Gulf Coast breeze. [volume] (Crawfordville, Fla.) 1897-19??, 1897-10-22
THE TURKISH EMPIRE.
EXTRAORDINARY VARIETY OF RACES
THE SULTAN MlSRulES.

Because of Clashing Creeds II IL Doubt
| full whether II Is Possible to Make Tur-
key Land of Peace and Hnrmony-A
banians Dress Richly, but Hate Soap.
Owing to the extraordinary variety
of races and creeds over which the
, Sultan OF Turkey rules, his difficulties
| are almost insurmountable; anil it is
doubtful whether he or anyone else
will ever succeed in making Turkey
land Of peace and harmony.
There are no fewer than seven main
divisions of races in the European and
Asian provinces. In Europe both the
Greeks and Albanians are as numer-
Gus as the Ottoman Turks, each con-
tingent numbering about 1900, 900,
according to the best authorities. Con-
stantinople itself has justas diversified
mixture as the kingdom generally;
and only $50, 900 Of its S75, 900 inhab-
itants arc Mussulmans, the Greeks
numbering 1853, 900 and the Armenians
100, 900. But in Asia there are twice
rs many Ottomans as all other races
put together. The Turks proper con-
sist of Ottomans, Yurouks and Turko-
mans. The names have something
terrible in their very sound to us; but
travellers unite in describing the OF
tomans as honorable and humane men,
although they can fight when it comes
to blows. The Turkomans live q pas
toral life, while the Yurouks are no.
madic and therefore not easily sub
jected to law.
Although the Greeks and the Alba
mans are regarded as belonging to the
same Graeco-Latin race, the latter are,
for the most part, Mussulmans, Some
of the Albanians are Roman Catholics
and others are of the Greek church,
and the two slightly divergent sects
hate each other as cordially as Par
nellites and anti.Parnellites. But,
whatever the form of faith, they pre-
fer robbery as q means Of livelihood to
any other industry. At the same
time they are of fine physical typo
and make splendid soldiers; but they
treat their women like oxen, and, al
the fashion of the Scottish Highlands,
they have horror of soap. In fact,
it is said that they put on their clothes
once for all and never take them of.
In the event of war, the Albanaus
would probably fight for the Sultan.
The Greeks have not penetrated very
far inland, but have scattered them
selves along the coast Of both Euro
pean and Asiatic Turkey, whore they
are always on the lookout to put
money in their purse. Together with
the Jews and the Armonians, they do
nearly oil the trading and banking of
the country, and mnko-sa very good.
thing out of it, In spite Of the Sui
tan's misrule, the Greeks immigrate
in increasing numbers every year,
which makes one think that they must
be singularly imprudent people.
Armenians and their exterminatora,
the kurds, are both sprung from
Persian stock. The Kurds live in the
mountains, and are not precisely the
kind Of people one would care to set
about reforming. Some say there are
an even million Of them; others say
there are over two millions. They
keep the Sultan in perpetual hot
water, being very bad Mosems. But
they are very entertaining, chiefly in
Staying Armenians aud stealing their
neighbors' goods. When not thus en-
gagged they rear cattle, sheep and
goats; aud they differ in no way from
their ancesto tors, rs described by Memo.
phon. Armenia was II portion of
Western Asia, between the Caspian
sea and Asia Minor, but it has suf.
ferel the fate of Poland, and the Ar
menans are now almost as scattered
as the Jews. They number about two
and half millions, and are intelligent
people, with n particular talent for
trade and banking. The Kurds would
probably fight on the side Of the
Turks, ana we all know what side tho
Armenians would take.
The Semctic race has many families
in Turkey. There are the Hebrews,
who, prosecuted everywhere, took ref
uge in Turkey; the Greek church Mar
onites, who are the deadly foes Of /
their neighbors, the Druses; the .
Druses, Of the Mahometan faith, brave
and temperate men, who take neither
wine nor tobacco, and who detest the
Maronites; the Chaldeans, who detest
the Maronites; the Chaldeans, who
are Christians Of a sort; the Arabs, OF .
whom there are four or five millions,
and who, though holding the same re-
ligious views as the Sultan, arc his in
veterate enemies, and the Syrians.
Then there is the fine race Of Cir
cassians, who are differentiated from
most Of the other inhabitants by tho
fact that they work for living; the
4 .,na o,I a.. comedian Il.