Los Angeles herald., 1909-05-11
GRv Associated Press.l

ceremony of girding the sword of
~ Osman upon Mehemmed V, the
new sultan of Turkey in succession to
Abdul Hamid, occurred today in the
Mosque Ayoub, the only sacred edifice
in Constantinople which Christians are
not allowed to enter.
The function was carried out accord
ing to prearranged program, and at Its
conclusion his majesty started to drive
through STEAMBOAT at the head of Gn
imposing procession.
This ceremony corresponds to that of
coronation in western countries
1t lasted only a few minutes, and the
ancient rite of the spiritual power con-
signing the temporal power to the sui
tan was witnessed by few foreign eyes
The sultan proceeded in launch
from the Dolma Bagtshe palace to the
Mosque, which stands at the waters
edge, where the rite was performed.
Then, attended by the grand vlz1er
the sheik- -ul-Islam, the members of the
cabinet the chiefs Of the army the
higher grades of ulemas and many
other officials, he drove to the Top
Kapou palace, about six miles distant,
to kiss the robes of the prophet.
Draws Sword from Sheath
At the Ayoub mosque Mehemmed V
drew the scimitar of his ancestor, Os-
man /, the founder of the Ottomon en-
pire, from it's sheath, and standing IN
the square in front of the group OF
buildings called the sublime Porte,
he raised the weapon on high, and by
this immemorial act took possession or
the Turkish empire.
The action of the sultan was followed
by an outburst of shouting from the
people massed beyond the lines OF the
surrounding troops, together with a
fanfare of trumpets and rattle or
musketry as the soldiers tred a salute;
but above all this noise rose sharp and
clear voices of a chorus of schoolboys
chanting "Midhat Pasha's Hymn of
Liberty"
The scene was a strange admixture Of
historical observance and modern west
ern civilization.
Mehemmed V, the first sultan in four
centuries who has had blue eyes ana
fair hair. was dressed in western
uniform of olive green khaki.
Setting of Ceremonies
Within sight of the square were the
Byzantine walls surrounding the CITY,
and the Genoese tower OF ST. Sophla,
two striking suggestions of fifteenth
century history.
In further contrast was the fact that
his majesty, chosen by the Constitu-
tionalists to rule the empire, stood up
right in an open carriage fresh from
the most fashionable manufacture OF
Paris. and raised on high with a dig
nified gesture the ancient sword worn
bv thirty-four of his ancestors, and
carried by twenty-eight of his fore
fathers since the conquest of Byzan-
tium.
It was remarked also that Mehem-
" RrCf hno rfilaSS rnlpr of
his line. He wore only pointed mus
tache.
All the members of the American
embassy, including Ambassador Leish-
man, were present at the diplomatic
tent.
Prays Alone at Mosque
After having passed the ambassa-
doriaI stand, the sultan stopped at the
mosque of Mohammed the Conqueror,
near the entrance to the Adrianople
gate.
He prayed alone by the tomb of Mo
hammed for a quarter of an hour, and
then resumed his siX-mile journey
through STEAMBOAT to the Sublime Porte,
whence he drove to the Kavou palace
and gave a reception to NUMBER Oh
distinguished persons.
Along his route of march boys and
girls from all the schools in the city
sang hymns.
The girls wore liberty sashes of white
and red, while the boys carried
branches of laurel.
The sultan concluded the ceremonies,
which had lasted in all about five hours,
by leaving from the Vinegar Sellers
wharf for his palace on the other side
of the Golden Horn in state barge
propelled by eighteen oarsmen dressed
in white silk tunics and red breeches.
Among Those Present
Among the thirty persons today at
the girding were Bucknam Pasha, an
American, and Anon Pasha, an Eng
lishnan. both in the Turkish service.
Thev were impressed with the beauty
and solemnity of the ceremony, which,
with the chants of the priests, lasted
only twenty minutes.
of the mosque to enter his carriage a
white -turbaned HadJa, or teaching
priest. caused a moments excitement
bv running forward with a petition
which he tried to hand to the sultan, at
the same time talking somewhat wildly
about the koranic law Two soldiers
caught him and hurried him out OF the
yard.
The day, Notwithstanding rumors of
reactionary plots, passed peacefully.
LIGHTS were blazing in the minarets
and mosque of Constantinople tonight;
the ships in the harbor We're outlined
in electric bulbs and the city generally
was celebrating enthusiastically the
girding of the new sultan