Page:Statesman's Year-Book 1871.djvu/504

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4 68

TURKEY.

docia. That of Adana comprises Cilicia Petra^a ; those of Bozok and Sivas, Cappadocia; while Trabezoun, or Trebizond, is formed from the ancient provinces of Pontus and Colchis.

Turkey in Africa.

Eyalets

Chief towns

Pop. of chief towns

1. ZVIisr. or Egypt

2. Thrablousi Garb, or Tripoli

3. Tunis ....

Cairo Tripoli . Tunis .

250,000

20,000

200.000

Land in Turkey is held under four different forms of tenure, namely, 1st, as ' Miri,' or Crown lands ; 2nd, as 'Vacouf,' or pious founda- tions ; 3rd, as ' Malikaneh,' or Crown grants ; and 4th, as ' Mulkh,' or freehold property.

The first description of property, the ' miri,' or Crown lands, which form by far the largest portion of the territory of the sultan, are held direct from the Crown. The Government grants the right to cultivate an unoccupied tract on the payment of certain fees, which, of course, vary in proportion to its value. The deed which gives the applicant a title to the grant has the sultan's cipher attached, and the possession of this document ensures the property to the holder and his heirs, while at the same time it forbids its alienation. The sultan, however, still continues to exercise the rights of seigniory over the land in question, as is implied in the condition that if the owner neglects to cultivate it for a period of three years, it is for- feited to the Crown.

The second form of tenure, the ' vacouf,' is more complete in its nature than the former. It is of two kinds, called, respectively, ' Vacouf-el-Zarai ' and ' Vacouf-el-Karama'in.' The object of both is to provide for the religion of the State and the education of the people, by the erection of mosques and schools, besides eleemosy- nary institutions. The ' Vacouf-el-Zarai ' is land or other immov- able property, originally obtained by grants from the Crown, and entailed in the same form as the law of succession to the throne, that is, not on the holder's natural heir, but on the eldest surviving member of his family. The grant is sometimes conceded for a limited period only, but generally in perpetuity. The ' Vacouf-el- Karamaitn' is property bequeathed by private individuals for the same pious purposes as enumerated above, but move especially for the erection of caravanseries, fountains, wells, and other accommo- dations for the convenience of those Avho make the pilgrimage to the holy cities. Property of tins kind descends from father to son, and is inalienable, though means are found to evade the Jaw by letting