The mosque of Sultan Achmet is remarkable for the immensity of the four colossal columns that support the dome, to which I have already alluded; and from the fact that the decree against the Janissaries was unrolled and read by the Chief Priest from its marble pulpit. An air of solemn and religious grandeur is shed over it by the dim twilight that enters through the windows of clouded glass; and it possesses a side gallery, roofed with mosaic and supported by marble pillars, which produces a very pleasing effect; but beyond this, there is little to attract in its detail, if, indeed, I except the curious and valuable collection of antique vases, many of them richly inlaid with mother-of-pearl, and various coloured stones, (and all of them, as the Imam assured us, authentic) which are suspended from the transverse bars of iron that support the lamps, intermixed with ostrich eggs, bunches of corn in the ear, and similar symbols of abundance. The inner court of the mosque is truly beautiful, being surrounded by an open cloister supported by graceful columns in the Arabian taste, whose capitals resemble clusters of stalactites, and whose slender shafts shoot upwards almost with the lightness of a minaret. In the centre of the court, a stately fountain pours forth its sparkling waters; and on the left hand as you enter is situated the marble balcony from which are read all the Imperial Firmans that possess public interest. Near the gate of entrance, stands an immense block of porphyry of singular beauty, resting upon two masses of stone; on which the dead are exposed previous to their interment; no corpse being permitted to defile the interior of the mosque, and the Sultans themselves having the funeral prayers read over them in the open air. The mosque of Sultan Achmet is the only one in the city that has six minarets. This peculiarity arose from the desire of the Sultan to be the first monarch who should build a mosque in his capital, rivalling that of Mecca in the number of its minarets; but, as this could not be done without permission of the Mufti, compliance with the Imperial request was delayed, until steps had been taken to increase those at Mecca to seven, as it was not deemed expedient for any other mosque to enjoy the same privileges as that which is sanctified by the presence of the Prophet’s Tomb. These minarets are arranged with the most beautiful taste: two of them are attached to the main body of the building, while the four others pierce through the dense foliage of the stately forest trees which encircle the mosque, with an irregularity singularly graceful. Their transparent galleries of perforated masonry (three in number) girdle the slender shafts with the lightness and delicacy of net-work, and their pointed spires, touched with gold, gleam out like stars through the clear blue of the surrounding horizon.