A TURKISH WEDDING.

King Country Chronicle, Volume V, Issue 365, 31 May 1911, Page 2

A TURKISH WEDDING.

An English lady who is now travelling in the East, studying the women and customs of the Orientals, writing from Cairo, sends the following interesting account of a wedding she attended in a Turkish home in the Egyptian capital. "The groom," she writes, "was a Turk, governor of one of the nomes (provinces) of Egypt, the bride a distant relative of the Khedive. We left our hotel at half-past eight in the evening, each armed with a bouquet—the proper thing, we were told, to present to the bride. The bride's home was in a small street, which was entirely canopied over for the occasion with Oriental embroideries and festooned with green and red glass lanterns. The street, which thus practically formed a long room, the interior resembling more than anything else that of a large marquee in which a fete was being held, was covered with a thick carpet of clean sr.ni, and two bands of musicians—one European and one Egyptian—were stationed in this improvised hall. The street running at right angles to this street was also brilliantly illuminated and festooned with flags. Musicians with tom-toms, placed there, welcomed the guests as they drove up. The groom rereh'ed the gentlemen on the ground floor of the house—the ladies were ushered upstairs.

On the stairs eunuchs gave notice of our arrival by the clapping of hands. Another • lot of musicians at the head of the stairs commenced such a clatter on their tom-toms, and gave such vigorous cries of welcome, that we were nearly deafened. The bride's mother met us and was very gracious, giving us the best seats in the house. The room soon became crowded with women and young girls, some of them exceedingly pretty, but most of them too fat—they were, of course, unveiled, being indoors. They were loaded with jewels, coronets of diamonds on their hair, ropes of pearls, an I other jewels about their necks—enormous diamond brooches—oh, they were splendid ! When all were assembled, about a hundred or more, a sheet was spread on the carpet in oar midst and the. presents displayed—the servants making a hideous noise all the time. The groom's niece, who spoke French, and explained everything to me, said they shouted so to make it gay for the bride. It was enough to, scare the devil away had hp been on hand. The bride was very pretty, wore a dress of pink gauzy stuff with threads of gold, and was ushered in by dancing-girls with tambourines and castanets. Fo.ir young girls accompanied her as bridesmaids. She was seated on an improvised throne, and then singing-girls sang quite sweetly and dancing-girls gave us a very Oriental dance. The latter wore jewels that would ransom a kingdom."