80. From Athens viâ Smyrna to Constantinople.
545 M. Steamers (agents at the Piræus, see pp. [494], 495; at Smyrna, p. [531]; at Constantinople, pp. [538], 539). 1. North German Lloyd (comp. RR. 23, 24, 77), Mediterranean & Levant Service, in either direction every other Thurs.; from the Piræus to Smyrna in 1, to Constantinople in 2–2½ days (fare to Smyrna 40 or 28, to Constantinople 72 or 48 marks).—2. Messageries Maritimes (comp. RR. 23, 77), N. Mediterranean service, from the Piræus every other Mon. (from Constantinople Thurs.), to Smyrna in 1, to Constantinople in 2 days (fare 90 or 60 fr.); also the Marseilles, Constantinople, and Batum line, from the Piræus Thurs. (from Constantinople Tues.), to Smyrna in 1, to Constantinople in 3 days (fare 80 or 40 fr.).—3. Khedivial Mail Steamship Co. (comp. R. 76), from the Piræus Frid. (from Constantinople Tues.) aft., to Smyrna in 18 hrs., to Constantinople in 2 days (fare 52 or 39, and 91 or 61 fr.).—4. Austrian Lloyd (comp. R. 78), Greek-Oriental Line, from the Piræus Frid. even, (from Constantinople Mon.), to Smyrna in 2, to Constantinople in 5 days (fares 54 or 38, and 132 or 93 fr.).
Line XI of the Società Nazionale (pp. [493], 563) touches at Smyrna on the outward voyage only (Piræus to Constantinople 3½ days).
To Constantinople Direct. 1. Rumanian Mail Line, from the Piræus Sun. aft., in 24 hrs. (returning from Constantinople Frid. aft. in 23 hrs.).—2. Società Nazionale, Line XII, from the Piræus Thurs. night, in 32 hrs. (returning from Constantinople Wed. foren., in 31 hrs.); fares 101 fr. 30, 70 fr. 70 c.—3. Austrian Lloyd, fast steamers between Trieste and Constantinople, from the Piræus Sat. aft., in 35 hrs. (from Constantinople Sat. foren., in 29 hrs.); fare 90 or 60 fr.
Athens and the Piraeus, see pp. [502], 494. We first steer to the S.E. across the Bay of Ægina (p. [494]), past the three pinnacles of Cape Zostēr, the southmost spur of Hymettos, and near the islets of Phleva (ancient Phabra; lighthouse) and Gaïdaronisi.
Beyond Cape Colonna or Kolonnaes (ancient Sunion), on which the columns of the temple of Poseidon are conspicuous, opens the Strait of Kea, between (left and right) the lonely Makronisi (922 ft.; ‘long island’; ancient Helena) and the fertile island of Kea (1863 ft.; formerly Keos), with its lighthouse on the headland of Hagios Nikolaos. On the left are the Petali Islands (Petaliae Insulae) in the bay of that name, and Hagios Elias (5264 ft.), the S. point of Euboea.
We next steer through the Straits of Doro (7½ M. in width; Ital. Canal d’Oro), where a strong N.E. current prevails and storms are frequently encountered. They lie between Eubœa and Andros (3199 ft.; 156 sq. M.), the largest of the Cyclades (p. [492]), with the lighthouse on Cape Fassa. Beyond them we are in the open sea.
Halfway between Andros and Chios (p. [492]) are the Kalogeros Cliffs, belonging to Greece. Most of the vessels leave them to the right and steer to the E.N.E. to the passage between the rocky island of Psara (ancient Psyra; notable for the revolt of the modern Greeks against the Turks) and Chios, with the bold and conspicuous Mt. Hagios Elias (4134 ft.; Pelinnaeon) at its N. end. To the N. appears the S. coast of Mytilini (p. [533]).
Beyond the N. end of the Straits of Chios (p. [492]) the Levant steamers (RR. 75, 76) round the steep limestone rocks of the Anatolian peninsula of Kara Burun, with the Boz Dagh (3920 ft.; ancient Mimas), and come in sight of the *Gulf of Smyrna, the ancient Sinus Hermaeus, which runs 34 M. inland. The entrance between (right and left) the headlands Kinlu Burun and Arslan Burun (Greek Cape Hydra) is 15 M. broad.
On the left, to the S. of Arslan Burun, near the islets of Drepanon and Oglak (lighthouse), lies the little bay of Phokia (Turk. Foja). This was the ancient Phocaea, the northmost Ionian town, whose bold mariners first opened up the W. Mediterranean to the Greeks (comp. p. [121]). Farther to the S., beyond Cape Myrminghi (lighthouse), is the new estuary of the Gedis Chai (Hermos), flanked with swampy alluvial soil and salt-works.
After rounding the island of Kiösteni (Gr. Makronisi), which lies in front of the E. slope of the Boz Dagh (see above) and masks the Bay of Gülbagcheh, we sight to the S., beyond the Marathusa Islands, the houses of Hagios Joannes (quarantine station), on an islet in the Bay of Vurlá. Here once lay the Ionian town of Klazomenae. The plain of Vurlá is famed for its wine and ‘Smyrna figs’.
Opposite the hills of the ‘Two Brothers’ (Dyo Adelphia, Turk. Iki Kardash; 3252 ft.) we pass the narrow old channel of the Gedis Chai (lighthouse). On a peninsula on the right lies the Turkish Fort Sanjak Kalesí; farther on is the suburb of Göz Tepeh (p. [532]). To the N.E. the imposing Yamanlar Dagh (p. [533]) and the lofty Manissa Dagh (5905 ft.; ancient Sipylos) beyond it become more conspicuous. To the S. of the latter is a depression, beyond which rises the Takhtaly or Nif Dagh. Beside the sea rises the Pagos (p. [532]) with its old walls and many cypresses. On its slopes, far to the S.W. and N.E., extends Smyrna.
Smyrna.—Arrival. As soon as permission to land is obtained the hotel-agents, guides, and boatmen come on board. Landing or embarkation, with baggage 1½ fr., but 2–3 fr. when the steamer anchors in the outer roads. As to the examination at the Custom House (Pl. B, 3), comp. p. [537]. The porter (hamál) expects a few silver piastres.
Hotels. *Gr.-Hôt. Kraemer Palace (Pl. c; B, 3), Passage Kræmer (p. [532]), with American bar, etc., R. 6–20, B. 1½, déj. 4, D. 5, pens. 12–25 fr.; *Gr.-Hôt. Huck (Pl. a; B, 4), on the quay, nearly opposite the Douane, pens. 10–25 fr.; Hôt. de la Ville (Pl. b; B, 3; Ital. host), on the quay, pens. 10–12, D. 3 fr. (in the season, March-May, rather dearer).
Cafés (all on the quay). Kraemer, see above (also restaurant, beer, etc.); Klonaridis, in the Hôt. de la Ville; Café Costi, Café High Life, both Quai Anglais, etc.
Post Offices. British (Pl. 9; C, 4); French (Pl. 8; B, 4); etc.—Telegraph Offices. Turkish and Eastern Telegraph Co., on the quay, adjoining the Douane (1st floor).
Cabs at the hotels and railway-stations (bargain necessary). Drivers often ignorant and exorbitant. Drive 1 fr. to ½ mejidieh, hr. 1 mej.; ½ day about 2 mej.—Horses in the Place Fassulah (Pl. C, 3), about 2 mej. per day.
Tramway from Konak (Pl. A, 6) along the quay to Punta Station (Gare de la Pointe; Pl. E, 2), 7 metalliks; from Konak to Göz Tepeh (p. [532]), 4 metalliks.
Local Steamers to Kordelio, Göz Tepeh, etc.
Steamboat Agents (offices all on the quay). North German Lloyd, Van der Zee (also for German Levant Line); Austrian Lloyd, Pussich; Khedivial Mail, Cohen; Messageries Maritimes, D. G. Alevra; Società Nazionale, Fratelli Missir; German Levant Line, Milberg; Russian Steam Navigation & Trading Co., Bégléry.
Banks. Banque Ottomane (Pl. B, 4); Crédit Lyonnais, Rue Franque (p. [532]); Banque de Salonique and Banque d’Athènes.—Money Changers in front of the Hôt. Huck and the Hœnischer Passage (Pl. B, 3, 4); a charge of 2–5 metalliks is made, according to amount. Perforated coins should be rejected.
Consulates. British: consul-general, H. D. Barnham; vice-consul, C. E. Heathcote Smith.—United States (Pl. 3; C, 3): consul-general, E. L. Harris; vice-consul, E. A. Magnifico.
English Church (Pl. E, 2), near Gare de la Pointe.
Smyrna, Turk. Izmir, the seat of the vali or governor of the Turkish province of Aidin, lies in 38° 26′ N. lat. and 27° 9′ E. long., in a bay between Sanjak Kalesí (p. [530]) and the Punta (La Pointe; Pl. D, E, 1). As all the older harbours on the W. coast of Asia Minor have been choked by alluvial deposits, Smyrna has developed into the chief seaport of Anatolia and the largest city in Turkish Asia after Damascus. Population, excl. suburbs, about 200,000, incl. over 100,000 Greeks, 60,000 Turks, 20,000 Jews (p. [542]), 12,000 Armenians, and 15,000 Europeans and Levantines. The chief languages are Greek, French, and Italian.
Smyrna was founded in the 11th cent. B.C. on the N. side of the bay of Burnabad (p. [533]), about 2 M. to the N. of the present city. The Ionians of Colophon (p. [491]) captured it for the sake of its trade in the 7th cent. and added it to their league of twelve cities. About 575 B.C. it was taken by the Lydian king Alyattes, who destroyed it and settled its inhabitants in villages. A new Smyrna, as planned by Alexander the Great, was founded later on the Pagos (p. [532]) by the diadochi Antigonos and Lysimachos, and soon developed into one of the finest towns in Asia Minor. After the havoc wrought by terrible earthquakes in 178 and 180 A.D. the emperor Marcus Aurelius caused it to be rebuilt. For a time it was wrested from the Byzantine emperors by Turkish pirates (1084) and the Seljuks (p. [542]). During the Latin domination in Constantinople (p. [542]) Smyrna remained under the sceptre of the Greek emperor at Nikæa. In 1344 the Genoese and the Knights of St. John took the city under their protection, but in 1402 they were unable to save it from the ravages committed by Timur (p. [485]), nor could they in 1424 prevent its capture by the Osmans. This ‘eye of Asia Minor’, as the Turks have called Smyrna, has risen to wonderful prosperity of late years.
The quays were built in 1868–80 and at the same time the Harbour, of 50 acres only, was protected by a breakwater 1400 yds. long and 19 yds. in breadth. The entrance is between the N.E. end of this breakwater and the N. pier (Pl. B, 3, 4) near the passport-office, passengers’ custom-house, and telegraph office. The local steamers (p. [531]) are berthed between the N. and the S. mole (Pl. A, 4, 5; chief custom-house).
The great business thoroughfare is the Quay Street (Greek Prokymaea, Ital. Marina), over 2 M. long, skirting the Frank quarter (see below). In the S. part of this street, among the motley throng of sailors, dock-labourers, and traders of every nation, are often seen picturesque trains of camels, headed in some cases by a donkey. The N. part of the quay, with its theatres, cafés, and many handsome dwelling-houses, is of an entirely different character.
From the quay several alleys, the Kræmer Passage, the Hœnischer Passage (Pl. B, 3, 4), and others, and the busy street Galatzo Sokak (Pl. B, C, 3) lead to the Frank Quarter. The main streets here, running parallel with the quay, are the so-called Parallel St., the Quai Anglais (Turk. Eski Balik Basar; Pl. B, C, 3, 4), the Maltese quarter, and above all the Franks’ Street, in sections bearing different names (Rue des Verreries, Rue Franque, Rue Trassa, etc.), and lined with many European and other shops.
To the E. of Rue Franque, passing the Rom. Cath. cathedral of St. Jean (Pl. C, 4), we come to the Greek Quarter, to which the lively streets Bella Vista (Pl. D, 2) and Oroman Sokak (Pl. D, 2, 3) also lead. The Greek Cath. cathedral of Hagia Photinē or Aï Fotini (Pl. B, 4) lies near the S.W. end of the Franks’ Street.
A little beyond Aï Fotini the street ends at the *Bazaar (Pl. B, 5; open till sunset), which vies in its picturesque variety with the Great Bazaar of Constantinople. Smyrna carpets, mostly from the interior, old embroidery, and modern silks may be bought here at reasonable prices. The so-called antiquities, however, are generally spurious. The bazaar is within the Turkish Quarter, on the site of ancient Smyrna, with its quiet streets ascending the Pagos (see below), and extending to the S.W. to the Moslem and the old Jewish Cemeteries. Near these, but difficult to find, are traces of the temples of Asklepios and Vesta (Pl. A, 7). Within the Turkish quarter lies the very unsavoury Jewish Quarter (Pl. B, C, 5, 6).
From the church of Aï Fotini we may walk through the Armenian Quarter, past the Armenian cathedral of St. Etienne (Pl. C, 5) and the Basma Khâné Station (Pl. D, 5), to the Caravan Bridge (Pl. E, 5), which the busy traffic with the interior crosses.
From the Moslem cemeteries (Pl. A, B, 7) mentioned above, or from the Caravan Bridge, we ascend in ½ hr. to the top of the *Pagos (525 ft.), which affords a superb view of the city, the bay, and the hills around. The extensive outer wall of the old Castle, dating from the Byzantine and Genoese periods, consists partly of the substructures and masonry of the Acropolis of king Lysimachos (p. [531]). Of the Roman Theatre (Pl. C, D, 6, 7) and the Stadion (Pl. B, C, 7; p. [509]) on the hill-side hardly a trace is left.
*Excursions. To Göz Tepeh (p. [530]) by tramway or by local steamer (p. [531]).—By local steamer or by railway (from the Basma Khâné Stat., see p. [532]) to Kordelio (cafés; sea-baths), a little town prettily situated among gardens on the N. bank of the bay. From the steamer, to the E. of the Punta (p. [531]), we see the Bay of Burnabad and the plain of that name, beyond which, on the Yamanlar Dagh (3202 ft.), is the site of Ancient Smyrna (p. [531]).
Leaving Smyrna the Steamer passes the Kara Burun (p. [530]) and usually steers to the W.N.W. out to sea. Astern we obtain a fine view of Chios. We soon skirt the beautiful S. coast of Mytilini or Mitylene (3084 ft.; ancient Lesbos; 673 sq. M.), the largest island in the Ægean Sea, and pass the narrow entrance of the far-penetrating Bay of Kalloni. Beyond Cape Sigri (Sigrium Promontorium) and the islet of Megalonisi (lighthouse) we sight the distant coast of Troas (see below).
Some of the vessels, beyond Arslan Burun (p. [530]), steer to the N., close to the Anatolian coast, and past the finely varied scenery, of the Bay of Chandarli, the ancient Sinus Elaeates. On the N. bank of that bay, to the W. of the estuary of the Bakyr Chai (once Kaïkos), rises the Kara Dagh (2559 ft.; Cane Mons).
Beyond Cape Maltepe, a spur of Kara Dagh, and the Hagios Georgios Islands opens the Strait of Mytilini, 9 M. wide, lying between the island and the coast of ancient Mysia. On the right, far inland from Kabakum Bay, we sight the hills near Bergama, the famous Pergamum of the Greeks. On the hill-side to the left, beyond Cape Malea, the S.E. point of the island, lies Mytilini or Kastro (Turk. Midüllü), its capital, with a Genoese castle.
At the N. end of the strait, beyond the entrance to the harbour of Aivaly (Gr. Kydonia), and the Moshonisia Islands (Hekatonesoi), opens to the N.E. the broad Bay of Edremid (Adramyti), on which rises Kaz Dagh (5807 ft.), the ancient Ida. We next steer to the W. through the Muselim Sound, between the N. coast of Mytilini and the S. coast of Troas or the Troad, where once rose the loftily situated stronghold of Assos.
After passing cape Baba Burnu (Lectum Promontorium), the S.W. point of Troas, we follow the course of the direct steamers from Smyrna, past Cape Eski Stambul (‘Old Stambul’), the site of Alexandreia Troas, a town of the Diadochi, and through the Strait of Tenedos (3 M. broad). The island of Tenedos, famed in the Trojan wars, now abounding in windmills, rises in a trachytic double peak to a height of 627 ft.
At the N. end of the strait lies the islet of Gaïdaronisi (lighthouse). Far away to the W., in clear weather, we descry the island of Limnos (ancient Lemnos); to the N.W., beyond Imbros, towers the mountain-mass of Samothrake (5250 ft.).
Beyond Besika Bay, in front of which lie the volcanic islands of Tavshan Adalar (‘rabbit-islands’; once Kalydnae or Lagussae), we pass the hills bordering the W. side of the plain of Troy, the legendary scene of the Homeric battles. Between Hagios Dimitrios Tepeh (hill of St. Demetrius) and the Greek village of Yenishehr is the site of Sigeum or Sigeion. Near it the tumuli of ‘Achilles and Patroklos’ were the burial-places of that Athenian colony.
We now near the strongly fortified Dardanelles (p. xxxiv), the ancient Hellespont, now named after the ancient town of Dardanos (see below). The straits connect the Ægean Sea with the Sea of Marmora, a distance of 37½ M., and average ¾–4¾ M. in breadth, and 160–295 ft. in depth. They intersect a tableland, 820–925 ft. in height, of tertiary formation (yellow marl and marl-limestone of the upper miocene). The surface current (p. [557]), sometimes setting as in the Bosporus at the rate of 5 M. an hour, causes serious difficulty to sailing-vessels, especially if wind and tide are both against them.
At the S.W. entrance to the Dardanelles, scarcely 2½ M. broad, lies a village on the Asiatic side with the ruined fortress of Kum Kaleh (light); opposite, on the Peninsula of Gallipoli, the ancient Thracian Chersonesus, is the fort of Sidd el-Bahr Kalesí.
Beyond Kum Kaleh we sight to the S., rising above the marshy plain of the Mendere Chai (Skamander), the low hill which was once the site of Troy (near Hissarlik), with the débris of the excavations. On the shore, to the W. of the mouth of the stream, lay the landing-place of the Greeks.
Passing the site of Dardanos (on the right) we soon reach the narrowest part of the straits (about 1475 yds.), commanded by the Dardanelles Castles built by Mohammed II. in 1470, with their new earthworks. On the European side is the picturesque Kilid Bahr (‘key of the sea’); on the Asiatic side is Kaleh Sultanieh or Boghaz Hissar, at the mouth of the Koja Chai (Rhodios). Under the protection of the latter lies the town of Chanak Kalesí (‘castle of pots’), usually called Dardanelles (pop. 16,700). While the steamer stops for way-leave the potters of the place offer their curiously shaped and painted vases for sale.
At the second-narrowest part of the straits (1585 yds.), where they bend to the N.E., once lay the towns of Sestos (left) and Abydos (right), now fort Nagara Kalesí (quarantine station; lighthouse). This was the traditional scene of the romance of Hero and Leander; it was here that Lord Byron swam across in 1810. Xerxes crossed the straits here in 480 B.C., Alexander the Great in 334 B.C., and the Turks in 1357.—On the coast, to the left, is the small plain of Ægospotamoi (now Karakova Dereh), off which the Spartans won a decisive victory over the Athenians in 405.
Near the N.E. end of the Dardanelles, on the right, lies the village of Lampsaki (Lampsakos) amid olive-groves and vineyards. To the left, on the steep projecting coast, is superbly situated the decayed town of Gallipoli (Kallipolis, ‘beautiful town’), the first European town captured in 1357 by Suleiman, son of Orkhân (p. [542]).
The Dardanelles expand into the Sea of Marmora (p. xxxiv), the ancient Propontis, a basin of comparatively recent origin (extreme depth 4450 ft.), which like the Ægean Sea has been formed by the subsidence of large portions of the earth’s surface. On the Asiatic side, beyond Kara Burun (381 ft.), lies the Bay of Artaki, on the N. margin of the ancient Troas. Adjoining the bay is the plain of the Biga Sher Chai, the ancient Granikos, where in 334 Alexander the Great won his first victory over the Persians.
On the coast of ancient Phrygia rises the peninsula of Kapu Dagh (2625 ft.; once Arktonnesos island), flanked by the Pasha Liman islands and Marmora or Marmara (2326 ft.), where white marble for Constantinople has been quarried since ancient times.
On the N. coast soon appear the villages of Sharkiöi (once Peristasis) and Hiraklitsa (Heraklea); then the town of Rodosto (Turk. Tekirdagh), and farther on, Eregli, the ancient Perinthos.
To the S. we sight the islet of Kalolimni (689 ft.; Besbikos); far beyond it are the Gulf of Mudania (or Gemlek) and the town of Brussa, at the foot of the Bithynian Olympos (8200 ft.), which is generally capped with snow.
Off the beautiful Gulf of Ismid (Nikomedeia), to the N.E., lie the Princes Islands (Iles des Princes; comp. Map, p. [557]), the ancient Demonnesoi (Turk. Kizil Adalar, ‘red islands’, so called from the colour of their ferruginous rocks).
Prinkipo, the ancient Pityusa (‘rich in pines’), the largest and most populous of these islands, attracts many excursionists from Constantinople in fine weather (local steamers, see p. [538]). On the N. side of the island lies its capital, Prinkipo (Hôt. Giacomo, déj. 5, D. 6 fr.; Hôt. Impérial, and others). Pleasant drive thence (2½ hrs. there and back; 1–2 mejidiehs; or ride, ½–1 mej.) to the highest hill on the S. side of the island, crowned with the old Monastery of St. George (656 ft.; *View).
On its way from Constantinople to Prinkipo the steamer first touches at Proti (377 ft.). To the right we see the small island of Oxia, the most westerly of the group, to which in 1910 the famous street-dogs of Constantinople were transported, and Plati (‘the flat’), also called ‘Bulwer’s Island’ after an English Ambassador who here built two now ruined castles (19th cent.) in the style of Windsor. The steamer calls also at Antigoni (542 ft.), and Chalki (446 ft.; ‘ore-island’), with a Greek commercial school and a seminary for priests.
On the flat European shore, beyond the village of Küchük Chekmekjeh on the lagoon of that name, we sight the Russian war-monument with its gleaming tower, a landmark of Constantinople, rising above the cape of San Stefano (lighthouse). A little later appears Stambul. Next, beyond the lighthouse (Phare), is seen the white mosque of Ahmed and the yellow Aya Sophia.
On the Asiatic coast, on the promontory which runs out into the beautiful Bay of Moda, there is situated, in the ancient Bithynia, Fanar Burnu or Fener Bagcheh (lighthouse). Beyond, it is Kadikiöi (Kadi Keuï), a modern suburb of Constantinople, on the site of Kalchedon or Chalcedon. Farther on are the little harbour of Haidar Pasha (p. [557]), the station of the Anatolian railway, and, at the S. end of Scutari (p. [556]), the military school of medicine, the large Selimieh Barracks, and the Selimieh Mosque.
The steamer now rounds the Seraglio Point and enters the Bosporus (p. [557]); it passes the Golden Horn, the harbour of Constantinople, and the New Bridge, and casts anchor at the Galata Quay below Pera. Landing, see below.
The Direct Steamers from Athens to Constantinople steer from the Straits of Doro (p. [529]) to the N.N.E. for Tenedos (p. [533]). In clear weather we descry to the right the distant Chios (p. [492]) and Psara (p. [529]), and to the left Skyros (2608 ft.), the S.E. island of the N. Sporades. On the right we next sight Mytilini (p. [533]), and on the left Hagiostrati (971 ft.; Halonnesos). From Tenedos to Constantinople, see p. [533].
81. Constantinople.[[9]]
Arrival by Sea. The French, German, and Rumanian (RR. 76, 82) steamers are berthed at the Galata Quay (Pl. H, I, 4), near the Dogana or Douane. Passengers of the French and German steamers have to pay pier-dues (1st class 5½, 2nd cl. 3½ s. pias). The Austrian, Italian, and Egyptian steamers also, on their arrival from the Black Sea, are mostly moored at the quay, but when coming from the S. they usually anchor in front of it, at the entrance of the Golden Horn (landing or embarkation, with baggage, 2 fr. or 10 pias.). The porters (hamáls, mostly Kurds) of the Harbour Co. receive 5 pias. and a gratuity of 1 pias. for conveying baggage from the quay to the hotels. All trouble with boatmen and porters is avoided by applying at once to the guides (dragomans) or hotel-agents.
[9]. In the following description the transcripts ö and ü have approximately the German value, or the French of eu and u respectively.
Money. The Turkish Pound (lira), worth about 23 fr. or 18s. 5d., is divided into 100 piastres. There are gold coins of ¼, ½, 1, 2½, and 5 pounds. The commonest coins are Silver Piastres (s. pias.; coins of 5, 10, and 20 s. pias.), but at the government, railway, and steamboat offices, in the tobacco-shops, and on the tramways they suffer a slight loss (5 s. pias. = 4¾, 10 s. pias. = 9½, 20 s. pias. = 19 piastres in gold). The piastre (worth 2⅒d.) is called Gurúsh in Turkish (grosi in Greek), the five-piastre piece is a Cheïrek (or simply ‘franc’), the twenty-piastre piece (about 3s. 6d.) is a Mejidieh. A piastre is divided into 40 parts called Paras; the commonest para-coins are the thinly silvered bronze Metalliks of 10 paras (about ½d.); there are others of 5, 20, 50, and 100 paras. New nickel coins of 1 pias., 20, 10, and 5 paras will in 1912 be brought into circulation.
A French or Greek silver franc passes in ordinary traffic for 4½ s. pias., and the Napoleon (the most popular of foreign coins) for 95 s. pias. (but the money-changers usually give 93 s. pias. only). The average exchange for an English sovereign is 120 s. pias.; for bank and circular notes the exchange is rather higher. French banknotes can be exchanged only at the banks. Small change, of which there is always a scarcity, is obtained at the banks (p. [539]) or at the money-changers, the current rate of exchange being ascertained beforehand. Worn-out coins may be exchanged at the Banque Ottomane.
Accounts are still kept in the provinces in ‘bad (chürük) piastres’; of these there are silver coins worth 1¼, 2½, and 5 pias., and copper coins of 1¼ and 2½ pias.—The Turkish pound contains 178 bad piastres, the mejidieh 33, and the silver piastre 1⅔. A pound sterling is therefore worth about 209 bad piastres, a shilling about 10½, and a franc 8⅓.
Turkish Numbers: 1, bir; 2, ikí; 3, ütsh; 4, dört; 5, besh; 6, altí; 7, yedí; 8, sekíz; 9, dokuz; 10, on; 11, on bir; 20, yirmí; 25, yirmí besh; 30, otuz; 40, kirk; 50, elí; 100, yüz; 1000, bin. ‘Katsh pará’, how many paras? ‘Besh gurúsh’, five piastres.
Baggage and passports (p. xvii) are examined in the ‘Salon’ or Bureau des Passeports. The importation of weapons and ammunition and of tobacco and cigarettes is prohibited. Cigars, however, if declared, are admitted at an ad valorem duty of 75 per cent. On showing their passports passengers must state where they intend to reside; the passports are then stamped and returned to them. On leaving the country passports are again examined (visés by consul, p. [539]); so also is luggage, to prevent exportation of antiquities.
On leaving the Salon each passenger has to pay the Harbour Co. 5 pias. in gold, also 1 pias. for each trunk and ½ pias. for each piece of hand-luggage.
The Station (Pl. H, 5; Buffet, on the side for departure; Rail. Restaurant opposite) of the Oriental Railway is at Stambul, 7 min. to the S.E. of the New Bridge (p. [545]).—The clock, which gives E. European time, is an hour in advance of mid-European time. As the officials understand French, the services of the hotel-agents may be dispensed with.—Small articles of luggage are examined at the frontier-station Mustapha Pasha, registered luggage in the hall of arrival, and passports at the exit.—Porter to hotel 11 pias.—Cab from station to hotel 20–25 pias., incl. bridge-toll of 2½ pias. (from quay to hotel 10 pias.; tariff, see p. [538]).
Hotels (all at Pera; charges should be agreed upon beforehand). Pera Palace Hotel (Pl. a; H, 3), near the public gardens of the Petits Champs (p. [544]), R. 10 fr. 10 c.–20 fr., B. 2 fr. 10, déj. 5 fr. 25, D. 6 fr. 30, pens. 20 fr. 60–30 fr. 60 c. (charges 3–4 fr. lower from 15th June to 1st Sept.); Hôt. Tokatlian, Grande Rue de Péra 180, recently rebuilt, with restaurant and café (see below), R. from 6½, B, 1½, déj. 4½, D. 5½, pens. from 15 fr., well spoken of.—Hôt. Bristol, opposite the Petits Champs (Pl. H, 2), R. from 5, B. 1½, déj. 4, D. 5, pens. from 14 fr. (with dépendance Gr.-Hôt. Missiri, Grande Rue de Péra 128, plain); Hôt. de Londres (Pl. b; H, 2), also opposite Petits Champs, R. from 5, B. 1½, déj. 4, D. 5, pens. from 12½ fr.; Hôt. Berliner Hof (Royal & d’Angleterre; Pl. c, H, 2), near the garden of the British Embassy, R. from 6, B. 1½, déj. 4, D. 5, pens. 15 (out of season, 12) fr.; Hôt. Continental, opposite the Petits Champs (Pl. H, 3), R. 4–10, B. 1½, déj. 4, D. 5, pens. 12–20 fr.; Hôt. Krœcker (Pl. e; H, 3), Rue Kabristan 36–40, with garden, R. 4–10, B. 1, déj. 2½, D. 3½, pens. 9–16 fr.
Second Class: Khedivial Palace Hotel (Pl. f; H, 3), Grande Rue de Péra, R. 4–6, pens. 10–12 fr.; Hôt. Grande Bretagne, Rue Vénédik, R. 2–5, B. 1, déj. 2½, D. 3, pens. 6–10 fr.; Hôt. St. Pétersbourg, opposite the Petits Champs (Pl. H, 2), rooms only (from 2 fr.); Constantinople Palace Hotel, Grande Rue de Péra (Pl. H, 2), R. 3–5, B. 1–1½, déj. 3, D. 3½, pens. 7–12 fr.; Hôt. Paulick, same street, adjoining the Russian Embassy (Pl. H, 3), R. 2¼–6, unpretending; Hôt. Rubin, R. from 2 fr.
Restaurants (European cuisine; à la carte). At Pera. *Tokatlian, at the hotel of that name (see above); Janni (Brasserie Viennoise), Grande Rue de Péra 396; Nicoli (Brass. Suisse), same street, No. 380; Restaurant Lebon, same street, No. 434; Restaurant Anzière, near the Baluk Bazaar (p. [545]), D. 15 pias., well spoken of; restaurants in summer in the gardens of the Petits Champs, in winter in the winter-theatre (concerts).—At Galata. Restaurant ‘D.D.’, dinner only, well spoken of.—At Stambul. Railway Restaurant (see above), with garden, well spoken of; Tokatlian, in the Great Bazaar.
Cafés. Tokatlian and Lebon, see above; also in the Public Grounds at Pera, in the Taxim Park (Pl. I, 1), and others in the Grande Rue de Péra.—There are Turkish Cafés, well shaded, opposite the Aya Sophia and in the small public garden there (Pl. H, 7); also at the piers of the local steamers, etc.; small cup of coffee 20 paras. Those at Galata should be avoided.—Confectioners. Tokatlian, Lebon, see p. [537]; Mulassier, Grande Rue de Péra, cor. of Rue de Pologne.
Cabs (araba). It is best to fix the fare beforehand according to the tariff. Drive of ¼ hr. 5, of 25 min. 7½, and of 40 min. 10 pias.; 1 hr. 15, each addit. hr. 10 pias.; two hours after sunset charges are raised by one-quarter and from midnight till sunrise by one-third; for the whole day 80 pias.—Horses (at, begir) at Top Haneh, near the Yedikuleh station, etc.; 5–10 pias. per hour, according to bargain (and small gratuity to horse-boy).
Tramways (comp. Plan; electric lines under construction). Most of the cars have two classes and a compartment for Turkish women. Fare 30–60 or 40–80 paras according to class (printed on the tickets in French). The passenger states his destination or names the station nearest to it.—1. Galata (at lower end of Yüksek Kaldirim, Pl. H, 4) to Galata Seraï (Pl. H, 2; 40 or 60 paras), Taxim (Pl. I, 2), and Shishli (to the N. of Pl. I, 1).—2. Asab Kapu (Pl. G, 3; at the Old Bridge) to Galata (Pl. H, 4), Top Haneh (Pl. I, 3), Kabatash (Pl. K, 2), Dolma Bagcheh, Beshiktash, and Ortakiöi (p. [558]).—3. Emin Önu (Pl. H, 5; at S. end of New Bridge) to Sirkeji (rail. stat.), So-uk Cheshmeh, Kapu (Museum), Aya Sophia (Pl. H, 7), Chemberli Tash (Colonne Brûlée; Pl. G, 6), Sultan Bayazid (Pl. G, 6), Ak Seraï (Pl. D, E, 6; change cars), and Top Kapu (Pl. B, 4).—4. Ak Seraï (Pl. D, E, 6) to Yedikuleh (Pl. A, 9).
Tunnel Railway, the chief means of communication between the New Bridge and Pera; lower station (Pl. H, 4) at Galata, Rue Yéni Djami; upper station (Pl. H, 3), in the Place du Tunnel at Pera. Cars every 5 min.; 30 or 20 paras; book of 10 tickets, 2nd cl., 5 pias.
Local Steamers (comp. inset maps on the Plan; time-tables in the newspapers; ply till sunset). a. On the Golden Horn, to Eyúb, from the pier (Pl. H, 4) to the W. of the N. end of the New Bridge, about every ¼ hr. till sunset; tickets (to Eyúb 30 paras; 20 paras more for cushioned seat) on the pier. Mid-stations, see p. [555]. In spring and summer smaller steamers ply between Eyúb and Kiathaneh (Sweet Waters, p. [556]; 40 paras).—b. On the Bosporus, from the pier (Pl. H, 5) at the S. end of the New Bridge, to the E., where tickets are obtained (to Büyükdereh in 1½ hr.; fare 160 or 100 paras, plus a tax of 10 paras). There are three lines: European coast, Asiatic coast, and Zigzag, recognizable by green, or red, or red and green flags.—c. To Scutari, from the third pier to the left (E.; Pl. H, 4), coming from the N. end of the New Bridge, about every ½ hr.; fare 50 or 30 paras; to Prinkipo (p. [535]), from the first pier to the left, five or six times daily in summer, in 2 hrs.; fare 160 or 100 paras.—d. On the Sea of Marmora (no piers), from the Stambul Quay (Pl. H, 5) vià Kum Kapu (Pl. G, 7), Yeni Kapu (Pl. E, 8), and Psamatia Kapu (Pl. B, 8) to the suburbs of Makrikiöi and San Stefano (p. [535]).
Boats (no tariff; bargain necessary). To or from steamers, see p. [537]; otherwise 10 pias. per hour. Ferry, by one of the long flat-bottomed Caïques, with one rower, to Stambul 1–2 pias., to Eyúb or Scutari, about 10 pias., with two rowers 15 pias.; per hour 15 pias.
Post Offices. British (Pl. H, 4); Turkish International, Rue Voïvode in Galata (Pl. H, 4), Grande Rue de Péra, opposite the Galata Seraï, near the Yeni Valideh Jami (Pl. H, 5) in Stambul, and at the railway-station. France, Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Russia also have their own post-offices. French is generally understood. Postage within Turkey ½–2 pias. for 10 grammes, post-card 20 paras; foreign letters 1 pias. per 20 grammes.
Telegraph Offices. The Turkish International Post Offices (see above) send telegrams to foreign countries as well as within Turkey. Eastern Telegraph Co., at the Turkish post-office, Grande Rue de Péra (see above), for foreign parts (to Great Britain each word 66 c.).
Steamboat Agents (offices mostly behind the custom-house at Galata; comp. Pl. H, 4). Messageries Maritimes, Mumhaneh Street; N. Paquet & Co., T. Reboul; Società Nazionale, Barboro, Cité Française: North German Lloyd, Mewes, Mumhaneh Street, Charab Iskelessi 7–9; German Levant Line, Mehemed Ali Pasha-Han; Austrian Lloyd, Mumhaneh Street; Khedivial Mail, Silley, Galata Quay, Meimanetli Han; Russian Steam Navigation & Trading Co., Petcheneff, Kiretsh Kapu; Rumanian State Maritime Service, Galata Quay.—Tourist Agents, Thos. Cook & Son, Rue Kabristan 12, opposite Pera Palace Hotel.
Guides. The International Courier’s and Guides Office, near the Pera Palace Hotel (p. [537]), provides reliable guides (10 fr. per day for Constantinople and its environs, including the Bosporus).
Embassies and Consulates. Great Britain: Ambassador, Right Hon. Sir G. A. Lowther (office, Pl. H, 2; in summer at Therapia). Consul-General, H. Eyres (office, Pl. H, 4); consul, A. T. Waugh; vice-consul, W. S. Edmonds.—United States: Ambassador, O. S. Straus (office, Pl. I, 2). Consul-General, vacat; vice-consul, O. S. Heizer.
Physicians. English, German, and others (addresses at the hotels or at the chemists’).—Chemists. In the Grande Rue de Péra, Ehrlich, No. 579; Canzuch & Giannetti, No. 247; Matkowitsch, No. 420; Della Sudda, No. 298; Liechtenstein, Helvaji Street, Galata.
Baths at the hotels.—Addresses of Turkish Baths may be obtained at the hotels.—Sea Baths at the European places on the Bosporus.
Banks. Banque Ottomane, Rue Voïvode, Galata, and Grande Rue de Péra 407, with exchange offices; Crédit Lyonnais, near the New Bridge, Galata; also German, German Orient, Vienna, and others.—Money Changers (sarráf) abound in the Rue Karakeuï (Pl. H, 4; p. [543]), Grande Rue de Péra, etc.
Booksellers. Economic Book Store, Passage du Tunnel; O. Keil, No. 457, and S. H. Weiss, No. 481 Grande Rue de Péra.—Newspapers (¼ pias.). Levant Herald, with Engl. and Fr. editions; Le Stamboul, Moniteur Oriental, French; Osmanische Lloyd, German and French. All have steamboat and other time-tables and notices.
Photographs & Picture Post Cards. All in Grande Rue de Péra, Fruchtermann, No. 335; Keil, No. 457; Sébah & Joaillier, No. 439; Berggren, No. 414 (line views of the city and environs). Photographic materials sold by Caracache Frères, Nos. 675 and 398, and Weinberg, No. 467.
Theatre in the grounds of the Petits Champs (Pl. H, 2).—A Band plays on summer evenings in the same grounds and in the Taxim Park (Pl. I, 1); adm. 1–2 pias.
Churches. Church of England, at the chapel of the British Embassy (Pl. H, 2), during summer at Therapia (see p. [559]); Christ Church (Pl. H, 3), in the Rue Yazidji; Presbyterian Church, in the chapel of the Dutch Legation, Rue des Postes, near the Grande Rue (Pl. H, 3).
Sights. Antiquities, Collection of, see New Museum.
Bazaar, Great (p. [551]), best visited early; closed 1 hr. before sunset; Frid., Sat., and Sun. are respectively Moslem, Jewish, and Christian holidays. Inexperienced travellers may bring a guide or the dragoman of their hotel (but see p. xxvi). Large purchases may be sent home by a goods-agent.
Beylerbey Seraï (p. [558]), adm. as in the case of the Seraglio.
Chinili Kiosque (p. [547]), see under New Museum.
Egyptian Bazaar (Missir Charshi; p. [545]), as the Great Bazaar.
Galata Tower (p. [543]), all day, 5 pias. (custodian with light, 2 pias.).
Mosques (Turk. Jami; very small, mesjid), all open to Christians till sunset; during Ramadan, the Moslem month of fasting, they are gorgeously lighted and then open in the evening also (comp. p. [549]). At the inner door the sacristan provides overshoes, or visitors may take off their own. Hats also are removed (comp. p. xxv). There is no charge for admission but it is usual to give the sacristan a fee of 5 pias. per person (less for a party) for the loan of overshoes.—The Tomb Chapels (Turk, türbeh) are open on similar conditions; fee 1–5 pias., according to their importance.
Museum, Janissaries’ (p. [550]), all day, 3 pias.—Military Museum, in the Church of Irene (p. [548]), Sun., Tues., & Thurs. 10–4.—New Museum (p. [546]), daily except Frid., 9–5, in winter 10–3, adm. 5 pias.; tickets available for the Chinili Kiosque also.
Seraglio Palace (p. [548]). The consulates, to which application should be made a few days beforehand, arrange for visits to the Treasury and part of the old Seraglio on Sun & Tues. (small fee).
Türbeh, see under Mosques.
Two Days (when time is limited). 1st. Forenoon, *Galata Tower (p. [543]), Yeni Valideh Jami (p. [545]), *New Museum (p. [546]), Chinili Kiosque (p. [547]); afternoon, trip on the *Bosporus (p. [557]), or to Scutari (p. [556]); summer evening in the Gardens of the Petits Champs (p. [544]) or the Taxim Park (p. [544]).—2nd. Forenoon, *Aya Sophia (p. [548]), At Meïdán (p. [549]), *Great Bazaar (p. [551]), *Suleiman Mosque (p. [552]); afternoon, Land-Wall (p. [553]); Eyúb (pp. [555], 556); Serasker Tower (p. [551]).—Visitors should be on their guard against pickpockets, especially in Galata and Pera.
Constantinople, Turk. Stambul or Stamboul, Ital. Costantinopoli, Slav. Tsarigrad (emperor’s town), capital of the Turkish empire and residence of the Sultan (since 1909 Mohammed V., b. 1844; successor of Abdul Hamid, p. [544]), is the seat of the government (the ‘Sublime Porte’), and also of the Sheikh ul-Islam, of the patriarchs of the Greek and Armenian churches, and of a papal legate. It lies on the Sea of Marmora, at the mouth of the Bosporus, in 41° N. lat. and 28° 58′ E. longitude.
The City consists of several distinct quarters. Stambul, in the narrower sense, forms a nearly equilateral triangle between the Golden Horn (p. [555]) and the Sea of Marmora; to the N.E., on the slopes of the opposite bank of the Golden Horn and on the adjacent shore of the Bosporus, lie the Frank quarters of Galata and Pera and their suburbs; and to the E., on the gently sloping Asiatic shore of the Bosporus, lies the Turkish town of Scutari with its suburbs. According to recent estimates Constantinople contains 1,125,000 inhab. (or, without the Asiatic quarters, 943,000), incl. about 500,000 Turks, more than 200,000 Greeks, 180,000 Armenians, 65,000 Jews, mostly Spanish (see p. [542]), and 70,000 Europeans. The foreign residents are said to number 130,000.
The Situation of Constantinople has justly won the admiration of all ages. The vast city of Stambul curving over the slopes between the Sea of Marmora and the Golden Horn, the suburbs on the Bosporus, its green banks studded with villages, palaces, and mosques, the Golden Horn with its busy bridges and its countless vessels, all combine to form a picture of matchless beauty.
The Climate of Constantinople, which lies in the same latitude as Naples (p. [137]), is unsettled and comparatively cool. During the greater part of the year the city is exposed to N.E. winds from the Siberian steppes, which sweep through the Bosporus and in winter occasionally bring snow. The best season for a visit is autumn (end of Sept. to beginning of Nov.). The summer, however, is usually fine and not unbearably hot, the coolest places being those on the Bosporus, a little to the N., which are sheltered from the due S. winds (as Therapia, Büyükdereh, etc.). The mean temperature of the year is 57½° Fahr., that of the hottest month (Aug.) 74°, and that of the coldest (Feb.) 41°. The rainfall averages 28¾ in.
History. Attracted by the striking advantages of the site, at the junction of two great portions of the globe and on the great water highway between the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, the Dorians founded the colony of Byzantium, about 660 B.C., on the promontory (Seraglio Point, p. [536]) commanding the entrance to the Bosporus. This colony, however, like the towns on the coast of Asia Minor, was unable to withstand the attacks of the Persians; when Darius I. crossed the Bosporus in his campaign against the Scythians the Byzantines were compelled to supply him with ships; and their town was afterwards destroyed by the Persians for taking part in the Ionian revolt. The long but somewhat weak alliance of Byzantium with Athens was succeeded by closer bonds when the town was threatened by Philip of Macedonia. Being hard pressed by Phokion Philip was compelled to raise the siege of the town (340–339). Under Alexander the Great and his successors Byzantium maintained its autonomy, but in 278 it suffered seriously from an attack by the Gauls (‘Galatians’) settled in Thrace.
In the wars against Philip III. of Macedonia Byzantium became the natural ally of Rome, and this alliance continued to subsist under the earlier Roman emperors. In 193–6 Septimius Severus besieged the town to punish it for siding with the rival emperor Pescennius Niger, and deprived it of its liberties and privileges; but he afterwards rebuilt the walls, regarding it as an important bulwark of the empire. In 269 Emp. Claudius II. here repelled the attacks of the Goths when they attempted to force their way south from the Danube.
Having become master of the whole empire by the capture of Byzantium in 324 Emp. Constantine chose it as his new capital on account of its admirable situation on the threshold of the East. In 330 it was officially styled New Rome, but soon became generally known as Constantinopolis. Enclosed by Constantine’s new walls it now extended to the W. to the region of the present Old Bridge (Pl. F, 4) and of Psamatia (Pl. B, C, 8). The Romans retained the old division of the city into fourteen regions, and they even found in it their seven hills again. The environs as far as the 7th milestone (hebdomon), called the exokionion, were assigned to the seven milliarii of the Gothic body-guard. Under Arcadius, in 395, Constantinople became the capital of the new E. Roman empire. The rapid increase of the population and the necessity of defending it against the attacks of the Huns and Goths induced Anthemius, regent during the minority of Theodosius II. (408–50), to build the new Theodosian town-walls, ½–1¼ M. to the W. of those of Constantine. In 439 sea-walls along the Sea of Marmora and the Golden Horn were added, and after 447, in consequence of an attack by Attila and to repair the damage done by an earthquake, the land-walls were restored and strengthened.
Byzantium attained the zenith of its prosperity under Justinian (527–65). He rebuilt the city, after its almost entire destruction in 532 during the rebellion of the circus parties (Nika revolt), in a far grander style, and on the site of Constantine’s basilica founded the famous church of St. Sophia. In the form of Byzantine civilization antique culture survived until the middle ages, although finally in a merely torpid state. This Byzantine development, with its Greek language and independent Oriental church under the patriarchal government at Constantinople, was an outcome of the late Greek (‘Hellenistic’) and Roman culture.
After the time of Justinian the empire was shaken to its foundations by intestine disorders and foreign wars. The attacks of the Avars and Persians (627) were succeeded by the irruption of the Arabs under the Omaiyades (p. [485]), who in 673–8 and 717–8 besieged Constantinople by sea and by land. About the same time the Bulgarians founded an independent kingdom in the Balkan peninsula, and they too (in 813 and 924) attacked the city. Russian fleets forced their way into the Sea of Marmora in 860 and 1048. Economically, too, Constantinople was on the wane; from the 11th cent. onwards the Seljuks were gaining ground in Asia Minor, and the Italian maritime cities were rapidly acquiring wealth and power.
The quarrels of aspirants to the throne during the Angelos dynasty led in 1204 to the capture of Constantinople by the Crusaders and to the foundation of a new western or ‘Latin’ empire. In 1261 the Greek emperor Michael Palaeologos, who resided at Nikæa, succeeded in driving the Franks out of Constantinople with the aid of the Genoese, to whom he presented Galata (see below) as a reward. But the Turkish peril came ever nearer. The Osmans, having conquered Asia Minor in the 13th cent., crossed the Dardanelles (comp. p. [534]) under Orkhân in 1357, and under Murad I., in 1361, made Adrianople the residence of the sultans instead of Brussa. They were weakened for a time by the attacks of Timur (p. [485]), but in 1411 and 1422 they proceeded to besiege Constantinople.
After a heroic defence by Constantine XI. Palaeologos, the last Greek emperor, the city was at length captured in 1453 by Mohammed II. (Mehemed el-Fatih, ‘the conqueror’), and under the name of Stambul became the capital of the Osmans. Its fortunes were now at their lowest ebb; it was almost entirely depopulated and reduced to ruins, as had been its fate when captured by the Crusaders in 1204. But soon Turkish settlers from all quarters thronged to the new capital, and many Christians also, their lives and religion being safeguarded, while numerous Jews banished from Spain in 1492 found a new home here and have retained their old language and characteristics ever since. The building enterprise of the Turkish sultans, especially of Selim I. (1512–20), the conqueror of Syria, Mesopotamia, and Egypt, and of Suleiman the Great (1520–66), as well as of the Turkish magnates, was directed exclusively to public edifices. They erected mosques (p. [539]) on the model of the earlier church of the Apostles and of the Aya Sophia (or church of St. Sophia), tomb-chapels (p. [539]), bazaars and warehouses (han), and baths and fountains (sebil, with running water; cheshmeh, draw-well). In the midst of these sumptuous buildings lay a labyrinth of crooked streets and lanes, the brightly painted timber houses with their grated balconies (kafehs) being often of one story only, while here and there this strange sea of houses was relieved by gardens and burial-grounds.
To some extent, notwithstanding destructive fires (as in 1865 and 1908) and earthquakes (the last in 1894), the old Oriental characteristics of the city still survive in the old town of Stambul, the chief seat of the Oriental merchants and the petty traders, and also at Scutari (p. [556]). Galata, on the other hand, the centre of the European trade, is much like an Italian seaport-town. Above it, to the N., lies Pera, a suburb which sprang up in the 19th cent., and which, since a great fire in 1870, has been almost entirely rebuilt in quite European fashion.
Of Books on Constantinople may be mentioned: Grosvenor, Constantinople (2 vols., London, 1895); W. H. Hutton, Constantinople in the ‘Mediæval Towns Series’ (London, 1900); and Van Millingen, Byzantine Constantinople, The Walls, etc. (London, 1899).
a. Galata and Pera.
Galata, the oldest suburb of Constantinople, rises on the slope of a plateau on the N. side of the entrance to the Golden Horn (p. [555]), corresponding with the 13th region of the city of Constantine (p. [541]). In the middle ages it was usually called Peira. Its inhabitants are chiefly Greeks and Armenians. In 1304 the Genoese (see above) enclosed it with a wall, and down to 1453 held an almost independent position under their own rulers (podestà). The wall was often rebuilt and was at last removed (1864).
Behind the Galata Quay (Pl. H, I, 4), constructed in 1879–95, lies a labyrinth of narrow and dirty streets, extending to the other side of the Grand Rue de Galata (p. [545]), the chief thoroughfare to the N.E. suburbs. At the S.W. end of the latter are the still busier Rue de Karakeuï (Pl. H, 4), beside the New Bridge (p. [545]), and the Place Karakeuï. where the Exchange rises on the left.
In the old-fashioned W. quarter of Galata are the ruinous Palace of the Podestà (in the Pershembeh Bazaar, Pl. H, 4) and the Arab Jami (Pl. G, 4), the oldest mosque in the city, which was founded at the time of the Arab attacks (717). Near it is the Yanik Kapu, an old Genoese gateway. A little farther on, near the Old Bridge (p. [552]), is the Asab Kapu Jami (Pl. G, 3, 4), erected by Sinán (p. [552]), adjoining which is a beautiful *Sebíl (p. [542]), with gilded railings and far projecting timber roof (18th cent.).
From the Old Bridge Pera is reached by the broad Rue Iskander (Pl. G, 3), and from the New Bridge by the steep and dirty Yüksek Kaldirim (Pl. H, 3, 4), partly in steps (and also by the tunnel or by tramway No. 1; p. [538]).
On the boundary between Galata and Pera, a little to the W. of the N. end of the Yüksek Kaldirim, rises the Galata Tower (Pl. H, 3; 148 ft. high), now entirely modernized, the ascent of which (p. [539]) forms the best introduction to a walk through the city. It marks the spot where the new land-walls on the E. and W. sides of Galata met in 1348. We mount 143 steps to the room of the fire-watchmen, and 72 more to the three upper stories.
The *Panorama from the fourteen windows of the watchmen’s room embraces Galata with the buildings on the quay; to the N.E. is the Jihangir Mosque (p. [544]); opposite, on the Asiatic coast, to the extreme left is the palace of Beylerbey (p. [558]); farther to the S. is Scutari, dominated by the Great and Little Bulgurlu (p. [557]). To the S.E. lie the Princes Islands (p. [535]); to the S., above the S. coast of the Sea of Marmora, rises the Bithynian Olympos (p. [535]). With the aid of the Plan of the city we may easily locate the chief buildings of Stambul, from the Aya Sophia and the Ahmed Mosque with its six minarets, to the S., round to the Great Bazaar with its numerous little domes, to the Place d’Armes (Séraskier-Kapou), with the great tower, the barracks, and the Suleiman Mosque, to the Mihrimah Mosque, and to the Byzantine city-wall at the extreme N. end of Stambul. At our feet lies the Golden Horn, with the two bridges and the naval harbour. In the distance, to the N.W., peeps the mosque of Eyúb (see inset map in Plan of city).
The modern streets of Pera, the European quarter, run to the N.W. from the Galata Tower, between old Turkish cemeteries and large gardens, across the whole hill. The embassies to the Sublime Porte, the European churches, schools, hospitals, and shops also are situated here.
The Grande Rue de Péra (Pl. H, I, 3, 2), the continuation of Yüksek Kaldirim, passes the Monastery of the Dancing Dervishes (Tekkeh; Pl. H, 3), whose strange performances may be witnessed on Fridays (except during Ramadan), usually from 7.30 to 8.30 Turkish time (4½–3½ hrs. before sunset; adm. 5 pias.).
We may now cross the Place du Tunnel, past the upper station of the tunnel railway (Pl. H, 3; p. [538]), and follow Rue Kabristan (or one of the narrow streets to the left, farther to the N., such as the Rue Vénédik) to the—
Public Grounds of tho Petits Champs (Pl. H, 3, 2), near the British Embassy (Pl. H, 2) and the chief hotels (p. [537]). They afford a beautiful view of Stambul and the Golden Horn, and are a favourite resort in the afternoon and evening (concerts, see p. [539]).
We return, to the N.E., by Rue Tepé Bachi to the Grande Rue de Péra, whence the Rue Yéni Teharchi leads to the S.E., past the Galata Seraï (Pl. H, 2; Imper. Lyceum), to Top Haneh.
Our street ends, at the N.W. end of Pera, at the Place du Taxim (Pl. 1, 2). Here on the right, adjoining the Kishla Jaddesí, are the Artillery Barracks, one of the chief scenes of conflict on 25th April 1909 when the Young Turks fought their way into the city, and the *Taxim Park (Pl. I, 1; band, see p. [539]), and on the left a large esplanade.
From the Place du Taxim we may ascend the Ayas Pasha Boulevard, past the German Embassy, or from the Taxim Park the Dolma Bagtché Déré (Pl. K, 1; Dolma-garden valley), past the Ecuries Impériales, to Place Dolma Bagtché Déré. On the E. side of this square, below the suburb of that name, rises the Dolma Bagcheh Palace (pp. [558], 546), of which only the high walls with their superb gateways are seen on the inland side. The sultan repairs hither weekly in solemn procession (‘selamlik’) to Friday prayer (at noon), usually offered in the neighbouring Valideh Jami (mosque of the sultan’s mother; Pl. K, 1, 2).
We may now follow the road to the N.E. through the adjacent suburb of Beshiktash, where, opposite the steamboat pier, rises the Türbeh Kheireddin Barbarossa (p. [221]), which is best viewed from the Bosporus. Farther on are the ruins of the Chiragan Seraï (p. [558]).
From the pier of Beshiktash a road leads to the N.E. to the Yildiz Kiosque, surrounded with barracks and high walls, formerly the residence of the now deposed sultan Abdul Hamid (1876–1909). The Palace and its Park, and the private Hamidieh Mosque, built of white marble, are inaccessible.
It is now best to return by tramway (No. 2; p. [538]) to the large suburb of Top Haneh (Pl. I, 3), inhabited chiefly by Turks, with the loftily situated Jihangir Mosque (1553).
Here, in the esplanade of the Artillery Arsenal on the Bosporus, are situated the Mosque of Mahmud II. (1830) and a fine but now roofless Well House of the time of Ahmed II. (1703–30), resembling the sebíl at the Asab Kapu (p. [543]). The Mosque of Kilij Ali Pasha (Pl. I, 3) was built by Sinán (p. [552]).
We now return to Pera by the Rues Tchoukour Bostan and Yéni Tcharchi (p. [544]), or by the Grande Rue de Galata (Pl. I, H, 3, 4), the busiest international thoroughfare, to Place Karakeuï (p. [543]).
b. Stambul.
From the Rue Karakeuï, in Galata, the New Bridge (Pl. H, 4, 5) crosses the Golden Horn (p. [555]) to Stambul (toll 10 paras; carr. 2½ pias.). It was originally built of timber in 1845, and called Sultan Valideh Bridge after its founder (the ‘sultan’s mother’), and was rebuilt in 1877. The new iron bridge was begun in 1909. It affords beautiful *Views of Galata and Stambul, of the Bosporus and the Asiatic coast, while its busy and picturesque traffic presents scenes of endless variety.
At the S. end of the bridge lies the Place Emin Eunou (Pl. H, 5), called also Baluk Bazar or fish-market, beyond which rise the fine outlines of the—
*Yeni Valideh Jami (Pl. H, 5), or ‘new mosque of the sultan’s mother’. Begun in 1615 by Khoja Kassim for the mother of Ahmed I., after the model of Ahmed’s Mosque, and damaged by the great fire of 1660, it was not completed till 1663. In the middle of the outer court are ranged, as in all the larger Turkish mosques, the forecourt (harám) with its three portals, the mosque itself, and the türbeh (p. [539]), all turned towards Mecca (to the S.E.).
The forecourt, with its two elegant minarets and large wooden roofs above the side-portals, has a remarkably fine octagonal fountain of ablution (shudrivàn) in the centre.
Like the Suleïmanieh (p. [552]) the mosque is preceded by two colonnades. In the interior the lower wall surfaces and the four massive pillars of the dome are incrusted with bluish-green tiles. The mihrâb wall is connected with the pillars by a gallery; adjoining it, near the mihrâb or prayer-niche itself, are the superb pulpit and the railed-in gallery of the sultan. The adjacent *Private Rooms of the sultan still have their original decoration of fayence tiles and stained glass.
The Türbeh contains the sarcophagus of the sultan’s mother and the tombs of five sultans, recognizable by the turban and double heron’s plume.
On the W. side of the outer court is the Missir Charshi (Pl. G, 5; ‘Egyptian Bazaar’), originally for goods from Egypt, but now a general market, next in importance to the Great Bazaar (p. [551]). Among the wares in the open shops of the vaulted street the chief commodities are spices, drugs, and pigments.
To the W. of the Egyptian Bazaar, at the foot of Rue Ousoun Tcharchi (p. [551]), rises the Mosque of Rustem Pasha (Pl. G, 5), vizier of Suleiman the Great (p. [542]) and husband of his daughter Mihrimah (p. [553]). It was built by Sinán (p. [552]). The interior is noteworthy chiefly for the superb effect produced by its fayence tiles.
We follow the tramway (No. 3; p. [538]), to the S.E., through the Rue Bagtché Kapou, so named after the old ‘garden-gate’ of Stambul, and the Hamidieh Jaddesi, crossing the broad Bab Ali Jaddesi which leads to the left to the Railway Station (p. [537]). Farther on we come to the wall of the Seraglio on the left, and to (10 min.) the Sublime Porte (Pl. H, 6; vizierate and ministry of foreign affairs) on the right. Its central part, which contained the ministry of home affairs and the cabinet was burnt down in Feb. 1911.
The Seraglio or Seraï (Pl. H-I, 5, 7; now officially called Top Kapu Seraï, ‘seraglio of the cannon-gate’), with its neglected garden-terraces and miscellaneous buildings, occupies the site of the Acropolis and oldest streets of Byzantium (p. [541]) and the first of the seven hills of New Rome. Within the extensive precincts, enclosed by a pinnacled wall and defended by towers, Mohammed II. in 1468 erected a summer palace, which Suleiman the Great (p. [542]) enlarged and made his residence. All the sultans resided here until Abdul Mejíd built the Dolma Bagcheh Palace (1850–5; p. [558]). In 1873 the railway was carried through the gardens, past the Granite Column of Emp. Claudius II. (268–70 A. D.). Around the palace are grouped the old church of Irene (p. [548]), several military and other new buildings, the imperial Mint, and the School of Art founded in 1889.
From the chief entrance, the So-uk Cheshmeh Gate (Pl. H, 6), we ascend to the right, past the Mint, to the first terrace. A road to the left leads thence, behind the School of Art, to the New Museum, on the right, and the Chinili Kiosque, on the left.
The New Museum (Pl. I, 6), opened in 1891, contains the imperial **Collection of Antiquities, the arrangement of which is still incomplete. Adm., see p. [539]. Director, Halil Bey.
Ground Floor. The first rooms, on the right and left of the entrance, contain the sarcophagi, including the famous coffins discovered in 1887 in the so-called royal tombs of Sidon (p. [470]). The two vaults, in which the rulers of Sidon of the 6–4th cent. B. C. are supposed to have been buried, contained 26 stone coffins, some in the Egyptian form of a mummy, with sculptured heads, others shaped like Greek temples. In several cases their execution is highly artistic. The finest are in (right) Room I: *No. 48. So-called Satrap’s Coffin, of Ionian workmanship (first half of 5th cent.); *49. Sarcophagus of the mourning women, in marble, in the form of a temple, influenced in style by the works of Praxiteles (4th cent.). In (left) Room II: *No. 75. Lycian sarcophagus, with lid in the form of a pointed arch, executed under the fresh influence of the Parthenon reliefs (p. [517]); **76. Alexander sarcophagus, an Attic original (about 300 B. C.), with traces of rich colouring; 90. Sarcophagus of Tabnit, king of Sidon, originally that of an Egyptian general (6th cent.). Again, in Room I: No. 1142. Tomb-stele from Nisyros (p. [490]; about 500 B.C.); 45. Tomb-stele from Pella, a fine early Greek work like the last; 31–33. Fragments of Roman sarcophagi (Ulysses fighting against the wooers, etc.); also leaden coffins from Beirut, Khoms (p. [412]), etc. (Room II contains also six terracotta coffins from Klazomenæ, 6th cent. B. C.). Among the objects in the other rooms we note a large Lycian sarcophagus from Trysa (2nd cent. B. C.); *1179. Late Roman sarcophagus from the region of Konia, with the recumbent figures of man and wife.
A large room is devoted solely to the art and inscriptions of the Hittites, the dominating race on the Upper Euphrates, in Syria, and in Asia Minor from about 1500 to 1000 B.C., who were afterwards split up into small principalities and lost their national characteristics. From this later period (about 9–8th cent.) date the numerous objects from Senjerli in N. Syria (among others No. 873. Two sphinxes as a base of a column). Other relics are from Marrash in N. Syria (840. Lion with inscription) and from Albistan (835. Limestone pillar).
Two rooms are set apart for the Greek-Roman sculptures. Among the chief early Greek works (6th cent. B.C.) are: No. 5bis. Reliefs from a tombstone in the form of a pillar, with scenes of peace and war; 8, 133. Torso of Apollo and Relief of Hercules drawing his bow, both from Thasos; 680. Tomb-stele from Dorylæum in Phrygia; *78. Head of a man, early Ionian, from Rhodes; 32, 33. Kybele, from Kyme; 1136. Relief, Birth of Athena, from Chalcedon.—Of the 5th cent.: No. 1189. Caryatid; 1433. Hermes Propylæos, after the famous work of Alkamenes (Roman copy); *148. Snake’s head from the tripod in the At Meïdán (p. [549]). Among other creations of the Greek golden age (4th cent.) are: No. 1121. Statue of a youth; 114. Upper half of a stele, from Kyzikos; 1242. Relief with a portrait of Euripides; 1028. Relief of a woman playing on the lyre, from Mysia.—Hellenistic sculptures from Pergamum (p. [533]): *764. Dancer, from a large circular monument; *1138. Marble head (Alexander the Great?); 72. Marsyas hanging (a good copy); also important: *709. Alexander the Great, from Magnesia on the Sipylos; 685. Colossal head of Zeus, from Troy; 9. Colossal statue of Apollo, from Tralleis; *1423. Relief of a boatman (?), from Tralleis, in the style of the ‘Alexandrine’ reliefs.—Of Roman origin: 31. Largest representation of the so-called Thracian horseman, from a triumphal arch at Saloniki.
In the room of the Byzantine antiquities we note No. 164. Statue of the Good Shepherd (3rd cent.?); *1090. Early-Christian pulpit from Saloniki, with the Adoration of the Magi in detached figures; 189, 190. Fragments of a column with scenes with figures (Baptism of Christ, etc.; about 500); also interesting capitals with figures and foliage ornamentation.
Two rooms form an Architectural Museum (Asia Minor relics).
The First Floor is occupied by the Babylonian-Assyrian antiquities (incl. the glazed terracotta sarcophagi from Nippur, and No. 1027. Votive relief of king Narâm-Sin, about 3750 B.C.), the unimportant Egyptian relics, and curiosities from Cyprus (p. [489]), Himyar (region of Yemen in S. Arabia), and Palmyra. Then collections of bronzes and trinkets from Schliemann’s excavations at Hissarlik (p. [534]), from the Sidonian sarcophagi (p. [546]), etc.; vases and terracottas from Asia Minor (Hissarlik, Myrina, Priene), Cos (p. [490]), and Rhodes; glass vessels from Asia Minor, Cyprus, Syria, and Tripolitania; also a collection of coins.—The N. wing contains the Museum Library.
The elegant Chinili Kiosque (Pl. I, 6; ‘fayence palace’), one of the oldest Turkish buildings in the city, was erected in 1470 by Kemal ed-Din under Mohammed II., in the Persian style, and was restored in 1590. In 1908 it was converted into an *Oriental Art Museum. Adm., see p. [539].
The two-storied portico (ticket-office on the left) contains tombstones, etc.—The vestibule, with its original inscribed frieze, is adorned with well-preserved green *Fayence Tiles.
The domed hall and five side-rooms contain Arabian, Persian, and Turkish fayence, Turkish pottery, seals (tugres), firmans, and irades of Turkish sultans, woodwork (koran-desks, cabinets, etc.), leather (beautiful book-bindings), and metal work; also cut gems, Arabian and Venetian glass, mosque-lamps, embroidery, and *Persian Carpets. The chief treasures of the collection are the *Prayer Niche from the palace of the Seljuk sultan Alaeddin at Konia (13th cent.) and a throne of Selim I. (p. [512]).
Passing the Mint (p. [546]) we next enter the outer court of the Seraglio. In the centre rises the huge Janissaries’ Plane Tree (Pl. I, 6), where the janissaries (p. [550]) used to meet.—To the left the Orta Kapu leads to the Seraglio Palace (adm., see p. [540]). It contains the throne-room (Arsh Odasi) of the time of Suleiman the Great, the Library, the Imperial Treasury (hazneh han), and the superb Bagdad Kiosque (1639), etc.
Above the outer court rises, on the right, the Church of Irene (Pl. I, 6; dedicated to ‘divine peace’), a domed basilica built by Constantine, and restored first by Justinian after the Nika revolt (p. [541]), and again in 740. After the Turkish conquest it was used as an arsenal, but is now a Military Museum (adm., see p. [539]).
We leave the Seraglio by the Bab i Humayún (Pl. I, 6), the superb modern gate of the sultan, replacing that of Mohammed II.
In the Seraï Meïdán (Pl. I, 6, 7; ‘Seraglio Square’), on the S.W. side of the palace-walls, rises the *Fountain of Ahmed III., erected in 1728, the finest sebíl in the city, with a well-preserved timber roof. Nearly opposite are the Aya Sophia and the Ministry of Justice (Pl. H, 1, 7), which was the meeting-place of the new Turkish parliament in 1908–9.
The **Aya Sóphia Mosque (Pl. H, 7; adm., see p. [539]), formerly the church of St. Sophia, 4 min. to the S. of the So-uk Cheshmeh Gate (p. [546]), is the most famous edifice in the whole city. Here in 326, opposite to his palace, Constantine erected a basilica, which he dedicated to Divine Wisdom (Sophía), and which after a fire in 415 was rebuilt by Theodosius II. The church having again been destroyed during the Nika rebellion, Justinian caused the present sumptuous edifice, which was to eclipse all others in the empire, to be erected in 532–7 by Anthemios of Tralleis and Isidoros of Miletos.
The plan of the building is nearly square. Its axis, contrary to custom, runs to the E.S.E., in line with that of the palace. It measures 82½ by 77 yds., but if the atrium or forecourt had still existed the length would have been no less than 184 yds. The edifice with its nave and aisles presents a curious combination of an ancient Christian basilica with a dome-covered mosque. Above the nave, which is 36 yds. in breadth, the great dome, 105 ft. in diameter and 184 ft. in height, but externally inconspicuous, rises on four massive pillars. It is continued lengthwise by two half-domes, relieved by niches, the large E. central niche forming the apse. The upper story of the aisles, borne by antique columns with capitals resembling imposts, and the galleries above the inner vestibule contained the gynæceum, or women’s seats.
The Crusaders pillaged the church in 1204 (p. [542]), and many of its treasures were carried off also at the Turkish conquest. The mosaics were whitewashed, the minaret at the S.E. angle was erected, and the unsightly flying buttresses were added on the E. side. To the further detriment of the general effect the successors of the conqueror built the other three minarets, the mausoleums, schools, and outbuildings. A thorough restoration was undertaken by Fossati, an Italian architect, in 1847, when the outside was painted yellow with red stripes.
The entrance for visitors is in the N. side-street, by a door to the left of the N.W. minaret. A few steps descend to the Inner Vestibule (eso-narthex), from which five doors open on the outer vestibule (exo-narthex) and nine portals lead into the interior. At the S. end of the inner vestibule, opposite the N. entrance, is a Byzantine *Bronze Door (9th cent.), with part of the original panels.
The northmost portal admits us to the *Interior, in which the immense central dome, in contrast to St. Peter’s at Rome, dominates the entire nave. The marble pavement is partly destroyed and partly covered with carpets and mats spread obliquely in the direction of Mecca (S.E.). The mihrâb or prayer-recess has been placed, for the same reason, a little to the S. of the axis of the apse. Beside the pillars of the apse are, on the right, the mimbar, or Friday pulpit, and on the left the octagonal grated gallery of the sultan, resting on eight antique columns. The nave contains several open galleries or tribunes for prayer-recitals. The Koran niche in the S. aisle also is worth seeing. (Visitors should be careful not to touch anything.)
During the nights of Ramadan (p. [539]) visitors are admitted only to the galleries, which the sacristan will show at other times.
On the S. side of the mosque, adjoining the Aya Sophia Meïdán, rise five Türbehs, or burial-chapels of sultans. The southmost, once the baptistery of the church, dates perhaps from Justinian’s reign.
The Aya Sóphia Meïdán (Pl. H, 7), a busy square planted with trees, on the S. side of the mosque, was the ancient Augusteion (or Agorá), the greatest centre of traffic in New Rome, whence the triumphal road led to the Golden Gate (p. [554]). Down to the Turkish conquest it was adorned with a mounted statue of Justinian. Adjoining it on the S.W. lies the At Meïdán (Pl. H, 7; ‘horse square’), 330 yds. long, partly occupying the site of a Hippodrome begun by Sept. Severus (p. [541]) and completed by Constantine. From these two squares, and from the Seraï Meïdán (p. [548]), the Roman and Byzantine imperial palaces, with their dependencies and several churches, extended to the S.E. to the town-wall on the Sea of Marmora.
At the N. angle of At Meïdán, where Rue Divan Yolou (p. [550]) diverges, lies a small Public Garden. Farther on, to the S.W., passing a Street Fountain presented by Emp. William II. in 1898, we come to three ancient monuments which still occupy their old places on the spina of the Hippodrome (comp. p. [348]). One is the Obelisk of Theodosius I., dating from the time of Thutmosis III. (p. [456]; brought from Heliopolis), with Roman reliefs, on the pedestal, of the imperial family viewing the races from the court-stand of the Hippodrome. The second is the bronze *Snake Column, once the central support of a huge tripod which the Greeks erected as a votive offering at Delphi after the victory of Platæa (p. [506]). The third is the so-called Colossus, an obelisk of unknown origin.
No less conspicuous than the Aya Sophia is the *Mosque of Ahmed I. (Pl. H, 7), on the S.E. side of At Meïdán. It was built by the young sultan of that name in 1608–14 as the second-largest mosque in the city, and is the only one besides the Kaaba at Mecca that has six minarets. The large outer court, planted with trees and often used as a market-place, is separated from At Meïdán by a broken-down wall. The lofty chief portal, with its stalactite niche and its fine bronze gate, leads into a forecourt flanked with domed colonnades where we notice the pretty stalactite capitals. In the centre rises a superb hexagonal marble fountain with a railing.
The interior of the mosque (79 by 70 yds.), in the style of the Mehmedieh (p. [553]), resembles the Shahzadeh mosque (p. [552]) in the disposition of its four half-domes. The great central dome, 73 ft. in diameter, rests on four clumsy round pillars, and around it runs a low gallery with depressed keel-arches. The walls are lined with white marble below and with beautiful fayence tiles from Nikæa above.
To the S.W. of At Meïdán is the Janissaries’ Museum (Pl. G, H, 7; adm., see p. [539]), in which are exhibited wax-figures wearing the ancient costumes of Turkish dignitaries and the uniforms of the Janissaries, or old body-guard (1328–1826).
To the S. of the Museum, close to the railway, rises the *Küchük Aya Sóphia (Pl. H, 7, 8), or ‘little’ mosque of Aya Sophia, a kind of prelude to the ‘great’, now containing a military museum. It was built under Justinian in 528, at the same time as San Vitale at Ravenna, as a church of SS. Sergius and Bacchus. The building is nearly square, with semicircular niches at the angles, and encloses an octagonal interior, between the eight corner-columns of which are four semicircular niches and four straight rows of columns. The junction of the walls with the dome was masked, as later in the Sophia Church, by curved triangular spandrels or pendentives.
Beyond the public garden (p. [549]) we enter the Rue Divan Yolou (tramway No. 3, p. [538]). At the end of it, on the right, is a railed-in burial-ground containing the handsome Türbeh of Mahmud II. (d. 1839) and his son Abdul Aziz (sultan in 1861–76). Entrance to the right, in Rue Mahmoudié.
In the main street, now called Sedefdjilar Yolou, we next come to the second hill of New Rome (p. [541]), crowned with the so-called Burnt Column (Pl. G, 6; Turk. Chemberli Tash, ‘stone with the hoop’). This great column of porphyry was erected by Constantine on the ancient ‘triumphal way’, to mark the centre of his forum, and bore his statue in bronze down to 1105. It was restored in 1909. The street then leads past the Kalpakjilar Kapu (on the right), the S. gate of the Great Bazaar (p. [551]), to the Bayazid Mosque (p. [551]).
From the Burnt Column the Rue Nouri Osmanié leads to the N. to the white marble Mosque of Nuri Osmanieh (Pl. G, 6), a bold dome-roofed edifice copied from the Selim Mosque (p. [553]), but with a semicircular forecourt.
Adjacent on the W. is the *Great Bazaar (Pl. G, 6; Turk. Büyük Charshi, ‘great market’), one of the sights of Constantinople. It lies in a depression between the Nuri Osmanieh Mosque and the Serasker Square (see below) and forms a distinct quarter of the city, enclosed by gates. As in the sûks (p. [335]) the crafts mostly have their own streets or districts. Most of the buildings have been re-erected since the earthquake of 1894. To the early 17th cent. belongs the still extant castellated Valideh Han (see below); of the early 18th cent. are the Bezestán (the main central building, founded in the 10th cent.) and the Sandal Bezestán. Besides genuine Oriental wares many European goods also are sold here.
The Nuri Osmanieh Kapu, on the W. side of the outer court of the mosque, opens on to the Kalpakjilar Bashi Jaddesí, the main thoroughfare on the S. side of the Bazaar. Immediately on the right is the Sandal Bezestán, once the silk-bazaar, now a warehouse (usually closed).
The street on the N. side (Restaurant Tokatlian, see p. [537]) leads to the W. after a few paces to the Bezestán (Pl. Bez.; G, 6), where artistic old weapons, gold and silver wares, inlaid furniture, etc. are displayed. In the street on the E. side are sold jewels and trinkets; on the N. side cloth, Oriental antiquities, and books; on the W. side Turkish women’s apparel and embroidery; on the S. side leather-work, etc.
From the W. gate of the Bezestán we pass through the Bezestán Jaddesí, with its clothes-shops, to the Ousoun Tcharchi, the main street ascending from the Rustem Pasha Mosque (p. [545]) to the S. gate (Kalpakjilar Kapu, p. [550]). Going straight on we may ascend through the curved Fesjiler Jaddesi, the fez-market, to the Bit Bazar Jaddesi, a street running to the N. and S., the entrance to the (left) Second-hand Market (Bat Bazar, jestingly called ‘bit bazar’ or louse-market). In the other direction, a few paces to the N., is the Hakkaklar Sokak, with the stalls of the seal-engravers, booksellers, etc., leading to the Bayazid Mosque.
Those who intend to return from the Great Bazaar direct to the New Bridge (p. [545]) may visit also the Valideh Han (Pl. G, 5, 6; see above), the seat of the Persian traders, situated in the Chakmakjilar Yokussu, diverging to the E. from the Ousoun Tcharchi.
On the third hill of the city, the site of the forum of Theodosius I., rise the Bayazid Mosque and the Seraskerat in its large court.
The *Mosque of Bayazid (Pl. G, 6) was erected in 1489–97 by the Albanian Kheireddin, under sultan Bayazid, son of Mohammed II., the conqueror. The handsome portals of the forecourt recall Seljuk prototypes. The beautiful forecourt, enlivened ever since the time of the founder by countless pigeons, has pointed arcades with elegant domes. In the centre is an octagonal fountain. The interior, tastelessly painted in the Turkish rococo style in the 18th cent., is a simplified imitation of the Aya Sophia.
To the N. of the mosque the Serasker Kapu, the modern S. gateway, leads into the court, now a drilling-ground, of the Seraskerat (Pl. F, G, 5; or ministry of war). Here once stood the Eski-Seraï, the oldest palace of the sultans (comp. p. [546]). The *Serasker Tower (closed on Frid.; fee 3–5 pias.), about 200 ft. high, built by Mahmud II. (d. 1839) of white marble from the island of Marmara (p. [535]), affords a magnificent view of the city.
Behind the barracks on the N. side of the Seraskerat, or by the Serasker Jaddesi to the right, we descend to the terrace of the Suleiman Mosque, which is surrounded by schools, baths, and the Residence of the Sheikh ul-Islam.
The **Mosque of Suleiman the Great (Turk. Suleïmanieh; Pl. F, G, 5), erected in 1550–66 by the Albanian Sinán (Mimar Sinán Agha), on the model of the Aya Sophia and the Bayazid Mosque, is one of the two master-works of this most famous of Turkish architects (the other being the Selim mosque at Adrianople). The superb chief portal on the N.W. side is three stories in height. At the angles of the forecourt (63 by 49½ yds.) rise four minarets of unequal height. The exterior of the mosque is embellished with two arcades; the smaller domes are charmingly grouped round the great dome; the latter, only 85 ft. in diameter, is loftier than that of Aya Sophia.
Notwithstanding the striped decoration with which it was marred at the time of the restoration under Abdul Aziz (p. [550]), the interior surpasses all the other mosques of Constantinople in harmony of structure, in picturesqueness of perspective, and in magnificence of ornamentation, but is unfortunately badly lighted. Between the four pillars of the dome, on each side, are two monolith columns, 29 ft. high, with stalactite capitals, supporting the upper stories of the aisles. The *Mihrâb Wall is enriched with beautiful fayence tiles and with stained glass by Serkosh Ibrahim.
In the burial-ground behind the mosque rise the handsome Türbehs of Suleiman (fee 5 pias.) and his favourite wife Roxolana.
From the outer court of the mosque, with its fine old cypresses and plane-trees, we may descend to the E. to Rustem Pasha’s Mosque (p. [545]) and the New Bridge (p. [545]); or we may go to the N.W. to the Old Bridge (Pl. F, G, 4; p. [555]; toll 10 paras) and the Rue Iskander (p. [543]).
From the W. gate of the Seraskerat, or from the W. angle of the outer court of the Suleiman mosque, we may soon reach the two-storied Aqueduct of Valens (Pl. F, E, 6, 5), dating from the reign of that emperor (368 A. D.) but much restored. It bridges the space between the fourth and third hills of the city.
On the S. side of the aqueduct, near the scene of the great fire of 1908, rises the Shahzadeh Mosque (Pl. E, F, 5; ‘prince’s mosque’), an early work of Sinán (see above), erected by Suleiman in 1543–7 in memory of his son Mohammed. The plan is similar to that of the Mehmedieh (see below). It is charmingly fitted up in the interior. In the two türbehs repose the princes Mohammed and Jíhangir and the princess Mihrimah. As a rule the muezzin permits visitors to ascend one of the minarets for a small gratuity.
From this mosque the Rue Chahsadé Bachi ascends to the N.W. to the Mosque of Mohammed II. (Pl. D, E, 4; Mehmedieh or Fatih Jami; comp. p. [542]), the holiest in Constantinople after that of Eyúb (p. [555]). It was built by the Greek Christodulos in 1463–9 on the fourth hill of the city, on the site and with the materials of the Apostles’ Church. This church, founded by Constantine, had been restored by Justinian and was famous as the burial-place of the emperors.
The outer court, planted with cypresses, on the N.W. side of which a busy market is held, is surrounded, as in the Byzantine age, by a great many miscellaneous buildings. The plan of the mosque is probably the same as that of the Apostles’ Church. The forecourt is commanded by two minarets. The interior, in the form of a Greek cross, has four half-domes in the two axes adjoining the central dome, four smaller corner-domes, and three galleries. The whole building was modernized after the earthquake of 1767.
The first Türbeh behind the mosque is that of ‘the Conqueror’.
From the N.W. corner of the outer court the Sultan Mehmed and Sultan Selim streets lead to the N. to the Mosque of Selim I. (Pl. E, 3; Turk. Selimieh) on the fifth city-hill, erected by Suleiman the Great in 1520–6 in memory of his warlike father Selim I. (p. [542]). This is the simplest of all the sultans’ mosques. The outer walls are roofed with a single semicircular dome.
To the S. of Mehmedieh, between the fourth city-hill and the Lykos Valley, among the ruins caused by a fire, rises Marcian’s Column (Pl. D, E, 5; Turk. Kiz Tash, maiden’s stone), erected in honour of that emperor (450–7).
In the Lykos Valley, to the S.W. of Marcian’s Column, once lay the Barracks of the Janissaries (p. [550]), who were massacred in the Et Meïdán here (Pl. D, 5; ‘place of flesh’) after a revolt in 1826.—In the Ak Seraï quarter (Pl. D, E, 6), on the ancient triumphal way (p. [550]), lay the Roman Forum Boarium (cattle-market). The road ascended thence to the seventh city-hill. Here, in the quarter now called Avret Bazar, is still seen the pedestal of the marble Column of Arcadius (Pl. D, 7; Turk. Avret Tash, women’s stone), the sole surviving relic of the forum of Arcadius.
From the Mehmedieh a main street (carr. 5 pias.) leads direct in ¼ hr., to the N.W., to the Edirneh Kapu (see below).
Beside the city-wall, near Rue Edirné Kapou, is the sixth and highest city-hill, on which rises the Mihrimah Mosque (Pl. C, 3), built in 1556 by Sinán (p. [552]) for the princess Mihrimah (p. [545]), on the site of the Byzantine monastery of St. George, and restored in 1910.—From the Greek Church of St. George we walk about 250 paces to the N.E., and then descend to the right, near the city-wall, to visit the—
Kahrieh Mosque (Pl. C, 2), once the church of the monastery of Chora (‘in the country’), which probably existed before the time of Theodosius II. It was restored in the 11th cent. and enlarged in the 14th, and contains famous Byzantine *Mosaics (sacristan lives near).
We now turn our steps to the ruinous Edirneh Kapu (Pl. C, 2; Adrianople Gate), the gate of Charisius or cemetery-gate (Porta Polyandriu) of the Byzantines.
Outside the gate, where stretches the largest Moslem Cemetery of Stambul, we obtain an excellent view of the old *Land-Wall of the city, over 4 M. in length. The chief part of it is the Theodosian Wall (p. [541]), extending from the Sea of Marmora to the Tekfur Seraï (see below). This was originally a single wall, defended by towers, but after an earthquake in 447 it was doubled, the two walls being 66 yds. apart and, from the bottom of the moat, 100 ft. high.
The S. part of the land-wall may be visited by carriage (one-horse 10, two-horse 10 or 15 pias.; bargaining necessary) from the Edirneh Kapu. We drive past Top Kapu (Pl. A, 4; ‘cannon-gate’), once the gate of St. Romanos, famed in the siege of 1453, to Yedi Kuleh railway-station (Pl. A, B, 9). We may return thence to the town by local train (about every ½ hr.), or from the Yedi Kuleh Gate by tramway (No. 4; change at Ak Seraï, p. [553]), or from Psamatia Kapu (Pl. B, 8) by local steamer (p. [538]).
Near the S. end of the wall rises the castle of Yedi Kuleh (Pl. A, 9; ‘seven towers’; adm. except Sun. 2½ pias.; small fee to lantern-bearer), rebuilt by Mohammed II., within which is the dilapidated Porta Aurea (‘golden gate’), once the triumphal gate of the Byzantine emperors.—On the Sea of Marmora, at the point where the land-wall joined the Marmora Sea Wall, rises the octagonal Mermer Kuleh (Pl. A, 9; ‘marble tower’), the sole relic of a castle of the time of Emp. Basil II. (976–1025).
To the N.E. of the Edirneh Kapu, beyond the Greek Cemetery (Pl. C, 2), the Theodosian city-wall is joined by the single but stronger Wall of the Blachernae Quarter (‘marsh-land quarter’). This wall served for the defence of the famous St. Mary’s Church of the empress Pulcheria (ca. 450), and for that of the Blachernæ Palace, founded at the end of the 5th cent., which in the 12th cent. became the imperial residence instead of the older palaces in the Augusteion (p. [549]). The wall dates partly from the reigns of Emp. Heraklios (610–41), Leo V. (813–20), and Manuel Comnenus (1143–80), but was largely rebuilt in the 14th and 15th centuries.
The ruined Byzantine palace rising above the town-wall near the small Kerkoporta (Pl. C, 2), the so-called Tekfur Seraï (‘emperor’s palace’), was probably founded by Constantine VII. Porphyrogenetos (912–59). Of the Blachernae Palace itself the foundations are still traceable between the Egri Kapu (Pl. C, 1; once Porta Kaligaria) and the Aivas Effendi Mosque. To the old terrace of the palace belonged the massive Towers of Isaak Angelos and Anemas (Pl. C, 1).
On the N. side the land-walls end with the picturesque castle of Brachionon or Pentapyrgion, answering to the Yedi Kuleh on the S. side. It lies between the inner and the site of the outer Blachernæ gate. Near it are buried the Arabs who fell in 678 (p. [541]).
From the Aivan Seraï Kapu (Pl. D, 1), which belongs to the old Sea Wall on the Golden Horn (p. [541]), a broad road to the left (N.W.) leads through the suburb of Ortakjilar (Pl. B, C, 1) to (¾ M.) Eyúb (p. [555]). Straight on, we soon reach the Aivan Seraï pier (p. [555]).
c. The Golden Horn.
By Caïque (p. [538]) from the New Bridge to Eyúb about 1 hr., to the Sweet Waters 1½–2 hrs. (there and back 20–25 pias.). The row back is particularly fine towards sunset.—Steamboat (p. [538]) to Eyúb in ¾ hr., thence to the Sweet Waters 20 min.
The Golden Horn, already named Chrysokeras by the Greeks, an arm of the sea 4½ M. long and at the widest point ½ M. across, probably a submerged side-valley of the Bosporus, is one of the finest natural harbours in the world. In the Byzantine period it was closed for defensive purposes by a chain. It consists of the Outer Commercial Harbour (Pl. H, I, 4, 5), with the Galata Quay (p. [543]) and the new quays on the Stambul side, the Inner Commercial Harbour (Pl. G, H, 4), between the two bridges, and the Naval Harbour (Pl. E-G, 2, 3).
The voyager on the Golden Horn is chiefly struck with the busy harbour scenes and the picturesque appearance of the crowded Oriental quarters rising from the banks. Starting from the New Bridge (Pl. H, 4) the steamer crosses the inner commercial harbour to the pier of Yemish Iskelesí (Pl. G, 4) at Stambul, at the foot of the terrace of the Suleiman Mosque, and then passes under the Old Bridge (Pl. F, G, 4; p. [552]) into the naval harbour. On the Stambul side it first calls at the piers of Jubali Kapu and Aya Kapu (Pl. F, 3), the latter lying below Selim’s Mosque (p. [553]).
Next, on the same side, are the piers of Phanar (Pl. E, 2), the Greek quarter, where a terrible massacre took place in 1821, and Balat (Pl. D, 2), the largest Jewish quarter.
On the opposite bank, from the Old Bridge onwards, lie the dockyard buildings. On the bay of Kasím Pasha (calling-place of some of the steamboats) is the Ministry of Marine (Divan Haneh; Pl. G, 2, 3), with its surrounding barracks, workshops, and docks. In front of it are anchored men-of-war and guard-ships.
The steamer next touches at Ters Haneh (Pl. E, 2), on the E. bank, at the end of the dockyard, and at the Jewish quarter of Haskiöi (Has Keuï; Pl. E, 1); then, on the W. bank, at Aivan Seraï (Pl. D, 1; p. [554]), where we have a fine view of the N.E. end of the land-walls and the beginning of the sea-wall on the Golden Horn; then, on the E. bank, at Kalijeh Oglu, and on the W. bank at Defterdar Iskelesí (Pl. C, 1) and Eyúb (see inset plans in Plan of City).
In the suburb of *Eyúb, a few minutes’ walk from the pier, is the famous Mosque of Eyúb, where the ceremony of girding each new sultan with the sword takes place. It was built of white marble by Mohammed II., the Conqueror, in 1459, adjacent to the türbeh of Abu Eyúb Ensari, the legendary standard-bearer of the prophet, whose tomb here was revealed in a vision a few days after the conquest. The spot is so revered by the Moslems that until now no Christian dared set foot even in the outer court. Since the establishment of the new Turkish government, however, visitors may enter the deeply impressive court and even the mosque itself, but they should be careful not to remain standing between the railings in the centre of the court and the gilded windows on the wall-side.
From the mosque, up the hill-side to the N.E., extends the picturesque Cemetery, with its venerable cypresses. A path ascends from the mosque, past a monastery (Tekkeh) of the dancing dervishes (p. [543]), to the top, where we have a splendid *View of both banks of the Golden Horn.
From Eyúb a smaller local steamer plies through the Stambul Liman, the shallow N.W. arm of the Golden Horn, 1¼ M. long, to Kiathaneh, or Kiahat Haneh; this trip, on Fridays or Sundays in spring, affords an interesting picture of Turkish life. At Kiathaneh two streams fall into the Golden Horn, the so-called Sweet Waters of Europe (the Asiatic waters, see p. [558]), or Eaux Douces. The eastmost is the Kiathaneh Suyu, in the valley of which, about 1¼ M. up, is a château of the sultan, the most popular holiday resort of the citizens of Constantinople. In the meadows, under shady trees, are erected huts and arbours, where music and amusements of all kinds are provided. The Moslems enjoy themselves sedately here on Fridays; the Christians come on Sundays; hither too the people of fashion ride or drive. Shortly before sunset a whole flotilla of boats on the Golden Horn returns home to the city.
d. Scutari.
Steam Ferry Boats from the New Bridge (see p. [538]) and Beshiktash to Scutari. Those from the New Bridge to the minor stations Salajak, near the Leander tower, and Harem-Iskelesí, below the Selimieh Barracks (p. [536]), are less frequent and are seldom used by strangers.—Carriages have the same tariff as in the city (p. [538]). Drive from the pier to the Chamlija Spring and back viâ the Great Cemetery (about 2½ hrs.) 1½ mejidiehs (30 pias.).—Horse to the Bulgurlu about 1 mej.
The steamer leaves the Seraglio Point on the right and steers to the E. to (¼ hr.) the chief landing-place at Scutari, which lies on the Asiatic shore, in a bay to the N. of the promontory. To the right, off the end of the promontory, is a flat islet on which rises the so-called Leander’s Tower (by the Turks named Kiz Kulesí, i.e. maiden’s tower, from the legend that a sultan’s daughter was once kept here), with a signalling station and lights.
Scutari (no European inns), Turk. Üsküdar, the ancient Chrysopolis, the harbour of Chalcedon (p. [536]), now a large suburb of Constantinople, contains 90,000 inhab., comparatively few of whom are Armenians and Greeks. Its fine old mosques, its crooked streets, and its small timber houses give it a more Oriental character than Stambul. Until a century ago Scutari was the terminus of the caravan-routes from Asia Minor, by which the treasures of the East were brought to Constantinople. It is still the starting-point of the sacred annual Mecca caravan.
From the pier we follow the broad main street past the Büyük Jami (‘Great Mosque’; 1547), on the left, and the Yeni Valideh Jami (1707–10), on the right, beyond which a road to the right diverges to the Dervishes’ Monastery and the Great Cemetery.
The street, inclining to the left, next leads to the quarters of Yeni Mahalleh, with an Armenian cemetery, and Baglar Bashi; then, past villas, to the village of Bulgurlukiöi. Before the village is reached a road to the left leads to (2 M. from the pier) the Chamlija Spring, shaded by great plane-trees, a favourite Friday and Sunday resort like the Sweet Waters (p. [556]).
We may thence ascend (to the N., ¼ hr.) the Great Bulgurlu or Büyük Chamlija (879 ft.; small café, bargaining necessary), which, in the forenoon especially, affords a superb *View of Constantinople, the Bosporus, and the Sea of Marmora.
On the way back we turn to the left, skirting the Armenian cemetery, to visit the *Great Cemetery (Büyük Mezaristán), the largest Moslem burial-ground in the East. The lower road through it leads to the N. to the Monastery of the Howling Dervishes (Rufaï Tekkeh; no admittance).
To the S. of the Great Cemetery lies Haidar Pasha (p. [536]), with a large Military Hospital, where Florence Nightingale (1820–1910) first devoted herself to her philanthropic work. Adjoining the Hospital is the British Cemetery, containing a tall granite Obelisk in memory of the British who fell in the Crimean war.
e. The Bosporus.
Local Steamers (p. [538]), with 17 stations on the European side and 12 on the Asiatic, never all touched at on the same voyage. To Rumeli Kavak, the northmost station on the W. shore, in 2 hrs., 5 (in summer 6) steamers only. From any station it is easy to ferry to the opposite shore (5–10 pias.).
The Thracian *Bosporus (‘ox-ford’, from the Greek myth that Io swam in the shape of a cow from Asia to Europe), Turk. Kara Denis Boghaz or Stambul Boghaz (Black Sea or Stambul Straits), which, like the Dardanelles (p. [534]), was formed by the subsidence of a river-valley in the tertiary period (comp. p. xxxiv), connects the Sea of Marmora with the Black Sea. Length 20 M., breadth about 2 M., average depth 89 ft. (greatest about 395 ft.). A surface-stream, quickened by the prevailing N.E. winds, and consisting of the fresher water of the Black Sea, fed by its copious rivers, constantly pours through the straits towards the Mediterranean, while the saltier and heavier water of the latter flows in the opposite direction in a strong under-current into the Black Sea. The steep coast-hills of the N. part, as far as Rumeli Kavak, consist of eruptive rock, basalt, dolerite, and trachyte; in the S. part the prevailing formations are Devonian, clay-slate, greywacke, quarzite, and limestone. The peninsula of Stambul is of the miocene formation.
A trip on the Bosporus affords a highly picturesque and varied panorama of the scenery on its banks, and on the way back we suddenly obtain a striking view of the great city and its suburbs. The more important places only are named below. (L. signifies landing-place or pier.)
| West Bank. | East Bank. |
|---|---|
| Galata Quay and Top Haneh, see pp. [543], 544. | Leander’s Tower and Scutari, see p. [556]. |
| Dolma Bagcheh (p. [544]), with the Seraï of that name, built by Abdul Mejid in 1850–5 in the overladen ‘Turkish Renaissance’ style, now the residence of Mohammed V.; the façade on the Bosporus is over 700 yds. long; in the lofty central building is the huge throne-room. | |
| Beyond Beshiktash (p. [544]; L.) are the ruins of the Chiragan Seraï, a similar palace, which was burnt down in 1910. | Kuskunjuk (L.), a Jewish village, separated from Scutari by a low hill, was almost entirely destroyed by a disastrous fire in Feb. 1911. |
| At Ortakiöi (L.), a suburb with beautiful gardens and a pretty mosque (1870), the city is seen astern for the last time. | Beylerbey (L.). The Beylerbey Seraï, built by Abdul Aziz in 1865, is the most tasteful sultan’s palace on the Bosporus. |
| We round a headland and next come to the villages of Kuru Cheshmeh (L.) and Arnautkiöi (L.).The latter lies on the Akinti Burnu, a headland swept by a strong current. | Chengelkiöi (L.) and Vanikiöi (L.), where we lose sight of Stambul. We next pass Top Dagh (427 ft.; ‘cannon-hill’), famed for its view of the whole of the Bosporus. Kandili (L.) lies on a headland opposite the bay of Bebek. |
| Bebek (L.), on a beautiful bay, with villas (yali) of wealthy Turks, an English and American summer resort. On the hill to the N. is the Robert College, an American institution founded in 1863. | |
| Between Kandili and Anatoli Hissar (see below) opens the Valley of the Sweet Waters of Asia, at the mouth of the Büyük (great) and Küchük (little) Gök Su, a favourite Friday resort of Moslem-excursionists in summer. | |
| Above the cypresses of an old cemetery rise the picturesque towers and walls of Rumelí Hissar (L.; ‘European castle’), built by Mohammed II. in 1452, shortly before the siege of Constantinople (p. [542]), to command the narrowest part of the Bosporus (722 yds. only). Here, too, the current (sheïtan akintisi, ‘Satan’s stream’) is at its strongest. | Anatoli Hissar (L.; ‘Asiatic Castle’), or Güzel Hissar (‘beautiful castle’), the picturesque castle by the sea, which gives its name to the village, was erected by Bayazid I. in 1393 as an outwork against Byzantium. |
| Beyond Emirgian (L.) come the palaces built by Ismaîl, khedive of Egypt (d. 1895; p. [444]). | Kanlija (L.), on a small headland (beacon). |
| Stenia (L.), in a deep and sheltered bay, and Yenikiöi (L.; Greek Neochori), both inhabited chiefly by Greeks and Armenians. At the N. end of the headland are the summer seats of the American and Austrian ambassadors. | Chibukli, on the Bay of Beïkos, where the British and French fleets met for the Crimean war. At the head of the bay, beyond Pasha Bagcheh (L.) lies Beïkos, usually the northmost steamboat station. |
| From Beïkos we may ascend the Giant’s Mt. or Yusha Dagh (640 ft.; ‘Mt. Joshua’), an important landmark for ships coming from the Black Sea. The road to it (1 hr.; carr. ½ mej.) ascends past the palace of Mohammed Ali Pasha and through the grassy, well-wooded, and well-watered valley of Hunkiar Iskelesí, once a favourite country seat of the Byzantine emperors and the sultans. On the top are a mosque, the ‘tomb of the giant Joshua’, and a small café. *View over the whole Bosporus, but Constantinople is hidden. | |
| Therapia (L.; Summer Palace Hot.; Hôt. Tokatlian, etc.; pop. 5000), a large and handsome village, on a small bay, with cafés by the sea and terraced gardens. On the quay, to the N. of the bay, are the summer residences of the British (lofty white building), French, and Italian ambassadors; on the N. side of the bay is that of the German ambassador. | |
| The steamers plying beyond Beïkos proceed thence straight across the Bosporus to Yenikiöi (see above) on the European shore, where corresponding with them there are generally steamboats plying viâ Therapia (see above) to Mezar Burnu (see below) and to Rumelí Kavak (p. [560]). Thence they go on to the last station on the Asiatic shore— | |
| Near the small cape Kiretsh Burnu, with its battery and beacon, the Black Sea becomes visible in the distance. | |
| Büyükdereh (L.; Hôt. Bellevue; Hôt. d’Europe; Hôt. Platane, etc.; pop. 6000) is one of the most frequented summer resorts of the wealthy Europeans of Constantinople, with handsome houses in the N. part. The Bay of Büyükdereh (‘great valley’) forms the broadest part of the Bosporus (2 M.). | |
| At the N. end of the bay are Mezar Burnu (L.), a small village, and Yeni Mahalleh, at the mouth of the ‘rose valley’, the terminus of most of the steamers. | |
| Five or six boats only go on, passing the ruinous fort Telli Tabia and the Dikili Cliffs, to Rumelí Kavak, a village near a fortress built by Murad IV. in 1628 and restored in 1890. The walls of the ruined Byzantine castle of Imros Kalesí, on a hill to the N., once extending down to the sea, were prolonged by moles, like those of Yoros Kalesí opposite, so that a chain could be carried across. | Anatoli Kavak, a genuine Turkish village, lying on the Majar Bay between two strongly fortified headlands. On the N. headland rises also the picturesque ruin of the Byzantine castle of Yoros Kalesí, called the Genoese Castle since the 14th century. In ancient times the headland and the strait, one of the narrowest parts of the Bosporus, were named Hieron (sanctuary) after the altar of the twelve gods, where Jason is said once to have sacrificed, and after a temple of Zeus Urios, the dispenser of favourable winds. |
| At the N. end of the Bosporus the banks, which bristle with forts and batteries, consist of almost perpendicular basaltic rock, above which runs a hill-path. Between Rumelí Kavak and the headland Karibjeh Kalesí the little bay of Büyük Liman offers the first refuge to vessels of slight draught coming from the N. | |
| In the Majar Bay vessels coming from the Black Sea have to show their papers before entering the Bosporus. Then comes Kechili Bay, bounded on the N. by the cape Fil Burnu, and defended by a fort, as is also the Poiras Burnu, a little farther to the N.E. | |
| The Bosporus now expands at its N. entrance to 2¾ M., near Rumelí Fanar, a Greek village (Fenerkiöi or Fanaraki), with a lighthouse and a strong fortress on the rock to the N. of the bay. To the E. rise a number of dark basaltic cliffs, the Cyanean Islands or Symplegades (i.e. the rocks which, according to the ancient tradition, ‘clash together’), between which Jason had to pass on the Argonautic expedition. | Next, on the rocky coast, are the village and beyond it the low cape of Anatoli Fanar, with the Anatolian lighthouse and a fort rising above it. |
| Farther on are Kabakos Bay, in the basaltic rocks of which nestle countless sea-fowl, and, at the N. mouth of the Bosporus, the abrupt Yum Burnu, with a battery and rescue-station for the shipwrecked. |