708 



EUROPEAN TURKEY. 



towards the European standaid. The Emirs, or descendants of the prophet, dress in green. 

 The dress of the females has a general resemblance to that of the men ; though when the head 

 is covered, a stiff cap is worn instead of a turban. When abroad the women are so closely 

 veiled, that their nearest friends cannot recognise them ; and the veil perhaps encourages in- 

 trigue as much as it defends modesty. The hair is worn long ; it is plaited in embroidered 

 gauze about the head, and then falls in tresses to the waist. It is fastened there with many 

 little knobs of gold. The females are always in full dress, and their hair loaded with ornaments 

 and sparkling with diamonds. The eyelids are tinged with a dark substance, which adds to 

 the effect of the long eyelashes by relieving the brilliancy of the eye. 



8. Languages. The Turkish is a dialect of the language of most of the Nomade tribes. 

 Its rules are simple, and it has flexibility and harmony. It is written in the Arabic character 

 There are about 30,000 works in this language, chiefly commentaries on the Koran. Beside'! 

 this, there are the Italian, Greek, Armenian, Sclavonic, and other languages, extensively used 

 in Turkey. The Italian, however, is the language of commerce, though so much mixed with 

 foreign words, that it is rather the lingua franca. In Wallachia, once a Roman province, there 

 has been so little communication with foreigners, that the language remains perhaps as much like 

 the Latin as it was under the Romans. It was probably never, in its most refined state, the lan- 

 guage of the Augustan age at Rome.* 



9. Manner of Building. The Turkish cities have all a splendid appearance, when seen at 

 a distance, but the delusion vanishes when they are entered. There are many towers, domes, 

 and minarets, and these seen over the line of walls always make an imposing show. But the in- 

 dividual houses have neither elegance nor comfort ; and many of them are slightly built, of 

 perishable materials. The more substantial kind have verandas and courts, and on the flat 

 roofs the inhabitants sleep In certain seasons. A fire rages in a Turkish city. The general 

 apathy of the people, the want of concert or organization, and their creed of predestination, 

 are so many aUies to the flame, which is seldom checked at Constantinople till it lacks fuel by 

 reaching an open place, or till a space is cleared by the removal of houses. This is not diffi- 

 cult, as the buildings are small. The houses have Httle exterior ornament, for in Turkey it is 

 not safe to make a display of wealth. The interior is finished with much finery but little taste. 

 The rooms have carpets, and there is a divan, or raised step, or platform, running round them, 

 which is covered with cushions, that make the only seats of the Turks, on which they sit cross- 

 legged like tailors. Sometimes several cushions are piled together and form a sort of raised 

 couch. There are no tables, but trays are used, which are placed upon the floor. There are 

 no fire-places, and though it is not rare, that persons are killed by the vapor of charcoal, the 

 rooms are warmed by nothing else. 



Architecture is an art founded on necessity, and where this is neglected, the ornamental arts 

 can have no encouragement. Yet perhaps any other people than the Turks woul^ in Turkey 

 have produced some monuments of good architecture. Asia Minor and Syria have more nu- 

 merous and imposing remains of ancient art, than are to be found in Europe. The Turk views 

 them with his usual apathy ; and so much above his estimation of human means do they seem, 

 that he refers their erection to the agency of spirits, summoned by Solomon ; yet he feels no 

 admiration and attempts no imitation. 



10. Food and Drink. The Turks are temperate in their food, of which rice forms the 

 principal share. Sometimes it is boiled with mutton, or fowl, when it is called pilatc. The 

 fowl is boiled so much, that the master of the house easily separates the joints with his fingers, 

 which is his mode of carving. Curds, cheese, youart, and other preparations of milk are 

 common, but there is no butter. Many courses are often brought in at meals, one after the 

 other. Each person has 2 spoons and a flat cake of bread, and all help themselves from the 

 common dish. This has ever been the eastern custom, and the Saviour indicated his be- 

 trayer as the one that dipped his hand with him in the dish. Coffee is universal throughout the 

 East, in an Arab tent as well as the castle of a Pashaw. It is a strong, turbid decoction, 

 drank without sugar or milk. It is handed to every visiter whom the host would treat with com- 

 mon civility. Among the Arabs and other tribes, that adopt their customs, it is the highest 

 pledge of confidence to eat together. It is seldom violated, either for interest or revenge, the 



* Dr. Walsh, on arriving at an inn, slirunk from a 

 person, who approached him with a tumor, thinking it to 

 be the plague ; when the agent of the post said to the 

 man, sepone, he stood aside; to Walsh he said, Tumor non 

 esti pesti, domnee, esti gunsha. On inquiring if there were 

 many dwarfs, as several were in sight, the traveler 



was answered, sun miilti inmivierahile. J\'on soror, esti 

 uxor, was the reply of the host when asked if a female 

 was his sister ; ago tihi gratias Domncc, was the manner 

 of returning acknowledgments, and valete was the word 

 of adieu. 



