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Wednesday, June 15, 2022

Stambonl may be termed Constantinople

Stambonl may be termed Constantinople proper, inhabited by the Turks, and containing the seraglio, chief mosques, great public offices, bazaars, and places of government and general business. It is the most ancient and most important part, j)ar excellence. Galata is tho Wapping of the city : here we find dirty shops for ships’ stores, merchants’ counting-houses, ami tipsy sailors. Tophant is so called from the large gun-factory close at hand. Both these suburbs are situated at the base of a very steep hill; the upper part of which is Pera, the district allotted to the Franks, or foreigners, and containing the palaces of the ambassadors, the hotels, the European shops, and the most motley population under the sun. Scutari is to Stamboul, as Birkenhead to Liverpool ; and is in Asia. It is important in its way, as being the starting-place of all the caravans going inland. There are some other districts of less interest to the average tourist.


As soon as we left the landing-place, and entered the steep lane that leads up to Pera, all the enchantment vanished. In an instant, I felt that I had been taken behind the scenes of a great “ effect.” The Constantinople of Yaushall Gardens, a few years ago, did not differ more, when viewed, in front from the gallery, and behind from the dirty little alleys bordering the river. The miserable, narrow, ill-paved thoroughfare did not present one redeeming feature, — not even picturesque dreariness. The roadway was paved with all sorts of ragged stones, jammed down together without any regard to level surface ; and encumbered with dead rats, melon-rinds, dogs, rags, brickbats, and rub- bi.’h, that had fallen througli the mules’ baskets, as they toiled along it. The houses were of wood — old and rotten ; and bearing traces of having been onee painted red. There had been evidently never any attempt made to clean them, or their windows or doorways. Here and there, where a building had been burnt, or had tumbled down, all the ruins remained as they had fallen. Even the better class of houses had an uncared-for, mouldy, plague- imbued, decaying look about them ; and with their grimy lattices, instead of windows, on the upper stories, and dilapidated sh’utters and doors on the ground floors, it was difficult to imagine that they were inhabited by people who had such notions, according to report, of home and cleanliness, that they never sought for society apart from their own divans, or harems, and never were fit for prayers until they had, moro or less effectively, washed them* selves jeep safari bulgaria.


We found our hotel possessed the double advantage of being a stone building, and completely insulated — a great comfort in so combustible a district as Pera. I got a good bedroom, that overlooked the Sosphorus, part of the Golden Horn, and a few of the Mosques; came to an understanding about expenses,—which is always advisable; had the inexpressible comfort of washing and dressing in a large well-appointed room, after the confined closet of the Scamandre; and then we all sat down to breakfast, learning that everything was to be had in Constantinople but fresh butter. Some white bitter compound, perfectly uneatable, was produced once or twice during my stay; but it was so unpalatable, that we usually preferred “ Irish ;” and at last came to cat, with a relish, what many of our Kngli.>h servants would have turned up their noses at. The tea was excellent, and so were the cutlets; but there was some wine on the table,— a native production, I believe, — like very bad siill champagne, sickened with coarse moist sugar, to which I preferred the grapes in their natural state.

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