The San Francisco call., 1907-01-06

terable; the highest achievements OF
Eastern art and culture, side by side
able. Here are the great khans which
once sheltered the rich caravans from
Arabia, Persia and India; the splendid
mosques which are the glory OF Con-
staptinople; the sublime Porte" and
the palaces Of the old Seraglio where
the early Sultans lived; and the grand
bazaars within whose dim and shadowy
passages linger the perfumes OF ages
and the romance Of all time.
One Of the great sights of Constan-
tinople, in which I found a never end
ing source OF delight was the world
famed Galata bridge, the one link
which binds together the Constantine
pie OF the twentieth century and the
old capital OF Mahmoud the Conqueror
and Sulieman the Magnificent On this
wonderful floating thoroughfare the
life Of the Occident mingled with that
of the Orient and passed in unending
procession before me, natives OF ffve
continents and hundred foreigr%
lands; people of every color, race ana
religion under the sun; costumes In
dazzling array and q wonderful vari-
ETY. of colors, Asiatics. Africans. Euro
peans, the elite Of Continental capitals
elbowing burnoused Bedouins from Sa--
hara's desert wastes and Turkish
pashas resplendent in medals and gold
braid-a hundred thousand souls, Il
is said. pass over Galata bridge every
day of the year, and for genuine inter
est and picturesqueness the whole
world does not hold its equal
In aristocratic Pera, with it's Euro
pean palaces, it's foreign embassies ana
its great hotels. and in bold and sinful
Galata, with its gambling houses and
drinking dives, I was Enthusiastically in
Europe; but, once across the old Ca
lata bridge, I found myself in another
world. the world of the Orient, the
world OF the crescent. the turban ana
the scimetar, no less Asiatic than Sou
tari. smiling at me across the blue
Bosphorus. The hurry and hustle OF
the twentieth century were left be-
hind me as passed under the shad-
ows- of the Sultana Valide MOSQUE at
the end Of the old bridge and stepped
foot in quaint, grim, picturesque Stam-
boul.
With ever increasing joy explored
its dim old streets and wandered
through the shadowy passages OF the
Grand Bazaar, where one may purchase
anything from goatskin of water to
a drove of camels. Grave, long
bearded Turks sat before their
little booths smoking nargiIehs and
staring out into space This is
"kyefr, the favorite pastime OF
the Turk the sweet forgetfulnesu's
which corresponds somewhat to the
dolce far niente" Of the Southern Ital-
ian, with the one difference that the
Turk does not find his happiness In
the total Oblivion of sleep, as does his
Italian counterpart.
The air of the bazaar was ever
heavy with the perfume of altar of
roses. and the gorgeous colorfnEs OF
the Oriental fabrics, draped from the
walls and ceilings, were all subdued
in the mellow light.
Everything was strange and uictur-
esque and seemed to be enveloned 4,
that dim mystery which Is the inde-
Unable charm Of the East This great
labyrinth of covered. crowded streets
is entered by over 100 gates. which at
night are closed and locked. The great
er part OF the Grand Bazasrs wera
constructed by the Sultan Bavaztd
about 1900 A. D., while the fnrnors
Bazestan," or central bazaar. dates
from the Byzantine era, some hun
dreds of years earlier
The exquisite Saracenic arcbitac+,,-.
OF Cairo, evidenced even in the nrfvats
dwellings of that fair city, is sad1v
lacking in Constantinople. The hesn-
tiful 'Mushrabeyahs'' of the Ervntfsn
metropolis have no counterpart a.
Stamboul. Blank walls and stifF3v ta+
ttced windows alone greet the eve 49,
nothing of the external appearance -.
speaks the truly Oriental splendor vv9th
which many of the Turkish home. -
furnished Fanaticism, prejudice 49,
all the Mohammedan superstftfo, -
1900 years bar the Turkish haram fraT.
Continued on Preceding PaEe.)