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 carried to
the grave on a bier by the friends of the deceased: this is considered as
a religious duty, it being declared in the Koran, that he who carries a
dead body the space of forty paces, procures for himself the expiation of
a great sin.[3] The graves are shallow, and thin boards only, laid over
the corpse, protect it from the immediate pressure of the earth, which is
set with flowers, according to the custom of the Pythagoreans, and a
cypress tree is planted near every new grave. As a grave is never opened a
second time, a vast tract of country is occupied with these burial-fields,
which add by no means to the salubrity of the vicinity. Much is gained,
unquestionably, as regards the health of the inhabitants, by burying