New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1852-11-05
RAyARp rAYLoR's LETTERS.
Liz.
,ur uosouEs OF COSsrANTiNoPLb-N
InE -'C 49,. =. .rrlr srr-pEIsH EMPIRE.

CoSsrASrrxoPIr, Tuesday Aug D. i''<-
The length of my stay in Constan''Hop'1 Ha'
,.lsd me TO visit many interesting spots ia us '''iN
To "a well as TO famlisrize nyseh "''h 'Ho '0o-.-
e,r,es of the zrea capital have seen INC psa~.u'
p,ho-r. from steamers and ceiques ''dlen up 'he
v.rev of Buyukderc and through the cnestnut "o'uso
,..,hed In the Black Sea, under the lee OF
,h sxmpleeades where the marble altar 70 APoo S'Ii
,n,,,s ap obaiion from passing mariners walked over
- so,,eyv meadows be-id the Heavenly Waters OF
A,,a rsIloped around the ivy grown walls where Dan
aolo and Mahomet II. conquered end the last OF the
pse,ologi fell and dreamed away many an afternoon
hour under the funeral Expresses Of Pers and beslde
the Dephian tripod in the Hippodr0me. TIE historic
iuterest Of these spots ia familiar 70 you all nor Win
one exception have their natural beauties been ezA5
eereted By travellers This exception Il the village oi
Belgrade, ovcrwhich Mary Montague went intorapures
and set the fashion for tourists ever since must con
less TO having been wOfully disappointed Inc village
is miserable cluster Of ricke'y houscs' on an open
niece of barren land surrounded By TIC forests, or
rather thckcts which keep alive the springs that supply
Constnn:inople with water. We reached there win
sppctites sharpened by our mornings ride expecting
20 end az sst yender OF kiJaJs Dts Of fried meat ia
90 renowned a place but the only things to be had
were raw salt mackercl and bread which belonged 70
the primitive geological iorrnltcn.
The general features Of Consantinoplc and the Bos-
phorus are 20 well known that nm spared the danger
Gus task Of painting scene= which have been colore1
by ADLER pencils. Won Hammer, Lamsrtine, Willis,
Mic Pardoe. Albert Smith, and thou most inimtable
Thaekeroyi have madc Pera and Scutari the Bazaars
and Baths the Seragio and the Golden JTn as familiar
10 our ear. AZ Cornhil and Whilst Besi5cs Constant
nozzle Is not the true Orient which is 10 be found rather
n Cairo in Damsscus and brshtest aud most vital IN
Aleppo. Here, tread European soil the FRANKS
are isft crowdg the followers Of the Prophet, an
stAmbcu Itself were to mosques and Scraslo re'njved-
would differ little in outward appearance from third
rnte Italian town. The Sultan lives in palace with
GIecian portico; the pointed Saraccnic arch, the
nrabe.uue sculpture the attccd balconies, give place
TO clumsy limitations Of Pailsd.o aud every fire that
sweeps awey recollection OF the pauy times Of 9th
man rule, swoeps II away forever.
Butthe Mosque--ihat blossom Of Oriental ar chicct-
ure with Is crowning domes like the inverted bells Of
the lotus and lie reed like mnarcs, iis fountains and
marble ccurts-cnn only perish with the faith II type
ice l. for one, rejoice that 20 long a. hahorncansm
exists (and yet may it, time be ,hort Christian
model can shape its houses Of wOrship The mnaret
must It'll hn is airy tower for the noez1n the dome
must iii Ike gldcd heaven above the prayers Of the
Faithful with ts gtarry lamps and cmblazoned phrases
the fountain continue pour it, waters OF puri
cntou A reformation OF the Moscm faith IL impos.
,ible When il begins TO give way the whole fabric
NUT fall Its ceremonies, wei lis creed ret
entirely IN the recognition Of Mahonct the Prophet
Of God. However tho Turks may change in other
respoc,s n all that concerns their religion they must
continue the same.
Until vi hin a few years, n visit TO the mosques, es-
peciny the more sacred ones Of ST. Sophia and Sultan
A,Lmed, was attended with much difficulty Mas
PsIdoc according TO her own account, riskcd her
life In order 10 the interior OF ST. Sophia which she
effected Ia the disguise OF Turkish Eacnli. ! ac
eomIlished the same thing few days since but with
cut recoursc 10 any such romantic expcdicnt- M
Brown the Interpreter Of the Legation procured a
Grm.n from the Grand ylier behalf Of the officers
Of the Fan Jacinto and kindly invited me- with several
o,hor knc,ieen aud Engn.h 'r~Se,"rs, =" t'A'' the
marty Daring the month OF Ramalan, 40 hr1lans are
given and a. at this time there arc few travellers IN
Conftunnopc We should Otherwise have been sub
jerted to heavy cxpcnsc. The cost OF hrmal' IN
GLIDING backshish the priest. and doorhecpers IS
200 piasrcs about s3J)
We crossed the Golden Horn in csiluos and hrst VII
tied the gaidCns and palaces on scrlsho Point The
Sultan present resides Ia his summer palace Of Be
shhtaGhc tic Bo phorus ind only occupies the Seal
Bornou as it Is called during The win"' '-''''s. Tue
S,rnrlS oeeu,.i~- extremity OF the promontory on
.sfrh Cons0ntin, pie IL built end i nearly three miles
la circuit The scattered buildings erected by different
Sultans form in them oye. a small city, whose domcs
aud pointed turrcts rle from amid groves Of cypress
and pine Tie soawal is lined with k )ks from whore
cushioned windows there are the lOvelcs i,ws OF the
European and Ariun shore. The portion of the
palace where the Sultan receives the anhs-ssd rs
Of foreign nations, shows the influence of European
taste in It's plan and decorations. II 10 by mean,
mak0Le for q lcndcr, and iuaers by contrast with
many O; the private houses in Damascus and Aeppo.
The building Is Of wood the walls oruancncd with de-
tettablc rcscocs by mcdon Creek artists and except
small but loudd collection of arms md some Won
deriu specimens Of Arabic chirography thae Is nothing
10 interest the visitor
In ascending to the ancient Scraglio which was
founded ty Mahomcs H. the site OF the palace oihc
palaologi we passed the Column If Tneodosus,
plain Corin,han .hsft, about fifty feet high The Sc
raelo is now occupied entirely 10y the servants aud
guards, and the greater part of il shows neglect
amounting almost Ia diiapidetion The sara1eaic
corridors surrounding It's cour,s supported by pill
lars OF marble granite and porphyry, the spois OF the
Chrhtian cep,al We were allowed to walk about al
leisure and inspect the different compartments, except
the library, which unfortunately was locked This
library wac Cor Il long time supposed to contain aay
Iost treasures of ancient hJornturc-among other
things the mis- ng books o. Livy-but the recent
searches OF Logothctos the Prince OF Samos, prove
that there Is hc of value among lis cripts. Be
fore the door hangs wooden globe, waich l. supposed
60 IL ,fhcaciou- in rah1ng the influence OF The
E,r Eye. There many ancient slIars aud drag
mets of pilars scattered about the courts, and the
Tuiks have even commenced making collection OF
antiquities, which, with the exception OF two imnease
sarcophsg OF rcd poThyry, contains nothing Of value
They show however, one Of the bragcn heads OF the
Dell hian tripod in the Hirpoirome which they Fay
Mshomot the Congeercr struck OF with single blow
of bic sword ON entering Conssantnople
The moot Interesting poraon OF the Seragho is the
ancient ,hTone ROOM now no longer used bat s,.ll
guarded by company OF white cunuchs. The ,aroae
Is an Immense, heavy bcds;ead the posts NJ which are
thickly crus,cd with rubics, urQuoes emeralds ana