The World and Its People Part 56

CHAPTER LXXVII.

THE STATE OF TUNIS.

Tunis is the smallest and most easterly of the Barbary States.

Ancient Carthage included within its territories those of the modern state of Tunis. The ruins of the ancient city may be found about thirteen miles northeast of the walled city of Tunis.

Nothing remains now of the ancient capital but scattered piles of stones and two crumbling arcades, which, in the course of ages, have yielded to the force of the elements.

Tunis, which is the political capital of the state, is situated upon the Mediterranean Sea. It is located at the extreme end of a lagoon some twelve miles in circ.u.mference. It is connected with the Bay of Tunis by the narrow channel of Goletta. At the mouth of this channel is a little town bearing the same name. Goletta is really the port of Tunis.

The city of Tunis is divided into an upper and a lower part. The upper section is occupied by the Mohammedans. The lower section, as well as the suburbs, is occupied by the Italians, Maltese, French, and Jews.

The streets of the city are narrow and exceedingly dirty. Modern civilization seems to have done little in the way of improving their sanitary conditions.

At Tunis is situated the palace of the _bey_, or Turkish ruler. There is nothing remarkable about its exterior, but the interior is furnished with all the luxuriance of the Moorish style. This palace is used as a residence for distinguished foreigners. The _bey_ has his residence at El-mersa, which is situated on the sea coast about three leagues from the city.

About two miles northwest of the city of Tunis stands an immense building, the Bardo, with many towers and projections. It is the official seat of government. The state prisons, the garrison, the military school, and an entire street of shops, are included within the government grounds.

The city is connected by rail with several of the other chief towns in the neighborhood. The princ.i.p.al railway, which belongs to a French company, runs from Tunis to the Algerian frontier.

The trade with different ports of Europe, princ.i.p.ally with Ma.r.s.eilles, Genoa, and Leghorn, consists in exporting the productions of inner Africa. Not only Tunis and its seaport Goletta, but also Susa and Sfaks upon the east coast, are concerned in this trade with Europe. The latter port is connected by telegraph with the capital.

Besides its political capital, the state has its spiritual capital, Kairwan. It lies about seventy-five miles south of Tunis in a barren plain and is regarded as one of the sacred cities of Islam. At one time neither a Jew nor a Christian could have his residence there.

The manufactures of the state of Tunis are mostly woolen fabrics. These consist of the burnooses, or Arab mantles, and the peculiar red caps, familiar all along the Mediterranean. Soap, earthenware and the famous Morocco leather are among the manufactures.

Two kinds of alcoholic beverages are made by the people. They are held in great esteem, since the Koran does not forbid Mohammedans to use them. One of these drinks is made from dates; the other from the Indian fig.

Some of the products of the sea coast of Tunis are quite valuable, as coral and sponge. Salt is also obtained. In various parts of the mountains, lead ore and quicksilver are known to exist. Deposits of saltpeter are found in the plateau of Kairwan.

The government of the state is despotic. The ruler bears the t.i.tle _bey_. In the spring of 1881 the French invaded the state to punish the Berber inhabitants of the mountains in the extreme northwest, because they had invaded French territory. This invasion by the Berbers was made the pretext to compel the _bey_ to accept a treaty making the French rule supreme in Tunis.

The inhabitants are, generally speaking, of good figure. The men are rather spare and sinewy. The women are considered very beautiful. When they are young they have a bright color, clear complexion, and large, expressive eyes. Their hair, which is usually of a blue-black color, is allowed to float freely over the shoulders.

In Tunis, as in other Oriental countries, flesh is considered a mark of beauty. It is said that the Moorish ladies have a recipe for becoming fleshy which never fails--to eat freely of young dogs.

The women of the wealthy cla.s.ses decorate themselves with a profusion of gold and silver ornaments, and carry about with them small mirrors and scent-boxes. They adorn themselves, too, with precious stones, chains, and corals. The poorer women of the Arab populace load themselves down with strings of gla.s.s beads, and copper jewelry.

The Arab children when but a few days old have a skin almost as white as a European's, though rather a dull white. Exposure to the sun soon tans the skin, little by little, to a brownish hue. This is by no means unpleasing to the eye.

The Jewish women of Tunis have a very different costume from that of the women of Algeria and Morocco. It is strikingly original and of the most brilliant coloring. Tradition identifies it with the old Hebrew costume of Scriptural times.

Its peculiar features are a pointed cap set upon the head, and a very loose jacket, which falls a little below the waist, and which is often ornamented with the richest of embroidery. A close-fitting pair of stockings to cover the legs, and peculiar slippers or Hessian boots decorated with ta.s.sels, complete the quaint costume.

The Jewish men wear a costume much more like that of the Turks, except that their full, loose trousers do not fall much below the knee.

The women of the Turkish households in Tunis, as well as in all Mohammedan countries, are regarded more as pets and favorites than as the companions and helpmates which they are in American and European households. Their homes are like gilded cages, for the inmates can leave them only by permission of the head of the household. Even when allowed to go upon the street, they are always heavily veiled from observation.

CHAPTER LXXVIII.

THE PROVINCE OF TRIPOLI.

If we leave the port of Tunis on one of the little Maltese schooners, we can, after a sail of some forty-eight hours with a favorable wind, easily discern the walls of Tripoli rising out of the sea from the low, rocky tongue of land in the western extremity of the province.

The coast line is so low that we have been able to see it only upon very near approach to sh.o.r.e. The mountains of the interior, however, were discernible even at a distance of ten miles from sh.o.r.e, and our pilot has not hesitated to use them as safe landmarks by which to direct the course of our little vessel.

As we approach the coast it is seen as a more distinct line above the waves. Gradually it a.s.sumes the form of a long crescent, the white walls of the town rising from the center.

The eastern point of the crescent-shaped sh.o.r.e is overgrown with a dense grove of palm trees, which stand like troops protecting the coast, even to the water's edge, by what seems like an advance guard. The western point of the crescent is but a stretch of the yellow sands of the desert, with here and there a stunted growth to break the monotony.

A small gulf forms the harbor of the town. Across the front of this gulf a reef of low rocks serves as a foundation for a natural breakwater. One would think that it would be an easy matter to add to nature's work and make this feature of valuable service to the harbor; but the indolent Arabs have contented themselves with throwing out a frail rampart for a short distance from the sh.o.r.e.

Doubtless this rampart was made upon foundations laid by the Romans. On it some rusty cannon are mounted, as if to recall the glory of departed days, when the power of this kingdom, with its piratical character, struck terror to all the European nations whose vessels plowed the seas.

Like Algiers, Tripoli was, in past ages, notorious for its piracy.

As far back as the middle of the sixteenth century, a governor of the province, a noted corsair himself, encouraged piracy to such an extent that the town of Tripoli had become the headquarters of the worst cla.s.s of men that had ever sailed the seas. All commerce was at the mercy of these men, who were hated as much as they were feared.

This condition of affairs had continued until the beginning of the present century, when the English compelled the Tripolitans to abandon their infamous doings upon the seas. Hence, in Tripoli, as in Algiers, piracy is at an end. Thanks to war ships, we can rejoice that the black flag, the skull and crossbones, the clipper ships that carried them, and the dastardly crews that maimed these pirate crafts are all things of the past.

Tripoli, like all the cities of the Orient, is beautiful, if seen from a distance; approach to it is sure to be very disenchanting to the traveler. Let him once step foot upon the little quay, built of masonry, gayly striped in green, yellow, blue, and red, and all poetic fancies leave his mind, as his eyes and nose are greeted with the most disenchanting, yet striking, sights and smells.

As he pa.s.ses through the little gate of the fishers he emerges into a perfect labyrinth of narrow, irregular streets, far more dirty than any imagination could picture. These streets are lined with the most miserable little shops and old houses crumbling to ruins, and are littered on all sides with dirt of every description.

Only on rare occasions has the town known any spasmodic attempts at cleanliness. Such an occasion offers itself whenever a new pasha arrives from Constantine to a.s.sume official duties and issues an eloquent appeal to the people to cultivate cleanliness.

A spirit of emulation seems then to possess the people. Each person tries to outdo his neighbor. The proprietor of each little shop cleans away all dirt from his house and premises and carefully places it in a little heap in the street, to be removed to a place outside the town limits. Alas! the removal of the garbage is postponed indefinitely, the piles of dirt and waste increase in size, and are finally scattered to the four winds, and the old state of dirt and filth prevails.

Most of the houses are united to one another every few rods by arches of masonry. After heavy rains these supports have to be strengthened by rafters. In spite of these precautions many houses tumble to pieces in the course of a single year. It is hard to a.s.sign a cause for this.

Possibly it may be due to the poor quality of the lime used in building, to the brackish nature of the water, or to the inferior quality of the building stone, which, is merely a compressed sand.

It is a curious fact that houses rarely last more than a year without showing signs of decay. This condition of things discourages architects and builders. Hence, few handsome edifices and buildings are seen, if we except those of a few Europeans, the buildings of the consul, the convent of the mission, and a few others.

The houses are low, usually of one story, and their flat roofs do not add to the apparent height of the buildings. The arrangement of the houses is about the same in all cases. There is a square court, around which extends a covered gallery, supported by slender columns.

Long narrow rooms, generally in the form of a Latin cross with the foot wanting, lead from this gallery. At right angles to these narrow rooms, or more strictly speaking, corridors, are two larger rooms which open from them. These several apartments are separated from each other by draperies or portieres.

The section of Tripoli which lies nearest to the quay is populated by Christians, who have grouped their dwellings around the two or three churches of the town. The Jews occupy the western section of the town, which is, if possible, more unsanitary than the others.

Still, Tripoli is not without interest; for, both within and without its walls, we find not only beautiful gardens but manufactories for leather, carpets, scarfs, and the like.

From Tripoli we can watch the departure of the great caravans for the Sahara on their way to Timbuctoo Bornoo, and other points, to obtain the products of the Soudan. This overland trade we shall find, however, has to a great extent decreased in recent years. The town of Tripoli may well be considered the center of a large agricultural population. Here the native men of wealth, or capitalists, increase their revenues by acting as money lenders to the peasantry, who of course have to pay high rates of interest for the loans.