The church in our country is for worship only, and when not used for devotional purposes, its doors are closed or only opened for the visits of the curious. In the Orient the mosque affords a refuge to the houseless poor, and this is particularly the case in Damascus and Cairo, where the Moslem faith has been longer at home than in Constantinople.
Most of the mosques have large court yards attached, and a portion of these yards is roofed over to afford protection against the sun and rain.
A visitor nearly always finds groups of people sitting there, many of them at work, with as much ease and comfort as though in their own homes Tradesmen who have no shops of their own frequently bring their work to the mosque, so that you nearly always find numbers of them engaged in sewing, spinning, or other light occupations. This is particularly the case in the afternoon; and not unfrequently the mosque, at such times, or rather the court yard of it, presents a very lively appearance. Groups of children may be seen playing in the court yard, but they do not play as noisily as do most of the Occidental juveniles, and consequently their sports are not so annoying as one might be led to expect. In the mosque itself you frequently see bales and boxes piled up as in a warehouse; these are the property of persons who have gone on a journey—particularly oh a pilgrimage to Mecca—and have sent their valuables to the safest place they know. Articles sometimes lie there for years, and the owners feel entirely assured against loss. A Moslem would never steal from a holy edifice, and an infidel thief would run a great risk if he attempted it.
A few years ago some Greek and Italian scoundrels “put up a job” to plunder one of the mosques at Constantinople. They were weeks at work, perfecting their plans, and managed to get their plunder safe on board a schooner which was waiting in the sea of Marmora, a mile or two from shore. They sailed away in triumph, but the electric telegraph, which has brought so many scoundrels to justice, caused them to be overhauled at the Dardanelles.