The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1904-01-17
XMAS IN TURKEY
In the Crowds That Move in
ConstantinopIe.
COURTESY EVERY WHERE
How the Street Dogs Mark
a Rude Stranger,
Dieter to London Chronicle

| town in the world is such a heterogeneous
polyglot assemblage of human beings TO
be found as in Constantinople. The cap
ital q the Ottoman empire appears 10
possess q strange fascination for all the
most weird specimens of humanity, and
one meets at every step human oddities
in such profusion that one is lost in won
der as to who they all can be, what they
are doing, where they come from, and
how they live. The Turkish months are
| lunar months, and consequently they do
not keep pace with our calendar months.
Ramazan, the month of fasting, during
which the Mohammedan neither eats,
drinks, nor smokes between the a. III.
and sunset, has now ended, and this year
Bairam. the subsequent three days of
fasting, has conceded with our Christmas
week, with the result that, with both
Christian and Mohammedan festivities at
hand, the shops. bazaars. markets. and
streets are much more crowded than they
usually are at this time of the year. There
are absolutely no traffic regulations, and
anyone can erect a stall where he likes.
no matter how narrow the thOroughfare.
Foot passengers, strings of loaded horses,
mules, and hamals Cor porters) carriages,
horsemen, and patrols Of troops are mixed
up in what seems to be inextricable OBJ
servance of an unwritten law, giving
precedence to those most in need Of it,
that congestion of the crowd is avoided.
The good manners of the East also go
far towards facilitating movement and
diminishing discomfort, for there is none
of that inconsiderate rudeness, jostling,
and pushing, too often observable In
western towns.
OF all the freQuenters of the streets Of
Constantinople. those who receive the
greatest consideration are undoubtedly the
hamals and the pariah dogs; but even
the hamal gives way to the pariah dog.
Everything is carried by hamals. 1t is
obvious that a hamal loaded with a large
piece of furniture, as, for instance,
wardrobe or bookcase cannot put down
his burden or pick his way through
crowd, and so the crowd makes way for
him-all but the pariah dogs We see
a group of these poor, harmless dogsies
shivering and huddled together for
warmth on the narrow, wet pavement of
the Grande Rue de Pera. They entirely
block the pavement, yet hamal strug-
Cling painfully along with a barrel of
cement on his back steps off the pave
ment on to the greasy, uneven cobble-
stones of the street rather than disturb
them. And these street dogs understand
a Constantinople crowd peter than any
human memoer of it. They have their
own laws and regulations, which they
rgidly adhere to. They are divided into
IF u,r,i
ate district and no dog is allowed to cross
the boundary between one district and
another. If such an attempt be made,
then the intruder is Immediately driven
off, but only pursued TIL he has recrossed
the boundary line. They also limit their
numbers to what a district will support,
and when one loses the number of his |
mess. another Immediately takes his |
place. The streets of Constantinople
swarm with beggers and thieves, but the |
dogs are neither heggars nor thieves; !
they are unobstrusive, gentle, ready to !
make friends. grateful for kindness; so |
let US hope that at Christmas and Bairam |
they viii not be forgotten, for indeed |
they are more worthy of charity than the |
great majority OF extensively importunate |
beggars. 1t is probably owing to the reg /
ulation of their own habits of life that !
these dogs are so quick in detecting any,
thing unusual in the proceedings OF the /
human beings around them. AS we wend /
our way through the busiest part of |
Galate at the busiest time of day, a very
tail man wearing a SLOUGH hat and drab
an American or Ger
man. certainly not an Englishman-strides
through the crowd, elbowing and pushing
every one he comes in contact with, as
il the whole street belonged to him and
no one else had any right to be there.
He is doubtless as much stranger TO
Constantinople as he is TO good manners.
for the dogs, although we'll accustomed
TO western dress, are not used TO such be-
havior in the streets and bark in chorus
as lie passes. There is nothing savage in
the bark of the dogs; they merely call
to the presence of the stranger.
and the bystanders smile approval Of
their discrimination.
But how can one describe the human
throng? Here are hooded and cloaked
Arabs, hair coiled up beneath their tan
headgear. brown-robed, hare-footed. bare
headed friars with shaver crowns. long
ROBBED and turbaned holy men and dever-
shes. devout pilgrims from distant
who are passing through Con-
on their way To Mecca; Per-
slams. Croats. Armenians, Albanians
specimens OF all nations excepting. per-
haps Russians. Turkish soldiers and
police. mounted officers with their order
les, vendors of everything imaginable,
Sisters of Mercy. yelled Turkish ladies.
unveiled fashionably aitired Gisour ladies
4 closely yelled Turkish woman begs .
blessing OF a passing holy man almost
lnder the noses of a pair Of horses; ?
lamal carrying an inmence Christmas
rec with n spread OF about half the
width OF the street. sweeps of a choice
selection OF picture" hats. and proceeds
quite unconscious Of the ravages he is
committing in his wake; and begEaTs arc
.verywhere whining. irnportuning every
,asser-b by IF begging were not u prcfes-
ion-aEd no doubt a paving one-in Con
'tantincple. ,he awful defornities auc
offerings OF many OF those who solicit
Inns would touch the most stony hearted
Here i a woman crouchirg against the .
Wall with blind baby in her arms. The
little one never moves, neither does the .
woman. but beneath the baby one % her
Ia IDS is outStreJcheti. open. and We can
lot resist dropping something into that
.alrl- Immediately a1terss ards. however Z ]
Te are beset o. a hSle and hearty elderly ,
mar who carries large bag over his !
.eck lie demands bread We tel him |
Mt he has already more than he can
at in his bag. which. indeed. he has. AID ;
e rurSues his way without attempting 10 ,
euy the fact. Tnsa we couse upon rvvo ;
osy. healthy children comparing fhe Z
zrninss OF The morning al a street ssr-