Eighth talisman. On another of the six columns, Físághórát (Pythagoras the Unitarian), in the days of the prophet Suleïmán (Solomon), placed the figure of a wolf, made of bronze (túj), the terror of all other wolves; so that the flocks of the people of Islámból pastured very safely without a shepherd, and walked side by side with untamed wolves very comfortably.
Ninth talisman. On another of these columns were the figures in brass of a youth and his mistress in close embrace; and whenever there was any coolness or quarrelling between man and wife, if either of them went and embraced this column, they were sure that very night to have their afflicted hearts restored by the joys of love, through the power of this talisman, which was moved by the spirit of the sage Aristatálís (Aristotle).
Tenth talisman. Two figures of tin had been placed on another of the six columns by the physician Jálínús (Galen). One was a decrepit old man, bent double; and opposite to it was a camel-lip sour-faced hag, not straighter than her companion: and when man and wife led no happy life together, if either of them embraced this column, a separation was sure to take place. Wonderful talismans were destroyed, they say, in the time of that asylum of apostleship (Mohammed), and are now buried in the earth.
Eleventh talisman. On the site of the baths of Sultán Báyazíd Velí there was a quadrangular column, eighty cubits high, erected by an ancient sage named Kirbáriyá, as a talisman against the plague, which could never prevail in Islámból as long as this column was standing. It was afterwards demolished by that sultán, who erected a heart-rejoicing hammám in its place; and on that very day one of his sons died of the plague, in the garden of Dáúd Páshá outside of the Adrianople-gate, and was buried on an elevated platform (soffah) without: since which time the plague has prevailed in the city.
Twelfth talisman. In the Tekfúr Seráï, near the Egrí kapú, there was a large solid bust of black stone, on which a man named Muhaydák placed a brazen figure of a demon (’afrít), which once a year spit out fire and flames; and whoever caught a spark kept it in his kitchen; and, as long as his health was good, that fire was never extinguished.
Thirteenth talisman. On the skirt of the place called Zírek-báshí there is a cavern dedicated to St. John, and every month, when the piercing cold of winter has set in, several black demons (kónjólóz) hide themselves there.
Fourteenth talisman. To the south of Ayá Sófiyah there were four lofty columns of white marble, bearing the statues of the four cherubs (kerrúblir), Gabriel (Jebráyíl), Michael (Míkáyíl), Rafael (Isráfíl), and Azrael (Azráyíl), turned towards the north, south, east, and west. Each of them clapped his wings once a year, and foreboded desolation, war, famine, or pestilence. These statues were upset when the Prophet came into existence, but the four columns still remain a public spectacle, near the subterraneous springs (chukúr cheshmeh) of Ayá Sófiyah.
Fifteenth talisman. The great work in the Atmeïdán (Hippodrome), called Milyón-pár (Millium?), is a lofty column, measuring a hundred and fifty cubits (arshún) of builders measure. It was constructed by order of Kostantín, of various coloured stones, collected from the 300,000 cities of which he was king, and designed to be an eternal monument of his power, and at the same time a talisman. Through the middle of it there ran a thick iron axis, round which the various coloured stones were placed, and they were all kept together by a magnet, as large as the cupola of a bath (hammám), fixed on its summit. It still remains a lasting monument; and its builder, the head architect, Ghúrbárín by name, lies buried at the foot of it.
Sixteenth talisman. This is also an obelisk of red coloured stone, covered with various sculptures, and situate in the At-meïdán. The figures on its sides foretell the different fortunes of the city. It was erected in the time of Yánkó ibn Mádiyán, who is represented on it sitting on his throne, and holding a ring in his hand, implying symbolically, ‘I have conquered the whole world, and hold it in my hands like this ring.’ His face is turned towards the east, and kings stand before him, holding dishes, in the guise of beggars. On another are the figures of three hundred men engaged in erecting the obelisk, with the various machines used for that purpose. Its circumference is such that ten men cannot span it; and its four angles rest on four brazen seats, such that, when one experienced in the builders art has looked at it, he puts his finger on his mouth.
Seventeenth talisman. A sage named Surendeh, who flourished in the days of error, under king Púzentín, set up a brazen image of a triple-headed dragon (azhderhá) in the Atmeïdán, in order to destroy all serpents, lizards, scorpions, and such like poisonous reptiles: and not a poisonous beast was there in the whole of Mákedóniyyah. It has now the form of a twisted serpent, measuring ten cubits above and as many below the ground. It remained thus buried in mud and earth from the building of Sultán Ahmed’s mosque, but uninjured, till Selím II., surnamed the drunken, passing by on horseback, knocked off with his mace the lower jaw of that head of the dragon which looks to the west. Serpents then made their appearance on the western side of the city, and since that time have become common in every part of it. If, moreover, the remaining heads should be destroyed, Islámból will be completely eaten up with vermin. In short, there were anciently, relating to the land at Islámból, three hundred and sixty-six talismans like those now described, which are all that now remain.