The Butler County press. [volume] (Hamilton, Ohio) 1900-1946, 1914-04-10
The ART OF lDL|NC
1t Is a Part of the IndoIent Life
of the LeisureIy Turk.
WHERE SITTING is EXERCISE.
In tho Orient the Placid Natives Re-
gard What We Would Call Loafins
as a Mark of Respectability-A Trip
In Caique on the Golden Horn.

Go q NoTN vi ttSSPSSh0biiieJ iiip
In Caique on the Golden Horn.
One of the first words in the Turkish
language that | learned to recognize
was kyef or kaif Making kyef was
very common occupation, judging from
the number of times that | heard the
word used The dictionary definition
of kyef is health" pleasure" Health
and pleasure are not always synony
NOUS but they seemed to be in this
case, for people who said they had
been making kyef always looked both
happy and healthy.
To the average American the idea
represented by the word kyef is about
as foreign as the word itself. You
could not possibly make kyef at foot
ball game or horse race or automo.
billing up to the limit of police regula-
tions One thing soon becomes evident
to the scientific investigator of kyef
Whatever it may be. kyef Is made
without haste. without excitement and,
above all things. without noise.
Leisure, idling if you like, has been
reduced to a tine art In the orient.
There is no place in the world where
doing nothing Is so respectable. Able
bodied men sit unblushingly at midday
in coffee house drinking numberless
cups of strong. black coffee. smoking a
nargiln and staring at chessboard
for hours at "A time. Loating we call 1t
in America; In Italy. dolce far niente;
in Turkey. making kyef.
The oriental is slow and easy in his
amusementS He fingers over his pleas
ures. making them last as long as pos
sible None too fond of eXerting him
self. most of his exercise is taken sit
ting still. The Turkish verb otur,
| which means sit" is much used both
In word and in action. They sit over
cup OF coffee in an out of door cafe
they sit under tree smoking ciga-
rette, they sit for four hours making
you visit and they may sit the live
long day out in grassy field or on the
banks of stream doing nothing at all
The Turks are fond of outdoors. And
one is not surprised The highest point
of Constantinople is Tchamlidja, hill
that stands u few miles back from the
Scutari landing on the Asiatic side.
The view from this hill is one whose
beauty casts spell that lasts as long
as memory lasts See Naples and die"
runs the old saying. but do not die be-
fore you have seen Constantinople
from Tchamiidja
There are many open fields in and
| about Constautinope TO which the peo-
| pie resort on high days aud holidays,
| the brilliant colors of the native dress
standing out against the greenest green
| and the bluest blue of the natural
| background And everywhere the daz-
| Zling sheen of water. the silvery, calm
| surface of the Marmora stretching
away In the distance and the blue
! winding Bosporus at our feet. There
| Is a hush about a Turkish holiday
| gathering which is always like a Sun
| day. Caques glide noiselessly by. peo-
| pie sit in groups or saunter about on
| the shore. like the figures in a picture,
| everybody making kyef IN his own way
One OF the popular resorts for great
| numbers OF people is the Sweet Wa
| ters Of Europe, small stream OF fresh
| water flowing into the upper part of
| the Golden Horn The best and easiest
| way to reach this place. the stranger
| is told is by rowboat up the Golden
| Horn This best and easiest way is.
| however, a bit trying to the nerves.
| Galata bridge, from which the boats
leave, is the busiest spot in CONSTANT
| nope You are jostled from before and
| behind screamed at In all the Ian
| guages you ever heard Of and frighten-
ed nearly to death before you get down
the rickety little stairway leading to
the landing. Nothing can really hap
pen TO you, but you do not know that
! until afterward If you should fall
into the water you would be promptly
| fished out by friendly hands amid
Mashallahs. In all the tones of the
chromatic scale. Down below, you are
warned within an inch Of your life
about all the things you must not do
| In the caique caique is a small
4
| little craft In the world, but 1t was
made to tip over.
II you get away from the landing
1! without being spilled out into the
water you breathe one sigh OF relief.
| but not more than one for the Golden
Horn is very narrow and very busy,
and any moment you may look up at
| the prov of a steamer bearing down
| upon you at full speed Behind you,
and TO the right Of you, and to the left
| Of you. are clumsy freight boats man
aged by scolding boatmen. And just
here one Of your oarsmen does what
he has forbidden you to do-stands up
In his place Wildly gesticulating, he
acolds back in picturesque Turkish at
q careless <teersman who has nearly
tipped you over After you have had
this experience q few times and have
escaped with your life you cease to
mind IL.
Quiet comes at last, and long. smooth
stretches OF shining water The motion
of cnique is perfect. Ii glides over
the water with no effort ut all The sill.
very light OF the eastern sun. the mag
ic touch of the soft south wind. the
voice OF tho muezzu calling TO prayer
from the minaret In tho distance
charm you into ths land of the lotus. =
Grace Fleming Van Sweringen In New
York Tribune.