The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-08-16


fell, fighting to theN endf0sAnd an hour
or two afterwards the victorious Mo-,
manned passed through this gate and
entered triumphant fFntoyshe great and
Oe over one cry Of the pPbhSegates 1ttte
to the north Of the seIf*ri Kap 81 Sis is
a somewhat Wanting I.atin inscrip-
ton, which reads In English thus: "By
the command of Thaodosius; Constan-
tinus placed these strong Notifications
in their position in less than two
months. Scarcely Would Pallas her
self have built fortress 50 strong in
| q time so short" Most of the gates
and some of the towers 4bear like in,
scriptions in Greek and Latin to COM.
memorate victories of reconstructions.
One reads: THE fortune of Constan-
tinuS, our God-protected sovereign,
triumphs." And another, John Palace
| LOCUS, emperor in Christ.
| There is, perhaps, not more beau
tiful and comprehensive view of the
landward walls than that which pre-
sents itself to one who, having walked
| from the Selivri KapuSi about quar-
ter of mile towards the Marmor.,
turns and looks back upon his path.
| The gaunt and defiant line of towers.
so white where on the horizon they
meet the dark clump of stately cypress
es, is inexpressibly beautiful in the
springtime, when the air is laden with
| the fragrance of the earth and the
scent of the neighboring sea; for tower
| and wall and counterScrap are all
clothed with the first fresh pink and
snowy bloom of almond-trees, acac1as,
and Judas trees, the laburnum's
dropping wells of golden fire." and
| the early green of the clinging ivy
And now we are nearing the end Of
the long line. Viewed from the
northwestern aspect, the citadel of the
seven towers, the continuation of
/ lie 1e,% i
| laZui blue of the Marmora itself, with
the purple mountains of Bithynia be-
yond, combine to form striking love
| ly and impressive picture. Six of the
seven towers remain, one having been
thrown down by the great earthquake
of 1853. Like the Bastflle and the
| Tower of London for many a long wear
under the Turks this imperial castle
| fulfilled an analogous function as a
| state prison.
Time was when on the; outbreak or
| declaration of war, the sultan threw
foreign ambassadors into these towers.
and their names are still to be seen
carved on the dungeon walls. Even
the ambassador of Russia suffered this
| indignity at the hands of the Sublime
| Porte. The last example, Of such inso-
| lent treatment was so late as 179S-not
yet a century ago-Wlen the French
ambassador at the Porte was imprison-
eu III tHlS clIaoel. In the StfOnS days
| of the JaniSSarieS more than one de-
throned sultan. was brought here to
prison and to death;, and the battle
| mentS of the towers have many time
ministered to the exhibition of the
| heads of grand viziers and other not
| more fortunate victims.
The loftiest towers are about 200 feet
nigh. From their SUBMITS there is one
| of the finest views to be obtained even
| in Constantinople. Looking far to
the south over the deep blue Of the
| Marmora, the Arganthonian mountain
! range of Bithynia is visible until it
loses itself in the sea on the right to-
wards the Dardanel1es; and over the
| Sefr1ed heights of those purple noun
tains that snowy mass, like a furled
ana sleeping cloud, is surely none other
than the broad and hoary peak Of the
| Mys1an Olympus, at whose feet nestles
the beautiful and many mosqued
| Brusa.
J. There was origiarallyinear the Golden
Gate citadel built outside the walls
on the seashore. At that time, and
for many centuries until the final cap
ture of the city, the Golden Gate was
the first or nearest gate-.to the Sea of
Marmora, and after the manner of the
c!o Rome constituted a@great triumph
al arcn Tor the imperial professions to
enter into the city on all occasions of
! civil or military Importance. The cen
tfal or the three archWays of the inner
gate-the Golden Gate-was dedicated
TO the use of the emperor alone The
names imply that those beautiful mar
Die gates were decorated with orna-
ments of gold.
On both sides of the Golden Gate
sculptures representing classical sub
1ects such as the labors of Hercules.
adorned the walls. And the two flank
ing towers of marble give this noble
structure almost the same appearance
To-Day as 1t represented fifteen centuries
ago. But the present citadel of the
Seven Towers was built by Mohammed
IL, after the capture of Constantinon1e
TO strengthen his conquest and form a.
chlef garrison for the Janissaries. 1t
was constructed around the Golden
cate, which therefore formed the prin-
clpal entrance to the stronghold
Inc seward walls are, generally
speaking, OF slghter build than are
the landward walls, because the be-
sleged We're very often assisted by
ooth wind and current, against which
the beslegers had to reckon But their
construction is clear and standing
PROOF OF the great foresight that was
everywhere shown in the fortification
I OF the city. They are in most places
plo5ecteo at ther base by a rampant of
poulders. Both the seward and the
landWard walls are constructed in the
Hyzantlne method, namely, with alter
nate layers Of marble Cor stone) and
brick. This method has the advantage
Oh enabling the wall or tower to more
easily Withstand earthquake shocks.
The seaward walls are considerably
strengthened with marble shafts. in
order to resist more effectually the
corrosive action Of the salt water But
their chief popularity is doubtless
thelr !rregularity of line, so as to ad-
NIT OF their receiving obliquely the
oeatlng OF the waves, thereby obvia-
ting and counteracting the tremendous
force with which the rolling waves
would beat and break full upon a long
line of walls when the wind was blow
ing direct across the Marmora from
the south. That even with those wise
precautions constant vigilance and
frequent repairs were necessary may
be gathered from the various inscrip-
tons to this effect.
One of the towers bears a graphic
inscription to this effect: I'm the year
1924 the Emperor Basil, the pious SOW
ereign, erected from the foundations
this tower. which the dashing of the
sea, that battered it for a long time
with much and violent: surge, com
PEELED to fall. Another Inscription tes-
titles that the tower,o IN which it is
placed, has been Repaired by Manuel
the Christ-lovipg sovereign, porphyro-
genitus and emperor iGf 1.-THE Romans,
son of Comnenus, in the sYear 1854" 80
Many volumes have been written
about these unique walls, of Constan-
tinople. and the classic associations
that cluster around them-volumes
fascinating enough to the student of
ancient history and archaeology. My