San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1891-10-10
THE WOMEN OF TURKEY.
There Are Few Beauties Among
Them, and Their Dress Is
Very Untidy.

Philadelphia Record.
A fiue chance to see the Turkish
people, and most particularly tho wo-
men, is to go on Friday afternoon to
the Sweet Waters, Sweet means simp-
Iy fresh. Two OF these fayOrite spots
exist, one on the Asian and one
on the European side. We found it
q pleasant drive to the latter of near
ly an hour, through the city and
over the barren country hills. At
the end was a green valley, through
which flowed the upper waters of the
Golden Horn. Along the bank were
syca N ,es a I'd weeping willows, just
coming into leaf. Over the meadows
blossomed forget-me-nots md the tail
snow-drops. On mats stretched by
| the waters edge reclined yelled We
men.
Their shoes were thrown off, and
they lounged upon piles of cushions
in at Ill de- as unconcernei lfln the
d pths OF their secluded homes.
| Children played around. Gypsies
wandered mere and there singing
gay songs, begging and selling how-
| ers; men with water jars were every
where, blinking glasses to announce
their approach. 30 were the candy
| merchants everywhere, and the fancy
bread merchants and the orange mer-
chants. Lines of carriages passed
slowly back and forth, in which were
the flowers of the harems, too care
full of themselves to take their plea
sure outside. We looked eagerly for
beauties, and in rare cases were not
disappointed, but we must confess
that the majority OF these tar-famed
Turkish danes were unattractlve.
There were handsome dresses, sal
mon, pink and light blue seeming to
he the favorite colors, with elegant
embroidery. The wells of white
muslin were becoming as they are
pictured. But the lovely eyes, the
a Ia baster complexion, the numberless
charms 80 often described, were con-
picuous by their absence. Many car
riages contained gentlemen, often
officers in uniform. They, like our
selves, all appeared interested in the
ladies carriages.
This same impression we carried
with US throughout our stay in Con-
stan tinople. We constantly saw wo
men upon the streets, for they go
out as freely as women anywhere,
but we almost never saw q pretty
one. Whether they are closely
guarded ard never allowed outside
the harem, while the plain ones are
allowed to follow their own sweet
will, we may only conjecture. We
frequently saw women III companies
together the gay colors of their outer
garments making atiOwer garden
etfett in the street. A women when
she goes out puts thin veil oyer her
face and then draws about her the
outer covering which is 10 hide
her from the world. This is
gathered somewhere in the mid
die and fastened about th O
| waist, the lower part falling straight
| to the ankles: the upper half is then
held up over the head, drawn across
! the temples and pinned on each side
the veil, leaving the arms free to
hold the wing like parts lett around
The body. She almost invari anle
carries parasol matching or har-
monizing with the shawl. This we
surmised, was to hold down over the
face when the veil proved in sufficient
protection Tor there was often no eX-
cuse of sun or rain. There is nothing
pretty in this get up beyond the silk
| of the shawl. The shoes are general
| ly snpshod and the ankles ugly. The
undersklrts are all drawn up around
ner and pinned, bulgiug out the
shawl wardly.