Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1912-10-29
THE CITY OF ADRIANoPLE
Ancient Town For Which Turks anc
BuIsars Contend.

,I Adrlanople, toward which the Bul
garians are now fighting their way
ranks as the third city in size and i'm
portance in European Turkey, Con
stantinople and Salonica alone takin
precedence over 1t. 1t Is the capital o
the vilayet bearing the same name an
has played an important part in Turk
ish history. That Adrianople Is de
serving Of the name city is shown b.
the census Of 1905, which seven year
ago estimated the population at 80,
900. About half of this number ar
Turks, while the remainder is a con
glomerate lot Of Jews, Greeks, Bulgar
and Armenians.
In appearance Adrianople Is thor
oughly Oriental, fact which oftel
surprises the tourist. For the mos
part the city Is a mass Of ancient wood
en- structures with narrow streets wind
ing in and out. There are, however
some modern buildings which by com
parison reveal the sordid general ap
pearance Of the place. The city, o
course, has its better sections.
Filled with relics Of old Turkey
sights Of great interest to the visitor
the most prominent building for tn,
tourists view is the ancient Mosque o
Sultan Selim II. Although smaller thar
the famous Hagiasofia at Constants
nople the mosque Of the third city Il
acknowledged to be the most magnii
cent Of its kind and not general!
known except to the Turks themselves
The constant espionage to which tn,
traveller in Adrianople Is subjected ant
the general unrest which is felt in tn,
city at all times Is responsible for tn,
mosque remaining in obscurity. Tn,
city is practically under martial rul,
most of the time and the authoritie.
are usually taxed to the utmost to pre-,
serve order. The very fact that tn,
railroad, which covers the 1877 miles Il
the capital away to the southeast, II
regularly policed by troops adds to the
continual feeling Of insecurity which
never fails to hold the visitor.
The Mohammedan has reached al
most the top notch Of desire after he
has said prayer in the mosque Of
Turkeys ancient capital. Only visit
pilgrimage to Mecca or presence ir
Constantinople when the Padi- Shar
goes by are higher in the Turks ambi-
tion.
AS a vantage point in war the forts
Of Adrianople are. considered most i'm
portant. The guns Of the city command
the chief position near the Bulgarian
frontier, and their occupation by q
hostile force means a strong foothold
for the enemy. The armament Of the
stronghold Is the most modern thing in
the city, for the strategic prominence
Of the position was not lost sight Of by
the government. The city occupies
both sides Of the Tunja river at its
confluence with the Martha, which is
navigable to this point in winter and
spring. Enos is the nearest city reach
| ed by the waterway.
anople are the Idadieh school, the
schools of Arts and Crafts, the Jewish
Communal school, the Greek college,
Zappeion, the Imperial Ottoman bank
and the Tobacco Reggie. Then there is
a theatre, while palaces for the prefect
Of the city and the army officers have
been provided.
Being the headquarters Of the Sec
ond Army corps Of the Turkish army
and the Defence Works Commission
the government has erected spacious
barracks and military hospital for
the troops. There is also French hos
pital located there. The more distin-
guished buildings Of old Turkey located
in Adrianople In addition to the Mos
que Of Selim II. are the Eski Serai, a
half-ruined palace Of the former sui
tans, and the bazaar Of All Pasha.
Adrianople suggests Its modern ideas
in the suburban sections to large ex-
tent, and this condition itself suggests
the European invasion. There are five
suburbs In all. Kiretchhane and Yil-
derim are on the left bank Of the Ma
ritza- Kirjik stands on hill over
looking the ancient city. The last two
are almost entirely peopled by the
Greeks, while Kiretchhane contains the
dwellings of large Bulgarian popula-
ton. These quarters, for that is just
what they amount to, encourage the
clique spirit in Adrianople, and this,
with the never-ending strife in the city
encourages hostility, particularly be-
tween the natives Of the Balkan coun-
tries and the Turks. The fourth sub
urb is the little settlement called De-
mirtash. This hamlet Is also princi-
pally occupied by Bulgars, and the
few hundred houses are all Of native
building.
The fifth outlying section Of Adrian
ople, known as Karagatch, is the fash
ionable suburb. Here the dwellings are
mostly detached villas, many set in
the midst Of carefully kept gardens,
with constant suggestions Of the more
advanced parts Of the Continent. Kara
catch is on the left bank Of the Ma
ritza-
In all five suburbs the growth Of
schools has increased far more rapidly
than in the ancient city. But the ma
jority of the institutions are Of the old,
non-progressive types-in fact, the
only exception to that rule few years
ago was the Hamideh school for boys.
This is a government establishment
which accepts both boarders and day
pupils After the manner Of the organ
ization of the Galatia Serai Lyceum In
Constantinople, the school is provided
with two sets of professors, Turkish
and French. The curriculum gives the
students complete educational courses
in both tongues, although the pupils
are required to take the two branches.
The different communities have set up
charitable organizations, while the
Greeks boasted of a literary society.
The Greeks have also gone so far as to
form a social club. The majority Of
the Greeks in the suburbs are men,
bers, while not a few foreigners have
been taken in.