Part 82

From the W. gate of the Seraskerat, or from the W. angle of the outer court of the Suleiman mosque, we may soon reach the two-storied =Aqueduct of Valens= (Pl. F, E, 6, 5), dating from the reign of that emperor (368 A. D.) but much restored. It bridges the space between the fourth and third hills of the city.

On the S. side of the aqueduct, near the scene of the great fire of 1908, rises the _Shahzadeh Mosque_ (Pl. E, F, 5; ‘prince’s mosque’), an early work of Sinán (see above), erected by Suleiman in 1543–7 in memory of his son Mohammed. The plan is similar to that of the Mehmedieh (see below). It is charmingly fitted up in the interior. In the two türbehs repose the princes Mohammed and Jíhangir and the princess Mihrimah. As a rule the muezzin permits visitors to ascend one of the minarets for a small gratuity.

From this mosque the Rue Chahsadé Bachi ascends to the N.W. to the =Mosque of Mohammed II.= (Pl. D, E, 4; _Mehmedieh_ or _Fatih Jami_; comp. p. 542), the holiest in Constantinople after that of Eyúb (p. 555). It was built by the Greek _Christodulos_ in 1463–9 on the fourth hill of the city, on the site and with the materials of the _Apostles’ Church_. This church, founded by Constantine, had been restored by Justinian and was famous as the burial-place of the emperors.

The outer court, planted with cypresses, on the N.W. side of which a busy market is held, is surrounded, as in the Byzantine age, by a great many miscellaneous buildings. The plan of the mosque is probably the same as that of the Apostles’ Church. The forecourt is commanded by two minarets. The interior, in the form of a Greek cross, has four half-domes in the two axes adjoining the central dome, four smaller corner-domes, and three galleries. The whole building was modernized after the earthquake of 1767.

The first _Türbeh_ behind the mosque is that of ‘the Conqueror’.

From the N.W. corner of the outer court the Sultan Mehmed and Sultan Selim streets lead to the N. to the _Mosque of Selim I._ (Pl. E, 3; Turk. _Selimieh_) on the fifth city-hill, erected by Suleiman the Great in 1520–6 in memory of his warlike father Selim I. (p. 542). This is the simplest of all the sultans’ mosques. The outer walls are roofed with a single semicircular dome.

To the S. of Mehmedieh, between the fourth city-hill and the _Lykos Valley_, among the ruins caused by a fire, rises _Marcian’s Column_ (Pl. D, E, 5; Turk. Kiz Tash, maiden’s stone), erected in honour of that emperor (450–7).

In the Lykos Valley, to the S.W. of Marcian’s Column, once lay the _Barracks of the Janissaries_ (p. 550), who were massacred in the Et Meïdán here (Pl. D, 5; ‘place of flesh’) after a revolt in 1826.—In the _Ak Seraï_ quarter (Pl. D, E, 6), on the ancient triumphal way (p. 550), lay the Roman _Forum Boarium_ (cattle-market). The road ascended thence to the seventh city-hill. Here, in the quarter now called _Avret Bazar_, is still seen the pedestal of the marble _Column of Arcadius_ (Pl. D, 7; Turk. Avret Tash, women’s stone), the sole surviving relic of the forum of Arcadius.

From the Mehmedieh a main street (carr. 5 pias.) leads direct in ¼ hr., to the N.W., to the Edirneh Kapu (see below).

Beside the city-wall, near Rue Edirné Kapou, is the sixth and highest city-hill, on which rises the _Mihrimah Mosque_ (Pl. C, 3), built in 1556 by Sinán (p. 552) for the princess Mihrimah (p. 545), on the site of the Byzantine monastery of St. George, and restored in 1910.—From the Greek _Church of St. George_ we walk about 250 paces to the N.E., and then descend to the right, near the city-wall, to visit the—

=Kahrieh Mosque= (Pl. C, 2), once the church of the monastery of _Chora_ (‘in the country’), which probably existed before the time of Theodosius II. It was restored in the 11th cent. and enlarged in the 14th, and contains famous Byzantine *Mosaics (sacristan lives near).

We now turn our steps to the ruinous _Edirneh Kapu_ (Pl. C, 2; Adrianople Gate), the gate of Charisius or cemetery-gate (Porta Polyandriu) of the Byzantines.

Outside the gate, where stretches the largest _Moslem Cemetery_ of Stambul, we obtain an excellent view of the old *=Land-Wall= of the city, over 4 M. in length. The chief part of it is the _Theodosian Wall_ (p. 541), extending from the Sea of Marmora to the Tekfur Seraï (see below). This was originally a single wall, defended by towers, but after an earthquake in 447 it was doubled, the two walls being 66 yds. apart and, from the bottom of the moat, 100 ft. high.

The S. part of the land-wall may be visited by carriage (one-horse 10, two-horse 10 or 15 pias.; bargaining necessary) from the Edirneh Kapu. We drive past _Top Kapu_ (Pl. A, 4; ‘cannon-gate’), once the gate of St. Romanos, famed in the siege of 1453, to Yedi Kuleh railway-station (Pl. A, B, 9). We may return thence to the town by local train (about every ½ hr.), or from the Yedi Kuleh Gate by tramway (No. 4; change at Ak Seraï, p. 553), or from Psamatia Kapu (Pl. B, 8) by local steamer (p. 538).

Near the S. end of the wall rises the castle of =Yedi Kuleh= (Pl. A, 9; ‘seven towers’; adm. except Sun. 2½ pias.; small fee to lantern-bearer), rebuilt by Mohammed II., within which is the dilapidated _Porta Aurea_ (‘golden gate’), once the triumphal gate of the Byzantine emperors.—On the Sea of Marmora, at the point where the land-wall joined the _Marmora Sea Wall_, rises the octagonal _Mermer Kuleh_ (Pl. A, 9; ‘marble tower’), the sole relic of a castle of the time of Emp. Basil II. (976–1025).

To the N.E. of the Edirneh Kapu, beyond the _Greek Cemetery_ (Pl. C, 2), the Theodosian city-wall is joined by the single but stronger _Wall of the Blachernae Quarter_ (‘marsh-land quarter’). This wall served for the defence of the famous St. Mary’s Church of the empress Pulcheria (ca. 450), and for that of the Blachernæ Palace, founded at the end of the 5th cent., which in the 12th cent. became the imperial residence instead of the older palaces in the Augusteion (p. 549). The wall dates partly from the reigns of Emp. Heraklios (610–41), Leo V. (813–20), and Manuel Comnenus (1143–80), but was largely rebuilt in the 14th and 15th centuries.

The ruined Byzantine palace rising above the town-wall near the small _Kerkoporta_ (Pl. C, 2), the so-called _Tekfur Seraï_ (‘emperor’s palace’), was probably founded by Constantine VII. Porphyrogenetos (912–59). Of the _Blachernae Palace_ itself the foundations are still traceable between the _Egri Kapu_ (Pl. C, 1; once Porta Kaligaria) and the Aivas Effendi Mosque. To the old terrace of the palace belonged the massive _Towers of Isaak Angelos_ and _Anemas_ (Pl. C, 1).

On the N. side the land-walls end with the picturesque castle of _Brachionon_ or _Pentapyrgion_, answering to the Yedi Kuleh on the S. side. It lies between the inner and the site of the outer Blachernæ gate. Near it are buried the Arabs who fell in 678 (p. 541).

From the _Aivan Seraï Kapu_ (Pl. D, 1), which belongs to the old _Sea Wall on the Golden Horn_ (p. 541), a broad road to the left (N.W.) leads through the suburb of _Ortakjilar_ (Pl. B, C, 1) to (¾ M.) Eyúb (p. 555). Straight on, we soon reach the Aivan Seraï pier (p. 555).

c. The Golden Horn.

By CAÏQUE (p. 538) from the New Bridge to Eyúb about 1 hr., to the Sweet Waters 1½–2 hrs. (there and back 20–25 pias.). The row back is

## particularly fine towards sunset.—STEAMBOAT (p. 538) to Eyúb in ¾ hr.,

thence to the Sweet Waters 20 min.

The =Golden Horn=, already named _Chrysokeras_ by the Greeks, an arm of the sea 4½ M. long and at the widest point ½ M. across, probably a submerged side-valley of the Bosporus, is one of the finest natural harbours in the world. In the Byzantine period it was closed for defensive purposes by a chain. It consists of the _Outer Commercial Harbour_ (Pl. H, I, 4, 5), with the Galata Quay (p. 543) and the new quays on the Stambul side, the _Inner Commercial Harbour_ (Pl. G, H, 4), between the two bridges, and the _Naval Harbour_ (Pl. E-G, 2, 3).

The voyager on the Golden Horn is chiefly struck with the busy harbour scenes and the picturesque appearance of the crowded Oriental quarters rising from the banks. Starting from the New Bridge (Pl. H, 4) the steamer crosses the inner commercial harbour to the pier of _Yemish Iskelesí_ (Pl. G, 4) at Stambul, at the foot of the terrace of the Suleiman Mosque, and then passes under the Old Bridge (Pl. F, G, 4; p. 552) into the naval harbour. On the Stambul side it first calls at the piers of _Jubali Kapu_ and _Aya Kapu_ (Pl. F, 3), the latter lying below Selim’s Mosque (p. 553).

Next, on the same side, are the piers of _Phanar_ (Pl. E, 2), the Greek quarter, where a terrible massacre took place in 1821, and _Balat_ (Pl. D, 2), the largest Jewish quarter.

On the opposite bank, from the Old Bridge onwards, lie the dockyard buildings. On the bay of _Kasím Pasha_ (calling-place of some of the steamboats) is the _Ministry of Marine_ (Divan Haneh; Pl. G, 2, 3), with its surrounding barracks, workshops, and docks. In front of it are anchored men-of-war and guard-ships.

The steamer next touches at _Ters Haneh_ (Pl. E, 2), on the E. bank, at the end of the dockyard, and at the Jewish quarter of _Haskiöi_ (Has Keuï; Pl. E, 1); then, on the W. bank, at _Aivan Seraï_ (Pl. D, 1; p. 554), where we have a fine view of the N.E. end of the land-walls and the beginning of the sea-wall on the Golden Horn; then, on the E. bank, at _Kalijeh Oglu_, and on the W. bank at _Defterdar Iskelesí_ (Pl. C, 1) and _Eyúb_ (see inset plans in Plan of City).

In the suburb of *=Eyúb=, a few minutes’ walk from the pier, is the famous _Mosque of Eyúb_, where the ceremony of girding each new sultan with the sword takes place. It was built of white marble by Mohammed II., the Conqueror, in 1459, adjacent to the türbeh of Abu Eyúb Ensari, the legendary standard-bearer of the prophet, whose tomb here was revealed in a vision a few days after the conquest. The spot is so revered by the Moslems that until now no Christian dared set foot even in the outer court. Since the establishment of the new Turkish government, however, visitors may enter the deeply impressive court and even the mosque itself, but they should be careful not to remain standing between the railings in the centre of the court and the gilded windows on the wall-side.

From the mosque, up the hill-side to the N.E., extends the picturesque _Cemetery_, with its venerable cypresses. A path ascends from the mosque, past a monastery (_Tekkeh_) of the dancing dervishes (p. 543), to the top, where we have a splendid *View of both banks of the Golden Horn.

From Eyúb a smaller local steamer plies through the _Stambul Liman_, the shallow N.W. arm of the Golden Horn, 1¼ M. long, to _Kiathaneh_, or _Kiahat Haneh_; this trip, on Fridays or Sundays in spring, affords an interesting picture of Turkish life. At Kiathaneh two streams fall into the Golden Horn, the so-called =Sweet Waters of Europe= (the Asiatic waters, see p. 558), or _Eaux Douces_. The eastmost is the _Kiathaneh Suyu_, in the valley of which, about 1¼ M. up, is a château of the sultan, the most popular holiday resort of the citizens of Constantinople. In the meadows, under shady trees, are erected huts and arbours, where music and amusements of all kinds are provided. The Moslems enjoy themselves sedately here on Fridays; the Christians come on Sundays; hither too the people of fashion ride or drive. Shortly before sunset a whole flotilla of boats on the Golden Horn returns home to the city.

d. Scutari.

STEAM FERRY BOATS from the _New Bridge_ (see p. 538) and _Beshiktash_ to Scutari. Those from the New Bridge to the minor stations _Salajak_, near the Leander tower, and _Harem-Iskelesí_, below the Selimieh Barracks (p. 536), are less frequent and are seldom used by strangers.—CARRIAGES have the same tariff as in the city (p. 538). Drive from the pier to the Chamlija Spring and back viâ the Great Cemetery (about 2½ hrs.) 1½ mejidiehs (30 pias.).—HORSE to the Bulgurlu about 1 mej.

The steamer leaves the Seraglio Point on the right and steers to the E. to (¼ hr.) the chief landing-place at Scutari, which lies on the Asiatic shore, in a bay to the N. of the promontory. To the right, off the end of the promontory, is a flat islet on which rises the so-called _Leander’s Tower_ (by the Turks named _Kiz Kulesí_, _i.e._ maiden’s tower, from the legend that a sultan’s daughter was once kept here), with a signalling station and lights.

=Scutari= (no European inns), Turk. _Üsküdar_, the ancient _Chrysopolis_, the harbour of Chalcedon (p. 536), now a large suburb of Constantinople, contains 90,000 inhab., comparatively few of whom are Armenians and Greeks. Its fine old mosques, its crooked streets, and its small timber houses give it a more Oriental character than Stambul. Until a century ago Scutari was the terminus of the caravan-routes from Asia Minor, by which the treasures of the East were brought to Constantinople. It is still the starting-point of the sacred annual Mecca caravan.

From the pier we follow the broad main street past the _Büyük Jami_ (‘Great Mosque’; 1547), on the left, and the _Yeni Valideh Jami_ (1707–10), on the right, beyond which a road to the right diverges to the Dervishes’ Monastery and the Great Cemetery.

[Illustration: CONSTANTINOPLE]

The street, inclining to the left, next leads to the quarters of =Yeni Mahalleh=, with an Armenian cemetery, and =Baglar Bashi=; then, past villas, to the village of =Bulgurlukiöi=. Before the village is reached a road to the left leads to (2 M. from the pier) the =Chamlija Spring=, shaded by great plane-trees, a favourite Friday and Sunday resort like the Sweet Waters (p. 556).

We may thence ascend (to the N., ¼ hr.) the =Great Bulgurlu= or _Büyük Chamlija_ (879 ft.; small café, bargaining necessary), which, in the forenoon especially, affords a superb *View of Constantinople, the Bosporus, and the Sea of Marmora.

On the way back we turn to the left, skirting the Armenian cemetery, to visit the *_Great Cemetery_ (Büyük Mezaristán), the largest Moslem burial-ground in the East. The lower road through it leads to the N. to the _Monastery of the Howling Dervishes_ (Rufaï Tekkeh; no admittance).

To the S. of the Great Cemetery lies _Haidar Pasha_ (p. 536), with a large _Military Hospital_, where Florence Nightingale (1820–1910) first devoted herself to her philanthropic work. Adjoining the Hospital is the _British Cemetery_, containing a tall granite Obelisk in memory of the British who fell in the Crimean war.

e. The Bosporus.

LOCAL STEAMERS (p. 538), with 17 stations on the European side and 12 on the Asiatic, never all touched at on the same voyage. To _Rumeli Kavak_, the northmost station on the W. shore, in 2 hrs., 5 (in summer 6) steamers only. From any station it is easy to ferry to the opposite shore (5–10 pias.).

The Thracian *=Bosporus= (‘ox-ford’, from the Greek myth that Io swam in the shape of a cow from Asia to Europe), Turk. Kara _Denis Boghaz_ or _Stambul Boghaz_ (Black Sea or Stambul Straits), which, like the Dardanelles (p. 534), was formed by the subsidence of a river-valley in the tertiary period (comp. p. xxxiv), connects the Sea of Marmora with the Black Sea. Length 20 M., breadth about 2 M., average depth 89 ft. (greatest about 395 ft.). A surface-stream, quickened by the prevailing N.E. winds, and consisting of the fresher water of the Black Sea, fed by its copious rivers, constantly pours through the straits towards the Mediterranean, while the saltier and heavier water of the latter flows in the opposite direction in a strong under-current into the Black Sea. The steep coast-hills of the N. part, as far as Rumeli Kavak, consist of eruptive rock, basalt, dolerite, and trachyte; in the S. part the prevailing formations are Devonian, clay-slate, greywacke, quarzite, and limestone. The peninsula of Stambul is of the miocene formation.

A trip on the Bosporus affords a highly picturesque and varied panorama of the scenery on its banks, and on the way back we suddenly obtain a striking view of the great city and its suburbs. The more important places only are named below. (L. signifies landing-place or pier.)