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25 June 1879 — Therapia | |
Wednesday. 25th June 1879. Lady Dickson came to stay in the Genl’s absence. Got up late and at 2 started in the steam launch with Alice & Lady Dickson for Bebek to call on Princess Zenab Khanum who had invited us to go to her house to hear some Turkish music & Nazlie had promised to meet us to interpret. She was not there & for some time we had some difficulty in making ourselves understood. At last a French governess who was ill with fever was pulled out of her bed & brought down & the poor woman who had lost her voice had some difficulty in making herself heard. I sent the steam launch to Candilli to fetch Mrs Hobart P.—& afterwards as Nazlie did not arrive I sent the launch to Beylerbey for her. When she arrived she said she was ill & had been up all night as there had been a fire two doors off & she had packed up all her things preparatory for flight. We sat in the large vestibule & opposite us sat 4 slaves in pink silk dresses & white headdresses—one played the violin—one a kind of guitar & the others sang & played tambourines which they touched very gently. The music was wild—in a minor key & very monotonous but they kept on for more than an hour without stopping. During this coffee, sherbet & ices were served to us. When the music had lasted some time I asked whether we could see some dancing & at last after some delay 2 girls came to dance. The Pss used to keep 7 or 8 but she has now only 2. They were dressed in maroon cashmere embroidered with gold—long baggy trousers & kind of loose bodies, with wide collars, fastened in at the waist– Their long hair hung down their backs & was fastened back from their eyes by a red ribbon round their heads. They danced round the vestibule after each other in most graceful attitudes & with a sort of followed figure. Once they bent their heads quite back & waved their long hair right round—another time they danced holding their hair—another holding a scarf—& at last they threw themselves on the ground & seemed in contortions but this only lasted a moment as the danced quickened for at first it was quite slow & measured. After the dancing we sent to P. Halim P’s for some Egyptian slaves who gave us Egyptian music wh was no prettier than the Turkish & the singing done in a peculiar way in their throats. At abt 5 we went home. Went to Candilli to leave Mrs Hobart. We found Mrs Willie & May at home & had tea with them in the garden. | |
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