The bee., 1884-04-12
How the Turks Are Buried.

When Moslem dies (writes Con-
stantinople correspondent if he is rich
enough, his family buys coffin. In this
he is placed, and in it he lies In state
until the time of his burial is at ha1d.
Sometimes he is carried into the mosque
and SO to the grave itself-but never any
farther. Before lowering into the ground,
the corpse is taken out and wrapped in a
cloth, while the coffin is given as
present to some mosque Here it is kept
in stock, and let out for small sum to
families who cannot afford to buy coffins
for their dead, but feel it incumbent to
keep up the dignity of the occasion.
For the very poor, those who look to
use rather than style, there hang in the
inner courts of the mosques a series of
boards shaped like coffin-lids, and, like
ready-made clothes, graded in size from
infant to adult makes. These are free to
all, and the relatives come and measure
and decide, take away a board, bury
their dead on it, and then return it to its
nail on the wall of the mosque. And
| there Is little time in ConstantinOple that
all these methods are not in demand
Aside from seasons of cholera and plague,
when the people daily die by thousands,
the regular death-rate of CONSTANT
nople is an appalling one. Bad drainage,
filth, poor food and personal slovenliness
keep the returns always full.
The Turks commonly select hill as
the site of graveyard. The drainage is
better, and then, too, the opportunity
remains for getting his headstone little
higher than that of his neighbor, which
is as dear to the Moslem as to his more
Christian brother. Nothing in the way
of expense is spared in erecting these
monuments, and many of them are mar
vels of curious workmanship. They are
all of one shape-a slab formed like
coffin-id, with the big end up, sur
mounted with neck and head of stone,
around which is wound turban. The
cut and arrangement of the turban varies
according to the rank of the former
wearer, and is painted red, blue, black
or yellow, according to his social station
in life. The adornment of the face of
the slab is open to the widest flights of
barbaric fancy. Nearly all bear flowers
gilded or painted upon them, the favor
ties being the water lily and the rose.
Closely pushing them, however, is nom
descript floral effort, more creditable to
their heraldic art than to their botanical
knowledge. Between the flowers are
sandwiched nice, closely printed cpl
taphs in gilt, that read up and down like
Inscriptions On q tea box, descriptive
of the virtues of the departed as discov-
cred by his bereavcd ones after death.
The Turks are very much afraid OF
dying themselves and never like to think
of death in any way As consequence
they appear peculiarly heartless about
their funerals. The body, in a coffin or
on a board, as the case may be, is Gov
cred with yellow cloth and laid in
litter. Then four brawny Turks lift up
the corners and set off as fast as they can
go to the mosque, and friends follow as
best they can. Nobody makes way for
the procession in the crowded streets,
and it often goes hard with the bearers
to dodge in and ou. among the horses
and carriages. In frcnt of the mosques
are slanting stones, on which the bodies
are rested while the priests and mourn
ers go in to pray. This finished, the
march is resumed until the grave is
reached. All but the mourners laugh and
gossip and poke fun at the bearers for
their awkwardness in lowering the corpse.
One of the latter jumps into the grave
and arranges the body, and when he has
scrambled out the diggers begin filling
in the dirt, and the party goes away.
There is no further show of sentiment,
and after the erection of a headstone,
little care is there whether the worms or
the dogs lunch on the departed.
Being fatalists, they know he is either
in torment or in glory, and while certain
that the same fate must come to them in
time, they don't want to be bothered
with the thought before it comes, and so
endeavor to forget the dead and death as
quickly and completely as possible.