Constantinople: The Story of the Old Capital of the EmpireHutton, William Holden
History
Constantinople: The Story of the Old Capital of the Empire
Hutton, William Holden
Istanbul (Turkey)
may refer to victories of Theodosius in 381, but more probably carries
us back as far as the time of Claudius Gothicus and the battle of
Nissa, 269. It is fifty feet high, and is said to have supported a
golden statue of Theodosius. According to legend a pillar-saint lived
on it for twenty years. Certainly it was used for a grimmer purpose,
for the Latins in 1204 dashed from its summit the usurper Alexius
Mourtozouphlos.
The column of Marcian, not far from the Etmeidan, where the
Janissaries were destroyed, is hard to find; it is in a garden
belonging to a Turkish private house. It is of granite with a marble
capital. The column of Arcadius, of which only the base remains, is at
Avret Bazar on the seventh hill.
Next to the columns the most interesting antiquities are the aqueducts
and cisterns. The aqueduct of Valens, built in 366 of stone from the
walls of Chalcedon, is a conspicuous object in the view from the hill
of Pera. It has been constantly repaired and restored, and it still
carries water. It now extends from near the east of the mosque of
Mohammed II. very nearly to the Seraskerat. The way from the mosque
back to the bridge passes under it, and gives a good view of its
construction and its picturesque, overgrown, half-ruined state. This
and the other aqueducts (one of which may be seen near Edirnè
Kapoussi) brought water from the distant hills, which was stored in
vast cisterns, many of which still remain. Three at least are worth a
visit. The most beautiful are the work of Philoxenus; and chief is
that which the Turks call Yeri Batan Serai--the underground
cistern--but more generally known is that fancifully called Bin Bir
Derek, cistern of 1001 columns. I may repeat what I have said of them
elsewhere.[66]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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