Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1924-04-13

EhERE Is Drluse OF boatS cEoSS-
ing the Golden Horn, connecting
Christian Pera with Moslem Stam-
boui, and this bridge is the great
artery through which the blood of
the two civilizations mixes as II
flows. This is one OF the most re-
markable OF all the bridges OF the
world. It surpasses in interest the
Rialto. in Venice. upon which Shylock
bargained with Antonio for his pound
Of flesh, or Brooklyn bridge, New
York, that great cob-web of steel and
cement with its polyglot crowd. or
even the Thames bridge in London,
which has, perhaps the most traffic Of
any bridge of the world. This Gala
ia bridge is said to be crossed every
day by 100000 people and not more
than one idea.
The crowd on the bridge is a NOV
ing picture show such as you can see
nowhere else in the world. The
bridge is about 100 feet wide and 1t
rests on boats high above the waters
of the Golden Horn. At its two ends
stand Turks In uniform, who are
supposed to take toll from all who
cross. from the pasha and hey to the
beggar and porter, and from the
women as well. They do so with all
but the women. The taxes were re-
Gently quadrupled and the women,
who had been previously exempt.
were included In the new toll, but
they refuse to pay and the officials
hardly dare lay hands upon them, for
Mohammedan custom forbids a man
touching any woman except his wife
or daughter.
When / was here in 1908 all the
women who went over this bridge
were dressed in the old style Mo-
hammendan costume. They had bal
loon-like gowns of black or some
other dark color, which were tied in
with a string at the waist, making
each look for all the world like two
mammoth sausages walking on feet
Their heads were covered by their
gowns and the sides were gathered
in at the chin, so that the faces
showed only through wells of white
gauze, the veil often beginning be-
low the bridge of the nose and los
ing itself in the bosom. The eyes and
a strip of forehead were all that
could be seen, and one imagined
every woman a beauty. Some of the
Moslem women OF today have similar
gowns, but q great many have dis,
carded the veil, and it would be diff
fcult to find an uglier collection of
faces on any highway. The women
look sloveniy. Some of them wear
slippers, and their white or gay col
ored stockings show out, their heels
bobbing up and down as they tramp
over the bridge.
The bridge is a good place to study
the cosmopolitan character Of Con-
stantinople. Stand beside me upon IL,
midway between Staboui and Pera,
and look at the crowd. OF the more
than a million inhabitants who make
up constantinople. only about one
Armenians, Jews and all the strange
characters you will find in this part of
the world. There are tens of thou
sands of Jews. Here comes one now.
He is dressed in a long black gown
and he has fur cap on his head,
from each side OF which, In front of
the ears, hangs down a ieng curl,
showing that he is descended from the
Spanish Jews, who came to this part
of the world when they were driven
from Spain. Behind him struts q long
haired, orthodox Catholic monk, in a
high black cap and long black gown,
and on the other side of the bridge
Is dervish. whose fanatical Arabian
features are crowned with a sugar
loaf, tan-colered cap. which rises a
foot above his head and looks like an
inverted tumbler. The dervish wears
long black gown with a sash round
the waist, and his face has numeY-
Gus scars. He belongs to a sect who
mutiiate themselves in their religious
enthusiasm.
Among the next passers-by are two
flabby-faced eunuehs, as black as the
charcoal in the basket which is being
carried by the porter behind them.
Each has a stick in his hand. and
both talk in shriil, piping voices as
they pass. Notwithstanding the cut
ting down of the farem, eunuchs are