ABSTRACT
Survival in prison was difficult because of the filth, the polluted air, the poor and meagre food, the mental strain of boredom and of concern for families, and the violent nature of many inmates. Most of the prisoners made no effort to be clean, and vermin swarmed about them. As for food, each day it was given only one piece of dry bread which often resembled cow's dung and tasted bitter. Often weak prisoners would die while waiting for their trial. The prisoners next to them would not report the death until the stench of the corpse became intolerable, so that they might receive the bread rations of the dead, either to eat or to sell for money to buy tobacco. Inactivity is another of the curses of Turkish prisons. The warden promptly requested help from the governor and from the military commander. Quickly two hundred soldiers came and surrounded the prison.
