Description of Stamboul

He reached Constantinople on the 9th of June. His description of Stamboul and its suburbs, as seen on his approach, is not excelled in graphic force and beauty by any of the numerous pictures that have been drawn of the grandeur of this magnificent Oriental scene: —

“June 9. We all rose at an early hour to see Constantinople. The storm had passed away, the stars were fading out of their places, the winds breathed soft, and the morning had all the freshness and coolness of one at this season of the year in New England after a refreshing shower. The view of Constantinople was at first indistinct, and presented nothing striking. We began to call in question the correctness of the opinions expressed by writers, of the unrivalled beauty of its situation and of the scenery around. But as we approached the city the prospect became enchanting.

On our left were fields rich in cultivation and fruitfulness. On our right were the little isles of the sea, and beyond the high lands of Broosa, with Olympus rearing its head above the clouds and covered with eternal snow. In the city, mosques, domes, and hundreds of lofty minarets were starting up amidst the more humble abodes of men, all embosomed in groves of dark cypress, which, in some instances, seemed almost like dense forests; while before, behind, and around us were, besides many boats of the country, more than twenty square-rigged vessels, bearing the flags of different nations, under full sail, with a light but favorable breeze, all converging to one point, and that point Constantinople.

Sweep around Seraglio Point

When we first caught a glimpse of Top-IIana, Galata, and Pera, stretching from the water’s edge to the summit of the hills, and as we began to sweep around Seraglio Point, the view became most beautiful and sublime. It greatly surpassed all that I had ever conceived of it. We had been sailing along what I should call the south side of the city for four or five miles, and were now entering the Bosphorus, with the city on our left and Scutari on our right.

The mosques of St. Sophia and Sultan Achmet, with the palaces and gardens of the present Sultan Mahmoud, were before us in all their majesty and loveliness. The latticed windows of the women’s apartments, the gilt doors, with the titles of the grand seignior inscribed over the massive gates in letters of gold, were coming into sight like enchantment. Numberless boats were shooting rapidly by in all directions, giving to the scene the appearance of life, activity, pleasure, and business.