Yildiz-Kiosk Gardens.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLIII, Issue 15, 13 October 1909, Page 34

Yildiz-Kiosk Gardens.

The new Sultan of Turkey has thrown open the wonderful gardens of his palace to the people. All that could be invented to attract the eye and eharm the senses; all that a man could create for his enjoyment, his comfort, and his safety; all this, in aggregate form is in those famous gardens of Yildiz-Kiosk. Encircled by a triple construction of walls, you can walk inside it for hours and fail to discover all the beauties. Macedonian sentries guard its massive iron doors, through which no intruder up till now has ever been permitted to pass. It undoubtedly is tht most mar-

vellous site, the nearest approach to a paradise on earth, the out'onie of the artistic spirit of every 'and, to be seen in this world. No words caa convey an adequate idea of the fairy-like panorama disclosed from the summit of that hill of Yildiz, now and evermore historical. The Seraglio.

To the right stands the Seraglio, enclosing within its walls various mosques, gardens, and old palaces, the chief of which is the harem; Saint Sophia, with its resplendent domes and minarets, is seen surrounded by a wealth of verdure coloured in various tones by the sun. Facing the Seraglio is Scutari, the Byzantine Crissopolis. Within the vast ex-

panse of the sea of Marmora the Prince’s islets spread out in line. Facing the Bosphorus. with its blue-tinted waters, is the Asiatic coast with its yalis, whose balconies overhang the ripple of the waves. To the right is the bay of Couzkundjouk, where the pretty and mysterious Hanoums of the Grand Pashas go boating in gaily bedecked caiques—those Grand Pashas to whom the Imperial favour granted every indulgence and permitted every crime. To the left, in the gardens, figures a chalet containing a collection of stuffed exotic birds of rare and beautiful plumage.

Bird* and Bloom. Along gravel path* and carriage drives bordered with rarest flowers in bloom, a continuous line of aviaries appears wherein numerous birds of multi-col-oured plumage enliven the surrounding silence with their melodious singing, while fraternising with pigeons of every species are gorgeous parrots in bright colours jabbering Turkish words. Further on there is a quaintly rustic building wherein a number of eats of every description, from the prowling, roofhaunting cat to the rarest Angora, purr and gaze open-eyed, inquiringly at the intruder.

Hazardous Gardening. Soon one reaches the numerous hothouses where in mid-winter are cultivated, for the Imperial table, the peaches, apricots, and strawberries. By the way, how many are there among the gardeners who have eseaped exile or being executed for having failed to guard against the frost which has nipped the Sultan’s favourite fruit? In proximity with the forcing-houses are the stables, containing many thoroughbreds. The stalls are

most elaborately constructed, each horse feeding out of a white marble manger. On all the stalls figure in wrought iron the names of the horses. In a secluded spot of the gardens there is a chalet built in the purest Arab style of white and gold. Its door is now securely closed and its window-blinds drawn down. In this chalet Abdul Hamid spent his leisure hours, surrounded by his Sultanas, no doubt endeavouring in amorous intimacy to stifle his stings of conscience and the pains of a possible latent remorse.