m at any length. I will merely observe,
therefore, that though infinitely more considerable, they do not
respond, any more than those of Smyrna, to the ideas of luxury and
grandeur which untravelled Europeans are apt to conceive of them. The
Turkish bazars have a miserable aspect; they are nothing more than an
immense labyrinth of large vaulted galleries, clumsily built, and at all
times damp in the extreme. Magnificent carpets, stuffs embroidered in
gold and silver, and other objects, the richness of which contrasts most
singularly with the nakedness of the walls, are hung out for display on
cords stretched transversely. The counter is a flat board of wood, very
slightly elevated above the ground, and which serves as a divan to the
seller and a seat to the buyer. From this place, which is usually
covered with a mat, the Mussulman gazes in silence upon the passing
foreigner, whom he rarely deigns to address by the name of Effendi;
while, on the contrary, the active and loquacious Armenian even leaves
his shop to run after him with some tempting object in his hand, at the
same time indiscriminately giving him the title of "Signore Capitan." In
the bazars are an astonishing number of articles which are often very
cheap, such as tissues of silk, dressing gowns, gold embroidery, and
Persian carpets, perfumery, precious stones, pieces of amber, furs,
sweetmeats, pipes, morocco leather, velvet slippers, silken scarfs and
Cachemire shawls cover a space extending over several leagues. In the
"_Besestein_," a large building separated from the other bazars, one
meets with in quantities those old arms, so sought after by antiquaries,
carbines ornamented with coral, magnificent yataghans worn by the
Janissaries before their destruction, and the famous blades of Khorasan.

The commerce of Constantinople is closely allied with that of Smyrna;
and many branches of trade, such as silk and opium, being required to
pay duties at the customhouse of the capital, the merchants buy them at
Constantinople merely in order to pass them over to Smyrna, where they
find a more advantageous market for them. In consequence, these goods
are twice borne upon the registers of the Turkish customhouses, which,
be it observed, are exceedingly badly kept. Wool forms the principal
branch of trade at the Porte, which is abundantly furnished with that
article from her nearest provinces, Roumelia, Thessaly, and Bulgaria,
which, containing about five million inh