Dar-ul-Islam; a record of a journey through ten of the Asiatic provinces of Turkey

Introduction

BY

PROFESSOR E. G. BROWNE

ADAMS PROFESSOR OF ARABIC AT CAMBRIDGE

WITH MAPS AND I LLU ST RAT I O N S

LONDON

BICKERS & SON 1904

PRINTED BV

SPOTTISWOODE AND CO. LTD., NEW-STREET SQUARE

LONDON

TO THE

NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS AND MEN

OF <F' COMPANY, 3RD BATT. PRINCESS OF WALES' OWN

YORKSHIRE REGIMENT

WHO SERVED IN SOUTH AFRICA, 1900-2

AUTHORS ADVERTISEMENT TO THE READER

IN this brief note I wish to convey my thanks to those who so kindly assisted me in the production of the book : first, Mr. John Hugh Smith, who by his pleasant companionship suggested many ideas of which I availed myself; secondly, Professor E. G. Browne, whom I thank not only for his condescension in writing the Preface, but also for his inspiring instruction in Eastern custom and mode of thought ; thirdly, Professor Keane, who has reduced my spelling of Oriental names to order. My own, although interesting, was perhaps erratic. I would also thank Shaykh Hassan Tawfiq for the Arab writing of my name and the texts which appear in various lithographs in the book.

I should like to point out that except for occasional notes I have left the whole narrative practically untouched, and it stands as it was written in Dar-ul- Islam.

A

INTRODUCTION

THESE few words of introduction to the book of my friend Captain Mark Sykes are written neither because I cherish any hope that they will add in any way to its value, or diminish in the least degree the risks — remote, as I hope — at which he hints in the opening paragraph, nor because I feel conscious of any special message to its readers urgently demanding utterance, but simply in response to his request ; to which, remembering the many pleasant hours passed in his society, and the many occasions on which his entertaining anecdotes and reminiscences have relieved and brightened the tedium of academic life, I can only respond with a sam'an wa t&'atan, ' I hear and I obey.'

Captain Sykes has chosen as the title of his book the name Dar-ul-Islam, 'the Home of Islam,' a title specially appropriate to the Turkish Empire, with certain portions and characteristics of which the book deals. Just as to the mediaeval Christian the world was divided into Christendom and Heathenesse, so to the Muhammadan (I will not say 'the modern Muhammadan,' when, without x Introduction

out Mr. H. G.Wells' ' Time Machine,' the Middle Ages can still be reckoned not more than a week distant from London) the world is divided into the Dar-ul- Islam, or ' Home of Islam,' and the Ddrul-Harb^ or 'Abode of War.' The former, that is, the territories mainly inhabited by Muslims and ruled by a Muslim sovereign, has, alas ! been sadly contracted and circumscribed in recent times, so that, of all the vast empire of the Caliphs once included under this title, only Turkey, Persia, Afghanistan, and Morocco still survive as independent states, while it appears doubtful if all of these will outlive the present generation. Of these four, without entering into the vexed question of the Ottoman Sultan's claim to be regarded as Caliph or ' Commander of the Faithful,' we may safely assert that Turkey is, by virtue of certain very sterling qualities of patriotism, courage, and dogged endurance, the most stable, the most powerful, and the least likely to succumb. Hardly any one who has had opportunities of forming an unprejudiced judgment has failed to recognise these qualities, or has remained altogether unfriendly to a people who, whatever their shortcomings may be, command the respect and esteem even of those who least desire the continuance of the Ottoman rdgime. I speak, of course, of the genuine Turk — not of the hybrid Levantine, who is too often taken by the casual and superficial observer as a national

type

Introduction xi

type, and still less of that fearful product of misapplied European or American zeal, so faithfully portrayed by the author of this book under the name of ' Gosmobaleet.' The intrinsic value of ' Western civilisation ' in the ordinary newspaper sense is doubtful enough, even if Captain Sykes' definition of it in Chapter II be deemed a trifle harsh ; but as a ' fancy dress,' badly fitted on unwilling or unsuitable recipients, it moves to tears rather than laughter.

I cannot profess to agree with every view expressed in this book, least of all with the author's estimate of Abu'l-'Ala of Ma'arra, who, cynic and sceptic as he unquestionably was, must certainly be reckoned, as Baron Von Kremer reckons him, one of the greatest and most original poets whom Western Asia has ever produced. Yet it is a pleasure to read a book so full of acute observations and so devoid of cant ; and it is to be hoped that it may do something to remove the beams from the eyes of the seekers after motes. The author has travelled much and seen something of life in four continents, besides going through the South African campaign ; and he has made it abundantly clear that, in his opinion, it does not befit the authors of the crusade in China to say too much about Turkish 'outrages,' and that the Turks are not the only nation which entrusts important duties to incompetent hands. Neither is he deceived by the specious platitudes

so xii Introduction

so dear to that deplorable product of modern European democracy, ' the man in the street,' as to ' extending the blessings of Western civilisation ' ; rather he regards with unconcealed apprehension the contingency of the Western Asiatics becoming ' a prey to capitalists of Europe and America, in which case a designing Imperial Boss might, untrammelled by the Government, reduce them to serfdom for the purpose of filling his pockets and gaining the name of Empire-maker.' He even speaks, at the beginning of Chapter I V, of ' the blight of European influence ' ; does not disguise his preference for countries with 'a past ' to countries with ' a future ' ; recognises the fact that there is more true equality, because less snobbery and pretence, in Asia than in Europe ; and emphasises the great truth that ' Orientals hate to be worried and hate to have their welfare attended to.' ' Oppression,' as he says, ' they can bear with equanimity, but interference for their own good they never brook with grace.'

This leads me to speak of a matter which for the last fifteen years has constantly occupied my thoughts : I mean the selection and training of those young Englishmen who are destined to serve their country in the East as either its representatives or its administrators. The system adopted in connection with the Indian Civil Service appears to me most open to criticism, the selection being based entirely on competitive examinations,

which

Introduction xiii

which can in no case afford any test of such important qualities as imagination, style, or personality, even if they were made to hinge more upon a knowledge of the languages, religions, and history of the East, and less on natural science, mathematics, and political economy ; which latter things, though all very well in their way, appear to me to be of quite secondary importance for the understanding of the character and idiosyncrasies of Eastern peoples, by which alone one would have thought it would be possible to govern them with tact, discretion, and sagacity. In this respect England has definitely retrograded since the days of the old East India College at Haileybury, where a really thorough training in Arabic, Persian, and Sanskrit, extending over a considerable time at the most impressionable period of life, produced men who really had some considerable acquaintance with the spirit of the East. It is, I think, generally recognised that Lord Macaulay, whose deplorable dogmatism was proof against all arguments which did not accord with his own preconceptions, was more responsible than any one else for the destruction of Oriental learning in England ; but the course which he inaugurated has been steadily pursued by his successors, and ever since 1888, when I first began to teach Persian to Indian Civil Service selected candidates, three fresh changes detrimental to the study of Oriental languages

have xiv Introduction

have been introduced. At that period selected candidates spent two years at least in pursuing their special studies, and were permitted, if they desired to take an Honours Degree in Oriental languages or any other subject connected with their work, to remain at the University for three years ; while for Arabic, Persian, and Sanskrit, prizes were given which, though of no great value, undoubtedly served as a great stimulus to work on account of the distinction which they conferred. The first retrograde step, taken, I think, in 1889, was the withdrawal of the permission to spend a third year in study ; the second, which soon followed it, was the abolition of the prizes, whereby, I suppose, a paltry economy of a hundred or two of guineas was effected ; and the third, which took place about 1893, reduced the period of probation nominally to a year, but in reality, what with vacations, delay in assigning provinces, and the like, to about six months, in which time it is expected that men whose minds are wearied with cramming, whose average age is certainly not under twenty-two, who are burdened with a quantity of legal and other subjects, and who know that, with the one exception of the vernacular of their province, hardly a pretence is made of taking Oriental languages seriously in the final examination, will obtain a knowledge of Persian, Sanskrit, Chinese, or Arabic which will be of some

material

Introduction xv

material use to them hereafter ! The large prospective pension will always induce a considerable number of good men to submit to the present or any other scheme which may be hereafter devised, even though it be still more closely assimilated to the Chinese type which appears to have been taken as a model. The contempt displayed for subjects which, though most germane to the nature of the service, are outside the ordinary school and university curriculum, is shown by the fact that in the open competition 900 marks are awarded for each of two varieties of mathematics, 750 each for Latin and Greek, and 600 for each of the natural sciences ; but for Arabic and Sanskrit, though the standard is appallingly high, only 500 marks. And similarly a great light of the University of Oxford remarked recently that ' no man worth his salt ' would take up Arabic without the distinct prospect of a career : a fine conception of humane and liberal scholarship which tempts us to exclaim, in the words of a Persian poet —

Turning now to the Eastern Consular Service, which is more germane to the subject of this book, a much brighter picture presents itself. This service has always

* The great mosque at Mecca, the holy of holies of Isldm.

appeared xvi Introdttction

appeared to me, next to the diplomatic, to offer the most attractive of careers, and I still retain a vivid recollection of my disappointment when I found that the knowledge of Arabic, Persian, and Turkish, by which I had hoped to enter it, afforded no means of doing so, only European languages being admitted in the entrance examination. On the other hand the successful candidates are almost always good linguists, men who have travelled or lived abroad, and whose mental freshness has not been destroyed by cramming with mathematics, natural sciences, and political economy ; and their two years' probation, with its much higher linguistic ideals, is incomparably more valuable than that of selected candidates for the Indian Civil Service. The Foreign Office, moreover, which is responsible for choosing and training these Student Interpreters destined for the Consular Service, is, so far as my experience goes, not only the pleasantest Government Office with which to have dealings, but the most reasonable, and the development of this branch of its work, if at times slow, has been sound, steady, and always in the direction of greater efficiency.

Within the last year or so a still greater impulse has been given to the study of Arabic for administrative purposes by the scheme recently adopted by the Governments of Egypt and the Soudan for the selection

and

Introduction xvii

and training of candidates for their service. It would be out of place to discuss this more fully here, but I cannot refrain from expressing my profound conviction that if it endures for any length of time it will produce a class of administrators in the East who will command the respect and affection of those committed to their charge in a quite exceptional degree, and I believe that Lord Cromer and Sir Eldon Gorst, to whom above all others this scheme owes its existence, will be gratefully remembered for all time as the restorers of that edifice which Lord Macaulay destroyed. Captain Sykes, at the end of Chapter VI, has called attention to the point on which hinges all that I have said. ' It would be well,' he remarks, addressing ' budding British Consuls ' (and the remark applies with nearly equal force to other young Englishmen serving their country in Eastern lands) ' for them to remember that, no matter what their feelings may be, it would be much wiser to maintain the best relations possible with (native) officials, taking every opportunity to entertain them, for if the Consul in a district knows the various functionaries personally and intimately, he will be able to act with much more effect in times of crisis ; besides, being well acquainted with the character and nature of the men he has to deal with, his influence will be stronger.'

Captain Sykes is an acute observer, and singularly

a free xviii Introduction

free from the prejudices which obscure the outlook of so many of even the most intelligent and conscientious travellers in the East. That he has in this book mingled many weighty observations and valuable suggestions with much matter couched in a lighter strain should not cause it to be ignored or laid aside half read by those who interest themselves in the state of the Turkish Empire. These 1 would remind of the old Arabian proverb, Al-hazlu fil-kaltim kdl-milhi fit-ta'dm, 'the jest in discourse is like the salt in food.'

EDWARD G. BROWNE.

Cambridge, March u, 1904

Contents

CHAPTER PAG.?

Author's Advertisement vii

Introduction ........ ix

Chapter I Mainly Introductory

I MAKE no apology for this book ; if indeed I owe an apology, my crime is so grievous that I deserve no forgiveness for having added yet another gallon to that deadly, dreary, weary, dismal ocean of literature which is composed of bad books of travel. If the book is bad and dull, then let it lie ; it will sink slowly down in the course of years, pressed by the overwhelming weight of its younger brothers, towards a kind and blank oblivion. And after . . .

It was in company with Mr. John Hugh Smith that I started on an inconsequent journey through the Turkish Empire. We landed at Beyrut early in November 1902, intending to depart immediately for the interior ; this for a variety of reasons was impossible, and we sojourned most unhappily for many days in the deserted dwellings of the spring-season tourists. Eventually a portion of our luggage was released ; not from the grasp of corrupt Turkish customs officials, but from the clutches of some social labour problem at Marseilles, into whose talons it had fallen. We then made our escape, and I followed Mr. Smith, who had preceded

b me me to Baalbek, whither I went by rail to bring him the good news.

It was thus my good fortune to travel by the Rayak Hama branch of the Damas Hauran et Prolongements Railway. I arrived at Rayak about 1.30, not more than an hour late, and there prepared to board the Hama train ; this conveyance was filled with people, some frantically mounting, others excitedly descending from the cars. At one third-class carriage three native porters were wildly endeavouring to cram a Turkish officer, a Saratoga Trunk, a little Boy, and some Loaves of bread into a compartment which already contained three Mohammedan Women, a Fruit-seller, a Zaptieh, a Barber, a Prisoner, a Native mission teacher, the Zaptieh's saddle-bags, a Sword, Two umbrellas, a Bandbox containing a Sewing Machine, the Fruit-seller's Stall, and one hundred and fifty Oranges in a cloth ; the cloth had burst and the oranges streamed through the chinks in the door not occupied by the porters wrestling with the officer ; the Mohammedan ladies explained in brief that there was ' no Majesty and no Might save that of Allah, the Glorious and the Great ' ; the Zaptieh, who had not paid his fare, roared explanations over the Officer's shoulder ; the porters thrust the Officer ; the Officer pushed the fruit-seller ; the Fruit-seller cast aspersions on the religion and ancestors of the Oranges ; the Barber cried ' Shame ! ' on all for having so little selfcontrol, while the Mission Teacher, on whom he was sitting, was too overcome to make any comment. Truly there was no engine on the train, nor was there any likelihood of its immediate movement ; but it must not be supposed that orientals are never in a hurry ; on all

occasions

Of Departures 3

occasions of departure or arrival, confusion, violence and strife reign supreme ; fatalism is forgotten, and it is every man's duty to heave, to punch, to kick, to curse and swear, until the train, steamer, or caravan has started.

At the further end of the platform I found the chef de train, mecanicien, Controlleur des croisements militaires, sous-controlleurs de Voies et materiel, chef de gare, sous-chef de gare, depute des filets telegraphiques, chef de genie, sous-inspecteur de Voies,* and some six other individuals of the Syro-Phcenician blend, engaged in a lengthy and earnest council ; various clerks approached the group and proffered yards of telegraphic tape ; these were consulted, reconsulted, referred to, put away, and solemnly noted in books, on envelopes, and scraps of newspaper. Here there was no haste ; matters were discussed with sublime calm, and though some rhetorical expressions were made use of by the Gallic members of the staff, and though the gestures of all were a little florid, there was neither excitement nor animation. Indeed, this was as it should be, for I learnt from the sous-chef de gare that thirty-six hours previously a train travelling at the horrible speed of twenty-four miles an hour had been hurled from the track, and though no one was killed, the permanent way had suffered, and communications were severed. When would the line be repaired ? Ah ! it was hoped, in half an hour. The whole staff had been engaged since the disaster in doing their all possible, but in the presence of major forces f who could tell ?

* These titles are provisional.

t ' Force Majeure' : Whenever a Frenchman has performed any particularly foolish act, or exposed his incompetence in some strangely obvious manner, the disastrous consequences are attributed to ' force Majeure.' An Englishman usually calls it ' Providence,' but I suppose since the French Revolution such an expression would have been derogatory to the ' Dignity of man.'

B 2 I was

4 Dar-ul-Isiam

I was interrupted at this moment by a voice using violent expletives, whose pronunciation smacked of Chicaoo ; I turned round, and beheld an American Colonel, whom I had met at Beyrut, pacing up and down the platform, apparently at the end of his patience and the following dialogue ensued :

Colonel (to the world in general) : ' I offered two hundred dollars for a ride on their breakdown train yesterday. O, my Lord, why have I struck this crowd of lowdown lazy greasers jes' when I wanted to get to Baylbeak ?'

Chef de gave (to his subordinates, in a measured tone) : ' Messieurs, — impossible de faire mouvement avant de prevoyer la Direction a Beyrut.'

Sous-chef de gare : * Mais, monsieur, il faut envoyer des boulons au croisement militaire avant tout'

Colonel (to me) : • See here, boy ; I like your face ; now listen to this ; I want to go to Baylbeak, that's the name of the blamed village, ain't it ? I arrived here yesterday at twelve o'clock, and I have been stuck in this gol-durn hole ever since ; I can't make these fools understand I want a lift as fur as the wreck, and I am ready to walk the rest ; I am a big railroad man

at home, and I am in if I ever saw such a

chowdered-headed set of clams try to run ten miles of one-horse track in my life ; look at that white-headed old duck there ' (indicating the chef de gare) ; ' he reckons he

is the Main Push, and I'm if he ever done anything

but eat and drink and say " imposseeble " since I came here yesterday.'

Me'canicien (Greek) : ' Moziou, voila commeng li accideng est arrive, li chef di Train fesait li collection des bigletti, il a manquais di serrait li freeng alourss

Chef

Impossible I 5

Chef de Gare : ' Mais c'est Impossible ! '

Colonel : ' There he is ; jes' listen ; imposseeble ! imposseeble !! IMPOSSEEBLE ! ! ! that word's as good as candy to him. That man call himself the Main Push ! Land sakes ! what a man ; you might as well try reason on the pyramids as that idiot. I told him I wanted to go to Baylbeak ; "Impossible!" says he. Then I says, " Take me as fur as you can" ; " Impossible," says he. Now you talk his gol-durn jabber, jes' ask him when this old ruin is likely to get a roll on, and tell him I want to go to Baylbeak and get done with it ; I can't eat the place, nor can I take it away ; I want to say I've seen it ; I don't want to see it, remember, I want to say I've seen it, and I am ready to pay two hundred dollars to get there to-night.'

Chef de Train (Levantine) : * En Voitur sh'il vous blait.' *

It was true ! amid the consultations, harangues and arguments, an engine had stolen up to the train, and explained by violent blasts on a piercing whistle that in some ten minutes it would be so indulgent as to drag the carriages and any passengers who were hardy enough to remain in them. Instantly the directors and chefs and clerks and stationmasters and engineers and telegraph operators and porters and high officials and subaltern officers became possessed with hurry. Trumpets squeaked, bells clanged, whistles blew, peasants howled,

■'■'■ As far as I can ascertain the Direction of D.H.E.P. Railway labours under the misapprehension that only Christians are fit for employment as railroad officials. This is a great mistake, and I was assured by several gentlemen, holding high positions on more ' serious ' lines, that Moslems were far more trustworthy, besides being more reliable in an emergency and, as one added, ' they are nearly always sober.'

children children shrieked, and I climbed into a first-class compartment in company with an officer whom I will call the Directeur des Croisements Militaires ; more shrieks from the engine, more blasts on the horn, a gush of steam, a puff, a clank, and the train moved forward — and stopped ten yards further on. A bag of iron nuts for the reparation of the line had been forgotten ; these were at last found, handed to the chef de train, and we started in earnest. The Directeur des Croisements Militaires, not precisely in the best of humours, was not very communicative, but softened somewhat presently, and began explaining the beauties of a kilometric guarantee * in such accidents, when the train, which had been flagging, stopped with a painful jerk. I looked out of the window and saw the engine-driver walk leisurely along the footboard to the guard's van, where, having rolled a cigarette, he chatted with its occupant ; presently the two paid a visit to our carriage and consulted seriously with the director. The trouble was as follows : Since there is only one train a day on the Hama branch, it never occurred to the direction to have any arrangement of staff system, stop order or block signal ; the driver had just remembered that the breakdown train was at the scene of the late disaster, and he could not imagine whether the aforesaid train was going forward or back. In consequence, he deemed it necessary to consult with superiors as to which course it would be the wisest to pursue : he might run on and chance a collision ; he might reverse and back slowly to Rayak where he could

* Kilometric guarantee is a large sum extracted annually from the Porte in honour of each consecutive kilometre completed : in this way many embankments and deep cuttings are avoided.

telegraph

The Disaster 7

telegraph to Baalbek to send a man to look for the train ; or he might go on slowly, preceded by a boy with a red flag. The director wished to reach Hama that night, and being a Frenchman with little faith in the Destiny provided him by Allah, he decided on the red flag scheme ; therefore, after having dramatically commended the engine-driver for his remarkable forethought, he ordered the train to advance in rear of the guard, who was armed with a crimson banner.

About half a mile higher up the line we met the breakdown train grinding slowly round a curve ; another halt was called, and a court of inquiry was promptly convened, composed of the directeur, the guard of the passenger train, its engine-driver, and the engine-driver of the breakdown train. The two engines meanwhile stood twenty yards apart, like two unwilling goats on a plank bridge. At length the breakdown train was persuaded to retire and the passenger train advanced once more, the American Colonel cheering offensively. A little later we discovered a siding and crossed the breakdown train, narrowly missing being derailed, as the chef de train had omitted to close the points.

In ten minutes we reached the scene of the disaster, where four carriages in splinters were laid on their sides. Around these stood a group of Fellaheen, Italians and Frenchmen, making a crowd of perhaps sixty persons ; some scraped the ground with pieces of wood, others leisurely tapped the metals with stones, and there commenced a series of procrastinations and delays which would weary the reader, as they wearied me, were I to recount them. The American Colonel raved in helpless wrath. The directors and officials consulted. The

workmen workmen bungled, and the Fellaheen fought amongst themselves. The engine-driver advised, the passengers argued, and the French gangers proved absolutely impotent. This latter fact is worthy of notice, and a favourable comparison may be made with our own countrymen under similar conditions. If a drunken ne'er-do-well of the working class in England is put in charge of Basutos, Kafirs, Indian Coolies, or Fellaheen, he will by some strange means extract work from them. He will approach his gang with a stick ; he will say — 4 Here, you black beasts, this is a spade. See ? Spade ! Dig ! Go on ! ' And, strange as it may seem, they will dig. His only argument will be his stick or his fist ; he will not learn the language ; he will not argue ; he will treat them with rough justice ; and most probably his gang will not only work for him but love him. On the other hand, a Frenchman in the same position will show a greater intelligence and will learn the language ; he will exhort his men to work, will try to understand them ; he will make them try to understand him ; and the result will be noise and chaos and heartburning, and nothing will be done.

In two more hours the track was declared safe ; the officials gathered round the engine ; the engine groaned, coughed, snorted, and at last started on its way ; the scene of the accident was passed in safety, and in forty minutes the intervening eight miles to Baalbek were covered successfully. There I left the train, and whether it is still on its way to Hama I do not know ; but with it went every curse and malediction in my vocabulary.

From Baalbek we proceeded by rail to Damascus. An adequate description of the city would require a

volume

VN< II. N'T CI I M " '. '.I SI I. WAD! BARADA. NEAR DAMAS<

The Hospital 9

volume of its own, so in mercy to the reader and myself I will refrain from writing it.

While at Damascus we were given permission by the Vali to inspect the public hospital which is now complete, and were shown over the entire building.

It is well constructed and scrupulously clean, and at the time of our visit there were about fifty male patients of all nationalities — French, Italians, Greeks, and natives of all creeds ; they were well attended to, and each had his bed-card correctly filled in ; we heard no complaints of any kind. The ophthalmic ward was a clean dark room, and the operating theatre was in perfect order. In the garden there is a separate building which serves as an asylum for the insane ; the lunatics were confined in clean, well-fitted cells, and were apparently as happy as their state permitted.