Morris tribune., 1917-11-02
TIE GREEN Vaults
they Hold the SuItan's Vast Store
of Hidden Wealth.
BILLIONS IN RICH TREASURE


, Beaten Gold, These Heavily Guarded
Caves Secrete the Hoardings of All
the Greedy Rulers of Turkey.
In the green vaults of the porte lies
hidden away what is perhaps the great
est treasure in the world, collected for
centuries by Turkeys greedy rulers
and boarded away from the gaze of
ever been able to estimate the value Of
the sultan's jewels, for the treasures
are guarded by day and night. There
are at least twelve sets of heavily bar
red doors to pass before the actual ell
trance is reached to this Aladdin'S
cave. For every lock there are two
keys, intrusted to as many custOdians.
each having tWenty-fOIr guards. These
are supposed to spy on each other as
we'll as protect the guardians of the
keys.
The green vaults of COnstatiO, as the
treasure caves are called, are within
the grounds of the porte approached
the court of felcitE-it is seen to be a
low dOmed editce with an interesting
doorway, enriched with marbles and
tiles
The jewels appear to consist mainly
of set and unset precious stones. All
information regarding them however,
is kept secret because of the impOver-
ic,hn Of No q
the exact amount of the sultan's wealth
were discovered certain unscrupulOus
leaders might be tempted to "break in
and steal" The gOssipers Of COnstan-
tinOple say, however, that if a person
offered fGOO,OOO,OOO for the green vaults
and secured their contents he would
make q great bargain.
Perhaps the throne of beaten gold,
adorned with millions of rubies, pearls,
diamonds, sapphires and emeralds set
in mosaic, is the most dazzling object
in the treasury Of the SHADOW of God
on Earth" How Selim l. ever brought
it from Persia away back in the tif-
teenth century, when travelling was so
difficult, is quite beyond human com
prehensiOn.
Nowhere in the world are there pre-
ciOus stones to compare with the two
great emeralds which adorn the top of
the suItan's throne. One Of them
weighs four pounds and is as big as
mans hand, the other being a trifle
smaller.
On table of ebony and sandalwood,
within reach of the throne, stands a
marvellous golden tankard incrusted
with 1000 diamonds. BY it's side lies
a platter wrought of the purest gold
and literally veneered with diamonds
On the ground surrounding this daZ
zling site are scattered thousands Of
rubies, pearls, turQuOiseS and emeraldA
mingled with exquisitely carved dia-
mOnd buttons. The magnitude Of the
whole thing makes one gasp with
amaZement.
There are eftigies of the sultans clad
in robes of state from 1851 to 1889,
with jewels on the feathers of their
turbans, daggers and swords which are
priceless, as are the wonderful rubieS
and emeralds in the clasps of Ibrahim
and SOlyman II.
No museum in the world can boast a
richer collection of armOr, scimitars,
shields, pistols, saddles, sandals, canes
and the like, all bejeweled or wrought
Of gold
When the sultana gives a banquet in
her harem the treasury is generally
raided for the occasion. At one Of
these revels bouquets Of diamond flow
ers stretching from shoulder to shOul-
der were worn by the Sultan'S favor
ties. The sultana herself was adorned
with ropes Of pearls of unparalleled
size, and in her ears we're birds the
size of butterflies holding in their beaks
sparkling gems. The sultan's grand
daughter a mere infant Of eleven, used
to be tortured by having her hair done
up in knot on top Of her head inside
a diamond crown, the front Of her
dress covered with diamond orders,
while her hands were incased with
golden mittens studded with precious
stones.
Few are aware that the sultan is in
receipt of the largest income paid to
any earthly Notwithstanding like
| 100000 a year-and has the right to
ask for more should his privy purse
run short. The treasury of useless
wealth boarded away in the green
vault if converted into cash and used
for national purposes, would transform
the miserable Ottoman empire into one
of the richest powers of the world
Exchange.