SECTION XV.

On the Imperial Mosques in the Mohammedan City of Kostantaniyyeh.

The first, and most ancient of these places of worship dedicated to the almighty and everlasting God, is that of Ayá Sófiyah, built, as mentioned in the seventh Section, in the year 5052 after the fall of Adam. It was finished by Aghnádús (Ignatius?), a perfect architect, well skilled in geometry, under the direction of the Prophet Khizr; and forty thousand workmen, seven thousand porters, and three thousand builders, were employed in raising its domes and arches on three thousand pillars. Every part of the world was ransacked to find the richest marbles, and the hardest stones for its walls and columns. Stones of various hues, fit for the throne of Belkís, were brought from Ayá Solúgh (Ephesus) and Aïdinjik; marbles of divers colours were removed from Karamán, Shám (Syria), and the island of Kubrus (Cyprus). Some thousands of incomparable columns, wasp and olive-coloured, were imported from the splendid monuments of the skill of Solomon, standing in the neighbourhood of Átineh (Athens). After working at the building for forty years, Khizr and Aghnádús disappeared one night when they had finished half the dome. Seven years afterwards they appeared again and completed it. On its summit they placed a cross of gold an hundred Alexandrian quintals in weight, visible at Brúsah, Keshísh-dágh (Mount Olympus), ’Alem-dághí, and Istránjeh dághí. On the birth-night of the Prophet there was a dreadful earthquake, by which this and many other wonderful domes were thrown down; but it was afterwards restored by the aid of Khizr, and by the advice of the Prophet, to whom the three hundred patriarchs and monks, presiding over the church, were sent by him. As a memorial of the restoration of the dome by the aid of the Prophet and Khizr, Mohammed the Conqueror suspended in the middle of it, by a golden chain, a Golden Globe, which can hold fifty kílahs of grain, Roman measure; it is within reach of a man’s hand, and beneath it Khizr performed his service to God. Among the pious, many persons have chosen the same place for offering up their orisons; and several who have persevered in saying the morning prayer there for forty days, have obtained the blessings, temporal and spiritual, for which they prayed: it is, therefore, much frequented by the pious and necessitous for that purpose.

On the Dimensions, Builders, &c. of that ancient place of worship, Ayá Sófiyah.

This mosque is situated on elevated ground at the eastern end of the city, a thousand paces (ádim) distant from the Stable-gate (ákhór kapú) near the sea, and a thousand from Seraglio Point. The great cupola which rears its head into the skies is joined by a half-cupola, beneath which is the mihráb (sacred recess), and to the right of it a marble pulpit (minber). There are altogether on the whole building no less then 360 gilt cupolas, the largest of which is the great one in the middle; they are ornamented with broad, circular, and crystal glasses, the number of which in the whole mosque amounts to 1,070. The abovementioned cupolas (kubbehs) are adorned within by wonderful paintings, representing cherubims and men, the work of Monástir, a painter, skilful as Arzheng. These figures seem even now, to a silent and reflecting observer, to be possessed of life and thought. Besides them, there are, at the four angles supporting the great cupola, four angels, no doubt the four archangels, Jebráyíl (Gabriel), Míkáyíl (Michael), Isráfíl, and ’Azráyíl, standing with their wings extended, each 56 cubits high. Before the birth of the Prophet, these four angels used to speak, and give notice of all dangers which threatened the empire and the city of Islámból; but since his Highness appeared, all talismans have ceased to act. This cupola is supported by four arches (ták) that excel the arch of the palace of Kesra (Chosroes) (Táki Kesra), the arch of Khavernak; that of Kaïdafà; that of Káf, and that of Sheddád. The large columns, of the richest colours and most precious marble, are forty Mecca-cubits high; those of the second story are not less beautiful, but are only thirty cubits high. There are two galleries running round three sides of this mosque, and forming upper mosques for the worshippers; there is an ascent to them on both sides, which may be ascended on horseback; it is a royal road paved with white marble. The mosque has altogether 361 doors, of which 101 are large gates, through which large crowds can enter. They are all so bewitched by talismans, that if you count them ever so many times, there always appears to be one more than there was before. They are each twenty cubits high, and are adorned with goldsmith’s work and enamel. The middle gate towards the Kiblah, which is the highest of all, is fifty cubits high. It is made of planks from the ark which Noah constructed with his own hand. Over this central southern gate there is a long coffin of yellow brass, which contains the body of Aï Sóf, who caused Ayá Sófiyáh to be built; and though many emperors have tried at different times to open this coffin, an earthquake and a horrible crash immediately heard within the mosque, have always prevented them from compassing their designs.

Above it, in a niche, supported on small columns, stands a picture of Jerusalem (the ancient Kibleh), in marble; within it there are jewels of inestimable value, but it is also talismanic, and cannot be touched by any body. In this place there stood likewise upon a green column an image of Mother Meryem (the Virgin Mary), holding in her hand a carbuncle as big as a pigeons egg, by the blaze of which the mosque was lighted every night. This carbuncle was also removed in the birthnight of the Prophet, to Kizil Almà (Rome), which received its name (Red Apple) from thence. The Spanish infidels were once or twice masters of Islámból, and thence that egg (the carbuncle) came into their hands. The walls of this mosque, as well as the extremities of the columns, are carved like various flowers, with the most exquisite workmanship. The Mihráb and Minber are of white marble highly ornamented.

A Description of the four Minárehs (Minarets).

While Mohammed the Conqueror was residing as Viceroy at Edreneh (Adrianople), there was a great earthquake at Islámból, which made the northern side of Ayá Sófiyah bend, and threatened its ruin. The infidels were much alarmed; but Prince Mohammed, in a friendly manner, sent the old architect, ’Alí Nejjár, who had built the great mosques at Brúsah and Edreneh for Yildirim Báyazíd, and was then living, to the Greek king, in order to repair Ayá Sófiyah. It was he who erected for the support of the building four strong buttresses, every one of which is like the barrier of Yájúj (Gog). The architect having made a staircase of two hundred steps in the buttress on the right side of Ayá Sófiyah, among the shops of the turban-makers (sárikchí), the king asked for what purpose this staircase was intended? The architect answered, “For going out upon the leads in case of need?” When the work was completed the king bestowed rich presents on the architect, who returning to Edreneh, said to Sultán Mohammed, “I have secured the cupola of Ayá Sófiyah, O emperor, by four mighty buttresses; to repair it depended on me, to conquer it depends on thee. I have also laid the foundation of a mináreh for thee, where I offered up my prayers.” On that very foundation, three years afterwards, by the will of God, Sultán Mohammed built a most beautiful six-sided mináreh. Sultán Selím II. afterwards, in the year——, added another at the corner opposite to the gate of the Imperial palace (Bábi humáyún, the Sublime Porte), which is more ornamented, but a little lower than that of Mohammed the Conqueror. Sultán Murád III. built subsequently two other minárehs on the north and west side, each with only one gallery.

The ensigns (’alems, i.e. the crescents) on the top of these four minárehs are each of twenty cubits, and richly gilt; but that on the great dome is fifty cubits long, and the gilding of it required fifty thousand pieces of gold coin. It is visible at the distance of two farasangs by land, and a hundred miles off by sea. Murád III. also brought from the island of Mermereh (Marmora) two princely basons of white marble, each of them resembling the cupola of a bath, and so large that neither Jemshíd nor Dárá ever possessed such an one. Each of them can contain a thousand kílehs. They stand inside of the mosque, one on the right hand and the other on the left, full of living water, for all the congregation to perform their ablutions and quench their thirst. The same Sultán caused the walls of the mosque to be cleaned and smoothed; he encreased the number of the lamps, and built four raised stone platforms (mahfil) for the readers of the Korán, and a lofty pulpit on a slender column for the muëzzins. Sultán Murád IV. the conqueror of Baghdád, raised upon four marble columns a throne (kursì) of one piece of marble, for the preacher (vá’iz), and appointed eight sheïkhs as preachers of the mosque: the Efendís Kází-zadeh, Uskudárlí Mahmúd, Ibráhím sheïkh to Jerráh Páshá, Sivásí, Kudsí, Terjimán Sheïkhí ’Omar, and the great sheïkh, Emír Ishtíbí, who was so learned and skilful in answering questions and solving difficulties respecting the law, God be praised! We had the happiness and advantage of enjoying the exalted society of all these doctors and hearing their instructions. Sultán Ahmed I. built, on the left of the mihráb, a private recess (maksúrah) for the exclusive use of the emperor. In short this mosque, which has no equal on earth, can only be compared to the tabernacle of the seventh heaven, and its dome to the cupola of the ninth. All those who see it, remain lost in astonishment on contemplating its beauties; it is the place where heavenly inspiration descends into the minds of the devout, and which gives a foretaste even here below of the garden of Eden (‘Aden). Sultán Murád IV., who took great delight in this incomparable mosque, erected a wooden enclosure in it within the southern door, and when he went to prayers on Fridays, caused cages, containing a great number of singing-birds, and particularly nightingales, to be hung up there, so that their sweet notes, mingled with the tones of the muëzzins’ voices, filled the mosque with a harmony approaching to that of Paradise. Every night (in the month of Ramazàn) the two thousand lamps lighted there, and the lanterns, containing wax-tapers perfumed with camphor, pour forth streams of light upon light; and in the centre of the dome a circle of lamps represents in letters, as finely formed as those of Yákút Musta’simí, that text of the Scripture, “God is the light of the heavens and the earth.” There are also, on the four sides of the mosque, some thousands of texts in beautiful characters; and there, likewise, by command of Sultan Murád IV., the celebrated writer Etmekjí-zádeh Chelebí wrote the names of the Most High, of the prophet Mohammed and his four companions, in Kara Hisárí hand, so large that each elif measures ten arshíns (10 ells = 23¼ feet), and the rest of the letters are formed in the same proportion. Ayá Sófiyah is the Ka’beh of all Fakírs, and there is no larger mosque in Islámból. It possesses all the spiritual advantages to be obtained in any other, whether it be El Aksà at Kuds (Jerusalem), or the mosque of the Ommaviyyeh (Ommiades), at Shám (Damuscus), or that of El Ez-her at Misr (Cairo). It is always full of holy men, who pass the day there in fasting and the night in prayer. Seventy lectures (on theology) well pleasing to God are delivered there daily, so that to the student it is a mine of knowledge, and it never fails to be frequented by multitudes every day.

The Servants (Khuddám) of the Mosque.

They are the Imáms (reciters of the Form of Prayer); the Khatíbs (reciters of the Khotbah, bidding-prayer on Friday); Sheïkhs (preachers); Devrkhán (Scripture readers); Ders-’ámils (lecturers); Talabah (students); Muëzzins (cryers, who call to prayers from the Minárehs); Ejzá kháns (lesson readers); Na’t kháns (reciters of the praises of the prophet and his associates); Bevvábs (door-keepers); and Káyims (sextons): in all full two thousand servants, for the revenues of the mosque settled upon it by pious bequests (evkáf) are very large.

Stations and Places in this Mosque visited as peculiarly fitted for Devotion.

First. Ayá Sófiyah is, in itself, peculiarly the house of God.

Second. The station (Makám) of Moslemah, in a place called U’ch Búják (the three corners), where he, who was commander of the forces in the Khalifate of Mo’áviyyeh, is said to have offered up prayer.

Third. The station of Iyyúb Ansárí, who, after the peace made in the year of the Hijrah 52, entered Ayá Sófiyah and performed a service of two inflections on the spot called Makámi Iyyúb Sultán, south of the Sweating Column. There is now a Mihráb there much frequented at all the five services.

Fourth. The station of ’Omar Ibn ’Abdo-l-’aziz, who being commander at the peace in the year of the Hijrah 97, offered up prayers on the west side of Ayá Sófiyah, at the foot of the green Mihráb. This place goes now by his name.

Fifth. The station of Hárúnu-r-rashíd, who, at his coming a second time to Kostantaniyyeh, in the year of the Hijrah 58, having crucified King Yaghfúr in the belfry of Ayá Sófiyah, offered up prayers within the mosque in the kiblah of the prophet Solomon, on the south-east side, within the gate of the Defunct (Meyyit-kapú-sí).

Sixth. The station of Seyyid Battál Ghází in the sky-smiting belfry of the church.

Seventh. The station of Bábá Ja’fer Sultán, Ambassador of Hárúnu-r-rashíd.

Eighth. The station of Sheïkh Maksúd Sultán, the companion of Bábá Ja’fer. These two, with the king’s (i.e. the Greek emperor’s) permission, both offered up prayers on the eastern side of the mosque, within the sepulchral gate (Turbeh-kapú-sí), at the places now bearing their name.

Eighth. The station of Salomon, who is said to have offered up prayer on the ground where Ayá Sófiyah now stands, at the place called the Green Mihráb, to the right of the Minber.

Ninth. The station of Khizr, beneath the gilt ball in the centre of the cupola, is a place where some thousands of holy men have enjoyed the happiness of discoursing with that great prophet.

Tenth. The station of the forty, to the south of the platform of the Muëzzins, is a place where the ground is paved with forty stones of various colours, and where forty holy men stood when the extraordinary accident which happened to Gulábí Aghá took place.

Narrative of Gulábí Aghá.

Gulábí Aghá, Rikáb dár (stirrup-holder) of Sultán Suleïmán, a pious man, who died at the age of 151 years, relates that in consequence of the great plague in the reign of Sultán Selím II., which at Islámból carried off three thousand souls every day, that prince ordered the prayer Istiská to be proclaimed during three days; and that the mosque being much crowded on the holy night Kadr, in order to hear the sermon of the Sheïkh (i.e. Doctor) of the order of Beshiktásh Evliyá Efendí, the Sultán ordered the people present to be numbered. This Sheïkh, who was born at Tareb-afzún (Trapezonde), was a foster-brother of Sultán Suleïmán. The throng to hear his sermon was so great that all the people of Islámból filled the mosque three days before he preached. Sheïkh Yahyá being now in the middle of his sermon, and the whole multitude listening to his admonitions with their utmost attention, Gulábí Aghá, who was in the midst of the crowd, felt himself much distressed by a necessity of withdrawing. His body began to swell like the kettle-drum of Bagdad; he stood up two or three times on tip-toes to see whether there was no possibility of making his way through the multitude, but saw that a man must needs be engulfed in this ocean of men. He was ready to die for shame when he addressed himself to the forty, on the station of whom he was then standing, and begged of them to save him from being disgraced by exposure to the crowd. At that moment he saw a stately man standing near him, in the dress of a Sipáhí (soldier), who said to him, “I will release thee from thy pain;” and thus saying, stretched his sleeve over Gulábí’s head, who instantly found himself transported into a meadow on the bank of the stream near Kághid-khánah. His pain and distress were removed forthwith; and in a moment afterwards he was again in the same place in the mosque. When the sermon was finished all the hundred and one gates were shut except the large one at the south side, where the Defterdár Dervísh Chelebí, son of the Sheïkh Bábá Nakkásh, placed himself with his attendants in order to count all those who were then present in the mosque and its three stories of galleries, whose numbers amounted to fifty-seven thousand men. Gulábí Aghá not having the least doubt that the Sípáhí, who had transported him so charitably into the meadows of Kághid Khánah, was no other than the prophet Khizr himself, laid hold of the skirt of his robe, saying, “I am thy slave, O King! and will never again quit thee.” The Sipáhí answered him very roughly, “Be gone, man! We are not the man of whom thou speakest.” Gulábí Aghá, however, laid hold of him the faster; and the Sipáhí twice boxed his ears, and thus they made their way through the crowd. Gulábí, however, would not lose sight of him, and following him very close, saw him enter a place of retirement near Ayá Sófiyah. Gulábí waited for some time at the door, when, lo! it opened, and there came out a young cook of the Janissaries, elegantly dressed, with his official knife and silver chains. Gulábí instantly laid hold of him; but the Janissary cried out, “Begone, man, thou art mad!” Gulábí, notwithstanding, would not loose his hold; on which the cook of the Janissaries gave him a good thump, and entered a Búzah khánah in the market of Ayá Sófiyah, where he ate some kabábs and bread and drank búzah (a kind of beer), without taking the least notice of Gulábí. The Janissary went out and Gulábí followed him into a narrow street, where finding they were alone, he threw himself down at his feet, and entreated him, saying, “Be gracious to me, O Prophet, and grant me thy love!” The Janissary answered, “O seeker! although thou art a faithful lover, thou art not yet ripe, but wantest much of perfection, and must still undergo many trials; but as, notwithstanding my rebuffs, thou followedst me with unabated zeal, I will now bring thee to an old man, in whose company thou shalt remain forty days without opening thy lips or asking concerning any men or things that shall pass under thine eye.” He then, in that solitary place, knocked at a low and dirty gate, which was opened by an old camel-lipped negro, who pushed them both into the house. Gulábí, when he had recovered his senses, found himself in an assembly of men, who saluted him and received his salutations in return. The Janissary changed dress, and took the chief seat, after having kissed the hand of the old man, to whom he related Gulábí’s adventures. The Sheïkh said, “If he has renounced the world and all the pleasures of the senses, he is welcome in this assembly of Forty.” Gulábí then remained three days and three nights without eating or drinking. His house, family, and relations at U’n-kapání came into his mind; but he put his trust in the Almighty and resigned himself to his will. On the fourth, the old man said, “Now look to the business entrusted to you by God.” At the same time the man, who had first assumed the shape of a Sipáhí and then of a Janissary, stood up and brought out from a closet thirty-eight kinds of weapons, one of which he laid before thirty-eight of the men in company, placing before himself a Janissary’s basin with water in it. Gulábí being eager to drink, his guide said, “Have patience, we shall this day see whether this place be attainable by thee.” Some time afterwards there appeared on the opposite side, a male child; and one of the company, taking his sword, immediately cut off its head. “Friend,” said Gulábí, “why did you kill that boy? Did not I say, do not be curious?” replied his companion, the Janissary. Next appeared two men pursued by a lion, who tore one of them to pieces and eat him up, while the other saved himself by taking shelter behind the Sheïkh. Gulábí asking for an explanation, received the same answer. Next came an innocent little child pursued by a wolf. One of the men, sitting on the prayer-carpet (sejjádeh), took his bow and arrow and shot the beast dead; after which the child vanished in a corner. Three men then appeared on the other side, two of whom were hanged by the Sheïkh’s permission; and the third was about to be hanged, when Gulábí begun to intercede with the Sheïkh for his life. The Janissary seizing Gulábí by the collar, made him sit down in his place, and said, “Did I not tell you to have patience for forty days?” At that moment the water in the basin before the Janissary began to boil and bubble, and two small ships appeared upon it, one of which, by the Janissary’s aid, was saved, but the other perished with all its crew and passengers, except a little boy and girl who escaped to the edge of the basin. The Janissary pushing the innocent boy into the water, he was drowned; but the girl he drew out of the basin. Gulábí crying out, “Why didst thou drown that innocent boy, and why were all those Muselmáns lost in that ship?” The Sheïkh, from his seat as President, said, “Let us give a bit of bread to this man; and come let us offer up a prayer for him in the presence of these Forty.” So they all treated him with kindness and gave him a loaf of bread, an akchah, a piece of gold, a bunch of grapes, a date, and an olive; and prayed for him that he might continue in good health till his happy end, be honoured among the angels, preserved from misfortunes, heavenly and earthly, and die, after a long and prosperous life, under the shadow of the banner of the prophet of God. The whole company, at the termination of the prayer, said “Amen!” The Janissary and the negro door-keeper then laying hold of Gulábí’s collar, said, “Close thy eyes!” He closed his eyes, and on opening them again, suddenly found himself in one of the taverns at Ghalatah, where a crowd of drunken Janissaries hailed him; saying, “Come, old man, and drink a pot with us!” Gulábí, who had fasted three days, and supposed these Janissaries to be of the same kind as that who had been his guide, removed his hunger by partaking of the food prepared in the tavern. At length, when sunset was near, he took a boat to return to the U’n-kapání. On coming into a narrow street he was assailed by two drunken Janissaries, who stripped him of his turban and his sable robe, and said they would kill him if he did not drink another cup of wine. Whether he would or not, he was compelled to drink it. So he returned home naked, and never afterwards left his house again, having abandoned the world and given himself up to a spiritual life, in which he soon became a great man. He dwelt within the U’n-kapání among the goldsmiths, bestowing great liberalities on all comers and goers, to the astonishment of all men. Having heard the account of these extraordinary events which befel the late Gulábí Aghá (to whom God has granted mercy and pardon) at the station of the Forty, in Ayá Sófiyah, from his own mouth, it appeared proper to insert it here. The proof of it rests with the relater. One of the traditions of the Prophet says, “A liar is he who makes a story out of everything he hears.” We now return to our description of the stations in Ayá Sófiyah.

Eleventh. The station of the Apostles on the eastern side of the gallery.

Twelfth. The station of Ak Shemsu-d-dín, near the Sweating Column, which stands on the western side of the South gate. It is a square marble pillar eleven cubits high, and cased to a mans height with brass. It sweats day and night, winter and summer.

Thirteenth. The station of the South-East gate (Kiblah kapú-sí). This gate being made of the wood of Noah’s ark, all merchants who travel by sea, and sailors, are accustomed to offer up a prayer, accompanied by two inclinations of the body, and touch the wood with their hands, saying a Fátihah (i.e. the first chapter of the Korán) for the rest of Noah’s soul before they set sail.

Virtues of the Golden Ball.

If any man have a bad memory which he wishes to improve, he should place himself beneath the Golden Ball suspended in the middle of the cupola, and say the morning prayer seven times; three times repeat the words Allahumma Yá káshifo-l mushkilát Yá ’álimu-s-sir va-l khafiyyát (i.e. O God who openest all difficult things and knowest all secret and hidden things), and each time eat seven black grapes, and then whatever he hears will remain fixed in his memory as if engraven on stone. A most noted example of this was Hamdí Chelebí, son of Ak-Shemsu-d-dín, who lived in the village of Turbahlí Góïnuk. He was so foolish and forgetful, that if any one gave him the Selám he was obliged to write the word Selám on a piece of paper and read it before he could comprehend that he ought to answer ‘Ve aleïkum es-selám.’ No doctors could do him any good, so that at last he was completely a prey to forgetfulness, till he went, by Ak-Shemsu-d-dín’s advice, to Ayá Sófiyah, where, after saying the requisite prayers, and eating the grapes as prescribed above, beneath the Golden Ball, he was so completely cured of his stupidity, that he began immediately to compose his poem of Yusuf and Zuleïkhá, which he finished in seven months; after which he wrote his Kiyáfet-námeh (Treatise on Physiognomy), which is known all over the world as a wonderful poem on the nature of the Sons of Adam.

Fourteenth. The station of the cool window, on the south-east side (Kibleh) of Ayá Sófiyah, on the inner side of the Imperial Gate, is a window opening to the north, where fragrant breezes and songs of the nightingales from the garden outside refresh the soul. It is there that Ak-Shemsu-d-dín, immediately after the conquests, delivered his Lectures on Joreïri’s Commentary on the Korán; and having prayed that all students who pursued their studies there should be blessed with success, that spot has ever since been a delightful place. It was there also that our instructor, the Sheïkh of Sheïkhs, Evliyá Efendí, that master of the art of reading the Korán, delivered his lectures on that science to some thousands of hearers.

Fifteenth. The station of the Lord Jesus’s cradle, in a corner on the eastern side of the upper gallery, is a hollow trough of reddish marble like a cradle, where the Christian women used to place their children when sick in order to obtain their recovery.

Sixteenth. The station of the Washing Place of the Lord Jesus. Near the cradle just mentioned above, there is another square trough of stone, where the Prophet Jesus was washed immediately after he was delivered from the womb of his mother Meryem. Kostantín the Ancient, mentioned above, is said to have brought both the cradle and the font from Beïtu-l-lahm to the south of Kudsi Sheríf, but the humble writer of these lines saw the washing-trough of Jesus at Beïtu-l-lahm. That children who are crooked and sickly, when washed in the trough in Ayá Sófiyah immediately become straight and healthy, as if revived by the breath of Jesus, is known to all the world.

Seventeenth. The station of the Gate of the Seven. On the east side of the upper gallery there is a large door, the folds of which are not of wood, but of white marble adorned with sculpture. It is visited and admired by all travellers and architects as not having its fellow on the face of the earth. It is a favourite place of worship.

The Spectacle of the resplendent Stones.

On the east side of the upper gallery there are five or six smooth flat slabs of various coloured stones, which reflect the rays of the rising sun with so bright a light that the eye of man cannot look stedfastly on them. In short, there are some thousands of holy places of pilgrimage in Ayá Sófiyah, which is a Ka’beh for Fakírs, but the writer of these pages has only described those which he knew. The whole of this mosque is also covered with lead, which has remained uninjured for so many thousand years from its being mixed up with some thousand quintals (kantár) of gold. All architects are lost in astonishment at the solidity of the foundations of this vast building, and no tongue or pen is capable of adequately describing it. We have seen the mosques of all the world; but never one like this. Mohammed the Conqueror, after having repaired this mosque, also repaired that called Little Ayá Sófiyah, near the Kadirghah límání (galley harbour), which had been previously a church built by Elínah, mother of Kostantín.

The Mosque of Zírek Báshí.

This is also a large mosque, built by Kostantín for the benefit of the soul of the Lord Yahyá (St. John), and called, in the time of the Nasárá (Christians) Menastir Sanjovaniyyeh (Monastero San Giovanni). The holy body of that Saint is now at Malta, which is, therefore, called Sanjovanniyyeh (i.e. Malta di San Giovanni). It was carried away by the Maltese infidels from a convent in the village of Beït Sabástiyyeh (Σεβαστὴ), near Kudsi Sheríf. His head is still preserved in a golden dish in a cavern in the middle of the mosque of the Bení Ommayyeh in Shám (Damascus). The Maltese having removed the body of St. John from Beït Sabástiyyeh, carried it to ’Akkah, and there enclosing it in a chest adorned with jewels, conveyed it to their own country; having ever since made all their conquests in the name of St. John, whose name and figure they now bear, together with the cross, upon their banners. As St. John was nearly related to Jesus, on his mother the Virgin Marys side, the mother of Constantin built this mosque as a convent to the honour of his spirit. It was enclosed by a very strong wall, had a cistern of its own, and cells for three thousand monks. After the conquest, Mohammed the Conqueror converted it into a mosque, and it has forty-six cupolas great and small, and many beautiful columns. All its cupolas are gilt, and as it stands upon a hill, it is much admired and extremely conspicuous. In short, Mohammed the Conqueror, in the course of his reign, converted no less than 6,670 large monasteries (deïr) into places of worship for Musulmáns. He afterwards began to build a splendid mosque on his own account. He began by building the Irghát hammámí (workmen’s bath) in the Karamán chárshú-sí (Karamanian market), that the workmen might perform their ablutions every day before they began to work at the mosque. This was finished in forty days, and still bears the same name.

Description of the Mosque of Mohammed the Conqueror.

The foundations of it were laid in the year 867 (A.D. 1463), and it was finished A.H. 875 (A.D. 1470). The date of its commencement is expressed by the Arabic words Sheyyed-allahu erkánehá. It is situated on high ground, in the midst of Islámból, on the site of a convent which bore the name of king Vezendún (Byzantium). This convent having been entirely destroyed by an earthquake its site was fixed upon for this new mosque by the conqueror.

Form of this Mosque.

The ascent to it is by a flight of stone steps on the right and left; and its height from the ground to the roof is 87 builders cubits, four cubits being the height from the ground, of the platform on which it stands. It has a large cupola in the centre, and semi-cupolas over the Mihráb. The Mihráb, Mimber, and Mahfils, for the Muëzzins and the Emperor, are of white marble and of ancient workmanship. The cupola has two rows of galleries adorned with lamps. On the left side of the Mihráb stands an ancient banner in long strips, made of Alí’s doublet (jubbeh). There is nothing suspended in this mosque except lamps; but it possesses great spiritual advantages, and prayers offered up in it are sure to be answered, because the workmen employed in building it were all Musulmáns; and to this day neither Jews nor Christians are allowed to enter its blessed doors. Its spirituality was secured by the workmen, who never began their work till they had performed their ablutions, and it was built from the wealth obtained in the Conquest.

On issuing from its southern (kiblah) gate, there is seen on the right hand, a square white marble column, on which the following traditional saying of the Prophet is inscribed in blue and gold and in large Jellí characters, by Demirjí Kúlí:—“Verily, Kostantaniyyeh shall be conquered! How excellent a commander is that commander! How excellent a host is that host!” It is approached on the southern side, also, by two stone staircases on the right and left; and on the four sides of its court (harem) there are stone benches (soffahs) and variegated columns, the sculptures on which astonish the beholder. On a needle-like pillar, within the southern gate of the court, there is a figure representing a Mevleví Dervísh, with his cap and fan (mirvahah). In the centre of this court there is a large basin, covered by a leaden cupola, supported by eight columns. Round this basin there are verdant cypresses towering to the sky like minárehs, and each appearing like a green angel. On the right and left of the mosque there are lofty minárehs, with a single gallery. The cloisters round the court are covered with leaden cupolas, and the floor is paved with variegated marble. On the outside border of the windows of the court the Súrah Fátihah (1st chap. of the Korán) is inscribed in white marble letters on a green ground, in the character invented by Yákút Mosta’simí, which is not equalled by any thing of the kind in all Islámból. The architect, to shew his skill in the construction of this basin in the centre of the court, placed over it a brazen cage like a net, which is also itself a masterpiece. The water rushing out, day and night, from the pipes of this basin, affords abundantly wherewith to quench the thirst of the devout, and enable them to perform their ablutions. The great cupola of the mosque seems also to hang without support, like the vault of heaven. Before the Mihráb is the monument of Mohammed the Conqueror and his family. Besides which, on the sides of the mosque there is a great court which has eight gates, and fine gardens on both sides. Outside of it there are the eight celebrated colleges (Semániyyeh), filled with students, on both sides of which are their apartments and stables. There is also a refectory (Dáru-z-ziyáfet), a hospital (Dáru-sh-shifá), a cáravánseráï for guests, an ancient bath, and an A B C school for children. When all these buildings, crowded together, are seen from a height above, they alone appear like a town full of lead-covered domes.

Appeal of the Mi’már Báshí (Head Builder) to the Law of the Prophet against the Conqueror.

Mohammed being, like Jem, a very passionate Emperor, severely rebuked the architect for not having built his mosque of the same height as Ayá Sófiyah, and for having cut down the columns, which were each worth the whole tribute of Rúm (Asia Minor). The architect excused himself by saying, that he had cut down two columns three cubits each on purpose to give his building more solidity and strength against the earthquakes, so common in Islámból, and had thus made the mosque lower than Ayá Sófiyah. The Emperor, not satisfied with this excuse, ordered both the architects hands to be cut off, which was done accordingly. On the following day the architect appeared with his family before the tribunal of the Kází, styled Islámból-Mollá-sí, to lay his complaint against the Emperor and appeal to the sentence of the law. The Judge immediately sent his officer (Kiahyà) to cite the Emperor to appear in court. The Conqueror, on receiving this summons, said, “The command of the Prophet’s law must be obeyed!” and immediately putting on his mantle and thrusting a mace into his belt, went into the Court of Law. After having given the selám aleïk, he was about to seat himself in the highest place, when the Kází said, “Sit not down, Prince, but stand on thy feet, together with thine adversary, who has made an appeal to the law. The Mi’már Báshí (head architect) thus made his complaint: “My Lord (Sultánum)! I am a perfect master builder and a skilful mathematician; but this man, because I made his mosque low and cut down two of his columns, has cut off my two hands, has ruined me, and deprived me of the means of supporting my family. It is thy part to pronounce the sentence of the noble law.” The Judge then said to the Emperor, “What sayest thou, Prince? Have you caused this man’s hands to be cut off innocently?” The Emperor immediately replied, “By heaven! my Lord (Sultánum), this man lowered my mosque; and for having cut down two columns of mine, each of which was worth the tribute from Misr (Egypt), and thus robbed my mosque of all renown, by making it so low, I did cut off his hands: it is for thee to pronounce the sentence of the noble law.” The Kází immediately answered: “Prince (Begum), Renown is a misfortune! If a mosque be upon a plain, and low and open, worship in it is not thereby prevented. If thy stone had been a precious stone, its value would have been only that of a stone; but of this man, who has now for these forty years subsisted by his skilful workmanship, you have illegally cut off the hands. He can henceforward do nothing more than cohabit with his wife. The maintenance of him and his numerous family necessarily, by law, falls upon thee. What sayest thou, Prince (Begum)?” Sultán Mahommed answered: “Thou must pronounce the sentence of the law!” “This is the legal sentence,” replied the Kází, “that if the architect requires the law to be strictly enforced, your hands be cut off; for if a man do an illegal act which the noble law doth not allow, that law decrees that he shall be requited according to his deeds.” The Sultán then offered to grant him a pension from the public treasury of the Musulmáns. “No!” returned the Móllá; “it is not lawful to take this from the public treasury: the offence was yours; my sentence, therefore, is, that from your own private purse you shall allow this maimed man ten aspers (akchahs) a-day.” “Let it be twenty aspers a-day,” said the Conqueror; “but let the cutting off of his hands be legalized.” The architect, in the contentment of his heart, exclaimed, “Be it accounted lawful in this world and the next!” and, having received a patent for his pension, withdrew. Sultán Mohammed also received a certificate of his entire acquittal. The Kází then apologized for having treated him as an ordinary suitor; pleading the rigid impartiality of law, which requires justice to be administered to all without distinction; and entreating the Emperor to seat himself on the sacred carpet (sejjádeh). “Efendí,” said the Sultán, somewhat irritated, and drawing out his mace from under the skirt of his robe, “if thou hadst shewn favour to me, saying to thyself, ‘This is the Sultán,’ and hadst wronged the architect, I would have broken thee in pieces with this mace!” “And if thou, Prince (Begum),” said the Kází, “hadst refused to obey the legal sentence pronounced by me, thou wouldst have fallen a victim to Divine vengeance; for I should have delivered thee up to be destroyed by the dragon beneath this carpet.” On saying which he lifted up his carpet, and an enormous dragon put forth its head, vomiting fire from its mouth: “Be still,” said the Kází, and again laid the carpet smooth; on which the Sultán kissed his noble hands, wished him good day, and returned to his palace.

Subsequently, Abdál Sinán, when Mi’már Báshí, added some embellishments to this mosque, and, at a later period, ’Alí Kúshjí, the celebrated astronomer, erected a school for the instruction of Muselmán children in the Korán within the precincts (harem) of this mosque, near the Dyer’s gate (Bóyájíler kapú-sí) opposite to the great dome. The same astronomer also placed there a sun-dial, which has not its equal in the whole world. It is engraved on a square marble tablet, according to that text of the Korán:—“Dost thou at all know how thy Lord hath extended the shadow?”

After these events, in the reign of Báyazíd Velí, there was a great earthquake at Islámból for seven days and six nights. The castle of Ghalatah was damaged in many places; but it was repaired by the architect, Murád, who recorded the date of the repairs in an inscription engraved in the Jellí character on a square marble tablet. The reparations of the city were finished in sixty days. It is written, that this was the severest earthquake since the time of Yánkó ibn Mádyán. Báyazíd afterwards built a bridge of fourteen arches over the river Sakariyah, at the town of Keïveh, in the Sanják of Izmít (Nicomedia); another of nineteen arches, over the river Kizil Irmák, at the city of ’Osmánjik; and a third of nineteen arches, over the Gedúz (Hermus), in the province of Sárú khán; after which he began to build the mosque that bears his name, near the old palace in Islámból. Its foundations were laid in the year 903 (A.D. 1498), and it was finished in A.H. 911 (1505-6). It is built nearly in the same style as the mosque of his father Mohammed the Conqueror; but its two minarets are contiguous, not to it, but to the two rows of houses built on each side for the accommodation of strangers, which were subsequently added to the mosque.

Description of the Mosque of Sultán Báyazíd II.

It is a square building supporting a large dome, flanked by semi domes on the south-eastern (Kiblah), and opposite sides. On the right and left of the mosque there are two purple columns of porphyry, of which the like are to be found only in the mosque of Sultán Kaláún, in Caïro; and there is suspended from these a double row of lamps. On the right side of the mosque an elevated gallery has been constructed for the use of the Sultáns of the house of ’Osmán at the public service on Fridays. Sultán Ibráhím subsequently enclosed three sides of the gallery with gilt gratings, so that it resembles a beautiful cage, or net-work, or rather a palace of the immortals. The Mihráb, Minber, and Mahfil, though made of marble, are simple and unornamented; and on the first are inscriptions written in beautiful characters. The mosque has five gates, and the outer court (harem) is adorned with stone benches (soffahs), and on each side a cloister, supported by variegated columns; and in the centre there is a large basin, where all the congregation renew their ablutions. A cupola, supported by eight white marble columns, was placed over the basin by Sultán Murád IV., the Conqueror of Baghdád. On different sides of it four lofty cypresses have been planted. When the foundations of this noble mosque were laid, the Mi’már Báshí having asked the Sultán where he should place the mihráb, was desired by his Majesty to tread upon his foot; having done which, he immediately had a vision of the noble Ka’bah, and knew, consequently, where to place the mihráb. He, therefore, prostrated himself at the Sultán’s feet and began the work, the Sultán having previously offered up a prayer, accompanied by two inclinations of the body, for its happy completion. On the first Friday after it was finished, when there was an assembly of some thousands, the congregation, knowing that the Sultán had never in his life failed to offer up the afternoon (’asr) and evening (’ashà) prayers, insisted on his performing the functions of Imám. The Sultán, being aware that no one present was so well acquainted with those services as himself, consented to perform them. As this mosque was entirely built with lawful money, it has great spiritual advantages; and being situated in the centre of the markets of Islámból, is crowded day and night by thousands of devout Muselmáns, who are offering up their prayers there without ceasing; so that it has often happened that before one party has got through the afternoon (’asr) service, as far as the Ayetu-l Kursí (the verse of the throne, Kor. ii. 256), another coming in prevents the first from finishing. The pipes of the basin in the court are never closed, but pour forth streams of water day and night, because the congregation never fails. This mosque is always illuminated by flashes of light; and before the window of the mihráb there is a garden like that of Irem, adorned with various fruits and flowers, where, beneath a monument of white marble, covered with lead, rest the remains of its founder. Round the inner and outer courts of this mosque there are shops of all kinds of trades, with a public kitchen, a refectory, and hostel for travellers; a school for instructing the poor and rich in the Korán; and a college for lectures on the art of reciting it. This court has six gates; and is adorned, externally, with lofty trees, most of them mulberries, under the shades of which some thousands of people gain a livelihood by selling various kinds of things. Outside of this court there is a large valley, called the Meïdán of Sultán Báyazíd, adorned on its four sides with shops; and on one side by the great college of the same Sultán, which has seventy cupolas. The superintendent (Názir) of this mosque is the Sheïkhu-l Islám (i.e. the Muftí); he also gives the public lectures in this college. He delivers his lectures once a week, and the students receive a monthly stipend, besides an allowance for meat and wax-lights: this is a very well-endowed foundation. This mosque has altogether 2,040 servants; and none has a better salary than the Muvakkit, or Regulator of Time; because all the seamen and mariners in the empire of Islám depend, for the regulation of time, on the Muvakkit of Sultán Báyazíd Khán; and as the mihráb of this mosque was miraculously placed in the true position of Kiblah: all sea-captains regulate their compasses by it; and all the infidel astronomers in Firengistán, as is universally known, correct their watches and compasses by the mosque of Sultán Báyazíd. Besides this mosque, that Emperor built sixty other places of worship in the countries which he conquered. The mosque and convent of Emír Bokhárí, as well as the mosque of Ghalatah-seráï, were built by him. May God reward all his pious works! His conquests are as follows: The castles of Motón and Korón, Arkáriyah, Kalámitah, Kalávertah, Holómích, Tiribólíchah (Tripolizza), Bállí-Bádrah (Palæ Patræ, i.e. Patras), and Anávárín (Navarino), in the year 906 (1500-1). All the above castles are in the southern and western parts of the Peninsula (Morea). He also conquered the castle of Ainah-bakhtí (Naupaktus or Lepanto), A.H. 905 (A.D. 1499, 1500). The fortresses of Kilì and Ak-kirmán were taken in the 889 (A.D. 1484). The castles Várnah, Avlóniyah, and in Arnáútluk (Albania) Durráj (Durazzo), were captured, and a tribute imposed upon Karah Boghdán (Moldavia), in the year 918 (A.D. 1512). After having conquered these and many other castles, he was defeated in a second engagement with his son Selím I., at Chórló (Τούρουλος or Τζορλοῦ), where he was deserted by all his servants, who followed Selím to Islámból and proclaimed him Emperor. Báyazíd Khán was immediately ordered to retire to Dímah-tókah (Dymóticho for Didymótichon); but having reached Hávusah, a small town one days journey distant from Edreneh (Adrianople), died there. Various reports were circulated respecting the cause of his death. Some say that he died sighing, and crying out, “O King Jem!” Others, that having been poisoned by his son, he exclaimed, “May thy life be short, but thy victories many!” His corpse was buried within the precincts of his mosque. He reigned thirty-three years, and was succeeded by his son Selím I., who began his victorious course by a signal defeat of Sháh Ismá’íl, King of Írán, on the plains of Cheldir, beneath the castle of Ak hichkah, where 200,000 Kizil-báshes (Persians) were put to the sword. The Sháh himself escaped with difficulty, accompanied by only seven horsemen, and his Queen Tájlí Khánum was taken prisoner, together with three hundred female captives, who were entrusted to the care of the Defterdár Tájir-zádeh Ja’fer Chelebí, and conducted by him to the threshold of Felicity (the Sublime Porte). In this victorious campaign the following castles were conquered:—Kars, Ak-hichkah, Erdehán, Hasan, Erz Rúm, Baïbúd, Iánijah, Kumákh, Karah-Hamíd, Diyár-Bekr, and forty other castles with their dependencies. Sultán ’Aláu-d-daulah, of the Zúl-kadriyyeh family, Lord of Mer’ash, was also defeated and killed, and his head, together with those of seventy other great chiefs (Bóï Beg), was sent to Ghaurí, Sultán of Egypt, against whom a campaign was immediately commenced: in the course of which Súltán Selím conquered Halebu-sh-shuhbá (the bright), with its twenty, Shám (Damascus), with its forty-two castles; Tarábulu-Shám (Tripoli), with its seventy castles, occupied by the Durúzí (Druzes); Beïtu-l-mokaddas (Jerusalem), Ghazah, and Ramlah, with seventeen castles. In that paradisiacal country, Shám (Syria), he took up his winter-quarters; and in the ensuing year he fought, on the plain of Kákún, the great battle in which Sultán Ghaúrí was routed and slain. The wreck of the army of the Cherákis (Circassians) fled to Misr (Caïro), with Selím Khán at their heels; and after one continued battle for a whole month, the province of Misr (Egypt), with its three hundred cities and seven thousand villages, was given up to the conqueror in the year 922 (A.D. 1516). Híreh Beg was appointed Governor of Misr (Caïro); and Kemàl Páshà-zádeh Ahmed Efendí, Military Judge. Possession was taken of Mekkah and Medínah, and Selím assumed the title of Servant of the two noble Mosques, and exalted his victories to the skies. On his returning to Islámból, he laid the foundation of the mosque which bears his name, but did not live to finish it. He was buried in the kubbeh, opposite the Mihráb. He was born in Tarabefzún (for Tarábuzún, i.e. Trebizonde), of which he was Governor while a Prince. He reigned nine years, during which the Khotbah was said in his name in one thousand and one mosques. He was succeeded by his son, the determined supporter of the faith, and the breaker of the heads of the people who contemplated rebellion, the tenth of the Sultáns of the house of ’Osmán, Sultán Suleïmán Khán el Ghází, who finished the mosque begun by his father.

Description of the Mosque of Sultán Selím I.

He began it as a monument to the illustrious memory of his father, in the year 927 (A.D. 1521), and finished it in the year 933 (A.D. 1527). It is a lofty mosque, in the interior of Islámból, on the summit of one of the hills which overlook the canal; but it has no fine columns within it like the other mosques. It is only an elevated dome supported by four walls, but such as to raise the admiration of all who are masters in mathematics, and to be pointed at as a proof of the great skill of the old architect Sinán. On examining it, all mathematicians are astonished; for its dome is found, on admeasurement, to be one span wider than that of Ayá Sófiyah. It appears, in truth, to be an azure vault, like the vault of the sky; but is not so high as that of Ayá Sófiyah, since it measures only fifty-eight builder’s cubits in height. The cause of its not having been made more lofty, is the elevation of the hill upon which it stands. On the right side of its precincts (harem) there is a deep cistern, made in the time of the infidels; and on the north side is the ascent called the Forty Stairs, though there are fifty-four steps. The declivity on each side is very steep and precipitous; the architect Sinán, therefore, with a prudent foresight, in order to avoid all risk from earthquakes, gave a very moderate height to the mosque. The platform (mahfil) for the Muëzzins is placed upon marble columns, adjoining to the wall on the right hand; the Minber and Mihráb are of white marble, in a plain style. On the left side of the mosque there is a gallery supported by columns for the use of the Emperor: this was enclosed like a cage, with a gilt grating, by Sultán Ibráhim. Round the cupola there is a gallery where lamps are lighted on the blessed nights. The mosque is ornamented with some thousand trophies suspended around it, but has no other distinction on the inside. Opposite to the windows on the side of the Mihráb, is the sepulchre of Selím Khán, in a delightful garden, where the sweet notes of nightingales are heard. It is a hexagonal building, surmounted by a cupola. This mosque has three gates, of which that looking towards the Kiblah is always open. On the right and left of the mosque there are hostels for travellers; and there are also, on the right and left side, two minárehs, with one gallery each; but they are not so high as other minárehs. The court of the mosque (harem) is paved with white marble, has three gates, and stone benches (soffahs) all round. There is a basin in the centre of the court, which constantly supplies the Muselmán congregation with fresh and running water for their ablutions. Sultán Murád IV. placed a pointed dome over it, supported by eight columns, and there are four cypresses on the different sides of it. Outside of this court is a large enclosure (harem), planted with trees of various kinds, and entered by three gates. On the south (Kiblah) is the gate of the mausoleum (Turbeh); on the west, that of the market; on the north, that of the Forty Stairs. Below the market, looking towards the Chukúr Bóstán there is a large school for boys, a public refectory (Mehmán-seráï), and lodgings for men of learning and students. The bath (hammám) is three hundred paces beyond this enclosure; but there are no other colleges nor hospitals.

Description of the Fifth Imperial Mosque; that of Sultán Suleïmán.

It was begun in the year 950 (A.D. 1543), and finished in the year——, and is beyond all description beautiful. The learned, who composed the metrical inscriptions, containing the date of its erection, confess that they are not able duly to express its praise; a task which I, the contemptible Evliyà, am now striving to perform as far as my ability will allow. This incomparable mosque was built by Sultán Suleïmán on one-half of the unoccupied half of the summit of the lofty hill on which had been erected, by Mohammed II, the old Seráï. Suleïmán having assembled all the thousands of perfect masters in architecture, building, stone-hewing, and marble-cutting, who were found in the dominions of the house of ’Osmán, three whole years were employed in laying the foundations. The workmen penetrated so far into the earth, that the sound of their pickaxes was heard by the bull that bears up the world at the bottom of the earth. In three more years the foundations reached the face of the earth; but in the ensuing year the building was suspended, and the workmen were employed in sawing and cutting various-coloured stones for the building above the foundations. In the following year the Mihráb was fixed in the same manner as that of Sultán Báyazíd’s mosque; and the walls, which reached the vault of heaven, were completed, and on those four solid foundations they placed its lofty dome. This vast structure of azure stone is more circular than the cupola of Ayá Sófiyah, and is seven royal cubits high. Besides the square piers which support it, there are, on the right and left sides, four porphyry columns, each of which is worth ten times the amount of the tribute (Kharáj) from Misr. These columns were brought from the capital of Misr, along the Nile, to Iskanderiyyeh, and there embarked on rafts, by Karinjeh Kapúdán, who in due time landed them at Ún-kapání; and having removed them from thence to the square called Vefà-méïdán, in the neighbourhood of the Suleïmániyyeh, delivered them up to Suleïmán Khán; expressing his wish that they might be received as a tribute from Karinjah (i.e. the Ant), just as a gift was graciously received from the Queen of Ants by Solomon. The Emperor, to shew his gratitude, immediately settled upon him the Sanjaks of Yilánlí-jezíreh-sí, and the island of Ródós. God knows, that four such columns of red porphyry, each fifty cubits high, are to be found no where else in the world. On the side next to the Mihráb, and on that opposite to it, the dome is joined by two semi-domes, which do not, however, rest on those columns, as the architect was afraid of overloading them. Sinán opened windows on every side to give light to the mosque. Those over the Mihráb and Minber are filled with coloured glass, the brilliance of whose colours within, and the splendour of the light reflected from them at noon, dazzle the eyes of the beholders, and fill them with astonishment. Each window is adorned with some hundreds of thousands of small pieces of glass, which represent either flowers, or the letters forming the excellent names (i.e. the Divine attributes); they are, therefore, celebrated by travellers all over the world. Though the Mihráb, Minber, and Mahfil of the Muëzzins are only formed of plain white marble, yet the last is of such exquisite workmanship, that it seems to be the Mahfil of Paradise; the Minber is also made of plain marble, but is surmounted by a conical tiara-like canopy, the like of which is no where to be found; and the Mihráb is like that of his Majesty Solomon himself. Above it there is engraved in letters of gold, on an azure ground, from the hand-writing of Karah-hisárí, this text of the Korán (iii. 32), “Whenever Zakariyyà (Zacharias) went into the chamber (mihráb) to her.” On the right and left of the Mihráb there are spirally-twisted columns, which appear like the work of magic. There are also candlesticks of a mans stature, made of pure brass, and gilt with pure gold, which hold candles of camphorated bees’-wax, each 20 kantárs (quintals) in weight. The ascent to each of them is by a wooden staircase of fifteen steps, and they are lighted every night. In the left corner of the mosque is a gallery (mahfil) raised on columns, for the private use of the Sultán; and it also contains a special Mihráb. Besides this gallery, there are four others, one on each of the large piers, for the readers of the lessons from the Korán. On both sides of the mosque there are benches (soffahs), supported by low columns, and outside of it, parallel with these benches within, galleries, supported on columns, one of which looks upon the sea, and the other on the market. When the mosque is very much crowded, many persons perform their devotions on these benches. There are also, round the cupola, within the mosque, two rows of galleries supported by columns, which, on the blessed nights, are lighted with lamps. The total number of the lamps is 22,000; and there are likewise some thousands of other ornaments suspended from the roof. There are windows on all the four sides of the mosque, through each of which refreshing breezes enter and revive the congregation; so that they seem to be enjoying eternal life in Paradise. This mosque is also, by the will of God, constantly perfumed by an excellent odour, which gives fragrance to the brain of man, but has no resemblance to the odour of earthly flowers. Within the mosque, beside the southern gate (kibleh), there are two piers, from each of which springs a fountain of pure water, in order to quench the thirst of the congregation; and in the upper part of the building there are certain cells for the purpose of keeping treasures, in which the great people of the country and some thousands of travellers keep their money, to an amount which the Great Creator alone knows!

In Praise of the Writing of Karah Hisárí.

There never has been to this day, nor ever will be, any writing which can compare with that of Ahmed Karah Hisárí, outside and inside of this mosque. In the centre of the dome there is this text of the Korán (xxiv. 35): “God is the light of heaven and earth; the similitude of his light is as a niche in a wall wherein a lamp is placed, and the lamp enclosed in a case of glass:” a text justly called the Text of Light, which has been here rendered more luminous by the brilliant hand which inscribed it. The inscription over the semi-dome, above the Mihráb, has been already given. On the opposite side, above the southern gate, there is this text (vi. 79): “I direct my face unto him who hath created the heavens and the earth: I am orthodox.” On the four piers are written, “Allah, Mohammed, Abú Bekr, ’Omar, ’Osmán, ’Alí, Hasan, and Hoseïn. Over the window to the right of the Minber: “Verily, places of worship belong to God; therefore, invoke not any one together with God.” Besides this, over the upper windows, all the excellent names (of God) are written. These are in the Shikáfí hand; but the large writing in the cupola is in the Guzáfí hand, of which the Láms, Elifs, and Káfs, each measure ten ells; so that they can be read distinctly by those who are below. This mosque has five doors. On the right, the Imám’s (Imám kapú-sí); on the left the Vezír’s (Vezír kapú-sí), beneath the imperial gallery, and two side doors. Over that on the left is written (Kor. xiii. 24), “Peace be upon you, because ye have endured with patience! How excellent a reward is Paradise!” Over the opposite gate this text: “Peace be upon you! Ye are righteous; enter in and dwell in it for ever!” Beneath this inscription, on the left hand, is added, “This was written by the Fakír Karah Hisárí.”

Description of the Court (Harem).

The court of this mosque has three gates, to which there is an ascent and descent by three flights of steps. It is paved with white marble, and is as smooth and level as a carpet. Though very spacious, the body of the mosque is still larger. Round its four sides there are benches (soffahs) of stone, forty feet broad, upon which columns of coloured stones rest, supporting arches of different hues, as various as those of the rainbow. The windows of this court are guarded by iron gratings, the bars of which are as thick as a man’s arm, and so finely polished, that even now not an atom of rust is seen upon them, and they shine like steel of Nakhjuván. In the centre of this court there is a beautiful fountain worthy of admiration, but it is not calculated for ablutions, being only designed for the refreshment of the congregation. Its roof is a low, broad, leaden cupola; but the wonderful thing is this, that the water from the basin springs up as though shot from a bow, to the centre of the cupola, and then trickles down its sides like another Selsebíl. It is, indeed, a wonderful spectacle. Over the windows on each side of this court there are texts from the Korán inscribed in white letters on blue tiles. The door opposite to the kibleh (i.e. the north door) is the largest of all; it is of white marble, and has not its equal on earth for the beauty and skill with which it is carved and ornamented. It is all built of pure white marble, and the different blocks have been so skilfully joined together by the builders that it is impossible to perceive any crevice between them. Over the sill of the door there are sculptured flowers and festoons of filagree work, interlaced with each other with a skill rivalling the art of Jemshíd. On each side of this gate there are buildings four-stories high, containing chambers for the muvakkits (hour-cryers), porters, and sextons. At the entrance of this gate there is a large circular block of red porphyry, which is unparalleled for its size and the fineness of its polish. It is as large as a Mohammedan simát (i.e. dinner-tray). Within the gate, on the right side of the court, there is a square slab of porphyry, on which a cross was sculptured, the traces of which are still visible, though it was erased by the masons. The infidels offered a million of money for it in vain: at length a royal ball was fired from a galleon of the infidels, lying before Ghalatah, purposely at this slab, which was struck; but being on the ground, it received no damage. So that the infidels, with all their rancour, and skill in gunnery, could not break this stone, which had become a threshold of the Suleïmániyyeh; but the mark of the ball still remains, and raises the astonishment of all beholders.

On the pedestals of the columns round the four sides of this court (harem) there are brass plates, on which the dates of memorable events, such as great fires, earthquakes, revolts and tumults, are engraven. This mosque has four minarets, the galleries of which are ten in number, as a record that Sultán Suleïmán Khán was the tenth Sultán of the House of ’Osmán. The two minarets adjoining to the body of the mosque have each three galleries, to which there is an ascent by a staircase of two hundred steps; the two minarets at the inner angles of the court are lower, and have but two galleries each. Of the two lofty minarets which have three galleries, that on the left is called the Jewel Minaret, for the following reason:—Sultán Suleïmán, when building this mosque, in order to allow the foundations to settle, desisted, as has been already observed, for a whole year, during which the workmen were employed on other pious works. Sháh Tahmás Khán, King of ’Ajem (Persia), having heard of this, immediately sent a great Ambassador to Suleïmán, with a mule laden with valuable jewels, through friendship, as he said, for the Sultán, who, from want of money, had not been able to complete this pious work. The Ambassador presented the Sháh’s letter to the Sultán while surrounded with the innumerable builders and workmen employed about the mosque; and the latter, incensed on hearing the contents of the letter, immediately, in the Ambassador’s presence, distributed the jewels which he had brought to all the Jews in Islámból, saying, “Each Ráfizí, at the awful day of doom changed to an ass, some Jew to hell shall bear! To them, therefore, I give this treasure, that they may have pity on you on that day, and be sparing in the use of their spurs and whips.” Then giving another mule laden with jewels to Sinán, the architect, he said, still in the Ambassador’s presence, “These jewels, which were sent as being so valuable, have no worth in comparison with the stones of my mosque; yet, take them and mingle them with the rest.” Sinán, in obedience to the Sultán’s command, used them in building the six-sided basis of this mínaret, which derives its name from thence. Some of the stones still sparkle when the sun’s rays fall upon them; but others have lost their brilliance from exposure to excessive heat, snow, and rain. In the centre of the arch, over the Kibla gate, there is a Níshábúrí turquoise (pírúzeh), as large in circumference as a cup. There are on the two sides of this mosque forty different places where ablutions can be renewed.

A Description of the Imperial Mausoleum.

At the distance of a bow-shot from the Mihráb, in the midst of a delightful garden, is the sepulchre of Suleïmán, itself an unparalleled edifice, being crowned by a double cupola, so that one is placed over the other, the smaller below and the larger above. There is not, in the whole civilized world, a building so richly ornamented with wonderful sculptures and carvings in marble as this!

Description of the Outer Court.

The outer court of this mosque is a large sandy level planted with cypresses, planes, willows, limes, and ashes; and surrounding three sides of the building. It has ten gates: two on the Kibla side; viz. that of Merá, and that of the old Serái; on the south side, the Mekteb (school gate), chàrshù (market), medreséh (college), and Hakím-Báshi (Head Physicians) gates. On the west, the Imareh (alms-house), Táv-kháneh (hospital), and Aghá’s gate (Aghá kapú-sí). On the north side a stone staircase of twenty steps to the gate of the dome of one thousand and one nails, so called because that number of nails was used in constructing it. There is also the Hammám kapú-sí (bath-gate) looking eastwards, whence there is a descent of twenty steps to the bath. On this side the court (harem) is not enclosed by a wall, but merely by a low parapet, that the view of the city of Islámból may not be interrupted. There the congregation remains and enjoys a full view of the imperial palace, Uskudár (Scutari), the castle of the Canal (Bógház Hísárí) Beshik-tásh, Tóp-khaneh, Ghalatah, Kásim Páshá, the Okmeidán, and the harbour (khalíj) and strait (Bogház) traversed by a thousand boats and barges and other kinds of vessels—a spectacle not to be equalled in any other place in the world! The circumference of this outer court (harem) is one thousand paces. There is also a smaller court called the Pehliván Demir meïdání (i.e. wrestlers’ iron ground) between this mosque and the walls of the old serai. It is a valley where wrestlers from all the convents exercise themselves when afternoon-prayer is over (ba’de-l’asr). To the right and left of this mosque there are four great colleges for the education of lawyers in the four (orthodox) sects, which are now filled with men of the most profound learning. There is likewise a Dár ul-hadís, or school for instruction in the traditional law; a Dár-ul-karrà, or school for instruction in the recitation or chaunting of the Korán; a college for the study of medicine; a school for children; a hospital, a refectory, an alms-house, a hospital for strangers (Táv-kháneh), a karbánserái for comers and goers, a market for goldsmiths and button and boot makers, a bath, with apartments for the students, and thousands of chambers for their servants; so that within the precincts of the mosque there are altogether not less than 1001 cupolas. Seen from Ghalatah the Suleïmániyyeh seems like one vast plain covered with lead. The whole number of servants attached to the mosque is three thousand. They are maintained by secure and liberal endowments, all the islands in the White Sea, as Istankoi (Stanco), Sákiz (Chios), Ródós (Rhodes), &c. having been settled on it by Sultan Suleïmán. Its revenues are collected by five hundred men under the direction of the mutevellí (commissioner). There is no building in the whole empire of Islám stronger or more solid than this Suleïmániyyeh; nor has any cupola ever been seen which can be compared to this. Whether the solidity of its foundation, or the wonderful beauty and perfection of its different parts, be considered, it must be allowed to be, both within and without, the finest and most durable edifice which the world ever beheld. When it was finished, the architect Sinán said to the sultan: “I have built for thee, O emperor, a mosque which will remain on the face of the earth till the day of judgment: and when Halláj Mansúr comes, and rends Mount Demavund from its foundation, he will play at tennis with it and the cupola of this mosque.” Such were the terms in which he extolled its strength and durability; and indeed, standing on a lofty hill surrounded and strengthened below by various walls and bulwarks, its foundations are peculiarly solid. First, there is the upper wall of the Tahtu-l kal’ah; then, that of Siyávush Pashá’s palace; next, that of the Yenícherí Aghá’s; afterwards, that of the cistern in the little market: then those of the Aghá’s school, the warm bath, the lead magazine, and hospital. The foundations of all these buildings may be considered as the outworks of the foundation of this mosque. The humble writer of these lines once himself saw ten Franc infidels skilful in geometry and architecture, who, when the door-keeper had changed their shoes for slippers, and had introduced them into the mosque for the purpose of shewing it to them, laid their finger on their mouths, and each bit his finger from astonishment when they saw the minarets; but when they beheld the dome they tossed up their hats and cried Maryah! Maryah! and on observing the four arches which support the dome on which the date A.H. 944 (A.D. 1537) is inscribed, they could not find terms to express their admiration, and the ten, each laying his finger on his mouth, remained a full hour looking with astonishment on those arches. Afterwards, on surveying the exterior, the court, its four minarets, six gates, its columns, arches and cupolas, they again took off their hats and went round the mosque bareheaded, and each of the ten bit his fingers from astonishment, that being their manner of testifying the greatest amazement. I asked their interpreter how they liked it, and one of them who was able to give an answer, said, that nowhere was so much beauty, external and internal, to be found united, and that in the whole of Fringistán there was not a single edifice which could be compared to this. I then asked what they thought of this mosque compared with Ayá Sófiyah; they answered, that Ayá Sófiyah was a fine old building, larger than this, and very strong and solid for the age in which it was erected, but that it could not in any manner vie with the elegance, beauty, and perfection of this mosque, upon which, moreover, a much larger sum of money had been expended than on Ayá Sófiyah. Indeed, it is said, that every ten Miskáls of stone used in this mosque cost a piece of gold (a ducat). The entire sum expended in this building amounted to 890,883 yuks (74,242,500 piastres).

Another of Sultan Suleïmán’s monuments at Islámból is the Forty Fountains. Desirous of bringing into the city some sweet water which had been discovered at a considerable distance, he consulted the famous architect Sinán, who replied, that an undertaking so difficult would require enormous sums of money. Suleïmán promised to provide the necessary funds; the work was commenced, and in the course of seven years 3,700 arches were constructed, thus forming an aqueduct, and joining that of Yánkó Mádiyán near the horse-market. By this means the delicious water was circulated throughout the city, and the souls of the thirsty were made glad. In some parts the arches rise two or three stories high.

Suleïmán also commenced the bridge of Chekmejeh, which was completed by Selim II. He also built the mosques of Shehzádeh, Jehángír, and Khásseki; the new arsenal; and the college of Selim I., founded at the Koshk of the Khaljiler, and dedicated to the memory of his father; a mosque at Uskudár, called after his illustrious daughter Mehrebán, and two Kháns. In Rumeïli the monuments of his bounty are almost innumerable: amongst them may be enumerated the fortresses of Segdin, Sigeth, and Ouzi (Oczakow), on the frontiers. At Edreneh (Adrianople) he constructed an aqueduct, a bridge, and a mosque and refectory near the bridge of Mustafa Pasha. In Anátolí he built at Konea, near the tomb of Jelál-ud-dín-Rúmi (may God sanctify his secret state), a splendid mosque with two minárets, a college, a music-room for the Dervíshes, a dining-room for the poor (imaret), a refectory, and numerous cells for the poor Dervíshes. At Damascus, an extensive mosque and a college. At Kaf and Iznik (Nice) he converted two churches into mosques; a plan which he put into execution in all the towns and palankas which were conquered during his long and victorious reign. The cupola of the mosque of Solomon’s temple was also built by this Emperor, and he adorned the cupola of the sacrificial stone (sakhra-i-sherif) with ceilings of carved wood and stone, so that it equals the gallery of Chinese paintings, and resembles paradise. After the conquest of Baghdád, he erected over the tomb of the great Imám, Noamán-ben-Thábet, a castle, and a mosque with a refectory; and over the tomb of the Sheikh, Abdul-káder Jilani, a lofty cupola, a mosque, a refectory and other buildings for pious purposes. For the benefit of the holy cities (Mecca and Medina) he instituted the Surra, a present of 62,000 ducats, which is annually transmitted to those places by the Surrá-Emini; and the annual distribution of wearing apparel. He also repaired the aqueduct built by Hárún-ur-rashíd, adding four fountains to it, and conducting a stream to Mount Arefat. He moreover built at Mecca four colleges in the same style as those of Rumeïli, and endowed them in the same manner. He also rebuilt the cupola of Khadijeh, the Mother of the Faithful, with numerous other pious foundations which we shall have occasion to mention hereafter in the course of our travels: our present object being only to describe those of Islámból. All these pious works were effected by means of the prizes taken at Malta, Rodós, Bodin, Kizil-álma (Rome), Belgrade on the Danube, Baghdád, and other places; the whole amount of which is computed to have been 896,383 fulúrí (florins), which, according to the present value of money, would be 53,782,009 aspres, or 74,666,666 paras, or 1,866,666 piastres. During the reign of Suleimán Khán four aspres weighed one dirhem of pure silver, and one hundred ducats weighed 118 dirhems.

Description of the Mosque of Prince Mohammed.

According to the opinion of all architects and mathematicians, this mosque is situated in the centre of the triangle of Islámból. It ranks as the sixth imperial mosque, and was built by Suleimán Khán for his favourite son Mohammed, who died at Magnesia, and was buried here. Its cupola is an elegant piece of workmanship, and though not so large as that of the Suleïmániyyeh, it rears its head majestically into the skies: it is supported by rectangular pillars and four semi-domes. The mihráb and minber are both of exquisite workmanship. The mahfil is supported by eight columns, and on its left is the Sultán’s mahfil, also supported by columns. This mosque has no large columns, but is adorned with a double row of lamps amounting to eight thousand. It is lighted by windows on every side, and has three gates, over one of which, that opposite to the mihráb, is placed the chronogram: “The place of prayer for the Prophet’s people, 955” (A.D. 1548), in which year the foundation was laid. This also is of Sinán’s architecture. It was commenced on the 1st of Rabi’-ul-avul, 955 (10th April 1548), and was finished in the month of Rajab, 965 (April 1558). It cost 15,000,000 aspres. Facing the mihráb, in a most delightful garden beneath a lofty cupola, is the tomb of Prince Mohammed, and beneath another, that of his brother Jehángír, who died at Halep (Aleppo), and was buried in this place. The court is adorned with numerous columns, and in the centre there is a fountain, beneath a cupola supported by eight columns, which was built by Murád IV. The two minarets, with their double galleries, have not their equal in Islámból, Edreneh, or Brusa, for ornaments and sculptures. The lead-covered roof is a piece of art likewise well worthy of admiration. On three sides it is surrounded by a large plain planted with trees, underneath one of which, on the left-hand side of the mosque, is buried the Sheikh, Ali Tabl, who was drummer in Iyyúbs expedition against Islámból. Round this large court stand the college, refectory, and hospital for strangers (Tav-khaneh); it has neither a bath nor a common hospital.

The mosque at Fundukli, dedicated to the memory of the prince Jehángír, was also built by Suleimán. But this shall be described in its proper place.

Description of the Mosque of the Valideh.

This mosque, which is commonly called Khasseki-evret (the favourite of the women), and is situated near the Evret-bazar, is not so large as other mosques, and has only one mináreh. It has a common kitchen, a refectory, a hospital, a college, and a school for children.

Description of the Mosque of Mehr-máh Sultáneh.

It is a lofty mosque within the Adrianople-gate, and was built by Sultán Suleimán Khán for his daughter Mehr-máh. Its mihráb, minber, and mahfil, are remarkably neat; but there is no royal mahfil. It is surrounded by the apartments of the college, a bath and a market. There is neither refectory nor hospital.

In short, Sultán Suleimán Khán, during a reign of forty-eight years, established order and justice in his dominions; marched victoriously through the seven quarters of the globe, embellished all the countries which were vanquished by his arms, and was successful in all his undertakings; because, mindful of the sacred text, “Take advice in your affairs,” he always consulted with his Ulemá.

The Vezirs during his reign were:—

Pír Mohammed Pasha, who was confirmed in his office on the accession of the Sultán.

Ibrahim Pasha, who was educated in the imperial harem, built the seven towers at Cairo, and hanged Ahmed Pasha, the rebellious governor of that city.

Ayás Pasha, a native of Albania, but brought up in the harem.

Lutfí Pasha, also brought up in the harem. He had the Sultán’s sister given him in marriage, but was dismissed from office for speaking against a woman who was related to his wife.

Suleimán Pasha, a white eunuch, who took Dív-abád, Ahmed-abád, and several other fortresses from the Portuguese, and gave them to the Raï of India. He also conquered ’Aden, in Yemen (Arabia), and Habesh (Abyssinia), assisted by Oz-demir-beg.

Rustam Pasha, a Khiroad (Croatian) by birth, and an Aristotle in wisdom.

Ahmed Pasha, a judicious, brave, and accomplished minister. He began by being Chamberlain in the Serai, and was gradually promoted to the office of Aghá of the Janissaries, Governor of Rumeïli, and Grand Vezir. He once conducted a night attack against Sháh Tahmas of Persia, and conquered Temesvar.

Kalen Ali Pasha, a native of the village of Parcha, in Hersek (Herzegovina). He was first Chamberlain, then Aghá of the Janissaries, Governor of Egypt, and Grand Vezir. He was a very corpulent man.

So-kolli Khojeh, Ali Pasha, a native of the village Sokol, now called Shahín, in Bosnia, having held various inferior offices, was raised to that of Vezir, which he held for forty years under three monarchs.

The Vezirs of the kubbeh (cupola) who did not attain the rank of Grand Vezir were:—Mustafa Pasha, the Bosnian; Ferhád Pasha, the Albanian; Khaïn Ahmed Pasha, a rebellious Albanian who was hanged at Cairo; Gózlujeh Kásím Pasha, who conquered Anabóli (Napoli), in the Morea, and built the mosque bearing his name opposite Islámból; Hájí Mohammed Pasha, poisoned at Bodin (Buda) by a Jew who boasted that he had poisoned no less than forty Moslems; Khosru Pasha, the brother of Khojeh Lála Mustafa Pasha; Khádem Ibrahím Pasha, a man of a brave and generous disposition, who built the mosque bearing his name within the Silivrí-gate; Khádem Heider Pasha, who was chief of the white eunuchs in the harem, but was dismissed on suspicion of having been accessory to the murder of the Prince Mustafa: he was an eloquent and learned man, and died Governor of Hersek (Herzegovina); Balak Mustafa Pasha, a Bosnian, Balak, in the Albanian language, signifying ‘old’: he was Governor of Egypt and Capudan of the fleet, and was buried at Iyyúb; Dámád Ferhád Pasha,—he was brother-in-law of Prince Mohammed, and was an excellent calligrapher: a copy of the Korán of his penmanship may even now be seen at the mausoleum of Sultán Báyazíd; Mustafa Pasha, who was descended from Khaled, son of Valíd, and younger brother of Shemsi Pasha: he was educated in the imperial harem, made Chakirji-bashi, commanded the expedition against Malta when Governor of Rumeïli, died on the pilgrimage to Mecca, and was buried by my father.

Begler-begs in the reign of Sultán Suleimán.

Behram Pasha; Davúd Pasha, who died Governor of Egypt; Oveis Pasha, Governor of Shám (Damascus); Dukakin Zádeh Gházi Mohammed Pasha, Governor of Egypt; Oveis Pasha, Governor of Yemen (Arabia), he quaffed the cup of martyrdom at the hand of Pehlevan Hassan, the robber; Oz-demir Pasha, a relation of Ghori, the last Sultán of Egypt, a Circassian by birth, and Conqueror of Habush (Abyssinia); Gházi Omer Pasha, who built a mosque and imaret at Belgrade; Gházi Kásim Pasha, who when Suleimán raised the siege of Pech (Vienna), headed the party which made an excursion into Germany, and came round by Venedik (Venice) to Essek with only three hundred men, the others having fallen martyrs in the expedition: I visited many of their tombs in different places in Germany; Gozlujeh Rustam Pasha, Aga of the Janissaries, and afterwards Governor of Bodin (Buda); Suleimán Pasha, educated in the harem: he died at Astúli (Stuhlweissenburg), of which he was Governor, and was buried before its gate; Othmán Pasha, a Circassian, educated in the Seraï, who was rewarded with the government of Rumeïli for a night attack upon the Persian camp at Nakhchéván; Gházi Hassan Pasha, who was in Arabia and Abyssinia, whence he went to Temeswar, of which he was made Governor; Solak Ferhád Pasha, Governor of Baghdád, where he died; Baltaji Mohammed Pasha, a Bosnian, who was dismissed from the governorship of Baghdád, and died at Islámból; Harem Pasha, a Bosnian; Pír Pasha, of the family of Ramezan; Kobad Pasha, step-brother of the preceding; Músá Pasha, of the family of Isfendiyár,—he was Governor of Erzerúm, and died in the war against the Georgian infidels; Khádem Ali Pasha, who died whilst Governor of Cairo; Arslan Pasha, the son of Sokolli Mohammed Pasha: he built the powder-magazine at Bódin (Buda), and was executed on suspicion of having given up Tátá and Pápá to the infidels; Ayás Pasha, brother of the Grand Vezir, Sinán Pasha: he was beheaded; Behrám Pasha, Governor of Baghdád; Jenáblí Ahmed Pasha, who was twenty years Governor of Anatóli, and built a mulevi (convent) and bath at Angora; Olama Pasha, who was taken prisoner by the Persians, amongst whom he became a Khán, but afterwards deserted them, and returning to Rumeïli obtained the Sanják of Lippova, where he was killed, after having sustained a siege of forty days. Yorksa Pasha, educated in the harem; Shemsí Pasha, of the family of Kuzil Ahmedli, and brother of the Vezir Mustafa Pasha: he was the confidential minister of three Sultáns; Hájí Ahmed Pasha, of the same family; Damád Hassan Pasha, the Sultan’s brother-in-law: he was sent as Ambassador to Persia on account of the flight of the Prince Báyazíd, and suffered martyrdom at Sivás: I have visited his tomb; Iskender Pasha, first Bóstánjí báshí, and then Governor of Anatoli; Cherkess Iskender Pasha, for fifteen years Governor of Díárbekr, where he died; Temerrúd Ali Pasha, a native of Bosnia; Kara Mustafa Pasha, he was taken from the chamber of pages; Khizr Pasha, a man of dignified manners, who was educated in the harem; Kara Murád Pasha; Sufi Ali Pasha, who died at Cairo, of which he was Governor; Gulábí Pasha, a man who loved retirement, and conversed much with my father; it was he who related the anecdote of himself, already mentioned in the Description of the Mosque of Ayá Sófiyah: he was indeed a holy man; Mohammed Khán Pasha, who was of the family of Zulkadr, and went over to Sháh Ismaïl, but returning to the Ottomans, was made Governor of Rumeïli and Anatoli, and was distinguished with the title of Jenáb (Excellency).

Capudán Pashas of the Reign of Suleïmán.

Sinán Pasha, from the harem, a great tyrant.

Khairu-d-din Pasha (Barbarossa), born at Medelli (Mitylene), and created Capudán in the year 940 (A.D. 1533). He died A.H. 970 (A.D. 1562), and was buried at Beshiktásh.

Saleh Pasha, a native of Kaz-tagh (Mount Ida), was Pasha of Algiers; and, like his predecessor, a most active Admiral.

Yahia Pasha, Grand Admiral, and died Pasha of Algiers.

Torghúd Pasha, who suffered martyrdom at the siege of Malta.

Mohammed Pasha, who was Pasha of Egypt, and, like Khairu-d-din, extended his devastations even to the islands of Ingleterra (England).

Defterdárs and Nishánjis of the Reign of Sultán Suleïmán.

Defterdár Iskender Chelebi; Hyder Chelebi, of Gallipoli; Lufti Beg, of the harem; Abulfazl Efendí; Abdi Chelebi, son of Jevizádeh’; Mustafa Chelebi, who, though afflicted with palsy, continued to attend the Diván, because he was an excellent penman; Mohammed Chelebi, who was also called Egri Abdi Zádeh; Ibrahím Chelebi, who was the chief Defterdár; Hasan Chelebi; Murád Chelebi, Jemáli Zádeh Mustafa Chelebi, who in his prose and poetical compositions assumed the name of Nisháni: he is the author of an historical work, entitled “Tabakátu-l-mamálek,” and a statistical one, called “Kanún Námeh;” Ramazán Zádeh Mohammed Chelebi, who was Nishánji, and author of a small historical work.

Begs of Sultán Suleïmán’s Reign.

Kochek Báli Beg, son of the Grand Vezir, Yahia; Khosrú Beg, descended from the daughter of Sultán Báyazíd: he built at Seráï, a mosque, a khán, a bath, an imáret, a college, and a school, and achieved some thousands of victories; Kara Othmán Sháh Beg, son of Kara Mustafa Beg by the sister of Sultán Suleïmán: he built at Tarkhaleh a wonderful mosque with a college and an imaret; Ali Beg Ibn Malkoch Beg, who rendered himself famous in Croatia; Núbehar Zádeh, who was a disciple of Jelál Zádeh, and was afterwards made Defterdár; Cherkess Kassim Beg, who was Governor of Kaffa, in the Crimea, but afterwards went on an expedition to Azhderhán (Astrachan) through the desert; Hájí Beg, who, as Governor of Nablús, kept down the Arabs; Kurd Beg; Ján-búlád Beg, of an illustrious Kurd family; Husein Beg, who was distinguished with the title Jenáb (Excellency).

Some of the Illustrious Divines of the Reign of Sultán Suleïmán.

Khairu-d-din Efendí, his Majesty’s Khojah; Seidi Chelebi, of Kastemúni; Sheikh Mohammed Jiví-zádeh; Mollah Sheikh Mohammed Ben Kotbu-d-din; Mollah Mohammed Ben Ahmed Ben ’Adíl-pasha, an excellent historian and a good Persian poet; Mollah Abdul-fattáh Ebn Ahmed ’Adíl Pasha, a native of Berdá, in Persia, and an amiable and intelligent man; Sheikh Mohammed, of Tunis, an excellent reader of the Korán, the whole of which he knew by heart; Zehíru-d-din, who came from Tabríz, and was hanged at Cairo with the traitor Ahmed Pasha; Mollah Mohammed, a pupil of Kemál Pasha-zádeh; Mevlená Yakúb, commonly called Ajéh Khaliféh, professor at Magnesia, where he died, A.H. 969 (A.D. 1562); ’Ala’ud-dín Jemáli, Sheikhu-l-Islám (i.e. Grand Mufti), which office he held also under Sultan Selím I.; the Sheikhu-l-Islám Kemál Pasha-zadéh Ahmed, who was Kázi-asker of Egypt under Selím I., and is celebrated for his literary productions; the Sheikhu-l-Islam Abú-u-ssaod Efendí, who wrote nearly a thousand treatises, and whose Commentary on the Korán is highly valued: a volume might be written in his praise; Mevlena-Mohíu-d-dín Arab-zédeh, who was drowned on his passage to Egypt; Mevlena Ali, who wrote the Humáyiún Námeh (the Turkish translation of Pilpay’s Fables); he was buried at Brusá.

The Kanún-námeh or Statistical Code of the Empire, drawn up by Sultán Suleïmán.

Section I.

The Province of Rúmeïli contains 24 Sanjaks, 1,227 Ziámets, 12,377 Timárs.

Bodin 17 Sanjaks, 278 Ziámets, 2,391 Timárs.

Ozi (Oczakov), 6 ditto 188 ditto 1,186 ditto

Bosnia, 7 ditto 150 ditto 1,792 ditto

Temesvar 6 ditto 190 ditto 1,090 ditto

Archipelago 15 ditto 73 ditto 1,884 ditto

Egra 9 ditto 1,081 ditto 4,000 ditto

—— 7 ditto 77 ditto 2,007 ditto

Kaffa 9 ditto (It has neither Ziámets nor Timárs).

Morea 5 ditto, but no Ziámets or Timárs.

Varadin 5 ditto.

Ardil (Transylvania) pays an annual tribute of 3,000 purses; as do also Aflák (Wallachia), and Bóghdán (Moldavia). The Crimea has no Ziámets or Timárs, but is governed by Kháns. Rodós (Rhodes) has five Sanjaks; Kubrus (Cyprus) seven, and Candia thirteen Sanjaks; making, in all, 167 Sanjaks, 3,306 Ziámets, and 37,379 Timárs.

Anatóli has 14 Sanjaks, 399 Ziámets, 5,589 Timárs.

Karman 7 ditto 68 ditto 2,211 ditto

—— 7 ditto 108 ditto 3,699 ditto

Miráish 4 ditto 29 ditto 215 ditto

Shám (Damascus), 2 ditto 138 ditto 1,865 ditto

Trabalós 4 ditto 63 ditto 571 ditto

Seida (Sidon) 4 ditto 94 ditto 995 ditto

Halep (Aleppo), has 5 ditto 99 ditto 833 ditto

Adna 5 ditto 43 ditto 1,659 ditto

Roha 2 ditto 4 ditto 6,026 ditto

Díárbekr 12 ditto 926 ditto 926 ditto

Erzerúm 9 ditto 133 ditto 5,159 ditto

Trebizonde 2 ditto 56 ditto 398 ditto

Gurjístán (Georgia) has no Sanjaks, Ziámets, or Timárs.

Kars 6 ditto 1 ditto 1,363 ditto

Jíldir 13 ditto 49 ditto 689 ditto

Ván 24 ditto 46 ditto 2,695 ditto

Mosúl 3 ditto 66 ditto 1,004 ditto

Sheherzúl 21 ditto 15 ditto 806 ditto

Baghdád has no ziámet or timár, but is held on an annual lease, as are also Basrah and Lahsa: Yemen is governed by an Imám; Habesh (Abyssinia) is subject to a tributary Sultán; Mesr (Egypt), Jezáïr (Algiers), Tunis and Trabalos (Tripoli), are held by annual leases. There are in all 151 sanjaks, 1,571 ziámets, 41,286 timárs.

All the land of the Ottoman empire is divided into three parts: the khás humáyún, or crown lands; the lands given to the vezírs and begler-begs; and the lands divided into ziámets and timárs.