This beautiful but small imperial mosque of the reigning sultan, is situated not on a conspicuous eminence like those of his predecessors, but in the low alluvial ground on the shores of the Bosphorus, and on the water’s edge; but the beauty and finish of the edifice compensate for the defects of its site. All the skill of Oriental ornament is expended upon it. Rich lattice-work and taper spires of minarets highly gilded, glitter in the sun with a brilliancy and recency, as if they had been left just finished by the hands of the artisans; while painting and sculpture, in rich arabesque, give a peculiar elegance to the edifice. It is entered by a lofty approach of marble steps, and it is distinguished by a separate and detached spire, not a minaret, but intended for a use which modern improvement and approximation to European arts have lately introduced. The Turks abhorred the sound of a bell in any form, and inhibit its use even to the Franks in assembling their congregations for divine service. They could not be induced to erect a public clock in the capital,[12] and it was supposed, some years ago, that there were but two in the Turkish empire of Europe−one in the town of Shumla, erected by a minister who brought it from Russia, where he had been on a mission, had learned its use, and conferred it as a benefit on his native town; the other was bestowed on Athens, while under the dominion of the Turks, by Lord Elgin, as a compensation for his abduction of the marbles of the Parthenon. The present sultan, however, among his improvements, has erected a steeple in his temple for a clock, that the muezzim may be directed with more certainty in calling the faithful to prayer; and it is probable that, in a few years, the more effectual sound of the prohibited bell will be substituted for the human voice.
| T. Allom. | G. Presbury. |
CARAVANSARY AT GUZEL-HISSAR, ON THE MEANDER.
ASIA MINOR.
There are two modes of travelling through Asiatic Turkey. When the traveller takes with him a firman from the sultan, and a Tartar janissary as a guard, and brings an introduction to the pasha or muzzelim of a town or village−on his arrival, and the presentation of his credentials, he has a conak assigned him; that is, some house is conferred upon him and his company, and a chaoush is sent to establish him in it. The house is generally the residence of some Greek, Armenian, or Jew. The chaoush enters without ceremony, turns out the family, and puts the stranger in possession of all it contains, as long as he chooses to remain. By special favour of some more considerate traveller, he asks the family to stay as lodgers in their own house, having assigned to the strangers the best apartments in it. Should the traveller not meet with the comfort and consideration of a conak, he is compelled to betake himself to a khan, or a caravansary. The first of these is an immense edifice, with a lofty roof and bare walls, resembling a rude imitation of Westminster Hall, in which the horses literally appear like mice, contrasted with the immensity of their stable. Round the bottom runs a low parapet, leaving a small space between it and the wall, which serves as a manger. Behind, it is filled with chopped straw, the usual food for horses. When a traveller arrives, he rides in without question or inquiry, turns his horse to his provender, spreads his carpet beside him for himself, sups on whatever he brings with him, sleeps where he eats, on the floor, and departs the next morning without payment. In cities, the khan has somewhat more accommodation, and in the country there is sometimes a small apartment stuck on the side of the lofty wall like a pigeon-house, and ascended by a ladder, like a hay-loft. Here the traveller finds a ragged mat on a rough dirty floor, and, perhaps, there is a coffee-room in the street, whence he can procure some refreshments; but these are rare luxuries. These naked edifices were first erected by Murad Khan, vizir to Soliman the Magnificent, and afterwards by the munificence and charity of sultans, for the gratuitous accommodation of all travellers.
The caravansary is an improved khan.[13] Commerce with the interior of Asia is carried on principally by the Armenians, who travel in caravans. Companies of merchants combine and travel together; and when the number is considerable, a chief is appointed, who commands and regulates the march. They are often attended by hired soldiers, and every man is himself armed with some weapon. When a pasha, or other great man, is known to be about to make a movement, the caravan awaits his departure, and proceed under his protection, like a fleet of merchantmen under the convoy of a man-of-war. The caravan in this way sometimes amounts to several thousand persons. Along the usual route, large edifices are erected, having more accommodation than common khans. They consist of quadrangles surrounded by chambers, where the merchants are lodged, and their wares stowed, rising sometimes to the height of two or three stories, ascended by stairs, and connected by galleries and corridors. The area has frequently a fountain of pure water playing in the centre, is planted with shrubs and trees, and the fronts are trellaced with vines climbing over the roofs, affording agreeable shade, or pendent with rich clusters of fruit. Some of them are very picturesque and pleasing objects, and afford a most grateful repose to the tired and heated traveller. As the indispensable duties of charity, formerly prescribed to Moslems, and strictly followed, are daily becoming of looser obligation; the fountains, khans, and other erections of piety and charity, are rapidly falling to decay and ruin, and no new ones are erected to supply their places.
The town of Guzel-Hissar, the caravansary of which is given in the illustration, is supposed to be the ancient Tralles, stigmatized by Juvenal for sending its effeminate inhabitants to corrupt the Romans. It is situated in Asia Minor, on the north side of the Meander, about thirty miles from Ephesus. It is approached by an excellent road, with rich gardens on either side, planted with vines, olives, and other Oriental trees. On ascending the hill on which the Acropolis of the ancient city stood, the eye commands a magnificent view of the rich plain beneath, with the Meander twining its tortuous current in such a way, as conveys in a striking manner the character of the stream, and why it gave its name to all winding rivulets. The modern town contains a large population of about fifty thousand inhabitants. The Jews have ten synagogues, and the Greek and Armenian Christians two churches.