Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1871-03-09

II
| Csestapfisepae. q Snaboal. - tss
Turk ezllsit. soceupses 6as q she EaHek
nassSal sitnaaions u IL World. Isisbuilt
Iepsa = eoe:as of land, Of tx;>aGular shaps
thicb lies upon the west sids Of the south
ern entrance of the Bo,phorous. On ne
noFthern side Of the city . branch or On
te2of The Bosphcfoas. called the Goldsu
l Her. vhioh lorns = u1neni6osat hsrAor,
- els - sSostf sbos18 a PsFa.
0alata. and Tophana. TIE two former =
! whish are the principal seals Of ffra1s, an1
Ifas.srsidsaosS Sfsssfiy al slsssssot l6t6ikns
ers. Thegroundupon which Con stautinopie
is built rises gradually from the sea. aud
commands magnificent prospect orer
the opposite coasts of Asia. The general
aspect Of the city. when approached by wa
ter. is Of the most striking and beautiful
description, exhibiting to view crowd Of
domes aud minarets. backed by tho dark
4 foliage of the cypress and other trees which
shade the extensive cemeteries beyond the
walls. But the interior is n perfect laby-
rinth Of narrow. winding. steep. and dir
! ty streets. without plan of any kind. and
in which houses are, for the most part,
built of wood. and present dead walls to
the street. light and air being-as in all
/ Oriental towns-derivea from the interior
court yards
| The most striking OF the public build
ings are the Serag.io. or Imperial Palace
situated at the eastern extremity Of the
city. and ba,hed on either side by the wa
ters of the Bosphorous and the Golden
Horn; and the Church of ST. Sophia,
erected by the Emperor Jus.inan. in the
sixth century, as a Christian temple. but
converted into Mohammelan mosque
There are likewise a vast number of other
mosques, amounting in all. it is said. to
three hundred. many Of which display
great architectural beauty
The internal trade of Constantinople is
carried on iE covered bazaars in which
great variety Of splendid and gaudy arti-
cles of attire are displayed. Different ba-
zaars are appropriated to the sale Of par
ticular articles. Baths are numerous and
are extensively used by all classes of the
inhabi,ants-as is uniformly the case with
Mohammedan populations The place Of
the condola of Venice is supplied BY the
light caique," kind Of wherry. ofwhich
not fewer than eighty thousand are es.i-
mated to ply on the waters of Stamboul
and It's suburbs.
The whole c;rcui. Of fConstantinop!e. not
including the suburbs on the north side OF
the harkor. 10 abou. twelve miles.s The.
population Of the city aud its suburbs has
been estimated at seven hundred thousand.
The priscipal inhabitants Of the city with
in the walls are the Turks. together with
the Amenians. Greeks, and Jcws, who
have particular quarters allotted to them
the Franks reside in Pera and Galata, on
the opposite side of the harbor, or in the
numerous adjacent villages. There are
also great number Of Jews among the
inhabitants Of the suburban districts. as
well as within the walls Of the city. The
Turks. however. are the ruling people.
although they only constitute a small frac-
ton Of the population Of European Turkey.
The capital Of the Sultan's dominious is
of ancient date, and its history has in all
ages been eventful. Under the name Of
Byzantium. it was founded in the middle
Of the seventh century, before the Chris.
tiaa era. Constantine the Great. A. D.
32s rebuilt and greatly extended the city,
bestowing his own name upon it-Con-
stan'inoplis. /. e.. the city Of Constantine
and making it the capital of the Roman
world. In the division Of the Roman
territories itremainc the capital Of the Eas.
tern Empire. and continued such through
the long series Of the Byzantine annals.
often besieged both BY land and sea. and
undergoing numerous vicissitudes ofrule.
in SO far as its immediate masters were
concerned. Il was. however. only once
taken during this heightened period. in
1861. by the Latin crusaders, who retain
ed possession of it for more than half a
century. In 1853. it fell before the arms
Of Mohamm medan invader. and the sym-
Dol Of the Crescent has ever since-not-
withstandiny in rcccnttimcs the iil-conceal-
ed desires and aggressive movements ofRus
sia--bcen reared triumphant above its walls.
The trade carried on between Turkey
and England is very considerable. and
Coustantinople serves as sort OF station
through which the manufactures of Bri-
thin are supplied to the different provinces
of the Turkish empire. and also 10 the va
rious countries of Western Asia. The
principal agents in carrying on the foreign
trade Of Turkey a-e English. French, Ar
rnenian, and Greek merchants the more
wealthy Armenians generally act as bank
ers, money changers. jewellers, physicians.
&C., while the lower classes OF. the same
people are engaged as laborcrs. The quan-
,isy of British shipping which annually
enters the ports Of Turkey is very eousid-
cradle; Austrian. Russian, and Greek
vessels are also largely engaged in the
same trafsc those Of the latter nation be-
ing. however. generally Of small tonnage.
Constaniinorle is the chief sea. of the ior.
eign trade Of Turkey. and next to it in
commercial Importance is Saloniki.
The condition Of the female sex in rur-
KEY is an aneinslous one. and the scciu-
sion in which women are retained in Tur-
kish cities constitutes one Of the many
points Of difference between the usases OF
Eastern and Western nations. : A .condi-
ton ofscciety in which poIygamy IS d re-
coguixed institution, and in which the lba-
rem forms m ordinary and indispennble
portion Of the households Of the sealthier
classes. is necessarily attended by habits
Of domestic life very different from those
familiar to our experiences. The Mehasa-
lmedan religion allows every true believer
70 have foar uivss > bus polygsmy il non
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