DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.62355#0039
EYOUB, 9
EYOUB.
" It is a goodly sight to see
What Heaven hath done for this delicious land I"
Byron.
Eyoub, beautifully situated at the eastern extremity of the walls of Constan-
tinople, and stretching down to the very lip of the harbour, is the “ holy of
holies" of the Turks. Its magnificent mosque and its picturesque cemetery are
equally historical ; while its position, overlooking the whole extent of the Golden
Horn, and commanding a noble view far up the Bosphorus, is possibly unrivalled.
Smoothly-rounded hills, feathered with trees varying in character, but all rich in
beauty, form a back-ground eminently scenic; the lofty maple and the leafy
plane-tree, the fan-like acacia and the rigid cypress, flourish side by side, and
overshadow a wilderness of graves; while the suburb itself, unusually well-built
and regular, circles a portion of the harbour with stately and pleasant dwellings.
The mosque, built of the purest white marble, with a court gloriously shaded
by gigantic trees, and paved with the same material of which the edifice is
composed, is the most sacred of all the Constantinopolitan temples ; for on this
spot tradition says that Abu Eyoub, the companion-in-arms of the Prophet, was
slain, during the siege of the Saracens in 668, a fact which was revealed in a
vision to Mahomet II. about 800 years afterwards; who, in commemoration of
the event, laid the foundation of the present mosque, which is one of the most
elegant in the capital; and is rendered still more holy in the eyes of the Turks,
from the circumstance that it is within these walls that every Sultan, on his
accession, is invested with the sword of sovereignty. No infidel foot is permitted,
under whatever pretence, to desecrate the mosque of Eyoub; and Christians are
rarely, and always reluctantly, admitted even to the court.
At Eyoub, on the very verge of the water, stands one of the summer palaces
built by the unfortunate Sultan Selim, and overlooking the lovely glen through
which the Barbyses flows calmly onward, to lose itself in the harbour. It is now
the property of the Sultana Asme, the elder sister of the present Sultan.
" The decorations throughout are heavy, but of the greatest richness, and
perfectly oriental in their character. What was formerly the reception-room of
the ill-fated sovereign is entirely lined with gilding; the walls being niched and
overhung with stalactited cornices similar to those which decorate many of our
EYOUB.
" It is a goodly sight to see
What Heaven hath done for this delicious land I"
Byron.
Eyoub, beautifully situated at the eastern extremity of the walls of Constan-
tinople, and stretching down to the very lip of the harbour, is the “ holy of
holies" of the Turks. Its magnificent mosque and its picturesque cemetery are
equally historical ; while its position, overlooking the whole extent of the Golden
Horn, and commanding a noble view far up the Bosphorus, is possibly unrivalled.
Smoothly-rounded hills, feathered with trees varying in character, but all rich in
beauty, form a back-ground eminently scenic; the lofty maple and the leafy
plane-tree, the fan-like acacia and the rigid cypress, flourish side by side, and
overshadow a wilderness of graves; while the suburb itself, unusually well-built
and regular, circles a portion of the harbour with stately and pleasant dwellings.
The mosque, built of the purest white marble, with a court gloriously shaded
by gigantic trees, and paved with the same material of which the edifice is
composed, is the most sacred of all the Constantinopolitan temples ; for on this
spot tradition says that Abu Eyoub, the companion-in-arms of the Prophet, was
slain, during the siege of the Saracens in 668, a fact which was revealed in a
vision to Mahomet II. about 800 years afterwards; who, in commemoration of
the event, laid the foundation of the present mosque, which is one of the most
elegant in the capital; and is rendered still more holy in the eyes of the Turks,
from the circumstance that it is within these walls that every Sultan, on his
accession, is invested with the sword of sovereignty. No infidel foot is permitted,
under whatever pretence, to desecrate the mosque of Eyoub; and Christians are
rarely, and always reluctantly, admitted even to the court.
At Eyoub, on the very verge of the water, stands one of the summer palaces
built by the unfortunate Sultan Selim, and overlooking the lovely glen through
which the Barbyses flows calmly onward, to lose itself in the harbour. It is now
the property of the Sultana Asme, the elder sister of the present Sultan.
" The decorations throughout are heavy, but of the greatest richness, and
perfectly oriental in their character. What was formerly the reception-room of
the ill-fated sovereign is entirely lined with gilding; the walls being niched and
overhung with stalactited cornices similar to those which decorate many of our