NORTH KROM ANTALYA

Wc stayed here at the college mosque of the tovvn, the principal of vvhich was Shaykh Shihab ad-Din al-Hamavvi. Novv in ali the lands inhabited by the Turkmens in Anatolia, in every district, tovvn, and village, there are to be found members of the organization knovvn as the Akhiya or Young Brotherhood. Novvhcre in the vvorld vvill you find men so eager to vveleome slrangers, so prompt to serve food and to salisfy the vvants of others, and so ready to suppress injustice and to kili ftyrannicall agents of poliçe and the misereants vvho join vvith them. A young brother, or akhi in their language, is one vvho is chosen by ali the members of his trade IguildJ, or by other young unmarried men, or those vvho live in ascetic retreaı, to be their leader. Their organization is knovvn also as the Futuvva, or Order of Youth. The leader builds a hospice and furnishes it vvith rugs, lamps and other appli-ances. The members of his community vvork during the day to gain their livelihood, and bring him vvhat they have earned in the late afternoon. With this they buy fruit, food, and the other things vvhich the hospice requires for their use. If a traveller comes to the tovvn thal day they lodgc him in their hospice; these provisions serve for his entertainment as their guest, and he stays vvith them until he goes avvay. If there are no travellers they them¬selves assemble to partake of the food, and having eaten it they sing and dance. On the morrovv they return to their oecupations and bring their earn-ings to their leader in the late afternoon. The members are called fityan (youths), and their leader, as vve have said, is the ahi.
The day after our arrival at Antaliya one of these youths came to Shaykh Shihab ad-Din al-Hamavvi and spoke to him in Turkish, vvhich I did not understand at that time. He vvas vvearing old clothes and had a felt bonnet on his head. The shaykh said to me 'Do you knovv vvhat he is saying?' 'No' said I T do not knovv.' He ansvvered 'He is inviting you and your company to eat a meal vvith him.' I vvas astonished but 1 said 'Very vvell,' and vvhen the man had göne I said to the shaykh 'He is a poor man, and is not able to entertain us, and vve do not like to be a burden on him.' The shaykh burst out laughing and said 'He is one of the shaykhs of the Young Brotherhood. He is a cobbler, and a man of generous disposition. His comrades, about two hundred men belonging to different trades, have made him their leader and have built a hospice to entertain their guests. AH that they earn by day they spend at night.'
After I had prayed the sunset prayer the same man came back for us and took us to the hospice. We found [ourselves in] a fine building, carpeted vvith beautiful Turkish rugs and lit by a large number of chandeüers of lraqi glass.A number of young men stood in rovvs in the hail, vvearing long man-tles and boots, and each had a knife about tvvo cubits long attached to a gir-dle about his vvaist. On their heads vvere vvhite vvoolen bonnets.and attached to the peak of their bonnets vvas a piece of stuff a cubit long and tvvo fingers in breadth. Whcn they took their seats, every man removcd his bonnet and