rue
believers to abstain from intoxicants, and to perform regular ablutions
before prayers; so there are drinking fountains at corners where the
thirsty assemble to drink from brass cups, and washing fountains or
basins outside and adjoining the mosques, as well as inside these
buildings, where Moslems were seen washing hands or feet regardless of
our curious eyes. Some of the drinking fountains are very large and
beautiful. The fountain erected by Sultan Ahmed surpasses all others in
grace of proportion and beauty of design. This magnificent structure is
ornamented with carved arabesques, inscriptions in gilt, and delicately
colored green tile. Above the water tap may be seen in Turkish
characters the builder's mandate:

"Wayfarer, admire this beautiful work; turn the tap in the name of
Allah; drink thy fill and bless the founder, Ahmed Khan."

CHAPTER X.

FROM THE BOSPORUS TO PALESTINE.

The program posted for Saturday, February twenty-eighth, announced that
the Moltke would leave Constantinople at nine o'clock in the morning for
a trip to the Black Sea, a distance of thirty-five miles. As we sailed
up the Bosporus, which narrows and widens, twists and turns, a
succession of picturesque scenes opened up before us. Scattered along
the shores, which for fifteen or twenty miles beyond Constantinople may
be considered suburbs of that city, white marble palaces of the rulers,
summer residences of the foreign ambassadors, and villas of the wealthy
Turks were seen interspersed with modern villages and ruined walls and
castles of past ages. Pretty frame summer houses, groves of dark green
cypress, gardens, boat-houses, and mosques added interest to the views.

"The sail up the Bosporus reminds me of one taken on the Hudson River,
but the scenery on the banks is Oriental instead of modern," remarked
one of the tourists.

"The old castles and ruined walls, and the legends connected with them,
suggest the Rhine," commented another.

At the water's edge on the Asiatic side, a few miles from the city, we
saw the beautiful white marble Beylerbey Palace, built in the year 1866
by Abdul-Aziz, the predecessor of the present Sultan, as a residence
for his harem. For their pleasure he surrounded the palace with groves
and gardens and established a menagerie in the grounds. About eight
miles from the city all eyes were turned toward a hill on the European
shore, where, above a cluster of buildings, the Stars and Stripes