TURKEY. 



yielding by exprefTion caftor oil, fquirting cucumber, 

 coloquintida, opium poppy, and fpikenard. The bell 

 horfes in Afiatic Turkey are of Arabian extraft ; but mules 

 and afles are more generally ufed. The beef is fcarce and 

 bad, the mutton fuperior, and the kid a favourite repall. 

 Other animals are the bear, tiger, hysena, wild boar, jackal, 

 and dogs in great abundance. On the fummits of Caucafus 

 is found the ibex, or rock-goat; at Angora, lingular goats and 

 cats ; the gazel, and deer and Iiares in great abundance are 

 found in Afia Minor. The partridges are generally of the 

 red-legged kind, larger than the European : fifh is plentiful 

 and excellent. The mineralogy of thefe exteniive provinces 

 has not been yet fufficiently explored. The moll noted mi- 

 neral waters are thofe of Prufa, at the bottom of mount 

 Olympus : the baths are fplendid, and paved with marble. 

 Walachia furnifhes many other hot-fprings. 



The chief iflands belonging to Afiatic Turkey, fituated 

 in the Archipelago, are Mitylenc, Scio, Samos, Cos, and 

 Rhodes. Along the fouthern (hores of Afia Minor are 

 fome fmal! ides, fucli as that of Callel Roffo, S.E. of Pa- 

 tira ; but thefe are of no moment compared with Cyprus, 

 about 160 miles long and nearly 70 at its greateil breadth; 

 the chief cities of which are Nicofia and Famagufta. 



Some geographers, in oppolition to the tellimony of tra- 

 vellers, have coniidered Egypt as a Turkilh province ; 

 whereas it was only occafionally tributary, and fubjeft to 

 the military ariftocracy of the beys. Some of the maritime 

 Mahometan powers have likewife affifted the Porte witb 

 (hips in time of war ; but they cannot be regarded as fub- 

 jeft to the Ottoman fceptre. 



Turkey, Coinage, &c. of. As the Turks, though afpir- 

 ing to a very ancient derivation, comprehending Tartars 

 and Moguls, (fee Turk,) are merely a mixture of Sar- 

 matge or Slavi, Arabs and Greeks, which began to form a 

 nation in the fourteenth century, they feem to have iffued no 

 coins till they feized Conftantinople in i^$ ; and their coins 

 referable thofe of Perfia and Arabia, having merely infcrip- 

 tions on both fides. Turkey keeps accounts in piaftres, 

 commonly called grouch by the Turks, and by the Enghlh 

 dollars. Each piaftre is divided into 40 paras, and each para 

 into 3 afpers. Sometimes, inftead of thefe real coins, the 

 piaftre is divided into 80 or 100 imaginary parts, called afpers, 

 or minas. Jux or jack is a fum of 100,000 real afpers ; a 

 chife or purfe is 500 ditto. The gold coins of Turkey are 

 the fequm or chequeen (fee Sequin) : the filver coins are 

 the two-dollar piece of 80 paras ; the altmichlic of 60 paras ; 

 the dollar or piaftre of 40 paras ; the zolotta or izelotta of 

 50 paras ; the roup of 10 paras ; the beflick of 5 paras ; 

 the para of 3 afpers ; and the afper. The Turkilb corns, 

 notwithftandmg the regulations of 1780, when a iingle 

 piaftre weighed 5I drachms, or 277 Engliih grains, have been 

 gradually deteriorated ; fo that a piaftre of the lateft coinage, 

 weighed and affayed by the king's affay-mafter of the Mint, 

 was reported to be as foUows: weight 8 dwts. 6grs., hne- 

 nefs 50Z. 6 dwts. worfe than the Endilh ftandard : hence 

 its finenefs was 47 car. 2 grs. Turkilh, and its value m 



fterling 13-5^. . , ... ,, ri 



The Turkifti chequee or pound, with which gold, iilver, 

 diamonds and precious ftones are weighed, is divided into 

 100 drachms, and the drachm into 16 killots or carats, or 

 64 grains. A chequee weighs 10 oz. 5 dwts. 3 grs. troy 

 wei|ht. and a drachm 49^ grs. ditto ; fo that 48 chequees = 

 41 lbs. troy very nearly. . 



The cantaro, quintal or kintal contams 44 okes, or 100 

 rottoli ; the oke, 4 yufdromes or chequees, or 400 drachms ; 

 the rottolo, 176 drachms. A metecal is H drachm. The 

 kintal of cotton-yarn is 45 okes. 



The cantaro weighs about 1234. lbs. avoirdupois ; the oke, 

 2 lbs. 13 oz.; the rottolo, 19^ ounces; the chequee, ii,;. 

 ounces avoirdupois. 



Silks from Perfia are weighed by the batman of 6 okes, 

 or 2400 Turkilh drachms, or i61bs. 140Z. avoirdupois: 

 fdks from BrulTa are weighed by the taffee of 610 Turkiih 

 drachms, or 4 lbs. 40Z. lodrs. avoirdupois. 



The chequee of goats' wool is 800 Turkifli drachms, or 

 jibs. 10 oz. avoirdupois: the chequee of opium 250 Turkifti 

 drachms, or 27 oz. lodrs. avoirdupois. 



Corn is meafured by the quillot or killo, weighing, in wheat, 

 about 22 okes, or 60 lbs. avoirdupois ; 4 killos make i fortin : 

 84-killos anfwer nearly to i Englifh quarter. A killo of 

 rice is 10 okes. 



Oil and other liquids are fold by the meter, or almud : 

 the meter weighs Sokes, or 2 2|lbs. avoirdupois ; and 8 al- 

 muds equal 1 1 EngUfh gallons. 



The pic or pike i» of two forts ; the longeft, called halebi 

 or archim, with which Clks and woollens are meafured, is 

 314 French lines, or 27-i-V Englifti inches long ; the other, 

 called endafle, with which cotton goods and carpets are 

 meafured, is ^ per 100 (horter. But, in the general courfe 

 of European trade, the pike is reckoned at -| ths of an Enghfh 

 yard. 



The exchanges of Conftantinople with the principal com- 

 mercial places in Europe are as follow : Conftantinople 

 gives 



Amfterdam 60 paras, more or lefs, for i florin current. 

 Genoa 23 paras, more or lefs, for i lira fuori banco. 

 Hamburgh i piaftre, for 24 grotes Flemifh banco, more or 



lefs. 

 Leghorn 145 paras, more or lefs, for i pezza of 8 reali. 

 London 18 piaftres, more or lefs, for il. fterhng. 

 Marfeilles l piaftre for l franc 4; centimes, more or lefs. 

 Naples 1 20 paras, more or lefs, for i ducat regno. 

 Paris 210 piaftres, more or lefs, for 100 ecus of 3 livres, or 



300 francs. 

 Venice 360 paras, more or lefs, for i fequin of 22 lire 



piccoli. 

 Vienna and Triefte 50 paras, more or lefs, for i florui 



current. 



The exchanges between Conftantinople and other trading 

 places, where Turkilh money is ufed, are done at a premium 

 of 10 per cent, more or lefs, in favour of Conftantinople. 



Bills between Conftantinople and the principal Uading 

 places of Europe are commonly drawn at 3 1 days' fight ; 

 but from one place, in Turkey, on another, at 1 1 days' fight. 

 Some European merchants pay their bills on the very day 

 on which they become due ; and others take as many days 

 grace as are allowed in their refpeaive countries. 



Triefte keeps accounts in fiorini or florins of rto creutzers ; 

 alfo in lire of 20 foldi ; the creutzer being fubdivided into 

 4pfenings, and the foldo into 12 denari. Thefe monies of 

 account are valued in Auftrian currency, in Triefte currency, 

 and in Valuta di Piazza : the fu-ft is chiefly ufed m foreign 

 exchanges, the fecond in whok-fale trade, and the third in 

 retail bufinefs. A florin Auftrian currency is worth 5^ hre 

 of Triefte currency, or 5^ of lire di piazza. For the co.ns, 



&c. fee Vienna. ^ . • n- • , ,, 



Tripoli keeps accounts in piaftres of 13 grimcUim, or 52 

 afpers: the grimeUin is valued at 6 fous Tourno.s, which 

 makes the pfaftre of Tr.poU worth 3^ f ft-hng Th 

 weight for gold and filver is caUed Metacal (which fee) , 

 7o of which fre equal to a Venetian mark ; fo that . me acal 

 laX7nTi Englilh grains. The cantaro weight contains 

 Toott^lu eacf of bounces, or u8 termnn ; the^cant.o 



