112.—TURKISH PORTER.
The Turks, although their literary civilization is still in its infancy, possess a system of public education. The mosques of Constantinople, of Broussa, and of Adrianople, have colleges attached to them. Young men are sent from all parts of the Mussulman empire to these colleges, where they receive some amount of education. When they have finished their course of study, in which the commentaries on the Koran play the principal part, and when several examinations have tested their proficiency, the pupils receive the title of mudir or professor. All civil and judicial posts are monopolized by this educated class.
But in Turkey, what knowledge there is, remains absorbed among a small quantity of individuals; no channel exists for the free intercommunication of ideas.
Their kodjas, or writers, have indeed given their fellow countrymen a large number of works, much esteemed by them—works on the Arabic and Persian languages, on philosophy, on morality, on Mussulman history, and on the geography of their country. But these writings, whatever their value, never reach the mass of the nation. There are but few printing presses in Turkey; the copyist’s art, such as it existed in Europe in the middle ages, still flourishes there. The state of literature in Turkey shows us what modern civilization would have become in Europe, without the assistance of the printer.
With this general want of literary and scientific knowledge, we naturally expect to find Turkey far behindhand in art, in manufactures, and in agriculture. The latter, in fact, is in a sad state throughout the whole extent of the Ottoman empire. Manufactures exist in a few towns; in Constantinople, in Salonica, in Adrianople, and in Rustchuk. Their principal manufactures are carpets, morocco leather, a little silk, thread and swords. Their commerce consists in the export of their raw produce; such as wool, silk, cotton, leather, tobacco, and metals, particularly copper; wine, oil, and dried fruit are also largely exported. The Turks are good cloth manufacturers, gunsmiths, and tanners. Their works in steel and copper, and their dyes, are equal to the best articles of European manufacture.
The Greeks, who are very numerous in Turkey, follow all kinds of trades and callings. They make the best sailors of the Ottoman empire, while the Armenians are its keenest traders. The latter travel all over the interior of Asia and India; they have branch establishments and correspondents everywhere. Most of them, while pursuing some mechanical art, are at the same time the bankers, the purveyors, and the men of business of the pachas, and other great officials. Jews show in a less favourable light in Turkey than in Europe; any business suits them, if they can make something out of it.
[Figs. 111] and [112] represent two common Turkish types—a barber and a street porter.