M am s e r s .
C u s t o m s .
Cities ariE
Aleppo.
gether ■ 'Oafe df ffiefe ffiMs is- allotted ltd thë hufbàüd, mû to the re-
ception ofGrangers-; the other to the vdfë m faîiiii^r thd tiouft ^Hich
-fepltfates them is furrounded by pahfades, dr hakes. At meals the
•«Whole family îs àtfembrei- fo* that here, as among theTartars, each
•’village is reckoned at a certain number of kettles. Their .food is extremely'
fimple, -confifting of only of a little méat, fôMe 'pafte toade of
millet, and a kind of beef cdmfofed of the fame grài% fêMnMted;
The Mameluks of Egypt wëfèi as S welhkho^, flavës- rêgulaïly
Imported from -Circaffia and Georgia. In Imerkia,-. Mingreha, and
Guriel, as w%H as in Georgia, which forms a Terftsff^rovinee; the
barons, have power of life and death ever their vaffals.; ind form a powef-
ful ariftdcràcy, formidable to the prinée, who refrdes at Gutais.4 The
©àdian, or chief of Mingfelia and
jîxienfivè country, is tributary to thefbrmef feveftigK The odigidti
of all is the Grèék; and théfe provinces can fëârOefy be regarded as
fubjeà to Turkey. . i ' ‘ . JL
In genefal the moft ftrikingfeature hf rtiahhèrè and cüftéoeisi Th'fhle
Turkilh empire, is that half the people mâf bë cohfidëfed às fomewhat
civilized, wHle the other half are paftôral wanders, fa'ngiiig trvbr tic-
tenfivd waftes. This laxity of goverhinëht-fenrfëfs îh
"Minor yery -unfafe ; and has proved a great impediment tô âfiy
geographical knowledge of thefe regions/ 'Under g g g g g g o m ment
the wandering hords of Turcomans, and Kdfds-wonld bh éx-
pelled; and regular troops and giffifotiS'
whence induftry and the arts inight a'ghnVrfit tftià clafficahferrrtory.^ •
n The-càpifal ôf the Tufkilh empire has been âïfeady défetîBëd.
in dignity and importance is the «ty ^ îîàld),
to conffaîh about 250^)00 mhàbifâdtë. Tffi? tîty fë .cbttftfu&ed with
. fomê eïegahcé, and the tall cyUréfttteéô,' «ôiïèàffeë' ifrtàMhè «fïfife
minarets of numerous modes, -give i ta moft pi'<aufd*qué' appferàtrëe.*
The buildings and -population feem to be ©h the iiïtrëâfe ; b'tft the adjacent
villages are deferted. The chiéf languages .are the aùd
Arabie. The manufadures of filk and cotton are ma flôurîlhïng condition;
and large caravans feequeiftlÿhrnve from Bagdad ahd Baffora,
Memoir,, p. 57. ' ' " ^ ^ » S Ü c î j f o '. % 0*M , i % <«•' , ,
6 charged
charged with theprpdu£tsof,Eerfia and India; ^feppp- being the CrmsANu
jnodern Palmyra. Copfuls from various European powers refide here,- OWKf'
to £tten,d the inferefts oh.th^.rcfpe^ye nat-ipns.
Damafcus is /uppofed to ta^aln'aboyt ^8^000 folds, It yvaS-for- -Damafcus''
merly celebrated for the manufacture of fabrgs, yvhiclj.fe^pi^tp have
-been copljtru&ed, by a m q th od ,now loft*' oj^altgrqate thin layers of -
iron and fteel, fo astro bend .even to the liih .without breaking, while
the .edge would,divide the firmeft ipaij. y When Timtfr fubdued fjyria,
about the h^ginping, of the qg^ui-y,, he( ordered all the ^rtifts
in fteel fo jnigrjite into Perfia. The .panifa^up|^pd;iy.,^mfift of fiPf
and- cottqii, ..chiefly mingled- together; sand p^cellent' fpap, ^s ipa^e of
oil of olives, with kali and chalk. Fre>p.v the Mediterranean are imported
metals and broad cloths: and the ,eai;avans of Bagdad bring-;
Eerfian and Indian articles. Thiacity a}fe i^creafes, by. tjiegratlpal
depopulation of t^e villages and ptmntry, which laft always prefent the
chief fymptorns of national prolperjjty,;or decline, Palhalik of/
Uamaft^uis efteemed the firft in. Aha; a,nd(thc office of Paftia has, in
the d^0^11^ .of-the Turkilh ex^p(i»r^, -become in feme ipeafurd-hereditary*.
^ith abfelnte power of. life.a,od d.ea.tlji,~..and' .without any appeal*
Smyrna may be regarded as 'the thifd city in;A£i||tip Turkey, con- Sm|jba.
.t^imrig'-abput 120^0^0 foul?. T^is. ftourilhing feat of European cpm*-
me^cc, and, .thief mart ,qf fhe ■ L.evppt trade, is laid'to f^yeheep-i
ioijmded by Alexander t-He'.^ro^, eminently ,diftingui,lhed from all
hy tb^-fppndfitiQPy apd,pot the,dcift1rn£tipp, of cities.
Jn- the Wars hetween .the Turks and thrp),(^repksj Jmyrna 'lunk; info great
decline ; aqd taken with .vaft-ffiaughter by Timur,fin 1:402, The,-
excellence of the haven-renders :Smyfna the centre| ofi-an the, traffic- of,
Afia Minor ; but the frequent vifits of the- peftilence-gfeatly impede its
profperity.7
Prulais a beautiful city, in a romantic, fituation at,..the .northern Pruf«^ .
bottom of 'Olympus. ! By ^ournefpf^s, computation 'of families
the inhabitants may be about -^o,qoou It is qq-liyeped by nruperpus
fprings, y/hich defeend from the ’ mountains, and by the proximity *of ..
’7'Châiid&i', 6j*
the