Page:Islam, Turkey, and Armenia, and How They Happened.djvu/175

Rh Hear! you will have no excuse hereafter." Another: "Since last night a donkey is lost. Its tail is short; one front leg is lame; its hair is gray. Whosoever saw it will have three piasters, and whosoever finds it will have five piasters. Come! and make the owner glad."

In this Babylonian confusion many children, large and small, curse and cry. The pasha (governor) passes from his harem to his office with half-a-dozen servants before him and a dozen officers behind him. Everybody must recognize him by stopping and bowing, almost touching the ground with the back of the right hand, then lifting it up to their lips and then to their forehead in perfect silence. He returns this homage by a slight motion of his right hand. The countless hungry dogs are barking and biting each other, and sometimes trying to attack the passers-by, in imitation of their legal protectors (Moslems).

2. Traveling in Turkey. The Arabic proverb, "Traveling is a portion of hell," is applicable to Turkey, for there is no facility, no safety, and therefore no pleasure, even in a country which is unique for its natural beauty and healthy climate; no bridges over the large rivers, no prepared roads in miry places, no wide passages on the precipices. The only means of transportation are large camels, lazy horses, small donkeys and mules, and sometimes oxen and cows, driven by muleteers—the very ignorant villagers. In all Asiatic Turkey there is not more than 400 miles of railroad, therefore all journeys must be made by animals or walking, with an average of