A Month at Constantinople

Preface

. I feae that those of my friends who looked for a "Comic Constantinople" in this volume, will be somewhat disappointed ; so also will those who thought I might be tempted, by the example of all other writers, to give my own opinions, either upon the long-vexed question of Eastern politics, or the social and probable condition of the Turks. With the conviction that, in the first place, the funny school has been a little overdone of late ; and, in the second, that far more able and experienced heads than those of the mere tourist are constantly and gravely discussing the relations between Turkey and the Frank world, with practical views and powers, I have only essayed to present a book of First Impressions — describing all things, as plainly as may be, just as they struck me upon my journey ; colouring nothing for the sake of a page of poetical description or conventional enthusiasm, nor depre ciating anything because it chanced to cross some private whim or fancy of my own. VI

PREFACE.

. When I was on my way to the East, by the route that I have detailed in the appendix, I met many return travellers, whom I was always eager to question upon several points connected with the general superficial features of a sojourn at Constantinople : and I found many little practical hints they gave me, of much service on my arrival. In turn, I now present these to my readers, premising that my humble addition to the catalogue of works upon the East already published, is intended solely for those who have not been there. With respect to the illustrations, I have given only those wliich appeared to be the most characteristic, rather than the most imposing. After the magic pencils that have so admirably delineated the prin cipal features of the Bosphorus and the Golden Horn, any attempt on my part, to offer a fresh view of the pinnacled glories of Stamboul, or the fairy palaces of the "Ocean Stream," would have been preposterous and absurd.

There are many works of first-rate excellence, popular in England, in which fine drawings will be found of most of the spots I have described, and which they will more ably illustrate than any attempts of my own. It is with the greatest pleasure I am enabled to acknowledge, in this place, the kindness I received from my friends at Constantinople. Mr. Taylor,

PREFACE.

. VII of the Gun Factory; Mr. Grace, of Galata; Mr. O'Brien, of Therapia ; Mr. Smith, the Architect ; and Mr. Robertson, of the Mint, by their unwearying attentions, have caused me to look back upon Pera as a spot where some of my most pleasant hours were passed. To the latter gendeman, I am indebted for the charming water-colour sketch from which the frontispiece of this volume has been engraved. If I do not allude especially to the courtesy I experienced at our Embassy, it is because the names of Sir Stratford and Lady Canning are already world renowned for graceful hospitality. That my readers may gain a clearer notion of Constantinople than they have hitherto had, and be induced, by my statement of expenses and other practical matters in the Appendix, to make the tour; or that, haply bought at Malta, its perusal may beguile one or two of the hot lazy hours on the Levantine steamers, is the extent of my ambition with respect to the book now before them. London, April, 1850. CONTENTS. CHAPTEE I. PAGE The Departure from Malta . • 1

Chapter II

On Board the Scamandre 8 CHAPTEE III. Athens in Six Hours 17 CHAPTEE IV. Smyrna 26 CHAPTEE V. The First Dat at Constantinople 39 CHAPTEE VI. An Eastern Bath — The Fires at Pera .... 71 CHAPTEE VII. A Letter of Introduction —The Circus .... X CONTENTS.

CHAPTER VIII. PAGE

The Gun-Factoey — TnE Mint — Stampa's Shop 90

CHAPTER IX.

The Sebaglio and the Mosques 96

CHAPTER X.

The Sultan's Visit to Mosque — The Dancing Deevishes 102

CHAPTER XI.

CHAPTER XII.

The Bosphobvs j^g

CHAPTER XIII.

The Slave Maeket 128

CHAPTER XIV.

A Ride bound Stamboul 1.33

CHAPTER XV.

The Howling Debvishes— Robbeby of Tbavellebs 140

CHAPTER XVI BUYUKDEEE

148

CHAPTER XVII.

Peince's Island, and its Populab Amusements CONTENTS. XI

CHAPTER XVIII. PACE

Bazaars generally — A Camel Ride — A Boat Builder 168

CHAPTER XIX.

Therapia and Belgrade 175

CHAPTER XX.

Departure for Egypt 186

Appendix

. Practical Details of the Expenses, Routes, and other matters connected with the Tour . . erratum. Page 51, three lines from top, for "gashmaok," read "yashmack."

CHAPTER I. THE DEPARTURE FROM MALTA.

t six o'clock p.m., on Satur day, August 25th, 1849, the French Mediterranean mail steamer, Scamandre, left Malta harbour for Constan tinople ; after the proper amount of swearing, screaming, rushing about with out a purpose, and general confusion, which charac- B terizes every species of action in which more than one Frenchman chances to be engaged. Lest my readers should imagine that I took the usual bustle attendant upon a vessel's departure for something more than common, the question put to the crew generally by an impertinent English sailor, (who was rowing from the Terrible to the Marina Gate,) of " Why don't you make a noise ?" may prove, however indistinctly, that the uproar was beyond what he con sidered absolutely necessary. Although I had rested but a very short time at Malta, I left it with as much regret as though it had been a second home.

For after a troublesome journey through Baden, Lombardy, the Roman States, and Naples, at an especially troublesome epoch, subjected besides to every annoyance and imposition that police, passports, and political quarantines could inflict on a traveller, the feeling was one of great comfort to catch the first sight of an English soldier on guard ; to walk under a gateway with the familiar lion and uni corn — fighting for the crown as of old — boldly carved above it; to see well known names over the shops in every direction ; and to take halfcrowns and half pence in change, in as matter of fact a manner as though the shops had been in Oxford Street. Above all, it was pleasant to hear "God save the Queen" played by English drums and fifes, calling up the echoes from the glowing rocks of our far off Mediter ranean island.

There was enough to interest one, before the steamer started, in the coup d'œil of the harbour the noble ships of the line, and steam frigates, lying lazily at anchor; the impregnable fortifications; the clean stone houses, dazzling in sharp outlines in the clear bright air ; and the odd mixture of all sorts of costumes from every corner of the Mediterranean, between Gibraltar and Beyrout. Besides this, there were two or three parties of dirty urchins — cousins Maltese of the boys who seek for halfpence in the mud of Greenwich and Blackwall — who came up in singularly fragile boats, and petitioned for pieces of money to be thrown into the harbour, that they might dive after them. One of these little fellows was suf ficiently clever to attract general attention. His head was shaved all but a comical tuft over bis forehead, giving him the appearance, in his party-coloured caleqons, of a small unpainted clown.

When the piece of money was thrown into the water, and had sunk for a few seconds, he leapt in feet first after it, and he was never long in reappearing at the surface, holding it up in his hand, always overtaking it before it had reached the bottom. These lads were succeeded by a floating band of music, the members of which played the Marseillaise and the Giioudins' Hymn, out of compliment to the French steamer. But a shilling brought them round in an instant to our National Anthem, and Rule Britannia; and as we left the port we heard the last chords, inappro priately enough, of " Home, sweet home." They had evidently got up the latter to excite the people on their way home from India, in the quarantine harbour, but had immature notions of its application. For the last month the Mediterranean had been as calm as a lake — much more so, indeed, than that of b Geneva under certain winds — and the fine weather promised to continue.

This was fortunate for several reasons ; the chief one being that the Scamandre was a very old boat, not calculated to encounter heavy seas ; and in fact was said to be making her last voyage before condemnation to short coasting or river ser vice. With great exertion she could be propelled at the rate of something under eight knots an hour ; but the engineer respected the age of her machinery, and did not tax its powers. She was also very dirty, and the crew did their best to keep her in countenance ; at the same time, there were few places on deck to sit down upon, except such accommodation as the coils of rope, water-barrels, and chicken coops afforded. It is far from my intention, however, in thus speaking ofthe old Scamandre, to run down die admirable service of French mail steamers plying between Marseilles and the Levant generally.

On the contrary, their extreme punctuality, their moderate fares, and their excellent arrangements, entitle them to the attention of all tourists to whom time and money are objects. There is as little distinction observable between the appoint ments of their first and second class passengers, as on the foreign railways ; and as there is, on the other hand, a great difference in the price, and no servants, nor persons considered by the administration to be in any way unfit society for educated and well-bred people, are admitted into the cabin, this part of the boat is the most extensively patronised. We mustered about twenty passengers, and the first class cabin bad not above four or five, who looked so dull and lonely, that we quite commiserated them. Indeed, one of them — a good-tempered American — preferred now and then coming to dine with us, " to know what was going on," as he said.

There were two other classes still. The third, who had a species of cabin, still fore, to retire to at night; and the fourth, who bivouacked upon deck. And very pleasant was even this last way of travelling. I had come clown a deck passenger from Genoa to Leghorn ; from Leghorn to Civita Vecchia ; and from Naples to Malta, with a knapsack (which comprised all my luggage, and which I had carried many times across the Alps) for my pillow ; and I had learned to sleep as soundly upon planks as upon feathers. In the mild, warm nights, no bed-clothes were required ; and in the finest palace in the world there was no such ceiling to a sleeping chamber as the deep blue heaven afforded, spangled with its myriads of golden stars, which gleamed and twinkled with a lustre unknown to us in northern England.

As we left Malta, the passengers all sat down to dinner ; and for the first time we saw our companions for the next week. To begin with, there were three very pretty French girls. Two of these were cousins — Mademoiselle Virginie, and Mademoiselle Pauline, and they said they were going out to Bucharest as governesses ; but we subsequently discovered that they were milliners, from a quantity of finery they got rid of at Smyrna. The third, who was from Marseilles, had large dark eyes, and long black lashes, with a tinged cheek that suggested Andalusian blood. She was travelling with her brother, and another Frenchman, to whom she was engaged ; both these being employed in commerce at Marseilles. They had large beards, were great republicans, and kept very much to themselves and their cigarettes.

There was also a French lady of a tolerably certain age, who had been in London, and somewhat astonished me at first with her intimate knowledge of all the leading town circles. She was too well educated for a lady's maid, and yet wanted the repose of perfect good breeding; so that I was much puzzled to place her, until one evening she told me that she had been two seasons, several years ago, in the company of French actors at the St. James' Theatre. We had an Englishman, who was on a speculating expedition to see if he could get some muskets into Hungary ; he was also a great phrenologist, and, generally, a thinking, determined man. A young Irishman who had thrown up his commission in a line regiment, and was going to join the insurgents in the above named country, not having yet heard of their betrayal and dispersion : the amiable and intelligent Greek professor of the Harvard University in America, Mr. Sophocles, going home to his country after twenty years' absence ; and several persons engaged in the Levant trade, whose race was as difficult to be detected as their exact occupation — their language being as complicated a jumble of odd dialects, as their luggage was of strange bags and boxes.

So that, amongst them all, the conversation was tolerably lively ; and when I went again upon deck after dinner, I found Malta fading away into a small blue hill upon the burnished horizon, and felt, for the first time, fairly off, on my journey to the Levant. The violet light lingered in the clear sky, high up above the east, long after the brilliant glow of sunset had died away behind the deep purple bars that flecked it as it disappeared. Then, one by one, the golden stars came out, and the bright crescent moon, looking like a symbol of the new land to which we were now hastening, was mirrored quivering in the sea, which scarcely rippled in the light evening breeze that swept over it. It was long, however, before the last gleam of light left the horizon, and I leant over the trembling stern of the old Scamandre, watching its gradual departure with a feeling of pleasure in gazing on what I fancied might be the direction of England, which those only can appreciate, who, at a distance from home, have recalled its dear faces around them.

CHAPTER II.

on board the scamandre. The cabin assigned to us was a small closet off the chief one, containing ten berths, with a space of floor about seven feet by five, which they surrounded. We were quite full, and when each passenger had brought in his carpet-bag or hat-box — and one light-hearted foreigner appeared to be travelling from Marseilles to Smyrna with no more luggage than the latter con tained—there was little room to turn round ; indeed, that cruel feat with a cat, traditionally performed to determine habitable space, was here practically im possible. So we were obliged to go to bed and get up one at a time ; and when undressed, we had to pack our clothes up at our feet as well as we could, only to find that they had all got down into the depths of the mattresses, and underneath them even, by the morning.

We were fortunate, however, in having a species of stout cucumber frame for a sky light, which could be lifted right away ; and but for this, there is no telling how any one of us might have survived asphyxiation to recount our voyage. For having crept on to my shelf, which was one of the lower ones, about ten o'clock, with a very stout Armenian above me, who weighed so heavily on his sacking, that I was constantly knocking my head against it whenever I moved, I could not very readily get to sleep. The night was uncommonly sultry, even for the parallel of Malta, and I could not shake off a horrible impression that the stout Armenian would break through his sacking, and smother me at some remote period of the night. I could not get the fearful story I once read, of a man who was in a prison that got smaller every day until it crushed him, out of my head ; and this suffocating notion followed me into a troubled doze ; so that when I awoke about twelve, almost stifled by the heat, and looking up, saw the skylight above-mentioned, with the stars shining through the opening, I had some hazy impression that this was the last window of the six that had disappeared, one by one, and day by day, in the story alluded to.

In an agony of terror, such as I had never before experienced, I scrambled from my berth, and springing on a portmanteau, contrived to raise myself through the hatchway, and get a little breath of such air as was stirring. On the foreigners, the close and stifling heat appeared to make but a small impression. Not only had some of them gone to bed with the greater part of their clothes on, but one or two had even drawn closely together the blue curtains that ran on rods along the top of the berths, and so almost hermetically closed themselves up, to stew and swelter, as is their wont in diligences, steamers, and even rooms of hotels, or anywhere in fact, wherever an opportunity can be found of excluding such fresh air as might otherwise intrude. To me the sensation was so indescribably distressing, that I shuffled on some clothes, and pulling myself up through the opening, once more laid down upon the deck, amidst a dozen fourth class passengers, scarcely disturbed by the occasional visits of an enormous rat, who was scuffling about, picking up such few scraps as had fallen from tho deck suppers.

Here I remained until six in the morning, when I went below for my toilet. The four ladies had a cabin opposite to ours, and about the same size, but it had no hatchway. There was only a thick plate of ground glass to light it, and they had opened the door into the saloon for as much ventilatiou as they could get. They appeared to care but little about privacy — air was evidently the chief considera tion ; so that, as it happened, a man might have looked upon far more disagreeable objects than the dark-eyed Marseillaise, as she was lying in her berth and fanning herself, with her black hair floating about her pillow, and — if such may be mentioned — halfuncovered shoulders. She did not appear to think anything of the display, nor indeed did any body else — hei fiance and her brother included, with the latter of whom she kept conversing all the time he was dressing.

I should be very sorry to class foreigners, generally, as a dirty set of people when left to themselves, but I fear there is too much reason to suppose that (in how many cases out of ten I will refrain from saying) a disrelish for a good honest plunging wash is one of their chief attributes. It requires but very little experience, in even their best hotels, to come to this conclusion. I do not mean in those houses where an influx of English has imposed the necessity of providing large jugs, baths, and basins; but in the equally leading establishments — patronized chiefly by themselves — in these, one still perceives the little pie-dish and milk -jug, the scanty d'oyley-looking towel, and the absence of a soap dish ; whilst it would be perfectly futile to ask for anything further. So, on board the Scamandre, this opinion was not weakened.

They dipped a corner of a little towel, not in the basin, but in the stream that trickled from the cistern as slowly as vinegar from any oystershop cruet, and dabbed their face about with it. Then they messed about a little with their hands; and then, having given a long time to brushing their hair, they had a cigarette instead of a tooth brush, and their toilet was complete. This description does not only apply to the Scamandre passengers, but to the majority of their race, whom I afterwards encountered about the Mediterranean. There was such a terrible noise still upon deck — such hauling about of huge chains and dashing them down, as though theatrical gaolers were constantly making their entrances or exits — such renewed squabbling, and stamping, and screaming ; and useless covering up and darkening of hatchways, that I was glad to get back upon deck, along which the rising sun came right from the bowsprit, to tell us again that w-e were at last going towards the East.

And here it would have been more to our comfort, if the sailors had transferred to themselves, some of the pains they took to wash the decks. The engine pumped up the water into a tub, and this they dashed about in the most reckless manner ; now flooding yon away from the seat you had picked out upon a coil of ropes ; now almost washing the scared poultry clean out of their coops; and at last not leaving a spot so big as a foot-print to stand upon. So that when the ladies were dressed, we were not sorry to go down to breakfast, at three bells — which, (as everybody will say they kuew,) is the nautical for half-past nine ; — and here a very good meal of omelettes, fish, cutlets, potatoes, fruit, and wine, awaited us. On board ship, breakfast or dinner is made to last as long as possible — there is so little to occupy the rest of the time ; so that we did not complain of being kept waiting between the courses, but clutched eagerly at any subject of general conversation that was started.

There was no lack of this amongst the French, at their end of the table; but it was astonishing to analyze it, and see what trivial subjects occupied them. Those accustomed to the clatter of a table d'hote must frequently have observed the same thing, In the present case, one of the party occupied the attention of the entire table for ten minutes with an anecdote, which he prefaced by saying, " II m est arrive quelque chose de bien singu/ier quand j'etais a Smyrne pour la derniere fois ;" and then recounted his story at length, of which, in all honest truth, the following is the essence : — that he had been going by a shop and seen a large fish exposed for sale, and that, the same morning, he called upon a friend at breakfast-time, and saw a piece of the same sort of fish on the table. This was all ; but one would have thought from his energy and excitement, that a matter of the deepest importance was connected with the occurrence, as he struck the table so violently to enforce its singularity, that the glasses jumped about.

But his audience appeared amazingly astonished at the event, and said, " Tiens!" "Dieu !" and " Voila, ce qu'est charmant !" with the liveliest enthusiasm. Encouraged by this, he next called the attention of the company to a peach that he had cut through, stone and all, as another affair " tres singuliere." There is no telling what other matters of interest he might have touched upon, had not our phrenologist turned the conversation by observing that the bust of Lycurgus, in the Royal Academy, at Naples, was the image of Mazzini ; whereupon everybody went off at once about Rome and the Pope, Hungary, Louis Napoleon, Garibaldi, Russia, and the state of Venice, in such full cry, that it is a wonder how their mouths found opportunities to finish breakfast. It was, however, over at last, and then we all went upon deck, beneath an awning, to read, work, or smoke, until the heat was so intense that we could do. nothing but lie down, completely overcome, in our berths, until dinner.

This meal was a superior edition of breakfast ; and when it was over we went on deck again. The crew were lying lazily about, playing at cards and dominoes ; and a young Maltese, whom I found out to be the first flute in the orchestra of the Italian Opera at Constantinople, played several popular airs from Norma and Lucrezia Borgia. He was a nice intelligent fellow, and had established himself in a boat, upon deck, where he had his mattress and baggage, with a species of "bachelor's kitchen," in whicli he made coffee and soup, cooked fish, boiled eggs, and concocted all sorts of dishes. As night came on, the fourth-class passengers arranged their different bivouacs— under the bulwarks, alongside the guns, and about. One group was especially effective. A young Greek girl, her brother, and a little child in their charge— all from Tunis and on their way to Athens, took up their position under the capstan, and looked so well— the man in his Albanian costume, and the girl in her petticoat, (for ber night toilet only consisted in taking off her gown) that I did my best to make a sketch of them, which a more able hand has put on the wood.

Gavarni himself could not have surprised some wearied masqueraders in a better pose. As soon as it became tolerably dusky, the fowls and ducks were assassinated by the light of a lantern, at the side of the paddlebox, for the morrow's consumption ; and later, a sheep shared the same fate. Then, one by one, the passengers of the cabins crept below ; but the heat was still so far beyond anything possible to be con ceived, that I got my knapsack, as before, and laid myself down again upon the deck, where I was soon fast asleep, being followed in my example by one or two more of my gasping fellow travellers. This night I am not aware that the large rat paid us a visit ; he was possibly attracted by the results of the fowl murders on the other side of the boat. Anyhow, I slept undisturbed until after four in the morning.

The progress of the next day presented little variety. We still had nothing but blue sky and sea to look upon, when we sought distraction beyond the bulwarks of the steamer. Mademoiselle Virginie was studying navigation with the Commissaire, in his cabin ; she was there nearly all day. Pauline was incessantly employed upon a piece of crochet-work, which lasted all the journey, and got very dirty towards the end of it — being one of those fearfully uncomfortable things called anti-macassars, which hang on the backs of chairs, to make your hair rough ancl tumble over your head. About four o'clock in the afternoon we caught sight of Greece — high up over the larboard bow; and at dinner-time a pretty stiff breeze came on and the boat began to ride, which had the ad mirable effect of keeping the foreigners rather more quiet at table ; indeed, one or two left it.

At dusk, we passed Cerigo, one of our English possessions — a melancholy reddish-rock island. It was dif ficult to conceive a more dreary time than the officer must have had of it who was stationed there with his handful of troops. I longed to have seen some small boat by which I could have sent him a bundle of Galignanis, and a few numbers of Punch that we had on board. Then the little concert on deck began again — the opera airs bringing up thoughts of Grisi, and Covent Garden and the London season, here, out and away, at one of the gates of the Archipelago ; and then, at nine o'clock we all began to think of retiring. I did not try the berths again ; but the Maltese lent me a coat, and lying down on this, with my knapsack as before, for a pillow, I was soon comfortably curled up with my own thoughts.

I was, however, obliged to silence two runaway patriots, from some of the Italian States, who had been arguing loudly for an hour upon the affairs of Rome, without any chance of approaching a conclusion. When this was done, and the usual quantity of fowls had been killed, as on the preceding night, everything became quiet, and I was soon wandering in the world of dreams.

Chapter III. Athens In Six Hours

On getting up at six in the morning of the 28th, we found land about us in all directions. Passing the islands of Poros and Egina — the former possessing a fine arsenal, with every capability for building large ships on English principles, if the money could but be found ; and the latter, the remains of a noble temple — on our left, and Sunium on our right, we came to anchor in the Piræus about half past nine. It was here that I found myself in the midst of the first Levantine fancy costumes, that attract the tra veller's attention — the real well-known bright Albanian dress of the masquerades and panoramic paper hang ings, to say nothing of Madame Tussaud's Byron. One after another, picturesque fellows, in clean white kilts, so to speak, and scarlet leggings, shot off from the shore in light boats, which they rowed admirably, having adopted our own fashion from the people of the Ionian Islands.

As soon as they had surrounded the bottom of the steamer's ladder, they commenced fighting in a most furious manner to get the best position ; banging each other with boat-hooks and large sticks, which they had evidently brought with c them for the nonce, and climbing up the sides of the packet, like cats. In vain the crew of the Scamandre repulsed them — brushing them back into the swarm of boats, to get freshly beaten by their fellows on whom they tumbled — they were up again like wasps in an instant ; and the passengers had enough to do to avoid being involved in the battle, which continued even on deck, amongst the hotel touters. "I say, sir! here, sir! Hotel d'Orient is the best. Here's the card, sir — old palace — Murray says ver good," cried one of the costumes. " Hi !" screamed another ; " don't go with him, master — too dear !