Journal of a Visit to Constantinople and Some of the Greek Islands in the Spring and Summer of 1833

The Sultan is now not sorry we declined his offer, for he spends a great portion of his leisure in this, the most pleasant, romantic, and delightful of all his summer residences. We left it highly gratified, after partaking of some delicious strawberries, cherries, and melons, which the gardeners brought us from the hot-houses.

DEPARTURE OF THE ACTÆON. After dining at the palace, I found an opportunity of mentioning to his Lordship that I was invited to return home in the Actæon, she being supposed to be on the point of sailing; but, if this was uncertain, I should endeavour to find another mode of conveyance. Lord Ponsonby, thus appealed to, acknowledged that there was no chance of the ship sailing till her time was up, for he had written to the admiral of the station, and the government at home, to have the Actæon fixed at Terapia, at his disposal. As he did not know what might happen between him and the Russians, he thought it right to have a frigate to go away in, if necessary; and he preferred that vessel for the purpose, as he felt a strong personal friendship and regard towards both captain and officers. This communication, which was highly complimentary to my friends, as well as particularly satisfactory to myself, decided me at once, and, on returning home, I announced to my gay warm-hearted companions on board the Actæon that the painful moment of separation was at hand. The blow was not unexpected, yet some of us would rather it had been deferred. The next morning I started for Pera, and bargained with the directors of the steam-boat for my own and my friend's passage to Malta.

VISIT TO THE MOSQUES. Thursday, 20th.– This being the day fixed for the American chargé d'affaires' visit to the mosques, at nine o'clock our party sallied forth, and, on arriving opposite the Seraglio Gate, we bought slippers, took our pipes, and squatted in the shade, under the wide-spreading roof of the beautiful fountain in the centre of the square.

St. Sophia was built by Justinian on the ruins of a church of the same name, already twice destroyed; and part of the dome was a third time overthrown by an earthquake. Splendid and various were the treasures it once contained; but these have been long since removed by the desecration and sacrilege of the Latin and the Moslem; and nothing of that description is now left to astonish the pilgrim of either creed, who approaches this sacred temple. Justinian gloried that he had erected a place of worship which far surpassed the work of Solomon; and on dedicating it the second time, after the restoration of the dome, he was nearly maddened by joy. What would have been his feelings, could he have foreseen the day when the conquering Latin should defile its altar, and the infidel Turk convert it into a temple for the worshippers of his prophet, after being consecrated to the pure religion of Christianity for a period of nine hundred years! St. Sophia is thus equally an object of veneration to the Christian and the Musulman.

On the arrival of our American friends, we mustered in a large party before the bronze gates of the church, where we were all for a few moments busily engaged in taking off our boots and putting on the slippers we had purchased. This done, we proceeded into the interior of the edifice, with which I confess myself greatly disappointed; as the tout ensemble displays no magnificence, and the impressions on the gazer's mind, partake of none of that involuntary admiration and religious awe, which the sight of an old English cathedral, or the splendid churches of Italy, never fails to produce. One of its greatest defects arises from want of loftiness in the dome, the diameter of which is one hundred and fifteen, while its height does not exceed twenty feet. There is an immense number of columns, the spoils of various heathen temples. Of these, eight, of porphyry, are from that dedicated to the Sun by the Emperor Aurelian; and the same number, of green marble, verd antique, or serpentine, from the temple of Ephesus. Very little of the ancient mosaic now remains, as the devotees, both Turk and Christian, have for ages been in the habit of pillaging it, to make ornaments, beads, and talismans; so that the work of destruction is nearly complete, and a manufacture of these relics, which are composed of gilded glass, will soon be required. I bought a whole handful for a few paras; and having seen them dug out of their cement by the mufti who sold them, I can vouch for their being genuine.

We now ascended into the upper and lower galleries; in the former of which the Greek women performed their devotions, and the men in the latter. Two doors, one on either side of the passage in which we now were, opened into a third gallery, where I was told stood the "gates of heaven and hell." They are of marble, but the origin of this superstition I could not learn. The floor of the mosque was covered with beautiful carpets, and the ornaments resembled those I saw in that of Soliman the Magnificent, which is considered a much finer building. St. Sophia is also surpassed in beauty by the mosque of Sultan Mehemet, which may be considered as the St. Peter's of the East. The next in size and grandeur are those of Achmet and Osman; but as these buildings very much resemble each other, both in external and internal form and decorations, to see one is quite sufficient: "ab uno disce omnes." A greater or less number of elegant, tall, slender minarets or towers, are attached to each mosque in proportion to its size. They are dazzlingly white, like the edifices to which they belong, and are surmounted by golden crescents that flash and sparkle in the brilliant sunbeams of this sultry clime; and, as the number of public religious foundations is immense, independently of thousands of private mosques; the united splendour of so many glittering objects, added to the beauty of the deep blue cloudless sky, contribute to render the view of Constantinople, from a distance, one of the most singular and attractive prospects on the earth.

On quitting St. Sophia, we proceeded to the mosque of the Sultan Achmet, situated in the Atmeidan17; but I did not observe any thing particularly worthy of notice, except the court, which is very beautiful and shaded by fine trees. The Osmalie, or "light of Osman," is built of pure white marble; and may be pronounced to hold the same rank among giomi, or mosques, as the Cathedral of Milan among Christian churches. Its clean and white appearance, the untarnished splendour of the gilded railings which surround that sacred spot, pointing eastward towards Mecca, the burial-place of the Prophet; together with the rich and brilliant patterns of the soft carpets that overspread the floor, called forth unqualified admiration from the whole party. We were equally pleased with the assiduity and politeness of the mufti, or priest, who acted as our conductor, in explaining every thing worthy of notice; as well as the purposes to which the different portions of the edifice were applied.

By this time, our fair American friends had pretty well satisfied their curiosity; and they judiciously resolved not to weaken these favourable impressions, by visiting any less respectable mosque. For my own part, I had been congratulating myself on the pleasure I should enjoy, in making a sort of pilgrimage to that of the lovely, gentle, and virtuous Rose, better known by the name of the Sultana Validè: but the ladies out-voted me; and, after expending a vast deal of eloquence in vain endeavours to inspire them with a portion of my sentimental enthusiasm, I was reluctantly compelled to submit to the disappointment; it being impracticable to get admitted any where without the firman. I therefore made my bow, and returned to Terapia, to complete the necessary arrangements for our intended departure.

Friday, 21st.– I again visited many of the beautiful spots in the vicinity of my residence, to-day; and crossed over to the Sultan's Valley to bid it a final adieu. In recalling to mind, hereafter, the scenes and occurrences of which I was there a partaker, I anticipate even more pleasure than was produced by their actual enjoyment. "Hæc olim meminisse juvabit."

FATE OF CONSTANTINOPLE. Saturday, 22d.– To-day is, probably, the last of my present sojourn in a neighbourhood where I have passed so many happy hours; and I cannot help reflecting on the important changes which may take place in the destiny of this empire before I visit its capital again, in case it should ever be my good fortune to return. Who can at present decide whether the white-haired Russian or the cunning Egyptian, the subtle Greek or the ambitious Gaul, shall be the future monarch of the Queen of cities, and occupy the throne of the Cæsars and the Prophet? Yet, come what may, her glory can suffer but a temporary eclipse; for, independently of the vast political advantages of her position, the beauty of her capacious harbour, which, from the earliest period, has been crowded with the rich navies of the East and West, and which acquired from that circumstance the appellation of the Golden Horn, points out Constantinople as the mistress of a great empire. "The genius of the place will ever triumph over the accidents of time and fortune."

ARMENIAN PAINTER.Having bidden farewell to the officers of the Actæon (the best and worthiest set of fellows whom I ever had the happiness of knowing), and taken leave at the embassy18, I glided away on the rapid current; and soon Terapia19, "the abode of health," was entirely lost to the view. After seeing my baggage safely deposited on board the Francesco, I hastened into Stamboul to take leave of Mustapha; and having given the worthy old Turk a hearty shake of the hand, I returned to Pera. The old Armenian, who paints the costumes of the Turks in water-colours, was there in waiting for me; and after disburthening him of all his collection, I copied the portrait of a Georgian slave, which he had in his possession. She was another rare specimen of Eastern loveliness. The evening was finished at Cartwright's, where we took a "doch'an doras," and bade farewell to that honest warm-hearted jovial fellow.

POETICAL DESCRIPTION. Sunday, 23d.– At 8 o'clock all were on board; and the Prince having done us the honour to be punctual, in one hour afterwards the anchor was up, the steam on, and away we went round the Seraglio Point; leaving the

"Queen of the morn! Sultana of the East!City of wonders, on whose sparkling breast191Fair, slight and tall, a thousand palacesFling their gay shadows over golden seas!Where towers and domes bestud the gorgeous land,And countless masts a mimic forest stand;Where cypress shades; the minarets snowy hue,And gleams of gold dissolve on skies of blue;Daughter of Eastern art! the most divine,Lovely, yet faithless bride of Constantine:Fair Istamboul, whose tranquil mirror flings,Back with delight thy thousand colourings;And who no equal in the world dost knowSave thy own image, pictured thus below!Dazzled – amazed – our eyes, half-blinded, fail,While sweeps the phantasm past our gliding sail.Like as in festive scene, some sudden lightRises in clouds of stars upon the sight.Struck with a splendour never seen before,Drunk with the perfumes wafted from the shore;Approaching near these peopled groves we deemThat from enchantment rose the gorgeous dream.Day without voice; – and motion without sound;Silently beautiful! this haunted groundIs paved with roofs beyond the bounds of sight,Countless and colour'd; wrapp'd in golden light!'Mid groves of cypress, measureless and vast,In thousand forms of crescents, circles, cast,Gold glitters; spangling all the wide extent,And flashes back to Heaven the rays it sent.Gardens and domes – bazars, begem the woods —Seraglio, harems, peopled solitudes,Where the veil'd idol kneels; and vistas throughBarr'd lattices, that give th' enamoured view;Flowers, orange-trees – and waters sparkling near.And black and lovely eyes, alas! that fearTo scare even fancy from her promised land."20192I long'd to see the isles that gemOld Ocean's purple diadem.I sought by turns – and saw them.

The Seraglio and its dark groves; the gilded domes and their snowy, arrow-like minarets; the Seven Towers, with their fancy-pictured terrors, fade gradually from my sight, as the steam-boat rapidly ploughs the glassy wave. The eye, straining itself for a last glimpse of the beautiful city, beholds it resting, like a phantom, on the indistinct verge where heaven and the waters meet, until it sinks into the bosom of the unruffled ocean.

MY FELLOW PASSENGERS. What a motley crew! A royal prince; Spanish nobles; Italian counts; French marquises; Dutch chevaliers; and, I may proudly add, English gentlemen. We had also a quack doctor from Paris; a gaming-house-keeper from Milan; a clergyman, poor as an Apostle, from Iceland; a grim-looking student from the University of Göttingen; a Danish baron, music-mad; a singing count from Sienna; a crazy architect from Paris; and two Russian noblemen. There were only two ladies; – a Russian countess, who read nothing but Homer, and made classical mistakes; and a Bavarian lady, whose great merit was her inclination to render herself agreeable. Then there were the chief captain, the second captain, and the sub-captain; the manager, second manager, and sub-manager. However, two things most necessary to the establishment were still wanting; namely, a good cook, and an honest steward.

MARBLE QUARRIES. The vessel carried a Neapolitan pennant, and was armed with six brass cannon, a very sufficient stand of small-arms, and a forest of boarding-pikes; in case we should be attacked by any of the pirates infesting the Greek Archipelago. An awning was spread over its spacious deck, under which we lived like a swarm of flies, fifty in number, feeding on detestable provender, and sleeping in beds remarkable for uncleanness and their innumerable parasitical tenants. The place marked on our route to be first visited was that part of the Island of Marmora containing the quarries which have supplied Constantinople with building materials from time immemorial; but in reference to the precise spot where they were to be found, there were as many opinions as voices. The truth was plain, no one knew; neither captains, managers, pilots (of whom there were two), nor tourists; and in the midst of our Babylonish discussion, the boat arrived off the town of Marmora; and, of course, on the wrong side of the island for our purpose. Some insisted on returning; others were for crossing the isle on mules, or, if these could not be procured, on foot: but the majority, of which I was one, seemed satisfied with staying where fortune and steam had brought them. When the quarryites landed, they found it would take fourteen hours to visit their lion, and, as luck would have it, twelve hours only were marked on the itinerary as the period allowed for the passengers to remain at the island. Backed by this powerful argument, we the anti-quarryites demanded a ballot, and an overwhelming majority decided that the boat should start at midnight.

GREEK DEPUTATION. Soon after the return of the passengers who had landed, a deputation of the inhabitants, consisting of the papa, or chief priest, with some of his brethren, as well as the civil authorities, all Greeks, came on board to compliment the brother of their King. As the Prince did not understand one word of their language, he begged Madame Manochini (the owner of a lodging-house at Smyrna, who had been treated to a passage to Stamboul and back) to be his interpretress. After thanking them in his name, she enquired if they had any daughters?

"Certainly."

"Are they pretty?"

Each father expatiated on the superior beauty of his own child; and the papa added that his was angelic, – "Καλὴ καλὴ." "Then," continued Madame, "I am desired to say, the Prince is very much obliged to you for your visit, and requests that you will immediately send the prettiest maiden of the whole to bear him company on board." Perfectly thunderstruck at this extraordinary address, the papa and his brethren looked first at each other, then at Madame and the Prince; and, making a hurried bow to the German Pasha, they jostled one another down the ladder, and into their boat, with a rapidity that amused as well as surprised us all; for, at the time, we were unacquainted with the nature of this audacious reply. They probably took him for a vardoulacha, or vampire, and thought to themselves, "If this Prince is such a curiosity, what must little Otho be!"

Well, of course his Royal Highness demanded the meaning of their abrupt and sudden flight, and wished to know what Madame had said to scare the holy fathers thus? "Was the reply complimentary? if so, it had produced a most extraordinary effect: they could not be pleased, that was evident."

"Oh yes," answered she, with a satirical smile; "I said you were delighted to see them, and that, knowing they had plenty of handsome daughters, you desired them to send the prettiest on board to bear your Highness company."

His Highness looked somewhat foolish: he did not know what to say; and appeared little less chagrined himself, than the Greek papas of the Isle of Marmora. We afterwards understood that the Prince had made some reductions in her bill while he occupied her house at Smyrna; and, by way of retaliation, she thus insolently attempted to injure his character among her countrymen; and, I have no doubt, completely succeeded, as far as the Greeks of this island are concerned.

PLEASANT DORMITORY. Monday, 24th.– Myself and four companions in misery have passed a horrible night in a cabin worse than the Black Hole of Calcutta. The offensive odour from the chicken-coop, which stands just at the side of the only aperture where fresh air can find an entrance; the heat of the confined chamber; the myriads of insects, that devoured my body with ravenous appetite, after having endured a fortnight's starvation; kept me in such a fever, that I vowed never to enter the cabin again. EXTRAORDINARY TRANSFORMATION.When I looked out, my fellow-passengers burst into a laugh; and Barrow, taking an observation, as my phiz came to the meridian above them, exclaimed, "Who has been painting your face? it is as yellow as a canary-bird!" "Nonsense!" I exclaimed; and, jumping upon deck, I seized my glass, and saw myself indeed as yellow as our good King's face on a sovereign. Not my face only, but, by all that's startling! hands, arms, legs, body, were in the same condition, as though I had been plunged into a curry-pot. I beheld myself with jaundiced eyes! It was wholly inexplicable; for I had not suffered a moment's illness, since I arrived in Stamboul; neither have I felt any symptoms of approaching disease; yet, in one night, my skin has been gilded over like a counterfeit sovereign, —

"Suffering a yellow changeInto something rich and strange."

Nevertheless, I am afraid, unlike the false coinage, the gilt will not very easily rub off. On my first appearance, I observed the French doctor, who seemed to possess a hawk's eye for business, vanish from the quarter deck, and descend hastily below; in a few minutes he reappeared, bearing in his hand an ample supply of his rob; but I declined his services, as a medical officer from Corfu undertook to give me the necessary advice. We had also an English physician, and the Prince's body-surgeon.

BRITISH FLEET. At the Dardanelles we learned the very interesting news that the English fleet had arrived in Basiké Bay; and in swinging round "old Sigæum," we beheld the Admiral's ship at anchor, and several other large vessels sailing towards the harbour. At mid-day we were alongside the Britannia; and a boat came off from her, to ask intelligence from Constantinople. As I was anxious to renew my acquaintance with Sir Pulteney Malcolm, and as many of the passengers wished to see the ship, the boat took as many as could get into her, and in a few minutes we stood on the deck of the largest of those majestic floating castles which, I trust, are destined, ere long, to teach the Russian that all "Old England's wooden walls" have not got the dry rot in them. It is some years since I had the pleasure of seeing the Admiral before; and though the march of time has imprinted on his noble figure a few slight traces of its progress, yet he appears to be as active, enterprising, and determined as ever. He accompanied us over the ship; and was very anxious that we should inspect his improved kitchen, cattle-pen, and newly invented gun-screws for elevating the breech of the cannon. After a hearty luncheon, during which I forgot all my jaundice, we took leave, and on entering the Captain's gig the Francesco hoisted the British colours, and saluted. The compliment was immediately returned, and the thunder of the cannon re-echoed from Tenedos, and spread itself over the Plain of Troy, with a report loud enough to rouse Achilles, Ajax, and Hector, from their graves, —

"That with the hurly, death itself might wake."

It was a beautiful, no less than a proud and gratifying sight to behold the Malabar, the St. Vincent, and the Alfred, all sailing in with every stitch of canvass set; telegraphing the Britannia, and with the utmost precision taking up their positions as the Admiral announced them. At that moment there could not have been a soul on board the Francesco who did not acknowledge the superiority of Britain on the seas.

GULF OF SMYRNA. Passing Mitylene and the opposite ruins of Assos, we entered the Gulf of Smyrna as it was growing dark. As I was by no means comfortable from a slight fever which enervated me, I determined to sleep below no longer, and therefore brought my mattress on deck. I laid it out near the cabin skylight, and there courted sleep, rolled in my Greco. Thank Heaven and a clear sky for most delicious repose!

Towards morning, I was awakened by a sensation of damp and cold; and found myself and mattress soaking wet, and exhaling the odour of rose-water. I found that a stream of this rich perfume had inundated me; it was flowing from a large jar belonging to one of the passengers, which, standing too near the tiller of the helm, had been broken by it during the night.

FRENCH SQUADRON. Tuesday, 25th.– This morning we saw the French fleet lying at Vourla. The four combatants on these seas have thus passed in review before us; and I cannot suppose England and France have sent their fleets here on a pleasure trip; but that they actually mean to do something effective. Of these four, the Russian is the weakest, and the Turk the next in inferiority: report says, also, that the French fleet is not in the most perfect order; but, at all events, it is equal, if not superior, to the two former united. As soon as we came in sight of the Madagascar, which was lying in the harbour or roadstead of Smyrna, a boat put off from it towards the steam-vessel, and in a few moments the King of Greece was in the arms of his brother. The usual bustle incident to the transfer of luggage from one vessel to another, at sea, followed; and the Prince, with all his suite, left us, to accompany the King in his cruise on board the Madagascar.

SMYRNA. We established our quarters at a wretched little inn, close to the water-side, kept by a negro, who had been cook on board some English man-of-war. Unpromising as was its external appearance, the house was clean notwithstanding; and, having all to ourselves, except the billiard-room, we got on famously; particularly as the dinners were wholesome, and of good, plain, English cookery. We had plenty of soda-water, porter, and ale, which were kept constantly flowing; for the heat was excessive. In the evening, I strolled about this celebrated sea-port for a short time, and was much struck with the beautiful appearance of the houses of the merchants, which, however, are situated in narrow dirty streets. The bazars are much inferior to those of Constantinople; and I did not see a single Smyrniote woman who had any pretensions to beauty. In the course of the day the King landed incog., and went through the town; and towards night, the Madagascar sailed away for Syra.

DEPARTURE FOR SYRA. Thursday, 27th.– Hotter by several degrees than yesterday: I wish to heaven we could get away from this broiling place. Not a breath of air stirs to relieve me, or mitigate the weakness and fainting with which I am oppressed. I am incapable of exertion, and, indeed, there is no inducement to walk out: it is too much labour to play at billiards; and smoking sickens and disgusts me: I have but one pleasure, if such it can be called; namely, that of lying on the sofa, in a state of stupor. This afternoon the American corvette John Adams sailed away in fine style.