Part 4 (1/2)
[Sidenote: TURKISH CIVILITY.] Our old friend Mustapha reposes so much confidence in the honour of an Englishman, that this morning he offered to lend me any sum I wished, with no other security than my simple word. In order to convince me of his ability to make good this promise, after removing a stone from the floor, he unlocked an iron trap-door, and showed me a mine of gold pieces concealed below. He was delighted with a rough sketch I made of him; indeed, many circ.u.mstances go to prove that the fanatical aversion of the Turks to portraits and pictures is much on the decline, notwithstanding all representations of the human figure are strictly prohibited by the Mahomedan law. The Sultan has had his likeness taken twice already, and he is going to sit a third time to an English artist of the name of Atkins.
_Tuesday, 28th._--A s.h.i.+p arrived from Malta to-day, bringing intelligence that the formidable English fleet destined to join the French squadron might soon be expected in the Dardanelles. All Pera is in raptures at this news, and there is now some hope that the Russian Bear will be forced to draw in his claws.
[Sidenote: DECREASE OF FANATICISM.] I walked about Stamboul to-day, and experienced much civility from the Turks, who took infinite trouble to answer all my enquiries. When I made them understand by signs that I wished to cross the Horn, many left their little stools and walked some distance to put me in the right course. How changed is their conduct in this respect from what it was at no very remote period, when a Christian hardly dared be seen in the streets, and when the Turk, for mere sport, thought nothing of drawing a pistol and shooting at any Frank whom he happened to observe looking out of his window; and not only the foreign merchant, but even the consul, was obliged to have a guard of janissaries to attend him from his house to his office. At that time, too, the wealthy Christian, in pa.s.sing through the streets of Stamboul, was often stopped and compelled to sweep the muddy crossing; and even the dogs were allowed to worry him, without his daring to beat them off. Happily those days of fanatical intolerance are for ever pa.s.sed; and the irresistible march of civilisation, by gradually weakening his prejudices, has humanised even the intolerant and ferocious Mussulman.[12]
[Sidenote: CASHMERE SHAWLS.] _Thursday, 30th._--To-day a man brought for sale a quant.i.ty of Persian silk, which was very soft and beautiful, and the colours were bright and well arranged; he had also some black Cashmere shawls with variegated borders: though the patterns looked handsome, they were of inferior qualities, and not to be compared with the French and Scotch imitations. Not being inclined to purchase any, I posted off to the khan, where the Angora shalee is sold, and saw some beautiful specimens of this soft and warm manufacture, whose fine silky texture renders it a great object of commerce for ladies' dresses: the price is about 300 piastres for eight pics, which is the requisite quant.i.ty.
[Sidenote: TURKISH BATH.] I returned to Pera to take the hummum or bath, the one there being very clean, quiet, and well managed. A narrow platform, raised about three feet from the ground, and covered with cus.h.i.+ons, runs round the whole of the first chamber, which is lighted from above by a glazed cupola; and a fountain of clear water playing continually in the centre, spreads a delicious coolness throughout. As soon as we had mounted the stage, one of the bath-men offered carpets and cus.h.i.+ons, but my companion refused them, for the plague is often communicated by using these _pro bono publico_ comforts; and a Perote lives in constant dread of this terrible malady. After undressing, we hung our clothes on pegs, and covered ourselves with a linen towel, devoted to that laudable purpose, and which, if neglected in the slightest degree, calls forth the most energetic remonstrances from the old Turk, who sits smoking near the fountain.
The wooden pattens or slippers used by the bathers were arranged on the steps by which we mounted the stage, and I had several narrow escapes from being prostrated on the marble pavement ere I reached the small door leading into the hummum; so difficult do the uninitiated find the use of these wooden bridges, which are clumsy, heavy, and slippery as skates. I shuffled along very awkwardly, much to the amus.e.m.e.nt of three sedate old gentlemen, who were puffing and melting from the effects of a long sojourn in the heated atmosphere of the inner chamber. The first hot room was rather pleasant; and after remaining there a few moments, to break ourselves in for the furious attack on the pores to be expected in the next, we entered the second chamber, and again pushed on into the third, where the sensation, though at first unpleasant, gradually became delightful. Coffee and pipes were now brought in; and sitting down on a low marble bench, we consigned ourselves to the influence of the melting atmosphere, thinking of the unhappy condition of the mutton-chop, when it exclaimed in a piteous voice to the gridiron, ”I am all of a perspiration.” There were several other bathers undergoing this process of fermentation; and when the coffee was finished, and the pipe laid aside, two fellows placed me gently on my back, and commenced rubbing, squeezing, and twisting my arms, ribs, and legs till I thought every joint would be dislocated. I soon felt satisfied with this sort of discipline, though, upon the whole, the sensations were rather disagreeable than painful. The room where we underwent the operation is an octagon, with an arched roof, into which light is admitted through a number of bulls' eyes, or knots of gla.s.s; and a marble basin is fixed against the wall on each of its eight sides, into which two pipes, with stop-c.o.c.ks, admit both hot and cold water. With this you deluge yourself by means of a large metal ladle chained to the wall; or it is done by the bath-man, should you prefer the a.s.sistance of another. Within this chamber was a smaller one, containing similar basins, and to one of these I moved, followed by one of the men, who, after lathering me from head to foot with a sort of slimy caustic soap, scrubbed me down with a brush made of aloe shreds. Having overwhelmed me once more with cold and hot water, and given a finis.h.i.+ng pull or two at my limbs, he left me to duck myself, if I thought fit; but I had had quite enough, and hurried back into the second chamber. Here I was enveloped in hot towels, one being wound round my head, another round each leg, &c., and in this way I returned to the first court, where I mounted the stage, and sat down to dry, smoking a good half hour before I resumed my clothes. Instead of being exhausted, as might have been expected, I felt highly refreshed, and grew delightfully cool in a short time, though I fancied I had lost some pounds of flesh.
As regards the natives of the East, bathing can scarcely be styled a luxury; to them, it is really indispensable; for as they do not change their clothes even at night for months together, in fact, not until worn out, they would be otherwise insufferable beasts; but by frequenting the bath every day, or every other day, and performing the ablutions imposed on them in the Koran, with their quiet sedate mode of life, they are actually rendered very cleanly animals. The women have the use of the baths in the afternoon, when they a.s.semble in crowds, and all the scandal and news of the town is circulated, marriages concluded, and the secret intrigues of the parties are reciprocally detailed; in short, every thing which may be supposed to be brought on the tapis in an exclusive meeting of the fair s.e.x. Nature is every where the same; and I presume, whether in a bath at Stamboul, a Parisian saloon, or a drawing-room in London, a similar love of gossip is their distinguis.h.i.+ng characteristic. Almost every quarter of Stamboul is furnished with its baths or hummums; and the houses of all rich Turks possess this desirable luxury, which is used by the male part of the family in the morning, and by the females afterwards. The plan on which they are constructed is the same throughout the East: in them shaving is universally performed; the hair is dyed, the beard is made to a.s.sume a beautiful glossy black; and the depilatory pincers and ointments of the ladies are applied to the purposes for which they are designed. The bath I used was opposite the sherbet vender, on the hill of Pera, who is so well described in ”The Armenians” of Macfarlane; and whose little fountain of water, flowing through machinery, and setting wheels, circles, and bells all in motion together, is no slight decoy to the thirsty pa.s.senger. I have read ”The Armenians” with great pleasure. The description of the _locale_, as well as of the manners, customs, and general appearance of the native and foreign inhabitants of Constantinople, is given with admirable fidelity; in short, no modern work with which I am acquainted presents a more lively and faithful picture of this queen of cities.
[Sidenote: EASTERN STORY-TELLER.] _Friday, 31st._--Instead of making an excursion to the Sweet Waters, I went with my friend the American secretary to visit the coffee-houses in the Armenian quarter, where an improvisatore exhibits his talents every holyday. Immense crowds of respectable Turks a.s.semble there to listen to the narrations of this accomplished story-teller; and it is even said that the Grand Signior himself is often present as an auditor in disguise. In all the coffee-houses there were concerts of vocal and instrumental music; the former consisting of songs or chants performed by a number of voices together, or else one man sang a single verse, to which all the others responded by way of chorus. Occasionally they varied their performances by singing alternate verses of the same song. We sat in the open air, on a long pier of wood built out into the sea, where there were hundreds besides, perched upon low stools, smoking, or eating delicious ices and mahalabe, and laughing and talking with more vivacity than I could have expected in beings generally so taciturn, and so absorbed in the contemplation of their own importance. At last, a man came to the door of the largest coffee-room and clapped his hands, when the Turks immediately moved into this apartment, in which seats were arranged in a semicircular form one above the other, as in a theatre. A portion of the floor, in front of the benches, was occupied by low stools, probably reserved for visitors of distinction; and close to the wall was a rostrum and a large easy arm-chair, on one side of which stood a little desk.
[Sidenote: MATTHEWS AT CONSTANTINOPLE.] Our Oriental friends behaved with much politeness: for, perceiving from our European costume that we were strangers, they offered us places in front of the stage; and after a few minutes' delay a man entered, and was handed up to the platform and chair amidst a buzz of universal applause. In his hand he carried a small stick, and in gait, physiognomy, and manner bore a singular resemblance to our English Matthews. He was dressed in a frock coat, now so generally worn in Constantinople, and wore, on one of his fingers, a most superb brilliant ring, which, it is said, was presented to him by the Sultan, as a mark of his especial approbation. A profound silence prevailed among the company the moment he made his appearance; every one seeming desirous to be amused, and most anxious to catch every word that fell from his lips. [Sidenote: ORIENTAL JOHN TROT.] No story-teller of Stamboul had ever enjoyed so much fame and popularity as this Turkish Matthews, who, rising from his seat and making three very profound obeisances to the company, commenced his ”At Home” with a series of imitations, in which he personated a Turk from Aleppo, the Yorks.h.i.+re or Calabria of the East. This Oriental John Trot, is represented as setting out on his journey to see the world and make his fortune; and with this intent visits various places. On one occasion, being mistaken for a Pasha in disguise, he is every where feasted, and treated with the most respectful attention, until the real truth being discovered, he is bastinadoed, spit upon, plucked by the beard, and, in short, maltreated in a thousand different ways. At last he finds his way to Stamboul, and manages to obtain an interview with his Sublime Highness; after which he visits England, France, &c., and on his way back is taken by a pirate, who carries him to the coast of Africa. During this compulsatory voyage, he describes himself as affected with the most horrible sea sickness; and here his representation of a person labouring under that detestable malady was so accurate, that I almost fancied myself again in the c.o.c.kpit of the Actaeon, and all the terrors of the voyage across the Adriatic arose fresh to my imagination. After many other adventures, he returns safe to [Sidenote: INGENIOUS MIMICRY.] Aleppo, his native city, no richer than he set out; but, like the monkey who had seen the world, ”full of wise saws,” and strange a.s.sertions. His hairbreadth escapes, the unlucky sc.r.a.pes he gets into, the blunders he is incessantly committing from his imperfect knowledge of the languages of the various nations among whom he is thrown, the continual equivoque and play upon words, his absurd misconceptions of the orders he receives, his buffetings, bastinadoes, feasts, imprisonments, and escapes, the odd satirical remarks elicited by the different objects, places, and strange fas.h.i.+ons he encounters,--all afforded opportunities to the ingenious mimic for displaying the versatility of his powers. The changes, too, of voice, manner, look, gesture, suitable to the various characters he a.s.sumed, were infinitely ludicrous and entertaining. In this respect he was little, if at all, inferior, to his mirth-inspiring brother of the Adelphi; in proof of which, I need only state, that, though utterly unacquainted with his language, and enabled to follow the thread of the story only by the hurried explanations of Hodgson, I sat listening and laughing with the greatest satisfaction for more than two hours, without feeling my attention at all beginning to flag. [Sidenote: A DELIGHTED AUDIENCE.] As to the Turks, they were literally convulsed with laughter; shouting, screaming, and uttering a thousand exclamations of delight; and more than once it was evident, from their uproarious mirth, that he had succeeded in satirising the peculiarities of some well-known individual. At every pause in the story--very necessary for the actor, who was often exhausted by the violence of his gesticulations--wooden trays were handed about, and every one was expected to contribute a few paras. Of course the liberality of the audience was proportioned to the gratification they received; and on the present occasion he, no doubt, experienced substantial proofs of their approbation in a pretty considerable harvest of silver pieces. I could have remained with pleasure to hear another tale, but the heat was overpowering, and my friend also seemed anxious to get away; so we quitted the room with our risible muscles somewhat sore from long-continued exertion.
The refres.h.i.+ng coolness of the sea breeze induced us to hire a caique, and we coasted along towards the Seraglio Point. The walls on this side of the triangle, which encloses Constantinople, are, perhaps, the most ancient of all, and remains of former splendour are every where seen intermingled with the ordinary materials of which they are composed.
Capitals of superb workmans.h.i.+p, friezes, and columns, are not only embedded in the masonry, but thousands of pillars piled one above the other form the foundations, in many parts, which may be plainly distinguished beneath the transparent waves.
[Sidenote: BOOK MARKET.] _Sat.u.r.day, June 1st._--Notwithstanding it rained heavily this morning, I went over to Stamboul to see what I could pick up in the Sahof Charshousi, or book-market. This bazar is very quiet, as befits a temple devoted to literature, and most of the merchants are old fellows with spectacle on nose, who sit in a corner of their shop-board, and pa.s.s the time in poring over the Koran, or some of the thousand and one commentaries written upon it. Their books and ma.n.u.scripts are piled up without order, and they seem never to know where to put their hands upon any work which may be demanded. There was an infinite number of ma.n.u.scripts of Persian poetry, and I bought several beautifully illuminated almanacks; but if, while examining these, I approached a volume of the Koran, or, indeed, any religious book, they either s.n.a.t.c.hed it away, or interposed themselves in such a manner, that I could not touch the object of this extraordinary precaution.
[Sidenote: CURIOUS Ma.n.u.sCRIPTS.] I bought one book, which the owner said was a treatise on mathematics; it however appeared to me to be more like a genealogical tree, and so it turned out. My friend Hodgson, who is well versed in the Oriental languages, p.r.o.nounced it to be a Silsileh-nameh, or genealogy of the Ottoman emperors from Adam to the present Sultan; a work of extreme rarity, and the most complete he had ever seen. Through his a.s.sistance I procured a very good copy of the Koran, and also a firman, signed by Sultan Selim, granting permission to a rich Turk to bequeath his fortune as an endowment for four priests, on condition that they employed themselves in sweeping the mosque at Mecca.
This doc.u.ment, which is very long, is beautifully written on gold, and is altogether a very splendid specimen of Oriental penmans.h.i.+p. I also bought some Turkish spelling-books, very tastefully painted and ornamented, such as are used in the schools.
_Monday, 3d._--As the heat of the weather begins to be oppressive, my companion and myself have determined to remove to Terapia, where we have, after some difficulty, engaged a house close to the back gate of the English palace, and commanding a fine view of the Bosphorus. This morning we took possession of our abode, which is furnished by its proprietor, Mauvromati, with all we required; and we have hired one Demetrio, a most obliging, clever fellow, who speaks Persian, Turkish, Greek, French, and English; besides these accomplishments, he is an excellent cook.
The mids of the Actaeon found a name for the establishment immediately: pipes, porter, bread and cheese, and whisky toddy, became the order of the day, and night, too; and these jovial youths have transferred their berth to the ”Jolly Landsmen.”
[Sidenote: NAVAL BANQUET.] But there was another inducement to move to Terapia; for the mids.h.i.+pmen of the Actaeon gave their brother officers of the French frigate Galatea a dinner, in return for one to which they had been invited. The starboard side of the main deck was part.i.tioned off by sails, and converted into a very handsome cabin, which was hung with a drapery of the flags of all nations, except the Rusky, whom we unanimously voted unworthy to hold companions.h.i.+p with the Jack and the Tricolor, which, with the Turkish blood-red flag, formed a handsome canopy at the head of the table. The amba.s.sador and the captain lent their plate, and the s.h.i.+p's cooks were put under the orders of the palace chef. The pieces montees, sweetmeats, &c. were under the direction of the amba.s.sador's Italian confectioner; the wines were partly from the emba.s.sy cellar, and partly from the captain, and the renowned Stampa of Galata. Plenty of volunteers from the marines and sailors joined the s.h.i.+p's boys as attendants; so that altogether, the affair was splendidly got up, and did honour to the British mids. Our dinner was a capital one; for the cook, fired with national emulation, surpa.s.sed all his previous efforts, and, in consequence, the table was covered with the rarest delicacies that art and nature could supply; the dessert consisted of all the rich and exquisite fruits which this sunny clime and fertile soil produce in an almost endless variety; and of ices and Champagne there was no lack. Twenty-six sat down to the sumptuous repast; and when the cloth was removed, the wine circulated briskly, while the bond of amity between the French and English sailor, was strengthened by the interchange of many a loyal toast and happy well-timed allusion to the brave and martial character of the two nations; nor was music wanting to complete our joyous revelry: the whole budget of lower deck songs was completely exhausted; the guests contributing their quota of _chansons a boire_, &c. to the general hilarity; and ”G.o.d save the King” and ”Rule Britannia” were succeeded by the ”Parisienne” and the ”Ma.r.s.eilloise.” Thus was the party bravely kept up till about midnight, when twenty out of the number, though sailors, were ”half-seas over;” and though the sea was, in reality, as smooth as a lake, they imagined themselves tossing in some heavy swell, bidding their companions remark how dreadfully the s.h.i.+p pitched and rolled, and declaring unanimously that a retreat into the hammocks was next to an impossibility. Three of our ancient and hereditary foes were borne (not steadily, I trow) to the s.h.i.+p's side, and gently lowered from the gangway, 'mid tears of joy; dead,--but not from piercing of cruel shot, nor from ”ghastly wound of glittering steel:” no, they were laid prostrate by rapid discharges from the circling bottle, and the overpowering draughts of glorious red hot ”bishop.” Being at length all safely stowed in the Actaeon's jolly-boat,--for in what other could so n.o.ble a band of topers have been appropriately embarked?--
”They were row'd to their s.h.i.+p, By the mess they had dined with.”
In returning to the Actaeon, after a game of cricket in the Sultan's Valley, we approached as close as possible to head-quarters, where the Russian and Turkish bands were playing. The Russians often sang between the airs; and some two or three hundred voices joining in chorus, during the stillness of evening, produced a very impressive effect. Parties of the soldiers were engaged in dancing; and, in fact, it seemed to be a gala day, for there was a display of fireworks, and an illumination throughout the camp in the evening.
[Sidenote: SEVEN TOWERS.] This spectacle, which had all the air of enchantment, was seen to great advantage from the quay at Terapia. It continued to a late hour; and the inhabitants of that quarter a.s.sert it to have been merely a _ruse_, to occupy the attention of the idle and inquisitive, who might otherwise be spying about and discover the other and more serious game going on behind the Point, where soldiery are daily landed from the fleet, and the small craft which come in from the Black Sea. The stratagem is a good one, and I dare say some hundreds of men will be added to the encamped army, while certain unconscious diplomatists are sipping their coffee, and complacently gazing at these fiery devices.
_Thursday, 6th._--Jeddi Cale, or the Seven Towers, may be considered as the Bastile of the East. They were erected by the immediate successors of Constantine the Great, to strengthen the fortifications at one of the angles of the wall which surrounds the city, but in succeeding ages were converted into a formidable state prison. This cl.u.s.ter of forts was originally five in number, until Theodosius, in order to commemorate his victory over Maximus, erected a triumphal arch, which being flanked by towers, the structure thenceforward received the appellation which it now bears. In 1768, one of the most ancient of these castles fell down, and its majestic ruins afford ample proof of the vast solidity of the masonry. Each tower is about 200 feet high, and the walls which enclose them are double, and enormously thick, being constructed of immense blocks of stone; but since the invention of gunpowder they are no longer considered impregnable. This edifice, after being first used as a barrack for the janissaries, was converted into a prison, in which, contrary to the law of nations and every principle of justice, the minister of any power against whom the Sultan happened to declare war, was immured, until the termination of the quarrel.
This shameful and barbarous violation of the usages which prevail in every other European government, has at all times been regretted by the respectable Turks, who acknowledge it to be a base and disgraceful stigma upon their national character.
From the time when the Seven Towers thus became the prison of amba.s.sadors, they acquired an interest and celebrity which otherwise they never could have attained. Mystery and romance took them under their especial protection; and Eastern imaginations joined themselves to those of the West, in inventing tales of horror, dark, deep, and tragical, connected with the dungeons and caverns beneath these dreaded walls. That gloomy aperture which yawns beneath your footsteps is called the Well of Blood; even the Turkish guide acknowledges that it has often overflowed with human gore! Within this low arched vault, from which the cheerful sun is for ever excluded, the victim lay extended upon the rack, until death itself became a welcome relief; and upon its walls were arranged, in dreadful order, all the infernal instruments of torture, by which the cruelty of man endeavoured to extort from the wretched prisoners a confession of crimes, perhaps never committed, and of conspiracies, existing only in the guilty imaginations of their oppressors. A little court within the precincts of the building was pointed out to me as having frequently contained a pyramid of human heads, reaching so high, that, standing upon its summit, you might have looked over the walls, and beheld the pure and peaceful Sea of Marmora.
The guide also made me remark a number of narrow pa.s.sages, scarcely high enough to admit a dog, through which it is reported that the miserable captive was formerly compelled to crawl upon his belly, and then left to perish from starvation, while he licked the dust in the extremity of his agony.
Thanks, however, to civilisation, these horrors are now no longer perpetrated; and, indeed, for the honour of human nature, one is desirous of believing that the greater portion of them are mere fables, invented by the guides, for the purpose of gratifying a morbid taste for the horrible, and to enhance the interest of the place. A few old soldiers are at present the only occupants of this redoubtable fortress, which is rapidly falling to ruin, though a remnant of the jealousy of former ages still requires a firman to be obtained, before you are allowed to visit its once formidable interior.
[Sidenote: TOMB OF ALI PASHA.] Leaving the towers, and proceeding on towards the village of Ejub, we came to the range of tombs, which formed one of the princ.i.p.al objects of the day's excursion. It is situated near the gate Selyori, through which pa.s.ses the road leading in the direction of Santo Stefano.
It is a low square piece of rough masonry, erected of oblong stones, in the centre of a small verdant grove, and canopied by the luxuriant foliage of a magnificent plane tree.
Intermingled with this ma.s.s of smiling verdure and blossom-loaded boughs, appeared the dark funereal cypress, the emblem of death, intruding itself in melancholy contrast with the smiling and cheerful tints by which it is encircled.