Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1864-12-29
VOL. XVIII
--7 STaIs LlbrtIv
LEADER.
some Thines About turkish Women.

! Some Things ADOut Turkish women
Prof FELTON,, in his Familiar Letters
from Europe" gives the following inter
| esting picture of Turkish life and manners
] 1t is a common notion that the women
lead 8 very retired life, in the seclusion Of
the harem. Nothing can be more erro.
neous In passing up and down the Bos-
phorus, nearly half the passengers were
| Turkish women. Three times a whole hs-
rem, consisting of fifteen or twenty women
partly wives, partly slaves-came on
/ board, from the palace of some rich old
Turk, under the care of a black guard,
with terrific sword by his side 10 60 down
to Constantinople on a frolic; or, perhaps,
to go shopping in the bazaars.
They were dressed in various eolors-
| green, blue, mouse-colored and pink. The
veil or yashDlah, was drawn over the fore
head, and the lower part of the face, up to
| the middle of the nose, leaving only
space for pair of very black eyes TO flash
out. ! never could help laughing at the
| figure the negresses made under this dis
guise. took some pains TO watch this
people, and twice ] happened TO be In the
same part of the boat where they sat.
| They laughed and chsttGd with one an
ing around them, as merrily as so many
Christians-- Now and then, If the face
was pretty-and there are many pretty
fsces-the y0shmah would be gradually
Withdrawn, and I had the opportunity of
observing quite at my leisure.
In eEch hRrem there were two or three
Circassian ladies of the most exquisite
beauty. These we're probably the thirty
4 a-f. d. a
variety in their expression. Some of the
women arc immensely fat, and they roll
along, bundled up in their robes, in the
most ludicrous manner. Oae Of the most
lsughabe sights I ever saw was an old
Turkish lady, with pair of spectacles on
her nose, and exactly filling the aperture of
the yasAmah, while she was eagerly cheap
ening q piece of silk. The common women
run about, loC king like bundles of dirty
linen going 10 tho wash Of their own &C.
cord others, little higher up in the So
csal scale, look like bundles Of linen com
ing home fro the wash 1t is very anus
ing 10 see the little girls of ten or twelve
years How any Of them keep their clothes
on / cannot imagine.
When the Sultan went to the mosoue
the windows of the houses along the
streets, though protected by .jaJousics,
were filled by black eyes pecping curious
ly out and very fat Turkish lady, with
about thousand yards of Brousa silk
wound around her, stopped her carriage
Just Were we were stsLding, and waited
to SEQ His Highness pass. Nearly oppo-
site the palace is low, broad wall, the top
of which was covered with green, pink,
yellow and mouse -cOlored bundles con-
tsining women, with negrcsses in atten-
danca.
In the afternoon Cf the same day (Fri-
day, the Turkish Sabbsth) wetook csique
and rowed to the "Sweet Waters" on the
AsiatIc side of the Bosphorus This is q
lavorite resort, being a little valley, with
stream, and trees ovorshadowing it. Hero
VIC found large number Of ~ kish la
dies, with their attendants, reclining on
carpets, bolstered mp by luxurious cushions,
and slipping their coffee OF sherbet, while
their lords were amusing themselves in an
her part Of the ground. Some of these
again were beautifnl but OF the saHo or
der with those 1 have already mentioned,
and .carcelE 70 be. be ditSaj4gub9db fFaS3 of
Gypsi s-very merry and very saucy.
Do you know what an aydJg is2 l will
explain. An ARABIA is the highth of fash
ion and LUXURY and employed in tho very
best of society. 1t is clumsy carriage,
like very old-fsshioned family coach,
drawn by q yoke OF the white oxen of
Asia. The inside is covered with a thick
bed, and the sides lined with cushions.
Here lies buried the Turkish beauty, on her
way to sip her coffee at the "Sweet Water
lrT 1ofb 30 or To-.
enjoyment than Circassian dame rolling
about II the ARABIA, as her cxen, driven by
couple of turbRned Turks, or an Ethio
plan slave slowly dreg thsancient machine
along the road.
wIyEs AND THEIR COST.
Polygamy is approved by the Koran,
and is universal among the rich classes.
The best men in Turkey-the men who
have European reputation, like Reschid
Pachs, the Minister of Foreign Affairs
have harems of wives and slaves, no one
can tell how many. The Sultan has in
numbersble wives and increases their
number every ye II. 1t is a common prsc-
tice of the great Pachss TO send him on
every occasion Of the great festivals, q
present of a handsome young woman,
whom they have bought of their parents
for this purpose; and there is nothing dis
reputable to them, OF to the girl, in this;
on the contrary it is high aud enviable
honor to her.
and the Sultan can pay no greater COM
pIment TO the proudest dignitsry of his
empire than to make him q present of one
Of his wives. 1 was assured by Greek
physician, who had large practice among
all the nstionalities of Constantinople
thai infanticide is fearfully prevalent Fe.
male children are articles of commerce.
They are purchased by dealers when young
and cal lefully brought up, for sale. These
however, are not slaves, but wives. They
are taught 10 dance and to play on somt
musical instrument, but nothing more, and
their health is carefully attended to. The
price Of a wife-say from eighteen e
twenty-five year, of sge-varies from ff
teen to twenty thousand piastTes; that is
from thonsand to twenty-five hundred
dollars, according TO her personal attrao
tions and The supply of the market.
/ general Sherman is described by Cap