DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.62355#0190
82 BEAUTIES OF THE BOSPHORUS
exiled noble, or the wandering merchant: these are piled one on the other to
the very roof of the building, and each is carefully marked with some hierogly-
phic known only to its absent owner, and to its temporary guardians. Each
package, when received by the authorities at Suleimanie, is described and
registered with the most scrupulous exactness; and when once it has been
deposited within the holy precincts of the mosque, it remains intact and invio-
late, whatever time may elapse, or whatever changes may ensue ere it is reclaimed
by its proper owner, either in the government, or the institutions of the Empire.
The sacredness of the trust is felt, acknowledged, and respected; and men of
every nation, and professors of every creed, are free to deposit their property
within the walls of Suleimanie, secure of its restoration whenever they may see
fit to reclaim it.
It is said that the amount of treasure in gold, silver, jewels, and rich stuffs,
thus collected together, is immense; and that many of the chests have occupied
their place in the gallery for a century. But this fact does not operate against
their security—no seal is ever forced at Suleimanie; and this great national
bank, for such it truly is, remains untouched and sacred throughout every
popular convulsion, and every intestine change. Here the Turkish government
exercises no despotism, exacts no avaniah,* levies no tax; and amid all its
reverses, and all its necessities, preserves an admirable integrity which is less
generally known than it deserves to be.
THE PORT OF CONSTANTINOPLE.
" Where'er we gaze, around, above, below,
What rainbow-tints, what magic charms are found!
Rock, river, forest, mountain—all abound,
And bluest skies that harmonize the whole."
Byron.
There is no better point whence to obtain a view of the Port of Constan-
tinople than from the great cemetery of the " Infidel Hill" of Pera. The
harbour lies at your feet, crowded with shipping, moored in treble lines along
the shore, and filling every little creek and bay. The minaretted city cresting
* Fine.
exiled noble, or the wandering merchant: these are piled one on the other to
the very roof of the building, and each is carefully marked with some hierogly-
phic known only to its absent owner, and to its temporary guardians. Each
package, when received by the authorities at Suleimanie, is described and
registered with the most scrupulous exactness; and when once it has been
deposited within the holy precincts of the mosque, it remains intact and invio-
late, whatever time may elapse, or whatever changes may ensue ere it is reclaimed
by its proper owner, either in the government, or the institutions of the Empire.
The sacredness of the trust is felt, acknowledged, and respected; and men of
every nation, and professors of every creed, are free to deposit their property
within the walls of Suleimanie, secure of its restoration whenever they may see
fit to reclaim it.
It is said that the amount of treasure in gold, silver, jewels, and rich stuffs,
thus collected together, is immense; and that many of the chests have occupied
their place in the gallery for a century. But this fact does not operate against
their security—no seal is ever forced at Suleimanie; and this great national
bank, for such it truly is, remains untouched and sacred throughout every
popular convulsion, and every intestine change. Here the Turkish government
exercises no despotism, exacts no avaniah,* levies no tax; and amid all its
reverses, and all its necessities, preserves an admirable integrity which is less
generally known than it deserves to be.
THE PORT OF CONSTANTINOPLE.
" Where'er we gaze, around, above, below,
What rainbow-tints, what magic charms are found!
Rock, river, forest, mountain—all abound,
And bluest skies that harmonize the whole."
Byron.
There is no better point whence to obtain a view of the Port of Constan-
tinople than from the great cemetery of the " Infidel Hill" of Pera. The
harbour lies at your feet, crowded with shipping, moored in treble lines along
the shore, and filling every little creek and bay. The minaretted city cresting
* Fine.