The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1889-12-13
TWO GREAT CITIES.
squalor and Filth in Athens and Oon.
stantinople.

Lucy hre MOI sueh ATTRACTIVE Places ~
Some People supposs-sp Specially Disagree
able Features Of constantinople ple-view Of
an Old Traveller.
Nature has showcred every blessing
on tho capital of tho Turk which she
had in her gift. There is not IL more
enhancing spot in the universe than
tho Golden Horn and its shores, SAYS a
writer in tho Chicago Herald. 1t is
not so with Athens. Approach the
present capital Of little Greece from
whichever side you will, come up from
the Pir;rus, the harbor or from tho
interior of Attica, the landscape in
which the city lies is desolatc, rock
strcwed and unfcrtile. And the city
itself lf-wcll, there are Il few tolcmbly
handsome streets. there is Il fine build
Ing serving us tho royal palace, and
the pretty squares. But that is all.
The two principal streets are far from
attractive, and ninety-nnc out OF every
one hundred houses are unspcakably
homely, with no attempt at architect
ure-small, bare AMI ramshacklc.
There are no sidewalks. most of the
streets are unpavcd, and while it is
true that Athens is not us muddy aud
filthy us most oricntal towns, owing to
its rocky, dry soil and tho favorable
climate, it is still much more filthy and
muddy than any town in this country.
Add to this the dust, hllnding and
singing, forever driven about before
the winds tho whole under broiling
sun and a sinoll of rancid olive oil
from tho open air cooking -pervading
the air und hanging over the town like
n pail. and you have just about truth
full sketch of what Athens is like on IL
day like this
But Coustantinop!c9'
"Ah, Yes. Well, if you conjurc up
before your memory the picture of Chi
caso just after the big fire. with smoke
bcsrimcd ruins everywhere and an air
OF general disorder, rccIscssness and
confusion, and If you add to this about
ooo per cent more OF sticky mud and
loo times more Of rotting refuse,
gal lbage and filth than there ever wa,
ut any time on our streets. not forget
ting to plump down in every block and
alley i. score each of ravcnous growl-
ing. fighting. woliish-lookins ours,
which refuse to stir and let you pass,
you'll have II faint idea of what Con-
stantinople is. The fact is. u man can
not imagine what Il ttnd-forsal1cn place
Constantinoplc is until he SECS it with
his own eyes. Dogs AMI mill. These
are thetwo main features of ii. Sewers
i'll the middle of the street, open and
with srcenish scum on the top of the
ill-snclling contents: no sidewalks in
the town; n0uc of tho streets paved
with cObble stones. but most of them
having nothing hut the original mud
knec-dccp in places and anklc-,lccp
everywhere else; heaps Of all sorts of
refuse lying in the street. with every
little while. Il horde OF the only sravcn-
ger the town has. the world-famcd
savage dogs. the NANCY ours of the size
Of Il timber wolf, bowling by night aud
growing and fighting by day.
sleeping in the sun in the middle
OF the roadway. ;.nd ohliginy all
way Or stop over them. Imagine "a
labyrinth of narrow. winding lanes.
many not wide enough for four mcu to
walk abreast. and then imagine tl,uvcs
Of cattle. horses with c:lrcassc, of
slaughtered sheep strapped to their
backs. mules ana donkcys with vast
burdens, all passing through them.
All this will give you buta flint notion
oftonstantinoplc. Of course Stlmboul,
the purely Turkish town. Is tho worst
IN all thS:se rcslects. Ihc thorough
fares bear no names and the only
means to find your way without IL guide
is to inquire from mosque to mosque
and from bazir to kilz;Lr
But are there not many fine build
ings in Stamboul9" asked the oriental
enthusiast.
mo, not man}. There uro Il few,
probably " .cotu of them altogether.
including the snltan's palaces. There
Is the Top kapi Scra, or the Old Snrli,
complex OF buildings and grounds.
some of which u,p fine. but which was
partially destroyed by fire years ago.
and which at present is used mainly rs
last resort for suporanuatcl Llrcm
beauties.
Then there is the Sublime Porte
Sublime Porte! Pshaw! Tho Turks
call it l'abi Ali (Gaso OF AID or PaSha
kapuesi (lLur uf tho Pitshas). II is
the building in which the Offices of the
grand vizicr and OF the ministers OF the
interior and of foreign affairs are locat.
cd. 1t is IL building which is ,u,narls;l-
bic for nothing hui, i, tino white marble
gate wish an impudcnt Turkish in
scrlp,lnn in gilt letters. and for the
past associations with Turkish gran.
dcur
by far the larger Eninbcr OF houses
are mere .lliht,cs, constructed in hap
i,alar, fashion out of smoke -bcgrimcd
stones or w0rIn-catcn wood. The vast
sea of those ignoblc houses IL marked
by crooked lanes. aud ,hfs monOtony is
broken ta.o nnd there By stretches Of
ruins old and modern. many of them
still dating from the taking OF tic city
by the Turkish conQn"rGla IN ij3. and
in those the s!.;.It,.ill and the owl dwell
peacefully together. In the narrow
streets the cooks are ctcrnally at wmls
on their kabobs -brOiled hits OF mutton
fankcd with chuEks of tallow, and the
odor wi.h that Of rancid olive oil per-
v;lics the air all through the town.
True, there are 2,:IH mosques in
Constantinoplc. N. Greek churches,
3G3 synugngucs. 2GO moslem converts,
ten Catholic churches and u few En-.
g!i,h ana German protestant churches
and their spires. cupolas and minarots
stand au, beautifully, like forest OF
,ins,s In a sen OF houses. when one is
viewing the city from the Bosphorus.
But when on shore and seeing those
houses of worship in all their shabhincss
and buried right and left in the midst
of those sIuail buildings. they are not