The lower town was fortified in the time of Mohammed III. the conqueror of Erla against the Anatolian rebels Kará Yazíjí, Kalender-oghlí, Delí Hassán, and Jennet-oghlí, but it is not very strong; it extends from East to West to the foot of Mount Olympus for the length of one farsang and the breadth of half a farsang. The circuit is fifteen hundred paces, the walls are not very high. There is but one ditch near the gate of the Tátárs and no where else, and there is no need of it, because if an enemy were to dig approaches, water would rush up in the trenches. Guns and falconets are mounted on the towers, which are fired on festivals; there is no other garrison than the doorkeepers, but there are six thousand guards in the town. The gates are of iron and above each are towers whence grenades and stones may be thrown on the besiegers. The gate of the Tátárs opens to the East, that of Filehdár to the North; and that of Hassan Páshá towards the Kiblah. There are twenty-thousand large and small houses built in the ancient style; the most conspicuous of all is the ancient residence of the Emperors, in the upper town or fortress, it has three baths and three hundred rooms, but no garden on account of the narrowness of the place. There are in the whole town one hundred and sixty-six quarters of Moslims, seven of Armenians, nine of Greeks, six of Jews, and one of Copts. The quarter of the Meskins (Lepers) is a separate quarter leading to the road of Sultán Murád. The upper part of the town with Mount Olympus rising in the background is beautiful when seen from the plain of Filehdár, an hour’s distance from it, and I can truly say that I have seen nothing like it during my travels. Brússa is a very devout town, abounding with Divines, expounders of the Korán and keepers of tradition, who are found no where else so numerous, excepting at Baghdád. Mount Olympus at the back of the town on the south side is a mine of living water, no less than one thousand and sixty well-known springs flow from it, and supply water in abundance to the palaces and houses. It abounds also in all kinds of flowers, particularly in syringa (Erghiwán), the annual assembly of Emír Sultán held in the season when the syringa is in perfection being much celebrated. The inhabitants being fair, the air good, the water full of holiness, contribute altogether, to render Brússa one of the most delicious spots on earth. _Description of the Imperial and other Mosques._