Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1889-10-27
OUT OF BEATEN TRACKS.
SIGHTS AND CUSTOMS STRANGE TO THE
WESTERN WORLD.
The Great City of Constantinople-Trav
cling on the Black sea-Into
the Orient.
Especial Correspondence of the SUNDAY USIos.l
HABPooT Turkey in Asia,
Ganfaunhar O5 1890 (

HARPOoT Turkey In ASIA,
September %, 1889.
1t is with mingled feeling of awe and
expectation that one for the first time ap-
proaches Constantinople. If he has come
across Europe, the old castles of the
Rhine, the walls and moat OF Nuremburg
and the many ruins seen all along the
way have partially prepared him for the
old and the historical-but Constantinople
is more than that, this city was old before
long before, the castles of Germany were
thought of. 'The city of Constantinople, y
as it is now called in the American tongue
brings up thousand recollections to the
student; he seems to see, as he looks from
the deck Of his steamer at its hundred
minarets and its seven hills, wave after
wave Of war and siege and slaughter
sweep over its walls and gates-even now
magnificent in their ruin-he sees the
proud Xerxes attempting to chain the
rushing currents of the Bosphorus-
feels the earth tremble under the tread of
the barbarians of the north as they sweep
down upon the enervated culture and civ
ilization of the south.
But besides all this he is to get now his
first glimpse of the Orient-the land of
fables, Of Arabian Nights and of wild
fancy. He is stepping out of the pale of
western civilization into the border land,
where all races, all customs, all civiliza-
tions are strange. 1t is another world to
him; he hears undreamed of languages
SPOKEN, and sees every style Of dress, from
the dervish with single scanty, filthy
cloth about his loins, to the dude French
man rigged out with all the skill of his
tailor artist.
1t is a molly crowd one meets upon the
bridge that joins the old city of SIamboul
or, as it was once called, Byzantium, with
the modern city of Pera-all part of the
great Constantinople. There is not ma
tion on earth that has not its representa-
tive here upon this bridge, and each in his
native dress. The Russian and the Greek,
the Jap and the Indian. the Chinese and
the Egyptian, the priest and the peasant,
the Ruler of the Faithful and the pick
pocket, the ambassadors of all the world
and the leper, beggar, thief-all jostle one
another here at ten paras head. On one
side is the stir and whirl of the nineteenth
century, while from the other come the
odors of the must of the middle ages. This
is tfe dominion of the Sultan where are
to- ~ being fought the battles between
th bid and the new, between learning and
legend, between science and superstition.
If one comes directly TO Constantinople
without passing through Italy, his very
first impression is that he has reached the
dogs and beggars' paradise, where all good
(?) dogs and beggars have been forwarded
since time began to turn out such pro-
ducts. Persons who fear dogs and who
cannot endure the sight of deformed hui
manity should by no means enter the en-
porium of these wares. Much sympathy
is often sluandered upon some of these
deformed specimens of humanity, for fre-
quently they deform themselves for the
sake of the gain it brings, and their name
is worth more at the bank than is that of
their benefactor who drops coin into
their cup from his luxurious carriage.
But we will not spend much time in 60
ing over the city, for we ourselves have
seen it many times before, and hundreds
of tourists have written of its wonders, its
beauties and its slums. We will turn our
backs upon this two thousand years of his
tory, these one million inhabitants
(human, mean-the others would carry
the sum up beyond arithmetic into his her
mathematics), these minarets, and fezzes,
and ruins, grand old Saint Sophia, the
many modern, gjttering palaces. the Ori-
entail smells, the lew mud houses, the mar
row, filthy streets-we will leave all these
things with which you are already so
familiar and turn our faces toward the
rising sun-the true Orient, about which
you have heard little or nothing; for tour
lists never attempt to penetrate its myster-
les, and scientists have not yet found out
the road this way. You can depend upon
it, those who travel for pleasure do not
90 east .'by the Black Sea route" to beat
their own paths and make their own
maps.
The route we have chosen will taken us
the length of the Black Sea. Some one
may think of this sea as of no account. /
will simply say that it is long enough to
reach from Boston to Cincinnati, Ohio, or
from Chicago to the Black Hills, or nearly
from Denver, Colorado, to San Francisco.
1t is indeed sea, but with not an envia-
bic name; for like some men, when it is
excited it seems to be stirred all over.
Some have suggested that the "black" be-
longs to its nature not its color. 1t may
be so.
BY consulting one of the daily papers of
Constantinople, we learn that line of
Austrian steamers ply the Black Sea ports
When we came to embark a few hours
later we found our steamer anchored out
In the mid lie of the Golden Horn, with no
provision made for passengers to get there.
We hired one of the thousand small boats
that are lying about for such purposes, and
set out. When about to go up the ladder
a uniformed official Of the Turkish per-
suasion invited us to let him read our
passports. We take out. with considerable
flourish, the large formidable sheet bear
ing the American eagle that screams, our
name, Office, age, nose, hair and all, and
pass it over along with another docu-
ment secured in Constantinople, that
looked like Chinese puzzle, spatter work,
birds track and spots on the sun. The
first document the official seriously studied
bottom side up, the second he read over
and finally pronounced both satisfactory,
asked for present and let US proceed.
As we went up the ladder we little i'm
agined to what extent our feelings were to
be tried, our keener sensibilities shocked
beyond all reason. From my youth up
have regarded " FIRST come, first served, as
the fundamental truth of all civilization,
the foundation of our Government and al
most the creed nucleus of our religion. l
had considered that this principle was un-
changeable. wh lie governments rise and
fall and empires sink forever. But what
did find in my stateroom2 | found, not
nv baggage, but two great white-turbaned,
fur-colared (although it was warm
weather, blue-cloaked, heayy-bearded
Turks, with shoe toes high turned up and
deep satisfaction brooding upon their
countenauces. My goods were in the sa-
loon under the care of my servant. They
had been dumped there when he was out
side, and when he afterwards demonstrated
with the Captain he came near getting
thrown overheard for his trouble.
/ sought an early introduction to the
commander of the ship, and after | had
given him several brief and disconnected
extracts Of 4 Fourth-of-Ju July, T oturibuS
uauua extempore oration in French, Turk
ish ans, English all together, accompanied
by the proper gestures and accentuations,
hefnastened to my state-room and told the
-. ff-.-;-- +laf 10 had r,ada a saJ ,,;st.,l-..