The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1902-03-25
PILGRIMS EN- ROUTE TO MECCA.

ments in Russia one party OF 400 ar
rived from Central Asia via Odessa upon
81 ecial steamers. which viii carry them
Ia Jedda. on the Red sea the nearest
port TO Mecca. Hundreds Of Persians.
kuFds. MOngols, men from Turkestan.
Afghanistaa, Bekhara, Cashmera and
other far-off countries have ridden thou
sands Of miles over the desern on this
re ligieus mission. and have come 70 Con
s.antinople for the purpose OF paying
homage 10 the sultan. who is the head OF
their church The bazaars and mosques
and the streets and public places are
crowded with them.
Very few OF them viii be ablsnto see
the sultan. Their only opportunity is on
Friday, when he rides across his park
from the palace 10 the mosque 10 say his
prayers. They viii kneel when he passes
and afterward kiss the ground over which
bis carriage has driven Many of them
are men or wealth and property. bat
they do not look - They are dressed
IN the fantastic costumes Of their races
and add 10 the variety Of apparel for
which ConstantinOple is always noted. Il
is asserted that one can stand upon the
bridge across the Golden Horn. which
connects Stamboul with Galata and with
III short time see representatives OF
every nation on earth. This is per
haps an exageratiOn. but the pilgrims
have heightened the interest Of the city
just now 70 strangers.
Every Moslem who can afford TO do
so at least once in his life makes 2 pill
grimage 10 Mecca, for that not only in
sures, the salvation Of his soul. bat ad-
Vsnces him in social and religious rank
also. and he then becomes a HadG. a
title for which We have no equivalent.
It gives him a higher place in the
mosque and secures for him certain priv
ieges and advantages which people who
have not been 10 Mecca do not enjoy
Hence it is the ambition OF every Mussul-
man 10 make the pilgrimage. and millions
ga every year. The piigrimages are reg
ulated much better now than formerly
Sanitary rules are enforced, which tends
10 prevent the plaques that have invari-
ably followed the annual hegira. Former
ly thousands upon thousands died from
fatigue, starvation and disease, and con-
tagion was carried 10 different parts OF
the world by returning caravans. But
this no longer occurs The pilgrimages
are SO regulated that nowadays they
can be accomplished without much dan
ger, fatigue and with comparatively lit
re expense.
The most conspicuous man among the
pilgrims in Constantinople at present is
Had1i Sheik Islam. the head Of the
church in Persia, who is accompanied
by his son and three other prominent Per
sian ecclesiastics. Upon their arrival
they were met with great ceremony by
the Persian ambassador and the Sheik-
ul-Islam OF COnstantinople. They have
been the guests at the Persian embassy.
have enjoyed the hospitality of the sui
tan. who has decorated them with
badges and other honors and conferred
upon them his blessing as the head OF
the church. Their dress is quite pic
turesque- They wear long tunics, or
gowns. Of white silk with plated bosors
and flowing sleeves and the finest OF
cashmere shawls as ssshes around their
waists. over their gowns they wear
large brown camel s-halr robes and upon
their heads enormous white turbans
The Sheik's party are men Of noble ap-
pearanee and dignifed demeanor and re-
celye the homage OF the people as II they
were accustomed to it,
Protestants are generally well respect-
ed In Turkey and are allowed to preach
teach and worship in their own way. al
though sometimes when troubles have
occurred they have been attacked by fe-
norant ruffians who mistook them for
Armenians.
Tourists can no longer visit the great
"eistern Of the -.001 pillars" which was
formerly one Of the most interesting OBJ
jects in COnstantinople 1t was built in I
the time of Constantine for the purpose /
OF storing water is 1875 feet lo.g. 167 feet I
wide. and q feet deep. The roof is sus- /
tanned by a vast forest Of columns. and |
IT. is the popular notion that they number /
one more than a thousand II IA esti- |
mated that the eistern formerly held /
enough water 10 supply the population a |
Stamboul for ten days but IL has not 1
been used since 1850 for that purpose Con
stantinople has an excellent water sys- |
TEN carried IN aqueducts running TO vsri- !
Gus quarters OF the city. For many years 4
this and several other great cisterns. hay
ing been pumped out, were used for stor- 4
age or government supplies, but Of late
they have been practically abandoned. |
and certain Armenian manufacturers OF I
rope. carpets and other articles which re-
quired more room than light have been
using them rent free. because OF their
large size and other advantages During
the massacre Of 1896. however the Turk
sh mobb surprised the Armenians at
work in this cistern and Killed between /
sixty and seventy in cold blood Their
bodies were allowed 70 remain IN the els
tern unbuTied and are there still. Hence
K IS not an agreeable place 70 visit
Two thousand children. orphans Of peo-
pie who lost their lives in that massacre.
arc employed IN a carpet factory IN the
suhurbs OF Constandnople, OF which Mr.
Fardo, spanish merchant. who was al
he world S fair IN Chicago. Is the man
lser
Some people think that tho sultan was
not responsible for that massacre. Others
are confident that he ordered IT, Just as (
Charles Of France ordered the massacre
>. st. Bartholomew. They believe that
he was induced to do so By representa-
ions Of the Shiek- ul-Tslam and his min
sters. that the ArTneuians were on the
loint Of revolution. and there was circurn-
;tanfial evidence 70 sustain their claims I