Scutari--Kaiks--The howling Dervishes--The Achmaidon, or place of
arrows--The tower in Galata--The Bazaar at Constantinople--Mosques--
Slave-market--The old Serail--The Hippodrome--Coffee-houses--Story-
tellers--Excursion to Ejub--Houses, theatres, and carriages.
I chose a Friday for an excursion to Scutari, the celebrated
burying-place of the Turks, in order that I might have an
opportunity of seeing the "howling dervishes."
In company with a French physician, I traversed the Bosphorus in a
kaik. {48} We passed by the "Leander's Tower," which stands in the
sea, a few hundred paces from the Asiatic coast, and has been so
frequently celebrated in song by the poets. We soon arrived at our
destination.
It was with a peculiar feeling of emotion that for the first time in
my life I set foot on a new quarter of the globe. Now, and not till
now, I seemed separated by an immeasurable distance from my home.
Afterwards, when I landed on the coast of Africa, the circumstance
did not produce the same impression on my mind.
Now at length I was standing in the quarter of the earth which had
been the cradle of the human race; where man had risen high, and had
again sunk so low that the Almighty had almost annihilated him in
his righteous anger. And here in Asia it was that the Son of God
came on earth to bring the boon of redemption to fallen man. My
long and warmly-cherished wish to tread this most wonderful of the
four quarters of the earth was at length fulfilled, and with God's
help I might confidently hope to reach the sacred region whence the
true light of the world had shone forth.
[Illustration 3. Burial Place at Scutari. ill3.jpg]
Scutari is the place towards which the Mussulman looks with the hope
of one day reposing beneath its shade. No disciple of any other
creed is allowed to be buried here; and here, therefore, the
Mahometan feels himself at home, and worthy of his Prophet. The
cemetery is the grandest in the world. One may wander for hours
through this grove of cypresses, without reaching the end. On the
gravestones of the men turbans are sculptured; on those of the women
fruits and flowers: the execution is in most cases very
indifferent.
Though neither the chief nor the tributary streets in Scutari are
even, they are neither so badly paved nor quite so narrow as those
at Pera. The great barracks, on a height in the foreground, present
a splendid appearance, and also afford a delicious view towards the
Sea of Marmora and the inimitably beautiful Bosphorus. The barracks
are said to contain accommodation for 10,000 men.
THE HOWLING DERVISHES.
At two o'clock we entered the temple, a miserable wooden building.
Every Mussulman may take part in this religious ceremony; it is not
requisite that he should have attained to the rank and dignity of a
dervish. Even children of eight or nine stand up in a row outside
the circle of men, to gain an early proficiency in these holy
exercises.
The commencement of the ceremony is the same as with the dancing
dervishes; they have spread out carpets and skins of beasts, and are
bowing and kissing the ground. Now they stand up and form a circle
together with the laymen, when the chief begins in a yelling voice
to recite prayers from the Koran; by degrees those forming the
circle join in, and scream in concert. For the first hour some
degree of order is still preserved; the performers rest frequently
to husband their strength, which will be exerted to the utmost at
the close of the ceremony. But then the sight becomes as horrible
as one can well imagine any thing. They vie with one another in
yelling and howling, and torture their faces, heads, and bodies into
an infinite variety of fantastic attitudes. The roaring, which
resembles that of wild beasts, and the dreadful spasmodic
contortions of the actors' countenances, render this religious
ceremony a horrible and revolting spectacle.
The men stamp with their feet on the ground, jerk their heads
backwards and forwards, and certainly throw themselves into worse
contortions than those who are described as having been in old times
"vexed with a devil." During the exercise they snatch the covering
from their heads, and gradually take off all their clothes, with the
exception of shirt and trousers. The two high priests who stand
within the circle receive the garments one after another, kiss them,
and lay them on a heap together. The priests beat time with their
hands, and after the garments have been laid aside the dance becomes
faster and faster. Heavy drops of perspiration stand on every brow;
some are even foaming at the mouth. The howling and roaring at
length reach such a dreadful pitch, that the spectator feels stunned
and bewildered.
Suddenly one of these maniacs fell lifeless to the ground. The
priests and a few from the circle hurried towards him, stretched him
out flat, crossed his hands and feet, and covered him with a cloth.
The doctor and I were both considerably alarmed, for we thought the
poor man had been seized with apoplexy. To our surprise and joy,
however, we saw him about six or eight minutes afterwards suddenly
throw off the cloth, jump up, and once more take his place in the
circle to howl like a maniac.
At three o'clock the ceremony concluded. I would not advise any
person afflicted with weak nerves to witness it, for he certainly
could not endure the sight. I could have fancied myself among
raving lunatics and men possessed, rather than amidst reasonable
beings. It was long before I could recover my composure, and
realise the idea that the infatuation of man could attain such a
pitch. I was informed that before the ceremony they swallow opium,
to increase the wildness of their excitement!
The Achmaidon (place of arrows) deserves a visit, on account of the
beautiful view obtained thence; the traveller should see it, if he
be not too much pressed for time. This is the place which the
Sultan sometimes honours by his presence when he wishes to practise
archery.
On an open space stands a kind of pulpit of masonry, from which the
Sultan shoots arrows into the air without mark or aim. Where the
arrow falls, a pillar or pyramid is erected to commemorate the
remarkable event. The whole space is thus covered with a number of
these monuments, most of them broken and weather-stained, and all
scattered in the greatest confusion. Not far from this place is an
imperial kiosk, with a garden. Both promise much when viewed from a
distance, but realise nothing when seen from within.
THE TOWER IN GALATA.
Whoever wishes to appreciate in its fullest extent the charm of the
views round Constantinople should ascend the tower in Galata near
Pera, or the Serasker in Constantinople. According to my notion,
the former course is preferable. In this tower there is a room with
twelve windows placed in a circle, from which we see pictures such
as the most vivid imagination could hardly create.
Two quarters of the globe, on the shores of two seas united by the
Bosphorus, lie spread before us. The glorious hills with their
towns and villages, the number of palaces, gardens, kiosks, and
mosques, Chalcedon, the Prince's Islands, the Golden Horn, the
continual bustle on the sea, the immense fleet, besides the numerous
ships of other nations, the crowds of people in Pera, Galata, and
Topana--all unite to form a panorama of singular beauty. The
richest fancy would fail in the attempt to portray such a scene; the
most practised pen would be unequal to the task of adequately
describing it. But the gorgeous picture will be ever present to my
memory, though I lack the power of presenting it to the minds of
others.
Frequently, and each time with renewed pleasure, I ascended this
tower, and would sit there for hours, in admiration of the works of
the created and of the Creator. Exhausted and weary with gazing was
I each time I returned to my home. I think I may affirm that no
spot in the world can present such a view, or any thing that can be
compared with it. I found how right I had been in undertaking this
journey in preference to any other. Here another world lies
unfolded before my view. Every thing here is new--nature, art, men,
manners, customs, and mode of life. He who would see something
totally different from the every-day routine of European life in
European towns should come here.
THE BAZAAR.
In the town of Constantinople we come upon a wooden bridge, large,
long, and broad, stretching across the Golden Horn. The streets of
the town are rather better paved than those of Pera. In the bazaars
and on the sea-coast alone do we find an appearance of bustle; the
remaining streets are quiet enough.
The Bazaar is of vast extent, comprehending many covered streets,
which cross each other in every direction and receive light from
above. Every article of merchandise has its peculiar alley. In one
all the goldsmiths have their shops, in another the shoemakers; in
this street you see nothing but silks, in another real Cashmere
shawls, etc.
Every dealer has a little open shop, before which he sits, and
unceasingly invites the passers-by to purchase. Whoever wishes to
buy or to look at any thing sits down also in front of the booth.
The merchants are very good-natured and obliging; they always
willingly unfold and display their treasures, even when they notice
that the person to whom they are shewing them does not intend to
become a purchaser. I had, however, imagined the display of goods
to be much more varied and magnificent than I found it; but the
reason of this apparent poverty is that the true treasures of art
and nature, such as shawls, precious stones, pearls, valuable arms,
gold brocades, etc., must not be sought in the bazaars; they are
kept securely under lock and key in the dwellings or warehouses of
the proprietors, whither the stranger must go if he wishes to see
the richest merchandise.
The greatest number of streets occupied by the followers of any one
trade are those inhabited by the makers of shoes and slippers. A
degree of magnificence is displayed in their shops such as a
stranger would scarcely expect to see. There are slippers which are
worth 1000 piastres {53} a pair and more. They are embroidered with
gold, and ornamented with pearls and precious stones.
The Bazaar is generally so much crowded, that it is a work of no
slight difficulty to get through it; yet the space in the middle is
very broad, and one has rarely to step aside to allow a carriage or
a horseman to pass. But the bazaars and baths are the lounges and
gossiping places of the Turkish women. Under the pretence of
bathing or of wishing to purchase something, they walk about here
for half a day together, amusing themselves with small-talk, love-
affairs, and with looking at the wares.
THE MOSQUES.
Without spending a great deal of money, it is very difficult to
obtain admittance into the mosques. You are compelled to take out a
firmann, which costs from 1000 to 1200 piastres. A guide of an
enterprising spirit is frequently sufficiently acute to inquire in
the different hotels if there are any guests who wish to visit the
mosques. Each person who is desirous of doing so gives four or five
colonati {54} to the guide, who thereupon procures the firmann, and
frequently clears forty or fifty guilders by the transaction. An
opportunity of this description to visit the mosques generally
offers itself several times in the course of a month.
I had made up my mind that it would be impossible to quit
Constantinople without first seeing the four wonder-mosques, the Aja
Sofia, Sultan Achmed, Osmanije, and Soleimanije.
I had the good fortune to obtain admittance on paying a very
trifling sum; I think I should regret it to this day if I had paid
five colonati for such a purpose.
To an architect these mosques are no doubt highly interesting; to a
profane person like myself they offer little attraction. Their
principal beauty generally consists in the bold arches of the
cupolas. The interior is always empty, with the exception of a few
large chandeliers placed at intervals, and furnished with a large
number of perfectly plain glass lamps. The marble floors are
covered with straw mats. In the Sofia mosque we find a few pillars
which have been brought hither from Ephesus and Baalbec, and in a
compartment on one side several sarcophagi are deposited.
Before entering the mosque, you must either take off your shoes or
put on slippers over them. The outer courts, which are open to all,
are very spacious, paved with slabs of marble, and kept scrupulously
clean. In the midst stands a fountain, at which the Mussulman
washes his hands, his face, and his feet, before entering the
mosque. An open colonnade resting on pillars usually runs round the
mosques, and splendid plantains and other trees throw a delicious
shade around.
The mosque of Sultan Achmed, on the Hippodrome, is surrounded by six
minarets. Most of the others have only two, and some few four.
The kitchens for the poor, situated in the immediate neighbourhood
of the mosques, are a very praiseworthy institution. Here the poor
Mussulman is regaled on simple dishes, such as rice, beans,
cucumbers, etc., at the public expense. I marvelled greatly to find
no crowding at these places. Another and an equally useful measure
is the erection of numerous fountains of clear good water. This is
the more welcome when we remember that the Turkish religion forbids
the use of all spirituous liquors. At many of these fountains
servants are stationed, whose only duty is to keep ten or twelve
goblets of shining brass constantly filled with this refreshing
nectar, and to offer them to every passer-by, be he Turk or Frank.
Beer-houses and wine-shops are not to be found here. Would to
Heaven this were every where the case! How many a poor wretch would
never have been poor, and how many a madman would never have lost
his senses!
Not far from the Osmanije mosque is the
SLAVE-MARKET.
I entered it with a beating heart, and already before I had even
seen them, pitied the poor slaves. How glad, therefore, was I when
I found them not half so forlorn and neglected as we Europeans are
accustomed to imagine! I saw around me friendly smiling faces, from
the grimaces and contortions of which I could easily discover that
their owners were making quizzical remarks on every passing
stranger.
The market is a great yard, surrounded by rooms, in which the slaves
live. By day they may walk about in the yard, pay one another
visits, and chatter as much as they please.
In a market of this kind we, of course, see every gradation of
colour, from light brown to the deepest black. The white slaves,
and the most beautiful of the blacks, are not however to be seen by
every stranger, but are shut up in the dwellings of the traffickers
in human flesh. The dress of these people is simple in the extreme.
They either wear only a large linen sheet, which is wrapped round
them, or some light garment. Even this they are obliged to take off
when a purchaser appears. So long as they are in the hands of the
dealers, they are certainly not kept in very good style; so they all
look forward with great joy to the prospect of getting a master.
When they are once purchased, their fate is generally far from hard.
They always adopt the religion of their master, are not overburdened
with work, are well clothed and fed, and kindly treated. Europeans
also purchase slaves, but may not look upon them and treat them as
such; from the moment when a slave is purchased by a Frank he
becomes free. Slaves bought in this way, however, generally stay
with their masters.
THE OLD SERAIL
is, of course, an object of paramount attraction to us Europeans. I
betook myself thither with my expectations at full stretch, and once
more found the reality to be far below my anticipations. The effect
of the whole is certainly grand; many a little town would not cover
so much ground as this place, which consists of a number of houses
and buildings, kiosks, and summer-houses, surrounded with plantains
and cypress-trees, the latter half hidden amid gardens and arbours.
Everywhere there is a total want of symmetry and taste. I saw
something of the garden, walked through the first and second
courtyard, and even peeped into the third. In the last two yards
the buildings are remarkable for the number of cupolas they exhibit.
I saw a few rooms and large halls quite full of a number of European
things, such as furniture, clocks, vases, etc. My expectations were
sadly damped. The place where the heads of pashas who had fallen
into disfavour were exhibited is in the third yard. Heaven be
praised, no severed heads are now seen stuck on the palings.
I was not fortunate enough to be admitted into the imperial harem; I
did not possess sufficient interest to obtain a view of it. At a
later period of my journey, however, I succeeded in viewing several
harems.
THE HIPPODROME
is the largest and finest open place in Constantinople. After those
of Cairo and Padua, it is the most spacious I have seen any where.
Two obelisks of red granite, covered with hieroglyphics, are the
only ornaments of this place. The houses surrounding it are built,
according to the general fashion, of wood, and painted with oil-
colours of different tints. I here noticed a great number of pretty
children's carriages, drawn by servants. Many parents assembled
here to let their children be driven about.
Not far from the Hippodrome are the great cisterns with the thousand
and one pillars. Once on a time this gigantic fabric must have
presented a magnificent appearance. Now a miserable wooden
staircase, lamentably out of repair, leads you down a flight of
thirty or forty steps into the depths of one of these cisterns, the
roof of which is supported by three hundred pillars. This cistern
is no longer filled with water, but serves as a workshop for silk-
spinners. The place seems almost as if it had been expressly built
for such a purpose, as it receives light from above, and is cool in
summer, and warm during the winter. It is now impossible to
penetrate into the lower stories, as they are either filled with
earth or with water.
The aqueducts of Justinian and Valentinian are stupendous works.
They extend from Belgrade to the "Sweet Waters," a distance of about
fourteen miles, and supply the whole of Constantinople with a
sufficiency of water.
COFFEE-HOUSES--STORY-TELLERS.
Before I bade farewell to Constantinople for the present and betook
me to Pera, I requested my guide to conduct me to a few coffee-
houses, that I might have a new opportunity of observing the
peculiar customs and mode of life of the Turks. I had already
obtained some notion of the appearance of these places in Giurgewo
and Galatz; but in this imperial town I had fancied I should find
them somewhat neater and more ornamental. But this delusion
vanished as soon as I entered the first coffee-house. A wretchedly
dirty room, in which Turks, Greeks, Armenians, and others sat cross-
legged on divans, smoking and drinking coffee, was all I could
discover. In the second house I visited I saw, with great disgust,
that the coffee-room was also used as a barber's shop; on one side
they were serving coffee, and on the other a Turk was having his
head shaved. They say that bleeding is sometimes even carried on in
these booths.
In a coffee-house of a rather superior class we found one of the so-
called "story-tellers." The audience sit round in a half-circle,
and the narrator stands in the foreground, and quietly begins a tale
from the Thousand and One Nights; but as he continues he becomes
inspired, and at length roars and gesticulates like the veriest
ranter among a company of strolling players.
Sherbet is not drunk in all the coffee-houses; but every where we
find stalls and booths where this cooling and delicious beverage is
to be had. It is made from the juice of fruits, mixed with that of
lemons and pomegranates. In Pera ice is only to be had in the
coffee-houses of the Franks, or of Christian confectioners. All
coffee-house keepers are obliged to buy their coffee ready burnt and
ground from the government, the monopoly of this article being an
imperial privilege. A building has been expressly constructed for
its preparation, where the coffee is ground to powder by machinery.
The coffee is made very strong, and poured out without being
strained, a custom which I could not bring myself to like.
It is well worth the traveller's while to make an
EXCURSION TO EJUB,
the greatest suburb of Constantinople, and also the place where the
richest and most noble of the Turks are buried.
Ejub, the standard-bearer of Mahomet, rests here in a magnificent
mosque, built entirely of white marble. None but a Mussulman may
tread this hallowed shrine. A tolerably good view of the interior
can, however, be obtained from without, as the windows are lofty and
broad, and reach nearly to the ground. The sarcophagus stands in a
hall; it is covered with a richly embroidered pall, over which are
spread five or six "real" shawls. The part beneath which the head
rests is surmounted by a turban, also of real shawls. The chief
sarcophagus is surrounded by several smaller coffins, in which
repose the wives, children, and nearest relations of Ejub. Hard by
the mosque we find a beautiful fountain of white marble, surrounded
by a railing of gilded iron, and furnished with twelve bright
drinking-cups of polished brass. A Turk here is appointed expressly
to hand these to the passers-by. A little crooked garden occupies
the space behind the mosque. The mosques in which the dead sultans
are deposited are all built in the same manner as that of Ejub.
Instead of the turban, handsome fez-caps, with the heron's feather,
lie on the coffins. Among the finest mosques is that in which
repose the remains of the late emperor. In Ejub many very costly
monuments are to be seen. They are generally surrounded by richly-
gilt iron railings, their peaks surmounted by the shining crescent,
and forming an arch above a sarcophagus, round which are planted
rose-bushes and dwarf cypresses, with ivy and myrtle clinging to
their stems. It would, however, be very erroneous to suppose that
the rich alone lie buried here. The poor man also finds his nook;
and frequently we see close by a splendid monument the modest stone
which marks the resting-place of the humble Mussulman.
On my return I met the funeral of a poor Turk. If my attention had
not been attracted to the circumstance, I should have passed by
without heeding it. The corpse was rolled in a cloth, fastened at
the head and at the feet, and laid on a board which a man carried on
his shoulder. At the grave the dead man is once more washed,
wrapped in clean linen cloths, and thus lowered into the earth. And
this is as it should be. Why should the pomp and extravagance of
man accompany him to his last resting-place? Were it not well if in
this matter we abated something of our conventionality and
ostentation? I do not mean to say that interments need be stripped
of every thing like ornament; in all things the middle way is the
safest. A simple funeral has surely in it more that awakes true
religious feeling than the pomp and splendour which are too
frequently made the order of the day in these proceedings. In this
case are not men sometimes led away to canvass and to criticise the
splendour of the show, while they should be deducing a wholesome
moral lesson for themselves, or offering up a fervent prayer to the
Almighty for the peace of the departed spirit?
HOUSES--THEATRES--CARRIAGES.
The houses in the whole of Constantinople, in which we may include
Pera, Topana, etc., are very slightly and carelessly put together.
No door, no window, closes and fits well; the floorings frequently
exhibit gaps an inch in breadth; and yet rents are very high. The
reason of this is to be found in the continual danger of fire to
which all towns built of wood are exposed. Every proprietor of a
house calculates that he may be burnt out in the course of five or
six years, and therefore endeavours to gain back his capital with
interest within this period. Thus we do not find the houses so well
built or so comfortably furnished as in the generality of European
towns.
There is a theatre in Pera, which will hold from six to seven
hundred spectators. At the time of my sojourn there, a company of
Italian singers were giving four representations every week. Operas
of the most celebrated masters were here to be heard; but I attended
one representation, and had quite enough. The wonder is that such
an undertaking answers at all, as the Turks have no taste for music,
and the Franks are too fastidious to be easily satisfied.
The carriages--which are, generally speaking, only used by women--
are of two kinds. The first is in the shape of a balloon, finely
painted and gilt, and furnished with high wheels. On each side is
an opening, to enter which the passenger mounts on a wooden stool,
placed there by the coachman every time he ascends or descends. The
windows or openings can be closed with Venetian blinds. These
carriages contain neither seats nor cushion. Every one who drives
out takes carpets or bolsters with him, spreads them out inside the
coach, and sits down cross-legged. A carriage of this description
will hold four persons. The second species of carriage only differs
from that already described in having still higher wheels, and
consisting of a kind of square box, covered in at the top, but open
on all sides. The passengers enter at the back, and there is
generally room for eight persons. The former kind of vehicle is
drawn by one horse in shafts, and sometimes by two; the latter by
one or two oxen, also harnessed in shafts, which are, however,
furnished in addition with a wooden arch decorated with flowers,
coloured paper, and ribbons. The coachman walks on foot beside his
cattle, to guide them with greater security through the uneven ill-
paved streets, in which you are continually either ascending or
descending a hill.
Wagons there are none; every thing is carried either by men, horses,
or asses. This circumstance explains the fact that more porters are
found here than in any other city. These men are agile and very
strong; a porter often bears a load of from one hundred to a hundred
and fifty pounds through the rugged hilly streets. Wood, coals,
provisions, and building-materials are carried by horses and asses.
This may be one reason why every thing is so dear in Constantinople.