EUROPEAN TURKEY. 



717 



Turkey, as in Spain, a rare offence. The Turk, like the Spaniard, has too much pride, even 

 in his dishonesty, to commit so mean an offence. The common punishment for perjury, the 

 great promoter of all crimes, is only to ride backwards on an ass. The |)unishment of death 

 'J5 inflicted in various ways. Sometimes the criminal or the victim, is strangled by a rope called 

 ^e bow-string, twisted with a stick at the back of the neck. Impaling is lare, but decapitation 

 by the cimeter is common. The bodies are thrown for three days into the street, and are of- 

 ten devoured by dogs. For adultery it is at Constantinople the practice, after a brief consul- 

 tation with the cadi, to tie the female in a sack, and drovvii her in the Bosphorus. It is not, 

 however, very common. All the operations of the judicial authorities are prompt and summa- 

 ry, and if the guilty are punished, it is little heeded, that the innocent may sufi'er. At Pera, 

 the Franks complained, that many robberies had been committed by the porters, and several 

 were in consequence strangled. The evil continued, and the porters were employed in a body 

 to carry grain on board the Capudan Pacha's ship, where all were seized, and drowned. 



The ulemas are men learned in the laws, and include ministers of religion, doctors in law, 

 called muftis ; and judges, called cadis. The grand mufti resides in the capital and his person 

 is sacred ; the Sultan cannot condemn to death any inferior mufti, till he has first invested him 

 with some other office. The mufti expounds the law and gives a written decision, even to a 

 feigned case, cahed "/efwa." There are 55 volumes of these decisions, of which the following 

 are samples. " Can the son-in-law legally marry his mother-in-law ? He cannot. God knows 

 best. Can women and children of property be assessed ? Yes. God knows best." 



20. .Antiquities. The Turks are no conservators of antiquities ; and the best remains of the 

 conquered people have disappeared. The walls of Constantinople are still nearly perfect ; and 

 in several places they are inscribed with the names of the emperoi s. The mosque, which was the 

 church of Sancta Sophia, is preserved only because the conquerors converted it to the uses of 

 their own worship. In the Hippodrome, which is about 400 feet long by 100 wide, is a pyramid, 

 a needle of Egyptian granite, and the column of two tv.isted serpents, that supported the ij ljiod at 

 Delphi. The heads of the serpents have been broken off. Several cisterns show the rn;ignifi- 

 cence of the ancient city. Some are filled up with sand, and used as gardens, and some, that 

 are still covered, are turned to other uses. One, called the Strangers' Friend, is a vast subter- 

 raneous edifice, supported by marble pillars. It is of great depth, and has 672 marble columns, 

 each column being composed of three pillars. It holds 1,237,939 cubic feet. It will supply 

 the whole city with water for 60 days. Another cistern is like a subterranean lake, and extends 

 under several streets. The roof is arched and supported by 336 magnificent pillars. This 

 only is put to its original use, yet its existence is not generally known to the citizens. A num- 

 ber of tubes ascend to supply the streets above, yet so incurious are the Turks, that the peo 

 pie who use the water know not whence It comes. The Aqueduct of V;:lens, stretching from 

 hill to hill, is a magnificent object. The streets run through it and beside It. Vines occupy 

 the crevices, and, nourished by the water, hang down In wide patches of green. 



The Labyrinth of Crete, the residence of the fabled Minotam-, can now be explored with safety 

 only by the means furnished by Ariadne, that is, by a thread, to point out the nay of return. 

 The entrance is natural but very narrow, and opens into a wider passage, somewhat obstructed 

 by stones, and with a flat roof cut in the rock above. On leaving this, it Is necessary to creep 

 100 paces through a low passage. From this the roof rises again, and various roads both di- 

 verge and cross each other ; they are about seven feet high, and from six to ten wide ; cut 

 with the chisel in the rock. The number and complication of them are beyond description. 

 Some curve gradually and lead to open spaces, with roofs supported by pillars. Savary un- 

 folded 400 fathoms of line, without including lateral and other excursions, but did not examine 

 the whole labyrinth. The air is unwholesome, and there are no stalactites. The dark recesses 

 are peopled by millions of bats. 



21. Population and Revenue. The population of this great empire is by no means equal 

 either to its extent or fertility ; nor is it possible to state It witli perfect accuracy. The tyran- 

 ny under which the natives groan, the practice of polygamy, and the prevalence of the plague, 

 all tend to check increase. It is thought that the number of Inhabitants, including the 3 

 pnnclpalities, is about 12,000,000. The public Income arises from uncertain sources. One 

 of the most permanent is a min', or tenth of the produce of the lands of the whole empire. 

 A property-tax, and a poll-tax, levied on Greeks, Armenians, and Jews, together with the 

 customs, are the other permanent sources. The national income is augmented by confipcations, 

 casual contributions, and imperial exactions. The impositions on Christians are altogether ar- 

 l)itrary, and may consequently be extended to the most oppressive degi'ce. 



