Several priests were sitting at the porch, under the cynaris. Having learned about me, they seemed delighted at my presence. The eldest of them immediately went to church, and, putting on his stole, soon came back with a cross and holy water. Having allowed me to venerate the cross and sprinkled me with water, he led me to church. I found it decently and well decorated. It has been completely refinished: the iconostasis is made of thick, thick marble; his drawing is simple, but correct and decent; the frames around the images are gilded with red gold, as well as the royal gates. I entered the altar: all the church utensils were rich; vessels, monstrance, stars, crosses, silver, gilded: this is a gift from the pious Moscow merchants, and for that class they gratefully included it in the deaitiki and commemorate it at every mass. The priest told me a rather interesting anecdote. When I asked him why in the iconostasis, on the left side of the royal doors, the image of Toann the Baptist was placed, and not the Mother of God, as is usually the case in Greek churches, he, smiling, answered me that Sultai, once passing by their church, frightened them extremely; got off his horse and went straight to the church. Not knowing what to think about such an extraordinary experience, they rushed to unlock the doors for him. He entered, examined the entire new device, graciously approved, and approached. to the iconostasis he pointed to the image of the Savior, saying; Issa Ben-Margam? (i.e. Shsheus syp Marsh?) The priest answered: exactly so, sir! Then the Sultan pointed to the image of the Mother of God and said: Mar!am? They also told him off. Then he ordered that John the Baptist be placed here, and the image of March on another place. Why did this idea come to the Sultan? What destiny has awakened in him? This is left for. all the riddles The priest told me that he had heard from someone that Mahmud kept the icon of the Forerunner in his chambers. But is this true? he doesn’t know, and it seems very doubtful to me. However, the fact is that his will was carried out unquestioningly, and the icon of Toanna the Baptist stands here by order of Makhmudov. The Sultan, right through the royal doors, then entered the altar, was surprised at the wealth of the utensils, and asked on what basis it was sold.” He was told that it was brought by the unified merchants of Moscow. He said: Beijing, bake, which means: good, good, and He took it out of the church, giving the priests a certain amount of money. They earnestly thanked God that the storm had so happily passed, and since then they have lived calmly.
The time to serve mass was approaching, and they made it even quicker for me to start. I prayed earnestly and thanked the Most High for his mercy, with which he preserved me, and, in my old age, safe and healthy, I decided to fulfill my promise, to give Him praise on that ist, from where He sent us the ray of the true spirit and His Holy Gospel! At the big exit, the banner first proclaimed the name of the Most Pious, Autocratic Sovereign Emperor Nicholas the First and the entire Tsar of His Noble Family, and so on. This made me heartily happy; but, I confess, I was very sorry for the priests, and when, after the service, I told them about this, they replied that they did not think of doing anything unpleasant to the Sultan, and this time they wanted to honor the Russian pilgrim, the zealous servant of their Sovereign. He read the Gospel in Slavonic and quite well. Afterwards I served the prayer service of the Mother of God, went down to the Life-Giving Spring, venerated the revealed icon, and looked at the fish. After the service, the priests treated me at their place. We drank coffee, smoked tobacco, and talked for quite a long time. They presented me with the icon of the Mother of God, which is in Balukly, describing the miracles of the Life-Giving Spring and fish, and entered my name into the diptykes; and I thanked them by distributing money, and made a small contribution to the image; then he said goodbye to them with heartfelt emotion, and galloped back to the walls of the city.
Having thus completed the survey of the walls, towers and gates of Constantinople, by the way, let me remind you of the sieges it endured here, indicating how many times it was taken by the besiegers.
From the very beginning of its foundation, still called Byzantium, until it was captured by Mohammed C in 4458, Constantinople was under siege 29 times, and eight times it was taken by the enemy. A detailed chronological history of this is included in the notes ().
(1) In 477 BC, the city of Plataea was destroyed, besieged by Pausania of Lacedaemon, and then.
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5. In the year 547 of the Nativity of Christ, “Leon, military commander of Paris Philip of Uacedone.
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