Page:The travels of Macarius, Patriarch of Antioch - Volume I.djvu/41

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Travels of Macarius.
13

immense fatigue and mighty fear, our sailors succeeded in rowing us to land; where they lowered the sail, after the mast had narrowly escaped being broken by the furious gale that blew. At first we could not believe that we were safe; till the men leaped on shore, and we had leisure to contemplate our pitiable condition. In the morning they rowed us to the famous Khan Bouzbouroun, and here cast anchor. We found many ships at anchor in this place, from dread of the weather. We staid at Bouzbouroun from the morning of the Saturday before mentioned, till midnight preceding Tuesday; when the weather having become favourable, they set sail with us, and arrived in the morning at a village called the Katerli. We landed for the purpose of visiting its church, which is dedicated in the name of Saint Kyriaki. In the evening we came to a populous town on the beach of the island, cited in the Συναξάρια (Martyrology), and in History, by the name Πρώτη, that is, the First. Its present name is Birigi[1]. It contains the monuments of the Patriarchs of Constantinople up to this day. In it are three churches; one dedicated to our Lady, another to St. Demetrius, and the third to St. George. At midnight we re-commenced our journey; and in the morning came to Escudar. We had passed by the city of Chalcedonia, and كرم الارمله The Widow's Vineyard, which John the Chrysostom carried away. It is up to the present time (كشبه جزيرة) in semblance of an island. The city is now called Kadi Gun, that is, almost in sound, Chalcedonia.



Sect. IV.

Constantinople.

We entered Constantinople in the forenoon of Wednesday the twentieth of Teshrin the first. Since our departure from Aleppo, it was just three months complete on this day. We alighted in the Monastery of the Resurrection, which is within the gate of the Kabr, and near to the Patriarch's palace. Our own Patriarch had sent from Broussa a Letter to Kyr Paisius, the Patriarch of Constantinople, and to his Metropolitans, to ask their permission to visit Constantinople,

  1. Birigi is merely the Turkish word for Πρώτη (Prote), or the First. The Turks call it by the former name; the Greeks by the latter. There is a cluster of islands in the Sea of Marmora, about twelve miles from Constantinople; of which the first you approach from the city is called Prote. From the description however of the island at which the Patriarch touched, it could not have been Prote, which has no town on it, and no habitation but a monastery; but was probably Prinkipo, the largest island of the cluster, and the first he would arrive at, on coming from Moudania.