The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1902-07-04
THE SULTAN'S SERAGLIo.
Romantic buildings in the Heart of
COnstantinOpIe with Strange
History.

scriptions of Constantinople, penned
by poets, artists and other sentiment
talists, have an impression that the
seraglio of the sultan is place of
mysterious seclusion; that it has
something to do with the harem and
other private affairs of his imperial
majesty, but it is nothing of the sort.
writes William E. Curtis in the Chi
cago Record Herald. Literally, a
seraglio means a portico or vestibule
surrounding any habitation, palace,
kiosk or mosque, but the term is com
Enonly used as a collective noun, and
refers to a collection of buildings used
for different purposes. such as the
residence of pasha, his harem, his
offices, his stables and the mosque
that is attached to all of the large
establishments in Turkey.
The seraglio of the sultan is large
collection of buildings inclosed by u
mighty WALL covering the extreme
point of the peninsula upon which
STEAMBOAT stands, and dividing the sea
of Marmora from the Golden Horn.
1t is the most interesting spot in
all Turkey from historical stand
point There is no place in the east ex-
cept the Holy Land which has so many
associations. 1t is to Constantinople
what Kremlin is to Moscow, the Es-
Versailles to Paris. and perhaps we
may compare it with Hampton Court
near London.
The garden of the seraglio was the
Acropolis of the original city, the site
of the ''palatium sacrum" of Constan-
tine. the citadel of his successors. the
palace of Justinian and Placidia,
| queen of the Goths. Few spots on
earth have had longer or more tragic
history. From the gardens of the
seraglo sailed the fleets of the Phoeni-
clans, the war barges of the Romans,
! the triremes from Asia. the galleys of
Darius the Persian, of XerXes. of Alex
ander the Great, Philip of Macedon,
and I would not be surprised if
Agememnon, Ajax, Achilles and those
bold old warriors had landed there
many a time. The gilded barges of
| Venice and Genoa brought their sol
| diers here and from that landing place
carried away millions of plumber. The
| feet of the crusaders trod the gravel
walks, Richard the Lion-Heart, God
frey de Bouillon. and the Frank en-
| perors made it their headquarters in
the time of the crusades. Since the
occupation of Constantinople by the
Turks, the resplendant caiques of the
sultans have come and gone, some of
them bearing candidates for uneasy
thrones and others desperate crea-
lures, seeking refuge from a miser-
able death.
From the time of Mohammed H.,
who took Constantinople by storm III
serted it for the more cheerful palace
of the Doloma Bajtche on the banks
of the Bosphorus, 25 sultans have been
imprisoned or murdered, or died by
violence within the palaces of the
Eeraglio. For four hundred years the
fate of the sovereigns of Turkey was
subject to the caprice of the all-pow-
erful Janissaries, who made it their
! headquarters. Up to the beginning of
the last century it was the fashion for
the Janissaries to decapitate unpopu-
| lar sultans and ministers and expose
| their heads upon the pillars of the
gate in order that the public might
know what had happened. Two inches
on either side of the Sublime Porte,
which is the main gateway to the
seraglio, were made for that purpose.
Sometimes, however, as a special mark
of vengeance or honor, the heads were
placed, like that of John the Baptist,
upon a silver charger and left outside
where the public could examine them
closely.
Over the Sublime Porte, a stately
arch with ponderous gates, is an Ara
bic inscription reading: MAY Allah
ever preserve the glory of the pos
sessor; may Allah ever strengthen his
! foundations"
In the first large court, known as
the court of the Janissaries, is an
enormous tree called by their name.
under which they were in the habit of
Matching their conspiracies. 1t is said
to be the largest tree in Europe, and
t"o ito
| spreading branches once served as a
guillotine. There are many buildings
within the walls in addition to the
| palaces, the harem, the barracks of
! the soldiers and those used for official
purposes. The mint Is there, the ar
senal, magazines for the storage of
explosives, a hospital, the imperial
stables, quarters for an army of
slaves, several pleasure kiosks and a
mosque. The Greek church of ST.
Irene, erected by Constantine the
Great, which was converted into an
armory instead of a mosque, is a VEN
cradle monument of the Byzantine
style of architecture. In the museum
of the armory is the scimitar used by
Aohammed II. in the siege of Constan.
tinople, the sword of Scanderbeg. the
armor of Tamerlane and the porphyry
tombs of Constantine. Theodosius,
Julian the Apostate and other early
Greek emperors.
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Right Arm Most Hurt