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 Photo by James F Ryder Cleveland, O.
 
 Under Oriental Skies 
 
 -OR— 
 
 Asia Minor and Her Inhabitants 
 
 DESCRIPTIVE, 
 HISTORICAL AND PICTURESQUE 
 
 ANTRANIG AZHDERIAN 
 
 <;Li;Vbi.AM) : 
 TH'.: WILLIAMS PUBLISHING AND KLIiCTRIC COMPANY 
 1894
 
 Copyright, 1894-, 
 
 — BV — 
 
 Antkaxig Azhdkkiax. 
 
 Half-tone Engravings by The National Photo Engraving C<i
 
 .Խ1֊ձ 
 
 Մօ tbe 
 
 /iBenior^ of ուք 1bome 
 
 Bcross tbe Sea, tbis firstsfruit of m^ 
 
 liJoutbful pen is teiiDerlg 
 
 ITiiscribeD. 
 
 1Ց8.'325?
 
 INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 BY REV. CYRUS S. BATES, D.D. 
 
 Mr. Antranig Azhderian, whom I have known for 
 several years, and in whom I feel a lively interest, has asked 
 me to write a brief account of his life, to be inserted in his 
 book entitled, "Under Oriental Skies." 
 
 Antranig Azhderian was born September 1, 1871, in the 
 City of Marsovan, Asia Minor. By birth he is an Armenian 
 of noble parentage and ancestry. His grandfather, Simeon 
 Azhderian, holds the honorable position of representative 
 of the local Protestant community to the government. 
 
 Through the teaching of American missionaries, all the 
 immediate relatives of Antranig became, man\՛ years ago, 
 earnest supporters of Protestantism. His father and uncles 
 were among the first adherents to the Protestant cause in 
 Marsovan, and the^^ are to-day among the leading members 
 of the Church in that place. They are great friends to the 
 missionaries. The Rev. Dr. Judson Smith, Senior Secretary 
 of the American Board, in a recent letter to Antranig 
 writes: "The evening ^vhich I spent at your home in 
 Marsovan was a memorable occasion for me. I should like 
 to send my kind regards to your father and uncles, in 
 memory՛ of the kind entertainment which they gave me six 
 years ago."
 
 INTRODUCTORY. Y 
 
 After a course of several years in the common schools of 
 Marsovan, Antranig entered Anatolia College in that city, 
 where he studied for about four years. His vacations were 
 spent in his father's store, or in travelling about the country՛. 
 During his college da3's he developed a strong desire to visit 
 America — a desire greatK՛ increased by the fact that a 3'oung 
 uncle of his, Garabed Azhderian, was in America, a student 
 at Williams College, After a long correspondence between 
 Antranig and his uncle at Williamstovvn, he was permitted 
 by his father to journe\՛ to America, starting in the fall of 
 1889. On his way, in Constantinople, he become acquainted 
 with the Patriarch of the Armenian National Church, and 
 also with a number of professors in the Armenian and 
 American educational institutions in Constantinople. While 
 in Paris he made the acquaintance of a set of students from 
 some American colleges, and visited the International Expo- 
 sition in their company. 
 
 After a short visit to his uncle at Williamstown, 
 Antranig went to St. Louis to become a salesman in a large 
 Oriental store in that cit^^ His ability and faithfulness in 
 this position made so favorable an impression upon his 
 employers that they sent him to Springfield, 111., to take 
 charge of a branch store, in which responsible and difficult 
 work he was quite successful. 
 
 While in Springfield, Antranig made the acquaintance of 
 the Rev. Dr. David S. Johnson, who became a very faithful 
 counsellor, helper and friend. Through the influence of Dr. 
 Johnson he entered again upon a course of study, being
 
 VI INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 for some time a student of Blackburn Universit}՛, of which 
 Dr. Johnson was a trustee. The President of the college 
 speaks of him as a bright and promising young man, in 
 good standing, and enjo^-ing the confidence and respect 
 of the faculty and students. 
 
 From Blackburn University, Mr. Azhderiancame to Ohio 
 to further his studies, and while in college here he has been 
 preparing and delivering lectures upon interesting themes on 
 his native land. The lectures of Mr. Azhderian upon Oriental 
 life and customs have been greatly enjo3'ed. 
 
 Baptized in infancy in the Armenian National Church, 
 educated in early 3'ears in the Armenian public schools, and 
 3^et trained up in a strongly Protestant home, and spending 
 his later years in America, he combines in rare degree sym- 
 pathy with the old historic national and ecclesiastical life of 
 his people with sympathy for western political ideas and 
 religious thought. This double sympathy peculiarh՛ fits 
 him to interpret Armenian life and thought to us, thus 
 giving especial interest and value to his lectures here. And 
 when he returns to his own people, the same double sj-mpa- 
 thy must be of great advantage for the interpreting of our 
 life and thought to them. 
 
 From what I know of Mr. Azhderian, I believe 
 him to be painstaking, thorough and earnest in anj»^ work 
 undertaken by him; and I anticipate for him a life abound- 
 ing in good service to others. 
 
 Ver\՛ vincereK՛, 
 
 C. S. Bates. 
 
 St. Paul's Rector}^, Cleveland.
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 The Oriental skies I far-famed and far sung, over-reaching 
 every poet-land of mystery and dream ! Heeding its wooing 
 whisper, we leave the practical world behind, while our 
 imaginations wing themselves on languid, listless winds, 
 that know not cloud nor storm, save as recollection past. 
 
 They sing us on our flight the songs of the olden poets ; 
 they tell in sighing cadences the wondrous yearnings of 
 heroic souls, who thought to know the infinite and solve 
 the secrets which the blue depths well knew, but pityingly 
 withheld. We journey to a land wdiere faith is not a 
 miracle, and where were nursed and suckled the infant 
 religions of our world. Grown hoary with age, and wan- 
 derers far from home, they point with admonitions for 
 remembrance to the land of their nativity, under oriented 
 skies. 
 
 We wander back in time, and look upon the Son of Man, 
 the Savior of the race, as he treads with holy feet the holv 
 soil of Galilee. Back, back we go, to stand in purity and 
 awe amid the lavished wealth of God, the paradise of love 
 and flowers. We cannot go farther. And it is here, in this 
 Eden of Armenia, whose beauty, blighted by the sin of 
 centuries, still sings in tender tones, its lullaby over our 
 race's cradle, we are, for the most part, to tarry with the 
 reader. 
 
 TlIK AlTHOR.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 I. Asia Minor 9 
 
 II. The Seven Churches of Asia 21 
 
 III. Armtnia 49 
 
 IV. Armenia People 73 
 
 V. Armenian Literature 89 
 
 VI. The Armenian Church 102 
 
 VII. The Evangelical Church 118 
 
 VIII. Glimpses of Social Life 145 
 
 IX. The Turks ^....195 
 
 X. Taxation in Turkey 210 
 
 XL Mohammedanism 217 
 
 XII. The Queen of the East 243 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Antranig Azhderian, the Author Frontispiece. 
 
 Theatre in Ruins 10 
 
 Arch in Ruins 12 
 
 Street of Knight Templars 16 
 
 Towers of Fortress 17 
 
 Temple of Diana 24 
 
 Gate of Stadius 27 
 
 The Aqueduct and Castle 28 
 
 Acropolis (General View) 40 
 
 Temple of Cybele (two Columns) 41 
 
 Palace of Croesus 43 
 
 A Mountain Scene 59 
 
 Mount Ararat 62 
 
 Nature's Song 90 
 
 A Scene in Armenia 93 
 
 The Passing of Summer 96 
 
 An Armenian Bishop 103 
 
 Mgr. Khrimian, Catholicos of all Armenians Ill 
 
 A Turk Grinder 148 
 
 "Sweetheart" 163 
 
 An Armenian Ladj^ 170 
 
 A Caravan 181 
 
 A Freight Caravan 182 
 
 The Flock 185 
 
 Turkish Foot Soldiers 201 
 
 Sultan Amurath I. (Murad) 204 
 
 A Kurd 20« 
 
 A Circassian 209 
 
 Moslem at Prayer 225 
 
 A Dervish 232 
 
 Dancing Dervishes 235 
 
 Constantinople — Panorama from Galata 244 
 
 Seven Towers of Constantinople 247 
 
 The Mosque of Si!le\-man and Golden Horn 252 
 
 The Mosque of Achmet (Ahmed) 253 
 
 Santa Sophia 255 
 
 Imperial Palace of Dolma-Baytche, on the Bosphorus 260 
 
 The Interior of St. Sophia 274
 
 ASIA MINOR. 
 
 "We are now to tread u]5on a soil rich in interesting and splendid 
 recollections." — Malte-Briw. 
 
 '^jIj^HE land of song and poetrv, the blood-stained battle- 
 JL- ground of empires, the garden of Eden and the 
 cradle of the human race — such is Asia Minor. 
 
 There, rising in distinct outline against the blue sky 
 of the Orient is the snow-capped Ararat, the sole un- 
 battered sign-board of the realms of the pre-historic. 
 There, silent memorials of an eventful past, lie the ruins 
 of magnificent temples and desecrated altars, inscribed in- 
 delibly with the impress of high civilization and successive 
 religions, now dead forever. There, in short, stretches a 
 country rendered by its eventful history the most interesting 
 to mankind of an}՛ land, of any continent. Her position 
 as a natural centre of three continents had a tremendous 
 influence upon her commerce and civilization ; and not 
 only were her institutions thus affected by the surrounding 
 world, but through her commerce she exerted a like influence 
 upon others. 
 
 No region, save that of the Sphynx, olTcrs such inviting 
 opportunities to the lover of anticpiarian lore. .Amid her
 
 10 
 
 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 fair plains, deep valleys, mountain ranges and hills, where 
 nature's gifts are so profusely bestowed, are strewn con- 
 fused masses of temples, theaters, tombs, walls, columns, 
 sculptures — memorials of people long overthrown and 
 vanquished. 
 
 The dust of centuries is heaped over the site of her 
 
 THEATRE IN RUINS. 
 
 ruins, once the abode of "giants "—military, scientific, 
 artistic, theological. 
 
 In this focus of continents, nation after nation, diverse 
 and antagonistic in race and language, have crossed swords 
 for the possession of the field— flourished and perished— each
 
 ASIA MINOR. 11 
 
 successive power leaving its indelible imprints and vestiges, 
 from the mythical period of which blind Homer sings to 
 the present era, when the slender minerets of Islam pierce 
 the azure from ever}՛ city and A-illage. 
 
 Along the Helespont and the far-famed Mediterranean 
 coasts of Asia Minor, Grecian monuments of intellectual 
 and material progress are the most conspicuous. Hellenic 
 art and science were not confined to the shores of Greece, 
 but Asia Minor afforded an equally wide field for their 
 development. There are paved thoroughfares ; by the 
 way-side can be measured the foundations of temples, 
 theatres, arches, g^-ranasia and Cyclopean fortifications, 
 indicating a state of opulent prosperity՛ strangely mingled 
 with an almost savage grandeur of phj-sical endurance, and 
 displaying all the vital elements of architectural perfection, 
 with mathematical proportions of size, with harmony and 
 symmetry, accompanied by fanciful ornamentations of 
 sculpture and moulding which no nation has yet excelled or 
 equaled. 
 
 Tombs still remain hewn out of solid rocks, some of 
 polished white marble. The finest of those which could be 
 removed now ornament the museums of Western Europe. 
 A few, where kings were entombed, are twentj^-five or thirty 
 feet square, as large as some temples, and as highly orna- 
 mented in the style of sepulchral art, with war and hunting 
 scenes, the figures of horses and the warriors, vigorous and 
 spirited, and on projecting stones, life-like heads and paws 
 of animals. Along the base are often found half-size human
 
 12 
 
 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 figures — all full of life and action. These scenes of war and 
 hunting indicate the people's cherished pursuits, and perhaps 
 suggest their continuance beyond the grave. 
 
 The ancient Grecian architects erected their temples on 
 wet and low ground, perhaps to escape the convulsions of 
 the earth; thus we find many temples buried below the 
 
 ARCH IX RUINS. 
 
 surface by the acretion of the soil. While retarding dis- 
 CO very, this has promoted preservation. What the wind 
 would have coveted the worm has spared, and so some 
 travellers have claimed that they beheld unearthed palaces
 
 ASIA MINOR. 13 
 
 and temples in a state of marvellous preservation, with the 
 most minute and delicate sculptural details. 
 
 Numerous columns and friezes of beautiful sculpture 
 that lay on every side as exhibitions of genius and prowess 
 are gradualh՛ disappearing. Many have been carried away 
 to Europe, and the rest have no meaning to the stupid 
 mind and selfish consideration of the half-civilized nomads 
 of Asia Minor, who have used them for. foundations, 
 pavements, walls and grave-yards. Had the hand of man 
 dealt as genth՛ with this monument of skill as the tooth of 
 time or the erosion of the elements, we could now visit 
 temples, palaces and tombs, and find them as their artists 
 left them at the last stroke of the chisel. "Where earth- 
 quakes have thrown them down, they could be rebuilt from 
 the fragments — their inscriptions and decorations sharp 
 and distinct as when they were new. Such is the preserv- 
 ing character of the climatic influence in this region. 
 
 Yet not to the archgeologist alone are the plains of Asia 
 Minor rich and tempting. Here the botanist may revel in a 
 flora, the most varied and the most exquisite in the 
 world. Hither the glacier and the volcano, mepitic caves 
 dead seas and buried rivers invite the probing, prying 
 geologist . Here on the agate rocks of Phr^'gia, the subterran- 
 ean streams of Lycus, the petrified cascades of Hierapotes, 
 the extinct volcanoes of Laodicea, hitherto are drawn the 
 energy՛ and cupidity of Europe and America to the develop- 
 ment of its wondrous natural resources, while the spade of 
 the archaeologist has been unearthing priceless treasures o{
 
 14 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 antiquity. The diamond drill, with its almost endless cable, 
 has often pierced the bowels of the native rock and caused 
 it to vomit forth riches unsuspected by the natives who have 
 lived and died above them for centuries, and the land of 
 geography, the land made graphic by the pen of Herodotus 
 and of Zenophon, is again the scene of numberless researches 
 in topography and survey, whose object is the exploration 
 of the world's fairest fields and noblest streams, that they 
 ma}՛ yield their tribute to Occidental capital and energy. 
 
 As we have intimated, Asia Alinor is not only replete with 
 monuments and relics, but rich in legend and historic record. 
 Its ancient divisions, on the western coast Mysia, including 
 the Greek colonies of Doris, Aeolis and Ionia, Pontus, 
 Paphlagonia and Bithynia on the northern coast. On the 
 southern coast Cicilia, Pisidia, Pamphylia and Lycia, with 
 the inland provinces of Galatia, Cappadocia, Isauria, Ly- 
 conia and Phrygia, and more familiar to the modern reader 
 than the department of France or the counties of England. 
 They live in the pages of celebrated names, such as Ptolemy 
 and Strabo. Strabo furnishes us with a specific knowledge, 
 particularly of the central regions. Arrian narrates the 
 marches of Alexander through the vast region of the Levant.f 
 
 Zenophon follows the road of Cyrus from Sardes in 
 Lydia, passing through the cities of Phrygia and Lacaonia, 
 terminating at Tarsus on the Cilician coast. Livy fol- 
 lows with the progress of Cm. Manlius. These interesting 
 
 է The modern name "Leavant" frequently used for Asia Minor, 
 corresponds with the Greek term Anatolia, "Sunrise."
 
 ASIA MINOR. 15 
 
 descriptions of old should prove of great value to the 
 modern amateur in his researches. 
 
 On the borders of Bithynia and M^'sia is Mount 
 Olympus, her massive head rising 9,4-54 feet into the 
 ether. This cloud-veiled summit represented the Grecian 
 heaven, where the host of gods resided at the court of 
 Zeus, surrounded by all the mythical conceptions of pomp 
 and glory. But where are now the great family of gods? 
 Are they dead? The summit of Mount Olympus is covered 
 only with ice and snow, and they must needs have removed 
 to more comfortable quarters. Not very far from this 
 abode of lost gods, on the lake Ascania, is situated Nicaea, 
 the city of Antagonius, whose possession has been vigor- 
 ously contended during the medial ages between the powers 
 of Turkey՛ and Greece. 
 
 Amid all the associations and relics which crown her 
 past, Nicaea calls forth from her bosom a hallowed reflec- 
 tion; for here was held the first Christian council, which 
 Arostanes, a son of St. Gregory, and Archbishop Catholicos 
 of Armenia attended, accompanied with King Trirdatis. 
 There our Armenian royal and clerical dignitaries took 
 prominent part in the Oecumenical Synod, and were enter- 
 tained with much honor by the Emperor Constantine the 
 Great. This first council originated the Nicaeno Con- 
 stantinopolitan Creed. 
 
 Along the coast of Asia Minor are many isles where 
 cluster mythological legends, and where heroic grandeur 
 and poetic enchantment reach the acme of perfection. On
 
 16 
 
 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 the southwestern coast of this region lies the island of 
 Rhodes, her atmosphere so strikingl\^ different from the 
 rest of Asia Minor that it seems to be the combination of 
 African and Asiatic zones ; there pine and palm grow side 
 by side; there is cloudless sunshine, salubrious air and 
 
 STREET OF KNIGHT TEMPLARS. 
 
 delightful climate, combined with the rich soil of evergreen 
 gardens, blooming valleys, orchards of fig and orange trees, 
 and all the endowments of nature are so charmingly at- 
 tractive that the isle of Rhodes was a source of inspiration 
 to the early Greeks in their numerous poetical legends. The
 
 ASIA MIXOR. 
 
 17 
 
 creation of the island from the depths of the sea, b}՛ Helius, 
 the god of the sun, and its many graphic descriptions, 
 mingled with songs of valleys and mountains which abound 
 in Grecian literature, can not fail to interest every aesthetic 
 mind. 
 
 How inspiring to survey the deserted city of ancient 
 
 TOWERS OF FORTRESS. 
 
 renown, bearing the island's name! Its streets now quiet 
 and lonely, its walls overthrown, the mau}^ half-obscured 
 monuments, the castle and fortress of the Knights of St. 
 John, speak aloud, amid the profound silence, of the event- 
 ful past. Art and arms, patriotism and learning, were the
 
 18 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 characteristics of this powerful maritime republic. There 
 the eloquence of Demosthenes pleaded the cause of the city 
 against the overwhelming power of Alexander of Macedon. 
 There, astride the entrance of the harbor, the Clossus, a 
 brazen statue of Helios, towers into the blue of the sky 
 amid three thousand statues, as the wonder of the ancient 
 world. Each isle, as each city of Asia Minor, possesses its 
 own peculiar characteristic, and historical associations re- 
 plete with war and romance. 
 
 Man\^ toilsome tours and laborious excavations have 
 been made in Asia Minor, many hardships have been 
 patiently endured in the investigation of the ruins of the 
 depopulated cities, and much is yet undone. Why have the 
 intellects turned from the contemplation of realities to spend 
 their precious hours wandering in the realms of dilapidated 
 temples, theaters, tombs and old and mutilated inscriptions? 
 Why? Do not these obsolete, time-worn relics furnish mater- 
 ials for the building up of modern scholarship? Is not the 
 keen appreciation of the knowledge of the past the richest 
 treasure of the intellect of to-day ? (Investigations made in 
 a land associated with such great names, awaken in thought- 
 ful minds not only a scholarh՛ interest but a peculiar fas- 
 cination. This region was the birthplace of Herodotus, 
 the father of Greek historj՛, of Homer the poet, of Pytha- 
 goras the philosopher. Here lived Croesus, the patriarch 
 of fortune and the patron of art). 
 
 From a scriptural view, the topography of Asia Minor 
 is radiant with apocalyptic visions, and with apostolic
 
 ASIA MINOR. 19 
 
 labors, and with martyrs and missionaries of deathless 
 fame. Every mountain and hill in Asia Minor will forever 
 cherish the memory of St. Paul, the brave apostle of 
 Christendom, against whom in vain have the furious armies 
 of heathen opposition thundered. How inspiring to hear 
 in the opulent cities of Greek and pagan Asia Minor, a 
 voice most eloquent, the burning spirit of the great apos- 
 tle of the Gentile world, pleading the Man of Galilee I 
 
 Asia Minor, the arena of diverse religions I where Chris- 
 tianity inaugurated its movement for universal empire, 
 and where Judaism and Mohammedanism displayed their 
 greatest exploits as religious institutions ! 
 
 But where is the glory of twenty nations who on this 
 soil once swayed a controlling influence? Where the seats 
 of great military chieftains and empires contending for 
 supremacy? Where the thriving commercial cities? Des- 
 olate I Graves of Homeric heroes are roamed over by sheep 
 and oxen. Palaces of fame and wealth have passed away 
 with their occupants. The throne of Antiochus and Mith- 
 ridates have vanished as an illusion. No longer do the 
 skies of Ionia smile on an enviable array of poets, who 
 sang beneath her azure arch. The light of Asia Minor has 
 grown dim I She is to-day a vast cemetery of entombed 
 cities, destined to an eternity of desolation. Here and there 
 are clusters of villages or a shepherd's hut, more like bee- 
 hives than human dwellings, and a traveller, like Virgil's 
 Libyan herdsman, carried with him bedding, weapons and 
 all his wants.
 
 20 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 As a bright da}՛ wanes and becomes lost in the black- 
 ness of a long, dreary night, the brilliance of Asia Minor 
 is lost and long passed into the oblivion. For ages in 
 the throes of political death, she yet declines to die. But 
 the existing population, enslaved by superstition and 
 ignorance, distracted b}՛ religious animosity՛ and mutual 
 jealousies, indicates but little hope of immediate improve- 
 ment. 
 
 Nations, as individuals, are under the law and process 
 of gradual development. The golden age of Pericles is 
 but brass to-day. Centuries slowl}՛, silently but contin- 
 ually, are marching on to higher, brighter attainments 
 in civilization, learning and all spheres and activities of 
 human life. Am՛ nation and country, no matter what 
 achievements crown her past, if irresponsive to the onward 
 beckoning voice of the times, will surely be left behind. 
 Onward or backward is the universal law of the ages. 
 The ever-increasing aversions and antagonism between 
 the population of the Orient and Occident shall continue 
 until, by providential arrangement. Eastern ignorance and 
 prejudices shall give place to the spirit of this advanced 
 age, and Western ideas and methods become prevalent. 
 
 Oh that the trumpet blast of the nineteenth century 
 would awaken those still in slumber! Would that this 
 age of enlightenment might reflect a ray of light across 
 the waters, where the riot of boundless superstition has 
 for ages cast a gloom over the otherwise bright and peace- 
 ful world.
 
 THE SEVEN CHURCHES OF ASIA. 
 
 ]lj\ S the seven churches of Asia Minor are familiar to 
 յէի^ճ. every student of the Apocalypse, a description of 
 their ancient sites can not fail to be of interest to every 
 intelligent mind, be he Christian or non-Christian. 
 
 Every year, numbers of travellers from all parts of 
 Christendom visit these seven cities, because of their his- 
 toric and biblical associations. Thomas Smith of Mag- 
 dalen College, Oxford, is considered the first English trav- 
 eller who visited the sites of the seven churches, and in 
 1676 he published, in Latin, a volume of great demand 
 and interest, entitled, "Septem Asias Exclesiarum Xotitia." 
 Some, as Leake, Hamilton, and Arundell have turned their 
 observations to account, and have given the Christian 
 world much valuable information upon the subject. But 
 most descriptions are extremely cursory, and because this 
 is the case, and because we are from the land of those 
 churches, we feel justified in presenting a chapter to our 
 readers on this interesting topic. 
 
 A traveller seeking to inform himself as to the seven 
 churches of Asia by personal observation, is apt to expect
 
 22 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 to find at least the ruins of an ancient edifice. So strong 
 is this impression, that some writers have wittingly or 
 ignorantly palmed ofif on credulous readers old castles or 
 piles of stone as the ver\՛ relics of Apocalyptic churches. 
 The fact is, we have no evidence that any of those 
 churches possessed a building, and if the\՛ did, no trace 
 of them can be identified to-daj՛. 
 
 The second and third chapters of the Book of Revela- 
 tion are devoted to the epistles to the seven churches. 
 These consist largely of commendations, warnings and 
 prophecies: — commendations for meritorious labor and 
 faithfulness, warnings against sins already existing or 
 against future evils, and prophecies concerning the sure 
 punishment that will follow the failure to profit by the 
 given admonitions. As the traveller visits these old cities 
 he can not fail to be impressed in the literal fulfillment 
 of Apocalyptic prophecies, and as he stands amid the 
 crumbling ruins that, as the dead camp fires, are left in 
 the onward march of the triumphant kingdom, he is filled 
 with hallowed emotions. 
 
 Let it not be forgotten, as we gaze upon the frag- 
 ments of columns and cornices that were once parts of 
 noble structures, that the admonitions and warnings 
 originalh՛ directed to the seven churches may be applied 
 with no less force and meaning to the churches of our 
 day.
 
 THE SEVEN CHURCHES OF ASIA. 23 
 
 THE EPISTLE TO THE CHURCH OF EPHESUS. 
 
 REV. II, 1-7. 
 FIRST CHURCH. 
 
 Unto the angel of the Church of Ephesus write: These things saith He 
 that holdeth the seven stars in His right hand, Who walketh in the midst 
 of the seven golden candlesticks ; 
 
 I know tin՛ works, and th}- labour, and thj՛ patience, and how thou 
 canst not bear with them which are evil ; and thou hast tried them which 
 say the3՛ are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars : 
 
 And hast borne, and hast patience, and for My Name's sake hast 
 labored and hast not fainted. 
 
 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thv 
 first love. 
 
 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do 
 the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickl\% and will remove էհՅ՛ 
 candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. 
 
 But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which 
 I also hate. 
 
 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saiih unto the 
 churches. To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, 
 which is in the midst of the Paradise of God. 
 
 EPHESUS. 
 
 The Temple of the Goddess Diana! The Temple of 
 tradition and history, of song and poetry, that is what 
 renders Ephesus great in the eyes of the modern traveler. 
 But if 3'ou expect to see extensive remains of the great 
 temple, you are disappointed. Time has dealt more 
 harshly with this wonder of the world than with the 
 Temple of the Sues at Baalbec. We must be content to 
 look upon its ancient site and imagine it as it has been 
 described by others, who, centuries ago, looked upon its 
 beauty and grandeur. 
 
 But although description can afford us no adequate
 
 24 
 
 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 conception of what the temple once was, j-et a brief his- 
 tory՛ might be interesting, as we contemplate the city so 
 associated with its existence. 
 
 Going back nearly three thousand years to the founding 
 of the city b}՛ Androclus, the last King of Athens, we find 
 
 TEMPLE OF DIANA. 
 
 the first of six temples, which one after another were 
 destroyed. 
 
 The great temple was founded in 54-1 B. C, and is asso- 
 ciated with the number seven, not onh՛ in being one of 
 the seven wonders of the world, but also as being the 
 seventh temple erected on the same site to the Goddess
 
 THE SEVEN CHLTtCHES OF ASIA. Հօ 
 
 Diana. A very interesting tradition, which we would like 
 to believe, tells us that a shepherd, caring for his flocks 
 on the slopes of Mt. Prion, one day saw a fragment of 
 stone rolling down the hillside, broken off above by the 
 horn of a ram. Picking it up, he found it to be a piece of 
 the finest marble, and this discovery gave to the builders 
 plenty of the best material, close by, with which to con- 
 struct the temple. Ctesiphon drew the plans, which, under 
 the successive execution of famous artists and architects, 
 consumed all of two centuries and a quarter, over seven 
 generations, in erection. All Asia liberally contributed 
 to its adornment. The entire structure was made of mar- 
 ble save the roof, which was of cedar, and the gates of 
 finel}՛ carved cypress. The columns, we are told, were 
 of one piece of fine Parian marble. One hundred and twenty- 
 seven of these, each sixty feet high, w^ere erected in the mem- 
 ory of as many kings, by whom they had been presented. 
 
 To form some idea of its vastness, let the reader remem- 
 ber that the great Parthenon at Athens was not one-fourth 
 as large. The basement was so high as to require ten steps 
 to ascend to the entrance. The aim of the architects and 
 builders was not only beauty but durability, and as the 
 ground of the site was very marshy, so selected because less 
 liable to earthquakes, it became necessary to have a sound 
 bedding upon which the foundation of so great an edifice 
 might firmly rest. A concrete was accordingly formed of 
 charcoal well rammed down with pieces of wool, which 
 served the purpose.
 
 26 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 On the sixth of Hecatomaboen (July) this wonder of the 
 world was burned by Herostratus — an Ephesian fanatic, 
 who sought to immortalize his name. On the same night, 
 history tells us, occurred the birth of Alexander the Great, 
 by which the magic of the time was greatly stirred, as they 
 considered this occasion of his birth a sign of disastrous 
 fortune to the world. 
 
 The temple was rebuilt in a far grander st\'le than the 
 former. Women poured in their jewels to adorn this sacred 
 shrine. Its columns of jasper, its Ionic pillars of carved 
 cypress-wood, painted by the most renowned of Greek 
 artists, presented to the human eye a wonder of unsur- 
 passed grandeur. 
 
 It seems incredible that time, unaided, can have so 
 utterly՝ destroyed this mass of material. We cannot believe 
 it. Loads of marble have probably been carried away for 
 residences, still more maj՛ have found its way to the new 
 capitol of the Byzantine emperors, in compliance with their 
 orders ; perhaps some of the beautiful pillars to-day adorn- 
 ing St. Sophia, the admiration of the world, are fugitives 
 from the temple that Alexander in ecstacy gazed upon ; we 
 do not know, but we do know that to-day not one stone of 
 remembrance stands on the site once graced by the great 
 temple of the Ephesians to the Goddess Diana. 
 
 The Gate of Stadium, the Aqueduct and Castle can 
 easily be distinguished from other ruins. 
 
 The ancient Ephesus was situated in a valley, or, more 
 properly, a wide and deep hollow. To the west is the sea,
 
 THE SEVEN CHURCHES OF ASIA. 
 
 27 
 
 to the north the river Cayster, and on the eastern side are 
 tJie fragments of a wall that ran southward over Mount 
 Prion. 
 
 As we stand at the base of Prion and look upward at its 
 precipitous cliffs, we observe openings w^hich lead into vast 
 artificial caverns in the mount. On one of them are the ruins 
 
 
 GATE OF STADIUM. 
 
 of an ancient Christian church, and here, it is said, are the 
 sepulchers of St. John and TimothՅ^ 
 
 The Christian traveller is filled with strange and deep 
 emotions as he pauses here in a place hallowed by associa- 
 tions so sacred. 
 
 From the epistle of St. John it would seem that the
 
 28 
 
 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 Ephesian, like some of the other churches, was troubled 
 with a class of teachers or heretics called the "Nicolaitanes," 
 for the spirit says: "But this thou hast, that thou hatestthe 
 deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which also I hate." The Christian 
 church still exists, but the modern town has usurped the 
 old, and the ancient landmarks are fast disappearing. 
 
 THE AQUEDUCT AND CASTLE. 
 
 Ephesus was always a great commercial city. Perhaps, 
 owing to this fact, Paul made it the scene of his labors for 
 three years, thinking such a center of heathen civilization a 
 fit arena for the gospel. Here he consecrated Timothy 
 bishop (1 Tim., i., 3), under whose co-operation the infant 
 church grew and prospered.
 
 THE SEVEN CHURCHES OF ASIA. 29 
 
 THE EPISTLE TO THE CHURCH OF SMYRNA. 
 
 (REV. II. 8-II.) 
 SECOND CHURCH. 
 
 And unto the angel of the Church in Sm_vrna \Yrite: These things saith 
 the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive ; 
 
 I know thy works, and tribulation, and povert}՛ ( but thou art rich), 
 and 1 know the blasphem3՛ of them which say the\՛ are Jews, and are not, 
 but are the synagogue of Satan. 
 
 Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil 
 shall cast some of you into prison, that ye ma^՛ be tried ; and ye shall have 
 tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a 
 crow^n of life. 
 
 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the 
 churches. He that overcometh shall not be hurt of a second death. 
 
 SMYRNA. 
 
 There are two Smvrnas.the old and the new. Two and 
 one-half miles from the present cit}՛՛, on the banks of the 
 sacred Melest, the ruins of old Smyrna lie. 
 
 This city, though about ten times destroyed by fire and 
 earthquake, has been rebuilt each time with surpassing 
 splendor, and has always been a populous city and com- 
 mercial centre of the Levant, and an ornament of Asia 
 Minor from the Apostolic ages to the present day. 
 
 Here it was, according to tradition, that Homer was 
 born, and the traveller is shown a cave, the very spot, so 
 say the natives, where the father of poets composed his 
 immortal lays. But since other cities of Asia Minor make 
 similar claims, it is somewhat difficult to place any great 
 credence in this assertion. 
 
 Old Smyrna is said to have been built by Thessus, an 
 Amazon, and named after his wife, so accordingly the archi-
 
 
 30 UNDER OIRENTAL SKIES. 
 
 lecture of the ])lace is called "Amazonian." Most of the 
 city is built on the crest of a hill and probably so placed for 
 purposes of defense. This view is further strengthened by 
 the fact that the walls were made unusually substantial, 
 some of the blocks being eight and ten feet in length. But 
 two and one-half miles eastward, on the slopes of Mount 
 Pagus, with its two miles of seacoast, is the new Smyrna of 
 to-day, the largest and most important commercial cit}^ of 
 all Asia Minor, the "Crown of Ionia," the ornament of 
 Asia. 
 
 Tradition tells us that Alexander the Great, tired and 
 weary with a day's hunt in the vicinity, went to sleep 
 beneath a plane tree and dreamed a dream. In the vision 
 Jupiter appeared and commanded him to build a city for the 
 scattered Smyrnans on Mount Pagus. Accordingly a city 
 was built on the summit of the hill, and the ruins of an 
 ancient castle, said to have been built as a fortress by 
 Alexander's generals, still remain. 
 
 Of more historic interest, however, especially to Chris- 
 tian investigators, is the immense stadium on a spur on 
 Mt. Pagus. It was once a magnificent structure, but much 
 of the marble, of which the seats were constructed, has been 
 carried away by the Turks and used in building residences. 
 It was in this stadium that the famous martyr Polycarp, 
 "seed abounding," was burned (167 A. D.), and his example 
 is considered such a means of edification that the stor^^ of 
 his trial and heroic death is frequently read in the churches. 
 
 Three times was he asked to reproach Christ, but his
 
 THE SEVEN CHURCHES OF ASIA. 31 
 
 faith was not shaken, and he answered still firmh՛: "Eighty- 
 six years have I ser\^ed Him, and I will not forsake Him 
 now." His tomb is still shown, designated by a fine old 
 cypress tree. 
 
 Smyrna wnll ever be remembered for the life and death 
 of this illustrious defender of the earU^ Church. In the vast 
 cemetery on the face of the hill, the great city of the dead is 
 the glory of the Smyrna of old. Indeed, in our travels, as 
 we gaze upon broken arches, marble fragments and monu- 
 ments of memorial, we feel that Asia Minor is one vast, 
 solemn cemetery of men and nations. "'Westward the star 
 of empire takes its way," and, as the dead ashes of watch- 
 fires are left behind an advancing army, so nations in their 
 westward march have left these traces of their visitations. 
 
 The city to-da\^ extends from the foot of Mount Pagus, 
 where the Turkish quarter is located, to the coast, where 
 most of the European population lives. The Armenian 
 portion is in the center of the city, and is the only portion 
 where the streets are straight and wide. The Armenians 
 form the wealthiest class in the city, and live in fine resi- 
 dences, usually built around an open court beautified by 
 numerous shrubs and flowers. 
 
 The passerby can see and admire these courts through 
 the hallways and corridors that open into the street, and 
 sometimes (woe to our failing hearts) we catch a glimpse 
 of an Armenian female, dressed in rich attire, gazing at us 
 with those dark, lustrous eyes so common to the race. The 
 streets in the Turkish quarter are very narrow and badly
 
 32 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 constructed, and, although the cit\՛ looks quite picturesque 
 from a distance, these dirty streets spoil one's first impres- 
 sion of the city's cleanness. At onetime the residences were 
 built of stone, but on account of the many destructive 
 earthquakes, it has been found more economical to use 
 wood. Smyrna is a cit}՛ of considerable commercial impor- 
 tance, and on an^՛ week-day long lines of camels can be seen 
 filing in and out of the city loaded with cotton, raisins, figs 
 and fresh fruits. Indeed, Smyrna is the chief seaport in 
 Asia Minor, and has the advantage of a good harbor, 
 which, in ancient times, was said to be self-closing. 
 
 The Bezenstein, or market-place, is of considerable inter- 
 est to the foreigner with its large stock of goods of all 
 kinds. 
 
 Another place of interest is the Homerium, a library 
 dedicated to Homer. 
 
 Smyrna has a population of over 200,000. Gas w^orks, 
 street cars and several railroads are the evidences of her 
 prosperit}՛. It contains twelve churches — three Greek, three 
 Catholic, four Protestant and one Armenian. There are 
 also four newspapers, one of which is Armenian. 
 
 From the fact that the city was the seat of one of the 
 churches to which St. John was commanded to write, and 
 because of its manj^ historical and religious associations, the 
 name of Smyrna will live on, long after the citv itself has 
 passed away.
 
 THE SEVEN CHURCHES OF ASIA. 33 
 
 THE EPISTLE TO THE CHURCH OF PERGAMOS. 
 
 REV. II. 12-17. 
 THIRD CHURCH. 
 
 And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write: These things saith 
 he who hath the sharp sword with two edges: 
 
 I know thy works and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is: 
 and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in 
 those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among 
 you, where Satan dwelleth. 
 
 But I have few things against thee, because thou hast there them that 
 hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to cast a stumbling-block 
 before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to 
 commit fornication. 
 
 So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, 
 which thing I hate. 
 
 Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fi.ght against 
 them with the sword of my mouth. 
 
 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the spirit saith unto the 
 churches: To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, 
 and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, 
 which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it. 
 
 PERGAMOS. 
 
 The valley in which Pergamos reposes is one of the most 
 fertile in the world. The modern Pergamos, situated be- 
 neath a precipitous hill on the banks of the Caucus, occu- 
 pies the same site as the ancient cities. 
 
 Third in importance in Asia Minor, Pergamos owes her 
 prosperity to the commercial advantages afforded b}՛ her 
 connection with the seaboard, twenty miles distant. 
 
 He who first mentions Pergamos in history is Xeno- 
 phon. In his 'Anabasis' he tells us that Lysimides, a great 
 general, built a castle and defences at the summit of the 
 bill, back of the city, in which to hide his treasures. In
 
 34? UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 later years this hill became the acropolis of Pergamos, 
 and, to-day, the ruins of walls lie scattered about, whose 
 architecture tells that they were erected by the Greeks 
 many centuries ago. 
 
 Among other interesting remnants on the acropolis 
 are the remains of a palace inhabited by various kings, 
 for Pergamos was once the flourishing capital of the 
 surrounding provinces. Eumenese, its greatest king, con- 
 tributed much to the city's prosperity, presenting it with 
 a valuable library of two hundred thousand volumes, 
 which was the rival of Alexandria's in Egypt. With this 
 library, Pergamos rapidly grew to be one of the most 
 influential cities of the East, and, because of its culture, 
 came to be known as the "Eastern Athens." 
 
 There are some walls still standing, near the river's 
 edge, which some suppose to have formed the building 
 which contained the library; but this is highly improb- 
 able, for its architecture would rather betray it to have 
 been a Grecian church. Two towers rise on either side, 
 in which it would seem stood altars devoted to the 
 Grecian religion. In later years, this structure was con- 
 verted into a Christian church, the "Church of St. John.'' 
 Fragments of marble and pieces of Corinthian pillars lie 
 all around this Basilica, but the marble is gradually being 
 carried away for tombs in the neighboring Turkish grave- 
 yard. 
 
 To the antiquarian, Pergamos is filled with interesting 
 relics. Very curious, to the general traveler, are the tun-
 
 THE SEVEN CHURCHES OF ASIA. 35 
 
 nels beneath the streets, and even houses, in which a great 
 many people had their homes, as the Turk expresses it, 
 " neither on earth nor in heaven." These tunnels are built 
 so strong and durable that foundations of large buildings 
 rested upon them. 
 
 A river flows through the center of the city, across 
 which are thrown five massive bridges, marvels of art 
 and beautՅ^ Their history can be read in their archi- 
 tecture, for the main structure is Grecian and the repairs 
 Roman, and by this alone it is easy to tell w^hich had 
 the later ascendency. 
 
 But most unique and ingenious was the amphitheater 
 in the western part of the town, with a river flowing 
 through its center, and so constructed as to be filled with 
 water, no doubt for the display of aquatic spectacles. 
 
 What John writes concerning Pergamos is the most 
 interesting of all the epistles to the churches. It speaks 
 of "Antipas, my faithful martyr, who was slain among 
 you where Satan dwelleth." 
 
 Tradition relates that Antipas was put to death in 
 a horrible manner, namely, by being placed in a brazen 
 bull and slowly roasted. 
 
 The city was famous also for her heathen temples 
 dedicated to Zeus, Apollo, Athens, Jupiter, Minerva, Venus 
 and Bacchus, all standing in a sacred grove. (Tacitus, 
 "Annal," III., 63; Xenophon, "Arab," VII., 8-23.) 
 
 John also speaks of Pergamos as being the place 
 "where Satan's seat is." Much of the religion of the
 
 36 
 
 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 people of Pergamos was connected with impurit\՛ and 
 licentiousness, and the worship of Aesculepius prevailed 
 largely, to which John ma^^ have referred ; but now, as 
 at that time, there are those that hold fast to Chris- 
 tianity, and the Church still flourishes. 
 
 THE EPISTLE OF THE CHURCH OF THYATIRA. 
 
 REV. II: 18-29. 
 FOURTH CHURCH. 
 
 And unto the angel of the church in Th^-atira write: These things 
 saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes Hke unto a flame of fire, and his 
 feet are Hke fine brass : 
 
 I know^ thy works, and charit3-, and service, and faith, and thj՛ 
 patience, and thy works ; and the last to be more than the first. 
 
 Noth withstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou 
 suflerest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach 
 and seduce mj՛ servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed 
 unto idols. 
 
 And I gave her space to repent of her fornication ; and she repented not. 
 
 Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adulter3՛ with 
 her into great tribulation, except the3^ repent of their deeds. 
 
 And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know 
 that I am He that searcheth the reins and hearts, and I will give unto every 
 one of 3'ou according to \'our works. 
 
 But unto j'ou I sa^՛, and unto the rest in Thvatira, as mauA՛ as have 
 not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they 
 speak ; I will put upon հ՚օա none other burden. 
 
 But that which \'e have already, hold fast till I come. 
 
 And he that overcometh, and keepeth m\՛ works unto the end, to him 
 will I give power over the nations : 
 
 And he shall rule them with a rod ot iron ; as vessels of a potter shall 
 the\՛ be broken to shivers: even as I received of mv father. 
 
 And I will give him the morning star. 
 
 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the 
 churches.
 
 THE SEVEN CHURCHES OF ASIA. 37 
 
 THYATIRA. 
 
 For a number of centuries the site of the ancient Thj^a- 
 tira was unknown. Much discussion has arisen concerning 
 the matter, but now it is almost universally agreed that the 
 modern Ak-Hissar, "the white castle," is the place. 
 
 If we look for ruins we are disappointed, for there are 
 hardly anj^ worth mentioning ; in fact the city is the least 
 interesting of all the seven, for here w^e see no ancient 
 temples, no amphitheaters or crumbling palaces. 
 
 It is true that on the edge of the city a few fragments of 
 pillars and friezes are scattered, but this is all there is to 
 indicate the existence of the ancient Thyatira. 
 
 How can this be accounted for ? Partly in the fact that 
 the city is in a prosperous commercial center to-day, and as 
 fast as commerce increases, relics disappear. That this has 
 had something to do with it, there is no doubt. 
 
 ThA^atira is situated in the north of Lydia, on the banks 
 of the river Lycus. Near by is a solitary and desolate plain, 
 the plain of Antiocus. Here was present in battle Antio- 
 chus the Great. Here also stood two commanders who 
 had decided the fate of Rome and Carthage on the field of 
 Zama, Scipio and Hannibal. 
 
 In this city there are nine mosques and one Greek 
 church. No Christian church exists there to-day. There are 
 also a few Greek and Armenian priests in Thyatira, which 
 is under the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Bishop of 
 Ephesus. About two or three hundred Armenians reside in 
 Thyatira.
 
 38 
 
 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 Probably it was the commerce in purple dye that 
 brought the city in contact with Christianity, for when St. 
 Paul was in Philippi, he says: "On the Sabbath day we 
 went out by a river side where prayer was wont to be made 
 and we sat down and spoke unto the women which 
 resorted thither ; a prophetess to seduce my servants to 
 commit fornication and to eat things sacrificed unto idols." 
 
 The remains of the Apocalyptic Church cannot be 
 identified. Some afiirm that it stood near the Turkish 
 cemetery, and that its ruins are among those of other 
 edifices that form a mound close b}՛. Others w^ith as much 
 confidence assert that its remains are to be found in the 
 town, not far from the little Armenian church, where several 
 broken columns lie. Perhaps neither site is the correct one. 
 
 Doubtless the religious impurities here mentioned in 
 time destroyed all Christianity of a true nature, and to-day 
 Thyatira has not one place where Christian worship is 
 conducted. 
 
 THE EPISTLE TO THE CHURCH OF SARDIS. 
 
 REV. III.. 1-6. 
 
 FIFTH CHURCH. 
 
 And unto the angel of the Church in Sardis write : These things saith 
 he that have the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy 
 works, that thou hast a name that thou Hvest, and art dead. 
 
 Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready 
 to die; for I have not found thy works perfect before God.
 
 THE SEVEN CHURCHES OF ASIA. 39 
 
 Remember, therefore, how՛ thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, 
 and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a 
 thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee. 
 
 Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their 
 garments; and the\՛ shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy. 
 
 He that overcoraeth, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I 
 w^ill not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I w^ill confess his 
 name before my Father, and before his angels. 
 
 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the 
 churches. 
 
 SARDIS. 
 
 Half waj^ between Smyrna and Philadelphia, under the 
 snow-capped Tmolus range, in the valley of Hermus river, 
 the ruins of ancient Sardis lie. 
 
 If we climb to the summit of a rocky hill in the southern 
 end of the town in the early morning, a little after sunrise, 
 we will obtain an excellent view of the country about and 
 the town beneath our feet. 
 
 We are standing on what was formerly the Acropolis. 
 All around us are piles of stone that once composed a strong 
 line of fortifications. Looking southward we see the snow- 
 crowned peaks of the mountains. 
 
 Across the plain the river Hermus gradually widens as 
 it seeks to lose itself in the sea. Bej-ond, glistening in the 
 sunlight is Lake Gyges, so named after the traditional 
 founder of the cit}՛, who is supposed to have lived about 
 718 B. C. Near the lake are seventy or eighty mounds, the 
 graves of ancient kings, the Necropolis of Sardis. 
 
 In the centre of these mounds is one, higher than the 
 others, built in honor of Alyates, a famous military king, 
 who conquered all Asia Minor and placed it under his rule.
 
 40 
 
 UNDER ORIENTAL vSKIES. 
 
 From a cleft in the mountain side, the classic stream 
 Pactolus gushes forth and winds partially around the hill 
 upon which we stand. It was on the bank of this stream 
 that Sophocles pictures the Goddess Cybele, and on its 
 bank are the ruins of a magnificent temple erected in her 
 
 y?^ 
 
 •' ':-^^A-::^h^e^^:-'^>J^^ikii'yiJS^'-՛- 
 
 ACROPOLIS (general VIEW). 
 
 name. This was the finest piece of architecture in Sardis. 
 There are only two columns remaining to-day, and critics 
 pronounce them the finest Ionic columns in existence. It is 
 to be deplored that the temple of Sardis is not in a better 
 state of preservation, that we might conceive something of
 
 42 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 its former grandeur. Most of the marble that composed it 
 jhas been carried away by the Turks. 
 
 At a turn in the river, parts of the wall that belonged 
 to the famous palace of Croesus still stand. This palace 
 or "Gerusia," a massive and impressive structure, was the 
 residence of the wealthy Croesus of history. Two cham- 
 bers still remain in perfect condition. The walls of this 
 edifice, ten and one-half feet in thickness, were built of 
 brick and faced with the finest marble. 
 
 As our eye scans the city, in the plains below we notice 
 ■what were formerly the basements of buildings, rising above 
 the ground. These basement walls were once many feet 
 below the surface, and their present condition is due to 
 the inundations and storms which have gradualh՛ washed 
 away the ground about them. 
 
 Sardis is noted in history as a capitol of the ancient 
 kingdom of Lj-dia, and also as a repository of the immense 
 riches of Croesus. 
 
 The Lydians are supposed to have taught the world 
 how to coin gold and silver. 
 
 When Sardis was at the height of prosperity, Solon 
 walked among its magnificent buildings, and Xerxes made 
 it the headquarters of his large army during the winter pre- 
 4ceding his invasion of Greece. 
 
 It is not certainh- known when or by whom Chris- 
 tianity was introduced into Sardis, although some claim 
 that St. John preached there. It was to this church St. 
 John was commanded to write : " Be watchful and strengthen
 
 THE SEVEN CHURCHES OF ASIA. 
 
 43 
 
 the things which remain that are ready to die, for I have 
 not found th\՛ works perfect before God." 
 
 Historical Sardis is no more. Its churches have per- 
 ished, and not so much as their ruins can be discovered 
 to-day. 
 
 PALACE OF CROESUS. 
 
 Temples that were once the finest in the world have met 
 destruction by earthquake and fire; the gorgeous palace of 
 Croesus is the abode of the owl and the jackal, and the 
 streets that once swarmed with a busy and prosperous 
 population are to-day deserted.
 
 44 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 THE EPISTLE TO THE CHURCH OF PHILADELPHIA. 
 
 REV. Ill, 7-15. 
 SIXTH CHURCH. 
 
 And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These things 
 saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that 
 openeth and no man shutteth ; and shutteth, and no man openeth ; 
 
 I know thy works : behold I have set before thee an open door, and no 
 man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word 
 and hast not denied my name. 
 
 Behold, I will make them of the sj'nagogue of Satan, which say they are 
 Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and wor- 
 ship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee. 
 
 Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee 
 from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try 
 them that dwell upon the earth. 
 
 Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man 
 take thy crown. 
 
 Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and 
 he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, 
 and the name of the city of my God, which is New Jerusalem, which 
 Cometh down out of Heaven from my God : and I will write upon him my 
 new name. 
 
 He that hath an ear, let him here what the Spirit saith unto the 
 churches. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA. 
 
 Taking Smyrna as a starting point, and traveling east- 
 ward in the Yalley of Hermus, called by Homer on account 
 of its beauty the "Asian Meadow," we reach the suburbs of 
 Philadelphia, a distance of 68 miles from the seacoast. 
 
 The cit\՛, founded and named by Attains Philadelphus, 
 is beautifully located upon a plain at the foot of the Mount 
 Tmolus range, near the southern bank of the river Coga- 
 mus.
 
 THE SEVEN CHURCHES OF ASIA. 45 
 
 The water of this river is peculiarly suited for dyeing 
 purposes, and consequently the city is the resort of numbers 
 of Armenian merchants. 
 
 The best view is obtained from the eastern slope of 
 Mount Tmolus. There, at the outskirts of the city, exten- 
 sive vineyards can be seen stretching away in the dis- 
 tance. 
 
 Massive walls once closed the cit}՛ in a square, but are 
 now in a ruined condition. With this exception, Philadel- 
 phia is almost entirely free from ruins of any sort, most of 
 the buildings standing to-day having been erected in com- 
 paratively recent years. This can be accounted for b}՛ the 
 fact that earthquakes are frequent and destructive, making 
 it impossible for buildings to stand anv great length of 
 time. 
 
 One and one-half miles from the city wall, the traveller 
 is shown a monument said to be erected of the bones of 
 Christians who dared to resist the invading Turks about 
 the year 1291. Whether or no this monument is made of 
 Christian bones, it is true that the Philadelphian Christians 
 have always proved themselves zealous in their religion, and 
 have always defended their cit\- Irom the depredations of 
 invaders. 
 
 There are twenty-five so-Ccilled Christian churches, but 
 services are confined to five of this number. What was 
 once the most prosperous, the "Church of St. John," is now 
 converted into a Turkish mosque, and the worship of God 
 is supplanted by the Mohammedan faith.
 
 46 
 
 UNDER ORIEXTAI. SKIES. 
 
 The Philadelphian was the purest of all the seven 
 churches when St. John wrote, and, considering the harass- 
 ing invasions to which the}՛ have been subject, the people 
 have well preserved their pristine purit\՛ of religion. 
 
 THE EPISTLE TO THE CHURCH OF LAODICEA. 
 
 REV. III., 14-22. 
 SEVENTH CHURCH. 
 
 And unto the angel of the Church of the Laodiceans write: These 
 things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the 
 creation of God : 
 
 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot ; I would thou 
 wert cold or hot. 
 
 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will 
 spew thee out of my mouth. 
 
 Because thou safest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have 
 need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, 
 and poor, and blind, and naked : 
 
 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be 
 rich; and white raiment, that thou ma3'est be clothed, and that the shame 
 of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that 
 thou nia3'est see. 
 
 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten; be zealous therefore and 
 repent. Behold I stand at the door, and knock : if any man hear my voice, 
 and open the door, I will come in to him and will sup with him, and he 
 with me. 
 
 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even 
 as I also overcame, and am set down with m^- Father in his throne. 
 
 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the 
 churches.
 
 THE SEVEN CHURCHES OF ASIA. 47 
 
 LAODICEA. 
 
 One hundred and thirt\՛ miles southeast from Smyrna, in 
 Asia Minor, on a cluster of seven small hills, lie the ruins of 
 a once beautiful cit}՛. Of temples and theatres and a dense 
 population of people, naught remains to-day save piles of 
 broken marble and a solitary graveyard. "Desolation" 
 seems to be the first word that suggests itself to the 
 traveller. 
 
 The ruins of Laodicea, upon the sides of the lofty chain 
 of Messogis, are three or four miles in circumference. At the 
 north end is an old but massive stone bridge, from which a 
 road leads to a three-arched entrance in the city wall, parts 
 of which still remain. 
 
 An immense amphitheatre, finished by the Roman 
 emperor about 86 A. D., still stands, and is in an excellent 
 state of preservation. Ten years were consumed in the 
 erection of this amphitheatre, which is one thousand feet 
 square and capable of seating thirty thousand people. At 
 the entrance, on the moulding, there are the remains of a 
 Greek inscription. It is translated as follows : 
 
 To the Emperor Titus Caesar Augustus Vespasian, seven times Consul, 
 son of the Emperor, the Governor Vespasian, and to the people — Nico- 
 stratus the younger, son of Lycias, son of Nicostratus, dedicated 
 at his own expense — Xicostratus . . . his heir, having completed what 
 remained of the work, and Marcus Alpius Trajanus, the Pro-Consul, 
 having consecrated it." 
 
 This inscription proves that this structure was con- 
 structed after St. John saw the vision on Patmos. A little
 
 48 
 
 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 north of the amphitheatre the remains of three theatres can 
 be seen. One of them is four hundred and fifty feet in 
 diameter. 
 
 There were at one time three Christian churches, but the 
 ruins of them are in such a scattered condition that it is 
 impossible to locate them with any certainty. 
 
 Truly the prophecy uttered in the third chapter of 
 Revelation has been fulfilled in the entirety of the city's 
 destruction. There is neither house nor mosque. 
 
 Laodicea was at the height of its prosperity about the 
 beginning of the Christian era, when it conducted, despite 
 its inland position, an extensive trade in wool. Soon 
 Grecian art was introduced, and later a school of medicine 
 w^as founded which became known world wide. 
 
 Its dechne may be attributed to the fall of the Roman 
 empire, although constant earthquakes occurring in the 
 locality had much to do with its depopulation. No other of 
 the seven cities shows the marks of the visitations of God as 
 does I.,aodicea. 
 
 Smyrna, one hundred and thirty miles awaj^ still stands 
 and is inhabited to this day, but with the exception of a few 
 who live in the empty tombs, Laodicea is the abode of none 
 but the foxes and eagles of the country about. 
 
 The city has some historic interest, for two important 
 councils of the earl}՛ church were held here, one of which 
 divided the scriptural canon from the Apocalj^s^» and 
 here was the seat of a metropolitan. It is highly probable 
 that it was the field of some of Paul's labors, although this 
 is not yet established. The city is known to-day by the 
 name Eskihissar, meaning "Old Castle." It was originally 
 known as Diospolis, the " Cit\՛ of Great God."
 
 ARMENIA.* 
 
 "It would be difficult to point out a more delightful, soul-inspiring 
 mysteriously fascinating country on the surface of the globe than Armenia 
 . . . Withersoev'er we turn our steps, to the north, south, east or west, 
 the ground we tread is hol3՛. It is history — stratified. — E. H. B. Lanin, 
 London, England. 
 
 ARMENIA, now in the most part subservient to the 
 Turkish Empire, is the fountain-head of antiquity. 
 She is most ancient among the ancient — a land of awe and 
 marvels. Her shrines, rocks, rivers, vallej^s and mountains 
 — silent witnesses of pre-historic contentions and of chang- 
 ing fortunes — are replete with memorials which date back 
 to the beginnings of the life and growth of infant humanity. 
 The murmuring of her soft breezes wafts to the listening ear 
 the sweet strains which once rose from the terrestrial para- 
 dise to mingle with the melodies of the celestial — a land 
 where man first communed with his God ! 
 
 In the earliest ages of the world, long before the nations 
 and peoples of recorded history existed and flourished, the 
 human race had its home in Armenia. Here was spoken a 
 common language, here was a common monotheistic 
 religion and civil government, and from here, when the race 
 
 "From a lecture delivered by the author in Y. M. C. A. Hall, Cleveland, 
 Ohio, November 2, 1892. 
 
 49
 
 50 
 
 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 grew and multiplied, were scattered her people over all Asia, 
 and Europe. 
 
 The position of Central Armenia, at the opening be- 
 tween the Caspian and Black Seas, facilitated the immediate 
 extension of the post-diluvian people. Some writers on the- 
 Aryan controversy claim that the Hindookoosh mountains 
 form the oldest home and distributing point. We 
 contend that geographical position, Holy-writ, modern 
 history, scientific research, archeology and tradition favor 
 Armenia as the primitive home from which eastern and 
 western Aryans originated. Mt. Ararat, where, according 
 to the testimony of the scriptures, Noah's ark rested, is in 
 the central province of Armenia. Some yet question whether 
 the mountain of the flood is the Ararat of Armenia, and 
 thus shift and drift the poor old ark from its restful abode, 
 hither and thither— some to Mount Meiru of India, some to- 
 the Kurdish mountains of Central Asia. 
 
 What more decisive proof can we have of the diluvian 
 narrative than the clear and precise topographical reference 
 in the scriptures— Gen. viii., 4: **In the seventh month, on 
 the seventeenth day of the month, the ark rested upon the֊ 
 mountains of Ararat." Remarkably harmonious are our 
 indigenous traditions with Biblical document. There is a 
 commemoration of the fact in the name of a village at the 
 entrance to the glen on the northeast foot of Mount 
 Ararat, called Arghuri, meaning "he planted the vine,"՜ 
 where the Noah's vineyard is still pointed. In 1840 a 
 tremendous catastrophy buried the oldest village and the
 
 ARMENIA. 
 
 51 
 
 vineyard ; however, it is alleged that a vine stock planted 
 by the patriarch's hand (Gen. iv., 2) still bears grapes. Not 
 far from Arghuri is Manard, "the mother lies here," 
 referring to the burial ground of Noah's wife. In a little 
 distance is the city of Eravan, "visible," where the rescued 
 righteous first beheld the dry land when the immense ocean 
 of the ravaging waters subsided. Then the town Nakchvan 
 "first habitation," indicating the primeval dwelling of 
 man. 
 
 In these traditional spots the simple and credulous 
 Christian of Armenia believes as manifest traces of the 
 diluvian period. Mount Ararat is known among them as 
 "masis," or "the mother of the world." It was also held 
 by the ancient geographers that she was the center of the 
 world. The Persian traditions, too, in regard to this moun- 
 tain, are quite parallel with those of the Armenian. 
 They call it Kuhi-Nuh, "the mountain of Noah." Thus not 
 only have we the evidence of the Bible, but our traditions 
 and the testimony of the old geographers are sufficient 
 proof to sustain us in our belief that Armenia was the 
 cradle of the human race. 
 
 Let me trace our country՛ to still earlier periods. It was 
 a prevailing view among the ancient Latin and Greek inter- 
 preters of the Bible, that after the flood, the human race, 
 through righteous Noah, found a safe home in the very 
 region which had sheltered its cradle. Surely the Divine 
 wisdom had a lesson to teach the erring man, in restoring 
 him the same abode from whence he has been once ban-
 
 52 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 ished. And how wonderfulh՛, again, does the topography 
 of Eden, as given in the second chapter of Genesis, coincide 
 ՝with the natural characteristics of the region of to-da\'I 
 Notwithstanding some obvious mixture of error in these 
 traditions, undoubtedly they retain their bases in realitA՛, 
 with essential marks of truth. Streams of history, radiat- 
 ing from a common centre, have been transmitted from 
 generation to generation, with some of the greatest events 
 inscribed upon solid rocks, that the succeeding generations 
 might not lose the thread of history. What had transpired 
 prior to the deluge, one person, such as Lameck, the Son of 
 Mathuselah, who lived from the daj's of father Adam to the 
 second progenitor of mankind, would have been sufficient 
 to communicate all particular events to Eber, Isaac and 
 Levi, and from these patriarchs the thread must easily have 
 followed to Moses himself. Should not the Armenians, who 
 sprung from a remotest ancestry, rightfully suppose such a 
 chain among their progenitors, which would justif}^ their 
 historical tradidions, especially in view of the harmony՛ of 
 the native traditions with the Bible. Again, we find various 
 claims as to the location of the Garden of Eden. The latest 
 and most absurd theory is its location at the North Pole, 
 advocating that in the lapse of ages, the earth has grad- 
 ually cooled off, consequently the first suitable place for 
 man to live was at the Arctic Zone. What a habitable 
 paradise would such a frigid region be ! Our countrj-, how- 
 ever, has the earliest and the most reasonable of all claims. 
 Our land is the natural center. Where the Tigris, Euphrates
 
 ARMENIA. 53 
 
 and other rivers of the Paradise still flow, the identity of 
 these streams alone should banish all doubt. The very 
 odors of the forests are of singular fragrance. Indigenous 
 plants of great variety՛ and hue bloom here, which refuse to 
 lend their beauty and ravishing odors to any foreign clime. 
 Her numerous birds, too, with their man^՛ qualities, adorn 
 and enliven the enchanting landscapes. Robert Curzon 
 gives us a list of over one hundred and seventy kinds of 
 birds in an Armenian city, ennumerating them one by one 
 with their particular names and families. He says : " I have 
 no power to do them justice. The number of various kinds 
 of birds which breed on the great plain is so prodigious as 
 to seem almost incredidible to those who have not seen 
 them, as I often have, covering the earth for miles and 
 miles, so completely that the color of the ground could not 
 be seen." Do not all these natural and scenic characteristics, 
 coupled with Biblical documents and native traditions, bear 
 most circumstantial reminiscences of the primitive ages? 
 Surely the Armenians are justified in their claim that the 
 beautiful landscapes which were twice selected by the Omni- 
 potent as the cradle of the human race, are in Armenia; 
 that here was embowered the original Eden, and here the 
 ark rested after the deluge. Armenians are thus ever proud 
 of their land of fragrant memories. But what comfort can 
 we obtain from a banished home ! Paradise has been lost 
 and transformed into a wild forest of fallen specimens of 
 humanity, from whence her wisest decendants long removed 
 to the remotest parts of the world. Some nations glory in
 
 54 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 their mam^ past achievements and the monuments of 
 antiquity; Rome, in her universal dominion, grand 
 representatives, patriotism and statecraft ; Greece, in 
 her precious legacy of art and letters ; Egj-pt, in her awe- 
 inspiring ruins of ancient grandeur; Palestine, in her lofty 
 sentiments of religious fervor, and Armenia in her pre- 
 historic fame and the bloom of sacred memories. But may 
 we consider all this past greatness worth much of itself? 
 The Holy Land has left her Christ. 
 
 The dust of time and modern traffic has covered the 
 exquisite monuments of Greek ideals and culture. They lie 
 buried in ruins, and slumber mute and silent in the eternal 
 death from whence there is no resurrection. All roads no 
 longer lead to Rome, and the past is as dead in Armenia as 
 elsewhere. It is the disposition of the nineteenth century to 
 look forward to the glories of the future rather than to 
 look backward to a glorious past. The palm and not the 
 potato plant is the s^'mbol of progress and enlightenment. 
 Keep your roots in the ground and 3'our fruits in the air, 
 and let not the best part of you be buried. The richer soil 
 your past may furnish you to flourish on, the better, but 
 you must bear fruit in the present. Who are \՚օս to-da}^ as 
 a nation or individual, is the question of the age. True, 
 there is an inspiration for the patriotic heart in looking 
 back upon the past glory of his mother country ; and as I 
 gaze upon the green hills, blooming valley's, venerable 
 mountains, luxuriant pastures, rippling waters, the banks 
 of the Tigris and Euphrates and the slope of Ararat, it thrills
 
 ARMENIA. 55 
 
 -m\՛ heart with a deep pride in my native country. There 
 our Armenian fathers bravely fought at the altar of civil 
 and religious liberty— a land whose noble sons, the valiant 
 soldiers of the cross, stood firm and pre-eminent for cen- 
 turies against the sword and fire of avenging heathenism. 
 Armenia ! the mother of nations, the theatre of human and 
 super-human prowess ! the venerable shade of my departed 
 fathers ! 
 
 The genius of modern investigation was developed so 
 far from the Armenian landscapes, that here, as the latest, 
 is left the richest and most profitable field that can reward 
 scholarship in every department of human knowledge. The 
 geologist has j'ct to trace the changes that have created 
 lakes where cities stood, or turned rivers from their courses. 
 The botanist can here add to the w^orld's knowledge of 
 beautiful, useful and aromatic plants. Here philology has 
 an ample field for the most acute intellect. The antiquarian 
 can delve amid the ruins of cities that were great when 
 Egypt was a new country՛. Ere Babylon was built, the men 
 whose names these cities bore were fireside heroes in the 
 most civilized regions on the globe. 
 
 Dr. George Smith of the British Museum, after an ex 
 tensive exploration in the valley of the Euphrates, gathered 
 tons of tablets covered with inscriptions, w^hich he trans- 
 lated into English in a large volume, in which he has care- 
 fully classified the facts thus collected. He places column 
 beside column on the same page, one the Bible text and the 
 other the text of the tablets, showing a marvellous agree-
 
 56 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 ment, thus verifying the statement that modern scientific 
 research constantly corroborated the truth of the Bible. 
 How happy do the periods of geological construction agree 
 with the poetic account of the creation, as given in the Old 
 Testament Scriptures. I am somewhat proud to think that 
 my native land has been, and will ever be, a growing 
 witness to the truth of the Mosaic record. Should the 
 reader be disposed to doubt, let him read Smith's 'Chaldean 
 Account of Genesis,' or, indeed, any of the modern works 
 that treat of the wonderful revelations unfolded by the 
 recent researches about the Tigris and Euphrates, Layard's 
 'Ninevah,' or Bishop Newman's 'Thrones and Palaces,* 
 or the 'Records of the Past,' published by the authorities 
 of the British Museum. 
 
 Because of the fact that Armenia's political existence 
 has long ceased and passed under alien powers, I shall 
 attempt but a brief description of her natural character- 
 istics and history. Armenia, an inland region of Western 
 Asia, like all lands of pre-historic renown, is a small country^ 
 a little larger than the state of Pennsylvania, and lies 
 directly north of the Mesopotamian plain, between the Black 
 and Caspian seas. 
 
 Her geographical boundaries, though constantly varied 
 at different periods, extended to her largest limits under the 
 administration of our kings, Aram and Tigranes n.,to the 
 Caucasus on the north, Asia Minor on the west, the 
 Mesopotamia on the south, the Caspian sea and Media on 
 the east.
 
 ARMENIA. 57 
 
 In the earliest periods, our country was divided into 
 Armenia Major and Armenia Minor. The former, known 
 as Armenia proper, was divided into fifteen provinces, the 
 central being the district of Ararat. The Armenian high- 
 lands are the most elevated mountainous region of Western 
 Asia, consisting of a succession of rolling plateaux. Thus 
 Armenia crowns the highest elevated region, with a mean 
 altitude of from 5,000 to 7,000 feet above the level of the 
 sea, and culminating with Mount Ararat, the loftiest in 
 Western Asia, which forms the centre of the mountain 
 system, with a vertical elevation of 17,210 feet above the 
 level of the sea, or 10,210 feet above Araxes plain, above 
 which she reposes. 
 
 The surface of the country is broken up by volcanoes and 
 upheavals, and consists of a series of terraces, deep valleys, 
 mountain masses and bleak plateaux. Here and there dis- 
 location of rocks and mountains, and irregularity of the 
 strata, afford convincing evidences of volcanic devastation. 
 
 From the Armenian plateau, at the front of Mount 
 Ararat, arise the sources of the rivers of Western Asia. The 
 Tigris, the Euphrates, the Aras or Araxes, the Cyrus (Kur), 
 the Acampsis and the Halys, all have their sources within 
 her limits and their estuaries in different seas. The two 
 first, with deep and rapid waters, flow southeast into the 
 Persian Gulf. The Acampsis (The Pison of the Bible by 
 some), rising from southwest of Erxerum, fed and swollen 
 by various streamlets, sweeps along with strong and 
 smooth current into the Black Sea. Araxes (perhaps the
 
 58 UNDER OIRENTAL SKIES. 
 
 Glhon of the Bible) springing, about thirty miles south 
 of Erzerum, from the side of Bingol or "Mountain of one 
 thousand lakes," and with beautiful windings through 
 regions of fertility and enchantment, mingles with the 
 Cyrus, and both, with northward and again southward 
 sweeps through the plain of Moghan, discharge east into 
 the Caspian sea b}՛ three mouths, being navigable up to the 
 point of junction. The name of the river, "Araxes," is 
 supposed to commemorate Araxes, whose son was drowned 
 in the rapid waters. Xenophon, however, traces its deriva- 
 tion to Ar-Ax or "holy water," which has been dedicated 
 to the sun. This stream possessed different names at 
 various periods, commemorative of various events. The 
 Haly's or the modern Kizil-Irmak, is the most westerly. 
 It springs from verdant spots, at no great distance from the 
 Euphrates, and flows with rapid volume into the Black Sea. 
 The volcanic soil of the country is of astounding fertility 
 and yields abundantly the crops of wheat, bark}՛, apricots, 
 maize, tobacco, rice and other minor products. Here is 
 raised also mulberry, cotton, grapes and a d\'e called yellow 
 berry. Beautiful vineyards, smiling gardens, orchards and 
 groves abound in many parts of the countr}^ especially 
 in the valleys, where luxurious vegetation would gladden 
 the heart of the most critical epicurean. Productions of 
 melon, fig, granate and trees of oak, pine, ash, walnut, 
 apple, peach and chestnut abound. The land is also rich in 
 corn and wine, hone}՛, oil and olives.
 
 ARMENIA. 
 
 59 
 
 Her wealth and boundless resources are even richer than 
 the richest province of Asia Minor. There are gold mines 
 on the line of communication between Erzerum and 
 Trebizoud. The river Acampsis, the supposed Pison of the 
 Eible, "which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where 
 
 A MOUNTAIN SCENE. 
 
 there is gold," runs through that .section of the country 
 to-day. The mountains abound in treasures of silver, 
 copper, iron, lead, antimony, sulphur and sulphate, 
 especially in the west and amongst the hills of the 
 Euphrates. Export minerals comprise salt from Lake Van,
 
 60 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 sulphur, iron and alum. There are stones of syenite, jasper, 
 marble, granite and porphyry. Sand and limestones are the 
 prevailing geological formation of the country, and are 
 particularly famed, for from it our royal palaces and 
 ecclesiastical edifices were erected. 
 
 The climate is healthy, and is varied according to the 
 altitude of the highlands. The long winter extending 
 from October to May is severe, while the summers are 
 short and pleasant. The air is pure and delicious, the 
 atmosphere clear and bright. Like all mountain regions, 
 Armenia abounds in lakes. Among them Van, Sevan and 
 Ormi or Orumiah are the most noteworthy. All lakes are 
 petrified but Sevan, which is called "sweet lake." It reposes 
 near the city of Erevan. Ormi lies in the southern part of 
 the country, within the territory of the Shah's kingdom. 
 Lake Van is by far the largest and most beautifiil in entire 
 Western Asia. It is embowered in the very centre of ancient 
 Armenia, on the east of the citj^ of Van, in a rich and 
 verdant valley surrounded by green, forest-clad mountains. 
 Its triangular surface is 5,000 feet above the sea level, with 
 an area of 1,400 square miles. Its romantic beaut3\ the 
 sluggish surge of its deep, blue waters, the fragrant 
 associations, so famed in history and fiction, have been the 
 inspiration of manj՛ a poet. 
 
 The petrified lakes of Armenia are particularly՛ inter- 
 esting. Such lakes are really the result of the evaporation 
 of the sun's heat. During the warmest seasons of the year 
 the water becomes crystalized like ice with deposits of salt
 
 ARMENIA. 61 
 
 an inch thick, which are gathered by the neighboring people 
 into boats and carried away. In cold summers, the crust of 
 salt on the surface does not appear. 
 
 Mineral springs, both cold and hot, abound. In my 
 travels through the countrj^ I have seen many of them gush 
 from the ground with great force from between the strata 
 of limestone. These hot springs, so numerous, are another 
 evidence of the subterranean commotion of the region. 
 
 People all over the country, who suffer anj՛ ailment 
 repair to these waters, whose medicinal properties and 
 chemical composition are of great reputation for their 
 curative effects. Sometimes these waters are conducted to 
 city bathing houses or basins by means of pipes. 
 
 As has been mentioned, Mount Ararat is the nucleus of 
 the river and mountain s\^stems, and is the center of the old 
 world, situated midway between the Black and Caspian 
 seas. It is a mountain rich with events of undj'ing signifi- 
 cance to mankind. Around its base legends and traditions, 
 true and fabulous, hold perpetual carnival. 
 
 To-day it is the mighty boundary stone of three great 
 empires — the Turkish, Russian and Persian. It has two 
 summits, seven miles apart, the greater to the northwest 
 extremity and the lesser toward the southeast. The snow- 
 clad summit of the Greater Ararat is wrapped in clouds 
 during most of the day. These float away at nightfall and 
 leave the snowy crown clear and distinct against the starry 
 sky. Seen from the northeast, a more rugged and awe- 
 inspiring view is obtained than from any other point.
 
 62 
 
 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 No one can do Ararat justice; ever}^ turn gives a new 
 picture. Its beauty is considered unrivaled b}՛ an}^ moun- 
 tain on earth ; it is truly "the sublimest object in nature." 
 Its snow-crowned peaks, rising from the noble plain of 
 
 MOUNT ARARAT. 
 
 Araxes, rear in solemn majesty above the sea of vapor into 
 the regions of eternal winter, perpetually covered with ice 
 and snow. It is a picture of mingled sublimity and beauty,, 
 terror and tenderness— calm, cold, majestic — greatest in 
 extent and loftiest in height ! What an awe-inspiring sight,.
 
 ARMENIA. 63 
 
 in the mellow radiance of the moon, to watch the changing 
 hues and shadows of the venerable mountain, or to hear 
 the thundering sound of falling ice and rocks from its 
 stupendous dome' The snow-line on its summit, l-^tOOO 
 feet, never dissolves and is one of the phenomenal features 
 of this very phenomenal mountain, exceeding in quantity 
 either the Alps or the Caucasus, as the former averages 
 9,000 feet and the latter from 10,000 to 12,000 feet in 
 height of snow line. The surrounding people consider it a 
 greater miracle to climb the summit; they believe the 
 mountain still contains the relics of the ark, unchanged b}՛ 
 time or decay, and in order to insure its preservation b}^ a 
 divine decree it has been made inaccessible to mortal 
 approach. The Tartars and the Turks of the neighborhood 
 imagine its summit the abode of the Sheitan "the devil" 
 and wild ghosts, and they tremble to approach too near its 
 top. Morier himself declares "no one appears to have 
 reached the summit of Ararat since the flood." However, 
 Dr. Friedrich Parrot of the University of Dorpat, after 
 several unsuccessful attempts, finally gained the summit in 
 September, 1829. He is considered the first mortal since 
 the deluge who has ever ventured amidst the ice and snow 
 of the isolated peak. 
 
 The name "Ararat" is of remotest antiquity. It has been 
 known for 3,000 j'ears. We find the name in the most ancient 
 annals of Alosaic record of creation, "upon the mountains 
 of Ararat." Moses of Clorene, the father of our history, 
 affirms that the entire country of .\rmcnia was known by
 
 64 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 that name, and he traces the origin of the word "Ararat " 
 or "Arardhi" to our Armenian patriarch, Ara or Arai, 
 the beautiful, who lived eighteen centuries before our era. 
 At his fall in a bloody conflict, the Armenian plain was 
 called after him, Arai-Arat, "the fall of Arai." Some 
 others, as to the origin of the word Ararat, advance the 
 theory that it was composed of "Ar" and "Arah," "Ar" 
 in Sanskrit the "root of Aryan," or "nobles" and "Arah" 
 "plains," or fields in classical Armenian, hence meaning 
 "the plains of the Aryans" or "nobles." 
 
 The antiquitj^ of the name Ararat antedates, a few 
 centuries even the time of Moses. "An ancient bilingual 
 tablet (W. A. I., II., 48, 13) makes Urdhu the equivalent of 
 Tilla, of which the Accadian pronunciation is given as Tilla, 
 the latter, as Sir H. Rawlinson long ago pointed out, being 
 probably a Semitic loan word, and meaning 'the high- 
 lands.' Tilla, the equivalent of Urdhu, usually signifies the 
 land of Accad or northwestern Bab^'lonia, but since it 
 is not glossed in this passage, and stands, moreover, 
 between Akharru or Palestine, and Kutu Kurdistan, it 
 would seem that it is here emploj'ed to denote Armenia. 
 Urardhu, therefore, contracted into Urdhu, w^ould have 
 been the designation of the highland of Armenia among the 
 Babjdonians as early as the sixteenth and seventeenth 
 centuries B. C."* 
 
 The term Ararat is used in the ancient annals of sacred 
 
 *" Cuneiform Inscriptions of Van" in "Journal R. A. S.,'' Volume XIV.. 
 page 392.
 
 ARMENIA. 
 
 65 
 
 and secular history for the entire country of Armenia, and 
 -not for the mountain itself. Anciently, even the inhabi- 
 tants or the modern Armenians were known as a people of 
 ^Ararat.' It was not till of late years that the name 
 ■"Ararat" came to be applied to the mountain itself. This 
 misunderstanding has led some to erroneous conclusions 
 and suppositions. Nothing could be more absurd to a 
 Tiative of Armenia than the idea that the ark rested on 
 ±he very top of Mount Ararat. A well known American 
 traveller, for instance, after describing his first impression 
 -of the mountain, goes on to say : " I could not help thinking 
 what a hard time the mighty line of living things had when 
 marching by twos, male and female, from those cold, bleak 
 heights down into the plains below, after the great flood 
 had subsided ; and what a time good old Noah must have 
 had to keep some of his warm-blooded pets from freezing on 
 that lofty sixteen-thousand-feet-high pinnacle." A great 
 "deal of similar would-be criticisms have been made concern 
 ing the ark on Mount Ararat, as though that historic craft 
 had presumed to rest on the very peak of the snow-capped 
 pinnacle of symmetrical form. Such absurd criticisms, based 
 upon false suppositions, indicate a lack of not only know- 
 ledge, but of a proper and common-sense understanding of 
 the simple Biblical narrative. The geographical unit is the 
 mountain range. With the mountain ranges the study of 
 geography should begin. From them a scientific nomecla- 
 ture can most easily be constructed. How precise and clear 
 is the statement of the Holy Book, as inserted in Genesis
 
 66 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 "the ark rested upon the mountains of Ararat," and not 
 upon Mount Ararat. There are Scriptural references in 
 II Kings, XIX, 37; Isaiah XXXVII, 38. In these parallel 
 passages allusion is made to Adrammelech and Sharezer, 
 whom, having assassinated their father Sennacherib, 
 escaped "into the land of Ararat." The prophet Jeremiah 
 (in Jeremiah II, 27), summoning the nations for the over- 
 throw of Babylon, calls "together against her (Babylon) 
 the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni and Ashchenaz. 
 
 Thus sacred and secular writers concur in speaking of 
 not only a mountain, but of a range, a land, a kingdom, 
 an army and a people of "Ararat." Does our critic suppose 
 that the horses and mules of Ararat were reared on the ice- 
 bergs of an isolated peak? They were seen in the markets 
 of Syria. Had they wings that they could fl\^ where a 
 donkey could not climb? An army of Araratians helped 
 Cyrus in the overthrow of Babylon. Did they come on 
 a toboggan slide from the regions of everlasting snow ? 
 
 Moses of Chorene's appellation, "Arred," or Ayrarad, 
 coincides with the Armaniya or Armenia of the Parsian 
 text, which is frequently employed in ancient historical 
 documents, denoting that the name Ararat was identical 
 with the whole country of Armenia. St. Jerome himself 
 always identified Ararat with the plain of Araxes, where 
 the mountain reposes. 
 
 Again, the window of the Ark is described in Genesis as 
 being above, and when "on the first day of the tenth month 
 the tops of the mountains came forth," Noah would most
 
 ARMENIA. 6T 
 
 naturally have been lower down to see what was above the 
 Ark. Therefore the extreme cone, the highest pinnacle of 
 Ararat, was not the resting-place of the diluvian ark, but in 
 all probability a much lower part of the Ararat range. 
 
 In Armenia are many once famous cities unknovv-n to 
 Americans, because the hand of time has shorn them of their 
 former splendor, and man\^ have receded into oblivion,^ 
 buried beneath the accumulations of centuries. The most 
 and largest of them were situated on the fair banks of the 
 Tigris, and comparatively few on the Euphrates. Some 
 cities had their streets paved with fragments of sculpture 
 when Moses was with Pharaoh on the throne of Egj'pt. 
 
 Fortifications in Armenian cities are numerous. Some of 
 the walls still remain thirt}^ or forty feet high, wnth solid 
 stone foundations, and of considerable thickness. Towers 
 rise at regular intervals, with large arched gateways. Let 
 us recall some of the cities. 
 
 Ani, the city of the kings, the glittering city of gold and 
 silver, was the imperial pride of Armenian sovereigns, 
 whose pearh՛ palaces in her gala days shone in the dazzling 
 glare of the sunlight with beauty. Her streets were clean 
 and richly adorned with lovely decorations of nature and 
 art. This ideal city is to-day a heap of colossal ruins. 
 
 The venerable city of Van, anciently Semirarais city, 
 embowered by the eastern banks of the lake, command a 
 view of her wondrous citadel, towering on a rugged rock 
 with a natural amphitheatre surrounding it, buried amid 
 the loveliest vegetation and vineyards, presenting a pic-֊
 
 68 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 turesque situation that is beautiful beyond description or 
 power to conceive. 
 
 Queen Semiramus of Assyria, with the exquisite taste of 
 a woman, chose this paradise-like spot for her summer 
 resort. On such an immense scale are the proportions of the 
 buildings that it required six hundred architects and one 
 thousand two hundred w^orkmen. It was not alone the love 
 of nature that attracted the queen to the vernal banks of the 
 lake, but Ara, a young Armenian sovereign, who was famed 
 throughout all the east for his beaut3\ Among man}՛, 
 Queen Semiramis was the chief victim of a love-stricken 
 fever. In vain were all her charming manners, loving 
 words and entreaties to the fair young Armenian patriarch, 
 for he had rabidly denied with a shiver to be bound in 
 sacred ties of marriage with an idolatrous ruler, who 
 worshipped not the true God of his fathers. The exquisite 
 melody of the nightingale, or the gentle swish of purling 
 waters of the lake were mute to her ; the beaming moon or 
 gleaming stars had lost all spell and charm beside the charm 
 of him who was the fairest of mortals. Even at night in her 
 profoundest repose she was tortured with unrest. Shall her 
 love consume her? She had determined to gain him — if not 
 b}^ will, at least bj՛ force of arms. How mysteriously 
 strange is the path of love! She advanced upon the 
 Armenian forces, but with bitter results, the clash of her 
 conquering arms resounds, for Ara was sacrificed ! It must 
 have been a most tragic sight of wild despair when the 
 stricken patriarch was laid low at the queen's feet, with the
 
 ARMENIA, 69 
 
 stamp of death upon his beautiful features. In vain were 
 all endeavors of magic art to bring him to life. The spot 
 where he w^as buried in a coffin of gold is still pointed out as 
 " Ara Seni," " Ara is sacrificed." 
 
 The cuneiform inscriptions of Van are famous in history, 
 as they have revealed the secrets of centuries and yielded up 
 much to modern science. Prof. A. H. Sayce of Oxford, 
 England, in his Journal renders the translations of these 
 venerable inscriptions along with other researches of the 
 Armenian antiquities, thus revealing the fact that the clear 
 stream of knowledge has descended through succeeding 
 generations to our day. 
 
 Artaxata, once the mighty capital of Amenia, where King 
 Tiridates received his crown from Rome. After seeking for 
 years to stifle the incipient church, he too bowed before the 
 cross of Christ, and, like Saul of Tarsus, became the ardent 
 advocate of what he once endeavored to overthrow. 
 
 The holy cit}^ of Vagharshabad was built by King Ero- 
 vant, but all its pomp and glory have faded away, except 
 the monastry of Etchmiadzin. This most ancient Episcopal 
 seat of the Armenians still remains as a mighty bulwark, 
 against which in vain have the heathen cannon of all ages 
 thundered. This mother church of Ararat contains a 
 number of holy relics, among them the head of the spear bv 
 which the side of the Savior was wounded, the hand of St. 
 Gregory, the founder of the monastry, who laid the first 
 stone in the year 302, that blessed hand that had baptized 
 his haughty cousin, King Tiridates, by whom he had
 
 70 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 suffered unimaginable persecutions, and other saintly and 
 hallowed relics which are kissed with devout reverence and 
 awe. Our country being the first to have a Christian ruler, 
 the traditions in this Episcopal seat are also rich in 
 Apostolic legends. None of them are more singular than 
 the reputed correspondence of Christ with our King Abgarus 
 of Edessa. The messengers of this sovereign, having some 
 business transaction with the Roman nobility in Palestine, 
 heard of the miracles of Jesus of Nazareth, and on their 
 return related them to their sovereign, who was convinced 
 that either Jesus was "that Christ," or else God had come 
 down to dwell on earth. As the King was suffering from a 
 «erious disease, he sent a letter to Christ with a company of 
 messengers imploring Him to repair to his court and 
 graciously cure him. At his request an artist was also sent 
 so that if the Lord would fail to come, he would at least 
 Tiave his portrait. The painter being at work one day 
 endeavoring to fulfill his roj^al commission, was observed 
 by the Savior, who, passing a handkerchief over his counte- 
 nance handed it to the artist with a perfect likeness of him- 
 self upon it. Duh^ an answer to the King's letter was 
 written bj՛ St. Thomas, with a word of praise of his faith in 
 an unseen Christ, and informing him that the Divine 
 Master's mission w^as more urgent elsewhere than in 
 Armenia, but that after His ascension disciples would be 
 sent to enlighten the King's people and cure him from his 
 sufferings. It has been stated that a papyrus has been
 
 ARMENIA. 71 
 
 ■discovered in an Egyptian tomb containing the reputed 
 letter of our King. 
 
 Erzerum, on the main line of communication between 
 Persia and the Euxine, still survives as a populous military 
 post and commercial entrepot. She reposes in a lovely 
 district about one hundred miles southeast of Trebizond. 
 
 By those who dwell in the vicinity, the city is thought 
 to be the very spot where the Garden of Eden was located. 
 They claim that for man^՛ a century the flowers of Paradise 
 bloomed around the source of the Euphrates. Tradition 
 says, nature herself was so horrified at the sacreligious 
 conduct of a Persian king, that she refused to produce those 
 rare beauties any longer, and even changed the course of 
 the river itself. Local accounts of Adam's fall show^ how a 
 frail, sympathetic man will follow^ a woman into any kind 
 of a trap. He did not eat of the fruit, they say, until he 
 saw its fatal effect on loveh՛ Eve. Then, concluding that 
 the Creatoi՛ would have compassion if he saw them both in 
 the same sad plight, and restore them to their former 
 estate, he decided to follow her example. Reasoning 
 thus, he indulged. We know the result! Restoration did 
 not occur in accordance with his logical reasoning. There 
 was something wrong with the premises. Logic was not 
 taught, except objectively, in his day. Who can blame 
 Adam ? "The Lord cursed the serpent, and Eve and I were 
 doomed between the two," was the sad refrain. 
 
 The extent of the fortifications is so great in Erzerum 
 that they require 22,000 men to defend it. In 415 A.
 
 72 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 D., the city was fortified by Antolius, and became a strong- 
 hold of the Roman Empire, and her ancient name, Karin, i» 
 honor of the Emperor, was changed to Theodosiopolis^ 
 During the earK՛ decade of the middle ages, she was a» 
 object of jealousy and contention between the Moslems an^ 
 the Greeks. 
 
 There are also Armavir, Ardashed, Kemak and other 
 cities, whose past associations are so fragrant and inspir- 
 ing to an Armenian, while their present state is a little 
 more than the shadow of their former grandeur.
 
 ARMENIAN PEOPLE. 
 
 " Their national character is a powerful one, and will exercise a marked 
 influence in determining the future of the East."— Pro/: Henry F. Tozer, 
 Exeter College, Oxford, Eng. 
 
 eINCE the tragic fall of Armenia, about the middle of 
 the fifth century, our people, deprived of their 
 heritage, have been widely scattered in all parts of Asia 
 Minor, Russia and Persia, leaving but a remnant of the 
 Armenians in Armenia. Thus when we speak of Armenians 
 we must not be confined to Armenia alone. 
 
 The beginning of our national history, like that of all 
 nations of antiquity, is mingled with much of myth and 
 legend. Our father, according to our tradition, was 
 Togarmah. the son of Gomer, who was the son of Japheth 
 of the Scriptures (Genesis x., 3). Some of our historians 
 allude to our country՛՝ as Askhanzean, certainly derived 
 from Askenaz, the brother of Togarmah and the son of 
 Gomer. 
 
 Our traditional history dates from twenty-three 
 centuries B. C, when Haig, the son of Togarmah, begins 
 his political career as our first ruler, from which the appella- 
 
 73
 
 74 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 tion Haig, our national name, is derived. He was one of the 
 many who were busily engaged in the Plain of Shinar in 
 the construction of " The Tower of Babel," but the insatiable 
 ambition of Belus, who sought supremacy, constrained 
 Haig to flee from Babylon to the land of Ararat, where he 
 proposed to plant his own dominion in the vicinity of Lake 
 Van. Belus, the sovereign of Assyria, sending messengers 
 to Haig, demanded him to surrender his power and return 
 under his subjection. This haughty demand was promptly 
 refused, and war was the consequence. 
 
 Belus, at the head of a mighty army, marched to the 
 land of Ararat, and Haig met him with his patriarchal 
 force of numerous sons, grand-sons and servants. It was a 
 crisis which decided the future of his posterity. There the 
 frrst Armenian hero displayed his valor and our legendary 
 songs still sing his triumphant praise. He slew Belus with 
 his dart and buried him on the spot where he fell, scattering 
 his army in great confusion. Haig lived the long life of four 
 hundred years, with a flourishing dominion. The first 
 dj'nasty bearing his name had fifty-nine kings, with the 
 capital at Armavir, to the north of Araxes. Here grew 
 sacred forests, the rustle of whose leaves was held to be the 
 voice of gods whispering to men of welfare and peace. 
 
 Haig's son, Armenag, was the next sovereign. Some 
 suppose that Armenia derived her name from him. His 
 reign is followed by a dim period in the annals of our 
 country, which mention a succession of Armenian princes, 
 until Aram, the seventh dynasty of Haig, comes to light
 
 ARMENIAN PEOPLE. 75 
 
 about two thousand years B. C. From Aram, according 
 to the best authorities, originated our present name, 
 Armenia, by vv'^hich we are known among foreigners. We do 
 not use this name in our own tongue. 
 
 Aram was a king of unusual attainments, and a man of 
 superior tact. He ruled the people with the power of a 
 rightous judge and a promp executive. Contemporary with 
 the Biblical patriarchs, he diffused his reputation far and 
 wide throughout the neighboring provinces and countries, 
 extending the boundaries of his kingdom by conquering 
 large portions of Asia Minor and driving out the Median 
 and Babylonian invaders. Among the few cities that he 
 builded, Mazaca or the modern Cassarea m Cappadocia, is 
 the principal monument. His activities were cut short by 
 death during the war against the queen of Assyria, after 
 which Armenia became a tributary province to that 
 countr\\ The Haikian dynast}՛ did not cease to rule, but 
 it was reduced to almost insignificance beneath the mighty 
 power of the Assyrian empire. 
 
 In ancient accounts Tiglath-Pileser speaks of "the 
 mountains of Arunia," while the inscriptions of Shal- 
 maneser mentions "The royal city of Arrame of the land 
 of Unardhians." 
 
 This " Aruma " of the Tiglath-Pilcsar and " Arrame " of 
 Shalmaneser coincide with the name "Aram" of the 
 Armenian historians. Different spellings of the same name 
 account for its varied transformations into the foreign 
 languages, while they both refer to the "Aram" of the
 
 76 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 natives, the first referring to the country and the latter to 
 the sovereign. The derivation, Togarmah, is believed by 
 some scholars to be from Toka, the Sanskrit for "race," 
 and Arniah of the classical Armenian, thus Aram, Arama, 
 Arrame and Arm ah, though differently spelled by different 
 people, are all derived from Aram, the name of the ruler and 
 his province. Ancientl}^ the country was known as 
 Aramenia, but now the name is contracted into Armenia. 
 
 The cuneiform inscriptions of Armenia are of great his- 
 torical importance because of the light which they throw 
 on the period between 856 and 640 B. C, but with this 
 light is the shadow of religious and social Assyrianism 
 throughout the southern and greater part of the realm. 
 The Haikian monotheistic dj'nasty, though not extin- 
 guished, was almost eclipsed by the Armeno-Ass3'rian 
 d\'nasty, founded by Lutipris after the defeat of Arame, king 
 of the Araratians. This new and powerful line of kings 
 continued from father to son in the following order : Luti- 
 pris, Sarduris I., Ispuinis, Menuas, Argistis, Sarduris II. 
 
 The Ursa and Argistis II., whose paternity seems unde- 
 termined, were evidently of the same famil3\ Argistis II. 
 was succeeded in direct line b}^ his son Erimenas, and he by 
 Rusas. Then last came Sarduris III., whose parentage is 
 also uncertain. This era raay appropriately^ be called the 
 "Dark Ages of Armenia." 
 
 Its meager history, like that of Ass^-ria, is engraven in 
 cuneiform on monuments distributed throughout the region.
 
 ARMENIAN PEOPLE. 77 
 
 The inscriptions of these kings are of the vain-glorious, self- 
 praise order, so characteristic of Asiatics. 
 
 Besides those of the local rulers, there are inscriptions 
 at the cit}՛ of Van to the god Armazt, or Ormazd, left by 
 Xerxes, praising himself and referring to his father Darius. 
 Curses of the air and sun gods are commonU՛ called down 
 on him who should dare to mar these inscriptions. How- 
 ever, some of the stones thus inscribed are now found in the 
 walls of Christian churches with the continuity of their 
 record broken. In some other cases they are still legible. 
 Though religion, manners and customs in the region of 
 Ararat during this era were Assyrian, and though their 
 inscriptions were cuneiform, still the Armenians had a lan- 
 guage of their own in which they shielded their identity. 
 
 Through a multitude of the fortunes of war, they have 
 emerged from the retreating files of conflicting armies a 
 national unit. They have furnished the battlefield for 
 Assyrians, Greeks, Persians, Sc\'thians, Romans, Medo- 
 Persians, Saracens, Turks and Kurds. The evidence of 
 history overwhelmingly affirms that, through it all, no 
 material amalgamation with the invaders has ever oc- 
 curred. This exceptional result, as compared w^ith other 
 less fortunate nations, must be attributed first of all to 
 the reverence for "home," its domestic ties and sacred 
 obligations. The social law and customs preventing the 
 intermarriage of relatives has done much to sustain the 
 physical health, which the fine climate of our mountain 
 homes and rural life for ages engendered.
 
 78 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 For centuries prior to the introduction of Christianity, 
 Armenia was practically divided into eastern and western 
 Armenia, or Armenia Major and Armenia Minor, the former 
 east of the Euphrates river and the latter west of it. 
 
 Tigranes I., a king of Armenia, was the friend and 
 colleague of Cyrus, and aided him in the overthrow of 
 Babylon in fulfillment of prophesy (Jeremiah ii., 27-28). 
 His descendants possessed the land of their ancestor in 
 comparative peace, until Alexander the Great invaded 
 Armenia (328 B. C). 
 
 Before the long spears, splendid discipline and unques- 
 tioned bravery of the Macedonian Phalanxes, king Vahi of 
 Armenia fell in defence of his country and people. His 
 memory is embalmed in the songs and legends of our 
 countrymen. 
 
 In 217 B. C. Macedonian rule ceased, and the country 
 (Armenia Major) became independent, and this state of 
 affairs continued until the death of Ardvates our king, 
 thirty-three years later, when we submitted to Syria. 
 About 190 B. C, Artaxias proclaimed Armenia Major 
 independent, and offered an asylum to Hannibal, the 
 greatest strategist of all times, who had sworn to his 
 father, when a boy of twelve years, "eternal enmity to 
 Rome," and for forty years had k^pt the field against 
 the Imperial Eagles. It must have required courage of the 
 highest order to harbor the greatest enemy of Rome. 
 Lesser Armenia soon followed the example of Greater 
 Armenia and revolted under Zadriades, whose descendants
 
 ARMENIAN PEOPLE. 79 
 
 kept the throne until the time of Tigranees II., when it 
 became part of Greater Armenia. 
 
 About the middle of the second century, B. C, the 
 mighty hand of Mithridates, the Parthian king, laid hold of 
 Amenian affairs and placed his brother Valarsaces on the 
 throne. Under his rule the country flourished, laws were 
 established, personal merit among his subjects was re- 
 warded, and great cities founded. His wise policy laid a 
 good foundation for a great empire. The superior talents 
 of his great-grandson, Tigranes, had nearly accomplished 
 this result, when the advice of his father-in-law, Mithridates 
 of Pontus, brought him in conflict with the Roman empire, 
 and opened the waj^ for that widespread influence of Rome, 
 which was to prepare the way for the kingdom of peace 
 in the hearts of men, soon to be proclaimed to the 
 world. 
 
 By a compromise all of Armenia except two provinces, 
 Sophene and Gordyene, became Roman provinces. What 
 was left became the Kingdom of Tigranes. Tigranes him- 
 self ruled the Roman Armenian provinces as a loyal Roman 
 governor, until the time of his death (55 B. C), and in this 
 office was succeeded by his son, Artavasdes. The true great- 
 ness of the father was not inherited by the son, who vio- 
 lated his obligations to Rome, was arrested by Mark 
 Antony, carried away as prisoner, and beheaded by Cleop- 
 atra, whose charms had captured Antony in Egypt 
 (30 B.C.).
 
 80 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 A son of Artavasdes, aided by the Parthians, in a rebel- 
 lion which followed this event, massacred all the Romans 
 found in Armenia. The Armenians looked to the Parthians 
 as their natural allies, while the events of history prove 
 that it would have been wiser to have followed the policy of 
 great Tigranes I. and remained loyal to Rome. 
 
 The massacre of the Romans was followed b3^ a period 
 of anarch}՛, which is one of the darkest pages in Armenian 
 history, as it was the legitimate result of the violation of 
 solemn pledges; at any rate, poor Armenia was between two 
 mill-stones, Rome on the west and Parthia on the east. The 
 latter was desperate in the throes of declining power, with 
 Persia crowding hard for supremacy in the region of Ararat. 
 Within his own borders, too, Armenia was torn by the broils 
 of a multitude of claimants who were struggling for the 
 throne. In the midst of this domestic strife, an alien 
 usurper, Erovant, became a sort of king (58 A. D.) and kept 
 in power until his overthrow by Ardashes, one of the 
 Arsacidae line, Ardashes, who did some good for his people, 
 though several times dethroned by the power east and west 
 of his country. In 232 A. D. the Armenians became subject 
 to Persia, through the attempt of their king, Chosroes the 
 Great, to retain the Arsacidee in power. With the assassin- 
 ation of the Armenian king begins one of the most remark- 
 able chapters in all histor3\ The deed was done, it is 
 <:laimed, by the father of St. Gregory, the Christian illumi- 
 nator of Armenia. 
 
 All of the royal family except Tiridates, who escaped to
 
 ARMENIAN PEOPLE. 81 
 
 Rome, was slain. In return the assassin and his entire 
 famil}^ except Gregory, who was then two years old and 
 was saved by a nurse, were slain. 
 
 Tiridates made an alliance at Rome, taking upon 
 himself the obligations of Tigranes the Great — which w^ere 
 broken by Tigranes' son, to the sad undoing of Armenia for 
 three hundred years. He was rewarded by Rome with the 
 throne of his unhappy countrՅ^ His honorable course was 
 approved of heaven, in that he became the first Christian 
 sovereign. In the first acts of his reign he persecuted the 
 Christians, but like Paul he verily believed that he was 
 right in doing so. Gregory, the son of the assassin of 
 his father, received a Christian education at Cesarea and 
 at Rome. He went to preach the Gospel in his native 
 Armenia, but the king imprisoned him for fourteen years 
 in a dungeon. The light of truth could not be imprisoned, 
 and beginning with the king and the nobles it soon won 
 the hearts of nearly all the people.* 
 
 This religious change angered the Persians, so that 
 the political troubles continued until Theodisus the Great 
 ceded the eastern part of the country to Persia, which 
 was then called Perse-Armedia. Here we have Persian 
 and Roman Armenia, governed by native rulers of the 
 Armenian family until 652 A. D. During this period the 
 Persians were untiring in their efforts to do Christianity. 
 Among the Armenians numerous insurrections resulted, the 
 
 *The historj^ of the Armenian church will be found in an appropriate 
 chapter bearing on that subject.
 
 82 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 most remarkable of which was led by Vartan Mamigonian. 
 Bishops and priests were massacred at once, or carried 
 away to give up their lives in Persia. The fate of the 
 women is not recorded, but may be imagined. Christian 
 schools and churches were razed to the ground. 
 
 In the recesses of the mountains the Christian Armenians 
 still had their way until 485 A. D., when another conflict 
 with the Persians under Prince Vahan occurred. In these 
 religious battles the slaughter of the Persians was so great 
 that a compromise granting the Christians religious liberty 
 was effected. From this time to 632 our unhappy lot, 
 owing to many petty strifes, was less intolerant than 
 general war could have made it. 
 
 Early in the seventh century՛ Mohammedanism began to 
 be a power in the east, and destined to overwhelm the 
 Armenians as a nation and bring about the dispersion 
 which continues to this day. From this time the history of 
 the country is the story of alien sovereigns, w^hile the 
 passing of the sceptre from the hands of native princes is 
 almost imperceptible in the pages of history. Yet we exist 
 as a people, and, amid the revolutions of the eastern world, 
 we firmly retain our national characteristics and are ever 
 true to Christianit^^ The pomp, glory and wealth of ages 
 gone, the sceptre passed to the conqueror's grasp, there 
 is left but the cherished cross of martyrdom, the emblem of 
 national unity and hope of eternal reward. 
 
 The first invasion of the Mohammedans occurred in 638, 
 in the province of Daron. The Armenians could ill afford, in
 
 ARMENIAN PEOPLK. 83 
 
 their weakened condition, to make a stand against these 
 fierce warriors. So they made a compromise with the 
 Saracens, by the terms of which they were to enjoy the 
 Christian religion unmolested. The Greek co-religionists 
 of the Armenians took up arms against them and threatened 
 extermination as the penalty for their affiliation with the 
 Mohammedans on any terms. War was only averted by 
 the most solemn pledges of fidelity to the Greeks. A 
 common religion removed the prejudices and jealousies of 
 centuries first engendered bj"- the Armenians co-operating 
 with Xerxes in his invasion of Greece (859 A. D.), and Ashod 
 of the Pagratid dynasty became king by consent of Caliph 
 and the Emperorof Constantinople, and his decendents ruled 
 until 1070 A. D., when control of the territory passed to 
 Constantinople. 
 
 A small kingdom remained in the Taurus mountains 
 until 1375, when Leon VL, last of the Armenian kings, was 
 captured and banished. After six years in Egypt, he 
 traveled through Europe until the time of his death in 
 Paris, 1393.* He had co-operated with the Crusaders and 
 with the king of Cyprus, and was the last bulwark of 
 armed Christianity in the east. His kingdom was known 
 
 * The author, when in Paris, visited his tomb. What thoughts fill the 
 mind, what feelings move the heart of an Armenian youth as he stands in 
 a strange land by the grave of the last of the noble kings of his country- 
 men, who had dared to draw his sword in defence of his people and their 
 religion. It is said that his body, clad in robes of white, with a golden 
 sceptre placed within his hand and an opal crown upon his head, was 
 carried to the tomb in regal i)omp. Thus sadly doth the unseemh՛ show of 
 death's procession mock at life's stern realities.
 
 84 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 as Lesser Armenia. Since it fell the Armenians have been a 
 people without a country՛, but everywhere upholding the 
 cross with singular fidelity՛. 
 
 About 2,500,000 of our people are still in the Ottoman 
 Empire. An equal number maj^ be found in other parts of the 
 world — India, Persia, Russia and European countries. 
 
 Social purity of a high order obtains with us. We have 
 no illegitimate births, no divorce court, customs and ancient 
 law^ being against it. Such matters are in the jurisdiction 
 of the Church and are regulated in the interests of the 
 family. Jealousy may be said to be a national curse, but a 
 universal religion binds the nation in a common tie. 
 
 The frequent reference b}՛ Amenian and Greek writers to 
 their respective people as a nation, is not understood bj՛ 
 most Americans without some account of the Mohammedan 
 system of administering the internal affairs of the Sultan's 
 realm. 
 
 By the policy՛ of the Porte, the Armenians, Greeks, Roman 
 Catholics, Protestants and Jews are merely subject nations, 
 pa^'ing tribute to the ruling Moslem element. 
 
 Armenians are responsible to their religious leaders, 
 who are represented by the patriarch at the sublime Porte. 
 Onh՛ the "faithful" or Moslems are allowed in the armj-, 
 Armenians gaining exemptment by the paying of a tax. 
 The result of this plan is altogether favorable to the 
 Armenians, and they have doubled in number during the 
 past fifty years; w^hile the Mohammedan population has 
 remained stationary owing to the large sacrifice of young
 
 ARMENIAN PEOPLE. 85 
 
 men engaged in military service. The sanitary arrangement 
 of camps is usually bad, disease claiming more victims than 
 battlefields. There is thus always a surplus of females. 
 Moreover, while Mohammedan women are kind and affec- 
 tionate mothers, their lack of education results in a heavy 
 death rate among children. 
 
 The mutual jealousies of Christians of various creeds 
 led to great abuse of the powers vested in their representa- 
 tives, who had influence enough to cause the arrest and 
 banishment of apostates who w^ere siding with Protestant 
 missionaries. 
 
 Some Americans, unintentionally perhaps, confuse the 
 Armenians with the Turks, just as some of our people 
 presume the Americans to be the civilized sons of once 
 uncivilized North Armerican Indians. Nothing is more 
 offensive to an Armenian than to be called a Turk. It is no 
 more right to call an Armenian a Turk than to call him an 
 Italian. Though they may live in the same country, yet 
 there is an essential difference between the Armenians and 
 the Turks in race, nationality, religion, language, manners 
 and customs, in truth almost in ever}՛ respect. 
 
 Ethnologists treat of Aryans and Turanians among the 
 primative human families, as to either their complexion or 
 intelligence. Armenians, known as the "Anglo-Saxons 
 of the East," with the progressive nations of the western 
 civilization, belong to the Arj'an, while the Turks, with 
 a mighty host of Asiatics, belong to the Turanian race.
 
 86 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 There is no social intercourse, nor is there any inter- 
 marriage between these two nationalities. 
 
 As a nation, we have been separate and distinct from 
 the Turanian element throughout all ages. Our lost 
 nationality is not dead. 
 
 The Turks originated from numerous nomadic tribes 
 of Central Asia, but from the fact that they have no 
 authentic history, we can not precisely determine from what 
 tribes they have descended. In religion the Armenians 
 are Christian, and have been Christians ever since there 
 was Christianity, while the Turks are Mohammedan, and 
 there are not to-day in the entire country a dozen Turkish 
 Christians, nor are there one-half dozen Armenian Moham- 
 medans. In language, Armenian is as much differentiated 
 from Turkish as English from Chinese. So let us clearly 
 bear in mind that they are two distinct nationalities, 
 separate in race, religion, language, aspect, manners and 
 character. 
 
 Armenians are the only brilliant star twinkling in the 
 dark horizon of the Orient. No matter underwhat skies or 
 flags I wander, I am ever proud of my nationality. We, 
 the Armenians, from the remotest antiquity have been 
 the most religious and liberty-loving people on the face 
 of the earth. The characteristics of our people are con- 
 sidered far superior to those of the nations about us. 
 In this, almost all modern and ancient historians, travellers 
 and missionaries are unanimous. Let me quote but two
 
 ARMENIAN PEOPLE. 87 
 
 testimonials concerning our people. The famous author, 
 Emile De LaYele\'e says, in "The Balkan Peninsula" : 
 
 " The Armenians are intelligent, laborious, economical 
 and excellent business men. They occupy official appoint- 
 ments in the administration of the Ottoman Empire, and in 
 Constantinople they are the chief promoters of economical 
 activity՛. Their civilization is among the oldest in Asia. 
 Their annals date from the earliest historic times." 
 
 The late Rev. H. G. O. Dwight, D. D., one of the pioneer 
 missionaries of the American Board among our people, 
 reflects observations ol many j-^ears in these vvrords : "They 
 (Armenians) have shown themselves to be superior to 
 any other race in commercial tact and in mechanical skill. 
 The principal merchants are Armenians, and nearly all the 
 great bankers of the government; and, whatever arts there 
 are that require peculiar ingenuity and skill, they are 
 almost sure to be in the hands of the Armenians. . . . 
 In one word, they are the Anglo-Saxons of the East." 
 
 I cannot close this chapter on the fortunes of my people 
 without an appeal to that great Cosmopolitan nation, the 
 secret of w^hose marvelous unity is freedom and intelligence, 
 to aid in the enlightenment, encouragement and consequent 
 liberation of a people, kindred though remote, who, 
 through the thick fogs of ignorance and gloom of oppres- 
 sion, have kept intact the love of liberty, the verv font 
 of manhood, together with those qualities that make good 
 citizenship, strength and sobriety.
 
 ARMENIAN LITERATURE. 
 
 "The Armenian literature is rich and continuous, uninterrupted 
 through all the middle ages. It has furnished the philosophers, historians, 
 theologiang and poets." — Prof. Emile De Laveleye. 
 
 ^OLK-LORE, the mother of literature, with its legends 
 ձ^^ and simple rural songs, forms the fountain head of 
 every nation's purest thought and noblest sentiment. A 
 country's scenery, its lofty mountains, green hills and fertile 
 valleys exerts an influence upon the ph^^sical conditions and 
 intellectual standards of a people that cannot be over- 
 estimated. Switzerland, with its grand, uplifting heights, is 
 famed for the inborn love of liberty՛ cherished by its people. 
 Every Anglo-Saxon knows the songs of Robert Burns, 
 inspired^ among the highlands of Scotland. Each lad and 
 lassie is thrilled by the soft, sweet tones of his aeolian harp. 
 Armenia has her bards, whose songs are enriched by the 
 natural scenery which first echoed their refrain. The native 
 poet's passion for birds and flowers inspires his every line, 
 while the varied perfumes of the fields breathes from man\'a 
 stanza. 
 
 Long, long ere letters were invented, the enraptured 
 
 88
 
 ARMENIAN LITERATURE. 89 
 
 heart of the poet broke forth in song, the rythem so 
 complete that not a word could be changed without 
 destro\nng the sense. Was it not so with blind Homer? 
 Armenia's heritage of song is her richest treasure, be- 
 queathed by misty figures in the pre-historic past. So 
 ancient are her melodies that they seem the breath of her 
 body and the light of her soul. 
 
 Her mountains, hills and valleys, her birds and flowers, 
 her kings and battles, even the broken heart-strings of her 
 stricken mothers, are unutterably woven into the strain of 
 poesy. Native poetry finds here its strong incentive. Grim, 
 slothful winter lingers long, holding gentle spring in his icy 
 grasp. She rises suddenly in her youthful strength, and 
 snowflakes change to flowers with a suddenness that 
 surprises the stranger. The quick transition, this annual 
 resurrection, is the theme of manj^ a bard. Spring poetry is 
 addressed to the stork, as harbinger of the season, who, 
 when he comes to stay, brings summer with him. 
 
 The ancients dedicated spring to the goddess Amahid. 
 All the people joined in the feast of Varthavar, rose 
 blossoms. Since Christian times, this has been supplanted 
 by the three daj^s' festival of the Transfiguration. The 
 former ancient custom, the feast of Rose Blossoms, indicates 
 the love of the beautiful, which leads to the true, and can 
 have its origin onl}^ in the good. There is a religious halo 
 about the very name of flowers. The Fountain's Blood is a 
 floral wonder. Was it the blood of righteous Abel that 
 sprang from the ground as this crimson flower on a leafless
 
 90 
 
 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 stalk, calling to God in its blood-red simplicity for vengeance 
 on the murderer? All these beauties of the field and gflen 
 have called forth exquisite gems of thought, which are 
 treasured to this day. 
 
 There is a sad Armenian elegy on Adam's expulsion from 
 Paradise, in theme not unlike portions of Milton's ' Paradise 
 
 NATURE S SONG. 
 
 Lost.' But our ])oets have seldom wandered into the realm 
 of fancy — their themes are of the heart, varying with the 
 fortunes of the people as a nation, from a tone of joyful 
 victory to that of subdued melancholy, which, however, 
 never descends to despair, whatever the adversity. 
 
 The whole literarv fabric is imbued with a reliffious
 
 ARMENIAN LITERATURE. 91 
 
 faith in the final justice of God, which finds no parallel, 
 except in the literature of the Hebrew race. A literal trans- 
 lation of the following stanza does not destroy the poetic 
 thought and religious hope which saves from despair a 
 wounded mother grieving for her child. Unfortunately, 
 translation injures the effect of the original : 
 
 " I gaze and weep, mother of my boy, 
 
 I say alas and woe is me ' 
 What w^ill become of wretched me 
 
 I have seen m^՛ orolden son dead ! 
 Thej- seized that fragrant rose 
 
 Of my breast, and my sonl fainted away; 
 They let that beautiful golden dove 
 
 Fh՛ away, and my heart was wounded. 
 The falcon Death seized 
 
 My dear and sweet-voiced turtle dove and wounded me. 
 They took mj^ sweet-toned little lark 
 
 And flew away through the skies! 
 Before niA՛ eves they sent the hail 
 
 On my flowering green promegranale, 
 AI3՛ ros^- apple on the tree. 
 
 Which gives fragrance among the leaves. 
 They shook my flourishing beautiful almond tree 
 
 And left me without truit ; 
 Beating it they threw it on the ground 
 
 And trod it under foot into the earth of the grave. 
 What, what w^ill become of wretched me I 
 
 Many sorrows surrounded me. 
 0, my God, receive the soul of my little one 
 
 And place him at rest in Thy bright heaven." 
 
 The simple pathos and exquisite conception of bird and 
 flower analogies by the rural bards are touchingly illus- 
 trated in the above selection. The birds of Armenia, like the 
 flowers, are countless in number and variety. Her poets 
 seldom write without embellishing their lines with reference
 
 92 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 to some of their feathered or fragrant friends of the field. 
 The partridge is a special favorite, as the following stanzas 
 would indicate : 
 
 "Thy nest is enamelled with flowers, 
 
 With vasilico, narcissus, and w^ater-lily; 
 Th3՛ place is full of dew, 
 
 Thou delightest in the fragrant odor. 
 Ah ! prettj-, prett}՛, 
 
 Ah ! dear little partridge ! 
 
 When the little partridge descends from the tree, 
 
 And with his sweet voice chirps, 
 He cheers all the world, 
 He draws the heart from the sea of blood. 
 Ah ! pretty, pretty, 
 Ah ! dear little partridge ! 
 
 All the birds call thee blessed, 
 
 They come with thee in flocks. 
 They come around thee chirping; 
 In truth there is not one like thee. 
 Ah ! pretty, pretty. 
 Ah I beautiful little partridge! 
 
 The crane is the harbinger of summer as the stork is 
 of spring, and has received his share of poetic tribute. 
 
 To the Armenian, under foreign skies, the flight of 
 the crane is alway suggestive of home. His thoughts 
 will be such as to recall the poets of his Oriental fatherland. 
 "Crane, whence comest thou? Hast thou no news of 
 our countr}^?" 
 
 Thanks to the modern scientific research, news flies 
 faster than the crane, and the Armenian in America is 
 abreast with the times on the Armenian question and has
 
 ARMENIAN LITERATURE. 
 
 93 
 
 the news before the Armenian residents on the foot-hills 
 of Ararat can possibK՛ get it. 
 
 The tender regard of Armenians for the birds of the 
 air has its origin in the ancient superstition of transmigra- 
 tion. Among the ignorant, it is still believed that the spirits 
 of the departed in the form of birds visit the scenes of their 
 
 A SCENE IN ARMENIA. 
 
 youth. For this reason the denizens of the air are seldom 
 disturbed by the Armenian peasants. Many of the most 
 touching poetical illusions in regard to them, are born 
 of the idea that they are custodians of the the spirits of 
 departed friends. 
 
 The limpid, laughing waters of Armenia's swift descend-
 
 94 UNDER ORIENTAL vSKIES, 
 
 ing streams as the}^ babble through rocky channels, or 
 bound from shelving precipice in a musical cascade, have 
 shared the laureat's fancy with the star reflecting blue 
 of the crystal lakes. A hearty expression of the poetic 
 charms of a mountain torrent, watering fields and gardens 
 in the lower valley, is the following : 
 
 "Down from յ՚օո distant mountain 
 
 The water flows through the village, Ha! 
 A dark boy comes forth, 
 
 And washes his hands and face, 
 Washing, yes washing. 
 
 And turning to the water, asked, Ha! 
 Water, from what mountain dost thou come? 
 
 O my cool and sweet water! Ha! 
 I come from that mountain. 
 Where the old and new snow lie one on the other. 
 
 "Water, to what garden dost thou go ? 
 O my cool and sweet water! Ha! 
 I go into that garden 
 
 Where there is the sweet song of the nightingale! Ha! 
 Water, into what fountain dost thou go ? 
 
 O my cool and sweet little water! 
 I go to that fountain 
 
 Where thy love comes and drinks. 
 I go to meet her and kiss her lips, 
 
 And satiate myself with her love." 
 
 To dramatic poetry the Armenian singer frequently 
 turns. Many examples of this branch of the art are 
 connected with the famous Lake Van, around which 
 countless traditions are woven. An excellent example of 
 this class of poetry՛ is given below :
 
 ARMENIAN LITERATURE. 95 
 
 'We sailed in the ship from Aghthamar. 
 We directed our ship towards Avan ; 
 When we arrived before Vosdan 
 We saw the dark sun of the dark da^՛. 
 
 Dull clouds covered the sky, 
 Obscuring at once stars and moon ; 
 The winds blew^ fiercely, 
 And took from my eyes land and home. 
 
 Thundered the heaven, thundered the earth. 
 The w^aters of the blue sea arose; 
 On ever^՛ side the heavens shot forth fire ; 
 Black terror invaded my heart. 
 
 There is the sky, but the earth is not seen, 
 There is the earth, but the sun is not seen • 
 The w^aves come like mountains 
 And open before me a deep abyss. 
 
 O see, if thou lovest thy God, 
 
 Have pity on me, forlorn and wretched ; 
 
 Take not from me m3- sweet sun, 
 
 And betraj՛ me not to flinty-hearted Death. 
 
 Pity, O sea, O terrible sea! 
 
 Give me not up to the cold winds : 
 
 My tears implore thee 
 
 And the thousand sorrows of m}՛ heart . . . 
 
 The savage sea has no pity ! 
 
 It hears not the plaintive voice of my broken heart ; 
 
 The blood freezes in my veins. 
 
 Black night descends upon my eyes . . . 
 
 Go tell to my mother 
 To sit and weep for her darkened son ; 
 That John was the prey of the sea, 
 The sun of the young man is set!
 
 96 
 
 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 Summer! The short, sweet, seductive summer of 
 Armenia does not last long enough to produce ennui. 
 
 THE PASSING OF SUMMER. 
 
 This brief, bright pageantr\^ of blooming, fragrant 
 flowers and ripening fruit, comes quickly, does its work in
 
 ARMENIAN LITERATURE. 97 
 
 Haste, and departs while a chill, gloomy winter succeeds, 
 suppressing autumn before it fairly՛ has a chance to exist. 
 
 How much the utter seclusion of Armenian domiciles, 
 apart from the centers of population, has had to do in 
 developing, through the long winter for meditation, the 
 poetic instinct, we can well surmise. These patriarchal 
 abodes are snow-bound from October until Ma^՛, and from 
 such retreats chiefly have come the ancient and modern 
 literature of Armenia. 
 
 There is great paucit_v of Armenian written literature 
 prior to the Christian era. However, we have proof that 
 the national enthusiasm for knowledge is not of modern 
 inspiration. A people so proud will not willingh^ let their 
 deeds of valor on hard fought fields die unrecorded. The 
 names of heroes and sages were household words at ever}^ 
 family altar and fireside. 
 
 Cherished names and historical events garnered in 
 national songs and stories, were handed from generation to 
 generation as sacred traditions for centuries, until the art of 
 writing became common. 
 
 Modern archaeologists have discovered and read ancient 
 cuneiform records, which bear a remarkable analogy to the 
 traditionary lore. Assyrian, Greek and Hebrew records 
 help to fill in the missing links in an almost unbroken chain, 
 so that Armenian tradition may be said to more nearly 
 approach historical literature in value than that of an}՛ 
 other nation of the earth. The unwritten historv of the 
 masses is confirmed in most essential points, at least by the
 
 98 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 modern reading of records of the few who were able to 
 record the facts of history on the face of the rocks among 
 the everlasting hills. Time has dealt kindlj^ with those 
 precious records, and the curious student may find full 
 account of their discover}՛ in the annals of archaeology. 
 
 Like the tombs of Egypt, the cradle of the human race is 
 slowly but surely giving up the secrets of thousands of 
 years. The earliest and most valued of our historical 
 sources is the work of Agathangaegos, who flourished in the 
 third century of our era. He was the private secretary of 
 King Tiridates of Armenia. 
 
 The rarest manuscripts I have seen are found in the 
 alcoves of Armenian monastic libraries. About two 
 thousand of them are preserved at Etchmiazin, one 
 thousand two hundred in the convent of St. Lazaro at 
 Venice ; the Royal Library at Paris, through the emissaries 
 of Louis XIV., contains about two hundred of them; 
 Bodleian Library- and British Museum contain but a few 
 manuscripts. 
 
 Man}՛ of these manuscripts are the work of inferior 
 or little-known writers, but all of them have a high value 
 because of their great age and the painstaking care with 
 which the laborious w^ork of copving was done. 
 
 In the fifth century, A. D., Moses of Chorene, by his 
 historical writings, became the Herodotus of the Armenian 
 people. He treasured in his works the traditional history 
 of his time, some parts of which continued to be handed 
 down orally as of yore, the fidelity and accuracy with
 
 ARMENIAN LITERATURE. 99 
 
 which the people transmitted them being much to their 
 credit. 
 
 In the same century, a period of unusual intellectual 
 activity, St. Mesrob, an illustrious prelate of an Armenian 
 monastery, modified the alphabet to its present form, 
 composed of thirty-eight letters. He is sometimes called its 
 inventor, which gives him more honor than is his due. 
 Prior to his introducticm of the Armenian letters, the Greek 
 alphabet was in use by our nation. The Armenian is an 
 inflected language, with four conjugations and twelve 
 declensions. It belongs to the kryan branch of Indo- 
 Germanic family of languages. In syntactical structure, 
 the classical Armenian bears a close resemblance to the 
 ancient Greek. It has no grammatical gender or dual form. 
 
 Espousing Christianity early in our race, we experienced 
 wnth that change a great revival of literary and intellectual 
 activity, the first fruits of which were numerous transla- 
 tions of the sacred stories from Syriac and Greek. Armenian 
 students were seen at all the educational centers of Europe, 
 Alexandria and B\^zantimm. To their translations are due 
 the preservation in Armenia of many valuable writings, 
 extinct in the original and all other tongues. 
 
 The Old Testament was translated by Sahak the 
 Patriarch, from the Septuagint version. There are con- 
 flicting opinions concerning the final accomplishment of 
 what is known as the "Queen of Versions." Some parts 
 are evidently from the Syriac and some from the Greek, 
 but the greater part is from Septuagint. The sixth century
 
 100 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 may well be called the dormant era of Armenian literature. 
 All intercourse with Greek centers of learning being cut off 
 by the Persians, the pursuit of literature declined in its 
 avidity. 
 
 During the seventh century several valuable historical 
 and theological works were written. In the eighth century 
 John of Osdin and Stephanus of Siunia were leading writers, 
 while in the ninth, John the Catholicos, Thomas Ardzruni, 
 and several others enriched the literature of the country. 
 
 The tenth was equalh՛^ productive of leaders of thought 
 through the medium of the pen. In the eleventh, Aristakes 
 of Lastiverd, the national historian, flourished with 
 numerous contemporaries; among them Matthew Yeretz, 
 the biographer of Chrysostom. The twelfth and thir- 
 teenth centuries, in which S^'riac influence predominated, 
 was a second period of great literar^^ activity. Later the 
 Armenians of the west gave their literature such names as 
 Rivola (1633), Villote, La Croze, Osgan and others, who 
 were eclipsed by St. Martin. In Russia and France, 
 Armenians ranked among the best writers; Speigle, Justi, 
 Neumann and Pertermann in Germany՛ have made enviable 
 reputations. 
 
 In the present century the work of Armenian Romish 
 monks of the convent St. Lazaro, Venice, ma^՛ well rank 
 first. This convent is the cradle of ancient and modern 
 Armenian literature. Many translations from European 
 languages have been issued from this place along with 
 valuable books of reference, dictionaries, and works of
 
 ARMENIAN LITERATURE. 101 
 
 similar nature. The convent is particularly interesting to 
 modern students and tourists, because it was there that 
 Byron sojourned for a time, deeply interesting himself in 
 Armenian literature and its expounders, the learned monks. 
 This remarkable establishment has been greatly dis- 
 tinguished for its eminent services in the cause of morality 
 and learning. In 1810, when a general order for the sup- 
 pression of all monastic institutions in Venice was issued, 
 St. Lazaro alone was exempted from its sweeping effects. 
 Another proof of the high estimation in which the monas- 
 ter}^ stands, is show^n by the fact that the Pope made it his 
 usual custom to confer upon each new abbot of St. Lazaro 
 the title and dignity of Archbishop, although the prelate 
 has neither province nor subordinate clergy under him. 
 
 American missionaries have furnished scientific text 
 books and are increasing the number from time to time. 
 An Armenian who can afford them may have as good a 
 practical library in his native language as the artizan or 
 merchant could desire. From these facts some interesting 
 conclusions can be drawn. 
 
 Through four-fifths of the Christian era, Armenian 
 literature has enjoyed a more perfect continuity than that 
 of any other Christian nation. 
 
 When Europe was passing through the dark ages, 
 the Christian Armenians of the Orient were enjoying a 
 season of unparalleled intellectual activity, creating for 
 mankind a literature of no little value, and the day 
 may yet come when her purest songs and highest thought 
 may be ranked among those classics which are not the 
 possession of any tongue or people, but have in them 
 so much of man's heart and life that they belong to 
 man as the legacy of the race.
 
 THE ARMENIAN CHURCH. 
 
 " The Armenians may justly claim to be the oldest Christian nation in 
 the world."—//. B. Tristram, D. D., LL. D., F. R. S., Canon oi Durham, 
 England. 
 
 lEFORE entering into a description of the Armenian 
 \ա} church, let us cast a glance at the various stages of 
 the primitive religious life of the people. From the earliest 
 times man has recognized and obeved the religious instinct. 
 
 O -՛Ծ 
 
 Conscience and reason, no matter how rudimentar}՛, com- 
 bine to make him bow before some power outside himself, 
 in whose hands he is, and to whom he owes some sort 
 of homage. The veriest savage acknowledges with mingled 
 fear and gratitude his dependence upon the Great Provider, 
 Ordainer and Judge, if only in his reverence for the Son. As 
 this religious impulse develops, the idea of propitiation 
 forms more and more the predominant element in it^ 
 probabl}՛ from the growing sense of helplessness and fate 
 consequent upon the accumulation of experience. 
 
 Once this idea of propitiation has firmly՛ seized upon the 
 primitive mind, the next step is, for the sake of greater 
 efficiency, to dedicate all this work to one man— judged 
 pleasing to the gods.
 
 THE ARMENIAN CHURCH. 103 
 
 This is the idea of the priest— simple at first and pure. 
 Often this priest was merely the head of the family, who, as 
 the revered, obeyed and responsible representative thereof, 
 stood therefore before the gods to recommend, to intercede, 
 and conversely to bless and to curse. Such was the earliest 
 form of Oriental priesthood. 
 
 According to the testimony of the Scriptures, after the 
 resting of the ark "upon the mountains of Ararat," Noah 
 offered burnt offerings upon the altar. Since these moun- 
 tains are in our central province, Armenia may be said to be 
 the earliest home of divine worship, and from here patri- 
 archial monotheism was transmitted to Noah's descendants. 
 In the centuries following, we frequently meet with 
 analagous cases of Abraham and of kindred patriarchs as 
 worshipers of one true God. In the patriarchal observance 
 of religion, the father was the high priest of the famiU՛, 
 officiating daily at the rude family altar. He enjo^'cd the 
 sacred religious reverence which is the divine right of the 
 pious head of a family. We may well pray for restoration 
 of this ancient and mutual sense of religious duty and 
 respect in many a modern home. 
 
 The Old Testament is not a universal histor\՛. It is the 
 history of the Hebrew nation. It does not, therefore, 
 mention all nations who were possessed of the same form of 
 worship. But we have our traditions, which are sufficient 
 proof to sustain us in our belief that pure monotheism was 
 the pre-historic religion of the Armenians, as it was the 
 primitive religion of all other Aryans. We cannot, however,
 
 104 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 positively determine the duration of that pure religion in 
 Armenia. By degrees, through the influence of idolatrous 
 neighbors, she embraced polytheism of Assyro-Babylonian 
 type. Our cuneiform inscriptions inform us in particular of 
 the names of deities and the regulations for daily sacrifice. 
 
 With the supremacy of the Medo-Persian empire, there 
 arose in Western Asia the dualistic religion of Zoroaster, 
 teaching that there are two supernatural beings— Ormazd,* 
 the creator and preserver of all things good, and Ahriman, 
 the source of all evil and mischief. These rival gods, having 
 in command good and evil spirits, were in perpetual strife. 
 The fire, which was the personification of Ormazd's son, 
 became the supreme object of worship. 
 
 This was the religion of the Armenians from the last 
 decade of the seventh century B. C. to the advent and intro- 
 duction of Christianity, in whose cause our people struggled 
 in many bloody battles against the established Zoroasterian 
 system. 
 
 The Armenian church is of vital interest to Armenians, 
 because it has served a double mission. Not onl}^ is it 
 an organization exerting a religious influence on the people, 
 but since the subjection of the country to the Turkish 
 government, the church has also served as a conservator of 
 the national spirit and unity. 
 
 Patriotism and common religion are two important 
 uniting forces of a nation, and of the two, religion is far 
 
 * Ormazd of the Persians is the same as Armazt of the Armenians and 
 Jupiter of the Greeks.
 
 THE ARMENIAN CHURCH. 105 
 
 more potent in its preserving power. Although under the 
 Turkish yoke, the Armenians still preserve their national 
 peculiarities; they are independent in spirit if not in fact. 
 But this church should also be of interest to every Christian 
 of every countr\՛, because of its associations with early 
 Christianit^^ It should be a delight to trace down the 
 centuries and fortunes and misfortunes of a church founded 
 by the first disciples of our Saviour. 
 
 Cast a glance at the condition of the eastern world 
 in the time of Christ's Advent! When Zoroastrianism was 
 multiplying its gods, and at the same time multiplying 
 vice and immorality, when the ancient Babylonians were in 
 eager endeavor to keep their old, d^-ing Sabaism alive, 
 when many branches of heathenism were contemplating 
 the manufacture of some new and better gods, when even 
 the sacred religion of Judaism had fallen into ritualistic 
 literalism ; in a word, when the dark and threatening clouds 
 of meaningless strife and hopeless controversy had seized 
 the oriental sk}՛, and the people were blundering in the 
 darkness of superstition and ignorance, then rose the Son of 
 Righteousness to illumine the whole world, bearing in its 
 radiance the burden of that angelic benediction, "Peace 
 on earth, good will toward men." 
 
 It was during the reign of our King Abgarus of Edessa 
 that Bartholomew, one of the twelve, and Thaddeus, one of 
 the seventy, went about preaching the gospel in Armenia. 
 As a result of their faithful labors and the power of the new^ 
 Gospel they proclaimed, the king and the royal family were
 
 (^063 UNDER OIRENTAL SKIES. 
 
 converted and baptized in the river Euphrates, and following 
 their example, the whole nation turned from their idolatry 
 to the true God. 
 
 Notwithstanding this resistless wave of Christain 
 pow^er and good, the conversion proved transient, and 
 a short time after the death of Abgarus the nation relapsed 
 into its false religion. It was reserved for St. Gregorj^, 
 a prince^of the reigning family of Arsacidae, a man "mighty 
 to the Lord," to turn the erring people back to Christian 
 faith and worship. This learned inan had been sent by 
 Tiridates to the Greek bishops of Ceesarea for ordination, 
 and under the influence of his preaching, the haughty king 
 Tiridates (Durtad) embraced CfiristiahTEy, and as a result, 
 each man became iconoclast, and worshiped again a spirit 
 in spirit andln truth (301 A. D.)* 
 
 Tiridates bestowed on his people the imperishable honor 
 օքՆ61ո^_էհ6^£տէ nation to have a Christian oiler. The 
 baptism of this Armenian king into the Christian church 
 antedates that of Constantine thirty-seven years. Com- 
 monly the latter is referred to as the first Christian 
 «mperor, through paucity of information on Armenian 
 liistory in the libraries of Europe and America. 
 
 With Christianity came an elevation of the national 
 mind, and the centurj^ following formed the golden age 
 of Armenian literature. Schools were established in everv 
 
 *The converting the king by St. Greejorj.՛ is most remarkable in the 
 light of the fact that Gregory's father had assassinated the father of the 
 king, who was the assassin's cousin.
 
 THE ARMENIAN CHURCH. 107 
 
 part of the country, and as a crowning triumph the Bible 
 was translated into the Armenian language. Our bishops 
 sat in all the early councils of the one common Christian 
 church, catholic in spirit, liberal in doctrine and govern- 
 ment. 
 
 About 450 A. D,, various causes presented Armenia's 
 representation in the fourt h_Ecumenical Council of Chal- 
 cedon, at which Eutyches was condemned on the doctrine 
 relating to the person of Christ. The Armenian church 
 re jerved t heir decision, and was assumed to e ndor se_his 
 here sy, which was untrue^^ In 491 this doctrine in full 
 
 Synod was formally annulled by our patriarch, which 
 act resulted in separation from the Greek and Roman 
 
 churches. It was not a question of dogma, but of 
 
 jurisdiction, that caused it to reject the council. Docu- 
 mentary evidence is not wanting to show that the 
 Armenian church was essentially orthodox at that time 
 and has ever been so. European and American historians 
 have drawn on bigoted Latin and Greek sources for the 
 information. On the contrary, so long as the Armenian 
 church stands aloft from the endorsement of the Council 
 of Chalcedon, her autocracy is secure. To concur would be 
 to court absorption into the Greek and Roman hierarchies. 
 When we consider with what the Armenian church 
 has had to contend during the past eighteen centuries, our ,^^ 
 sympathies cannot fail to be awakened and our admiration c^vK^՝ 
 kindled. The time came when the Persian conquerors 
 offered annihilation by the s\vord__Q r religi ous submission
 
 108 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 to forsaken heathenism. A most critical moment; they 
 must wade through a carnage of death to religious 
 freedom, or desert the pure religion of their fathers! 
 Christian homes or Christian graves was the unanimous 
 sentiment that echoed from the Armenian ranks. Men, 
 women, children, all stood on the battle ground in defence 
 of their faith. One universal resolution prevailed, "From 
 this belief no one can move us, neither angels nor men, 
 n either fire ^or sword, nor water, nor any other horrid 
 tortures.^ What a pathetic scene ! In that vast throng of 
 clergy and laity. Prince Vartan Mamigonian, the valiant 
 commander-in-chief of the Christian host, lifted his eloquent 
 voice in a thrilling oration: "I entreat you, mj՛^ brave 
 companions," said he, "fear not the number of the heathen, 
 withdraw not your necks from the terrific sword of a 
 mortal man ! That the Lord may give the victory into 
 our hands, that we may annihilate their power and lift 
 on high the standard of truth." 
 
 In the morning, with clash of arms the army of the 
 Persians was advancing. No time could be lost, the decisive 
 battle was soon on ! It was after partaking of the holy 
 communion that the Armenians marched on with brave 
 hearts and with these words on their lips, "May our death 
 be like the death of the just, and may the shedding of our 
 blood resemble the blood-shedding of the prophets! May 
 God look in mercy on our voluntary self-offering, and ma}^ 
 He not deliver the Church into the hands of the heathen." 
 The battle raged furiously. Never fought men with greater
 
 THE ARMENIAN CHURCH. 109 
 
 heroism, though fewer in number, and though their noble 
 commander was first among the slain, the courage of the 
 determined heroes of the Cross increased until they shook 
 the Persian throne to its foundation, and the Persian 
 monarch, retreating in confusion, besought compromise, 
 granting religious liberty. This was the last of many 
 religious battles in which the Armenians contended with 
 opposing Zoroastrianism, and the\^ dealt her here such 
 a blow that she never again lifted her hand to strike. 
 Persecuted as she has been b\՛ the relentless Saracen, and by 
 the still more murderous Mongol and Tartar, she has 
 always held her ground patiently, heroically, and songs 
 of hallelujah she has sung above all the strife and conflict. 
 Not with inward controversies, but with the red blood 
 of martyrdom have Armenians maintained their religion 
 throughout all ages. Tangible good resulted from the 
 long centuries of persecution. It strengthened the faithful. 
 An iron-clad Christian character resulted, successfully 
 resisting the sensual alhirements of Islamism for genera- 
 tions. Western Christians may frequently be seen to 
 embrace Mohammedanism for military or social standing, 
 but the Armenian almost never! 
 
 For many centuries the Church suffered the meddlesome 
 interference of the Pope at Rome, who tried to place it 
 in subordination to the papel power. Many apostacised 
 to Rome (notably since the Council of Florence, 1439 A. D.), 
 perhaps in the hope of the better protection of a stronger 
 and more dominant organization ; undoubtedly the superior
 
 110 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 schools of the Jesuits also attracted a large number from 
 the National Church. Nor is this all; owing to the con- 
 tinued opposition and interference of the Greek Church, 
 much of its superstition has crept in and has exerted a 
 pernicious influence on the national religion, robbing it 
 of its pristine purity and simplicity. In the twelfth century 
 Merses Lambronasses, a celebrated Armenian orator, in a 
 masterly speech, advocated the union of the two churches. 
 The laity and clergy՛, however, unanimously rejected the 
 idea, suspecting that it threatened their independence. 
 Moreover, the doctrines and usages of the two churches 
 differ widely in many particulars. _ While the Armenian 
 Church claims to be orthodox, she does not claim to be 
 the onh^ orthodox church, and does not denj՛ communion 
 to members of Greek and Roman churches. The Armenian 
 Church is liberal, while the Greek is exclusive in the extreme. 
 Whether owing his allegiance to Rome or to the 
 orthodox Greek, a convert to the evangelical missions, or 
 yet within the fold of the native church, the Armenian 
 Cէristian still esteems Etchmiadzin the most sacred shrine 
 of national adoration. The monastery of Etchmiadzin, 
 most ancient of monastic foundations, has been the patri- 
 archial throne^f^rmenia^throughout all Christian ages. 
 Here is the first St. Gregory's church, traditionall}-^ founded 
 on a spot w^here Christ descended, as its name implies, 
 "Etch" meaning descent, and "miadzin" օոհ՚ -begotten. It 
 is at the foot of Mount Ararat, crucifo rm^ with transcepts
 
 THE ARMENIAN CHURCH. 
 
 Ill 
 
 SO short that it seems square. It is elaborately decorated 
 with ornaments usual to Armenian places of worship. 
 
 Of all the officers of the church, the Catholicos ranks 
 highest, the Catholicos at at Etchmiadzin being supreme.*՜ 
 
 MGR. KHRIMIAN. CATHOLICOS OF ALL ARMENIANS. 
 
 * The author, when in Constantinople, had the pleasure of an extended 
 interview with the ex-patriarch, Mgr. Khrimian, who has been recently 
 exalted to the office of Catholicos at Etchmiadzin. He was cordiall3՛ 
 received and enjoN'ed the paternal advice and blessinoj of this highest 
 dignitary of the .\rmenian church and people. When about to depart, the 
 venerable man presented his young congenere with several original 
 autograph volumes, which are held as priceless additions to his library.
 
 112 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 This personage is executively of somewhat papal authority՛. 
 However, no dogma of infallibilitj^ deifies him. After being 
 elected by all the archbishopSi_he inustJ5e confirmed b}^ the 
 Czar oj^Rjissia^who^gyaraniee^iiim prq^ enforces 
 
 his decrees. 
 
 There are also other Catholicos at Sis, in the ancient 
 province of Cicilia, and at j^khtamar, upon an island of 
 Lake^Van, and two Patriarchs, one at Constantinople and 
 the other at Jerusalem. The function of the Patriarch is 
 more of a poHtical nature, representing the Armenian nation 
 and church to the authorities. Ecclesiasticalh՛ he holds the 
 rank of a Bishop. Next in order are the archbishops and 
 bishops^ who^are elected to their office b^Mthe entire nation 
 and ordained^by^ the Catholicos. Formerly it was the 
 custom to ordain these officers at Caesarea or Sis, but in the 
 patriarchate of Nerses the Great, who lived 363 A. D., this 
 custom was discarded by the sentiment of the laity and the 
 resent practice inaugurated. 
 
 After ordination, the bishop confines himself in a room 
 of the church, fasting and praj-ing for about two weeks, 
 when he is prepared to enter upon his duties. During this 
 time he studies the ritual and forms of the church, and at its 
 conclusion is possessed of the power of absolution. The 
 bishops are much more highly educated than the priests, 
 being elected from an order known as Vartabets, or doctors 
 of theology. Indeed, the Vartabets represent the highest 
 culture of the nation, and to them it is indebted for most of 
 its literature. The priest is chosen by the people from
 
 THE ARMENIAN CHURCH. 
 
 113 
 
 among themselves, and is supposed to possess a good 
 education and knowledge of the Bible. He is, as a rule, 
 a venerable man with a long beard. 
 
 Celibacy is not compulsory, but a priest can not rise 
 
 ''c^ 
 
 AN ARMENIAN BISHOP. 
 
 higher than his order whilejiis wife is living, He performs 
 the marriage ceremony, ad_rninisters_ baptism, officiates at 
 funeraTs^and takes c harge of th e^ morning and evening 
 services of the church. He receives no salary, but depends
 
 114 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 on contributions for his support. It can easilj՛ be imagined 
 why we have no wealth}՛ priests. The Armenian monks are 
 of the order of St. Basil. 
 
 As has been indicated before, the Armenian Church is 
 Apostolic^rtliQdoxjnJts form, Episcopal and liberal in its 
 nature. In theolog}^ it is Augustinian, adopting the 
 Apostolic, the Nicene and the Athanasian creeds. It has 
 more affinity now to the Church of England than to any 
 other. 
 
 ■^ It embraces the doctrine of the Trinity, and believes in 
 the incarnated divinity of Christ, separated but blended in 
 perfect harmony in an unapproachable life. It declares that 
 the hoh՛ spirit is an essence emanating from God, and that 
 it is the source of union between God and man^^^It believes 
 in the adoration and mediation of saints, but not in the 
 purgatorial penance, though prayer and entreaties are 
 offered for the pardon of departed souls. Contrary to the 
 Greek and Roman churches, it places the Bible in the hands 
 of all the people, believing in the potency՛ of the inspired 
 word for the conviction and salvation of souls. 
 
 Ever}՛ morning at sunrise and ever}՛ evening at sunset 
 the people assemble in the churches and regular services are 
 held. The scriptures are chanted or read. The sermon is 
 usually preached and the ceremonies performed in the 
 ancient Armenian tongue. This part of the service is not 
 given the prominence it receives in this country, and it is 
 not uncommon for the people to go home before or even 
 during the preaching, because of the lengthy liturg}՛. The
 
 b 
 
 THE ARMENIAN CHURCH. 115 
 
 sign of the cross is used at all services. The adoration of the 
 pictures of saints and the cross is believed to be of special 
 efficac3\ The church liturgy, though ancient and extensive, 
 is 3'^et most beautiful in style and in religious sentiment. 
 
 There are seven sacraments— baptism, confirmation, the 
 eucharist, penance, ordination, marriage and extreme 
 unction. The Armenian Church practices a triple immersion 
 of infants, and teaches that by it original sin is washed 
 away, while actual sin requires auricular confession and 
 penance. Confirmation is administered immediately after 
 baptism, the child being anointed with holy oil. ^^Ֆշ 
 ^octrine of Transubstantiation is_reg^:d£d-_as_e2ctremel 
 important, unleavened bread being used in the sacrament 
 ճզճ dipped in undiluted wine. 
 
 C Penance consists in fasting, which occurs every 
 Wednesdaj- and Friday, and also in abstaining irovxy 
 eggsan^_meat of all kinds. Confession to the priestjiood 
 constitutes^ necessary՛ preparation for participation in the^ 
 v&aerament of the Lord's Supper. 
 
 There are also man}՛ sacred holidays, among which \ 
 is Christmas, celebrated on the eighteenth of January; 
 Nativity and Epiphan\՛ on the sixth. Extreme unction / 
 is administered only to the ecclesiastics. / 
 
 Like the children of erring Israel, the Armenians have 
 wandered often and far from the primitive faith, and vet 
 we can but admire the heroism with which they have 
 contended for their religion and church ? With the 
 introduction of Christianity we can bid a final adieu to
 
 116 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 the pagan influence in the social and religious life of the 
 Armenians, for having given up their idols and torn down 
 temples of Bael, the}՛ took up the cross never to lay it 
 down. That church has for its corner-stone Christ Jesus, 
 and rests on the firm foundation of the inspired revelation. 
 But to the truth has been added much superstition, and the 
 religion once so full of spirit and devotion, has lapsed into 
 mere formalism, which is fatal to everv Christian grace and 
 fruit. Armenia still upholds her torch, but it emits no 
 gracious light; while yet the knee is bent to the one true 
 God, the spirit kneels not to its King. The voice of the 
 disciples here heard so long ago inspires no more, and the 
 fire kindled in the souls of men has almost sunk to ashes. 
 How sad to think that she w^ho gave so much is poor 
 to-da}՛ in what so freely she bestowed ! and yet it need not 
 be so. 
 
 While Christian nations are seeking to save the lost in 
 darker lands, let them not forget their obligation to 
 Armenia; from her freeW they have received, and now, 
 in her dire necessity, should they not freely give? The 
 occidental Christendom, which to-da}՛ enjoys the peace, love 
 and cordial fellowship of Christianity՛ — so cheap, so easy, so 
 honorable; do they not owe something to our Oriental 
 pioneer, who "fought to win the prize, and sailed through 
 blood\՛ seas?" And not only is it an obligation but a 
 privilege to evangelize a land, the scene of the Apostles' first 
 efforts. 
 
 Armenia's earnest appeal should not fall lightly on the
 
 THE ARMENIAN CHURCH. 117 
 
 Christian world. She does not ask for much, but she pleads 
 for the listening ear and the helping hand of Christendom. 
 Obviousl}՛ the church needs reform in man\՛ particulars, and 
 none are so aware of this as the earnest native Christian 
 preachers. 
 
 In Armenia the Bible is and has been in the hands of the 
 people, and their customs and life are permeated with its 
 leavening principles. Thus the obstacle with which foreign 
 missionaries usualh՛ have had to contend are not found 
 here. Armenia is destined to great awakening. Christian 
 missions have flourished and increased here as in no other 
 land. Let hands be clasped across the wide ocean that 
 separates us, and let Christendom harken once more 
 to the cr\՛ that comes in the night, "Come over and help 
 us."
 
 THE EVANGELICAL CHURCH. 
 
 "Come over and help us." — Macedonia Cry- 
 
 '^ip^HE labor of evangelization among the Armenians 
 Հա has been in its nature fundamentally different from 
 that of most mission countries. 
 
 No heathen idolatry was here with which to contend. 
 No wooden gods and massive temples built of ignorant 
 superstition were to be torn down before Christianity 
 could be introduced and a true God preached. The people 
 already worshiped the God of the Christian; the spiritual 
 kingdom needed not a revolution so much as a reformation, 
 and it is with complacency that Armenia can point to 
 one of her own sons as the instigator and founder of 
 the reformatory movement. We refer to a native priest 
 living near Constantinople, who in the year 1760 put 
 forth a manuscript copy of a book ^vhose everv page 
 breathed the spirit of dissatisfaction with the existing 
 state of religious life. Besides speaking in commendator}՛ 
 terms of the great reformer, Martin Luther, it pointed 
 out many errors into which the Church had gradually 
 fallen, and urged that a reform of some sort was eminently
 
 THE EVANGELICAL CHURCH. 119 
 
 necessary. This, though for some reason never printed, 
 wielded a salutary՛ influence in the minds of the people, 
 especially among the higher clergy, many of whom were 
 inspired by it to action more or less effective. 
 
 One of the indications that would point to the spiritual 
 lethargy of the times was the extreme rarity of Bibles ; 
 and here we take occasion to say that no true and 
 active Christian life is possible without some communion 
 with that stimulator of the soul's higher existence, the 
 Word of God. It was a most healthful sign when an 
 urgent want began to be expressed for more copies of 
 the sacred book, and it was also a very encouraging 
 expression of the pulse of Christendom when the British 
 and Russian Bible societies, at about the same time, 
 proffered their help in the field white unto harvest. As 
 an outcome of the self-sacrificing interest of these two 
 organizations, in the 3'ear 1823 about 20,000 copies of 
 the Scriptures were translated into the language. The 
 Armenian people will ever gratefully remember this timely 
 service. It was soon perceived, however, that much more 
 good would be accomplished were the translations made 
 in modern Armenian rather than in the ancient tongue. 
 The latter the common people were not able to read, and 
 most of the copies published of necessity fell into the 
 hands of priests and monks. The former, the modern 
 Armenian, is understood by educated and uneducated 
 alike, and the Bible societies referred to did a very wise
 
 120 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 thing in putting forth another version adapted to the 
 needs of cler^-men and laborers, poor and rich alike. 
 
 The pioneer work in any mission country is placing 
 in the hands of its people the Word in their vernacular. 
 It is the foundation for the future edifice, the sowing 
 for the future harvest, and the distribution of the Scriptures 
 at this time was not without its significant fruit in later 
 years, for it has not only produced a better morality, 
 not mereh^ the means of spiritual life, but it has also given 
 impetus to mental activity. 
 
 We now come to that which is most interesting to 
 those who probably comprise the majority of the readers 
 of this book — the work of the American Board of Foreign 
 Missions. Missionary Parsons met at Jerusalem in 1821, 
 several Armenians, who, according to a custom still in 
 vogue, were on a pilgrimage thither. Becoming interested 
 in them, he proposed the establishment of a mission. 
 They were all pleased with the idea and declared their 
 countrymen would be glad when one should be estab- 
 lished. 
 
 The movement began in Constantinople. The city, a 
 description of which will be found in a chapter devoted 
 exclusively to that subject, has over 1,200,000 inhabi- 
 tants. The majorit}^ are Turks, but the Armenians are 
 next in number, there being over 150,000 of them. In 
 1831, when Rev. W^illiam Goodell was called from Malta 
 (w^here he was engaged in missionary work) to Constanti- 
 nople, there were about 100,000 Armenians in the city
 
 THE EVANGELICAL CHURCH. 121 
 
 offering a very attractive field for effort. This was in 
 June, 1831, but scarcely had he established himself in 
 Pera, one of the suburbs of the city, when a destructive 
 fire necessitated the removal of the mission to a town 
 some few miles up the Bosphorus. Although thus meeting 
 with adversity, the original purpose of the mission was 
 not allowed to suffer, and in the following 3'ear we again 
 find Mr. William Goodell in Constantinople, this time 
 accompanied by two more efficient workers, Messrs. H. 
 G. O. Dwight and W. G. Schaufiler, both Americans. 
 These three men of God were welcomed very cordially 
 by the Patriarch, and were allowed to suffer no incon- 
 venience that could be alleviated. It, indeed, seemed as 
 though the mission was blessed of God. We will see 
 later on how the Patriarch maintained his first attitude. 
 
 In our chapter on the Armenian Church, we have 
 described at length its services and forms of worship. It 
 was the policy of the missionaries from the inauguration 
 of their work to leave severely alone the outer bulwarks 
 of the Church, for this w^ould only have instigated intense 
 opposition from all quarters. It was thought best to 
 transform first the spiritual, and that being changed, the 
 outward manifestation in material forms and ceremonies 
 would be done awa}^ with as a logical result. 
 
 That this method was a success w^as soon seen, and 
 the first fruits of labor were very encouraging. In the 
 year of the starting of the mission, Mr. Goodell during 
 a visit was the means of converting two priests. It
 
 122 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 will be interesting to note that six years afterwards, 
 when visiting the same place, sixteen were found who 
 were believed to be earnest converts. In Broosa, too, 
 where a mission had been established, the work was 
 progressing finely. The first converts meant much for the 
 cause, for they were two young teachers of influential 
 positions, having under their tutorship many \^oung people. 
 But despite all hopes, this tranquility was not destined 
 to continue long, and opposition very soon began to 
 molest the workers. At Erzroom and at Trebizond, two 
 mission stations of the American Board, outrages were 
 continually perpetrated. 
 
 The Patriarch, heretofore so kindly to all mission enter- 
 prises, fearing that the movement meant an encroachment 
 upon the National Church, declared himself in word and 
 deed against it. In the year 1837, Patriarchal bulls were 
 reJ3eatedly issued threatening anathemas against all who 
 should be found guilt}^ of associating with missionaries 
 or reading literature circulated by them. The Patriarch 
 at Constantinople at that time was almost of Papal 
 power and influence. He banished a number of Protestants 
 from the Capital, imprisoned many and threatened to 
 exile the missionaries, when the war between the Sultan 
 and Mohammed Ali interfered, attracting the minds of 
 the people to more serious problems. While we sadly 
 lament this action of the Patriarch, we have no doubt 
 as to his conscientiousness. He was, as he thought, 
 protecting his people; for since the State had fallen, the
 
 THE EVANGELICAL CHURCH. 123 
 
 Church remained as the only bulwark of a distinctive 
 nationality, and his fears were not ill-founded if the past 
 is to be taken into account. Years before, the Roman 
 Church had materially weakened the Armenian by proselyt- 
 ing large numbers of her members. Was the present mea- 
 sure, then, injudicious? We believe not. 
 
 Let us consider, too, that conservatism is the distinc- 
 tive characteristic of all Oriental Christians. Ritualism, 
 in vogue for ages, becomes sacred from use. It cannot 
 be denied that for centuries the conservative ritualism 
 of the Armenian Church was a bulwark of defence against 
 Roman and Greek heresies. The severe animosity and 
 antagonism existing between the Eastern and Western 
 churches is an apt illustration of the Armenian Church 
 as well. During the siege of Constantinople by the Turks, 
 united forces of all Christians against Mohammedans was 
 desirable, and to this end the Papal legate was to conform 
 the reunion of Christendom at St. Sophia. Even at this 
 critical moment the fiery protest rose in unison with 
 Patriarch Gennadius from all Grecian lips, "Give us 
 Sultan's turban rather than Cardinal's hat." It is easy 
 to imagine if this was the feeling between cognate churches, 
 what the feeling against a church which is altogether 
 foreign and strange would be. 
 
 Things slowly came to a crisis ; the methods of per- 
 secution were many and divers. Superstitious reports of 
 the most absurd nature were circulated everywhere and 
 believed, until the whole Church, with but few exceptions,
 
 124 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 changed its front to the offensive. Although in the year 
 1843 the Sultan, urged bj՛ Sir Stratford Canning and 
 others, had ordered that no person should be persecuted 
 for his religious opinions in the empire, anathemas and 
 excommunications were repeatedly issued and produced 
 their dire effects upon the minds of the people. With 
 excommunication came social degradation and disgrace ; 
 the accursed one was excluded from home and relations, 
 the bakers were forbidden to sell to him, and he was 
 confined in prison. The terrible cruelties practiced upon the 
 Christians in the three ^^ears following would take volumes 
 to adequatel}^ relate. Many were the heroic souls who, still 
 inspired with zeal, remained steadfast through the storm of 
 conflict. The culmination of it all was the formation in 
 1846 of the first Armenian Evangelical Church. 
 
 However, before we enter into a detailed account of this, 
 we propose to present a short sketch of a factor which all 
 these years had exercised no little power as an auxiliary to 
 the more stricth^ religious work. Missionaries soon dis- 
 covered that if the presenting of Christianity were accom- 
 panied by educational work, much more tangible good 
 would be accomplished. Accordingly, from almost the very 
 outset, schools were established at nearly every mission 
 station; thus the education of the intellect kept pace with 
 the higher education of the heart. These are the hand- 
 maids of civilization. 
 
 The school that probably has had the most influence in 
 this formative and unsettled epoch was that established
 
 THE EVANGELICAL CHURCH. 125 
 
 at Constantinople in 1827. Indirectly the school had 
 its origin in a farewell letter written by Jonas King, a 
 manuscript copy of which was sent to some influential 
 Armenians in the capitol. By this letter conviction 
 came that reformation was necessar}՛, and the institution 
 referred to was founded with an eminent and learned 
 man, Peshtimaljian, at its head. 
 
 We will not speak at length of the valuable services of 
 this school of the mission, suffice it to say that six 3'ears 
 later fifteen of its graduates were ordained as priests, one of 
 them, Dere Kevork, being immediately placed at the head of 
 another new school in the same city that had just been 
 founded b\^ both Turks and Armenians. Had it not been 
 for the earnest work of the missionaries, it is doubtful 
 whether this school would have ever come into existence. 
 
 The educational work increased in power and scope, 
 and the following 3'ear, 1834, a high school was located at 
 Para. Its principal was a very consecrated young man by 
 the name of Hohannes Sahakian, who had been a short 
 time before a student at Constantinople. While there a 
 New Testament had fallen into his hands, and as a result 
 he became an earnest Christian and gave some very 
 valuable assistance in translation work at the mission. 
 His companion, Senakerim, a teacher in the palace of the 
 Patriarch, was converted about the same time, and also 
 labored in a school for children at one of the stations. 
 
 But even the schools received their share of the general 
 persecution, and as a result of the interference of the Vicar
 
 126 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 of the Armenian Patriarch, the High School at Pera was 
 compelled to stop its work. However, the result was not 
 wholly evil, for another was immediately started at Hass- 
 kioy by a rich banker, with Sahakian as superintendent 
 and Der Kevork as one of its teachers. Although this 
 ^chool, with an attendance of over six hundred, was recog- 
 nized by th? Armenian Synod and made a national insti- 
 tution, it was done away wnth the following year because 
 of certain threatenings made b}»^ a number of hostile 
 bankers. 
 
 The work at Smyrna was significant for a remarkable 
 advance in a w^orld where women are esteemed of little 
 importance. Here a female seminary was opened, and 
 owing to the urgent appeal of an influential citizen, besides 
 tendering back the former aid proffered by the mission, 
 soon became self-supporting. The influence of the school, 
 w^ith an attendance of about fort\՛ at the outset, cannot be 
 estimated. 
 
 Another important educational institution was the 
 Seminar}^ at Bebek, a theological school, in which, besides 
 a critical study of the Bible, were taught Latin, Greek and 
 Hebrew. 
 
 As we mentioned before, it was not the object of the 
 missionaries to attack the outworks of the national church, 
 nor to found a separate body. From the first, the3% along 
 with the converted numbers, objected very seriously to 
 being known by the designation "Protestants," or any 
 other name that would apear as an indication of disunion
 
 THE EVANGELICAL CHURCH. 127 
 
 However, as persecution became more and more intense, 
 it was apparent that something must be done, and when in 
 June, 1846, an anathema was issued excommunicating all 
 who adhered to the new faith, nothing was left but to form 
 a separate organization. Accordingly, in the following 
 month, a meeting was called at Constantinople, at which 
 the missionaries were present, and, after the reading of 
 a covenant to which all assented, the First Evangelical 
 Armenian Church became a realit}՛. What was intended to 
 be only missionary՛ work spiritualizing the formalism of a 
 nominally Christian church, thus resulted in the organ- 
 ization of a separate religious institution. To whatever 
 causes we may attribute this division, they w^ill not alter 
 the fact that is was a sad and disadvantageous occurrence. 
 This bodj՛ at first numbering forty souls, of which three 
 were women, was presided over by one of the former stu- 
 dents of the Peshtimaljian school, a man entirely worth}՛ of 
 the trust. The initiator}՛ thus being taken, other churches 
 were almost immediately organized in other parts of the 
 country. In two years there was a very strong church 
 at Aintab, which grew to a membership of two hundred 
 and sixty-eight in a few years, and others at Trebizord, 
 Erzroom and Morsovan, among the first missionary 
 stations, and also at Nicomedia and Adabazer. Although 
 the aggregate membership at this time was not over a 
 thousand, it meant much as a beginning. 
 
 We must not neglect to speak here of one of the leading 
 benefactors of the new movement, Sir Stratford Canning,
 
 128 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 through whose untiring efforts concession after concession 
 was made until the Protestant community enjoyed almost 
 the same measure of tolerance as the National Church, 
 
 In the treaty of Paris, with the voluntary assent of the 
 Sultan, these rights were incorporated and religious liberty 
 was thus more fully insured. Free schools were organized 
 to the number of thirty-eight, and the work progressed and 
 widened in territory until it was found necessary to divide 
 the field of labor. The Southern Mission, afterwards called 
 the Central, was organized in 1856, and the Northern w^as 
 again divided into the Eastern and Western Mission in 1860. 
 
 As tlie work progressed it was a source of great satis- 
 faction to see native preachers gradually taking places as 
 efficient pastors of the native congregations. They were 
 ' rarely if ever compelled to call on the missionaries for 
 help, as nearly all the churches managed, by a sacrifice on 
 the part of both pastor and people, to be self-supporting from 
 the beginning. Revivals became frequent and were the 
 means of the conversion of many. In 1856 occurred a soul- 
 stirring revival in Morsovan, my native town. The 
 theological seminary at Bebek, not far from the capital, 
 experienced a similar awakening, as also did Caesarea and 
 numbers of smaller cities. 
 
 Through the translation of Messrs. Goodell and 
 Schauffler, the work received a new impulse. The former, 
 with the aid of an Armenian, put forth a translation of the 
 Bible in Turko-Armenian, that is, the Turkish language 
 ■written in Armenian. The latter performed a similar service
 
 THE EVANGELICAL CHURCH. 129 
 
 for the Turks, his translation being in their own language 
 as written in the sacred characters. 
 
 Although these translations lent a wonderful impetus to 
 the work in 1874-, it was deemed necessary to appoint 
 a revision committee, who six years later put forth an 
 excellent version, written in both the Armenian and Turkish 
 letters. 
 
 It would be useless in a short sketch of this kind to give 
 a detailed account of the individual work of missionaries, 
 although we fain would do so. We must be satisfied with 
 touching upon the more important events. We cannot pass 
 by, however, without some notice of associations and 
 unions that came into being about this time as a result of 
 the constantly increasing number of members of churches. 
 
 Organization is necessary՛ to systematic work, and 
 in 1857 the churches at Xicomedia, Adabazar and Bardizag 
 formed themselves into what was known as the Bithyan 
 Association. 
 
 A much larger and more important organization was 
 the Union of the Evangelical Armenian Churches of Bithinia, 
 now embracing twelve churches and stations. This was 
 formed in 1864. The next year the Harpoot Evangelical 
 Union came into existence, a union that did much in the 
 promulgation of the gospel among the Armenians living 
 in the wild region of the Koords, some little distance from 
 Diarbekir. Other potent organizations were the Central 
 and Cilicia Unions, formed at a later date. The results of 
 these various associations were essentially good. Besides
 
 130 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 putting the church in closer contact and sympathy՛ with 
 each other, they learned to rely more upon themselves, and 
 calls for aid from foreign countries became more and more 
 infrequent. 
 
 Nor must it be supposed that the work of evangeliza- 
 tion was confined to the Evangelical Church alone, form anj՛ 
 members of the old National Church, who were essentially 
 Protestants, effected man}^ needed reforms. One of their 
 measures was the publication of a new prayer book, which, 
 though never used to any extent, created much interest and 
 comment. No less encouraging was the fact that in the 
 dissemination of the Scripture, numbers of copies of the New^ 
 Testament were disposed of to Mohammedans, which, 
 though undoubtedly bought for mere curiosity, could not 
 fail to have some influence for good. 
 
 Within the last thirt^'-five years, although the growth 
 of the Church has been marvelous, its causes cannot be said 
 to have been entirely without disturbing influences. Calam- 
 ity came in the shape of a dire famine, which prevailed in all 
 Asia Minor during the 3'ears 1874 and 1875. At this time 
 thousands wandered about the streets of Marsovan and 
 other cities, begging bread from door to door. A large 
 number died from famine, while some gratefully received 
 aid from the missionaries at Casarea and Marsovan. This 
 kindness was not suffered to go unrewarded, for on account 
 of it many opened their hearts to the words of the gospel. 
 We must especially speak in terms of praise of. Revs.
 
 THE EVANGELICAL CHURCH. 131 
 
 Farns worth and C. C. Trac}^ who have done so much to 
 relieve the general suffering. 
 
 Among institutions which are instrumental in the 
 missionary work, the Bible house at Constantinople 
 deserves special mention. Thousands of copies of Scrip- 
 tures are published here in modern Armenia as well as 
 in thirty other languages. ThcA՛ are quickly sold and 
 read by people of various nationalities. Besides the Bible, 
 there are published from this institution books, tracts and 
 newspapers of a religious and educational character. While 
 in Constantinople it always afforded me great pleasure 
 to visit this noble edifice, enjoying the devotional services 
 conducted there every Lord's day. 
 
 The progress and prosperity of educational work has 
 been, and is, an inspiring fact. We have alread\՛ alluded 
 to its importance and have mentioned some of the earliest 
 schools. 
 
 There are several educational institutions at m}^ home, 
 Marsovan, among them being Anatolia College, where I 
 received my earh^ training, there is also a theological 
 seminar}^ of no little repute. My former teacher, Rev. 
 Geo. F. Herrick, D.D., an eminent Oriental scholar, and 
 Rev. C. C. Tracy, are the founders and constant inspira- 
 tion of Anatolia College. We have spoken of the Theologi- 
 cal school at Bebek ; others of a similar nature were founded 
 soon afterwards in Marash, Mardin and Horfoot, the last 
 named town being the location of Armenia College. 
 
 Aintab, where missionary work has been exceptionally
 
 132 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 prosperous, is the site of the College of Central Turkey. 
 But the institution of which Armenians may feel most 
 proud is the well known Robert College, named after its 
 financial founder, Christopher R. Robert of New York 
 Cit}՛. This college, located first in Bebek and afterwards 
 at Hissor, is one of the best institutions of the kind in the 
 world, being well equipped with excellent professors and 
 enjoying the patronage of nearly ever}՛ nationality. It 
 was established in 1863, through the working influence of 
 Rev. Dr. Cyrus Hamlin, an American, who has since 
 been its constant inspiration. Of late years the prosperity 
 of Christian work among Armenians has equalled the 
 highest expectations. 
 
 The influence of the Protestants upon the Turks has 
 been salutary in its powers, and the latter are to-day 
 held in higher esteem by them than ever. The 3'oung men 
 are taking increasing interest in the Church, and a number 
 of Young Alen's Christian Associations have been organ- 
 ized. And by no means the least blessing is the advancment 
 of woman from her degradation to a plane of culture 
 and refinement, chiefly owing to the liberality of the natives 
 themselves in the cause of female education. What a 
 happy result that Հ՚օսէհտ of both sexes share alike the 
 opportunities of culture ! 
 
 Prospects were never brighter. The number and rolls 
 in the Evangelical churches are larger than ever before, and 
 the common school system is one that shadows forth great 
 results in the introduction of civilization. One hundred
 
 THE EVANGEI.ICAL CHURCH. 133 
 
 and fifty Evangelical churches have been established. Out 
 of fort}՛ thousand Protestants in Asia Minor, thirty 
 thousand are Armenians, because the^՛՜ have been selected 
 as the first fruits of missionary effort for their ready 
 appreciation of the Bible as the Word of God. Thus far 
 the work of missionaries in the country have been restricted 
 to Armenians, Greeks, Bulgarians, and others of ancient 
 Christian churches. No Turks or Mohammedan tribes of 
 any large number have been converted. 
 
 With hands ever upraised towards heaven, and with 
 heart ever ^'earning for the better life, Armenia patiently 
 awaits the day which cannot be far distant, when with 
 uplifted head she may take her rightful place among her 
 greater sisters and share their honor and respect. 
 
 HINDRANCES IN THE WORKING FORCES OF MISSIONS.* 
 
 There are in foriegn fields serious problems yet 
 unsolved, overlooking, however, numerous external diffi- 
 culties. Denominationalism, I venture to affirm, is the 
 gigtmtic obstacle in the path of missionary progress. I 
 have seen and felt man}՛ times, while in my native country՛, 
 the evil of sectarianism, which has often proved fatal to the 
 incipient church. f 
 
 *From an address delivered by the author before the minister's meeting 
 of Cleveland and vicinity in the First M. E. Church, Cleveland, O., Nov. 20, 
 1893. 
 
 tBesides those of the American Board whom we have mentionee, 
 various minor denominational missions have been introduced in the 
 country. Rev. G. S. Shisbmanian, an Armenian educated in the Bible
 
 134 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 Denomination after denomination brings to our people 
 its peculiar dogma, each in bitter opposition to the other 
 and each claiming the orthodox doctrine. Whom shall our 
 people believe? Which one is right? How shall the infant 
 religious mind of an Oriental grasp the truth amid such 
 diverse representation? How natural for him to reason: 
 truth does not contradict itself, therefore I reject all as 
 false. He learns of Protestantism as possessing over two 
 hundred divisions and sub-divisions, each teaching a 
 different doctrine and plan of salvation. All this he can not 
 understand, and is unwilling as an honest man to saj՛ 
 that he believes in the doctrine or "articles of faith" 
 of any one of them, until he has looked at all sides and 
 studied every doctrine and article with care. And this 
 he will not do. We ought to see to the solution of this 
 problem without delay. We ought to right ourselves before 
 we endeavor to right others. As I have had the pleasant 
 opportunity of speaking from various pulpits, I have 
 consulted the prominent clerg\'men of Protestant denomin- 
 ations concerning their opinion of Christian Unity. I am 
 satisfied that they see the evils of division, and uniformly 
 
 school at Lexington, K}՛., was sent to the Turkish capital in 1879 b^՛ the 
 Disciples of this countrj՛. In 188֊t he was followed by the Rev. Garabed 
 Kevorkian, M. D., who made Marsova (one of the most important 
 missionar3^ stations of the American Board) the center of his operations. 
 Disciples have five hundred and eighty-three communicants and a few 
 common schools. Rev. Kaprilian, formerh՛ a pastor of the Congregational 
 churches in Nicomdia and Constantinople, now represents the Baptists. 
 Dr. Dobrasiian was sent by the Friends of England to Constantinople as a 
 medical missionary.
 
 THE EVANGELICAL CHURCH. 135 
 
 favor the idea of union, but no steps have been taken 
 toward an organic union. We can never accomplish the 
 cherished purpose by merely having so-called union in 
 spirit, while divided in body. There is no perfect union in a 
 spirit without an organic union — no unity in diversity. 
 If there was a true spiritual union, it would manifest itself 
 in the visible organization. Christ speaks of one flock 
 and one shepherd. Conceive of a flock scattered and 
 separated from the main herd and grazing on' hills remote 
 from one another. If we are all near the Divine Shepherd, 
 we are not far from one another. 
 
 As I study the history of denominations, I am aston- 
 ished to find upon what small matters divisions have been 
 made, and feel that mere opinion has been given undue 
 prominence, while weightier matters have been neglected. 
 
 A foreigner finds a few denominations w'hose creeds are 
 so nearly alike that they seem to love one another and 
 work together in comparative harmony, or who have 
 lost the spirit of controversy in the spirit of Christ. But he 
 is daily disgusted in finding such great diversity of feeling 
 and belief, especially in the country districts, and in hearing 
 unkind disputes on religious questions, and thrusts at one 
 another from gospel pulpits. A foreigner, so bewildered, 
 is led to decide that if there ever was a true religion it has 
 been lost. Christ realized this danger when he prayed that 
 those who believed on him might "be one." Said lie, 
 "As thou. Father, art in me, and I in Thee, that they 
 also may be one in us: that the world may believe that
 
 136 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 Thou hast sent me." (John XVII., 21). The world, as a 
 whole, never will believe that Christ is our head until we 
 are one in doctrine as well as in spirit, and in name as 
 well as in doctrine. There is no reason in flattering 
 ourselves that we are thus united in spirit and teaching, for 
 when that happy day dawns — as it will, for Christ prayed 
 for it — we will not differ in our faiths. 
 
 God and Christ do not differ in doctrine or plan, and we 
 are to be one as they are one. St. Paul appreciated this, for 
 he wrote to the Corinthians: "Ibeseach you, brethren, by the 
 name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye will speak the same 
 thing, and that there be no divisions among you ; but that 
 ve be perfectl}^ joined together in the same mind and in the 
 same judgment (I. Cor. I, 10). But, not understanding the 
 prayer of Christ and the teaching of Paul, some will argue 
 that these divisions are necessary՛ in order to the rapid 
 spread of the gospel. They tell us this competition is 
 essential to rapid growth. It is well to remember that 
 rapid growth is not always strong growth. It is better 
 to have the spirit in accord with God's Word and grow 
 more slowly at first, than to have the rapid growth 
 through rivalr}^ which will weaken the ver\՛ bodies it 
 builds, and pollute with eternal tumult the Spirit of Christ. 
 
 "Let nothing be done through strife or vain glory." 
 (Phil. II., 3.) Others will argue that men are differently con- 
 stituted, and all these different creeds are necessary՛ to lay 
 hold of the different orders of mind and to take them all to 
 heaven; that, in short, when God conceived His plan of
 
 THE EVANGELICAL CHURCH. 137 
 
 salvation He was not wise enough to make one that 
 would save all who should accept it ; therefore, w^e 
 mortals must change it and add to it by our superior 
 wisdom, or God's plan will prove a failure. God's plan of 
 salvation is a unitv. There are no divisions or sub-divisions 
 in it. It is His plan, and no man or set of men, however 
 wise, powerful or good, have the right to add to it 
 or take from it. Remember the everlasting doom of which 
 St. John writes, in the conclusion of the inspired Word, to 
 him who "adds or takes awaj՛" from the words of the 
 sacred book. (Rev. xxii., 18-19.) 
 
 If our human creeds and dogmas were like God's Word 
 the}՛ would not contradict one another, as God is in 
 harmony with Himself in all His works. If any of them are 
 taught as the oracles of God they are positively wrong in 
 their tests of fellowship, for the Bible should be our 
 standard. Ever}՛ man has a right to his own creed, 
 written or unwritten, but he has no right, under 
 Christ, to refuse fellowship to those who do not see 
 altogether as he does, nor to retain or uphold such creed 
 when he finds it is opposed to the plain teachings of Christ. 
 Denominationalism discriminates in givingthat love which is 
 due to all men. It engenders strife between friends and 
 neighbors and hinders mutual edification. " I am a Metho- 
 dist, he is a Presbyterian ; what do I care ? Let him suffer," 
 or "let his own denomination take care of him." How mean 
 the narrowness and bigotry of intolerable sectarianism! Such 
 a feeling practically severs the tender relationship of the
 
 138 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 Fatherhood of God and the universal brotherhood of man, 
 which Christ had inspired and indellibly stamped on the 
 hearts of His disciples. "As I have loved you, so also love 
 one another." Does this commandment give boundaries or 
 discriminations, or does it mean that Christ loved the Metho- 
 dist and rejected the Presbyterian ? We all say no ; yet how 
 natural for denominationalism to foster such bitter feelings. 
 
 The question arises often in my mind : If Christ should 
 revisit the earth, which one of these denominations would 
 he join? If he would unite with one of them, what a shock 
 would seize the rest, who uniformly claim Him as the 
 supreme head of their church ! I do not suppose Christ 
 either would or could encourage sectarianism — He who so 
 ardently prayed His Father that His disciples "may be 
 one." His Word ever teaches, "be of the same mind." How 
 could He practice diversity and division? One thing I am 
 sure Christ would do. He would demolish all our denomi- 
 national lines and confirm the reunion of the primitive faith. 
 Then let us who are "ambassadors of Christ" be actuated 
 by the same principle of unity and peace, and may it be our 
 firm conviction to put into operation the organic forces of a 
 united church. 
 
 It is said that one of our Armenian poets had a vision, 
 in which he found himself confronting St. Peter at the 
 portals of heaven. After stating from whence he came, the 
 following conversation ensued. Said our good friend : 
 
 "While on earth I was an earnest member of an
 
 THE EVANGELICAL CHURCH. 139 
 
 Armenian National church ; tell me, O Saint, are there any 
 of my Illuminiterians* here?" 
 
 "I know of none," answered St. Peter. 
 
 "None!" echoed the questioner with much surprise; 
 then recovering himself, "there are Baptists here?" 
 
 "No Baptists." 
 
 "Any Congregationalists?" 
 
 "None, my friend." 
 
 "Are there any Methodists?" 
 
 "No Methodists." 
 
 "There must be some Presbyterians?" 
 
 "There are no Presbyterians here." 
 
 "And no Roman Catholics?" 
 
 "Heaven contains no Roman Catholics; no, not one." 
 
 " Pray, great father," said the pilgrim, much bewildered, 
 "if there are no Illuminiterians, no Baptists, no Congrega- 
 tionalists, no Methodists, no Presbyterians, nor Catholics, 
 what people may enter your beautiful city?" 
 
 "Ignorant one, listen I Countless thousands from your 
 world stand before the throne singing praises to God and 
 the Lamb. Hark! you can faintly hear their voices now. 
 Soon shall you stand with that blessed multitude. But 
 know thou that neither Methodist, nor Baptist, nor any 
 other such enter the kingdom of heaven; we bear but one 
 name hear, significant and glorious; henceforth thou shall 
 be known as "Christian," for of such are all the Celestial 
 City." 
 
 "This name is used hv the Armenians for the Armenian Chureli.
 
 140 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 With these words St. Peter ceased speaking and the 
 vision departed. 
 
 This stor}^ though simple, brings us face to face 
 with truth. Christ is the center of union, "Christian" 
 must be the converging lines. No ra\՛ emenating from 
 the Son of Righteousness can be called by any other name 
 than that which is derived from its source. This is the 
 one word uniting all denominations, and it is the watch- 
 word for all future attempts at final unity. It points at 
 once to the foundation of our hope. It is significant of the 
 greatest and dearest name ever known by mortals. It 
 is an appellation hallowed by the associations of centuries. 
 The name " Christian " suggests to us the fagot, the gibbet 
 and the sword. It brings ,with it the echoes of heroic 
 defense, the single voice distinguished above all the con- 
 troversies of the multitude. It seems to waft to our ears 
 from inland Africa, from India and from China, the pleading 
 prayers and earnest words of self-sacrificing ones, whom to 
 call by any other title would be to dishonor. 
 
 The Lord's redeemed have not yet learned their universal 
 language, and there is much misunderstanding as a result. 
 Let the name "Christian" ever remain in the simple God- 
 language, and may its associations of blessings and of 
 hope increase throughout all the \'ears of conquest over 
 wrong. 
 
 St. Paul directs a letter "unto the Church of the Thessa- 
 lonians in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ." 
 His first epistle is addressed to "All in Rome, beloved of
 
 THE EVANGELICAL CHURCH. 141 
 
 God, called saints." The second and third "To the 
 Church of God at Corinth," the fourth to the "Churches of 
 Galatia," the fifth to the "Saints at Ephesus and Faithful 
 in Christ Jesus," the sixth to the "Saints at Phillippi with 
 the Bishops and Deacons." We learn from all this : First, 
 that in the days of the apostles, the assemblies of Christians 
 in a given region were the Church of that religion as the 
 Churches of Galatia and Asia; sometimes Churches of God, 
 sometimes Churches of Christ (Rom, xvi., 16); sometimes 
 Churches of the Saints (I. Cor. xiv., 33). Second, That the 
 Christians in every city constituted the Church of that city 
 (as the Church of Corinth and Ephesus), with no denomi- 
 national divisions as now; simply Churches of God, 
 Churches of Christ. 
 
 It is very plain, therefore, that the church, in the New 
 Testament sense, is a divine institution, resting upon divine 
 authorit}^, and having divine claims upon us. It is a church 
 "In God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." It follows, 
 then, that the spiritual ties that bind such a body together 
 are a common faith, hope, love and submission to the same 
 divine will. 
 
 What folly to name such a church after a man, an 
 ordinance or a human system ! No man or company of men, 
 however wase, good or great, have the right to dictate the 
 terms of membership in a church of God. It is purely and 
 only a divine right. Then let us cast aside those non 
 essential things which separate us, and aim towards a final 
 reunion of God's people on God's ground. We cannot
 
 142 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 unite on your ground or mine, but on God's ground. The 
 faith he taught was not in human doctrine, but in a 
 personal Saviour. Said he: "This is my beloved Son, hear 
 ye Him." 
 
 John did not write his gospel to teach doctrine, but he 
 distinctly says: "These are written that ye might believe 
 that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing 
 ye might have life through His name." (John xx., 31). 
 
 Peter preached upon the day of Pentecost : "This Jesus 
 hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses." (Acts 
 ii., 32). 
 
 If the Christians of to-day would obej՛ the command- 
 ments and take the Bible in its purity and simpHcit}՛, there 
 w^ould be an end to all controversies and troubles in mis- 
 sionary fields. Our denominationalism is not the gospel. 
 A thousand million souls are, in this age of enlightenment, 
 in utter darkness, without hope and without Christ. This 
 great number, however, does not include those in Christian 
 lands w^ho have not yet accepted Christ, but the people who 
 are ignorant of Him. 
 
 One thousand millions! Bear in mind 3'our personal 
 responsibility to this vast multitude of unsaved, and, as 
 clever business men, reason promptU՛ what is the wise course 
 to take to hasten the spiritual welfare of this vast multitude. 
 Remember, too, that as the work of Gospel dissemination 
 has been slow in the past, to follow in the future a some- 
 what different course would be wise. Our spiritual forces 
 have been divided. Let us unite then, let us unite our
 
 THE EVANGELICAL CHURCH. 143 
 
 finances ; union is strength ; divided forces can not hail the 
 victory. Let us concede, as brethren, the non-essential, and 
 unite fully upon the essential at home and abroad. Let our 
 motto be: "In Christ unity, in opinion liberty, and in all 
 things charity." 
 
 During the days of the Apostles the only term of mem- 
 bership and test of fellowship was belief in Christ and strict 
 obedience to Him as the declared Son of God. 
 
 It is so simple that a child can understand it, and so wise 
 that the deepest mind will not despise it. This, God's 
 ground of belief in and obedience to a personal Savior, is the 
 only possible ground upon which His children can and must 
 unite. When we do so : 
 
 First. We will save an immense amount of money now 
 foolishly spent in small towns to keep in existence many 
 weak churches in place of giving full support and life to one 
 strong one. 
 
 Second. W^e will heed the instructions of Paul. 
 
 Third. We will answer the prayers of Christ. 
 
 Fourth. We will show a united front to the enemy and 
 the world will believe in our Saviour. 
 
 Fifth. We will promote the spirit of harmony, the spirit 
 of love, the spirit of God. 
 
 Sixth. We will glorify Christ instead of the parties to 
 which we belong. 
 
 Seventh. We will carr\՛ to a logical conclusion the 
 present movements of Christian Endeavorers, Young Men's 
 Christian Associations, Young Women's Christian Asso-
 
 144 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 ciations, Kings Sons and Daughters, and other kindred 
 organizations. 
 
 Eighth. We will stand uncondemned before Him, who 
 is the author of the only sure and harmonious plan of 
 salvation. 
 
 We do not look to Christ enough and are too much 
 inclined to follow men. St. Paul once discovered that 
 tendency in the Church of Corinth, and listen to the rebuke 
 he gave them: "Ever}՛ one of you saith, I am of Paul, 
 and I am of Apollos and of Cephas, and I of Christ. Is 
 Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for 3'ou ? or were ye 
 baptized in the name of Paul?" (1 Cor. i., 12-13). He 
 gave them to understand that the "preaching of the cross" 
 was the powder of God (18 v.), and besought them to be 
 of one mind (10 v.). The question that united them was: 
 " Who is for Christ?" and it is the one that must unite us 
 allto-da}՛. We are sa\'ing, if not by our lips, at least by 
 our actions, "lam for Knox, I for Calvin, I for Wesley, 
 I for Luther, I for Swedenborg, I for Campbell." No injus- 
 tice to these imperial names, but is Christ divided ? Was 
 Knox crucified for us, or were we baptized in the name of 
 Campbell ? Xo, no ; we will not be chained to the cemete- 
 ries of the past, although those who are buried in them were 
 great men of God. We prefer to look to Christ, the "Author 
 and Perfector of our faith." Let us then take our theology 
 not from the graveyards of the past ages, but from the open 
 tomb of a risen Christ.
 
 GLIMPSES OF SOCIAL LIFE. 
 
 "Zealous, yet modest; 'tho' free; 
 Patient of toil ; serene amidst alarms ; 
 Inflexible in faith ; invincible in arms." 
 
 — Beat tie. 
 
 j^HE Orient has never lost its power of fascination, be- 
 J cause it has practically never lost its old manners 
 and customs. Its people seem incapable of overcoming their 
 centuries-rooted veneration for old customs, which domi- 
 nates them with a stronger power than the scepter of kings. 
 Allow me now to extend to you, mj^ reader, a cordial 
 invitation to pass over the threshold of an Armenian home 
 and to spend a few hours within our family circle. They are 
 all deeply interested in your bright country and people, and 
 I am sure, in turn, you would find much to interest 3'ou in 
 our country's customs and manners, so old and romantic. 
 As the morning light first touches the mountain tops, so 
 our glimpses of home life begin with the higher classes. 
 Journeying together under Oriental skies, we will find strik- 
 ing contrasts everywhere between Armenian and Turkish 
 homes. Home is a magic word. There is a jiredominating 
 love, the sunshine of happiness, harmony and beauty in the
 
 146 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 homes of the Armenians. No matter how old it may be in 
 fashion or how simple in decoration, no human language 
 can ever express the deep remembrances in the heart of an 
 Armenian far away from its ties. It captures the ionely 
 soul with a thrill, on the wings of happy and loving recol- 
 lections. It is something tender, jet full of inspiration, that 
 fills one with the memories of sweet home ! 
 
 As we are wending our way homeward, you will find to 
 your great astonishment the narrow^ and zigzag streets- 
 running from everywhere to nowhere — so thronged with dogs, 
 horses, donkeys, and sometimes with long trains of super- 
 cilious camels and buftalo arabas, that vou have to chal- 
 lenge ever\^thing and ever}՛ being for the right of ^vay. 
 Above all, you will have a lively time with the reputed Turk- 
 ish dogs; fortunately in the portions of the country՛ where 
 Europeans dw^ell, the\՛ have nearh՛ disappeared from the 
 streets. Those you meet are civilized and respectful to 
 Mohammedan and Christian alike, while the old breed 
 would howl at a Christian but remain quiet when a Turk 
 passed that way. Even the dogs are getting civilized, which 
 is more than can be said of the bipeds of the slums. 
 
 Of the defunct dogs, we may say the red-coats were 
 their assassins, and loaded walking-sticks the weapons used 
 in the night. An English sea-rover vowed he would kill a 
 dog every night when returning to ship from his games. He 
 kept his word and more, for when unlucky at cards he 
 would dispatch two or three curs in ambling down the 
 hill. Ere long dogs were scarce on his route. To be sure he
 
 GLIMPSES OF SOCIAL LIFE. 147 
 
 would not miss a victim, he took the narrow side streets. 
 A fellow friendly to dogs — of course a Turk — waylaid the 
 Briton and, with some assistance, sent him to his berth, a 
 battered specimen of humanity. 
 
 Besides the dogs, յ^օա may meet here and there a care- 
 less, lazy -looking set of vagabonds on the corners sunning 
 themselves. They are the tramps of the town, or next to 
 them — absolutely good-for-nothing, unmitigated nuisances, 
 who have no excuse for their existence, except the fact that 
 they were born. Their motto seems to be, "Grab and eat 
 as much as you can and whine." The}՛ do nothing but rest 
 themselves, anywhere, everywhere, all day and every day. 
 They are lucky if they can get ahead of some wandering 
 dogs in securing the best shaded corner where they may 
 stretch their lazy bones in peace. They always laugh at 
 the wrong thing, at the wrong place, in the wrong time. 
 To do nothing, to be of no earthlj^ use, seems to be the key- 
 note of their happ}»^ life. "Consider the lilies of the field, 
 how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin." 
 These tramps must be the lilies of the swamp ! Fruit sellers, 
 Turkish grinders and hamals, or porters, are to be seen on 
 every hand. 
 
 It adds a stranger aspect to the street scene to see the 
 houses and yards, like castles or picturesque fortifications, 
 surrounded by solid black walls from fifteen to twent3'-five 
 feet high, with a heavy stone gate before each house and an 
 iron hammer suspended from its center. For admittance, 
 the stranger must knock the hammer at the gate. Most of
 
 148 
 
 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 the residences are two-story houses, built of sun-dried brick 
 around an open court-yard, and plastered within and with- 
 out. There are few stone՜ buildings and none of frame. 
 Most of the houses have a balcony overlooking a tangled 
 
 A TURK GRINDER. 
 
 garden. Window ledges are abloom with flowers. The 
 numerous small windows are closely latticed on the outside 
 with net-work of iron bars arranged in pairs. The roofs of 
 the houses are covered with tile. As a rule, the residences
 
 GLIMPSES OF SOCIAL LIFE. 1-49- 
 
 are built ver3՛ close together, with a space between them of 
 not more than six feet, so a distant view of the dwellings 
 makes them cc^mpact-looking, as though erected one above 
 the other. 
 
 As we enter within the gate, passing through the j-ard 
 we come to the house. Before we enter, how^ever, let us go 
 to the rear of the building, where generall\՛ are gardens. 
 Lofty trees surround the house, with their branches of the 
 brightest green; sparkling fountains play in the rich sun- 
 shine ; flow^er beds, exquisite in variety of hue, with shrubs 
 and roses, greet the eye on all sides. The air is fi-eshened 
 with soft zephyrs and sweetened wnth roses. There the 
 nightingale builds his little nest in the bush. Oh, how often 
 the bright days of my youth opened with the melodious 
 songs of that delicate bird ! How often our sunrise pra3'ers 
 and songs of hallelujah from our famih՛ altars, mingling 
 with the soft strains, were wafted b\՛ the morning breeze 
 before the throne of God I How precious the remembrances 
 of the dreamlike sweetness of home, which still rest on my 
 soul like solemn shadows ! As we enter our house \՚օս will 
 meet with a most cordial reception from the household, for 
 hospitality and kindness to strangers is the first law in the 
 Orient — a most pleasing and characteristic feature of Arme- 
 nian society. The kind words and eager and ready display՛ 
 of hospitality, all vieing with one another in supplying your 
 wants, is a striking scene to an American. Indeed, our 
 people are the most friendly of friends. They enjoy life 
 because they make other people enjoy it. Home is a philan-
 
 150 UNDER OIRENTAL SKIES. 
 
 thropic institution with them, so much so that some regret 
 the introduction of western ideas, which has led to the 
 founding of asylums, hospitals and orphanges, since custom 
 will not allow a stranger within the gates to suffer from 
 lack of food or shelter. He is given a seat at the table, and 
 to sup with the master of the house means to lodge with 
 him. The host furnishes slippers and night-robes. The 
 guest is expected to entertain all callers with some account 
 of himself, his country, its laws and religion, manners and 
 customs. Interchange of visits is always expected. The 
 people love to congregate, and greatly enjoy meeting to- 
 gether. In Christian homes, men and women meet in the 
 reception room, but generally ladies, gentlemen and children 
 form separate groups and chat on general topics. The 
 themes vary according to the social position and intelli- 
 gence of the compan}՛. If a Turkish house, it possesses two 
 apartmentvS — the haremlik and selamlik. The former is the 
 ladies' reception room, and the latter for gentlemen. Holi- 
 days and long winter evenings are usually devoted to a 
 pleasant and ancient pastime, which is indeed one of the 
 happiest features of Oriental life. The master of the house 
 opens the door of his home and welcomes the guest with 
 numerous expressive gestures of unbounded hospitalit^^ 
 In the immediate entrance of the house there is a paved 
 space; here custom and etiquette demands the people to 
 remove their shoes instead of their fez before entering the 
 rooms, while the hats, like the bonnets of American ladies, 
 are never taken off, wdthin or without the house. After
 
 GLIMPSES OF SOCIAL LIFE. 151 
 
 exchanging graceful salutations, inquiries after each other's 
 health, and formal civilities, the guest is ushered into a 
 cheery court, thence into the reception room, where the first 
 thing, coffee, is served, the universal beverage of the Levant. 
 The square room, which they occupy՛, is comfortably fitted 
 and arranged with a profusion of sofas, embroidered cush- 
 ions and mattresses for sitting and reclining, and a few 
 chairs, on a floor beautified by a fine display of rich Oriental 
 rugs. In the center of the room is placed a stove, or a 
 brazier, filled with a charcoal-made fire, as coal is not yet 
 indispensable. The room is illumined by bright lamps, the 
 old-fashioned tallow candle or olive-oil wick being long 
 abandoned. Everything is agreeably prim and neat. The 
 lady callers all cluster around the genial hostess, who sits 
 by her babe singing soft and low the sweet, simple, cradle 
 song, while the men are engaged in a discussion of the cur- 
 rent events. They often exchange remarks with the ladies. 
 The young boys have a lively time by themselves; they are 
 eagerly planning upon the morrow to have a game in the 
 field, or contemplating to engage in some sort of mischief, 
 as is the characteristic of all bo^'s. Little girls, with ros\՛ 
 faces, are clustered with their dolls and kittens around the 
 good old grandmother, who tells them riddles and amusing 
 stories, while the long, white-whiskered patriarch, bowed 
 with years and honors, tells of his first flirtation, or of the 
 social or municipal changes wrought in the country during 
 his day. The remarks of the venerable man are always 
 interesting, as revealing the evolution of the times. The
 
 152 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 house servant is on duty with such functions as arranging 
 the shoes in pairs, that the guests may easily find them 
 when departing. After games and conversation, the happy 
 company indulge in cigarettes, coffee, sweetmeats and 
 narghile, or the flexible rosewater pipe, much similar to the 
 hookah of Hindoostan. It is always filled with shiraz 
 tobacco. Time wears pleasantly on, the guests are sure to 
 depart late, and most always with the satisfaction of hav՜ 
 ing had an enjoyable time. 
 
 In many Armenian homes pianos and organs are coming 
 into use, but are not yet indispensable. Our young men 
 play the flute with an exquisite touch. The old-fashioned 
 bagpipe of the Orient is of peculiar construction. Made of 
 sheepskin, with a small mouth-piece, the instrument is 
 formed from a combination of cow-horn and three reeds, 
 with holes in them. The dulcimer is of Oriental origin. As 
 the prototype or substitute of the pianoforte, which has 
 rendered melody in so many American homes, it has been of 
 great service to the commercial interests of music. The 
 music of the Orient is noted for a characteristic plaintive- 
 ness quite charming to the ear. This feature is scientifically 
 explained as arising from a sort of minor, which can only 
 have chords in octaves. 
 
 Now comes our dinner time ! Would you not come with 
 us, my reader? We will be delighted to have you ac- 
 company us to the table. I assure you our Armenian 
 cuisine is suited to western palates. Our people well under- 
 stand that a man's stomach is an eas}՛ avenue to his heart.
 
 GLIMPSES OF SOCIAL LIFE. 153 
 
 First, hands are washed in running water. All are seated 
 around the table of brightlv-polished brazen platter, with 
 neatly folded napkins, and spoons of box-wood and tortoise 
 shell by the side of each. Soup comes first; then pilav, a 
 dish resembling porridge; then meat, cooked in various stvles 
 of Oriental culinary art, bearing a close resemblance to that of 
 France. Wines prized as the very best are continually to be 
 found on the table. Lambs are roasted whole, in Homeric 
 fashion; then olives, cheese and fruit are served. Thus dish 
 follows dish, from everlasting to everlasting. Lastlv come 
 chibouk, delicate sweetmeats from Smyrna and Scio, 
 and coffee, which is sipped out of cups not larger than the 
 shell of the Maderia nut. On festival occasions we have 
 plates of some rare delicacy. 
 
 My dear reader, our Orientals are not only differentiated 
 from others bv certain features of physical type and by 
 language, but in ideas and modes of thinking as well. 
 
 Among the low and ignorant, where popular education 
 is of a meagre sort, superstition has full sway — especially 
 among the Turks. Manj՛ of them are amusing to strangers. 
 Orientals, however, believe in them as firmly as they do in 
 religion. For instance, they deem it a serious matter to be the 
 victim of an evil eye. Fortunately, a remedy has been invented 
 for every emergency — for the evil eye a word from the Koran, 
 .or garlic, taken internally, are antidotes. Dog bread is used us 
 a charm; blue beads on horses, donkeys and bufi'alocs .irc 
 charms against the malice of the envious and cvil-cved. 
 That nothing must be wasted that can be used as food by
 
 154 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 dogs or fish, is a superstition tending to promote economy. 
 You bring bad luck by entering a harem with the right foot. 
 There are, in their imaginations only, creatures of dim, un- 
 speakable shapes, from the regions of hell, that horrify them 
 in darkness. 
 
 Some days are unlucky. The Sultan will postpone an 
 interview if it falls on an unlucky day. Sometimes a long- 
 forsfotten and lost grave of a saint suddenlv becomes a 
 reputed centre of supernatural performances. Some one, no 
 matter who, tells his neighbors that while crossing the 
 grave of a certain saint his disease at once departed from 
 him. No one knew before whether the grave was of a saint 
 or Satan, or whether the originator of the report is worthy 
 of confidence or not. The story goes with lightning speed, 
 bringing in throngs the sick and the diseased from remotest 
 , parts to the mound of the would-be supernatural dead. 
 What a strange yet pathetic scene to see the poor victims of 
 superstition and illness kissing the stones and the dust of 
 the graves with fervent supplications and vows ! 
 
 When at home, I scorned and laughed at such odd 
 spectacles, with a sense of mingled contempt and pity ; but 
 since I have seen American throngs about the fortune-teller, 
 I cherish somewhat merciful feelings toward our Oriental 
 nuisance. 
 
 STORIES. 
 
 In common with other Orientals, the Turks are fond of 
 stories. Many good ones are current among the people and 
 nearly all have a moral to them. Nasr-ed-din-Hoja is an
 
 GLIMPSES OF SOCIAL LIFE. 155 
 
 ideal hero or victim of man\՛ Hunchausen tales. This 
 teacher and notorious wag is supposed to live in Bagdad. 
 I am tempted to relate several stories concerning him. 
 I am indebted to Hon. Samuel S. Cox, the late American 
 Minister to Turkey, for the translation of the following 
 stories : 
 
 A belated beggar knocks at the Hoja's door. 
 
 "What do you want," he called down from an upper 
 window. 
 
 "Come down, good Hoja, and I will tell Հ՚օս," replies 
 the mendicant. 
 
 Having descended and opened the front door, the beggar 
 asked for alms. 
 
 "Come up stairs," said the Hoja, and the mendicant 
 was taken to the top floor. 
 
 "I am sorry, poor man," said the Hoja, "but I have no 
 alms for you." 
 
 "Why did you not tell me so at the door?" inquires the 
 beggar angrily. 
 
 "Why did you not tell me what you wanted before I 
 came down?" retorts the Hoja. 
 
 * 
 
 One day the Hoja is too lazy to preach his usual sermon 
 at the Mosque. He simply addresses himself to the congre- 
 gation, saying: 
 
 "Of course you know, O faithful Mussuiniaus, wli.il I 
 am going to say." 
 
 The congregation cry out with one voice: 
 
 "No, Hoja, we do not know." 
 
 "Then, if you do not know, I have nothing to say to 
 you," rephes the Hoja, and leaves the pulpit.
 
 156 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 Next time he again addresses his congregation, saying: 
 
 "Know ye, faithful Mussulmans, what I am going 
 to say to you?" 
 
 Fearing that if, as on the previous time, they say " No," 
 the Hojawould leave themagain without a sermon, all cried: 
 
 " Yes, Hoja, we do know." 
 
 "Then if you do know what I am going to sa}՛," quietly 
 remarked the Hoja, "of course, there is no need of mysa3'ing 
 it." He again steps down from the pulpit, to the conster- 
 nation of the congregation. 
 
 On the third time, the Hoja again puts his question: 
 
 "Know ye, O faithful Mussulmans, what I am going to 
 preach to you?" 
 
 The congregation, determined not to be disappointed 
 again, take counsel on the question. Accordingly some of 
 them reph՛ : 
 
 "No, Hoja, w^e do not know," while others cry: 
 "Yes, Hoja, w^e do know." 
 
 "Very well, then," says Hoja, "as there are some of 3'ou 
 w^ho do know, and others who do not know, what I am 
 going to say, let those who do know, tell it to those who 
 do not know," and quickly leaves the pulpit. 
 
 " Oh Hoja ! When will the end of the world come ?" 
 "Ask me something difficult; that is quite eas\^ to 
 answer," is the calm reply. "When my wife dies, it 
 will be the end of half the world ; when I die, it will be the 
 end of the whole world." 
 
 Hoja was about to marry, and prepared to build a 
 house. The good neighbors told him his wife would turn 
 the house upside down. So he built it wrong side up, that it 
 might be, when turned upside down, O. K.
 
 GLIMPSES OF SOCIAL LIFE. 157 
 
 Hoja borrows from a friend a large copper vessel, in 
 which to do his washing. A few days afterward, the vessel 
 is returned clean, washed and polished. Inside of it is 
 another, but much smaller, copper vessel. 
 
 "What is this, Hoja?" asks his friend. "I lend you one 
 vessel and you bring me back two I" 
 
 "It is very curious," said the Hoja. "It appears that 
 your vessel, while in my possession, must have given birth 
 to a bab^^ vessel. Of course both belong equallv to յ^օա." 
 
 "Oh, thank you, good Hoja," says the man, laughing, 
 and without more parley agrees to receive back both vessels. 
 
 Some time after this the Hoja again applies for the loan 
 of the large vessel — "the mother vessel," as he described it. 
 The demand is readily granted. Before leaving, the Hoja 
 inquires after the health of the "baby vessel." He expresses 
 pleasure at hearing that it was doing extremely well. 
 
 A week, then a month elapses, but no Hoja appears 
 to return the borrowed vessel. The proprietor, at length 
 losing patience, goes himself to obtain it. 
 
 "Very sorry," says Hoja, "but your coj)j)cr vessel is 
 dead." 
 
 "Dead, Hoja!" cries the other in surprise; "What 
 do you mean ?" 
 
 "Just what I say," replies the Hoja; "your vessel is 
 dead." 
 
 "Nonsense, Hoja!" says the man— irritated nt the 
 Hoja's quiet manner, "how can a cop])er vessel die .՛'" 
 
 "Read up your natural history, my good friend," 
 answers the imperturbable, pufling (piictly at his long 
 pipe, "and you will see that everything that gives birth to 
 a child must inevitably succumb in due course to the late 
 of all mortals. You were willing enough to believe that
 
 158 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 your vessel had given birth to a 'baby vessel.' I do not 
 see, therefore, why you should now doubt my word as to 
 
 its being dead." 
 
 * * 
 
 One night before retiring, Hoja said to his wife: "If it 
 rain to-morrow, I shall go to my field ; if it do not rain, I 
 shall go to my vineyard." 
 
 "Say, if it please God, Hoja," suggested his wife. 
 
 "Whether it please God or not," replies Hoja, "I shall 
 go to one or the other." 
 
 "Hoja," says his wife, "say, if it please God." 
 
 "Nothing of the kind," saj^s Hoja; "I shall go." 
 
 Next day it is not raining, and Hoja starts to go to 
 his vineyard. He has not gone far, however, when he is 
 stopped by the king's troopers, who compel him to work 
 all day in repairing the roads. It is quite late at night 
 when he is set free. By the time he arrives at his house, 
 every one is fast asleep. His wife, putting her head out of 
 the v^indow, asks who it is. 
 
 "Wife," replied Hoja, "if it please God, it is I." 
 
 * 
 
 A friend calls on Hoja to borrow his donkey. 
 
 "Verj^ sorry," saj^s Hoja, who does not want to lend 
 the animal, "but the donkey is not here; I have hired him 
 out for the daj՛." 
 
 UnfortunateW, just at that moment the donkey begins 
 to bray loudh% thus giving the direct lie to the Hoja. 
 
 "How is this, Hoja?" says his friend, "\՚օս say the 
 donkey is away, and here he is braj-ing in the stable." 
 
 Hoja, nothing daunted, replies in a grave manner: 
 
 "My dear sir, please do not demean 3'ourself so low as 
 to believe the donkey rather than m^'self— a fellow man and 
 a venerable Hoja with a long gray beard."
 
 GLIMPSES OP SOCIAL LIFE. 159 
 
 EDUCATION. , 
 
 Compulsory education is unknown in Asia Minor. The 
 government renders no assistance to non-Mohammedan 
 schools. Each nationality՛ has its own schools quite as 
 distinct as its churches. The Protestants, however, make 
 no distiction in their schools. Of the Armenian higher 
 institutions and colleges, we have elsewhere spoken. 
 
 Mohammedanism teaches that secular education is 
 subordinate to and dependent on religious instruction. So 
 it was that all the schools of early times were attached 
 to mosques, and under the direction of the Ulema or religious 
 teacher. Sultan Orchan Avas conspicuous for the founding 
 of schools and colleges. Secular education, independent of 
 religious instruction, began in 184-6. Those who com])lcte 
 the course of study in the higher schools are gi'anted a 
 degree and given a mastership in a primary school. Several 
 years more of training are required of those who wish to be 
 TJlemas or religious teachers in the mosques. Those who 
 are most proficient in their studies are trained in the legal 
 profession, for all Turkish law is founded on the Koran. 
 The revenue for the support of this system of education is 
 derived from the church lands of the empire. 
 
 National schools are to be found in all the priniii).il 
 cities. In Constantinople, for instance, Arnunians alone 
 have over fifty schools for both vSexes, but many of tlie 
 small villages are deprived of this blessing. The Mohanmie 
 dan bov's entrance in school, at the age o{ '^< \«n, is .1 frsf ive
 
 160 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 occasion. The whole school goes to the home of the lad, 
 who is placed on a richly caparisoned donkey. Formed in 
 double-file procession, they escort the young student to the 
 school-house, singing songs. It is certainly a beautiful 
 custom, which tends to impress on the minds of the young 
 the importance of this new sphere of life. These Turkish 
 common schools present a very singular scene to a stranger. 
 The pupils are all seated cross-legged in semi-circular 
 clusters around the hoja or teacher, in the porch of the 
 mosque, on bare marble pavements. The hoja, as a rule, is 
 an old man with white whiskers. He holds in his hand 
 an extremeU^ Icmg stick, which reaches to all parts of the 
 school, from one end to the other. As the hoja is quite 
 old and too laz}՛ to move from his seat, in case of mischief 
 he stretches his unmerciful stick over the unruh՛ ones. As 
 he is asleep nearl}՛ half of the time, on opening his ej-es he 
 finds the entire school a lusty play and fighting ground of 
 wild disorder. His long stick is now on dutj^ to establish 
 peace and order. T remember many true stories of how 
 these young students got even with their patriarchal 
 teacher in anointing his head and whiskers with oil and 
 wax while he was in his usual sleep in the school room, and 
 of what a hard time he frequently had in finding his stolen 
 stick. 
 
 The strangest aspect of these Turkish schools is the 
 manner of studj-ing. All read their lessons aloud in shrill 
 and deafening voices. All recite at the same time in a loud 
 monotone. No wonder the old schoolmaster goes to sleep ;
 
 GLIMPSES OF SOCIAL LIFE. 161 
 
 how could he find rest otherwise? When I passed bv a 
 mosque where these Turkish schools are held, I used to 
 cover ray ears. In the absence of desks, the writing is done 
 by holding the paper in the left hand and writing from right 
 to left. 
 
 THE FAIR SEX. 
 
 One of the most frequent questions asked me by the 
 young people of this country is concerning the courtship 
 and marriage of our Eastern j^outh. The frequency of this 
 question has led me to conclude that this is the favorite 
 theme of young American hearts. 
 
 Oriental harems have been the basis of many a delusive 
 fiction. Their secluded privacy of indoor life has thrown 
 about them thecharm of mystery. Islamism does not allow 
 women to appear in public save when they are closely veiled. 
 Even at home their apartments are entirely separated from 
 those to which male callers are admitted. For centuries 
 the women of the harem, isolated from society, had no 
 knowledge of the outside world, except what they saw in 
 their limited field of observation, or heard from the men of 
 their own household. In the moscjue and in j)iiblic convey- 
 ances, as at home, they are separated in special ai)arlmcnts. 
 Aishe, Mohammed's wife, originated the custom of seclusion 
 and thus the tradition and customs of centuries do not 
 readily yield to innovation. The Arabic word "harem "is 
 synonomous to the English "home." " Harem " means 
 "secret," "forbidden," and iJ the Turks keep .ill lluii- other
 
 162 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 secrets as closelj՛ as their wives, they would be possessing 
 at least one virtue of real merit. 
 
 Turkish women sometimes disregard the law and escape 
 in groups to shady nooks and glens, throw aside their veils 
 and have a right good time when husbands are away. A 
 Swiss traveller relates that in a narrow lane of Constanti- 
 nople he met a Mohammedan lady so enrobed that he could 
 see nothing of her but the tips of her fingers and glaring 
 black eyes. As she was followed by female slaves, she 
 looked about to see that none of the faithful were in sight, 
 then pulled down her veil exposing a face of rare beauty, 
 and laughed merrily at the surprise she had given a Chris- 
 tian as she passed on. Those alone are esteemed the upper 
 ten of the Orient, or the model wives of the East, who are 
 confined to their own homes, devoted to the care of their 
 children, or engaged in sewing, knitting or decorating the 
 rooms. 
 
 The}՛ find their reward in the refined comfort which 
 they shed about them. Such as these are considered to give 
 tone to the best Turkish families. Their con\'ersation, when 
 entertained, is peculiar yet interesting, and is of the practical 
 kind which commands respect. 
 
 To an Oriental, outer pomp and glory, and visible at- 
 tractions and charms areas nothing beside the little nesthng 
 home which with its "forbidden " beauties and fireside is the 
 only centre of all his thoughts, pleasures, affections and life. 
 Happy indeed is she who finds herself the one wife of an 
 affectionate husband ! The practice of polygamy by Mo-
 
 "SWEETHEART
 
 164 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 hammedatis is greatly exaggerated by many writers. Very 
 few indeed can afford more than one wife. 
 
 Nothing could be more encouraging than the gradual 
 disappearance of the custom. It has doubtless been the 
 source of much unhappiness in the past and may be entirely 
 abandoned in the near future. Whoever has reflected on the 
 subject can understand that there can be no homelife 
 worth}՛ of the name, except where one woman reigns as 
 queen. 
 
 A cloud\՛ or storm}՛ social atmosphere is not the kind in 
 which to bring up children. Mohammed tolerated, but did 
 not encourage or enjo}՛ polygamy. The Koran says, " If ye 
 fear that ye shall not act with equity to wards orphans of the 
 female sex, take in marriage of such other women as please 
 you two, or three, or four, and not more." 
 
 What was intended as a favor to unfortunate females, 
 proved the source of their undoing. The Prophet unques- 
 tionabh՛ had respect for women, as he owed his success 
 largely to his wife. 
 
 Theeducation of the Turkish women is limited to house- 
 keeping of a respectable order, and the Oriental culinary 
 art. For accomplishments she learns to dance, sing and 
 play the dulcimer. It would not do to omit that in their 
 fancy needle-work, rugs, drapery, etc., there is much to 
 be admired ; silk scarfs wrought in golden threads formed of 
 love ballads from Hafiz, or sacred verses from the Koran ; 
 jewel-sprinkled cushions, richlj՛ ornamented robes and gar- 
 ments, indicate expert skill and good taste of fancy. Indeed
 
 GLIMPSES OF SOCIAL LIFE. 165 
 
 their skill and devotion to this truly fine art might well be 
 imitated elsewhere. In fact, a great many articles and furni- 
 ture of the home are household industries. 
 
 Fondness for fine clothes they have in common with 
 all other women. Their costumes conform to the latest 
 western st3'le, as fashions are introduced direct from 
 the French capital. The purely indoor dress is simple 
 yet rich in silk, velvet and satin. First an undergarment 
 of light gauze material, with full and long sleeves; next 
 baggy trousers of the zouave type of bright color. These 
 are more or less concealed by the gold embroidered robe or 
 outer garment, which is open in front and has slits at the sides 
 of wide flowing sleeves. Such a costume is certainly a good 
 one from a sanitary point of view. The zouave sleeveless 
 vest is worn whenever weather or taste calls for it. The 
 head dress is usually a velvet cap, decorated with tinsel and 
 jewelry՛. Their arms and necks are literally loaded with 
 silver and gold bracelets and necklaces set with costly 
 stones. Their feet are encased in pointed-toe 1 slippers, 
 which turn up like a skate. 
 
 The Turkish wife or wives must not conij)lain of ill- 
 treatment on peril of missing paradise or getting divorced. 
 She must not frown on her husband; if her actions in any 
 way displease him, she is in imminent danger, sliouM she die 
 before he is reconciled. Her duty is to court and obtain his 
 good will. A wife who.se tongue has made trouble lor her 
 husband will have that "useful" ai)pen(lage lengthened to 
 one hundred and fifty feet at the judgment! With such n
 
 166 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 weapon, what man would dare to marry one of tliem ! 
 The prophet himself declares, he would not officiate at the 
 funeral of his own daughter if her husband was displeased 
 with her. 
 
 The Armenian ladies, justly renowned for their beauty 
 and fairness, though so close neighbors, radicalK՛ differ from 
 the Turkish in many particulars. Circumstances have been 
 more propitious for Armenian women's advancement ; seclu- 
 sion, polygamy or divorce is unknown among them. They 
 share alike with young men the advantages of culture and 
 education. American customs, and furniture, pianos and 
 sewing machines, bring repose and harmony՛ in their homes. 
 They entertain respectable callers of either sex, but take 
 especial delight in the company of wives and daughters of 
 European and American nobles and ambassadors. They 
 read, write, dress in European fashion and are thus quite 
 responsive to the evolution of the times. It must not be 
 denied, however, that with all their modern accomplish- 
 ments they are not permitted as much liberty, neither are 
 the\՛ esteemed or valued quite so highly՛, as the women of 
 America. It is a pleasure to mention that the rising genera- 
 tion of the Turkish ladies are indicating a slight tendenc}՛՛ 
 toward European progressiveness. Their yeshmaks, or veils, 
 are getting decidedly thinner and thinner; some, indeed, 
 so thin that, like a transparent glass, they shine out the 
 beautiful countenance of the lady within. They are seeking 
 the acquaintance of their European sisters, and are endeav- 
 oring to acquire their manners and customs as far as their
 
 GLIMPSES OF SOCIAL LIFE. 167 
 
 religion will allow. The general diftusion of knowledge, 
 however, like everything Turkish, is slow. National ignor- 
 ance, superstition and bigotry are largely the result of unedu- 
 cated mothers, and the uneducated mothers the result of the 
 existing institutions or the absence of institutions. Why do 
 many Oriental nations lag in the path of progress ? Ignor- 
 ant mothers, I dare affirm, is a most potent cause. The 
 child will always bear the stamp of its mother. While the 
 husbands are at their business during the da}՛, the children 
 are under the direct influence of their mother at home. Her 
 ever}՛ characteristic of conduct has a moulding influence 
 upon the young child. If her words be wise and her con- 
 duct refined, the infant will thus be moulded; and, on the 
 contrary, if she be ignorant and rude, she will reproduce her 
 defects in her 3'oung child. Thus women invariably deter- 
 mine the standard of civilization of their country. It is 
 altogether the exception for an empty-headed mother to 
 raise up clear-headed, intellectual children. Mothers cither 
 bless or curse the community by their general standard. 
 With woman's intellectual, ethical and spiritual elevation 
 the nation rises, while with the degradation and humiliation 
 of womanhood the nation sinks to the lowest level of civil- 
 ization. If we traverse the ages covered by history, wc 
 shall find these statements fully verified. We need not ՛հօ to 
 past ages for conviction; compare the old stagnant dulnesh 
 and darkness of some Asian countries of to-day with the 
 bright and prosperous America, where her fair daughters 
 share alike with man the highest edmation <»f the land.
 
 168 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 Happily our Armenians are realizing this serious problem 
 more and more in the education of woman. The social 
 evolution of our people is to be counted for the female educa- 
 tion which seems to be vitally connected with Christian 
 faith, so largely՛ accepted by our nation. 
 
 Is the Turkish woman responsible for the semi-civilized 
 position she occupies in the world ? As has been indicated, 
 she is more than anxious to take her true place among her 
 progressive sisters, but the religious institution under which 
 she is unfortunately placed creates all these inhuman cus- 
 toms — seclusion, polygamy and blind submission to ill- 
 treatment — which she is under moral bounds to obey. Her 
 religious institution, therefore, is directly accountable for 
 her sad position. Had Mohammed lived in the present era, 
 I do not believe he would have approved these customs. 
 The improvement or elevation of the condition of Turkish 
 w^omen, then, is to be onh՛ through a reformation of the 
 Mohammedan religion. 
 
 While it is a great thing to know other people, it is 
 a greater thing to know ourselves. A man does not know 
 and see himself in a true and impartial light. His character, 
 good or bad, is like a basket on his back. He may be 
 conscious of it, but cannot see it as other people do. What 
 is true of individuals is also true of nations. 
 
 Contact with various people on either side of the ocean 
 has afforded me the opportunity to observe that of all 
 nations the ladies of America are the most clever and 
 bright ; and they shine with splendor in social life. This is
 
 GLIMPSES OF SOCIAL LIFE. 169 
 
 due, I venture to affirm, to the exalted position the women 
 of this eountry enjoy above that of her sisters of other 
 climes. As it has been my good fortune to see the extremes 
 of contrast between female libert\՛ and general conditions, I 
 shall not hesitate to reflect my humble observations impar- 
 tially and boldly as to the merits and demerits of either 
 condition. Acknowledging the attainments of American 
 ladies, their grace of culture, their exquisite manners and 
 education, I disapprove of their unbounded freedom. Ex- 
 cessive use of even a good thing is a vice. It is a doctrine of 
 Confucius that "true virtue consists in avoiding extremes." 
 As has been indicated, the Turkish woman is at one 
 extreme of secluded privacy, w^hile the American is at the 
 other extreme of unlimited liberty. I condemn both 
 extremes in advocating a balance, or the position of the 
 Armenian woman, which in many respects I consider an 
 ideal one. She enjoys the society of men to a limited 
 extent. She does not hide her face from them, nor spare her 
 modest words in conversation; yet she is not "gay" or 
 "awfully jolly" in the companv of men. She does not at 
 the first acquaintance grow familiar with a stranger, nor 
 use flippant and reckless words of double meaning. She 
 does not dance in the arms of near acquaintances, nor u .ilk 
 and talk freely with them. Her words to a stran;Հe^ are lew 
 and careful. Her favorite literature is not fiction, nor sneh 
 sensational journals as are filled with crimes and inlamy. 
 She reads only such books as are of a clean and elevatin;4 
 character. The Armenian gentleman does not lake
 
 170 
 
 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 Armenian ladies to low theatres and similar places of 
 amusement to jeopardize their innocence. 
 
 AX ARMENIAN LADY 
 
 In a word, an Armenian lady is generally an ideal of 
 purity, of loveliness of spirit and firmness of character. She 
 is the queen of her home, loved and esteemed b\՛ her house-
 
 GLIMPSES OF SOCIAL LIFE. 171 
 
 hold. An Armenian young lady may have her preference, 
 but she cannot marry anyone without the sanction of her 
 parents. Is not this demand within the scope of common 
 sense and of religion. She owes her life and existence to her 
 parents, and should not her life's most important event — 
 marriage — meet with their approval ? If religion is con- 
 sidered, "Honor thy father and thy mother," was the 
 commandment that God thundered from Mt. Sinai. 
 
 In many an American home broken-hearted parents are 
 doomed to life-long unhappiness over the self-willed choice 
 of their children. *'Love hides a multitude of sins," but 
 parents look beyond the boundaries of love. This Armenian 
 custom of marriage, demanding the voice of the parents, is 
 generally follow^ed with happy results. There are no divorce 
 courts among our people, no prostitute women, no ill-famed 
 houses nor illegitimate births. Is it truly civilized — this 
 Western idea of granting the "fair sex" unlimited freedom, or 
 is it reallv liberty for a helpless woman, who by such customs, 
 becomes an easy victim to man, when she finds herself 
 ruined and debased? When the finer elements of woman- 
 hood are transformed to the aspect of a hideous spectre; 
 when she is cast out from the love and esteem of society, 
 thus finding no refuge but the grave where she may hmv 
 herself with her shame. Watch the many tragic and hi;iit- 
 rendingscenes as the result of female freedoni— too much he- 
 dom. Vice and crime are running riot in all the cities of the 
 American Republic, which are unknown in lands wlure 
 woman's liberty is somewhat modified. 'l՝ndy, I do not
 
 172 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 believe in woman becoming the slave of man, neither do I 
 ibelieve in her becoming his victim. 
 
 Would suffrage really benefit womankind ? Her dearest 
 sphere has ever been the home circle, where she reigns 
 supreme, educating her children in both morals and religion. 
 Here woman has her rights unquestioned, and here her 
 work tends to make voters for "God, and home, and native 
 land." America has exalted her daughters, can she exalt 
 their morals ? America has granted freedom to the fair sex ; 
 can she not devise reformation for fallen women? 
 
 It must not be supposed that the vicious tendencies here 
 noticed apply to American women as a rule, but that they 
 belong to a class which these conditions of freedom, or the 
 abuse of it, have made possible. Whatever may be said 
 in favor of the opposite tendencies, as they apply to 
 American women in general, we intend only to refer to 
 a feature of social life, which, though exceptional, deserves 
 the observations made, and calls more loudh՛ for restrictive 
 measures than for the enlargement of "woman's sphere." 
 
 Let us now look at some of the peculiar j-et interesting 
 customs leading to marriage. The matches and courtships 
 with the Turks are beset with more difficulties than in 
 western countries. Young Turks do not call on their lady 
 friends and prolong the tale — indeed a tale of long hours 
 among some Americans. Most Turkish girls cannot even 
 Avrite, but many generations of practice has developed an 
 unique system of sj^mbols by which they communicate with 
 young men whose friendship they wish to encourage. A
 
 GTvIMPSES OF SOCIAL LIFE. 173 
 
 haimm or young lady sees in the private grounds of a neigh- 
 bor over the wall, a comeK^ youth whom she admires, and 
 then proceeds to communicate with him. She prepares an 
 affectionate surprise, not with paper and ink, for she can not 
 write. She makes up an expressive token of regard with a 
 piece of string, delicious fruit, fragrant flowers, and pretty՛ 
 bits of stone, each of which has a meaning. When com- 
 pleted it is tossed over the intervening wall, and lying near 
 his favorite ramble is soon found. It is read like an opew 
 book. The thoughts expressed are those in vogue the world 
 over under similar impulses, and ere long she will find an\ 
 answer beneath her window similar to her own message. 
 This strange correspondence will continue for a varying 
 period. By and by, if the tokens are indicative of unaltera- 
 ble affection, the ^--oung man brings the question of his mat- 
 rimonial scheme to the consideration of his parents, inspir֊ 
 ins: them with the same zeal and determination that Patrick 
 Henr}՛ displayed in the Continental Congress when he 
 exclaimed "Give me liberty or give me death." The mar- 
 riage of the young lovers is arranged b}՛ mutual agreement 
 of the families. This is but the formal sequel to an affair of 
 the heart, romantic in its inception and natural in its 
 results. With such a system of communicating herlhoughls 
 many a Mohammedan girl does not regret her inability to 
 write. She has no conception of any other use wliicli she 
 could make of the pen. Doubtless she li.'is been (niitc 
 willing to submit to those forms of marri.-ige ceremony and 
 weddinsr festivitv which make her the rilmost hideous
 
 174 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 dumm}՛ of the occasion.. To be enveloped and thickh՛ 
 covered in a colored sheet and stood in the corner for hours, 
 mute and motionless, like the corpse at an Irish wake, is the 
 fate of the Turkish bride. She is not allowed to be exposed 
 to the public gaze. It has always been a m\'ster\^ to me 
 how such an odd custom was ever inaugurated and still 
 dominates for so many generations! — how life's most 
 happy occasion should be spent in such a state of humilia- 
 tion. Has not the Orient always been a land of mysterious 
 operations? What a striking contrast to the free and 
 happy lot of Armenian and other Christian brides at the 
 hj'menial celebration. Among the more old-fashioned 
 parents, contracts for the marriage of their children are 
 made while they are yet mere infants, and neither the boy 
 nor the girl has any voice in the matter. The wedding fes- 
 tivities among the Turks last several days. It is made a 
 great occasion of joy and jubilee, enlivened by music and 
 dancing. The newl\՛ married bride's manners are verj՛ 
 singular indeed, and in this one aspect bears a remarkable 
 resemblance to the old-fashioned patriarchal manners of the 
 Armenians. She utters never a word, except when alone 
 with her husband. Nor will she until after the birth of her 
 first born. Then she will talk only as young mothers can to 
 her own. After awhile she will talkto her mother-in-law ; still 
 later, her own mother may again hear her voice, and ere long 
 she will talk in whispers with the young girls of the house- 
 hold. She will not leave the house during the first year of 
 her married life except to go to devotions. Practically her
 
 GLIMPSES OF SOCIAL LIFE. ! 75 
 
 discipline as a bride terminates in six years; however, she 
 will never in her lifetime open her lips to a man except 
 he is related to her. Such exacting devotion is unknown 
 elsewhere. Young girls of the household are allowed to 
 conduct themselves in striking contrast to the voung mar- 
 ried woman. They chatter cheerfully while plaving with 
 white kittens, whose tails are dyed pink, in imitation of the 
 Sultan's favorite horse. Their ruddy faces, full of mirth, arc 
 the brightest part of the domestic picture. 
 
 Among the Armenians the parents of the bride and groom 
 send out a large number of wedding invitations to their re- 
 spective friends and relatives. Thus the wedding Ijecomes a 
 picturesque concourse of guests, gathered from far and near, 
 at the respective homes of the bride and groom, all dressed in 
 gala attire, with profuse gifts on hand for the bride. It is, 
 indeed, made the greatest occasion of joy and merriment. 
 Everything puts on a most brilliant appearance. There is 
 much gaud and glitter, pomp and pride all around. What 
 a wa.ve of rich robes I What a luminous vision of Hashing 
 jewels! After much music, hilai'ity and refreshments, the 
 companions of the groom advance in procession to the home 
 of the bride, and thence in great ceremony the joined guests 
 accompanied by the bride and groom, jiroceed to climvh 
 where the simple marriage ceremony is ])erforme(l in the 
 presence of many witnesses. In the evening there is gciier- 
 ally a banquet tendered by the newly married pair to their 
 happy friends. All next day, sometimes tin՛ entire wei-k. the 
 young couple are busy with eongratulations of callers and
 
 176 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 feasting, merriment. To make the greatest occasion in life — 
 marriage, the greatest occasion of jubilee is certainly a beau- 
 tiful custom, and Americans do well to adopt it. 
 
 THE CARE OF THE SICK— DISPOSAL OF THE DEAD. 
 
 After wandering together in the realms of fancy, court- 
 ship and marriage, I now invite you, my reader, to the city 
 of the dead. Do not pleasure and grief, life and death, walk 
 side by side through all earthly avenues? Are not our 
 hearts sometimes enraptured with sunshine of jo)՛, some- 
 times overshadowed with the thickest clouds of sorrow? 
 Do not the objects in nature indicate the same law^ of life 
 and death, of brightness and gloom ? The exquisite flower 
 that blooms to-day, holding in its sweet chalice the purest 
 dews of the skies, fades away to-morrow. Shall we not, 
 then, my reader, turn our steps for awhile from these brilliant 
 nuptial pictures to solemn scenes of sickness and death. 
 
 In cities, medical science and treatment of the sick are 
 ver}՛ much on the same plan and condition as those among 
 Americans. Within the last quarter of a century expert 
 foreign and native doctors have multiplied in the country. 
 In small villages and hamlets inhabited by Turks, the care 
 of the sick is very singular indeed. Professional nursing is 
 unknown, while quacks are numerous. The Invalid wants 
 to be cured at once — in a few hours. l՝his universal desire 
 to get rid of disease in a hurry makes them willing to trv 
 anything and everything that promises Immediate victorv
 
 GLIMPSES or SOCIAL LIFE. 177 
 
 over their malady. The larger and more repulsive the dose, 
 the better they think their chances of recovery՛ . They can 
 not understand what good a few drops or a sugar-coated 
 pill can do. They do not apply for a doctor until the sick 
 is about to give up the ghost; in fact, the practice of 
 medicine is not generally recognized as a distinct profession 
 among ignorant villagers, but whoever has travelled 
 and seen much of the world is supposed to know best what 
 should be done in case of sickness. All intellectual foreigners, 
 therefore, are considered to be doctors, and are constantly 
 importuned day and night to treat their sick. Ouacks, how- 
 ever, have their hands full. Theygive, for instance, thedust of 
 the earth, plain white paper which would be soaked in 
 water and administered in teaspoontul doses, or colored 
 water to be applied in various forms, all of which pleads 
 with mute eloquence for the medical missionary to save the 
 bodies as Aveli as the souls of those ulio have yet to learn 
 that God's natural laws are as imperative as the moral 
 code. Physicians have found that the natural vigorous consti- 
 tutions of the people respond readily to scientific treatment 
 when the quacks can be kept away. 
 
 All the relatives and friends of the sick are gathered 
 around the bed of the suflferer, where they keep up a loud 
 conversation, smoking their long pipes, laughing loudly, 
 thus trying to divert the mind of the sufferer, while in a 
 corner of the room the young boys play, spout and light. 
 By such soothing processes the patient is scjmctimes lulled
 
 178 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 to slumber, often the slumber of death I No wonder the 
 grave-yards are numerous and thickly populated. 
 
 Diseases vary, as elsewhere, according to locality and the 
 occupations of the people. Smallpox makes sad ravages 
 among the people at times, causing great loss of life. 
 Pasteur's system of inoculation b\՛ virus has long been 
 understood and practised here. Mothers are known to pro- 
 tect their infants from the virus of serpents and scorpions by 
 giving them the diluted poison in infancy՛. Such children 
 can be seen handling scorpions with impunitՅ^ Thus it 
 would seem that Asia Minor was the cradle of modern 
 applied science, as well as of the human race. 
 
 When death knocks at any door, that house is the scene 
 of the wildest demonstrations of grief Frequently the 
 stillness of the night is so disturbed by the zealous 
 mourners that sleep in the neighborhood is almost impos- 
 sible. They cry aloud bewailing their loss. Sometimes 
 they tear their hair, embrace the lifeless^ bod}^ proclaiming 
 his virtues if he had any; if not, then they create them. The 
 burial follows with swift rapidit^-upon death. Soon the body 
 is taken out into the yard, washed, wrapped tidily, placed 
 in an open bier which is carried upon the shoulders of friends 
 and neighbors, first to a church where the service for the 
 dead is chanted, then to the cemetery, where it is placed in 
 a shallow grave. The cemetery՛ is often one huge common 
 grave. Mohammedans, however, do not bury twice in the 
 same place, which makes their cemeteries much larger than 
 those of Christians. Among them, immediate!}՛ after death,
 
 GLIMPSES OF SOCIAL LIFE. 179 
 
 the bod}^ is removed to the porch of the mosque. After the 
 usual noon-da}՛ worship, the congregation comes out to the 
 yard of the mosque, standing up line by line in a silent 
 and pious manner. As the holy man's powerful voice comes 
 Irom the sacred schrine, the entire congregation take otl 
 their shoes, throw them on the ground and stand erect, 
 putting their hands to their ears. At the second call all the 
 hats are removed, and all heads are bowed down to the 
 ground in rapt devotion; at the third call, the entire 
 congregation, wearing their shoes and fezes, follow the 
 corpse to the cemetery, where it is taken from the coffin and 
 buried without any further ceremony. Then the coilin is 
 taken back to the mosque to await another victim. Every 
 nationality and creed have their own cemeteries at a 
 distance from human habitations. 
 
 Individual graves of the Armenians have interesting 
 monuments. Designs indicating the occuj)ation or pro- 
 fession of him who reposes beneath are carved u])on them. 
 Those who suffered matyrdom have the fact indicated with 
 a cross. A blacksmith's grave is, for instance, designated 
 with the insignia of his calling. 
 
 In the Armenian provinces of Asia Minor, the oldest 
 gravestones are ver}՛ striking, from the i.-ict that they .'ire in 
 the form of crouching rams, the inscriptions being cut on the 
 sides of these elaborate monuments. 
 
 Mohammedan memorials are Iree Irom the di^ei rations 
 too commonly seen in Christian cities ol the de.-id. The 
 headstone is a large monolith with inscri|)tions. .\l the
 
 ISO UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 foot of the grave is another of almost equal size. The space 
 between is built up with marble slabs to resemble a chest or 
 casket. 
 
 In large cities sepulchral forests of cypress trees make a 
 profound impression upon the mind, as the coniferous tree 
 casts its deepening shadows of mourning over the lonely 
 grave. In his description of these cemeteries, how graphic 
 are the words of Bj-ron when he speaks of 
 
 " the place of a thousand tombs 
 
 That shine beneath, while dark above 
 
 The sad but living cypress glooms 
 
 And ^vithers not, though branch and leaf 
 
 Are stamp'd with an eternal grief. 
 Like earh՛ unrequitted love." 
 
 IX THE RURAL DISTRICT. 
 
 If A'ou have leisure and fondness for rustic beaut}՛, let us, in 
 thebracingfreshnessof theair, mount on horse-back or on lit- 
 tle donkeys, so numerous in the country, for outings. Let 
 us seek a village and step within the threshold of a real old- 
 fashioned Turkish house. On our way to the rural districts, 
 as we pass jo\^ouslv through leafy and flower\՛ glories of the 
 summer, giving and returning the salutations of peace and 
 welcome, we should hnd much that is excellent and inter- 
 esting both in objects and scenery. How our ears delight in 
 the gentle rippling of the water intersecting our path, or the 
 strains of the birds as we pass under the arching trees ! 
 How our e\'es are greeted with loveU՛ hillsides and dales, 
 embellished by fragrant beds of wild flowers or by a vast
 
 GLIMPSES OF St)CIAL LIFE. 
 
 181 
 
 extent of waving fields of grain, stretching away to the 
 horizon as a clear ocean, farther than the eve can reach I 
 Gaze yonder at the mountain side, dotted with log houses, 
 with the slowh՛ moving caravans of gaily caparisoned 
 
 A CAUAVAN. 
 
 camels of pure Syrian stock, journeying for ninny wcnry 
 saats. • In the absence of railroads, these animals pcrtorin 
 
 ^Natives reckon distances by hours and never hy miles. Cjiniels move ;it 
 a rate of twenty-five or thirty miles a day with burden of nine hundred 
 or one thousand pounds.
 
 182 
 
 UNDER OIRENTAL SKIES. 
 
 the duties of locomotives, although at a somewhat slower 
 rate. The peculiar feature about this might\" host of camels 
 is that they are led on by a little, sleepy donkey. This gives 
 
 A FREIGHT CARAVAN. 
 
 origin to one of our sa\'ings, that when a mighty intellect 
 follows the counsel of an insignificant one, they sa^՛. "the 
 camel is following the donkev." Here and there we met
 
 GLIMPSES OF SOCIAL LIFE. 1S3 
 
 large droves of horses, buffaloes, sheep* and oxcii, on the 
 great sweeps of grass. Yonder from the high wooded hills 
 a host of donke\'s with loads of wood on their backs and 
 with loud jingling bells suspended from their necks, braving, 
 kicking and jumping, are marching to their respective 
 homes. Each donkev knows the house to which he belouiis. 
 and needs no direction in finding the place. These Httle 
 creatures are collected from various houses every morning 
 by a donkev-man, and are returned in the evening with a 
 burden of wood for the use of the household. At our approach 
 to the cottage, all the dogs in the village arc thoroughlv 
 roused by our knocking. Our host is an ideal of a Turkish 
 patriarch, with a venerable beard on his brown, weather- 
 beaten countenance, sweeping down his chest. Bv common 
 consent he bears the title, Codja-Pashi or "headman," of 
 the village. Like his fellow villagers, he is siniplc-niiiidcd, 
 good-hearted, honest, but unprogressive, an unambitious 
 and ignorant old man. He cannot read or write. lie 
 knows no other literature and history but that of his 
 own immediate ancestors, and passionately cherishes 
 the legends and traditions of his fathers. lie never 
 strives to keej) up appearances. He wears a |);iir ol 
 balloon-like trousers, of very voluminous folds. His 
 abba, or coat, is a long furred cloak of sheepskin, 
 with the woolly side turned in, in which he is constantly 
 
 •■The sheep here, unlike those in America, have I)rr);i<i hravv tails <it pure 
 fat, from three to six inches in diameter and aliout thirteen or tiftccn inches 
 in length. In fact, the tail is one-half as heavy as the hofly of tin- slui|i. 
 The fat of the tail is fried and used as lard in culinary operations
 
 184 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 enveloped summer and winter. His head is wrapped with a 
 huge turban as large as a pumpkin. Like all neighboring 
 peasants, his life is simple and his wants few. Many gene- 
 rations have wrought but little or no change in his modes 
 and manners. He scorns all modern improvements, and 
 w^atches them with much suspicion and prejudice. His 
 bigotry and ignorance render him an easy victim to supersti- 
 tion, so any western farming machinery or advanced 
 movement of any sort that might be beyond his compre- 
 hension, he pronounces "devilish" and has nothing to do 
 with. 
 
 Rev. Dr. Cyrus Hamlin, ex-president of Robert college, 
 says the Turks ascribe mechanical invention to Satan, 
 the "stoned devil," against whom they pra^^ five times a day. 
 "I have myself," he says, "for some supposed mechanical 
 abilit}^, been seriously introduced by one Ottoman to 
 another as 'the most Satanic man in the empire.'" Our 
 Turk admits no innovation, as he never pretends or attempts 
 an}՛ scheme which was not thought of and followed by his 
 father; thus life flows on in the old channels. He is the head 
 of a great family, grouped together on the mountain-.side, by 
 the sweeps of high, green meadows, and lives with his flocks 
 and children — so many of them ! An ample roof shelters 
 nearly three-score members of the familj՛, four generations 
 under a single paternal roof, without knowledge or care for 
 the world outside their little village. The glories of great 
 eities, the pashas, and the pomp of ro^^al dignitaries, are to 
 them like a distant tradition. Yet thev are comfortable,
 
 GLIMPSES OF SOCIAL LIFE. 
 
 1S5 
 
 happy and contented in their little round of duties and 
 pleasures, and are blessed with an easy-going temperament. 
 The young man rises up with the sun in the morning, and 
 
 ՝j^^Mii?'i!fiifr,՝&\՛.,-,. 
 
 
 with his flocks wanders over green mountains and hills, .ind 
 shady groves and still waters, singing joyfully his native 
 ballads through the woods, or playing hisswcct-toncd lliitc; 
 returning home late, as the waning moon feebly lights uj»
 
 186 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 the exquisite landscapes. He joins the family dance by the 
 blaze of their nocturnal fires, while the old women weave in 
 cotton and yarn, or are occupied in manufacturing various 
 articles for domestic use. 
 
 The house is built in a picturesque locality, by the old 
 Codja-Basbi himself, Հ^հօ is the architect, the carpenter, as well 
 as the government agent of the village. Logs are brought 
 down from the near forest. The bricks are made with the 
 intermixture of mud and straw, and are moulded in various 
 sizes and shapes, then put in open fields to dry. Thus in a 
 few days thev become quite solid enough for building a sub- 
 stantial house for our old Turk. The earth which is dug 
 out is banked against the sides of the house. The rear of the 
 structure is entirely embedded in the hillside. Light enters 
 through the oiled paper windows in the flat roof, or, when 
 w^indows are discarded altogether, the occupants are 
 content with what light penetrates down the low chimney, 
 which is not higher than the roof— indeed, a peculiar home 
 for a peculiar people. In the summer the stork builds her 
 nest and raises her brood on the broad-topped chimnev, 
 quite undisturbed. In the darkness of night, the humble 
 abode is illuminated by a feeble, flickering jet or olive oil 
 wick. A brazier of charcoal-made fire is placed in the centre 
 of the room, glowing almost as unextinguishable as the 
 vestal virgins. It serves a double purpose, as a heater and 
 over which the food is cooked. There are no tables, no 
 books, no ornamental decorations nor chairs, but here and 
 there are spread divans and winders, or cushions, with
 
 GLIMPSES OF SOCIAL LIFE. 187 
 
 drapery of Kurdish stuffs, over which the occupants stretch 
 themselves in cross-legged carelessness. 
 
 One or perhaps two large rooms are all in all for them, 
 where they sit, sleep, cook and eat. The Codja-Bashi, \\\th such 
 crude belongings, never seems to think anything is lacking. 
 On the w^all, if we charitably term it so, or, rather on a 
 partial partition, are saddles, bridles, guns, the entire 
 paraphernalia of the field and chase, filling in the space 
 betw^een a sort of fence that separates the living apartments 
 from the vast stable. The equine favorites are nearest the 
 family. Like all Orientals and some Occidentals, the horse 
 ranks highest in esteem as a domestic animal. Farther on 
 are donke3'S, wallowing buffaloes, cows and sheep, with 
 chickens scattered between them. 
 
 As we step in the house we are received with a profusion 
 of salaams. We at once find ourselves surrounded by a large 
 Turkish family— grandfathers, fathers, uncles, brothers, 
 cousins and numerous children, all thronged in the large 
 room— dressed in gay and odd colors, sitting cross-legged 
 around the bright blazing fire, and warming their lazy 
 bones. But we fail to see in the great gathering any 
 women, except the old grandmother, the senior wile oi tlu՛ 
 Codja-Bashi, who is curiously dressed, or rather eiivel<)]>e(] in 
 a woolen garment from head to foot, and sits in a dark 
 corner. The young Turks here must surely have some 
 wives. In such a large family, doubtless, there must be 
 some young girls, too. But where are they.՛' .Ml o»it ol 
 sight. As their religion does not allow women to appeal
 
 188 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 in the presence of men, no matter how intimately 
 acquainted, they are all driven into seclusion — a very bad 
 custom, indeed I The more religious a Moslem, the more 
 rigid the privacy of woman is enforced, and as a rule the 
 country people in this neighborhood are the most zealous of 
 religious fanatics. 
 
 I sometimes think if one of these over-pious Moham- 
 medan Turks, by chance, should be dropped into an Ameri- 
 can cit3% and should see the young sons and daughters of 
 Uncle Sam walking arm in arm in the full swing of social 
 liberties, he would be shocked to death. 
 
 At the side opposite the darkest chimney corner, where 
 the grandmother is, sits the Codja-Bashi, stretching his feet 
 forth and smoking his long pipe, which is so extremely 
 Ions that it extends from the corner to the centre of 
 the room. In the course of our conversation the old 
 ■man remarked concerning his residence, that his great, 
 '^reat, great (that great, however, goes about half a mile), 
 father was born and died on the same spot where he 
 now lives; and that he is about seventy-five years of 
 -age, but never has been a dozen saats, or hours, journey 
 from Ms home. This is the case with man}՛ a Turkish 
 peasant — many, indeed, who never set foot outside their 
 farms. Our talk is interrupted, however, by the lusty 
 shouting and fighting of the young bo^'s. Then our 
 host is obliged to go out among them with his ineffectual 
 cries of anger and practical lectures. Before his return 
 to us, however, he is called to another part of the house to
 
 GLIMPSES OF SOCIAL LIFE. 1S9 
 
 quell a still louder tumult— ten or fifteen dogs are having a 
 liveh՛ concert of howling and barking, so our good old 
 Codja-Bashi is now on dutA՛ to establish peace aniongthe dogs. 
 On his return, let us ask him why he doesn't kill those 
 useless brutes and get rid of them once for all? He wlli 
 answer: "It is a great sin against Allah (God), and a 
 violation of our laws." So numerous are the dogs, espe- 
 cially in the country, that when a Turk was once asked 
 the population of his village, he answered: "About one 
 thousand and sixty dogs and nine hundred people." 
 
 When the dinner time comes, all the males of the house 
 return from the field, cleanly wash their hands and faces,, 
 and sit cross-legged on the floor in a circle around the sufra 
 or low table. There are no knives, forks or plates. The 
 bread is baked on the hearth on hot stones. In the centre 
 is placed a common bowl of hot soup. So large was 
 the bowl that I was about gettiiig ready for a i)hinge 
 bath, but owing to the fact that I was not a good swimmer, 
 I feared that I might get drowned. When ready for the 
 fray, the Codja-Bashi gave them the signal to commence. 
 Immediately all the spoons enter the same unfortunate 
 bowl. The soup was followed with a dish meat. Ivach 
 rolled up their long, flov.'ing sleeves, and wiih bare fingers 
 and unbounded appetites separated the flesh from the bones, 
 laying the latter on the platter. Then came the unfailing 
 accompaniment, yoghurt, or coagulated buttermilk, a 
 highly prized species of refreshment. After a succession ••!
 
 190 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 dishes, the ceremony of eating was ended with washing 
 hands. 
 
 Codja-Bashi is the greatest scientific authority՛ in the 
 neighborhood. The fact that he is the oldest dignitary of the 
 village, naturally makes him the authority on everything. 
 One night the conversation of the family was interrupted by 
 a bright flash of lightning, accompanied by heavy thunder. 
 One of the children of the household thereupon asked the 
 "grandfather" the cause of the bright light and the great 
 noise; then the wise old patriarch grasped his sweeping 
 beard and in a dignified tone gave this explanation. 
 "Up in the clouds," said he, "our prophet Mohammed 
 and Christ went into business together, the profits to 
 be divided equall3\ One night when Christ was deep 
 asleep, Mohammed stole all the profits and left the 
 place. In the morning Christ discovered the treachery 
 of Mohammed, pursued him in his golden chariot, and so 
 the noise of the pursuer and the rumble of the chariots 
 is what makes the thunder. The lightning is the bullets of 
 fire which Christ shot at his treacherous partner. At length 
 poor Mohammed, finding escape in mid air impossible, 
 suddenly plunged into a deep bod\՛ of great waters, where 
 he was quickly followed bj՛ Christ, and the terrible force 
 of their conflict caused the waters to splash and pour down 
 upon the earth, thus causing the rain." 
 
 This certainly beats all modern investigation. Alas! 
 this is all his scientific knowledge. It is impossible to pound 
 philosophical ideas into the empty heads of the Turkish
 
 GLIMPSES OF SOCIAL LIFE. 191 
 
 villagers, because all intellectual studies are based upon 
 traditions, which follow from generation to generation, and 
 each "remarkable" son inherits the traditional knowledge 
 of his great-great-grandfather. The odd part of it all 
 is, that he is absolutely sure of the accuracy and truth- 
 fulness of his would-be knowledge, thus failing utterl}- 
 to discriminate between reality and fiction, fact and fancy. 
 The very idea of the word science does not seem to have 
 entered into his empty head. To talk to these men of 
 science is like talking to a blind man of colors. 
 
 The primary step to an\՛ sort of attainment is the sense 
 and self-consciousness of ignorance. Do you want salva- 
 tion? First find out that յ՚օս are lost. Do you desire 
 knowledge? First realize that յ՚օս are ignorant, and thus 
 come to the logical conclusion that a^ou do need knowledge. 
 Any individual who does not know that he does not know, 
 shall never know any more than the nothing he does 
 know. How sad to see in such an age of enlightenment 
 midnight darkness settled down upon so many people! 
 
 Now let us watch how Codja-Bashi works inthcticld. Ik- 
 has no set time to commence his harvest; he takes his time, 
 as there is not much fear of rain during the liarvest season. 
 As soon as the stalk of the crops arc yellow or sufficiently 
 matured, they are cut by hand with scythes .ind ;irc 
 piled up in the open field like American stacks. 
 
 In due season the piles are removed from v.irious 
 quarters near the village to the threshing floor, by large 
 arabahs, or carts, drawn by buffaloes .'tiul heifers The
 
 192 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 threshing floor is a hard and smooth circular piece of 
 ground from fift}^ to eightj'-five feet in diameter, upon 
 which the stalk is strewn. Then the threshing machine, 
 a mere sled, is driven around and around on the hard 
 earthen floor by oxen, with a woman or bo\՛ standing 
 on the sled. This threshing implement is made up of a 
 hard piece of wood, and set on the under side with sharp 
 flinty stones, similar to those of Indian arrow-heads. It 
 grinds the straw into fine chaff and sifts out the grain. 
 At the evening breeze, the threshed grain is thrown into 
 the air with a light shovel. Thus the broken straw is 
 blown on one side, leaving the grain of wheat on the ground 
 for graneries. The chaff is also gathered and stored away 
 for the purpose of feeding the cattle during the winter. 
 This is certainly a slow and wasteful sj'stem of threshing. 
 
 The peasantry are poor and are kept poor, possessed of 
 little more than what the craving of nature requires. Most 
 of them, having no cash, pay their debts in natural products. 
 The farmer's son toils and moils on the farm and does not 
 migrate to towns in search of better employment, but 
 stays where he is born — bj՛ his father's cattle. Thus thej^ 
 are immovable in their peasant instincts, as well as in their 
 beliefs, ideas and usages. They are all devoted worshipers 
 of the "almighty dollar,'' but are far from getting it, 
 because they do not know how. The}՛ complain of the 
 government over-taxation. Their dull and unenterprising 
 character, I dare affirm, is a more potent cause of their 
 povertՅ^
 
 GLIMPSES OF SOCIAL LIFE. 193 
 
 In such rural districts the old patriarchal administrative 
 system is still in vogue, where within the crude and primitive 
 log-house, b\՛ the hearth, sits the venerable Codja-Bashi, whose 
 ever\^ word is law to all within. He is, as indicated, the 
 agent for his community in all transactions with the gov- 
 ernment. In consideration ot' important affairs of general 
 interest, he meets with the elders of neighboring liamlets, 
 and, acting as a committee, they form the commune — a most 
 striking illustration of the essential democracy of Oriental 
 society, with the ])atriarchal system intact. 
 
 In high regard for famiK^ rights, it is superior to the 
 Greek democracy. Under a fostering, dominant power, no 
 reason can be given wh}՛ it should not continue to the end 
 of time as it has continued from the beginning. In times of 
 adversit\՛, it is a bulwark against anarch}՛ and confusion. 
 This system is a perpetual monument to the divine blessing 
 on those who hold sacred God's first human institution, the 
 famiW; indeed, all law originates in the family relation, the 
 first institution for humanity established of God. All 
 attempts to supplant it by military despotism, communism 
 or celibate asceticism have been failures. The patriarchal 
 system was the application of the family idea to tlic tribal 
 relation. Recognition was the essential iiKkpcndrmc- nl 
 tribes subject to treaty obligations, and the payment of 
 taxes is the key to the permanence of Oriental institutions. 
 This system, freed from man's abuses, has never been 
 improved upon, and never will be. 
 
 As a supplanter and disturber of domestic lelicity, it
 
 194 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIEvS. 
 
 brings its own punishment. On such a foundation a super- 
 structure, though defective, may rest, and has rested 
 securely for centuries. The defects of details are modified 
 to some extent in our day by international treaties. Maj^ 
 the chaff be removed from the wheat on the threshing floor 
 of modern enlightenment. 
 
 Modern police courts of the Oriental capital are more 
 like those of Paris than the old-time courts of the Cadis. 
 The latter, like back- woods justices of America, substituted 
 their own ideas of justice for established law. They would 
 render justice against the defendant and send him to jail 
 for not paying promptly, and send the plaintiff there too for 
 making a fuss about so small a matter, while the witness 
 would get a few days behind the bars for not minding 
 his own business. 
 
 Numerous instances of just such cases of perverted judg- 
 ment are on record. Fortunately, important matters must 
 be referred to higher courts, where intelligence of becoming 
 order holds the scales. The judicial sj'stem is so simple that 
 the intelligent and cotiscietitious administration of justice is 
 not difficult. 
 
 The responsibilit\^ of religious and educational matters 
 belongs to each nationality independently — Armenian Greeks 
 and other nations adjust trifling disputes among themselves. 
 Thus it would seem that the simple practice of justice to all 
 would give an almost ideal government, at least in rural 
 districts.
 
 THE TURKS. 
 
 "Asia Minor is the recrviitin.^-ground of the Turk, and is still almost 
 untouched b3՛ the invader." — Stanley Lane-Poole. 
 
 -^IH^^HE early histor\՛ of the Turks, if the accounts which 
 JjL we have of them can indeed be called historv, is a 
 •commingling of war, romance of wandering conquests and 
 glory of eastern court. For the poet, here are themes strong 
 and untried. For the romancer, there is no dearth of fact as 
 rich as fancy. The political economist here finds his theo- 
 ries in the frame-work of the material, and the historian in 
 his portion, contrary to the common parlance, comes last 
 and least. The name and race at its birth is in the swad- 
 dlings of mystery and myth. Near the central part of 
 Asia tw^enty-tw^o centuries ago, we find an empire 
 spasmodically nomadic, composed of several kindred tribes, 
 indiscriminately known by the general term Turks, 
 they being of the same origin with those nomadic liibcs, 
 the Mongols, Tartars, Calmucks and Kirgis. The 
 Chinese, dwelling some distance to the eastward, des- 
 ignated them by thenameHiongnu, or more literally Tu-kin. 
 
 195
 
 196 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 Whether or no the modern "Turk" is a corruption of the 
 Chinese appellation, we are unable to say. We do know, 
 however, from evidences that exist even at the present day, 
 that this people, warlike and aggressive, overran Asia, even 
 venturing so far north as the Lena and as far west as the 
 Black Sea. The Chinese, who had long before held them in 
 subjection, proved troublesome neighbors, and for three 
 centuries constant war was waged between the two powers. 
 The natural outcome of this was that the nation was split 
 into a northern and southern empire. Among the rich 
 mountains of the Altai were the lands of the northern tribes. 
 They were not destined to remain there long, for the South- 
 ern Turks, uniting with their former enemies, compelled them 
 to move w^estward. This was the first migration. These 
 southern people in turn were forced by the Mongols and 
 Tungusians to disperse. 
 
 The second great movement is known as the second 
 westward immigration, and its off-shoots may be still found 
 in both Asia and Europe. 
 
 It is the case with all movements truly great that the 
 people who were destined to bear sway over the European 
 Empire of to-da}՛ were humble in their beginnings. Looking 
 back over the centuries, a little time after the two migra- 
 tions mentioned, we find among the golden mountains of 
 Altai a people, slaves to the great Khan of the Geougen. 
 This slavery, in the light of later events, must be considered 
 not a misfortune but a blessing, for it proved a most excel- 
 lent school for the future conquest. Slaverj^ is only a part of
 
 THE TURKS. t97 
 
 the history of the race, but ignorance is its condition. By 
 employing these Turkish people in the manufacturing of arms, 
 the masters were achieving their own downfall, for the 
 former became so skillful in their use that they soon severed 
 their bonds and established an empire under their spirited 
 leader, Bertezema. 
 
 Much more than the allotted limits of this book would 
 be required to portray in its true glory the grandeur of this 
 earthly empire. We will simply state that this was an age 
 of luxurv and barbaric splendor, golden in fact and in 
 figure. 
 
 It has been claimed by Turkish historians that their 
 career as a people dazzles the mind of the reader, like gazing 
 at the sun. The critical observer of history, however, will 
 find in the weak and demoralized social and political condi- 
 tion of Asia Minor and the Byzantine provinces of Europe, 
 a more potent cause of the success of Turkish arms than in 
 the bravery and discipline of the Turks themselves. 
 
 From the accounts of that early period, in which legend 
 and history are mingled, we can obtain but a faint concep- 
 tion of their early condition and manners. 
 
 It is obvious, however, that they had no fixedhabitation. 
 but, as it has been indicated, preferred a nomadic life in 
 valleys and mountains, hunting and warlike exercises being 
 their cherished occupations. This wandering life was so 
 strongly developed into a national character, that even 
 to-day we find the Turks chiefly engaged in pastoral and 
 agricultural pursuits, while their neighbors, the .\rmcniaiis,
 
 198 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 are largely devoted to commerce. Their tact and shrewd- 
 ness in business have rightly won them the proverbial repu- 
 tation, "It takes two Jews to cheat a Greek, and two Greeks 
 to cheat an Armenian." 
 
 The early home of the Turks, Turkistan or Central 
 Asia, was known among the Persians as Turan — the 
 "country of darkness," and the inhabitants as Turanian 
 "sons," or "people of darkness." Their religion, prior to 
 Mohammedanism, was made up of their ancestral tradi- 
 tions and the doctrines of Zoroaster; they had their priests 
 and \vorshiped fire, earth and water. The laws and regu- 
 lations were communicated to the masses by the chiefs of 
 the tribes. 
 
 The Seljukians were the first Turkish tribe to gain 
 a place in history. They emigrated to Khorassan under 
 the leadership of Seljuk, from whom the\՛ take their 
 name. Here, in a Persian province, they founded an 
 independent sovereignty՛. The able princes, Togral 
 Beg, Alp Arslan and Malek Shah, extended the 
 empire. Nowhere in Asia was such a succession of able 
 leaders ever known. This heroic age of the Seljukian Turks 
 corresponds with the Norman age in England ; Persia, 
 Armenia, S\'ria, the greater part of Asia Minor, and the 
 region from the Oxus to the Jaxartes were conquered by 
 them. Their greatest prosperity was under Malek Shah; 
 agriculture was fostered, public works, such as canals, 
 constructed. Learning was patronized. Their astronomers 
 approximated closely the accuracy of the Gregorian calen-
 
 THE TURKS. 199 
 
 dar in reckoning time. In religious zeal they were the most 
 intolerant of all Turks, and provoked the crusades. Upon 
 the death of Malek Shah, his realm was divided into several 
 small kingdoms, which made easy the advance of the 
 Mongul hordes under Genghis Khan. This invasion resulted 
 in the founding of the Ottoman dynasty. First these 
 Seljukians, then the Ottomans, have ruled western Asia to 
 this day. 
 
 We now come to notice the propagation of a force that 
 was to have much to do in moulding the destinv of more 
 than one nation. The religion of Mohammed, coming out 
 from the Arabian deserts about the middle of the seventh 
 century, spread with lightning rapidity through the zeal of 
 his followers, north, south, east and west, until many 
 tribes of Turks converted from Zoroastrianism and kindred 
 religions, accepted the Mussulman faith. This occurred 
 about the tenth century, although some historians claim 
 the date much earlier. In following the fortunes of the 
 people we are considering, it will be well to notice the 
 influence of this great movement upon their national ideas 
 and policy. One of its immediate effects was that iiislc.id of 
 becoming peaceful, as might have been expected, the Turks 
 coupled zeal for conquest with religious fanaticism. We find 
 that at the end of the tenth centurv dynasties of Turkish 
 princes in Palestine, Syria and Egypt, a sultan, Malimoud by 
 name, a powerful ruler, reigned in Eastern Persia and later 
 as far as Hindoostan. Neither Mahmoud nor his sou, how- 
 ever, enjoyed peaceful reigns, ior in the regions ol Hokh.ir.i
 
 200 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 dwelt a kindred race of warlike disposition, with whom the 
 Sultan quarreled. 
 
 The political career of the Ottoman Turks commences in 
 the thirteenth century, when a band of 50,000, driven out 
 from central Asia by the Mongols, under the hereditary 
 leadership of Suleyman Shah, penetrated via Persia into 
 our countr\՛, Armenia. The sanguinary quarrel gave pres- 
 tige to the present line of sovereigns of the Turkish empire 
 in western Asia, and serves as the connecting link between 
 the legendary and verified history of this notable Turanian 
 family. 
 
 The next chief, Er-Toghrul, while advancing upon the 
 frontiers of the Seljukians of Roum, aided Ala-ud-Din, the 
 Seljukide Sultan, in his war against the Mongols. At the 
 end of a successful contest, Er-Toghrul was rewarded by the 
 grateful Sultan with vast lands of Byzantine provinces as 
 the future home of his people. Er-Toghrul was yet alive 
 when his son Osman, the founder of the present dynastv, 
 comes forth in the annals of Turkish history in fanciful 
 vision, surrounded with miraculous revelations and marvel- 
 ous circumstances of birth. The sword of Osman is still 
 worn by sovereigns at their coronation, and from him the 
 native surname Osman and the European corruption 
 Ottoman have been derived. Modern Turks prefer and take 
 pride in the terms Osmanli and Ottoman, while the name 
 "Turk" they consider a disparagement and insult. 
 
 During the famous administration of Osman, his 
 followers spread themselves on the Byzantine frontier,
 
 TFIE TURKS. 
 
 201 
 
 occupyino- the cities of Eski-Shehr and Karaja-Hisar. In his 
 Yarious wars, many possessions of the eastern Roman 
 Empire passed into his growing states. 
 
 TIKKISH FOOT S( )I.i)I ICKS. 
 
 About the year l^OO, ihc Seljukian Ivi.ipiiv was 
 destroyed by Mongol invaders. I՝rom tlic ruins, however.
 
 202 UNDER OIRENTAL SKIES. 
 
 arose ten principalities, which, one by one, in due time, were 
 joined to the Osman kingdom. Osman coined money and 
 caused public pra\'ers to be read in his own name (1301). 
 These are the two essential prerogatives of an eastern 
 sovereign. That date is practically taken as the birth of the 
 Ottoman empire. He introduced the absolute ownership of 
 land among his people. After a firm establishment of his 
 power, he waged war against his old adversaries, the 
 Mongol hordes, and drove them out of Kara-Hissar. It is 
 alleged he w^as of such a just and generous character 
 that the subjects of the eastern Roman emperor fled to his 
 protection. It is commonly said that this wise and good 
 Osman ruled after his death. His younger son, Orkhan,came 
 forth wnth such unusual attainments of imperial wisdom 
 and tact that he far surpassed his father's achievements. 
 He became a master of a considerable portion of Asia 
 Minor, as the mutual jealousies of the provinces of the 
 empire made them easy victims to conquest. His reign 
 marked the creation of a most vital military՛ organization, 
 that of the standing arm\՛. This new system came a century 
 before the reign of Charles VII. of France, who is considered 
 b\՛ the European historians of middle ages the originator of 
 that policy. 
 
 His celebrated guards were known by the name Yeni- 
 Cheri, "new troops." Corps of Spahis, or regular cavalr}՛, 
 were also organized. He married the daughter of the 
 Emperor Cantacuzenus. As a potent advocate of science, 
 art and religion, he promoted the cause of public instruction,
 
 THE TURKS. 203 
 
 endowing the State with various educational and reHgious 
 institutions, and was greatly esteemed by men of learning 
 who were admitted to his councils. His capital, Brusa, 
 was made a centre of light. Considering the age in which 
 he lived, he should be placed among the most illustrious of 
 Turkish sovereigns, as a competent leader, promptexecutive 
 and wise legislator. 
 
 His son, Suleyman, co-operated in his father's enter- 
 prises, and was the first to embrace the idea of a European 
 invasion. He planted the crescent across the Hellespont. 
 The sudden termination of his life hastened the death of his 
 broken-hearted father (1359). The second son of Orchan. 
 Amurath, or Murad, inherited the crown and the military 
 genius of his father. He strengthened his military corps, the 
 Janizaries, by recruiting it from youthful Christian 
 captives, who were thus dedicated to the service of the 
 court and army. Their number and power was greatly 
 augmented under succeeding sovereigns. He accomplished 
 his burning desire to extend his possessions across the 
 Hellespont into Europe. In 1365 he captured and made his 
 European capital, Adrianople, then a most flourishing 
 city of the Byzantine empire, rich in population and 
 favorably situated at the confluence of three rivers. 
 
 This move was of momentous importance in lurlher- 
 ing his designs ujjon Europe. The tidings of Turkish 
 devastation so greatly frightened the Christi;;ns that 
 Pope Urban V. pronounced a crusade against "the mihe- 
 lieving Turks." In this the Krai of Scrvia, the Voivodes
 
 204 
 
 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 of Bosnia and Wallachia, joined with King Louis of 
 Hungary in an expedition against Adrianople to drive the 
 Turks back to Asian deserts. The Turks, however, under 
 the cover of night, with shouts of Allah I Allah I inflicted 
 
 SULTAN AMURATH 1. ( MURAD. ) 
 
 an overwhelming defeat on the united forces of Christen֊ 
 dom. 
 
 Roumelia and Bulgaria were conquered and passed to 
 the swelling possessions of the Sultan. His last famous
 
 THE TURKS. 205 
 
 contest against the combined forces of Servia, Huno^arv 
 Bosnia, Wallachia and Albania, was of an extremely despe- 
 rate nature, in which the Sultan gained victory with the 
 sacrifice of his life. 
 
 Barezid the Yildirim, or "Thunderbolt," the son of 
 Amurath,righth՛ earned his title, as speedy movements char- 
 acterized all his expeditions. He extended his conquests east 
 and west. He besieged Constantinople for vears, and the 
 emperor was compelled to recognize his authority in paving 
 an annual tribute. While Bayezid was engaged in the East, 
 the King of Hungary, taking ձս1 vantage of his absciice, 
 with a large army of European knights, besieged Xicopolis. 
 The "Thunderbolt," however, arrived at his lightning speed 
 and overwhelmed the besiegers. Mongol-Tartars, under the 
 leadership of wild Tamerlane, after causing serious destruc- 
 tion in Armenia, had penetrated into the Ottoman Ivm|)irc. 
 Near Angora, two determined hosts stood face to face. As 
 the result of the furious battle Bayezid met his fate, his 
 country was conquered and he was carried mto captivity, 
 where he died. Then the Tartars withdrew. .\ civil war of 
 ten years ensued between the four jealous sons of the late 
 Sultan. 
 
 Mohammed, however, succeeded in ascending the throne. 
 He did not engage in annexation of new territories, but 
 endeavored to be at peace and on amicable terms with the 
 sovereigns of Europe. He was much esteemed by his sub- 
 jects and the Byzantines. He had, however, a constant
 
 206 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 struggle with civil outbreaks. His death was sudden, at 
 the early age of 33 years (1420). 
 
 It is needless herein to follow the administration of 
 successive sultans. The sword of Osman descended in 
 regular line of succession through many generations in the 
 grasp of conquering sultans. Their brightest victory was 
 the capture of Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine 
 empire. Its subjection was delayed by Tamerlane, the 
 Napoleon of Asia, until the reign of Mohammed II, who 
 overthrew it in 1453. The empire was extended eastward in 
 Asia Minor and westward in Europe. There were internal 
 revolts against the absolute power of the sultans, but they 
 were always suppressed. Sometimes the Janizaries, the 
 pretorian guard of the sultan, would depose him and put 
 his son on the throne. An attempt was made to conquer 
 Italy, but it. failed completely. At this time a navv was 
 maintained, which was the terror of the Mediterranean Sea. 
 Early in the sixteenth century, by the conquest of Egj'pt» 
 the sultan was able to negotiate with Caliph, who reigned 
 a purely spiritual prince at Cairo, to make over to him the 
 rights and privileges of the successors to the Prophet, at 
 the same time securing the sacred banner and other relics of 
 the founder of Islam. 
 
 S^^ria and the Island of Rhodes was conquered about this 
 time. Soon after, the planting of the red flag before the 
 walls of Venice by Sule3^man I. marked the western limit of 
 the Ottoman advance, for they did not take the citv. 
 Farther into Europe the Crescent never found its way.
 
 THE TURKS. 207 
 
 Suleyman's reign was the high-water mark of Ottoman 
 power. He had contemplated the subjection ot՝ the entire 
 Occident, and was rightly surnamed the "Magnificent." 
 From this zenith of glorj՛, in 1526, the empire began to 
 decline. Here followed a succession of weak and irresolute 
 sultans. In the latter part of this century, an allied fleet, 
 under Don John of Austria, dealt a withering blow to the 
 Ottoman nav3՛. A succession of wars followed with Austria, 
 Russia and Poland. Success and defeat were about ecjuallv 
 divided on the field. Gradually the vitality of the nation 
 was drained by continual carnage. Austria no longer lived 
 in continual dread of Turkish invasion, but took the 
 offensive. European Turkey began to shrink in extent. 
 
 Egypt is only nominally a part of the Turkish Emi)ire. 
 Militarx՛ insubination and revolts, troubles and hostilities 
 of the neighboring districts, assumed more and more 
 alarming proportions. Now and then courageous and wise 
 rulers arose and somewhat brightened the political horizon, 
 but under incompetent sovereigns, the Turkish nation 
 relapsed into a condition from bad to worse. The present 
 Sultan is a staunch patron of learning, who has endowed the 
 state wnth schools for the education of his |)eo|)le. 
 
 The nomadic instinct of the Turanian family has not yet 
 been extinguished in Asia Minor. Circassians, Tartars and 
 Kurds and other cognate tribes, are to be looked u|)on 
 as unmitigated rogues and thieves, whose only oeeujiation 
 has been kidnapping, plundering and deslroyir.g lile and 
 property. They want everything for nothing.
 
 208 
 
 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 They visit the peaceful villages with fire and sword, 
 extorting money and goods to gratify their lazy and 
 luxurious tastes. With no feeling of mercv, the}՛ delight in 
 blood and wasteful destruction. No language can depict 
 
 A KURD. 
 
 their atrocious cruelties and inhuman crimes. The above 
 engraving, taken from a photograph, well depicts the 
 characteristically hideous face of a Kurd. Russians, in 
 order to relieve their minds from the sloom and terror
 
 HE TURKS. 
 
 209 
 
 of the Circassians, expelled them from their mountain 
 homes of Caucasus. They, however, entered Turkey with 
 gun and pistol, and without any restriction on the part 
 of the authorities. Ever since thev have become the scourcre 
 
 A CIRCASSIA.X. 
 
 and dread of the surrounding country. They arc a(hniral)K՛ 
 horsemen and marksmen. Theaboveengraving is a faithful 
 representation of a Circassian with his characteristic dress, 
 with daggers rattling in his belt, and rows of cartridge- 
 holders ranged across his breast.
 
 TAXATION IN TURKEY, 
 
 "Render therefore unto Cfcsar the things which are Cfesar's."— Jesus 
 Christ. 
 
 RELIABLE index to the prosperity of any country is 
 to be found in its sxstem of taxation. Whether or 
 no such taxes are proportionate!}- divided, whether the poor 
 are oppressed and the rich escape from their rightful share 
 in the pabHc burden of expense, are questions the answers 
 to which, to a large extent, determine the character of the 
 nation. The proper administration and regulation of 
 public taxation has been a serious and unsolved problem in 
 all ages. A wise administration of taxes has raised 
 empires to the pinnacle of world-wide glory. A too- 
 sweeping tax adjudication has led many a nation to 
 irretrievable downfall. Taxation is the tj-rant's mightiest 
 tool ; righth^ conducted, it serves as the people's greatest 
 blessing. One thing is certain, no matter how different the 
 w^ays in which taxes are levied, the\- areessential to national 
 growth and even national existence. In examing briefly 
 the s\'^stems applied in Turkey to-da^^ let our judgment be
 
 TAXATION IX TURKEY. 211 
 
 deliberate, and let us ever take into consideration Turkey's 
 own peculiar exigencies and surroundings. 
 
 Before proceeding to discuss taxation proper, a tew 
 preliminary statements regarding the currency of the 
 countr\՛ will be both necessary and convenient. The liest 
 known coin and the standard of currency is the official 
 gold piastre, equal to four cents in United States currency. 
 For convenience this coin is divided into fortv paras, 
 although a quarter-piastre, consisting of ten paras, is 
 the smallest denomination in use. A para is about e(|ual 
 to one mill. 
 
 Beside the official, there are also two otlier inferior ])! as է res, 
 one of allo3"ed silver and copper and another of mere copper. 
 There are two other denominations that might be men- 
 tioned : The lira, composed of one hundred gold ])iastrcs, 
 and the purse of five hundred piastres, worth about twenty 
 dollars. 
 
 Everv year, at harvest time, a person called the Mnlteyim 
 appears among the agriculturists and claims his one-tenth 
 of the produce, such as corn, tobacco, cotton, grapes and 
 wheat. This tax-collector has bought his authority from 
 the o:overnment at auction, and the tax which he ՚ՀallK•I•s in 
 produce is the most ancient, and perhaps the most rcinnii- 
 erative, and is called the asher, or tithes. The collector, as 
 a rule, combines self-interest with juililic service in regulating 
 the amount of contribution. 
 
 Although not always of the same i)roporlion as at 
 present, this tax has been levied from the c-arlicst history of
 
 212 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES 
 
 the country. At one time it assumed as low a proportion 
 of one-fortieth, at another time it rose as high as fifteen 
 per ceilt. of the produce. 
 
 Concerning this tax there is much complaint made, but 
 we believe that the complaint is largely unwarranted, 
 for the other assessments, such as are levied on property, 
 are generally light. One good feature, which aids in doing 
 away with corruption, is the fact that officers of the State 
 are never allowed to bid for tithes. One of the evils arises 
 from the fact that the poor farmer bears the heaviest 
 burden. Again, it is often the case that the produce, after 
 having been harvested, is held by the farmer who is often 
 compelled to wait some time for the assessor, and whose 
 stock is thus liable to spoil. 
 
 Taking all these things into consideration, we need not' 
 wonder that the average producer is inclined to cheat when 
 such a thing is possible. If it were practical, it would better 
 the condition of things much were the government to collect 
 this tax directly. She herself would be the gainer and the 
 agriculturist would surely be encouraged. 
 
 Corresponding somewhat to the ashr, or tithe, on arable 
 land is what is termed the say me, a tax on sheep, goats, 
 and sometimes cattle. Before 1858, this was collected 
 in kind, but since that time a money valuation has been 
 placed and one-tenth assessed by the government. 
 
 Similar to the property tax in this country is the Verghi, 
 w^hich to-da}՛ assumes two forms, a tax on income and 
 a tax on property. This is systematic, and based upon
 
 TAXATION IX TURKEY. 213 
 
 a fixed principle. The assessing of the income tax is 
 conducted in a ver\՛ fair manner, being levied in public 
 meetings, at which all concerned are permitted to be 
 present. The assessment differs with the professions and 
 trades, and depends also on the reputed wealth of the 
 individual. In general, however, it is three per cent, on all 
 gross profit accumulations of invested capital or from any 
 other source. There are a few who are exempt, such as 
 parish doctors, religious orders and school-masters. 
 
 The tax on real propertymentioned above is estimated at 
 4 per 1000 a 3'ear ontheestimatedorsimplevalucof alllauds 
 and houses, whether subject to tithes or not. The value of 
 such property is calculated at five times its i)roduce or 
 twent\^ times its assumed rent, and even with the tithe this 
 should not be considered oppressive. It may be said that in 
 addition, those who receive rent from tenants arc rc(|uirc(i 
 to hand over four per cent, per anr.uni, tithe-])aying land 
 alone excepted. 
 
 Although in the vcar 1856 a decree was issued wliuli 
 admitted Christians into the Ottoman army, the law has 
 never been fully enforced, owing to several important 
 obstacles. Above a couple of regiments of mixed Cossacks, 
 there are hardl}՛ any non-Mussulmen engaged in the service. 
 The exemptions from military duty, however, is not to be 
 obtained for nothing, and a tax commonly termed the livtk-l, 
 is laid upon all non-Mohammedans not in the army. .\1 
 though much complaint is raised by Christians against this 
 tax, it cannot be said to be very unfair, considriim^ ihat a
 
 214 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 Mohammedan has to pay more for the exemption than does 
 the Christian. This tax is also levied in different forms, 
 according to the province and the attendant circumstances. 
 As with the others, the greatest evil of this assessment 
 is that it seems to fall almost wholly upon the poor, who, 
 unlike other subjects, bear the burden without striving to 
 elude it. 
 
 This chapter being written for the general reader onh՛, 
 there is no need of going into minute details regarding the 
 customs duties of the Turkish empire. Tables concerning 
 the annual imports and exports are to be found in a number 
 of available volumes. 
 
 Some reforms have been instituted of late 3'ears, which 
 have greatly enhanced the prosperity of the nation. For 
 instance, the eight per cent, tax, formerly imposed upon 
 goods passing from one Turkish port to another, has 
 happily been abolished and an excise of one per cent, placed 
 in its stead. 
 
 The policy that places an eight per cent, tariff on all 
 imports, indiscriminateh՛, is not one that can receive the 
 sanction of political econom\՛. It is one that is open to no 
 little abuse, the tariff being so manipulated that favoritism 
 is frequenth^ shown certain parties. The tax on exports is 
 placed in the same uniform manner, at one per cent. 
 
 Various attempts have been made to develop the rich 
 natural resources of the empire and establish manufactories, 
 especially in the countr\% labor being so abundant and 
 cheap. At one time a new era seemed to dawn, and
 
 TAXATION IX TURKEY. 215 
 
 thousands of natives were employed in factories. English 
 and French influence, however, inaugurated the policv of 
 free trade. Their goods were imported at a tariff of six or 
 eight per cent, ad valorem. As a natural conseijuence, the 
 Turkish factories were closed. Working-men and their 
 families were reduced to abject poverty. 
 
 The famous Bruse towels were imitated and sold much 
 cheaper, driving out the native goods, which, though 
 costing more, would last five times as long. Combs, cutlery 
 and silks came from Sheffield, Manchester and Lyons. The 
 fine silky fleece of the Angora goat is sold cheaper to the 
 English manufacturer than to the native artisan, and conies 
 back enhanced in value from fifty to one hundred fold. It is 
 safe to say that of the wealth produced by a native goat, 
 forty-nine dollars out of every fift\՛ goes into the pockets of 
 foreigners. America may well learn a lesson from the 
 Angora goat, and keep on bucking and kicking against the 
 free-trade system that has closed the factories, destroyed 
 the revenues and produced beggary in the Ottoman 
 empire. 
 
 The Turkish government has, in the last half century . 
 run somewhat in debt, and its direct borrowings form no 
 little portion of the general budget. The revctuK՛ was. 
 in 1889, $90,000,000, while the expenditures were about 
 $125,000,000. The national debt of the Turkish govern- 
 ment is more than $500,000,000. It cannot be disjiutcd 
 that Turkey's system of taxation has its good as wi-Il as its 
 more unfavorable side, and yet reform would do wonders in
 
 216 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 some quarters. We have no doubt that in time these 
 reforms \Yill come. Agriculture of different kinds would 
 receive a valuable stimulus were more money expended for 
 roads and other facilities for transportation, and the 
 government would receive much more from taxes on such 
 produce were she to conform to the sentiment of many 
 of the nation's best citizens and collect her revenue herself 
 directlv. 
 
 I
 
 MOHAMMEDANISM. 
 
 "There is no God but God, and Mohammed is his ])ro])lict.՜' — The 
 Mohammedan Catechism. 
 
 WO nresent herewith a historical account of the rise 
 and progress of Mohammedanism is unnecessary, as 
 that knowledge may be acquired in a number of creditable 
 volumes; vet a brief description of their present religious 
 state, traditions, customs and practices, from personal 
 observation, we hope will prove Interesting. The Koran, 
 the work of Mohammed, and the holy book of the Islam 
 world, contains many passages of high morality and also 
 of common sense, and in instances almost joins hands with 
 Christianity. This is due to the conformation of a number 
 of the Old and New Testament books into the existing 
 traditions of the people, the two elements being curiously 
 intermixed to form the visionary ideals of the new religious 
 creed founded by Mohammed, who took Moses and Christ 
 as masters in law and ethics. A translation from the third 
 sura of the Koran will best Illustrate ;ind con linn this 
 assertion. 
 
 "When the an^^el said, '<> -Mary, verily («od scmUtli
 
 wl8 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 1 hee good tidings, that thou shalt bear the word proceeding 
 ^om Himself. His name shall be Christ Jesus, the Son of 
 Mar3% honorable in this world and in the world to come, 
 and one of those who approach near the presence of God. 
 And He (Jesus) shall speak unto men in His cradle and when 
 he is grown ; and he shall be one of the righteous.' She 
 answered, 'Lord how shall I have a son since a man hath 
 not touched me?' The angel said 'Lo, God createth that 
 which he pleaseth.' When he decreeth a thing, He only saith 
 unto it 'be,' and it is. God shall teach him the Scriptures 
 and wisdom, and the law and the gospel, and shall appoint 
 him his apostle to the children of Israel. And He (Jesus) 
 shall say, 'Verily I come unto you with a sign from your 
 Lord, for I will make before you of claj՛ as it were, the figure 
 of a bird; then I will breath thereon and it shall become a 
 bird by the permission of God ; and I will heal him that 
 hath been blind from his birth, and the leper; and I will 
 raise the dead.' But when Jesus perceived their unbelief he 
 said: 'Who will be my helpers toward God?' and the 
 apostles answered, ' We will be the helpers of God ; we 
 believe in God, and do thou be as witnesses that we are true 
 believers.' " 
 
 Christianity and Mohammedanism have more in com- 
 mon than any ot'ner two religions. Both proclaim the unity 
 and fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man. There 
 is "no God but God," declares Mohammed. Christ is 
 considered as one of the six apostles of God, and His Virgin 
 Mother, one of the four perfect women. The following
 
 MOHAMMEDANISM. 219 
 
 passage from the religious code of the Moslem, chanted 
 in the Mosques, bears a certain resemblance to our Apostles' 
 Creed : 
 
 "Allah is sole and eternal. He lives and is all-powerful. 
 He knows and sees everything, is endowed with volition 
 and action. In him is neither form nor figure, nor bounds 
 nor limits, nor numbers nor parts, nor multiplications nor 
 divisions; because he is neither bod}՛ nor matter. IK՛ has 
 neither beginning nor end, but exists by himself, without 
 generation, without an abode, independent of the empire of 
 Time; as incomparable in his nature as in his attriijutes. 
 which, without being separated from his essence, do not 
 constitute it." 
 
 Yet wntli these conformities, there are some points 
 of contest and contrast between the two religions. 
 Christ came to earth as the prophet of the spiritual life, 
 declaring that his kingdom was not of this world, while 
 Mohammed comes sword in hand. The religion of Chiisi i.s 
 the law of love, proclaiming the great work of atonement. 
 The religion of Mohammed denies the Divine act ol redemp- 
 tion, substituting an abstract Monotheism. .\s has been 
 indicated, though Islam believes like Christendom in tht- 
 fundamental idea of the unity of (lod, she reiccts the 
 doctrine of the Trinity. Again, the Koran furnishes both 
 the code of law and of morals, thus the religion ol ihe 
 desert, and the political codes, inaugurated centuries a;^»» 
 for a wild and barbaric people, are even to-day appointed 
 to crovern the civil state and the morals of :i peojde
 
 220 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 everywhere in contact with civilization. Thus the old civil 
 laws of Mohammed, the worn out timbers, are still in use 
 b}՝^ the Moslem in building up their modern civilization ; 
 while, on the other hand, the Bible of the Christians 
 furnishes only the moral code of its followers. Christ was 
 not a politician. He did not enforce any civil or political 
 dogmas. Even the wise Mosaic laws are deemed out 
 of date, for as the\^ were given to a particular people, 
 in a particular country at a particular time, they are not to 
 govern the nations of Christendom to-day. 
 
 Again, Christian ethics penetrate the inner life of man. 
 They emphasize not dogmas or words, but feelings and 
 acts, which alone make words valuable; not truth in the 
 abstract, but goodness in the concrete. On the other hand, 
 Islam titterly fails to discriminate between form and 
 essence, substance and appearance. 
 
 Let us now look at some of the strange aspects, 
 formalities and beliefs of this religious institution, and close 
 our chapter with an impartial comparison of the two great 
 religions. 
 
 Alohammedanism is essentially a religion of a form, 
 hence the disciple of Islam does not thank God for past 
 blessings, or implore his protection for the future, though he 
 praj's five times daily. Islamisni means submission. Hence 
 the efficacy of the service is in the number of times the 
 netnaz or praj'ers are said. Before prayer a preparatory 
 service of ablution with cold water is oblig'atorv. If this is
 
 MOHAMMEDANISM. 221 
 
 not done with strict conformity with the estabhshed usage, 
 the subsequent prayers would be of no avail. 
 
 In the court 3^ard of every mos(|ue a large basin of water 
 is provided, and the faithful standing straight and facing due 
 north or south and advancing in order to it savs ՝՝ Bissmil- 
 lah,'՝ meaning, it is in God's name I do this. The hands are 
 washed to the wrist, the mouth and nose three times ; then 
 beginning at the toes, the feet are washed to the ankles, 
 after which the right hand is dipped gently into water and a 
 part of the head is wet. The arms are washed to the 
 elbows, beginning at the finger tips. Then the rest of the 
 head is wet, the water being dipped up by the right hand. 
 The inside of the ears must also be washed with the index 
 finger of either hand, and the back of the ears with the 
 thumb. So extremely exacting is this ritual, that the slight- 
 est digression or omission necessitates the doing ol £ill over 
 again. Practice makes them expert, however, and they learn 
 to do it quickh՛ and correctly according to the requirements. 
 The ceremony is repeated three times. Exemption is allowed 
 where no water can be obtained, but the form must be gone 
 through by touching the hands to dry earth or l)riek. insicad 
 of dipping it into water. 
 
 The time for prayers is regulated by the sun. Morning 
 prayer is said between dawn and sunrise, and this makes the 
 Mohammedans early risers. Noonday prayer. Just as the 
 sun is passing the meridian. An afternoon prayer al any 
 time between fi)ur and five o'clock. The fourlli prayer at 
 sunset. The last prayer of the day is said before retiring.
 
 222 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 The ritual for prayer is as rigid as that for ablution. It is 
 not optional but imperative. 
 
 At almost every quarter of a mile are built the mosques 
 — solid, substantial buildings. The minarets are the most 
 beautiful spires that pierce the Levantine skies — SA^mmetricab 
 lofty and majestic. They contain niether pealing chimes nor 
 tolling bell, but five times daily from the top of these is 
 heard the muezzin's ezan or call to prayer, in deep, long- 
 drawn tones. 
 
 Allah Ekher ! God is Almighty I 
 
 Ashadu inna la-ilaha il allah ! I testify that there is no 
 God but God I 
 
 Ashadu inna Mohammed dur resool ullah, sally-ullahu alayha 
 va Akhe 1 I testify that Mohammed is the apostle of God; 
 the blessing of God be upon him and his family ! 
 
 Hyya alesselah ! Hasten to prayers I 
 
 Hayya ahlfelah ! Hasten to prosperity I 
 
 Hayya ala khyr-ul-amcl .' Hasten to the best work ! 
 
 Allah Ekbcr! God is Almighty ! 
 
 La-il aha il allah ! There is no God but God I 
 
 That voice is mingled with sacred cries from all the 
 minarets of the different parts of the city — all Arabic — 
 strange, yet heroic and impressive in tone. The voice re- 
 sounds in the lightest pitch when he sings with three-fold 
 iteration, Laha il allah! or "there is no God but God I" 
 At this call all the faithful Moslem leave their engagements 
 at once and hasten to worship, no matter how inclement the 
 ^veather or how pressing their business engagements.
 
 MOHAMMEDANISM. '22'ձ 
 
 Their regular attendance and punctuality is bewildering 
 to the Christian world. Would that our good Christians, 
 who are required by the Divine Master to sanctify but one 
 day in the week to devotions, would take lessons from the 
 Mohammedan, and not rob the Lord of His own dav by 
 using it to their own pleasure and comfort. If anj՛ Moham- 
 medan is late, he may at any time join with the congrega- 
 tion in the service, but the blessing to be obtained is far 
 inferior to what would have resulted had he been on time. 
 Tradition says a follower excused himself to the pro])hct on. 
 the ground that he was saving his friend from drowning, 
 and hoped that he should be blessed for the kindly act as- 
 well as those who w^ere early at pra3'er. The stern prophet 
 would not accept the apology. "Though you had camels 
 enough to fill the road from Mecca to Medina, all loaded 
 with jewels, and should give the cargo to the poor, tiic 
 blessing following w^ould not e(|ual those of promptness ai 
 prayer. Should you commit the whole Koran to memory 
 and repeat it twice every night, the blessings received wouUl 
 not equal those of beginning nemaz (prayer) with the 
 Iman (priest). Should you kill all the enemies of Islam, tin 
 great rewards w^ould not compare with those of him who is 
 prompt at the beginning of prayer. If by a word ihi- 
 heavens and earth could become paper, the sea be turmd 
 into ink, and all angels stand as scribes, yet they would \k֊ 
 unable to write all the blessings you may enjoy lor 
 beginning ^irayers with the ' Im.ui .՝ ՝՝ The Moh.immed.iiis 
 are deeply conscious to all these warnings of theii- |.i(.phet.
 
 224 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 Though not "in spirit and in truth," yet they worship 
 according to their forms most faithfully. 
 
 The interior of the mosque is considered most hoh՛, 
 consequently all the people take off their shoes as they step 
 ^Yithin the shrine, and go through a series of pious move- 
 ments. The religion of "the Prophet" forbids pictures, 
 images or any other representation of the human form in 
 their houses of worship. On the w^alls, however, are many 
 inscriptions from the Koran. Censors burning olive oil are 
 suspended by lines from the dome. 
 
 The floor is beautified with the richest rugs in the 
 Orient, upon which Moslems prostrate themselves in their 
 devotions; each follows the movement of the Emir (priest), 
 raising the hands and bowing simultaneously with almost 
 militar}^ precision. 
 
 While at praj-er certain acts must be refrained from, as 
 any of them would destroy the efficac\^ of the devotions. 
 The full list is long, but in part it is: Looking around; 
 striking a fl}՛ to kill ; raising a foot from the floor ; scratch- 
 ing more than three times in one place on the bod}՛ ; 
 laughing loud enough to be heard. 
 
 The Iman who performs the devotional ceremonies 
 preaches no sermon. Every day at noon he reads two 
 chapters from the Koran, and then descends to mingle with 
 the many worshipers, placing himself on a level with the 
 common people. 
 
 On Friday, the holy day of the Mohammedans, the cere- 
 monies are conducted with unusual pomp and ceremony, the
 
 MOHAMMEDANISM. 
 
 Koran being read before prayers are said, and on feast days 
 both before and after prayers. 
 
 MOSLK.M AT I'i<AVKK. 
 
 The lan^ua^e of the Mohamnied.'ms m .\si.i Miii.-r is 
 Turkish, but the Koran is written in d.issical .\rnhie, an 
 unintelligible ton-ue to the masses and only nn.leiscoo.l bv
 
 226 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 a few of the best educated. Though the Koran is not 
 intelligible to the masses, their tradition teaches that the 
 mere hearing of the sacred book read has a miraculous effect 
 in benefiting the soul and body, and so they are made 
 content with the mere sound of meaningless words. 
 
 The reward of the faithful after death, as promised 
 by the Koran, is all that could be desired. The prayers that 
 he has said will light up his grave as a lamp. No sin will 
 remain to be imputed to him at the resurrection. Angel 
 wings will bear him aloft. Even should some sin remain 
 through careless praying, he still has a chance of escape, 
 though he does not believe in purgatory. If he has children, 
 their innocence will admit them, and their grief at leaving 
 their father behind will take him through the gates, Peter 
 or no Peter I 
 
 Once in Paradise the Mohammedan has but to express 
 his wants and they are immediately granted. His food is 
 served on a golden plate, and the bones of the bird that has 
 been devoured will again assume full plumage and fly awaj՛՛ 
 to sing as of yore in the leafy bowers. Wine, which is denied 
 to the ftiithful here, will be abundant there, but will not 
 intoxicate. The humblest in rank will have seventy-two 
 virgins of immortal vouth and angelic beautv to attend him. 
 In eternity, momentary pleasures of time are to be extended 
 to a thousand \^ear. In brief, an ideal temporal paradise, 
 based on the sensual pleasures of earth and taste, is to be 
 magnified a thousand-fold beyond the utmost limit of even 
 an Oriental imagination to depict. Such is their elysium.
 
 MOHAMMEDANISM. 227 
 
 If the rewards of fidelity are ideal according to sensual 
 standards of pleasure, the i)unishments of the lost are cruel 
 to the other extreme. The graves of this class are beds of 
 hot coals, where the bones are piled one on another for want 
 of room, and fused at white heat without loss of the sense 
 of feeling. Thirst and hunger, with scourgings, will add the 
 spice of variety to this roasting scene, until the resurrection, 
 when Satan will assume exclusive control and do as he likes 
 with them for ever more. 
 
 Here a brief description of Mohammed's Utopian jour- 
 ney to paradise would fittingly illustrate some of the singu- 
 lar aspects and ideas of Mohammedanism. 
 
 The angel Gabriel appeared to Mohammed with an 
 Alborak, a strange animal — a cross between an ass and a 
 inule. This long eared brute began to talk, demanding 
 some concessions from the new prophet. Having ])romised 
 the creature a golden stall in heaven, Mohammed was 
 permitted to mount. In the twinkling of an eye he arrived 
 at Jerusalem, where, after a pleasant interview with the 
 patriarchs and prophets of all ages, he ascended, with 
 Gabriel, a ladder from the "city of David" to the "city 
 of God." 
 
 As he arrived at the portals of heaven, he saw a large 
 inscription on one side, "There is no God I)ut (lod," and 
 on the other, "Mohammed is His .Vpostle." 
 
 The heavenly host being intornied that Moh.imnuil had 
 come, at once the pearly gates were thrown wide oi»en. 
 wdiere entering, he was f|uickly embraced by great oI<l Ail.nn.
 
 228 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 who was happy to meet his most illustrious son. From 
 this heaven the stars, w^hich he described as being hollow, 
 round silver balls, were suspended b}՛ golden chains. [What 
 would become of faith in Mohammed's visions, if modern 
 science were introduced among his followers I] 
 
 Quickly Mohammed was taken from the first to the 
 second heaven — a journe\՛ of five hundred years. Here he 
 met the angel of the cocks, who was so tall as to reach 
 from the first to the second heaven. Nearly every morning 
 this big rooster joins God in singing a song that fills the 
 entire universe with its melodious strains. Every being on 
 earth hears them but man. In this heai^en he met Noah, 
 the presiding dignitary. He was tendered a most cordia 
 reception as he passed through the golden streets. In the 
 third heaven he describes the angels as being very large; 
 one of the most gigantic required 70,000 days^ journey 
 between the e\-es. Here, too, he found the same inscription 
 as in the first and second heaven. After a short interview 
 with Moses in the fourth heaven, of emerald construction, 
 he was taken to the fifth to meet Joseph; then to the sixth 
 heaven of carbuncle, where he beheld John the Baptist. 
 
 Radiant with light and ruled over by Jesus, was the 
 seventh heaven. He was attended by a vast multitude 
 of joyous inhabitants. Innumerable angels of this heaven 
 were of dazzling beauty. Each one of them possessed 
 70,000 heads, with 70,000 mouths to each head, and 
 70,000 tongues to each mouth — all singing and singing day 
 and night everlasting. Here the prophet, with a glorious
 
 MOHAMMEDANISM. 229 
 
 pomp, was presented to God, whose face was concealed 
 bj՛ 70,000 veils. Here, too, on the sides of the divine throne. 
 Mohammed beheld the inscription "There is no God but 
 God," and on the other, " Alohammed is His apostle." ( Jod, 
 after saluting Mohammed, commissioned him to return to 
 earth witji full authority. 
 
 Charity is prescribed by the Koran for the faithful in two 
 forms— voluntary and compulsory. The latter amounts to 
 the fortieth part of his possessions, but is onlv im loosed 
 when the property՛ aggregates a certain sum. Voluntary 
 charity is usually dispensed at the time of the feast follow- 
 ing the annual fast. 
 
 The pilgrimage to Mecca is a pious duty. It is believed 
 to bestow certain inestimable privileges to all who can 
 possibly make the trip. Nothing could test faith more than 
 that long and tiresome journey. All the world has heard of 
 the vast concourse there annually rissembled Irom all parts 
 of Asia, Africa and Europe. At that time every highway 
 leading to the sacred Kaaba, becomes a field hospital of 
 the sick and dying. Physicians and nurses are generally 
 wanting, however. When cholera prevails, as it usually 
 does, Mecca becomes the disseminating point lor ilie njost 
 fatal of diseases. 
 
 Honors are bestowed on the survivors of the hazardous 
 ordeal of this journey, and they are addressed by 
 the title, "Hadji." Among the Armenians, the same title 
 is applied to those Christians who have visited lerusakm. 
 
 These Christian " Hadjies " usually have a small cross
 
 230 L'XDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 tatooed on the hand, to indicate the fact that the}՛ have 
 made the pilgrimage to the HoK^ Sepulcher. 
 
 Mohammed has declared that he will not intercede 
 in heaven for unmarried men. So marry you must, men, or 
 take your chances. Remember Mohammed, old bachelors 
 and old maids, miserable in this world, miserable in the 
 world to come I The Prophet would have them bring 
 up large families, that his followers may outnumber all 
 others in paradise. The widows actually pray, " Let me be 
 married before I die, that I may not be ashamed when I 
 meet Allah!" Allah will reward the parents of children, 
 those who pay the debts of another, and the soldiers in holy 
 wars. 
 
 Like other religious institutions, Mohammedanism has 
 its holidays, feast and fast da^'s. The most important 
 of these is Orooj an annual fast last twenty-nine or 
 thirty days, or the entire mionth of Ramazan. The fast 
 cannot begin until the new moon has been seen. In cloudy 
 weather messengers are sent to the peaks of mountains, and 
 there ascertain the appearance of the new moon. The 
 Sultan telegraphs to all parts of the empire for the fast 
 to begin. Local announcement is made by the firing of 
 cannon at sunrise. During the daytime, for a month, 
 Mohammedans abstain from eating, drinking, smoking, 
 and some go so far as to talk very little, for fear they 
 may take too much air into their mouths, and thus break 
 their fast, in which case they would have to keep the sixty 
 subsequent days.
 
 MOHAMMEDANISM. 231 
 
 Even the touch of a Christian is avoided durins? 
 Ramazan. As every physical enjoyment is proscribed but 
 sleep, devotees sleep nearly all day, except when at worship. 
 "Blessed be the man who first invented sleep!" Those 
 wandering in the street are like mad-men. so Christians 
 had better keep out of their way. The asking of questions 
 by "infidel dogs" is promptly rebuked. The law is par- 
 alyzed. The fact that they have all been fasting is a suffi- 
 cient excuse for all sorts of wicked performances. Business 
 is at a standstill. Fanaticism has full swav. 
 
 At hoirie, on the day of Ramazan, toward evening, with 
 food prepared, all await the signal cannon. .At sunset 
 minarets are illuminated, the cannon is fired, and at the 
 muezzin's call from the slender spires, the fasting is suddenlv 
 changed into feasting. Night is virtually turned into dav. 
 There is a hasty scramble for something to eat, excessive 
 eating, dancing, singing, continue until the latter part 
 of the night. This fast and feast is held in honor of the 
 time when Alohammed claimed that God revealed the 
 Koran to him. Moslems believed that Abraham, Moses 
 and Jesus also received divine revelations duiing this 
 month. 
 
 There are many who attribute this celebration to 
 another event. One day when Mohammed was wandering 
 in the desert, one of his camels fled. Poor .Moli.imimwl 
 pursued all day without eating or drinking, and captured 
 it about sunset. Mohammedans arc not ceitain wliu li (l;i\
 
 232 
 
 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 of the month this occurred, so in order to make sure thev 
 celebrate the whole month. 
 
 The green turbaned Turks are the descendants of the 
 Prophet Mohammed, through his daughter, Fatima, who 
 
 A DERVISH. 
 
 married Ali, the faithful disciple. They are known as Emirs, 
 and enjoy religious and political preference. Having a 
 chief of their own, who is a sovereign among them, even 
 to the infliction of punishment, they form a religious
 
 MOHAMMEDANISM. 233 
 
 institution, keeping alive the spirit of Islamism, as the 
 Janizaries in their da\՛ kept up the militar\՛ spirit of the 
 empire. 
 
 Besides these there are several other peculiar Moham- 
 medan orders. We shall first describe the Dervishes. The 
 Dervish is a historic figure. The order was founded 
 thirty-seven years after the death of Mohammed. 
 Asceticism is the most distinctive feature of this order. On 
 several occasions it has been mj՛ privilege to visit the huts 
 of these sacred beggars. They are destitute of furniture. 
 Some of the rigid devotees have not even a cushion or 
 bedding, and lie on the bare mud-floor. As their maxim 
 says, "poverty՛ is m_v glory," they generally live in 
 deserted quarters of the city, in mud holes or in mountain 
 caves. Like the Grecian philosopher, Diogenes, all their 
 care in life is a place to sleep and something to cat. In 
 personal appearance the}՛ are the most hideous-looking 
 beings on earth. They wear sheep-skin, have their whiskers 
 and hair hang down long over their faces and shoulders. 
 They alvva\'S carry sharp hatchets in their hands for 
 protection, and go begging in the bazaars, and praying 
 in the streets in the Arabic tongue. Cut f)fl from all 
 familv associations, their lives are entirely sanctilied to 
 their monastic institutions. 
 
 There is another kind of Dervishes— religious dancers, 
 an entirely different order from those above described. 
 In manner, dress and principles, these l.ilter are more
 
 234 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 human, though at times quite frantic. These are spinners 
 and howlers. The former are generally found in tekiehs 
 or chapels — octagon-shaped rooms with polished floors. 
 They are in close-fitting suits with loose petticoats, and 
 wear conical hats of grey felt. After the Koran is expounded 
 and kisses exchanged, the graceful spinning begins. Arms 
 are crossed on the breast with hands on the shoulders. 
 Slowh^ at first, then faster, as they warm up, the arms and 
 skirts are extended. ThcA՛ move around and pass one 
 another but never touch. Steadily the spell increases, until 
 the climax is reached, when it decreases to the finish, about 
 one hour being the time for a single dance. 
 
 The howlers are the demons of religious fanaticism. 
 In a shell of a building, decorated with spikes, chains, 
 daggers and like implements of torture, with which thev 
 excite themselves, arranged in circles, the\՛ repeat all the 
 names of God. Swinging backward and forward, thev 
 cry "La-//- /a-//.' La-lab! Hoo-yah Hou .'՝՝ Beads of perspira- 
 tion form on the faces distorted as if by mental anguish. 
 Foaming at the mouth like madmen, they proceed with the 
 fearful energ\՛ of deep fervor and rapture of devotion, until, 
 all the physical powers overcome by exhaustion, they fall 
 bleeding to the floor. Calmly a devotee may approach the 
 Sheikh and have a skewer thrust through his cheek. You 
 may examine and see that there is no legerdemain. 
 
 There is still another class, which represents the climax 
 of Mohammedan fanaticism. While in Constantinople in 
 the summer of 1889, I was permitted one night to witness 
 
 i
 
 MOHAMMEDANISM. 
 
 23c 
 
 the horrid religious celebration of the Persian Moham- 
 medans — an awful night, never to be forgotten I The 
 purpose of the celebration is to obtain merit and forgiveness 
 for admittance to Paradise without examination. It was 
 during the month of Ramazan — a month of religious Irenzy 
 
 DANCI.NG DKRVISHKS. 
 
 and fanaticism in the calendar of Mohammcdar.ism, that 
 the Persian devotees, clothed in robes of white, apiK-.-ircd m 
 a procession at night. They were all .'irme.l with ֊.u..r.U, 
 iron chains and like weapons of t<.rture. The streets were 
 surging with thousands of elamorons nun .-md wumen
 
 236 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 of every nationality and t}^^. who were in eager antici- 
 pation of tlie death-foreboding pageant soon to come. 
 Then from a large building, amid a profusion of lamps, the 
 Persian devotees burst out into the streets in the midst 
 of the many spectators, and moved step by step in a 
 circle, amid wild roars and wails of Hassan I Hussein I 
 Hassan! Hassein-Shah.* 
 
 They inflict ferocious charges upon their bodies, some 
 slashing themselves to slices or mutilating themselves b}՛ 
 clubs and iron chains, man}^ gashing their heads andthroats 
 with knives. It is the most horrible spectacle ever performed 
 bv a group of savage mortals, where the body loses all 
 semblance of humanity and assumes the aspect of a hideous 
 Sfhost. Hassan and Hussein, murdered twelve centuries 
 ago, that night claimed the active sympathy of their 
 followers with fresh blood. 
 
 'Ears, eyes, hands, arms, head, throat and abdomen are 
 not considered too dear to be sacrificed in this deamon-like 
 act of religious frenz3\ As the blood pours out in streams, 
 sobbing cries of Hassan and Hussein go on in varying 
 tones and inflame the entire assembly. 
 
 My very soul shuddered and recoiled with horror as 
 
 *Hassan and Hussein were sons of Fatima, and grandchildren to 
 Mohammed. Their father, AH, a favorite of the Prophet, became Caliph 
 later in his order, and upon his assassination in 660, theirs was the right 
 to the Caliphate. Hassan gave up his claim to prevent war, and was 
 finally poisoned by the tyrant Yazid. Twent3՛ 3ears after his brother, 
 Hussein, was slain in battle, just as he had been invited back b\'thesubjects 
 of the empire. The injustice done these two has always been the cause for 
 comment among a certain class of Alohammedans.
 
 MOHAMMEDANISM. 237 
 
 I gazed upon faces bathed with the blood and sweat of this 
 most extreme torture. Many more and more violently keep 
 step with the wild performance until, their physical powers 
 overcome by exhaustion, they lie gasping for breath, some 
 never again to stagger to their feet. Some women, moved 
 by the agony of the impotent rage and misery, fainted 
 awa}՛. Who could look on such a scene unmoved ? 
 
 Before this awful sight we close- our eyes, and the 
 hardest heart turns sick and faint. In an anguish of 
 despair the soul cries out, O God, is Thy light powerless to 
 penetrate the midnight that hangs pall-like over benighted 
 people of Thy own creation? And peering through the 
 darkness, hope sees the glimmer of a star, the morning star, 
 bespeaking a larger light, before whose ])owcrful rays this 
 awful night of ignorance shall flee forever. 
 
 At this Mohammedan paroxysm of seU torture, the oft- 
 repeated question echoed to my ear with more emj)hasis 
 than ever, "Why art thou a Christian?" and my soul 
 answered, because God is love. His religion is a religion 
 of love, a religion of peace. No more sacrifice, for Christ 
 suffered all our transgressions, and we are free Ironi ;dl 
 penaltv. We are not required to commemorate His blood 
 with our blood, but to follow the i)ath of eUru.il lite .md 
 happiness which he has opened for us through His de.ilh. 
 
 There is much misunderstanding among Christians and 
 the world in general regarding the Mohammedan faith and 
 worship. Especially among the Christians, ideas of Moham- 
 medanism are inexcusably vague, and are conscMpuiitly
 
 238 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 obstacles in the way of a correct understanding of the 
 history՛ of a religious force that has had no little part in the 
 history of the world. 
 
 If the follower of Christ will study the Koran earnestly, 
 he will not fail to find many features that strikingly resemble 
 the leading texts of his own faith. Indeed, he will be sur- 
 prised to find that the religion which he formerlj՛ supposed 
 to be the offspring of heathenism, abounding in superstition 
 and folk՛, is pregnant with truths that have been inculcated 
 into his own heart and life since childhood. 
 
 And it is not difficult to discover a reason for the 
 
 ՜ similarity. That Mohammedanism should resembfe Chris- 
 
 tianit}՛, and that the Koran should compare closely with the 
 
 Bible, is only a natural outcome of the training of the great 
 
 Prophet. 
 
 From his earliest years he was taught the Old and New 
 Testaments, and rendered them a love and respect which he 
 did not withdraw in his old age, for to the last he spoke of 
 the Bible as the w^ord of God. 
 
 Besides the direct influence of the Holy Scriptures, the 
 surroundings of his household were essentially Christian in 
 character. His favorite wife embraced the teachings of 
 Christ, one of his other wives was a Jewess, and most of his 
 highh՛ esteemed counsellors were of the Christian per- 
 suasion. All this could not fail to exert a powerful influence, 
 and Mohammet manifested it in all his writings, paying 
 homage to Christ to the last, and looking upon him as the 
 greatest of prophets.
 
 MOHAMMEDANISM. 239 
 
 The question naturally arises, "If this is true, why did 
 Mohammed seek to establish a new religion?" If such was 
 his inner loyalty to Christianity, why was he a traitor 
 to his convictions? 
 
 Besides shedding a ray on our own understanding, we 
 will be doing Mohammed justice if we class him among the 
 reformers. He did not claim to be more than a man. 
 Although his followers ascribe them to him, he did not 
 pretend to perform miracles, and, in fact, went so far as to 
 denounce them. 
 
 Had his work been accomplished in a more enlightened 
 country, he would not have been falsely canonized as a 
 prophet, but would probably be known as a Christian 
 reformer. He fought not against the Bible, nor against 
 Christianity in its purity. He did, however, zealously 
 attiick that Christianity as corruptly practiced l)y the 
 people of his time. One of these corruptions, a veiv natural 
 result of the metaphoreal character of certain scriptural 
 passages, was the a]3parent apothesis of Jesus and the Virgin 
 Mary, the popular conception making the latter a goddess 
 and the former a God, equal and separate from Jehovah. 
 This was very obnoxious to Mohammed, wlio, like his 
 followers of the present day, and the Jews of his own, 
 believed in the absolute unity of the deity. The teaching ol 
 the Koran in this regard is almost identicd with that ol the 
 Bible, and other points of resemblance, indeed of ideality, 
 may be very easih^ designated. 
 
 For instance, the Koran teaches the existence of angels
 
 240 UXDER ORIENTAL SKIES 
 
 as God's messengers. It is interesting to note, however, 
 that where the Bible makes man a little lower than the 
 angels, the Mohammedan supposes the heavenly host, in 
 the glad morn of creation, kneeling and paying homage to 
 man, God's last and most glorious achievement. Again, 
 Mohammed taught that our lives are in God՝s hands 
 and nothing can happen to his creatures save what He 
 Himself has meted out of His all-wise providence. All things 
 that happen belong in the course of a God-destiny. Fate 
 was a word with which the great Prophet had no patience 
 "Fate is not ; our times, on the contrary, are in His hands." 
 
 With Christians, the Mohammedans hold the tenet of 
 inspiration, believing that God has certain chosen men wath 
 whom he confides special messages to be transmitted to his 
 people — a fact of marked import, as an indication of no 
 little height of religious dignity. As if foreseeing, too, the 
 discussions that would inevitably arise over the question of 
 inspiration, Mohammed shrewdly divides inspiration into 
 two classes — direct and indirect. In the one case the dicta of 
 the deit\՛ are transmitted verbatim ; in the other, the 
 Prophet used his own forms of expression, but writes under 
 the divine influence and direction. This is not unlike the 
 most recent theories of Christian apologists in regard to 
 Holy Writ. 
 
 With Christendom, again, the Musselman believes in 
 rewards and punishments, in the resurrection, and in a da}՛ 
 of judgment, when each wall be judged according to his 
 deeds in the flesh. And with no essential difference he
 
 MOHAMMEDANISM. 241 
 
 believes in a heaven for all who have lived uprightly, where 
 friend is to meet with friend and wife with husband (this 
 latter somewhat contrary to Christian teachings). And 
 here we would have something to say concerning those 
 who find fault with the picture which Mohammed draws of 
 the celestial paradise, censuring him for depicting it as 
 a place of sensual joy and allurement. In the first place, 
 this charge is practically groundless. In the second place, 
 w^e would say that to our nation it makes no essential 
 difference how we describe the land of the hereafter, so that 
 we make that description conform to our ideas of true and 
 pure happiness, as all conceptions emplo\'ing the material 
 as sj'mbols of the spiritual must necessarily fall far short of 
 the true glory of heaven. Whether we make it a city 
 with walls of jasper and streets of gold, echoing to the ring 
 of happy harps, or see with tranquil vision an infinite 
 paradise, clothed v.ith wonder and peopled with creations 
 of eternal love, we achieve as much and as little. Neither 
 is heaven; both are faulty metaphors, halting figures, 
 imperfect symbols. 
 
 The memory of devastating wars waged by M()hainine<l ; 
 the atrocious cruelties perpetrated by his followers njjon 
 those of unlike faith ; the fact that polygamy has existed, 
 and apparently was sanctioned by the great Trophet him- 
 self—all conspire to breed an antipathy within us that is not 
 wholly justifiable. We have already spoken ol ilu- near 
 kinship that Mohammedanism bears to Christianity. The 
 commands of the Koran in regard to methods of warlare, 
 and its admonitions deprecating cruelty in any foiin. are .as
 
 242 UNDER OIRENTAL SKIES. 
 
 strict as those found in our own sacred scriptures. And in 
 justice to all, it cannot be said that Christendom has been 
 much more humane in her warfare in the past ; so that, 
 although the Mohammedans rightly merit condemnation, it 
 is onh՛ another instance of trying to take the mote out of 
 our brother's eye, while our own is in the same condition. 
 As to poh^gamy, which is rightfully repulsive to every 
 person of enlightenment, we would say that although Mo- 
 hammed is reported to have had many wives, he did not 
 teach the practice, except in cases like his own, when suffer- 
 ing and want could be alleviated by an introduction of 
 worthy women into a good home and easy circumstances. 
 
 Pol3^gam\% also, while perhaps an evil in itself, is a 
 remedy for many evils, somewhat more dire, in society and 
 state. A public woman, in the immoral sense of Christian 
 Europe and America, does not exist in Mohammedan 
 Turkey. Let him who is somewhat skeptical of the good 
 influences of the Mohammedan religion draw a comparison 
 between the sobriety^ of the devotees with the inebrit\՛ 
 of America. No legal restraint is employed, but crimes 
 arising from immoderate drinking are very few, and all 
 owing to the strong spiritual influence of a religion that 
 Christians rightfully pronounce a mistake, but wrongfully 
 despise. We would be far from defending Mohammedanism 
 in all its teachings and practices. There is much to be 
 condemned, but let us not forget that there is much to be 
 commended, and much that should tend to link us with our 
 somewhat mistaken but sincere brothers. In all our judg- 
 ments let us be liberal, and let us not forget that our God 
 will not judge them guilty who with heart and soul worship 
 Him in word and life, according to the measure of the divine 
 light shed upon their \'earning hojies and waiting souls.
 
 THE QUEEN OF THE EAST. 
 
 " 'Tis a grand sight, from off the Giant's Grave, 
 To watch the progress of those rolling seas, 
 Between the Bosphorus as they lash and lave 
 Europe and Asia." — Byron. 
 
 "To see Rome and die is merely gratuitous suicide when ilie other 
 Rome, the beautiful city of Constantine, remains to he visited."— /-/ine- 
 Pooh. 
 
 TwT AN is an emotional being just as trulv as lie is a 
 յէ՝^^ճ. thinking being. He ever admires the beaiuiful; 
 his imagination is alert to grasp faney pictures in nature 
 and in experience. Youth has youthlul aduiiratious, 
 maturity loftier ones. "The Queen oi՝ the Ivast " was the 
 dream of՝ mv vouth. In the schoolroom, its rich hislorieai 
 associations were studied with enchantment; at home, 
 around the fireside, its man}՛ stirring incidents and dailv 
 social events were the subjects of our conversation and 
 hours of reading. In my dreams its splendid p.alaces. 
 its modern and ancient temi)les, rose Ijefore my imagination 
 in all their grandeur. At last the happy day i;imr, wlicn <»n 
 my way to the American shores I beheld tliis Minea ol my 
 imagination, and spent some weeks anions;-! iis nniscpu-s
 
 THE QUEEX OF THE EAST. 24-5 
 
 and shrines. The voyage from Samson to Constantinople 
 was my first experience with the sea; it was short but 
 tiresome, and rendered still further unpleasant bv constant 
 seasickness. So utterly miserable was I, that I almost 
 hoped at times that a fairer land mioht be mv home before 
 I should reach America. But in the brightness of a lovelv 
 morning, when we sailed into the calm and sweet waters 
 of the Bosphorus, my illness disappeared or was quite 
 forgotten in the scene before me. Oh I visions of brightness, 
 inspiration of m\՛ youth I Here was the Constantinople of 
 my dreams, no less fair than I had deemed her. silting 
 supreme on her seven hills, at the juncture of Europe and 
 Asia with a foot firmly planted on each. Mv curious 
 eyes, with those of many others who crowded the deck, 
 w^ere strained to catch glimpses of the villas and jialaces 
 stretching from the Black Sea to the Marmora, a distance 
 of twent\^ miles, now approaching, then receding, as the 
 historic strait, narrow when we enter it. widens into a 
 broad expanse of clear waters, washing the slopes of 
 blue-clad, olive-crowned hills, studded with the s»)lid 
 palatial homes of the rich and the nestling villas of the 
 well-to-do. 
 
 As we pass, on the European shores are tlie (liplom.iiic 
 villages of Buyukdere and Therapia, and later Kouinili 
 Hissar claims our attention, with its formidable b.itlcry 
 below, while in the distance Robert College can be seen 
 outlined against a ])erfect sky. 
 
 On the Asian shore, Anadoln-IIiss.-ir fronts Kciimili
 
 246 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 Hissar. At this point Europe and Asia stand face to face at 
 their nearest approach, and the magnificent palaces of 
 Oriental and Occidental aristocrats cast a deep shadow 
 upon the blue waters of the Bosphorus. As we advance on 
 the southern side, "Golden Horn," a curved arm of the sea, 
 stretches before us with miles of cit\^ 
 
 Yonder, beyond the Seraglio Point, rises the swelling 
 dome of St. Sophia, and a thread of mosques, with glitter- 
 ing minarets cleaving the blue of the sky that crown the 
 successive heights of Stamboul. Opposite this Galatian 
 splendor rises Pera, with the pomp and dignity of aristo- 
 cracy, while afamous bridge connects these two points, upon 
 which men of every color, type and language pass to and 
 fro in a mighty throng, to the amazing interest of an^^ 
 spectator, who finds Orient and Occident, hat and fez, 
 black and white, all mixed and mingled in a common tide of 
 humanity, everything novel and strange! 
 
 After the setting of the sun, as I glided along the historic 
 channel, under the canopy of heaven, admiring the exquisite 
 colors of sunset die away beyond the rolling hills of the 
 Asian shore, and watching the stars twinkle out from their 
 infinite vaults over the calm waters of the Bosphorus, 
 reflecting in their depths the flags of every nation that 
 flutter in the breeze, which at this hour creeps from peak to 
 peak along the shore, I v/as thrilled with the thought of 
 the changes these waters had seen. The nocturnal stillness 
 Avhich is disturbed only by the wild roar of the far-away
 
 248 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 waves, echoes to my listening ear with the thunder of con- 
 querors, under whose mighty tramp those hills and moun- 
 tains were shaken to their foundation. Here powerful 
 kingdoms flourished and vanished. Oriental and Occidental 
 civilizations collided and combined. The greatest religious 
 minds of the world gathered here to solve the mysteries of 
 religion. The song of poets and eloquence of orators 
 blended here with the profound thought of philosophy. 
 Constantinople! the great bone of contention of all nations, 
 of all ages. 
 
 "Give me Constantinople and you may have the 
 remainder of Europe," said Alexander of Russia, when he 
 met Napoleon the Great, to discuss with him their mutual 
 interests. "What!" answered Napoleon, with a very 
 emphatic exclamation, "Give you Constantinople? Never! 
 Why, that is the ke^^ to the whole situation." And as 
 ancient Byzantium, it offered to the mind of Constantine an 
 ideal military position, fit bulwark of Christianity against 
 Asiatic fanaticism, and he accordingly made it the new 
 capital of his empire in 330 A. D., giving it his own name. 
 
 As a radial point for commerce, too, it is unsurpassed. 
 Here the artizan finds his skill in demand to supplv the 
 wants of all the nationalities of the world. In this mart 
 the astute merchant finds a market for his wares from 
 whatever clime they may be brought. Its avenues of trade 
 radiate to all parts of industrial Europe. Northward it is 
 the ga.te՝waj to Russia, southward it includes all Africa in 
 its commercial relations. Through the Suez canal is the 
 
 i
 
 THE QUEEN OF THE EAST. 24.9 
 
 easy route to India, and eastward are the pillars of 
 Hercules— a living, breathing cosmos of the human race. 
 Moreover, the city is to-dav, as of ancient times, the eccle- 
 siastical center of surrounding nations. This is the seat of 
 the Armenian Patriarch, the Exarch of the Bulgarians, the 
 Patriarch of the Greeks, the Azkabid of the Protestant 
 Armenians, the Monsignore of the Catholics, Khahambashi 
 or high priest of the Jews, and Sheick-u'ul Islam of the 
 Mohammedans. 
 
 The climate is most salubrious and healthy, the skies of 
 purest azure blue. The sunhght glare is lost in invisible 
 vapors from the near approaching seas, which have given the 
 city the ancient title of ' ' The Cit \^ of the Three Seas. ' ' Cooling 
 zephyrs blow almost constantly over the city's hilly slopes 
 and through her great watery highways. 
 
 Byron has said, "It is a delicious sight to see what 
 Heaven hath done for the delicious land;" and the (iicck 
 colony that founded here ancient Byzantium, must have 
 exclaimed in their hearts: "Here is indeed the farthly 
 paradise, fit dwelling place for gods." 
 
 At sunrise, the vista to the eastward is delightful, the 
 rosy glow of snow-clad Mysian Olympus making on the 
 mind of the beholder an impression never to be forgotten. 
 The waters which confront the observer at nearly every 
 point by day, produce a sublime efiect in the moonliglu. 
 The city is swathed about in a mantle of glistening white- 
 ness. Her domes, palaces and minarets, relulgenl in ih« 
 silvery light, compel one to exclaim in rapture, "{'.rule ol
 
 250 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 the Orient! would that as much had been done by thine 
 inhabitants to make thee good and desirable as nature and 
 art have done to make thee beautiful, "for when we enter the 
 city's heart, the poetry of the distant view is lost in the 
 medley of men and animals contending for a foot-hold in the 
 filthy streets which we tread. Numerous dogs are seen, and 
 the fact that they are artful and cunning dodgers is under- 
 stood by the way they prefer to collide with the legs of 
 pedestrians, in preference to the heels of donkeys or the 
 fore-feet of camels. In the hum and buzzing of the streets, 
 scores of them will claim the right of way when contesting 
 for a bone, and men afoot may find their best clothes where 
 their feet should be in the mad rush of these useless brutes. 
 The noisy jargon of man}՛ languages, the jostling of porters 
 under heav}՛ loads on backs, with the venders of ice-cream, 
 sherbet, etc., all mingling with the donkcA'S, horses and 
 "precious" dogs in the highway, makes a street scene 
 unparalleled in the world. Are you wear\՛ of the street? 
 Step into a cafe, always near at hand, and note the quiet 
 comfort of Turkish luncheon at all hours of the day. 
 Women are not seen here. The servants are neat and tidy. 
 Viands served are clean and wholesome. Coffee is the first 
 thinsf; smokimr follows the meal. Here we have time to 
 reflect on what we have seen as we came along. Mosques, 
 tombs, and the ruins of former greatness in irregular 
 succession. Of these, the tombs of the founders of mosques 
 are the most beautiful and richly embellished, the railing 
 within sometimes of solid silver. The mosques, too, are
 
 THE QUEEN OF THE EAST. 251 
 
 ver\՛ magnificent. They are more than five hundred and fiftv 
 in number. Among them St. Sophia, the mosque of Sultan 
 Achmed and that of Suleiman are the most elegant and 
 imposing structures in the Sultan's empire, and deserve 
 special mention. The latter, located on the Golden Horn, 
 was modeled after St. Sophia. It has four minarets with 
 three galleries. The interior of the shrine is commensurate 
 with its external grandeur. The mosque of Sultan Achmed. 
 erected in 1610, is the only one in the Turkish empire that 
 has six minarets. On account of its convenient location 
 in the Hippodrome, it has al\va\^s been the scene of thc- 
 Sultan's triumphal processions on annual festivals and 
 other religious celebrations. Its interior is spacious and 
 airy, but it is to St. Sophia that we must turn for the real, 
 dazzling embodiment of Oriental magnificence. 
 
 While in Constantinople, I was anxious to visit this 
 most historic shrine of St. Sophia, but I was warnctl that 
 no native Christian visitor is allowed within its hallowed 
 precincts. Upon hearing this caution, I was the more 
 determined to enter. " Where there is a will there is a way." 
 M}՛ companions and myself, uniformed in Turkish cos- 
 tume, speaking Turkish, with a grave look passed in. 
 I never shall forget the effect wrought u|)on me l)y the sight 
 of this sacred edifice. I was compelled to pause hours in a 
 spell of mighty wonderment. I could ahnost see the 
 Emperor Constantine in his last fervent supplication,^ to 
 God. I could almost see men, women and children as they 
 rushed from the fire and sword without, into the holy
 
 254 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 «hrine, in the hope that the angel of God would protect 
 them from the avenging blow of the conquering Turks. 
 I could almost hear with the clang of arms, the heart-rending 
 cries, the prayer, the sob, the vain appeal for mercA՛, when 
 the doors of St. Sophia were broken with axes, and thou- 
 sands upon thousands were slaughtered in warm blood. 
 (These melancholy recollections sent a cold horror chilling 
 through mj-- veins). I could almost witness how the 
 Christian cross, the saints, the images were put out, 
 and the crescent and Mohammedan inscriptions were 
 placed in their stead. 
 
 St. Sophia is one of the oldest monuments of Chris- 
 tianity. A thousand years older than St. Peter's at Rome, 
 T found it cruciform, about three hundred b}՛ two hundred 
 and fifty feet in dimensions, supported by two hundred 
 pillars, surrounded by a dome one hundred and eight\՛- 
 two feet high. It has a seating capacit\՛ of twenty-three 
 thousand ])ersons. It was rebuilt by Emperor Justinian, 
 and opened on Christmas of the year 54-8. In its erection, 
 which occupied seven years, were employed one hundred 
 architects, one hundred master masons and ten thousand 
 fellow craftsmen. On its completion, Justinian exclaimed : 
 ■"I have vanquished thee, O Solomon! " 
 
 Where the Hippodrome once stood is now the At 
 Meadan, an open square of the city, and there still may 
 be seen a few of the art treasures that made ancient 
 Byzantium famous. It is nine hundred by four hundred and 
 fiftv feet, built originallv after the circus at Rome. The
 
 256 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 conical column of three twisted serpents, on whose head 
 once rested the tripod of the oracle at Delphi, is still there. 
 There formerh՛ stood four famous bronze horses of Lysip- 
 pus, now ornamenting the forehead of St. Mark's church in 
 Venice. Lonely, solemn and going to decay, stand the 
 historic columns of Theodosius, ancient Cistern of Constau- 
 tine, a subterranean chamber of six hundred pillars, the 
 water from which supplied the arm}՛ during sieges, and 
 ruins of the aqueduct complete all that remains of ancient 
 Byzantium. 
 
 The walls of the cit}՛, no longer a means of defence, are 
 crumbling away. They extend along the water front, then 
 overland about four miles to the Golden Horn. Once 
 pierced by fort^'-three gates, but seventeen now remain. 
 Outside the walls, a line of շհփ^^տտ groves mark the cities of 
 the dead. Superstition causes the Turks to shun these 
 places by night. Brave in war, the\՛ dare not challenge the 
 ghosts of the grave-yard in the dark. So it happens that 
 thieves and cut-throats have a safe and notorious place of 
 resort just "over the wall," and on Frida}՛, the Moham- 
 medan Sabbath, the afternoon of which is given to recrea- 
 tion, these cool and quiet walks are thronged with the poor 
 of the great city, seeking here the nearest approach possible 
 to nature's shady solitudes, while the elite, both native and 
 foreign, go up the Bosphorus to a point called the Sweet 
 Waters of Europe — the Newport of the Orient. Thus these 
 places of the departed afford a double asylum to the 
 wretched and the oppressed.
 
 THE QUEEN OF THE EAST. iTiT 
 
 The visit to the Sweet Waters of Europe is made in 
 brilliant equipages or on horseback along the shores, or in 
 georgeous boats and barges, which latter, owing to the 
 extended water front of the city, are almost as much a 
 feature of the place as are the gondolas at Venice. The 
 scene is a bright one, for the Turks are given to linerv and 
 display, and the uniforms of all the navies of the world 
 enliven the pageant. 
 
 Instead of resorting to these places of rest or amuse- 
 ment, the very pious, on Frida\՛, visit mosques and tombs ; 
 and another gala feature of the da}՛ is the passage of 
 the Sultan to prayer. Nothing in the ordinary routine 
 of daily life in Constantinople interests the people more. 
 Thousand upon thousands of citizens and strangers gather 
 along the route of the imperial pageant. The jiroccssion 
 is never postponed — at least one thing in Turkish ailairs 
 occurs on time. 
 
 The custom had a singular origin. In l.'U)!, Sultan 
 Murad I., having offered to give evidence in a court ot 
 justice, the judge refused to hear his testimony, l)ccause, 
 according to the Koran, no one could be a witness who 
 had not joined in common ])iaycrs in the nios(|uc. 'Ih՛; 
 Sultan admitted the justice of the decision, and (»ii the iie.xt 
 Friday proceeded to the moscjue in great state, to engage in 
 prayers as one of the worshipers. The custom has been 
 observed with religious regularity ever since. It gives the 
 people an opportunity to see their ruler riding in state onee 
 a week. Even fatal illness does not deter him from ;հօ1ո-.
 
 258 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 In two instances the Sultan has expired immediately on his 
 return from praA^ers. 
 
 There is not the grandeur about it now that there was 
 centuries ago, when the costumes were of velvet and gold. 
 The highway through which he passed was then carpeted 
 with richest Oriental rugs. Silver and gold coins were 
 strewn in his path. The new mosque, in which the present 
 Sultan worships, is but five minutes walk from the palace. 
 He rides to it, however, in an elegant barouche, with all 
 pomp of elaborate ritual and imposing ceremony. From the 
 palace to the mosque, the streets are lined on either side, 
 four ranks deep, with brightl}^ uniformed regiments of 
 gorgeous Oriental soldiers. It is carpeted a half inch deep 
 with fine, clean sand. At the Imam's call, the Sultan "the 
 light of the sun" and the "shadow of the universe," 
 emerges from his seclusion, enters the gilded royal carriage 
 and, preceded by the few veiled ladies of his household and 
 3^oung sons and male relatives, proceeds to the mosque. It 
 is the most gorgeous royal event of frequent occurrence 
 in all the world. The Caliph of the 200,000,000 Mohamme- 
 dans in the world, and sovereign of the 85,000,000 of the 
 Ottoman empire (1,200,000 in the cit}^ alone), appears 
 amid the acclaims of the immense throng of people, attended 
 not only 1)\՛ his own household, but by the brightly 
 costumed ambassadors and consuls of all nations. Official 
 horse-tails, which have led to victory or defeat on a 
 thousand battlefields, jewel-hilted swords, sashes, turbans 
 and fezes, worn by the males in line, even to the little boys
 
 THE QUEEX OF THE EAST. 259 
 
 on Arabian steeds, lend the charm of noveltv to a pageant 
 which for magnificence merely is seldom equalled under the 
 sun. After a half hour at prayers, the return to the palace 
 is made in similar order. 
 
 The present Sultan, Abdul Hamid II., though a young 
 man of great intelligence, is delicate, with a pale face and 
 weak figure. I had slimpses of him one Friday noon, when 
 he was going in procession to the mosque to worship. He 
 lives in palaces of dazzling beauty at Seraglio point, by the 
 banks of the Bosphorus. He is the supreme head of the 
 state, with absolute theocratic powers; that is, he is the 
 Caliph or the pope of the Mohammedan world, as well as 
 the unrestricted political power of his own empire. Of late 
 years, however, his power of absolution has been somewhat 
 modified by the interference of the European governments, 
 and by the demand of the expounders of the Koran, that 
 the Sultan should adhere strictly to the teachings of the 
 holy book, which teaches no such doctrine. 
 
 Of the royal household, the following may be mentioned: 
 The principal honorary ofiicer of the court is the inq)erial 
 sword bearer. As his duties are few, he is seldom called into 
 the Sultan's presence. Those in most intimate communi- 
 cation with the Sultan are his priv;ite seeret.iries .ind 
 chamberlains. As they enjoy the relation ol intim.iti- per- 
 sonal friends, their favor is eagerly sought by as])irants for 
 political recognition. Then there are gentlemen of tlu- 
 household, who are trained from early youth lor (luir 
 respective duties. They begin as cup-bearers or geiiiUnuii
 
 THE QUEEN OF THE EAST. 261 
 
 of the wardrobe; or they manipulate the slippers, pipe ami 
 delicate coffee cups. Their elegance of manner and intelli- 
 gence is quite striking. From pages, they are promoted to 
 be chamberlains or even ministers of the state. 
 
 Mutes are a very unique and indispensable part of the 
 Sultan's household. When private interviews are held with 
 the Minister of State, all others withdraw, but the mutes 
 remain. Even when the Grand Council meets behind closed 
 doors, they are present to wait on the high dignitaries. 
 "Having ears the\՛ hear not," yet sometimes understand 
 more than they pretend, and have been known to communi- 
 cate important state secrets to their friends. In olden times 
 they were the executioners, perhaps because thev could not 
 hear the heart-rending cries of the victims. 
 
 Dwarfs are kept as court-jesters. A Sultan wishing to 
 test the ingenuit}՛ of his dwarf, called one into the harem 
 and told him. he might have his choice of the girls as his 
 wife if he could kiss her first. The little man cast a longing 
 glance into the face of a Circassian beauty as she towered 
 above him, and instantly struck her smartly on the chest. 
 The unexpected assault nearly douliled the young woman, 
 when the dwarf, taking advantage of her stooping position, 
 kissed her and won from the Sultan a handsome wife for his 
 tact and audacity. 
 
 When calling on the Sultan, one meets at liie tiireshold 
 the gentlemen of the household. Passing these personages, 
 one ascends a flight of stairs and finds himself in a l;irgo 
 hall with curtained doorways leading to the vaiious apart
 
 262 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 ments about it. This is the selamlik, "place of salutation.՝" 
 It corresponds to the American reception room. Before one 
 of the curtained doorways the guards, or "curtain keepers 
 to his majesty" are stationed. Their presence indicates 
 where the Sultan of Sultans will be found. The accredited 
 visitor entering this room finds the lineal descendant of 
 Osman, seated on a wide Turkish sofa, with a desk before 
 him, a graceful chibouk or Turkish pipe, with amber 
 mouthpiece, studded with diamonds lying carelessly at his 
 side. A word from the sovereign, attendants appear as if 
 by magic, and stand in a row with folded hands before 
 him. 
 
 No one is ever seated in the presence of the Sultan. On 
 the presentation of an ambassador, the event is so contrived 
 that the Sultan enters at one door at the moment that the 
 diplomat enters at another. This is done that the distin- 
 guished guest may be received by the Sultan standing, with 
 out that dignitary condescending to rise. 
 
 Like all cities, particularly all old cities, Constantinople 
 has its quarters. Near the Seraglio Point, so named from 
 the palaces of the Sultan, which, as we have seen, are 
 located there, is the landing place for vessels, and this is the 
 quarter for the native shops or "bazaars." Here one must 
 keep a sharp lookout both upon the quality՛ of the article 
 he would purchase and the price he shall pay. With the 
 Musselman to get the best of the bargain has no possible 
 moral significance, and is merely an intellectual feat. Unlike 
 the foreign trader, he never solicits your patronage, but
 
 THE QUEEN OF THE EAST. 263 
 
 receives your approaches to trade with the quiet dignitv of 
 a superior doing a favor. The goods are for sale, however, 
 and a shrewd Yankee may get a good bargain by being ])er- 
 sistent in demanding cut rates. It will take him longer, 
 how^ever, to buy a scarf or shawl than it would take to 
 transfer a house and lot at home. 
 
 THE BAZAAR. 
 
 An Oriental bazaar is a mart of luxury and expense, a 
 vast shop of wonders— an eternity of curiosities which has 
 always been a source of interest and entertainment to those 
 who are strangers to eastern life. Here the babbling rills of 
 life flow hither and thither. All antagonistic races, creeds 
 and tongues, with ever}՛ shade of complexion, in an infinite 
 variet}՛ of costumes, are here mixed and mingled — not as we 
 see them at international expositions, but in the full swing 
 of real life. Semitic Jews are here, as they art՛ every wIrtc, 
 with their short stature and long attenuated countenances. 
 Bronze-colored Arabs wnth keen coal-black eyes, in their 
 flowing robes and loose trousers, singularly contrast with 
 the Mongolian negroes with curly hair and black round 
 faces. The Aryan group is represented by Armenians and 
 many Europeans, with their wcll-l)rc(l, (lignilicd carriage 
 and uniformity of dress. Persians in their siiee|)-skin caps; 
 keen-ej'ed Greeks, cadaverous and proud, with the steady, 
 stalwart sons of Uncle Sam, complete the motley congrega- 
 tion, except, indeed, for its predominant element— the red- 
 faced, lofty Turk. The babel of languages, the rush and
 
 264 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 crush of carriages, dogs and bus\՛ people, do not affect his 
 cool, calm disposition, or quicken his steps, for Mohammed 
 has said "to hasten is devilish." So he walks under his 
 turban, his head filled with a feeling of pride, that this great 
 pot-pouri of commerce and scenic enchantment is in some 
 tense his. 
 
 Every avenue of the bazaar is appropriated to a par- 
 ticular branch of commerce, called a bezaustein. There are, 
 for instance, the shoe bazaar, the confectionery bazaar, the 
 armory bazaar, where weapons of almost every period and 
 nation are exposed for sale, each occupying a separate 
 avenue or bezaustein. The avenue of money-changers and 
 bankers, a trade almost entireh^ monopolized by Armenians, 
 is a glittering scene, where jewels, torquoises, pearls, bril- 
 liants and the most costly gems in the world are in store. 
 The embroidery and shawl bazaars present a most ga3^ and 
 novel appearance, where hang Broussa silks, Genoa velvets, 
 European satins, hangings of Tyrian tapestry, shawls from 
 the goats of Thibet, Koran-inscribed Damascus sabres and 
 rich scarfs, from the costly looms of Persia and Mecca, 
 vicing with each other in beaut\՛ of design and richness 
 of color. These, of all the bazaars, have an air the most 
 Oriental. Let us approach this one midwaj^, where the 
 stuffs seem particularly rich. Ah! the aristocratic trades- 
 man has already a customer — an American, certainlv, from 
 the particularly frank and natural bearing, a westerner, I 
 should say, from the attire — perhaps a Chicagoan. Here are 
 the fifteenth and nineteenth centuries face to face. The
 
 THE QUEEN OF THE EAST. 265 
 
 Oriental, who of all Orientals, has never emerged from the 
 middle ages, the Occidental, who of all his brethren has his 
 foot most firmly planted on the threshold of a new era. In 
 the one to sell is a stilted, etiquetical ceremony, in the other 
 to buy is a necessar}՛ act, to be performed with the same 
 freedom and naturalness as eating or breathing. • 
 
 "How much will յ^օա take for that shawl ?" 
 
 " Does his lordship refer to this delicate Persian fabric ?" 
 
 Often the sharks apply titles of distinction to American 
 purchasers, knowing only too well how susceptible thcv 
 are to this subtle form of flattery. If thev ever "talk 
 shops" at home, however, I have no doubt thcv <.՝onfess it 
 works best with the women. 
 
 "I. mean that reddish buck-colored thing, here, tlii>! ' 
 pulling it down rather unceremoniously. 
 
 "Your lordship will observe that it is very delicate." 
 
 "I don't think it will wear very well, but what do von 
 ask for it?" 
 
 "It has lasted already more than a century, it is still 
 fresh. The gentleman's great-grand-daughtcr .«should most 
 certainly wear it." 
 
 "Not married, my good friend, it's for a sister you 
 know. What's the price of it? Is it really a limidred ve.irs 
 old?" 
 
 Again the wily Turk has touched a weak spot, tor the 
 newest of nations has proverbially the gn-.tf-vi loudness for 
 old things. 
 
 "Oh I vour lordship is from a new eonniry. 1 li.ivi-
 
 266 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES 
 
 carpets here that have been slept on by ten generations 
 of noble blood. Will the gentleman look at this rug of 
 Bokhara?" 
 
 "Not now," says the pertinacious Yankee, "How much 
 is this shawl?" 
 
 The Oriental sees it will not answer to delay any longer 
 naming a startling price, so he says indifferenth՛, "$900.00 
 is a small sum, your lordship." 
 
 The Turkish trader guesses A'our nationality at a 
 glance, and is always ready to deal with you in your own 
 coin, and to talk in its figures. His friend, the money 
 changer, will make that all right for you, and at a better 
 rate of discount, too, than \՚օս will find anywhere in the 
 
 city. i, 
 
 "$900.00!" exclaims the westerner; "you might as 
 well say $9000.00. 
 
 Oriental dignity is offended at this. The turbaned Turk 
 draws himself up proudly, and turns to arranging his 
 other wares, sa3'ing quietK՛, "The gentleman may take the 
 shawl. It is his — a free gift." 
 
 Then the Yankee tries his game, too. As if tired of 
 dickering for the shawl, he picks up a Damacus blade Ij'ing 
 beneath a pile of tumbled silks. 
 
 "What's this?" 
 
 "A blade of Damascus." 
 
 " Is it a good one ? " 
 
 " Let his lordship bring the tip and the hilt together, so ;
 
 THE QUEEN OF THE EAST. 207 
 
 bend it farther if յ՚օս choose, it will never break. Swords 
 of the kind are not made to-day." 
 
 "This is old, too, I suppose." 
 
 "The Sultan's signature, which you will find on the 
 hilt, is that of the great Sultan Aladin, with whom է he- 
 English fought for the tomb of the prophet Jesus." 
 
 "But if it bends so easily, you couldn't kill a man with 
 it." 
 
 " The gentleman may try." 
 
 " On myself? " laushins:. 
 
 "On his humble servant." ' 
 
 These extravagant remarks of the Turks are not jests, 
 but the mere forms of politeness, and expected to be taken 
 seriously. 
 
 " What are these marks engraved on the blade? " 
 
 "Verses from the Koran, ])romising rewards iu those 
 who die in battle, fighting for AJIah. 
 
 Then, under his breath, and making a slight salute: 
 "There is no God but God, and Mohammed is his ])n)pliei." 
 
 The westerner is by this time convinced that his detiee- 
 tion from the main point is to no avail, the Turk will go on 
 forever about the Damascus blade, apparently (piite obliv- 
 ious of the fact that there had been any talk of buy in- 
 a Persian shawl. If the buyer wants the shawl, he must 
 come back to it himself 
 
 He does so in his own characteristically abrupt w.i\ . 
 
 "Well, how much have I got to i)ay for this sh.iwl ; "
 
 268 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 " His lordship is a gentleman. He evidently wants the 
 shawl greatly, I will part with my treasure for $800.00." 
 
 " I will give you $300.00." 
 
 " The gentleman is jesting; some Persian woman toiled 
 twenty 3'ears perhaps to complete this wonderful fabric. 
 Such articles are the work of a lifetime." 
 
 The American has taken out his monev. He counts out 
 $300.00 and says nothing. His lordship wouldn't have me 
 the loser on his account. It is eight years now I have kept 
 this shawl in my shop, waiting for a purchaser wealthv 
 enough and worth}՛ to carry it away. I must have 
 $700.00." 
 
 "We are wasting time, my friend," says the foreigner, 
 who seems somewhat experienced, "you know vou will sell 
 this article much less than that, so why not name your 
 price? " 
 
 "Camels brought the delicate fabric over man}- miles of 
 desert — a long and wearv journey. I have given the shawl 
 to the gentleman, but he would not accept it. I think he 
 can easily give me $550.00 for it." 
 
 "I am a good ways from home, and if I get rid of 
 all my money, how shall I get back?" uneasily, but his 
 countenance does not change its expression nor his manners 
 descend to haste. 
 
 "B}՛ the beard of the prophet, it has cost me more. I 
 must be in need of bread before I could part with so rare an 
 article for such a price. I can show you many shawls for
 
 THE OUEEX OF THE EAST. 269 
 
 that figure, but I could not sell this one for less than 
 $50Ո.ՕՕ. 
 
 r՝rom this point on the abatement of price is by smaller 
 
 and smaller sums, until it goes down a dollar at a time. 
 
 " His lordship is indeed in a strange land. The jirophct 
 
 bid us be kind to strangers. I would sell it to the genllciuan 
 
 for $475.00." 
 
 " Mv friend, I have told you how nuich I will give. 
 You see it here. I cannot give more.'' 
 
 He holds the mone\՛ under the glittering black eyes ot l he- 
 trader. He, too. knows his antagonist's weak ])oint. The 
 glistening coin is a temptation. The Oriental's fingers 
 work. Suffice it to say the Turk will move steadily down- 
 ward on his figures, but at his own gait. He cannot be 
 hurried by importunity or indifterence, by argument or by 
 direct appeal. Moreover, he will never come tjuite to his 
 antagonist's figures, but if the Yankee is a good waiter, 
 as this one seemed to be, he will doubtless get the artiele. 
 sav for $350.00, after which bargain completed, the Oriental 
 will be ready to spend another tranquil hour in selling him 
 a rug from Smyrna or a scarf from Syria. 
 
 Most of the streets of the city are narrow and lorluons, 
 but there are more modern sections where bro.ad thorough- 
 fares and carriage drives abound. Here are the Ivnglish and 
 European shops, and the residences of the well-to-do for- 
 eigners in the citv. The old native families, both Turkish 
 and Armenian, inhabit the water front from the se.i ol 
 Marmora to the Golden Horn, where their palaces le.ave olV
 
 270 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 and the splendid dwellings of foreign ambassadors begin; 
 and at this point the channel is crossed by the Galatia 
 bridge, which introduces one to a colony composed of 
 Levantines, and the scum of all Europe — perhaps the basest 
 villains on the face of the earth. 
 
 Such in brief outline is Constantinople — a city marvel 
 ously full of interest to the observer of human nature 
 or the student of human events, because here, as nowhere 
 else in the world, the various states of Oriental and Occi- 
 dental civilization, with all their dross and all their gems, 
 crop up side by side, and may be intelligently compared — a 
 spot where trade is affected by every wave that tosses on 
 every sea, where thought is stirred by every brain that pul- 
 sates under an}՛ sk^՛, where life is truly cosmopolitan. 
 
 THE FALL OF THE BYZANTLXE EMPIRE. 
 
 Although tbe Turks had conquered all Thrace, although 
 city after cit\՛ had heard the clash of the Musselman's arms, 
 and had been compelled to bow before his onward march, 
 there was one city, the pride and glory of the Byzantine 
 empire, that still remained unconquered. Constantinople, the 
 Rome of the East, and capital of the empire, was the jewel 
 that Mohammed IL most coveted. How to gain this jewel 
 for his crown was his constant thought. It haunted him 
 wherever he went. It interfered with his usual sleep. Long 
 after midnight, when all his camp reposed in peaceful 
 slumber, this restless spirit paced to and fro in his apart- 
 ments, seeking^ to devise some means to reach his cherished
 
 THK QUKEX OF THE EAST. L'71 
 
 end. One thing he had determined : he would win Constan- 
 tinople or die. Such men seldom fail. 
 
 One thousand masons were commanded to erect at once 
 a fortress on the European shore of the Bosphorus, known 
 as Castle of Europe. As the work ot՝ this construction 
 rapidly progressed, Constantine, the Byzantine emperor, 
 sought b}՛ compromise, treaty and submission to avert the 
 designs of the implacable Sultan, all to no avail. The Sultan 
 did not want compromise ; he wanted war, and any excuse 
 was welcome. " Since then," despairingly wrote the 
 emperor, "neither oaths, nor treaty, nor submission can 
 secure peace, pursue your impious warfare. My trust is in 
 God alone, and if it should please Him to modify your heart, 
 I shall rejoice in the happy change. If he delivers the city 
 into Your hands, I submit without a murmur to His holy 
 will; but untd the Judge of the earth shall prononiKi- 
 between us, it is mv dutv to live arid die in the delcnse ol my 
 people. " 
 
 To Mohammed this was a signal sound of strife; 
 gigantic were the preparations. A foundry was established 
 at Adrianople, and a cannon ordered to be made capable of 
 battering down the strongest wall. 
 
 These instructions wtre well followed, and a -mi 
 produced of enormous dimensions, capable ol sending a ball 
 weighing 600 pounds over a mile. Boats were constructed, 
 warriors enlisted, until the number in the army was 
 swelled to nearly 250,000. 
 
 Battering rams were placed near the ;^at<,s ol St
 
 J(J UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 Rom anus, towers were moved on rollers to the ditch 
 outside the city, from which ladders could be extended to 
 the wall. The immense cannons were placed in position, 
 and on the morning of the eighth of April, 1453, prepar- 
 ations were completed. 
 
 Nor during all these months were the inhabitants of the 
 cit\^ inactive, yet the defense was weak. From the time the 
 iirst dark clouds of danger had begun to threaten, thou- 
 sands deserted their homes and firesides and left the city to the 
 defense of the few. Finall}՛, out of over 100,000 inhabitants 
 only 6,000 could be found to take up arms and with the 
 emperor repel the invaders, and these were stationed at the 
 •weakest points. 
 
 Day after day did the Turks attempt to enter the cit\՛, 
 and as often were they repulsed by this Gideon's band. 
 
 The first assault was a failure, and the treasures of 
 Constantinople lay still untouched by impious hands. Six 
 Aveeks dragged slowly on — weeks of anxious suspense and 
 hope, weeks, everj՛ da}՛ of which was filled wnth prepar- 
 ations. Reinforcements were received b}՛ the Turks. Three 
 hundred boats were transported ten miles overland to the 
 harbor in the dead of night. 
 
 More cannons were pointed towards walls already՛ 
 shattered. Mohammed had cause to believe that the city 
 could not withstand another attack, and it was divinely 
 revealed to him that the twenty -ninth of Ma\՛ should be the 
 day of a second assault. On the eve of the twenty-ninth, as 
 the sun sank to the western sky, it saw a sight weird
 
 THE Ol'EEN OF THE EAST. 273 
 
 and strange. From the domes inside the city was reflected 
 its golden light, and flashing in the sun shone the polished 
 weapons of a restless army outside the wall. The sun went 
 down, the stars came out and shone upon a scene, weirder, 
 stranger still. 
 
 The Sultan strode among his men and told them of the 
 Paradise that waits for those who bravelv fight and die. A 
 province would he give to him who first should scale 
 the city wall. He told them of rich treasures that would 
 all be theirs if victory they gained upon the morrow ; and 
 not till midnight did he find his tent to indulge in a few 
 hours of fitful sleep. 
 
 From watch towers all along the wall, night guards 
 Avatched the Moslem hosts below. There was no sleep in 
 Constantinople that night. If we had wended our way 
 through the deserted streets to the church of St. Sojihia, we 
 would have seen the Greek empeior, Constantinc, ride up, 
 dismount, and, with his few chosen knights, ciiur the 
 magnificent portals, and, on bended knee, with head low 
 bowed before the images of the virgin and numerous saints, 
 in vain implore, in a fervent prayer, their mercy for safe 
 deliverance. 
 
 Before the altar, under dimly burning tapers he kmk. 
 Above him circled a gorgeous dome, which for centuries had 
 echoed with many supplications to the Almighty. Fpon 
 the walls, hundreds of costly jewels reflected the low, 
 flickering rays, and as he thought that for the last time hi 
 gazed upon these sacred walls, with bitter teais, Ins brave
 
 THE QUEEN OF THE EAST. 275 
 
 heart sank within him. To-morrow his scepter woukl be 
 wrested from him. 
 
 Ere the morrow's sun had set. the altar where he 
 had knelt so many times would be defiled, and he who 
 prayed there now would be no more. Fate thus whispered 
 to the imperial head. But not without a struggle would he 
 surrender the empire of his fathers, and walking out into the 
 night again he ascended the tower to watch. Slowly the 
 hours dragged on ; all was still, save the muffled tread of 
 soldiers outside the city, and, as the dawn approached, the 
 watchfires grew less and less distinct and slowly sank to 
 ashes. 
 
 Far in the east, a faint streak of grey announced the 
 break of morn. A moment, and a dozen cannons volleyed 
 forth with loud report. The calm was changed into a 
 mighty storm. The thunders of battle furiously roared 
 within and without. Loud rose commands ot generals 
 in the heart of blood\՛ conflict. Clouds of dust and smoke 
 overwhelmed women and children wandering the streets in a 
 heart-rending search for a last refuge. What an awlid vision 
 of human ambition and revenge! Shrieks of the wounded, 
 groans of the dving, wild exclamations, cheers and sUugglcs 
 of the living, awe-inspiring martial music rising here and 
 there above the clash and clang of arms. Like a migliiy 
 whirlwind, on, on, towards St. Romanus' gate advance 
 attacking thousands. 
 
 For a moment they waver; hand to hand in ;ւ de.iih 
 struggle they gra]:)plc with resisting Creeks. Hack, slowly
 
 276 UNDER ORIENTAL SKIES. 
 
 back, they force the few that struggle hardest; then, with a 
 mighty, sudden onslaught, down the handful of Greeks that 
 remain. Then arises, from two hundred thousand throats, 
 the wild cry of victor^^ Allah Ekher, Allah Ekbcr! rends the 
 air, and the Byzantine empire, in one brief day has fallen! The 
 flickering light of the eastern Roman empire has been ex- 
 tinguished once for all ! The faithful emperor, Constantine, 
 was among the slain. All save a few of his brave soldiers 
 died fighting at the gate. That night the setting sun beheld 
 a different sight. No army lay encamped outside the city 
 wall, but high over the ramparts floated an alien flag — 
 the star and crescent of the Turks.
 
 UNDER OIREXTAL SKIES. 277 
 
 In the preceding pages I have endeavored to present the 
 history, and portray as accurately as possible the customs 
 of my native land. 
 
 As I pen these last few words my mind instinct! velv 
 turns to my countrymen, zealous in the faith, constant to 
 the right, the type of a fearless, honorable race. 
 
 Providence has so ordained that the peoples of earth 
 should be divided into nations, the governments and laws 
 of which are as diverse as the ideas peculiar to their orig- 
 inators. We ma\^ be united in civilization and connnon 
 sympathies, but the patriot is ever proud and even incon- 
 sistently partial to that land which has givcri him birth. 
 
 Christianity is broader than any constitution, more 
 effective than the most wise laws of men. Its kingdom is 
 confined to no territory, has no limitations to its jiowcr, 
 and its people stand firm on its first vital principles. We 
 are all patriots of that kingdom, and it is not only h)yahy 
 to mv country but loyalty to the broader, more glorious 
 kingdom that ]irompts mc to turn my purposes .ind energy 
 to her welfare. 
 
 The light of morning already tints the eastern ^ky. but 
 the mists still rising from man's own ignoranee and supei- 
 stition obscure the rays and hide the smi When, rising; 
 over hill and valley with its glorious s|)len(h)r, Cod's own 
 light shines in the zenith of the heavens, the obscuring mists 
 all cleared away, then, and not till then, will ih<- --ind of 
 man be fullv illumined and his destiny made clear
 
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