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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 72 |
| Format (IMT) |
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| File Name | exotic_201304_011_151.jpg |
| Transcript | 72 CONSTANTINOPLE AND ITS ENVIRONS ; on the minds of the people, derived perhaps from their interpretation of the Apocalvpse that their city never had and never would be taken. When, therefore, the Moslems inflicted ruin and desolation on other Christian communities, the inhabitants of Philadelphia despised them. They had heard that they had " laid waste defenced cities into ruinous heaps," yet they read that " by the way they came, they should return," and "not come into this city." They therefore made a vigorous resistance, and though remote from the sea, and bereft of all maritime aid, they, for near a century, and long after other Christian cities had been destroyed, repelled all the attempts of the Osmanli. At length, exhausted by famine, they could make no further resistance, and fell under the superior power of Ilderim, the Turkish Thunderbolt. The town stands upon a hill, and, like all Greek cities, ascends to an acropolis. Around the base expands a singularly rich country, even now in a high state of cultivation, divided into gardens and vineyards, and beyond them one of those verdant and fertile plains which distinguish Asia Minor. There are few remains of antiquity which mark the era when Grecian art flourished. Such walls and masses of masonry as now stand, belong to the time of the Lower Empire. Among the barbarous remnants of those times is a wall of human bones, cemented together, near the town, and said to be evidence of the massacre perpetrated by Bajazet, who formed the structure as a monument of the terrible effects of resisting his wrath. It is a companion for the pyramid of human heads which his rival Tamerlane erected on similar occasions. The present Christian population amount to about 1800. They have 25 churches, but the greater part of them are disused, except once in the year: in five only is weekly service regularly performed. The remains of ancient Christian churches, of an era immediately succeeding the Apocalypse, are still shown; particularly one dedicated to him who saw and recorded the vision. The illustration represents, in the foreground, the remains of the walls of the city. They were originally of great strength, and formed a triple defence, like those of Constantinople. Two no longer exist, but the inner still stands, with many of its bastions and circular towers. Beyond is the present city, displaying the evidence of a populous town. The bristling minarets and swelling domes indicate a numerous Moslem population, said to amount to 15,000 persons. In the background are the ridges of Mount Tmolus. |