Leading the Blind (32 page)

It is more likely, however, that the horsemen in the distance prove to be friends, for the Bedouins seldom venture to cross a dangerous district unless assured of the absence of all tribes with whom they have feuds. Under the direction of the sheikh the camp is pitched near some lonely spring, disturbing possibly thereby a troop of wild asses, which gallop off to drink at some safer place.

After a few days' journey of this kind are described in the distance numerous black specks which gradually assume the form of an encampment, the home of your Bedouin guides. As the party approaches it will be joined by scouts, who come careering towards it with intricate feats of horsemanship, spear in rest, to excite the admiration and respect of the unknown visitor.

On arriving, the guest is taken to the largest tent, where he dismounts, and exclaims, ‘
Salaam aleikum!
' Its inmates gravely respond, in a sonorous voice, ‘
Aleikum salaam!
' When seated on the best carpet he is regaled with a small cup of black unsugared coffee, rendered still more unpalatable by an odious infusion of bitter-herbs. Presently a huge bowl of rice, cooked with butter, probably rancid, and lumps of mutton, certainly tough, is placed on the ground, and every one thrusts his fingers into it and helps himself. Each partaker of the feast retires when his appetite is satisfied, and leaves his place to another until the last remnants of the fare are devoured by a troop of naked and hungry children, and the bones by the lean curs of the encampment.

All idea of privacy must be given up, as the tent of the stranger will be open to all visitors, who would be much offended if he were to say ‘Not at home' to the least of them. With the exception of this intrusive disposition, the Bedouins will be found gentle, considerate, and anxious to please their guest. In the morning he may ride out on a hawking party.

While the tourist is enjoying this rich treat, some plundering enterprise may perhaps be planned by the sheikh against the Aneyzeh tribe, which is in a state of perpetual foray and reprisals with the Shammar.

If the traveller should wish to push his study of the desert so far as to run this additional risk, he must see that he be well mounted for a forced retreat, and he must equip himself in a Bedouin costume to avoid the danger of being captured with a view to a heavy ransom. Early in the morning the party will be on their mares, and, taking with them a few thin wheaten cakes for food and each a sheepskin cloak to sleep on, they start in a straight line to a point on the horizon at a good pace, that their enemies may be taken by surprise. All those whom they meet on their way, if of friendly tribes, are invited to join the expedition, which they are always ready to do, and the number of the party will probably soon be thus increased to about a hundred horsemen.

When the ground becomes uneven, a scout is sent to every height to reconnoitre, and towards nightfall a concealed position is sought for a bivouac. No fires are lit, no tents are pitched, but each man throws himself on the ground to eat his dry bread and sleep beside his picketed mare, one being, however, on guard.

An hour or two before daylight the word ‘mount' is passed from mouth to mouth, and the mares are again put to their mettle. The arrival at the doomed encampment is timed so as to meet the flocks and herds just when they are being driven out in the morning to graze, and before they are scattered about on the pastures, that they may thus be swept off in a body.

The war-chant is commenced. The mares prick their ears and snort with excitement. Those who have been told off to drive the captured cattle and carry off the booty separate from the main body, which gradually quickens its pace, the war-song becoming louder and louder, till a full gallop and a yell bring the assailants round some sheltering mound, and they charge in among the tents.

A scene of disorder ensues which baffles description. The men of the plundered tribe spring out of their tents; some hurl their javelins at the horsemen, others fire their long rifles at them and quickly load, while the women shriek and fling stones; the cattle gallop in all directions with their tails in the air, and the hostile parties of drivers and fighters show the greatest activity in getting the herd together on the move, and in dispersing those who attempt to prevent its being taken away.

If the Shammar be worsted, the sooner the traveller gets his mare into a gallop, in the direction whence he came, the better will it be for him; but, if successful, a few minutes will suffice to get the cattle on their way home, covered by a strong force in the rear, the Aneyzeh firing distant shots to harass them for some miles. The wounded are carried off, the dead left on the field, and, if prisoners have been taken, their ransom is transacted by regular embassies, as well as the conditions for the restoration of a part of the booty when the plundered tribe can afford it. Such incidents are of so frequent occurrence that the traveller will find no lack of opportunity for witnessing them, if it be his wish.

If any English traveller was foolish enough to join such an enterprise; and some no doubt were, or it would not have been written about; and if he survived to tell the table, which he obviously did, he would then pursue his lucky and exhilarated way to Baghdad, where he would, we are told, ‘Meet with a little Anglo-Indian society, which will materially enhance the enjoyment of his stay there.'

Such an adventure as the above may have been possible in the Turkish dominions of the 1850s, but by the beginning of the twentieth century a great deal had changed, proved by the fact that there were more guidebooks to the region, though Baedeker was published in German only. A volume was devoted to Constantinople in the
Medieval Towns
series, and a special edition, already mentioned, of the
Blue Guide
(in French) commemorated the opening of the Orient Express route. Apart from Black's, there was Murray's updated handbook to the Bosphorus and Dardanelles area, and fifty excellent pages in Macmillan's
Eastern Mediterranean
, 1905.

The Bradshaw of the day tells us that getting through the customs at Constantinople was less easy than formerly, but that: ‘A bakhsheesh of 5 piastres will expedite matters.' Murray informs us: ‘Rifles, revolvers, foreign cigars, and tobacco are prohibited. Books, newspapers, and all printed matters are submitted to the censor; if not returned within a day, application should be made for them through the Consulate. Books such as the “Hand-book” and the “Continental Bradshaw” have, on occasion, been seized.' Should this be the case, the traveller need not despair, because ‘Otto Keil, booksellers to H.I.M. the Sultan stock all books on the East, including Murray's Handbooks', according to an advertisement in Black's guide.

With regard to accommodation Murray says in his preface that ‘great changes have taken place in TURKEY within the last few years. Travellers who intend to make a long stay may sometimes take furnished lodgings, and have their meals at clubs, hotels, or restaurants. All the furnished lodgings are bad, and very few respectable. The sanitary arrangements and the attendance are wretched.'

The traveller is warned against wearing a fez on his arrival in the East, which is ‘a very unwise thing to do, as by donning the native head-gear he
ipso-facto
loses his foreign prestige'. He is also told that: ‘There is no postal delivery at Constantinople; letters must be called for at the Post Office at which they are expected to arrive.'

As for getting about, we read in Black's: ‘With two or three exceptions, the streets of Constantinople are but little better than narrow, crooked, wretchedly-paved, and dirty alleys.' As a guide or dragoman, Hutton, of the
Medieval Towns
series, strongly recommends: ‘Eustathios Livathinos as a most pleasant companion. Jacob Moses has also much experience.'

We are also told in Black's that: ‘The Jews are pretty numerous, and are, with some exceptions, the poorest and most wretched of all the races inhabiting Constantinople. Many of the Greeks, Armenians, and Jews are employed under the Government; but the majority of them are merchants, shop-keepers, artisans, hawkers, labourers, etc. They are officially styled “rayah” or “the herd”, a term which the Turks apply to the non-Mussulman subjects.' The
Guide Bleu
says that ‘the Jews make up the part of the population of the Ottoman Empire the least hostile to foreigners'.

One's conduct has to be continually monitored nevertheless, because on visiting the Aya Sophia Mosque, which Baedeker's double asterisk makes a ‘must': ‘Visitors should be careful not to touch anything.'
The Mediterranean Traveller
, 1905, published for tourists from the United States, tells its readers: ‘All foreigners in Turkey are under constant suspicion and surveillance, and are greatly hindered in their personal and business affairs.'

A section in Black's dealing with theatres and music halls states that the theatre at Shehzdeh Bachi ‘should not be visited by ladies'. How you would pay your entrance fee would seem a problem, in any case, because the same book tells us: ‘There is practically no such thing as legal tender in Turkey, and payment may be made in coins of any current denomination.'

Taking boats from one shore to another is no relaxing matter. ‘These craft are very crank, and the greatest care should be taken in getting in and out of them. They are not provided with thwarts for passengers, but the latter have to sit down on the cushions in the well, where if they only sit still they are safe enough.'

If the theatres are morally out of bounds perhaps the traveller will take note of the following in Murray: ‘The devotional exercises of the Dancing Dervishes are held on
Tuesday
and
Friday
, after the Sultan returns from the mosque. Those of the Howling Dervishes may be witnessed at Skutari.'

Another feature of the town are the dogs, of which Murray gives the best account. ‘There are two popular errors concerning the dogs that throng the streets of Constantinople; the one, that they are ferocious; the other that they are scavengers, and thus instruments of cleanliness. The Constantinople dog is a mild, sociable creature, never aggressive, and always thankful for small mercies. But he is anything but an instrument of cleanliness; on the contrary, he contributes in no small measure to the uncleanliness of the streets, and his scavenging is limited to rummaging for edible morsels in the heaps of rubbish which householders throw out before their doors for the dustman to clear away in the morning. The dog's existence is precarious; depending on the produce of dust heaps aforesaid, on the scraps and offal of the butchers, and on the stale loaves which bakers cut up and distribute.'

Murray then describes how the canine population operate the same strict demarcation system as in Cairo, concluding: ‘The principal inconvenience of the dogs to mankind is their nocturnal barking and howling. The number of them, however, has perceptibly diminished of late years; the waste spaces in which they used to bask and breed have been enclosed or built over, and gradually the Constantinople dog is being improved away.'

Perhaps the following rules were drawn up by the police based on their knowledge of the dogs' passion for guarding their territory: ‘
Police regulations
in Constantinople do not differ much from those in other European cities. But the police, who are all Moslems, are wanting in knowledge and tact, and they are not always to be relied on in case of a difficulty. It is, however, easy to keep out of trouble. In the frequented parts of the city a foreigner runs no risk whatever of molestation, if his own conduct is discreet. If, however, he penetrates into the quarters inhabited exclusively by Mussulmans, he should be always accompanied by a dragoman. The children in these quarters are prone to hooting and throwing stones, and any resentment of these offences is certain to lead to difficulty. If the traveller strays into one of those quarters, the best thing to do is make his way out of it as soon as possible. Should a traveller get into trouble, the only course to follow is to exercise the utmost patience, and on arriving at the police station, to send a note to the Consulate.'

One would not in any case want to be caught in any of the above areas after reading about fires in Constantinople, which are said to be ‘of frequent occurrence and often very destructive, desolating whole quarters of the city. Great precautions are now taken both to prevent them, and to check their progress. The fire-engines are in the hands of firemen who are paid by enjoying some special privileges; but the engines are small boxes, which are carried on the shoulders of four men; these run head-long, crying “fire!” at the tops of their voices. Having reached the place of conflagration, they wait to be hired by people whose houses are in danger. There is another set of firemen who prove eminently useful on such occasions. They are soldiers armed with axes and long poles, with iron hooks at the end. These tear down the wooden houses, and so isolate the fire, as effectually to put an end to its ravages. Still, a fire in Constantinople is an awful scene; 2000 houses and shops have been known to burn in the space of a few hours. It is indeed impossible to describe the confusion and horror of the sight. Men, women, and children escaping from their abandoned homes, each dragging or carrying on his shoulder whatever he happened to catch at the moment. The police are powerless for good. Evilintentioned men rush into the houses and rob them, under the pretence of being friends of the family. They have been known to spread the conflagration by carrying burning coals into dwellings yet unreached by the flames.'

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

RUSSIA

After the delights and perils of Turkey our traveller may decide to visit Russia on his long way home, thus completing the circuit of his Grand Tour. From Constantinople a boat will carry him through the Black Sea to Odessa. As for getting through the Russian Customs, we learn: ‘In order to encourage the officials in discovering contraband goods the following general rule is issued: “In the event of goods liable to duty and confiscation being found while the search is being carried out, all the searchers who took part in the discovery will receive a reward from the first hah of the reward fund.”'