The Turkish woman then, to whatever class she may happen to belong, is a votary of the far niente. To drive away ennui, the wealthier make or receive visits or frequent parties. In the harems of the rich, each lady receives her friends in her own room. There they talk, sing, or tell one another stories. They listen to music, they go to pantomimes, to dances, and walk in the gardens. They pass the long hours agreeably by taking baths together, by swinging in hammocks, by smoking the narguilhé, and by giving elegant little dinner parties.
An evening party in a harem (la Kalva) is rather a rare occurrence, for night festivities are not among Mussulman habits. No man is present at these parties. As the guests arrive, the lady of the house begs them to be seated, and places them side by side on a divan with their legs crossed under them, or leaning on one knee. Coffee and a tchibouk with an amber mouthpiece are handed round. Small portions of fruit jelly are served on a silver embossed dish. Each guest, after a little ceremonious hesitation, helps herself with the only spoon in the dish, and which everybody uses. Each then puts her lips to a large tumbler of water which follows the jelly.
General and animated conversation then begins. The maids of the lady of the house seat themselves so that every one can see them, and begin to sing, accompanying themselves on the harp, on the mandolin, on little kettledrums, or on tambourines. Afterwards other young girls go through a kind of pantomimic dance. When the music and the dances are over, they play games of cards, and the party winds up with a supper ([fig. 109]).
Pleasure out of doors has other attractions. The Turkish ladies of the middle class frequent the bazaars and pay one another visits.
There are three kinds of these visits: visits that have been announced beforehand, unexpected visits, and chance visits. The last are the most curious. Several ladies collect together and go about in the different quarters of the town, paying visits to people whom they have never seen ([fig. 110]).
109.—A HAREM SUPPER.
Walking parties in Constantinople are regular picnics. On Sundays and Fridays people leave town provided with all sorts of refreshments. The sultans have constructed on some of the public walks overhanging terraces, which overlook pieces of water and form level plots of ground. Tumblers and conjurors, musicians and dancers give performances on these terraces. Picturesque knots of women clad in their white yaschmacs, which cover the whole face and only reveal the nose, are to be seen there. Long flowing overdresses of a thousand different hues envelope the rest of their figure.