The Republican journal., 1901-08-08
THE AFRICAN METROPOLIS.

'-;ontal Bazaars at Their Best,-Or Worst.
,,-,.re the Author of Home, Sweet
home" was Buried.
s,,sajal correspondence of The Journal.
TINS. June 23d, 1901. This busy
-.atropois, with it's immense home
..,dr and foreign commerce, it's motley
.,np]ation of nearly two hundred
.taosand. and its swarming bazaars, in
..irh everything under the sun is ex-
...,d for sale in the open street, pre-
so-Sa series of surprises tothe stranger.
Ike most Oriental towns, ''Tis distance
tr5, enchantment to the view" Seen
.,on the Gulf of Tunis-ten miles
NAV as the crow flies, and sixteen by
t- rilway-it is a veritable dream
.y With battlements high in the
.... of the air and the turrets there
. its white houses rising in tiers with
.a, keround of dark hills and olive
moves TO the southwark broad and
..-. p plain, cultivated to the utmost
.+H wheat, corn, cotton and tobacco,
...+.hes to a bold range of mountains;
nI ose by on either hand glisten the
,t.er- Of the great salt lagoons, be-
.ge.n which the city stands on its mar
-v stjmus.
.e Imiis of other days had circum-
.,.sute of about five miles, enclosed
vt.l double walls, the outer ramparts
ratsQ 10y four immense gates: the in
I.- walls, which were very high and
massive, by six gates. The greater por-
-ra If these ancient defences long
.ate lisappared. The Marine Gate
Sands all by itself-a lofty and pictur-
a,a !andmark, but Of no possible use,
,ucatbe walls on. both sides, which once
ca1e II raison d'ette, now exist only in
tf- 9ame of the nearest street, ''Rue
is, Bamparts." The other gates, grim
n6mments of the past, are the Bah ell
tHi-es- Salem, Bah ell Hathers, and Bah
es >adien, towards the Bardo Palace,
which is the present seat of govern
u-nt TWO miles from the city proper;
t Bah Sidi Adulla, under the citadel;
Bah Sidi Alewa, on the road to Ia
eLo!lan. and the Bah es-Soueka, on the
o2st road. All these gates are guard
I'd Jv soldiers, and one never wearies of
watching the strange professions that
Ike constantly filing through them
aes. dromedaries of the desert don
Keys ,aden from head to tail, wonder
Uly caparisonedArab chargers, Greeks,
Turks Moors, Nubians native Jews
ul Europeans, each in the peculiar
o>fme of his nation. The narrow
8aal cut across the strip of land which
separates the gulf of Tunis from Ell Ba-
lie shadow lake on whose farther
.4sit the city is situated-command
- q strong castle and several detached
m'reues. There are also the three
r uuilt in the time of Charles V
FQ Nanoubia, Bordj Filtila and
u -Rebta-the latter an extraor-
lt.lT specimen of medieval military
W lecture. The twin hills of the
HUl Ire each crowned with its for
that of Sadi bel Hassen being
..N-iest and quaintest, and therefore
4.- uteresting, although modern mu-
lt s of warfare would no doubt knock
nieces like an egg shell. The other
allied Balvedere, was the first po-
occupied by the French Troops in
md the remains of their intrench-
a1po on the summit are still distinct
lille from a considerable distance
streets of Tunis are mostly mar
irregular and excessively dirty
T lie houses are of dull exterior, in
i-SgeIsed by handsome mosques and
palaces of Saracenic architecture The
1'} is divided into quarters, distinct and
-tptIate, occupied by the respective
Qualities that comprise its popula-
"l italians, Maltese, Greeks, French.
N'ufs Arabs, Turks, Berbers and Nu-
.aAs numerically in the order named,
bF one-fifth of the whole number be-
. native Jews. The Europeans live
it rl- southeast end, where the streets
tit wider, cleaner and better paved,
and the whole aspect of things more
uoGem The Palace of the Bey, with
is oeautiful marble courts and CALLER
rs IS not more interesting than the or
maIy Moorish houses with their prison.
!he exteriorS. Each covers a large
space being built around a quadrangle,
n the centre of which is small fish
"mL or fountain. To visit the Castle
NJ Eardo permit is necessary, which
Tie traveler can obtain only through his
t9lsulate. The European quarter, be-
tween the Marine Gate and the lagoon,
Is andy taking on too-cosmopolitian
4r Its one wide avenue is bordered bv
stately houses, including the French
Resldency, the principal hotels of Tunis,
te Roman catholic cathedral, several
1anks club-houses and the inevitable
cafes. From this avenue wide streets
are gradually branching off in all direc-
lions. One of these leads to a fine
Market-place, which reminds one oddly
Of the Fulton Market in New York
Except in the latter place dromedaries