Constantinople and the Scenery of the Seven Churches of Asia Minor
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THE TRIPLE WALL OF CONSTANTINOPLE.
ON THE LAND SIDE, NEAR TOP KAPOUSI
T. Allom. J. C. Bentley.
The walls of Constantinople, notwithstanding the shocks of earthquakes, the numerous assaults of besiegers, the decay of time, and the dilapidations of neglect, are at this day surprisingly perfect; and though fifteen centuries have passed since their first erection, they include the same space, and stand at the same elevation. The great wall, forming as it were the base of the triangular area on which the city is built, and running from sea to sea, is nearly five miles in extent: a broad high road passes parallel to and just under it, so that a traveller can view without interruption the whole line, from the Golden Horn to the Propontis, and contemplate, during a delightful walk, the most interesting remains perhaps existing in the world. In some places the rising ground so elevates him, that he sees a considerable part of the interior of the city over the walls, and he looks down upon places, hallowed by various recollections, which the narrowness and obscurity of the streets prevent his viewing from within.
This wall, originally erected by Constantine the Great, was enlarged by Theodosius, and is therefore called after his name. It suffered various shocks by violence of different kinds−of nature, time, and the hand of man−and was finally repaired by Leo and Theophilus. From the district called Blachernæ, where it meets the harbour, it rises to an immense height, and towers to a surprising elevation above the head of the passenger. The uniformity is broken, however, by the remains of edifices on the summit of the wall, and the rich drapery of ivy and various trailing plants, which cover it. Here the wall, secured by its magnitude, is single, and presents but one defence. But at the gate called Egri Kapousi, or the crooked gate, where it forms an angle, the elevation is less, and the defence increased by a triple wall of three parallel fortifications, which extend to the Seven Towers and the sea. The walls are eighteen feet asunder, crowned with battlements, and defended by fifty-nine towers, of various forms and sizes. Inserted in different places are tablets of stone or iron, containing inscriptions which commemorate events, or persons who repaired the walls; but most of them are now entirely effaced, particularly those on iron, by the rust and corrosion of the metal. The masonry in some parts consists of huge blocks of granite, resembling those early structures in Greece called Cyclopean, from the fancy of mythologists, that they had been erected by gigantic architects. In others, they are composed of alternate courses of broad flat bricks, resembling our tiles, and stones twice the thickness. Arcades and arches, both in the walls and towers, are formed, in a curious manner, of similar materials. The wall is entered by seven gates, called by the names of the towns to which they lead, or some circumstance connected with them. Of the latter, is the gate of Top Kapousi.
This gate, called also Porta Sancti Romani, as leading to the Greek church of St. Romanus, was that rendered memorable by the final attack of the Turks. Before it stands the Mal Tepé, one of those artificial mounds, supposed to be sepulchral tumuli, which are spread for many hundred miles over these regions, both in Europe and Asia. The summit commands an extensive view of the interior of the city, and here Mahomet II. erected the Sandjak-sheriff, or great standard of the Prophet, and directed the operations of the siege. Beside the gate are seen, yet unrepaired, the breaches made in the walls by that enormous artillery which he caused to be cast for the purpose, and on the summit of the gate are placed some of the huge granite balls discharged from them, in memory of the event; and hence the gate is now called Top Kapousi, or “Port of the Cannon.” When the cross was sinking under the crescent, and the great capital of the Christian world was just falling into the hands of the followers of Mahomet, Constantine retired to the church of Sancta Sophia, and, after receiving, with his few faithful adherents, the solemn eucharist, proceeded to make his last effort in the breach. He was killed in the attack, and the Turks poured into the devoted city over his body. There is no tomb, or coin, or other artificial memorial, to preserve the name of this good and gallant man; but nature has herself supplied the neglect. There grows out of the breach some picturesque and venerable trees, on the spot where tradition says he fell; and travellers gather the red berries in their season, to sow and propagate at home these testimonials of the last and best of the Palæologi.
YÉRÉ-BATAN-SERAÏ, CONSTANTINOPLE
T. Allom. W. H. Capone.
This appellation literally means “The Subterranean Palace,” and it is given to the only one of the many cisterns with which the city was excavated, now remaining in use for the purpose for which it was erected. Some are filled up, and converted into gardens; one called Bin bir Derek, which we have before noticed, and given in our illustrations, is a silk factory; but the “Subterranean Palace” still remains a cistern filled with water.
When the Turks took possession of the city, this magnificent work of Grecian art escaped their notice, and remained unexplored and unknown till the time of Gillius, who was in Constantinople in 1550. He appears to be the first who discovered and described this curious subterranean edifice; and so ignorant were the Turks then of its existence, that the houses in the streets above drew water from it, and knew not whence it came. From that time the memory of it was again lost; and travellers, taking Gillius for their guide in exploring the city, searched for this curiosity in vain; and some pronounced that it had no existence, or was confounded with some other. In this state it remained for two centuries more, till Andreossi, the French ambassador, discovered and described it. Again the mysterious edifice was lost, and Janissaries attending travellers as guides could give them no clue to discover it,−this singular and magnificent excavation appearing and disappearing to human sight, like some enchanted palace in Oriental fiction. Finally, it was searched for by a Frank resident of Pera, and, after two years’ diligent inquiry, was at length discovered by him, under the foundation of a private house, in a remote and obscure street. Part of a wall had fallen in, and discovered to the astonished proprietor innumerable marble columns, of various orders of architecture, rising out of a vast lake of water, and supporting a lofty arched roof, on which his house stood. From that time, easy access has been afforded to it; every stranger visits it; and there is no probability that the Turks, now so much more enlightened and inquisitive, will again suffer the memory of this noble work of Grecian art to perish among them.
As we have already mentioned this cistern with others, we refer to our former notice. We will merely add, that the actual extent and beauty, though sufficiently great to excite our admiration, are extravagantly exaggerated by the credulous Turks, who now begin to regard it with awe and astonishment. Some places at a considerable distance have fallen into other subterranean cavities, and they are asserted to be parts of this cistern not yet explored. The number of columns is nearly the same as that of the Bin bir Derek, and both excavations are supposed to be of the same extent. But the proprietor of the house, through which is the only known access, tells of fearful perils encountered by intrepid navigators, who attempted to explore this inland sea; of lost adventurers, who never returned to tell them; and, in the still unchanged spirit of a Turk, relates as true all the figments of an Oriental imagination.
KIZ-KOULASI.−LEANDER’S, OR THE MAIDEN’S TOWER.
ON THE BOSPHORUS
T. Allom. S. Fisher.
Immediately opposite Scutari, and where the rushing current of the Bosphorus meets that of the Golden Horn, is seen a tower rising out of the midst of the turbulent estuary, and forming a striking and singular object, emerging with its white walls from the dark-blue waters. It is a small, square, castellated structure, standing on an insulated rock, and surmounted by a lantern and spire. It is now used as a beacon for ships entering the strait, and boats passing the estuary. It sometimes happens that sudden gusts, like typhoons, come on, attended with a dense fog, so dark as at once to obscure both sides of the Bosphorus. The passage is generally crowded with caïques, which are thus left in the midst of peril without any guide to extricate them. In this blind commotion, the pazar caïque, or “great ferry boat,” is an object of great dread, running down and sinking the slight and fragile barks driven against it. The tower is a kind of refuge to which they betake themselves. It was originally built by the emperor Manuel, and formed part of the chain of obstructions thrown across the entrance to the Bosphorus and harbour, in the decline of the lower empire. The other parts have been carried away by the torrents of the strait, and this alone remains on the firmer rock on which it was erected.
From the traditionary story of Hero and Leander, this tower takes its name: the Franks confer upon it the name of the unfortunate lover who lost his life in attempting to cross the current to his mistress; but the Turks assign it to the lady, and model the tale after their own fashion. One of their sultans, whose name is not agreed upon, was warned by his astrologer, that his daughter would perish by the bite of a venomous serpent; so, to obviate the danger, she was sent to this insulated tower. The rugged rock, scantily covered with sea-weed, afforded no harbour for venomous reptiles, and her father never contemplated the possibility of one reaching her place of seclusion. Her lover, however, separated from personal intercourse, opened a communication by the language of flowers, and had a basketful conveyed to her. She pressed to her bosom his fragrant emblems, which conveyed to her the sentiments of his heart, when a treacherous asp concealed among the leaves stung her to death, and thus the immutable decree of Allah was accomplished by the very means taken to defeat it; and the Turks, in memory of it, call the castle Kiz Koulasi, or “the Maiden’s Tower.”
MOSQUE OF SHAHZADEH DJAMESI.
CONSTANTINOPLE
T. Allom. F. Lightfoot.
This mosque was erected on the following occasion. The fame of Soliman the Magnificent was stained by the murder of two of his sons, Mustapha and Selim, by his own orders. When in an interval of peace, he directed his attention to beautify the city, and erected the splendid edifice which bears his name: he also ordered one to be built in 1544, to the memory of his murdered son Mustapha, and as a mausoleum for his remains. Thence it was named Shahzadeh Djamesi, “the mosque of the king’s son.”
The area of this mosque, like that of many others, is open to the public, and a mart, where fruit and various articles are sold. Our illustration represents a scene among the groups of persons, of frequent occurrence−a Turkish functionary flogging a Greek fruiterer for false weights, while the rest look on and enjoy the chastisement he is receiving.
CONSTANTINOPLE AND ITS ENVIRONS.
SECOND SERIES
OBELISK OF THEODOSIUS, IN THE ATMEIDAN
T. Allom. S. Bradshaw.
This splendid ornament of the ancient Hippodrome was brought from the Thebaïd in Egypt, and is one of those spoils which Constantine and his successors tore from their pedestals, to enrich and adorn New Rome with the pillage of ancient art. It was erected by the emperor Theodosius in thirty days, by means of machinery invented for the purpose, and of which some notice has been already taken in our description of the Atmeidan. The Obelisk consists of a single quadrangular block of Egyptian granite, sixty feet high, beautifully polished, and covered with hieroglyphics, still in perfect preservation. Of all the remains of antiquity, those of Egypt seem to be most perfect, though probably the most ancient. The hardness and durability of the material, the sharp and deep sculpture, and the mildness of the climate where they were erected, confer upon them an almost undecaying permanency; and while others of a more recent date, in the capital, appear defaced and nearly destroyed by the ravages of time and barbarism, the Obelisk of Theodosius is as beautiful and perfect, as when first finished by the hands of the workmen in the remotest ages.
The base on which it stands is in strong contrast with the pillar: originally of rude sculpture, and corroded by time, its figures and letters are scarcely to be deciphered. It contains four compartments on the four faces, in high relief. On the first are represented the emperor, his wife, and sons, sitting in state on thrones. In the second, he is receiving the homage of captive nations. In the third, he is alone, surveying the games of the Hippodrome. In the fourth he is holding a wreath between his sons. Portions of a Greek and Latin inscription appear on the base, alluding to the prostrate condition of the pillar, the artist employed, and the time occupied in its re-erection; but the greater part is now effaced, and covered by the soil. We give them in their original perfect form:−
ΚΙΟΝΑ . ΤΕΤΡΑΠΛΕΥΡΟΝ . ΑΕΙ . ΧΘΟΝΙ . ΚΕΙΜΕΝΟΝ . ΑΚΘΟϹ .ΜΟΥΝΟϹ . ΑΝΑϹΤΗϹΑΙ . ΤΗΕΥΔΟϹΙΟϹ . ΒΑϹΙΛΕΥϹ .ΤΟΛΜΗϹΑϹ . ΠΡΟΚΛΟϹ . ΕΠΕΚΕΚΛΕΤΟ . ΚΑΙ . ΤΟϹΟϹ . ΕϹΤΗ .ΚΙΩΝ . ΗΕΛΙΟΙϹ . ΕΝ . ΤΡΙΑΚΟΝΤΑ . ΔΥΟ .DIFFICILIS . QUONDAM . DOMINIS . PARERE . SUPERBIS .JUSSUS . ET . EXTINCTIS . PALMAM . PORTARE . TYRANNIS .OMNIA . THEODOSIO . CEDUNT . SOBOLIQ; PERENNI .TERDENIS . SIC . VICTUS . EGO. DOMITUSQ; DIEBUS .JUDICE . SUB . PROCLO . SUPERAS . ELATUS . AD . AURAS .THE SULTAN’S NEW PALACE ON THE BOSPHORUS
T. Allom. J. Sands.
Among the symptoms of growing European habits and usages, which are daily seen creeping over the metropolis of the Osmanli and its vicinity, one of the most remarkable perhaps is the change which is daily introduced into their public edifices, and the substitution of a chaste and classic, for a fantastic Oriental style of architecture. When the rude ignorant Turks first rushed among the monuments of European art, what they did not utterly destroy, they perverted. Ionic shafts were pierced for cannons, Corinthian capitals were rounded into balls; and wherever they were applied to their original purpose, they were invariably inverted; and to this day are seen everywhere Turkish houses built with remains of Grecian temples, sculptured architraves laid for door-steps, and pillars standing on their smaller ends with the base uppermost, as the preferable position. “I have grieved,” said Gillius, “not so much at the broken and prostrate monuments of ancient art, as at the barbarous, perverted uses to which they were applied.”
The most distinguished of the kiosks of former sultans was that of Beshiktash, on the Bosphorus, forming one of the first objects which presents itself to a stranger ascending the strait in a caïque. The style is very remarkable, and truly Oriental. In the centre is an edifice with projecting roofs, and surrounded by a cluster of similar ones, intended, it is said, to represent the original warlike habitations of the Turcomans−the tent or pavilion of the khan, in the centre, and those of his officers pitched round it as in encampment: but the present sultan, in his zeal to abolish the old and establish a new order of things, is everywhere changing the architecture, as well as the dress, of his subjects, and his new erections bear the stamp of this improvement, and form strong contrasts with those of his predecessors. His factories and founderies resemble those of Manchester and Sheffield, and his palaces are revivals of ancient Grecian art.
On the Asiatic shore of the Bosphorus, nearly opposite to Beshiktash, and the old palace, he has erected a new one, displaying a taste very different from the former, and a design equal in beauty and arrangement to any of those erected by European sovereigns. It consists of a centre with two extensive wings. The long façade presents, not foundation-walls of rude masonry supporting a barbarous superstructure of wood, with windows darkened by dense blinds, like all the imperial palaces on the opposite coast; but a Doric colonnade of marble is approached by spacious flights of steps of the same material; these elevate stately fronts of sculptured stone, pierced by regular open windows, ornamented with mouldings and architraves, and surmounted by cornices and balustrades. The centre is a superb entrance of six Corinthian pillars, crowned by a noble pediment, enclosing a sculptured tympanum. This central portion is the residence of the sultan; the left wing contains the harem of his establishment, and the right the various offices of his household. The edifice stands on a quay of hewn granite, and forms the most noble and novel object of all the buildings that line the shores of the Bosphorus.
The palace was commenced at the termination of the Greek revolution, and the acknowledgment of their independence, when the sultan, conquering the feelings of anger and vengeance, again received them into his favour. It was observed at the time, that he showed not only an extraordinary placability of disposition towards his revolted subjects, altogether extraordinary in one of his character, but conferred on them such favours, that his enemies circulated a report that he was about to abjure the faith of Mahomet, and adopt, among other European innovations, the religion of the Gospel. It was remarked, that he had built his new palace near Istauros, the ancient “city of the cross.” It had been so called because Constantine, when he embraced Christianity, had erected here a large golden cross, to commemorate the event of his conversion; and the sanguine Greeks did not fail to seize on it as a proof of the same intention of the sultan, that he chose the city of the cross as the site of his new palace, as if to record his conversion. That nothing might be wanting, a report at the time was circulated in the Fanal, that a large aërial cross, like that seen by Constantine, had just appeared over the dome of Santa Sophia—a certain indication that it was about to be purified from its desecration, and again consecrated to the service of Christ, for which it was originally built.
A STREET IN SMYRNA.
ASIA MINOR
T. Allom. T. Higham.
This second church of the Apocalypse is, with the exception of Philadelphia, the only one that retains any thing of its former consequence. Its palaces, theatres, pagan temples, and Christian churches have passed away, but its riches, its commerce, its population, and its extent have been probably increased; and modern Smyrna is a more wealthy and prosperous town than either its pagan or Christian predecessor.
It was from the earliest ages celebrated as one of the most distinguished and frequented sea-ports of Asia Minor. It is approached by a noble and spacious bay, penetrating deeply into the country, expanding its capacious bosom to the Egean, and inviting the commerce of the world. Its waters are daily ruffled by the Inbat, a trade-wind, which blows with unerring regularity, morning and evening, bearing ships in and out, so that they enter and depart with the most perfect certainty and security; and it is a locality where the riches of the East and West most conveniently meet together. Such permanent characters, impressed by the hand of nature, are of every age; and Smyrna has at all times been a great commercial emporium, as well of the ancient as the modern world.
The founder of Smyrna is disputed; some confer the reputation of it on Tantalus, others on the Amazons; but after various vicissitudes of earthquake, conflagration, war, and pestilence, it was splendidly re-edified by Alexander the Great, and became the chief of the twelve cities of the Ionian confederacy, and distinguished for its magnificence as well as its power. It contained temples of Jupiter, Cybele, Apollo, and Diana, the latter more beautified, though less extensive, than that at Ephesus. Games were periodically celebrated, like those of Elis and Olympia; and the reputation of being a learned people, was among the laudable ambitions of the citizens of Smyrna. They laid claim to Homer as a native, and pointed out the cavern, on the banks of their river Meles, where his immortal Iliad was composed, and from hence the poet is called Melesigenes, and his works Meletææ chartæ. The people erected statues to him, taught rhetoric in a temple dedicated to him, and impressed his head and name upon their coins; and of all the seven towns17
Which claim the poet dead,Through which the living poet begged his bread,the assumptions of Smyrna seem to be the best founded; but whatever doubt may rest on Homer’s place of nativity, it is certain that Bion, Mimnermus, and other distinguished writers, were natives of Smyrna, and ennobled the city of their birth.
Thus distinguished as an honoured and enlightened city of the pagans, its citizens were among the foremost that embraced the doctrines of Christianity when proposed to them. The apostle established here one of the seven churches; and while he denounced that “the candlestick of Ephesus should be removed,” he exhorted the Christians of Smyrna “to be faithful unto death, and he would give them the crown of life.” Ephesus is no more, but Smyrna still flourishes. It was assaulted by the Saracens, and nearly extinguished as a Christian city; it was restored by the emperor Alexius, and greatly enlarged when it was captured by the Turks. In the beginning of the last century it contained 28,000 persons, of whom 11,000 were Christians of the Greek, Armenian, and Latin churches, which have their respective temples, monasteries, and bishops. The present population is estimated at 100,000. It contains a number of Protestants sufficient to form a congregation for religious worship; and it is the only one of the towns of the Apocalypse in which is established a church of the Reformation.
The city describes a semicircle, at the lower termination of its noble bay; its site is low and alluvial, and embosomed in a range of hills. The Franks carry on an immense trade, by exchanging the produce of the West for that of the East. Caravans daily arrive from Persia, bringing raw silks and drugs, and ships from Europe with cochineal, indigo, &c.; but the most remarkable commodity in which the English trade, is fruit. Charles II., it seems, was so fond of figs, that he directed his ambassador, Sir T. Finch, to conclude a commercial treaty, by which two ship-loads should be allowed for the king’s table; and under the shadow of this, all England has since been supplied with them. The drying and packing of these form an animated and entertaining scene in Smyrna at the season.
The Frank quarter, which Europeans occupy, forms a spacious terrace, or marino, along the sea-shore, ventilated by the fresh and wholesome breath of the never-failing Inbat. The edifices in which the merchants reside, are divided into stores and offices below, and above into corridors and galleries which communicate with various apartments and saloons opening on the sea, the breezes from which circulate through them with a constant current. The Turkish quarter is perfectly Oriental, consisting of narrow streets, with balconies projecting one over the other till they nearly meet at top, excluding light and air. One is given in our illustration, its dark and distant prospect terminated by the hill of the Acropolis, and its narrow passage nearly obstructed by a single file of loaded camels, bringing to the Frank quarters the produce of Persia and India, to be exchanged for that of Europe and America.