DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.5541#0091
Chap, iv.]
REACH CONSTANTINOPLE.
63
approaching the mouth of the Bosphorus we were again
enveloped in a violent snow-storm, and as we passed under
the gardens of the Seraglio every object was concealed, until
we had dropped our anchor in the Golden Horn. Then, as
under the influence of a magician's wand, the wintry curtain
was withdrawn, and the real beauty of the scene was ex-
posed to view. Behind us the mouth of the Bosphorus and the
Golden Horn land-locked by the Asiatic shore was lighted
up by the evening sun, whilst to the right and left the ground
rose abruptly from the water's edge, forming a rich amphi-
theatre of buildings, mosques, minarets, and trees. On our
left were the seven hills of Constantinople, on which the
tower of the Sublime Porte, the Seraskier's tower, and the
graceful minarets of the many royal mosques, rose far above
the common houses, whilst the Fanar stretched along the
water's edge in front; on the right were the suburbs of
Galata, Pera, and Topkhana, and above them the Tower
of Galata, whose summit commands one of the finest
panoramas in the world. The harbour was crowded with
shipping ; and vessels of every size, from the 74 at anchor
to the light and frail caiques which were gliding about in
every direction, gave life and motion to the scene.
About four in the afternoon we landed by one of the
caiques peculiar to Constantinople; they have no keel,
and are therefore easily capsized. They are the most
ticklish things in the world, for if, in getting into them, you
do not step exactly in midships, you will be inevitably
upset, unless the caikji counteracts the effects of your in-
experience by quickly throwing himself over to the opposite
side. But all sense of danger is forgotten on seeing the
grace and ease with which the boatmen, who are both
Greeks and Turks, pull; but the peculiar crankness of their
caiques compels them to sit with unusual gravity and
steadiness; and when two or more are pulling in the same
boat, the exact uniformity of time and motion, as they bend
forward to their oars, almost looks like the effect of ma-
REACH CONSTANTINOPLE.
63
approaching the mouth of the Bosphorus we were again
enveloped in a violent snow-storm, and as we passed under
the gardens of the Seraglio every object was concealed, until
we had dropped our anchor in the Golden Horn. Then, as
under the influence of a magician's wand, the wintry curtain
was withdrawn, and the real beauty of the scene was ex-
posed to view. Behind us the mouth of the Bosphorus and the
Golden Horn land-locked by the Asiatic shore was lighted
up by the evening sun, whilst to the right and left the ground
rose abruptly from the water's edge, forming a rich amphi-
theatre of buildings, mosques, minarets, and trees. On our
left were the seven hills of Constantinople, on which the
tower of the Sublime Porte, the Seraskier's tower, and the
graceful minarets of the many royal mosques, rose far above
the common houses, whilst the Fanar stretched along the
water's edge in front; on the right were the suburbs of
Galata, Pera, and Topkhana, and above them the Tower
of Galata, whose summit commands one of the finest
panoramas in the world. The harbour was crowded with
shipping ; and vessels of every size, from the 74 at anchor
to the light and frail caiques which were gliding about in
every direction, gave life and motion to the scene.
About four in the afternoon we landed by one of the
caiques peculiar to Constantinople; they have no keel,
and are therefore easily capsized. They are the most
ticklish things in the world, for if, in getting into them, you
do not step exactly in midships, you will be inevitably
upset, unless the caikji counteracts the effects of your in-
experience by quickly throwing himself over to the opposite
side. But all sense of danger is forgotten on seeing the
grace and ease with which the boatmen, who are both
Greeks and Turks, pull; but the peculiar crankness of their
caiques compels them to sit with unusual gravity and
steadiness; and when two or more are pulling in the same
boat, the exact uniformity of time and motion, as they bend
forward to their oars, almost looks like the effect of ma-