A NIGHT IN RHAMAZAN.

Globe, Volume IX, Issue 1285, 2 May 1878, Page 3

A NIGHT IN RHAMAZAN.

[From the French of Theophile Gautier.] The idea of promenading from eight until one o’clock at night in Pore La Chaise, or in the cemetery of Montmartre, would appear very singular and cadaverously romantic to Parisians; but in Constantinople, graveyards are peculiarly attractive to plea-sure-seekers. The Boulevard do Grand of Pcra is situated on the summit of a hill occupied by the Petit Champ des Morts ; and, if you can imagine yourself seated on the balcony of Tortoni, with thousands of tombs and monuments gleaming before you in the moonlight, under groups of cypress trees, some idea of this Turkish pleasure resort maybe realised. A slight railing, overturned in many places, forms a lino of demarcation between the •joyous promenade and the City of the Dead, along which are arranged tables and chairs for the convenience of sherbet and coffee-drinkers and consumers of eatables. This line extends from one end of the terrace to the other, and, beyond, makes a turn where it joins the Grand Champ des Morts back of Pera. Hideous houses of five and six stories, of the bourgeois stylo of architecture (an amiable melange of t he barrack and cotton mill order), border the causeway on - one side, and enjoy an admirable view, of which they arc unworthy. It is true these houses are considered the handsomest in Constantinople, and Pcra is full of them. They are, in fact, of the most modern and civilised ugliness ; but it is just to state that with their white facades gleaming in the moonlight, they assume an imposing appearance. At each end of the terrace is a cafe concert in open air, conducted by Bohemians, whose German wal zes and Italian operatic airs add to the gaiety of this promenade bordered by tombs.

Crowds continue to advance in the space left free by those who are eating and drinking at the tables, and, with some modification in the coiffure of the women, these are generally dressed in European stylo. The young gentlemen resemble those in the engravings of Jules David’s Vavant dernier fjo'tt, and can only be distinguished from elegant Parisians by the novelty of their attire—a little too crude ; they do not follow the fashion—they outrun it. Every article of their dress is stamped by a celebrated clothier of the Rue Richelieu or the Rue de la Paix ; their shirts are from the establishment of Lami Housset, their canes from Yerdier, their hats from Bandoni, and their gloves from Jouvin, The Orient is not recalled in this reunion, excepting by the Greeks in their picturesque costumes. Armenians in red calottes with black silk tassels, and Turkish ofilcers on horseback, followed by their pipe-bearers. The evening of which I speak was very animated. 'The Rbamazan had commenced with the new moon, whose appearance above Olympus of Bithynia, watched for by pious astrologers, and proclaimed throughout all the Empire, announced the return of the great Mohammedan jubilee. The Rhamazan, as all know, is a fast by day and a feast and carnival by night. Erom the rising to the setting of the gun—of which the precise instant is indicated by firing a cannon—the Koran forbids the partaking of any food, even of the lightest description; smoking is also prohibited, and to quench the most ardent thirst by a drop of water would be a crime. But, from sunset to sunrise, every indulgence is permitted, and ample compensation is made for the privations of the day. The Turkish city is cn fete. From the promenade of the graveyard above described a marvellous spectacle unfolds before the sight. On the other side, from the Golden Horn, Constantinople gleams like a crown of rubies of an Emperor of the Orient. The minarets and domes are wreathed in light, and running from spire to spire, flaming words from the Koran are inscribed on the azure, as on the pages of a holy book suspended in the heavens. Saint Sophia, Sultan Achmet, YeniDjami, the Suleimanieh, and all the temples of Allah from Serai-Bournon to the hills of Evoub, gleam in splendour, and proclaim in fiery words the formula of Islam. The crescent of the moon accompanied by a star, seemed like the emblem of the Empire on a celestial standard. The waters multiplied the reflections of these millions of lights, and seemed to roll with torrents of gems. Imagination generally exceeds reality; hut here reality is beyond the dream. The tales of the Arabian Nights offer nothing so fairylike ; and the pouring out of the treasures of liaraoun al Rescind would have puled before this jewel-casket gleaming far and near. Desiring to see the Sultan at prayers, I commenced the descent from Pera in order to take a caique to Top-Hane, and found the crowd augmenting at every step, until it became compact. Shops brilliantly illuminated made the thoroughfare as light as noonday, where crowds of all nations were surging to and fro, forming a picturesque and animated sight. Borne on by this moving mass of humanity, 1 arrived at length at the Place Top-Hane, and, crossing the court of the mosque, found myself in front of the charming fountain, in Arabian style, which artists have rendered familiar to all the world. The masked balls of Gustave do not offer a greater variety of costumes than the Place Top-Hane during a night of the Rhamazan. Bulgarians, Circassians, Georgians, and Greeks of the Isles, in their native costumes ; Jews, with their robes fastened on the side, and calottes festooned with blue ; Turks of the reform, in tight redingotes and red capotes ; old Turks, in wide turbans and bright-colored robes, recalling the time of the Janissaries ; Persians, in their great black cups of Astrakan fur ; Syrians, with their gold-striped kerchiefs and • large Byzantine tunics , Turkish women,

dressed in white, and Armenians, less severely veiled, and dressed in violet, form the most amusing carnival imaginable. With the greatest difficulty in the world I made my way through the crowd to the point where I was to take the caique. After a few strokes of the oars wo wore enabled to see the illuminations of the Mosque of the Sultan, whoso minarets are the most elegant in Constantinople, and are cited as classical styles of Turkish architecture.

Following the Bosphorus, wo skirted the shores of Europe, all spangled with light, and bordered with summer palaces of viziers and pashas, designated by caligraphic figures in fire, and arrived opposite the Palace of Schiragan, where the name of the Sultan gleamed in fire on the facade. By means of an open door, wo perceived the Padishat and his grand officers moving about with pious contortions, amidst the illumination of myriads of candles; while sounds of nasal psalmody at intervals foil upon our ears. Proceeding thence, our boat moved in position to enable us to see the Asiatic shore, where Scutari’s illuminated mosques loomed up in grandeur in front of the funereal foliage of cypress trees, which formed a sombre-hued drapery in the back ground. Entering the Golden Horn, we stopped at the Point Serai-Bournon, where the pashas and other high personages were leaving their long barks with golden prows, to mount the splendid horses which were awaiting them on the quay. These were magnificently caparisoned, and held by negroes in gay attire. On our way we crossed the court of Yeni-Djami, surrounded by a gallery of antique columns in superb Arabian style, all silvered by the moonlight, and bathed in soft blue shadows. Under these arcades many groups of mendicants were sleeping with the tranquility of persons who are at home, as all Mussulmans who have no asylum can slumber without fear on the steps of mosques. As this fete would end with the first ray of dawn, and I was obliged to proceed from TopHane to Pera, it seemed time to commence the unpleasant exercise of ascending the hill which conducted to my lodging, as a little repose was necessary after the physical fatigue and mental excitement of the night.