/ 
Part 1. 
Travels intc} the Levant. 
1 9 
CHAP. XV. 
Of the Situation r?/ Conftantinoplc. 
ALL who have feen Conftamimfle^ agree in this, That it is the beft 
lîtuated City in the World ; fo that it would feem to be defign'd by 
Nature, for bearing Rule and Comm&nd over the whole Earth : It lies in Enrope, 
upon a point of the main Land, jutting out towzidsthe Bofphor^is ofThrace, The Bofphoros 
from which it is but half an hours paflage over to Jfia. On the right-hand, of Thrace. 
it liath the White Sea or Propontis, by which there is eafie paflage into The White 
<iy£gypt nnà. Africa \ and whereby it is fupplied with all the Commodities of Sea. 
thofe Places. On the left-hand, it hath the Black or £«Ar/« Sea, and the Black Sea. 
Maotisj which recieving a vaft number of Rivers, and having many bordering EuxinSea. 
People, furnilh this City with all the Commodities of the North ; infomuch, Mmu. 
that there is nothing that can be ufeful, neceffary or pleafant, which is not 
brought in plenty from all hands to Conji! antimple by Sça ; and thefetwoCha- 
nelsjof the White and Black Seas,are fo oppofiteone to anothcr,that when the ^^^^ advan- 
Wind hinders VefTels from coming to Conftamimple by the one,it is good for Im- oifpofition of 
portation by the other. Betwixt thofe two Seas, is the Entry of the Port, theChaneisof 
which Nature, without the help of Art, hath made the lovelieft of the World : the white & 
It is at leafl; fix miles in compafs, a mile over, and deep in all places ; fo that Black sea?. 
on both fides one may ftep out of a Ship on fhore, without the help of any Boat, J/j^^^p^^'^of 
becaufe the biggeft Ships may lay their head a-lhore without any danger. The conftmîmk. 
Refponfe of the Oracle then, that was given to the Founders of it, is not to 
be wondred at, who (having confulted it to know where they ftiould build their 
Town, received no other Anfwer but this. Over againfi the blind Men -, inti- 
mating unto them, that they fhould build over againfi the Chdcedomans \ 
whom it reckoned to be very Blind, in having negledted a Situation fo advan- 
— tagious by Nature , and built Chalcedon in Afia., over againll that place. 
This Town, heretofore called Byz.antiitm^ was built by Pmfanias^ King of 
Sparta ; fbme fay he only re- built it, or enlarged it at moH: It was deHroyed 
by the Emperour Sewnts, topunifh the Inhabitants for their Revolting ; and 
afterwards reftored by Con(tamine the Great, who (making it much bigger) 
called it New Rome \ and afterwards (from his own Name j Conftanttmple. 
It was alfo called Parthempolis^ becaufe it was dedicated to the Blcilld Virgin P artk/io^olis 
by the fame Conftantine^ perhaps in Imitation of Amiochy which was called 
Theopolis: After the Divifion of the Empire, it continued to be the Seat of TheopoUs. 
the Eaftern Empire. The French and Venetians took it from the Greeks^ in the TJie French, 
Year 1203. but it was re-taken by the Palcologi^m the Year i254,and at length re- Mafters of 
taken from the Greeks by Mahomet the Second,Emperour of the 7«r/:i,upon Titef- conftamincple. 
day the Seven and Twentieth of A%,being Whitfunday of the Year 1 45 3 . The fa£ b'^'iS^ 
Turks have ever fince kept it, calling it Jfiambol^ which is a word corrupted horm the Se- 
from the Greek 2T«ti'7roA/f. It lies almoft in the fsme Climate as Lions docs^ and conci. 
neverthelefs the heat in Summer would be very incommodious there, if the Air iflmboi.^ 
were not cooled by a Breeze that commonly blows in the Afternoon, during ^''^ Climate 
the Months of July and Atiguft ; the French call that Wind the Breeze from ''j^^<>"Ji'"""'0' 
without, becaufe it comes from the mouth of the Port. This Town is fo 
fubjed to Earthquakes, that I have felt two in one night : As to its figure, it is 
triangular, two fides of it are beat by the Sea, the one by the Propontis or -j-j^^ pi^^jj^ 
White Sea, and the other by the Port ; the third is towards the land j and CojijUnmopk, 
the biggeft of the three, is that which lies on the Propontis-, and reaches from 
the Ser^^g/io to the feven Towers ^ that towards the Port, is the middlemoit. 
The Seraglio is built upon thd point of the Triangle, which runs out betwixt xhe situatî- 
the Propontis and the Port, and in a lower place under this Palace upon the on of the i'e- 
(hore, are the Gardens ox Seraglio^ much about the place where the ancient '■«i'^'f. 
Town of Byz^aminm flood, which afford a very lovely Profped to thofe who 
D 2 come 
