Returning towards the sea, I observed some catacombs. One of the chambers contains thirty niches for the dead, another fourteen. These catacombs are ornamented with pilasters, cornices, and mouldings.
Returned to Antioch, and on the following day set off for Aleppo. The Kûrds occasionally attack the caravans going between these two cities. The Turcomâns form another tribe of rovers; they generally pass the winter in the plains near Antioch, returning in the summer to Anatolia.
JOURNEY TO DAMASCUS.
Entrance of the Hadjîs — Topography of Damascus — Trade and manufactures — Population — Observations on the depopulation of the East — Government and manners of Damascus — Charitable foundations — Anecdotes of recent history — Taxes — Price of provisions — Sacred caravan.
Afterwaiting some time in Aleppo for the departure of the caravan, I at length left that city on the 23d of July for Damascus. The heat was great, but nothing equal to that of Africa. The beasts of burden, employed in this caravan, were only mules and geldings.
The route from Aleppo to Damascus has been often described. On Wednesday the 8th of August entered Damascus at day-break. The approach is remarkable, being ornamented for many miles with numerous gardens, and then by a paved way, extending for a great length.
On the day after my arrival, was entertained with the entrance of the grand caravan from Mecca. The street was lined for some miles, for such is its length, with innumerable spectators, all impressed with curiosity, some with anxiety to see theirfriends and relations, many with reverence for the sacred procession. Some of the more opulent Hadjîs, or pilgrims, were carried in litters, (tattarawân,) but the greater number in a kind of panniers, two and two, placed on the back of camels. They did not appear much fatigued, though it was said they had suffered from the want of water.
On the Saturday following, was the entrance of the Pasha of Damascus, who is constantly theEmîr-el-Hadje, or chief of the caravan by office. First appeared three hundred dellîs, or cavalry, mounted on Arabian horses, variously armed and clothed, but on the whole forming no mean display. These were succeeded by fifteen men on dromedaries, with musquetoons, or large carbines, placed before them, and turning on a swivel in every direction. This destructive instrument of war is said to have passed from the Persians to the Syrians. Some of the great officers of the city followed, well mounted, and decently attired. Then came part of the Pasha of Tripoli’s Janizaries, well clothed and armed; that Pasha himself, with his officers, and the remainder of his guard. Next was the tattarawân belonging to the Pasha of Damascus, another body of four hundred dellîs, a company of thirty musquetooners, a hundred and fifty Albanians, in uniform, and marching two and two, like our troops. Before the latter was borne the standard of the Prophet,Senjiak Sherîfi, of green silk, with sentences of the Korân embroidered in gold, and the magnificent canopy brought from Mecca, guarded by a strong body of Muggrebîns, or western Arabs, on foot. Then passed the Pasha’s three tails, (generally of white horses,) borne by threemen on horseback; twelve horses, (a Pasha of two tails has only six,) richly caparisoned, and each bearing a silver target and a sabre; six led dromedaries, in beautiful housings; numbers of the chief persons of the city followed, among whom were the Aga of the Janizaries, the governor of the castle, and the Mohassel. Last came the Pasha himself, in a habit of green cloth adorned with fur of the black fox, preceded by his two sons, the eldest about fourteen, all mounted on the most spirited steeds of Arabia, and followed by his household troops, to the number of four hundred, well armed and mounted. More than a hundred camels had preceded the rest, bearing the tents and baggage of the Pasha. The whole was conducted without any noise or tumult, to the great credit of the Damascene mob, who had been waiting several hours without their usual repast.
Damascus has been often described; but a residence of about two months may enable me to suggest some particulars worthy of notice. The walls are of a circular form, suburbs large and irregular. The situation is in an extensive plain, filled with gardens, to the length of more than three leagues, and the breadth of more than a league and a half. At no great distance to the East, rises a ridge of Anti-Libanus. The river Baradé is above the city divided into many streams, which are distributed through the gardens; so that there is a supply for all. The air is excellent, the soil exuberant in fertility. Fruits more abundant than I have ever seen, particularly the grapes and apricots, which are of excellent flavour.
Near the mountain are some Saracenic remains of a mosque and palace, with many inscriptions in Cuphic characters. These are vestiges of the destructive warfare conducted by Timûr Leng, the hero, the robber, the warrior, the scourge. The walls are antient, not very lofty, but strong. Gates nine. The city is divided into twenty-three districts, each under its distinct magistrate.
That beautiful tree, the Lombardy poplar, abounds all over the plain. It is a native of Syria. When old it becomes ragged and uncouth, as usual in other regions, a monument of fugitive beauty.
Damascus is the seat of a considerable trade; and its manufactures afford a support to a great number of Mohammedans and Christians: they consist of silk and cotton, mixed or separate, but chiefly mingled together, in the form of what they callCottonîorAlléja[60]. Much soap is also fabricated[61], whichis carried to different parts of Syria and to Egypt. Such of the European articles as are used by the Orientals, are drawn from Seidé, Beirût, and Tripoli, to and from all which places, there are regular caravans, iron, lead, tin, cochineal, broad-cloth. From Persia and the East the caravans of Bagdad convey shawls, muslins, and the rich fabrics of Surat, a part of which is consumed in the city, and a part passes on to other places in Syria and to European Turkey. To maritime commerce the Damascenes were formerly very adverse, and it is only within these few years that they could be prevailed on to send goods by sea to Constantinople.
Timûr Leng, on his conquest of Syria, about the beginning of the fourteenth century, conveyed all the celebrated manufactures of steel from Damascus into Persia. Since that period, its works in steel have been little memorable. They were formerly of the highest reputation in Europe and the East. The famous sabres appear to have been constructed, by a method now lost, of alternate layers, about two or three lines thick, of iron and steel: they never broke, though bent in the most violent manner, and yet retained the utmost power of edge; so that common iron, or even steel, would divide under their force.
So far as my researches have enabled me to ascertain the population of Damascus, I should not be inclined to compute it at less than two hundred thousand souls. That of Aleppo may be estimated at two hundred and eighty thousand.
Some modern travellers appear to me to have mistaken the nature of the gradual depopulation of the East. The villages in general are so much deserted, that, in the neighbourhood of Aleppo for instance, where within the present century stood three hundred villages, there now remain no more than ten or twelve. Yet, this depopulation of the villages swells the cities and towns, not indeed in the same proportion, but still with a rising tide. The causes seem to be, 1. In the cities the modes of gaining a livelihood are more multifarious, and small or no capital is required, whereas in agriculture it is indispensable. 2. In the cities the property is not tangible, so to speak; it is veiled from the eye of government, so as to be safe from the excessive exactions imposed on the peasants, whose property is of the most unwieldy and self-apparent description. The peasantry, both in Syria and Egypt, are notVillani, but as free as any class of men; and it happens unfortunately, that even a good governor cannot sufficiently protect them, for he must either resign, or pay the usual tributes at the Porte. Money he must have, and the modern ministerial arts, of diving into the most secret recesses of property, being there unknown, he of course taxes that which is most apparent, and the most difficult to remove.
Yet the distinction between a good and a bad governor is, even here, sufficiently felt; the population and commerce of Damascus being on the increase, by the justice and equity of the present Pasha; whereas, both had been materially injured by the violence of Jezzar.
At this moment the shops in the extensive bazars, much larger than those of Aleppo, are all opened, and furnished with every species of commodity, and each caravan brings a supply of persons who, shunning oppression elsewhere, come here for temporary profit or fixed residence. The rent of houses, though still low, is sensibly increasing, and the suburbs spreading by new buildings.
The Pashalîk is the first in Asia. The present Pasha is Abdallah, a man of about fifty years of age, tall and personable, and of noble extract, his ancestors having been invested with Pashalîks in the last century. It is hardly necessary to mention, that every Pasha has absolute power of life or death, there being no appeal from his jurisdiction.
The inhabitants of Damascus were formerly noted for their maltreatment of the Franks, but at present I found the pride of their ignorance somewhat abated, and observed no difference between them and other Oriental citizens. It is deeply to be regretted, that religion, intended to conciliate mankind, should be the chief cause of their ferocity against each other, and should, in an equal proportion, have mingled poisons and antidotes. The Mohammedan himself a god, all the rest of mankind dogs! can any benefit recompense the pride, the fury, the eternal enmity, destruction, and slaughter, inwoven into the very soul by such misanthropic dogmata?
A striking contrast exists between the inhabitants of Damascus and those of Aleppo. The Aleppîns are vain and seditious;the Damascenes, on the contrary, sober, industrious, and unostentatious. The females and children have commonly regular features and a fair complexion: the dress of the women nearly the same as at Constantinople, white muslin veils, except the prostitutes, who, as usual all over the East, expose their faces. To paint the face is an improvement unknown among the Oriental fair, save the Greeks alone.
The charitable establishments in Damascus are numerous, among which may be noted that constructed by Sultan Selim, for the reception of strangers; though his munificence have been since diverted into other channels. The building consists of a vast quadrangle, lined with a colonade. It is entirely roofed in small domes, covered with lead. The mosque is grand. The entrance supported by four large columns of red granite. It is covered with a cupola, and has two minarets. A handsome garden lies adjacent. The apartments are numerous, and the kitchen ormutbach, on the side opposite to the mosque, is suited to the grandeur of the establishment.
The celebrated Asad Pasha, mentioned by Niebuhr and Volney, left an only daughter, of whom, on her marriage with Mohammed Pasha Adm, sprang the present Pasha Abdallah. Mohammed Pasha Adm was preceded by Osmân, and succeeded by two of his own brothers successively, the last of whom, named Derwîsh, was expelled by the intrigues of Jezzâr, who gained his office, and married the daughter of Mohammed Pasha Adm. This marriage of ambition, not of affection, terminated in a divorce a year after. Among other instanceshis bad treatment of this lady, it is recorded that Jezzâr, meeting her one day in the house, where she happened to havecab-cab, or Arabian pattens on her feet, pulled a pistol from his cincture, and fired it at her, saying, “Art thou the wife of an Arabian peasant? dost thou forget that thou art the wife of a Pasha?”
Jezzâr retained his ill-won pashalîk of Damascus only a few years; his government was a continual scene of oppression and cruelty, and he is supposed to have extorted from the people not less than twenty-five thousand purses, or about a million and two hundred thousand pounds sterling; and to have put to death near four hundred individuals, most of them innocent. His own misconduct and suspicious designs, when leading the caravan to Mecca, conspired with the machinations of his enemies at the Porte to deprive him of his office: but living monuments of his cruelty remain, in the noseless faces and earless heads of many of the Damascenes. Thus driven from Damascus, he returned to his former pashalîk of Acré and Seidé, where he remains. This government, which he held along with that of Damascus, he has retained upwards of twenty-seven years.
Jezzâr was succeeded by the present Pasha Abdallah, whose administration, though eminent as before observed for equity, is yet liable to the charge of mismanagement of the public revenue, and of an indecorous timidity. Under the energetic sway of Jezzâr, the sacred caravan had met with no obstructions on its route; but that of the present year, not only found thereservoirs for water destroyed or damaged, so that many camels perished for want of that indispensable article, but even the pilgrims were insulted by the Arabs, probably incited by the arts and malicious revenge of Jezzâr. By dint of bribes, however, at the Porte, Abdallah prevented his expected deprivation.
In the province of Damascus there are no taxes upon commodities of any kind, so far as I could discover. The land-tax, and the capitation-tax on Christians, constitute the only resource, except contingencies; as fines, andavanias, or arbitrary exactions. Themiri, or public revenue, may amount to ten thousand purses, or half a million sterling.
Meat is at present sold for thirty-six paras the rotal, or four-pence sterling the pound Avoirdupois. A quantity of bread, sufficient for a meal for four persons, might be purchased for a para. It is very white and good, and remarked to be best when the Janizary Aga, who has a censorial power over the bakers, is not in the city. Grapes, of the finest flavour, the rotal three or four paras. Fish, from the river, is to be had at a moderate price, but not remarkably good. Milk, cheese, and butter, very cheap. Wild-fowl abounds on Mount Libanus, and partridges, in the season, are sold for five paras the brace. Tame fowls for four or five paras each, pigeons, a pair for the same sum.
The air or water of Damascus, or both, are supposed to operate powerfully against that loathsome disease the leprosy(borras). The inquiries I had occasion to make tended to prove, that if the disease were not too far advanced, it was always stopped in its progress, while the patient remained there.
The whole expense of the sacred caravan from Damascus to Mecca used formerly to amount to four thousand five hundred purses, and an increase has since taken place. The Pasha carries with him, exclusively of this, one thousand purses for his own use. Jezzâr was accustomed to take two thousand for the purpose of buying coffee, which he resold to vast advantage. The 4500 purses are deducted from the imperial treasury (chosné), and the Pasha is rendered accountable for the safety of the caravan. He receives the Senjiak Sherîfî, or Ensign of the Prophet, from the governor of the castle, giving an acknowlegement in writing, before witnesses, in which he solemnly pledges himself to bring it back. Similar forms are observed on restoring it to its place. As soon as the Pasha arrives near the city on his return, a messenger is dispatched to Constantinople, who is obliged to perform the journey in twenty-five days. He carries water from the famous well Zem-zem, near Mecca, and some dates from Mediné, which are presented to the Emperor on his visit to the mosque. After this, the Wizîr presents a list of the Pashas for the ensuing year; the Sultan reads it, and if he object to any name, affixes to it a mark, after which the firmâns are made out in due form.
Journey from Damascus to Balbec — Syriac language — Balbec — Recent discoveries — Zahhlé — Printing-office — Houses of Damascus — Return to Aleppo.
OnThursday the sixteenth of August 1797, set out from Damascus for Balbec or Heliopolis, attended only by the owner of the mule I rode on. Arrived at the convent ofSeidnaia, which commands a fair view of the city of Damascus, and the plain. Vines and fig-trees adorn the country through which I travelled. The wine has less flavour and body than that of Kasrawân, but is esteemed more grateful to the stomach.
FromSeidnaiaI proceeded toMalûla, a village situated in the mountain, where is a convent, said to be of the time of Justinian. Thence went toYebrûd, the antientJabruda, a place higher up the mountain, in a romantic situation; the inhabitants are chiefly Mohammedans. I met there a Greek bishop, who was going to a place near Balbec, an intelligent and curious man. We proceeded in company till we came to Balbec.
Soon after arrived atMara, a small town on the North of the road. It is remarked that at this town and atMalûlaalonethe Syriac still continues to be a living language; descending from father to son, without the use of books. Two of the muleteers I observed to converse together more willingly in that language, than in the Arabic, which in sound it nearly resembles.
On the 19th passed underDahr-el-chûr, supposed to be the highest summit of the Anti-Libanian chain of mountains. The following day having set out four and a half hours before day-break, the muleteers lost the road, and we were obliged to wait for sunrise, chilled with the intense cold of these high mountains, which we felt severely in our hands and feet. Arrived at Balbec about noon the same day, after descending for nearly three hours through a ravine, or deep glen in the mountain, a rugged and, in some places, a steep road.
From the high grounds we had a perfect view of Balbec, and went to seek our lodging under some walnut-trees, on the North of the castle. Some precaution was necessary against theMetaweli, Mohammedans of the sect of Ali, who once formed a powerful and ferocious tribe; even now, though crushed in a great degree by the exertions of Jezzâr, they continue to persecute strangers, who have often suffered from their predatory disposition.
The antiquities of Balbec have been often described, and I did not observe any thing particular to add on that topic. Proceeded toZahhlé, a pleasant town among the mountains. Observed the Lombardy poplar in abundance. AtZahhlémetwith a young man, a Druse, who informed me, that near Balbec, two or three years ago, in digging, the body of a man was found, interred in a kind of vault, having a piece of unstamped gold in his mouth; near him was a number of leaden plates, marked with characters to them unknown; they were sold and melted. In another place was discovered a small statue, very perfect, but I could not learn where it had been deposited.Zahhléis a large town, chiefly, if not solely inhabited by Christians; it sends forth seven hundred men fit for war. The town is divided into five districts, each having its separate Shech, who pays tribute to the Emîr of the Druses; they complain of oppression; and the state of the place, and the adjacent country, shews that their complaints are not void of foundation. The town is sheltered by mountains, but the locusts are very destructive. Tobacco is one of the chief articles of cultivation. A rivulet rolling from the rocks turns the mills and waters the grounds; air salubrious and never tainted with excessive heat.
NearZahhlésaw what is called thetomb of Noah, a long structure, seemingly part of an aqueduct. It extends about sixty feet, the stature of Noah according to Oriental tradition. The pilgrims who came formerly to worship in the mosque near it were very numerous; and the religious revenue is said to amount to three hundred purses annually.
Among the mountains the people have an air of health not observable in the cities. Magic is still credited, and several are accused before the bishop for incantations, producing love orenmity. The pious antipathy between the Greeks and Catholics reigns here in all its fury.
After a journey of two days, through a rugged route along the ridge of the mountain, arrived at the convent of St. John, where the printing-office is. Paper being dear, and no demand for books, the press is stopped. Arabic books alone were edited.
On my return byZibdanéobserved there a gate of Grecian architecture. Passed through a rich vale, watered by theBaradé, formerly the Chrysorrhoas, to Damascus.
So numerous are the fruit-trees in the vicinity of this city, that those which die and are cut down, supply it with abundant fire-wood. They are also used for building, together with the walnut-tree and Lombardy poplar. The houses in Damascus are remarkably large and commodious, and well supplied with water; of many the furniture is worth from one to five hundred purses, or from five thousand to twenty-five thousand pounds, in divans or large sophas, of the richest silk, embroidered with pearl, Persian carpets, mirrors, &c.
Themelingana, a species of the solanum, is consumed here in such quantities as a common vegetable, that fifty hundred weight is estimated the daily supply of the city.
Returned from Damascus to Aleppo, 7th October 1797, a journey of twelve days. Almost every town or village on theroute has its market, so that there is no occasion to prepare provisions; the caravanserais are in a ruinous situation.
On visiting the castle of Aleppo, observed a remarkable fact considering the populousness of the city. There were only eighteen prisoners, eight of whom were confined for debt, and the remainder on account of the riot between the Janizaries and Sherîfs. The debtor is not permitted, in the whole Turkish empire, to be confined above one month; during which term, according to the Mohammedan doctors, his property must appear, if he have any, and if none, they consider it unjust to detain him. But this mild regulation is sometimes frustrated; for if a claim lie for four thousand piasters, for example, the creditor may first proceed against him for five hundred, and bring a fresh charge at the end of every month till the whole be paid, or till the debtor have remained in prison one month on every distinct process.
Journey from Aleppo towards Constantinople — Route — Aintâb — Mount Taurus — Bostan — Inhabitants, their manners and dress — Kaisarîa — Angora — Walls and antiquities — Angora goats — Manufactures — Topography — Journey to Ismît — Topography — General remarks concerning Anatolia or Asia Minor.
Onthe 21st of October 1797, set out from Aleppo on my journey through Anatolia to Constantinople. I had a horse for myself, and another for an Armenian servant; seventy mules carried the merchandize of the caravan.
The direct road lies by Beilan and Adene, Konia, Kutahia, and Bursa, butKutchûk Ali, the Pasha of Beilan, being in a state of rebellion, we were constrained to turn to the North-east by an unusual route, through the cities of Aintab, Kaisarîa, and Angora.
Between Aleppo and Aintab the country is well watered, and, though somewhat stony, capable of being cultivated in a threefold degree.
On the 30th arrived at Aintab, a large town or city, inhabited by Mohammedans and Christians, both Armenian andGreek. It has a fortress and a garrison of Janizaries. Here the Turkish language first becomes general. The chief commerce is leather and raw hides; skins of goats are dyed red and yellow, into what is called Turkey leather. The houses are built of stone, which is very cheap; there are five principal mosques; through some of the streets devolve streams of water, and the air is salubrious. On the South side is a large burying ground, which at a distance seems an extensive suburb. On the North is the castle, apparently coëval with that of Aleppo, built on an artificial elevation. The city however is entirely commanded from the adjacent hills. It is governed by aMitsellim, appointed by the executive power at Constantinople. The Janizaries and Sherîfs are here as riotous as at Aleppo. Staple commodities are, the leather above mentioned, cottons for their own use, and various-coloured woollens, of which jackets are made, and sent to other parts. It also producesdips, a confection made of the grounds of wine and almonds.
After travelling for several days, ascended Mount Taurus, now calledKurûn. The ascent and descent occupied three days. This is a chain of high rocky mountains, running from East to West, the inhabitants are chiefly Kûrds; and the Turcomans retire here in the summer from the plain of Antioch, as before mentioned. Many thousand acres abound with cedars of great size and age; savines and junipers cover some of the brows. The cedars throw around a delicious odour. Some of our company, when they wished to warm themselves, the air being cold to excess, would set fire to the dead trees by kindling alittle dry grass, which would instantly seize the branches, and soon consumed the whole tree. The bases of the mountains generally consist of tufa. Most of the hills are divided by rapid rivulets of the purest water.
On commencing the ascent of Mount Taurus, observed several roads leading to the right; one of them conducts to the copper mines of Tokat, which are very rich, and yield a considerable revenue to the emperor.
After descending Mount Taurus, arrived in the extensive plain of Bostân, which consists of fertile soil, is watered by the river formerly calledSarus, and surrounded with mountains.
Bostân is a town rather of small size, and presenting nothing memorable. Here I first observed little two-wheeled carts, drawn by two oxen. The wheels are solid, and the axle turns with them, so that their progress is sufficiently vociferous. Market poor. The inhabitants, like those of Anatolia in general, form a striking contrast to the more polished natives of Syria. They inspected us with stupid curiosity, and without the usual tokens of salutation practised by the Arabs. The common dress a short jacket and fringed turban. The women here are of fair florid complexion, and wear on their heads broad flat pieces of metal, to shelter their faces from the sun and rain. These resemble common eating plates, and are fastened with strings under the chin; the rich have them of silver, others are copper. Their persons and motions are uncouth and destituteof the lascivious mincing, themotus Ionici, of the Egyptian and Syrian women.
From Bostân to Kaisarîa the country is plain, but ill cultivated and thinly inhabited. Near the city there are however several productive fields, and watered by the riverYermok. This river we had passed a day’s journey from Kaisarîa, running to the South. Near that city the Lombardy poplar again appears in abundance.
Kaisarîa is distinguished at a distance by two remarkable hills, one of them lofty, and at this time covered with snow. This is West of the town. The other, which is to the South, is round and isolated, but not so high. The town is on the south side of a fertile plain, well watered by theYermokand some rills, and contains a good number of inhabitants. They are now ploughing. In entering the town I observed numbers of the shaggy, strong, and large camels, which are bred by the Turcomans. The black buffaloe, like that of Egypt, is very common here. Kaisarîa is governed by aMitsellim, who is appointed from Constantinople. The city belongs to the Reis Effendi. It is surrounded by walls, now in bad repair. Great quantities of timber are brought here from the mountains, and transported to various quarters.
Angora is eight days’ journey nearly North-west from Kaisarîa. On the fourth day passed a plain, watered or rather inundated by the riverTumm. On the eighth day passed abridge, over a rapid but apparently shallow river, one of the branches of the Halys, at a spot where it makes its appearance from betwixt abrupt rocks. Route variegated with hills, but on the whole rather plain.
Reached Angora on the 22d of November, two hours before sun-set. This city is visible at some distance, being in a lofty situation. It has a striking and agreeable appearance. It is situated on a small river. The castle is very antient, and in former times may have appeared impregnable, being raised on a high perpendicular rock. There is a chain of outworks to a considerable extent, occupying all the high ground.
The city has been surrounded by a substantial wall, in some places apparently double. Marks of a ditch also are visible. I passed three gates, and was told there were three or four more. Fragments of Greek inscriptions may be observed on two of the gates. On the North-west are said to be remains of an amphitheatre, which circumstances prevented me from visiting.
In the city are the ruins of a magnificentCuria, erected in the time of Augustus. The architecture is Corinthian, and parts of the inscriptions are well preserved, complimentary to that emperor.
The stones which form the walls are durable, and of an excellent quality. The city must have been strong, being commanded by no adjacent height. Market well supplied, especiallywith honey and excellent bread. The people are the most polished I have yet seen in Anatolia.
The trade is chiefly in yarn, of which our shalloons are made, and their own manufacture of Angora stuffs. Of the latter I am told they make yearly from fifteen to twenty thousand pieces, of thirty Stambûl pikes each, or nearly twenty-two yards. The breed of goats they say is on the decline. There is however a great extent of country which is capable of supplying food to their flocks; so that the number might be easily augmented. Each goat produces on an average from two to three hundred drams annually. The hair is taken from the whole body, and not the belly alone. They are shorn once a year, the sheep twice. The wool of the latter is particularly fine and long. Of the goats’ hair they have, it is reported, made shawls here, equal in quality to the Kashmirian, and as wide. They cost the maker one hundred piasters a-piece; but the manufacturers were unable to work flowers in them. They have also made good cloth; but the fabric was abandoned for want of encouragement. A special regulation constrains them to work the shalloons with double thread, otherwise they might be made much finer. The best of the Angora stuffs, worked by the piece, stands the manufacturer in about seventyparasthe pike, or two thousand (= 3l. 10s. or 3l. 15s.) the piece. I should observe that in the manufacture of camlets no wool is used. Wax is exported, and in this part of Anatolia are cultivated large quantities ofopium.
The Angora cats are confined to the same district with the goats. The soil is a fine red marl; but there is no peculiarity so striking in the site, soil, or air, as to offer any probable induction concerning the origin of those two remarkable breeds of animals, so dissimilar from those of other regions of the East.
Angora is one of the neatest cities I have yet visited. The streets are paved with large granite, but without foot-paths. Wax is produced in the neighbourhood, to the value of two thousand piasters a year; one fourth of which quantity is generally consumed in the city itself. It is surrounded by mountains, but there are numerous gardens near it, producing much fruit, especially excellent pears, which are sent for presents to Constantinople. The esculent plants barely suffice for the city, and the corn is brought from other places, the land being employed most profitably in the pasturage of the goats.
On the 16th of November 1797 proceeded towards Ismît or Nikmid, the antient Nicomedia, a maritime town, distant ten days. On the first day of our route saw the river of Angora running north through the plain. Two days after met fifty camels laden with fuller’s earth for the manufacturers of Angora. The 30th of November observed in the side of a hill a most beautiful appearance of strata, to the number of nine or ten in the breadth of eight feet, the widest of them grey chalky stone, then a wide one of red earth, or marl, then narrow ones of red earth and chalk alternately, each about four inches wide; surface gravel.
December 7th, set out from Kostabec three hours before sun-rise, and did not reach Tourbali till about one in the afternoon. The general face of the country is a rocky forest of pines and oaks. We kept mostly in the valley, till half past nine in the evening, when we ascended a very high mountain, which we also in part descended before we reached Tourbali. Several small streams descend both to the North and the South; one in particular, forming the river that runs by Angora. This part of Mount Olympus must in course be very high.
I found grapes in almost all the towns, after leaving Angora, but those of Teracli were the best I had seen since leaving Damascus; they are white, and of a fine flavour, and some of them of very large size.
December 5th, after passing Yeywa, came to a long well-built bridge over the considerable and rapid river, which disembogues into the Black sea, calledSakaria: a long bridge leads over the marshy lands toIsmît, a large town, extended in length, built on the side of a hill to the east of the plain. The mountains near it are lofty, and become visible long before one arrives there. Ismît is paved, but dirty, and built of wood. Most of the houses have a garden attached to them. The khan is neat, but not very large—Few remains of antiquity. A great number of Greeks resides here.
On the 7th left Ismît, and after passing along the shore to Scutari, where we arrived in the morning of the 9th, proceeded immediately to Constantinople.
Some general remarks arise concerning Anatolia, formerly Asia Minor. The parts through which we passed have more of the wild and romantic[62]than of the cultivated aspect; soil very various, but a deep clay is the most prevailing. Wheat and barley, and the yellow durra,Holcus Arundinaceus, form the chief, if not only products of agriculture. The whole is pervaded by hordes of Kurds and Turcomans. Numerous mendicants. The little security there is arises from the superior ferocity of a few Pashas, which allows of no robbery save their own. The depopulation is gradual, constant, and infallible, and indubitably arises from the extreme badness of the government, than which nothing more wretched can well be conceived.
Observations at Constantinople — Paswân Oglo — Character of the present Sultan — State of learning — Public libraries — Turkish taste — Coals — Greek printing-house — Navy — Return to England.
WhenI arrived at Constantinople there was a considerable alarm raised by the progress of the arms ofPaswân Oglo, Pasha of Wîddîn. Originally Aga of that city, that is, chief of the Janizaries and commandant, he formed a powerful opposition to the Pasha, consisting of many rich and eminent inhabitants, who were dissatisfied with the Pasha’s conduct. By numerous intrigues and disputes the latter was gradually deprived of his authority, and Paswân Oglo usurped his place. After the last Russian war, the Porte being much in want of money, had recourse to new and unpopular measures of finance. Taxes were for the first time imposed on articles of consumption, as grain and wine. Paswân availed himself of the discontents occasioned by these impositions, and as his power increased boasted that he would correct such abuses.
The Porte, following its usual policy of rewarding where it cannot punish, of decorating the head which it wishes to strikeoff, confirmed Paswân in the Pashalik. His military force at first did not exceed four or five thousand, but, by the influx of the discontented, was now swelled to fifteen thousand or more, of enthusiastic and determined followers. Most of them consisted of the Janizaries on that side of Romélia, who were extremely dissatisfied at having passed unrewarded after the brilliant actions they had performed against the Austrian arms, and at the encouragement given to the recently established corps of Fusileers, an innovation which stung their ancient prejudices.
The Aga of the Janizaries at Constantinople, being consulted on the suppression of the rebellion, gave his opinion, that there was danger lest the Janizaries should go over to their brethren. The Diwân assembled in great perplexity, all were irresolute, till the Capitan-pasha, Hussein, said, “Nothing can be more easy than to crush this rebel.” The members instantly retorted, that if it were so easy, why not undertake that duty himself. Hussein exclaimed, “Only give me the means, and I pledge myself to conduct them!” He was in consequence appointed, and abundant supplies of men and money were assigned. Instead of Janizaries, the Timariots or feudal troops of Asia were summoned. Before I left Turkey a slight skirmish had taken place. The troops which marched against Wîddîn were computed at one hundred and fifty thousand. Paswân Oglo, unable to meet such a multitude in the field, was contented to defend Wîddîn. His success and further progress are sufficiently known.
A new institution had been recently ordained by the reigning Sultan. Perceiving that his troops had been unable to opposethose of Russia, he had, with the assistance of the French, who supplied non-commissioned officers to instruct them, founded a regular corps of infantry, consisting of about one thousand. They were clothed in a tighter dress, and their arms[63]supplied by government. The French have also assisted the Turks in casting a great number of brass field-pieces and battering cannon; nor are they without some flying artillery.
The present Sultan is not deficient in discernment, or warm wishes to promote the happiness of his people; but through the usual imperfection of his education, he is the slave of his own impetuosity, and a stranger to the recesses of the human heart. His motives are generally right, but the means, opposed by popular prejudices, are often ineffectual.
Sultan Selim, after correcting the police of the capital, turned his beneficent views to the encouragement of learning among his subjects. He has revived the mathematical school, in which, however, small progress had been made; his ignorance of the world leading him to think that his orders can form minds, and that a pension confers capacity. He has restored the printing office, and a new Arabic type was casting by an ingenious Armenian. But whether the improvement of the type may contribute to the diffusion of solid knowlege among the Turks, may fairly be questioned. The first book ordered to be printed was a Persian dictionary. An engraver on copper is also settled here, the subjects are the armillary sphere, some plans of fortification, the box-compass, and the like.
The Turks are remarkable for half-measures. In the mathematical and marine school, a substantial and commodious building, they are furnished with every thing—except instruments and books; the class small or none; but the end of the institution is considered as completely answered, as there are professors who meet and smoke their pipes together.
There are severalKuttub-chans, or public libraries, among which the principal are those of St. Sophia and the Solimanié Jamasy; but none so elegant as that built by Raghib Pasha, formerly Grand Wizîr. The magnificent institutions of this great man being envied by the Sultan of the day, his head was the forfeit of his virtues. This library is an insulated building, in the middle of a square court, consisting entirely of marble, and very neat and convenient. A large tomb, decorated with gilt brass, in which Raghib Pasha is buried, forms the centre of the library. Around are numerous books, on all subjects, chiefly as usual theology; convenient seats and elegant carpets and cushions for the readers. A librarian constantly attends. The light is well disposed, and the place perfectly quiet; so that I have no where seen a building or institution more complete of the kind. The apartment is raised above the ground by seven or eight easy steps. Fronting the street there is a school, founded by the same Pasha. It is a convenient room, of thirty-five feet long and proportionate width, where about an hundred boys are taught to read and write, and the more simple part of their theology. There is only one class, which attends every day for two hours in the morning and two in the afternoon.
I met with a Mohammedan, a native ofBalk, who understood the first six books of Euclid. A young Englishman, who has embraced Islamism, and is lately established at Constantinople, had translated Euclid into Turkish, and published an astronomical ephemeris. Having received some encouragement, he was proceeding to read lectures on mathematical subjects. Many scribes are found here who write elegantly and correctly.
The national taste does not seem rapidly to improve. One of the Sultanas, sisters of the monarch, has not long since built a villa on the Bosphorus, half in the European style, half in the Chinese.
There is a considerable market for books, containing many shops, well supplied.
Strata of coals are found at about four hours distance on the European side. An officer in the service of the Porte informed me that he had at first obtained the exclusive right of working them. He sent them to the Crimea. Since that time better coals having been found in that country, and the right of working them having been soon afterwards taken from him, the mine was neglected, and then discontinued. It was difficult to work on account of the sandy soil which fell in. He said he could sell them at Constantinople for a para the oke.
Went to a Greek printing-house conducted by an Armenian. They were printing a small exhortation in the Greek language,written by Anthimus, Patriarch of Jerusalem, against the prevailing tenets of Deism and Atheism. They throw off about a thousand sheets a day.
The navy has of late been greatly improved by Le Brun and other French ship-builders. On the 2d of April 1798 there were eight ships of war at anchor in the Bosphorus; three seventy-fours, four fifties, one forty. The whole navy amounts to fifteen ships, fit for service, and of considerable force.
The Turkish women, in fine weather, ape the European custom of taking the air in their carriages, in a great square; but they are concealed in small latticed waggons, and veiled. They thus lose the best part of the display, “the mighty pleasure of being seen.”
I shall close my remarks on Constantinople with observing, that the country between it and Adrianople is completely plain, and that the capital is, on the land side, incapable of any defence against a victorious army. The uncertainty of the winds and channels join with the forts to defend the other side from any sudden assault.
Proceeding through Wallachia to Vienna, Prague, Dresden, Leipsic, Potsdam, Berlin, and Hamburg, I arrived in London on the 16th of September, 1798, after an absence of nearly seven years.
Comparative view of life and happiness in the East and in Europe.
—Et qui plus est, il me semble que je n’ay rencontré guere de manieres, qui ne vaillent les nostres.Montaigne.
Thegreat contrast which is observable between the manners and personal character of the Orientals and Europeans, insensibly leads to a comparison of its result in society. The character of every nation merits the attention of the philosopher; and the less that nation resembles ourselves, the more its distinguishing features require our investigation.
While vanity instigates us to claim an undisputed superiority, experience often compels us to doubt the validity of the sentence on which we insist. We are fearful of being reduced to acknowlege, that the labour, the thought, the agitation which have place among us, often augment not the happiness of the individual, and are of doubtful utility to the collective body. It is not however designed to insist on any such concession;and only a few considerations shall be offered in the order that they arise.