Part 5 (1/2)
The electric street cars are divided into two compartments; the first cla.s.s having thin cus.h.i.+ons on the seats, and the second cla.s.s having wooden seats without cus.h.i.+ons. The natives save the extra penny of fare by crowding into the second cla.s.s, thus giving to the first cla.s.s pa.s.sengers the advantage of always having enough room. In the second cla.s.s, however, the tourists had a more favorable opportunity to study the people. Opposite us in one of the second cla.s.s compartments which we entered sat two veiled women in their voluminous white bloomers and wrappings. We could see that one was old by the fact that she leaned upon a staff, and we decided that the other was young because she showed some curiosity. Sitting near us was a little black haired Arab girl with a chunk of dry bread in her hand, at which she was gnawing greedily. In a corner seat a meek looking nun in black gown and wide spreading stiff bonnet was counting the beads of her rosary as quietly as if alone in her devotions.
[Ill.u.s.tration: ABLUTION AT THE FOUNTAIN BEFORE PRAYER IN THE MOSQUE.]
”Look,” said one, as we were leaving the car, ”there is the 'Thomson and Houston' stamp on the motor.”
”Yes,” responded another, ”American products appear to be well represented in this French colony.”
On the main business thoroughfare we had noticed warerooms where 'Singer' sewing machines are sold; at an agency of the 'Eastman Company'
we had restocked our kodaks with films; and we could not avoid seeing on a large sign, in letters that could be read a block away, the words 'American Dentist.' Consequently when we pa.s.sed the American Consulate it was with a feeling of pride that we saluted the National Emblem which was floating gracefully in the breeze.
In the Rue de Marine we saw an old structure of large dimensions with a long row of plain white marble columns in front, which, from its appearance, might be mistaken for an old warehouse. We were told by a Moslem guard, who fortunately understood our inquiry and was able to answer our questions in English, that the building is the Mosque El Tebir, the Great Mosque, and that we might enter subject to certain regulations.
”You must remove your shoes,” said he, ”or wear slippers over your shoes. You must also pay a small entrance fee.”
In the vestibule, the door-keepers of the Mosque selected slippers from an a.s.sortment of different sizes which they kept for visitors' use and tied these over our shoes with tapes. We were then permitted to enter and wander around the interior over the handsome Persian rugs which cover the stone floor.
”The Moslems regard their Mosques as very sacred places consecrated to the wors.h.i.+p of Allah, and they will not permit any profanation of their sanctuary,” cautioned one of our party, a Presbyterian minister, seeing that we were inclined to make fun of the slippers. ”The Moslems remove their shoes and enter the place of wors.h.i.+p with reverence, and they expect us to behave in a respectful manner.”
[Ill.u.s.tration: THE CATHEDRAL ADJOINS THE PALACE OF THE GOVERNOR.]
”The removal of the shoes at the entrance to a place of wors.h.i.+p,”
continued the minister in explanation, ”is an immemorial Eastern custom based on the words: 'And he said, Draw not nigh hither; put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground,' and also on the words: 'And the captain of the Lord's hosts said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so.' We should remember that the Mohammedan faith is based on the Old Testament, though supplemented by the instructions of Mahomet.”
In this ancient Mosque, where the wors.h.i.+p of Allah and the study of the Koran has continued for nine hundred years, we found a few barefoot wors.h.i.+pers, some kneeling muttering their prayers, while others squatted on the floor reading the Koran aloud. At one end of the interior we saw the niche which indicates the direction in which lies the Holy City of Mecca, and toward this, as is the custom in all Mohammedan mosques, the wors.h.i.+pers turn their faces while at prayer. There were no benches or chairs in the mosque, as the devotees a.s.sumed a crosslegged position on the thick rugs during the time of their reading, and stood or knelt while offering prayer.
The Jardin d'Essai, or Botanical Garden, situated in the suburbs near the sea about two miles from the center of the city, is reached by an electric street car of American make which for a three-cent fare carried us to the gates. In the garden the large and varied collection of tropical trees, plants, and vines, so different from those growing in our own temperate climate, greatly delighted us. An ”Avenue of Palms”
half a mile long was lined with palm trees of many varieties, some wide-spreading and curiously branching has broad leaves, and others, high-growing, has tufted tops swaying in the air fifty or sixty feet above our heads. A wider avenue of similar length was bordered with magnolia trees of immense growth which we then saw only in bud, but it was not difficult to see in imagination the magnificent picture that would be presented to the eye, when later on, these millions of buds overhead would be in full bloom. The ”Bamboo Pathway” led through a dense growth of bamboos whose slender poles, bending under a slight breeze, kept up a continual creaking sound. Huge trees, whose wide-spreading branches were supported by scores of accessory trunks, so that each tree formed a grove of its own, we recognized as banyan trees.
In one part of the garden, winding paths led through a tangled tropical growth so dense and wild that one felt as if in the midst of an African jungle where a tiger might spring forth or a boa constrictor drop down on one's head.
On the heights to the east, in the favorite modern residential district, called Mustapha Superieur, many large white stone hotels and apartment houses were situated amid gardens of glossy-leaved orange and lemon trees. Palms, plane, and pepper trees lined the clean, wide avenues; green terraces beautified the hillside gardens; and villas were almost hidden from sight by the climbing roses and luxuriant vines with cl.u.s.ters of purple racemes.
”Many of these villas,” said the guide, ”are owned by wealthy English and French families who spend the winters here. The mild climate and uniform temperature of our city makes this place a favorite winter resort not only for invalids, but for those who desire to get away from the damp fogs and harsh winds of more northern climates.”
[Ill.u.s.tration: THE ENTRANCE TO A NARROW STREET.]
”Our city is noted for two views which we think are unsurpa.s.sed,” he continued, as the driver reined in his team on a summit. ”One is this which we now look down upon of city, harbor, sea, and villages near and distant along the sh.o.r.e. The other, you already have seen from the deck of the vessel, yet at sunset you will find that panorama of the city, villages, heights and mountains even more beautiful.”
While we were exploring the city, the officers on the steamer were engaged in directing the taking on of fresh supplies of coal, water, and provisions, which had been purchased at Algiers. During the two days the Moltke lay in the harbor fifteen hundred tons of coal were carried in baskets on the shoulders of Arabs from barges into the hold of the vessel, a slow method of delivering compared with the rush of the steam scoops in New York harbor where three thousand tons were dumped into the bunkers in a few hours' time. Fresh water also was brought from sh.o.r.e in tank barges and pumped from these into the tanks on the steamer. The quant.i.ty of fresh water required at this port cost the steams.h.i.+p company, so the engineer informed us, a sum equal to four hundred dollars. Also great quant.i.ties of fresh fruits and vegetables were received on board, one of the most welcome things thus added to our bountiful bill of fare being the tender green artichoke which in Algiers grows to perfection.
On Thursday afternoon a reception was held on the Moltke and our band gave a most enjoyable musical program for the occasion. Hundreds of well dressed, courteous French ladies, gentlemen, and children, and some French officials in uniforms, came on board to visit the vessel which was thrown wide open for their examination. Some of the officers of the naval vessels also came to the reception and extended a cordial invitation to the tourists to visit the gunboats. This invitation was accepted by some who were willing to spare the time for that purpose.
[Ill.u.s.tration: A STREET IN OLD ALGIERS.]
”Less than one hundred years ago Algiers was a country of pirates,” said one of the officers to a group of tourists, ”and Algerine corsairs flying the black flag infested the Mediterranean coast. Like birds of prey they pounced upon the merchant vessels of other nations, confiscating the cargoes, seizing seamen and pa.s.sengers, and burning the s.h.i.+ps. They cast thousands of captives into dungeons and demanded heavy ransoms for their release. They sent many thousands to the markets to be sold,--the men to be degraded to slavery, the women, praying for death, to be dragged away to harems of their purchasers. Among the captives held for ransom were many Americans. But you are familiar with all this ancient history.”
”No, we are not,” replied one of the ladies; ”I may have read it but if so, it has slipped from my mind. Why, we have gone about the city feeling as safe and secure from harm and insult as we did in our home cities.”
”And you were as safe in Algiers during the day time as you would be in Paris, London, or New York. I should advise you, though, to keep off the streets of this and all Oriental cities after nightfall. We may be proud to remember that the United States was one of the first countries to stop paying ransoms and to administer a salutary reproof. In June of the year 1815 our Commodore Decatur sailed into this harbor and sent a message to the Dey of Algiers demanding the release of all Americans then held in captivity, threatening to bombard the city if the prisoners were not set free. The Dey after some demur yielded through fear of bombardment and liberated all the Americans; but sent a message to the Commodore requesting that a tribute in the shape of powder be given him in exchange for the captives. 'If the Dey wants powder, he must take the b.a.l.l.s with it,' Decatur bravely replied. After that the merchant vessels flying the American flag were not molested. The great destruction of s.h.i.+ps and the capture of Europeans continued until France, highly exasperated, determined that it must be stopped, and the Moors punished.