We landed at the
palace stairs, and leaving our overshoes, which etiquette required us to bring,
we ascended a broad and lofty flight of stairs, and passing through an
ante-chamber, were ushered into a room which overlooked the Bosporus, and was
occupied by Sheffie Bey, the chief and confidential secretary of the sultan. It
was handsomely furnished, but no more. With the
secretary, was an Armenian, a great favourite of the monarch, and
superintendent of the public works in and near Constantinople. Shortly after we
were seated, as many pipe-bearers as there were visitors entered the apartment,
and, with heads bowed down and their left hands upon their breasts, presented
each of us with a chiboque ; then retiring backwards a few paces, dropped on one knee, and lifting the bowl of the
pipe, placed a gilt or golden saucer (I could not tell which) beneath it. I am not a smoker,
and hold, with King James I., that "
If there be any herb, in any place, Most opposite
to God's herb of grace,"
(71)
In a short time the attendants reappeared, one of
them bearing a golden salver, covered with a crimson cloth, gorgeously
embroidered. The latter was presently withdrawn, and exhibited upon the massive
piece of plate a number of tiny coffee-cups, set in stands or holders, in shape
exactly like the egg-cups we use at home. The cups were of the
choicest porcelain, most beautifully enamelled, and the holders were rich
filagree gold, set with turquoise and emerald. Again an attendant approached each of us, and, in the same
manner as before, presented a cup of coffee. Like the tobacco, it was flavoured
with some aromatic substance, which rendered it delicious. As I sat upon the divan, a cup of priceless value
in one hand, and the other holding a chibouque, the bowl of which was eight
feet distant, with a jasmin stem between, having a mouthpiece of the purest and
costliest amber, encircled with diamonds, I could scarce realize my position.
But I had been under a royal roof before, and my nerves preserved their
equanimity. The
secretary had the most prepossessing countenance of any Turk I had yet seen,
and in conversation evinced it spirit of inquiry and an amount of intelligence
that far surpassed my expectations. To
this tribute he is not indebted to the pipes and coffee, which form as
indispensable a part in a Turkish welcome to a visitor, as, with us, the
invitation to be seated. His history is a pleasing one. He
was a poor boy; a charity scholar in one of the public
schools. The late sultan, Mahmoud, requiring a page to fill a
vacancy in his suite, directed the appointment to be given to the
The empty cups and
exhausted pipes were removed by the attendants, who, in all their approaches
and retirings, were careful not to turn their backs upon us. Observing this, I
began to distrust my ability to make a retrograde movement in a direct line,
from the sublime presence into which I was about to be ushered. One of the pashas had
preceded me, and I was compelled to wait nearly half an
hour. At length, we were summoned. Descending
the flight of stairs and resuming our overshoes, we were led across the court,
into which, when passing in a caique a few days before, I had looked so
eagerly. It is oblong, and contains about four acres, laid out
in parterres and gravel walks, with many young and thrifty trees, and a great
variety o£ plants: flowers there were few, for it was yet early in the
season. In the centre, with a gravelled walk between, were two
quadrangular, artificial ponds, in which a number of gold and silver fish were
gambolling in security, protected as they were from the talons of the cormorant
by nets drawn over a few feet above the surface of the water. The fish sporting
beneath, the bird of prey poised above, ready for a swoop through the first
rent of the flimsy screen, seemed fitting emblems of the feeble Turk and the
vigorous and grasping Russian. There was nothing
imposing, but all was rich and in exquisite taste. The bronze gates, with
alternate gilt bars, which open on the Bosporus between the centre building and
the northern wing, were exceedingly light and beautiful. A part of the court,
most probably that appropriated to the harem, or apartments of the women, was
screened off by a lofty railing of like material and construction.
On the right and left of
the hall were doors opening into various apartments, and there were a number of
officers and attendants on either side and stationed at intervals along the
stairway, all preserving a silence the most profound. The secretary, who had
gone before, now approached and beckoned to us to follow. But here an
unexpected difficulty was presented. The chamberlain in waiting objected to my
sword, and required that I should lay it aside. I replied that
the audience was given to me as an officer of the United States; that the sword
was part of my uniform, and that I could not dispense with
it. My refusal was met with the assurance that the etiquette
of the court peremptorily required it. I asked if the custom had been invariably complied with, and
inquired of the dragoman whether Mr. Carr, our minister, had, in conformity
with it, ever attended an audience without his sword; but even as I spoke, my
mind, without regard to precedent, had come to the alternative, no sword, no
audience. Whether the secretary
had, during the discussion, referred the matter to a higher quarter, I could
not tell, for my attention had been so engrossed for some minutes, that I had
not noticed him. He now came forward, however, and decided
that I should. retain the sword. At this I truly rejoiced, for
it would have been unpleasant to retire after having gone so
far. It is due to Mr. Brown, the dragoman, to say that he
sustained me. The discussion at an end,
we ascended the stairway, Fretted at such abject
servility, I quickened my pace towards the curtain, when Sheffie Bey, rather
gliding than stepping before me, cautiously and slowly raised a corner for me
to pass. Wondering at his subdued and terror-stricken attitude, I stepped
across the threshold, and felt, without yet perceiving it, that I was in the
presence of the Sultan. The heavy folds of the
window-curtains so obscured the light that it seemed as if the day were drawing
to a close instead of being at its high meridian. As with the expanding
pupil the eye took in surround- The room, less spacious, but as lofty as the adjoining one, was furnished in the modern
European style, and like a familiar thing, a stove stood nearly in the centre:
On a sofa, by a window, through which he might have looked upon us as we
crossed the court, with a crimson tarbouch, its gold button and blue silk
tassel on his head, a black kerchief around his neck, attired in a blue
military frock and pantaloons, and polished French boots upon his feet, sat the
monarch, without any of the attributes of sovereignty about him. A man, young in years, but evidently of impaired and
delicate constitution, his wearied and spiritless air was unrelieved by any
indication of intellectual energy. He eyed me fixedly as I advanced, and on him
my attention was no less intently riveted. As he smiled I
stopped, expecting that he was about to speak, but he motioned gently with his
hand for me to approach yet nearer. Through the interpreter, he then bade me
welcome, for which I expressed my acknowledgments. The interview was not a protracted one. In
the course of it, as requested by Mr. Carr, I presented him, in the name of the
President of the United States, with some biographies and prints, illustrative
of the character and habits of our North American Indians, the work of
American artists. He looked at some of them, which were placed
before him by an attendant, and said that he considered them as evidences of
the advancement of the United States in civilization, and would treasure them
as a souvenir of the good feeling of its government towards
him. At the word civilization, pronounced in French, I
started; for it seemed singular, coming from the lips of a Turk, and applied to
our country. I have since
When about to take my leave, he renewed his
welcome, and said that I had his full authority to see anything in Stambohl I
might desire. While in his presence, I could not refrain from
drawing comparisons and moralizing on fate. There was the Sultan, an Eastern
despot, the ruler of mighty kingdoms and the arbiter of the fate of millions of
his fellow-creatures; and, face to face, a few feet distant, one, in rank and
condition, among the very humblest servants of a far-distant republic; and yet,
little as life has to cheer, I would not change positions with him, unless I
could carry with me my faith, my friendships, and my aspirations. My feelings saddened as I looked upon the monarch,
and I thought of Montezuma. Evidently, like a northern clime, his year of life
had known two seasons only, and he had leaped at once from youth to imbecility.
His smile was one of the sweetest I had ever looked upon, —his voice almost the
most melodious I had ever heard; his manner was gentleness itself, and
everything about him bespoke a kind and amiable
disposition. He is said to be very affectionate, to his mother
in especial, and is generous to the extreme of
prodigality. But there is that indescribably sad expression in
his countenance, which is thought to indicate an early
death. A presentiment of the kind, mingled perhaps with a
boding fear of the overthrow of his country, seems to pervade and depress his
spirits. In truth, like Damocles, this descendant of the
Caliphs sits beneath a suspended fate. Through him, the souls
of the mighty monarchs who have gone before, seem to brood over the impending
fate of an empire which once extended from the Atlantic to the Ganges, from the
Caucasus to the Indian Ocean.
One circumstance occurred to me as
singular. Neither on the palace stairs, nor in the court, nor
in the palace itself, did I see a single soldier; and, but for the
obsequiousness of the Sultan's officers and attendants, I might have fancied
myself on a visit to a wealthy private gentleman. One trifling circumstance will serve to show the generous
disposition of the Sultan. On the day succeeding the audience, he expressed to
the Grand Vizier his desire to tender me a present, such as became a sovereign to make, and directed him to
ascertain in what mode it would be most acceptable to myself. When his wish was
made known to me, I replied, that I felt sufficiently compensated by an
audience, which, I had been given to understand, was never before granted to
any but officers of the highest rank; and that, even if the constitution of my
country did not prohibit it, I could not accept a remuneration for an act of
duty that had been rendered so grateful in its performance. I
further added, that more than any present, I would prize the granting of the
firman. The peculiar honour intended to be conferred by the
audience, I ascribed to the high standing and corresponding influence of our
minister, Mr. Carr. That gentleman's reputation needs not my shallow tribute
to swell his tide of merited popularity. In every manly and political relation,
he was all that we could desire to see in a representative of our
country. Sparing no exertion in our behalf, he had failed in
one thing only, for which I was most solicitous,-that the officers who
My instructions from the
Navy Department, when I left the United States, were to apply, through our
Minister at the Ottoman Porte, for a firman, authorising our party to pass
through the Turkish dominions, in Syria, to the Dead Sea. It was asked as a
matter of respect to the Turkish government, and to procure facilities from its
officials, when in their vicinities. As to protection against
the Arabs, it could afford none whatever; for Eastern travellers well know
that, ten miles east of a line drawn from Jerusalem to Nabulus, the tribes roam
uncontrolled, and rob and murder with impunity. Mr. Carr
fully carried out the instructions he had received, and did his best to procure
the firman. Before leaving
Constantinople, in part with the officers, in part alone, I visited some of the
principal mosques, the seraglio, the arsenal, and the fleet, and found that the
permission given by the Sultan was not an idle compliment. We first visited the
mosque of Victory, built by the late Sultan, to which I have before alluded. It
is throughout of white marble, situated in the midst of a large quadrangular
court, near the inlet of the Golden Horn, from the
Bosporus. It has a colonnade all around it; the columns
supporting it, lofty and well-proportioned. Drawing slippers
over our boots, we lifted a corner of the mat which hung as a curtain over the
door-way, and entered within the mosque. It is a lofty rotunda, the vaulted
roof sweeping gracefully above it, at the height of upwards of a hundred
feet. It has high windows, with Saracenic arches at the sides,
and Arabic sentences from the Koran are inscribed in gilt characters around the
walls. Fronting the entrance, the mihrab (a stone set in a
recess) indicates the direction of the Kebla of Mecca, towards
Over the door of the former was inscribed in large gilt
characters, the words "the Sultan is the shadow of God on earth."
Beside the mosque were two cylindrical, hollow shafts of marble, called
minarets, with a gallery running around each near the top, whence the muezzin
calls the faithful to prayer. Within the mosque there were no devotees - no
officiating dervishes. Perhaps, like some fashionable churches
with us, it is too aristocratic for daily worship, and set forms on set days
alone indicate the object of its institution. Thence we crossed the
Golden Horn in caiques, and
After its destruction by fire, it was sixteen years
rebuilding. When completed, Justinian entered with the Patriarch on Christmas
day, and running alone to the pulpit, cried out, " God be
praised, who hath esteemed me worthy to complete such a
work. Solomon, I have surpassed thee!" This church is in the form of a Greek cross, 180
feet high, 269 long, and 143 broad. It has one large central and two side
domes; its walls are of polished stones, and it is paved with large
flags. Within the cupola, is inscribed the verse of the Koran,
"God is the light of the heavens and the earth." It has two banners,
one on each side of the minber, denoting the victories of Ismalism over
Upon the interior surface
of the great dome and the vaulted roofs of the transept, we counted many
crosses in mosaic, the work of its Christian architect. A number of workmen
were employed scaling off the plaster, which, in a more bigoted day, had been
spread over the interior walls of this once rich and beautiful
church. When Constantinople was taken by Muhammed II., he
forced his charger through a throng of priests and nuns, who had fled to the
sacred temple, and riding up to the high altar, sprang from his horse and
exclaimed, "there is no God but God -and Muhammed is his
prophet!" This desecration was the signal for murder,
violation and every horrible excess. Ascending to the gallery,
supported on columns of jasper, we were led out upon the swelling roof,
dazzling with reflected light, to look upon the bee-hive city and its
circumjacent scenes. On leaving the mosque, our curiosity ungratified from its
condition, we were accosted by many boys, proffering for sale pieces of mosaic,
that had fallen from the ceiling. We next visited the
mosque "Sultan Ahmed," which, unlike the rest, has six minarets
beside it. It seemed larger even than St. Sophia, but is entirely destitute of
decoration, save a multitude of small lamps, each suspended by a separate chain,
and reaching from the ceiling to within eight feet of the pavement. There are
also four enormous columns supporting the dome, their height scarce twice
exceeding their diameter; they are 108 feet in
circumference. Their disproportioned bulk, with the numerous
chains and small parti-coloured lamps, very much impair the effect of an
otherwise magnificent interior.
Justinian and Muhammed
II., the rebuilder and desecrater of the great temple, lie together in a mosque
erected by the last on the site of the church of the Holy Apostles. There are
none so wholly evil as not to possess some redeeming trait. It is related of
this Muhammed, that, when building his mosque, a poor woman refused, on any
terms, to dispose of her dilapidated house, which stood within the precincts;
and the monarch, respecting her rights, allowed it to stand, a monument of his
own justice, until, at her death, he became peaceably possessed of it. The same
mosque contains the tomb of Sultan Selim, the conqueror of Egypt. On it, the
following words are inscribed "On this day, the Sultan Selim passed to his eternal
kingdom, leaving the empire of the world to Sulieman." From the mosque "
Sultan Ahmed" we passed into the
Within the Hippodrome we
saw what we had all been taught to consider the dromedary, viz., a camel with
two humps upon its back. But we learned from good authority that the dromedary
differs from the camel only in possessing more agility and swiftness; the first
bearing the same relation to the second that the thorough bred horse does to
the heavy, plodding hack. 'The camel and the dromedary have each one hump;
those with two are rare exceptions, and an authentic writer states that in a
caravan of five thousand camels, he saw not more than eight or ten with two
humps. The one we saw was a
From the Hippodrome we
were conducted to the mausoleum containing the tomb of the Sultan Mahmoud and
several of his family. It is a lofty circular room, with a vaulted ceiling, - the
whole admirably proportioned and exquisitely finished. The
architect was an Italian, and the groined roof and beautiful foliage of flowers
in stucco, around the cornice, proved that he was a master in his calling.
Everything, save the tombs, is of the softest and purest white. The tomb of Mahmoud is a
sarcophagus about eight feet high and as many long, covered with purple cloth
embroidered in gold, and many votive shawls of the richest cashmere thrown over
it, any one of which would excite attention and awaken cupidity in the female
breast. At the head is the crimson tarbouch which the monarch wore in life,
with a lofty plume secured by a large and lustrous aigrette of diamonds. The
following words are inscribed in letters of gold on the face of the tomb This is the tomb Of the layer of the
basis of the civilization Of his empire Of the monarch of
exalted place, The Sultan victorious
and just, MAHMOUD
KHAN, Son of the victorious
Abd' al Hamid Khan. (May the Almighty make
his abode in the gardens of Paradise.) Born, Rebuel Evol 14,
1199. Accession, Jemaji Evol
4, 1228. Death,
m. 9, 1255. Reigned 31 years, 10
months, 14 days.
Whether the efforts made by the late Sultan, and now making by Abd' al
Medjid, his successor, will result in the civilization or the downfall of the
Ottoman Empire, remains to be determined. From the eager employment of Franks,
the introduction of foreign machinery, and the adoption of improved modes of
cultivating the land, the present Sultan gives the strongest assurance of his
anxiety to promote the welfare of his people. But the very attempt at a higher development of national
character, has led to greater military weakness; and the fable of the Wolf and
the Lamb, its actors represented by Russia and the Porte, will ere long be
transferred to the page of history. After the tomb of Mahmoud, we were shown the " Burnt
Column," so called from its having been charred
We were also taken to the
cistern of a thousand and one columns. Descending a long flight of wooden
stairs, dimly lighted from the low door, we came upon a subterraneous colonnade
of apparently unknown dimensions. A subterranean palace, its vaulted roof
supported by some hundreds of white marble columns of double height, will give
the best idea of the wonderful cisterns of this ancient
capital. Now, the whole interior is filled with earth and
rubbish half the height of the lower tier of columns, and we found it occupied
by silk spinners, who seemed merrily to ply, their tasks, despite the damp and
gloom of their singular work-shop. From the summit of a
tower similar to that at Galata, we had all Constantinople at our feet. From
above, the dense masses of dingy roofs loomed up the magnificent domes of St.
Sophia, Sultan Ahmed, and other mosques, with their alabaster-like minarets
beside them, -and beyond, semi-girdled by the sea, is the Seraglio, or palace
of the Sultans, covering the site of the ancient Byzantium. It is rather a
collection of palaces and gardens, relieved and beautifully ornamented by the
light
On our way to the bazaars, we stumbled upon the mosque of Bajazet, the
court of which is surrounded by a row of old columns, evidently pillaged from
one or more heathen temples of remote antiquity. Ten were of verde antique, six
of Egyptian granite, and four of jasper. In the court is a fountain and some
wintry trees, their branches darkened by many pigeons. The
love of animals inculcated by the prophet is beautifully shown in the court of
this mosque, where some thousands of pigeons were being fed by an old Turk from
a chest of grain. This chest is supported by charitable contributions, and we
saw an old, poor man, drop in his copper mite. When the pigeons came down from
tree, and roof, and cornice, they darkened the air, and while feeding presented
an immense surface of blue backs and tails. The bazaars form a labyrinth of narrow streets, arched over like some of
our arcades, with mean-looking shops on each side. We were compelled to pick
our way over round paving-atones coated with mud, jostled every moment by
people of all nations hurrying hither and thither in their busy
pursuits. The Turk sits smoking dignified and silent until you
express a desire to see an article in his shop; but the Christians, and more
particularly the Jews, fix upon you with a tenacity that renders it difficult
to shake them off. At length, we struck up a trading
friendship with Mehemet Effendi, a Turkish dealer in perfumes and embroidery,
which continued during our stay at Constantinople. In. his
neat back shop we were always sure to be regaled with pipes, coffee, and a
cool, delicious preparation of cream. He seemed to possess
It is customary here, for a merchant to ask a great deal
more than he expects you to give. You offer, perhaps, one-third of his demand-he abates a
little; you become somewhat more liberal, until at length the bargain is
closed, much to the annoyance of those accustomed to the one price system; for
one never knows that he has not been cheated. We had provided ourselves with a
few Turkish phrases for the occasion, and our shopping proceeded much after
this manner. Taking up an amber mouthpiece, of a pure lemon
colour, (the most prized among the Turks,) "Katch krutch?" (How many piastres?) we asked.
Mehemet Effendi. -"Yus
eli,” (150 piastres, about six dollars). That being altogether too much, we replied, " Chock paxhali" (It is too dear). Whereupon Mehemet, with oriental gravity, entered upon a
long dissertation on the virtues and value of the mouthpiece, -which, being in
a language we did not understand, had no effect whatever. However, we offered
fifty piastres; and after much talking, smoking divers pipes, and drinking
divers tiny cups of coffee, the bargain was closed at one hundred piastres. Feb. 22. All good
Musselmen go to mosque on Fridays, besides praying five times a day. The Sultan
goes every Friday to a different mosque, which is known beforehand. For the
purpose of seeing his sublime majesty in public, we went this morning to the
convent of dervishes in Pera, where he was to be present. A small
collection of the faithful had assembled in the court of the mosque, together with many Christians,
Greeks, Armenians, and
Here it is not the custom
for men to notice, much less speak to, women in public; and yet the constant
presence of Turkish women in the streets and public places, shows that they are
prone to gad about as much as some of their Christian sisters in America; but
if restricted from the use of that little instrument the tongue, they contrive
to do considerable execution with their almond-shaped eyes, inky eyebrows, and
half-an-alabaster nose, which is all that is exposed to view. There was one
little beauty in a pink feraje, with an extremely thin yashmak, who might have
been an Odalisque. The rest of them looked like ghouls risen
from the graves, upon the tomb-stones of which they were standing. Most of the
grave-yards we had seen were much neglected, many of them like open commons,
the turbaned tomb-stones standing at all angles, and frequently trampled under
foot. It was amusing to observe
the crowd, like ourselves, waiting in patient expectation to see the grand
seignor. All the soldiers and more respectable people wore pantaloons and the
red tarbouch; but the lower classes, ever the first to move and the last to be
benefited by a revolution, adhered to the turban and capacious breeks, with a
kind of tunic to match. The dervishes were moving about with serious faces,
wearing faded brown or green cloaks, with felt hats, shaped like inverted
funnels, upon their heads. We waited for some time;
and as the Sultan was about to appear in public, our imagination pictured the
magnificent entrée of a great Ottoman monarch,-troops of warriors; splendidly
caparisoned horses, and all the barbaric pomp of an oriental court,-when a low
murmur indicated that the cortege was approaching. First came, walking
backwards, the Imaum of the dervishes, in a
high green felt hat, swinging a censer filled with burning incense, and
followed by a grave, melancholy-looking young man, with a rather scanty black
beard, the red tarbouch upon his head, and wearing a blue military frock-coat
and fawn-coloured pantaloons; the coat fringed or laced, with a standing
collar, fawn-coloured gloves upon his hands, and a short blue cloak thrown
lightly over his shoulders. It was the Sultan! He was followed, in single file,
by six or eight persons, attired in blue, some wearing swords, and others
carrying small leather portfueilles, richly embossed with gold. Contrary to expectation,
the Sultan had dismounted outside, and his gait, as he passed us, was feeble
and almost tottering. Indeed, most of the Turks walk what is termed "parrot
toed,"-very much like our Indians. Ascending a covered stairway to an
upper gallery, with windows towards the court, he approached one of them, and
looked intently down upon us; but our interpreter imprudently exclaiming,
"Voila le Sultan! le Sultan!" he turned slowly away, we presume, to
his devotions. Without the court, were
his horses; splendid steeds, caparisoned in richly-embroidered, but chaste
saddlecloths, which, as well as the reins and the pommels of the saddles, were
studded with precious stones; the headpieces were embossed gold, and the
frontlets glittered with gems. The Sultan's figure was
light, and apparently feeble. I thought so when I saw him before, in a
semi-obscure
Our visit to the Seraglio
deserves an especial notice, not that we saw so much, but that we saw what
Franks are rarely permitted to look upon. We landed at the old kiosk with the
green curtains, and exhibiting our firman, were permitted to enter the
precincts of the Seraglio. Serai is the Turkish word for palace, whence this
principal one of the Sultan's is called, par excellence, the Seraglio. Passing through an arched
gateway, between files of sentinels, we came upon an open space. Near us, on
the left, looking towards the sea of Marmara, was a large caserne or infantry
barracks. To the right, crowning the elevation of the hill, were the halls of
audience, the trea-
sury, the library, and the kiosk
for the entertainment of foreign ambassadors. On the declivity of the hill were
the royal stables, and further beyond, but yet upon the slope, looking out upon
the sea of Marmara and the Bosphorus, were the royal palaces and
harem. Between the latter and the wall, which rounds with the
sweep of the sea, is an extensive court, where the annual caravan to Mecca
assembles in order that the sovereign and his harem may witness its
departure. Immediately looking upon it, are the windows of the
harem, screened with fine gilt lattice work. The buildings are
oriental, very ancient, and well adapted to the climate. The Turks believe, and
with some reason, that, in a changeable climate, like this, frame houses are
drier and healthier than those constructed of a more durable material. We first visited the barracks,
where a large number of Turkish soldiers, shaved and dressed like Europeans,
except the moustache and the tarbouch, received us with the Asiatic salute.
Elsewhere in Europe, the soldier touches his cap; here, they bring the hand
first to the lip and then to the forehead, with a quick and graceful
motion. The whole caserne was scrupulously clean, the bread
dark coloured, but well baked and sweet. The colonel, who politely accompanied
us, said that the bastinado had been discontinued, on account of its injuring
the culprit's eyes. Their mode of punishment is now similar to our own. Before entering the sacred
precincts of the Seraglio proper, we were required to take off our overshoes,
which we had donned for the purpose. Turks of both sexes wear a loose half-boot
of thin morocco, either red or yellow, which fits into a similarly coloured
slipper, with a hard rounding sole, but open at the heel. The custom of
throwing off this loose slipper on entering an apartment, is not so much a
superstitious one, as it is a matter
Ascending a broad flight
of stairs, we passed at once through extensive suites of apartments, furnished
in a costly but gaudy and tasteless manner. The most modern articles of
furniture were of French manufacture. Each suite consisted of three or four
sleeping apartments, two baths, two sitting rooms, and a banqueting hall, the
latter circular, large, and lofty. We passed through a variety
of saloons and their corresponding apartments, including those of the harem. They
were but partially furnished. In most of them were one or two couches,
profusely gilt, and covered with golden fret-work - some oblong, and some
oval. The apartments directly over the court are truly
beautiful, and command a glorious view of the sea of Marmara and the shipping
in the Golden Horn. The harem looks out both
upon the court and the water, but to the windows were fitted gilt arabesque
gratings, to screen the sultanas within. What scenes have been enacted in these
apartments! What intrigues, murders and sewing up in sacks! Alas, poor woman! Here are marble baths
with alabaster fountains, and domes thickly studded with glass-lights overhead
-the bath of the harem! where many a Circassian form has laved! A bath with us signifies
a trough of some kind for one to get into, but the Turkish bath is different.
The marble floor of the apartment is highly heated, and hot and cold water,
flowing through cocks into alabaster basins, is thence thrown lavishly upon it. Here
you are scraped, scrubbed, lathered, and washed off. There are two long
galleries looking out upon the court. Along the inner wall of each, opposite to
the latticed windows, were a series of engravings, mostly French,
The other gallery
was furnished mostly with mere daubs-strange to say, naval pieces-in which the
most outré looking Turkish ships, in most grotesque rig, and under most
impossible circumstances, were represented as triumphant over adversaries more
formidable and far more frightful than themselves. In the harem there was
little tangible to feed the imagination, and it was thrown back upon the sad
associations connected with its mysterious history. In one of the
palaces is a chair, looking very
French notwithstanding its Persian embroidery. It is the Sultan's throne-but
nothing more in fact than a large armchair covered with crimson velvet,
embroidered in gold, and placed on a semi-circular platform elevated about six
inches above the floor. Although gorgeous to the eye, it is
less comfortable than one of those formerly in the east room in Washington. On one side of most
of the rooms were divans, but others had only the more modern substitutes of
sofas and chairs. The cushions of the divans were each one as large as a double
feather bed, and covered with the richest damask or velvet, profusely
embroidered. The prevailing colours were crimson and blue. The tables, with
costly covers upon them, were of plain mahogany; the chairs had embroidered
backs and seats; but the palace and harem being unoccupied, the carpets were up
and the curtains removed, except one suite, kept always in order for the
Sultan. The divan, carpet, curtains, chairs, sofa, and bed-coverings of this
suite, were blue, embroidered with silver.
When, on such occasions,
the proper officer announced to the Grand Seignor that the ambassador of one of
the European powers craved an. audience, the reply was, “Take the Christian
dog, and feed him." When the feeding was over, and the second application
made, the order was given, "Clothe the Christian dog, and bring him
in." A cloak was then thrown over the shoulders of the
ambassador, who, previously disarmed, was led into the presence, a eunuch
holding him on each side. The latter custom having originated, it is said,
(although history is silent upon the subject,) in the assassination of a Sultan
by an ambassador. At a respectable distance the humble
representative of a Christian prince was permitted to state his business, when
he was abruptly dismissed to undergo a second feeding. Over the ambassadors'
gate is written,
The old divan upon which the Sultans formerly reclined when they gave
audience, looks like an overgrown four-poster, each post covered with
carbuncles of precious stones, turquoise, amethyst, topaz, emeralds, ruby, and
diamond: the couch was covered with Damascus silk and Cashmere shawls. Here, we
saw the last of the white eunuchs; the present enlightened Sultan having
pensioned off those on hand, and discontinued their attendance for ever.
We visited the armory,
and saw a vast store of muskets, pistols and swords, kept in admirable order,
besides a large collection of Saracenic armour. There were morions and shirts
of mail; plate-armour, inlaid with golden verses from the Koran; huge
two-handed swords; gigantic blunderbusses, of every shape and kind; long, sharp
spears, and other formidable weapons of war. In a court, were
several large porphyry tombs,-sarcophagi, it is supposed, of some of the
imperial families of Rome. In an extensive, but nearly vacant
building, was an abortive attempt at a museum. Next came the royal
stables, in which were about thirty stallions, tethered to the ground-floor by
their feet, and not separated by stalls, as with us. Two or three were splendid
Arabians-the remainder, ordinary in appearance. They were kept for state, and
rarely used. Returning, we should have
passed the " Sublime Porte" unnoticed, had not our
attention been directed to a large yellow-arched gateway, with a remarkable
turtle-shell-like canopy above the entrance. From this gateway, the divan or
supreme council, which holds its sitting in an ordinary building within, is
called the " Sublime Porte." Crossing the bridge of
boats over the Golden Horn, we observed a neat little steamer, which had been
presented to the Sultan by the Pasha of Egypt; and the former, shortly after,
was about to pass on board, when, unfortunately, one of his slippers fell off,
and the contemplated excursion was instantly abandoned-never to be resumed.
On Sunday afternoon we strolled along the banks of the
Bosphorus. There are three Sabbaths in each week, one for each religion:
Friday, the Muhammedan; Saturday, the Jew; and Sunday, the
Christian. Of all, the latter is held most sacred, and the first
are becoming less and less observant of the injunctions of the Koran, with
regard to Friday. From the brow of a steep hill, we had the great
burying-ground of Pera beneath us. It is an article of Muslim faith, that the
soul of a deceased person cannot be admitted to Paradise until the body is
interred, (unless he die in battle); hence there is but a brief interval from
the death-bed to the grave. These densely-crowded burial-grounds, in the midst
of a populous city, must be exceedingly detrimental to health. It
is related of a boy, deaf, dumb and blind, that he fainted from the noxious
exhalations of a grave-yard he was passing, his smell having been rendered
acute by the deprivation of other senses. Although more than half the people we met were dressed
precisely as in Paris or New York, yet there were many curious
costumes. The Armenian priest, with his long beard and high,
square, black cap, from which depended a coarse black veil, concealing his
features;-the gay-looking Albanian, with his bright eye and well-trimmed
moustache; and stranger than all, the Turkish women, shuffling along in
slippers, or tottering in high wooden clogs, - dressed in bright-coloured
ferajes and shrouded up to the eyes in the ugly yashmak, giving to their sallow
complexions a yet more ghastly hue. The yashmak is wrapped round the head and brow,
The feraje is a
narrow-skirted cloak of silk or woollen, and either purple or a light fancy
colour, entirely covering the fair incognita, saving a pair of bright yellow
morocco boots, coming loosely a few inches above the ancles, not unfrequently
exhibiting streaks of alabaster skin above them as they carefully pick their
way along the muddy streets. Emerging from filthy
lanes, we came out upon a broad avenue leading into the country. On one side
was a handsome range of barracks; on the other the parade-ground. Among the
city offals beyond, more than a hundred dogs lay crunching. A regiment of
soldiers was being drilled in the trenches, actually delving and shovelling
with pick and spade for exercise. Up and down the promenade might be seen
caracoling the handsome steed of a
Frank or
Greek merchant of Pera. Still further on was the Armenian
burying ground, resembling a tesselated pavement from the number of tombstones
or tablets. A grave-yard is here a familiar thing, and their
general condition fully confirms the copper-plate maxim, "Familiarity
breeds contempt." In this one there were no cypresses, that tree being
consecrated only to the faithful. About a mile on this road
was a large, rural-looking café, with a band of music. Round about, a great
many Franks of both sexes were seated, enjoying pipes and
sherbet. Although February, they were in the open air. It was
like our Hoboken in a more genial season. Monday. Caiqued up the
Bosporus, a short distance
Tuesday,
Feb. 29. Visited the same convent which we had seen the Sultan enter, to
witness an exhibition of dancing dervishes. Casting off our overshoes, and
passing through the door, beside which sentries were stationed, we took our
places within a railing, which ran around the circular floor of the mosque.
There was a similar gallery above. Some thirty dirty-looking dervishes, in
faded brown and green cloaks, with white felt conical hats upon their heads,
were prostrate around the circle, while the Imaum, the same who had preceded
the Sultan,
After repeated
prostrations, at a signal the Imaum led the way, in a slow march, round the
apartment. As each one passed the mihrab, he bowed three times, gracefully,
without stopping, or turning his back towards the holy place. After marching
round three times, making the same reverence, they halted with their faces inwards,
and the Imaum resumed his seat upon his rug before the mihrab. The others, all
barefooted, crossing their feet one after the other, in slow succession, began
to twirl around, keeping admirable time to the music; and when all in motion,
looked like so many teetotums spinning. The word spinning conveys a better idea
than turning; for they seemed to move about without the slightest effort, and
their flowing garments, flying out in extended circles below, gave the movement
a most graceful appearance. As the music became louder and faster, they spun
round
The paganism of Rome,
with all its monstrous errors and superstitions, even to the human sacrifice,
with the faint shadow of morality which it inculcated, formed the cement and
support of the political fabric: and the philosophy of Epicurus and his
followers, by denying the superintendence of a Supreme Being, struck at the
root of all social and political morality, thus undermining the ancient
institutions of the government, and paving the way for an iron and
blood-thirsty despotism. The gross fables and
puerile mythology with which.mankind had been so long deluded could not resist
the assaults of sensual infidelity. The last was soon enabled to dissipate the
shadows that had so long enveloped the human intellect, and to burst the bonds
of a superstition, whose head was hidden in the clouds, and whose foot was on
the neck of nations. But, instead of
inculcating a purer system of morals for that which had been abolished, and
erecting an altar to Truth amid the broken shrines of the divinities it had
dethroned, in the pride of its heart, sensual philosophy exalted its own form
for the adoration of mankind, and by removing all the sanctions of religion -by
. corrupting the motives and inducements to virtue -by stifling all the
aspirations of the heart, yearning and restlessly striving for a higher and
purer existence -it unbridled the wildest excesses of passion; it recalled the
divine principle from its heavenward flight, and bade it seek in pandering to
the grossest sensuality the proper end and object of its
March 1. Impatient about the firman, Mr. Carr addressed a
note to the minister of foreign affairs upon the subject. In reply, the latter
gave the assurance that there would be no difficulty, but that on the contrary
the Sultan was anxious to promote our
views. March 2. Went again to
St. Stefano, the residence of our hospitable minister. In the afternoon there
were a number of revellers assembled on the village green, dancing in a circle
round a shepherd from Bulgaria, in a sheepskin coat, wool inside, blowing
himself red in the face on a bagpipe, - a veritable bagpipe, - the people
dancing as their ancestors did two thousand years ago. Spent the evening at Dr.
Davis's, with Osman Pasha, a German, holding an office in the Turkish army,
just returned from Kurdistan, where he had distinguished himself in quelling a
rebellion. There were also Ohannis Didian, the Sultan's man of business, Bocas
Aga, the rich man of the village, his nephew, the Barout ji Bashi (chief of
powder-works), and several younger Armenians. The next evening we spent between
Didian's and the Barout ji Bashi; the latter has an immense house with ragged
retainers lounging about the court and lower rooms. We had
pipes, coffee, sherbet, and sweetmeats - the latter presented by a daughter of
fourteen, followed by a very
Tuesday,
March 6. Received the long-expected firman from the Grand Vizier. It was
addressed to the Pashas of Saida and Jerusalem, the two highest dignitaries in
Syria. It was briefly couched. The following
is a literal translation:
" You will, therefore, on the receipt of
this present order, give him and his companions, seventeen in number, all due
aid and co-operation in his explorations. " Protect, therefore, and treat him with
a regard due to the f