The Travels of Macarius, Patriarch of Antioch/Volume 1/Part 1/Book 1/Section 7
Sect. VII.
Constantinople.—Seraglio.
Then we came and entered the Seraglio, guarded by the Almighty in perpetuity. Glorified be its inhabitants! Within the court is a church, which is now called the Silah Khanah, or Armoury, and has escaped the smallest devastation; its tabernacles and every thing within remaining as they formerly were: but the doors are closed. We went up to the famous arch or cupola, which is the Sublime Porte, where sit the Judges of the Army (Cadilesker) and the seven Vizirs; and the Emperor looks over them from a window. It is here that they hold the Divan, or Court of Audience, for the whole world.
Between the Seraglio and Saint Sophia is a small church named after Saint John the Baptist, which the Emperor Justinianus built before he began Saint Sophia, and where he used to repose himself. It remains in its pristine state.
Then we went to see the third Tekelli Dash; which is in the Taouk Bazaar, or Bird Market, near the Walidah Baths and the Khan of the Ambassadors. It rises so high into the air as to be painful to behold; and, having been cracked by fire, is swathed in hoops of iron. It is pretended, that some Jew mentioned to a certain Sultan of the Othmanlis that the Greek Emperors had deposited riches within it. The Sultan therefore ordered it to be set fire to, and it cracked. Fearing it might foil in the night, they girt it with iron from top to bottom. We were informed by the Greeks, that this is the Tekelli Dash, or Pillar, which the Emperor Constantine the Great built; and laid under its foundations the twelve sculls; and also some of the reliques of Our Lord the Messiah.
Afterwards we proceeded to view the pillar in the Avret Bazaar, or the Woman Market; which is the largest of all the pillars that have been mentioned; and is constructed of white marble, sculptured with crosses and angels and priests, from the summit to the base. It is hollow inside ; and the place of its fall is the Mahall Assamatah[1] (محلة السمطة).
We asked the Greeks for the site of the Temple of the Holy Apostles; and they answered us, that it was within the Eski Serai, or Old Seraglio; which is appropriated to the women. For we saw this holy temple when we were on the water near Galata, and from the environs of Scutari; as it is high, and remarkable for its cupolas, which are twelve in number. It is near the Soleimanieh: so it had appeared to us; and yet, when I came and sought for it near to that Mosque, I could not find it. The reason of this is, that the inclosure walls of the said Seraglio are exceedingly high; and the Temple is in the middle of it, on the top of a hill—one of the seven hills which are within the walls of Constantinople: on this account, the height of the Temple is conspicuous from Galata and Scutari, being considerably higher than the dome and cupola of Saint Sophia; and so we thought, when we first saw it, on our entrance into Stamboul. Upon seeking for it anew, I obtained further information from a tailor of the aforementioned Eski Serai—that it is therein remaining in its pristine condition, and that the forms and images of Philosophy are also still existing on its walls; but no one is permitted to enter the said palace at all, without a proof of acquaintance.
We asked them again concerning the Temple Χαλϰοπρατέα, where it was. They answered us, that it was in the place where is now the Mosque of Sultan Bajazet.
- ↑ "And the place of its fall is the Mahall Assamatah." There is some obscurity in the text here.