Evening star., 1898-08-27
TRAVELLING IN TURKEY
A Hard Task Over the Narrow, Steep Streets
Of Constautinople
They Are often Nothing More Than q
FOOtpath and Are Impassable
Save to Pedestrian.

From the scalpel.
The era OF roads and wheels is preceded
by the era of. beasts Of burden. These
We're. and are in some countries men and
women-especially women-slaves. The ex-
tent to which men and women are used as
beasts of burden may be taken as a meas
ure of the civilization attained, and of tie
success in overcoming physical difficulties.
We saw this strikirgly proved by contrast
ing Constantinople with Athens. In Con-
stantinople any amount of luggage. enough
for a camel, is piled on the back of an AL
banian porter or 'hamal,' who trots away
with it cheerily up the precipitous streets.
In Athens half the load would be put upon
a cart. A Greek is not porter; he scorns
the menial trade; but, then, he makes
good roads, which a horse and carriage
can work. Tried in this way, the Turks
are not unfavorably contrasted with somc
parts of Italy.
The heaviest loads are carried up the
hills bounding the Lago Maggiore by wo-
men; they frequently carry enough to load
packhCrse. l have seen women carrying
travellers on their backs up steep hills.
Women, degraded enough in other ways,
are rarely made to do this in Turkey. In
telHgence, energy and humanity concur in
iessenlng the load the poor women have to
lear. Where these qualities are found
reads and wheels are soon constructed.
bad, so wheels are still greatly supple
mented by animals. The best way to get
about the town is on horseback. The
horses are very intelligent, and can take
you through narrow, steep, rough streets
where no wheels can go. Even the grand
street of Pera, the main residential quar-
ter, is In places so narrow that two car
rfages can hardly pass. There is rarely
more than one footpath, and that is fire.
quently broken, and the foot passengers
have to seek what refuge they can in door
ways, or by fiattening themselves against
the walls, If dogs are not in possession:
and the dogs of ConstantinopIe are jealous
of their rights
From this grand street there diverge at
all sorts of angles side streets or lanes
that run down to the shore; these are in
descrbahle, steep, crooked, dirty and
rough. Big powders, big holes, narrow and
intricate windings, sharp corners, call for
stout legs, sound wind, vigilant lookout
and all the patience the traveller can COM
mand to carry him in safety, and now and
then he must halt to draw breath to re-
cover from a stumble or to avoid @
calamtous rencontre, for many of these
infernai-the word, or something as bad is
often extorted by painful wrencheS-ways
carriages go. Guardai guarda!'' from the
drivers is the warning answer to all i'm
precautions.
1t is, upon the whole. wiser not to swear.
No cursiEg, however loud and deep, will
ever induce the Turk to mend his ways;
he IS the most typical impersonation of
ncpohalance IN the world; his energy is
passive. his strength is the Wis inertia.
Why should he make smooth roads for
dogs and Giaours? Down many of these
streets the carriages go. The hired
hicles themselves are fair. The broughams
are far better than the London growler
They are built in London and Paris. They
are worked by two horses; one horse could
not drag them up the hills The drivers
are mostly Greeks, and are smart enough
in extorting excess fares. The easiest way
of circulating is on horseback. Horses,
with English saddles, stand for hire like
our cabs, They are mostly strong animals;
they can find room where wheels cannot.
Another way of locomotion, reminding
one of historical times at home, is by the
sedan-chair. L tried one. Two stout AL
banians carried me in an easy, swinging,
elastic trot, working spontaneously with
the spring of the poles. In private houses
one is kept in the hall They bear evidence
of the state of the streets. No doubt our
own a hundred years ago were not much
better. and accordingly sedan-chairs were
in use. 1t will probably be long before they
go out of use in ConstantinopIe, What of
cycles? In Constantinople they are i'm
possible. BipedS must tread the ground.