Starting from Pera - a party of us proceeded to the seven Towers the point from whence commences the wall that encloses the city on the land side from the sea of Marmora to the Golden Horn - being on horseback crossed over to the city by the bridge - the city like Rome is far from being thickly inhabited in every part enclosed by the walls - for the part towards the Seven towers contains large gardens - and such is the quietness of the streets - that the clattering of our horses feet brought the bright eyed Greek women to the windows of the houses which we otherwise might have taken to be unoccupied -

Mounted one of the round towers to take a view - the lower part was formerly used as a prison - on the stones of the walls the unhappy victims have cut their names - with date and country - Italians mostly, and one or two french and english - going out of the city walls by the Golden Gate- Aurea - - and thro which the emperors made their triumphal entry into the city - the imperial eagle is sculptured over the gate - but in a style to show the decline of the art - hence there is a road under the wall the whole length, to the Golden Horn - the wall is double with square towers every hundred yards - and a wide ditch - it is by no means a ruin - but has a very venerable appearance - and considering the number of wars and sieges which the city has undergone the last 14 centuries is highly interesting - the ditch is dry and in many places turned into Gardens -

Passed the seven gates on the land side - the most noted is the Cannon Gate (Top Kapu) as it was at the siege of the city by the Turks - that here the emperor the last of the Constantines fell in defense of the walls, a worthy descendant of the Constantine that built them - here are again turkish cemeteries - indeed the outskirts of the city are one immense burying ground almost without interruption shaded by the dark foliage of the cypress

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