The Ward County independent. [volume] (Minot, Ward County, N.D.) 1902-1965, 1906-08-23
A TURKISH CEMETERY.
City of Marble Shafts In the Shadows
of Cypress Trees.

"And why do the OSmanli prefer
IScutari as a burial place to any 9th.
err"
Because it Is there the trumpet
of the archangel will be first heard.
The true believers who lie at Scutari
will first rise to answer it, next the
faithful from other parts of the earth,
after that the Hebrews and lastly tile
|giaours who follow other gods"
Thus spoke the grave old turbaned
Turk who stood beneath cypress tree
pn the slopes of the world famed Gem
etery Of the sea Of Marmora.
"All know" he went on in calm, ju-
hicial accents, chat when the last
days of the world are drawing near
the Osmanli will be driven forth from
STEAMBOAT by the Frank. Then for
space there will be trouble and turmoil
on the earth. All sons Of the faithful
will fly up to Scutari as refuge.
There they, the living and the dead
alike, will await the day Of judg-
'ment."
With that, thinking it was hurt to
his dignity to parley longer with
giaour, he gathered his robes about
him, saluted majestically and passed
SLOWLY away down one Of the long,
broad avenues leading to the gates of
the cemetery, leaving the stranger to
wander at his pleasure through that
forest Of tall tombstones standing
|erect.
The coup d'oeil is picturesque in the
extreme. AS far as one can see the
long, slender shafts of marble rise be-
meath the shadow Of the massive cy-
tpress-the tree Of Allah, the Osmanli
call it-which points its finger to the
Isky, while the luxuriant vegetation Of
the east clusters around the base Of the
slabs, emphasizing their snowy white
ness and preventing them from being
too dazzling to the eye. >~~" '"~'"''>
Each tomb bears its own decoration.
"a single leaflet, the dropping petals Of
"a rose or graceful front Of fern indi-
Gates that 9 female form lies below. A
turban or fez shows that the dead per-
son was man. Lamps. ostrich eggs,
sashes, fringed and colored handker-
chiefs Of varied hue, all have their own
Significance, while here and there will
be seen some tall stone, sculptured
from end to end, its ornamentation in
high relief, encircled by number Of
smaller ones, which proves that the
father Of family-a man of wealth
rests here surrounded by bis wives and
children. A curved scimiter shows
that man Of war reposes there, an
anchor marks the sleeping place Of a
sailor, wand Of Office proves that the
dead man held some post of command.
SO on till something is learned Of all,
even though one may not be able to
|decipher the fantastic Arabic charac
ters which tell with more detail the
history Of the dead.
The terms in which the Turk ex-
presses his lamentat tons are often very
pathetic, especially when they refer to
the loss of his wife or child.
Here is one, taken from the tomb Of
a young girl, which effectually combats
the common western delusion that the
Osmanli believe that women are born
without souls or hope of future life:
"The cold blasts Of fate caused this
nightingale to wing it way to heaven.
There it has found its awaited bliss.
Zeinab is the name of her who lies be.
low, and for her Lababa, who wrote
these lines, offers humble petition.
Weep not for her, for though dead
she has become a sojourner in the gar.
dens Of paradise" London Spectator.