Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1889-09-12
THE SULTAN OF TURKEY.
THE GORGEOUS PAGEANT WHICH
ESCORTS HUN TO PRAYERS.

SO1b61OOo I0S2@<1N& W h4Sa
ESCORTS HUN TO PRAYERS
I,he Unspeakable Turks Personal Ap-
pearance-The Ceremony of the
STEAMBOAT in Gay Attire.
Att12 o'clock noon, every Friday, the
year round, the melodious voice of the
muezzin calls the faithful to prayer, from
the many hundreds of the minarets of
Stamboul, in Turkey. All good Mus
sulmans, the faithful children of the
prophet, no matter where they may be,
must repeat their short but expressive
prayer, as soon as the clock strikes II.
When the sovereigns of Turkey resided
exclusively in Stamboul proper they per-
formed their religious duties in St.
Sophia, at the celebrated mosque of
Achmed l., but since they have come to
live in the new palaces on the Bosphorus,
the selamlik takes place at Dolma- Back
she or at Beshik- -Tash. Mahmoud II.
used to go to the mosque of the Therapia
in his gorgeous caik, painted in gold and
white, the whole of the inside covered
with crimson velvet embroidered with
gold. He glided like swan on the blue
waters, propelled by the twenty-four
vigorous oarsmen dressed in white silk
tunics. But since the accession of the pres
ent Sultan to the throne the selamlik takes
place in the pretty mosque of Harmidic,
situated almost at the entrance of Yieldiz
! kiosk, and sometimes in that of Medisdie
at Dolma-Backshe.
1t is situated on the summit of hill
overlooking the palaces of Dolma-
Backshe and Tjerzan, and was built by
Abdoul Aziz as a summer residence. The
present Sultan made numerous additions
to it, however, and lives there the year
round.
The view from the palace is simply
superb. On the right hand side there is
a thick wood of cyprus trees, under which
the sons of the prophet are sleeping the
eternal sleep of the faithful. Beyond,
over the silvery surface of the Bosphorus,
you can see the magnificent dome of St.
Sophia in Stamboul, the sea of Marmora,
the isles of Pringhipo in the distance
and the Golden Horn. To the left, on
the Asiatic coast, lies golden Scutari (the
Chrysopolis of the ancients), with its
numerous minarets and its green hills.
Add to all this clear, perfumed, trans
lucent atmosphere, bright, rich light,
gorgeous colors, read Plato's description
of Cephessus and DIilton's of Paradise,
recite some verses of Theocritus, borrow
the colors of Rubens, and then you may
get feeble-a very feeble-idea of the
enchanting view from Yieldiz kiosk.
The whole Government of the Turkish
Empire is concentrated there.
A prolonged sound of trumpets was
the signal for the departure of the Sultan
from the palace. The troops presented
arms, the standards were raised to the
breeze, and finally the head of the pro-
cession appeared. Two aides-de- e-camp on
horseback, dressed in red and gold uni
|! forms, came first. Then followed the
Sultan himself in a fine carriage, drawn
by two magnifcently caparisoned black
horses, conducted by coachman of tow
ering height. This individual bears also
the title of Marshal of the Court. Or
the front seat were seated Namsk Pacha,
now ninety-two years old, and Gazzi Os
man Pacha, the hero of Plevna. On the
. back seat, alone, serious and dignifed
sat the Sultan Hamid H., one of the mos
intelligent and industrious sovereigns Of
! Europe.
Contrary to the custom of his prede
cessors Hamid 1I.was very plainly dressed
in the uniform of Marshal of the En-
pire, red fez on his head and scimita
, at his side, the scabbard of which was O
a embroidered crimson velvet. The han
die was of gold, but without any precious
| stones. He was cheered by the troops
s as he was passing, with the greeting
"Patishahim Tchsck Yasha," whicl
means ''many years to the patisha," th'
= ordinary formula of the Turkish salute
a His carriage was surrounded by his aides
de-camp, some Generals, few German
officers now in his service, the chief o
' the eunuchs and one soldier from eacl
=, regiment of the imperial guard. Whel
the cortege approached the mosque tn
voice of the muezzin was heard Callin!
d the faithful to prayer.
}, The procession stopped in front of
it pavilion connected with the mosque AM
n through this the Sultan entered tn
sacred building. Everybody bowed dow
y to the ground when the Sultan alighte
d from his carriage. His brilliant suit
9 entered the mosque by the principal en-
It trance. .t
The service did not last more tina
n thirty minutes. Then his majesty az
:. peared at one of the windows of the pa
it vilion mentioned above, and from thu
10 place he reviewed the troops. At tn
head of them marched four gigantic A
,v banians with long boards and leath'
" =" aprons, carrying hatchets and followed b
e E Albanian zouaves, belonging to h
.. " majesty's bodyguard. Besides the req
= lation army these men carried, in the
ia leather belt, long yatagan,a a dagger an
" revolver. This would appear rath'
odd on regular soldiers, but those A
banians carried their extra arsenal wit
ease and almost with grace.
ID A select body of marine infantry fo
ic lowed, carrying an immence black fla!
h. o1 ~ +bo