Üsküdar and the Princes’ Islands - Strolling Through Istanbul: The Classic Guide to the City - page 390

BARRACKS AND MOSQUE OF SELİM III
At no great distance from the cemetery are the gargantuan barracks
of Selim III. The barracks, a huge rectangle with very characteristic
towers at the corners, are now chiefly famous as the scene of Florence
Nightingale's ministrations during the Crimean War. They were
originally erected in wood by Selim III to house the new troops he
hoped would quell and take the place of the Janissaries. Later they were
partly rebuilt in stone by Mahmut II after he had in fact liquidated
that rebellious corps; and later still the rest was done in stone by
Abdül Mecit. They are still used by the military; the general public
can visit the little museum in the tower where Florence Nightingale
lived when she was running the hospital.
Opposite the main entrance to the barracks is the mosque that
Selim III built for his new corps of soldiers. Built in A.H. 1209 (A.D.
1803-4), it is the last and one of the handsomest of the pure baroque
mosques. Not only are its proportions and details most attractive, but
it is placed in an exceptionally lovely garden with three of the finest
plane trees in the city. The interior as usual is a little stark, though
of impressive proportions. The western gallery, the mihrab and the
mimber are all of highly polished (too highly polished) grey marble
and give the place a certain charm. A short distance to the south of
the Selimiye barracks we find the British Crimean cemetery.
ÇAMLICA
In describing the excursions in the neighbourhood of Üsküdar, Evliya
tells us that “the most celebrated walk of all is that of Great Camlıca,
where a kiosk was built by the present monarch (Mehmet IV), the
chronograph of which was composed by me, poor Evliya.” The Great
Çamlıca stands about four kilometres east of Iskele Meydanı and can
be reached by the main highway leaving Üsküdar in that direction.
It is the taller of the twin peaks of Mount Bulgurlu, the highest
point in the vicinity of Istanbul (267 metres above sea level). There
is no trace of the imperial kiosk mentioned by poor Evliya, its place
being taken by a large teahouse and café in the midst of the pine
grove which gives the peak its name ( cam = pine). From here there
is an absolutely magnificent view, which makes it well worth the