The Thistle and the Cedar of Lebanon

by Habeeb Risk Allah

The large tract of territory extending from Aleppo, in the north, as far as the desert upon the outskirts of Gaza and Hebron, in the south, is inhabited by the variety of sects and people, whose peculiar religious ceremonies and occupations have been described in the preceding chapter. Commencing with the district of Aleppo, we shall find inhabiting that city,—first, the Aleppine-Greeks, most of whom are, by creed Roman Catholics, and by profession merchants, silk-weavers, and manufacturers of fine silken robes, such as are worn by the majority of the inhabitants, male and female. The peculiar costume of the natives of Aleppo is the most striking feature of that truly oriental and magnificent city. On a feast-day, between the hours of prayer, the gardens in the environs of the city are thronged with crowds of well dressed men and

women; some walking, some riding, and others seated on their seggadeh, or rugs, under the pleasant shades of the fragrant walnut-trees, with the chibuk or narghili in their hands, or else cowering upon the bank of the river, angling for fish. We will, with the reader’s permission, place ourselves beside a merry group who are musically inclined, and hope to attract the attention of another group of laughing girls, who, though well muffled up in their white izars, still shew sufficient of well-proportioned features to convince the beholder that beauty lurks beneath the muffling veil. However, we take our station here, not to watch them, but those that pass to and fro, and to guess with the utmost precision, by their costumes, what their belief is, and in what peculiar calling of life they are engaged; first, then, comes an old gentleman riding on a white Egyptian ass—the very fact of his being the possessor of one of these valuable animals at once stamps him with respectability; but apart from this, the tall kulpak, or Persian cap, on his head, and the long, loose flowing robes proclaim him to be a descendant from one of the most ancient, wealthy and respectable families of Aleppo. The privilege of wearing this peculiar kind of head-gear, exempts the wearer, by virtue of a firman obtained from the sublime Porte many centuries ago, from the capitation tax, and many other minor disagreeables to which the less fortunate rayahs are sometimes exposed. This firman was obtained either by interest, or for some service rendered by their ancestors to the Turkish government, at a period when all the rich trade of the Indies passed through Aleppo, and when, as even up to the latest period, that unfortunate city has been exposed to the incursion of the wild desert tribes, who frequently

molested the Baghdad caravans, and even broke into the khans and strongholds, carrying off warehoused merchandise to a considerable amount. The resistance offered to these marauders by the wealthier merchants of Aleppo, led to their obtaining special favors from the Porte; and these favors, be it said to the honor of the Turkish Sultans, have descended as an heirloom from father to son even down to the present day, and the insignia, as already mentioned, is the kulpak which yonder citizen carries on his head. By creed he is a Roman Catholic, and devout in the observance of fasts and festivals; by profession a serraff, or money changer, and any of the European merchants who may require a few thousand piastres on an emergency, will go to this man, and he will advance the requisite sum instanter; his business-office is not much longer than an ordinary sentinel’s box, but then his house, which is in the suburbs of the city, is replete with comfort and elegance, and amongst other furniture and requisites, you will find massive porcelain jars, and other equally costly relics of the former Indian traffic, which have been handed down from father to son, and which are never brought into active service, save and except upon festive occasions when a marriage or a christening is celebrated in the family.

Next to this wealthy aristocrat, our eyes encounter a couple of natives on foot, both well clad, with rich silk scarfs girt round them but on whose hands and arms the indelible dark blue tinge at once indicates their occupation, viz., that of dyers; generally speaking, they profess, in most parts of Syria, the tenets of the Greek church, and they are almost a peculiar people of themselves, inhabiting the suburbs of a town for the sake of convenience, and in order to be in the immediate

vicinity of level verdant plains, on which, during the summer months, they stretch the dyed cloths to dry. It is seldom, however, that these people make use of any other dyes than the commonest blue and black—such as is well adapted, from its inferior materials, to meet the meagerly supplied purses of the greater mass of the population of Syria, blue shintians being invariably the every-day costume of masons, mechanics, day-labourers, and peasants occupied in agricultural pursuits; hence it is that the profits on labour are small and insignificant, the occupation is incessant, and the demand never fluctuating. From this circumstance also, the indigo imported from England and other parts of Europe invariably meets with a ready and profitable sale amongst this class of people, who are the merchant’s best and surest customers, and whose annual consumption, reckoning one year with another, so little varies, that a careful trader might calculate to within a few pounds’ weight, the exact annual demand for indigo of any given village in Syria, and accordingly carry on a safe and profitable trade in this one article alone. These dyers usually marry, and are given in marriage amongst themselves, and the children are brought up to the trade of their fathers; but in all other respects, they are the same as the rest of the Greek community, attending regularly at their churches, strict observers of fasts and festivals, and mingling freely with all their fellow citizens of whatever creed or calling.

Next to these comes the sedate Armenian, clad in a sombre grey cloak, trimmed with ermine, and a slovenly black handkerchief bound round his almost threadbare gibbeh; he is walking with a countryman, and a fellow creedsman of his own; and though the latter is the better clad and cleanlier looking, he is far from being

the wealthier; they are both, however, on the same intimate footing as though equals in birth, riches, and station; both out more for exercise and to talk about business, than from any wish to join in the recreations that are passing around them. The first man—the meaner looking of the two—is very possibly possessor of about 20,000 piastres; he is a banker of the Pachalik, and right-hand man of all the Pashas who come into power; from them he derives no small profit, but it is not from this source alone that his revenues flow; even the poor man who is now his companion, is one among the many of his countrymen, who pay into his coffers an annual tax on certain stipulated conditions. In Aleppo, and all over Turkey and Syria, almost every cook in European and wealthy Oriental families, is an Armenian; these Armenians come from their own country in search of employment, and on arriving at Aleppo, being friendless, and without any recommendation as to character, etc., they seek out those who profess the same creed as themselves, and by them are introduced to the protection of a banker, who will guarantee their honesty, provided the man pays him an annual per-centage upon his wages. This is agreed to, and a compact being made, the serraff himself exerts his best influence amongst the circles of his acquaintance to obtain for his protegée a situation in an opulent family. As the English are generally the best pay-masters, he first tries them; if he succeeds, the young man is placed under the tuition of a professed cook of his own creed, and his career in life commences. The banker adds the man’s name to the thick folio volume, in which he has already registered those of the numerous tax-payers that help to enrich his coffers; and though on an average one with another, they only pay about twenty

piastres per annum, still, considering the vast numbers who are under this obligation, the total amount derived from this source makes a considerable sum. On the other hand the banker, who possesses a certain extent of influence with the Pashas, stands by his countrymen in any case of emergency, and if needs must, is ready to advance any money to procure the release of a delinquent, or to help in his flight, as the Armenians are extremely jealous of their character for honesty and integrity, and it may with truth be observed, that with very few exceptions, they make excellent servants—faithful, steady, and industrious, and are seldom, if ever, addicted to liquor; if they do cheat their own masters, they take care that no one else in the household shall. And this is a notorious fact, particularly in Aleppo, that the prices of meat and vegetables, etc., are fixed by a tariff every year amongst the Armenian servants, and as their name is legion, and every second family has an Armenian cook, the greater mass of the people usually pay at the same rate or proportion for their provisions, though it is well-known that the poorer classes obtain the same supplies from the very same tradesmen with whom the wealthier families deal, at a lower price; still, for convenience’ sake, these peccadilloes are winked at, and the Armenians justify their petty thefts, and accommodate their consciences to their perpetration, by the reflection, that if they did not cheat, others would, and thus further encourage dishonesty amongst the rest of the servants.

The Armenians have passed by, and another couple of individuals attract our attention; their faces are long and sallow, their features marked, eyes sunken, beard profuse, and in the contracted brow there is much that indicates selfish thoughts; the meanness of their scant

attire, is only to be surpassed by the filthiness of their general appearance. Did you notice yonder young Mahommedan spit on the ground, or in the faces of these two as they passed him, while he petulantly muttered, that this day would prove to him an unlucky one, from the moment he had encountered these two men? You will ask the reason of this; it is because they are of that once mighty people, Yahoodee, or Israel, whom Mahommedans regard as the cursed of God, the refuse of the earth, who are treated with less consideration than the meagre curs that slink along the streets; for a Jew does not dare to pass by on the right hand of the Moslem. Yet these Hebrews are now so well inured to hardship and insult, that they wisely pursue their way, regardless of all around, their whole soul wrapt up in the one absorbing thought—gain. If words and blows are sometimes inflicted upon them by the lords of the land, they at least have the gratification of knowing that there is not one amongst their brethren, but who avails himself of every opportunity to swindle and defraud every customer with whom they may chance to have transactions; and even the coins which pass through their hands never escape without being diminished in weight. As an instance of their innate propensity for defrauding, I will record an anecdote which occurred at Damascus some years ago. A Jew having been convicted of coining gold saadeeyeh (nine piastres), was punished by the government by having half his beard shaved off, and mounted on an ass, with his face turned towards the tail, and a European hat on his head; in this way he was conducted through the city, preceded by a crier, proclaiming his crime. Through bribery and interest he was set at liberty, and shortly afterwards recommenced his nefarious practices; the