Two hours after midnight
The Sultan was standing on the roof of his palace , whence he could view far away the spreading scarlet glow of the conflagration which lit up the night with a terrifying glare , whose fiery columns were reflected in the black Bosphorus . Panic-stricken fugitives spread the report that the Seraglio itself was in flames , and indeed it looked in the distance as if the fiery waves had reached its cupolaed towers . Mahmoud spent the whole night in prayer . Two hours after midnight a horseman arrived who had forced his way through Stambul , his good steed collapsing as it reached the cypress grove of Bekshishtash . The horseman himself demanded an audience of the Sultan , and was instantly admitted . A bright momentary ray of hope was visible on the face of Mahmoud as he recognized the horseman . It was Thomar , now the Akinji Feriki , the bravest warrior in the three continents of the Ottoman Empire .