Balouclè—The New Church—Delightful Road—Eyoub—The
Cemetery—The Rebel’s Grave—The Mosque of Blood—The Hill of
Graves—The Seven Towers—The Palace of Belisarius—The City
Walls—Easter Festivities—The Turkish Araba—The Armenian
Carriage—Travellers—Turkish
Women—Seridjhes—Persians—Irregular Troops—The Plain of
Balouclè—Laughable Mistake—Extraordinary Discretion—The
Church of Balouclè—The Holy Well—Absurd Tradition—The Chapel
Vault—Enthusiasm of the Greeks—A Pleasant Draught—Greek
Substitute for a Bell—Violent Storm.
Our next expedition was to Balouclè, where the Greeks have recently
built a small, but elegant church, upon the spot once occupied by a very
spacious edifice, which had gone to ruin. The ride, though long and
somewhat fatiguing, was most delightful; the road leading us across the
hills, to the fair Valley of the Sweet Waters, along the banks of the
sparkling Barbyses, past the Imperial kiosks; and onward to the
beautiful village of Eyoub, the stronghold of the Constantinopolitan
Turks, wherein they allow no Giaour to reside; and the marble floor of
whose thrice-holy mosque no infidel foot has ever trodden.
The situation of Eyoub is eminently picturesque. It is backed by
gently-swelling hills, clothed with trees, where the delicate acacia and
the majestic maple are mingled with the scented lime and the dark and
rigid cypress, whose blended shadows fall over a thousand graves, and
turn away the sunlight from the lettered tombs of many a lordly
Musselmaun. Eyoub possesses also a melancholy interest from the fact,
that in its beautiful cemetery stands the rude mausoleum of the rebel
Ali of Tepeleni who revolted in Albania, wherein are deposited the heads
of himself, his three sons, and his grandson. Nor is this all; for a
small mosque, almost buried amid tall trees, may be distinguished at the
point where the main street sweeps downward to the water’s edge, whose
modest minaret is painted a dull red from its base to its spire, and
which bears the thrilling designation of the “Mosque of Blood.”
I have elsewhere mentioned that the Osmanlis do not permit their temples
to be desecrated by the admission of the dead beneath their roofs; and
this humble pile earned its awful appellation at the siege of
Constantinople, when its doors were forced by the combatants, and its
narrow floor cumbered with slain. Since that period, its single minaret
has been painted as I have described; and it possesses an additional
interest from its vicinity to the bleak, naked, treeless hill, whereon
were interred all the True Believers who perished at that memorable
period, and whose ashes still remain undisturbed.
Nothing can be more romantic than the appearance of the Seven Towers,
the remains of the Palace of Belisarius, and the crumbling walls of the
city, extending along the whole line of road to Balouclè, like a
succession of ruined castles; and overtopped by forest trees, whose
bright foliage forms a striking contrast from the grey and mouldering
rampart. At intervals, towers thickly overgrown with ivy, and tottering
to their fall, raise their fantastic outline against the sky; while the
moat is in many places entirely concealed by the wild fig trees, and the
dense underwood, that have sprung in wild luxuriance from the rich soil.
At the period of our visit, the Easter festivities were at their height,
and the road was covered with groups of travellers, all hurrying towards
the same point. There was the gilded araba of the Turkish lady, with its
covering of crimson cloth, and its carved lattices; followed by a
mounted negro. Then came the bullock-carriage of an Armenian family,
gaily painted and cushioned, its oxen half covered with worsted tassels
and finery, and glittering about the head with foil and gold leaf; while
a long curved stick, extending backward from each yoke as far as the
carriage, was painted in stripes of blue and yellow, and adorned with
pendent tassels of coloured worsted. Both animals wore their charm
against the Evil Eye; and the whole equipage was sufficiently
well-appointed to have done honour to the harem of a Pasha, while the
bright dark eyes and delicate hands of its occupants would have been an
equal triumph for his taste. But at the first glance you saw that the
carriage was not that of a Turk, for the painted hoops were plainly
covered by a white awning, the symbol of the _raïah_. The haughty
Osmanli has reserved to himself the privilege of seating his wives
beneath draperies of crimson, blue, or purple, fringed with gold; while
the Armenian, the Greek, and the Jew, when making use of this popular
conveyance, are obliged to content themselves with a simple awning of
white linen. Here galloped a reckless Greek, urging his good hack to the
top of its speed; there moved along a stately Turk, with the hand of his
groom resting on the flank of his well-fed horse, and his pipe-bearer
walking five paces behind him. Now it was a party of Franks, booted,
spurred, and looking in silent scorn upon the incongruous trappings of
the natives, and now a group of foot-passengers, walking at a pace which
I never saw equalled in England.
As we approached Balouclè, the features of the scene became still more
striking. The low wall that skirted the road was covered with Turkish
women, squatted upon their rugs and carpets, with the arabas in which
they had travelled ranged along behind them. Seridjhes were walking
droves of horses to and fro, and waiting for customers to hire them;
travelling merchants were retailing yahourt and mohalibè to the hungry
and the weary; Bulgarians were playing their awkward antics to attract
the attention of the idle, and the piastres of the profuse; and the halt
and the blind were seated by the wayside, to invoke the paras of the
charitable. Parties of Persians, with large white turbans, silken robes,
and eyes as black as midnight, were walking their well-trained horses
through the crowd; and a detachment of the Irregular Troops, with their
jester at their head, in a cap made of sheepskin, adorned with three
fox-tails, and a vest of undressed leather, drove back the people on
either side, as they made their way through the throng with a sort of
short run. They had precisely the appearance of banditti, each being
dressed and armed according to his own means or fancy; while their huge
mustachioes, and the elf locks that escaped from beneath their turbans,
added to the ferocious character of their aspect.
The plain on which the Church is situated is thickly wooded in its
immediate neighbourhood, and on this occasion was covered with a dense
crowd of merry human beings. The same amusements as I have described at
the Armenian festival were in full career; but the heavy meaningless
dance of the Champs des Morts was here exchanged for the graceful
romaïka, which was going forward in every direction.
For every other female whom I saw on the ground, I remarked at least a
hundred and fifty Turkish women; and the astonishment excited by the
appearance of the Greek lady by whom I was accompanied, and myself among
these latter, was most amusing. As the greater number of them had never
before seen a Frank lady on horseback, they concluded that we had each
lost a leg; and the “Mashallahs!” with which they contemplated our
gaiety were innumerable. But as a Turkish woman never scruples to
address a stranger in the street; and as our being actually crippled was
a matter of uncertainty; they were resolved to satisfy their minds on
this very important point; and several of them accordingly addressed
themselves to the gentlemen of our party, in order to resolve the doubt;
exclaiming with an energy worthy of the occasion: “For the love of God,
tell us if your wives have lost a leg, or not!”
When they had been assured to the contrary, their next conclusion was
still more amusing. It was clear that none but rope-dancers could
balance themselves upon the back of a horse without having one leg on
either side of the saddle—ergo, we were collectively, ladies and
gentlemen, the identical party of rope-dancers, whom the Sultan had
engaged for the marriage festivities of his Imperial daughter: and so
perfectly convinced were they of their own sagacity on this second
occasion, that I am only surprised that they had sufficient discretion
to refrain from requesting us to give them a specimen of our abilities.
The Church of Balouclè stands in the centre of an enclosed court, within
which are also situated the houses of the priests. A handsome flight of
stone steps leads downward to the portal; and, as you cross the
threshold, the interior of the edifice produces on you the effect of
something that has sprung into existence at the touch of an enchanter’s
wand. It looks as though it were built of porcelain, all is so fresh and
so glittering. It is entirely lined with white and gold, and the paint
upon the walls is so highly varnished, that you can scarcely distinguish
it from the polished marble that composes the screen of the sanctuary;
the latticed gallery of the women is fancifully decorated and gilt; and
the elegant pulpit is shaped like an inverted minaret.
But the principal attraction of the Church of Balouclè, and that which
lends to it its distinguishing character of sanctity, is the Holy Well,
dedicated to the Virgin, which, on the occasion of all high festivals,
is opened for the benefit and edification of the pious. Situated in a
vault immediately beneath the chancel, protected by a balustrade of
marble, and lighted by the lamp that is constantly burning before the
shrine of the Madonna, rises the spring whose holy and healing qualities
are matter of devout belief with the Greeks; and in which the lower
orders of the people gravely assert that fish are to be seen swimming
about, cooked on one side and crude on the other.
This somewhat extraordinary circumstance is accounted for by a variety
of legends; the most comprehensible of the whole being that which
affirms that, some holy man or woman having been refused food on this
very spot, when on a pilgrimage to a shrine of the Virgin, situated in
the neighbourhood, the well-disposed fish, whose pious self-immolation
has been thus immortalised, sprang from the waters of the spring, and
flung themselves upon the heated ashes of the fire, whereon the churlish
host, who refused help to the weary and wayworn pilgrims, had just
prepared his own meal. How the travellers were induced to refrain from
the savoury repast; and how the fish contrived to return to the stream
after being well cooked on one side, the legend sayeth not; and those
who are inclined to doubt the fact of their present existence had
better make a descent into the vault on the occasion of an Easter
festival; and, should they still continue sceptical, after the scene
which they will then and there witness, nothing that I can say will
awaken their faith.
After having duly flung a few piastres upon the salver held by the
priest who guarded the door; and protected on either side by a
gentleman, to secure me from the pressure of the crowd, I commenced my
slippery descent into the subterranean chapel. The stone steps were
running with water, spilt by the eager motions of those who were bearing
it away; nor was this all, for, as they handed it to each other over the
heads of such as chanced to obstruct their passage, an occasional shower
fell upon us from above, whose holiness by no means sufficed to
counteract its chill.
When I gained the chapel, and paused to take breath, a most singular
scene presented itself. The narrow space was cumbered with individuals,
who were shouting, struggling, and even fighting their way, to the
margin of the Well: an image of the Virgin tricked out in gold and
embroidery, before which burned the lamp that lit up the subterranean,
gleamed out in vain from a niche opposite to the spring: the very piety
of her votaries had induced them to turn their backs upon her; and I
believe that mine was the only eye which rested upon her altar.
Some, who had succeeded in filling the vessels which they had brought
with them, were standing bare-headed, throwing the cold stream over
their shaven crowns: others, who had suffered from lameness, were
emptying their earthen jars upon their feet; some were pouring it down
their chests, and others again down their throats.
By the strenuous endeavours of my friends, and the assistance of a
sickly-looking priest who was collecting paras among the crowd, I
succeeded in obtaining a draught of the water; and, whether it arose
from the stream having been thickened by the dipping in of so many
vessels, or that the half fried fish imparted to it a disagreeable
flavour of the charcoal ashes; or, again, that it was really and simply
of very indifferent quality, I cannot take upon me to decide; while I am
quite competent to declare that I never swallowed a more unsatisfactory
beverage, and that nothing less than a very painful thirst would have
induced me to venture upon a second trial.
On escaping from the subterranean, (and it was really an escape)! I went
to examine the machine which in all the principal Greek churches acts as
the substitute for a bell, whose use is not permitted by the Turks. It
is a very inartificial instrument, being merely a bar of iron resting
lightly between two perpendicular pieces of timber, which, on being
struck with a short bar of cypress-wood, emits a clear ringing sound,
that may be heard to a considerable distance. In the smaller churches
two sticks are beaten together, but this signal avails only when the
congregation is nestled near the walls of the temple.
Having secured the water that they had taken so much trouble to obtain,
the enthusiastic and light-hearted Greeks were pouring out of the chapel
as we returned; and ere we could mount our horses many of them had
already joined the dancers, and were engaged in winding through the
graceful mazes of the romaïka, while others were busied in filling their
chibouks in the neighbourhood of the coffee-tents.
A mass of heavy vapours, rising up against the wind, and arraying
themselves like a host about to do battle, warned us not to linger long
at so considerable a distance from home; and, profiting by the
intimation of a coming storm, we started off at a gallop, to the
increased astonishment of the Turkish women, who were still clustering
like bees upon the wall. But our speed availed us nothing: we had not
cleared the hills above Kahaitchana when the enemy was upon us; and a
tempest of blended hail, rain, and wind bore us company for the
remainder of the journey; and thus we were fairly drenched ere we
reached Pera, notwithstanding our offerings at the shrine of the Virgin,
and our pilgrimage to the Holy Well.