SECTION XXV.
Of the Grand Kháns for Merchants.
The first is the Khoájeh Khán, near the Mahmúd Páshá, in which all the great Persian merchants have their establishments. It has seventy rooms. The khán of Mahmúd Páshá has one hundred and twenty rooms; the Kebejílar Khán one hundred rooms: this is the residence of the rich Bulgarian merchants; the khán of Pírí Páshá, eighty rooms; Eskí Khán, two hundred rooms: it was built by Bairám Páshá, the Vezír of Sultán Murád IV., and is called the khán of the captives (asír), because all captives are bought and sold here: it has seventy apartments, and an office for receiving the penjek or slave duty, a fifth of the value; the khán of Angora, for the dealers in woollen goods (súf), one hundred rooms; the khán of Pertev Páshá, two hundred rooms; the khán of Ferhád Páshá, near the Bezestán, two hundred rooms; Kilíd Khán, two hundred rooms; the khán of the Valídeh Kosím, mother of Murád IV., was originally the palace of Jarráh Mohammed Páshá, but having fallen into decay it was rebuilt by the Válideh, and consists of three hundred warehouses, so that this khán, and that of Mahmúd Páshá, are the largest in Constantinople. In one corner is a koshk, which raises its head to the skies, and commands a magnificent view: its stables are capable of holding one thousand horses and mules: it has a mosque in the centre; the Kiaghid Khán, near Mahmúd Páshá; Kátir Khán, near Takht-ul-kala’; the khán of the honeymarket, inhabited by Egyptian merchants; Ketán Khán; Katá Khán; the khán of Rustam Páshá; the khán of old Yúsuf Páshá; the khán of the Muftí; Chokúr Khán; Súlú Khán; the khán of the tallow-market; and the khán of the Zendán-kapú. All these kháns are in that quarter of the town called Takht-ul-kala’: they are extensive buildings, and are covered with lead. The Juván Kapújí Khán is in the centre of the raisin-market. The new khán of Kara Mustafá Páshá, Grand Vezír to Sultán Mohammed IV., near Khoájeh Páshá, is a small but strong building. The khán of Kopreilí Mohammed Páshá, Grand Vezír to Mohammed IV., though, like the last mentioned, a new building, near the poultry-market, is not inferior, as regards solidity, to the Válideh Khán. It has upwards of two hundred and twenty apartments.
SECTION XXVI.
Of the Cárávánseráis.
The Elchí Khán (Ambassador’s Khán), even in the time of the infidels, was a khán for strangers, but it was endowed after the conquest by Ikbál Páshá; the cárávánserái of Mohammed II.; of Báyazíd II.; of Selím I.; of Soleïmán; of Khásekí Sultáneh; of Ahmed I.; of the Kapújílar, near Ayá-Sófiya, where two great kháns stand opposite to each other; of Kojeh Mohammed Páshá; of the Vafá; of the At-Maidán; of Sinán Páshá; Báklálí Khán, near the palace of Melek Ahmed Páshá; and of Alí Páshá, near the Bít-bázár (louse-market). These were all built by Sinán Páshá.
SECTION XXVII.
Of the Barracks (Bekár oda).
The most extensive barracks are those called Yolgechen, which consist of four hundred rooms, and, in case of necessity, can hold one thousand armed men. The odas of Sultán Murád IV. are eight in number, and, like the former, have their officers and inspectors. Sultán Soleïmán one day being offended with the Janissaries, said to them: “Be silent, or I will subdue you by the shoe-makers at Merján-chárshu (the coral-market). This threat having spread, forty thousand Janissaries assembled instantly, armed with clubs and bludgeons, and with cries of “Allah! Allah!” entered the imperial court. The Emperor, roused by these shouts, came out, and said, “Well, my brave fellows, what is the matter?” They replied, “You have this day declared your intention of putting down the Janissaries by the shoe-makers, and we now wait for your orders. We have on the instant assembled forty thousand men, but if you will wait till to-morrow we shall have forty thousand more.” Pleased with their bravery, the emperor told them they might ask for a favour. They, therefore, asked that the price of a pair of pápújes and mests (slippers and leather-socks) should be fixed at between one and two hundred akcha, which was immediately granted.
The odas of the armoury are near the Mahmúd Páshá; those of Pertev Páshá and Hiláljí, near the Soleïmáníeh; forty odas for unmarried men on the At-maidán; forty at Búyúk Karamán; the odas of Yedek Páshá; and seven odas of Gharíbs, near the corn-market. Each of these barracks can contain from one to two thousand men.
SECTION XXVIII.
Of the Fountains ornamented with Chronographs.
In the times of the infidels there was no other fountain except that called Kirk-chesmeh (supplied by the aqueduct of Valens). In other parts of the town they collected the water in cisterns, five of which were filled partly with rain-water, and partly from the aqueduct. Sultán Mohammed II., having finished his mosque, built two hundred fountains; Báyazíd built seventy, and Soleïmán seven hundred. Their number was shortly increased to thousands by the vezírs. Sultán Soleïmán repaired the aqueduct, and increased the quantity of water carried to Constantinople. The principal fountains are the following: the fountain of Haider Páshá, near the bath of the same name; that of the Beglerbegs, beyond the ditch between the Aderneh-kapú and the Top-kapú; of the Imáms, erected to the memory of Hasan and Husain, who died of thirst in the plain of Kerbelá; the fountain of Skander Beg, without the gate leading to Eyúb; of Sultán Murád III., without the gate of Eyúb, on the sea-shore, beneath the sháhneshín (projecting window) of the palace of Fátima Sultána; the Souk-chesmeh (cold fountain), near the Alái koshk; the fountain of Kara Mustafá Páshá, near his sepulchral monument; of Hasan Beg, the son of Fátima Sultána, near the Okjílar Báshí; of the Kehiyá of the Janissaries, Soleïmán Aghá, near the Sernáj Khán; of Alí Páshá, near the custom-house on the land side; of Kátib Husain, near the convent of Oghlán Sheikh at Ak-seráï; of Hájí Mansúr, near the monument of Aáshik Páshá; of the Válideh Kosum, near the Yení-kapú; of Ibrahím Páshá, near the mosque of the princes; of Hasan Páshá, near the palace of Jánpúlád Zádeh; of Kharájí Mohí-ad-dín, before his mosque, near that of Sultán Mohammed II.; of Mahmúd Páshá, near the new Bezestán; of Mesíh Páshá, near the market of Alí Páshá; and of Hasan Aghá, the chief of the Khás-oda, within the corn-market, in the quarter of the Arabajílar.8
SECTION XXIX.
Of the Sebíl-khánehs, or Water Houses.
The Sebíl-khánehs were built to the memory of Hasan and Husain, who suffered martyrdom from thirst on the plain of Kerbelá. They are all adorned with chronographs. The Sebíl of Músá Páshá, near the Aláï Koshk; the Sebíl of Kana’án Aghá, opposite the grand gate of Ayá Sófiyah; of A’áishá Sultána, at the Okjílar-báshí; of Mustafá Aghá, the chief of the treasury, near the mosque of Ayá Sófiyah; of Erdebílí, near Ayá Sófiyah; of Kapúdán Kosse Alí Páshá, in the corn-market; of Abbás, the Kizlar Aghá, near the fountain of Lálalí; of Ibrahím Páshá, the Kehiyá of Kopreïlí Zádeh, near the Vafá; and the Sinán Páshá, the conqueror of Yemen, near the factory of the Sirma-kesh (gold-wire).
SECTION XXX.
Of the Principal Baths.
The bath is a legal establishment of the Islám, founded on the text of the Korán: “If you are polluted, purify yourselves.” The two baths which existed in Constantinople before the conquest were those of the Azabs and the Takhtáb. The first bath built after the conquest was that at the mosque of Sultán Mohammed II., for the use of the workmen employed in the building of the mosque. Afterwards the bath of the Azabs was converted to the use of the Moslems. The baths next built were those of Vafá, Eyúb, and Chokúr. All these baths are still kept up and repaired by the endowment (wakf) of Sultán Mohammed. I have preferred assigning each of the principal baths to a certain class of men in the following amusing way: For the sick, the bath of Ayúb Sultán; for the Sheikhs, that of Ayá Sófiyah; for the Súfís, that called by the same name; for strangers, that called the bath of strangers (gharíb); for the Bostánjís, the garden-bath (bóstán); for the market-people, that called the Friday-market (Juma’ bázár); for debauchees, the Chokúr (the pit); for painters, the Chínlí (Chinese); for the women, the khátún (lady); for sportsmen, the Kojeh Mohammed Páshá; for the Janissaries, the bath of the new barracks (yení oda); for the workmen, that so called (irghát); for the surgeons, the Jerráh (surgeon) Alí Páshá; for the men of the Seráï, that of the Ak-seráï; for the black Arabs, that called the mice (Sichánlí); for the saints, that of Sultán Báyazíd II., the saint; for the insane, the variegated bath (Alájeh); for cruel tyrants, that of Zinjírlí-kapú (chained-gate); for the oppressed, that of Sultán Selím the Just; for the porters, the Sort-hammám; for poets, that of Sultán Suleïmán; for Dervíshes, that of Haider Páshá; for the children of the Arabs, the Takht-ul-kala’; for the favourites, that of the Khásekí; for astronomers, the Yeldiz-hammám (star bath); for merchants, that of Mahmúd Páshá; for mothers, that of the Válideh; for horsemen (jinjí), that in the Hippodrome; for Muftís, that of the Muftí; for the Zaims, that of Gedek Páshá; for the armourers, that of Dávud Páshá; for Khoajas, that of the same name; for Sultáns, the bath so called; for Mollás, the bath of Mollá Korání; for the Greeks, the Fener bath (in their quarter); for singers, the Balát (Palatium) bath; for villains, the Khanjarlí (armed with a dagger); for musicians, the Lúnja (or parade); for sailors, the bath of the port of galleys (kádirga límán); for the imáms, or chiefs of the baths, that of Little Ayá Sófiyah; for the members of the Díván, the bath of Bairám Páshá; for the eunuchs (khádim), that of the eunuch Mohammed Aghá; for the vezírs, that of Alí Páshá; for the generous, that of Lutfí Páshá; for the gardeners, that of Yení-bághcheh (new garden); for the Albanians, that of the Adrianople-gate; for the Mevlevís, that of the Yení-kapú (new-gate); for the stone-masons, that of the Silivrí-gate; for the magicians, that of the Seven Towers; for beggars, that of Chár-ták; for clerks, that of Nishánjí Páshá; for the Drogománs, the bath so called; for invalids, that of Lanka; for miners, that of Sárígurz; for doctors, the Majúnjí-hammam (medicine-makers); for the Kádíaskers, the bath of the same name; for the Persians, the bath of the Ajem-oghláns; for the sellers of weights and scales, that of the Veznejilár (weighers); for the Shátirs (foot-guards), that of Pertev Páshá; for gamblers, the painted bath (Tesvírlí-hammám); for the Sháfeís, that of the mint (Dharab-kháneh); for lovers, that of the cage (kafeslí); for the Aghás, that of the Little Aghá; for the barley-merchants, that of the Arpa-amíní (the inspector of barley); for the Seids (descendants of the Prophet), that of Abbás Aghá; for women, that of the women-market (Evret-bázár); for the Jews, that of the Jehúd-kapú (Jews-gate); for grooms, that of the Akhor-kapú (stable-gate); for the infirm (Maatúh), that of Koja Mohammed Páshá; for buffoons, that of Shengel; for Kapudáns, the Deníz-hammám (sea-bath); for the Ehl-touhíd (unitarians), the bath of Koja Mustafá Páshá; for dwarfs, that of the Little Aghá; for the elegant, that of the Chelebí (petit maître).
In the same manner we allotted the baths in the suburbs, which, with those within, amount to one hundred and fifty-one, all of which I have visited. Seventeen more were built during my travels, but these I have not seen. The most elegant and commodious is the Chokúr-hammám, built by Mohammed II. It is paved with granite, and can accommodate five thousand men. Next in rank may be noticed the baths of Mahmúd Páshá, of Takht-ul-kala’, of Báyazíd, and of Koja Páshá; the best lighted up are those of Haider Páshá, the Suleïmáníeh, and the Válideh; the cleanest, those of Ayá Sófiyah, of the Súfis, of Abbás Aghá, and of Mohammed Páshá, in the Chehár Shemba-bázár.
When I was received into the haram of Sultán Murád IV., on the night that I read the Korán, I had the good fortune to see the imperial bath, with which no other in the world can be compared. The four sides of it are assigned to the use of the pages, and in the centre there is an inclosed bath for the emperor. Water rushes in on all sides from fountains and basins, through pipes of gold and silver; and the basins which receive the water are inlaid with the same metals. Into some of these basins, hot and cold water run from the same pipe. The pavement is a beautiful mosaic of variegated stones which dazzle the eye. The walls are scented with roses, musk, and amber; and aloes is kept constantly burning in censors. The light is increased by the splendour and brilliancy of the windows. The walls are dry, the air temperate, and all the basins of fine white marble. The dressing rooms are furnished with seats of gold and silver. The great cupola of the first dressing-room, all of bright marble, may be equalled by that at Cairo only. As this bath stands upon a rising ground it towers to the heavens: its windows all look towards the sea, to Scutari, and Kází-koi. On the right of the door of the dressing-room is the room for the musicians (motrib-khán) and on the left, the cupola of the inner treasury (khazáneh khás). I have no where seen so splendid a bath, except that of Abdál, the Khán of Tiflís, in the province of Ván.
Most of the above baths are adorned with chronographs; and they are all double (chifteh), that is, consist of two rooms, except that of Mohammed Páshá, in the Little-market. In the afternoon women are admitted. If to the great public baths we add the smaller ones, the number would exceed three hundred; and if the private ones are reckoned, they will amount to the number of four thousand five hundred and thirty-six.
End of Part I.