Goldsboro semi-weekly argus., 1909-06-23
MFR Il ....Iv!!sitsC Cons ntinople
and Writes Inter sting
" of What lie Sees.
The American Consular Service Is Be-
low the Standard Our Foreign
Trade Interests Are Gen.
orally Neglected.

Dear Joe Argus:
We are on our way to Constantine
ple. which is a run of about "a
hours from Athens through the Archi- |
pelago and the Dardanelles. We see
very little of the former, as we make
the passage by night. We find the
latter quite interesting, especially on
account of the history connected with
it. The narrowest point is the Helles-
pont At this place it was that Lean
der swan across to Heros Tower to
meet his lady love, not an unusual
feat for a good swimmer Of today, as
the distance does not appear greater
than one mile. 1t is also at this point
that Xerxes built his wonderful
bridge of boats for his vast army
when on his way to subdue Greece.
Here we take on a pilot to guide us
safely through until we reach the 5ea
of Marmora, and we reach our deck
at the Galata quay at p. m.
The great city Of the East lies be-
fore us in its splendor as the rec Ell
ing sun is casting its feeble rays On
this beautiful panorama. I think il
this is all we could have seen of this
city we would have left with a much
more favorable impression OF It's
beauty, which on close acquaintance
is dissipated and disappointing to
degree.
We make our landing next morning
and take a drive through part OF the
city. I say part because it is not
practical to visit it all in one day, it
| being divided in four parts, to-Wit:
Stamboul, Galata, Pera and Scutari.
| Stamboul is the old town, lying be-
tween the Sea of Marmora and the
Golden Horn. Galata and Pera lie
between the Golden Horn and the
Bosphorus, while Scutari is on the
Asiatic side of the Bosphorus. Pera
is occupied largely by Europeans and
is in a much cleaner condition than
the other parts of the city.
The most interesting objects 1 find
are the Museum, the Mosque Of Santa
Sophia, the Blue Mosque, yet even
these are disappointing. Still we see
many interesting objects, and the Mu-
scum especially. Two Sarcophagi
both excavated during the last years
of the twentieth century near Sidon
are in perfect condition and are ac-
know1edged to be the finest specimens
of Greek sculpture. One of these is
supposed to have been made for Alex.
ander the Great, but no account show.
that he was buried at Sidon. The two
Greek mosques are marvels of ar
chitecture and stood the ravages O.
thirteen centuries without apparent
decay. Saint Sophia was built under
the reign of Justinian in the sixth
century as Christian church, but il
) used as a mosque since the occupa
ton by Mohammed. The figure o
Christ as well as some Christian N
scriptions are still plainly visible be
hind the Moslem paint. The Giant
Bazaar is also quite interesting for
, Western man. 1t is labyriEtil o
: streets and lanes arched over by low
roofs and cupolas which the sun neve
penetrates. Here are shops of ever.
description close to one another. Her
you meet a crowd of strangely cos
TUNED people, the yelled women
for in this country you neve
Il meet an unveiled woman on tn
street-unless she is of such an ag
:. that her looks fail to fascinate mem
bers of the opHAsite sex. You can Sc
. camels and donkeys with their ware
coming through these narrow street
so laden one is not sure whether
:. is a man or beast. You have to jostl
for a passage. The class Of merchaI
disc here displayed is quite attractiy
to us, as many articles are Of strictl
Eastern manufacture and for the us
of Eastern people. It is hard to g
at the correct or lowest price me-
:. chant sells his wares for. AS a ru
it is not generally safe to offer half I
- the asking price if you don't want Il
goods; quite often one-third or less
the original price will clinch Il
- trade On the following day our ship
company is invited by the Sultan
AZ attend the Salamnic This is tt
weekly attendance permitted OF t
~ Sultan at the Mosque for prayer
This is quite a big affair, as fully II
900 soldiers, well armed, and MAJ
bands of music form the line of mar
from the Palace to the Mosque. VIII
:, - all the military are in position,
,'e priest from the top of the minaret a
nounces that the Sultan is coming a
he soon appears in great pcmp, wi
many outriders and guards, also 8
companied by about eight of his Wis
who ride in separate carriages and
"y no further than the gate OF
MOSQUE, for no woman is holy enou
to appear in mosque. We lit
thought at that time, that under
ns seeming quiet and the new. constii
ton forced on the administration
II the Young Turks party. which eve
one seemed to look upon as new q
of happiness and prosperity, and
accepted by the popu1ace) there
ny a political volcano just on the eve
10 eruption. ! have no doubt Abdul Han
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