Omaha daily bee., 1908-11-29

however. remains locked. and you are told
by one OF the passing nojas that you must
wait until the key Is brought 50 you
stand aside and watch the w~orshipers,
who. II they have not performed their ablu-
lions at home. now wash face, hands and
feet At the fountain which IL provided for
this purpose at every mosque door.
There are men OF all ages; many dirty
looking. in tattered. much patched native
garments; men less unkempt and men of
almost European appearance. while the re-
liRious students OF softas, in long, dark
robes and white t%urbans, make a strong
contrast to the other Turks in colored.
tattered garments. There are Turks. Al
banians. Kurds and Arabs among the wor-
shippers, but each one on entering takes
off his shoes. carrying them In with him.
keeping on his fez.
As you stand watching this motley
crowd a long robed south comes slowly
through the courtyard indicating that he
has the key and is about TO open the
northern door. You stumble after him in
the dark; down a steep. III paved, unlit
street shut in on either side by the close
suffered windows of Turkish houses. and
feel your way cautiously down the broken
stone steps leading to a small prisonlike
entrance.
Here the Turk lights a taper. fumbies
with the antiquated lock, and not forget
ting to pocket the required fee pushes
open the door. Inside It is dark, except
for the faint light Of a Pickering candle
placed on the ground at each bend of the
winding passage; and as you painfully
ascend the tunnellike stony path you won
der how the emperor rode up here on
horseback. when he too climbed to the
IL - - 49,
against the low ceiling or his horse
stumbling on the ill-paved way.
No Place for a Christian.
Few native Christians ever come to this
ceremony. Even this year, with the con-
stitution proclaimed, they could not shake
OFF their fear. And you realize as you
continue to feel your way up step after
step, round bend after bend, that their
fear is not unjustified; for no one could
escape from such a place IL the Turks car
ried out the threatened massacres which
are rumored about the town.
But when at last you enter the enormous,
dimly lit building and stand looking over
the carved stone railing, SO cracked with
age that 1t seems as IL a touch would
send It crashing into the depths beneath;
when you strain your eyes down 100 odd
feet into the body of the mosque and up
into the great misty dome you are COM
pletely awestruck with its vastness.
Then as you notice the defaced mosaics
and mutilated crosses a feeling Of sadness
comes over you and your thoughts go
back to the horrible scenes that were en-
acted on the beautiful marble pavements
hundreds of years ago when Mohammed.
the conqueror, mounted on the bodies OF
Christians he had slain and left the i'm
print OF his bloodstained hand, which is
seen today high up on the marble column.
Lamps are being lit In every part of the
mosque and men are still busy with tapers
lighting the innumerable tiny oil lamps
upon the gallery. AS your eye wanders
from gallery to gallery lamp after lamp
lights up until the creeping light reaches
the very dome and encircles It.
In the Body of the Church.
Suspended from this low in the center
of the mosque is an enormous pendant.
like a giants crown, twinkling with hun
dreds of Jewels, while around 1t are
smaller pendants, each also hanging by a
long thin chain from the ceiling. For a
moment these lights dazzle you as you
look down on them from your height, but
as soon as your eyes grow accustomed
~ 49, oAoA w ~ NAAbk NhC BLOhllu ~
black with men and that many are still
entering, taking their places in one Of
the long straight lines formed ACROSS the
body OF the mosque facing Mecca.
Each man as he enters places his shoes
on the floor in front Of him and COM
mences his prayers Immediately, without
glancing around. Once in a while a small
dAmsel In search of her father threads her
way In and out of the rows Of kneeling
men, pushing them aside as she steps be-
tween without receiving the slightest notice
or calling forth any remonstrance, which
would not be the case were she a year or
W older.
Priests and students are already seated
on the little raised platforms erected here
and there about the building and the harsh
unmusical voices of the officiating priests
are heard in every corner of the mosque
as the service commences. Presently the
heavy odor of humanity rises to your
~nostrils as at a given word the whole
congregation. like a well trained army of
soldiers, slowly bows, kneels, touches
the ground, rises and bowl repeatedly,
with no breaking up or irregularity of
a single line and no look 60 right or left.
At each movement of this vast army
upon the mating covered floor, you hear
distinctly the swish of waves, and closing
your eyes for a moment you fancy the
weird sound of the priests voices Is the
bowling OF the wind or cries of people in
distress upon the ocean. Suddenly the
stream increases and the noise of thunder
strikes your ear, but opening your eyes
the picture passes and you realize that the
mighty sound comes from the threats OF
5000 men crying in unison: "Amen! Amen
Ameng"
Priests Talk Politics.
The long straight lines break up quickly
and the floor is covered with a seething
indistinguishable mass. Here and there
like little dim stars the light of 100 flicker,
ing candles is visible upon the ground
, and by this light sits a preacher, his fee
tucked under him and the Koran open upor
the prize dieu in front. Without losing q
moment the discourses eommence-many o.
them purely political this year-and thu
1 hubbub. which sounds like that OF a stool
exchange, continues throughout the night
Many OF the congregation leave tn,
mosque, not waiting for the sermons, ant
y as VOu hasten homeWard along the dark