The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1903-05-31
QUEER SIGHTS IN TURKEY.

It is great fun shopping for shoes in
Constantinople if you are not very par
ticular about the fit.
All Turkish shoes are made so as to
slip on and off easily. for every time
one goes into the house or shop, mosque
or school. off come the street shoes and
on go q sort Of toe slipper made of wood
and leather. Here we take off our hats
in church. but keep on our shoes. There
all the men and boys keep on their hats,
but take of their shoes, while outside
of every school or in the hall you will
find a long row of children's shoes on
the floor instead of hats and caps hang
ing on the hooks. They have no rubber
overshoes there, but when it rains they
put on the wooden pattens, such as they
wear in the baths to keep from burning
their feet on the hot floor. These have
high wooden heels with a strap over the
toe, so that one wearing them stands up
as high as though on roller skates.
When new pair of shoes is to be pur-
chased, you know just where to go, for
every kind of merchandise has a street
all TO itself in Constantinople. There is
a whole street for shoes, another for
pipes. one for perfumes and one for the
red Turkish fezes, and so on, just the way
the old Greeks and Romans used to do
things.
Oriental shops or stores are nearly AL
built after the same pattern. the only diff
ference being the depth of the little cub
byhole back The portion which appears
upon the street consists of a platform
about two feet high and not over ten
feet wide This is covered with a small
carpet sejadeh, or thin mattress with
a cushion or two. These outdoor street
shops are closed at night by means IF
boards let down, strengthened with iron
bars and padlocked. Part Of them serve
as an awning during the day. Here sits
the shopkeeper crosslegged with his ac-
count books by him. his black carved
beads in his hands to tumble with and
keep him from getting nervous, and al
ways smoking, smoking, smoking. out
side there are stout chairs or boxes for
his customers or friends who stop to
gossip with him, while over his head and
all about him hang rows and rows Of
shoes. boots and slippers, most Of them
yellow. scarlet, pink and even blue and
green.
There are long boots for the soldier
Observation-Disclosures. woodenpattens
horseman and officials. wooden pattens
for the bath. Albanian CATERS, slouchy.
yellow Turkish babouches. red shoes for
the Armenians, blue for the Greeks and
black for the Jews. There are slippers
of fur. silk. velvet and brocade. some
glittering with tinsel spangies and some
embroidered with flowers in gold and sill
yer and sparkling with precious stones.
II the shopper standing outside sees
anything ne wishes. the merchant win
very deliberately take il down, but he
never seems to be in a hurry TO sell. Be
sides the out OF door shoe bazaars there
is a whole street given up 10 the shoe
merchants IN the great bazaar. which IS
an immense stone building OF Byzantine
architecture. surrounded by high gray
walls. covered with lead and perforated
with holes TO let the daylight IN. This
bazaar Is miles IN extent. ard here every
kind OF goods has its own particular quar-
ter. the little booths being arranged just
the same as in the picture Ar hour be-
fore sunset ali iron doors Of the en-
frances are closed. locked and barred.
and put in charge OF the watchmen. who
walk about with big clubs beating/on the
stones 10 let the thieves know they are
coming