A Trip to Turkey; And Traveller's Guide to the Turkish Capital, by Way of Gibraltar, Malta, Syra and Alexandria (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1855 Excerpt: ...in this civilised capital. But if you go further into the interior you may find it a great deal worse than that. The people live there far more rude and barbarous, and the pashas exercise their oppression in extorting and plundering from the defenceless people, to Hheii own satisfaction, without any restraint. The present king (Padishah) the sultan, is a very good man, and everybody loves him; but I will tell you how little he can do with the great 'men about him. His mother was a good woman, and she had so much influence over him that if she had been alive now we should have had no war. The Roman Catholic people have protection by their consuls and ambassadors; the Protestants have the same; and Nicholas thought he would have the same thing over the Greeks and Armenians, and some of the people would have been glad with protection from any power against these Turkish pashas. The allies think they can give protection to us better than Nicholas, and it would be a bad thing for him to get so much power with and over so many people in Turkey; so they cannot settle it without fighting. The Greeks, the Armenians, and the Jews, must now have soldiers to keep Nicholas away, to assist the allies who are their friends; and then they will have power to restrain the pashas. One day there was a poor man amongst us, when there was a tax made for the king, who said, 'Let the king come himself for his money, I cannot depend on you.' Then he went to the sultan. He saw him in the street, told him he had something to ask him, and was to come to the palace next day. lie went, and on his knees he went, for that is the way we respect the king; and he said to the king, 'Your people ask for your money; I cannot trust them. I have brought you forty piastres.' The king laughed and s...