In the full glory of ancient pomp Caliph Abdul Medjid crossed the Bosporus in a fourteen-oared caïque painted with a frieze of flowers and arabesques, its carved gilt prow sur- mounted by a silver image of a strange bird. The occasion was the first Selamlikofficial service at a mosqueheld in Scutari (opposite Constantinople) by the Caliph.
The steersman and oarsmen, complete in their long baggy breeches, were clad in white with the exception of a black waistcoat. At the rear of the resplendent boat the Caliph flew for the first time his personal...
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