Constantinople

the capital of the Turkish Empire. Latitude, 40 deg. N; longitude, 28 deg. 59'E. It is situated on the European side of the Bosporus, between the sea of Marmora and an inlet of the Bosporus, called the Golden Horn. The city has a water frontage on three sides of eight or nine miles in extent. The city proper thus occupies a triangular peninsula. Extensive suburbs are located across the Golden Horn and on the Asiatic side of the Bosporus. The city contains a great number of fine mosques with dome-shaped roofs, the most famous, though not the largest, of which is the mosque of St. Sophia. It has twenty domes. It is said to be the most ancient Christian church in existence; but it was converted into a Mohammedan mosque in 1453. Its walls are decorated with frescoes. Another feature of the city is the bazaars. They remind the traveler of booths at the European fairs. The Grand Bazaar consists of several long avenues arched with brick and lighted by apertures in the vaulted roof. Cross-legged Turks sit smoking their pipes, waiting for custom. They ask several prices for their goods, but are willing to take what is right. Ribbons, gems, clothing, perfumes, embroidery, lace, silk, rugs, in fact all sorts of oriental goods, are exposed in a bewildering and attractive array. One needs to leave his money at the hotel, in order not to spend it. Perhaps the chief center of attraction, to European visitors at least, is the sultan's palace or seraglio. It commands a magnificent view of the Bosporus, the Golden Horn, and the cypress-covered hills of Scutari. The palace, with its grounds, occupies a large area, including gardens and groves. The sultan's many wives live within a harem, surrounded by beautiful landscape gardens. The principal entrance is known as the Sublime Porte, a term not infrequently applied to the sultan himself. It means simply the high door, or lofty entrance. Aside from the attractions mentioned, the city is a tangle of narrow, dark, incredibly filthy, ill paved streets, running in the most irregular fashion. The city is abundantly provided with good water from public fountains, whence it is carried into the houses for domestic purposes.

The Golden Horn is the port of the city. It is about six miles long and half a mile wide. Vessels from the Black Sea, the Mediterranean, and London crowd its wharves. Forty-two vessels on an average come in daily. Immense quantities of wheat, iron, furs, tallow, lumber, cotton cloth, woolen goods, silks, jewelry, groceries of various sorts, furniture, oriental rugs, wool, and dyestuffs change hands here annually.

Constantinople is connected by rail with Vienna, Paris, and other capitals of continental Europe. Railways starting from the other shore of the Bosporus are under way; one for Mecca and another for Bagdad and the head of the Persian Gulf.

The city was besieged often by the Turks, but was not taken by them until May, 1453. The inhabitants are a mixture of Greeks, Jews, Armenians, Arabians, in fact of all nations. The dominant element, however, is the Turk. The Greeks, Jews, and Armenians are required to reside in special parts of the city. The estimated population in 1909 was 1,106,000.

See Constantine; Turkey; Golden Horn; Bosporus