The travels of Monsieur de Thevenot into the Levant in three parts, viz. into I. Turkey, II. Persia, III. the East-Indies / newly done out of French.

CHAP. XXI. Of Leander's Tower, Scudaret, the Princes Isle, and the Black Sea.

THough the Countrey about Constantinople be not so delightful, nor so well peopled, as in France; yet it is not without pleasant Walks; you must take a Caique, and go to Scudaret, called in Turkish Iscodar, and it is a good mile over to it: You pass by the Tower of Leander, which stands betwixt the Serraglio and Scudaret, and you may go into it if you please. This Tower is built upon a Rock in the Sea, and is pretty strong; there are several great Guns mounted in it, which may batter the Port of Constantinople, and the two mouths of the Bosphorus of Thrace and of the Propontis, or, as they say, of the Black and White Seas; there is a Well of excellent good fresh Water in this Tower, but I cannot tell why they call it Leander's Tower. From thence you go to Scudaret, which is a Village in Asia, upon the Sea-side, over against the Serraglio of Constantinople; where the Grand Signior hath a sttately Serraglio, and very lovely Gardens. A little lower, on the same side, over against the seven Towers, stands Chalcedon; a Town anciently Famous, and celebrated by the Fourth general Council that was held there; but, at present, it is no more but a pitiful Village. The Princes Isle, which is four hours going from Constanti∣nople, is another Walk, where the Air is excellently good; though this Isle be not great, yet it is very pleasant, and contains two little Towns of Greeks. The Chanel of the Black Sea is a rare place to take the Air upon; this is the Bosphorus of Thrace, which coming from the Black Sea to Constantinople, enters into the Propontis, and mingles its Waters with the White Sea; at the broadest place it is about a mile over, and is twelve miles in length. Going from Tophana towards this Chanel, you see to the left-hand, on the side of Europe, a great many lovely Houses and Gardens; when you have entered into the Chanel, you have on both sides the most charming and delightful Prospect in the World; nothing offering to your view but stately Houses, and Gardens full of all sorts of excellent Fruits: Upon the side, in Asia, I saw a very pretty Castle, where Sultan Ibrahim, the Father of Sultan Mahomet, who Reigns at present, was hid for the space of twenty years, to avoid the Death which Sultan Amurath put his other Brothers to. This Castle is covered with many very high Trees, that hinder it from being seen, which is the reason (as those who live there told us) that few come to see it. Along both the shores, there are also a great many good Villages, where one may have whatsoever is needful. They take in this Chanel great quantities of good Fish, of several sorts, especially Sword-fish, which are great, and so called, because on their Snout they have a long broad bone, like a Sword, or rather a Saw; there are many Dolphins to be seen there, which follow Boats, playing and leaping out of the Water. Six miles from Constantinople, there are two Forts on this Sea, the one in Europe, and the other in Asia, which serve for Prisons for Persons of qua∣lity, and were built to put a stop to the Cosacks, who (were it not for that) would often come and make Booty, even in Constantinople, seeing, notwithstanding these Forts, they sometimes give the alarm to that City: In three or four hours time one comes to the end of the Chanel or Bosphorus of Thrace, where the Black Sea begins. In the middle of this mouth, which is very narrow, there is a little Isle, or rather Rock, distant on each hand from the main Land about fifty paces, where being come, you may go up to the top of it, and there see a Pillar of white Marble, which is called the Pillar of Pompey, because (they

say) it was raised by Pompey in memory of his Victory, after that he had overcome Mithridates. Close by this Rock, and round it, there are several others scattered here and there in the Water, which many take to be the Cyanean Isles, or Symplegades. On the main Land of Europe side, over against the Rock of Pompey's Pillar, there is a Village on the Water-side with a Tower, on the top whereof there is a Light, for the convenience of Vessels, that by mistake they may not run foul of the Rocks and be cast away; for that's a very dangerous Sea, and many shipwrecks are made in it every year; so that the Greeks call it Maurothalassa, that is to say, the Black Sea; not because the Wa∣ters of it are black, but because Storms and Tempests rise on it so suddenly, that they cause many losses; and though the Weather be never so fair, yet Ves∣sels are often surprised there in a moment; for besides that, this Sea is not very broad, there are several Currents in it caused by the Danube, Boristhenes, Tanais, and many other smaller Rivers that discharge their Waters into it, which occasion so many Eddies, that many times Vessels are carried upon the Rocks, and there perish. The Antients called this Sea Pontus Euxinus, a Name that hath been changed and soft'ned from that of Axinos, which in Latin signifies Inhospitabilis, one that uses his Guests unkindly; as in Italy, the the City which was since called Malventum, was named Beneventum. If you go a-shore on the side of Europe, you'll see a very fine Countrey, full of Gardens, and good Pasture Ground; and in this Countrey there are several Villages inhabited by Greeks: A little further up in the Countrey, on the same side, there are very lovely Aqueducts, that carry water to Constantinople.

Notes

• Iscodar.
• Sword-fish.
• Maurothalassa.