Constantinople, painted by Warwick Goble, described by Alexander Van Millingen — John Shaqi
Constantinople, painted by Warwick Goble, described by Alexander Van MillingenVan Millingen, Alexander
Philosophy
Constantinople, painted by Warwick Goble, described by Alexander Van Millingen
Van Millingen, Alexander
Istanbul (Turkey) -- Description and travel; Istanbul (Turkey) -- History
In following the course of these walls to note the arrangements of the
city, and to recall historical associations, only a very brief mention
of what is most prominent and memorable is here possible. Beginning at
the head of the promontory, we have first the eastern portion of the
Seraglio Grounds, presenting to view the crags upon which stood the
Acropolis of old Byzantium. To become the master of that hilltop, with
its wonderful outlook and great strategic value was the ambition of
Xenophon and “The Ten Thousand” on their famous retreat from Persia, of
Philip of Macedon, of Severus Septimius, of Constantine the Great, not
to mention other aspirants. After the foundation of Constantinople,
until Turkish days, the site of the Acropolis formed an ordinary part of
the city, the most conspicuous edifice on that position being the Church
of S. Irene. There also was the hospital of Sampson, as well as that of
Eubulus. Among the buildings on the level tract below the Acropolis
were two theatres, inherited from Byzantium, one of which has left its
stamp in the hollow ground now occupied by the vegetable gardens to the
rear of Deïrmen Kapoussi. Scattered over the adjoining territory was a
crowd of churches in which saints encamped to guard this exposed point
of the city; a host led by S. Barbara, patroness of arms, S. George, the
Slayer of the Dragon, S. Mary Hodegetria, with her icon ascribed to S.
Luke, and regarded as a palladium. The Mangana or Arsenal, stored with
military engines for the defence of the walls, also stood in this
vicinity. The vaulted substructures near the ruins of Indjili Kiosk
belonged to the Palace of the Mangana, to which the imperial household
resorted to enjoy the cool breezes that winged their way down the
Bosporus from the north. Here also was a public park, the Philopation,
and an atrium built by Justinian the Great, crowded on summer
afternoons, when this side of the city is in shade, by people who loved
to look out upon the sparkling water, and the hills of the opposite
Asiatic shore, resplendent in the mellow light of the setting sun. The
fine building that formed the Thermæ of Arcadia was in this
neighbourhood, and a portion of the polo grounds, Tzycanisterion,
attached to the palace of the Byzantine emperors.
[Illustration: CRIMEAN MEMORIAL BRITISH CEMETERY, HAIDAR PASHA
Erected to the memory of the British soldiers and sailors who fell in
the Crimean War.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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