• Travels into the Levant. Part I. 
<• 
was a Turk who came to me daily, to teach me the Language \ and as often as 
he faw fome Figures of Wood, that had been taken pat of the Mitmmies^ whicii 
1 had in my Chamber, he fell into a paffion with me i and though I told him, 
that they had been made by the ancient t^Egypiansy yet he opened full mouth 
againft the Ghriftians, for ( faid he ) it belongs to none but to God to make 
Figures, to which he gives a Soul ; and all who make Figures would imitate 
God j but at the Day of Judgment, thefe Figures will come and demand their 
Souls from thofe that have made them. I did but laugh both at his paflion and 
brutifh reafoning, which is the Argument of all the Turks ; but it puzles them 
hard, when one tells them, that if thefe Figures demand a Soul, it muft be by 
fpeaking \ and if they fpeak, they have a Soul already, and Hand not in need 
of another. Being one day on board of an Englifli Ship, I perceived that all 
the Figures that were carved upon her for ornament, had the nofes cut off^ 
which I thought was great pity ; and they told me, that that Ship having been 
one Summer in the Cr^iw^alS/^wVs Service, the Turks who were on board had 
cut off the nofes of all thefe Figures, faying. That it is not fo great a fin, if the 
nofes be cut off. The Turks are prohibited by the Alcoran to lend Money upon 
ufury prohl- Ufury, and with them it is a very great fin, from which they are careful to ab- 
bited to tlie ftain:However,there are always fome among them who make bargains that differ 
Turks. \\xx\t from Ufury. For Example : They fell Goods upon truft at a very high 
rate, and he whom t hey have trufted ( without going out of the Ware-houfe ) 
fells them back to them at a lower price; they pay him in ready 
money , and the other remains ftill Debtor for fo much Goods , fold at 
Unclean f^^h a price. It is likewife prohibited to them to eat of unclean Meats, 
the^Turks'"^ which are the fame that the Jews hold to be unclean ; and Hogs flefh 
is no lefs abhorred by the Turks than by the Jews, who are.fo far from 
eating it, that they would not touch it for all the worlds nay, their Shoema- 
kers dare not make ufe of Hogs briftles' as ours do, which puts them to a deal 
of pains in fowing their Pabouches. In the fame manner, they abhor Frogs, 
Tortoifes, Snails, and other Creatures iforbidden to the Jews, all which they 
do fo abominate, that a Turk will fooner lofe his life, than eat of them; and 
I never faw but one Turk that would eat Hogs flefti ; as for Renegadoes, they'l 
eat of it with all their heart, when they can have it ; but they are People of no 
Religion at all, or fuch as look for an opportunity of making their efcape into 
Chriftendom. They account Dogs alfo to be unclean,and if by chance a Dog rub 
upon them, they are unclean, and muft. needs walh, and therefore they more 
carefully keep out of the way of a Dog that is running, than we avoid a run- 
ning Horfe j and, indeed, they keep no Dogs in their houfes, but leave them 
in the ftreets, where they abide in their feveral quarters, and are fo acquain- 
ted with their ftation, that they never go out of the bounds of it j and if they 
went out of their own ftreet into another, the Dogs of the other quarter would 
kill them, as Invaders ; for there are a great many in all the feveral ftreets, 
who will not fuffer ftrange Dogs to enter their terj^itories. In my time, there 
was one at Vera-i which knew the Franks wonderfully well, and fo foon as he 
faw any, he followed him, fawning upon him as far as his precind extended, 
for a little bread ; and it was a common thing to throw him an Afpre to buy 
bread with, to which a Turkifli Baker (that lived there) was fo accuftomed, 
that fo foon as he faw a Franks coming, he made ready a loaf. The Turks are 
Thç Turks great lovers of Cats, having fome^always by them, becaufe (they fay) Maho- 
hate Dogs, met had one, which on a time falling afleep on the fleeve of his Garments, and 
and love Cats. fjQyj. of Prayer beifig come, he chofe rather to cut off the fleeve of his Gar- 
mentjthan to awaken his Cat j in that they (hew ill nature,hating the Dog,which 
is very faithful ; and loving the Cat, which is a cruel creature, being of the 
nature of the Tygre, and hath but few good qualities. 
Why Mdo. As to the prohibition of Wine, or (at leaft) the counfel of not drinking 
?«et prphibi- any, they tell, \\ovi thdX. Mahomt (pafiing through a Village) faw a Wedding- 
ted Wine. Feaft, where all drank Wine, and were merry, which made him praife Wine ; 
but that when he came back again in the evening, or next day, and faw all in 
blood, ('becaufe thofe that were fo merry before, had quarelled, come to blows, 
and broken oneanothers heads with the pots) he condemned Wine, and advi- 
fed his Friends not to drink any ; which hinders not, but that (as I have 
already 
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