Mr. Dorys is the son of Adossides Pasha, one of the former ministers

of the Sultan. His father was a distinguished and influential man, at

one time governor of Crete and afterwards prince of Samos, a post he

occupied until his death. The son spent his childhood and youth about

the Yildiz Kiosk, where he had exceptional opportunities for seeing

and knowing the extraordinary events of the Ottoman court, and much of

the material used in his book is said to have been obtained from the

private papers of his late father, which fell into his possession after

the latter’s death. Mr. Dorys was correspondent of the London Times

at Constantinople for two or three years, and as such made himself

familiar with political conditions. He was therefore admirably equipped

for the task he undertook, but was unable to suppress his prejudice,

and does not give the Sultan credit for his few virtues. The work is

both approved and condemned by people in Turkey. Some say that it is

accurate and just; others accuse him of being actuated by personal

spite. He has at least stirred up the Sultan and his court to a degree

of indignation that has not been shown there for many years.

The missionaries say that Abdul Hamid is a bad Sultan, but a good

Moslem; that his fanaticism is equal to that of any fakir in his realm;

that he is responsible for the persecution of the Christians and for

the massacre of the Armenians; that the orders were given by him

personally. On the other hand, Americans and Englishmen who are in the

habit of visiting the palace and have personal acquaintance with His

Majesty, insist that he has many good traits and that he would not be a

bad man at all if he lived under different conditions.

When General Horace Porter, our ambassador to France, visited Turkey,

the Sultan received him with unusual cordiality and attention, because

of General Porter’s former relations to General Grant. When he heard

that Mr. Porter had been Grant’s private secretary, it was enough. A

carriage from the imperial stable, an aide-de-camp from the Yildiz

Kiosk and a military escort were placed at his disposal and all doors

in Constantinople were ordered thrown open to him. Few travelers have

ever been received with so much distinction, and before he left the

city the Sultan gave a dinner in his honor at the palace and decorated

Mrs. Porter with one of his most important orders.

It is remarkable what an impression General Grant left during his

famous tour around the world. He is remembered with reverence

everywhere--in China and Japan as well as in Turkey. The Sultan and

the King of Siam, as well as Li Hung Chang, have always quoted him to

Americans as their highest authority. His fame and his influence will

be everlasting.

Mrs. Porter was entertained in the Sultan’s harem, but that was no

unusual courtesy. The wives of the diplomatic corps are often received

by the sultanas, who are glad to see them, and any other strangers

for that matter, because their lives are very monotonous and their

diversions are few. No person may ask permission to visit the imperial

or any private harem. It would be considered an insult. If the Sultan

or any Turkish gentleman desires foreign ladies to meet his wives he

will offer them an invitation, and will either conduct them in person

to the harem or send them in charge of the _kizlar-aghasi_, or chief

eunuch, a very important personage, who ranks next to the grand vizier

and the Sheik-ul-Islam.

The Sultans have long ceased to contract regular marriages, and the

harem is a state institution. Nobody knows the exact number of Abdul

Hamid’s wives, but he is supposed to have 300 or 400, who are graded

and live according to their rank under the direction of the _khasna-dar

kadin_, or superintendent of the harem. They are from the prominent

families of the empire, as frequently the sultanas are able to exercise

a powerful influence in behalf of their relatives and friends. When a

rich pasha wants to secure the favor of the Sultan he offers him one

of his daughters with a suitable dowry as a wife. If she is accepted

it is a sign of friendliness as well as a mark of distinction. When

the governor of the Circassian province, which is said to have the

most beautiful women in Turkey, wishes to please his imperial master,

he will send him a handsome young girl as a gift, or when any of his

subordinates discover a young woman of remarkable attractions they

secure her for the harem just as they would secure a valuable horse for

the imperial stables. The Sultan does not always accept such gifts. He

is supposed to be very fastidious, particularly now that he has passed

the age of sixty years, and is becoming quite as suspicious regarding

the inmates of the harem as he is concerning the members of his court.

His eldest sister, who is a woman of very strong character and has more

influence with him than any other person, looks after the harem very

closely, and has sent away a large number of girls whom she considered

supernumeraries, if such a term can be used in that connection. It is

also understood throughout the empire that His Majesty does not care

for any more wives. He has transferred to his favorite pashas several

remarkable beauties who have been added to the harem within the last

few years. In the summer of 1902 he sent one of the most beautiful to

the governor of Damascus to comfort the latter in affliction, as he had

recently become a widower.

The ladies of the harem are called sultanas. They enter as slaves, and

the younger become the servants of the older and attend upon them until

they are promoted. If the Sultan takes a fancy to any one of his wives

her fortune is made, for she is rapidly promoted, her allowance for

dresses and jewels is increased and, if she bears a child, she can live

apart from the rest, as becomes a princess. All children born in the

harem, whether of free women or slaves, are legitimate and of equal

lineage, and may inherit the throne if they ever become the head of the

family.

The daughters of the Sultan are married to favorite pashas and officers

of the army. He confers them upon his favorite subjects at pleasure,

but they are not always regarded as a blessing. It is assuming a great

responsibility to marry the daughter or the sister of the Sultan. They

are very exacting and naturally realize their rank and superiority to

ordinary people. They are expensive luxuries also, because an imperial

princess must live in a certain degree of state.

Ladies of the imperial harem almost without exception wear European

dress. Only the most recent arrivals, girls who come from the interior

of the country, retain the native costume. The sultanas have French

maids and order their gowns and hats in Paris. Every now and then a

French modiste or milliner arrives in Constantinople with samples for

the inspection of the sultanas, from whom she receives very large and

liberal orders. Although they are seldom seen by men, the inmates of

the harem have all the feminine instincts and there is a great deal

of rivalry among them. We saw one of the Sultan’s favorite wives and

her daughter driving in a victoria, accompanied by a negro eunuch and

a military escort. They were dressed in European fashion, but were

closely veiled so that their features could not be distinguished.

The apartments of the harem are equipped with European furniture. The

meals are served in European style and the cooks are French. The French

language is spoken generally among the sultanas and they read French

novels. Turkish customs are almost obsolete. The traditional harem in

which houris sit around upon silk rugs with their legs crossed and

play guitars and eat sweetmeats exists only in the imagination. The

women live just like any other royal family, except that they are not

allowed to receive company or enter society, and when they leave the

palace they must wear heavy veils. When the Sultan’s wives are ill

they are attended by the male physician of the British embassy. This

is also an innovation. Formerly no Christian physician was allowed in

the harem. The patients are always veiled when the doctor visits them.

Even if they are confined to their beds, strips of mull are thrown over

their faces.

Abdul Hamid is the son of Abdul Medjid, who abdicated in 1861 in favor

of his eldest son, Abdul Aziz. The latter reigned until 1876, when he

was overthrown and his next brother, Murad V., was placed in power.

The latter was an impetuous reformer and one of the founders of the

“Young Turkey” party, which demands a constitution and a change in the

form of government from an absolute to a limited monarchy. When he

attempted to carry his ideas into effect his ministers pronounced him

insane--and perhaps it was an evidence of insanity to introduce liberal

reforms into Turkey--so they shut him up in the Tcheragan Palace, upon

the banks of the Bosphorus, where it is supposed that he still resides

in seclusion, although no one is bold enough to show curiosity as to

his fate in the presence of those who would be apt to know. It was in

that palace also that Abdul Aziz died after his abdication. So reliable

a witness as the surgeon of the British embassy testified that it was

a case of suicide; that the deposed Sultan, in a fit of passion and

disappointment, opened the arteries in his arms with a pair of scissors

that were given him to trim his nails. But the popular theory is that

somebody opened them for him and let him bleed to death. Perhaps Prince

Murad may have met with a similar fate years ago. He has not been

seen by any competent witness since the spring of 1877, and was then

pronounced to be in an advanced state of paresis--a mere idiot--but the

circumstance that the Tcheragan Palace has never been opened since,

and is as closely guarded as ever, leads people to suppose Murad still

survives. But, as I have said, nobody but the confidential eunuchs of

the Sultan knows anything about him.

The heir to the Turkish throne is not the son of the Sultan, but his

eldest living male relative--brother, son or cousin, whoever it happens

to be. This is the law of Islam, and has been a fruitful source of

conspiracy and tragedy ever since the Turks have been in possession of

the Ottoman Empire. It was formerly customary for a new Sultan to order

the immediate execution of all his brothers as soon as he was seated

upon the throne; but public sentiment in Europe has forbidden the

application of that heroic precaution during the last fifty or sixty

years. It is generally assumed that the present Sultan would like to

murder his brothers, but dare not do so; hence he keeps them prisoners

or constantly under surveillance in the many palaces of Constantinople.

They are the most unhappy and wretched of all his subjects. He has five

brothers:

Murad Effendi, born September 21, 1840.

Mohammed Reshad Effendi, born November 3, 1844.

Kemel Eddin Effendi, born December 3, 1847.

Suleiman Effendi, born March 12, 1860.

Wahid Uddin Effendi, born January 12, 1861.

[Illustration: GATE TO DOLMA BAGHTCHEH PALACE, CONSTANTINOPLE]

Reshad Effendi, the second brother, is therefore the heir to the

throne, and, although he has been kept a practical prisoner for

twenty years, so that very few people know him, he is said to be a

man of refinement, education and integrity, much superior to his

imperial brother in intellect and appearance. He occupies a portion

of the Dolma-Baghtcheh Palace in Constantinople during the winter

months, and during the summer goes to Machla, a suburban town, where

he has a farm and a pretty villa. He has never been allowed to leave

the immediate vicinity of Constantinople, and his communications with

the outside world have been closely restricted by the orders of his

brother. He is said to read French readily and to receive the principal

newspapers and reviews of Europe that are printed in that language. He

is also believed to have been in sympathy and in communication with

his brother-in-law, the late Damad-Mahmoud Pasha, who fled to escape a

sentence of death for his liberal opinions. This is, however, purely

conjecture, because if the Sultan, with all his spies, cannot discover

such a circumstance, it would seem impossible for the gossips to learn

anything about it.

Prince Kemel Eddin, the third brother, is an invalid, and quite as

feeble in mind as in body, with a low degree of cunning and strong

animal instincts. He inherits the family tendency to pulmonary

complaints. Prince Suleiman and Prince Wahid Uddin are allowed to go

about Constantinople more freely than the other brothers, and are quite

familiar to the public, better known perhaps than any other members of

the family. Both live in handsome palaces and have liberal allowances

from the public revenues, which they spend with great extravagance in

luxury and vice. Neither Turks nor foreigners seem to care much for

them. They have no social position and very few friends.

The Sultan has several sisters. One of them, Djemile Sultana, six years

older than he, is a woman of strong character and has a great deal of

influence with her brother. She is with him frequently and takes an

active interest in public affairs. She has been a widow since 1858, and

really has been a mother to him. They were born of the same mother,

a Circassian slave, who lost her life in giving him birth, and hence

they have naturally been very much attached to each other. The other

brothers and sisters are the children of different wives of his father.

As previously stated, all children born in the harem, whether of free

women or of slaves, are legitimate and of equal rank; but, by the law

of succession, the crown is inherited by the senior male descendant of

Othman, the founder of the present dynasty in 1299. Therefore, so long

as he has any brothers living, the children of Abdul Hamid will not

come to the throne.

The Princess Senieh Sultana, another sister of Abdul Hamid, is about

fifty years old, and the widow of Mahmoud Pasha, who was the leader

of the “Young Turkey” party and for years an active advocate of

its principles, regardless of his near relationship to the Sultan.

His conspiracies, if they may be called such, were always carried

on directly under the eyes of the Sultan, and of course were very

offensive to him. Mahmoud was a good man, judged by our standard, but

a great traitor and an unpardonable villain from the Turkish point of

view. He was educated in France and England, where he imbibed liberal

ideas, and, returning to Turkey, married the Sultan’s sister and

introduced into his own family many of the customs and ideas which he

had acquired in western Europe.

Being anxious that his sons should have a liberal education, he sent

them to Robert College, the American Presbyterian Institution on the

Bosphorus, just beyond the Sultan’s palace, which was founded there

half a century ago by the munificence of Mr. Robert, an American

merchant. Mahmoud Pasha himself went to arrange for the education of

his boys, and as there were reasons why he did not wish them to form

intimacies with the ordinary students, he persuaded Dr. Washburn, the

president of the institution, to take them into his own family.

The boys remained there just two days. On the evening of the second

day an aide-de-camp of the Sultan summoned them to his presence. They

were conducted to Yildiz Kiosk, where they had an interview with him,

and were offered commissions in the army. The Sultan told their father

that they must be educated according to Turkish ideas and in the

Moslem religion. “We have been educated by Turkish scholars, selected

by our father, who was a wise and learned man,” he said, “and such an

education is good enough for your sons, instead of sending them to be

taught by Christian _giaours_ (infidels).” The boys took commissions in

the army, but a few months later surrendered them and went to Paris,

where they have since resided. By an official edict of the Sultan they

have been degraded from their princely rank, cashiered from the army,

banished from Constantinople permanently and their allowances cut off.

In 1901 their father was also formally banished after he had fled

from the city to escape arrest and execution. For several months his

whereabouts were unknown. He was then discovered to be living quietly

at Corfu, one of the Greek islands. Being compelled to leave there he

went to Rome, Geneva, and afterward to Brussels where he died January

17, 1903. His wife, the Princess Senieh Sultana, is supposed to be

imprisoned somewhere among the many palaces of the Sultan, to prevent

her from joining her sons, as she is known to sympathize with their

liberal views.

An elder sister, the Princess Fatma Sultana, died insane in 1892, and

the aberration of her mind was a serious shock to the Sultan, who

dreads insanity as much as he dreads death--perhaps more. She was the

wife of a military adventurer, Nouri Damad Pasha, who was sent into

exile and afterward assassinated on suspicion.

The youngest member of the family, the Princess Medie Sultana, is

a woman of quiet disposition, about forty years of age, who lives

in absolute retirement, and is unknown to the foreign colony of

Constantinople. Her husband is Ferid Pasha, an inoffensive but

respectable army officer.

Two or three members of the immediate family of the Sultan have given

him much trouble, and it is from his own household that he fears

most. He trusts nobody. He reigns alone. His ministers are merely his

instruments and very few of them have any influence with him, although,

of course, he is compelled to depend upon them to carry out his orders

and to furnish him information.

Abdul Hamid has ten children--Mehemmed Selim, born 1870; Abdul

Kidir, born 1878; Ahmed, born 1878; Mehemmed Burhan, born 1885;

Abdur Rahim, born 1892. Zekie, his eldest daughter, born 1871, was

married in 1889 to Nur-ed-din Pasha, who occupies a high position in

the military department; Naime, a second daughter, born 1876, is the

wife of Mehemmed Kemal, another army officer. There are three other

daughters--Naile, born 1884; Shadieh, born 1886, and Ayisheh, born 1887.

So far as I was able to find out, the Sultan’s sons are decent fellows,

although their horizon is very narrow. None of them have been permitted

to travel, as he does not wish them to see anything of the world for

fear of weakening their faith in their religion and their confidence in

the form of government he maintains. Their education has been intrusted

to military officers and Moslem priests, and they will probably turn

out as narrow, bigoted and superstitious as their father.

Prince Selim, the eldest son, is more respected than any other member

of the family. The fact that there are several lives between him and

the throne gives him greater freedom than he would otherwise enjoy.

He was born in January, 1870, and is, therefore, thirty-three years

old. He has only one wife and keeps no harem, which is a surprising

exception in the imperial family. He holds the rank of colonel in the

army, and commands one of the regiments of the palace guards. His

duties are light, however, and leave him plenty of leisure, which he

spends in study with French and German tutors, although I understand

that his French tutors were recently dismissed by command of the

Sultan, because they were suspected of giving the young man dangerous

information. Prince Selim is not intellectual, however; his mind is

said to be rather dull, but he is patient and studious and has a

retentive memory, which is perhaps better for a man of his position

than more brilliant attainments.

Some years ago Prince Selim incurred the enmity of his father because

of the use of disrespectful language, and was banished to Bagdad for

several months, but was allowed to return to Constantinople under

the surveillance of Kiazim Pasha, his maternal uncle, who has the

confidence of the Sultan. The relations between the prince and his

father have never been fully restored, and there is no confidence

between them; but the prince receives a liberal allowance and is

allowed to do practically as he pleases, although he is surrounded by

spies and is not permitted to leave the city. He seems to be very fond

of his wife, who is the daughter of one of the pashas about the court,

and of his only child, a little girl now twelve years old.

Ahmed, the third son, who is twenty-four years old, is his father’s

favorite, and is studying military tactics under one of the most

successful of Turkish generals. He is destined to be commander of the

army. Burhan Eddin, who is seventeen years old, is also a favorite

and has considerable musical talent. The Sultan frequently introduces

him to foreign visitors, and has him perform for them upon the piano.

When Emperor William of Germany was visiting Constantinople, the young

prince was detailed as one of his attendants, and the members of the

Kaiser’s suite took a great fancy to him. He was then only about

fourteen years old, but was quite mature, and conducted himself with

great dignity. All the princes are educated by French and German tutors.

The Sultan is very liberal toward his family. He is absolute master of

the finances of the empire. He is not required to prepare a budget or

report his expenditures. The public money belongs to him and he directs

its disbursement. He gives each one of his brothers and sisters a

palace fully furnished and equipped, and all their household expenses

are paid from the imperial treasury. In addition to this each one of

them has an allowance of $5,000 a month for pin money. But Abdul

Hamid is much more economical than Abdul Aziz, his predecessor, who

squandered more than $100,000,000 during his reign without a thing to

show for it, and piled up a debt so big that it can never be paid.

The public bonds now outstanding amount to over $750,000,000, and the

revenues of the government can scarcely pay the interest. The finances

of Turkey, like those of other bankrupts, are controlled by a committee

representing the foreign bondholders, who receive from the treasury

a certain amount of money every month and distribute it among the

creditors of the nation.

A Constantinople physician who has had abundant opportunities

for studying his case, told me that Abdul Hamid is a victim of

neurasthenia, a nervous disease which is a form of insanity, and that

his psychological condition presents a most interesting problem,

for his symptoms are complex and vary materially from time to time.

He is naturally very intelligent, but, living in continual terror

of assassination, being afflicted with chronic insomnia, and having

a naturally suspicious nature abnormally developed, he has become

a monomaniac on the subject of self-preservation. His disposition

is gentle, and if he had lived like an ordinary man he might have

escaped the disease from which he suffers almost continual agony; but

his mistrust of everyone around him has become chronic, and he has

developed a cunning that is never at a loss for expedients.

He sleeps only two or three hours out of the twenty-four, and then

only when somebody is reading to him, or some orchestra or musician is

performing in the adjoining room. Darkness frightens him. Therefore

a light is always kept burning in his chamber, and Ismet Bey, grand

master of the imperial wardrobe, always sleeps in the same room. Ismet

Bey is his foster brother, and probably possesses his confidence more

fully than any other man. Because he resembles the Sultan so closely

in appearance, it is believed among the gossips of Constantinople that

he often impersonates His Majesty at ceremonies and on other occasions

where the latter is likely to be exposed to the danger of assassination.

Ismet Bey carries the keys to his desk, his wardrobe and his treasury

caskets, and is perhaps trusted farther and knows more secrets than any

other man about the palace; but he has no influence whatever with the

Sultan and would not attempt to exercise it if he did, for it would be

fatal to him. By a lifetime of devotion, as unselfish as any Turk can

render, he has demonstrated his loyalty and disinterestedness.

The Sultan is always restless and is awakened at the slightest sound.

When he awakes he always wants somebody to talk to, and Elias Bey,

second officer of the wardrobe, or Faik Bey, one of his confidential

secretaries, is usually at hand for that purpose. The Sultan sleeps

in a detached chamber, surrounded by corridors on all four sides, and

it is a popular impression that the walls are of steel. Four or five

sentinels slowly pace the corridors during the entire night, and if

the regular measure of their footsteps is interrupted the Sultan will

waken and inquire the cause. In addition to this guard an officer sits

at each corner of the corridor, where he can see both ways. In order to

prevent a conspiracy, a detail for this purpose is made from among the

subalterns of the different regiments about the palace every night. The

names are drawn by lot a few moments before the hour and no one knows

of his selection until he receives orders to report. These officers

have watches of four hours each, coming on duty at sunset and remaining

until sunrise. The Sultan is such a light sleeper that he awakens every

time the guard is changed.

He is extremely fond of music, and when restless, his orchestra, which

is under the direction of Dussap Pasha, is required to play all night,

or until orders are sent to relieve them. His Majesty is also fond of

theatrical and vaudeville performances and similar diversions, finding

them a relief from his perpetual fears. A theater connected with the

palace has two troupes of well-paid actors for dramatic and musical

performances. One of them is composed of Turkish and the other of

French and Italian artists. Foreign actresses and opera singers who

visit Constantinople are always anxious to appear before His Majesty,

because they not only receive liberal compensation from the master

of ceremonies, but, if they happen to please, His Majesty is sure to

present them with valuable jewels. Few people except members of the

imperial family are permitted to attend these performances. When the

Sultan invites one of the ambassadors, as he sometimes does, it is

considered a mark of unusual distinction.

The Sultan’s dress is extremely simple and free from extravagance. He

wears a military uniform and a campaign cloak such as is worn by the

ordinary officers of the army. His jewels, however, are unsurpassed by

any of the sovereigns of Europe. When His Majesty requires a new suit

of clothes Ismet Bey, his foster brother, is used as a model by the

tailor, as he and the Sultan are almost of the same size.

His diet is also very simple. He eats very little, of the plainest

food, and never touches wine nor liquors of any kind, but consumes

enormous quantities of coffee, which aggravates his nervousness. Up to

a few years ago a servant with a coffee pot always followed him when he

went out for exercise, and while driving in the park coffee stations

were placed at frequent intervals, where he could stop and refresh

himself. By the advice of his physicians he now limits himself to five

or six cups of his favorite beverage a day, and it is said that he has

himself noticed an improvement in his health. He is not so nervous

and sleeps better. General Porter, the American ambassador to Paris,

told me of a dinner at the Yildiz Kiosk, when the Sultan ate little

but American corn bread and soup. His meals are cooked separately from

those served to his family and guests, and the same man always prepares

them in a little room, like a laboratory, not bigger than an ordinary

bathroom. During their preparation an inspector always watches the cook

for fear of poison. The food purchased for the Sultan’s use is kept in

a huge safe to which his private chef alone has the key. Eggs and milk

are the principal articles of his diet. He seldom touches meat, but at

dinner usually has one or two vegetables.

Not being able to sleep, the Sultan does not retire before midnight,

and is always up by 4:30 or 5 o’clock in the morning, when he puts on

a long silken robe, takes a cup of coffee, smokes a few cigarettes and

reads his correspondence. About seven o’clock he takes a bath, and

then a breakfast of eggs and rolls and more coffee. At one o’clock his

luncheon is served, which is seldom more than a crust of bread and a

glass of milk--perhaps a small omelet. Although he takes his breakfast

and luncheon alone, his dinners are always served with great ceremony.

His younger sons, several of his secretaries and usually two or three

of his ministers dine with him. The list of his guests is usually

made out by the grand chamberlain of the palace and submitted to His

Majesty’s approval. The dinner is served at eight o’clock in French

style, with liveried attendants and an orchestra in the balcony of the

state dining-room, which is a gorgeous apartment. As a formality each

course is placed before the Sultan by the chief butler before it is

served to his guests, although he never touches it himself, his own

food being brought from his private kitchen by his personal attendant.

Sometimes he dines in his harem, where his sisters and wives and

daughters receive him with great ceremony.

Yildiz, the park in which the palace is situated, is a veritable

city, with a population of nearly 5,000, including the members of

the official staff and their families, the women of the harem, their

slaves and eunuchs, the princes and sultanas, with their households and

servants, the chambermaids, aides-de-camp, the imperial guard, which

consists of several regiments, musicians, clerks, gardeners, grooms,

valets, domestics and other employés, including a number of masons,

carpenters and other mechanics. The Sultan has a machine-shop for the

repair of machinery used upon the place, an arsenal, which contains

several thousand stands of arms for both sport and war, and samples of

all patents and styles. He has also a very rich collection of antique

oriental arms.

One of His Majesty’s fads is the manufacture of porcelain. He has

recently set up a factory in the park and imported a number of French

artists, who are making placques and other ornaments. He is fond of

wild animals and has quite an interesting zoölogical garden, with one

of the best kennels of dogs in the world.

I was informed by a high authority in Constantinople that the Sultan

pays $500,000 annually as subsidies to newspapers in Vienna, Berlin,

Paris and other cities of Europe to defend him and his acts and create

public sentiment in his favor. After the Armenian massacres, a few

years ago, he distributed more than $1,000,000 among the newspapers

that treated him kindly. Notwithstanding his self-enforced seclusion,

he is as familiar with European affairs as any man on the continent,

and scarcely anything that appears in print of importance or interest

concerning him or his empire fails to meet his eye. His ambassadors

and ministers at the different capitals are instructed to secure all

press clippings that relate to Turkey and forward them to a central

information bureau in Constantinople, where they are classified,

translated and arranged for the Sultan’s inspection. He spends a great

deal of time reading them and frequently receives important suggestions

and information from them.

I was repeatedly warned that every newspaper letter I wrote from Turkey

would be read by the Sultan personally. Missionaries and others from

whom I obtained information frequently asked me not to publish certain

things, because the Sultan was certain to see them and trace them to

their source. One gentleman, in giving me an account of a certain

enterprise, remarked: “I wish you would say that the Sultan takes a

great interest in our affairs. It will do you no harm and will do us a

great deal of good, for he is certain to see your letter and will be

pleased.”

The largest sums of money expended in purchasing the good opinion of

the press are expended in Germany and France, for the Kaiser is the

Sultan’s best friend and most reliable supporter, and he is pleased

when the German newspapers approve his policy.

Although the censorship in Turkey is very strict, the Sultan is a

thorough believer in the usefulness and importance of the press, and

in 1886 conceived the idea of founding a great national journal, to

be published in the Turkish and French languages and to be for Turkey

what the London Times is to Great Britain. He appointed a committee of

five of his ministers and secretaries to formulate a plan and prepare

estimates of the cost, but when he received a report and found how

expensive a luxury his proposed newspaper would be, he abandoned the

idea.

IV THE SELAMLIK

On Friday of each week--the Mohammedan Sabbath--occurs the Selamlik,

the one occasion on which the public may see the Sultan, although at

a great distance for most of them. The Moslem law requires the head

of the church to make a formal prayer at some mosque at least once a

week, and Friday is the day naturally chosen. Therefore the Sultan

must go, sick or well, to worship publicly. If he could not perform

this duty his ministers would dress up a dummy and send it in a closed

carriage in his place, because the act of reverence must be performed

though the heavens fall. The Sultan has his own little mosque attached

to the palace, where he prays frequently and with great regularity,

often abruptly leaving his ministers and others with whom he is engaged

on business when the cry of the muezzin is heard from the neighboring

minaret. No man is more devout or scrupulous in the observances of the

ritual in which he believes, and in that way he sets a good example to

his subjects.

Abdul Hamid’s public worship is performed at Hamidieh Mosque, a pretty

structure within the imperial park and close to the high iron fence

which surrounds it, so that those who enter and leave the temple may

be seen from the street. There is a large vacant lot, with rising

ground, across the road, intended for a drilling ground for cavalry,

and on every Friday it is crowded with the carriages of those who are

curious to see the Sultan, and are not allowed to approach any nearer

to him. Formerly the Selamliks were more public. There was a wooden

pavilion, a sort of grand stand for spectators, which was generally

crowded by strangers visiting the city, members of the diplomatic

corps, and others who were fortunate enough to get tickets, but since

the assassination of King Humbert of Italy and President McKinley, it

has been torn down and no more invitations are issued, although upon

the personal application of the ambassadors the Sultan will sometimes

admit foreigners whom they vouch for. Guests are allowed to witness

the ceremony from the windows or the roof of the neighboring palace,

but no one else is permitted inside the grounds except officials of

the government, officers of the army and pilgrims who constantly visit

Constantinople in large numbers. The public must be contented with

looking through the bars of the iron fence or witnessing the pageant

through field-glasses from the tops of the neighboring hills.

We were at Constantinople during the pilgrim season, when faithful

Mohammedans on their way to Mecca were arriving daily from Russia

and the surrounding states as well as from all parts of the Ottoman

Empire to pay their respects to the Sultan, who is the visible head

of their church, and to the Sheik-ul-Islam, his vicar in charge of

ecclesiastical affairs. They are admitted to the Selamlik when properly

vouched for, but the police are very careful to see that no assassin

disguised as a pilgrim shall pass the gates. The pilgrims occupy a

plot bordering upon the roadway over which the Sultan drives. As he

approaches they utter a peculiar cry. It sounds more like a wail

than a cheer, and is supposed to express reverence and admiration

rather than enthusiasm. It is the salutation of the true believer

to the head of his church, but if anyone were to make such a noise

at the approach of President Roosevelt or any of the sovereigns of

Europe he would be immediately arrested as a dangerous person. When

the Sultan has gone by, the pilgrims bow their heads in reverence and

afterward push forward and kiss the ground over which the wheels of

his carriage have passed. Many of them are venerable men, priests as

well as laymen, and as each wears the costume of his country the group

usually presents a picturesque appearance and adds much to the interest

of the scene. Those with green turbans are descendants of the Prophet

Mohammed and constitute a clan of themselves. They have maintained

their individuality during all the centuries, like the house of David

among the Jews, but it gives them no material advantages. They honor

themselves more than they are honored by others. You see laborers

wearing green turbans; yea, even the children of the prophet begging

bread from infidels.

There is very little to be seen at a Selamlik except the military

display. And that is splendid. Nearly the entire garrison of

Constantinople, numbering 12,000 or 15,000 of the picked soldiers

of the Turkish army, appear every Friday in brilliant and peculiar

uniforms, line the roadway over which the Sultan passes, surround the

mosque in which he worships and are packed into the grounds until their

red fezzes and glistening bayonets light up the entire park. There are

regiments of Nubians, Soudanese, Albanians, Arabs, Syrians, Kurds,

Turkestanese, Bokharans, Georgians, Circassians and other races unknown

to us, which cannot be seen elsewhere. The red fez, white turbans,

gold lace, stripes and sashes, white gloves, red and green banners and

the glitter of the arms make a brilliant combination, and one must

acknowledge that the soldiers of the Sultan are fine-looking fellows,

although they may be as wicked and as cruel as represented. They are

all Moslems. No Christian is admitted to the army, but every Christian,

Jew and Gentile subject of military age is required to furnish a Moslem

substitute. There are numerous military bands playing modern music very

poorly, and it may gratify Mr. Sousa to know that his marches are as

popular in Turkey as elsewhere. The pashas and generals wear dazzling

uniforms, covered with gold braid and lace, and other officers,

bedecked with equal brilliancy, seem innumerable. The grounds of the

palace suddenly become an ocean of gold lace and red fezzes.

When a carriage arrived with a black man upon the box in the footman’s

place, we knew it brought ladies from the harem with a eunuch in

charge. While all black men are not eunuchs, all eunuchs are black.

They are brought from Africa and Arabia when children and are purchased

like other slaves. The Sultan’s wives and sisters usually attend the

Selamlik, but have their own place in the mosque partitioned off by

screens. They cannot even enter the same door with their sovereign

master. He must pray alone. Only the Sheik-ul-Islam, the high priest

of the Moslems, or some great _mufti_ designated to represent him, is

admitted, whose presence is necessary to carry out the ritual.

The guardian of the harem, the _kizlar-aghasi_, or chief eunuch,

who ranks next to the grand vizier and the Sheik-ul-Islam, was

present, having in charge four sultanas. Each had her own carriage

drawn by white horses and a military escort and was attended by

ladies-in-waiting. Three of the Sultan’s sons rode on horseback among

the pashas that formed his bodyguard, and another, a little chap about

ten years old, had a tiny brougham drawn by ponies similar to that used

by Tom Thumb. He was accompanied by his tutor, an officer of the army,

and by a little aide-de-camp of his own age, a miniature imitation of

those who attended his imperial father. The little prince was in the

uniform of a colonel of the army, wearing a sword and baby revolvers,

and his aide was dressed to correspond.

Another carriage, one of the latest arrivals, was occupied by a little

girl--one of the Sultan’s daughters, attended by a woman with unveiled

face, wearing a violet satin gown. Hence we knew her to be a foreigner

and were told that she was the little sultana’s French governess. We

noticed that she sent one of her attending eunuchs with a coin to a

crippled beggar who caught her eye outside the gates.

After the carriages came two covered vans like those used in the United

States to move furniture. They backed up to the entrance of the mosque

and discharged a lot of rugs, chairs, chests and other things that were

carried inside, but I could not find out what they were for or why

they should be delivered just at this time. Then a squad of servants

in long white robes came out of the mosque, washed the marble steps

and dried them carefully with cloths, after which they spread a long

rug that reached from the gravel roadway to the vestibule, so that His

Majesty’s feet might not touch the vulgar earth, and fastened it down

with brass rods. Then appeared a dozen carts loaded with sand, which

was sprinkled along the roadway to absorb the moisture and deaden the

noise of the wheels. When these preparations were complete the notes of

a trumpet were heard in the distance--the signal that the Sultan had

left the palace and was on his way. A white-robed muezzin with a big

turban appeared upon the balcony of the beautiful minaret and gave the

conventional call to prayer, only his cry was louder and the wail more

prolonged than usual. Two columns of pashas and generals in brilliant

uniform, on horseback, appeared around the curve, riding slowly, and

when the leaders reached the steps of the mosque they opened ranks,

facing each other, and formed an aisle for the Sultan to pass through.

They were an additional guard for his safety.

The general of the army, a stern-looking man with an intellectual

forehead, large gray eyes, a Roman nose and a grizzled beard, mounted

upon a magnificent charger, next appeared, surrounded by his staff.

Formerly Osman Pasha, the hero of the Russo-Turkish war, held this

position and attended his sovereign regularly each Friday until his

death. Closely following him, surrounded by a squad of officers running

on foot, came a low carriage drawn by a pair of beautiful white horses,

in which sat Abdul Hamid, the Sultan of Turkey and the successor

of the Prophet of Islam. On the opposite seat was the minister of

war--one more precaution--and it is said that the standing order to

the bodyguard is to shoot down that official instantly in case an

attack is made upon the Sultan. He is held responsible for the safety

of his imperial master, and if the protection provided by him proves

inadequate his punishment is death. Riza Pasha, the present minister

of war, is a large, fat man, so large that the diminutive figure of

the Sultan looked very small by contrast. Abdul Hamid is slight of

stature and weighs only 135 pounds. He looks like the late Jay Gould

and the late Matias Romero, for many years Mexican ambassador to the

United States. He wore a shabby military overcoat and a red fez. His

face is very melancholy. His eyes are large and have a wandering

look. He is said to be the saddest man on earth, and he looks it. An

escort of young officers on foot followed the carriage, the Sultan’s

aides-de-camp and secretaries, and as the pageant proceeded everybody

saluted and bowed. The crowd outside the gates cheered, but were not

very enthusiastic. The Sultan’s eyes took in everything. They surveyed

the scene with extraordinary rapidity. His officers say that he never

overlooks anything that is amiss. He can see where a button is off the

coat of a soldier as he rides by.

The imperial group was followed by an empty phaeton drawn by a pair of

white horses with gold-mounted harness and half-blankets of leopard

skin, and also by five saddle horses--the most beautiful animals you

ever saw--so that the Sultan could choose among them if he should take

the whim to ride back to the palace from the ceremony. As he passed the

pilgrims he bowed to them several times. When he reached the mosque he

stopped upon the steps, turned around, faced them and bowed and bowed

again, while they uttered the peculiar wail that I have described. He

then entered the vestibule, followed by the minister of war and several

of his aides.

While the Sultan was at prayer strips of matting were unrolled upon

the pavement, and the pilgrims, swarming out, kneeled upon it with

their faces toward Mecca and went through their devotions, a priest

leading them. This continued for half an hour or so, until the Sultan

reappeared, got into the phaeton, took the reins in his own hands

and drove back to the palace surrounded by his aides-de-camp and

secretaries on foot, who are compelled to run at full speed to keep up

with him. This pageant is witnessed every Friday, but it is conducted

with so many safeguards and precautions that the military display is

not seen at its full effect.

There is no particular place for the burial of Sultans. Each

Sultan usually builds his own tomb, according to his own taste and

extravagance, but throughout the city may be found several _turbets_,

or tombs, containing the bodies of one or more Sultans with their

favorite wives beside them. The graves are covered with plain cenotaphs

of stuccoed brick four or five feet high and seven or eight feet

long, draped with covers of black broadcloth or velvet, exquisitely

embroidered with silver or gold, and upon them are usually several

cashmere shawls of the very finest texture, fabrics of priceless value,

gifts and tributes from neighboring kings and governors. Distinguished

men, Sultans and others, are buried in the different mosques, the most

sacred being that of Eyub Ansari, the standard-bearer and most intimate

companion of the Prophet Mohammed, who was killed by the Arabs at

the siege of Constantinople, A.D. 668. His burial-place was revealed

in a dream to a celebrated priest during the attack of Mohammed II.

upon Constantinople, and its discovery inflamed the fanaticism of the

Turkish soldiers to such a degree that their next attack upon the city

was irresistible. After the capture Mohammed II. erected the mosque

of Eyub upon the site of the grave, and it is held so sacred that no

Christian has ever been allowed to enter the gates of the walls that

surround it, or even to live in the neighborhood. It is a beautiful

building of white marble, with a large dome, two small domes and many

semi-domes, and two graceful minarets. It stands on the banks of the

Golden Horn about five miles from the city, and upon the accession of

a new Sultan a ceremony corresponding to the coronation of a Christian

sovereign takes place there. After performing an elaborate service of

prayer the new Sultan is girded with the sword of Osman, the founder

of the dynasty, by the superior of the dervishes. The sword of Osman

always lies upon the tomb of Eyub, constantly watched by relays of

the priests and monks who have charge of the temple. The tomb is of

silver gilt and elaborate workmanship, covered with a cloth of gold,

surrounded by a high gilt railing and overhung with many costly lamps.

At the village is a factory in which are made the fezzes worn by the

soldiers of the Turkish army.

[Illustration: A STREET OF CONSTANTINOPLE]

V THE CITY OF THE GRAND TURK

Poets, painters and other people with vivid imaginations and emotional

natures have become ecstatic in describing the city of the Grand Turk,

and while it has unique and exquisite attractions, it is no more

beautiful than New York or San Francisco, Rio de Janeiro, Naples,

Hongkong or half a dozen other cities I might name. There is none of

the barbaric splendor, the gold and purple and blue and scarlet of

Moscow, as seen from the Sparrow Hills; nor the fantastic pagodas

and temples of Kioto or Peking. It has none of the quiet dignity of

Stockholm or the soft beauty of Naples, but the colors that are lacking

and the gorgeousness that is invisible is readily supplied by the

imaginations of tourists, who generally see what they expect to see,

no matter whether it is there or not. You find the same trouble in

Holland and Spain after reading the books of D’Amicis, and at Venice

after studying Ruskin. Perhaps it is the fault of the observer, who

lacks sufficient sentiment, but when you begin to dissect the scene and

separate the actual from the imaginary the criticism of practical minds

is sustained.

The continents of Europe and Asia are separated by the Sea of Marmora,

which is 110 miles long and 40 miles wide in its widest part. At the

west end it is entered through the Hellespont or Dardanelles, a deep

and swift stream or strait, about as wide as the Hudson River. The

place where Leander swam across to visit Hero, his sweetheart, and

where Lord Byron imitated his example, is only about three-quarters of

a mile wide, and although to swim it was a prodigious feat in those

days, it would not be more than an ordinary adventure to many members

of a modern athletic club.

At its east end the Sea of Marmora is connected with the Black Sea by

the Bosphorus, a channel similar to the Hellespont. These streams,

which form a remarkable boundary between the continents, have always

been regarded of great strategic importance, and from the time of

Alexander the Great to Alexander II. of Russia have been fought for by

rival nations.

Where the Bosphorus joins the Sea of Marmora there is a little bay,

about half a mile wide at its mouth, growing gradually narrower and

curving like a cornucopia for about three miles through the hills to a

point where it receives fresh water from a little stream. This bay is

called the Golden Horn. Between the Golden Horn and the Sea of Marmora

is a tongue of land similar in size and shape to Manhattan Island, upon

which New York is built, except that it is higher in the center. This

ridge, or “hog’s back,” rises about five hundred feet above the water,

and at intervals is broken by gullies, several of them very wide and

deep,--gashes that have been cut into the soil by water. This ridge

or tongue of land is occupied by the old city of Stamboul, and upon

the extreme point, corresponding to Battery Park, New York, is located

the Seraglio, a group of palaces occupied by the Sultans before the

nineteenth century. An imposing marble gate, by which the grounds are

entered, is the ancient Sublime Porte, and from it is derived the title

by which the Turkish government is often referred to in history and

diplomatic discussions. The modern Sublime Porte is a still more

imposing marble gate which leads into an inclosure where are situated

the palace of the grand vizier, the ministry of finance and other

official departments of the government.

[Illustration: The Sublime Porte, Mosque of St. Sophia THE SERAGLIO,

CONSTANTINOPLE]

Upon the opposite side of the Bosphorus, situated to Stamboul as

Jersey City is to New York, is Scutari, a city of residences, schools,

hospitals, military barracks, carpet factories and other manufacturing

establishments, with a population of about 50,000. It is surrounded by

a group of fertile hills, which in the spring and summer are covered

with brilliant foliage.

Upon the opposite side of the Golden Horn a steep hill, rising directly

from the water, is occupied by the city of Galata, corresponding

to Brooklyn. Its houses and shops are arranged in terraces along

precipitous slopes to a height of five hundred feet; and on the other

side of the crest, which slopes to the Golden Horn, is the city of

Pera, which means “beyond”--that is, the place beyond the hill.

This completes the group of four cities, which, combined, are called

Constantinople, and from the bridge which connects Stamboul and Galata,

or at any other point between, they are spread out before the spectator

like an audience in an amphitheater, rising in irregular terraces and

showing patches of whitewashed walls among unpainted, wood-colored

houses, shingled roofs and occasionally a roof of tile. Here and there

appear squatty domes like warts, queer-looking towers and slender

minarets, which are peculiar to Constantinople and are its greatest

attraction. The domes indicate mosques and occupy the summits of the

hills. Their ugliness heightens the beauty and grace of the minarets

by which they are surrounded. The minarets take the place of church

steeples and the campaniles or bell-towers that are usually attached

to cathedrals in southern Europe. They look very slender and very tall,

rising often to the height of three hundred feet--delicate, beautiful

shafts, perhaps twenty feet in diameter at the bottom and gradually

tapering to a needle point at the top, upon which a golden crescent is

always placed. About the center, overlooking the roofs of the houses

and the adjoining streets, are balconies, sometimes only one, sometimes

two, and, on the taller minarets three, protected by beautifully carved

balustrades and sustained by brackets, from which the muezzin calls

the Mohammedans to prayer. In Constantinople most of the minarets are

of marble and other stones, as they were built by rich Sultans as

monuments to their own memory, but elsewhere such structures are of

brick, coated with stucco, and kept neatly whitewashed. Whatever may

be said of the Moslem, his houses of worship always show evidences of

careful and constant attention. You seldom see a slovenly mosque and

seldom a mosque out of repair. They set an example to other religious

sects in this, as in several other matters.

The view from any place of observation will comprehend nearly all of

the city of Constantinople except, of course, those portions which

are on the opposite side of the ridges. I do not know of any city of

which so much can be viewed from a single point. Standing upon the

bridge that crosses the Golden Horn, one can easily see the abodes of

two-thirds of the population spread out before him. But the view is

monotonous. There is a lack of variety about the architecture which is

very tiresome. One house differs from another so little that the eye

becomes weary and rests gratefully upon the picturesque towers and

the beautiful minarets that rise here and there in striking relief.

Several conspicuous buildings stand out boldly. These are the embassies

of Russia, Germany and other European Powers on the Galata side and the

government offices in Stamboul. The largest buildings, and those which

are most conspicuous in every direction, are occupied as barracks by

the Sultan’s army. There are no parks, no promenades, no amusements,

no theaters except one which is insignificant, and no entertainments

or diversions for the people except a few low-class vaudeville

performances.

The streets are irregular, narrow and crooked and wind up in serpentine

or zigzag fashion to the top of the town. It is evident that they

originally followed the trails of goats, which, unlike the buffalo,

are poor engineers. The straight streets are so steep that no load can

be hauled up them, and many of them are actually stairways, with small

shops on either side. In building the city no grading was done and

no filling. The natural topography was allowed to remain unaltered,

which, while it adds to the picturesqueness, is a permanent embargo on

business. Horses cannot be used for transportation purposes because the

streets are too narrow and too steep and the pavements are too rough.

There are a few carts and a good many donkeys with panniers upon their

backs, but heavy freight, like lumber, bales of merchandise and such

things are carried from one place to another by men. It is a common

thing to see eight, twelve or sixteen men with long poles staggering

under a load of dry goods, hardware, iron rails or timbers for the

construction of houses. They can carry their cargo only a little way

without stopping to rest, and as long as they are engaged, block the

entire street. No carriage can pass them, and even a donkey finds it

difficult to creep by. You will appreciate the difficulty of doing

business with these embarrassments, and will not be surprised that the

commerce and internal trade of Constantinople is less than that of

the average German or French city of one-fourth its population. More

business is done in New York in one day than in Constantinople during

the entire 365.

There are no sidewalks except upon a few of the principal streets,

and they are very narrow. The houses are high--five, six and seven

stories--without elevators, and are divided into tenements, the

ground floor being occupied in most cases for business purposes. The

architecture is indifferent where it is not ugly. Most of the city is

built of wood, unpainted, and the cheapest kind of construction; much

of it being in an advanced state of dilapidation. Some of the houses

in the principal residence quarter remind me of those on the West Side

in Chicago, the wooden façades being covered with “ginger-bread work,”

balconies, loggias and other architectural frills. In the Turkish

quarter there is even less of architectural interest. Only occasionally

can a Moorish design be seen or any building of the oriental type.

You can follow some of the longest streets from one end to the other

without finding a window or a door or a roof or a balcony that looks

like what you expected to see in Turkey. When the lower sash of the

window is covered with fixed lattice work you may know that it is

some Turk’s harem. The houses occupied by Greeks, Armenians, Jews

and Europeans have ordinary windows and no blinds, and as only about

one-fourth of the population of Constantinople--the estimates are

generally less--are Turks, and three-fourths are foreigners, you

should not expect anything but what you see, and must swallow your

disappointment.

There are other reasons, in addition to the topography, why the

houses are so cheaply and indifferently built. All foreigners are in

Constantinople on sufferance and the investment of money is unsafe.

When a foreigner erects a house he takes great risks and naturally

does not wish to spend any more upon it than is absolutely necessary.

Furthermore, an evidence of prosperity would immediately attract the

attention of the officials, who are all Turks, and the assessment for

taxation would at once be raised. The Turkish officials receive little

if any compensation from the government, and are obliged to turn into

the treasury for the use of the Sultan and his court certain sums of

money annually. This money and whatever they need for themselves must

be raised by whatever measures they can manage, and, as they have

autocratic powers, it is easy for them to make good their quota. If

they see a man, particularly an Armenian or a Jew--they do not care

so much about Greeks--showing signs of prosperity and wealth, they

make preparations to bleed him, and the methods they adopt are usually

successful. The population of Stamboul around the Seraglio is mostly

Turkish, and beyond that Armenian and Jewish. The inhabitants of Galata

are mostly Greeks, and those of Pera are English, French, Germans and

subjects of other European Powers.

Landing at Constantinople is an exciting experience. The ships anchor

out in the stream, and passengers, with their luggage, are taken ashore

in rowboats. No traveler is allowed to land without a passport. If he

is a resident of Turkey he must have a permit granted by the police

officials of the town in which he lives. If he is a foreigner his

passport must be viséd by the Turkish consul or minister at the port of

his departure.

When the steamer comes to anchor the gangplank is at once surrounded by

a motley crowd of boatmen, howling like a lot of demons and grabbing

at the luggage of the passengers. If you have not a courier to look

after you and your belongings the best thing is to give yourself up to

Cook, the traveler’s friend and protector. If you have written ahead to

engage apartments at any of the hotels a dragoman, or interpreter, will

be sent down to meet you and help you through the custom-house, but

Cook’s men always come aboard, not only at Constantinople but at all

the eastern ports, and are a blessing to the inexperienced.

As each boatload passes towards the landing-place it is stopped in

midstream by a policeman seated in the stern of a Turkish _caique_, or

canoe, who counts the number of passengers and the number of pieces of

baggage. What this is done for I was unable to discover, but the most

reasonable theory is that it is intended as a checking system for the

police, in order that no stranger shall enter the country without their

knowledge.

The guidebooks, which are closely censored by the Turkish government,

so that they may not contain anything offensive or treasonable to

the Sultan, state very plainly that couriers and dragomans from the

hotels can “arrange” with the customs officers so that the inspection

of luggage will be only formal. The only thing that they are after

is books. Their orders are very strict in that respect. They are

positively forbidden to pass any books, newspapers, manuscripts or

sealed parcels, all of which must be submitted to examination by the

censor, who destroys all works pertaining to the Mussulman religion,

the personality of the Sultan, the foreign relations or the internal

affairs of Turkey. Guns, revolvers and that sort of thing, which are

prohibited in most countries, are admitted without objection in Turkey.

We were advised to conceal all our guidebooks, notebooks, manuscripts

and that sort of thing in the bottom of our trunks in case of an

emergency, although our dragoman, or guide, said he did not think any

of them would be opened. When they were landed and carried into the

dilapidated and dirty old wooden building of one story used for a

custom-house, all the trunks, bags and rug rolls were arranged in a row

upon a bench and the dragoman proceeded calmly to negotiate with the

inspectors. How much he paid to pass them I do not know, but it was not

a large sum, and we were soon sent on our way rejoicing.

The baggage of passengers leaving Constantinople is examined quite

as closely as that which comes in, and the same process occurs. The

customs officers often demand larger bribes from outgoing than incoming

travelers, and will threaten to detain their luggage if the money is

not paid.

The same corruption and the same practices exist in other branches of

the custom-house, only to a greater extent. Imported merchandise is

seldom inspected. Merchants doing business in Constantinople usually

have a regular arrangement with the customs officials to admit their

goods without examination upon the payment of certain sums, which cover

both the customs duties and the bribes. These practices must be known

to the higher officials, because nearly all of them have been promoted

to the positions they occupy, and they require a certain amount of

revenue from each inspector or appraiser every month. The latter must

raise it the best way he can. There is a regular tariff, of course,

and fixed rates of duty for different kinds of merchandise, but it is

seldom observed, even in the case of strangers.

All travelers in Turkey must have _tezkerehs_, or traveling permits,

which are granted upon the application of the minister or consul of the

country from which they come, and are an acknowledgment on the part of

the Ottoman authorities of their responsibility for the safety of the

bearer. Natives have ordinary passports, but no man can land at a port

or buy a steamship or railway ticket without showing a document of this

kind, which not only is a protection to the traveler, but also gives

the police authorities an opportunity to watch suspicious persons.

The United States diplomatic and consular officials in Turkey receive

almost daily applications for certificates from Armenians who claim to

be naturalized, but there has been so much fraudulent naturalization

that they no longer issue them unless they are satisfied that the

applicant is a bona fide citizen of the United States stopping

temporarily in Turkey. Certain Armenians in New York, San Francisco

and other cities for years did a fraudulent naturalization business,

and for large fees obtained papers for Armenians in Turkey who had

never been in the United States. It is an easy thing for a man to

make application in any of the courts under any name, and again make

a second or third or fourth or repeated applications under other

names later without being detected. When the papers are issued they

are forwarded to Turkey to the persons whose names they bear, and

the latter use them whenever necessary. Not long ago such fraudulent

papers were abundant in Turkey, but many of them have been taken from

the holders and retained by the United States officials. When a man

claiming to be a naturalized citizen of New York cannot tell the name

of the street upon which he lives and does not know the location of

Brooklyn or Jersey City; who never heard of Washington, Grant, McKinley

or Roosevelt, and cannot give the name of the long street which runs

from one end of New York to the other, it is pretty certain that he is

not entitled to the protection of our government, but has abused its

hospitality by obtaining naturalization papers under false pretenses.

Constantinople is the seat of the Sheik-ul-Islam, the ecclesiastical

head of the Moslem faith, and also the seat of the Patriarchs of the

Greek and the Armenian churches, and of the chief rabbi of the Jews.

Every other religion has its representatives among the population,

which is more cosmopolitan than that of any other city. It is claimed

that there are in Constantinople representatives of every nation and

every tribe upon the globe, and that every language is spoken. It is

common to see signs written in eight or nine languages on the fronts

of the retail shops. These races and religions are all more or less

antagonistic. There is nothing to unite them. Each suspects the other

of treachery. They have no relations, except in trade, and in their

commercial dealings they are all trying to cheat each other.

Everybody lives in a state of constant apprehension, in a vague dread

of danger, and there is good reason for it, because the hand of Ishmael

is still against every man.

No census has ever been taken of Constantinople, and the population is

unknown. Estimates range all the way from 875,000 to 1,250,000, and the

latter figure is probably somewhere near the truth, judging from the

dense manner in which the people are huddled together and the enormous

area covered by the city. The floating population is very large.

Thousands of men are constantly coming and going, spending a portion of

each season in the city and the remainder of the year in the provinces

of Turkey or in some neighboring state.

According to religious belief the population is supposed to be divided

somewhat as follows:

Moslems 400,000

Greeks 175,000

Armenians 250,000

Jews 75,000

Bulgarians 6,000

Greek Catholics 1,200

Roman Catholics 7,500

Protestants 2,000

Miscellaneous 150,000

The city is divided into ten municipal circles or wards, which,

combined, constitute a vilayet, whose affairs are directed by a

_prefet_, assisted by a _mejlis_, or council, and a large staff of

officials. Each municipal circle has a director and is subdivided into

precincts which are governed by _mudirs_. The _prefet_, or governor, is

a despot, responsible to no one but the Sultan and exercising absolute

and unquestioned authority over the lives and property of his subjects.

Men disappear and their property is confiscated at his orders, and no

questions can be asked. He regulates the taxes, receives the funds

and disposes of them without a question. The _mudirs_ and other

subordinates carry out his instructions and trust him to stand between

them and the Sultan. The priests and monks of the Moslem Church must be

taken into consideration always, as they are the most powerful body in

Constantinople, and their influence over the people is undisputed. The

Sheik-ul-Islam, the head of the church, stands next to the Sultan in

power and authority and the _prefet_ and _mudirs_ are careful never to

offend him.

The Armenians at one time were the most important part of the business

community, but since the massacres in 1896, when at least 5,000 of that

sect were butchered and their property looted and confiscated, they

have been exceedingly cautious, and at present very few of the 250,000

Armenians in Constantinople are doing business under their own names.

Some of them have gone into partnership with Turks, paying the latter

a certain percentage of the profits of their business for protection

and the use of their names. Many of the old shops of Armenian merchants

now have Turkish signs over the doors, for which privilege, however,

the owners have to pay a heavy blackmail. Since the massacres every

Armenian has been discharged from the employ of the government and

very generally from the employment of private Turks. Before 1896 and

as far back as anyone can remember, Armenians held the most important

subordinate positions under the government because of their executive

ability, particularly in the financial department, where they are very

strong; but now the vindictiveness of the Turk against them is so

violent that the name of Armenia has been stricken off the map and that

province is known as Upper Turkey. The custom-house officers will not

permit the importation of maps bearing the name Armenia. If any such

are found they are confiscated and burned, and every book containing

the name Armenia is blotted by the censor.

The Greeks, who are next in numbers, are also business men and now have

the largest share of the mercantile trade in their own quarter of the

city. Although Turkey was recently at war with Greece and the rivalry

between the two countries is bitter, there is no hatred or prejudice

against them. The same is true of the Jews. Both races live at peace

with their Turkish neighbors, and are allowed to worship God in their

own way without interference, and are never compelled to endure such

persecutions as have been suffered by the Armenians for centuries. The

explanation of this is that Greeks and Jews never meddle in politics,

while the Armenians are continually doing so. Furthermore, the province

of Armenia has been in a state of discontent for many years, and

its inhabitants are constantly exciting revolutions against their

oppressors--usually with very bad judgment and no possible prospect

of success. Palestine is just as much a Turkish province as Armenia,

but its inhabitants submit to the despotism under which they are born,

while the Armenians will not.

Half the Greeks and Armenians in Turkey have lost their own languages

because they have been forbidden to speak them. Without practice they

have forgotten their native tongues. The Jews have been more kindly

treated. The Armenians are compelled to worship in secret. Greek

churches can be found in every part of the Ottoman Empire as public as

the Mohammedan mosques, and no Jewish synagogue is ever interfered with

by Moslem mobs. It is the Armenians that they attack exclusively.

The ferry-boats which run to all parts of the Bosphorus are very much

like those on the Thames in London and on the Seine in Paris. They

have time-tables, which are posted in convenient places and published

in the newspapers, but are seldom observed; no one knows why, except

that it is the nature of the Turk. A boat which is advertised to start

at nine o’clock may go ten minutes before or twenty minutes after. The

guidebooks warn people not to rely upon the published announcements.

The boats to Brussa, a neighboring town much frequented by tourists,

the guidebook says, leave daily, “some time between 7 a.m. and 8:30

p.m., according to circumstances.” In other words, their movements

depend upon the cargo, the number of passengers and the whim of the

captain.

The railway management is very much the same. While I was in

Constantinople, in the spring of 1902, a small section of the track

between that city and Budapest was washed away. The trains going west

returned to Constantinople, but the trains coming east from Budapest

and Vienna were not notified of the obstruction and were allowed to

start as usual and accumulated at the washout, where there were no

accommodations for the passengers, no place for them to eat or sleep.

When the cars were finally sent back to Adrianople, the nearest town,

the passengers were compelled to pay full fare to that point. The mails

for several days were allowed to accumulate at the washout and were

held there for nearly three weeks, when they might have been taken

back a few miles to Adrianople and sent around by another route, via

Bucharest, but no one seemed to have thought of it, although such

accidents and interruptions of traffic occur every year. Passengers by

the Orient express, which is the most expensive train in the world,

were allowed to leave Constantinople and were carried to the washout.

Tickets were sold to London, Paris, Berlin, Vienna and other distant

points and full sleeping-car fare was collected and all tickets are

limited to one day--the date stamped upon them. The railway company

would not extend them or refund the money or give rebates, and even

compelled the passengers who were carried to the blockade to pay, not

only the regular fare, but what is termed a “speed supplement” charged

upon express trains, and also the full sleeping-car rates. Those who

attempted to secure a rebate or the return of their money were calmly

informed that it was not the practice of the railway company to redeem

its tickets, and persons who started for London and other places by

the first train after the break was repaired were compelled to buy new

tickets and pay again the regular sleeping-car charge and the “speed

supplement.”

A gentleman who purchased a ticket from Vienna to Constantinople was

compelled to turn back at Sofia, about half way on his journey, and

asked the railway officials to redeem the unused portion. They refused

to do so on the ground that he had given no reason why it should be

done. He replied at once that he had been met by a telegram stating

illness in his family which required him to postpone his journey and

return to Vienna, and asked that the money he had paid for the ticket

be refunded or the time limit be extended, so that he could use it at

some future date. The railway officials calmly replied that they did

not consider the reason given sufficient.

VI SCENES IN CONSTANTINOPLE

Experienced travelers have often asserted that the representatives of

a larger number of races and more picturesque costumes can be seen

upon the bridges of Constantinople than anywhere else in the world,

and those who have watched the throngs that are continually passing to

and fro on foot, on horseback, on donkeys, in carriages and in sedan

chairs are inclined to believe the assertion. There are two bridges

across the Golden Horn, about one mile apart. Both are pontoons, strips

of planks laid upon iron floats or caissons, and were intended to be

temporary. The erection of a permanent bridge across the Golden Horn

between Stamboul, the principal and most populous Mohammedan quarter,

and Galata, where the foreigners live, has been frequently proposed

and plans have been repeatedly submitted, but no engineer or bridge

company will undertake the job without a large payment in advance, and

there is never any money in the Sultan’s treasury. Several companies

have been organized to construct bridges, but have never been able to

obtain permission, and a multitude of promoters have sought concessions

for that purpose from time to time, but there is no sign of a permanent

bridge. The old floats still remain and answer every purpose, not

only being a means of communication for a million people, but landing

places for ferry boats, pleasure steamers, private yachts and other

small craft upon the Bosphorus. The caissons are immense rectangular

casks of iron sixty by thirty by twenty feet in size. They are chained

together, with passages between so as to give free flow to the water.

About the middle of the channel there is an arrangement by which two of

the floats can be detached and brought around out of the way so as to

allow the passage of vessels, but this always was a very slow process

and interrupted traffic for half an hour or more. Hence a regular

time is appointed for the passage of vessels, and from four to six

o’clock every morning the gateway is opened, and those who do not avail

themselves of that opportunity have to wait twenty-four hours. Upon the

caissons a frame of timbers sixty feet wide has been laid and planked

over. Sidewalks for foot passengers are reserved, but pedestrians

take the roadway quite as often, and from six o’clock in the morning

until nearly midnight the bridge is thronged by two endless streams

of humanity passing both ways. At either entrance are groups of toll

collectors wearing long white tunics to distinguish them from the rest

of the public, and they hold out their hands to receive the coppers

from people who walk and people who ride. Everybody has to pay except

the high officials of the government--usually great, fat pashas, who

are identified by the livery of their coachmen. The toll is about one

cent for foot passengers, two cents for mounted persons and ten cents

for carriages.

It would take many pages to describe the different classes of people

that may be seen upon this wonderful bridge, and the catalogue would

contain representatives of every race and religion under the sun. Their

costumes afford a very interesting study. Those who are familiar with

the oriental races can identify them readily and tell you where every

man comes from. Many of the women are veiled, with long mantles and

black shawls over their heads. Some of them wear a sort of mackintosh

belted in, altogether unlovely and ungraceful, which is the intention.

The idea of wearing a veil is to make a woman as hideous as possible,

and the Turk succeeds in that purpose, if in no other. The ladies

who are not veiled are either Greeks, Armenians, Jewesses or other

foreigners. All the women of Constantinople, except Turkish women, wear

European garments and ordinary hats. Turkish women of position always

ride attended by a eunuch or a mounted escort, because it is not proper

for them to appear alone in a public place, even if they are veiled,

and the etiquette of the country forbids men to accost veiled women.

If such a thing should be noticed there would be a mob in an instant,

for every Moslem in sight would consider it an insult to his mother,

his wife and his sister--in fact to all their sex. Few men dare assist

a veiled woman even if she should stumble, or even pick up a package

if she should drop one, for fear his courtesy should be misconstrued.

The first caution offered to strangers in Constantinople concerns this

matter of national etiquette, and it is often wisely bestowed. To take

no notice whatever of veiled women is the safest thing a stranger in

Constantinople can do. Women who do not wear veils are not included

in the category, for they are not Mohammedans and may be treated with

ordinary courtesy. Some of the Armenian women are beautiful and are

richly dressed. The Greek women have dark eyes, thin lips, and dress

with Parisian taste. In certain parts of Constantinople very few

veiled women are to be seen. On the Grand Rue de Pera, the principal

shopping-place of the European quarter, where most of the tradesmen

are French and German, they seldom appear.

Each side of the bridge is lined with peddlers, selling all sorts of

things and crying their wares in stentorian tones, and beggars who

crouch under the railing, holding out their hands in a piteous manner

and appealing for baksheesh. The priests of the Mohammedan Church wear

white wrappings around their fezzes as a badge of their profession.

Persians wear black fezzes, often made of lamb’s wool or astrakhan,

while the other races have different head-dresses. The Greeks wear

stiffly starched white petticoats of cotton about the length of the

skirts of a ballet-dancer, with white leggings, embroidered vests and

jackets with long, flowing sleeves. The dervishes wear long black

caftans or cloaks, which reach to their heels like the frock of a

Catholic priest. You see all sorts of priests. They seem to number next

to the soldiers, who constitute almost one-half of the passengers to be

seen upon the bridge.

Many of the carriages and the horses are fine, although not equal to

those to be seen in St. Petersburg. The mounted officers dash through

the crowd in the most reckless manner, without regard to the lame or

the lazy, and the donkey drivers do not seem to care whether they run

over people or not, although they are extremely careful not to injure

the mangy mongrels that lie around on the bridge, as they do everywhere

else. Upon the bridge can be bought from peddlers almost anything a

human being can want, because they are constantly passing back and

forth, offering their wares. The number of peddlers in Constantinople

is estimated at 75,000.

The water-front of Constantinople, instead of being devoted to docks,

warehouses and other facilities for shipping and commerce, is occupied

by the palaces of the Sultan and the pashas. There is one short quay

reserved for the landing and embarkation of goods, not larger than

a single pier in New York harbor, or the space between two of the

bridges over the Chicago River, and every article of merchandise that

is brought into Constantinople or is shipped out of the city, including

the luggage of passengers, must be handled in that narrow space. A

little narrow-gauge manpower railway track runs along the edge of the

water and terminates at the custom-house, through which all goods must

pass. There are no bonded warehouses, and imported merchandise must be

taken out at once upon arrival and the duty paid.

Upon the graves of the dead in the Turkish cemeteries little vessels of

water are placed for the benefit of the birds, and some of the marble

tombs have basins chiseled out for the same purpose, the superstition

being that birds carry messages about the living to the dead, and,

like everybody else in Turkey, are suspected of being spiteful unless

something is done to win their favor.

Upon entering a Mohammedan mosque the hat is kept on, but the shoes

must be taken off, for “the spot on which thou standest is holy

ground.” Hence the Turks have their boots made with double bottoms. A

sort of slip like the new-fashioned rubber sandals fits over the toe

as far as the instep and the sole of the shoe and is held on by a band

passing around the heel. A little brass point projects at the heel,

which is convenient in kicking them off.