Dr Boue on the Mode of Travelling in Turkey. 145 



Turkey. When the Turks do rob, it is with arms in their hand, 

 on the highway ; indeed, it cannot be otherwise in a country 

 where the doors do not shut, and the windows are of paper, with 

 wooden frame?. Even the shops are locked in a very miserable 

 manner, and the shopkeeper often goes away, leaving nobody 

 to watch his goods, as the peasant leaves his house with the 

 door open. Bankers have their money in trunks, which are not 

 fastened to the floors or walls, and in wooden houses which 

 could be very easily broken into. The only things which are 

 apt to bring the traveller into scrapes, are, disliking to answer 

 questions, treating people, especially Turks, with contempt or 

 haughtiness, exciting their jealousy, or giving vent to angry 

 feelings. The Turk talks little ; it is difficult to make him 

 angry ; but when he is so, he is very passionate. 



In Turkey many roads are impracticable for carriages ; and 

 only a few are good enough for European carriages ; it is there- 

 fore the custom to travel on horseback, the ladies occasionally 

 travelling alone in bad waggons. The trunks of the traveller 

 are put on a second horse, furnished with a semer, or pack sad- 

 dle, made of wood, with knobs to which ropes are attached. I 

 found short leather trunks the most convenient ; and ropes with 

 iron hooks at the {ends would probably render the packing more 

 .expeditious. The chief difficulty is to distribute the luggage, 

 so that there may be an equal weight on each side of the saddle. 

 Where this cannot be done, the people sometimes use stones as 

 a counterpoise ; but this contrivance is apt to spoil the trunks. 

 The price of horses in Turkey is from 80 to 100 or 125 francs ' 

 for which last sum a good riding horse may be bought. Their 

 keep costs per day from 10 to 13 sous, and in large towns from 

 15 to 16 sons. 



The horses are fed chiefly on barley ; and the pack horses 

 retain their pack-saddle night and day. The horses often lie 

 out in the open air. It is necessary to have for each a woollen 

 cloth, and a bag made of horse-hair, from which they may eat 

 their barley. It is also necessary to have a servant for each 

 pack-horse, or at least two servants for three horses, especially 

 at the beginning of a journey, as otherwise, the horses not be- 

 ing accustomed to each other, the caravan is apt'to get into dis- 

 order. Servants are not expensive in Turkey, and for that rea- 



VOL. XXIT. \0. XJ,!!!, ^J^SUABY 1886. 



