Early voyages and travels in the Levant

by John Covel; Thomas Dallam

After these dances and sports were over, about midnight (as is said), began very excellent fireworks of all sorts, which continued till towards morning, and then all retired to their repose. Now for the dances and sports. You must understand that from all parts of the Empire were summon’d all (his subjects), Jewes, Greekes, Arabs, Armenians, Turkes, etc., that were any wayes excellent for any sports or entertainments of delight, and truly I do not believe these Eastern Countryes can afford any thing more in that kind then what I have seen here. First, your dancers were for the most part young youths, very handsome generally; most Greekes, yet some more Turkes, Armenians, and a few Jewes.

The best were clothed very rich, either cloth of gold, silver, or rich silk. They had on a just a corp, as we say, coming to mid thigh, close button’d at the hands, and girt about them with rich girdles as their purse and fancy led them; under it (over the rest of their cloth’s) they had a petticoat, which was very large, and hang’d very full, down to their ankles; this was very rich, and of some pretty light merry colour. These clothes were given them by the G. Sr., or Sultana. Their heads are not shaven quite close, but very lovely locks are left round, which at other times they wear up close, and are unseen; but now they let them down, and set them out to best advantage, sometimes disshevel’d all about their shoulders, sometimes braided and hanging at their back. They commonly wore over their hair a plain cap of silk (small, or scull fashion’d) or (which is more gentele) a fur’d sort of cap, cal’d here a culpáck. There was a delicate lovely boy, of about 10 yeares old, had as comely head of hair, long as most women. With him danc’t a lusty handsome man (about 25), both Turkes. They acceded all the roguish lascivious postures conceivable with that strange ingenuity of silent ribaldry, as I protest I believe Sardanapalus and all the effeminate courts of the East never came near them. They pleased so extremely that there was scarce a night but they acted in some place or other. I saw them severall times before the Sultana doe as much as anywhere else. The rest danc’t 4, 6, sometimes 8 in a company. It consists most in wriggling the body (a confounded wanton posture, and speakes as much of the Eastern treachery as dumb signs can), slipping their steps round gently; setting and turning. Never is their arming, or any figure, or handing; yet one night before the Sultana they danc’t in hats and perukes, and Frank habit, but could not imitate us in anything. I never saw them a second time, which makes me believe they did not please. They allwayes come before the person (where they dance) running (as all other that have occasion to passe and re-passe, unlesse in the bringing of presents or the like solemnity); then they fall either into a semicircle or whole round, and so continue falling out of one tune and humour into another, till at last, with a merry wherry of their musick, they turn round (as the Dervises) a long time, and so stopping they bow, and away they run to their musick, which are alwayes hard by. These differ from the other Musicianers, and may be cal’d the private musick, being commonly Pans pipe of 20, 25, 30, (at most) 32 reeds, placed in order, lesse and shorter each than another as the notes rise. I have heard it plai’d on three or four times since I came into Turkey, and fancy it certainly to be the most enravishing tone in nature; yet the notes are fixt, and cannot be alter’d flat and sharp ad libitum, and therefore cannot be brought into the canon of musick to play anything that is appropriated to some peculiar lessons. 2d, a little pittifull instrument with three wire strings, which every fellow thrums ordinarily about the street. I take it to be the Pandura of the antients.[338] 3rdly, Turkish and Arab lutes of 5, 8, sometimes but 4, double strings, with a little neck a yard (the least), sometimes more, long. They have severall sorts of them—all not worth a lowse. 4, a sort of Dulcimer with gut strings, touch’t with both hands, as the Harp, onely this lyes flat and Horizontall. The Jewes have a kind of fiddle of 4 guts, tuned like a violin, but (that you may know the excellency of it) the back and sides are commonly made of the bottome of a gourd, the belly of a dryed film, or skin hornifyed[339]; the neck is of a piece of broom stick. Lastly, to crown the Consort, you have every where a Tambúr, of which something is said above, is well known in Italy. These minstrells set all down crosse leg at a convenient distance on the one side of the persons before whome they plaid. The dancers have in each hand two peices of Ebony, 3 or 4 inches long, which they knock and charre together in time to the musick. I fancy they are every whit as good as our castenettas. They call them in Turkish chalparéh, in Greek παιξάρι. Next there were many actors of little playes or interludes; all in the most beastly brutish language possible, as I was sufficiently informed by my companions, and there actions fully confirmed it. The actors of men were Armenians and Turkes that came from the borders of Persia, and several times acted certain conceits in Persian habit, which was very becoming, being far more rich and gaudy then the Turkes wear. They often mix, as is said, severall sorts of beasts in their gambals, and in every play alwayes enter’d in a large Dear (like our hobby horses), whome they call’d Hóo, which is a name of God; but there it stood for a Robin good fellow, or hobgoblin, pulling them, and biting them, and playing a 1,000 freakes. In sume, the best of them did not exceed our ordinary Christmasse gambals.

There was one acted there very often not much unlike the old man with 7 Sons, so good, so good. They acted two drunken men, two young whores, and an old baud, and a gallant, and a souldjer; a cuckold and his three wives; wherein all the tricks and wayes of making love here in Turkey, and the extreame jealously and severity of these people were excellently well expresst. They acted a horse courser, a barbier, a butcher, and several such conceits. In Persian habit, with every one his plume of feathers in his Turbant, they acted an humour which pleased mightily. They begin in a ring, and what the cheif does all the rest are to imitate, or run the gantlet. If he turnes to the right, left, forward, or round, sculk down, start up, etc., they immediately do the like. Such pour pastorals we had in great variety, and they passe here for greater ingenuity than your playes can doe in England. Their tiring place is alwayes behind the Musick a convenient distance, from which and to which they alwayes passe and re-passe running, as before is said of the dancers.

Next I must recount the Maisters of activity. First there was a bastanjé, a middle-sized squad fellow, who shew a vast strength in tossing about weights. Upon sticks or steales,[340] about 4 foot long, were fasten’d at the end round stones, each weighing from 26 pound to 50 pound a piece. Beginning with the least first, he would take in each hand one, and swing them about his head, under his armes, behind his back, over his shoulders, many strange wayes with the greatest dexterity and agility imaginable; then setting down them, he would take the two next, and so change on till he come to the last, which (as is said) weighed at least 50 pound apeice; yet he would tosse them about with ease, even to admiration. Some of these he would hold steady and strong at his armes end. Having laid them by, he began with single ones of like fabrick, but weighing from 60 lb. to 120 lb. a peice, being equall to our hundred weight. Fastning the steel or handle to his wrist with a leather thong, he managed all the smaller first in like manner with one hand, still rising till he came to the greatest, which to my amazement he tost about likewise. He had others with a vast piece of iron at the end loose, so as lifting up the steal it would slip to the handle; thence he would throw it out to the end again with a great slap or crack. These he first managed likewise double, then single; but they were not so heavy; the biggest of these weigh’d not above 50 or 90 lb. at most. Lastly, he had a round stone weighing a Kintal[341] and half, just our hundred and half, fixt or hang’d to two steales with two short chaines; this would he tosse about at a strange rate, swinging it behind his back, his head being between the sticks and his armes. His right arme was alwayes braced with a fillet very hard and close above the elbow. There are many of these stone balls (or shot) with Iron steales or handles in many places here hang’d up, at which I have many times wonder’d, the Turkes telling ridiculous fables concerning them. There are two by the great Bagno in Scutary, and severall hang’d up over severall gates in Stambol with Turkish writing ingraved upon them, yet none of them exceeded (if they any wayes can equall) these which this fellow plaid withall.

I made an exact enquiry since I came home, and understand that these here at Stambol have been in like manner menaged,[342] and the writings speak by whome and before whome it was done, as particularly one of them over Adrianople gate (in Stambol) was menaged just before Mahomet 3d, who took the City, and being infinitely pleased with the strength and activity of the man (whome report made a Bulgarian), he rewarded the man well, and caused the stone ball with the Iron in it to be chain’d up there in memory of him. Some of these in Stambol have a crosse peice of Iron at top, which make me inclinable to believe that the Greek Emperors had this sport before, and the Turkes learn’d it from them. There were vaulters there good store; but, indeed, I think we out doe them all.

This Bustanjé would do prettily well. I see him stand upon the edge of two Cimeters (each foot upon one) barefoot, and swing about one of his greater single stones without the least harme. There was an Arab likewise would lay his bare back upon one, and at the same time a great, lusty man stood on his belly, as likewise he would heave on 2 or 3 vast great stones by the help of a pulley, and yet his back never was hurt. I confesse to read this story in Busbequius made me amazed (as this may you); but when I saw the height of it, I counted it a poor thing; for by his buttocks, and his head, neck, and shoulders, he bore up his belly so as the cimiter lay under the hollow of his back, and a strong man may easily bear a vast weight in that posture. The same man took the Cimiter with his hands at each end, and, laying the edge to his bare belly, moved it very hard from right to left without any harme, onely making a little red line where the edge past. He would fasten a pulley to a gibbet, and through ran a rope, fastend at one end to a ring, to which all his hair was tyed at the crown of his head; the other end was in his hand, by which he would pull himself up a great height. Sometimes he did it with another man at his back; once with an Asse fastend to his shoulder; once with a young camel. I have made some conjectures upon it, but I will not anticipate your mechanicks about this φαινόμενον, onely tell you it seems a pretty one. He took a great pole, about 3 yards long and ½ foot thick, but broader at each end, and setting one end upon the teeth of his lower jaw, he danct with it in this posture upright without touching it, but clapping his hands to his musick, by then he put another frame upon it with 8 or 10 branches (or he could adde more) upon it by a hole that was in the top. Upon every stanza he would set a cup of water; then raysing it, he would dance with all these in like manner without spilling one drop. Then by a stick, which he would put into the same hole, he set a little boy crosse-leg’d upon it, and danct with him in like manner. Lastly, he would set a great pitcher of water up on the upper end, and dance with it; then all of a sudden, with great force, he would strike away the end at his mouth from him, and catch the pitcher in his armes. We saw most of these tricks upon the road acted by him, and all again repeated in the Ring.

Some yeares since there was an Arab at Smyrna did all these tricks much more dexterously; instead of a pitcher of water, he would lay a little child flat on its back upon the upper end, and bidding it shut its eyes, would dance with it a little while, and at last, striking away the pole, would catch it in his armes safely. He likewise would place a handjar, or Turkish dagger, ¾ foot long, upon the ground, with the poynt upwards; he layes himself on his back with his head close to it, then raysing up his heeles, and his body poysed, his body upon his head and neck, and then with a jerk would turne himself quite to the other side the dagger without the least harme. This fellow did the like, but more bunglingly. The Smyrna man would likewise place three swords with their points upwards, and upon them a little piece of dirt or such a thing; then fetching a run, he would passe them on the ayre, striking of the pieces of dirt, and with the fourth step come to the ground. This logger-head did not doe it, though he said he could.

Jugglers were many likewise, but the generality were loggerheads to what we have in England. There was one, an Arab, so ill-looking a fellow as you would have sworne that he was elder brother to the Divel himself. His face exceeding black and shriveled much (for he was old), blear-eyed, his head bald and shined like soot, being well baked in the sun; he had short, crisp’d hair, black and massy (like a black moor) round about like the Corona of the fryars; and he was accordingly clad just like a Dominican in a white serge vest or gown closed before, with open sleeves covered with another black one like it in all things, excepting that it was not closed before.

The common people here are the most superstitious, credulous, fabulous creatures alive. I speak of all Turkes, Greekes, etc., and this man by his lookes, and garb, and tricks had so imposed upon them as severall had represented him to me as if he had been one of the old Magicians in Ægypt risen from Gehenna. I was big with desire and expectation of seeing him, for he seldome (as the best of his jibes being common) shew’d his tricks publickly. At last I laid out for him, and he was brought to my Ld. He shew’d little then, but I saw all he could do afterwards, which truely was not much, and being so old, he slubber’d[343] his businesses over so as I could discover all he did. He had 5 or six snakes tam’d, which were kept under the white frock, and with these he would make good sport. He would pull one from your buttons, nose, bosome, etc., and taking any thing of the standers by, as knives, handkerchiefs, bals, etc.; going to returne them, he would drop you a snake. Now, no people in the world being more fearfull of such things then these, he past for such a miracle-monger amongst them as I fear they of Ægypt were little better, especially considering how highly his conceits might be improved; for here are dayly snakes carryed up and down, tamed, of all sizes almost, and I did not question amongst the vulgar even in England to make thousands of them believe I could turn almost anything into them by sleight of hand, with a little thought and practice. By help of his under frock (closed before, and with wide sleeves), with his left hand he could give and take anything from his right hand unseen; by which he made many pretty conveighances, though none very fine. Had you heard the relations of the people (some understanding men), you would not wonder at my relation to you. One came and swore to me that he pul’d a snake a yard long out of his nose; another that he put a little small ball under a cup, and it was turn’d into a serpent; another gave him a cup of wine, and he drank and return’d the cup, and going to fill one more for himself, swore there leapt out a great snake, etc. I got so much liberty as to see all his contrivances under his frock, which are too tedious to be repeated.