The mosque of Sultan Achmet is remarkable for the immensity of the four colossal columns that support the dome, to which I have already alluded; and from the fact that the decree against the Janissaries was unrolled and read by the Chief Priest from its marble pulpit. An air of solemn and religious grandeur is shed over it by the dim twilight that enters through the windows of clouded glass; and it possesses a side gallery, roofed with mosaic and supported by marble pillars, which produces a very pleasing effect; but beyond this, there is little to attract in its detail, if, indeed, I except the curious and valuable collection of antique vases, many of them richly inlaid with mother-of-pearl, and various coloured stones, (and all of them, as the Imam assured us, authentic) which are suspended from the transverse bars of iron that support the lamps, intermixed with ostrich eggs, bunches of corn in the ear, and similar symbols of abundance.
The inner court of the mosque is truly beautiful, being surrounded by an open cloister supported by graceful columns in the Arabian taste, whose capitals resemble clusters of stalactites, and whose slender shafts shoot upwards almost with the lightness of a minaret. In the centre of the court, a stately fountain pours forth its sparkling waters; and on the left hand as you enter is situated the marble balcony from which are read all the Imperial Firmans that possess public interest. Near the gate of entrance, stands an immense block of porphyry of singular beauty, resting upon two masses of stone; on which the dead are exposed previous to their interment; no corpse being permitted to defile the interior of the mosque, and the Sultans themselves having the funeral prayers read over them in the open air.
The mosque of Sultan Achmet is the only one in the city that has six minarets. This peculiarity arose from the desire of the Sultan to be the first monarch who should build a mosque in his capital, rivalling that of Mecca in the number of its minarets; but, as this could not be done without permission of the Mufti, compliance with the Imperial request was delayed, until steps had been taken to increase those at Mecca to seven, as it was not deemed expedient for any other mosque to enjoy the same privileges as that which is sanctified by the presence of the Prophet’s Tomb.
These minarets are arranged with the most beautiful taste: two of them are attached to the main body of the building, while the four others pierce through the dense foliage of the stately forest trees which encircle the mosque, with an irregularity singularly graceful. Their transparent galleries of perforated masonry (three in number) girdle the slender shafts with the lightness and delicacy of net-work, and their pointed spires, touched with gold, gleam out like stars through the clear blue of the surrounding horizon.
From the mosque of Sultan Achmet we proceeded to that of Solimaniè, built by Solyman the Magnificent, which is considered to be the most elegant edifice in Stamboul. Its interior is eminently cheerful and attractive; and the splendid windows of stained glass are the spoils of its founder, who, subsequently to a victory obtained over the Persians, bore them away in triumph to enrich the present building, which was then in a state of progression. The four pillars that support the dome are slight and well-proportioned; but the four porphyry columns which form the angles of the temple are the boast of the edifice; they originally served as pedestals to as many antique statues, and are of surpassing symmetry. St. Sophia, amid all the remains which are collected beneath its roof, possesses nothing so fine; and, independently of these, there is a greater attempt at architectural elaboration throughout the whole building, than in either of the mosques that we had previously visited.
The pulpit is very peculiar, being shaped somewhat like the blossom of the aram, which it the more resembles from the fact that the marble whereof it is formed is of the most snowy whiteness; and the great doors of the main entrance are richly inlaid with devices of mother-of-pearl.
Attached to the wall, near the platform of the muezzin, hangs a long scroll of parchment, on which are traced, in black and gold, the ground-plans of the five principal mosques in the world—viz. those of Mecca, Medina, Jerusalem, St. Sophia, and Adrianople. It is evidently of great antiquity, and was precisely the description of relic which an antiquary would have valued; while even to the unscientific it was an object of considerable interest.
There is one peculiarity in the mosque of Solimaniè, which it were an injustice to the Turkish government to pass over in silence; and which is in itself so interesting, that I am surprised no traveller has yet made it matter of record.
An open gallery, extending along the whole of the northern side of the edifice, is filled with chests of various sizes and descriptions, piled one on the other, and carefully marked; these chests contain treasure, principally in gold, silver, and jewels, to a vast amount; and are all the property of individuals, who, in the event of their leaving the country, family misunderstandings, or from other causes, require a place of safety in which to deposit their wealth. Each package being accurately described, and scrupulously secured, is received and registered at Solimaniè by the proper authorities, and there it remains intact and inviolate, despite national convulsions and ministerial changes. No event, however unexpected, or however extraordinary, is suffered to affect the sacredness of the trust; and no consideration of country, or of religion, militates against the admission of such deposits as may be tendered, by persons anxious to secure their property against casualties.
On one side may be seen the fortune of an orphan confided to the keeping of the Directors of the Institution during his minority; on the other, the capital of a merchant who is pursuing his traffic over seas. All classes and all creeds alike avail themselves of the security of the depository; and, although an individual may fail to reclaim his property for twenty, fifty, or even an unlimited number of years, no seal is ever broken, no lock is ever forced. And despite that this great National Bank, for as such it may truly be considered, offers not only an easy, but an efficient and abundant, mean of supply, no instance has ever been known in which government has made an effort to avail itself of the treasures of Solimaniè. As the property is deposited, so is it withdrawn—the proper documents are produced, and the chest or desk is delivered up without the demand of a piastre from those who have acted as its guardians.