The Turk and his lost provinces

by William Eleroy Curtis

Mr. Dorys is the son of Adossides Pasha, one of the former ministers of the Sultan. His father was a distinguished and influential man, at one time governor of Crete and afterwards prince of Samos, a post he occupied until his death. The son spent his childhood and youth about the Yildiz Kiosk, where he had exceptional opportunities for seeing and knowing the extraordinary events of the Ottoman court, and much of the material used in his book is said to have been obtained from the private papers of his late father, which fell into his possession after the latter’s death. Mr. Dorys was correspondent of the London Times at Constantinople for two or three years, and as such made himself familiar with political conditions. He was therefore admirably equipped for the task he undertook, but was unable to suppress his prejudice, and does not give the Sultan credit for his few virtues. The work is both approved and condemned by people in Turkey. Some say that it is accurate and just; others accuse him of being actuated by personal spite. He has at least stirred up the Sultan and his court to a degree of indignation that has not been shown there for many years.

The missionaries say that Abdul Hamid is a bad Sultan, but a good Moslem; that his fanaticism is equal to that of any fakir in his realm; that he is responsible for the persecution of the Christians and for the massacre of the Armenians; that the orders were given by him personally. On the other hand, Americans and Englishmen who are in the habit of visiting the palace and have personal acquaintance with His Majesty, insist that he has many good traits and that he would not be a bad man at all if he lived under different conditions.

When General Horace Porter, our ambassador to France, visited Turkey, the Sultan received him with unusual cordiality and attention, because of General Porter’s former relations to General Grant. When he heard that Mr. Porter had been Grant’s private secretary, it was enough. A carriage from the imperial stable, an aide-de-camp from the Yildiz Kiosk and a military escort were placed at his disposal and all doors in Constantinople were ordered thrown open to him. Few travelers have ever been received with so much distinction, and before he left the city the Sultan gave a dinner in his honor at the palace and decorated Mrs. Porter with one of his most important orders.

It is remarkable what an impression General Grant left during his famous tour around the world. He is remembered with reverence everywhere—in China and Japan as well as in Turkey. The Sultan and the King of Siam, as well as Li Hung Chang, have always quoted him to Americans as their highest authority. His fame and his influence will be everlasting.

Mrs. Porter was entertained in the Sultan’s harem, but that was no unusual courtesy. The wives of the diplomatic corps are often received by the sultanas, who are glad to see them, and any other strangers for that matter, because their lives are very monotonous and their diversions are few. No person may ask permission to visit the imperial or any private harem. It would be considered an insult. If the Sultan or any Turkish gentleman desires foreign ladies to meet his wives he will offer them an invitation, and will either conduct them in person to the harem or send them in charge of the kizlar-aghasi, or chief eunuch, a very important personage, who ranks next to the grand vizier and the Sheik-ul-Islam.

The Sultans have long ceased to contract regular marriages, and the harem is a state institution. Nobody knows the exact number of Abdul Hamid’s wives, but he is supposed to have 300 or 400, who are graded and live according to their rank under the direction of the khasna-dar kadin, or superintendent of the harem. They are from the prominent families of the empire, as frequently the sultanas are able to exercise a powerful influence in behalf of their relatives and friends. When a rich pasha wants to secure the favor of the Sultan he offers him one of his daughters with a suitable dowry as a wife. If she is accepted it is a sign of friendliness as well as a mark of distinction. When the governor of the Circassian province, which is said to have the most beautiful women in Turkey, wishes to please his imperial master, he will send him a handsome young girl as a gift, or when any of his subordinates discover a young woman of remarkable attractions they secure her for the harem just as they would secure a valuable horse for the imperial stables. The Sultan does not always accept such gifts. He is supposed to be very fastidious, particularly now that he has passed the age of sixty years, and is becoming quite as suspicious regarding the inmates of the harem as he is concerning the members of his court. His eldest sister, who is a woman of very strong character and has more influence with him than any other person, looks after the harem very closely, and has sent away a large number of girls whom she considered supernumeraries, if such a term can be used in that connection. It is also understood throughout the empire that His Majesty does not care for any more wives. He has transferred to his favorite pashas several remarkable beauties who have been added to the harem within the last few years. In the summer of 1902 he sent one of the most beautiful to the governor of Damascus to comfort the latter in affliction, as he had recently become a widower.

The ladies of the harem are called sultanas. They enter as slaves, and the younger become the servants of the older and attend upon them until they are promoted. If the Sultan takes a fancy to any one of his wives her fortune is made, for she is rapidly promoted, her allowance for dresses and jewels is increased and, if she bears a child, she can live apart from the rest, as becomes a princess. All children born in the harem, whether of free women or slaves, are legitimate and of equal lineage, and may inherit the throne if they ever become the head of the family.

The daughters of the Sultan are married to favorite pashas and officers of the army. He confers them upon his favorite subjects at pleasure, but they are not always regarded as a blessing. It is assuming a great responsibility to marry the daughter or the sister of the Sultan. They are very exacting and naturally realize their rank and superiority to ordinary people. They are expensive luxuries also, because an imperial princess must live in a certain degree of state.

Ladies of the imperial harem almost without exception wear European dress. Only the most recent arrivals, girls who come from the interior of the country, retain the native costume. The sultanas have French maids and order their gowns and hats in Paris. Every now and then a French modiste or milliner arrives in Constantinople with samples for the inspection of the sultanas, from whom she receives very large and liberal orders. Although they are seldom seen by men, the inmates of the harem have all the feminine instincts and there is a great deal of rivalry among them. We saw one of the Sultan’s favorite wives and her daughter driving in a victoria, accompanied by a negro eunuch and a military escort. They were dressed in European fashion, but were closely veiled so that their features could not be distinguished.

The apartments of the harem are equipped with European furniture. The meals are served in European style and the cooks are French. The French language is spoken generally among the sultanas and they read French novels. Turkish customs are almost obsolete. The traditional harem in which houris sit around upon silk rugs with their legs crossed and play guitars and eat sweetmeats exists only in the imagination. The women live just like any other royal family, except that they are not allowed to receive company or enter society, and when they leave the palace they must wear heavy veils. When the Sultan’s wives are ill they are attended by the male physician of the British embassy. This is also an innovation. Formerly no Christian physician was allowed in the harem. The patients are always veiled when the doctor visits them. Even if they are confined to their beds, strips of mull are thrown over their faces.