m C O N-S T A N 
becomes an unoccupied fpace, like a defert. One hour 
after lun-fet every gate of the city is Ihut, and entrance 
It rift I y prohibited. The houl'es of the opulent Turks are 
large, with the moil; convenient part appropriated as the 
harem, or habitation of his women ; which is ufually fur- 
rounded with a court, be it ever fo fmall, having a foun¬ 
tain in the midff. Thefe apartments are remarkable for 
their neatnefs, and all the accommodation that the climate 
and architecture will admit; for it is here only that the 
poffeflbr difpiays any expence in ornament, or furniture, 
'As to the Louies in general, they are mere comfortlefs 
wooden boxes, cool in fummer, but ill adapted to wet 
or cold weather, being full of unglazed window's, and 
without fire-'places ; in winter fupplied by earthen pans 
of charcoal, which fuffocate whilit they warm. The 
ground floor is a continuation of the Itreet, and the ftair- 
cafe a dirty ladder, frequently in darknels. That Inch 
a ltillnefs (hould reign in the crowded llreets of a capi¬ 
tal, whoever has vifited thofe of Europe, will obferve, 
with furprife; there is no noile of carriages, and even 
the buly haunts of men are fcarcely different from the 
abode of filence. 
The merchandize and trade of Conftantinople are car¬ 
ried on principally in the khans, bazars, and bezeftens, ac¬ 
cording to the culfom of the eaft. The khans are fpaci- 
ous Itruftures, with quadrangles erefted by the munifi¬ 
cence of the fultans, or lome of the royal family, for the 
public benefit. They are entirely furrounded by a cloif- 
ter and colonnade, into which numerous cells open, gene¬ 
rally repeated for three Itories ; are built with itone, and 
fire-proof. H6re the merchants from every part of the 
empire, who travel with caravans, are received with ac¬ 
commodations for themfelves and their valuable traffic. 
In the bazars are afTernbled dealers of each nation under 
the Turkifh government, who have fmall fltops in front, 
and a room behind for their wares. Thefe are very ex- 
tenfive cloilters of done, lofty and lighted by domes; are 
admirably adapted to the climate, and in fummer are ex¬ 
tremely cool. One called the Miff Chartffie, or Egyptian 
market, is let apart for the merchandize of Cairo, chiefly 
minerals and drugs, and is a great curiolity for the natu- 
ralill. Other quarters are occupied by the working jew¬ 
ellers, where raw jewels may be advantageoufiy purchaf- 
td • and by the booklellers, who have each his afiortment 
of Turkifn, Arabic, and Perfian, manufcripts, of which 
they do not always know the value, but demand a confi- 
cerable price. The oriental fcholar may here find manu- 
fcripts equally beautiful and rare, as fince the civil com¬ 
motions in Perfia, the mod elegant books, taken in plun¬ 
der, have been lent to Condantinople for fale, to avoid 
cieteftion. 
The daple articles of importation from England are 
cloth and block tin, as the confumption of both is very 
great. Engiifh watches, prepared for the Levant mar¬ 
ket, are more in demand than thofe of other Frank na¬ 
tions,and are one of the fird articles of luxury that a Turk 
put’chafes or changes, if he has money to lpare. The na¬ 
tional character is here admirably dilcriminated, and to 
invedigate it with fuccefs no place offers fuch opportunity 
as thefe markets. A Itranger will wonder to fee fo many 
of their (hops left open without a mailer or guard ; but 
pilfering is not a Turkilli vice. He fhould be informed' 
previoully, that no article of commerce has a dated price; 
bargains mud be made, and the baled impofition is count¬ 
ed fair gain. The Turk is fixed to his ihop-board with 
his legs under him for many hours, and never relaxes 
into civility with his Frank cudomer, but from the hopes 
of advantage. One may venture to give him two thirds 
of his demand ; but to thole of other nations not more 
than half. The Greek, more pliant and prevaricating, 
prailes his commodity beyond mealure, and has generally 
to congratulate himfelf upon having outwitted the mod 
cautious dealer. The Armenian, heavy and placid, is 
routed to animation only by the light of money, which he 
cannot withdand. As for the Jew, every where a Jew, 
TINOPLE, 
lie is more frequently employed as a broker, a bufinefs, 
which that people have had addrefs enough to engrofs: 
and fome acquit themfelves with honedy and credit. Thole 
of the lower fort are walking auctioneers, who tramp over 
the bazars, and carry the goods with them, vociferating 
the price lalt offered. Each of thefe nations, which con- 
ditute the valt population of Condantinople, has a differ¬ 
ent mode of covering the head, a circumdance foon learn¬ 
ed, and which renders the groupes of figures fufficiently 
amufing, as it breaks the lamenefs of their other drefs. 
The Armenians, Jews, and the mechanical Greeks, ufually 
wear blue, which the Turks confider as a dillionourable 
colour, and have their flippers of a dirty red leather. The 
common trades are dilpofed, all of one kind, in Angle 
llreets. Shoe-makers, furriers, and pipe-makers, with 
many others, occupy each their diflinft didrift, and are 
feldom found dil'perfed, as in our cities. A room of very 
conliderable dimenfions, is called the bezefien, or public 
exchange, where are collefted feccnd-hand goods, which 
are hawked about by the auctioneers. In another part 
are the farraffs, or money-changers, Armenians and Jews. 
The necefl'aries of life are well managed, and the fhcJps 
of cooks, confeftioners, and fruiterers, are excellently 
dored and ferved with neatnefs. For the greater part of 
the year, flierbets with ice are cried about the llreets, at 
a very cheap rate. The bakers exercife a lucrative, but 
a dangerous trade, if they are not proof againd tempta¬ 
tion to fraud. Their weights are examined at uncertain 
times, and a common punifhment on detection is nailing 
their ear to the door-pod. Upon a complaint made to 
the late vizier Mehmet Melelc againd a notorious cheat, he 
ordered him to be indantly hanged. The mader efcaped, 
but the fervant, a poor Greek, perfectly innocent, was ex¬ 
ecuted. It was remarked to a Turk, that this injudice 
was foreign to the character for clemency which Melek 
bore, when he farcaftically replied, “ the vizier had not 
yet breakfaded.” 
The coffee-houfes, which abound, are fitted up in an 
airy Chinefe fade, and curioully painted. Within, they 
are divided into partitions or dages without feats, for the 
Turks fit as the tailors in England. The refort of all ranks 
to them is univerfal and conllant; and fome during the 
greater part of the day, which pafles there, conlume thirty 
or.forty pipes, and as many cups of coffee, boiling hot, 
thick, and without fugar. Eefide thefe, near the Ofinanie, 
are teriaki-bana, corrupted from the Greek 0 spam, where 
opium is fold ; and taken in gradation from ten to a hun¬ 
dred grains in a day. Intoxication with this noxious 
drug is certainly lefs prevalent than we have been inform¬ 
ed ; and he who is entirely addicted to it, is confidered 
with as much pity or dilgult as an inveterate lot is with 
us. The preparation of opium is made with fevered rich 
fyrups, and infpiffated juices, to render it palatable and 
lefs intoxicating, and refembles elder rob. It is either 
taken with a lpoon, or hardened into fmall lozenges, 
llamped with the words Majh Allah, “ literally the work of 
God.” The Turks take opium as an intoxicant, or occa- 
fionally under an idea of its invigorating quality, when 
unufual fatigue is to be endured. The Tartar couriers, 
who travel with altonilhing expedition, generally furnilh 
themfelves with Majh Allah. A leading caule of its dif- 
ufe is, that the prejudices relpefting wine are daily relax¬ 
ing, which accounts for the fcarcely credible quantity 
and univerfality mentioned by old writers being unac- 
cordant with modern praftice. 
It is truly remarkable, in fo great a population, that 
criminal caufes do not occur more frequently. Murders 
are leldom heard of, and happen amonglt the foldiers 
oftener than other defcriptions of people : they are cer~ 
tainly prevented by the prohibition of wearing arms in 
the capital. If the murderer efcape jultice for twenty- 
four hours, he is not amenable to the law ; at lealt, has a 
good chance of evading its vengeance. Robberies are 
not frequent, excepting in the great roads through diltant 
provinces, where they are always punilhed with impale¬ 
ment 
