“ The scenery on both sides is of the most varied and beautiful description, many villages lining each well-wooded shore, while on the European side are numerous fine residences of the wealthy class of Constantinople. The Bosporus is under Turkish dominion, and by treaty of 1841, confirmed by the treaty of Berlin in 1878 and at other times, no ship of war other than Turkish may pass through the strait (or through the Dardanelles) without the countenance of the Porte. ”