text_original: Then, of a sudden, he saw the leaves of this tree, changed to the form of shining sword blades, turn  ing towards the towns below them, and above all to  wards the great city of Constantinople which, lying between two seas, shone like a diamond between two THE GREEK EMPIRE AND OTTOMAN TURKS 259 emeralds, and formed the central ornament of a gigantic ring encircling the earth.
text_transcription: THEN OF A SUDDEN HE SAW THE LEAVES OF THIS TREE CHANGED TO THE FORM OF SHINING SWORD BLADES TURNING TOWARD THE TOWNS BELOW THEM AND ABOVE ALL TOWARD THE GREAT CITY OF CONSTANTINOPLE WHICH LYING BETWEEN TWO SEAS SHONE LIKE A DIAMOND BETWEEN TWO EMERALDS AND FORMED THE CENTRAL ORNAMENT OF A GIGANTIC RING ENCIRCLING THE EARTH
phonemes: ðˈɛn, əvə sˈʌdən, hiː sˈɔː ðə lˈiːvz ʌv ðɪs tɹˈiː, tʃˈeɪndʒd tə ðə fˈɔːɹm ʌv ʃˈaɪnɪŋ sˈɔːɹd blˈeɪdz, tˈɜːn ˈɪŋ təwˈɔːɹdz ðə tˈaʊnz bᵻlˈoʊ ðˌɛm, ænd əbˌʌv ˈɔːl tə wˈɔːɹdz ðə ɡɹˈeɪt sˈɪɾi ʌv kˌɑːnstɐntɪnˈoʊpəl wˈɪtʃ, lˈaɪɪŋ bᵻtwˌiːn tˈuː sˈiːz, ʃˈɑːn lˈaɪk ɐ dˈaɪəmənd bᵻtwˌiːn tˈuː ðə ɡɹˈiːk ˈɛmpaɪɚ ænd ˈɑːɾəmən tˈɜːks tˈuːhˈʌndɹɪd fˈɪfti nˈaɪn ˈɛmɚɹəldz, ænd fˈɔːɹmd ðə sˈɛntɹəl ˈɔːɹnəmənt əvə dʒaɪɡˈæntɪk ɹˈɪŋ ɛnsˈɜːklɪŋ ðɪ ˈɜːθ.