The twenty-second, the Ta’lím-khánehjí Báshí (adjutant-general, commander of the 54th regiment of janissaries), and of the kórújís (invalids), whose barracks are within the boundaries of Ok-meïdán, take their rounds there, and if they meet with any suspicious vagabonds, carry them to their commander, the Atíjí Báshí (Chief of the Archers), who, punishing them according to their deserts, orders them to be suspended from a tree by the string of the bowmen, and assailed by a shower of arrows.
It was ordained by the regulations of Sultán Mohammed the Conqueror, and that ordinance has been renewed by a khatisheríf (imperial rescript) from all his successors, that any offender whom these officers shall apprehend, if he be a soldier, shall receive no mercy, but be hung upon a tree forthwith. In fine, in the districts on both sides of the Strait of the Black Sea, there are thirty-three magistrates, and thirty-five local judges, deputies of the Móllá, in the city. But the town of Bey-kós has a separate jurisdiction, the judge of which is appointed by the Munejjim Báshí (astronomer royal). Besides the judges and magistrates already enumerated, there are also 166 District Judges, subordinate to the four Móllás of Islámból, 360 Subáshís, eighty-seven guards of janissaries, with their commanding officers (serdárs), and forty Subáshís of the free vakfs (charitable foundations). In short, the whole number of Kázís and Súbáshís within the precincts of Islámból, established by the code (kánún) of Mohammed the Conqueror, amounts to twelve hundred. There are also within the same jurisdiction the governors and magistrates of 150 corporations of tradesmen; but these governors have no legal authority to imprison and punish; they can only determine questions respecting the statutes of the corporations over which they preside.
SECTION XV.
On the Imperial Mosques in the Mohammedan City of Kostantaniyyeh.
The first, and most ancient of these places of worship dedicated to the almighty and everlasting God, is that of Ayá Sófiyah, built, as mentioned in the seventh Section, in the year 5052 after the fall of Adam. It was finished by Aghnádús (Ignatius?), a perfect architect, well skilled in geometry, under the direction of the Prophet Khizr; and forty thousand workmen, seven thousand porters, and three thousand builders, were employed in raising its domes and arches on three thousand pillars. Every part of the world was ransacked to find the richest marbles, and the hardest stones for its walls and columns. Stones of various hues, fit for the throne of Belkís, were brought from Ayá Solúgh (Ephesus) and Aïdinjik; marbles of divers colours were removed from Karamán, Shám (Syria), and the island of Kubrus (Cyprus). Some thousands of incomparable columns, wasp and olive-coloured, were imported from the splendid monuments of the skill of Solomon, standing in the neighbourhood of Átineh (Athens). After working at the building for forty years, Khizr and Aghnádús disappeared one night when they had finished half the dome. Seven years afterwards they appeared again and completed it. On its summit they placed a cross of gold an hundred Alexandrian quintals in weight, visible at Brúsah, Keshísh-dágh (Mount Olympus), ’Alem-dághí, and Istránjeh dághí. On the birth-night of the Prophet there was a dreadful earthquake, by which this and many other wonderful domes were thrown down; but it was afterwards restored by the aid of Khizr, and by the advice of the Prophet, to whom the three hundred patriarchs and monks, presiding over the church, were sent by him. As a memorial of the restoration of the dome by the aid of the Prophet and Khizr, Mohammed the Conqueror suspended in the middle of it, by a golden chain, a Golden Globe, which can hold fifty kílahs of grain, Roman measure; it is within reach of a man’s hand, and beneath it Khizr performed his service to God. Among the pious, many persons have chosen the same place for offering up their orisons; and several who have persevered in saying the morning prayer there for forty days, have obtained the blessings, temporal and spiritual, for which they prayed: it is, therefore, much frequented by the pious and necessitous for that purpose.
On the Dimensions, Builders, &c. of that ancient place of worship, Ayá Sófiyah.
This mosque is situated on elevated ground at the eastern end of the city, a thousand paces (ádim) distant from the Stable-gate (ákhór kapú) near the sea, and a thousand from Seraglio Point. The great cupola which rears its head into the skies is joined by a half-cupola, beneath which is the mihráb (sacred recess), and to the right of it a marble pulpit (minber). There are altogether on the whole building no less then 360 gilt cupolas, the largest of which is the great one in the middle; they are ornamented with broad, circular, and crystal glasses, the number of which in the whole mosque amounts to 1,070. The abovementioned cupolas (kubbehs) are adorned within by wonderful paintings, representing cherubims and men, the work of Monástir, a painter, skilful as Arzheng. These figures seem even now, to a silent and reflecting observer, to be possessed of life and thought. Besides them, there are, at the four angles supporting the great cupola, four angels, no doubt the four archangels, Jebráyíl (Gabriel), Míkáyíl (Michael), Isráfíl, and ’Azráyíl, standing with their wings extended, each 56 cubits high. Before the birth of the Prophet, these four angels used to speak, and give notice of all dangers which threatened the empire and the city of Islámból; but since his Highness appeared, all talismans have ceased to act. This cupola is supported by four arches (ták) that excel the arch of the palace of Kesra (Chosroes) (Táki Kesra), the arch of Khavernak; that of Kaïdafà; that of Káf, and that of Sheddád. The large columns, of the richest colours and most precious marble, are forty Mecca-cubits high; those of the second story are not less beautiful, but are only thirty cubits high. There are two galleries running round three sides of this mosque, and forming upper mosques for the worshippers; there is an ascent to them on both sides, which may be ascended on horseback; it is a royal road paved with white marble. The mosque has altogether 361 doors, of which 101 are large gates, through which large crowds can enter. They are all so bewitched by talismans, that if you count them ever so many times, there always appears to be one more than there was before. They are each twenty cubits high, and are adorned with goldsmith’s work and enamel. The middle gate towards the Kiblah, which is the highest of all, is fifty cubits high. It is made of planks from the ark which Noah constructed with his own hand. Over this central southern gate there is a long coffin of yellow brass, which contains the body of Aï Sóf, who caused Ayá Sófiyáh to be built; and though many emperors have tried at different times to open this coffin, an earthquake and a horrible crash immediately heard within the mosque, have always prevented them from compassing their designs.
Above it, in a niche, supported on small columns, stands a picture of Jerusalem (the ancient Kibleh), in marble; within it there are jewels of inestimable value, but it is also talismanic, and cannot be touched by any body. In this place there stood likewise upon a green column an image of Mother Meryem (the Virgin Mary), holding in her hand a carbuncle as big as a pigeons egg, by the blaze of which the mosque was lighted every night. This carbuncle was also removed in the birthnight of the Prophet, to Kizil Almà (Rome), which received its name (Red Apple) from thence. The Spanish infidels were once or twice masters of Islámból, and thence that egg (the carbuncle) came into their hands. The walls of this mosque, as well as the extremities of the columns, are carved like various flowers, with the most exquisite workmanship. The Mihráb and Minber are of white marble highly ornamented.