"But there is only one harem left," replied the Turk, with very strict discipline and according to the best traditions. But perhaps you would have a chance to seeing it, for this last harem belongs to one of your compatriots, the Baron D'urdeau Bey. The last real Turk is a Frenchman."
The women of Constantinople have been emancipated, it is true, but in the streets they wear what appears almost like a uniform. The cut of all the street costumes is almost the same, the only difference being in the colors.
Many women who still have some respect for the old costumes wear small veils to hide their faces. In the mosques and even in the streetcars and railway trains, special compartments with curtains are reserved for them, presenting a curious mixture of modern and ancient custom.
In spite of the many foreigners arriving here since the war, Constantinople cannot be called a gay city. The disaster which carried down the Turkish empire has left its mark, and not even the appearance of thousands of strangers, many of them bent on a "big time," can sweep this away.
A few movie shows, two or three theaters and the Russian restaurants form the city's night life.
An American pays about $7 to $8 a day for a room in a good hotel. A haircut, with tonic, costs 75 cents, and a bottle of beer 65 cents. An automobile may be hired for $5 an hour, but all these prices fail to take into consideration tips, which are abnormally high. 