The daily Alaskan., 1918-01-04
THE GREEN VAULTS
They Hold the Sultan's Vast Store
 of Hidden Wealth.
BILLIONS IN RICH TREASURE.

Besides the Gem Laden Throne of
 Beaten Gold, These Heavily Guarded
 Caves seersts tho HOardinss of All
 the GrOody 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 any inQuisitive mortal No one has ever been able to estimate the value of the sultan's jewels, for the treasures Rre guarded by day and night. There are at least twelve sets of heavily bar red doors to pass before the actual en- trance Is reached to this Aladdin's cave. For every lock there are two keys, intrusted to as many custodians, each having twenty-four guards. These are supposed to spy on each other, as well as protect the guardians of the keys.
 The green vaults of Constatlo, as the treasure caves are called, are within the grounds of the porte. Approached through a court called Dar-es-SO' 'adet- the court of felicity-it Is seen to be low domed edihce 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- ished condition of the country, and If the exact amount of the sultan's wealth were discovered certain interruptions leaders might be tempted to "break in land steal" The gOSSlpers of Constan- tinople say, however. that if a person offered fG00,0O0,OOO for the green vaults and secured their contents he would make a great bargain.
 Perhaps the throne of beaten gold, adorned with millions of rubles, pearls, diamonds, sapphires and emeralds set lin mosaic, Is the most dazzling object lin the treasury of the Shadow of God on Earth" How Selim I. ever brought It from Persia away back in the hf- teenth century. when travelling was so difficult Is quite beyond human com lprehenSiOn.
 Nowhere in the world are there pre- cious stones to compare with the two great emeralds which adorn the top of the sultan's throne One of them weighs four pounds and is as big as mans hand, the other being a trife smaller.
 On q table of ebony and sandalwood, within reach of the throne, stands a marvellous golden tankard incrusted with 1000 diamonds. By its side lies q platter wrought of the pureSt gold and literally veneercd with diamonds. On the ground surrounding this dag Izling site are scattered thousands Of rubles, pearls, turquoiSes and emeralds mingled with exQuisitely carved dia- mond buttons. The magnitude of the whole thing makes one gasp with amaZement.
 There are eflgics of the sultans clad in robes of state from 1451 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 lbrahim and SOlyman II.
 No museum in the world can boast a richer CollectioR of armOr, scimitars, shields, pistols, saddles, sandals, canes and the like, all bejeweled or wrought of gold.
 When the sultana gives banquet in her harem the treasury is generally raided for the occasion. At one Of these revels bouquets of diamond flow CTS 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 were birds the size of butterflies holding in their peaks sparkling gems The sultan's grand daughter a mere Infant of eleven, used to be tortured by having her hair done up in a 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 mlttens studded with precious stones.
 Few are aware that the sultan Is In receipt of the largest income paid to any earthly sovereign-something like f1OOO,OOO u year-and has the right to ask for more should his privy purse run short. The treasury of useless wealth hoarded 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.