eral to the water.
The streets, of which there are 3,770, with the exception of two or three,
are narrow, irregular, badly paved, and exceedingly dirty, the only
scavengers being vultures and half-starved dogs. There are fourteen
imperial mosques, about 200 others, and above that number of messjids or
chapels. The number of houses is prodigious; in 1796, the register of
Effendissy gave 88,185 within the walls; they are mostly constructed of
wood, and the dwellings of the lower classes are mere wooden boxes, cool
in summer, the windows being unglazed, and in winter heated by pans of
charcoal. Fires are consequently very frequent. The khans, or warehouses
of the merchants are, however, fireproof; the bazaars are also defended
from fire, and are well built; and coffeehouses very numerous. The city is
amply supplied with water, there being 730 public baths, a superb fountain
in the Chinese taste in every street, and few houses without similar
provision. The population of the city and suburbs is estimated at upwards
of 600,000; of these above one half are Turks, the remainder Jews, Franks,
Greeks, &c.

We have only space to particularize a few of the most prominent buildings
in our view. To the left is the Seraglio Point, or superb palace of the
Sultan, whose treasures almost realize the fables of romance. Next is the
superb dome of the Mosque of the Sultan Achmet, without exception the
finest building ever raised by the Turks. It is surrounded by a lofty
colonnade of marble, of various colours, surmounted by 30 small domes: the
large dome is supported by four gigantic piers, covered as well as most of
the interior, with fresco paintings; it is rich in columns of verd antique,
Egyptian granite, and white marble; there are also four smaller domes,
similarly ornamented. Next, near the centre of the Engraving is the Mosque
of Santa Sophia, a truly superb and perfect monument of antiquity, built
at an expense of 320,000 pounds of silver, (some authors say gold.[2])
Next in importance are the Mosques of the Sultans Osmyn, Bajazet, and
Selim; and the Gulf of the Golden Horn, or the Harbour.

Among the suburbs of Constantinople, Scutari is not the least interesting,
inasmuch as it leads us to notice the funereal customs of the Turks, and
their cemeteries, of which Scutari is the principal site.

Interment almost immediately follows upon the decease of the person; a
practice common to all classes at Constantinople. The corpse is ca