Part L 
Travels iritq the L e v a n t. 
2 I 
firft, which is built upon feven Hills,he built hisTown,which in progrefs of time 
heenrich'd with many ornaments, as Statues, Pillars, èr. This Town,which 
ftands on feven little hills, isdifpofed in fuchorder, that one houfe takes not 
away the light from another^ the ftreets are not fair, but arefor the molfc 
part narrow, though there be lèverai goodly Buildings in them. There are 
many ftately Mofques in it, of which the moft magnificent is the Santa Sophia^ 
heretofore a Chriftian Church, built by theEmperoury«/;»,cnlarg'd,enrich'd 
and adorned, b^Juftinian the Emperour, and dedicated to the VVifdom of 
God, wherefore it was called Jgia Sophia : The Turks becoming fince mafters 
oïConftuntimple, have changed it into a Mofque, leaving it the name which in 
retains at prefent. This Fabrick which is admired by all that fee it, is an hundred 
and fourteen paces in length, and fourfcore in breadth j it is fquare on the 
outfide, and round within : There are four Gates to enter under the Portico, 
which reaches alongthewholefrontoftheChurch, but there is only a little 
door left open, which is the wicket of a great Gate of well wrought Marble : 
Afterwards you/ find feven doors to enter into a kind of A>/ or body of a 
Church, which is not very broad ; and then nine other great brazen Gates : 
The middlemoft whereof particularly , is very great j and by it they enter into 
the Mofque, which is very fpacious, and hath a Dome in the middle, the arch 
whereof is made in form of a fquatted half Globe, and fo almoft lingular in its 
kind and architedure. In the infide of this Church, there is a porch that 
ranges all round, which carries another Gallerie, in like manner vaulted over, 
thirty paces btoad, fupported by fixty Pillars, and this carried as many more 
leflerones, which upholdthe top of the Church, all thefe Pillars being ranked 
by tens, as well above as below. The Afcent to the higher Gallery, is by a ver y 
eafieftaircafe, and it behoved us to give a Turk money to open the door of it. 
This gallery, when the Chriftians were mafters of it, was appointed for the 
women, who kept there, in timeof Divine Worlhip, that by the fight of them 
the Devotion of the men might not be difturbed : There is a Tomb to be feen Conjlamim's 
there, which the Turks fay, is the Tomb of C«)«y?^«?z>z£", and a ftone alfo, upon Tomb, 
which v( as they believe ) our Lady wafticd our Lords Linnen, and they bear 
great reverence toit. Heretofore this Church was painted all over, after the a stone re- 
Mofaical way, and fome pieces ofit areftill tobe feen, as Crofles and Images, verenced. 
which the Turks did not half deface, when they endeavoured to rub them out; 
forthey fulFer no Images: On the outfide of this Church, there are four J^z»;?- 
rets or Steeples, very high and flender ; yet one may go up to the top of them -, 
they have feveral ftories of Balconies, all round them,from whence the i^Uf^ex.wj 
call to prayers. This Church, with the appurtenances ofit, was heretetofore 
much bigger thanit is at prefent the Turks having cut off a great deal from 
it J and it has ferved them for a pattern to build their Mofques by Clofe by 
the back of this Church, in alitteftreet, not far from its entry, are two large 
and thick Pillars, where they fay, Juftice was heretofore adminiftred ; others 
fay, that there were three of them, and that upon each Confiantine caufed a bra- 
îzen Crofs to be ereded, and tiiat upon every Crofs one of thefe words, Jc/m, 
Chrift^ Surmoiims, was engraven in large Greek Charadlers. Near to that place, 
there is an old Tower, where the Grand Signior's Bcaftsare kept ; there I faw 
Lyons, Wolves, Foxes, Leopards, a fpottedLynx, the skin of a C iraffe and Loup-c;rvier. 
other rare Animals. Santa Sophia, being the Model for all the fair Mofques 
of Conftantinoplcj wherein there are feven Royal ones, that of Solymania, is sohmma 
very like to it , it is a great Mofque full of Lamps, at the end of which there 
is a little Chappel or Turbe, and in it the Coffin that holds the body of Sultan solymM'sCoi- 
So/yw^w the Founder of that Mofque ; this Coffin Hands upon a Carpet fpread fin. 
upon the ground, which was brought from Medina, and over it there is a Pall 
brought from Affc/ji?, which Town is reprefented upon the Pall. At one end 
of the Coffin there is Turban, to which are faftened two Herons tops,enrich'd 
with precious ftones, and about it are many Tapers and Lamps, burning, with 
feveral Alcorans chained, that they may not be ftoln, and that people may read 
them for the falvation of thedefunfls Soul, and indeed, there are men there at 
all times reading the Alcoran, who are hired to do it ; for theGrand Signiors 
take care to leave a fund, for continual Prayers, to be faid for them, after 
their death. Near to this Chapel, there is another, in the middle whereof 
is 
