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.
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