DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.62355#0048
14
BEAUTIES OF THE BOSPHORUS.
for the temporary reception of the bathers before they venture to encounter
the pure free air of the exterior apartment; and the bath itself, where the
atmosphere is so laden with sulphuric vapour, that, for some seconds, the breath
is impeded, and the suffocating sensation whicli ensues is positively painful.
The Imperial Bath at the summer palace of Beglier-Bey, is one of the most
elegant and costly in the city or its environs: and as it can only be seen by the
express permission of the Sultan himself, is well worthy of description. Passing
a crimson door, surmounted by a crescent-shaped cornice of rich gilding, the
visitor enters a small hall, in which stands a basin of fine white marble, occupied
by two swans, wrought in the same material, and appearing to sport in the
limpid water; which, escaping from this charming fountain, falls through con-
cealed pipes into the basins destined to supply the bathers. The cooling-room,
opening from this dim apartment, (where the light only penetrates after strug-
gling through stars and crescents of painted glass, inlaid in the marble roof like
clusters of jewels,) is hung with draperies of silk, richly embroidered; and the
large mirror which occupies the wall at the lower end of the divan, is set in a
frame-work of gold and enamel, surmounted by the Ottoman arms, skilfully
executed; while the divan itself, formed of gay-coloured satin, is wrought in
silks until it resembles a flower-bed; and the cushions which are scattered over
it are of the same beautiful and costly description. The bath is a vast hall, of
the most elegant proportions, lined, and roofed, and paved with marble. It is
lighted like the cooling-room, and surmounted by exquisitely-imagined foun-
tains; and gives back a long and subdued echo at every footfall which disturbs
its deep and dreamy silence.
This description will serve to convey an idea of the baths of the great, and
will give no exaggerated impression of their magnificence ; the establishments
of the Pashas and Beys being all precisely similar in their arrangement, and
only varying in splendour witli the resources of their owners. Here the fair
Zibas and Heymines of the different palaces pass whole hours, folded in long
scarfs of muslin, worked and fringed with gold, their dark hair streaming over
their ivory shoulders; inhaling the sulphuric atmosphere, and enjoying the
luxurious languor which it creates; sipping sherbets made of the most delicate
conserves, or the finest fruits; and, not unfrequently, enjoying a slumber which
is nowhere deeper than amid the dense vapours of the bath-room.
But the public Hammam is altogether a different scene. No dreamy silence,
no thoughtful abstraction can be indulged in the far-stretching hall, where hun-
dreds congregate, and where the echoes of the many-domed roof heighten and
prolong every harsh sound into tenfold discordance. These establishments are
BEAUTIES OF THE BOSPHORUS.
for the temporary reception of the bathers before they venture to encounter
the pure free air of the exterior apartment; and the bath itself, where the
atmosphere is so laden with sulphuric vapour, that, for some seconds, the breath
is impeded, and the suffocating sensation whicli ensues is positively painful.
The Imperial Bath at the summer palace of Beglier-Bey, is one of the most
elegant and costly in the city or its environs: and as it can only be seen by the
express permission of the Sultan himself, is well worthy of description. Passing
a crimson door, surmounted by a crescent-shaped cornice of rich gilding, the
visitor enters a small hall, in which stands a basin of fine white marble, occupied
by two swans, wrought in the same material, and appearing to sport in the
limpid water; which, escaping from this charming fountain, falls through con-
cealed pipes into the basins destined to supply the bathers. The cooling-room,
opening from this dim apartment, (where the light only penetrates after strug-
gling through stars and crescents of painted glass, inlaid in the marble roof like
clusters of jewels,) is hung with draperies of silk, richly embroidered; and the
large mirror which occupies the wall at the lower end of the divan, is set in a
frame-work of gold and enamel, surmounted by the Ottoman arms, skilfully
executed; while the divan itself, formed of gay-coloured satin, is wrought in
silks until it resembles a flower-bed; and the cushions which are scattered over
it are of the same beautiful and costly description. The bath is a vast hall, of
the most elegant proportions, lined, and roofed, and paved with marble. It is
lighted like the cooling-room, and surmounted by exquisitely-imagined foun-
tains; and gives back a long and subdued echo at every footfall which disturbs
its deep and dreamy silence.
This description will serve to convey an idea of the baths of the great, and
will give no exaggerated impression of their magnificence ; the establishments
of the Pashas and Beys being all precisely similar in their arrangement, and
only varying in splendour witli the resources of their owners. Here the fair
Zibas and Heymines of the different palaces pass whole hours, folded in long
scarfs of muslin, worked and fringed with gold, their dark hair streaming over
their ivory shoulders; inhaling the sulphuric atmosphere, and enjoying the
luxurious languor which it creates; sipping sherbets made of the most delicate
conserves, or the finest fruits; and, not unfrequently, enjoying a slumber which
is nowhere deeper than amid the dense vapours of the bath-room.
But the public Hammam is altogether a different scene. No dreamy silence,
no thoughtful abstraction can be indulged in the far-stretching hall, where hun-
dreds congregate, and where the echoes of the many-domed roof heighten and
prolong every harsh sound into tenfold discordance. These establishments are