Daily evening star. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1852-1854, 1853-11-12
DARKARCHES UNDER ERCoNsTANTINOPLE:
Or, the SuIfan,s K efuue

Or, the SuItan's Refuge.
" hen Russia, as now appears almost
inevitable, marches to the gates of Con.
stantinople, the struggle will be fierce
and protracted. Under the banner Of the
Prophet, the Turks will fight valiantly.
They will oppose the fierccst fanaticism
to the discipline of 4 foe as skilful as rug
ged. And who can doubt the result ?
However, should the enemy approach
Constantinople, that city might be de-
Tended to an indefinite period-that is,
supposlng the fleets of France and Eng
land kept the communications by sea
open and minterrupted-for the walls OF
Constantinople are considered very good.
Those on the land side have a double
range, twenty feet from each other. and
are defended by flat -bottcmed ditch
some twenty-five feet broad. The outer
wall, which is about twelve feet high, is
defended by two hundred and fifty strong
towers. The inner wall is about twenty
feet high, with towers similar to those of
the outer. Military strateeists consider
that if all these points were well fortified,
and the sea approaches kept clear of the
enemy, Constantinople might be defend
ed against any force which the power of
Russia could bring against it. But sup
posing the city was reduced to the last
extremity, it might still be desperately
defended. The population would be de-
stIoyed, but the military could hold out
until famine swept them away. For the
storage ofprovisions, the wonderful vaults
of Constantinople supply ample conve-
nience. One of them affords abundance
of pure fresh water-in fact, it is a sub
terrancan reservoir.
The vast under ground edifices rank
among the most remarkable monuments
OF old Constantinople. They were built
by the Greeks as cisterns, and were al
ways kept full in cases of Seige. Through
the neglect of the Turks, many of them
are much decayed, and some are wholly
blocked up, so that their positions are
unknown. There is one vault, called
' the palace Of the thousand and one pil-
lars, " which the Turks allow strangers
to inspect. The entrance to it is from
the centre of the city, down a narrow
but substantial and well preserved
stone staircase. Instead of being cis-
tern filled with an immense body of
water. it is occupied as a silk factory
1t is about thirty feet deep, and the roof
Is about six feet from the surface of the
street. This vault extends over about
an acre Of ground. But the greatest Gu
riosity is the vault which still exists as
c!stern. This vault the Turks guard
with the greatest jealousy very few,
even of those who live above it, being
aware ofits precise locality. tits sub
tcrranean lake, extending under many
streets, and the former has an arched
roof, supported by three hundred and
thlrty-siX pillars of solid marble. An
English gentleman, who was fortunate to
obtain access to it, has supplied us with
very animated description of its appear
ance. lie says:
Having learned that there was
Greek reservoir in the city, in good pres
ervation, and still partially full of water,
made many inquiries respecting it, but
all IN vain. At length, meeting Il friend
whose long residence in Cons,antinople
had afforded him the means of knowing
more than could do about it, | asked
him if the account Of the existence of the
reservoir was correct.
Expressing an earnest wish to behold
1t, he told me that, with a large bribe, he
thought he could obtain me permission
for ne was acquainted with an old Turk
whose house was said to cover one of the
openings into it. readily agreed to give
the required douccur, and he arranged to
call the next morning, if successful. The
following morning, my friend came with
the news of his success. After passing
through several streets, we reached the
upper part of the city, and entered an old
looking house. We were received by an
aged Turk, with a venerable beard, whose
dress betokenedneither very great wealth,
nor very great cleanliness. After being
invited to take coffee and a pipe, which
we accepted-my friend serving as inter-
prefer to the few words of conversation
thatpassed between us-our host informed
us he was ready to show US the way to
the subterranean palace.
"We proceeded to the court of the
house, and turning sharp to the right,
were ushered into small room, the floor
of which was few steps below the sur
face of the ground. Here the guide pro-
vided two torches, and putting one into
my hands, and carrying the other him.
self, proceeded to raise sort of trap
door, and bidding us follow him, began
to descend. My friend Immediately
stepped down after him, and | brought
up the rear. After descending thirty
steps or more, of a strong stone staircase,
we felt sure. from the cold dampness OF