SECTION XXII.
Of the Imáret, or Refectories.
Praise be to God! who, according to the sacred text of the Korán: “There is no beast on the earth for which God hath not made a provision,” has provided a plentiful supply for the poor by the foundation of Sultán Mohammed II. at the new palace, in which food is distributed to them three times a day; at the Imáret of Sultán Báyazíd twice; the same at the imárets of Sultán Selím I.; Soleïmán; Prince Mohammed; Ahmed; Eyúb; Khasekí Sultán, near the women-market; Vafá Sultán; Prince Jehángír, near the Top-kháneh; Mehrmáh Sultán, at Scutari; Válideh of Murád IV.; Ibráhím Khán; and of Othmán Khán. May God extend His mercy to them all! Besides these there are some hundreds of kitchens attached to the various convents; but the above are the old establishments of the Sultáns and Princes, where the poor receive a loaf of bread and a dish of soup every day. I, the humble Evliyá, who during a period of fifty-one years have visited the dominions of eighteen different monarchs, have no where seen such establishments.