Semi-weekly south Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1883-1889, 1885-02-06
proyIup 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 q 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
hy arched roofs, and continuous for
miles one with another, 80 that without
umbrella (for sunshine or rain) 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-untl one learns, as
he soon does, to pay not the slightest at.
tenton to any one, but to look around
him, apparently indifferent and unob-
servant OF the remarks and exhibitions
of goods-while inwardly you feel
yearning desire to knock over some inn
pudent man who takes you for a 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 il they were hands and
making complex furniture, veneered
beautifully with the simplest Of tools, (sC
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 his pur-
chaser at the door, and enter the nearest
mosque and say his prayers. (Infernally
aggravating when you have about con-
cluded q 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 theil
shoes again at the door as they go out.
1 several times felt strong inward
temptation, when at the door OF somepop
ular mosque, to gather up the queer col
lection of worshippers' shoes and fly will
them to start museum with.
On the boats, at sunset, the Moslem
TEEN in the midst of the crowd, utterl,
oblivious apparently, Of surroundings
bow to the earth repeatedly, seemingl,
uttering prayers toward Mecca, and tire
times touching the earth with the fore
head.
The bazaar workmen are, however, b
no means always Turkish, or even Nc
hammedan. They are of every race
many Jews, some Americans and Eng
fish, who have crept in. The fruit-sell
ers of the city are mostly Armenian
The strong-muscled porters (herculea
,, many of them whom one secs every
where in the streets carrying loads tha
tender-hearted man would not force hi
horse to pull, are many Of them Wa
lachian, Servian, Bulgarian or Roumt
liam. The merchants and artifcers, as
,, class intelligent-looking and pleasar
! countenances-are Greek. This is
, place of conglomerate nationality-th
, Turk ruling-the middle class Target
: Greek-the under classes Macedonian
1 etc. with mixtures in each class. I'll
: Circassain always either soldier, or,
woman, a bought wife in the harem (pr
+ nounced hd reem, the negro, (of 0
! shades of color Persian, Indian, Egg,
: tian, European, American "a few, ett
8 are commingled, and very picturesql
d crowd is the visible result.-Constant
nople Letter in Kokomo Tribune.