Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-08-22
ABDUL HANDS, HOUSEKEEPING.
Women Have No Voice Whatever in
Its Management.
From the Leisure Hour.

From the Leisure Hour.
1t is estimated that over six thousand per-
sons are fed daily at his Dolma Bagtche Palace
when the sultan is there. One who is well in
formed gives a graphic picture of the sultan
housekeeping. He admits that it is clear that
there is good executive ability in the manage
ment Of his enormous household, for there is
scarcely ever a jar or q hitch. even under the
impulse of the most untimely demands. Every
different department. is under the control of
person who is directly responsible for that, and
he has q corps Of servants and slaves under his
orders, who obey him only and he is subject
to the treasurer OF the household.
Women have no voice whatever In the man.
agement Of anything in any department
Their sole occupation il to wait npon their
respective mistresses or to serve the sultan in
some specified capacity; and the labor about
the palace is subdivided that no one works
very hard except the lord high chamberlain
and treasurer Of the household. The chamber
lain is mostly occupied in administering to the
wants and caprices OF the sultan, and is in al
| most constant attendance upon him; SO the
treasurer of the household has the burden of
the housekeeping on his burly shoulders. He
| has an organized force of buyers, who are
each charged with the purchase Of Ger
tain supplies for their individual de-
partments. each having his helpers servants
aud slaves.
One man is charged with the duty Of supply
ing all the fish, and a. to furnish fish for at
least six thousand persons is no light undertake
ing in place where there are no great mar
kets such there are in all other large cities,
he has to have about twenty men to scour the
various email markets and buy of the fisher
men, and each OF these men has two others to
carry the fish they buy. About ten tons Of fish
q week nre required. There are nearly eighteen
thousand pounds OF bread eaten daily, for the
Turks are large bread caters, and this is all
baked in the enormous ovens situated at some
distance from the palace.
The food for the sultan is cooked by one man
and his aids and no others touch it, 1t is
cooked In silver vessels. and when done each
kettle is sealed by slip Of paper and a stamp
aud this il broken in the presence of the sultan
by the high chamberlain. who takes one spoon
| full OF each separate kettle before the sultan
tastes it This is to guard against poison. The
food 10 almost always served up to the sultan
in the same vessels in which it was cooked and
these are often OF gold, but when Of baser
metal the kettle is set into u rich golden bell
| shs ped holder the handle OF which is held by
a slave while the sultan eats. Each kettle rep
resents a course aud is served with bread and
a kind of pancake. which is held on golden
tray by another slave. The sultan never uses
| plate. He takes all his food direct from the
little kettles, and never uses q table and rarely
a knife or FORK spoon. his bread, pancake
! or fingers are found far handler. It requires
just twice many slaves ~ there are courses
to serve q dinner to him.