History of the Capital of Asia and the Turks: together with an account of the domestic manners of the Turks in Turkey

Front matter

n i .T.g.BuA&af'iL's Lith Boston. Son ot the Late UritLsK Consul at Jerusalem . HISTORY OF THE CAPITAL OF ASIA AND THE TURKS: TOGETHER WITH AN ACCOUNT OF THE §»mestic $).8iram of % furlis in farlua. VOL . I. BOSTON: REPRINTED FOR ISAAC EDREHI, SON OF THE LATE BRITISH CONSUL AT JERUSALEM. 5618. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1855, By ISAAC EDREHI, in the Clerk's office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts. qeo. C. hand & iveby, rue., dostob. NOTE TO THE READER. To tue Respected Subscribers : I, Isaac Edrehi, a native of Morocco, the son of the late British Consul at Jerusalem, came to America to publish a hook of my father's travels. No publisher would publish it unless I could procure one thousand sub scribers of good standing. Besides, the binding and engraving of a por trait of my father, the author of the work, my portrait, likewise six splen did of the capital city of Turkey in Asia, it would cost me five hundred dollars in cash.

Besides, tbe binding would cost sixteen hundred dollars, and five hundred dollars for the printing of the engravings. I had to travel from place to place, but being unfortunate, without money, I could not get along fast enough. I have been about eight years at it. Besides, it cost me a great deal to travel, as every one knows that has tried it. As for myself, it has cost me a thousand dollars a year. I was married about ten years ago. My wife being a foreign lady, and in a foreign country, was taken sick. She was under the care of a physician — Professor Gross, of Louisville, Ky., — and being constantly indis posed, instead of saving money for my book, I had to spend a great deal of money for medicine and for physicians. So you will see by this what my situation must have been. I was not able to get along with my book until I could procure the above sum.

At last I found a benevolent, humane and charitable firm of printers and publishers, Messrs. George C. Rand & Avery, the Boston city printers. A few years ago, in the city of Cincinnati, Ohio, during my absence from home, the house next door to us took fire, and from that broke to ours. The store and all our furniture and clothing took fire, and we were not insured, and were left destitute. My place of residence was between Plum and Longworth streets, near Fifth. So I had to find a new list of subscribers, as the old list was burnt. It cost me extra money for travelling to complete the second list. So my subscribers may see how much I have suffered in this country, the United States of America. So I hope you will have feelings and sym pathy for my misfortunes, that I may be able to pay the printer and in- NOTE TO THE READER.

Preface

TO THE FIRST AMERICAN EDITION. An edition of these volumes was published some years ago in Europe, by my father, late British Consul at Jerusalem. An edition being required in this country, it was my intention, before issuing it, to have introduced some modifications, to have corrected some casual inaccuracies, and, in deference to the suggestions of one or two esteemed critics, to have inverted the order of some details. But want of time and other obstacles have rendered these alterations impossible. The purport of the book is to describe customs and localities, as they existed during the residence of the author in Turkey. Since that period no material changes have taken place, unless they be the establishment of an effective street police, and the adoption of a system of gradual admin istrative improvement.

" I am not one of those," says an experienced writer, " who despair of the Turkish empire, or think it desirable that reform should go on at a gallop ; but in a country so long the prey of corruption, bad faith, and violence, there must be some tendency towards amendment, or ruin will infallibly ensue. There exi'ts not a spot, from the Nile to the Bosphorus, from the coast of Syria to the Persian Gulf, from Bagdad and Jerusalem to Mas soul and Erzeroum, or from Tunis to Tripoli, where there are not witnessed, daily, evidences of this gradual reform. But I will indulge in no political disquisition, which would be unsuited to the preface of a work of this nature, and with the kindest wishes for the prosperity and happiness of all my patrons, abruptly take my leave. ISAAC EDREHI, Son of the late British Consul at Jerusalem. Tl 2 EGYPTIAN DRUG BAZAR DOMESTIC MANNERS OF THE TURKS.

Chapter I. Bazars And Markets

In a city where, with the exception of the seraglio and the mosques, there exist no public monuments — where there are no great manufactories, no galleries of art or science to instruct the studious or to divert the idle — where the ravages of successive conquerors, both Christian and Moslem, have left few traces of antiquity or ancient splendor, and where the whole is interesting, but the details insignificant and even puerile, — those portions which would excite little curiosity elsewhere, become the primary focus of attraction. The first point, therefore, to which strangers bend their steps, upon reaching Pera, is to the bezestans and surround ing tcharshy (markets), commonly called bazars. This vast labyrinth of inclosure within inclosure, street traversing street, and alley intersecting alley, stored with the richest and most diversified productions of Eastern industry, and thronged with a busy and heterogeneous multitude, is matter of bewilderment, even after repeated inspection ; still more difficult is it to unravel this chaos, and to render a written description of it clear and comprehensive.

In order, however, to facilitate the perambulations of trav ellers, who may refer to these pages, I will divide the bazars into portions ; and, by visiting each in succession, the descrip tion of parts, aided by the plan, will be more useful as a guide to, and explanation of, the whole. Before commencing our peregrinations, it may be as well to explain the signification of the terms which distinguish the bezestans, tcharshys, and bazars, for retail sale, as well as other places where goods are principally stored for wholesale delivery. Bezestan, derived from the Arabic bez, (linen,) and estan, (a spot or plot of ground,) means a place where linen is sold; and such was the primitive destination of the edifice now generally called djavaheer, (jewel,) or silah, (arm,) bezestany. The bezestans originally consisted of isolated buildings, each with four gates, opening nearly to the cardinal points.

These gates were, and are still, designated after the principal trades carried on in booths immediately around or beneath their respective porches. By degrees, new shops, alleys, and enclosures clustered around the original depots, until the whole were enclosed within walls, arched, roofed, and pro vided with lock-up gates and posterns, of which there are twelve large, and about twenty small. They were then sub jected to nearly the same syndical laws that regulate the police and administration of the parent buildings. One difference is, however, to be remarked in these regulations. The old bezestan, opening, like all others, soon after dawn, or first prayer, (sabahh namazy,) is closed entirely upon Fridays, and shut during the remainder of the week at mid day. Thus, when the hour for meridian prayer, (eyila nam azy,) arrives, the gatekeepers strike the iron doors with their keys, and warning the faithful that it is time to hasten to their devotions, expel all dealers, purchasers, and idlers from the interior.

During Ramazan, the bezestan is not opened until mid-day, and closes about the hour of afternoon prayer, (ikinndy namazy.) The silk bezestan, tenanted exclusively by Armenians, open from eight, a. m. to about afternoon prayer, js also closed upon Sundays, and other religious festivals of these thrifty and devout people : and, as there is scarcely a week without one or more saints' days occurring, the interruption to busi ness and traffic may be considered as amounting to nearly a fourth of a year, The outside or general tcharshy, is accessible every day in the week, from sunrise to sunset, although most dealers with draw at the hour of afternoon prayer, which takes place at all seasons of the year between mid-day and sunset. The signal for this prayer should be given at the moment the shadow ofthe dial is double the length of the index; thence the name ikinndy, the root of which is iky, (two.)

Although the religious code does not enforce abstinence from business upon Fridays, save during the performance of mid-day prayer, few strict Musselmans attend at their shops after twelve o'clock. The majority devote this day to relaxation or religious contemplation. The Egyptian, or drug market,, of which notice will be taken further on, is subjected to the same regulations as the bezestans, in regard to its being closed on Fridays and dur ing Ramazan. On other days it is open from dawn until after noon prayer time. Some have attributed the practice of clos ing the jewel bezestan at mid-day, to fear on the part of the government, lest the arms, supposed to be contained therein, should excite the people to revolt, and serve them in case of rebellion. This is a gratuitous and unfounded supposition.

In the first place, if the people determined to break into the bezestan, they might effect their purpose as readily between dawn and mid-day, as between the latter hour and sunset ; secondly, it is not here, but in the vicinity of the Byt bazary, where the great stores of serviceable arms are to be found, and from morning to night that neighborhood is crowded with multitudes of the lowest classes, not one of whom ever dreamed of employing these weapons against the government. The closure of the bezestan is, in fact, a mere remnant of old habits, established by the first tenants, or merchants, who, being principally Janissaries, or connected with the Janis saries, held themselves superior to common shopkeepers, and invariably devoted the afternoon to recreation or private affairs. This example and custom has been perpetuated.

The general inclosure, called bazars by Perotes and stran gers, is termed tcharshy, (market,) by the Turks, and occupies an irregular quadrangle of about 350 square yards. It is bounded on the north by the walls of divers khans, erected between the streets called Mahmoud Pacha and Merjian Yolly; on the south by the mosque of Sultan Bajazet and its appurtenances ; on the east by those of Noory Osmanya, (light of Osman,) and some contiguous khans ; and upon the west by several other khans, opening into the declivitous Merjian Yolly, (Coral street,) leading from the great Valda khan to the official abode of the Seraskier, (commander-in chief. ) With the exception of the two bezestans, the bazars are not surmounted by domes, the distinctive ornament of almost all public edifices. The roofs that protect the arched colon nades are of tiles, placed on light wooden rafters ; so that the whole surface, when seen from the Seraskers's tower, presents a vast area of tiles, without the slightest architectural relief, and exhibits a monotonous vacuum in the centre of the surrounding noble mosques and lofty khans.

The bezestans and central tcharshys, are further distinguished from almost all other bazars and markets, by being completely arched, and lighted from above by glazed windows ; whereas the latter are either open and uncovered spaces, or mere rows of shops. Ordinary tcharshys are common mar kets, without gates or inclosures, with the exception of Missur (Egyptian) tcharshy, which possesses all the architectural requisites of the great bezestan. Numerous other places of retail sale also exist. There are, firstly, the small khans, having the double signification and employment of lodging, and warehouse, such as those of the haladjelar, (carpet dealers,) in Merjian Yolly, and tchok adjelar, (drapers,) now entirely occupied by Armenian jewellers, contiguous to the principal entrance to the bazars, called Mahmoud Pacha Kapoossy.

These small khans, though some what similar in point of destination, are distinct from the great khans, frequented by wholesale foreign dealers, or wealthy native bankers and merchants. Neither one nor the other can be assimilated to inns, as the administration does not supply food or furniture of any kind. Almost all, however, contain a coffee-house, where pipes are provided, and during the day food can be brought in from the neighboring cook-shops. The second class of extensive places for retail trade con sists of the khana, a word derived from the same root, but meaning a factory. Only three of these, unconnected with government, are of any note. These are the saradj, (saddlers,) kavvaf, (shoemakers,) and that called tahmiss, (coffee mart.) The first of these establishments is among the most original and entertaining sights in the city.

Its neighbor, the shoemakers' factory, is equally deserving of notice. Both rest upon the eastern slope of the fourth hill, crowned by the mosque of Mohammed IL, who, upon their first establishment, granted them various privileges, which were subsequently enlarged by Suleiman and his successors. It was from Suleiman that both saddlers and shoemakers obtained permission to distinguish their work-places by the title of khana, a term sounding as much more aristocratic in Moslem ears, when compared with tcharshy, as factory when contrasted with shop in English. Indeed the word is rarely applied to any but government establishments, such as top khana, (cannon-foundry,) ters-khana, (arsenal,) fez-khana, __c. The shoemakers', saddlers', and debbagh, (tanners',) com panies were the nurseries whence were drawn some of the finest recruits for the Janissary odas stationed at Constanti nople, that is, when the system of replenishing the ranks with Christian youths was abandoned.

They are a proud and independent class — especially the latter, who, nevertheless, must commence their trade as scavengers, whose sole business it is to collect album græcum for the use of the craft — a laborious and most unsavory apprenticeship. In former times, the company of tailors, (derzee,) had also their khana. One of these was in the vicinity of the seraglio wall, near Alaae (procession) kioshk, and the other in the neighborhood of the old menagerie, near Eski serai. The tailors, whose trade is subdivided into nearly as many branches as there are portions of apparel, no longer possess distinct factories. They are now disseminated in every quar ter of the city, though they principally affect certain parts near the harbor. But the introduction of the new dress has thrown a large portion of their trade into the hands of Frank tailors, who abound in Pera and Galata.

They were regarded as a well-disposed but resolute craft, in former times, and often rendered services to government, at periods of public commotion. Thus, they mustered in great force upon the memorable 13th of June, 1826, and contributed largely to the defeat of the Janissaries. They previously enjoyed many privileges and immunities, granted to them on the ground of their utility to the army. The trade, although dispersed, still forms a numerous corporation, and they venerate Enoch as their Pir, or patron saint. It is traditionally believed, that the patriarch, being displeased with a mantle made for him by his handmaids, took knife and needles, and fashioned it into a more convenient form. This fashion, being perpetu ated, served as a model for the celebrated Boorda. shereef, (holy mantle,) worn by the Prophet, and now preserved among the relics in the seraglio.

We have yet to mention the kapans, (stores, or ware houses,) principally reserved for wholesale trade. That of the corn-factors and meal-men, a tribe no less avaricious and prone to monopoly than their fellow-dealers in England, is called oon (meal) kapan. It is a spacious building, near the water side, at the southern extremity of the bridge over the Golden Horn. That ofthe timber dealers, (odoon kapan,) is contiguous to the harbor side, opposite to Galata. The above, with the stores of bal, (honey,) yagh, (tallow,) tooz, (salt,) and koorshun, (lead,) are the only kapans of any importance. Before closing this general outline, it must be observed that the guardianship of all the central bazars is entrusted to the bekjee bashy, (chief watchman,) who has a numerous troop of bekjees under his orders.

They commence their duties about sunset, and continue to patrol until daylight. Each shopkeeper pays fifteen paras (three farthings) monthly to the chief, who settles with his subordinates, and is responsible to the police and to the wakoof administration for the security of the whole range of buildings. Smoking, fires, and lights, are forbidden within the precincts, nor is any one allowed to sleep within the inclosure, or to remain after sun-down prayer. The rent of shops varies according to size and situation. The principal taxes are: — 1. An annual quit-rent not exceeding twelve piastres, for each shop, for which the kihaya (inspector or director) of each trade is responsible to the wakoof administration. 2. An annual payment of five piastres to the ikhtisab, (police director, or provost of the merchants.) 3.

A few paras to the kihaya. 4. A monthly rent, varying from five to thirty piastres, paid by each shop keeper to the contractor who hires the whole from the wakoof, and is responsible to the mosque to which the shops or district may belong. Charges for repairs fall upon the respective wakoof administrations, and they are held responsible for keeping the whole in good order. Having thus presented a general view of the whole, we will now proceed to details. One of the greatest drawbacks on visiting the bazars, or other places of interest, at Constantinople, is the necessity under which strangers labor, of submitting to the guidance and inevitable roguery of the valets de place. These men, for the most part island Greeks, outcast Italians, or repro bate Maltese, are, without exception, the most worthless and ignorant class of cicerones in the world.

Their knowledge does not extend beyond the mere names of places and articles ; scarcely one can speak the language correctly ; not one can read so as to decipher the commonest inscription ; and yet they assume the title of dragomans, as if in derision of that classic, but ill-reputed body of men, of which they pretend to be the last link. Aware from experience of the articles most in request with strangers, they contrive to pre-arrange the last selling price at nearly 20 per cent, over and above the fair remunerating amount, and then, pretending to act for the interest of their employer, they affect to barter fairly. New comers, confiding in their honesty, and compelled to trust to their interpreta tion, are generally pleased with their show of zeal, and retire satisfied with some trifling reduction, which in most cases leaves enormous extra profits to be divided next day between the dealers and their dishonest jackals.

Their usual salary is a colonate (dollar) per day; but their profits, if travellers be large purchasers, are proportionate — never less than 10 per cent. The majority superadd impertinence and laziness to knavery and ignorance. There may be some few exceptions to the two first, none to the last inconveniences. These men receive a dollar from hotel-keepers for each tra veller whom they conduct to their houses, and, in one or two instances, the proprietors pay half that sum daily to the valet so long as the stranger remains. These charges, of course, find their way into the bill. In addition to this, hotel-keepers, when not leagued with dealers, generally impose a tax of 10 per cent, upon all articles brought by shopkeepers for sale, which charge falls eventually upon purchasers. The only mode of escaping this evil is by going to the bezestans and bazars, and by avoiding, if possible, to make purchases at the shops recommended by the valets.

Constant instances have occurred, before our eyes, of strangers being charged 40 per cent, more than we and others, initiated in the prices, have paid for common articles, all of which have their stand ard price. The valets de place have their chief, a consummate rogue, who pretends to procure firmans from the Porte for visiting the seraglio aud mosques. These are merely the permits granted to such legations as may demand them for their fellow-subjects, but the expenses, if they be in any way in trusted to the subsequent arrangement of this man, are invariably augmented 20 per cent. Being provided with one of the above mentioned roguish conductors, travellers who proceed to visit the bazars will do well to avoid the precipitous descent through the centre of Galata ; this can be affected if they turn to the right upon reaching the Tekeh (convent) of Mevlevy (dancing) dervishes, opposite to the north-east entrance of the Turkish cemetery called " the small burying ground," a name singularly inappli cable, since it covers a surface of more than 100 acres.

This would be a fitting occasion to speak at length of the Mevlevy. Their exercises have, however, been so repeatedly described, that I shall merely observe that they were founded in 643d year of the Hegira, by the celebrated Sheikh Mevla na-Djelaluddin-Hoomy-Mohammed, known as the Sultan-ul- Oolema, (king of science), and that they are the only sect esteemed in the present day by the higher classes, or directly patronized by the Sultan. Some of them are men of great respectability and learning. The sheikh of the Pera convent, Khoudret Ullah Effendi, has the reputation of considerable talents, as an oriental scholar and antiquarian, in addition to the highest character for tolerant piety and urbanity of manner. The turning or dancing of these dervishes, generally sup posed to be a mere exhibition of skill without specific meaning, is symbolic of two great mysteries of the sect.

The rotatory motion signifies that they acknowledge the ubiquity, and seek for the presence of the divinity on all sides ; whilst the forward movement denotes man's progress through life, which commences feebly and slowly, then hurries onwards with irrepressible speed, until of a sudden it is arrested by the hand of death. It is also typical of the abstraction of those who are supposed to have abandoned all mundane occupations for the service of the Almighty. The extension of the right arm with the palm upwards denotes the act of seek ing for almighty gifts and bounty ; that of the left arm with the palm inverted portrays their abandonment of these gifts to others. The word dervish signifies a poor person, one who has renounced all property for the benefit of mankind. From the gate of the Tekeh the path traverses that portion of the half-neglected Golgotha of tombs contiguous to the counterscarp of the old Galata ditch, and thence leads into the suburb through Koolly Kapoossy (Tower Gate).

Here, if the passer-by should attach any faith to the black art, or to the not less nebulous mysteries of magnetism, he may indulge his humor by pausing to consult Mohammed Agha Mrimliky. This venerable sage, who fills the triple functions of sihkr baz, (soothsayer,) moonejim (astrologer,) and kapoojy, (gate keeper,) is one of the most easy-tempered and obliging Turks that ever trod in thesteps of the fallen angels, Aroot and Maroot, or practised upon the superstitions of tho credulous. Mohammed Agha is in great repute with the women of the neighboring quarter. The door of his little wooden cell, fixed against the wall inside the gate, is rarely unattended. Elderly dames apply to his water-glass and blade-bone of sheep, to discover lost or stolen articles. Younger women have recourse to him for telissm, (talismans,) or hamaill, (charms,) when husbands prove faithless, or when they fear to die unmarried.

Some applicants invite him to draw the horoscope, and to point out propitious days for the circumcision or marriage of their children. Others demand a sal, when they seek to ascertain the future, or a noosha, (prescription,) when they wish for an heir. Others, again, bow to his magnetic influences, when suffering from bile or colic, pro duced by raw cucumbers, lettuce, want of exercise, or over much halva, (a sweet cake,) in which and other sweet and sour condiments all indulge most inordinately. Upon these occa sions, a small present in kind, or a few paras, satisfy Moham med Agha, and a few words content his patients. Every quarter of the city and bazars boasts of one or more of these sages. Their manners are always dignified and cour teous, and they perform their operations with as much apparent faith in their own powers as their patients exhibit confi dence in their astrological or magnetic skill.

In the old bezestan there is a merchant, one Ibrahim Emir Zadeh Effendi, who is often induced to interrupt his avocations, as a dealer in Damascus blades and curious poniards, to write prescrip tions or to put his magnetic knife to the foreheads of applicants. Indeed, the whole population, from the highest to the lowest, is more or less embued with respect for these superstitions. Few events of any importance connected with government take place without consulting the moonejim bashy (chief astrologer,) and some rich men have private astrologers attached to their establishment, whose calculations regulate all the principal actions of the master's life. These pretended astrologers follow the precepts of the celebrated Arabian sage, Muhyuddinn-Moghriby. The science is termed Oolom Arabya (Arabic science.)

I chanced one day to witness the ceremonies performed by the magnetizer in the bezestan, which were accompanied by some gesticulations similar to those employed by our more civilized but perhaps less honest charlatans. Being occupied in cheapening some article from the varied assortment of old weapons and antique curiosities displayed at Ibrahim Effendi's shop, I was interrupted by the approach of an Arab, ill-favored and one-eyed, attired in a red benish and broad white tur ban, followed by a sickly negress. After the customary salutations of peace and welcome, the Arab observed that the fame of Ibrahim's skill was the theme of general wonder at the khan where he lodged, and that he had come to consult him. To this the other replied with a compliment and renewed welcome, and the Arab then stated that the slave at his heels was certainly possessed of a devil, or under the influ ence of witchcraft ; that from a lively intelligent lass she had become sullen, indolent, and refractory, and that neither kind ness nor correction produced any effect upon her.

After detailing sundry other symptoms, all tending to prove that the master of evil had taken up his abode in the girl's bosom, the Arab ended by inquiring if the Effendi could work a cure. This was to question the existence of the very .science itself, therefore Ibrahim set aside the article with which he was tempting our poor purse, slipped several beads of his tesbih (rosary) through his fingers, and with a gentle affirma tive motion of his head replied, " Inshallah !" To this the Arab responded with a similar exclamation; and the negress was then thrust forward by her proprietor. Being seated upon his shopboard, elevated about three feet above the pavement, Ibrahim was enabled to operate without the trouble of displacing himself. The neighbors and passing crowds, either through decorum or familiarity with these performances, averted their heads, or paid no attention, so that I and my Armenian companion were the only observers.

The operation commenced by Ibrahim Effendi looking sted fastly during some seconds at the negress's downcast eyes, as she stood silent and motionless before him. Then slowly waving his hands in circles across her forehead, chest, and abdomen, in order to dispel malignant vapors, he placed them upon her shoulders, and uttered the teshchhid (profession of faith.) He then spat to the right and left, to ward off any evil eye that might be peering upon his patient, and, bending forward, whispered in her ear one of the last chapters of the Kooran, specially directed against demons and witches. After this, he blew twice over each shoulder to drive away the foul spirit, in case it might have issued from her ears. A pause then ensued, during which the negress trembled, and became as pallid as it was possible for one of her color.

This was natural. The weather was intensely cold, the poor girl was thinly clad, evidently ill-fed, and suffering from ill ness and harsh treatment. Presently, the operator again slowly raised and waved his hands to and fro, both horizon tally and vertically, and then extended them before him, as if they represented an open book, in the same manner as it is customary during certain portions of daily prayer. Having rapidly muttered a few invocations, he drew a small agate handled knife from his girdle, and, applying the point succes sively to the girl's eyebrows and chest with his left hand, he gently tapped the other extremity with the fore-finger of the right, in order to transfix the demon. He then drew the edge repeatedly across her bosom, forehead, cheeks, back, and sides, for the purpose of dissecting him.

This being terminated, he carefully wiped the blade, and returned it to the sheath. During the latter process the negress became much agi tated. She gasped for breath. Her chest was disturbed by nervous cramps and rumbling sounds. Tears streamed from her eyes, and she at last opened her mouth with a loud hys teric sob. At this moment, the demon deemed it prudent to escape. Such at least was the apparent belief of all three, as there was a simultaneous exclamation of " Mashallah 1" (God's will be done !) from master and slave, and of " Schuker Allah !" (thanks to God !) from the operator; who added, in a half whisper, "She is cured ! It has departed, and probably entered the mouth of this unbeliever." Ibrahim Effendi terminated his operations by drawing from his bosom a small piece of bezoar stone.