Chapter I: Preface

ALTHOUGH no Western Power has ever played a greater part in the problems of the Ottoman Empire than Great Britain, yet in no other country in Western Europe is Turkey more grossly misunderstood. I have been many times asked by my English acquaintances to write a book on Turkey from a Turkish point of view, and two ways of writing were suggested to me: the one was to compile a detailed work, the other to write a small and light book. To take the former advice was not possible to me, as I found myself incapable of producing a great and technical work. Besides, I thought that after all a small and lightly written volume would have a larger circle of readers, and by its help I could to some extent correct some of the mistaken ideas prevailing in England about Turkey. Therefore I began to write this little volume in the form of a book of travel, and I now bring it out under the title of _The Diary of a Turk_. By this means I have been able to talk a little on many matters connected with Turkey. Let the critic find other points in this book on which to express his opinion, but do not let him charge me with ignorance of the fact that the somewhat unexciting experiences of an unknown man may be only of slight interest to the public.

In the chapter on women's affairs I have quoted a few paragraphs from two articles which I contributed some time ago to two London weeklies, the _Queen_ and the _Lady_, I render my thanks to the Editors of these papers for kindly permitting me to reproduce them here.

H. H.

CONTENTS

CHAP. PAG.

I. MY HOME IN ASIA MINOR 1

II. AT SCHOOL AND IN THE HAREM 23

III. THE HAREM AND WOMEN IN THE EAST 46

IV. I GO TO CONSTANTINOPLE AND PURSUE MY
STUDIES 75

V. A NEW PROFESSION AND THE QUESTION OF
CONSCRIPTION 97

VI. TURKEY'S INTERNAL DANGERS 118

VII. A NEW COSTUME AND A NEW CAREER 134

VIII. THE SUBLIME PORTE AND YILDIZ KIOSK 150

IX. THE CEREMONY OF THE SELAMLIK 164

X. THE SULTAN'S POLICY 175

XI. THE STRUGGLE WITH YOUNG-TURKEY 186

XII. ENGLAND AND THE CALIPHATE 200

XIII. A LAST VISIT TO ASIA MINOR 211

XIV. A SPY IN A BATH 225

XV. FLIGHT TO ENGLAND 238

XVI. A RETURN AND A SECOND FLIGHT 253

ILLUSTRATIONS

PRINCES IN LANCERS' UNIFORM Frontispiece

A PICKNICKING RESORT To face page 54

A VILLAGE WEDDING PROCESSION " " 70

A TURKISH CEMETERY " " 84

OFFICERS OF LANCERS " " 114

HAMIDIEH MOSQUE " " 172

AN OLD SERAGLIO " " 184

A WRESTLING MATCH IN OLDEN DAYS " " 220

THE DIARY OF A TURK