The port of Valetta has lately been declared a free port, and this will render it for a long time to come the centre of trade from Gibraltar as far as Odessa. The numerous Greek traders find themselves better protected here than in their own islands. Here are no greedy custom-house officers nor interested kadis to share their profits, but they find that justice is dealt to them with the same equity as to the first London merchants, and that even the England home trade does not enjoy greater privileges than their own. The island of the Archipelago which sends out the greatest number of ships is Ydra; they are well built, armed and manned.
Government monopolizes the corn trade of the island, and engages in return to sell the corn at a fixed price. A supply for two or three years consumption for the whole population is always kept in the fortress.
The former Pasha of Tripoli, whom I spoke of in my last letter, is gone to Derna, under convoy of a brig which Sir Alexander sent with him. His ship was moored for a whole day close under my window, which afforded me a fortunate opportunity of prying unobserved into the Moors’ private manners, and behaviour to each other; and even the short history of one day became very instructive to me.
You may well conceive that I avoided all intercourse with these persons from Barbary. I often met parties of them in the streets, but the “Salem aleik” given and returned, was all that passed between us. The trade between Malta and Barbary, especially that with Tripoli and Tunis, acquires daily more vigour and stability. Even the English merchants begin to enter into it; hitherto the Moors and the Maltese have chiefly had it in their hands. The Tunisians, besides bartering in the Mediterranean for themselves, are also shippers for others, and enterprising smugglers with the enemy’s ports. During my passage from Gibraltar, being above six miles to the westward of Cape Toro in Sardinia, five Tunisian vessels passed in the night close to our ship, standing right over for the coast of France. Our Commodore was not near enough to see them, nor was it thought advisable to make any signals.
It happens rather unfortunately, that a Swiss regiment in the English service is in garrison here, to many of the officers of which I am personally known: this has made me very cautious in going abroad, and now, after a seven weeks residence, I have the satisfaction to find that I have succeeded in passing unknown, and unnoticed. The great intercourse between the Moorish merchants and Malta, made it absolutely necessary for me to keep my travelling plans very secret.
The next intelligence which the Association received from their traveller was a detailed account of his progress from Malta to Aleppo, in a letter dated from the latter place on the 2d of October, 1809. The following copious extract contains all the most interesting parts of it.
I have already had the honour to inform you, that I had settled at Malta with a Greek, for my passage to Cyprus on board his ship. A few hours before my departure, the captain called upon me to tell me that the owner of the ship had changed his mind as to its destination, that he himself had been ordered to go to Tripoly, but that a friend of his, whom at the same time he introduced to me, was on the point of sailing in his stead for Cyprus, and that he had already put my baggage on board this other ship. Though displeased with so preremptory a proceeding, I had no objection to change my conveyance, both captains being known to Mr. Lee; but the very moment I was embarking, the new captain told me that he was not quite sure whether he should touch at Cyprus, his ship being properly bound for Acre. I had now the option to wait at Malta, perhaps another month or two, for an opportunity for Cyprus or the coast of Syria, or to run the chance of disembarking at a place where there was no person whatever to whom I could apply for advice or protection. Luckily an Arab of Acre, then at Malta, happened to be known to Mr. Barker, jun.; in half an hour’s time a letter for a merchant at Acre, with another, in case of need, for the Pasha, were procured, and I embarked and sailed the same morning, in the hope of finding, when arrived at Acre, a passage for Tripoly (Syria), or for Latikia. However, we were no sooner out of sight of the island, than it was made known to me that the real destination of the ship was the coast of Caramania, that the captain had orders to touch first at the port of Satalia, then at that of Tarsus; and that if grain could not be purchased at an advantageous price at either of these places, in that case only he was to proceed to Acre. My remonstrances with the captain would have been vain: nothing was left to me but to cultivate his good graces, and those of my fellow travellers, as the progress of my journey must depend greatly upon their good offices. The passengers consisted, to my astonishment, of a rich Tripolitan merchant, who owned part of the ship, two other Tripolines, and two Negroe slaves. I introduced myself amongst them as an Indian Mohammedan merchant, who had been from early years in England, and was now on his way home; and I had the good fortune to make my story credible enough to the passengers, as well as to the ship’s company. During the course of our voyage numerous questions were put to me relative to India, its inhabitants, and its language, which I answered as well as I could: whenever I was asked for a specimen of the Hindu language, I answered in the worst dialect of the Swiss German, almost unintelligible even to a German, and which, in its guttural sounds, may fairly rival the harshest utterance of Arabic. Every evening we assembled upon deck to enjoy the cooling sea breeze, and to smoke our pipes. While one of the sailors was amusing his companions with story-telling, I was called upon to relate to my companions the wonders of the farthest east; of the Grand Mogul, and the riches of his court: of the widows in Hindostan burning themselves: of the Chinese, their wall and great porcelane tower, &c. &c. The Tripolitan merchant, in his turn, regaled us with the wonders of Soudan, of one nation which is in continual warfare with their neighbours, of a nation of speaking sheep, of another of necromancers, who lately defeated a whole army which the King of Bornou had sent against them, &c. &c. Still there was something instructive in his tales, as I learnt with certainty that the yearly caravan intercourse between Fezzan and Tripoly is still uninterrupted; in February 1809, a caravan from thence had arrived at Tripoly; but the pilgrim caravans from Fezzan to Cairo and Mekka have suffered greatly by the irruptions of the Wahabi. In a short time I got upon a very friendly footing with the Tripolines. I had taken but a scanty provision of eatables on board, consisting of bread, rice, oil, dates, vegetables, and coffee. After the second day, the wealthy Moor would not allow me to mess by myself; he insisted upon my joining his mess, which was plentifully supplied with all sorts of Barbary dainties. In return for his hospitality, I was not backward with my manual labour whenever he wanted it. One day we cleared one of his coffee bags of its rotten beans, to prepare it for being shewn at Satalia to the buyers as a sample of the whole stock: another day we killed a sheep, and made Barbary sausages and Kuskusey; and among other things, we refitted the foremast, which had been carried away off Candia. Provided there was something to divert the passengers’ thoughts from my person and affairs, I was contented. We made Candia on the 15th; sailed on the 15th and 16th along the southern coast, about ten leagues distant from it: saw on the 17th Rhodes, at a great distance: entered the next day the bay of Satalia, and anchored on the 19th in the port of Satalia.
The bay is an inlet into the mountains of Caramania, which surround it on the east and west side. Towards the north, where a cliff about fifty feet high overhangs the bay, the country is level. The port of Satalia is at the foot of the cliff, in the bottom of the bay. The mountains on the western side, which we passed very near, are of considerable height. Their highest ridge was on the top covered with snow. I observed one of those mountains apparently higher than the rest, whose foot touched the sea, on the sides of which the snow was sparingly spread down to one third of the mountain’s height; and this was on the 18th of June. They are all barren; their shape and whole appearance is much the same as that of the African mountains in the Straits of Gibraltar. The town of Satalia is built partly upon the cliff, partly in the plain which the cliff terminates; its gardens extend to about three or four miles along the rocky shore. The town is separated from the port and the few buildings which surround the landing place, by a wall constructed on the top of the cliff; a narrow passage leads from the beach up to the town, the gate of which is regularly shut at sunset. The entrance of the harbour seems to have been defended formerly by two towers, the ruins of which are still extant. The inner harbour is small; a Turkish guard ship, four Arab vessels from Damiat, five or six small country sailing boats, and our own ship, crowded the whole space between the two ruined towers. There is good anchorage in the larger outer bay, but no shelter against the southerly winds. Two fine streams of spring water descend the cliff on both sides of the landing place. As soon as we approached the harbour a Turkish police boat came alongside of us, and the Tripoline immediately went with the officer on shore. After we had come to anchor we were informed that the plague was in the town, and that the watch ship moored near us had two sick on board; and though nobody had died in the town within the last fortnight, yet all the principal Christian and Turkish merchants had left their town houses, and were still living in their gardens. Of course our captain would not allow any body to go on shore, and pressed the Tripoline to return on board; but the latter having already recovered once from the plague, thought himself quite secure from any second attack, and treated the captain’s remonstrances very lightly. He remained four days on shore, trading all the while for his own account, without finding grain to purchase for the ship’s cargo. During that time I went once on shore to see two bullocks killed and weighed, which had been bought for the ship’s company; we purchased besides some other fresh provisions, the whole at very low prices: the two bullocks at fifty-five piastres, fowls at eight paras, or about two-pence halfpenny each; seven eggs for one penny, &c. &c. The Turks laughed much at the captain’s continually warning them off from our persons, (yet it seems that both at Satalia and here at Aleppo, the more prudent amongst them adopt measures of precaution against the plague. I am told that at Smyrna also they have followed the Franks’ example). On the evening of the 23d, having sold for his private account all the merchandize he had on board, the Tripoline, accompanied by several Turks, made his re-appearance along side our ship, and demanded forthwith to be taken on board. A very ridiculous scene then took place. The captain required that he should undress and wash himself in the sea, and that his clothes should undergo a similar operation; the Moor, on his side, insisted on washing only part of his clothes and his body; and all his Turkish friends were of the same opinion; (an aged Musselman thinks it a great shame to expose his body naked except in the bath.) The contention lasted upwards of half an hour: it being now dark he was at last prevailed upon to jump into the sea, but nothing could persuade him to allow his clothes to be washed, for fear of having them spoiled; they were afterwards suspended at the rigging of the foremast, that the air might purify them, and he recovered them after a three days quarantine. Our captain thought he had now done his duty. He told me that upon his return to Malta he should think himself justified in taking the usual oath, that he had had no communication with any infected place; and instead of a three months quarantine, which the ship ought properly to undergo, he will only have to perform a quarantine of forty days, like all other ships which come from healthy parts of the Levant. We left Satalia the same evening. Satalia is governed by a Pasha: the greater half of the population consists of Greeks, who have got almost all the commerce into their hands. Till three or four years ago there was a French Consul resident in the town; in consequence of an avanie practised upon a merchant under his protection he left it, and no European power has since appointed a Consul at this place. The export trade consists chiefly in corn, oil, and cotton. The country boats trade to Cyprus and the coast of Syria. The Arabs of Damiat and Alexandria bring rice, Mocha coffee, and sugar; those who were then lying in the harbour purchased from us with great eagerness some coarse English pocket handkerchiefs.
After we had left Satalia, we sailed for three days along the coast of Caramania, and kept our course constantly ten leagues distant from the shore. The chain of snowy mountains seems to continue in a direction parallel with the shore. At the foot of these mountains I observed every evening thunder clouds and lightning; during our stay in the port of Satalia we were twice refreshed by heavy showers, though it was now the season when it very seldom rains in other parts of the Levant. I suppose that the vicinity of the snowy mountains, which rapidly condense the copious vapours arising from the heated earth, give rise to these clouds. On the 26th, late at night, we anchored in the roads of Mersin, a collection of villages so called, situated to the west of Tarsus, about fourteen miles distant from it. The next morning some of us went with the Tripoline on shore, where we found a party of about twenty Turkmans, encamped under and around a single tent; they were selling grain, with which the buyers loaded several camels. After a short parley the chief of the party led us to his village, about two miles distant. We remained there the whole day in the chief’s house, couched upon carpets, which were spread upon a terrace sheltered from the sun by the shade of two large mulberry trees. We returned to our ship in the evening; and spent the next four days in the same manner with these hospitable people.
An Aga is at the head of this Turkman tribe; he commands about twenty-five villages, over each of which he appoints a chief to collect the revenue, which is equally divided between the Chief and the Aga. Many of these chiefs are Greeks, who by their long residence with the Turkmans have completely adopted their manners. Their dress is the same, excepting the red cap, which the Greeks do not wear; and but for that mark it would be impossible for a stranger to distinguish them from their masters. The Turkmans are continually moving about on horseback from one village to another; they are tolerably well mounted and well armed, each with a gun, two pistols, a poignard, and a sabre. They never go but armed, but it seems to be chiefly from ostentation, for they live at peace with the inhabitants of the neighbouring villages, have nothing to fear from straggling Arab tribes, and have no opportunity of attacking travellers or caravans, which never pass this way. They occupy the whole plain, which extends in length from Cape Bajarre to beyond Tarsus; its breadth extends from the sea to the lowest ridge of the mountains of Caramania, and varies from four to five or ten miles. This plain, at least as much as I saw of it in my way to Tarsus, is for the greater part sown with barley and wheat; where it is left uncultivated, numerous herds of buffaloes and fine cattle feed upon the wild grass. Wild capers grow in great abundance. I found in several rivulets small tortoises, and amongst the ruins of deserted houses we got here and there sight of a zerboa. The Tripoline having made his purchase of grain from the Aga, the latter sent on board our ship three fat sheep in earnest of his engagements. In six days the ship was to begin loading. The Tripoline being at leisure during this time, I persuaded him to go with me to Tarsus, in search of a further conveyance for me by sea or land; one of the other Tripolines was likewise desirous of looking out for a passage for Beirout; the excursion was therefore soon agreed upon. We formed a small caravan, and set out on horseback on the morning of the 30th. The road from our anchoring place to Tarsus crosses the above mentioned plain in an easterly direction: we passed several small rivulets which empty themselves into the sea, and which, to judge from the size of their beds, swell in the rainy season to considerable torrents. We had rode about an hour, when I saw at half an hour’s distance to the north of our route, the ruins of a large castle, upon a hill of a regular shape in the plain; half an hour further towards Tarsus, at an equal distance from our road, upon a second tumulus, were ruins resembling the former; a third insulated hillock, close to which we passed midway of our route, was overgrown with grass, without any ruins or traces of them. I did not see in the whole plain any other elevations of ground but the three just mentioned. Not far from the first ruins, stands in the plain an insulated column. Large groups of trees shew from afar the site of Tarsus. We passed a small river before we entered the town, larger than those we had met on the road. The western outer gate of the town, through which we entered, is of ancient structure; it is a fine arch, the interior vault of which is in perfect preservation: on the outside are some remains of a sculptured frieze. I did not see any inscriptions. To the right and left of this gateway are seen the ancient ruined walls of the city, which extended in this direction farther than the town at present does. From the outer gateway, it is about four hundred paces to the modern entrance of the city; the intermediate ground is filled up by a burying ground on one side of the road, and several gardens with some miserable huts on the other. We led our horses to the Khan of the muleteers, and went ourselves to the Khan of the merchants, where we found tolerable accommodation, the brother of the Tripoline being known here. Our room was soon filled with all the foreign merchants who lived in the Khan, and the principal town merchants; we sold to them a few silk handkerchiefs and coarse cambrick, and were plagued with their company for the whole remaining part of the day. The foreign merchants were a party of Kahines, several Aleppines, and some Constantinopolitans. In the evening the alley at the gate of the Khan was transformed into a dark coffee room, where every body went to smoke a pipe. As we were strangers, we were greeted at our entrance with the usual politeness of Orientals towards travellers; “Peace be with you, you are welcome among us, how are you? God send you a happy evening, &c. &c.” were compliments which every one whom we approached addressed to us. We were treated by several merchants with pipes, coffee, ice-water, and Bour, which latter drink is water mixed with the juice of liquorice. The ice is brought from the mountains three days journey distant, at the price of three piastres for about five pounds. A tolerable singer sung some Turkish airs, and accompanied himself upon a sort of mandoline. Many questions were addressed to me about my person and affairs: my neighbour the Tripoline took the trouble of answering them to the satisfaction of the company. “Allah Kerim,” “God is great,” was their usual exclamation at hearing that I came from so far. We retired rather late: for my part I had been much entertained with the party. We went to sleep before the door of our room, upon a covered terrace built of wood, which runs along the interior circuit of the Khan. Before sun rise every body was up; some of the merchants descended into the court yard to perform at the fountain the ablutions which are prescribed to the Musselman after his night’s rest. But in this part of their religious rites, as well as in the performance of their daily prayers, I observed much indifference amongst the plurality of the Turks I saw here, as well as of those with whom I travelled afterwards from Suedieh to Aleppo. Amongst the latter were many who, during eight days, did not pray once: even two Hadjis, who had performed the Mekka pilgrimage, were of that number. Some would pray once, others twice a day, before sun rise, and after sun set; only three or four of the caravan were strict in regularly chaunting the three daily prayers, to which number the Koran limits the duty of travellers; but I did not find that more respect or deference was paid to them than to the others.