letter xxxii	A TURKISH ODAH	345
mangers run along the side walls and into the irregular
recesses, which are lost in the darkness. The platform is
for human beings, and the rest of the building for horses,
mules, oxen, asses, and buffaloes, with a few sheep and
goats probably in addition. The katirgis and the humbler
class of travellers sleep among the beasts, the remainder,
without distinction of race, creed, or sex, on the enclosed
space. Light enters from the door and from a few
small holes in the roof, which are carefully corked up at
night, and then a few iron cups of oil with wicks, the
primitive lamp in general use, hanging upon the posts,
give forth a smoky light.
In such an odah there may be any number of human
beings cooking, eating, and sleeping, and from twenty to
a hundred animals, or more, as well as the loads of the
pack-horses and the arms of the travellers. As the eye
becomes accustomed to the smoke and dimness, it sees
rows of sweet ox faces, with mild eyes and moist nostrils,
and wild horse faces surrounding the enclosure, and any
number more receding into the darkness. Ceaseless
munching goes on, and a neigh or a squeal from some
unexpected corner startles one, or there is a horse fight,
which takes a number of men to quell it. Each animal
is a " living stove," and the heat and closeness are so in-
supportable that one awakes quite unrefreshed in the
morning in a temperature of 80°. The odah is one of
the great features of travelling in Eastern Asia Minor. I
dined and spent the evenings in its warmth and cheeri-
ness, enjoying its wild picturesqueness, but at TJndzag I
pitched my small tent at the stable door, and at Ghazit
on the roof, and braved the cold in it.
Boy is usually close to me, eating scraps from my
dinner, and gently biting the back of my neck when he
thinks that I am forgetting his presence. He amuses all
the men everywhere by his affectionateness, and eating