BEAUTIES OF THE BOSPHORUS.         22

PLATE: FOUNTAIN NEAR THE ASIAN VALLEY OF SWEET WATERS

FOUNTAIN OF THE ASIAN SWEET WATERS.

"A glowing scene of water, leaves, and light
And white-veil'd dames, and turban'd men are there;
And all around the earth and sea are bright
And beautiful in the sunshiny air;
Soft ripples dance upon the channel's breast,
Light breezes sweep along the mountain's crest,
And women's voice, and childhood's laugh of glee,
Come blended on the ear harmoniously."
MS. POEM.

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The Valley of Guiuk-Suy, charmingly situated about mid-way of the Bosphorus, and called by Europeans the Asian Sweet Waters, owes its charm and its popularity (like the glen of Kyat-Khana, already described,) to the circumstance of its being intersected by a pretty stream of fresh water, which, after flowing along under the shadows of tall and leafy trees, finally mingles its pigmy ripples with the swifter waves of the channel. The Anadoli Hissari, or Castle of Asia, stands upon its margin, and painfully recalls the mind to the darker and sterner realities of life; or the visitor of Guiuk-Suy might fancy himself in Arcadia, so lovely is the locality.

On Fridays, (the Mahommedan Sabbath,) the valley is thronged with holiday-keeping idlers; and here the Frank traveller may see more of the habits and morale of the Turkish women than he can hope to do elsewhere; for here, being on Asiatic ground, they appear to feel more at home, and less trammelled by the restrictions of their creed than in any other environ of the capital; their yashmacs are less scrupulously arranged, they are more accessible to strangers, and they do the honours of their lovely valley with a gentle courtesy extremely pleasing.

All ranks alike frequent this sweet and balmy spot. The Sultanas move along in quiet stateliness over the greensward in their gilded arabas, drawn by oxen glittering with foil, and covered with awnings of velvet, heavy with gold embroidery and fringes;