The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1881-12-30
Praying Workmen of COnstantinOple,

In the bazars of Stamboul the work
men and statesmen (there are no women
employed in these bazars-Turkish opin-
ion will not permit it, are of the male
sex only. Eunuchs are not infrequent,
and are easily recognized at a glance
from other black men, but are never
other than harem servants or managers
of the household. As one loiters through
these bazars some queer things are seen.
The bazars, properly so called, are mar
row streets OF shops, covered from rain
by arched roofs, and continuous for
miles one with another, so that without
umbrella for sunshine or rainy one can
go through them protected. The floors
are damp stones or packed clay-they are
dark and one goes up and down steps
from one to another so that progression
is unpleasant. The personal solicitation
of the statesmen is something painful
and very annoying-until one learns, as
he soon does, to pay not the slightest at
tentlon to any one, but to look around
him, apparently Indifferent and unob
servant of the remarks and exhibitions
of goods-while inwardly you feel a
'
pudent man who takes you for fool.
While you pass along looking at some
workman making something in the skill
full yet clumsy way they work, with tools
unlike, often, anything you ever saw
using feet as if they were hands and
making complex furniture, veneered
beautifully with the simplest of tools, $50
few as to make the work seem Incredibly
10 the worker will turn about with
his back to the door and crowd-seem
to read his Koran-and lose himself in
prayer or walk off, leaving bis pur-
chaser at the door, and enter the nearest
mosque and say his prayers. INTERNALLY
aggravating when you have about con-
Guided a desirable purchase y In the
mosques one sees them enter, after wash
ing their feet, pray reverently and alb
sorbedly towards Mecca, (the altar of the
mosque is always placed so that praying
towards it is praying towards Mecca, }
and reverently depart, putting on their
shoes again at the door as they go out.
/ several times felt strong inward
temptation, when at the door of some pop
ular mosque, to gather up the queer col
lection OF worshippers' shoes and fly with
them to start museum with.
On the boats, at sunset, the Moslems
TEEN in the midst of the crowd, utterly
oblivious apparently, of surroundings,
bow to the earth repeatedly. seemingly
uttering prayers toward Mecca, and three
times touching the earth with the fore
head.
The bazaar workmen are, however, by
no means always Turkish, or even No
hammedan. They are of every race;
many Jews, some Americans and Eng
hsh, who have crept in. The fruit-sell-
ers of the city are mostly ArmeL ian.
The strong-muscled porters (herculean
many of teleml whom one sees every
where in the streets carrying loads that
a tender-hesorted. ran would not force his
horse to pull, are many of them Wal
lachian, Servian, Bulgarian or Roume-
liam. The merchants and artifcers, as a
class intelligent-looking and pleasant
countenances-are Greek. This is a
place of conglomerate nationality-th
Turk ruling-the middle class largely
Greek-the under classes Macedonian,
etc. with mixtures in each class. The
Circassain always either soldier, or, if
woman, a bought wife in the harem (pro-
nounced hG reeno,) the negro, (of all
shades of COLOR Persian, Indian, Egyp-
tian, European, American Ga few, etc.
are comminngled, and very picturesque
crowd is the visible result.-C Constant.
nopte Letter in KokOn1o Tribune.