William Francis Lynch

“ 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. ”

“ TOMB OF SULTAN MAHMOUD
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. ”

“ Their faces are perforated with many quarries, whence, doubtless, was drawn the marble for the construction of the city.
The Turkish village of Ayasalouk, a paltry collection of huts, constructed without taste, of the scattering fragments around, is the forlorn representative of the glories of ancient Ephesus. The relics of Gentiles and of Christians lie subverted and unknown among the habitations of the poor and ignorant herdsmen, just without the vestibule of the great church of St. John, the first of the seven churches of Asia. There is not one Christian among them. ”

“ 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. ”

“ The amphitheatre and the stadium, like the theatre and the temple, present a surface of marble fragments, glittering in the sun-light. To the north-east on the brow of a hill, in full view, is the cave of the seven sleepers, with the ruins of a chapel adjoining it. The seven sleepers were seven brothers professing the Christian faith, who, with their dog, were walled up in this cave by the emperor Decius. They are fabled to have slept 157 years. ”

“ 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?” ”

“ The floor was richly carpeted, and two large chandeliers hung suspended from the ceiling. Ascending to the gallery, we found several apartments, the floors covered with carpets of English manufacture, which led to the latticed gallery-room, overlooking the interior of the mosque. It had simply a carpet on the floor, and a divan with cushions on one side; on the other side was a beautiful boudoir, with Persian carpet, French curtains and mirrors, and with divans of rich sky-blue damask silk. This last is intended as a place of repose, when the Sultan returns from his devotions. ”

“ 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 ”

“ 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.
THE BURIAL-GROUNDS
We reached our quarters wearied in body, but exceedingly gratified. How beautiful is the seraglio! What magnificent structures are the mosques! How light and graceful the minarets! yet how mean and filthy the streets! what smells! ”

“ 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. ”

“ The court was much neglected, and in the rear of the tomb were some filthy habitations. An old man told us that there was a great person buried beneath, — he knew not exactly whom. Such is fame! This tomb commemorates the ablest sea-captain of his age, “Chiareddin,” who succeeded his brother, the celebrated corsair, Barbarossa of Algiers. He was the great rival of Doria, and the terror of the Christian world. We then pulled over to Scutari, and saw its vast cemetery, shrouded in cypresses, and densely paved with grave-stones. ”

“ 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. ”

“ It appears to have been a Doric temple; some of the columns are fluted three and a half inches deep, and they are about four feet in diameter. One of the fragments measured twenty-nine feet, a part of its capital lying about ten feet distant. A corner-stone of a pediment formed a striking mass of sculpture, — the whole of white marble, mellowed by time, and beautifully cut, particularly an exquisite fragment of a lion’s head. ”

“ We had pipes, coffee, sherbet, and sweetmeats — the latter presented by a daughter of fourteen, followed by a very pretty daughter-in-law, with the coffee. The master of the house hospitable and fussy, — the mistress and daughters gorgeously, but badly dressed. When we had partaken of refreshments, exeunt the beautiful visions, with the skirts of their dresses tucked in their pockets. The Armenians are the great business men of the nation, and are believed to be less cunning and more faithful than the Greeks. ”

“ Whether the dictates of an unfeeling, or a sound yet reluctant policy, the massacre of the Janissaries is a fearful page in his life’s history. How difficult, and how thankless, is the task of a reformer! Mahmoud, who sagaciously discerned the superiority of the arts of civilization over wild barbaric force, commenced the radical reform of a people universally regarded as the most impracticable in the world. ”

“ 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. ”

“ The convent is a mean-looking building, in the rear of a street of small shops and cafes, with a neglected burial-ground in front and beside it. None but the faithful being permitted to enter a mosque when the Sultan attends, we were conscaravaned to remain in the court, taking our position near the entrance. At the gate of the adjoining grave-yard were a number of females, forming a separate crowd of yashmaks and gay-coloured ferajes, with black eyes and henna-stained fingers.
THE TURKISH WOMEN
Here it is not the custom for men to notice, much less speak to, women in public ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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 of absolute necessity in a country where everybody sits upon the floor. These palaces are rarely occupied, the Sultan usually residing at Beschich Tasch or Cherighan. ”

“ Such is the necessity of religion for the support of all human institutions, that any form of worship, however false and corrupt, is preferable to the atrocious enormities which follow in the caravan of absolute impiety. ”

“ 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-stones coated with mud, jostled every moment by people of all nations hurrying hither and thither in their busy pursuits. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ This impression has become so prevalent, that hundreds, when they die, direct their remains to be interred on the Asiatic side of the Bosporus. It is sad to think that, from the destruction of the Janissaries by Mahmoud to the present time, the very advancement of the Turks in civilization should increase the weakness, and precipitate the dismemberment, if not the downfall, of the empire! It was a singular scene! A few ragged Turks in the old turban, the only relic of the past; the mixture of European costumes and the red tarbouch; a company of Christian officers, from a far-off land ”

“ Unfortunately, a number of workmen were employed in repairing it, and from near the floor to the roof of the dome, its interior presented one entangled network of scaffolding. This church, first called the “temple of Divine Wisdom,” was built of granite and porphyry, and white, blue, green, black and veined marbles. It has eight porphyry columns, taken by Aurelius from the great temple of the sun at Baelbec; eight jasper ones from the temple of Diana at Ephesus; and others from Troas, Cyzicus, Athens and the Cyclades. Its dome and roof are supported by columns of the temples of Isis and Osiris ”

“ The sonorous tones of the muezzins, and the solemn import of the words, appeal strongly to the senses, and in a crowded city are more appropriate, as they are certainly more impressive, than the discordant sounds of our clanging bells. ”

“ Just within the great door, a Turkish scribe was copying the Koran. In the gallery were many boxes, said to be filled with the treasures of the faithful, who had deposited them there, when starting on the pilgrimage to Mecca. There were some twenty or thirty persons present; a few, like the black, engaged in their devotions, but the greater number wandered about, with little reverence in their deportment ”

“ 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 most intelligent pupil. The present secretary was the fortunate one, and by his abilities, his suavity and discretion, has risen to the highest office near the person of majesty. ”

“ 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. ”