Evening star., 1897-02-13

town of 100000 Inhabitants, with many
Christian and Jewish residents, with one
hotel rather better than a khan, and with
railroad station four miles away. The
vide rivers which compass 1t are spanned
by stone arch bridges. The streets are
miserably narrow and dirty, though the
road by which We came was SO fine. The
bazaars are native and sgualid, there is
no light or life in the evening, except near
the station. The mortality must De very
great, as the drinking water is all from
polluted wells, and as half the town is
flooded when melting SHOWS in the Balkans
send the rivers up.
The policeman vanished like magic to
report to his superiors, while we set out
to find some one to whom We could talk.
There is no American or British consul in
the place, but the Austrian consul kindly
sent his dragolnan and his assistant to in
terpret for US. Then further complica-
ton arose. 1t was Friday, the Motamme-
dan Sabbath, and the head pasha was taxi
ing day off from pashaing. However, the
dragoman trotted off to md him at his
hCme, and at about $50 o'clock brought
back big sheet of paper and little one.
both covered with hieroglyphics which at
tested US to be Turks of ancient lineage
and first-rate fellows, as nearly as l can
make out. At any rate it is exactly like
the passports the Turks themselves carry,
and I'm going to hang it up somewhere if
| ever get it home.
/ had to pay a moderate fine for breach
of the Ottoman passport laws, and, Ct
course, a fee to the dragoman for his
errand. The driver Of the coach agreed to
stay and take US to the railroad station in
the evening. He had then to return TO
Mustapha Pasha next day, but for the en-
tire job charged only 81. With the two ex-
ira francs 1 gave him as bakshish, he sat
down beside us in the station cafe and for
mally drank our health. ir coffee, which
made US feel as If we were getting the
Wcrth of our money.
In u Turkish Cafe.
Then we sat in the cafe three hours,
watching fine, handsome Turks drink cof-
fee in perfect order, while three men of
other races were bounced in succession for
disgusting drunkenness. We took part,
too. with about 100 Greek people, mostly
women and children, in drinking a coffee
bon voyage to a nice old Greek lady who
was starting for Jerusalem. BY and by
the one train of the day came along and
we got in, dog tired, and We're in Europe
again.
On the whole it was an inexpensive in
structive and improving piece Of expert
ence. There was nothing to complain of
IN 1t except the policemanS cruel and un-
usual detention of our clothing during the
night. The baggage was not interfered
with in the least. Indeed the pasha in An
drinople sent courteous inquiry about it,
wishing 10 know If anything had been
taken or damaged. The whole business
seemed rather a senseless compliance with
tormality than real safeguarding Of the
frontier against agitators. There Was
plenty of 'incendiary literature in our
luggage, but not a soul could read it or
made any effort to do so. 1t was a childish
pI oceeding and not serious thing to un-
dergo in region where SO many thousand
people have been dubbed to death for no
offense.
How utterly futile the passport precau-
tions are Is Illustrated by little story told
by Consul General Shcrt about an Ameri-
can drummer travelling from Athens to
Turkey Learning too late to visit his min
lister that he would need a passport,
and not having one, he took his letter of
credit to the Turkish consul, had that
Vised instead and Travelled on 1t to Con-
stantinople without any one detecting the
difference.
At the same time / would advise an
american traveller, especially If accompa-
MED by his wife. to get his passport yised
before visiting Turkey. Even a brief de-
tentlon, though not dangerous, may be
hugely uncomfortable. The khan of Musta-
pha Pasha is no Joke until you are out
of IL,