As soon as we turn the north-east point, which marks the beginning of the Golden Horn, we exchange the inhospitable aspect of a fortified coast for a busy scene of maritime life. The wall recedes gradually to some distance from the waterline and forms an inconspicuous background to the impressive spectacle, which indicates the port of entry of a vast city. In the course of over a mile the shore has been fashioned into wharves from which three sets of stairs of ample width descend to the water’s edge to facilitate the unloading of vessels. The first stair, named from its constructor, is that of Timasius;[143] next comes that of Chalcedon;[144] and lastly the stairs of Sycae,[145] a region of the city on the opposite side of the gulf. Alternating with the stairs are placed the entrances of two excavated harbours: the Prosphorian Port[146] for the landing of all kinds of imported provisions, and the Neorian Port, used chiefly as a naval station and for ship-building. The quays of the latter port, which are distinguished by the brazen statue of an ox, are also habitually frequented by the merchants of Constantinople, who make it their principal Exchange.[147] Similarly the vacant spaces about the Prosphorian Port are set apart for a cattle market.[148]
The first issue from the city on this side is called the Gate of Eugenius,[149] and is situated in the retreating portion of the wall. More remarkable is the Tower of Eugenius, called also the Centenarian Tower,[150] a massive pile closer to the bank, which corresponds to a similar erection across the water. These structures are the work of Constantine, who raised them to serve as the points of attachment of a ponderous iron chain, which should close the Golden Horn against the attack of a hostile fleet. So far, however, no enemy has been encountered so adventurous as to necessitate the practical application of this means of defence.[151]
Beyond the stairs of Sycae the locality is called the Zeugma.[152] This tract is reserved for the storage of wood, which, coal being unknown, is the only fuel available for cooking, heating of baths, and all other purposes. Immense quantities have, therefore, to be brought down by sea from the wild countries bordering on the Euxine[153] and deposited here for the use of the Constantinopolitans. At this point we have reached the limits of the wall of Byzantium and henceforth to the end of the land-wall at Blachernae this side of the city lies open to the water. Deeming it improbable that the town should ever be assaulted from this sequestered inlet, Constantine and his successors have omitted to fortify this bank. Originally this shore was indented by a number of small creeks,[154] but the teeming population, overflowing into every available space, has now so crowded the strand with houses that the outer rank, founded on piles, extends beyond the water’s edge.[155] In the further part of this district the stream becomes narrower, and from a projecting point a wooden bridge has been thrown across to the opposite shore.[156] In its vicinity a brazen dragon commemorates or suggests a legend of virgins ravished and devoured until the destruction of the monster by St. Hypatius.[157] A slight expansion of the Golden Horn at Blachernae is called the Silver Bay.[158]
Having inspected the outside of Constantinople, it now remains for us to enter the city and pass in review its principal streets, buildings, and open spaces, whence we shall be led to make some acquaintance with the manners and customs of its inhabitants. From the Gate of Eugenius we can proceed directly to the most aristocratic quarter, where a majority of the public buildings are clustered round the Imperial Palace. Inside we shall find that thoroughfares of three kinds intersect the city for the purposes of general traffic: (1) main or business streets; (2) squares or market-places; and (3) lanes or side-streets for private residents.
(1) A main street consists of an open paved road, not more than fifteen feet wide, bounded on each side by a colonnade or portico. More than fifty of such porticoes are in existence at this date, so that a pedestrian can traverse almost the whole city under shelter from sun or rain.[159] Many of them have an upper floor, approached by wooden or stone steps, which is used as an ambulacrum or promenade. They are plentifully adorned with statuary of all kinds, especially above,[160] and amongst these presentments of the reigning emperor are not infrequent. The latter may be seen in busts of brass and marble, in brazen masks, and even in painted tablets.[161] Such images are consecrated and are sometimes surreptitiously adored by the populace with religious rites.[162] They are also endowed with the legal attribute of sanctuary, and slaves not uncommonly fly to them for refuge as a protest against ill-treatment by their masters.[163] Portraits of popular actors, actresses, and charioteers may also be observed, but they are liable to be torn down if posted close to the Imperial images or in any position too reputable for their pretensions.[164] On the inside the porticoes are lined for the most part by shops and workshops.[165] Opening on to them in certain positions are public halls or auditoriums, architecturally decorative and furnished with seats, where meetings can be held and professors can lecture to classes on various topics.[166] Between the pillars of the colonnades next the thoroughfare we find stalls and tables for the sale of all kinds of wares. In the finer parts of the city such stalls or booths must by law be ornamentally constructed and encrusted outside with marbles so as not to mar the beauty of the piazza.[167] At the tables especially are seated the money-changers or bankers, who lend money at usury, receive it at interest, and act generally as the pawnbrokers of the capital.[168] Such pleasant arcades have naturally become the habitual resort of courtezans,[169] and they are recognized as the legitimate place of shelter for the houseless poor.[170]
(2) The open spaces, to which the Latin name of forum is applied more often than the Greek word agora, are expansions of the main streets, and, like them, are surrounded on all sides by porticoes. They are not, however, very numerous and about a dozen will comprise all that have been constructed within the capital. They originate in the necessity of preserving portions of the ground unoccupied for use as market-places, but the vacant area is always more or less decorative and contains one or more monuments of ornament or utility. Each one is named distinctively either from the nature of the traffic carried on therein or in honour of its founder, and most of them will deserve special attention during our itinerary of the city.
(3) The greater part of the ground area of Constantinople is, of course, occupied by residential streets, and these are usually, according to modern ideas, of quite preposterous narrowness.[171] Few of them are more than ten feet wide, and this scanty space is still more contracted above by projecting floors and balconies. In many places also the public way is encroached upon by solaria or sun-stages, that is to say by balconies supported on pillars of wood or marble, and often furnished with a flight of stairs leading to the pavement below. In such alleys low windows, affording a view of the street, or facile to lean out of,[172] are considered unseemly by the inmates of opposite houses. Hence mere light-giving apertures, placed six feet above the flooring, are the regular means of illumination. Transparent glass is sometimes used for the closure of windows, but more often we find thin plates of marble or alabaster with ornamental designs figured on the translucent substance.[173] Simple wooden shutters, however, are seen commonly enough in houses of the poorer class.[174]
Impatient to see the immense vacant area which he added to Byzantium covered with houses Constantine exercised little or no supervision over private builders; necessary thoroughfares became more or less blocked, walls of public edifices were appropriated as buttresses for hastily erected tenements, and the task of evolving order out of the resulting chaos was imposed on succeeding rulers.[175] On Constantinople becoming the seat of empire, as a resident of the period remarks, “such a multitude of people flocked hither from all parts, allured by military or mercantile pursuits, that the citizens out of doors and even at home are endangered by the unprecedented crush of men and animals.”[176] In 447 Zeno, taking advantage of an extensive fire, promulgated a very stringent building act, contravention of which renders the offending structure liable to demolition, and inflicts a fine of ten pounds of gold on the owner. The architect also becomes liable in a similar amount, and is even subjected to banishment if unable to pay.[177] By this act, which remains permanently in force throughout the Empire, the not very ample width of twelve feet is fixed for private streets, solaria and balconies must be at least ten feet distant from similar projections on the opposite side, and not less than fifteen feet above the pavement; whilst stairs connecting them directly with the thoroughfare are entirely abolished. Prospective windows also are forbidden in streets narrower than the statutory allowance of twelve feet. These enactments, however, too restricted in their practical application, have done but little to relieve the congested thoroughfares. Thus, long afterwards, another resident complains that every spot of ground is occupied by contiguous dwellings to such an extent that “scarcely can an open space be discovered, which affords a clear view of the sky without raising the eyes aloft.”[178]
These by-streets, of which there are more than four hundred[179] in the capital, consist chiefly of houses suitable for single families of the middle or lower classes. There are also, however, a large number of dwellings for collective habitation, which cover a greater area and rise by successive stories to an unusual height; but by law they are not allowed to exceed an altitude of one hundred feet.[180] When one side of such buildings is situated next a portico the adjacent part of the ground floor is usually fitted up as a range of shops.[181]
Besides the ordinary domiciles, which constitute the bulk of the city, there are the mansions or palaces of the wealthy, situated in various choice and open positions throughout the town. Such residences are generally two-storied, and have ornamental façades on which sculptured pillars both above and below are conspicuous. The windows, arched or rectangular, are divided by a central pilaster, and the roof, usually slanting, is covered with wood or thin slabs of stone. Within, a lofty hall is supported on tall columns surmounted by gilded capitals, and the walls are inlaid with polished marbles of various colours and textures. Throughout the house the principal apartments are similarly decorated, and even bedrooms are not destitute of the columnar adornments so dear to luxurious Byzantines. Ceilings are almost invariably fretted and liberally gilt. In houses of this class a central court, contained by a colonnade, giving air and light to the whole building, is considered a necessity. Much wealth is often expended in order to give this space the appearance of a landscape in miniature. Trees wave, fountains play, and artificial streams roll over counterfeited cliffs into pools stocked with tame fish.[182]