St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1875-07-23


worthy to complete such work, solo
mon, have surpassed thee y"
The chuIch of st. Sophia thus built
and dedicated by .JuStimian more than
l'f@' Years ago is the one now standing
III Stalnboul not far from the gate oi
the old Scraglio.
From the outside it presents unite an
unSaInly appearance, the original walls
being propped up by buttresses to pre-
vent their being thrown down bv earth
quakeS. The dome is VERY low. which.
though more wonderful in an archiicctu-
raj point of view. is less graceful than
those with Il greater curvature Th,
cross that once surmuunted il is re-
placed 10y the crescent, and in the place
of the ancient hclfry the four corners of
the building are graced by tall and
slender minarets.
When Mohammed ii. captured the
city III ll53, the haplcss Greeks who
had taken refuge III ST. Sophia were
slaughtered 10y his soldiers but the
church itself WAS treated with great re-
Spect 10y the conqueror. With his scim-
ltar he struck Il soldier who WAS break
ing some of the marbles of the temple.
and himself performed the ser> ice of
| the Prophet. Two days later IL nue.
zin gave the call To prayers from Il
tower of the church. and from that time
to this every day has heard the name
of allah" proclaimed from the NINA
rrts of the newly dedicated mospue.
This action of Mohammed was in
striking contrast with that of the cru
>ldcr> nearly -four centuries before, " ho.
under VOWS Ia free the holy scpulchrc
from the hands of the imiidrls. stopped
on their way I" >rizc Cou>tantinope
from the hands of their fellow Chris
tlan>, and performed their drunken
orgies within the walls of this lis most
sacred enclosure.
The sight of Il Christian .gilour" is
odIouS to IN orthodox MuS>ulmal at
amy time. and nothing hut the magic
power of ''huck>hi>h" will open to their
unhallowcd feet the sacred mosques OF
the capital. st. Sophia i> one of the
most profitable sources of revenue in
the hands of the Turks. BY the pay
mrnt of Il large buck shi>h To those who
have ii in charge one may enter certain
,i I /,
proper WAY l. Io obtain Il roy i'll 'tirman"
from the Porte through our Consul.
Armed with this. and under the guild
ance of ''Fnr-HWaN Moses" who j. i'm
m"ItallZrd in "lunnccnt> Abroad" H.
the guide of Mark Twain. onr party
presented itself AT the door OF the
mosque. The entrance i dr>remdin.
a. int" Il cellar. owing pIohIhll l." the
debris that has raised the streets above
their level of thirteen centuries ago.
Al the door We We're met 10y the glIlI-
take of onr shoes. TIVE might wrar our
hats if we chose iS no dusty feet may
touch the sacred floor. Those of lis
who had been So tnltuu:itc a> to hIin"
slippers with lis might wear them: the
rest must =" III stockingtcrt. Wcmu>
at least give the Turks credit toI Il
good degree of mrltneSs.
Our first visit WAS To the gyhdihiteS.
"r gallery of the women. 1t is reached
10y Il long winding slope that must have
tried the strength of body aS We'll aS of
devotion of the fair Greek Won "i>hippcI-.
A. in the East to-day. they Wcrr not
allowed to sit with their lords during
in the gallery.
ON entering the body "f the church
we are III once struck with the grandeur
of its proportioIiS. 1t is 80 feet long
10y 2:}I feet in width, while lis gigantic
dome. lO1 feet IN diameter. rises to the
height of l~O feet above the tlnor. Dmr
almost LOSES himself in the mae "f
marble columns all around the church.
supporting arches, and shutting of al
cOveS. In these alcovcS we Saw several
students pouring over the Koran. learn
ing to repeat it 10y heart. These schools
are in connection with nearly ali the
mosques. The pillars are mole than
one hundred in number, and imclude
among many others those have men
toned. The green pillars from the
temple of 1.-THE great goddess DIANA ut
Ephcsu>, are still to he seen supporting
the arches of st. Sophia. The capitals
of these pillars are very elaborate, con-
forming to no one of the five orders of
with the most elegant mos:lics In its
centre is inscribed in the Arabic char
acter the verse from the Koran-..God
is the light of the heavens and the
EARTH During the fast of Ramazam
this inscription is illuminated 10y the
rays of thousands of lamps suspended
in triple rows heneath it. These lamps.
alternating with ostrich eggs. are the
only ornament allowed in the mosque.
just below the dome in four corners.
there are four winged seraphim beau
tfully inlaid in mosaic. They remain
| from the ancient church. The Turks
have taken great pains to mutilate and
etlace all signs of Christian worship,
such us crosses and pictures of saints
and Madonnas, but these seraphim just
fit into their own worship, and are ac-
knowledged as the four archaugels,
| GnhIieI MichH.L RunhIl and IsrneI