[123] Oda: Turkish for a compartment.
[124] Mohamed III put nineteen of his brothers to death on his accession; he was the last of the heirs allowed liberty. Henceforward, they were kept in the Kaweh, or cage, in the seraglio, from which they came out to rule or die. Presumably it is the Kaweh which Dallam describes.
[125] The Sultana Valide, mother of Mohamed III, was the celebrated Sultana Safiye, favourite wife of Amurath III. She was of Venetian origin, being captured when young. She ruled Turkey during the lifetime of both her husband and son; hence the expediency of sending her so handsome a present. Mr. Paul Pinder, afterwards Ambassador, amassed great riches in the East, and built a most beautiful house in Bishopsgate Street.
[126] The Feast of Bairam.
[127] Sir Henry Lello was Ambassador to the Porte at that time. For an account of him, and his correspondence with Lord Salisbury, [vide Introduction].
[128] Mr. Paul Pinder was subsequently appointed Ambassador at Constantinople.
[129] Afterwards Sir Thomas Glover, Ambassador to the Porte.
[130] Grosgrain, from French grosgrain, i.e., thick, coarse.
[131] Spanish tantarara, the redoubled beating of a drum.
[132] Gatekeeper.