THE SULTAN'S FAMILY LIFE.
The Sultan of Turkey has only four legal wives. He has, however, 300 others. Six thousand persons are fed daily at the palace ; twenty men are kept constantly buying fish for the palace, and forty others have to carry in the fish that are bought. Ten tons of fish a week are eaten, and nearly nine tons- of bread, one ton of rice, and 600 pounds of sugar a day. The food of the Sultan is cooked by one man and his aids, and no others touch it. It is cooked in silver vessels, and when done with each kettle is sealed by a slip of paper and a stamp, and this is broken in the presence of His Majesty by the High Chamberlain, who takes one spoonful from each separate kettle before the Sultan tastes it. This is to guard against poison. The food is always served up in the same vessel in which it is cooked, and these are often of gold ; but when of baser metal, the kettle is set in a rich golden, bell-shaped holder, which is held by a slave while the Sultan eats. The Sultan never uses a plate. He takes all his food from the little kettles, and never uses a table and rarely a knife and fork.
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Bibliographic details
Evening Post, Volume L, Issue 114, 9 November 1895, Page 1 (Supplement)
Word Count
219THE SULTAN'S FAMILY LIFE. Evening Post, Volume L, Issue 114, 9 November 1895, Page 1 (Supplement)
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