The evening times., 1895-10-07
NO MORE SUBLIME PORTE
That Famous Gateway Abandoned IS 1
Entrance to Turkish Offices.
Queer Actions Among Tilted People
In Several Lands Which Have
Caused Gossip There

Sultan Abdul Hamed has decided upon 4
change which, while it gives boundless sat
isfaction to the European and progressive
element of Constant tinople, is arousing an
immense amount of Indignation and alarm
among the old Turks and the devotees of the
Mohanmedan religion. 1t is the removal
of the department OF foreign affairs, and in
fact OF nearly all the government offices,
including the grand vizierate. from that
portion Of the old seraglo, for centuries
known as the sublime porte.
So great is the role which this gateway
and buildings at the entrance to the serag-
lilo has filled in the history OF Turkey thatt y
has actually given its name to the entire
empire The foreign embassies have been
described as accredited to the sublime
porte and when international treaties have
been made it is always with the sublime
porte" that they are stated TO have been
made, neither the Sultau's name nor the
Ottoman government being mentioned,
as rule, in the official documents.
The actual sublime porte is a very high
and semi circular archcd gateway, COW
cred with Arabic inscriptions and guarded
not OILY py SeHJiutis. but dlSo Ds a pSIAAiu-
nent staff of no less than fifty porters. On
either side of the gateway are inches, in
which. up TO the present reign, the heads
of state offenders used to be exhibited te
the public.
All the old traditions Of the Turkish EN-
pire since its establishment at CONSTANT
nople are associated with this gate. Hence
one can realize the effect created among
the conservative population by the news
that the government offices, and in par
ticular the department of foreign affairs,
are to be transferred to the European quar-
ter on the hill above Pera, overlooking
the Golden HsSn. and on the site of the
old Italian embassy.
The faithful regard it as the beginning
Of the end, and this, taken in conjunction
with the orders given by the Sultan for the
sanitation of the holy city OF Mecca, the
cleansing Of the sacred wells there, ard
the concession of Christian administration
to Armenia, convinces the old Turks that
the Sultan has sold himself body and soul
to the Giaour, and that the moment 10 de-
pose him has come.
this remarkable move on the part of the
Sultan is attributed is the new minister
of foreign affairs, Tourkhan Pasha. He is
a tail, handsome and polished man OF the
world, most suave in manner and sound
statesman. He was minister at Madrid for
a number of years, where he was much ap-
preciated, and is distinctly a modern and
up-to-date Turk who perceiyes that the
only hope of saving bis country is by placing
the entire administration upon more
civilized and progressive basis.
In these ideas he is supported by the
grand vizier, nickDamed Little Said" on
account of his diminutive stature, the most
thoroughly honest man In the Sultan's
domtnions. Thus, the pay attached to his
post Is $1,000 q month, identically the
same sum that the Secretary of State at
Washington receives IN the way of salary
for an entire year. Although he Is a very
poor man he has absolutely declined to
accept or draw more than one-tbird OF his