| Transcript |
58 CONSTANTINOPLE, AND ITS ENVIRONS;
designate it " Marcidem Mare," " the Putrid Sea." The French, however, called it,
les Eaux Doux, because the water was not salt; and the English now denominate it
the " Sweet Waters."
Notwithstanding that the waters are impure, and the high grounds around sterile
and denuded, the place possesses many attractions. Higher up the stream, the valley
improves, and circumstances have given the locality much celebrity. The paper factory
having fallen into ruins, Sultan Selim built a kiosk in its place, in imitation of the
palace of Versailles. A mound has been thrown across the river, and the stream detained
so as to form a large and tranquil sheet of water. On its banks stands the kiosk, one
side of which is supported by pillars rising out of the water. It was once a favourite
residence of Mahmoud IL, but a slave, to whom he was greatly attached, died here in the
prime of life; and her master having erected a tomb to her memory on the bank,
abandoned the place for many years. Time, however, has worn out the impression, and
it is again a favourite retreat. At the head of the valley is the Ocmeidan, or " Place of
the Arrow," the royal archery-ground; and marble pillars, erected at different distances,
attest the Sultan's skill, and the almost incredible distance to which he can send a
shaft. On these occasions, he is attended by his officers, and sometimes the females of
his family, in arrhubas: the valley is then shut up with guards, and no stranger permitted to intrude: at other times, it is open to all classes, who come here to rusticate,
particularly Greeks, on Sundays and festivals.
There is one period, however, in which it is the thronged resort of every person
seeking amusement; and the Golden Horn is covered with caiques from all parts of
Pera and Constantinople. This occurs on St. George's day in the month of May, when
the splendid stud of the sultan is brought out from the stables of the seraglio, for the first
time in the season, to graze on the rich herbage of this place. The horses are in the
care of Bulgarians, and crowds of peasants accompany their countrymen. They come
down from the Balkan mountains at this season of the year, to dress the vineyards about
the city; and groups of them, with their honest, good-natured faces, are seen everywhere
dancing through the streets. Their dress is a jacket of brown cloth, caps of brown
sheepskin with the wool on, and sandals of raw hide, drawn under the sole, and bound
over the instep. But what particularly distinguishes them is an enormous bagpipe-
The minstrel draws after him a crowd of his countrymen, capering through the streets
of Pera and Constantinople, on their way to the Sweet Waters, to amuse the company
assembled there. The banks at this season are covered with a rich verdure, and
enamelled with a profusion of flowers of all hues: the very humidity of the soil confers a luxuriance on the sward which is nowhere else to be seen. The soil round the
city is a poor and sterile gravel, and for nine months in the year presents a parched
and arid surface of irksome brown ; it is only in the cool, humid valleys, that a blade of
verdure is to be seen. This spot, therefore, is much frequented by the Franks; and
there is no stranger on a visit to the capital, who is not invited to see the Sweet Waters.
The Illustration represents one of these festive meetings. On the right of the foreground is a group of Greek girls, dancing through the graceful mazes of the romaika, |
