Constantinople and the Scenery of the Seven Churches of Asia Minor

PASS IN THE BALKAN MOUNTAINS

ON THE BULGARIAN SIDE

T. Allom. E. Challis.

The chain of the Balkans generally consists of three parallel ridges, having valleys of exceeding beauty between them. But in some places on the north side, the lower ridge seems obliterated; the descent is very precipitous, and the face of the mountain, like a vast wall, descends almost perpendicularly to the plain below, uninterrupted by any lesser eminence. This is particularly the case with the pass by Philippopoli and Tâtar Bazaar. When the traveller stands upon the summit-ridge, he sees the plain of Bulgaria below him, extending its horizontal surface to the Danube, like the sea, to what seems to him an interminable distance. The roads down this side are not only steep, but dangerous, and frequent accidents happen to travellers from the abrupt and sudden descent of the pass. Winding down the narrow defiles on a rugged path, scarcely broad enough for one to pass; when two meet going in an opposite direction, the peril is awful. Neither can go back or turn aside, and one is often precipitated into the gulf below. This danger is increased, and more frequently occurs, from trains of horses laden with iron, the produce of mines found in the recesses of the mountains. The horses travel in a single file, and bound to each other by cords. When one falls over the edge of the precipice, he is generally supported by the rest of the train, till he regains his path and footing. This precaution is taken by other travellers, but baggage horses, from the greater weight and more unmanageable burdens, very often are precipitated over the edge, and disappear into the gulf below, where they are suffered to lie, without any fruitless attempt to follow or regain the baggage. To obviate such accidents, the Surrogee, or Tartar janissary who attends the traveller, stops at the entrance of a dangerous pass, and, drawing his pistols, discharges them into it several times, waiting for some space for a reply. If one is returned in the same manner, it intimates that the defile is already occupied by others, and the party wait their issuing forth. If no return be made to the discharges, they pass on.

Our illustration represents a steep descent from the village of Intiman into the ravine below, and, after fording the mountain-torrent in the bottom of the gulf, the equally steep ascent on the other side. On climbing this, the plain of Bulgaria appears before the traveller, from the summit, in all the luxuriance of verdure and fertility, and leads him to Sophia, the ancient capital of Bulgaria, where the ashes of its kings repose.

MOSQUE OF SULTAN SELIM AT SCUTARI

T. Allom. J. Tingle

On the eastern mouth of the Bosphorus, opposite Constantinople, and, like it, rising from the waters up an inclined plane, stands the large town of Scutari, associated with many historic and classic recollections. When the Persian armies carried ruin to the Greek colonies on the Asiatic coast, and prepared to add Europe to their conquests, they formed a depôt on a promontory at the mouth of the Bosphorus, of all their rich plunder; and so great was the accumulation of wealth of all kinds in this place, that the town built on the spot was called Chrysopolis, or “the City of Gold.” The point of the promontory was named Bous, or “The Ox,” from a tradition that it was here that Iö landed in the shape of a cow, when she swam across the strait to escape the persecutions of Juno. It was just under this promontory that the Athenians defeated the fleets of Philip of Macedon, when he laid siege to Byzantium. It was here that Licinius, the brother-in-law of Constantine, was taken prisoner, and afterwards beheaded, which gave the undivided empire of the East to Constantine, and enabled him to build his new and splendid city on the opposite promontory, when he had rid himself of his last rival; and, finally, it was here the crusaders first contemplated it, indulged in their visions of rapacity, and conceived the project of plundering this capital of their fellow-christians.

The Turks call it Scodra, or Scutari, and consider it a suburb of Constantinople, though on the opposite side of the straits, and in another quarter of the world. The beauty and salubrity of its situation have rendered it a favourite residence. The streets are wider, the open areas more spacious, and the houses better built than in the capital; and the prospect, as you climb the hills above, is exceedingly beautiful. In the ascent to the hill of Bourgourloo, you arrive at a plateau, celebrated for the richness of the scenery it affords. Mount Olympus, the Princess’ Islands, the winding strait of the Bosphorus with its bays and villages, appear with singular beauty from this spot; while the fragrance exhaled from the gardens, and the chant of the nightingale, afford a gratification to every sense. Beside it is a valley called Bulbul Dereci, or “the Vale of the Nightingale,” where these birds abound, and their song is heard all day. When a public functionary is deprived of his office, and suffered to retain his life, he retires to Scutari, and seeks solace in its soothing enjoyments. The Persian ambassador and his suite, excluded, like the Franks, from Constantinople, here take up their abode. With the exception of a few Jews, it is exclusively a Mohammedan city, and contains eighty thousand Moslem inhabitants.

It is distinguished by many edifices of piety or utility. Here the daughter of Soliman the Magnificent erected a mosque to the memory of her father; and an inscription recording the circumstance, represents her as “the gem of the world,” and prays that “Allah would render her excellent in every other qualification.” Here Selim established his printing-press, when he revived it, to enlighten his subjects: here he erected a magnificent cotton-factory, to improve them in the industry and arts of life: here he built a noble kisla, or barrack, for his nizam djeddit, or new troops, to discipline a rude and turbulent rabble to European restraints: and here he endowed a mosque, to which he usually repaired to perform his Friday’s devotion. This edifice, given in our illustration, stands on the slope of the hill, surrounded by an extensive area, and exhibits considerable lightness and elegance. Among the group of Turks is seen some in the costume of European soldiers; which he lost his crown and life in endeavouring to establish, though his more energetic successor completely succeeded. The violence and impetuosity of one of those sudden currents of air which burst out in the Sea of Marmora, was strongly marked by its effects on this mosque. The principal minaret was snapped off like the stem of a pipe, and the upper part was carried unbroken to a distance.

MOSQUE OF MAHMOUD II. AT TOPHANA

T. Allom. W. Floyd.

This beautiful but small imperial mosque of the reigning sultan, is situated not on a conspicuous eminence like those of his predecessors, but in the low alluvial ground on the shores of the Bosphorus, and on the water’s edge; but the beauty and finish of the edifice compensate for the defects of its site. All the skill of Oriental ornament is expended upon it. Rich lattice-work and taper spires of minarets highly gilded, glitter in the sun with a brilliancy and recency, as if they had been left just finished by the hands of the artisans; while painting and sculpture, in rich arabesque, give a peculiar elegance to the edifice. It is entered by a lofty approach of marble steps, and it is distinguished by a separate and detached spire, not a minaret, but intended for a use which modern improvement and approximation to European arts have lately introduced. The Turks abhorred the sound of a bell in any form, and inhibit its use even to the Franks in assembling their congregations for divine service. They could not be induced to erect a public clock in the capital,12 and it was supposed, some years ago, that there were but two in the Turkish empire of Europe−one in the town of Shumla, erected by a minister who brought it from Russia, where he had been on a mission, had learned its use, and conferred it as a benefit on his native town; the other was bestowed on Athens, while under the dominion of the Turks, by Lord Elgin, as a compensation for his abduction of the marbles of the Parthenon. The present sultan, however, among his improvements, has erected a steeple in his temple for a clock, that the muezzim may be directed with more certainty in calling the faithful to prayer; and it is probable that, in a few years, the more effectual sound of the prohibited bell will be substituted for the human voice.

CARAVANSARY AT GUZEL-HISSAR, ON THE MEANDER.

ASIA MINOR

T. Allom. G. Presbury.

There are two modes of travelling through Asiatic Turkey. When the traveller takes with him a firman from the sultan, and a Tartar janissary as a guard, and brings an introduction to the pasha or muzzelim of a town or village−on his arrival, and the presentation of his credentials, he has a conak assigned him; that is, some house is conferred upon him and his company, and a chaoush is sent to establish him in it. The house is generally the residence of some Greek, Armenian, or Jew. The chaoush enters without ceremony, turns out the family, and puts the stranger in possession of all it contains, as long as he chooses to remain. By special favour of some more considerate traveller, he asks the family to stay as lodgers in their own house, having assigned to the strangers the best apartments in it. Should the traveller not meet with the comfort and consideration of a conak, he is compelled to betake himself to a khan, or a caravansary. The first of these is an immense edifice, with a lofty roof and bare walls, resembling a rude imitation of Westminster Hall, in which the horses literally appear like mice, contrasted with the immensity of their stable. Round the bottom runs a low parapet, leaving a small space between it and the wall, which serves as a manger. Behind, it is filled with chopped straw, the usual food for horses. When a traveller arrives, he rides in without question or inquiry, turns his horse to his provender, spreads his carpet beside him for himself, sups on whatever he brings with him, sleeps where he eats, on the floor, and departs the next morning without payment. In cities, the khan has somewhat more accommodation, and in the country there is sometimes a small apartment stuck on the side of the lofty wall like a pigeon-house, and ascended by a ladder, like a hay-loft. Here the traveller finds a ragged mat on a rough dirty floor, and, perhaps, there is a coffee-room in the street, whence he can procure some refreshments; but these are rare luxuries. These naked edifices were first erected by Murad Khan, vizir to Soliman the Magnificent, and afterwards by the munificence and charity of sultans, for the gratuitous accommodation of all travellers.

The caravansary is an improved khan.13 Commerce with the interior of Asia is carried on principally by the Armenians, who travel in caravans. Companies of merchants combine and travel together; and when the number is considerable, a chief is appointed, who commands and regulates the march. They are often attended by hired soldiers, and every man is himself armed with some weapon. When a pasha, or other great man, is known to be about to make a movement, the caravan awaits his departure, and proceed under his protection, like a fleet of merchantmen under the convoy of a man-of-war. The caravan in this way sometimes amounts to several thousand persons. Along the usual route, large edifices are erected, having more accommodation than common khans. They consist of quadrangles surrounded by chambers, where the merchants are lodged, and their wares stowed, rising sometimes to the height of two or three stories, ascended by stairs, and connected by galleries and corridors. The area has frequently a fountain of pure water playing in the centre, is planted with shrubs and trees, and the fronts are trellaced with vines climbing over the roofs, affording agreeable shade, or pendent with rich clusters of fruit. Some of them are very picturesque and pleasing objects, and afford a most grateful repose to the tired and heated traveller. As the indispensable duties of charity, formerly prescribed to Moslems, and strictly followed, are daily becoming of looser obligation; the fountains, khans, and other erections of piety and charity, are rapidly falling to decay and ruin, and no new ones are erected to supply their places.

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

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

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

ON THE BOSPHORUS. ASIA MINOR

T. Allom. J. Sands.

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

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

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

OUTER COOLING-ROOM OF THE BATH, NEAR PSAMATIA KAPOUSI

T. Allom. F. A. Prior.

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

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

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

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

THE ACROPOLIS OF PERGAMUS.

ASIA MINOR

T. Allom. J. Redaway.

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

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

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