Plymouth advertiser. [volume] (Plymouth, Ohio) 1853-1988, 1854-02-25
The Dark Arches of Constantinople.

The Dark Arches of Const ntinople.
When Rus>ir, us now a. prar, almos,
iuevIIable, marches to the gates Of Cnn-
s.antinuple, The struggle WI. bt fierce
aud pr, lraclJd. Under The banrrr of The
l. Prophet, he Turks viii hgh; volinnrly
They vii oppose the f,fcesI fanauclsm
the discipline rf fle as >ki.iul a, h.
: is rugged. And who can doubt the re.
suit However, that city might be de-
Tended TO an indefinite period-that is
surprising the fleets of France md Eng
land kept the communication by sea open
: and uuinierrupied-fu The walls of Con-
. stan,inope are verv good. Those on the
land side have double range, twenty-five
Ieei 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
similar towers 10 those OF the outer. Nil.
3 iiary straipgjsts consider if all these
: points were well fortified, and the sea ap-
proaches kept clear of The enemy, Con
s,anlinople might be defended against
any force that The power of Russia could
I bring against it. But surprising The city
was reduced 10 the last extremity. ii might
? sill be desperately defended. The pop.
: ula,ion would be destroyed, bu; the mill.
, tary could hold out until famine swept
them away. For the storage of provis-
ion, the wonderful vaults of Constantine.
, pie supply ample conveniences. One of
| them affords abundance of pure fresh
/ wa,er--n fact it is q sublerranean reser-
voir.
r The vast uuder ground edfices rank
Y among the most remarkable monuments
D of old Constan,inople. They were built
1 by the Greeks as cisterns, and were al.
1 ways kept full in cases of siege. Thro'
= the neglect of the Turks, many of hem
It are much decayed, and some are wholly
;, blocked up. so lha their positions are un
II known. There is one vault called the
, palace of the thousand and one pillars
t which the Turks allow strangers TO in.
II spect. The entrance to it is from the
l centre Of the city, down narrow, but
t substantial aud weii. preserved stone STAIR
t case. Instead of being a cistern filled
e with an immense body of wafer. it is oc-
e cupied as silk factory. 1t is about
: thirty feet deep, and the ro"f is about six
il feet from the surface of the street. This
vault extends over about an acre of
!. ground. But the greatest curiosity is the
~ vault which still exists as q cistern. This
o vault the Turks guard with the greatest
e iealo ,sy--very few. even of those who
,s live about it. being aware of lis precise
ID locality. 1t is II sub,rrranean lake ex.
O tending under m ny streets, and the for
d mer has an arched roof, supported by
Il three hundred md hirly six pillars o
o so i'd marble. An Engli>I' gentleman
who was fortunate TO obtain access 10 il,
!. has supplied US with very animated de
e scIip,ion of its appearance. lie says:
Q Learning that there was a Greek respr
Vt voir in the city, in COED preservation MI,
Il still partially fall Of water, | NJ; de man,
le Inquiries respecting II. hn all in vain
AT ienglh, mee ing f'iend whose loo!
residence in Cors,an'inopIc had .af1;rd
h him the means Of knowing u"t. than
a. could do about it. asked i'm if the ac
ID count of the existence of The reservo
r. was correct.
ar Expressing an earnest wish 10 beholt
IS it, / e 10 mr that with arge brlbe, h,
,s though. lie could "hlnin me pprmis sion
sr for he was acquainted with Hn old Turk
whose h"us. was said to &C YER one or 'h'
" openings To il. readily agreed to g,v,
!, lie required doucour, and arranged to csl
the next morning, ii s,,rresstul. III,
ID following morning, my friend came will
N The news of his success. Alter pass,n,
q through several streets, we reached ,h,
r. upper rart Of the city, and entered al
a oid.look,ng house. We were receive,
is by an aged Turk. with venerable heard
whose dress be,okened neither very gren
8. wealth nor very great cleanliness. Ate
being invited TO take cnffee and n pipe
,e which we accepred-my friend serving a
r. Interpreter 10. the few words of conver
,e sa'inn that passed between us--our hos
o. informed US lie was ready to show us thu
way to the ub'erra:ean place.
10 We proceeded to the court of tn
of house, and turning sharp to the right, W
we're usI,ered into small room. the flno
b, of which was few steps below The sur
gs face of the ground. Here the guide pro
ID vided two torches. and putting one int
x. nv hands. and carrying one himself pro
n. ceeded to raise sort Of trap.door, an
bidding us follow him, began to desrent
in Nv friend immediately slipped dow n afe
re him, and brought up The lear. Afe
of descending thirty steps or more, of
of strong, stone staircase, we felt the col
he dampness Of the air, and felt sure ,ha
vn we were 10 the immediate vicinity Of W;
AT ter. Our surmises we're snon verified b
n. the Turk (wh" was step Or two lowe
at than either "f u.s. calling on me to tax
d. his torch. while he unmoored light boz
that was fastened to The winding s,ai
. case. A step or two lower, and ami
innumerabNe columns rising on ever
ly hand, we discerned the water gleamin
go under the light Of our torches.
We were soon seated in the boat, a.