Travels in Turkey, Asia Minor, Syria, and across the desert into Egypt ...

SYRIA, EGYPT, GERMANY-
, &C. 2$
Nothing can be grander or more beautifully picturesque
than the
external appearance of Constantinople and of its vicinity. Within
it has less to recommend it, the houses being but indifferently built,
and the streets very
narrow.
The seraglio,
or palace of the Grand Sultan, occupies the space
on which the ancient city of Byzantium formerly stood, at the extremity
of the angle formed by the sea of Marmora and the Bosphorus.
It is far by
the most beautiful part of Constantinople, the
projecting land on which it stands being covered by groves of cy-
press trees, which give a sublime effect to the magnificent buildings
of which the palace is composed.
On the opposite side of the harbour, the towns, or, more pro-
perly speaking, suburbs of Galata, Pera, and Tophana, are situ-
ated; and, on the Asiatic side, opposite the point of the seraglio,
stands the town or suburb of Scutari. From the great sloping of
the hills on which they are placed, these suburbs have a very fine
and romantic appearance, the houses seeming as if built tier upon
tier. Being, however, principally constructed of wood, which is
soon fretted and decayed by the intense heat of the sun in such a cli-
mate, the grandeur of the scene is diminished on a near approach.
Between them cypress trees rear their lofty heads, and add greativ
to the sublimity of the general effect. The cemeteries are also
thickly planted with these trees; and the scene is thus rendered
beautifully picturesque. In short, the external view of Constantinople,
and of its environs, is at once sublime and pleasing ; and
with this view the traveller ought to content himself, since, on a
nearer inspection, he will find little to gratify his curiosity, or to
excite his admiration.
The Bosphorus, a beautiful canal, or narrow sea, from a mile to
a mile and a half in breadth, and about twenty miles in length,
forms the communication between the Euxine, or Black Sea, and
the sea of Marmora, the ancient Propontis. In the formation of
its banks, which are lofty, and lined with an exquisite variety of
beauriful trees and shrubs, nature lias been lavish in the extreme.
Several villages are interspersed; and at the sea-side the Grand Seignor,
the Vizier, Captain Pacha, 2cc. have elegant kiosques, or
pleasure-houses, for their summer residence. Throughout the
whole extent of the canal the highest state of cultivation prevail:;,
its shores being covered with vineyards, gardens, and orchards,
containing a great diversity
of the finest fruits. Were the Turks
possessed of a taste at all proportionate to the advantages which
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