Show FROM THE ORIENT AStr auge scene in the CAPItAl of turkey 1 A celebration weird and impressive exercises ex moslem customs Cu Cuu atoms toms if constantinople is truly a lingual babylon it Is oo 00 less a babel ret respecting various national costumes habits and religions the occurrence occur renco of the per national nati oual religious fett fete ccle cele boated on the oth of this boath nion til oct so far surpassed other religious denominations that I 1 venture a brief description of an event that hag has eo so strangely impressed itself upon iny my mind the persians in mohammed bam med but differ religiously from the turks by being tho the followers of all the cousin and son in inshaw jaw of the prophet nad and by rejecting the e sonna or book of commentaries by the immediate successors bors of mohammed many precepts prec epta 8 and apologues which casu casually ally fell from the lips of the prophet were collected after his death from ear car witnesses and transcribed tran scribed in in a book called the sonna souris or ar borai oral law hence the origin odthe of the Son So unites to whom the turks belone belong and the opposition of the Sch Seb lites strongly represented by the persians hostilities tili ties and persecutions have occa blo nally taken place between theeo sects says sa s irvine ir vine almost as virulent as tho those thoe e which be between tween catho lice and protestants have disgraced christianity among tho frari grandest dest characters of the Sch lites lies was hibbeln the grandson of mohammed by Ms lils daughter fatima the wife ol 01 ali the manner ic which hasten was induced to leave mecca and repair to cua cola where according to promise he lie expected to receive the title ot of caliph and rid his tragic death at berbela Ker bela or meshed kl klaseen asien ii are all prominent features in the history of his sect and aud to day hia his tomb at kerba is visited annually by huna hundreds reds of Pet persians olaus w tio bo con consider bider i der it an honor and aiana a banc lity lo 10 buy buty the bodeis of departed relatives or friends near the toiuo of their patron r aint faint the anniversary of his martyrdom and the solemnity with which w laluh itis it is kept may he be nife inferred ried he the account related by thy the secretaries of ali of tho the prodigies prod gres which attended his death the tu tun nuth with drew his light the stars twinkled at noonday and clashed against each other and the clouds rained showers of oxblood blood A supernatural light beamed from the head odthe martyr and a flock ot it white birds hovered around 10 it these miracles are declared false bythe by the Sonni ice who bold hold ali and hie his race an ail abomination on the ath of october the anniversary of the lla martyrdom was as with great demonstrations by the persians of constantinople at G 6 in the evening I 1 repaired to stamboul and made my way through narrow allay allays and dismal i thoroughfares to the valde valide khan A persian commercial house with a spacious court about x yards in dimensions and with a large fountain in the center of ther the court around this large die dle way between centra ventre and aud bides sides ropes were mere stretched so ae as to secure an open space of about 25 feet for the Ibe procession on both sides of this temporary alley multitudes bad congregated gre gated and anti the windows of the houses were filled and even the roofs covered by squads of veil veiled ed turkish women while the european women mixed freely in the promiscuous crowds below the sides of the buildings were illuminated and the elegant glass and porcelain vases hanging lamps and chandelier produced a somewhat curious display di spaY of oriental grandeur prayer over the procession led by the we priests began its is confusion and irregular march the music dispensed by drams and cymbals cy mbale was more remark remarkable able for its decree dearee of quantity than lor for its quality 1 and slid was painfully mo moncton noton one ous F following the band canie canle the horses decked with oriental cloths ornamented by shields tars an and dt other ail ancient tient implements of war on one of the tile horsed were perched ft a number of white pigeons in commemoration of the ack i ock of hito bird which hovered around the tj a mar head at ina his death behind 11 nd ali the 0 o bart eq rame canie in blak black co lupia t a number of all hi ys hant 1 n 9 4 cypin lp j these were tea lea p tarr varr yina ini curf pro fard pared fur tl t their i ilir b jr backs exposed beneath the glaring torch hants lighta r av scoured con consisted led of about fifteen afif been chains chuins the inize of an in ordinary atch and attached to ft it handle large enough for the grip of both hands last and full of sensational attraction cagne upwards of persians heads shaved bare on toy in ip moslem and with op sharp AT tee dinv 1 between the botu mon man belchere biA chers knife and sword word in length and about the eight of the latter by the priests who walked v between the tile two flies files these terrible weapons were brand beed as gs of vengeance upon the murderers mur derera of haselo rent the air in wild enthusiasm the tho beaters of he the swords were druc join robes robea each cach person olgh bor by tho the girdle with his hi left hand band as he nourished flourished in angry tra eions the sword of allah with his right after tu marching arching thus twice around the court the most horrid and sickening edelea were enacted tho the men with eco urges were acre inflicting violent t lashes upon thear their aich h ico it seemed beat eat to a jelly and those gloves were striking etri kIng their ali air bare heas beads with the keen edge of their ugly weapons causing the blood to aburt and flow in streams ils down their faces and decks covering cov erint their white robes so ae as to give them belve a more I 1 lie appearance of beasts than of human beings swinging backwards and forwards forwar delp ip their the ir sidelong movements uttering in deep lutteral gut teral tonee tones the names of hasain asala and land hassan brother of habein lla Ha sein they then would draw those sharp instrument of barbarity across their bare heads head and ia in exulting exhibitions of SO self r torture display the bloodstained blood stained blades to a audience behind each of those with swords was an attendant with a cloth wiping from time to time the blood out ont of llie th eyes of these ese self posing victims of fanaticism and at the tile same time 0 this attendant carried a stick in his hand band to prevent the one under his care from striking etri king in hii frari frantic tic zeal a blow which might open hie his skull and produce death cleath those who fel fell down from exhaustion were taken away and cared for if it ii was to represent the shower of blood that rained at the death of their martyr there waa was but little wanting in this last sanguinary try tragedy after making the third circuit some religious ceremonies were performed and the bloody victims themselves were conducted to turkish baths where they were washed and had bad their heads properly bandaged the men who had bad scourged urged their backs so violently were probably in a worse state than the others the swords are made extremely sharp that the wounds may linay more readily heal but on the backs of the protuberances of the skill often appear and diseases of the ho collar bone are not it was a bloody eight sight and I 1 I 1 can scarcely efface the horrid impression made upon me besides I 1 wended my way back without the slightest curiosity curioli ly to lo ever witness the persian file of CO constantinople stantin ople again leet lest some of these wild fanatics should go beyond bounds turkish soldiers were stationed bix feet apart around the ell entire tire line of procession thia this fete is permitted not because it Is in accord with turkish warship worship on the contrary it h s a demonstration against the turks or Sun but because of turkish perfect religious toleration which allows allow a every creed to worship the lord in its own peculiar way such religious performances are eaid said to be fanatic jem the result of ignorance and barbarity but then these moslems Alos lems might pertinently ask what candea german students to so to wound each other as to ft a mat maik k of honor to c carry arry ugly scabon scare on their head heads and faces fa ces it may be e the result of what is termed fanaticism but blit it ie 14 no more the result of ignorance and barbarity than that which caused german savants to make brute of themselves thease 1 ves or army officers to bahoot one ano another t her down in duels duel ia is tho result intelligence of the sheea european designates his social fanaticism aud sinful self destructive habits honor bonar pride courage or folly and the oriental fanaticism recalls ho calls barbarat bar barbarity barit y they are all human buman idiosyncrasies which grow out of weakness and nod of 0 an all imperfect understanding in individuals and in ill r society of the proper relations of man to man and of man to god I 1 J if in millennial star |