As soon as Lady Hester was comfortably established in her suburban villa, which placed her in the same relation to Constantinople that a house at Putney would to London, Mr. B. projected an excursion to Adrianople, in company with Mr. Frederick Douglas. When they had reached that city, Mr. B. wrote the following lively description of it.
Mr. B. to ——.
Adrianople, July 23rd, 1811.
My dear ——,
You will no doubt be surprised to receive a letter from me dated from this place, but I cannot let slip an opportunity of a ship which takes its departure in a few days from Onos without returning you my most sincere thanks for your very noble and generous conduct to my friend Lord Sligo, and for which, I assure you, he feels most grateful.
I left Constantinople about eight days ago, in company with Mr. Douglas, a nephew of Mr. North’s, and whom you have no doubt seen at Malta. We performed the journey in four days and a half, and passed through the towns of Selebrya, Chomlon, and Brurgos, and over a country which bears every appearance of having been desolated by the merciless troops which go and return from the war; very different indeed from the description which is given by Lady Wortley Montague—of fields enamelled with flowers and smiling with plenty. I by no means, however, wish to impeach the veracity of that lady, as a century produces a great change, not only in the manners and customs of a nation, but likewise in the face of a country.
The town of Adrianople is beautifully situated in a rich and cultivated plain, which is watered by three rivers. The Marepa (the ancient Hebrus), which takes its rise in the mountains near Philipopoli; the Toungi, whose source is near the Black Sea; and the Lardi. These three rivers join a little below the town, and lose themselves in the sea at Onos. The city is eight miles in circumference, and its population eighty thousand souls—consisting of forty thousand Turks, twenty thousand Greeks, six thousand Armenians, and the same number of Jews. Since the province of Bulgaria has been ravaged by the Turks, many of the poor inhabitants have taken refuge in this place, which has very much increased the number. Like all other Turkish towns, (Turkey in Europe) the houses are built of wood, and the streets are excessively narrow and very badly paved. From a distance, the irregularity of the houses, with the interspersion of trees, and the mosques, with their lofty minarets, produce a very picturesque and fantastic appearance. Adrianople boasts, however, of many magnificent buildings—the mosque built by Selim the Second is a noble structure, and, in my opinion, far surpasses Sophia, Sultan Achmet, or any of the others which I have [seen] at Constantinople. It is, I am told, one of the truest specimens of Turkish architecture. It consists of two courts, surrounded by porticoes, which are supported by large and massive columns of porphyry and verd-antique. The roof is composed of several cupolas—the interior appeared to be spacious and magnificent, and has one prodigious dome. I am unable, however, to give you a minute description, as I was only allowed to have a hasty glance. The Turks do not wish it to be profaned by the eyes of an infidel. Not very distant from Sultan Selim is another mosque, which was formerly the church of the Trinity, and is now called by the Turks “Utchirif,” which, I believe, is nothing more than a translation of the word “Trinity.” It is a very handsome building, but very inferior to the other. There is likewise another mosque, which is near the Hospital for Idiots. We found there many noble columns of porphyry and verd-antique, and likewise a statue of the European Adrian; at least they say so. It is very much trunculated, as it has lost its head and arm. The dress, however, is certainly Roman, and is the one which was generally worn by the Emperor.
The English consul, who was my guide, and who is a very worthy and hospitable man, told me a very ridiculous, but, in my opinion, not an untrue story relating to this statue, which at once proves the ignorance and superstition of the Turks. The statue is very near the hospital for idiots. The master of the hospital had a great number of chickens, but, unfortunately, one night, the greater number were stolen. The poor Turk thought that Adrian had devoured them; so, in revenge, he cut off his head, and threw [it] into the river Marepa.
Formerly there were many valuable remains of antiquity to be found in this city, but they have been almost all destroyed by the merciless and unrelenting Turks. Many of the columns have been employed in building their houses, but the greater part, I am told, have been buried under the foundation of Sultan Selim. The Turks respect neither the sanctity of religion, nor the genius of man. There are in the town two very fine Besisteens. The largest was built by Ali Pasha, and is of a prodigious length. It consists of three hundred and sixty-five shops, in which every sort of merchandize is exposed for sale. The other, which is called “Arasta,” is smaller, and is more particularly appropriated to the sale of shoes. They are both built of solid masonry, and have a beautiful appearance.
Adrianople, as you well know, is celebrated as being the first capital of the Turks in Europe. Mahomet the fourth and Mustapha the first lived here entirely, which occasioned so much jealousy among the Janissaries of Constantinople that they rebelled and deposed those two monarchs. Achmet the third, not dismayed by the fate of his two predecessors, was very partial to this city, and continued [to] live here a considerable time. It was here that he received Mr. Wortley Montague, the husband of Lady Mary. There is here an Imperial Palace, which is agreeably situated on an island formed by the river Toungi. It is of considerable extent; but, like all other Turkish buildings, very straggling and irregular. The greater part is going rapidly to decay. The audience-chamber and the throne, under which the Sultan sat when he received the ambassadors of foreign nations, are in a tolerable state of preservation. I have now, my dear general, finished a very long and, no doubt, very tedious description of the city of Adrianople, but you may always make it as short as you please by throwing it into the fire.