Part 4 (1/2)
There is another cla.s.s of soothsayers who profess to recover lost property, and see or show the face of the thief reflected in the water of a deep well. A valuable ring was once lost in a house, and no clue or evidence could be obtained as to the culprit, so the services of a diviner were requisitioned. He arrived at night, bringing in a bag a red c.o.c.k, which he professed would crow the instant the guilty party touched it. The inmates of the house were all ordered to squat in a circle on the ground; the c.o.c.k was placed in their midst, and all lights were extinguished. ”Now,” said the diviner, ”let everybody rest their hands on the c.o.c.k.” They all apparently did so, and lights were called for, and an exhibition of hands was demanded. A red stain was visible on every hand except one--that of the guilty maid-servant, who had not touched the c.o.c.k for fear of being betrayed.
Residents in Turkey have inherited many of the superst.i.tions of the Greeks and Romans, such as augury from the flight of birds, and the entrails of newly-slaughtered animals, and faith in astrology. The Sultan keeps a royal astrologer, who publishes yearly a list of the lucky and unlucky days, and no one will think of undertaking a journey, marrying a wife, or commencing business without consulting it.
At the birth of a child a horoscope is made out for his benefit, indicating under what constellation he was born, and laying down rules accordingly for his guidance.
On a certain day in March a peculiar kind of sweet, resembling and tasting like spiced toffy, but coloured red and with a sheet of gold-leaf stuck on it, is sent round to all palace officials. The elegant bowl that contains it is fastened in bright muslin, and is tied with coloured ribbons and sealed, and has to be opened and the contents eaten at the specified moment indicated by the astrologer, in order to secure wealth and felicity during the year.
When troubled with dreams or otherwise apprehensive of impending misfortune, Turks believe that by hanging shreds of rags on the railings of the tomb of an old saint the danger may be averted. The consequence is that some of these shrines are literally covered and disfigured with rags.
Dogs are also considered excellent subjects to which disease may be transferred. The patient can effect this by feeding them.
[Ill.u.s.tration: A FORTUNE-TELLER]
A popular remedy for illness of any kind is to obtain from the _imam_, or priest, a written text of the Koran and swallow it, and I have known of doctors' prescriptions being taken the same way, and doubtless with similar effect.
Another superst.i.tion is that, if a person has had a fall, water poured on the spot will prevent its repet.i.tion.
A curious method for arresting the spread of infectious disease is to surround the patient with a circle of some disinfectant, and during a cholera scare I saw it applied to a man on the Galata bridge who had an apoplectic stroke. The case was considered suspicious, and his body was removed, but a circle of whitewash, like the markings of a tennis-court, was drawn round the place where he had fallen, and the infection thus imprisoned!
Sc.r.a.ps of paper thrown in the street are held in reverence and removed by pious Moslems, because the Name of G.o.d may be written on them and profaned if trodden upon; but another version is that all sc.r.a.ps not thus collected by the Moslem will be scattered over the burning soil through which he is to pa.s.s, after death, on the way to Paradise, and will make his pa.s.sage more painful.
CHAPTER VIII
SYRIANS, DRUSES, MARONITES, AND BEDOUINS
An account of Palestine having been given in ”Peeps at the Holy Land,” I will not allude specially to it, although it belongs to Turkey. Arabic is the language also spoken in Syria, which lies north of Palestine, and in Mesopotamia, which is to the east.
Of the ancient towns of Tyre and Sidon, once famous as the capitals of Phoenicia, nothing now remains but ruins on which fishermen dry their nets. The inhabitants in the surrounding regions, however, still keep up many of their ancient customs and superst.i.tions, and, in a modified way, Baal and Astarte are still wors.h.i.+pped.
The slopes of the Lebanon adjoining Beyrout are inhabited by the Druses and the Maronites, who, since the year 1860, have obtained semi-independence, and are ruled by a Christian Governor appointed by the Sultan.
The Lebanon Ranges are very beautiful; they abound in aromatic flowers, and bees yield an enormous production of excellent honey. They are also the home of the cedar.
As already stated, a railway, starting from Beyrout, crosses the Lebanon and connects it with Damascus, one of the most ancient cities of the world. Damascus is also one of the most beautiful, the plain on which it stands being a continuous garden, over fifty miles in circuit, rich in oranges, lemons, pomegranates, mulberries, figs, plums, apricots, walnuts, pears, quinces, etc. The town, through which flows a river, contains several magnificent structures, including a splendid mosque, which was once a Christian church, but the streets of the city are squalid and dirty. One of the most interesting is that called Straight, which St. Paul traversed.
Damascus has a large manufacturing industry, and among other articles produces beautiful silks. It formerly produced those remarkable Damascus swords, inimitable for hardness, elasticity, sharpness, and tenacity, as well as for the beauty of their ornamentation. It gives its name to the plums which we call ”damsons.”
Damascus is a great centre for the conveyance of merchandise to Bagdad and Persia by means of camel caravans--those fleets of the desert. They are accompanied by armed escorts, as their journey lies through a long stretch of desert, inhabited by numerous Bedouins or Arab tribes, ever ready to blackmail the caravan.
These tribes inhabit the Hauran during the spring, and move to the desert in autumn. They own camels, a.s.ses, and sheep, and rear magnificent horses, which are justly considered the most beautiful in the world.
The Bedouins live in tents made of black goat's-hair, and their camp looks from a distance like a number of grazing cattle. The tent of their _sheik_, or chief, is distinguished by its greater size, and round it are those of the members of the family. Before the tent-doors the horses are tethered.
Family life among them is patriarchal, the sheik being priest, judge, and ruler. With some tribes women occupy a high social position, and menial work is done mostly by the men.
The Arabs subsist chiefly on dates, which they gather and store in October, but when in the desert they live to some extent on the produce of the chase, which comprises an abundance of gazelles, hares, and quails.
These they hunt with greyhounds or with trained hawks. The latter, when they see their quarry, swoop upon it, and pick at its eyes until the hunter arrives.