A large dish of hash is also ready, and
when a customer calls the requisite amount of meat is clapped on one
side of the paste, the other half doubled over it, and he departs eating
his halfmoon-shaped pie. On the counters you see displayed large
egg-shaped forms of what look like layers of tallow and cooked meat,
cheesy-looking cakes of many kinds and an endless variety of
confectionery. The sweetmeats are perfection, the fresh Turkish paste
with almonds in it melts in your mouth, and the sherbet, compounded of
the juice of many fruits and flowers and cooled with snow, is the most
delicious drink I ever tasted. There are also many kinds of nice
sweet-cakes; but, on the whole, I should prefer not to board in a
Turkish family or employ a Turkish cook. No wonder the women are pale
and sallow if they indulge much in such food!
Being anxious to see a good display of Turkish rugs, and our party
having some commissions to execute, we sallied forth one afternoon on
this errand. If you intend to visit a Turkish carpet warehouse, and your
purse or your judgment counsels you not to purchase, put yourself under
bonds to that effect before you go; for, unless you possess remarkable
strength of character, the beautiful rugs displayed will prove
irresistible temptations. Near the bazaar in Stamboul is a massive
square stone house, looking like a fortress compared with the buildings
around it. Mosses and weeds crop out of every uneven part of its walls.
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