Hey guys, this one´s really confusing me, as I lack the cultural context. Was Hamidiye suyu expensive in 1935? Cheap? Common? Rare? A luxury? A political faux pas?

It´s just the bold part that´s confusing me:

Dün Salahaddin Güngör, ´´Kitap Morgu´´ adlı yazısında, ´´hemen her köşebaşında beliren´´ kitap sergilerinden bahsederken, buralarda ´´öyle değerli, öyle aranmakla bulunmaz kitaplar var ki, diyordu, insan bunların bir bardak Hamidiye suyu pahasına nasıl olup da satıldığına şaşar.´´

Yesterday Selahaddin Güngör wrote this in his article "Book Morgue" when he was talking about book displays which appear almost in every corner:

"There are so many valuable and rare books in those displays, it makes you astonished to learn how they are sold at the expense of a one glass of Hamidiye water"

So writer wants to say they sell those books very cheap.

But is Hamidiye suyu disliked or something? It continues:

Türkiye´de kitap kadar hakarete uğrayan hiç bir mal yoktur. Hamidiye suyu değil, izmarit, kirli paçavra, eski kondura, boş şişe, hatta molozların içinden çıkarılan kırık tahta veya demir parçaları bile, sırasına göre ... yalnız kitap ... yerlerde köpek tersiyle bir hizada, altına bir bez parçası bile yayılmadan pazara çıkarılıyor.

Is he listing Hamidiye water as something disliked, or am I not understanding this grammar?

And thank you very much—that was an excellent translation.

There is nothing insulted as much as books in Turkey. Not only Hamidiye water, even cigarette butts, dirty rags, old shoes, empty bottles, broken woods left in rubbles or iron pieces are sold more expensive than the weight of their raw material and they find buyers in the right time. Only books, only those damn books are put on the ground in line with dog shits and are put on sale even without a linen under them.

Thanks, gokuyum.