Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 6.djvu/334

Rh 304 CONSTANTINOPLE outer defence of tlie fosse is reckoned they are quadruple ; the two inner lines are furnished with a series of towers, the smaller below, the larger above round, octagonal, or square at about 150 feet apart. As the gaunt array of castles droops into the valley, or seems to climb the hill beyond, one may decipher some of its now obscure inscrip tions on marble or in tile work (one seems to be a prayer to Christ), and wonder at the contrivanco which appears to defy a natural law. The great ditch, now a productive vegetable garden, is divided into a number of compartments or open cisterns, which used to be filled with water brought by pipes, carried along each partition-wall, and furnishing the supply from cisterns from within and without the city. Equally remarkable with these fortifications is the system of largs cisterns, which are said to have furnished water to 1,000,000 men during four months ; they were a necessity to a city subject to perpetual assault. One seems to have been annexed to every considerable monastery and palace imperial and patrician. They may be reckoned the more ancient portion of the city, which is thus subterraneous; for while the buildings above ground are scarcely any of them, in the condition now visible, older than the time of Justinian, the cisterns that can be distinguished date from the times of Arcadius, Theodosius, and Constantine. mperial The position assigned to the old imperial palace is, alaces. generally speaking, that of the mosque of Ahmed, which adjoins the Hippodrome. It was not one large edifice, but a scattered group of buildings within gardens, spreading to the Hippodrome on the one side, and on the other to the sea-shore ; the northernmost point of its inclosure reached the site occupied now by the fountain of Ahmed III., then by the Geranion. This palace was gradually abandoned after the 12th century for that of Blachernse within the Horn. It was separated from the church of St Sophia by the Augusteum the square in which stood the statue of Justinian looking towards Persia, the Milliarium, and among other monuments the column that bore the silver statue of the Empress Eudoxia, which occasioned the remonstrances of St Chrysostom. Ma- three great breaches the first between Tekfur-Serai and Edreneh Kapusi ; the second near the fifth military gate that of Charisius, in the valley of the Lycus ; and the third between Selymbria gate and Mevlaneh gate. j The walls on the western or land side of the city are connected with the continuous line which defended it on the two sides that face the water, and which, with a few breaks, is still standing. That part which runs parallel with the Golden Horn is varied in Balata by the insertion of an arch, still preserving a Victory, and by a pier now lying far back on the strand ; built first by Zeno, it displays on its successive towers the names of Michael and Theophilus. The other part which turns the point shows the same names, but differs widely here and there in construction from the portions across the land and by the Horn, being formed so as to receive the beating of the waves indirectly, and strengthened with shafts of marble so as to resist most effectually the corrosive action of sea-water. This contrivance is especially to be noticed between Vlanga and Ahor-Kapusi, and shows the foresight of the builders ; the great tower which locks the sea-wall with the land-walls is one mass of marble, on the other hand the land-walls are constructed for the most part of marble or stone and brick alternately, to resist more easily, as it has been supposed, shocks of earthquake. In tracing the course of the sea-wall from the Acro polis to the Seven Towers, the sites of all and the ruins of some of the following places have been noted in order : the Orphanotrophfeum ; the churches of St Demetrius, St Barbara, and the Hodegetria ; the Porta Carea (corrupted into Karacapu) beyond the palace and harbour of Boucoleon ; the imperial palace ; the Porphyry Chamber (the origin of the epithet &quot; born in the purple &quot; ) ; the palace of Hormisdas ; the churches of Sts Sergius and Bacchus ; the Portus Julianus and Sophianus, now Caterga Liman, with the Sophiana Palace ; the Con- toscalium, Koum-Capu; the harbour of Theodosius outer and inner now a garden called Vlanga Boslan, its mouth flanked by two noble towers joined by a wall before the last siege ; the harbour of ^Enii- lianus ; St John of the Studium ; and at last the citadel called Hepta- pyrgion, the Seven Towers. The entire circuit of the walls is about 13 miles. hornet II., built his new palace (the seraglio) on the site of the Acropolis, about which ancient Byzantium had clus tered, a situation specially favourable to his purpose, as it afforded the combined advantages of a lovely prospect, a perfect retreat from the noise of the city, and a facility for observing all the movements in the harbour. In erect ing it he followed the three divisions of the palace of the Byzantine emperors (1) the Chalce, the defensive part held by the guards ; (2) the Daphne, which touched the Hippodrome and was used for receptions ; and (3) the private chambers occupied by the imperial house hold. The three corresponding portions of the Ottoman palace are distinguished by their several gates : (1) Babi Houmaioum, the Imperial Gate, opening into the court of the Janissaries ; (2) Orta-Kapusi, Middle Gate, in which the sultan receives on high festivals ; and (3) Babi Saadet, Gate of Felicity, where he formerly received ambassadors. Of late years the sovereign has resided in winter at Dolma-bakcheh or Tcheragan ; in .summer at Begler-beg on the Asiatic shore, or at some inland kiosk. The main streets of the Stamboul of the present day Out! follow the lines of the city of Constantine ; thus the mod tramway, which turns from the New Bridge towards Serai cit * r - Bournou, upon reaching the platform of St Sophia, enters upon the direction of the Mto-r) (Me se, middle street), now called Divan Yoli. The Mese parted into two branches, of which the one went to the gate Eoussiou ,or new gate, the other to the Polyandrion. On the north of the middle street one branch passed along the shore of the Golden Horn from the place where the railway station is, and issued at the gate Xylocircus near Balata. On the south, another street passed through the two Golden Gates. These three main lines were distinguished from the smaller tortuous streets by their adornment as well as by their breadth. They were bordered by rows or covered ways and arcades called e/^oAot, some of them double, with pavements above, decorated with statues, &e. A few traces of the emboli still remain in situ, just as there are fragments of the ancient bazaars, khans, and baths. Imperial gates closed the lines of these principal thoroughfares. The following is an outline of the modern city, divided according to the seven hills and the intervening valleys. On the 1st hill, the most easterly, are situated the remains of the Seraglio, former palace of the Ottoman sultans; the great church-mosque St Sophia ; St Irene ; the imperial mint ; the Atmeidan (Hippodrome), with three of its numerous monuments remaining; the mosque of Ahmed, &c. Along the 1st valley are traced the walls of tho Seraglio on the west, made up of ancient materials, and the Babi AH or Sublime Porte. The tramway runs along this valley. On the 2d hill stands the Burnt Column, that of Constantine the Great (which stood in the centre of his forum, and under which are said to be the instruments of the Crucifixion and a Palladium of Troy), and the Mosque of Osman. The 2d valley is occupied by the bazaars, several khans, and the mosque of Valideh Sultan, or Yeni Jami, overlooking the bridge and the head of the tram way. On the 3d hill are the Seraskierat (War Office) on the site of the cemetery of the Byzantines and the forum of Theodosius ; the fire-tower, and the mosque of Suliman. Along the 3d valley is carried the Aqueduct of Valens, built out of the walls of Chalcedon destroyed for tho citizens rebellion ; near it is At-Bazar (horse-market). On the 4th hill rises the mosque of Mahomet II., where stood the church of the Holy Apostles and the church of the Pcntocrator. South of this mosque, in a garden, is seen Kiz-tash, the Maiden s Column, or column of Marcian, once that of Venus. On the 5th hill follows the mosque of Selim, on the edge of a large open cistern, south of which is the covered cistern of Arcadius. Below