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| Title | Constantinople and the scenery of the seven churches of Asia Minor |
| Creator (LCNAF) |
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| Contributor (Local) |
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| Publisher | Fisher, Son, & Co. |
| Date | 1838 |
| Subject.Topical (LCSH) |
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| Subject.Geographic (TGN) |
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| Genre (AAT) |
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| Language | English |
| Type (DCMI) |
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| Original Item Extent | 92 plates |
| Original Item Location | DR 427 .A44 |
| Original Item URL | http://library.uh.edu/record=b1817693~S11 |
| Digital Collection | Exotic Impressions: Views of Foreign Lands |
| Digital Collection URL | http://digital.lib.uh.edu/collection/exotic |
| Repository | Kenneth Franzheim II Rare Books Room, William R. Jenkins Architecture and Art Library, University of Houston Libraries |
| Repository URL | http://info.lib.uh.edu/about/campus-libraries-collections/william-r-jenkins-architecture-art-library |
| Use and Reproduction | No Copyright - United States |
| Identifier | exotic_201304_011 |
| Title | Page i |
| Format (IMT) |
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| File Name | exotic_201304_011_010.jpg |
| Transcript | HISTORICAL SK ETCH C 0 N S T A N TINOPL E. 1 in first mercantile expedition and recks, to a remote country, was that to Colchis, the eastern extremity of the Black Sen, to bring back the allegorical golden This distant and perilous vovairo, could not fail, in that rude age, to excite the imaginati the poetfl have adorned its historical details with all the ! nations of fiction; the hold mariners who embarked in the ship Argo are dignified with the qualities of heroes, and their adventures swelled into portentous and preternatural event.-. The S\raplegades were placed at the entrance of this dark sea, which dosed upon and crushed the daring ships that presumed to penetrate into its mysti and so for ever shut out all access to strangers. But the intrepid sailors, whose names ire handed down to posterity for their extraordinary physical powers, overcame every difficulty; and Jason, the Columbus of the ancient world, returned in safety with his golden freight. From that time the hitherto impervious sea changed its name. It had been called by the inhospitable appellation of AxtHOiy because it was inaccessible to Strangers; it was now named Ehjchos, as no longer repelling but, on the contrary, inviting foreigners to it- shores. The dark Kuxine, and all its visionary dangers, soon became familiar to the enterprising Greeks, and colonies were every where planted on the narrow waters that led to it. Little, however, was understood of the advantages of selecting a site for these young cities; and one of the first on record still remain-, to attest the ignorance of the founders. In the year 685 before the Christian era, Argias led a colony from Megara, which he settled at the mouth of the Bosphorus. The site d for the town was the shore of a -hallow bay that indented the A-iatie coast, and was exposed to every wind. It was Brs1 called Pro© ifterwarda Colpusa, and finally Chaleedon. A few years had brought experience to the Greeks, and a more mature judgment led them to select a better situation. About thirty years after, Byzas led another colony from Nfegara. He consulted the oracle, i usual in such cases, where he should erect bis new city; and the answer was, of course, wra] t in mystery. lie was directed to place it "opposite the city of the blind men." On exploring the mouth of the strait, he discovered, on the European shore, a situation unrivalled perhaps by any other in the world. A peninsula of gradual elevation was washed on one side by the Propontis, and on the other by a magnificent harbour, broad and deep, and sheltered from every b |