BEAUTIES OF THE BOSPHORUS. 37
PLATE: FOUNTAIN IN GALATA
FOUNTAIN IN GALATA.
"This a little thing
To give a cup of water; yet its draught
Of cool refreshment, drain'd by fever'd lips,
May give a shock of pleasure to the frame
More exquisite than when nectarean juice
Renews the life of joy in happiest hours."
ION.
THE fountains of Constantinople and its environs are all more or less elegant; and among the most beautiful, both as regards architecture and ornament, may be classed the subject of the present sketch, which occupies the centre of a small square, at the foot of the steep ascent leading up from the merchant-suburb of Galata to the "Infidel Hill" of Pera.
Its form is singularly graceful and well-proportioned; and as the hand of innovation has not yet touched its massive and deeply-projecting cornice, it is perhaps as correct a specimen of the pure Moorish style as any now existing in the city. Four small domes compose the roof; and they are circled by a network of dentated sculpture, which gives them a light and pretty appearance, and relieves the eye as it glances upward from the face of the fountain, which is beautifully and profusely painted in arabesques, as well as the wide and undulating cornice at the base of the domes.
Five slender pillars of white marble divide the bayed front of the building into four equal compartments, which are screened to about midway of its height by a gilded lattice-work, behind whose protecting shadow stands a range of brass vessels, occupying the lip of a reservoir containing a constant supply of cool water for the use of the thirsty passenger; while on either side of this, the principal face of the fountain, stretch two receding wings, where exterior basins, fed with a flow of water which rarely fails in its volume, offer a constant and abundant mean of comfort and cleanliness to the immediate neighbourhood.
Coffee-kiosques, sheltered from the summer heats by rude wooden terraces, overshadowed by acacia trees and wild vines, occupy a portion of the square; and the quiet-loving Moslem smokes his chibouque in luxurious repose, under the very shade of the fountain whence he draws his cool and healthful draught.