287 
The public bath is mean and filthy. There are se- 
veral coffee-houses, in which the Turks are perpetually 
occupied, drinking, smoking, and playing at chess. 
In the principal streets there are several shops, but 
all very poor and badly arranged. 
The only coin in use at Mod on, as throughout Tur- 
key, is a very little piece of silver or brass silvered, 
whiui is called para; 140 paras are equal to a Spanish 
piastre. 
The Qceursch or Turkish piastre, which is nearly as 
large as the Spanish one, is worth 40 paras, it is com- 
posed of brass mixed with a very little silver. 
The tuslik, made of the same metal, is equal to 100 
paras. 
The mahboul of Cairo, which is of gold, is valued at 
1 80 paras. 
The governor of Modon, whose authority is always 
precarious, is called Mehemet Aga; he was sick at the 
period I was there. 
The man who possesses the greatest influence at Mo- 
don, is named Mustapha Sehaoux; he is very rich, and 
his figure resembles that of a lusty robber. He is al- 
ways armed with a knife, and two enormous pistols, 
when he goes abroad. He is the owner of the public 
bath, the grand coffee-house, all the public houses, and 
the island of Sapienza. He keeps the aga almost con- 
fined to his house. The captain of the port, who iears* 
him, never ventures to enter the town. The coffee- 
house is an asylum for all criminals; the moment they 
enter there, they have nothing to tear from the public 
authority, nor as long as they remain within its sacred 
confine^. 
