A Trip to the Orient Part 10

[Ill.u.s.tration: A TEAM OF GREAT HORNED OXEN.]

"What is the Fast of Ramazan and when does it occur?"

"The Fast of Ramazan," replied the guide, "is kept through the whole month of Ramazan, which corresponds to your month of September. For thirty days the Moslems do not eat bread nor drink water during the hours between sunrise and sunset. After sunset they may refresh themselves. The Prophet commanded that one specially named day in the month of Ramazan should be kept as a fast day; but the date of that particular day was somehow lost, and now, in order to make sure of keeping the fast on the day appointed, the Moslems keep every day in that month as a fast day. The Feast of Bairam immediately follows the end of the fasting. This festival consists of three days of feasting and festivities."

Friday is the Mohammedan Sabbath, but we could not see that it made much difference in the traffic of the city. We asked the guide if the Turkish bazaars would be closed.

"No," he replied, "but more of the faithful attend mosque on Friday than on other days, and on Friday each week the Sultan goes to his special mosque with great ceremony."

The Sultan's weekly visit to prayer is called the Selamlik or Sultan's Procession to Mosque. Our guide obtained a good position for our carriage in an open square near the mosque from which to see the procession. The parade was not to occur until one o'clock, but in order to secure the place we were there at eleven. The time of waiting was not tiresome as there was much of interest going on around us all the time.

Carriages of other visitors a.s.sembled in the open square; cabs containing invited dignitaries rolled up to the ruler's palace, which was within sight about one block away; guards drove the crowds from the streets; regiments of red-fezzed infantry tramped by and formed in lines along the street between the palace and the mosque; mounted lancers with flying pennons trotted to their positions; and the bands took their place near the palace. Uniformed policemen and spies in plain clothes circulated among the carriages and sight-seers, watching closely for suspicious characters, and listening to remarks made by visitors. We were advised by our dragoman not to mention the name of the Sultan.

"How the Turks do enjoy their coffee," said an occupant of our carriage, calling attention to a group squatting on the ground with cups in hand.

Near our carriage a Turk was making coffee on a portable stove and selling the beverage to thirsty customers; an itinerant barber placed his portable stool beside our carriage wheel, opened his kit of tools and was soon busy lathering and shaving dusky faces; a water peddler with his jar on his back played a tune on tumblers by rubbing them with his fingers; a cake peddler's table was upset by pa.s.sing dragoons and he mournfully picked up the fragments. The trays of the Turkish peddlers of candies and cakes were clean and the articles offered appeared fresh and appetizing. We yielded to temptation and bought some "Turkish delight"

and some light flaky biscuit, and, after eating the dainties, wished for more.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE TIME OF WAITING WAS NOT TIRESOME.]

"It is nearly one o'clock," said the guide looking at his watch.

The street cleaners were hastily giving a final polish to the roadway over which the Sultan would drive between the lines of soldiers. A dozen carts filled with clean sand that had been standing near us were hurried up the hill and the white sand was spread over the Sultan's path. The bands ceased playing; the soldiers stood at attention; the Muezzin called to prayer; a trumpet sounded from the gates; and from the palace on the hill carriages emerged containing the veiled wives of the ruler attended by black eunuchs on horseback. A long line of military officers in handsome uniforms followed on foot; then a shout arose from the a.s.sembled troops, and a carriage appeared drawn by a very handsome pair of horses in gold-mounted harness. In the carriage the Sultan sat alone.

The huzzas of the troops continued until his Majesty entered the mosque.

Then all was silent, for the Sultan was at his prayers alone. His wives and his officials had been left at the entrance. No person was permitted to enter. The Iman, or priest in charge, and the Sultan were the only occupants of the mosque.

Without waiting for the ruler's return the visitors hastened away, the carriages raising such a cloud of dust that it was difficult to see across the road. A hasty luncheon in a Pera restaurant followed, and then we turned toward Stamboul. As we drove again across the Galata bridge through the ever interesting throng of humanity that crowds over it, our attention was called to the manner in which merchandise is conveyed through the narrow streets of the city. Wagons are rarely used, but men carry the merchandise on their backs and shoulders. These men pa.s.sed us laden with immense bales of hides, huge bundles of carpets and rugs, large boxes of dry-goods, great crates of fruits or vegetables, piles of trunks, barrels and sacks of groceries, and cans of oil. The ponderous burdens were heaped upon wooden frames fitted to the backs and strapped to the shoulders of the carriers. When the load was too heavy for one man to carry, it was suspended on poles and carried by two or more of the bearers.

[Ill.u.s.tration: "WHAT A CONTRAST," SHE SAID.]

A high wall surrounds the old Seraglio grounds. Before visitors may enter a permit must be obtained. A permit including the necessary fees to the keepers costs small parties of visitors about five dollars each; the permit and fees for the Molkte party, so it was rumored, cost the managers two hundred dollars. The captain of the guard at the gate scrutinized our permit and kept us waiting until an official was summoned to act as our conductor. When we arrived at the Treasury building the huge door was opened with impressive ceremony and the uniformed officials kept the tourists under close surveillance while they were within.

Among the many curiosities that attracted attention in the first room of the Treasury was a throne captured from one of the Shahs of Persia four hundred years ago. This Persian throne is made of beaten gold inlaid with rubies and emeralds, and is said to be of fabulous value. Arranged in gla.s.s cases in another room a row of figures represents the Sultans of past ages clothed in the royal attire worn by them. The white turbans of these effigies are ablaze with jewels. The mantles which cover them are of Oriental brocade wrought in gold and silver patterns, and the belts, swords, and daggers are adorned with sparkling gems. A suit of chain armor worn by one of the Sultans of olden times is ornamented with gold and diamonds. On the second floor of the Treasury, to which we ascended by a narrow stairway, the most carefully guarded treasure is a throne used by a former Turkish ruler. This Turkish throne is made of precious wood inlaid with tortoise sh.e.l.l, mother of pearl, and gold and silver traceries, and is set with turquoises. A canopy overspreads the throne, and beneath the canopy, suspended by a golden cord, hangs an enormous pear-shaped emerald. In cases around the various rooms, crowns, sceptres, simitars, swords, daggers, and talismans, scintillate with rubies, emeralds, and diamonds.

"Many of the highly valued treasures stored in these rooms," said our friend, the professor, "are trophies of the times when Crusader knight, Persian prince, and Saracen warrior went forth to battle arrayed in costly apparel, and encamped under silken canopies or in tents of cloth of gold. Then jeweled b.a.l.l.s suspended from golden cords adorned the tent poles of the warriors, and luxury and opulence abounded underneath the canopies. The royalty of kings and princes moved with them to the field of war. Under pavilions of Oriental weave, silken carpets were spread over the turf for royal feet to tread, and thrones erected from which the sovereigns issued their commands. Retinues of retainers rendered obeisance and executed the mandates of their lords. Caravans of camels laden with robes of royalty and chests of treasure moved from camp to camp.

"Knights and warriors vied with each other in the splendor of their equipage. The trappings of their war steeds were embroidered in silk and gold; the breastplates and helmets which protected their bodies were embossed with silver or traced with gold; the scabbards and hilts of their weapons were encrusted with precious stones; and their mantles were clasped with fastenings and buckles adorned with jewels. In battle the body of a dead knight gave much booty to the slayer; the capture of a canopy enriched the captors; and the defeat of an army and seizure of its camp gave to the victors a train of spoils.

"For several centuries, the Turkish empire was dominant in the East and its armies victorious in the field. It was during these centuries of power that the Moslem rulers gathered the great acc.u.mulation of trophies and spoils of war, valued at untold millions, which we find stored in the rooms of this marble edifice."

After leaving the Treasury we were led by the official conductor past the building in which the mantle, sword, and green banner of the great founder of Mohammedanism are treasured. These personal relics of the Prophet are considered by the Moslems too sacred to be gazed upon by infidel eyes.

We tarried awhile in the Bagdad Kiosk, a white marble palace noted for its interior wall decoration of blue tiling, beautiful doors inlaid with mother of pearl, and handsome furniture inlaid with inscriptions of silver, and thence proceeded to a marble pavilion in which, as guests of the absent Sultan, we partook of refreshments. These refreshments, consisting of Turkish coffee in tiny cups and Turkish preserves on small plates, were brought to us by the servants of the Sultan. We stood awhile on the portico in the rear of the pavilion and admired the magnificent view of the harbor with its shipping, and the surrounding sh.o.r.es covered with buildings.

Leaving the portico and its panoramic view with regret, we turned to the Museum of Antiquities, intending to inspect hastily the relics of ancient times which it contains. The collection, however, proved to be much more interesting than we had expected, so, instead of hurriedly pa.s.sing through the building, we lingered around the sarcophagi and studied the hunting and battle scenes which were exquisitely carved on the polished marble of the exteriors of the old stone coffins. The most beautiful of these sarcophagi, twenty-one in number, have been discovered within the past thirty or forty years at Sidon in Syria. The tireless archaeologists, eager in pursuit of knowledge of the past, found and opened the graves in which the dead kings of Sidon had quietly rested for thousands of years; then disinterring the heavy stone caskets they brought them to Constantinople to be placed on exhibition.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE STREET CARS IN PERA ARE DOUBLE-DECKED.]

These sarcophagi are stone caskets of great size and weight composed of two pieces, the chest and lid. The chest is hewn out of one solid block of marble and the lid of another. The sarcophagi range from ten to twelve feet in length, from five to six feet in width, and from six to eight feet in height. One of the stone coffins, made of black Egyptian marble and named the Tabnith, contained, when found, the dried up mummy of an ancient king, Tabnith, who lived four centuries before the time of Christ. An inscription on this in Egyptian hieroglyphics p.r.o.nounced a curse upon the man who should despoil the tomb, but the dreadful warning was not deciphered until the casket reached the Museum. Another sarcophagus, called the Satrap's, cut out of Parian marble, somewhat resembles a Grecian temple in form. On the sides are depicted, in marble carvings, a funeral banquet, a governor on his throne, a hunting scene with a lion at bay, a frightened horse dragging its dismounted rider, and many other similar scenes.

"But this, in my opinion, is the most attractive casket in the collection," said the professor as we came to one named the Weepers, on the marble sides of which a master sculptor of ancient times had carved eighteen female forms. "Notice how each figure is portrayed in a different graceful att.i.tude of mourning and how each is a picture of sorrow. And notice, too, the exquisite workmanship of the frieze with its ornamentation of a hundred small figures in hunting scenes."

[Ill.u.s.tration: WE FED THE PIGEONS AT THE PIGEON MOSQUE.]

Near to the Weepers is the sarcophagus known as the Alexander, the most famous in the collection, by many considered the most beautiful in the world, and in the opinion expressed by the American Consul in Constantinople, "worth crossing the ocean to see." The sculptures on this represent a battle between Greeks and Persians with many figures and incidents of battle, and elaborate hunting scenes with many details delicately worked out. These four sarcophagi, and the one named the Lycian on which Amazons in four horse chariots hunting lions are delineated, attracted the most attention from the tourists, but there were scores of other sarcophagi in the collection almost as interesting.

In another part of the Museum, called the China Pavilion, the noted stone tablet from the Temple of Jerusalem was on exhibition. This tablet, discovered at Jerusalem in the year 1871, originally stood in the Temple enclosure to mark the limit which Gentiles were not allowed to pa.s.s. The Greek inscription on the tablet is translated as follows:

"No Gentile may pa.s.s beyond the railing into the court round the Temple; he who is caught trespa.s.sing will bring death upon himself."

Statues, pottery, porcelain, jewels, and antiquities of various kinds were hurriedly pa.s.sed by until an exclamation of one of the ladies caused us to pause.

"Look at his eyes," she said, pointing to a bronze statue of Jupiter.

"Did you ever see any eyes like that in a statue?"

The eyes of the G.o.d were represented by two bright rubies which gave them a very peculiar expression. This room contained many exquisite pieces of bronze work; one representing Hercules was particularly fine in execution.

"We will stop now to view the Hippodrome," said the guide, after driving a short distance from the Museum.

"But where is the Hippodrome?" inquired a tourist as we descended from the carriages in a long open square.

"Alas! the building is no more," sadly replied the guide. "This square is a part of the ground on which it stood. The s.p.a.ce was originally very long and wide, but that great Mosque of Ahmed and other buildings now occupy a large portion of the old circus grounds.

"The ancient Hippodrome was an oblong enclosure fourteen hundred feet long and four hundred feet wide, surrounded by magnificent porticos adorned with statues of marble and bronze, and had a seating capacity of eighty thousand. It was used for chariot races, athletic sports, and b.l.o.o.d.y gladiatorial combats. Sometimes the seats were crowded with people, now a.s.sembled to glory in the triumphal procession of a returning conqueror, now to gloat over the burning of heretics and criminals who had been condemned to death by the flames.

"That high red granite obelisk covered with hieroglyphics at the end of the square is called the Obelisk of Theodosius the Great. It was originally erected in the Temple of the Sun in Egypt in 1600 B.C. by a haughty king who inscribed on the stone a statement that he had 'conquered the whole world,' and that his 'royalty was as firm as that of the G.o.ds in the sky.' For two thousand years the obelisk remained in Heliopolis as a memorial of its builder, Thotmes III, but for the past fifteen hundred years it has stood here as a monument to the Emperor Theodosius, who brought it from Egypt as a trophy. In order that he might not be forgotten, the Emperor caused a representation of himself surrounded by courtiers, guards, and dancing girls to be carved on the base of the obelisk. These sculptures, as you see, are in good condition. The bronze 'Serpent Column' in the centre of the square, representing three serpents coiled around each other, once supported the tripod used in the ceremonial services of the Pythian oracle at Delphi."

When the guide had finished his remarks, our friend, the professor, stepped forward and said: "Some of the tourists may not be familiar with the story of the horses that lived as long and traveled as far as did the 'Wandering Jew' in Eugene Sue's well known romance. The conductor has requested me to relate the story."

"In some ancient time before the Christian era, a Roman conqueror found in an Oriental city four magnificent horses that pleased him. He took them to Rome to grace his triumph. Centuries later the covetous Emperor Constantine brought these same horses from Rome to Constantinople and stood them here to add glory to the splendor of his Hippodrome. For nine hundred years the horses remained undisturbed; then ruthless Christian Crusaders carried them with other spoils to Venice. A long rest at Venice succeeded until the ambitious Bonaparte drew them away to beautify his famous Capitol. After the downfall of Napoleon the prayers of the Venetians were effectual in bringing the horses away from Paris, and now these gilded bronze travelers, that were coveted and prized by great rulers of the world, stand in front of the Church of San Marco in the city of Venice."

[Ill.u.s.tration: WAGONS ARE RARELY USED, MEN CARRY MERCHANDISE.]

As the professor ceased speaking, a clear penetrating voice was heard from overhead crying:

"Al-la-hu, Ak-bar! Al-la-hu, Ak-bar!" uttering each syllable distinctly.

It was the Muezzin calling the people to prayer. Looking up we saw him on a little balcony near the summit of a minaret which stood within the enclosure of the adjoining Mosque of Ahmed. Then he disappeared and we heard more faintly his call from the farther side of the balcony. It is the Muezzin's duty to repeat his calls from the four sides of the minaret, to north, east, south, and west. His words were interpreted for us: "G.o.d is great," repeated four times on each side of the minaret.

Faithful Moslems on hearing the call repeated his words.

"There is no G.o.d but G.o.d," he called again, reciting it twice.

His hearers repeated this declaration.

"Mohammed is the prophet of G.o.d."

The people responded in the same words.