The group of the Prince's Islands, in the Sea of Marmora, and
the snow-clad summit of Mount Olympus, close the prospect. Such is a mere
outline of the natural and artificial beauty of Constantinople.
The city itself is surrounded by walls, built of freestone, with alternate
layers of Roman brick, flanked by 478 towers; the walls, however, are in
several places so dilapidated as to be incapable of any defence without
great reparation. On the land side, the fortifications consist of a triple
wall, with towers at every 150 yards; the first wall being 30 feet in
height; the second 20, and about 30 feet from the first; the third is
twelve feet in height; beyond this is a fosse, thirty feet wide, now
converted into gardens, and filled with fine grown trees, and a low
counterscarp. There are five gates on this side, and several 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.
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