Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1875-08-04
Turkish Cafes.

4
square, arched and whitewashed, encir-
cled by wainscot about six feet high,
and a species of divan, covered with
straw mating. Iu the middle-and this
is the most elegant point Of detail-a
fountain of white marble throws up a
stream of water which falls again in
various streams and clouds of spray. In
a corner burns a furnace, over which
the coffee Is made, cup by cup, as re-
auired, in little brass coffee-pots, capa-
bic of holding but single cup each. To
the walls are attached shelves laden
with razors, near which hang several lit
| tie pearl-mounted mirrors in which the
customers can see whether their boards
are arranged to their taste; for, in Tur-
key every cafe is. also barber's shop;
and. while smoke my chibOuque and
sip my coffee. in comes fat Turk with
a parrots nose, and a lean Persian with
an eagles beak, TO have their boards
dressed; while a young Greek i'm front
of me is pomading his moustache and
painting his eyebrows, which he has
first equalized by means of small pair
of pincers. The idea is prevalent that,
according to the rule of the Koran, the
Turks absolutely prescribe all images"
and regard the products of the plastic
arts as works of idolatry; but although
this is true in principle, it is not rigor-
ously sustained, and the cafes are deco
rated with all sorts of prints of the
oldest choice and taste without appear
ing at all to scandalize the orthodox
MussulmaD. The Cafe of the Foun-
tain, among others, has quite a gallery
of prints; and so ogrOtesquely character
t-ri.. ,haf \ fnrhxla To a 70
of them: The Turban of Dervish; A
Santon Tanning Red Lion; Animals,
by Victor Adam Warriors of khorassan,
with ferocious moustaches and cimiters,
and mounted upon horses who seemed
to have six legs each; Napoleon at the
Battle of Ratisbon; The Young Spanish
Girl; Turkish Ships and Caiques; Com
bat between twenty-five Frencbmen
and two hundred Arabs; Emperor
of Russia and his august Family; Bat
tie of Austerlitz; President of the
United States; Old Parr; Daniel Lam
bert; The Balloon of Tomask; A Lion;
A Goat; \ View of the Arsenal and
Mosques, &c. All these in frames,
worth about penny each. This extra
ordinary n,elonge occurs in all the cafes
with slight variations of subject. Turk
forms these grotesque combinations.
Sirens swim at the side of steamboats,,
and the heroes of Schah-Nameh bran
dish their battle axes above the old SOL
diers OF the Empire. 1t is delightful to
take, in these cafes, after iatiguing
walk through the streets, a tiny cup OF
their dark and turbid coffee, brought to
you by black-eyed youngster, on the
fip- Of hiS fnnara In catvar af ailvor
filigree: and it proves more truly re-
freshing than any iced drink which you
could obtain. To the cup of coffee is
usually added a cup of pure water,
which the Turks drink before, and the
Franks after; and there is character
istic anecdote current on this very SUBJ
ject. A European, who spoke the East |
crn language perfectly, wore the Mus
sulman costume like a native, and had
acquired the bronzed complexion of the
climate, was, nevertheless, recognized
as a Frank in little obscure Syrian
cafe, by a ragged Bedouin incapable,
certainly, of discovering a fault in the
pure Arabic dialect of the detected for
eisner. "By what have you discovered
me 10 be- Frank?'' said the European,
a. much annoyed as Theophrastus,
W
grocer in the market at Athens, because |
he had misplaced an accent. "You drank |
your water after your coffee" replied
the Bedouin. Every one carries his |
own tobacco i'm box, the cafe supply |
ing only the chibouque-the amber |
mouth-piece of which Is incapable of
retaining any impurity from use-and
the narghiie, a complicated apparatus |
10 xvrt,II har hor dffTfar1f tn 1tror
about with you. The price of the cup |
of coffee is twenty paras, or one penny |
farthing; and IL you give piastre, or |
twopence halfpenny, you are quite a
magnificent person. The money is drop |
ped into box pierced with hole, IA |
regular child's money-box,) which Is |
Turkey, the first beggar In rags who |
comes in seats himself on the divan be-
side the most sumptuously-dressed Turk
without eliciting any sign Of aversion
or displeasure from the latter, certain |
classes have, nevertheless, their habi-
tual places of resort, and the ''Cafe of
the Marble Fountain" situated between
Serai- Bournou and the mosque of Yeni-
Djami, is one of the most frequented in
all the town. A charming little cir
tumstdieCs puiCis loSdi anu OiiCutdly
gives poetic tinge 10 this cafe in the
eyes of a European. The swallows have
made their nests in the arch of the CELL
ing; and, as the front is always open.
they dash in and out again with that
peculiar ''swOop" which characterizes
them, bringing food to their young and
chirping as they pass, without showing
the least fear of the inmates. whose
spiral columns of smoke they often dis
turb, aud even against whose fez or tur-
ban they often Craze their wings. The
younglings, with their heads peeping
over the brink of the nests, gaze curl |
ously, but TRANQUILITY, upon the CUSTOM
ers who come and go. or are lulled to
sleep by the gush of the fountain, or the |
bubbling of the narghiles. 1t Is very
pretty sight to witness this fearless con-
sdence in man, on the part Of the birds,
and TO see these nests actually within |
this crowded cafe: bur it Is known that |
the Orientals, however cruel. sometimes,
to man, are exceedingly gentle to ami
mails. and have the faculty of winning
their affection and inducing them to ap-
proach. habitually and voluntarily. But, |
then, they never disturb the animals, as |
the Europeans do, by their noisy rest
L, = l.