Part 2 (1/2)

Villagers and Armenians from the interior are remarkable for their honesty, and have been entrusted for generations with the guardians.h.i.+p of merchants' offices, banks, shops, and the surveillance of public establishments.

Their inducements to faithfulness are strengthened by their conviction that honesty is the best policy, for as a result of their proverbial trustworthiness their functions have come to be regarded as hereditary, and when one servant dies or returns to his family, he is replaced by his son, or brother, or near relative. There is thus solidarity between the members of a family, and even between the citizens of a town, for there are some towns--Mush, for instance--that hold the palm for the integrity of its inhabitants.

An occupation, akin to the previous one, held by Armenians, in common with Turks of Asia Minor, is that of porterage, an inst.i.tution of the greatest importance, especially in Constantinople, where the narrowness or steepness of the streets often prevents wheeled conveyance.

These porters, known under the name of _hamals_, carry their burden on their back by means of a leather cus.h.i.+on, which is strapped over their shoulders, and called a _semer_, or saddle (see ill.u.s.tration, ”In the Grand Bazaar,” Chapter IV.), and it is extraordinary what weight and bulk they can carry. The object to be carried, if heavy, is lifted by one or two companions, and rested on the _semer_, while the wearer stoops forward to receive it.

Great care is necessary to poise and balance it properly, as the secret of lifting lies in the correct adjustment--an art which with the _hamals_ seems instinctive. A short rope is then thrown over the burden, and the ends are held by the porter so as to prevent the burden from slipping as he proceeds on his way with heavy but steady steps. Should the road be steep, he will generally find resting-stones, which have been placed at regular intervals, where he can lean his burden without removing it, and obtain a brief repose. The placing of these resting-stones is considered a meritorious act among Moslems, and finds its equivalent in the Rest-and-be-Thankful Stones to be met with in many places in this country, where the weary traveller sits and blesses the donor.

It is an interesting study to watch the muscles of the _hamal's_ legs distend and his veins dilate as, nearly bent in two, he treads leisurely along, groaning under a weight which it would take two ordinary men to carry.

Conveying a piano, for instance, is no unusual occurrence, and on one occasion the writer had coals conveyed to his house, situated on a hill, and about three miles from the s.h.i.+p, at the same price as they would have been conveyed by horses, each _hamal_ carrying half a horseload. A _hamal's_ carrying capacity may therefore be expressed, after this experience, as equal to a half horse-power.

[Ill.u.s.tration: IN THE GRAND BAZAAR]

If the object to be conveyed is a very heavy one, it is suspended on a long pole, and carried between two _hamals_, the rounded ends of the poles resting on their shoulders, with perhaps a leather pad between to protect the bone.

Should the weight be heavier still, say a large bale of merchandise or a pig of lead, four, six, or eight _hamals_ combine, each pair carrying a separate pole. As they march swinging and staggering along, with their right hand resting on their neighbours' left shoulder, and occupying half the street, they shout _Varda!_ which means ”Make room!” and everybody has to clear out and rush to the sidewalk, or run the risk of being thrown over.

_Hamals_ form themselves into Guilds, allotting themselves special spheres of work or districts, and are very jealous of interference by outsiders in what they consider their monopoly.

In addition to the porterage of goods they also undertake the hewing of wood, such as is used for warming purposes in the East. They begin by conveying it on their backs in lengths of 5 or 6 feet, in which it arrives from the forests, and, throwing it in a heap in front of your door, they proceed forthwith to chop it with their axes into lengths of 12 to 14 inches, and then store it. In the meanwhile half the street is occupied by the hewers, and chips fly right and left, endangering the eyes and faces of pa.s.sers-by.

Up to the time of the Armenian ma.s.sacres, Armenian _hamals_ had nearly the entire monopoly of the Constantinople Custom-house porterage, but the majority were slaughtered in cold blood or had to flee, and Kurds (many of whom were their murderers) were engaged in their place.

But the latter had neither the experience, nor the skill, nor the obliging manners of the Armenians, and for a long time business was disorganized, and merchants were discontented.

Before dismissing the subject of the _hamals_, reference may be made to a peculiar contrivance they adopt for preventing water conveyed in open barrels from spilling, through the vibration. It simply consists in floating a disc of wood on the surface, and this seems as effectual as the sailors' device of throwing oil over the troubled waters. Anyone may try it and see the result.

It is difficult to depict the habits of a people in a country so widespread as Armenia, but I may briefly allude to the houses they inhabit in Erzerum, the princ.i.p.al town of Armenia, and one which, according to Armenian tradition, stands on the site of the Garden of Eden! In any case, the climate has changed since those blissful days, for owing to its high lat.i.tude of 5,000 feet above the sea, that district is bitterly cold during the winter and hot during the summer.

Indeed, for six months of the year, and more, snow is said to lie in the streets of Erzerum. The houses are in consequence low and small, consisting generally of a ground-floor only, with a flat roof over it.

They are built of stone against the sides of a hill, and each room stands with a separate roof. As these roofs or terraces are connected with steps, one can walk a very considerable way over them. During the summer they are overgrown with gra.s.s, and are the favourite resort of women and children, the latter taking with them their lambs to browse over the gra.s.s and flowers. Each room of these houses has a fireplace, where cow-dung fuel is consumed. The furniture is very simple, and consists of a raised divan round three sides of the room, on which the family sit during the day, and often sleep at night. Only few houses possess chairs and tables. Meals are served on a round tray placed on a stool, around which the family squat and partake from a common dish. The characteristic feature of the house is the stable for oxen, one portion of which has a raised platform, with divans and carpets, and is used as the men's reception-room. The breath of the cattle helps to keep it warm and cosy, and underneath the platform the dogs lie and sleep, while on the divan, resting along with the men, are lovely silken-haired cats, many of which have their tails dyed red with henna.

In winter the houses can hardly be distinguished under the snow, and the town is described as a great rabbit-warren, with the pa.s.sages leading to the doors of the houses like so many burrows.

CHAPTER V

GREEKS AND VLACHS

In our account of the races ruled over by the Turks we must not forget the Greeks, those enterprising colonists who, long before the Christian era, settled along the coast of the Black Sea, and all along the sea-line which now fringes the Ottoman Empire, as well as in its islands, and who also founded commercial stations in the interior. In earliest times we find them connected with such expeditions as the Argonautic, in quest of the Golden Fleece, and returning, not only with rich trophies, but with wonderful legends regarding the lands they visited. I could entertain you at great length on their adventures in the countries I am describing, but this is not the object of this book, and my reference to the past must only be to show you that the present Greeks in Turkey are much the same people as their ancestors, with the same love for commerce, the same love for the beautiful and the same glowing imagination. Yet they differ in this respect, that they are now a subject instead of an independent people. They also differ in not calling themselves h.e.l.lenes, but Romei--_i.e._, Romans--an appellation which, strange to say, applies only to members of the Greek Church.

Roman Catholics contemptuously refuse to be called Romei, and style themselves Latins.

Intermarriages have somewhat tainted the purity of their blood, and in many cases they have lost the use of their mother-tongue, and can only speak Turkish, but still they are Greeks to all intents and purposes, and mostly members of the Greek or Orthodox Church.

The Greek type of face is much the same as what we see in the statuary in our museums. The forehead is broad but rather low, the nose and profile straight, the eyes large, the lips full, the chin firm, and the neck rounded. They are tall and stately, and graceful in their movements, and have small hands and feet.

In character they are highly imaginative, superficial, and shrewd, but make excellent husbands and wives, and inspire their children with a love for home and respect for their parents.

In education the wealthier cla.s.ses are advanced, but the peasantry are still backward. The Greek spoken by the latter is very corrupt, and has a large admixture of Turkish and Italian, but the efforts of School Boards and of the local newspapers are tending to purify and elevate it.