CONSTANTINOPLE.

Auckland Star, Volume XX, Issue 147, 22 June 1889, Page 3 (Supplement)

CONSTANTINOPLE.

The Goal of Russian - Ambition.

There have been twenty-six sieges and eight capbures of Consbantinople. The thing bhat has been will be. Constantinople is at the junction of the Bosphorus and the Sea of Marmora. The approach by sea is through the ZEgean. Then we enter the Dardanelles, the ancient Hellespont, the Strait uniting, the -Egean with the Sea of Marmora. The shores of the Dardanelles are formed by the Gallipoli Peninsula, European side, and the Asia Minor mainland. Length of the strait 47 miles, average breadth sor 4 miles. There are several castles. Two ancient ones were the famous Sestos and Abydos.

Xerxes' army, one million passed the Dardanelles by a bridge of boats from Asia, Alexander's army went over the same way from Europe. Leander, it is said, used •to swim across to see Hero. Byron did the feat, which, however, was nothing to Captain Webb's swim over the British Channel. The straight is easily defended, but in 1807 Admiral Duckworth with the British fleet went through to the Sea of Marmora, ready to take.Constantinople. This was 19th February. On 3rd March the British fleet went oub again, bub wibh" great loss, through the castle called Sestos and Abydos hurling down stone shot on the ships. The allied English and French fleets passed the Dardanelles ab bhe Sultan's request, October, 1853. An English fleet passed for the third time (13th February, 1878) without the Sultans permission, bub the forts did not dare to fire. This was the steaming up of our ironclads to checkmate Russia, whose army was encamped on the Tchekmedj. in sight of Constantinople's minarets. Russia extorted the San Stefano Treaty, but had to come down to that of Berlin.

There was a grand review of 80,000 Russian soldiers in sight of Constantinople, 17th August, 1878. 'The war of 1877-8 cost Russia £120,000,000.

Passing the Dardanelles, we enter the Sea of Marmion, in tho course of the channel connecting the iEgean with the Euxine or Black Sea. The Sea of Marmora is 110 miles from the Dardanelles to the Bosphorus, greatesb breadth 43 miles. It is very deep, even to 355 fathoms.

The Bosphorus Sbraib is aboub 20 miles long, from three-quarters to two and aqusrter miles wide, resembling a broad, swift river with high banks. Both sides look highly picturesque from the deck of the steamers plying up and down, being richly dotted with cypresses, laurels and plane trees, and covered with palaces, kiosks, villages, villas and gardens.

Constantinople is where the Marmora Sea narrows to the Bosphorus. The Asian side is called Scutari. Constantinople harbor will float 1,200 ships. This is the Golden Horn. The southern shore is where the mass of the buildings are. This is named Stamboul, or tho Turkish quarter proper. Ib juts oub bo bhe Seraglio Point, occupied by the Seraglio. Population of the whole of Constantinople, aboub 875,000; only aboub half of them Mahometans. The strabegical imporbance caused a distinguished English officer to bo engaged lately in superintending the erection of fortification . all across bhe peninsula ab the ends of which the city stands. The fortified lines are from Biyukchekmeji, on the Marmora Sea, to Lake Derko3 on the Black Sea, only 20 miles across. The line ought to be strong enough against surprise by land. Bear in mindbhat tho Russians have recenbly been talking about a move through Roumania, by the Dobrudja, or coast, to Bulgaria and Adrianople.

The first through express train from Western Europe, inaugurating a direct service with Paris, reached Constantinople 10th November last. Railways connect the city with the other important Turkish places. Christian Constantinople, north side of the Golden Horn, comprises Galaba, Pera and Tophaneh. Galata is the merchant quarter. The Tower of Galata serves the same purpose as the Seraskier Tower in Stamboul" giving alarms of bhe frequent fires. Pera is the aristocratic quarter, with the Embassies, Legations, Consulates. The magnificent Dolmabagche Palace is on the Bosphorus brink. A famous pleasure resort is the beauty spot called Sweet Waters, ab the head of the Golden Horn. There aro many more beauty spots, and jusb a few ugly ones. In Stamboul are the monuments and antiquities. Next to the Seraglio is the Mosque of St. Sofia, founded as a Christian Church a.d. 532. Ten thousand workmen are said to have been engaged on ib, under 100 master builders. Cost £1,000,000, being enriched wibh spoils of the glorious 'heathen temples at Hcliopolis, Ephesus, Delos and Baal bee. Used as a cathedral 900 years, converted to mosque in 1453. sunder Christian rule, Constantinople had 500 churches in 1202 a.i>. Now there are near *500 mosques big and little. The clusters of mosque towers on bhe seven hills make Constantinople so unique in its picturesque aspect. Rome has its seven hills, too. In Constantinople there are ample wildernesses of tumble-down houses on the hill sides, below, the mosques, wibh lane upon lane'of bazaars. Mahometan education is a kind of thing our Christian specialists are curious about. In Constantinople we see°ib in full vigour, and ab Bokhara. What one would call a State school is the Mahaleh, where boys and girls are mixed, from 5 to 10 years old. Tho study is up to the reading of the Khoran in Arabic.

The next class of school is the Rushdiyeh, boys only, from ben to sixteen. The Mahaleh and Rushdiyeh aro open to. all Mahometan youth without distinction. Indeed our ideas of free and compulsory, though nob secular, education appear to come from the Mahometans.

Most lads iinish with the Rushdiyeh. Higher are the Mosque schools, named Medresseh, of which Stamboul has probably over 400. The Rushdiyeh course includes writing, arithmetic, geography, history. The Medresseh course is mainly theological and linguistic. A most valuable class of school is called the Idadiyek. This grounds up lads for the technical schools, which include five special Government establishments —military, naval, artillery, engineering, medicine.—Melbourne ' Telegraph. 1