Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1896-08-27
THE CEMETERY AT souTARl.
Why tho Osmanii Prefer to lie Buried nj
That Particular Place.

That Particular Place.
"Aid why do the Osmanli prefer
Scutari as burial place to any other''
"Because it is there the trumpet OF
the archangel will be first heard. Tho
true believers who lie at Scutari will
first rise to answer it; next the faith
ful from the other parts of the earth.
After that the Hebrews, and, lastly,
Giaours, who follow other gods"
Thus spoke a grave old turbaned
Turk, who stood beneath cypress tree
on the slopes of the world-famed ceme'
terry on the Sea of Marmora.
"All Know" he went on, in calm
judicial accents, "that when the last
days of the world are drawing near
the Osmanli will be driven forth from
Stamboul by the Frank. Then, for
space, there will be trouble and turmoil
on the earth; all Sons of the Faithful
will fly to Scutari as refuge; there
they, the living and the dead alike, will
await the Day of Judgment"
With that, thinking it was a hurt to
his dignity to parley longer with a
Giaour, he gathered his robes about
him, saluted majestically, then passed
slowly away down to the gates of the
cemetery, leaving the stranger to wan
der at his pleasure through that forest
of tall tombstones standing erect.
The coup d'aeil is picturesque in the
extreme As far as one can see, the
long, slender shafts of marble rise be-
meath the shadow Of the massive cy-
presses-the Tree of Allah, the Osmanl
call it, which points its finger to the
sky-whle the luXWiant vegetation OF
the east clusters around the base OF
the slabs, emphasizing their snowy
whiteness and preventing them from
being too dazzling to the eye.
Each tomb bears its own decoration
A Single leanet, the dropping petals oil
n rose. or a graceful frond OF fern indi
cate that female form lies below. a
turban or fez shows that the dead per
son was man. lamps, ostrich eggs.
sashcs, fringed and colored handker.
chiefs of varied hue, all have theiI
own Specification; while here and there
will be some tall stone, sculptured from
end to end, its ornamentation in high
relief, encircled by a number of small
cr ones, which proves that the father
of family--a man of wealth-rest;
here surrounded by his wives and chill
dren. A curved scimitar shows that o
man Of war reposes here; an anchor
marks the sleeping place of sailor; q
wand of Office proves that the dead
man held some post of command. Sc
on, till something is learned of all, even
though one may not be able to deciphel
the fantastic Arabic characters whici
tell with more detail the history of the
dead.
The terms inwhich the Turk expresses
his lamentations are often very pathet
ic, especially when they refer to the
loss of his wife or child.
Here is one, taken from the tomb of 6
young girl, which eifectually combat.
the common western delusion that thu
Osmanli believe that women are borr
without souls or hope of future life:
"The cold blasts of fate caused thii
nightingale to wing its way to Heaven
There it has found its awaited bliss
Zeinab is the name of her who lies be
low, and for her Lababa, who wrot'
these lines, offers humble petition
Weep not for her, for, though dead
she has become sojourner in TIL
Gardens Of Pnradise. ."-St. Pauls.