldest (Feb.) 41°. The rainfall averages 28¾ in.

HISTORY. Attracted by the striking advantages of the site, at the junction of two great portions of the globe and on the great water highway between the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, the Dorians founded the colony of =Byzantium=, about 660 B.C., on the promontory (Seraglio Point, p. 536) commanding the entrance to the Bosporus. This colony, however, like the towns on the coast of Asia Minor, was unable to withstand the attacks of the Persians; when _Darius I._ crossed the Bosporus in his campaign against the Scythians the Byzantines were compelled to supply him with ships; and their town was afterwards destroyed by the Persians for taking part in the Ionian revolt. The long but somewhat weak alliance of Byzantium with Athens was succeeded by closer bonds when the town was threatened by _Philip of Macedonia_. Being hard pressed by _Phokion_ Philip was compelled to raise the siege of the town (340–339). Under _Alexander the Great_ and his successors Byzantium maintained its autonomy, but in 278 it suffered seriously from an attack by the Gauls (‘Galatians’) settled in Thrace.

In the wars against _Philip III. of Macedonia_ Byzantium became the natural ally of Rome, and this alliance continued to subsist under the earlier Roman emperors. In 193–6 _Septimius Severus_ besieged the town to punish it for siding with the rival emperor Pescennius Niger, and deprived it of its liberties and privileges; but he afterwards rebuilt the walls, regarding it as an important bulwark of the empire. In 269 _Emp. Claudius II._ here repelled the attacks of the _Goths_ when they attempted to force their way south from the Danube.

Having become master of the whole empire by the capture of Byzantium in 324 _Emp. Constantine_ chose it as his new capital on account of its admirable situation on the threshold of the East. In 330 it was officially styled New Rome, but soon became generally known as =Constantinopolis=. Enclosed by Constantine’s new walls it now extended to the W. to the region of the present Old Bridge (Pl. F, 4) and of Psamatia (Pl. B, C, 8). The Romans retained the old division of the city into fourteen regions, and they even found in it their seven hills again. The environs as far as the 7th milestone (hebdomon), called the exokionion, were assigned to the seven milliarii of the Gothic body-guard. Under _Arcadius_, in 395, Constantinople became the capital of the new E. Roman empire. The rapid increase of the population and the necessity of defending it against the attacks of the _Huns_ and _Goths_ induced _Anthemius_, regent during the minority of _Theodosius II._ (408–50), to build the new Theodosian town-walls, ½–1¼ M. to the W. of those of Constantine. In 439 sea-walls along the Sea of Marmora and the Golden Horn were added, and after 447, in consequence of an attack by Attila and to repair the damage done by an earthquake, the land-walls were restored and strengthened.

Byzantium attained the zenith of its prosperity under _Justinian_ (527–65). He rebuilt the city, after its almost entire destruction in 532 during the rebellion of the circus parties (Nika revolt), in a far grander style, and on the site of Constantine’s basilica founded the famous church of St. Sophia. In the form of Byzantine civilization antique culture survived until the middle ages, although finally in a merely torpid state. This Byzantine development, with its Greek language and independent Oriental church under the patriarchal government at Constantinople, was an outcome of the late Greek (‘Hellenistic’) and Roman culture.

After the time of Justinian the empire was shaken to its foundations by intestine disorders and foreign wars. The attacks of the _Avars_ and _Persians_ (627) were succeeded by the irruption of the _Arabs_ under the Omaiyades (p. 485), who in 673–8 and 717–8 besieged Constantinople by sea and by land. About the same time the _Bulgarians_ founded an independent kingdom in the Balkan peninsula, and they too (in 813 and 924) attacked the city. Russian fleets forced their way into the Sea of Marmora in 860 and 1048. Economically, too, Constantinople was on the wane; from the 11th cent. onwards the _Seljuks_ were gaining ground in Asia Minor, and the Italian maritime cities were rapidly acquiring wealth and power.

The quarrels of aspirants to the throne during the Angelos dynasty led in 1204 to the capture of Constantinople by the Crusaders and to the foundation of a new western or ‘Latin’ empire. In 1261 the Greek emperor _Michael Palaeologos_, who resided at Nikæa, succeeded in driving the Franks out of Constantinople with the aid of the Genoese, to whom he presented Galata (see below) as a reward. But the Turkish peril came ever nearer. The _Osmans_, having conquered Asia Minor in the 13th cent., crossed the Dardanelles (comp. p. 534) under _Orkhân_ in 1357, and under _Murad I._, in 1361, made Adrianople the residence of the sultans instead of Brussa. They were weakened for a time by the attacks of Timur (p. 485), but in 1411 and 1422 they proceeded to besiege Constantinople.

After a heroic defence by _Constantine XI. Palaeologos_, the last Greek emperor, the city was at length captured in 1453 by _Mohammed II._ (Mehemed el-Fatih, ‘the conqueror’), and under the name of =Stambul= became the capital of the Osmans. Its fortunes were now at their lowest ebb; it was almost entirely depopulated and reduced to ruins, as had been its fate when captured by the Crusaders in 1204. But soon Turkish settlers from all quarters thronged to the new capital, and many Christians also, their lives and religion being safeguarded, while numerous Jews banished from Spain in 1492 found a new home here and have retained their old language and characteristics ever since. The building enterprise of the Turkish sultans, especially of _Selim I._ (1512–20), the conqueror of Syria, Mesopotamia, and Egypt, and of _Suleiman the Great_ (1520–66), as well as of the Turkish magnates, was directed exclusively to public edifices. They erected mosques (p. 539) on the model of the earlier church of the Apostles and of the Aya Sophia (or church of St. Sophia), tomb-chapels (p. 539), bazaars and warehouses (_han_), and baths and fountains (_sebil_, with running water; _cheshmeh_, draw-well). In the midst of these sumptuous buildings lay a labyrinth of crooked streets and lanes, the brightly painted timber houses with their grated balconies (kafehs) being often of one story only, while here and there this strange sea of houses was relieved by gardens and burial-grounds.

To some extent, notwithstanding destructive fires (as in 1865 and 1908) and earthquakes (the last in 1894), the old Oriental characteristics of the city still survive in the old town of _Stambul_, the chief seat of the Oriental merchants and the petty traders, and also at Scutari (p. 556). _Galata_, on the other hand, the centre of the European trade, is much like an Italian seaport-town. Above it, to the N., lies _Pera_, a suburb which sprang up in the 19th cent., and which, since a great fire in 1870, has been almost entirely rebuilt in quite European fashion.

Of BOOKS on Constantinople may be mentioned: _Grosvenor_, Constantinople (2 vols., London, 1895); _W. H. Hutton_, Constantinople in the ‘Mediæval Towns Series’ (London, 1900); and _Van Millingen_, Byzantine Constantinople, The Walls, etc. (London, 1899).

a. Galata and Pera.

=Galata=, the oldest suburb of Constantinople, rises on the slope of a plateau on the N. side of the entrance to the Golden Horn (p. 555), corresponding with the 13th region of the city of Constantine (p. 541). In the middle ages it was usually called _Peira_. Its inhabitants are chiefly Greeks and Armenians. In 1304 the Genoese (see above) enclosed it with a wall, and down to 1453 held an almost independent position under their own rulers (podestà). The wall was often rebuilt and was at last removed (1864).

Behind the GALATA QUAY (Pl. H, I, 4), constructed in 1879–95, lies a labyrinth of narrow and dirty streets, extending to the other side of the GRAND RUE DE GALATA (p. 545), the chief thoroughfare to the N.E. suburbs. At the S.W. end of the latter are the still busier RUE DE KARAKEUÏ (Pl. H, 4), beside the New Bridge (p. 545), and the Place Karakeuï. where the _Exchange_ rises on the left.

In the old-fashioned W. quarter of Galata are the ruinous _Palace of the Podestà_ (in the Pershembeh Bazaar, Pl. H, 4) and the _Arab Jami_ (Pl. G, 4), the oldest mosque in the city, which was founded at the time of the Arab attacks (717). Near it is the _Yanik Kapu_, an old Genoese gateway. A little farther on, near the Old Bridge (p. 552), is the _Asab Kapu Jami_ (Pl. G, 3, 4), erected by Sinán (p. 552), adjoining which is a beautiful *_Sebíl_ (p. 542), with gilded railings and far projecting timber roof (18th cent.).

From the Old Bridge Pera is reached by the broad Rue Iskander (Pl. G, 3), and from the New Bridge by the steep and dirty YÜKSEK KALDIRIM (Pl. H, 3, 4), partly in steps (and also by the tunnel or by tramway No. 1; p. 538).

On the boundary between Galata and Pera, a little to the W. of the N. end of the Yüksek Kaldirim, rises the =Galata Tower= (Pl. H, 3; 148 ft. high), now entirely modernized, the ascent of which (p. 539) forms the best introduction to a walk through the city. It marks the spot where the new land-walls on the E. and W. sides of Galata met in 1348. We mount 143 steps to the room of the fire-watchmen, and 72 more to the three upper stories.

The *PANORAMA from the fourteen windows of the watchmen’s room embraces Galata with the buildings on the quay; to the N.E. is the Jihangir Mosque (p. 544); opposite, on the Asiatic coast, to the extreme left is the palace of Beylerbey (p. 558); farther to the S. is Scutari, dominated by the Great and Little Bulgurlu (p. 557). To the S.E. lie the Princes Islands (p. 535); to the S., above the S. coast of the Sea of Marmora, rises the Bithynian Olympos (p. 535). With the aid of the Plan of the city we may easily locate the chief buildings of Stambul, from the Aya Sophia and the Ahmed Mosque with its six minarets, to the S., round to the Great Bazaar with its numerous little domes, to the Place d’Armes (Séraskier-Kapou), with the great tower, the barracks, and the Suleiman Mosque, to the Mihrimah Mosque, and to the Byzantine city-wall at the extreme N. end of Stambul. At our feet lies the Golden Horn, with the two bridges and the naval harbour. In the distance, to the N.W., peeps the mosque of Eyúb (see inset map in Plan of city).

The modern streets of =Pera=, the European quarter, run to the N.W. from the Galata Tower, between old Turkish cemeteries and large gardens, across the whole hill. The embassies to the Sublime Porte, the European churches, schools, hospitals, and shops also are situated here.

The GRANDE RUE DE PÉRA (Pl. H, I, 3, 2), the continuation of Yüksek Kaldirim, passes the _Monastery of the Dancing Dervishes_ (Tekkeh; Pl. H, 3), whose strange performances may be witnessed on Fridays (except during Ramadan), usually from 7.30 to 8.30 Turkish time (4½–3½ hrs. before sunset; adm. 5 pias.).

We may now cross the Place du Tunnel, past the upper station of the tunnel railway (Pl. H, 3; p. 538), and follow Rue Kabristan (or one of the narrow streets to the left, farther to the N., such as the Rue Vénédik) to the—

=Public Grounds of tho Petits Champs= (Pl. H, 3, 2), near the _British Embassy_ (Pl. H, 2) and the chief hotels (p. 537). They afford a beautiful view of Stambul and the Golden Horn, and are a favourite resort in the afternoon and evening (concerts, see p. 539).

We return, to the N.E., by Rue Tepé Bachi to the Grande Rue de Péra, whence the Rue Yéni Teharchi leads to the S.E., past the _Galata Seraï_ (Pl. H, 2; Imper. Lyceum), to Top Haneh.

Our street ends, at the N.W. end of Pera, at the PLACE DU TAXIM (Pl. 1, 2). Here on the right, adjoining the Kishla Jaddesí, are the _Artillery Barracks_, one of the chief scenes of conflict on 25th April 1909 when the Young Turks fought their way into the city, and the *=Taxim Park= (Pl. I, 1; band, see p. 539), and on the left a large esplanade.

From the Place du Taxim we may ascend the Ayas Pasha Boulevard, past the _German Embassy_, or from the Taxim Park the Dolma Bagtché Déré (Pl. K, 1; Dolma-garden valley), past the _Ecuries Impériales_, to PLACE DOLMA BAGTCHÉ DÉRÉ. On the E. side of this square, below the suburb of that name, rises the =Dolma Bagcheh Palace= (pp. 558, 546), of which only the high walls with their superb gateways are seen on the inland side. The sultan repairs hither weekly in solemn procession (‘selamlik’) to Friday prayer (at noon), usually offered in the neighbouring _Valideh Jami_ (mosque of the sultan’s mother; Pl. K, 1, 2).

We may now follow the road to the N.E. through the adjacent suburb of _Beshiktash_, where, opposite the steamboat pier, rises the _Türbeh Kheireddin Barbarossa_ (p. 221), which is best viewed from the Bosporus. Farther on are the ruins of the Chiragan Seraï (p. 558).

From the pier of Beshiktash a road leads to the N.E. to the =Yildiz Kiosque=, surrounded with barracks and high walls, formerly the residence of the now deposed sultan Abdul Hamid (1876–1909). The _Palace_ and its _Park_, and the private _Hamidieh Mosque_, built of white marble, are inaccessible.

It is now best to return by tramway (No. 2; p. 538) to the large suburb of =Top Haneh= (Pl. I, 3), inhabited chiefly by Turks, with the loftily situated _Jihangir Mosque_ (1553).

Here, in the esplanade of the Artillery Arsenal on the Bosporus, are situated the _Mosque of Mahmud II._ (1830) and a fine but now roofless _Well House_ of the time of Ahmed II. (1703–30), resembling the sebíl at the Asab Kapu (p. 543). The _Mosque of Kilij Ali Pasha_ (Pl. I, 3) was built by Sinán (p. 552).

We now return to Pera by the Rues Tchoukour Bostan and Yéni Tcharchi (p. 544), or by the GRANDE RUE DE GALATA (Pl. I, H, 3, 4), the busiest international thoroughfare, to Place Karakeuï (p. 543).

b. Stambul.

From the Rue Karakeuï, in Galata, the =New Bridge= (Pl. H, 4, 5) crosses the Golden Horn (p. 555) to Stambul (toll 10 paras; carr. 2½ pias.). It was originally built of timber in 1845, and called _Sultan Valideh Bridge_ after its founder (the ‘sultan’s mother’), and was rebuilt in 1877. The new iron bridge was begun in 1909. It affords beautiful *Views of Galata and Stambul, of the Bosporus and the Asiatic coast, while its busy and picturesque traffic presents scenes of endless variety.

At the S. end of the bridge lies the PLACE EMIN EUNOU (Pl. H, 5), called also _Baluk Bazar_ or fish-market, beyond which rise the fine outlines of the—

*=Yeni Valideh Jami= (Pl. H, 5), or ‘new mosque of the sultan’s mother’. Begun in 1615 by _Khoja Kassim_ for the mother of Ahmed I., after the model of Ahmed’s Mosque, and damaged by the great fire of 1660, it was not completed till 1663. In the middle of the outer court are ranged, as in all the larger Turkish mosques, the forecourt (harám) with its three portals, the mosque itself, and the türbeh (p. 539), all turned towards Mecca (to the S.E.).

The forecourt, with its two elegant minarets and large wooden roofs above the side-portals, has a remarkably fine octagonal fountain of ablution (shudrivàn) in the centre.