Buchanan County bulletin and guardian. (Independence, Iowa) 1866-1869, 1868-06-05

TRAVEL..cO. II.
PALACES OF CoysTASTIEoPLR, ATHENS, ETC
left Smyrna in a large Egyptian steam
ship, and was the only passenger on boait
who spoke English but this had never oc
Cured before, nor did it occur afterwards
In all my other travels, for any considerab
distance, was with English or American
| or both. There were but two Or three salooi
passengers, and they spoke Arabic. onc
of them was a bearer Of dispatches from Ii,
viceroy Of Egypt TO The Sultan Of Turkey
Our Captain, who sat at the head Of the ia
| bic at dinner, was u noble.iooking man, anC
a very prudent, yet bold and energetic com
| inander. He was Turk or an Arab,
| have now forgotten which. But both he ans
| the passengers, learning that was an Am
erican, treated me with the utm ost courtesy
ahd .'-A not only favored with very gu
perior stateroom, bus wa- allowed varlou
other privileges not usually granted to pass
engers.
All through the evening and the first par
| Of the night, the weather was delightful, ant
| the water was very smooth. The brigh
moon arose, and cast its beams upon the Is
lands and waters Of the .Egan Sea and
| after spending many hours on deck, re,ir
ed TO my room. But after midnight. IL,
weather suddenly changed, and before
| morning, storm was upon US; yet, having
entered the narrow straits Of the Darja-
nelles, we we're quite land locked and secure
The storm continuing 10 increase, the capt
| ain concluded TO anchor off the town Of Dar,
danclles, and remain till the violence Of the
gale was past. This was done: and fo,
nearly three whole days, we were anchored
in the straits, waiting for the storm TO abate
Ii was the equnoctia and so violently DID
the wind blow, and SO dashingy did the
rain fall, that was convinced Of the fact
that furious gales and heavy rains are not
confined TO America. On the morning Of
the third day, our anchor was weighed. and
ia few hours. we entered the beautiful
Sea Of Marmora,-s called from an island
OF the same name, meaning marble and the
name vas given TO it, because marble is OBJ
tanned from here. The sea reminded me
somewhat Of Lake Erie, and is about the
sane length and width.
The next morning, we reached the Cold-
en- Horn, which is the spacious harbor and
world renowned port of the capital of the
Turkish empire. The view of the city, on
approaching it, was exceedingly fine. The
great dones and almost countless minarets
Of the mosques, rising high toward heaven
above all other objects save the two grea,
wa'eh-towers, presen,eda grand appearance.
On arriving, the ship was surrounded with
caiques THE peculiar boats used in Constan.
tinople); and there was doubtless much dis,
appointment among the boatmen, that there
were SO few passengers to take of for huns
dreds, If not thousands, who make their iiv>
ing wholly by what they can earn with their
caiqes. had an opportunity Of being rows
ed IN these little craft several times; and
they are such curious-shaped and feetrun>
ming boats, enjoyed my excursion in them
very much.
On going ashore, and passing through the
custom house for the examination OF bag
gage, was conducted to the Hotel d Angles
terre, which, for many years past, has been
the favorite house Of English and American
travellers.
On the very day Of arrival, . company
were to visa the seraglio and the principle
mosques, &c. A hrman had been obtained
from The Turkish authorities for the purpose.
was invited to join the company, which !
gladly consented to do. In this sketch, l
will merely describe the palace called the
Seraglio, and speak briefly of some others /;
and then, If the article does not become too
long, will ask the reader to accompany me
to Athens, ard enter with me into the royal
palace Of that aaciont city Of tie noble
Greeks.
We crossed the Golden Horn in caiques.
and landed on the Stamboul side, and soon
after. we entered within the gates of the
serasiio court. Some PASSED through the
great gateway, called the Sublime Porte,
which gives name 10 the Turkish govern.
ment. or the Ottoman empire. After stop.
ping for some time on tho elevated terrace.
aud enjoying the magnificent prospect Of
the Bosphorus and the Marmora, our guides
took us within the palace. Here we found
much 10 interest US. The apartments were
arranged in quite different style from those
of any of the palaces of Western or South,
ern Europe. Instead Of chairs and sofas,
tie richest divans were placed around tie
rooms. The tables in the centre Of some OF
the rooms were very elegant, and the hang-
ings were costly and beautiful. The throne
room and reception room were fitted up in
grea, spendor and masniticence. The for>
mer was the audience. chamber, ia which
foreign ambassadors were received by the
sultan in person and the throne in which
he sat remined as much Of an elegant cano>
pied b.dstead, with four posts as anything
thai could compare it with. As the Turk
ish bath is deemed ,ageat luxury in that
We found some very convenient and
apartments in tho seraglio sp.
propriatcd to that purpose. Within the
grounds Of the palace are also beautiful
kio>ks, or summer>houses. which must be
delightful resorts during the warm season.
In 1865, there was an extensive confla.
grafton here that DESTROYED portions of the
palace; but, as the palace consisted Of a
group or series OF buildings, what remained
are quite uninjufed and entire. The sultan
form erly resided here; but at the presen.
time, the wives Of the previous sultan occu>
py IT. He was the father Of the reigning
prince. The seraglio was first erected by
Mahomet H., in the fifteenth century, and
continued to be the principal residence Of
The sovereigns and the seat Of the court un>
Ill within few years past. II is encted on
one Of the seven hills Of Ssamboul, aud oc.
cupies the most eligible and delightful pos
iiion of any palace in Europe. The name
'seraglio" is either derived from a word
meaning to make fast or lock up, because
Of its general inaccessibility to the public.
Or from Persian word, siguifying . great
house.
The ancient town Of Byzantium was situ>
ated where the seraglio now stands. II took
its name from Byzas, who came here, with
colony, from Megara, 65S years B. c. 1t
became q prosperous place, and strong in
defence. Philip Of Macedon tried to take it,
but failed. Constantine, being greatly
pleased with the convenience aud eligibility
of the situation, chose it as the seat or cap>
tal Of the Eastern Roman empire, and il
assumed the name Of himself This was A.
D. 32s; and from that time to the present
i has been called aftor this renowned Christ.
ian sovereign. Although the city was or.
ginaly built only on one Of the hills OF
it finally extended over the whole
81 the seven hills, and at present embraces
slso the great suburbs Of Gal.ta and Pera.
In pursuing the history Of the Crusades, we
earn that the city was taken by an expedi>
ion under Baldwin, in 1904, who was elect.
ID the first Latin emperor Of the East and
history also informs Us that Mohamn.ed H., |
with an army Of 100000 men, and aided by
! fleet Of 500 sail, succs eded in reducing the
place and establishing It as the seat Of The
Ottoman Empire. This was in l453, and
from that time to our own day, the Turkish
severe igns, defendants Of the great Mahom.
4, founder Of the Moslem religion, ,have been
snlhronsd here.
We left the sereglio, feeling assured that