A Trip to the Orient Part 11

"Come to prayer."

"I have no power or strength but from G.o.d most high and great," all true believers replied.

"Come to do good," again the Muezzin called.

"What G.o.d wills will be; what he wills not will not be," answered the people, all responses being muttered in low tones.

"The ringing of bells to call the people to service is forbidden," said the guide. "It is written that when the Mohammedan meetings were first held in Arabia, there was difficulty in gathering the people together and propositions were made to 'Ring a bell as the Christians do,' and to 'Blow the trumpets as do the Jews;' but Omar cried, 'What! is there not a man among you who can call to prayer?' The prophet then said, 'O Billal! stand and make the call to prayer.' Since then the melodious voices of the trained Muezzins five times each day summon the Moslems to prayer, and the tall graceful minarets which rise above the surrounding buildings were erected so that the voices could ring out over the city."

We followed the faithful into the mosque, after paying our fees and donning the slippers, and stood quietly in the rear of the great auditorium. The interior was brightened by beautiful blue and white tiling which lined the arches overhead and covered the immense piers that supported the roof. Inside the mosque, near the entrance, water was running from spigots into stone basins. The Moslems stopped at the basins and washed their hands and feet. Some of the better dressed wors.h.i.+pers appeared to have slippers inside their shoes and went through the motion of was.h.i.+ng the feet, but the poorer cla.s.ses used the water to cleanse their feet, and then walked forward barefooted on the rugs. Each man,--for there were no women at the service,--carried his shoes with him and placed them upon a board on the floor provided for that purpose.

The Koran, the sacred book, which, as the Moslems claim, was revealed to Mahomet by the angel Gabriel and was written by Mahomet under inspiration, commands:

"The clothes and person of the wors.h.i.+per must be clean, the place free from all impurity, and the face turned toward Mecca." And also:

"O believers! when ye address yourselves to prayer wash your hands up to the elbows, and wipe your heads, and your feet to the ankles."

The wors.h.i.+pers, scattered around the vast interior, all facing the black stone in the wall which indicates the direction of Mecca, repeated their prayers in low tones. At first they stood with hands close at their sides, then as they muttered the prescribed formulas the hands were raised to the sides of the heads, then with hands clasped in front the wors.h.i.+pers remained for a short time in devout attention. After bowing several times the Moslems knelt on the Oriental rugs continuing the muttered supplications and concluded their personal devotions by bowing forward on their feet. The Iman, or priest, then ascended the pulpit, the wors.h.i.+pers formed in lines, and as the priests read the prayers, they went through the same movements that they had previously made while at their personal devotions.

"Women do not take any part in the public wors.h.i.+p on the floor of the mosque," said the guide. "The latticed galleries are provided for them.

There they may sit in privacy during the service. The galleries, however, are rarely occupied."

The Mosque of Ahmed has six minarets; St. Sophia, only four. The minarets, slender, round towers, are not attached to the main edifices, but stand separate and distinct in the courts surrounding the mosques, with some s.p.a.ce intervening between mosque and minaret.

Resuming our drive through the very narrow streets of Stamboul, which are paved with large rough cobble stones once laid in place but now very much out of place, we pa.s.sed many old unpainted frame buildings with stove pipes projecting from the windows of the second and third floors.

"I do not wish any one ill," said a tourist who at home was chief of a city Fire Department, "but I would give a ten dollar gold piece if I could see how the fire department of this old city manages to control or extinguish a conflagration after it has gained headway among these tinder boxes. The watchmen on the watch towers surely cannot locate a fire and give the alarm until they see a smoke or flame arising."

[Ill.u.s.tration: CAMEL AND DONKEY WERE BEDECKED WITH TRAPPINGS.]

The fountains of the city were one of the peculiar Turkish inst.i.tutions that attracted the tourists' attention. The Koran enjoins all true believers to abstain from intoxicants, and to perform regular ablutions before prayers; so there are drinking fountains at corners where the thirsty a.s.semble to drink from bra.s.s cups, and was.h.i.+ng fountains or basins outside and adjoining the mosques, as well as inside these buildings, where Moslems were seen was.h.i.+ng hands or feet regardless of our curious eyes. Some of the drinking fountains are very large and beautiful. The fountain erected by Sultan Ahmed surpa.s.ses all others in grace of proportion and beauty of design. This magnificent structure is ornamented with carved arabesques, inscriptions in gilt, and delicately colored green tile. Above the water tap may be seen in Turkish characters the builder's mandate:

"Wayfarer, admire this beautiful work; turn the tap in the name of Allah; drink thy fill and bless the founder, Ahmed Khan."

CHAPTER X.

FROM THE BOSPORUS TO PALESTINE.

The program posted for Sat.u.r.day, February twenty-eighth, announced that the Moltke would leave Constantinople at nine o'clock in the morning for a trip to the Black Sea, a distance of thirty-five miles. As we sailed up the Bosporus, which narrows and widens, twists and turns, a succession of picturesque scenes opened up before us. Scattered along the sh.o.r.es, which for fifteen or twenty miles beyond Constantinople may be considered suburbs of that city, white marble palaces of the rulers, summer residences of the foreign amba.s.sadors, and villas of the wealthy Turks were seen interspersed with modern villages and ruined walls and castles of past ages. Pretty frame summer houses, groves of dark green cypress, gardens, boat-houses, and mosques added interest to the views.

"The sail up the Bosporus reminds me of one taken on the Hudson River, but the scenery on the banks is Oriental instead of modern," remarked one of the tourists.

"The old castles and ruined walls, and the legends connected with them, suggest the Rhine," commented another.

At the water's edge on the Asiatic side, a few miles from the city, we saw the beautiful white marble Beylerbey Palace, built in the year 1866 by Abdul-Aziz, the predecessor of the present Sultan, as a residence for his harem. For their pleasure he surrounded the palace with groves and gardens and established a menagerie in the grounds. About eight miles from the city all eyes were turned toward a hill on the European sh.o.r.e, where, above a cl.u.s.ter of buildings, the Stars and Stripes floated in the breeze.

"That is the American College, which is doing good work in Turkey. It was founded by Mr. A. Robert of New York, and is known as the 'Robert College,'" said the guide.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE TURKISH STUDENTS WAVED HATS AND FLAGS.]

As our steamer pa.s.sed the college, the Turkish students from roof, windows, and campus waved hats, handkerchiefs, and flags, and cheered energetically, and the tourists waved to them in return. Just beyond the college we pa.s.sed an old town surrounded by ancient towers and time-worn walls.

"This ancient stronghold," said the guide, "was known as the Citadel of Europe. The fortress commanded the Strait and enabled the Sultans of four centuries ago to levy toll on all pa.s.sing vessels. At this place, where the Bosporus is only about half a mile wide, the Persian ruler, Darius, with his army crossed on a bridge of boats to invade Greece.

Here also the Crusaders crossed on their way to free the Holy Land from the clutch of the Saracens."

[Ill.u.s.tration: LEVIED TOLL ON ALL Pa.s.sING VESSELS.]

The Moltke sailed into the Black Sea merely far enough to sweep around in a wide circle and then, returning through the Bosporus, pa.s.sed by Constantinople and entered the Sea of Marmora.

"It seems like parting with a dear old friend," said a tourist as we looked back on the fading domes and waved farewell to mosque and minaret. "We have seen so much of the city in so short a time. Every hour has been used to the best advantage in the Turkish capital."

Sunday, March first, was not to be a day of rest for the tourists; for the Moltke had arrived at Smyrna at daylight and was to remain in the harbor of that city only until dark.

The princ.i.p.al reason for a day's stay at Smyrna was to give an opportunity for an excursion by train to the site of ancient Ephesus.

Many of the tourists took this trip to see the few scattered ruins that mark the place where once stood the magnificent Temple of Diana. The clergymen of the party desired to view the place where the Apostle Paul had fought in the arena with wild beasts, and where Demetrius and his fellow silversmiths had led the rioters against this Apostle whose preaching interfered with the sales of silver shrines for Diana.

Other tourists, who did not take the excursion to Ephesus, explored the narrow, badly-paved streets of Smyrna, and visited the bazaars. This city would have seemed more interesting to us but for our previous visit to the more picturesque Constantinople. In a crowded street we encountered a flock of turkeys driven by a native. The turkeys appeared to understand the driver's commands and were more easily guided by a touch of his long switch than would be a flock of sheep pa.s.sing through a street in an American city.

Setting sail again, we pa.s.sed late in the evening the island of Patmos, where Saint John wrote the book of Revelations, and on Monday morning we saw at a distance the island of Rhodes, noted for its historic defense by the Knights of Malta. About nine o'clock Tuesday morning the Moltke anch.o.r.ed in the Bay of St. George some distance from the sh.o.r.e. On the surrounding hill slopes rose the city of Beyrout. Fresh-looking white and yellow tinted buildings, red-tiled roofs, and a background of green groves and orchards interspersed with white villas, gave the city an appearance of newness. The whole scene, with the snow-capped Mountains of Lebanon beyond, presented a beautiful picture to the eye.

"Beyrout has a population of 120,000, and is a prosperous, growing city," said one of the managers of the tour. "It is a centre of missionary work, and has American and German colleges. The old streets are narrow, as are all old streets in Eastern towns; but they are clean.

The newer streets are of modern width. Educational advantages, foreign enterprise, and European mercantile firms have infused new life into the native population."

[Ill.u.s.tration: LADEN WITH HUGE TIMBERS.]

Madame Barakat, a native of Syria, and a well-known lecturer and Bible reader, had very kindly given us letters of introduction to her Syrian relatives in Beyrout. Among these were Mr. Sarkis, a highly respected gentleman who had been honored by the Sultan with decorations for services to his country, and who was also an author and editor of a daily newspaper; and Mr. Sabra, his a.s.sistant, a tall, fine-looking man.

Another was the Rev. Mr. Zurub, pastor of the Congregational Church. The three gentlemen were able to converse in English as fluently as in their own tongue.

[Ill.u.s.tration: I. SCATTERED RUINS OF EPHESUS.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: II. WHERE ONCE STOOD THE TEMPLE OF DIANA.]

We were very cordially received by Mr. Sarkis, and, after meeting and conversing with the other gentlemen, were shown through their printing house, where Syrian type-setters were setting type to print Arabic letters that looked like shorthand characters, and Jewish girls were employed binding pamphlets. Our names were given to the printer, and in a few minutes he presented us with visiting cards containing the names in Arabic letters, thus:

[Ill.u.s.tration: Arabic script]

"Let us visit a candy factory while waiting for the carriages I have ordered," said Mr. Sabra. "I know that the ladies are fond of sweetmeats and I can guarantee these to be perfectly pure. We think that our candies are delicious," he added as we entered the factory, and the ladies agreed with him after eating some of the sweets.

The Syrians take pride in their city, in its factories, its hospitals, its seminaries and colleges, its progressive business spirit, and the beauty of its suburbs. We visited one of the silk factories where hundreds of Syrian girls were engaged in unwinding the coc.o.o.ns of delicate gossamer that had been tediously spun and wound by the silk worms among the leaves of the mulberry trees in the great orchards on the hillsides.

"On the slope of yonder mountain we have a villa in which we spend the hot summer months," said Mr. Sabra, pointing to the distant mountains as we reached an elevation from which a broad view was obtained. "If there had been time I would have taken you there to see one of the most beautiful views in Syria."

[Ill.u.s.tration: CACTI IN BEYROUT MADE AN IMPENETRABLE FENCE.]

"The landscape is magnificent as seen from here," we replied. The fruitful valley lay before us, beyond rose the verdant hills, and above all towered the stately mountains of Lebanon. Villages, hamlets, villas, exuberant gardens, orchards of spreading mulberry trees, graceful palms, fig, lemon, and orange trees enhanced the beauty of the scene.