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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/9457-8.txt b/9457-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..bb7073b --- /dev/null +++ b/9457-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,17330 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Travels In Arabia, by John Lewis Burckhardt +#3 in our series by John Lewis Burckhardt + +Copyright laws are changing all over the world. Be sure to check the +copyright laws for your country before downloading or redistributing +this or any other Project Gutenberg eBook. + +This header should be the first thing seen when viewing this Project +Gutenberg file. Please do not remove it. Do not change or edit the +header without written permission. + +Please read the "legal small print," and other information about the +eBook and Project Gutenberg at the bottom of this file. Included is +important information about your specific rights and restrictions in +how the file may be used. You can also find out about how to make a +donation to Project Gutenberg, and how to get involved. + + +**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts** + +**eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971** + +*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers!***** + + +Title: Travels In Arabia + An Account Of Those Territories In Hedjaz Which The Mohammedans Regard As Sacred + +Author: John Lewis Burckhardt + +Release Date: December, 2005 [EBook #9457] +[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule] +[This file was first posted on October 2, 2003] + +Edition: 10 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TRAVELS IN ARABIA *** + + + + +Produced by William Thierens + + + + +[p.iii] TRAVELS IN ARABIA + +COMPREHENDING + +AN ACCOUNT OF THOSE TERRITORIES IN HEDJAZ WHICH THE MOHAMMEDANS +REGARD +AS SACRED. + +BY THE LATE + +JOHN LEWIS BURCKHARDT + +PUBLISHED BY AUTHORITY OF THE ASSOCIATION FOR PROMOTING +THE DISCOVERY OF THE INTERIOR OF AFRICA + + +LONDON : HENRY COLBURN, NEW BURLINGTON STREET, 1829. + + + +[p.v] PREFACE OF THE EDITOR. + +SOME years have now elapsed since two distinct portions of Burckhardt’s +works (his Travels in Nubia and Syria) were offered to the public, and +most favourably received; their success being insured not only by +instrinsic merit, but by the celebrity of their editor as a scholar and +antiquary, a traveller and a geographer. It must not however be +inferred, from any delay in publishing the present volume, that its +contents are less worthy of notice than those parts which have already +proved so interesting and instructive to a multitude of readers. It was +always intended that this Journal, and other writings of the same +lamented author, should issue successively from the press: “There still +remain,” says Colonel Leake, in his Preface to the Syrian Journal (p. +ii.) “manuscripts sufficient to fill two volumes: one of these will +consist of his Travels in Arabia, which were confined to the Hedjaz or +Holy Land of the Muselmans, the part least accessible to Christians; the +fourth volume will contain very copious remarks on the Arabs of the +Desert, and particularly the Wahabys.” + +[p.vi] Respecting the portion now before the reader, Colonel Leake, in +another place, expresses a highly flattering opinion. “Burckhardt,” says +he, “transmitted to the Association the most accurate and complete +account of the Hedjaz, including the cities of Mekka and Medina, which +has ever been received in Europe. His knowledge of the Arabic language, +and of Mohammedan manners, had enabled him to assume the Muselman +character with such success, that he resided at Mekka during the whole +time of the pilgrimage, and passed through the various ceremonies of the +occasion, without the smallest suspicion having arisen as to his real +character.” (See the Life of Burckhardt prefixed to his Travels in +Nubia, p. lvii. 4to. edition, 1819). + +Recommended so strongly, the work of a less eminent traveller would be +entitled to our notice: this presents itself with another claim; for the +manuscript Journal was partly corrected and prepared for publication by +the learned editor of Burckhardt’s former writings. But some important +literary occupations prevented Colonel Leake from superintending the +progress of this volume through the press. His plan, however, has been +almost invariably adopted by the actual editor; particularly in +expressing with scrupulous fidelity the author’s sentiments on all +occasions, and in retaining, without any regard to mere elegance of +style or selection of terms, his original language, wherever an +alteration was not absolutely necessary to reconcile with our system of +phraseology and grammatical construction certain foreign idioms which +had crept into his English writings. [It was thought expedient, from +circumstances of typographical convenience tending to facilitate and +expedite the publication of this volume, that the Arabic characters +which in the original manuscript follow immediately certain words, or +appear between the lines or in the margin, should here be placed +together at the end, as an Index, with references to the pages wherein +they occur.] + +[p.vii] The map prefixed to this volume might almost appear superfluous, +since the positions of Djidda, Mekka, Medina, Tayf, and Yembo, the chief +places of Hedjaz visited by Burckhardt, are indicated with accuracy in +the excellent maps that illustrate his Nubian and Syrian Travels. But as +the reader of this volume cannot reasonably be supposed to have +constantly at hand, for immediate reference, the two former portions of +our author’s works, a map is here given, in the construction and +delineation of which Mr. Sydney Hall has attended to every suggestion +offered by the editor: at whose recommendation the names of places are +spelt after Burckhardt’s manner, however different from that more usual +among us. [Thus in the map as in the letter-press of this volume, Mekka +might have been spelt Mecca; and Hejaz, Jidda, Nejed, would as well +express the proper sounds of those words as Hedjaz, Djidda, Nedjed; and +at the same time approximate more closely to the original Arabic +orthography, by which our English j (as in Jar, James, &c.) is +represented without the assistance of a d; although the prefixing of +this letter to the j might prevent a Frenchman from pronouncing it as in +jour, jamais, &c.] + +By the editor’s advice, also, several places situate beyond the Eastern +limits of Hedjaz are included in this map; since Burckhardt, although he +did not visit them himself, has given some original itineraries, in +which they are mentioned. + +That those places do not belong to the region properly denominated +Hedjaz, is evident; but how far this region extends eastward cannot +easily be determined; and the same difficulty respecting it occurs in +various directions. The editor, that he might ascertain by what +boundaries we are justified in supposing Hedjaz to be separated from +other provinces of Arabia, consulted a multiplicity of authors, both +European and Oriental. The result, however, of his inquiry has not +proved satisfactory; for to each of the neighbouring countries. + +[p.viii] certain writers have assigned towns, stations, and districts, +which by others of equal authority are placed in Hedjaz. + +Such confusion may partly have arisen from the different statements of +the number, extent, and names of divisions comprised within the same +space; this being occupied, according to European writers, by three +great regions, the Stony, the Desert, and the Happy Arabia; while +Oriental geographers partition it into two, five, six, seven, or more +provinces, under denominations by no means corresponding in +signification to the epithets above mentioned, which we have borrowed +from the Greeks and Romans. + +That it would be a most difficult, or scarcely possible task, to fix +precisely the limits of each Arabian province, is acknowledged by that +excellent geographer, D’Anville; but he seems disposed to confound the +region comprising Mekka, Djidda, and Yembo, (places which, as we know, +are unequivocally in Hedjaz,) with Arabia Felix. [D’Anville, Géographie +Ancienne.] D’Herbelôt, in one place, declares Hedjaz to be Arabia +Petraea, [See the Bibliothčque Orientale in “Hegiaz ou Higiaz”--“Nom +d’une province de l’Arabie, que nous appelons Pierreuse,” &c.-- +Richardson also, in his Arabic and Persian Dictionary, explains Hijaz by +“Mecca and the adjacent country, Arabia Petraea;” and Demetrias +Alexandrides, who translated some portions of Abulfeda’s Geography into +Greek, (printed at Vienna, 1807, 8vo.) always renders Hedjaz by [Greek +text] and in another he identifies it with Arabia Deserta. [“Les +Provinces de Tahama et d’Iemamah sont comme au coeur du pays; celle de +Hegiaz est devenue la plus célebre ŕ cause des villes de la Mecque et de +Medine, et fait avec les deux derničres que nous avons nommées ce que +nous appelons l’Arabie Déserte.”--Biblioth. Orient. in “Arab.”]] + +Among the Eastern writers, some divide Arabia into two parts, Yemen and +Hedjaz; others into five great provinces, Yemen, Hedjaz, Nedjed, Tehama, +and Yemama. Bahrein has also been included; + +[p.ix] and Aroudh is named as an Arabian province, but appears to be the +same as Yemama. Hadramaut, Mahrah, Shejr, Oman, and other subdivisions +have likewise been reckoned independent provinces by some, while many +confound them with the greater regions, Yemen and Hedjaz. To the latter, +indeed, are often assigned even the extensive countries of Nedjed, +Tehama, and Yemama. + +Respecting the boundaries of all these provinces, much embarrassment has +arisen from contradictory statements made by several of the most eminent +Oriental geographers; Edrisi, Abulfeda, Al Madaieni, Ibn Haukal, Ibn el +Vardi, Bakoui, and others. Mr. Rommel, a very ingenious commentator on +Abulfeda’s “Arabia,” is frequently obliged to acknowledge the difficulty +of ascertaining where one division begins and another terminates. With +regard, more particularly, to the boundaries of Hedjaz, Abulfeda is +silent; but it appears that his opinion, so far as Mr. Rommel could +collect from incidental accounts of places assigned to this province and +adjoining territories, did not in all respects coincide with the +statements of other celebrated geographers. [See “Christophori Rommel +Abulfedea Arabiae Descriptio, commentario perpetuo illustrata,” +Gottingae, 1802, 4to. “Ambitum et fines hujus provinciae Abulfeda +designare supersedet.--Al Madaieni haec profert: ‘Hhegiaz est provincia +complectens illum tractum montium qui inde ab Yaman expansus usque ad +Sham (Syriam) protenditur. In eo tractu sitae sunt Madinah et Amman’-- +Cum hoc dissidere Abulfedam non dubium est.--Ibn al Arabi: “Quod est +inter Tehamah et Nagd illud est Hhegiaz.’--Fusius Ibn Haukal: ‘Quod +protenditur a limite Serrain urbis sitae ad mare Kolzum adusque viciniam +Madian, et inde reflectendo per limitem tendentem in ortum urbis Hhegr, +ad montem Tai trunseundo juxta tergum Yamamah ad mare Persicum, hoc +totum ad Hhegiaz pertinet.’ Et alio loco: ‘Hhegiaz ea est provincia, +quae Maccah et Madinah et Yamamah cum earundem territoriis +comprehendit.’--Ibn al Vardi Hhegiaz appellat provinciam secus Sinum +Arabicum et a regione Habyssiniae sitam--Bakui eam inter Yaman et +Syriam posuisse satis habet, simul longitudinem ejus mensis itinere +emetiens.”--(pp. 57-68.)] + +[p.x] It may perhaps be asked, why our inquisitive traveller did not +learn from some intelligent native the precise extent and limits of +Hedjaz? To this question the following passage (written by Burckhardt, +near the end of his journal, and probably intended for the Appendix,) +may serve as a reply, and show that even the present inhabitants do not +agree in their application of the name Hedjaz. “This,” says he, “is not +used by the Arabian Bedouins in the usual acceptation of the word. They +call Hedjaz exclusively the mountainous country, comprehending many +fertile valleys south of Tayf, and as far as the dwelling-places of the +Asyr Arabs, where the coffee-tree begins to be cultivated abundantly. +This is the general application of the term among all the Bedouins of +those countries; and the town’s-people of Mekka and Djidda also use it +in that sense among themselves. But when they converse with foreigners, +whose notions they politely adopt, the name Hedjaz is bestowed on the +country between Tayf, Mekka, Medina, Yembo, and Djidda. The Bedouins +give the name of El Ghor, or the low-land, to the whole province +westward of the mountains from Mekka up to Beder and Yembo; while those +mountains themselves northward of Tayf are called by them Hedjaz-es’- +Shám, or the Northern Hedjaz.” [This would confirm the derivation of +Hedjaz (mentioned by Golius) from ahhtedjezet, “quod (provincia Hhegiaz) +colligata et constricta montibus sit:” but others derive it from the +Arabic word yehedjez, because Hedjaz divides Nedjed from Tehama, or +because it connects Yemen with Syria, between which it is situate. As +even the shortest note written by Burckhardt must be considered +valuable, a few lines, that immediately follow the passage above quoted +from his Journal, are here given: “I compute the population of the +province usually called Hedjaz, comprising the whole territory of the +Sherif of Mekka, together with that of Medina and the towns situated +therein, and all the Bedouin tribes, at about two hundred and fifty +thousand souls; a number which, I am certain, is rather over than under +rated; the greater part being the Bedouin inhabitants of the mountains, +and principally the strong tribes of Beni Harb.”] + +[p.xi] On reference to pages 396 and 397, a remark will be found +concerning the different application of this name (Hedjaz) among those +who inhabit the sea-coast and those Bedouins who occupy the interior +country; and it will even appear that doubts have been entertained +whether the sacred city Medina does not belong rather to Nedjed than to +Hedjaz. + +From statements so vague as those above quoted, an attempt to trace +exactly the limits of any country must be vain and fallacious: that +region, therefore, which borders on the Red Sea, and which the natives, +we know, entitle unequivocally Hedjaz, is marked in our map, as in +almost every other published hitherto, merely with that name, its first +letter being placed where the editor supposes Arabia Petraea to +terminate, and its last letter where he would separate Hedjaz from +Tehama. [Burckhardt (Syrian Travels p. 511.) quotes Makrizi, the Egyptian +historian, who says, in his chapter on Aila, (Akaba): “It is from hence +that the Hedjaz begins: in former times it was the frontier place of the +Greeks, &c.”] + +To those who seek the most accurate information respecting places but +little known, this work is sufficiently recommended by the name of its +author, and of the country which it describes. “The manners of the +Hejazi Arabs have continued,” says Sir William Jones, “from the time of +Solomon to the present age.” [Discourse on the Arabs, Asiat. Researches, +vol. ii.] “Our notions of Mecca must be drawn,” says Gibbon, “from the +Arabians. As no unbeliever is permitted to enter the city, our +travellers are silent; and the short hints of Thevenot are taken from +the suspicious mouth of an African renegado.” [Roman Empire, chap. 50. +note 18.] + +But the reader of this preface must not be withholden from + +[p.xii] perusing Burckhardt’s authentic and interesting account of the +places which he visited, of the extraordinary ceremonies which he +witnessed, and of the people among whom he lived in the character of a +Muselman. + +Some short notices, written on a detached leaf, but evidently intended +by the author as an introduction to his Journal, are given accordingly +in the next page: for, that the Arabian Travels should appear under such +a form as Burckhardt himself probably wished them to assume, has been +throughout a favourite object of the editor, + +WILLIAM OUSELY. + +London, January, 1829. + + +[p.xiii] THE AUTHOR’S INTRODUCTION. + +IN the pages of this Journal I have frequently quoted some Arabian +historians, whose works are in my possession. It is now to me a subject +of regret that those manuscripts were not with me in the Hedjaz. The two +first I purchased at Cairo, after my return from Arabia. + +These works are--l. The History of Mekka, entitled Akhbar Mekka, a thick +quarto volume, by Aby el Wolyd el Azraky, who flourished in the year of +the Hedjra 223, and has traced the annals of his native city down to +that period. This work is particularly interesting on account of its +topographical notices, and the author’s intimate acquaintance with the +state of Arabia before Islám or Mohammedanism. The manuscript appears, +from the hand-writing, to be six, or perhaps seven hundred years old. + +2. The History of Mekka, entitled Akd e’ themyn, in three folio volumes, +by Taky ed' dyn el Fasy, who was himself Kadhy of Mekka. This history +comes down to the year of the Hedjra 829, and is comprised [p.xiv] in +the first volume; the other two volumes containing biographical +anecdotes of distinguished natives of Mekka. + +3. The History of the Mosque of Mekka, with which the history of the +town is interwoven, called El Aalam hy aalam beled Allah el haram, in +one volume quarto. The author was Kottob ed’ dyn el Mekky, who held high +offices at Mekka, and brings the history down to the year 990 of the +Hedjra. + +4. The History of the Hedjaz, and more particularly of Mekka, by Asamy. +Of this chronicle I possess only the second volume, a large folio +manuscript, comprising historical records from the time of the Beni +Omeya, to the year (of the Hedjra) 1097. I have not been able to +ascertain the title of this work, which abounds with curious and +valuable information. The author, Asamy, was a native of Mekka. + +5. The History of the Temple and Town of Medina. This work is entitled +Khelaset el Wafa, its author was Nour ed’ dyn Aly Ibn Ahmed e’ +Samhoudy, [To this writer Burckhardt refers in p. 323, by the letters +(V.S.) “Vide Sumhoudy.”] and it is comprised in one folio volume, +bringing the history down to the year 911 of the Hedjra. + +[p.xv] CONTENTS. + +Arrival at Djidda +Route from Djidda to Tayf +Residence at Tayf +Journey to Mekka +Arrival at Mekka +Description of Mekka +Quarters of Mekka +Description of the Beitullah (or “House of God”), the great Mosque at +Mekka +Some Historical Notices concerning the Kaaba and the Temple of Mekka +Description of several other holy places visited by pilgrims at Mekka +and in its neighbourhood +Remarks on the inhabitants of Mekka and Djidda +Government of Mekka +Climate and diseases of Mekka and Djidda +The Hadj or Pilgrimage +Journey from Mekka to Medina +Medina +Description of Medina +Account of some places of Zyara, or objects of pious visitation, in the +neighbourhood of Medina +On the Inhabitants of Medina +On the Government of Medina +Climate and Diseases of Medina +Journey from Medina to Yembo +Yembo +From Yembo to Cairo +Appendix, (comprising ten articles) + +[p.xvi] CORRIGENDAS + +Page 12 for Gonfady read Gonfade. + 29 Badingam Badinjan. + 95 Metzem Meltezem. + 109 Hareh Haret. + 156 Achmed Ahhmed. + 183 Moktar Mokhtar. + 232 Yahyn Yahya. + 446 Matsa Matfa. + 462 Benezes Aenezes. + +The name of Kayd Beg, which frequently occurs, is sometimes spelt in the +Ms. Kait Beg, and once erroneously Kail Beg. On reference to +Burckhardt’s Nubian Travels, it appears that he entered Djidda on the +18th of July, and not on the 15th, as printed in the first page of this +volume through a mistake of the figure 8 for 5; the ink with which he +wrote having in many parts of his Journal faded considerably, and become +of a pale reddish colour. As far, also, as the faded ink in some places +of the Ms. allows the editor (and others who have seen it) to judge, +Mekkawy is used to express a person of Mekka: in many pages of the Ms. +Mekkan is distinctly written, but the Arabic derivative Mekky occurs +only in the Author’s Introduction (p. xiv.) Local derivatives similar to +Mekkawy occur in the various parts of Burckhardt’s works: the present +volume, and his Syrian and Nubian Travels, exhibit Djiddawy, Yembawy, +Kennawy, Dongolawy, Bornawy, Bedjawy, &c. from Djidda, Yembo, Kenne, +Dongola, Bornou, Bedja. &c. + +[p.1] TRAVELS + +IN + +THE HEDJAZ OF ARABIA + +DJIDDA + +MY arrival in the Hedjaz was attended with some unfavourable +circumstances. On entering the town of Djidda, in the morning of the +15th of July, 1814, I went to the house of a person on whom I had a +letter of credit, delivered to me, at my departure from Cairo, in +January, 1813, when I had not yet fully resolved to extend my travels +into Arabia. From this person I met with a very cold reception; the +letter was thought to be of too old a date to deserve notice: indeed, my +ragged appearance might have rendered any one cautious how he committed +himself with his correspondents, in paying me a large sum of money on +their account; bills and letters of credit are, besides, often trifled +with in the mutual dealings of Eastern merchants; and I thus experienced +a flat refusal, accompanied, however, with an offer of lodgings in the +man's house. This I accepted for the first two days, thinking that, by a +more intimate acquaintance I might convince him that I was neither an +adventurer nor impostor; but finding him inflexible, I removed to one of +the numerous public + +[p.2] Khans in the town, my whole stock of money being two dollars and a +few sequins, sewed up in an amulet which I wore on my arm. I had little +time to make melancholy reflections upon my situation; for on the fourth +day after my arrival, I was attacked by a violent fever, occasioned, +probably, by indulging too freely in the fine fruits which were then in +the Djidda market; an imprudence, which my abstemious diet, for the last +twelve months, rendered, perhaps, less inexcusable, but certainly of +worse consequence. I was for several days delirious; and nature would +probably have been exhausted, had it not been for the aid of a Greek +captain, my fellow passenger from Souakin. He attended me in one of my +lucid intervals, and, at my request, procured a barber, or country +physician, who bled me copiously, though with much reluctance, as he +insisted that a potion, made up of ginger, nutmeg, and cinnamon, was the +only remedy adapted to my case. In a fortnight after, I had sufficiently +recovered to be able to walk about; but the weakness and languor which +the fever had occasioned, would not yield to the damp heat of the +atmosphere of the town; and I owed my complete recovery to the temperate +climate of Tayf, situated in the mountains behind Mekka, where I +afterwards proceeded. + +The Djidda market little resembled those Negro markets, where a single +dollar would purchase two or three weeks’ provision of dhourra and +butter. The price of every thing had risen here to an unusual height, +the imports from the interior of Arabia having entirely ceased, while +the whole population of the Hedjaz, now increased by a Turkish army and +its numerous followers, and a host of pilgrims who were daily coming in, +wholly depended for its supply upon the imports from Egypt. My little +stock of money was therefore spent during my illness, and before I was +sufficiently recovered to walk out. The Greek captain, though he had +shown himself ready to afford me the common services of humanity, was +not disposed to trust to the + +[p.3] honour or respectability of a man whom he knew to be entirely +destitute of money. I was in immediate want of a sum sufficient to +defray my daily expenses, and, no other means being left to procure it, +I was compelled to sell my slave: I regretted much the necessity for +parting with him, as I knew he had some affection for me, and he was +very desirous to remain with me. During my preceding journey he had +proved himself a faithful and useful companion; and although I have +since had several other slaves in my possession, I never found one equal +to him. The Greek captain sold him for me, in the slave-market of +Djidda, for forty-eight dollars. [This slave cost me sixteen dollars at +Shendy; thus, the profits of sale on one slave defrayed almost the whole +expense of the four months’ journey through Nubia, which I had performed +in the spring.] + +The present state of the Hedjaz rendered travelling through it, in the +disguise of a beggar, or at least for a person of my outward appearance, +impracticable; and the slow progress of my recovery made me desirous of +obtaining comforts: I therefore equipped myself anew, in the dress of a +reduced Egyptian gentleman, and immediately wrote to Cairo for a supply +of money; but this I could hardly receive in less than three or four +months. Being determined, however, to remain in the Hedjaz until the +time of the pilgrimage in the following November, it became necessary +for me to find the means of procuring subsistence until my funds should +arrive. Had I been disappointed in all my hopes, I should then have +followed the example of numbers of the poor Hadjis, even those of +respectable families, who earn a daily subsistence, during their stay in +the Hedjaz, by manual labour; but before I resorted to this last +expedient, I thought I might try another. I had indeed brought with me a +letter of introduction from Seyd Mohammed el Mahrouky, [The original +characters of these and other names, both of persons and places, are +given in the Index of Arabic words at the end of this volume.] the first +merchant + +[p.4] in Cairo, to Araby Djeylany, the richest merchant of Djidda; but +this I knew could be of no use, as it was not a letter of credit; and I +did not present it. [I afterwards became acquainted with Djeylany, at +Mekka; and what I saw of him, convinced me that I was not mistaken in +the estimation I had formed of his readiness to assist a stranger.] I +determined therefore, at last, to address the Pasha, Mohammed Aly, in +person. He had arrived in the Hedjaz at the close of the spring of 1813, +and was now resident at Tayf, where he had established the head-quarters +of the army, with which he intended to attack the strongholds of the +Wahabis. I had seen the Pasha several times at Cairo, before my +departure for Upper Egypt; and had informed him in general terms of my +travelling madness (as he afterwards jocularly termed it himself at +Tayf). I should here observe that, as the merchants of Upper Egypt are +in general poor, and none of them strictly honour a bill or obligation +by immediate payment, I had found it necessary, during my stay there, in +order to obtain a supply of money, to request my correspondent at Cairo +to pay the sum which I wanted into the Pasha’s treasury, and to take an +order from him upon his son, Ibrahim Pasha, then governor of Upper +Egypt, to repay me the amount. Having therefore already had some money +dealings with the Pasha, I thought that, without being guilty of too +much effrontery, I might now endeavour to renew them in the Hedjaz, and +the more so, as I knew that he had formerly expressed rather a +favourable opinion of my person and pursuits. As soon, therefore, as the +violence of my fever had subsided, I wrote to his physician, an Armenian +of the name of Bosari, whom I had also known at Cairo, where I had heard +much in his favour, and who was then with his master at Tayf. I begged +him to represent my unfortunate situation to the Pasha, to inform him +that my letter of credit upon Djidda had not been honoured, and to ask +him whether he would accept a bill upon + +[p.5] my correspondent at Cairo, and order his treasurer at Djidda to +pay the amount of it. + +Although Tayf is only five days distant from Djidda, yet the state of +the country was such, that private travellers seldom ventured to cross +the mountains between Mekka and Tayf; and caravans, which carried the +letters of the people of the country, departed only at intervals of from +eight to ten days; I could not, therefore, expect an answer to my letter +in less than twenty days. During this period I passed my leisure hours +at Djidda, in transcribing the journal of my travels in Nubia; but I +felt the heat at this season so oppressive, especially in my weak state, +that, except during a few hours early in the morning, I found no ease +but in the cool shade of the great gateway of the Khan in which I +lodged; where I passed the greater part of the day, stretched upon a +stone bench. Bosari’s correspondent at Djidda, through whom I had sent +my letter to Tayf, had meanwhile mentioned my name to Yahya Effendi, the +physician of Tousoun Pasha, son of Mohammed Aly, now governor of Djidda, +who had been in Upper Egypt while I was there, but I had not seen him. +This physician, when at Cairo, had heard my name mentioned as that of a +traveller; and understanding now, that I came from the Black countries, +he was curious to see me, and desired Bosari’s friend to introduce me to +him. He received me politely, invited me repeatedly to his house, and, +in the course of further explanation, became acquainted with my wants, +and the steps I had taken to relieve them. He happened at this time to +be preparing for a journey to Medina with Tousoun Pasha, and was sending +back all his unnecessary baggage to Cairo; with this he was also +desirous to transmit to his family his last year’s savings, amounting to +three thousand piastres (about 100l.), and he was so kind as to offer me +the money for a bill upon Cairo, payable at sight; an advantage which, +he well knew, the merchants of Djidda never insure to those who take +their bills. Such an offer would not be considered as conferring + +[p.6] any obligation in the commercial towns of Europe; but in the East, +and under the circumstances in which I was placed, it was extraordinary. +Yahya Effendi added, that some of his friends had given me a flattering +character while at Cairo, and that he could not, therefore, entertain +the slightest doubt of my solvency and respectability, in which opinion +he had been confirmed on reading the letter of credit I had brought with +me. As the issue of my application to the Pasha at Tayf was uncertain, I +readily and gratefully accepted Yahya’s proposal; the money was +immediately paid to me, the bills drawn, and a few days after, my +obliging friend departed with Tousoun Pasha for Medina, where I had the +pleasure of seeing him again early in the following year. + +I was now in possession of a sum sufficient to banish all apprehension +of suffering from poverty before the arrival of fresh supplies from +Egypt, whatever might be the consequence of my application to the Pasha; +but Yahya Effendi was no sooner gone, than I received a somewhat +favourable answer to the letter I had written to Tayf. Bosari, it +appeared, had been rather unwilling to urge my request to the Pasha, +afraid, perhaps, that he might himself become a sufferer, should I +forfeit my word. The Pasha, however, had heard of my being at Djidda, +through another person in his suite, whom I had seen there, and who had +arrived at Tayf; and hearing that I was walking about in rags, he +immediately despatched a messenger, with two dromedaries, to the +collector of customs at Djidda, Seyd Aly Odjakly, in whose hands was the +management of all the affairs of the town, with an order to furnish me a +suit of clothes, and a purse of five hundred piastres as travelling +money; accompanied with a request that I should repair immediately to +Tayf, with the same messenger who had brought the letter. In a +postscript, Seyd Aly Odjakly was enjoined to order the messenger to take +me by the upper road to Tayf, which leaves Mekka to the south, the lower +and more usual road passing through the middle of that town. + +[p.7] The invitation of a Turkish Pasha is a polite command; whatever, +therefore, might be my reluctance to go at this time to Tayf, I could +not avoid, under the present circumstances, complying with the Pasha’s +wishes; and, notwithstanding the secret aversion I had to receive a +present at his hands instead of a loan, I could not refuse to accept the +clothes and money, without hurting the pride and exciting the resentment +of a chief, whose good graces it was now my principal aim to +conciliate. [Some persons, perhaps, consider it an honour to receive +presents from Pashas; but I think differently. I know that the real +motive of a Turk in making presents, is either to get double the value +in return, (which could not be the case with me,) or to gratify his own +pride in showing to his courtiers that he deigns to be liberal towards a +person whom he holds infinitely below him in station or worth. I have +often witnessed the sneers of the donor and his people on making such +presents; and their sentiments are sometimes expressed by the saying, +“Look, he has thrown a morsel to this dog!” Few Europeans may, perhaps, +agree with me in this respect, but my knowledge authorises me to form +this opinion; and the only advice which I can give to travellers who +would not lower themselves in the estimation of Turkish grandees, is to +be always ready, on similar occasions, to return the supposed favour +two-fold. As for myself, I had but seldom occasion to make presents +during my travels; and this was the only one that I was ever obliged to +accept.] I likewise understood the meaning of the postscript, although +Seyd Aly was not aware of it; but, on this point, I flattered myself I +should be a match for the Pasha and his people. + +As the invitation was very pressing, I left Djidda in the evening of the +same day on which the messenger arrived, after supping with Seyd Aly, in +company with a great number of Hadjis from all parts of the world; for +the fast of Ramadhan had already commenced, and during this month +everybody displays as much hospitality and splendour as he possibly can, +particularly in the supper after sun-set. Distrusting in some measure +the Pasha’s intentions, I thought it necessary to carry a full purse to +Tayf; I therefore changed the whole of the three thousand piastres which +I had received from Yahya Effendi into gold, and put it in my girdle. A +person who has money has little to fear among Osmanlis, + +[p.8] except the loss of it; but I thought that I might stand in need of +what I had, either as a bribe, or to facilitate my departure from Tayf. +I was, however, fortunately mistaken in both these conjectures. + +I shall add here some remarks on Djidda and its inhabitants. The town is +built upon a slightly rising ground, the lowest side of which is washed +by the sea. Along the shore it extends in its greatest length for about +fifteen hundred paces, while the breadth is no where more than half that +space. It is surrounded on the land-side by a wall, in a tolerable state +of repair, but of no strength. It had been constructed only a few years +since by the joint labours of the inhabitants themselves, who were +sensible that they possessed no protection against the Wahabis in the +ancient half-ruined wall, built, A.H. 917, by Kansoue el Ghoury, Sultan +of Egypt. [See Kotobeddin, History of Mekka.] The present structure is a +sufficient barrier against Arabs, who have no artillery. At every +interval of forty or fifty paces, the wall is strengthened by watch- +towers, with a few rusty guns. A narrow ditch was also carried along its +whole extent, to increase the means of defence; and thus Djidda enjoys, +in Arabia, the reputation of being an impregnable fortress. On the sea- +shore, in front of the town, the ancient wall remains, but in a state of +decay. At the northern extremity, near the spot where the new wall is +washed by the sea, stands the Governor’s residence; and at the southern +extremity is a small castle, mounting eight or ten guns. There is, +besides, a battery, to guard the entrance from the side of the sea, and +command the whole harbour. Here is mounted an immense old piece of +ordnance, which carries a ball of five hundred pounds, and is so +celebrated all over the Red Sea, that the very fame of it is a +protection to Djidda. The approach into the town from the sea is by two +quays, where small boats discharge the cargoes of the large ships, these +being obliged to + +[p.9] anchor in the roadstead, about two miles from shore; none but the +vessels called say, (the smallest that navigate the Red Sea,) +approaching close to the shore. The quays are shut every evening about +sunset; thus all communication is prevented, at night, between the town +and the shipping. + +On the land side Djidda has two gates; the Báb Mekka on the east side, +and Báb el Medina on the north. A small gate in the south wall has +lately been filled up. The area inclosed by the new wall (about three +thousand paces in circuit) and the sea, is not entirely covered with +buildings. A broad piece of open ground extends the whole length of the +interior of the wall; and there is, besides, a good deal of waste ground +near the Báb el Medina, and on the southern extremity. Having traversed +this open space in coming from the gate, you enter the suburbs, +comprising only huts formed of reeds, rushes, and brushwood, and +encircling the inner town, which consists of stone buildings. The huts +are chiefly inhabited by Bedouins, or poor peasants and labourers, who +live here completely after the Bedouin fashion. Similar quarters for +people of this description may be found in every town of Arabia. The +interior of Djidda is divided into different districts. The people of +Sowakin, who frequent this place, reside near the Báb el Medina; their +quarters are called Haret č Sowakiny. Here they live in a few poor +houses, but principally under huts, to which the lowest class of people +frequently resort, as many public women reside here, and those who sell +the intoxicating beverage called Boosa. The most respectable inhabitants +have their quarters near the sea, where a long street, running parallel +to the shore, appears lined with shops, and affords many khans +constantly and exclusively frequented by the merchants. Djidda is well +built; indeed, better than any Turkish town of equal size that I had +hitherto seen. The streets are unpaved, but spacious and airy; the +houses high, constructed wholly of stone, brought for the greater part +from the sea-shore, and consisting of madrepores and other marine + +[p.10] fossils. Almost every house has two stories, with many small +windows and wooden shutters. Some have bow-windows, which exhibit a +great display of joiners’ or carpenters’ work. There is, generally, a +spacious hall at the entrance, where strangers are received, and which, +during the heat of the day, is cooler than any other part of the house, +as its floor is kept almost constantly wet. The distribution of rooms is +nearly the same as in the houses of Egypt and Syria; with this +difference, however, that in Djidda there are not so many large and +lofty apartments as in those countries, where but few houses, at least +of the natives, have two stories, whilst the rooms on the ground-floor +are sometimes of a considerable height. It thus happens that, in many +houses of the Hedjaz, the only cool spot is the entrance-hall; and here, +at noon, the master, with all his male attendants, hired servants or +slaves, may be seen enjoying, the siesta. [Although the cool breeze comes +only from the north, yet the Arabians do not seem to take so much +advantage of it in their houses as the Egyptians, whose principal rooms +are generally so contrived as to open towards the north. The large +ventilators constructed on the terraces of houses in Egypt, and which +diffuse a current of air through all the lower apartments, are unknown +in the Hedjaz.] As building is very expensive in this country, little is +adapted for outward show beyond the lattice-work of the bow-windows; +this frequently is painted with most gaudy colours, both on the outside +and inside. In many houses the lawful wife of a man occupies one part, +and his female Abyssinian slaves are lodged in their own distinct +apartments; convenience, therefore, in the building, is more studied +than size or beauty; yet, in Egypt, many ordinary houses have spacious +and handsome rooms. + +Uniformity in architecture is not observed at Djidda. Some houses are +built with small, others with large square stones, the smooth side +outwards, and the interior filled up with mud. Sometimes the walls are +entirely of stone; many have, at intervals of about three feet, thin +layers of planks placed in the wall, and these, the + +[p.11] Arabs imagine, tend to increase its strength. When the walls are +plastered, the wood is left of its natural colour, which gives to the +whole a gay and pleasing appearance, as if the building had been +ornamented with so many bands; but the dazzling white of the walls +during sun-shine is extremely distressing to the eyes. Most of the +gateways have pointed arches; some few round; and the latter are seen, +though less frequently, over the gates of private houses in every part +of Egypt. No buildings of ancient date are observed in Djidda, the +madrepore being of such a nature that it rapidly decays when exposed to +the rain and moist atmosphere prevalent here. [In general, it may be said +that Djidda is a modern town; for its importance as a market of Indian +goods can only be traced to the beginning of the fifteenth century, +although it had been known in the most ancient times of Arabian history +as the harbour of Mekka.] Besides many small mosques, there are two of +considerable size: one of these was built by Sherif Serour, predecessor +of the last reigning Sherif Ghaleb. The Governor’s habitation, in which +the Sherif himself frequently resided, is a paltry building; such, +likewise, is that in which dwells the collector of the customs. There +are some well-built public khans in the town, with good accommodation, +where the foreign merchants reside during their short stay here. In +these khans are large open squares with arched passages, which afford a +cool shade to the merchants for the greater part of the day. Except +during the monsoon, when Djidda is extremely crowded with people, +private lodgings may easily be procured in the most distant quarters of +the town. The best private dwellings of Djidda belong to the great +mercantile establishment of Djeylani, who, with his family, occupies a +small square behind the principal street. This square is composed of +three large buildings, the most commodious and costly private houses in +all the Hedjaz. Every house of moderate size has its cistern; but as the +rains are not sufficiently regular or abundant to fill the cisterns from +the tops of the houses, (as + +[p.12] throughout Syria,) they are often supplied with water from pools +formed outside of the town in rainy seasons. + +Of these cisterns, the water is very inadequate to the consumption of +Djidda, and is reckoned a delicacy. Much of the drinking water is drawn +from some wells a mile and a half distant on the southern side; water, +indeed, may be found every where at a depth of fifteen feet, but it is +generally of a bad taste, and in some places scarcely drinkable. Two +only of the wells afford water that can be called sweet; but even this +is considered heavy, [Heavy and light, applied to water, are expressions +common in most languages of the East, where both natives and foreigners, +from the vast quantity which they consume, become more refined in their +taste regarding it than the people of our northern climates.] and, if +suffered to stand twenty-four hours in a vessel, it becomes full of +insects. The good water of these two wells being scarce and dear, cannot +always be procured without the assistance of powerful friends; in fact, +not more than from two to three hundred persons are ever able to obtain +it, while the rest of the inhabitants must content themselves with the +water supplied by other wells; and to this the constant ill-health of +the people may chiefly be ascribed. As Djidda has the name of a Turkish +fortress, we might suppose that the wells would have been protected by a +fort; but the Turks have neglected this precaution, and when, in +December, 1814, the people apprehended that the Wahabis were advancing +on the side of Gonfady, the Governor of Djidda, in great haste, filled +the few cisterns belonging to the government houses with water from the +wells, and for several days withheld that necessary of life from all the +inhabitants, as every water-camel was employed by him. Several of the +wells are private property, and yield to their owners a considerable +income. + +The town of Djidda is without gardens, or vegetation of any kind except +a few date-trees adjoining one of the mosques; even outside the town the +whole country is a barren desert, covered + +[p.13] on the sea-shore with a saline earth, and higher up with sand: +here are found some shrubs and a few low acacia trees. The number of +wells around the town might be considerably augmented, and water +obtained for the purposes of irrigation; but the inhabitants of Djidda +consider their residence as merely temporary, and, like all the other +people of the Hedjaz, devote their whole attention to commerce and the +acquisition of riches: on this account they are much less inclined to +rural enjoyments or occupations than any other race of Moslems that I +ever saw. + +Beyond the Báb Mekka, and close to the town, are several huts, through +the midst of which lies the road to Mekka. These huts are inhabited by +the camel-drivers who traffic between that city and Djidda; by poor +Bedouins, who earn a livelihood by cutting wood at a considerable +distance in the mountains; and by Negro Hadjis, who adopt the same means +of supporting themselves during their stay at Djidda. Here is held the +market for live cattle, wood and charcoal, fruits and vegetables in +wholesale. Coffee also is sold in many booths in this place, frequented +for a short time, at an early hour, by the inferior class of merchants, +who resort hither to learn the news from Mekka, whence the post arrives +every morning soon after sunrise. About a mile beyond these huts, +eastward of the town, is the principal burial-ground, containing the +tombs of several sheikhs; but there are smaller cemeteries within the +walls. About two miles northward of the town, is shown the tomb of Howa +(Eve), the mother of mankind; it is, as I was informed, a rude structure +of stone, about four feet in length, two or three feet in height, and as +many in breadth; thus resembling the tomb of Noah, seen in the valley of +Bekaa, in Syria. + +During the predominance of the Wahabis, Djidda had been in a declining +state; many of its buildings had gone to ruin; no one constructed a new +house; trade was much depressed, in consequence of the pilgrimage from +Turkey having been discontinued, and the unwillingness of the merchants +to bring their goods hither + +[p.14] for sale. Since the recovery of the holy cities, however, and the +re-establishment of the pilgrimage, together with the daily arrival of +soldiers, and a number of merchants and followers of the army, the town +has quickly recovered its former condition, and is now as flourishing as +at any former period. The number of its inhabitants may be estimated, +generally, at from twelve to fifteen thousand; but in the months +preceding the pilgrimage, and again during the summer months +corresponding with the monsoon winds, there is a great influx of +strangers, which increases the above number perhaps one-half. + +The inhabitants of Djidda, like those of Mekka and Medina, are almost +exclusively foreigners. The descendants of the ancient Arabs who once +peopled the town, have perished by the hands of the governors, or have +retired to other countries. Those who can be truly called natives are +only a few families of sherifs, who are all learned men, and attached to +the mosques or the courts of justice; all the other Djiddawys (people of +Ddjidda) are foreigners or their descendants. Of the latter, those from +Hadramaut and Yemen are the most numerous: colonies from every town and +province of those countries are settled in Djidda, and keep up an active +commerce with their native places. Upwards of a hundred Indian families +(chiefly from Surat, and a few from Bombay,) have also established +themselves here; and to these may be added some Malays and people of +Maskat. The settlers from Egypt, Syria, Barbary, European Turkey, and +Anatolia, may be still recognised in the features of their descendants, +who are all mixed in one general mass, and live and dress in the same +Arab manner. The Indians alone remain a distinct race in manners, dress, +and employment. There are no Christians settled in Djidda; but a few +Greeks from the islands of the Archipelago occasionally bring +merchandize to this market from Egypt. In the time of the sherifs they +were much molested, compelled to wear a particular dress, and prohibited +from approaching the Mekka gate; but the Turks having become + +[p.15] masters of the Hedjaz, abolished these restrictions, and a +Christian now enjoys complete liberty here: if he dies, he is not buried +on shore, (this being sanctified ground, belonging to the holy city,) +but upon some one of the small islands in the bay of Djidda. Jews were +formerly the brokers of this town; but they were driven out, about +thirty or forty years since, by Serour, the predecessor of Ghaleb, some +of them having offended by their misconduct. They all retired to Yemen +or to Sanaa. During the monsoons some Banians visit Djidda in the Indian +ships; but they always return with them, and none are settled here. + +The mixture of races in Djidda is an effect of the pilgrimage, during +which rich merchants visit the Hedjaz with large adventures of goods: +some of these not being able immediately to settle their accounts, wait +till another year; during this period, they cohabit, according to the +custom of the country, with some Abyssinian slaves, whom they soon +marry; finding themselves at last with a family, they are induced to +settle in the country. Thus every pilgrimage adds fresh numbers to the +population not only of Djidda, but of Mekka also, which is indeed very +necessary, as in both towns the number of deaths is far greater than +that of births. + +The people of Djidda are almost entirely engaged in commerce, and pursue +no manufactures or trades but those of immediate necessity. They are all +either sea-faring people, traders by sea, or engaged in the traffic with +Arabia. Djidda derives its opulence not only from being the port of +Mekka, but it may be considered as that of Egypt, of India, and of +Arabia; all the exports of those countries destined for Egypt first +passing through the hands of the Djidda merchants. Hence, it is probably +richer than any town of the same size in the Turkish dominions. Its +Arabian name, which means “rich,” is therefore perfectly well bestowed. +The two greatest merchants in the place, Djeylany and Sakkat, both of +Maggrebin [Maggrebin, “inhabitants of the West,” is the name given by all +the Eastern Arabs to the natives of the Barbary States.] + +[p.16] origin, and whose grandfathers first settled here, are known to +possess from one hundred and fifty to two hundred thousand pounds +sterling. Several Indians have acquired capitals nearly equal, and there +are upwards of a dozen houses possessing from forty to fifty thousand +pounds sterling. Wholesale trade is carried on here with greater +facility and profit, and with less intrigue and fraud, than any where I +have seen in the Levant; the principal reason of which is, that almost +all the bargains are made for ready money, very little or no credit +being given. This, however, is not to be understood as implying any +thing favourable to the character of the merchants, who are as notorious +for their bad faith as they are for their large fortunes; but the nature +of the trade, and the established usage, render it a less troublesome +and intriguing business here than in any other country of the East. + +The commerce of Djidda may be divided into two principal branches--the +coffee trade, and the Indian trade; with both of which that of Egypt is +connected. Ships laden with coffee arrive from Yemen all the year round, +without being restricted to any particular season. During the voyage, +they sail constantly near the coast, and are thus enabled to take +advantage of the land breezes during the season when no[r]therly winds +prevail, and render the voyage difficult in mid-channel. They dispose of +their cargoes for dollars, which are almost the only article that the +merchants of Yemen take in return. The coffee trade is liable to great +fluctuations, and may be considered a species of lottery, in which those +only embark who have large capitals at their command, and who can bear +occasionally great losses. The price of coffee at Djidda, being +regulated by the advices from Cairo, varies almost with the arrival of +every ship from Suez. The price at the latter place depending upon the +demand for Mocha coffee in Turkey, is thus equally fluctuating. When I +arrived at Djidda, coffee-beans were at thirty-five dollars a hundred- +weight; three weeks after they fell to twenty-four dollars, in +consequence of the + +[p.17] peace between England and America, and the expectation that West- +India coffee would be again imported in large quantities at Smyrna and +Constantinople. From the hazardous nature of this trade, there are many +merchants who will not engage in it, except as agents; others send the +coffee on their own account to Cairo, where the chief part of the trade +is in the hands of the Hedjaz merchants residing there. Within the last +six years, the coffee trade between Arabia and the Mediterranean has +suffered greatly by the importation of West-India coffee into the ports +of Turkey. These were formerly supplied exclusively with Mocha coffee; +the use of which has been almost entirely superseded in European Turkey, +Asia Minor, and Syria, by that of the West Indies. The Pasha of Egypt, +however, has hitherto strictly prohibited the importation of West-India +coffee into his dominions. + +The trade in India goods is much safer, and equally profitable. The +fleets, principally from Calcutta, Surat, and Bombay, reach Djidda in +the beginning of May, when they find the merchants already prepared for +them, having collected as many dollars and sequins as their +circumstances admit, that they may effect bargains in wholesale at the +very first arrival of the ships. Large sums are also sent hither by the +Cairo merchants to purchase goods on their account; but the cargoes for +the greater part are bought up by the merchants of Djidda, who +afterwards send them to Cairo to be sold for their own advantage. The +India fleets return in June or July, when the prices of every article +brought by them immediately rise; [The ships from Bengal leave Djidda in +June, those from Surat and Bombay in July or the beginning of August. +The Maskat and Bassora shipping, and the slave vessels from the +Mozambique coast, arrive at the same time.] and it commonly occurs that, +on the very day when the last ships sail, ten per cent. profit may be +obtained upon the first price. The merchants, however, unless pressed +for money, do not sell at this time, but keep their goods in warehouses +for four or five + +[p.18] months, during which the price continues to rise; so that if they +choose to wait till the January or February following, they may +calculate with great security upon a gain of from thirty to forty per +cent; and if they transport a part of their goods to Mekka for sale to +the Hadj, their profits are still greater. It is the nature of this +commerce that renders Djidda so crowded during the stay of the fleet. +People repair hither from every port on the Red Sea, to purchase at the +first hand; and the merchants of Mekka, Yembo, and Djidda, scrape +together every dollar they possess, to lay them out in these +purchases. [Some time after the Indian fleet had sailed from Djidda, I +was present when a merchant of great property and respectability called +upon an acquaintance of mine to borrow one hundred dollars, saying, he +had laid out every farthing of his money in India goods which he did not +wish yet to sell, and had, in the mean while, no money left for his +daily expenses. This occurs, I understood, very frequently among them.] +Another cause of the India trade with Djidda being more safe and +profitable is, the arrival of the merchant-ships but once in the year, +at a stated period, and all within a few weeks: there is, therefore, +nothing to spoil the market; the price of goods is settled according to +the known demand and quantity of imports; and it is never known to fall +till the return of the next fleet. In the coffee trade it was the +reverse. + +In Syria and Egypt it is the work of several days, and the business of +three or four brokers, to conclude a bargain between two merchants to +the amount of a thousand dollars. At Djidda sales and purchases are made +of entire ships’ cargoes in the course of half an hour, and the next day +the money is paid down. The greater part of the merchandize thus bought +is shipped for Suez, and sold at Cairo, whence it finds its way into the +Mediterranean. The returns are made either in goods, which are disposed +of chiefly in the Hedjaz, or in dollars and sequins, large quantities of +which are carried off annually by the Indian fleet: this principally +causes the scarcity of silver in Egypt. The coffee ships + +[p.19] from Yemen take a few articles of Egyptian manufacture in return, +as Mellayes, (blue-striped cotton cloths,) linen stuff's for shirts, and +glass beads; but their chief sales are mostly for cash. + +If Suez were to participate in the direct Indian trade, the present +flourishing state of Djidda would, no doubt, be greatly diminished, and +the town would become merely what its position renders it, the harbour +of the Hedjaz, instead of being, as it now is, the port of Egypt. It was +natural that the sherifs of Mekka, who had the customs in their own +hands, should endeavour, by every means in their power, to make Djidda +an emporium for the Indian trade, the custom-duties on which formed the +principle source of their income. Suez, however, is not a place where +large capitals are always found ready to make purchases; even Cairo +could not, at least immediately, engage in this trade with advantage, +were it transferred to Suez; for, according to old customs, from which +Orientals seldom like to depart, ready money is almost unknown in the +commercial transactions of that city; India goods are in consequence +never sold there except at very long credit. Undoubtedly cash might in +time have found its way to Suez, as it now does to Djidda; but the +channel of trade was such, that a fleet of ships coming direct from +India to Suez, would hardly have been able to dispose of their cargoes +either with profit or within due time. Another cause also contributed to +favour the harbour of Djidda: the India ships, although most of them +sail under the English flag, are entirely manned and commanded by the +people of the country, Arabs and Lascars; [No English captain had been at +Djidda for five years, when, in 1814, the Resoul, Captain Boag, from +Bombay, arrived laden with rice. The ships are not navigated by +Englishmen, and very few English merchants resident in India have ever +speculated in the trade of the Red Sea, which is carried on almost +exclusively with the capitals of Muselman merchants of Djidda, Maskat, +Bombay, Surat, and Calcutta. The Americans seldom visit any other +harbour in this sea than that of Mekka.] and they have adopted the same +coasting navigation that is followed in every part of the Red + +[p.20] Sea. They never venture out to sea, and must, therefore, +necessarily pass Djidda and Yembo, both harbours of the Sherif, who +could easily oblige them to anchor in his ports and pay duties, as he is +known to have done with many coffee ships bound direct for Suez from +Yemen. These causes, however, no longer exist; for Mohammed Aly, Pasha +of Egypt, having possession of the harbours and custom-houses of the +Hedjaz, might transfer the customs of Djidda to Suez, and thence open a +direct communication with India. The chief obstacles to such a change +which have hitherto presented themselves, are the jealousy and false +representations of the merchants of Djidda, and the Pasha’s ignorance of +his own real interests, added perhaps to the fear of displeasing his +sovereign; he has it, notwithstanding, in contemplation to change the +system, after the example of a very respectable English house at +Alexandria, which had, in concert with its correspondents at Bombay, in +1812, when the Hedjaz was not yet in the Pasha’s hands, concluded a +treaty with him for allowing English ships to come direct to Suez, and +for insuring the protection of merchandize across the Desert to Cairo. +The reports of the Wahabi war, and of hostile cruisers in the Red Sea, +prevented the merchants from taking advantage of the treaty till 1815, +when a large ship was despatched from Bombay to Suez. The Pasha, +however, who was at Mekka when she touched at Djidda, in direct +violation of his engagements, stopped the ship, prohibited her +proceeding to Suez, compelled the captain to sell the cargo at a loss, +while the plague was raging in the town, and exacted the same duties as +are taken on country ships, in contravention of the stipulations +existing between Great Britain and the Porte. This affair, which created +great disgust amongst the Europeans in Egypt, might easily have been +remedied by retaliation upon the Pasha’s ships trading to Malta, which +would have taught him to respect the British flag wherever he might meet +it. The British officers, however, from an erroneous conception perhaps +of his power and + +[p.21] importance, and from a wish to remain upon a friendly footing +with him, instead of evincing any displeasure, preferred submitting +silently to the outrage; forgetting that the favour of a Turkish ruler +can never be bought by conciliation, but can only be obtained by an +attitude of defiance. In consequence of all this, the merchants were +obliged to make a second treaty with the Pasha, which was formally +ratified. His first demand was, that the ships should pay at Suez the +joint customs of that port and Djidda, which would have been equivalent +to about 12 per cent.; but he contented himself, at last, with a promise +of 9 per cent. upon all imports into Suez from India, which was six per +cent. more than the usual duty paid by European merchants in the ports +of the Grand Signior. This arrangement, it is supposed, will lead to the +opening of an active trade. The Pasha himself is disposed to speculate +on his own account; and the first adventure he sent to Bombay, in the +spring of 1816, was to bring him, in return, a richly caparisoned +elephant, destined as a present to his sovereign at Constantinople. +Still, however, I am afraid he will as little respect the second treaty +as he did the first; for his avarice, if not effectually checked, knows +no bounds, and he can at any time exact additional imposts, as far as +the profits of this new commercial route can bear them, by threatening +the security of the road from Suez to Cairo, the Bedouins of the +neighbouring Desert being completely at his command. + +The former master of Djidda, Sherif Ghaleb, was actively engaged in the +Indian trade; he had two ships, of four hundred tons each, employed in +it, besides many smaller vessels in the coffee trade to Yemen; indeed, +he was a shrewd speculator in all branches of the Red Sea trade. He +oppressed the merchants of Djidda by heavy duties and his own powerful +competition; but he was never known to practise extortion upon them. If +he borrowed money, he repaid it at the stipulated time, and never +ventured to levy extraordinary contributions from individuals, although +he did [p.22] it from the whole community, by increasing the duties in +an arbitrary manner. It was the well-known security which property +enjoyed under his government that induced foreign merchants to visit the +port of Djidda, even when Ghaleb was reduced to great distress by the +Wahabis. His conduct, however, in this respect, was not caused by any +love of justice, for he governed most despotically; but he well knew +that, if the merchants should be frightened away, his town would sink +into insignificance. Towards the close of his government, the duty upon +coffee was increased by him from two and a half to five dollars per +quintal, or to about fifteen per cent. The duty upon India goods was +from six to ten per cent., according to their quality. If Ghaleb could +not immediately sell the coffee or India goods imported on his account, +he distributed the cargoes of his ships among the native merchants of +the place at the current market-price, in quantities proportioned to the +supposed property of each merchant, who was thus forced to become a +purchaser for ready money. In this respect Ghaleb was not singular; for +in Egypt the present Pasha frequently distributes his coffee among the +merchants; with this difference, however, from the practice of Ghaleb, +that the price which he exacts is always above the real market-price. + +Business in Djidda is conducted through the intervention of brokers, who +are for the most part Indians of small property and bad reputations. + +The number of ships belonging to Djidda is very great. Taking into +account all the small vessels employed in the Red Sea trade, two hundred +and fifty perhaps may be calculated as belonging either to merchants of +the town, or to owners, who navigate them, and who consider the port as +their principal home. The different names given to these ships, as Say, +Seume, Merkeb, Sambouk, Dow, denote their size; the latter only, being +the largest, perform the voyage to India. The ships are navigated +chiefly by people from Yemen, from the Somawly coast (opposite to Aden, + +[p.23] between Abyssinia and Cape Guardafui,) and by slaves, of which +latter three or four are generally found in every ship. The crew receive +a certain sum for the voyage, and every sailor is, at the same time, a +petty trader on his own account; this is another cause of the resort of +foreigners to Djidda during the trade winds, for persons with the +smallest capitals can purchase goods in retail, at the first hand, from +the crews of these ships. No vessels of any kind are now constructed at +Djidda, so scarce has timber become; indeed, it is with difficulty that +means are found to repair a ship. Yembo is subject to the same +inconvenience. Suez, Hadeyda, and Mokha, are the only harbours in the +Red Sea where ships are built. The timber used at Suez is transported +thither overland from Cairo, and comes originally from the coast of Asia +Minor: The canvas used all over the Red Sea is of Egyptian manufacture. +The cordage is of the date-tree. Ships coming from the East Indies have +cordage made of the cocoa-nut tree, of which a quantity is also brought +for sale. That employed at Hadeyda and Mokha comes partly from Yemen, +and partly from the African coast. Many ships are purchased at Bombay +and Maskat; but those built at Suez are most common in the sea north of +Yemen. There has been a great want of shipping at Djidda during the last +three years, as the Pasha had seized a great number of ships, and +obliged their owners to transport provisions, ammunition, and baggage, +from Egypt to the Hedjaz, for which he pays a very low freight. During +my stay at Djidda, scarcely a day passed without some arrival by sea, +chiefly from Yembo and Cosseir; and there were constantly forty or fifty +ships in the harbour. An officer, entitled Emir al Bahhr, acts as +harbour-master, and takes from each ship a certain sum for anchorage. +This was an office of considerable dignity in the time of the sherif, +but it has now sunk into insignificance. I was somewhat surprised to +find that, in so well-frequented a port as Djidda, there were no +pleasure-boats of any kind in the harbour, nor even any regular public +boatmen; but I learned that this proceeded from the jealousy + +[p.24] of the custom-house officers, who forbid all craft of this +description, and even insist that the ships’ boats should return to the +ships after sunset. + +Djidda carries on no trade by land, except with Medina and Mekka. A +caravan departs for Medina once in forty or fifty days, principally with +India goods and drugs, and is always augmented by a crowd of pilgrims +who wish to visit Mohammed’s tomb. These caravans consist of from sixty +to one hundred camels, and are conducted by the Harb Bedouins. The +intercourse, however, between Djidda and Medina is more commonly carried +on by the intermediate route of Yembo, whither merchandize is sent by +sea. Besides the caravans above mentioned, others depart for Mekka +almost every evening, and at least twice a week, with goods and +provisions; and during the four months preceding the Hadj, when every +ship that arrives brings pilgrims to Djidda, this intercourse farther +increases, and caravans then set out regularly from the gate called Báb +Mekka every evening after sunset. The loaded camels take two nights to +perform the journey, resting midway at Hadda during the day; but, in +addition to these, a small caravan of asses, lightly laden, starts also +every evening, and performs the journey of fifteen or sixteen hours in +one night, arriving regularly at Mekka early in the morning. [When camels +abound, the hire of one from Djidda to Mekka is from twenty to twenty- +five piastres. In time of scarcity, or at the approach of the Hadj, from +sixty to seventy piastres are paid. During my stay, the hire of an ass +from Djidda to Mekka was twenty piastres. These prices would be +considered enormous in any other part of the Levant. Only fifteen +piastres are paid for a camel from Cairo to Suez, which is double the +distance between Djidda and Mekka.] It is by the ass-caravan that +letters are conveyed between the two towns. In time of peace, caravans +are occasionally met with on the sea-coast, towards Yemen, and the +interior of Tehama, to Mokhowa, whence corn is imported. (V. Appendix on +the Geography of the Hedjaz.) + +The following enumeration of the different shops in the principal +commercial street of Djidda, may throw some light on the + +[p.25] trade of the town, as well as on the mode of living of its +inhabitants. + +The shops (as in all parts of Turkey) are raised several feet above +ground, and have before them, projecting into the street, a stone bench, +on which purchasers seat themselves; this is sheltered from the sun by +an awning usually made of mats fastened to high poles. Many of the shops +are only six or seven feet wide in front; the depth is generally from +ten to twelve feet, with a small private room or magazine behind. + +There are twenty-seven coffee-shops. Coffee is drunk to excess in the +Hedjaz; it is not uncommon for persons to drink twenty or thirty cups in +one day, and the poorest labourer never takes less than three or four +cups. In a few of the shops may be had keshre, made from the skin of the +bean, which is scarcely inferior in flavour to that made from the bean +itself. One of the shops is frequented by those who smoke the hashysh, +or a preparation of hemp-flowers mixed with tobacco, which produces a +kind of intoxication. Hashysh is still more used in Egypt, especially +among the peasants. [Of the hemp-flowers, they use for this purpose the +small leaves standing round the seed, (called sheranek.) The common +people put a small quantity of them upon the top of the tobacco with +which their pipes are filled. The higher classes eat it in a jelly or +paste (maadjoun) made in the following manner:--a quantity of the +leaves is boiled with butter for several hours, and then put under a +press; the juice so expressed is mixed with honey and other sweet drugs, +and publicly sold in Egypt, where shops are kept for that purpose. The +Hashysh paste is politely termed bast, and those who sell it basty (i.e. +cheerfulness). On the occasion of a festival to celebrate the marriage +of a son of one of the principal grandees at Cairo, when all the +different crafts of the town were represented in a showy procession, the +basty, although exercising a business prohibited and condemned by the +law, was among the most gaudy. Many persons of the first rank use the +bast in some shape or other; it exhilarates the spirits, and raises the +imagination as violently as opium. Some persons also mix the paste with +seeds of the Bendj, which comes from Syria.] + +In all these shops the Persian pipe is smoked, of which there + +[p.26] are three different sorts. 1. The Kedra, which is the largest, +and rests upon a tripod; it is always neatly worked, and found only in +private houses. 2. The Shishe (called in Syria Argyle), of a smaller +size, but, like the former, joined to a long serpentine tube (called +lieh), through which the smoke is inhaled. 3. The Bury. This consists of +an unpolished cocoa-nut shell, which contains water; a thick reed +answers the purpose of the serpentine tube: this pipe is the constant +companion of the lower classes, and of all the sailors of the Red Sea, +who indulge most inordinately in using it. The tobacco smoked in the two +former of these pipes comes from the Persian gulf; the best is from +Shiraz. An inferior sort (called tombak) comes from Basra and Baghdad; +the leaf is of a light yellow colour, and much stronger in taste than +common tobacco; it is, therefore, previously washed to render it milder. +The tombak used in the Bury comes from Yemen, and is of the same species +as the other, but of an inferior quality. The trade in this article is +very considerable, its consumption in the Hedjaz being almost incredibly +great; large quantities are also shipped for Egypt. The common pipe is +little used in the Hedjaz, except by Turkish soldiers and Bedouins. The +tobacco is of Egyptian growth, or from Sennar, whence it is carried to +Sowakin. Very little good Syrian tobacco finds its way across the Red +Sea. + +The coffee-houses are filled with people during the whole day; and in +front a shed is generally erected, under which persons also sit. The +rooms, benches, and small low chairs, are very filthy, and form a +contrast to the neatness and elegance observable in the coffee-houses of +Damascus. Respectable merchants are never seen in a coffee-house; but +those of the third class, and sea-faring people, make it their constant +resort. Every person has his particular house, where he meets those who +have business with him. An Arab, who cannot afford to ask his friend to +dine, invites him from the coffee-house, when he sees him pass, to enter +and take + +[p.27] a cup, and is highly offended if the invitation be rejected. When +his friend enters, he orders the waiter to bring him a cup, and the +waiter, in presenting it, exclaims aloud, so that every one in the place +may hear him, djebba! (gratis). An Arab may cheat his creditors, or be +guilty of bad faith in his dealings, and yet escape public censure; but +he would be covered with infamy, if it were known that he had attempted +to cheat the coffee-house waiter of his due. The Turkish soldiers have +done their utmost in this respect to increase the contempt in which they +are held by the Arabs. I never saw in the coffee-houses of the Hedjaz +any of those story-tellers who are so common in Egypt, and still more in +Syria. The Mangal [See Niebuhr’s Travels.] is generally played in all of +them, and the Dama, “a kind of draughts,” differing somewhat from the +European game; but I never happened to see chess played in the Hedjaz, +though I heard that it is not uncommon, and that the sherifs in +particular are fond of it. + +Near to almost every coffee-shop a person takes his stand, who sells +cooled water in small perfumed jars. [The Orientals often drink water +before coffee, but never immediately after. I was once recognised in +Syria as a foreigner or European, in consequence of having called for +water just after I had taken coffee. “If you were of this country ,” +said the waiter, “you would not spoil the taste of the coffee in your +mouth by washing it away with water.”] + +Twenty-one butter-sellers, who likewise retail honey, oil, and vinegar. +Butter forms the chief article in Arab cookery, which is more greasy +than even that of Italy. Fresh butter, called by the Arabs zebde, is +very rarely seen in the Hedjaz. It is a common practice amongst all +classes to drink every morning a coffee-cup full of melted butter or +ghee, after which coffee is taken. They regard it as a powerful tonic, +and are so much accustomed to it from their earliest youth, that they +would feel great inconvenience in discontinuing the use of it. The +higher classes content themselves + +[p.28] with drinking the quantity of butter, but the lower orders add a +half-cup more, which they snuff up their nostrils, conceiving that they +prevent foul air from entering the body by that channel. The practice is +universal as well with the inhabitants of the town as with the Bedouins. +The lower classes are likewise in the habit of rubbing their breasts, +shoulders, arms, and legs, with butter, as the negroes do, to refresh +the skin. During the war, the import of this article from the interior +had almost entirely ceased; but even in time of peace, it is not +sufficient for the consumption of Djidda; some is, therefore, brought +also from Sowakin; but the best sort, and that which is in greatest +plenty, comes from Massowah, and is called here Dahlak butter: whole +ships’ cargoes arrive from thence, the greater part of which is again +carried to Mekka. Butter is likewise imported from Cosseir; this comes +from Upper Egypt, and is made from buffaloes’ milk; the Sowakin and +Dahlak ghee is from sheep’s milk. + +The Hedjaz abounds with honey in every part of the mountains. The best +comes from those which are inhabited by the Nowaszera Bedouins, to the +south of Tayf. Among the lower classes, a common breakfast is a mixture +of ghee and honey poured over crumbs of bread as they come quite hot +from the oven. The Arabs, who are very fond of paste, never eat it +without honey. + +The oil used for lamps is that of Sesamum (Seeredj, brought from Egypt). +The Arabs do not use oil for culinary purposes, except in frying fish, +or with broken paste to be given to the poor. Salad, of which the +northern Turks are so fond, is never seen on an Arabian table. + +Eighteen vegetable or fruit-stands. The number of these has now greatly +increased, on account of the Turkish troops, who are great devourers of +vegetables. All the fruits come from Tayf, behind Mekka, which is rich +in gardens. I found here in July grapes of the best kind, with which the +mountains behind Mekka + +[p.29] abound; pomegranates of middling quality; quinces, which have not +the harsh taste of those in Europe, and may be eaten raw; peaches; +lemons of the smallest size only, like those of Cairo; bitter oranges; +bananas--these do not grow at Tayf, but are brought by the Medina road +principally from Safra, Djedeyda, and Kholeys. These fruits last till +November. In March, water melons are brought from Wady Fatmé, which are +said to be small, but of a good flavour. The Arabs eat little fruit +except grapes; they say it produces bile, and occasions flatulency, in +which they are probably not mistaken. The fruit sold at Djidda is +particularly unwholesome; for having been packed up at Tayf in an unripe +state, it acquires a factitious maturity by fermentation during the +journey. The Turks quarrel and fight every morning before the shops, in +striving to get the fruits, which are in small quantities and very dear. +Vegetables are brought to Djidda from Wady Fatmé, six or eight miles +distant to the north, which also supplies Mekka. The usual kinds are +Meloukhye, Bamye, Portulaca egg-plants, or Badingans, cucumbers, and +very small turnips, of which the leaves are eaten, and the root is +thrown away as useless. Radishes and leeks are the only vegetables +regularly and daily used in Arab cookery; they are very small, and the +common people eat them raw with bread. In general, the Arabs consume +very few vegetables, their dishes being made of meat, rice, flour, and +butter. In these fruit-shops, tamarind (called here Homar) is also sold; +it comes from the East Indies, not in cakes, like that from the negro +countries, but in its natural form, though much decomposed. When boiled +in water, it constitutes a refreshing beverage, and is given to sick +people boiled with meat into a stew. + +Eight date-sellers. Of all eatables used by the Arabs, dates are the +most favourite; and they have many traditions from their prophet, +showing the pre-eminence of dates above all other kinds of food. The +importation of dates is uninterrupted during the whole year. At the end +of June, the new fruit (called ruteb) comes in: this lasts for two +months, after which, for the remainder of the + +[p.30] year, the date-paste, called adjoue, is sold. This is formed by +pressing the dates, when fully ripe, into large baskets so forcibly as +to reduce them to a hard solid paste or cake, each basket weighing +generally about two hundred weight; in this state the Bedouins export +the adjoue; in the market it is cut out of the basket and sold by the +pound. This adjoue forms a part of the daily food among all classes of +people. In travelling, it is dissolved in water, and thus affords a +sweet and refreshing drink. There are upwards of twelve different sorts +of adjoue; the best comes from Taraba, behind Tayf (now occupied by the +Wahabis.) The most common kind at present in the market is that from +Fatmé; and the better sort, that from Kheleys, and Djedeyde, on the road +to Medina. During the monsoon, the ships from the Persian gulf bring +adjoue from Basra for sale, in small baskets, weighing about ten pounds +each; this kind is preferred to every other. The East-India ships, on +their return, take off a considerable quantity of the paste, which is +sold to great profit among the muselmans of Hindostan. + +Four pancake-makers, who sell, early in the morning, pancakes fried in +butter; a favourite breakfast. + +Five bean-sellers. These sell for breakfast also, at an early hour, +Egyptian horse-beans boiled in water, which are eaten with ghee and +pepper. The boiled beans are called mudammes; they form a favourite dish +with the people of Egypt, from whom the Arabs have adopted it. + +Five sellers of sweetmeats, sugar-plums, and different sorts of +confectionary, of which the Hedjaz people are much fonder than any +Orientals I have seen; they eat them after supper, and in the evening +the confectioners’ stands are surrounded by multitudes of buyers. The +Indians are the best makers of them. I saw no articles of this kind here +that I had not already found in Egypt; the Baktawa, Gnafe, and Ghereybe, +are as common here as at Aleppo and Cairo. + +Two kebab shops, where roasted meat is sold; these are kept by Turks, +the kebab not being an Arab dish. + +[p.31] Two soup-sellers, who also sell boiled sheep’s heads and feet, +and are much visited at mid-day. + +One seller of fish fried in oil, frequented by all the Turkish and Greek +sailors. + +Ten or twelve stands where bread is sold, generally by women; the bread +has an unpleasant flavour, the meal not having been properly cleansed, +and the leaven being bad. A loaf of the same size as that which at Cairo +is sold for two paras, costs here, though of a much worse quality, eight +paras. + +Two sellers of leben, or sour milk, which is extremely scarce and dear +all over the Hedjaz. It may appear strange that, among the shepherds of +Arabia, there should be a scarcity of milk, yet this was the case at +Djidda and Mekka; but, in fact, the immediate vicinity of these towns is +extremely barren, little suited to the pasturage of cattle, and very few +people are at the expense of feeding them for their milk only. When I +was at Djidda, the rotolo or pound of milk (for it is sold by weight) +cost one piastre and a half, and could only be obtained by favour. What +the northern Turks called yoghort, and the Syrians and Egyptians leben- +hamed, [Very thick milk, rendered sour by boiling and the addition of a +strong acid.] does not appear to be a native Arab dish; the Bedouins of +Arabia, at least, never prepare it. + +Two shops, kept by Turks, where Greek cheese, dried meat, dried apples, +figs, raisins, apricots, called kammared’din, &c. are sold at three +times the price paid in Cairo. The cheese comes from Candia, and is much +in request among all the Turkish troops. An indifferent sort of cheese +is made in the Hedjaz; it is extremely white, although salted, does not +keep long, and is not by any means very nutritive. The Bedouins +themselves care little for cheese; they either drink their milk, or make +it into butter. The dried meat sold in these shops is the salted and +smoked beef of Asia Minor, known all over Turkey by the name of +bastorma, and + +[p.32] much relished by travellers. The Turkish soldiers and the Hadjis +are particularly fond of it, but the Arabs never can be induced to taste +it; many of them, observing that it differs in appearance from all other +meat with which they are acquainted, persist in regarding it as pork, +and the estimation in which they hold the Turkish soldiery and their +religious principles is not likely to remove their prejudices on this +head. All the dried fruits above mentioned, except the apricots, come +from the Archipelago; the latter are sent from Damascus all over Arabia, +where they are considered a luxury, particularly among the Bedouins. The +stone is extracted and the fruit reduced to a paste, and spread out upon +its leaves to dry in the sun. It makes a very pleasant sauce when +dissolved in water. On all their marches through the Hedjaz, the Turkish +troops live almost entirely upon biscuit and this fruit. + +Eleven large shops of corn-dealers, where Egyptian wheat, barley, beans, +lentils, dhourra, [Or durra, from Sowakin, which comes from Taka, in the +interior of Nubia, and a small-grained sort from Yemen, are also sold +here.] Indian and Egyptian rice, biscuits, &c. may be purchased. The +only wheat now sold in the Hedjaz comes from Egypt. In time of peace, +there is a considerable importation from Yemen into Mekka and Djidda, +and from Nedjed to Medina; but the imports from Egypt are by far the +most considerable, and the Hedjaz may truly be said to depend upon Egypt +for corn. The corn-trade was formerly in the hands of individuals, and +the Sherif Ghaleb also speculated in it; but at the present, Mohammed +Aly Pasha has taken it entirely into his own hands, and none is sold +either at Suez or Cosseir to private persons, every grain being shipped +on account of the Pasha. This is likewise the case with all other +provisions, as rice, butter, biscuits, onions, of which latter great +quantities are imported. At the time of my residence in the Hedjaz, this +country not producing a sufficiency, the Pasha sold the grain at Djidda +for the price of + +[p.33] from one hundred and thirty to one hundred and sixty piastres per +erdeb, and every other kind of provision in proportion; the corn cost +him twelve piastres by the erdeb in Upper Egypt, and including the +expense of carriage from Genne to Cosseir, and freight thence to Djidda, +twenty-five or thirty piastres. This enormous profit was alone +sufficient to defray his expenses in carrying on the Wahaby war; but it +was little calculated to conciliate the good-will of the people. His +partisans, however, excused him, by alleging that, in keeping grain at +high prices, he secured the Bedouins of the Hedjaz in his interest, as +they depend upon Mekka and Djidda for provisions, and they were thus +compelled to enter into his service, and receive his pay, to escape +starvation. The common people of the Hedjaz use very little wheat; their +bread is made either of durra or barley-flour, both of which are one- +third cheaper than wheat; or they live entirely upon rice and butter. +This is the case also with most of the Bedouins of Tehama, on the coast. +The Yemen people in Djidda eat nothing but durra. Most of the rice used +at Djidda is brought as ballast by the ships from India. The best sort +comes from Guzerat and Cutch: it forms the chief article of food among +the people of the Hedjaz, who prefer it to the rice from Egypt, because +they think it more wholesome than the former, which is used exclusively +by the Turks and other strangers from the north-ward. The grain of the +Indian rice is larger and longer than the common sort of Egypt, and is +of a yellowish colour; whereas the latter has a reddish tint; but the +best sorts of both are snow-white. The Indian rice swells more in +boiling than the Egyptian, and is for this reason preferred by the +Arabs, as a smaller quantity of it will fill a dish; but the Egyptian +rice is more nutritive. The Indian rice is rather cheaper, and is +transported from Djidda to Mekka, Tayf, Medina, and thence as far as +Nedjed. A mixture of equal portions of rice and lentils, over which +butter is poured, + +[p.34] forms a favourite preparation with the middle class, and +generally their only dish at supper. [This dish is known in Syria, and +called there medjeddereh, because the lentils in the rice look like a +person’s face marked with the small-pox, or djedreh.] I found, in every +part of the Hedjaz, that the Bedouins, when travelling, carried no other +provision than rice, lentils, butter, and dates. The importation of +biscuits from Egypt has of late been very considerable, for the use of +the Turkish army. The Arabians do not like and seldom eat them even on +board their ships, where they bake their unleavened cake every morning +in those small ovens which are found in all the ships of every size that +navigate the Red Sea. + +Salt is sold by the corn-dealers. Sea-salt is collected near Djidda, and +is a monopoly in the hands of the sherif. The inhabitants of Mekka +prefer rock-salt, which is brought thither by the Bedouins from some +mountains in the neighbourhood of Tayf. + +Thirty-one tobacco-shops, in which are sold Syrian and Egyptian tobacco, +tombac, or tobacco for the Persian pipe, pipe-heads and pipe-snakes, +cocoa-nuts, coffee-beans, keshre, soap, almonds, Hedjaz raisins, and +some other articles of grocery. The Egyptian tobacco, sometimes mixed +with that of Sennar, is the cheapest, and in great demand throughout the +Hedjaz. There are two sorts of it: the leaf of one is green, even when +dry; this is called ribbé, and comes from Upper Egypt: the other is +brown-leaved, the best sort of which grows about Tahta, to the south of +Siout. During the power of the Wahabys, tobacco could not be sold +publicly; but as all the Bedouins of the Hedjaz are passionately fond of +it, persons sold it clandestinely in their shops, not as tobacco or +dokhan, but under the name of “the wants of a man.” Long snakes for the +Persian pipe, very prettily worked, are imported from Yemen. Cocoa-nuts +are brought from the East Indies, as well as from the south-eastern +coast of Africa and the Somawly country, and may + +[p.35] be had quite fresh, at low prices, during the monsoon. The people +of Djidda and Mekka appear to be very fond of them. The larger nuts, as +already mentioned, are used for the boury, or common Persian pipe, and +the smallest for snuff-boxes. + +Soap comes from Suez, whither it is carried from Syria, which supplies +the whole coast of the Red Sea with it. The soap-trade is considerable, +and, for the greater part, in the hands of the merchants from Hebron, +(called in Arabic el Khalyl or the Khalylis,) who bring it to Djidda, +where some of them are always to be found. The almonds and raisins come +from Tayf and the Hedjaz mountains; large quantities of both are +exported, even to the East Indies. The almonds are of most excellent +quality; the raisins are small and quite black, but very sweet. An +intoxicating liquor is prepared from them. + +Eighteen druggists. These are all natives of the East Indies, and mostly +from Surat. In addition to all kinds of drugs, they sell wax candles, +paper, sugar, perfumery, and incense; the latter is much used by the +inhabitants of the towns, where all the respectable families perfume +their best rooms every morning. Mastic and sandal-wood, burnt upon +charcoal, are most commonly used for this purpose. Spices of all sorts, +and heating drugs, are universally used in the Hedjaz. Coffee is rarely +drunk in private houses without a mixture of cardamoms or cloves; and +red pepper, from India or Egypt, enters into every dish. A considerable +article of trade among the druggists of Djidda and Mekka consists in +rose-buds, brought from the gardens of Tayf. The people of the Hedjaz, +especially the ladies, steep them in water, which they afterwards use +for their ablutions; they also boil these roses with sugar, and make a +conserve of them. The sugar sold in the drug-gists’ shops is brought +from India; it is of a yellowish white colour, and well refined, but in +powder. A small quantity of Egyptian sugar is imported, but the people +here do not like it; in general, they prefer every thing that comes from +India, which they conceive + +[p.36] to be of a superior quality; in the same manner as English +produce and manufactures are preferred on the continent of Europe. The +Indian druggists are all men of good property; their trade is very +lucrative, and no Arabs can rival them in it. At Mekka, also, and at +Tayf, Medina, and Yembo, all the druggists are of Indian descent; and +although they have been established in the country for several +generations, and completely naturalized, yet they continue to speak the +Hindu language, and distinguish themselves in many trifling customs from +the Arabs, by whom they are in general greatly disliked, and accused of +avarice and fraud. + +Eleven shops where small articles of Indian manufacture are sold, such +as china-ware, pipe-heads, wooden spoons, glass heads, knives, rosaries, +mirrors, cards, &c. These shops are kept by Indians, mostly from Bombay. +Very little European hardware finds its way hither, except needles, +scissors, thimbles, and files; almost every thing else of this kind +comes from India. The earthenware of China is greatly prized in the +Hedjaz. The rich inhabitants display very costly collections of it, +disposed upon shelves in their sitting-rooms, as may be remarked also in +Syria. I have seen, both at Mekka and Djidda, china dishes brought to +table, measuring at least two feet and a half in diameter, carried by +two persons, and containing a sheep roasted entire. The glass beads +exported from Djidda are chiefly for the Souakin and Abyssinian market; +they are partly of Venetian and partly of Hebron manufacture. The +Bedouin women of the Hedjaz likewise wear them; though bracelets, made +of black horn, and amber necklaces, seem to be more in fashion among +them. It is in these shops that the agate beads, called reysh, [See +Travels in Nubia, article Shendy.] are sold, which come from Bombay, +and are used in the very heart of Africa. A kind of red beads, made of +wax, are seen here in great quantities; they come from India, and are + +[p.37] mostly destined for Abyssinia. Of rosaries, a great variety is +sold: those made of yoser [From this, the principal lane of Djidda is +called Hosh Yosser.] are the most costly; it is a species of coral which +grows in the Red Sea. The best sort is found between Djidda and Gonfode, +is of a deep black colour, and takes a fine polish. Strings of one +hundred beads each are sold at from one to four dollars, according to +their size. They are made by the turners of Djidda, and are much in +demand for the Malays. Other rosaries, (also brought from India,) made +of the odoriferous kalambac, and of the sandal-wood, are in great demand +throughout Egypt and Syria. Few pilgrims leave the Hedjaz without taking +from the holy cities same of these rosaries, as presents to their +friends at home. + +Eleven clothes-shops. In these various articles of dress are sold every +morning by public auction. The greater part of those dresses are of the +Turkish fashion, adopted by merchants of the first and second classes, +with some trifling national variations in the cut of the clothes. During +the period of the Hadj, these shops are principally frequented for the +purchase of the Hiram or Ihram, that mantle in which the pilgrimage is +performed, and which consists generally of two long pieces of white +Indian cambric. Here, too, the Hedjaz Bedouins come to buy the woollen +abbas, or Bedouin cloaks, brought from Egypt, on which country they +entirely depend for this article; and thus they seem to possess the same +indolent character as most people of the Hedjaz; for it is customary +with the wives of other Bedouins to fabricate their own abbas. Here, +also, they bring Turkish carpets of an inferior quality, which form an +indispensable article of furniture for the tent of a Sheikh. In these +shops are likewise retailed all other imports from Egypt necessary for +dress, as mellayes, cotton quilts, linen for shirts, shirts dyed blue, +worn by the peasants, red and yellow slippers, + +[p.38] used by the more opulent merchants, and by all the ladies, red +caps, all kinds of cloth dresses, second-hand cashmere shawls, muslin +shawls, &c. &c. + +Six large shops of Indian piece-goods: French cloth, cashmere shawls, +&c. belonging to respectable merchants, whose clerks here sell by +retail. Almost all the principal merchants carry on also a retail +business in their own houses, except the great Indian merchants +established here, who deal in nothing but Indian piece-goods. The other +merchants of Djidda engage in every branch of commerce. I once saw the +brother of Djeylany quarrelling with a Yembo pedlar about the price of a +mellaye, worth about fifteen shillings; but this is the case also in +Egypt and Syria, where the most wealthy native merchants sell in retail, +and enter into all the minute details of business, and yet without +keeping any large establishment of clerks or accomptants, which their +mode of conducting business renders little necessary. A Turkish merchant +never keeps more than one accompt-book; into this he copies from a +pocket-book his weekly sales and purchases. They have not that extensive +correspondence which European merchants are obliged to keep up; and they +write much less, though perhaps more to the purpose, than the latter. In +every town with which they traffic, they have one friend, with whom they +annually balance accounts. Turkish merchants, with the exception of +those living in sea-ports, generally pursue but one branch of trade; +maintaining a correspondence with the town only from whence they obtain +their merchandize, and with that to which they transport it. Thus, for +instance, the great Baghdad merchants of Aleppo, men with from thirty to +forty thousand pounds in capital, receive goods from their friends at +Baghdad, and then send them from Aleppo to Constantinople. I have known +many of them who kept no clerk, but transacted the whole of their +business themselves. At Cairo, the Syrian merchants trade in the stuffs +of Damascus and Aleppo, and + +[p.39] are altogether unconnected with the Maggrebin, Syria, and Djidda +merchants. + +Mercantile transactions are farther simplified by the traders employing +chiefly their own capital, commission business being much less extensive +than it is in Europe. When a merchant consigns a considerable quantity +of goods to a place, he sends a partner with them, or perhaps a +relative, if he have no partner resident in the place. Ranking concerns +and bills of exchange are wholly unknown among the natives, which saves +them much trouble. In those towns where European factories are +established, bills may be found, but they are hardly current with the +natives, among whom assignments only are customary. + +The practice followed equally by Mahomedan, Christian, and Jewish +merchants, in the East, of never drawing an exact balance of the actual +state of their capital, is another cause that renders the details of +book-keeping less necessary here than in Europe. For the same reason +that a Bedouin never counts the tents of his tribe, nor the exact number +of his sheep, nor a military chief the exact number of his men, nor a +governor the number of inhabitants of his town, a merchant never +attempts to ascertain the exact amount of his property; an approximation +only is all that be desires. This arises from a belief that counting is +an ostentatious display of wealth, which heaven will punish by a speedy +diminution. + +The Eastern merchant seldom enters into hazardous speculations, but +limits his transactions to the extent of his capital. Credit to a great +amount is obtained with difficulty, as affairs of individuals are in +general much more publicly known than in Europe; failures are, +therefore, of rare occurrence; and when a man becomes embarrassed either +from an unsuccessful speculation or inevitable losses, his creditors +forbear to press their demands, and are generally paid after a few +years’ patience; + +[p.40] thereby saving the merchant’s credit, and preventing the +consequences of bankruptcy. + +On the other hand, however, the Eastern merchants are liable to the +imputation of uncertainty in their payments, which they often delay +beyond the stipulated periods. Even the most respectable among them do +not hesitate to put off the payment of a debt for months; and it may be +stated as a general rule in Egypt and Syria, that assignments are never +fully paid till after a lapse of nearly double the time named. But this, +I was often assured by the best informed people here, has only become +the practice within the last twenty or thirty years, and is a +consequence of the universal decay of commerce and diminution of capital +in the Levant. At Djidda, as I have already observed, almost all +bargains are made for ready money. + +Three sellers of copper vessels. A variety of well-tinned copper vessels +may be found in every Arabian kitchen. Even the Bedouins have one +capacious boiler, at least, in every tent. The whole of these come from +Egypt. The most conspicuous article of this description is the abrík, or +water-pot, with which the Muselman performs his ablutions. No Turkish +pilgrim arrives in the Hedjaz without one of these pots, or at least he +purchases one at Djidda. There are found, also, in the market a few +copper vessels from China, brought hither by the Malays; but they are +not tinned, and though the copper seems to be of a much finer quality +than that of Anatolia, which is brought from Cairo, the Arabs dislike to +use it. + +Four barbers’ shops. The barbers are at once the surgeons and physicians +of this country. They know how to let blood, and to compound different +sorts of aperient medicines. The few Arabians whose beards are longer +and thicker than those of their country-men usually are, take great +pains in keeping them neatly cut, so that not a hair may project beyond +another. The mustachios are + +[p.41] always cut closely, and never allowed to hang over the lips; in +this they differ from the northern Turks, who seldom touch their thick +bushy mustachios with scissors. The barbers’ shops are frequented by +loungers of the lower classes, who resort thither to hear the news, and +amuse themselves with conversation. In one of these shops I found +established a seal-engraver of Persian origin; he had a good deal of +business, for a pilgrim, after he has performed his visits to the holy +places, usually adds to the name on his seal the words El Hadjy, or “The +Pilgrim.” + +Four tailors. Many others live in various parts of the town; they are +mostly foreigners. Tousoun Pasha’s court-tailor was a Christian of +Bosnia, and exercised authority over all the other tailors in the town; +who complained bitterly of being subjected, not only to the commands and +insults, but often to the stick of this Christian. + +Five makers of nâl, or sandals. There is not one shoe-maker in the +Hedjaz. Those who wear shoes or slippers buy them of the merchants by +whom they are imported from Egypt. + +The shape of the sandals used throughout Arabia differs in every +province; and to those delineated by Niebuhr, a dozen other forms might +be added. Some are peculiar to certain classes: a merchant, for +instance, would not wear the sandals of a mariner. This is the case in +Turkey with regard to shoes, of which each province and class has its +particular shape. Egypt and Abyssinia furnish the thick leather used in +making sandals. + +Three shops where water-skins brought from Sowakin and Egypt are sold +and repaired. The greater part of the Hedjaz is furnished with water- +skins from Sowakin; they are in great request, being very light, and +sewed with much neatness. A Sowakin water-skin will last, in daily use, +about three or four months. + +Two turners, who bore pipe-tubes, and make beads, &c. + +Three sellers of sweet-oils or essences, civet, aloe-wood, balsam of +Mekka, and rose-water from Fayoum in Egypt. The civet + +[p.42] and Mekka balsam can seldom be bought pure, except at first hand. +The Habesh or Abyssinian merchants bring the civet in large cow-horns; +they sold it at four piastres per drachm in the year 1814. Musk also is +sold in these shops, the best at two dollars per metkal. It is brought +hither by the Indian and Persian Hadjys. + +One watchmaker, a Turk. All the Mekka and Djidda merchants wear watches, +many of which are of good English manufacture; they are brought either +from India, or by the Hadjys from Constantinople. As it often happens +that the Turkish pilgrims want money in the Hedjaz, they are sometimes +compelled to dispose of their most valuable articles; the watch is +always the first, then the pistols and sabre, and lastly the fine pipe, +and best copy of the Korán: all these articles are consequently very +common in the auction-markets of Djidda and Mekka. + +One seller of Turkish and Persian tobacco-pipes. The latter come +principally from Baghdad. The wealthy often display in their sitting- +rooms a whole range of the finest nargils: these cost as much as one +hundred dollars a piece. + +Seven money-dealers, or seráfs. They sit upon benches in the open +street, with a large box before them containing the money. Formerly, +these seráfs were all Jews, as is still the case, with few exceptions, +at Cairo, Damascus, and Aleppo; but since the Sherif-Serour drove the +Jews out of the Hedjaz, the Djiddawys themselves have taken up the +profession, to which their natural disposition and habits incline them. +There is usually at each stand a partnership of them, comprising half a +dozen individuals. A large amount of cash is required to carry on the +business; but it is very profitable. The value of money changes here +more rapidly than in any part of the East with which I am acquainted. +The price of dollars and sequins fluctuates almost daily, and the seráfs +are always sure to be gainers. During the stay of the Indian fleet, the +value of a dollar becomes very high. While I was at Djidda, it rose + +[p.43] to eleven and twelve piastres. After the departure of the fleet, +when there is no immediate demand for dollars, the price falls; in +January, 1815, it was at nine piastres. The gold coins vary in +proportion. + +Formerly the old current coins of the Hedjaz were Venetian and Hungarian +sequins, Spanish dollars, and money coined at Constantinople. Egyptian +coins were wholly excluded; [According to the historians of Mekka, it +appears that the sherifs there assumed the privilege of coining their +own money, in the name of the Sultan of Constantinople, as late as the +seventeenth century; but this is now abandoned.] but since the arrival +of the troops of Mohammed Ali Pasha, all the Cairo coins have been +forcibly put into circulation, and the Cairo silver money is now next in +estimation to the Spanish dollar. The Pasha of Egypt, who enjoys the +right of coining money in the name of the Sultan, has lately much abused +this privilege. In 1815, he farmed out the mint for a yearly sum of +seven millions of piastres, which is, at the present rate of exchange, +about two hundred thousand pounds sterling, obliging the people to take +the dollar at eight of his piastres, although it is well known to be now +worth twenty-two or twenty-three. In the Hedjaz he has not the same +means of enforcing his despotic measures to their full extent; and thus +it happens that in the interior of the country, where the Turkish troops +are placed, the value of the dollar is eighteen or nineteen piastres. +The Bedouins, however, refuse to take the Egyptian piastres, even at a +depreciation, and will receive nothing but dollars; a determination to +which the Pasha himself has been frequently obliged to yield. + +The párá, or smallest Turkish coin, (here called diwany,) is current all +over the Hedjaz, and in great request, from its being of more intrinsic +value than the piastre, though coined like them at Cairo. Forty párás +make a piastre; but in the time of the Hadj, when small change is +necessary for the immense daily traffic of the pilgrims, the seráfs gave +twenty-five párás only in + +[p.44] change for the piastre. A few Indian rupees are seen in the +Djidda market, but they have no currency. I never met with any money +coined by the Imám of Yemen. + +In the same great street of shops are ten large okales, always full of +strangers and goods. Most of them were formerly the property of the +sherif; they now belong to the Pasha, who levies an annual rent on the +merchants. In Syria these buildings are called khans; in the Hedjaz +hosh, which, in the dialect of Egypt, means a court-yard. + +In a street adjoining the great market-place live a few artisans, +blacksmiths, silversmiths, carpenters, some butchers, &c. most of them +natives of Egypt. + +The reader will perceive, by the foregoing pages, that Djidda depends +for its commodities entirely on importations either from Egypt or the +East Indies; and this is the case even to the most trifling article. The +want of hands, and the high price of manual labour, but still more the +indolence and want of industry inherent in the natives of the Hedjaz, +have hitherto prevented them from establishing any kind of manufactory, +except of the most indispensable articles. In this respect they offer a +contrast to the Syrian and Egyptian Arabs, who in general are +industrious, and who, in spite of the obstacles often thrown in their +way by the government, have nevertheless established several +manufactures, which render them, in some parts of the country, entirely +independent of foreign supplies. The inhabitants of the Hedjaz appear to +have only two occupations; commerce, and the pasture of cattle. The +first engrosses the mind of almost every town-inhabitant, not excepting +even the olemas, or learned men. Every one endeavours to employ whatever +capital he possesses in some advantageous traffic, that he may live +without much bodily exertion; for these people seem to be as averse to +the latter as they are eager to endure all the anxieties and risks +inseparable from the former. It is even difficult to find persons who +will perform the common + +[p.45] labour of porters, &c.: those who follow similar occupations are +for the most part foreigners from Egypt or Syria, and negro pilgrims, +who thus earn a very comfortable livelihood, and generally make but a +temporary stay at Djidda. The only race of Arabians whom I have found +more industrious than the others, are the people of Hadramaut, or, as +they are called, El Hadáreme. Many of them act as servants in the +merchants’ houses, as door-keepers, messengers, and porters, in which +latter character they are preferred to all others for their honesty and +industry. Almost every considerable town in the East has its particular +race of porters: at Aleppo, the Armenians of the mountains of Asia Minor +are in request for this office; at Damascus, the people of Mount +Libanus; at Cairo, the Berábera Nubians; at Mekka and Djidda, the +Hadáreme, who, like those of Syria, are mountaineers. It is well known +that similar qualifications recommend my countrymen, the Alpine +mountaineers, to the same offices at Paris. There is another striking +similarity among the natives of all these countries; they generally +return home with their gains, and pass the remainder of their days with +their families. Notwithstanding this source, there is a great and almost +absolute want of free servants in the Hedjaz. No man who has been born +in one of the holy cities, will act as a menial servant, unless he be +driven to it by the fear of dying from want of food; and no sooner is he +in good condition, than he ceases to labour, and either turns pedlar or +beggar. The number of beggars at Mekka and Djidda is very great, and it +is a common remark among the merchants of the latter place, that a +Djiddawy will never work while he can possibly maintain himself by +begging. Mendicity is much encouraged by the pilgrims, who are fond of +displaying their charity on first touching holy ground at this place. + +Respecting the people of Djidda and their character, I shall have +occasion to make further observations in describing the inhabitants of +Mekka, whom generally they resemble. In fact, all the + +[p.46] respectable families have houses at both places, and frequently +pass from one to the other. + +Djidda is governed by a pasha of three tails, who takes precedence of +most others, from the connexion of this place with the holy cities; but +the government of it is an honour little esteemed by the Turkish +grandees, who have always regarded Djidda as a place rather of exile +than of preferment, and it has often been conferred on disgraced +statesmen. The Pasha styles himself not only Wály or governor of Djidda, +but of Sowakin and Habesh; and in support of this title, keeps custom- +house officers at Sowakin and Massoua, which, prior to the government of +Mohammed Aly, were entirely dependent on the sherif. + +The pashalik of Djidda was reduced to perfect insignificance by the +power of the sherif of Mekka; and the title had become merely an +honorary distinction, enjoyed by the individual on whom it had been +bestowed, while he resided in some provincial town of Turkey or at +Constantinople, without ever attempting to take possession of his +government. There was, however, an exception in 1803, when, after the +total evacuation of Egypt by the French, Sherif Pasha went to Djidda +with a body of four or five hundred soldiers; but like all his +predecessors, he became the mere instrument of Sherif Ghaleb, and in +1804 his career was terminated by sudden death-the fate of many former +Pashas both of Djidda and of Mekka. + +According to the orders of the Sultan, whose nominal supremacy over the +Hedjaz was recognised until the last Wahaby conquest, the revenue +arising from the customs collected at Djidda should have been divided +equally between the Pasha and the sherif of Mekka, while the former was +to have exclusively the command of the town. When the Turks began to +subdue Asia, the sherif received only one third of this revenue, and it +was not until the year of the Hedjira 1042 that he obtained the +half. [Vide Asámi, History of the Hedjaz.] Subsequently, + +[p.47] however, the sherif not only usurped the government of Djidda, +but also applied the customs wholly to his own use, the Pasha being +rendered altogether dependent upon his bounty. + +Soon after the death of Sherif Pasha, the Sherif Ghaleb was obliged to +surrender Mekka to the Wahabys, having been besieged, the preceding +year, in Djidda, by Saoud. He then openly declared himself a proselyte +to the Wahaby faith, and a subject of the Wahaby chief, though he still +retained full possession of Djidda and the produce of its customs, which +formed the principal part of his income. The Wahabys did not enter the +town, which ostensibly declared in favour of their doctrines. The +Turkish soldiers were now obliged to retire towards Egypt, or elsewhere; +and from that period till 1811 all Turkish authority was entirely +excluded from the Hedjaz. + +In 1811, Mohammed Aly Pasha commenced his operations against the +Wahabys, by sending a body of troops under the command of his son +Tousoun Bey, who was defeated in the passes between Yembo and Medina. A +second, in 1812, was more successful: while Tousoun, in September of +that year, took Medina, Mustafa Bey, the Pasha’s brother-in-law, +proceeded directly with the cavalry under his command to Djidda, Mekka, +and Tayf; all which surrendered, almost without bloodshed. The Sherif +Ghaleb, who, from the moment he began to apprehend the probable success +of Aly’s expedition, had entered into a secret correspondence with +Egypt, now openly declared himself a friend to the Turks, who entered +Djidda as friends. The title of Pasha of Djidda was soon after conferred +by the Porte upon Tousoun, as a reward for his services. The details of +this war will be given in another place; I shall, therefore, only +mention here, that after the Osmanlys, or Turks, entered Djidda, a +quarrel arose between the Pasha and the sherif respecting the customs, +which were to be divided between them, but which the Pasha, being now +superior in power, kept wholly to himself. He sent the sherif as +prisoner to Turkey, and + +[p.48] since that event, the town has continued wholly at his disposal, +the new sherif, Yahya, being a servant in the pay of Tousoun. + +Djidda, in the time of Sherif Ghaleb, was governed either by himself, +when he resided there, or, during his absence, by an officer called +Vizir, under whose orders the police of the town was placed; while the +collection of the customs (gumruk) was entrusted to another officer, +called the gumrukdjy; and the police of the harbour to the Emir el +Bahhr, or the “Chief of the Sea,” a title equivalent to “harbour- +master.” In later times the vizir was a black slave of Ghaleb, and much +detested for his pride and despotic conduct. Ghaleb seldom resided in +Djidda, his continual intrigues with the Bedouins, and his schemes +against the Wahaby tribes, requiring his presence in the more central +position of Mekka. + +The form of government which existed under Ghaleb has not been changed +by the Osmanlys. It happened that Tousoun Pasha could seldom reside in +his capital, being placed under the command of his father, who received +from the Porte the entire direction of the Hedjaz war, and the disposal +of all the resources of that country. Tousoun was more usefully employed +in moving about with the troops under his command, till he returned to +Cairo in the autumn of 1815. Since the year 1812, a military commander +has always resided in the town, with a garrison of two or three hundred +men, which the Pasha takes care to change every three or four months. +The collection of the customs, the entire regulation of civil affairs, +the correspondence with Cairo and Mekka, the conveyance of troops, +stores, and government merchandize between Egypt and Djidda, and the +Pasha’s treasury, are in the hands of this commander, whose name is Seyd +Ali Odjakly. His father was from Asia Minor, and belonged to the corps +of Janissaries (Odjak), whence his son takes the epithet of Odjakly. He +is disliked by the merchants of Djidda, because they remember his +selling nuts in the streets about twenty years ago. In the time of +Sherif Ghaleb, + +[p.49] he was employed by him in his private commercial affairs; and as +he possesses great talents and activity, joined to a good knowledge of +the Turkish language, Mohammed Ali could with difficulty have pitched +upon a person more competent to fill the post which he now holds. + +The public revenue of Djidda arises almost exclusively from the customs, +called here ashour, or tithes. This ought legally to be, as I was +informed, ten per cent. upon all imported goods; but, in consequence of +abuses which have been long practised, some articles of merchandize are +charged much higher, while others pay less. During the latter period of +the sherif’s power, coffee was charged at five dollars the quintal, +which may be computed as fifteen to twenty per cent. Spices pay somewhat +less than ten per cent.; India piece-goods something more. Great +irregularity, therefore, exists in levying the customs; and it is in the +power of the officer of customs to favour his friends without incurring +any responsibility. + +After the sherif had embraced the Wahabi doctrine, his income was +greatly diminished; because Saoud, the chief of the Wahabis, insisted +that the goods of all his followers should pass duty-free, and thus the +greater part of the coffee trade became exempt. I heard from a person +who had means of knowing the truth, and who had no motive for concealing +it from me, that the amount of customs collected at Djidda in 1814 was +four hundred thousand dollars, equal to eight thousand purses, or four +millions of piastres, which would give an annual importation of about +four millions of dollars, a sum certainly below rather than above the +truth. Customs are levied after the same rate at the two gates of the +town, called Bab Mekka and Bab el Medina, upon all provisions coming +from the interior of the country, principally cattle, butter, and dates, +which, in time of peace, when the communication with the interior is +uninterrupted, becomes a matter of importance. Except these, the people +of the town pay no imposts whatever. + +[p.50] During my residence, the Turks had made Djidda the principal +depot for their army. A large magazine of corn belonging to the Pasha, +received almost daily supplies from Egypt, and caravans were every day +despatched to Mekka and Tayf; the commerce of the town also was much +increased by the wants of the army and its followers. The police of the +place was well regulated; and the Pasha had given the strictest +injunctions to his troops that they should not commit excesses, as he +well knew that the high-minded Arabians do not so quietly submit to ill- +treatment as the enslaved Egyptians: whenever quarrels happened between +Arabs and Turks, the former generally had the advantage. No avanies (or +wanton act of oppression and injustice) had, under any pretence, been +exercised upon individuals, except in the occupation of a few of the +best houses by the Pasha as lodgings for his wives. The merchants +suffered, however, as in the sherif’s time, from the arbitrary rates of +customs, and from the necessity of frequently purchasing all kinds of +merchandize from the Pasha, who, while he was in the Hedjaz, seemed to +be as eager in his mercantile as he was in his military pursuits. But +after an impartial view of the merits and demerits of both governments, +it may be said that the people of Djidda have certainly gained by the +Osmanlys; yet, strange to mention, not an Arab could be found, whether +rich or poor, sincerely attached to his new masters; and the termination +of the sherif’s government was universally regretted. This must not be +attributed wholly to the usual levity of a mob, which is found among the +subjects of the Porte, even in a greater degree than among those of any +European nation. The Ottoman governors or Pashas are continually +changing, and every new one becoming a supreme ruler, gives ample cause +for complaints and private hatred and disgust; while their rapid +succession inspires the people with the hope of being soon rid of their +present despot, an event to which they look forward with pleasure, as +the first months of a new governor are generally marked by clemency and +justice. + +[p.51] The Arabians are a very proud, high-spirited nation; and this may +be said even of those who inhabit the towns, however corrupted the true +Bedouin character may be among this degenerate race. They despise every +nation that does not speak the Arabic language, or that differs in +manners; they have, besides, been accustomed, for many years, to look +upon Turks as a very inferior people, who, whenever they entered the +Hedjaz, were overawed by the power of the sherif. The rigid ceremonial +of a Turkish court was not adapted to the character and established +notions of Mohammed Aly’s new subjects. The sherif, in the height of his +power, resembled a great Bedouin Sheikh, who submits to be boldly and +often harshly addressed. A Turkish Pasha is approached with the most +abject forms of servitude. “Whenever the Sherif Ghaleb wanted a loan of +money,” observed one of the first merchants of the Hedjaz to me, “he +sent for three or four of us; we sat in close discourse with him for a +couple of hours, often quarrelling loudly, and we always reduced the sum +to something much less than was at first demanded. When we went to him +on ordinary business, we spoke to him as I now speak to you; but the +Pasha keeps us standing before him in an humble attitude, like so many +Habesh (Abyssinian) slaves, and looks down upon us as if we were beings +of an inferior creation. I would rather,” he concluded, “pay a fine to +the sherif than receive a favour from the Pasha.” + +The little knowledge which the Turks possess of the Arabic language, +their bad pronunciation of it even in reciting prayers from the Koran, +the ignorance of Arabia and its peculiarities which they betray in every +act, are so many additional causes to render them hateful or despicable +in the eyes of the Arabs. The Turks return an equal share of contempt +and dislike. Whoever does not speak the language of the Turkish soldier, +or does not dress like one, is considered as a fellah, or boor, a term +which they have been in the habit of applying to the Egyptian peasants, +as beings in the lowest + +[p.52] state of servitude and oppression. Their hatred of the Arabian +race is greater, because they cannot indulge their tyrannical +disposition with impunity, as they are accustomed to do in Egypt, being +convinced by experience that an Arabian, when struck, will strike again. +The Arabians particularly accuse the Turks of treachery, in seizing the +sherif and sending him to Turkey after he had declared for the Pasha, +and permitted Djidda and Mekka to be occupied by the Turkish troops, +who, they assert, would never, without the assistance of the sherif, +have been able to make any progress in Arabia, much less to acquire a +firm footing therein. + +The term khayn, “treacherous,” is universally applied to every Turk in +Arabia, with that proud self-confidence of superiority, in this respect, +for which the Arabs are deservedly renowned. The lower classes of the +Arabs have discovered a fanciful confirmation of their charge against +the Turks in one of the Grand Signor’s titles, Khán, an ancient Tatar +word, which in Arabic signifies “he betrayed,” being the preterite of +the verb ykhoun, “to betray.” They pretend that an ancestor of the +Sultan having betrayed a fugitive, received the opprobrious appellation +of “el Sultan Khán,” (“the Sultan has been treacherous;”) and that the +title is merely retained by his successors from their ignorance of the +Arabic language. + +Whenever the power of the Turks in the Hedjaz declines, which it will +when the resources of Egypt are no longer directed to that point by so +able and so undisturbed a possessor of Egypt as Mohammed Ali, the Arabs +will avenge themselves for the submission, light as it is, which they +now reluctantly yield to their conquerors; and the reign of the Osmanlis +in the Hedjaz will probably terminate in many a scene of bloodshed. + +[p.53] ROUTE FROM DJIDDA TO TAYF. [I was unable to take any bearings +during this excursion, as the only compass which I possessed, and which +had served me throughout my Nubian journey, had become useless, and no +opportunity offered of replacing it till December in this year, when I +obtained one from a Bombay ship which arrived at Djidda.] + +ON the 24th of August, 1814, (11th of Ramadhán, A.H. 1230.) I set out +from Djidda, late in the evening, with my guide and twenty camel-drivers +of the tribe of Harb, who were carrying money to Mekka for the Pasha’s +treasury. After having left the skirts of the town, where the road +passes by mounds of sand, among which is the cemetery of the +inhabitants, we travelled across a very barren, sandy plain, ascending +slightly towards the east; there are no trees in it, and it is strongly +impregnated with salt to about two miles from the town. After three +hours’ march, we entered a hilly country, where a coffee-hut stands near +a well named Ragháme. We continued in a broad and winding valley amongst +these hills, some sandy and some rocky, and, at the end of five hours +and a half, stopped for a short time at the coffee-hut and well called +El Beyádhye. Of these wells the water is not good. From thence, in one +hour and a half, (seven hours in all,) we reached a similar station +called El Feráyne, where we overtook a caravan of pilgrims, who were +accompanying goods and provisions destilled for the army: they had +quitted Djidda before us in the evening. The coffee-huts are miserable +structures, with half-ruined + +[p.54] walls, and coverings of brushwood; they afford nothing more than +water and coffee. Formerly, it is said, there were twelve coffee-houses +on this road, which afforded refreshments of every kind to the +passengers between Djidda and the holy city; but as the journey is now +made chiefly during the night, and as the Turkish soldiers will pay for +nothing unless by compulsion, most of these houses have been abandoned. +The few that still remain are kept by some of the Arabs of the Lahyan +tribe, (a branch of the Hodheyl Arabs,) and Metarefe, whose families are +Bedouins, and live among the hills with their flocks. From Ferayne the +valley opens, and the hills, diverging on both sides, increase +considerably in height. At the end of eight hours, about sun-rise we +reached Bahhra, a cluster of about twenty huts, situated upon a plain +nearly four hours in length and two in breadth, extending eastward. At +Bahhra there is plenty of water in wells, some sweet and some brackish. +In a row of eight or ten shops are sold rice, onions, butter, dates, and +coffee-beans, at thirty per cent. in advance of the Djidda market-price. +This is what the Arabs call a souk, or market, and similar places occur +at every station in this chain of mountains as far as Yemen. Some +Turkish cavalry was stationed at Bahhra to guard the road. After +travelling for two hours farther over the plain, we halted, at ten hours +from Djidda, at Hadda, a souk, similar to the above. Between Bahhra and +Hadda, upon an insulated hillock in the plain, are the ruins of an +ancient fortification. + +August 25th.--The caravan from Djidda to Mekka rests during the day at +Bahhra or at Hadda, thus following the common practice of the Hedjaz +Arabs, who travel only by night. This is done in winter as well as in +summer, not so much for the purpose of avoiding the heat as to afford +the camels time for feeding, these animals never eating by night. Such +nocturnal marches are most unfavourable to the researches of a +traveller, who thus crosses the country at a time when no objects can be +observed; + +[p.55] and during the day, fatigue and the desire of sleep render every +exertion irksome. + +We alighted at Hadda, under the shed of a spacious coffee-hut, where I +found a motley crew of Turks and Arabs, in their way to or from Mekka, +each extended upon his small carpet. Some merchants from Tayf had just +brought in a load of grapes; and, although I felt myself still weak from +the fever, I could not withstand this temptation, and seized a few of +them; for the baskets were no sooner opened than the whole company fell +upon them, and soon devoured the entire load; the owner, however, was +afterwards paid. It is at Hadda that the inhabitants of Djidda, when +making a pilgrimage to Mekka, put on the ihram, or pilgrim’s cloak. By +the Muselman law, every one is obliged to assume it, whatever may be his +rank, who enters the sacred territory of Mekka, whether on pilgrimage or +for other purposes; and he is enjoined not to lay it aside till after he +has visited the temple. Many persons, however, transgress this law; but +an o[r]thodox Mekkan never goes to Djidda without carrying his ihram with +him, and on his return home, he puts it on at this place. In the +afternoon some of the Turkish soldiers who were here put on this +garment, with the prescribed ceremonies, which consist in an ablution, +or, if the pilgrim choose, an entire purification, an audible avowal of +the act of investment, a prayer of two rikats, and the recital of pious +exclamations called telbye. This being a time of war, the soldiers +continued to wear their arms over the cloak. + +In the afternoon, the coffee-house keeper dressed the provisions I had +brought, as well as those belonging to many others of the company. There +was great disorder in the place, and nobody could attempt to sleep. Soon +after our arrival, a troop of soldiers passed, and pitched their tents a +little farther on the plain; they then entered the coffee-huts, and took +away all the sweet water, which had been procured from a well about +half-an-hour distant, and kept at Hadda in large jars. The huts of the +few miserable + +[p.56] inhabitants, thus exposed to all the casualties attending the +continual passage of troops, are formed with brushwood, in the shape of +a flattened cone, and they receive light only through the entrance; here +the whole family lives huddled together in one apartment. The numerous +coffee-huts are spacious sheds, supported by poles, with the coffee- +waiter’s hearth placed in one corner. They are infested by great numbers +of rats, bolder than any I ever saw. + +We left Hadda about five o’clock in the evening. The road continuing +over the plain, the soil is sandy, in some parts mixed with clay, and +might, I think, be easily cultivated by digging wells. At one hour from +Hadda, we saw on our left, in the plain, some date-trees: here, as I +understood, flows a small rivulet, which in former times irrigated some +fields. The trees are at present neglected. We now left the plain, and +diverging a little south-ward from our easterly course, again entered a +hilly country, and reached, at two hours from Hadda, another coffee-hut, +called Shemeysa. Behind it is the Djebel Shemeysa, or mountain of +Shemeysa, from which, according to the historians of Mekka, was +extracted the marble of many columns in the mosque of that holy city. In +the mountain, near the hut, is a well. From Shemeysa we rode in a broad +valley overspread with deep sands, and containing some thorny trees. At +four hours from Hadda, we passed Kahwet Salem, or Salem’s coffee-shop, +and a well; there we met a caravan coming from Mekka. The mountains +nearly close at this place, leaving only a narrow straight valley, +crossed at intervals by several other valleys. We then proceeded as far +as Hadjalye, a coffee-house, seven hours distant from Hadda, with a +large well near it, which supplies the camel-drivers of the Syrian +pilgrim caravan, on the way to and from Mekka. + +Not having enjoyed a moment’s sleep since we quitted Djidda, I lay down +on the sands, and slept till day-break, while my companions pursued +their road to Mekka. My guide only remained with me; + +[p.57] but his fears for the safety of his camels would not allow him to +close his eyes. The route from Djidda to Mekka is always frequented by +suspicious characters; and as every body travels by night, stragglers +are easily plundered. Near Hadjalye, are the ruins of an ancient +village, built with stone; and in the Wady are traces of former +cultivation. + +August 26th.--At half an hour from Hadjalye, we came to a small date +plantation, surrounded by a wall. From hence the road to Mekka lies to +the right, and enters the town by the quarter called Djerouel. My guide +had orders to conduct me by a by-road to Tayf, which passes in the north +of Mekka; it branches off at Hadda, crosses the road from Mekka to Wady +Fatmé, and joins the great road from Mekka to Tayf, beyond Wady Muna. +Just before we left Hadda, my guide, who knew nothing further respecting +me than that I had business with the Pasha at Tayf, that I performed all +the outward observances of a Moslem pilgrim, and that I had been liberal +to him before our departure, asked me the reason of his having been +ordered to take me by the northern road. I replied, that it was probably +thought shorter than the other. “That is a mistake,” he replied; “the +Mekka road is quite as short, and much safer; and if you have no +objection, we will proceed by it.” This was just what I wished, though I +had taken care not to betray any anxiety on the subject; and we +accordingly followed the great road, in company with the other +travellers. Instead, however, of taking me the usual way, which would +have carried me through the whole length of the town, he, having no +curiosity to gratify, conducted me, without my being aware of it, by a +short cut, and thus deprived me of an opportunity of seeing Mekka fully +at this time. + +From the date plantation beyond Hadjalye, we reached in half an hour the +plain where the Syrian pilgrim-caravan usually encamps, and which has +taken the name of Sheikh Mahmoud, from the tomb of a saint so called, +built in the midst of it. It is encompassed + +[p.58] by low mountains; is from two to three miles in length, and one +in breadth; and is separated from the valley of Mekka by a narrow chain +of hills, over which a road has been cut through the rocks, with much +labour. By this road we ascended, and on the summit of the hill passed +two watch-towers, built on each side of the road by the Sherif Ghaleb. +As we descended on the other side, where the road is paved, the view of +Mekka opened upon us; and at an hour and a half from Hadjalye, we +entered the eastern quarter of the town, near the Sherif’s palace +(marked 50 in the plan). The great body of the town lay on our right, +hidden, in part, by the windings of the valley. As I knew that I should +return to Mekka, I did not press my guide to allow me a full view of the +city, since we should, for that purpose, have been obliged to ride back +about two miles in a contrary direction. I repressed my curiosity, +therefore, and followed him, reciting those ejaculations which are +customary on entering the holy city. + +I travelled several times afterwards between Mekka and Djidda, in both +directions. The caravan’s rate of march is here very slow, scarcely +exceeding two miles an hour. I have ridden from Mekka to Djidda upon an +ass in thirteen hours. The distance may, perhaps, be fairly estimated at +sixteen or seventeen hours’ walk, or about fifty-five miles; the +direction a trifle to the northward of east. + +On turning to our left, we passed, a little farther on, the great +barracks of the Sherif; and in the suburbs called El Moabede, we +alighted at the house of an Arab, with whom my guide happened to be +acquainted. It was now the fast of Ramadhán; but travellers are exempted +by law from observing it. The woman of the house, whose husband was +absent, prepared us a breakfast, for which we paid her, and remained in +the house till after mid-day; we then remounted our camels, and turning +by the Sherif’s garden-house, situated at the eastern extremity of the +suburbs, we took the high road to Wady Muna. Winding valleys, of greater +or less breadth, + +[p.59] covered with sands, and almost wholly destitute of vegetation, +with hills on both sides, equally barren, lead to Muna. At half an hour +from the garden-house of the Sherif, the country opens a little to the +left. There the canal passes which supplies Mekka with sweet water; and +we saw, about two miles distant, at the extremity of the opening, a +conical mountain, called Djebel el Nour, considered holy by the +pilgrims, as will be subsequently mentioned. We passed on our right, in +an hour and a half, a large tank, built of stones. This, in the time of +the Hadj, is filled with water from the canal, which passes close by it. +I believe this to be the place called Sebyl-es-Sett. One of the side- +valleys between Mekka and Muna is called Wady Mohsab. El Fasy, the +historian of Mekka, says that there were formerly sixteen wells between +that city and Muna. At the end of two hours, after having ascended a +little by a paved causeway formed across the valley, which is about +forty yards in breadth, we entered Wady Muna. Near the causeway we saw a +small field, irrigated by means of a brackish well, where a few +miserable Bedouins raised onions and leeks for the market at Mekka. I +shall give hereafter a more detailed description of Wady Muna, where the +Hadj remains three days after its return from Arafat. + +We continued our route among the ruined houses of Muna, passed the short +columns, at which the pilgrims throw stones, then the Sherif’s palace, +and issued into the open country, which continues thence towards +Mezdelife, distant three hours and three quarters from Mekka. This name +is given to a small mosque, now almost in ruins, close to which is a +tank or reservoir of water. Here a sermon is preached from a high +platform in front of the mosque, to the pilgrims after their return from +Arafat. El Fasy, the historian, says that this mosque was built in A.H. +759. It is often called Moshár el Haram; but, according to the same +author, this name belongs to a small hill at the + +[p.60] extremity of the valley of Mezdelife, which bears also the +appellation of El Kazeh. From Mezdelife two roads lead to Arafat; the +one on the left along the plain or valley called Dhob; the other leads +straight across the mountain, and joins the former near the Aalameyn. We +proceeded along the great road in the valley. At four hours and a +quarter the mountains again close, and a narrow pass called El Mazomeyn +or El Medyk leads across them for half an hour, after which the view +opens upon the plain of Arafat. At the end of four hours and three +quarters, we passed, in this plain, a tank called Bir Basan, constructed +of stone, with a small chapel adjoining. Here the country opens widely +to the north and south. Eastward, the mountains of Tayf are seen for the +first time in their full height. [On my return from Tayf to Mekka, when I +was completely my own master, I drew up a much more detailed and +accurate description of the road than this given here; but I +accidentally lost the papers containing it; the present, therefore, is +written from memory, and the few short notes which I hastily made during +the route to Tayf.] At five hours we reached El Aalameyn, two stone +structures standing one on each side of the road, from eighty to one +hundred paces from each other, and between them the pilgrims must pass +in going, and more particularly in returning from Arafat. They are of +coarse masonry, plaistered white, and the annexed outline represents +their form.[Not included] + +Fasy says that there were formerly three, that they were built in A.H. +605, and that one had fallen. Of those now remaining one is entire, the +other half ruined. At five hours and a quarter we passed to our right a +large insulated mosque in a state of decay, called Djama Nimre, or Djama +Ibrahim, built as it now stands by the Sultan Kail, Bey of Egypt. The +low mountain of + +[p.61] Arafat was now to our left at the extremity of the plain, about +two miles distant. We proceeded, without stopping, over the plain, which +is covered with shrubs of considerable height, and low acacia trees: +from these it is prohibited to take even the smallest branch, this being +holy ground. On attaining the eastern limits of the plain, we reached, +at five hours and three quarters, the canal of Mekka, issuing from the +mountainous ground. Near it is a small tank, and in its vicinity a +cluster of Arab huts similar to those at Hadda, and bearing the name of +Kahwet Arafat, or the coffee-house of Arafat. They are inhabited chiefly +by Beni Koreysh, who cultivate vegetables in a valley extending from +hence towards the south. We rested here some hours; a caravan from Tayf, +composed of mules and asses, arrived at the same time. + +From Kahwet Arafat, the road becomes rocky, and the mountains nearly +close, and are intersected by valleys which cross the road in every +direction. Acacia-trees grow here in great abundance. At seven hours and +a half we again entered upon sandy ground, in a valley called Wady +Noman, where, towards the south, are some wells, and a few plantations +cultivated by the Arab tribes of Kebákeb and Ryshye. At eight hours and +a half we passed an encampment of the Bedouin tribe of Hodheyl, where +dogs attacked our camels so fiercely that I had much difficulty, though +mounted, to defend myself from their teeth. At eight hours and three +quarters we passed a cluster of huts and coffee-shops, called shedad, +with wells of very good water. At nine hours and a half, it being a +cloudy and extremely dark night, we lost our way in following the +windings of a side valley, and being unable to regain the right road, we +lay down on the sand and slept till day-break. + +August 27th.--We found ourselves close to the road, and proceeding, we +began to ascend, in half an hour, the great chain of mountains. From +Djjdda to this place, our route, though generally between hills and +mountains, had been constantly over flat + +[p.62] ground, in valleys, with an ascent almost imperceptible to the +traveller, and the existence of which became visible only in viewing the +country from the summit of the mountains now before us. The lower hills +are seldom higher than four or five hundred feet. The lowest range above +Djidda is calcareous; but its rocks soon change into gneiss, and a +species of granite, with schorl in the place of feldspath, accompanied +by predominant masses of quartz, and some mica. This rock continues +along the road, with few variations, as far as the vicinity of Djebel +Nour, to the eastward of Mekka, where granite begins. I learned at +Mekka, that, south of Hadda, some hours distant, a mountain yields fine +marble, which served for the pavement of the great mosque. The mountains +forming the valley of Muna are composed of this red and grey granite, +and continue so from thence to this higher chain, mixed in a few places +with strata of grunstein. The lower chain of the high ridge which we +were now ascending, again, consists of grey granite; towards the middle +I found it of all colours, mixed with strata of grunstein, trappe, and +porphyry schistus, the latter much decayed: at the summit of the ridge, +red granite occurred again; its surface had been completely blackened by +the sun’s rays. + +We ascended by a road, still bad, although Mohammed Ali Pasha had +recently caused it to be repaired. The country around was very wild, +being covered with large blocks of loose stones, carried down by the +winter torrents, and interspersed with a few acacia and nebek trees. At +one hour we came to a building of loose stones, called Kaber Er’-rafyk, +i.e. the Companion’s tomb. The following tradition concerning it was +related by my guide. In the last century, a Bedouin returning from the +Hadj was joined, beyond the gates of Mekka, by a traveller going the +same road with himself; they reached this spot in company, when one of +them felt himself so ill, that he was unable to proceed farther, and on +the following day the small-pox broke out on his body. In this situation +his companion + +[p.63] would not abandon him. He built two huts with boughs of acacia- +trees, one for his friend, the other for himself; and continued to nurse +him, and solicit alms for his benefit from passing travellers, until he +recovered. But in turn, he himself became ill of the same disease, and +was nursed by his convalescent companion with equal kindness, though not +with equal success; for he died, and was interred by his friend on this +spot, where his tomb serves as a monument of Bedouin generosity, and +inculcates benevolence even towards the casual companions of the road. + +At one hour and a half, still ascending, we reached some huts built +among the rocks, near a copious spring; they are named Kahwet Kora, from +the mountains which collectively bear the name of Djebel Kora. I found +here a Turkish soldier, charged with the transport of provisions for the +Pasha’s army over the mountain. This being the shortest road from Mekka +to Tayf, caravans are continually passing. The camel-loads are deposited +at this place, and then forwarded to the summit of the mountain on mules +and asses, of which about two hundred are kept here. On the mountain +camels are prepared for carrying the loads to Tayf. The more northern +road to Tayf, of which I shall speak hereafter, is passable for camels +all the way; but it is by one day longer than this. + +The huts of Kora are constructed between the rocks, on the slope of the +mountain, where there is scarcely any level surface. The inhabitants are +Hodheyl Bedouins. In two or three huts nothing could be procured but +coffee and water. The Turkish soldier had lately incurred the Pasha’s +displeasure, having stolen and sold the camel of a Hodheyl woman, who +had gone to lay her complaint before his master, the Pasha, at Tayf. The +soldier treated me with much civility, when he learned that I was going +to visit the Pasha, and begged me to intercede in his behalf; this, +however, I declined to do, telling him that I was myself a solicitor for +my own concerns. We remained till mid-day at this + +[p.64] pleasant spot, from whence there is a fine prospect over the +lower country. A large nebek-tree, near the spring which drizzles down +the rocks, afforded me shade, and a delicious cool breeze allayed the +sultry heat which we had endured ever since our departure from Djidda. +Leaving Kora, we found the road very steep, and, although it had lately +been repaired, so bad, that a mounted traveller could hardly hope to +reach the summit without alighting. Steps had been cut in several +places, and the ascent rendered less steep, by conducting it, in many +windings, to the top: half a dozen spacious resting-places had also been +formed on the side of the mountain, where the caravans take breath, +there being no where so much as eight square feet of level ground. The +same spring, which comes from near the top, is crossed several times. I +met many of the Hodheyl Bedouins, with their families and flocks of +sheep, near the road. One of them gave me some milk, but would not take +any money in return; the sale of milk being considered by these Bedouins +as a scandal, though they might derive great profits from it at Mekka, +where one pound of milk is worth two piastres. I conversed freely with +the men, and with the wife of one of them. They seemed a race of hardy +mountaineers, and, although evidently poor, have a more robust and +fleshy appearance than the northern Bedouins, which I ascribe chiefly to +the healthiness of the climate, and the excellence of the water. The +Beni Hodheyl, famous in the ancient history of Arabia, were nominally +subject to the Sherif of Mekka, in whose territory they live; but they +were in fact quite independent, and often at war with him. + +We were full two hours in ascending from the coffee-huts to the summit +of the mountain, from whence we enjoyed a beautiful prospect over the +low country. We discerned Wady Muna, but not Mekka; and as far as the +eye could reach, winding chains of hills appeared upon a flat surface, +towards the north and south, with narrow stripes of white sand between +them, without the slightest verdure. Close to our right rose a peak of +the mountain + +[p.65] Kora, called Nakeb el Ahmar, from four to five hundred feet +higher than the place where we stood, and appearing to overtop all the +neighbouring chain. Towards the north, the mountain, about thirty miles +distant, seemed to decrease considerably in height; but southward it +continues of the same height. After half an hour’s ride from the summit, +we came to a small village called Ras el Kora. Finding myself much +fatigued, I insisted upon sleeping here, with which my guide reluctantly +complied, as he had received orders to travel expeditiously. + +August 28th.--The village and neighbourhood of Ras el Kora is the most +beautiful spot in the Hedjaz, and more picturesque and delightful than +any place I had seen since my departure from Lebanon, in Syria. The top +of Djebel Kora is flat, but large masses of granite lie scattered over +it, the surface of which, like that of the granite rocks near the second +cataract of the Nile, is blackened by the sun. Several small rivulets +descend from this peak, and irrigate the plain, which is covered with +verdant fields and large shady trees on the side of the granite rocks. +To those who have only known the dreary and scorching sands of the lower +country of the Hedjaz, this scene is as surprising as the keen air which +blows here is refreshing. Many of the fruit-trees of Europe are found +here,--figs, apricots, peaches; apples, the Egyptian sycamore, almonds, +pomegranates; but particularly vines, the produce of which is of the +best quality. There are no palm-trees here, and only a few nebek-trees. +The fields produce wheat, barley, and onions; but the soil being stony, +these do not succeed so well as the fruits. Every beled, as they here +call the fields, is enclosed by a low wall, and is the property of a +Hodheyl Bedouin. When Othman el Medhayfe took Tayf from the Sherif, this +place was ruined, the fields were destroyed, and many of the walls had +not yet been rebuilt. + +After having passed through this delightful district, for about half an +hour, just as the sun was rising, when every leaf and blade + +[p.66] of grass was covered with a balmy dew, and every tree and shrub +diffused a fragrance as delicious to the smell as was the landscape to +the eye, I halted near the largest of the rivulets, which, although not +more than two paces across, nourishes upon its banks a green Alpine +turf, such as the mighty Nile, with all its luxuriance, can never +produce in Egypt. Some of the Arabs brought us almonds and raisins, for +which we gave them biscuits; but although the grapes were ripe, we could +not obtain any, as they are generally purchased while on the vines by +the merchants of Tayf, who export them to Mekka, and keep them closely +watched by their own people till they are gathered. Here a Turkish +soldier, complimented with the title of Aga, was stationed under a tent, +to forward the provisions coming from the lower station to Tayf. I +observed with some astonishment, that not a single pleasure-house was +built on this high platform. Formerly, the Mekka merchants had their +country-seats at Tayf, which stand in a situation as desert and +melancholy, as this is cheerful and luxuriant; but none of them ever +thought of building a cottage here; a new proof of the opinion which I +have long entertained, that orientals, especially the Arabs, are much +less sensible of the beauties of nature than Europeans. The water of Ras +el Kora is celebrated throughout the Hedjaz for its excellence. While +Mohammed Ali remained at Mekka and at Djidda, he received a regular +supply of Nile water for drinking, sent from Egypt, by every fleet, in +large tin vessels; but on passing this place, he found its water +deserving of being substituted for the other: a camel comes here daily +from Tayf for a load of it. + + The houses of the Hodheyl, to whom these plantations belong, are +scattered over the fields in clusters of four or five together. They are +small, built of stones and mud, but with more care than might be +expected from the rude hands of the occupants. Every dwelling comprises +three or four rooms, each of which being separated from the others by a +narrow open space, forms, as it were, + +[p.67] a small detached cottage. These apartments receive no light but +from the entrance; they are very neat and clean, and contain Bedouin +furniture, some good carpets, woollen and leathern sacks, a few wooden +bowls, earthen coffee-pots, and a matchlock, of which great care is +taken, it being generally kept in a leathern case. At night I reposed +upon a large well-tanned cow-skin: the covering was formed of a number +of small sheep-skins neatly sewed together, similar to those used in +Nubia. The Hodheyl told me, that before the Wahabys came, and obliged +them to pay tribute for their fields, they knew no land-tax, but, on the +contrary, received yearly presents from the sherifs, and from all the +Mekkawys who passed this way to Tayf. Ras el Kora extends from east to +west about two and a half or three miles, and is about a mile in +breadth. According to the statements of the Arabs, many spots towards +the south, where Bedouin tribes, like the Hodheyl, cultivate the soil in +detached parts of the mountain, are equally fertile and beautiful as +that which we saw in the chain above mentioned. + +We left the Ras, which will be remembered by me as long as I am sensible +to the charms of romantic scenery, and rode for about one hour over +uneven barren ground, with slight ascents and descents, till we came to +a steep declivity, to walk down which occupied us half an hour, and +double that time would be necessary for ascending it. The rock is +entirely composed of sand-stone. From the summit of the declivity just +mentioned, Tayf is seen in the distance. At half an hour from the foot +of the mountain, we entered a fertile valley, called Wady Mohram, +extending from N.W. to S.E. Like the upper district, it is full of +fruit-trees; but the few cultivated fields are watered from wells, and +not by running streams. A village, which the Wahabys had almost wholly +ruined, stands on the slope, with a small tower constructed by the +inhabitants to secure the produce of their fields against the invasion +of enemies. + +[p.68] Here begins the territory of Tayf, and of the Arab tribe of +Thekyf, who, in former times, were often at war with their neighbours +the Hodheyl. The Wady is denominated Mohram, from the circumstance, that +here the pilgrims and visitors going from the eastward to Mekka, invest +themselves with the ihram before noticed. There is a small ruined stone +tank close by the road. The caravan of the Yemen pilgrims, called Hadj +el Kebsy, whose route lies along these mountains, used always to observe +the ceremony here, and the tank was then filled with water for ablution. +The husbandmen of Mohram draw the water from their wells in leathern +buckets suspended from one end of an iron chain, passed round a pulley, +and to the other end they yoke a cow, which, for want of a wheel, walks +to a sufficient distance from the well to draw up the bucket, when she +is led back to resume the same course. The cows I saw here, like all +those of the Hedjaz, are small, but of a stout, bony make: they have +generally only short stumps of horns, and a hump on the back, just over +the shoulder, about five inches in height and six in length, much +resembling in this respect the cows which I saw on the borders of the +Nile in Nubia. According to the natives, the whole chain of mountains +from hence southward, as far as the country where the coffee-plantations +begin, is intersected by similar cultivated valleys at some distance +from each other, the intermediate space consisting chiefly of barren +rocky soil. + +From Wady Mohram we again crossed uneven, mountainous ground, where I +found sand-stone and silex. Acacia trees are seen in several sandy +valleys, branching out from the road. At two hours and a half from Wady +Mohram we ascended, and at the top of the hill saw Tayf lying before us. +We reached it in three hours and a half from Wady Mohram, after having +crossed the barren sandy plain which separates it from the surrounding +hills. The rate of our march from Mekka, when we were quite alone upon +our dromedaries, and able to accelerate their pace at pleasure, was not + +[p.69] less than three miles, and a quarter per hour. I therefore +calculate from Mekka to the foot of Djebel Kora, about thirty-two miles; +to its top, ten miles; and from thence to Tayf, thirty miles, making in +the whole seventy-two miles. The bearing of the road from Arafat to Tayf +is about twelve or fifteen degrees of the compass, to the southward of +that from Mekka to Arafat; but having had no compass with me, I cannot +give the bearing with perfect accuracy. + +[p.70] RESIDENCE AT TAYF. + +I ARRIVED at Tayf about mid-day, and alighted at the house of Bosari, +the Pasha’s physician, with whom I had been well acquainted at Cairo. As +it was now the fast of Ramadhan, during which the Turkish grandees +always sleep in the day-time, the Pasha could not be informed of my +arrival till after sun-set. In the mean while, Bosari, after the usual +Levantine assurances of his entire devotion to my interests, and of the +sincerity of his friendship, asked me what were my views in coming to +the Hedjaz. I answered, to visit Mekka and Medina, and then to return to +Cairo. Of my intention respecting Egypt he seemed doubtful, begged me to +be candid with him as with a friend, and to declare the truth, as he +confessed that he suspected I was going to the East Indies. This I +positively denied; and in the course of our conversation, he hinted that +if I really meant to return to Egypt, I had better remain at head- +quarters with them, till the Pasha himself should proceed to Cairo. +Nothing was said about money, although Bosari was ignorant that my +pecuniary wants had been relieved at Djidda. + +In the evening Bosari went privately to the Pasha at his women’s +residence, where he only received visits from friends or very intimate +acquaintances. In half an hour he returned, and told me that the Pasha +wished to see me rather late that evening in his public room. He added, +that he found seated with the Pasha + +[p.071] the Kadhy of Mekka, who was then at Tayf for his health; and +that the former, when he heard of my desire to visit the holy cities, +observed jocosely, “it is not the beard [I wore a beard at this time, as +I did at Cairo, when the Pasha saw me.] alone which proves a man to be a +true Moslem;” but turning towards the Kadhy, he said, “you are a better +judge in such matters than I am.” The Kadhy then observed that, as none +but a Moslem could be permitted to see the holy cities, a circumstance +of which he could not possibly suppose me ignorant, he did not believe +that I would declare myself to be one, unless I really was. When I +learnt these particulars, I told Bosari that he might return alone to +the Pasha; that my feelings had already been much hurt by the orders +given to my guide not to carry me through Mekka; and that I certainly +should not go to the Pasha’s public audience, if he would not receive me +as a Turk. + +Bosari was alarmed at this declaration, and in vain endeavoured to +dissuade me from such a course, telling me that he had orders to conduct +me to the Pasha, which he could not disobey. I however adhered firmly to +what I had said, and he reluctantly went back to Mohammed Aly, whom he +found alone, the Kadhy having left him. When Bosari delivered his +message, the Pasha smiled, and answered that I was welcome, whether Turk +or not. About eight o’clock in the evening I repaired to the castle, a +miserable, half-ruined habitation of Sherif Ghaleb, dressed in the new +suit which I had received at Djidda by the Pasha’s command. I found his +highness seated in a large saloon, with the Kadhy on one hand, and +Hassan Pasha, the chief of the Arnaut soldiers, on the other; thirty or +forty of his principal officers formed a half-circle about the sofa on +which they sat; and a number of Bedouin sheikhs were squatted in the +midst of the semicircle. I went up to the Pasha, gave him the “Salam +Aleykum,” and kissed his hand. He made a sign for me to sit down by the +side of the + +[p.72] Kadhy, then addressed me very politely, inquired after my health, +and if there was any news from the Mamelouks in the Black country which +I had visited; but said nothing whatever on the subject most interesting +to me. Amyn Effendi, his Arabic dragoman, interpreted between us, as I +do not speak Turkish, and the Pasha speaks Arabic very imperfectly. In +about five minutes he renewed the business with the Bedouins, which I +had interrupted. When this was terminated, and Hassan Pasha had left the +room, every body was ordered to withdraw, except the Kadhy, Bosari, and +myself. I expected now to be put to the proof, and I was fully prepared +for it; but not a word was mentioned of my personal affairs, nor did +Mohammed Aly, in any of our subsequent conversations, ever enter further +into them than to hint that he was persuaded I was on my way to the East +Indies. As soon as we were alone, the Pasha introduced the subject of +politics. He had just received information of the entrance of the allies +into Paris, and the departure of Bonaparte for Elba; and several Malta +gazettes, giving the details of these occurrences, had been sent to him +from Cairo. He seemed deeply interested in these important events, +chiefly because he laboured under the impression that, after Bonaparte’s +downfall, England would probably seek for an augmentation of power in +the Mediterranean, and consequently invade Egypt. + +After remaining for two or three hours with the Pasha in private +conversation, either speaking Arabic to him, through the medium of the +Kadhy, who, though a native of Constantinople, knew that language +perfectly, or Italian, through Bosari, who was an Armenian, but had +acquired a smattering of that tongue at Cairo, I took my leave, and the +Pasha said that he expected me again on the morrow at the same hour. + +August 29th.--I paid a visit to the Kadhy before sun-set, and found him +with his companion and secretary, a learned man of Constantinople. The +Kadhy Sádik Effendi was a true eastern + +[p.73] courtier, of very engaging manners and address, possessing all +that suavity of expression for which the well-bred natives of Stamboul +are so distinguished. After we had interchanged a few complimentary +phrases, I mentioned my astonishment on finding that the Pasha had +expressed any doubts of my being a true Moslem, after I had now been a +proselyte to that faith for so many years. He replied that Mohammed Aly +had allowed that he (the Kadhy) was the best judge in such matters; and +added, that he hoped we should become better acquainted with each other. +He then began to question me about my Nubian travels. In the course of +conversation literary subjects were introduced: he asked me what Arabic +hooks I had read, and what commentaries on the Koran and on the law; and +he probably found me better acquainted, with the titles, at least, of +such works than he had expected, for we did not enter deeply into the +subject. While we were thus conversing, the call to evening prayers +announced the termination of this day’s fast. I supped with the Kadhy, +and afterwards performed the evening prayers in his company, when I took +great care to chaunt as long a chapter of the Koran as my memory +furnished at the moment; after which we both went to the Pasha, who +again sat up a part of the night in private conversation with me, +chiefly on political affairs, without ever introducing the subject of my +private business. + +After another interview, I went every evening, first to the Kadhy, and +then to the Pasha; but, notwithstanding a polite reception at the +castle, I could perceive that my actions were closely watched. Bosari +had asked me if I kept a journal; but I answered that the Hedjaz was not +like Egypt, full of antiquities, and that in these barren mountains I +saw nothing worthy of notice. I was never allowed to be alone for a +moment, and I had reason to suspect that Bosari, with all his assurances +of friendship, was nothing better than a spy. To remain at Tayf for an +indeterminate period, in the situation I now found myself, was little + +[p.74] desirable; yet I could not guess the Pasha’s intentions with +respect to me. I was evidently considered in no other light than as a +spy sent to this country by the English government, to ascertain its +present state, and report upon it in the East Indies. This, I presume, +was the Pasha’s own opinion: he knew me as an Englishman, a name which I +assumed during my travels (I hope without any discredit to that +country), whenever it seemed necessary to appear as an European; because +at that time none but the subjects of England and France enjoyed in the +East any real security: they were considered as too well protected, both +by their governments at home and their ministers at Constantinople, to +be trifled with by provincial governors. The Pasha, moreover, supposed +me to be a man of some rank, for every Englishman travelling in the East +is styled “My lord;” and he was the more convinced of this by a certain +air of dignity which it was necessary for me to assume in a Turkish +court, where modesty of behaviour and affability are quite out of place. +Afraid as he then was of Great Britain, he probably thought it imprudent +to treat me ill, though he did nothing whatever to forward my projects. +As far as he knew, I could have only the five hundred piastres which he +had ordered for me at Djidda, and which were not sufficient to pay my +expenses for any length of time in the Hedjaz. Nothing was said to me +either by him or Bosari of taking my bill upon Cairo, as I had requested +him to do; but this favour I did not again solicit, having money enough +for the present, and expecting a fresh supply from Egypt. + +To remain for any length of time at Tayf, in a sort of polite +imprisonment, was little to my taste; yet I could not press my departure +without increasing his suspicions. This was manifest after my first +interview with the Pasha and the Kadhy, and I knew that the reports of +Bosari might considerably influence the mind of Mohammed. Under these +circumstances, I thought the best course was to make Bosari tired of me, +and thus induce him + +[p.75] involuntarily to forward my views. I therefore began to act at +his house with all the petulance of an Osmanly. It being the Ramadhan, I +fasted during the day, and at night demanded a supper apart; early on +the following morning I called for an abundant breakfast, before the +fast recommenced. I appropriated to myself the best room which his small +house afforded; and his servants were kept in constant attendance upon +me. Eastern hospitality forbids all resentment for such behaviour; I +was, besides, a great man, and on a visit to the Pasha. In my +conversations with Bosari, I assured him that I felt myself most +comfortably situated at Tayf, and that its climate agreed perfectly with +my health; and I betrayed no desire of quitting the place for the +present. To maintain a person in my character for any length of time at +Tayf, where provisions of all kinds were much dearer than in London, was +a matter of no small moment; and a petulant guest is everywhere +disagreeable. The design, I believe, succeeded perfectly; and Bosari +endeavoured to persuade the Pasha that I was a harmless being, in order +that I might be the sooner dismissed. + +I had been six days at Tayf, but seldom went out, except to the castle +in the evening, when Bosari asked whether my business with the Pasha was +likely to prevent me much longer from pursuing my travels, and visiting +Mekka. I replied that I had no business with the Pasha, though I had +come to Tayf at his desire; but that my situation was very agreeable to +me, possessing so warm and generous a friend as he, my host. The next +day he renewed the subject, and remarked that it must be tiresome to +live entirely among soldiers, without any comforts or amusements, +unacquainted besides, as I was, with the Turkish language. I assented to +this; but added, that being ignorant of the Pasha’s wishes, I could +determine on nothing. This brought him to the point I wished. “This +being the case,” said he, “I will, if you like, speak to his Highness on +the subject.” He did so in the evening, before I went to the castle; and +the Pasha told me, in the course of conversation, + +[p.76] that as he understood I wished to pass the last days of Ramadhan +at Mekka, (a suggestion originating with Bosari,) I had better join the +party of the Kadhy, who was going there to the feast, and who would be +very glad of my company. This was precisely such a circumstance as I +wished for. The departure of the Kadhy was fixed for the 7th of +September, and I hired two asses, the usual mode of conveyance in this +country, in order to follow him. + +As it was my intention to proceed afterwards to Medina, where Tousoun +Pasha, the son of Mohammed Aly, was governor, I begged Bosari to ask the +Pasha for a firman or passport, authorising me to travel through all the +Hedjaz, together with a letter of recommendation to his son. In reply, +Bosari told me that the Pasha did not like to interfere personally in my +travels; that I might act as I pleased, on my own responsibility; and +that my knowledge of the language rendered a passport unnecessary. This +was equivalent to telling me, “Do what you please; I shall neither +obstruct nor facilitate your projects,” which, indeed, was as much, at +present, as I could well expect or desire. + +On the 6th of September I took my leave of the Pasha, who told me at +parting, that if ever my travels should carry me to India, I might +assure the English people there that he was much attached to the +interests of the India trade. Early on the 7th the Kadhy sent me word +that he should not set out till evening, would travel during the night, +and hoped to meet me at Djebel Kora, midway to Mekka. I therefore left +Tayf alone, as I had entered it, after a residence of ten days. At +parting, Bosari assured me of his inviolable attachment to my interest; +and I blessed my good stars, when I left the precincts of the town, and +the residence of a Turkish court, in which I found it more difficult to +avoid danger, than among the wild Bedouins of Nubia. + +During my stay at Tayf, I had five or six interviews with the + +[p.77] Pasha; and the following extracts from my journal will show the +general result of what passed between us on those different occasions:-- + +Q. Sheikh Ibrahim, I hope you are well. +A. Perfectly well, and most happy to have the honour of seeing you +again. +Q. You have travelled much since I saw you at Cairo. How far did you +advance into the negro country? + +To this question I replied, by giving a short account of my journey in +Nubia. + +Q. Tell me, how are the Mamelouks at Dongola? + +I related what the reader will find in my Nubian Travels. + +Q. I understand that you treated with two of the Mamelouk Beys at Ibrim; +was it so? + +The word treated (if the dragoman rightly translated the Turkish word), +startled me very much; for the Pasha, while he was in Egypt, had heard +that, on my journey towards Dongola, I had met two Mamelouk Beys at +Derr; and as he still suspected that the English secretly favoured the +Mamelouk interest, he probably thought that I had been the bearer of +some message to them from government. I therefore assured him that my +meeting with the two Beys was quite accidental that the unpleasant +reception which I experienced at Mahass was on their account; and that I +entertained fears of their designs against my life. With this +explanation the Pasha seemed satisfied. + +Q. Let us only settle matters here with the Wahabys, and I shall soon be +able to get rid of the Mamelouks. How many soldiers do you think are +necessary for subduing the country as far as Senaar? +A. Five hundred men, good troops, might reach that point, but could not +keep possession of the country; and the expenses would scarcely be +repaid by the booty. +Q. What do those countries afford? + +[p.78] +A. Camels and slaves; and, towards Senaar, gold, brought from Abyssinia; +but all this is the property of individuals. The chiefs or kings in +those countries do not possess any riches. +Q. In what state are the roads from Egypt to Senaar? +A. I described the road between Asouan and Shendy, and from Souakin to +the same place. +Q. How did you pass your time among the Blacks? +A. I related some laughable stories, with which he seemed greatly +amused. +Q. And now, Sheikh Ibrahim, where do you mean to go? +A. I wish to perform the Hadj, return to Cairo, and then proceed to +visit Persia.--(I did not think it advisable to mention my design of +returning into the interior of Africa.) +Q. May God render the way smooth before you! but I think it folly and +madness to travel so much. What, let me ask, is the result of your last +journey? +A. Men’s lives are predestined; we all obey our fate. For myself, I +enjoy great pleasure in exploring new and unknown countries, and +becoming acquainted with different races of people. I am induced to +undertake journies by the private satisfaction that travelling affords, +and I care little about personal fatigue. +Q. Have you heard of the news from Europe? +A. Only some vague reports at Djidda. + +The Pasha then gave me an account of the events which ended in +Bonaparte’s banishment to Elba, after the entrance of the allies into +Paris. Bonaparte, he said, behaved like a coward; he ought to have +sought for death, rather than expose himself in a cage to the laughter +of the universe. The Europeans, he said, are as treacherous as the +Osmanlys; all Bonaparte’s confidants abandoned him--all his generals, who +owed to him their fortunes. + +He was eager in his inquiries about the political relations between +Great Britain and Russia, and whether it was not likely that war might +break out between them, on account of the hostile + +[p.79] intentions of the latter towards the Porte. (On this point he had +received false intelligence.) His only fear seemed to be that the +English army, which had been employed in the south of France, and in +Spain, would now be at liberty to invade Egypt. “The great fish swallow +the small,” he said; “and Egypt is necessary to England, in supplying +corn to Malta and Gibraltar.” I reasoned with him in vain on this +subject, and perceived that the dragoman did not always interpret my +answers correctly, from the fear of contradicting the well-known +opinions of his master. These opinions, indeed, were deeply rooted, and +had been fostered by the French mission in Egypt. “I am the friend of +the English,” he continued. (This addressed by a Turk to a Christian, +means only that he fears him, or wants his money.) “But to tell you the +truth, among great men we see many compliments, and very little +sincerity. My hope is, that they will not fall upon Egypt during my stay +in the Hedjaz; if I am there myself, I shall at least have the +satisfaction of fighting personally for my dominions. Of the Sultan I am +not afraid, (this he repeatedly asserted, but I much doubt his +sincerity,) and I shall know how to outwit him in all his measures. An +army from Syria can never attack Egypt by land in very large bodies, +from the want of camels; and separate corps are easily destroyed as soon +as they have passed the desert.” + +I took the liberty of telling him that he was like a young man in +possession of a beautiful girl; although sure of her affection, he would +always be jealous of every stranger. “You say well,” he replied. “I +certainly love Egypt with all the ardour of a lover; and if I had ten +thousand souls, I would willingly sacrifice them for its possession.” + +He asked me in what state I had found Upper Egypt; and whether his son +Ibrahim Pasha (the governor) was liked there. I replied, in the language +of truth, that all the chiefs of villages hated him (for he had +compelled them to abandon their despotic treatment of their fellow- +peasants); but that the peasants themselves + +[p.80] were much attached to him. (The fact is, that instead of being +oppressed, as formerly, by the Mamelouk Beys and Kashefs, as well as by +their own Sheikhs, they have at present only one tyrant, the Pasha +himself, who keeps his governors of districts in perfect order.) + +Mohammed Aly wished to know my opinion respecting the number of troops +necessary for defending Egypt against a foreign army. I answered, that I +knew nothing of war, but from what I had read in books. “No, no;” he +exclaimed, “you travellers always have your eyes open, and you inquire +after every thing.” He persisted in his question; and being thus forced +to reply, I said that twenty-five thousand chosen troops would probably +be able to resist any attack. “I have now thirty-three thousand,” said +he--a false assertion, for I am quite certain that he had at that time +not more than sixteen thousand men, dispersed over Egypt and the Hedjaz. + +He would next explain to me the Nizam Djedyd, or new system of +discipline and military regulations He said it was only the avidity of +the chiefs, and not the dislike of the common soldiers, that obstructed +the institution of a well-organised army in Turkey, and opposed the +mustering necessary to prevent the officers from imposing on the public +treasury. “But I shall make a regular corps of negro soldiers,” he +added. This his predecessor Khurshid Pasha had attempted, but with +little success. The subject of the Nizam Djedyd was resumed as soon as +Mohammed Aly returned to Egypt from this expedition; but the revolt of +his soldiers, who plundered his own capital, obliged him to abandon the +undertaking, which had been badly planned. In the defence of Egypt, he +said, he should principally use his cavalry and horseartillery; the +former should destroy all the provisions in advance of the enemy, as the +Russians had lately done; and the latter would harass them on all sides, +without ever attempting to make a stand. + +[p.81] During my stay at Tayf, letters arrived from Constantinople, +across the Desert, by way of Damascus, bringing to the Pasha a Turkish +translation of the treaty of peace concluded at Paris. After having read +it several times, he ordered his Turkish writer to explain it to me in +Arabic, word for word. This occupied us in a private apartment several +hours. I then returned to the audience, and was desired by the Pasha to +tell him my opinion of the treaty. Referring to a Turkish atlas, copied +from European maps, and printed at Constantinople, he made me point out +to him the new limits of Belgium, the islands Mauritius and Tobago, the +position of Genoa, &c. &c. With respect to the latter place, a curious +mistake occurred. It had been stated to me that Genoa was ceded to the +Swedes, which I could not credit. Upon inquiry, I found that Geneva and +Switzerland were meant; a town and country which, I am sorry to say, +were not comprised in the geographical knowledge of a Turkish viceroy. +The mistake, however, was easily made; for in Turkish, Geneva is +written like Genoua, and Sweden is pronounced Shwit. + +The Pasha observed that much yet remained to be done, before all +differences between the parties could be settled; and I clearly saw how +impatiently he looked forward to a war among the European powers, which +would relieve him from any apprehensions for his own safety, and at the +same time occasion a great demand for corn at Alexandria. + +With respect to Bonaparte, he seemed quite certain that the English +would one day seize him in Elba. “Have the English, then,” he exclaimed, +“fought for nothing these twenty years? They have only got Malta, and a +few other islands!” He was impressed with the fear that there were +secret articles in the peace, which assigned to them the possession of +Egypt. The notion of their having re-established the balance of power in +Europe, and secured their own safety and independence, did not enter +into his mind. “They should not leave Spain,” he continued, “without + +[p.82] being handsomely paid by the Spaniards; and why now abandon +Sicily?” That the English were guided in their policy by the laws of +honour, and a sense of the general good of Europe, he could not +comprehend. “A great king,” he exclaimed, with much warmth, “knows +nothing but his sword and his purse; he draws the one to fill the other; +there is no honour among conquerors!”--a frank avowal of the sentiments +which guide even the most petty of the Turkish rulers. + +Mohammed Aly had some notions of the English parliament; the name of +Wellington was familiar to him. “He was a great general,” he said; but +he doubted whether, if his Lordship had commanded such bad soldiers as +the Turkish troops are, he would have been able to do with them as much +as he (the Pasha) had done in conquering Egypt and the Hedjaz. He +betrayed great anxiety about the fate and future possession of Corfu and +the Seven Islands. On the one hand, he wished the Russians to make war +on the Porte, and to drive the Sultan out of Europe; on the other, he +feared that, if the Russians should seize Turkey in Europe, the English +would not remain quiet spectators, but would take their share of the +Turkish empire, which he was firmly persuaded would be no other than the +province of Egypt. + +I am still ignorant of the Pasha’s real opinion concerning my sincerity +in professing the Mohammedan faith. He certainly treated me as a +muselman, and I flattered myself that the boldness of my conduct at Tayf +had convinced him that I was a true proselyte. As to the Kadhy, who was +a shrewd Constantinopolitan, most people supposed that the Porte had +sent him to watch the proceedings of Mohammed Aly, and give information +accordingly to the Sultan; and it struck me that his behaviour towards +myself was connected with an intention of accusing the Pasha, on his +return to Constantinople, of having protected a Christian in his visit +to the holy cities, a crime which would be considered unpardonable in a +Pasha. Mohammed Aly, after his return to Cairo, + +[p.83] (where, contrary to his expectations, he again found me, and +where I only saw him once,) took frequent opportunities, and indeed +seemed anxious, to convince Mr. Salt and Mr. Lee, His Majesty’s and the +Levant Company’s consuls, as well as several English travellers of note +who passed through Cairo, that he knew perfectly well, in the Hedjaz, +that I was no Moslem, but that his friendship for the English nation +made him overlook the circumstance, and permit me to impose upon the +Kadhy. He entertained a notion, suggested to him by some of his Frank +counsellors at Cairo, that, in some future account of my travels, I +might perhaps boast of having imposed upon him, like Aly Bey el Abassi, +whose work had just been received at Cairo, and who declares that he +deceived not only the Pasha, but all the olemas, or learned men, of +Cairo. To Mohammed Aly it was of more consequence not to be thought a +fool than a bad muselman. + +Notwithstanding these declarations of the Pasha to the English +gentlemen, which were made in private, and certainly were not occasioned +by any imprudent speeches of mine, I continued to live, after my return +to Cairo, without molestation, as a Moslem, in the Turkish quarter. I +have to thank him for his polite reception of me at Tayf, and for his +having thrown no obstacles in the way of my travels through the Hedjaz. + +I was at Mekka in December, and at Medina in the April following, when +the Pasha was at both places; but I did not think it necessary or +advisable to wait upon him at either place, where I was otherwise wholly +unknown. My practice in travelling has been to live as retired as +possible; and, except during my short visit to Tayf, where circumstances +forced me to appear somewhat conspicuously, I was known only in the +Hedjaz as a hadjy, or pilgrim, a private gentleman from Egypt, one with +whom no person was acquainted but the few officers of the Pasha whom I +had seen at Tayf. + +My information respecting Tayf is very scanty, and was not + +[p.84] committed to paper until after I had left the town. I was never +suffered to be alone during my stay there. I had no acquaintances from +whom much could be learned; and during the fast of Ramadhan, few +individuals of the higher classes, among whom I lived, stir out of their +houses in the day-time. + +The town of Tayf is situated in the midst of a sandy plain, about four +hours in circuit, overgrown with shombs, and encompassed by low +mountains, called Djebal Ghazoan. These are subordinate ridges of the +great chain, which, continuing for four or five hours farther east, are +then lost in the plain. Tayf is an irregular square, of thirty-five +minutes quick walking in circumference; it is inclosed with a wall and +a ditch, newly constructed by Othman el Medhayfe. The wall has three +gates, and is defended by several towers; but it is much less solid than +the walls of Djidda, Medina, and Yembo, being in few places more than +eighteen inches thick. On the west side, within the town, and forming a +part of its wall, stands the castle, upon a rocky elevated site. It was +built by Sherif Ghaleb, and has no claim to the title of a castle, +except that it is larger than the other buildings in the town, and that +its stone walls are stronger. Though it is now half ruined, Mohammed Aly +had made this castle his headquarters. The houses of the town are +mostly small, but well built with stone: the sitting-rooms are on the +upper floor; at least I saw no saloons on the ground-floor, as usual in +Turkey. The streets are broader than those in most eastern towns. The +only public place is in front of the castle, a large open space which +serves for a market. + +At present, Tayf may be described as in a state of ruin, for but few +houses are in complete repair. Many of the buildings were destroyed by +the Wahabys, when they took the town, in 1802; and as it has been almost +abandoned since that period, every thing is hastening to decay. I saw +two small mosques; the best, that of the Henoud, or Indians. The tomb of +El Abbas, which had a good dome over it, and was often visited by +pilgrims, has been entirely + +[p.85] destroyed by the Wahabys. Excepting four or five buildings, now +inhabited by the principal officers of the Pasha, I saw none above the +most common size. + +Tayf is supplied with water from two copious wells, one of which is +within the walls, and the other just before one of the gates. The water +is well-tasted, but heavy. The town is celebrated all over Arabia for +its beautiful gardens; but these are situated at the foot of the +mountains which encircle the sandy plain. I did not see any gardens, nor +even a single tree within the walls; and the immediate neighbourhood is +entirely destitute of verdure, which renders a residence here as +melancholy as in any other city of Arabia. The nearest gardens appeared +to be on the S.W. side, at the distance of about half or three quarters +of an hour: on that side also stands a deserted suburb, separated from +the town, with some date-trees among its ruins; it was abandoned long +before the invasion of the Wahabys. + +I did not visit any of the gardens. In some of them are small pavilions, +where the people of Tayf pass their festive hours; the most noted of +them are Wady Methna, Wady Selame, and Wady Shemal. The gardens are +watered by wells and by rivulets, which descend from the mountains. +Numerous fruit-trees are found here, together with fields of wheat and +barley. The fruits which I tasted at Tayf were grapes of a very large +size and delicious flavour, figs, quinces, and pomegranates; but all the +other sorts mentioned at Djebel Kora are likewise found here. The +gardens of Tayf are renowned also for the abundance of their roses, +which, like the grapes, are transported to all parts of the Hedjaz. To +these gardens all the great merchants of Mekka formerly retired in +summer; and here the Sherif himself often passed a part of the hot +season: they had all their houses and establishments here, and therefore +lost considerable property, when Tayf was plundered by the Wahabys. + +The indigenous inhabitants of Tayf are Arabs, of the tribe of + +[p.86] Thekyf, [Of the Thekyf tribes are El Hamde, Beni Mohammed, and +Themale.--Vide Assamy.] who have become settlers: in their possession are +all the gardens adjoining the town, and most of the provision-shops +within its walls. A few Mekkawys are also settled here, but the far +greater part of the foreigners are Indians by origin. As at Djidda, +these people, although born in Arabia, and in some instances established +here for several generations, still preserve the dress and manners of +the Indian Muselmans: some of them are merchants; but the greater part +are druggists, whose trade is of much more importance in the Hedjaz than +in other countries, from the general predilection of all classes for +drugs, perfumes, &c. There are, I believe, no wholesale merchants in +Tayf; I counted in all about fifty shops. Before the Wahaby invasion, +this was a commercial town, to which the Arabs of the country around, at +the distance of many days’ journey, resorted, that they might purchase +articles of dress; while those of the mountains brought caravans of +wheat and barley: it was also a considerable entrepôt for coffee, +brought on camels from the mountains of Yemen by Bedouins, who thus +eluded the heavy duties levied in the harbours of the Arabian coast. +Every thing denotes great misery in the town. At present, the only +imports from the interior are dates, brought by the Ateybe Arabs from +the many fruitful plantations in their territory. The principal streets +abound with beggars, amongst whom are many Indians, who must often be +exposed to perish from absolute hunger; for, during my residence, it +required at least two piastres, (which, according to the actual +exchange, was equal to about one-sixth of a dollar, or ten-pence) to +procure bread enough for a man’s daily subsistence. Caravans of +provisions arrived every week, but the want of camels did not allow of a +sufficient importation from the coast to lower the price of food; and +although the common class lived principally upon dates, and thus + +JOURNEY TO MEKKA + +[p.87] consumed none of the provisions brought hither from Mekka; yet I +learned from good authority that there was only a supply for ten days in +Tayf for the Turkish army. + +In the time of the Sherif, this town was governed by an officer of his +appointment, named Hakem, himself a sherif, and who narrowly escaped +the sword of the Wahabys. He has been restored to his office by Mohammed +Aly; but it is at present merely honorary. Several sherif families of +Mekka are settled here; and the mode of living, the dress, and manners, +appear to be the same as at Mekka; but I had few opportunities of making +observations on this subject. + +September 7th. I set out early in the morning from Tayf for Mekka, by +the same road which I had come. There is, as I have already mentioned, a +more northern route, by which caravans may avoid the difficulties of +passing Djebel Kora. The first station from Mekka, on that road, is +Zeyme, short of which, about ten miles, are several steep ascents. Zeyme +is a half-ruined castle, at the eastern extremity of Wady Lymoun, with +copious springs of running water. Wady Lymoun is a fertile valley, +which extends for several hours in the direction of Wady Fatme; it has +many dateplantations, and formerly the ground was cultivated; but this, +I believe, has ceased since the Wahaby invasion: its fruit-gardens, too, +have been ruined. This is the last stage of the Eastern-Syrian Hadj +route, or that which lies to the east of the Great Hedjaz chain, running +from Medina to Mekka. To the S.E. or E.S.E. of Wady Lymoun, is another +fertile valley, called Wady Medyk, where some sherifs are settled, and +where Sherif Ghaleb possessed landed property. + +From Zeyme, the road to Tayf leads, on the second day, from Mekka to +Seyl, a rivulet so called, flowing across a plain, which is without +trees, but affords abundance of rich pasture. At Seyl, the road enters a +mountainous tract, through which is a difficult and very narrow passage +of about six hours. The station of + +[p.88] this day is Akrab, situated in the upper plain, at about three +hours’ distance from Tayf, to the northward, and on the same level with +it: thus a traveller reaches Tayf on the fourth day from Mekka. This +route was now impassable, except to large and well-protected caravans, +the hostile Arabs of the Ateybe tribe having frequently made inroads on +that side, and plundered small caravans. + +Not far from Tayf I overtook three Arnaut soldiers, each, like myself, +mounted on an ass. At Tayf they had exchanged their money, getting +thirteen piastres of the Cairo mint for one Spanish dollar, which at +Djidda was worth but eleven; they had, therefore, made a common purse of +one thousand dollars, and travelled from Djidda to Tayf, whenever the +road was secure, for the sake of the two piastres which they gained upon +each dollar. They carried the money, sewed in bags, upon their asses; +and having forgotten, perhaps, to leave out any cash for travelling +expenses, they joined me, finding that my travelling sack was well +stocked with provisions, and left me to pay for our joint expenses on +the road, whenever we stopped at the coffee-huts. But they were good- +humoured companions, and the expense was not thrown away. + +In passing by Wady Mohram, I assumed the ihram, as being now for the +first time about to visit Mekka and its temple. The ihram consists of +two pieces of linen, or woollen, or cotton cloth, one of which is +wrapped round the loins, and the other thrown over the neck and +shoulders, so as to leave part of the right arm uncovered. Every garment +must be laid aside before this is put on. Any piece of stuff will answer +the purpose; but the law ordains that there shall be no seams in it, nor +any silk or ornaments; and white is considered preferable to any other +colour. White Indian cambric is usually employed for the purpose; but +rich hadjys use, instead of it, white Cashmere shawls, which have not +flowered borders. The head remains totally uncovered. It is not +permitted to have the head shaved, in conformity with the oriental +habits, until it is permitted also to lay aside the ihram. + +[p.89] The instep must likewise be uncovered: those, accordingly, who +wear shoes, either cut a piece out of the upper leather, or have shoes +made on purpose, such as the Turkish hadjys usually bring with them from +Constantinople. Like most of the natives, I wore sandals while dressed +in the ihram. + +Old-age and disease are excuses for keeping the head covered; but this +indulgence must be purchased by giving alms to the poor. The sun’s rays +become extremely troublesome to persons bareheaded; but although the +law forbids that the head should be protected by any thing in immediate +contact with it, there is no prohibition against the use of umbrellas, +and with these most of the northern hadjys are provided, while the +natives either brave the sun’s rays, or merely tie a rag to a stick, and +make a little shade, by turning it towards the sun. + +Whether assumed in summer or in winter, the ihram is equally +inconvenient and prejudicial to health, particularly among the northern +Mohammedans, who, accustomed to thick woollen clothes, are at this +period obliged to leave them off for many days; yet the religious zeal +of some who visit the Hedjaz is so ardent, that if they arrive even +several months previous to the Hadj, they vow on taking the ihram, in +approaching Mekka, not to throw it off till after the completion of +their pilgrimage to Arafat; and thus they remain for months covered, +night and day, only with this thin cloak; [The Arabian historians relate +that Haroun Errashid and his wife Zobeyda once performed the pilgrimage +on foot, from Baghdad to Mekka, clothed only with the ihram; that at +every station of the caravan there was a castle, with apartments +splendidly furnished; and that the whole road was covered daily with +carpets, on which they walked.] for the law forbids any other covering +even at night; but with this few hadjys strictly comply. + +When the ancient Arabs performed their pilgrimage to the idols at Mekka, +they also took the ihram; but that pilgrimage was fixed to a certain +period of the year, probably autumn; for although the Arabs computed by +lunar months, they inserted one month every + +[p.90] three years; and thus the month of the pilgrimage did not vary in +its season, as at present. The intercalation of a month, established two +hundred years before Islam, was prohibited by the Koran, which ordained +that the same pilgrimage should be continued, in honour of the living +God, which had before been performed in honour of idols, but that it +should be fixed to a lunar month; thus its period became irregular, and +in the space of thirty-three years was gradually changed from the depth +of winter to the height of summer. + +The person covered by the ihram, or, as he is called, El Mohrem, is not +obliged to abstain from particular kinds of food, as ancient Arabians, +who, during the time of wearing it, did not taste butter among other +things; but he is enjoined to behave decently, not to curse, or quarrel, +not to kill any animal, not even a flea on his body, nor to communicate +with the other sex. The ihram of the women consists of a cloak which +they wrap completely about them, with a veil so close that not even +their eyes can be seen: according to the law, their hands and ankles +must be covered, but this rule they generally disregard. + +Although my companions, the soldiers, were going to Mekka, as well as +myself, they did not think it necessary to take the ihram, which, as I +have already said, the law prescribes at all times of the year to every +one travelling towards the sacred city. + +We remained an hour on the delightful summit of Djebel Kora, and towards +the evening descended the mountain. A shower of rain obliged us to seek +shelter in a spacious cavern by the side of the road, which is used on +similar occasions by shepherds of the Hodheyl tribe; and we arrived +after sun-set at the coffee-huts, before mentioned, on the mountain- +side, where the caravans from Mekka alight. Here we kindled a large +fire, and hired an earthen pot of the Arabs, in which we boiled some +rice for our supper. The long day’s march, the rain, and my light +covering, brought on a slight fever; but I kept myself well covered +during the night, and was in good health the next morning. The change of +air, during my journey to Tayf, and the comparatively cooler climate of +that place + +[p.91] had already completely recovered me from the effects of my severe +illness at Djidda. During the night, the Kadhy of Mekka arrived from +Tayf. + +September 8th. At day-break, I went to visit the Kadhy, whom I found +smoking his pipe and drinking coffee; availing himself of the privilege +granted to travellers in Ramadhan, of dispensing with the fast. +According to our agreement at Tayf, I was to join him here on his way to +Mekka; I could not therefore avoid joining him; but I was extremely +averse to continuing with him, because he would probably carry me to his +house at Mekka, where I should be again placed in a situation similar to +that which had proved so uncomfortable at Tayf. He seemed, however, +willing to avoid the trouble and expense of a guest; for when I +expressed some apprehensions that my tired ass would be unable to keep +pace with his fine mule, he immediately answered, that he hoped, at all +events, to meet me again at Mekka. I departed, therefore, with the +soldiers, leaving the Kadhy to repose a little longer. We passed the +mid-day hours at the coffee-hut called Shedad, where several Bedouins +were amusing themselves by shooting at a mark. They gave proofs of great +dexterity, often hitting a piastre, which I placed at about forty yards’ +distance. Except coffee and water, nothing is to be procured in any of +the huts on this road; the coffee is not served up in single cups, as +usual in most parts of the Levant; but, whoever asks for it, has a small +earthen pot of hot coffee set before him, containing from ten to fifteen +cups: this quantity the traveller often drinks three or four times a +day. These pots are called mashrabe. (See their form in the outlines +annexed.) [Illustration not included]. + +Into the mouth of the pot is stuck a bunch of dry herbs, through which +the liquid is poured. I have already noticed the immoderate + +[p.92] use of coffee in this part of Arabia, and it is said to prevail +still more in the south, and towards the vicinity of the coffee country. + +On the road from Shedad, which lies along the lower plains, between +sharp mountains, we were surprised by a most violent shower of rain and +hail, which obliged us to halt. In a very short time the water poured +down in torrents from the mountains and when the hail ceased, after +about an hour, we found that the rain, which still continued, had +covered the Wady Noman with a sheet of water three feet deep, while +streams of nearly five feet in breadth crossed the road with an +impetuosity which rendered it impossible for us to pass them. In this +situation we could neither advance nor retreat, knowing that similar +currents would have been formed in our rear we therefore took post on +the side of the mountain, where we were sure of not being washed away, +and where we could wait in security till the subsiding of the storm. The +mountains, however, soon presented on their sides innumerable cascades, +and the inundation became general; while the rain, accompanied with +thunder and lightning, continued with undiminished violence. I saw the +Kadhy, who had quitted Shedad soon after us, at some distance, separated +from our party by a deep torrent, while several of his women, mounted +upon mules, were also obliged to remain at a distance from him. We +continued in this disagreeable situation for about three hours, when the +rain ceased and the torrents soon diminished; but our asses could with +difficulty be brought to attempt the slippery ground still covered with +water, and we were at last obliged to alight and drive them before us, +till we reached a more elevated surface. The Kadhy and his whole party +were under the necessity of doing the same. Night now overtook us, and +the cloudy sky involved us in complete darkness; but after an +adventurous walk of three or four hours, stumbling or falling almost at +every step, we reached the coffee-houses of Arafat, to the great +satisfaction of my companions, the soldiers, who had entertained +apprehensions for their moneybags. I was not less pleased myself, being +much in want of a fire after such a drenching, with only the scanty +covering of the ihram. + +ARRIVAL AT MEKKA + +[p.93] The coffee-houses, unfortunately, had also been inundated; we +could not find a dry place on which to sit, and with some difficulty a +fire was lighted in one of the small and more weather-proof huts of the +Arabs, into which the Kadhy, with a few of his people and myself, crept, +and boiled our coffee; in another hut were his women, crying from the +severity of the cold. He not wishing that they should be exposed to the +consequences of such a night’s lodging, mounted again, after a stay of +half an hour, and proceeded towards Mekka, leaving me and my party in +possession of the fire, by the side of which, after some time, we +contrived to make ourselves comfortable. + +September 9th. We set out early, and found that the storm of yesterday +had not extended farther than the plain of Arafat. Such storms and +inundations are frequent in this country, where the seasons seem to be +much less regular than in other places under the same latitude. I heard +that in the Upper Mountains, and at Tayf, the rainy season, although not +so regular as under the tropics in Africa, is yet more steady than in +the low country of Mekka and Djidda, where, even in the midst of summer, +the sky is often clouded by storms and rain. The historians of Mekka +have recorded several dreadful inundations in that city; the most +disastrous occurred in the years of the Hedjira 80, 184, 202, 280, 297, +549, 620, 802, 829. In some of these, the whole town of Mekka, and the +Temple, as high as the black stone, were under water, and in all of them +many houses were destroyed and lives lost. Assamy gives the details of +an inundation which devastated Mekka in A.H. 1039, or in the year 1626 +of our era, when five hundred lives were lost, and the Kaaba in the +Temple was destroyed. Another dreadful inundation happened in 1672. + +I arrived at Mekka about mid-day, when my companions went in search of +their acquaintance among the soldiers, and left me to shift for myself, +without knowing a single individual in the town, and without being +recommended to any body but the Kadhy, whom, as I have already said, I +wished to avoid. + +MEKKA + +[p.94] Whoever enters Mekka, whether pilgrim or not, is enjoined by the +law to visit the Temple immediately, and not to attend to any worldly +concern whatever, before he has done so. We crossed the line of shops +and houses, up to the gates of the mosque, where my ass-driver took his +fare and set me down: here I was accosted by half a dozen metowef, or +guides to the holy places, who knew, from my being dressed in the ihram, +that I intended to visit the Kaaba. I chose one of them as my guide, +and, after having deposited my baggage in a neighbouring shop, entered +the mosque at the gate called Bab-es’-Salam, by which the new-comer is +recommended to enter. The ceremonies to be performed in visiting the +mosque are the following:--1. Certain religious rites to be practised in +the interior of the temple; 2. The walk between Szafa and Meroua; 3. The +visit to the Omra. These ceremonies ought to be repeated by every Moslem +whenever he enters Mekka from a journey farther than two days’ distance, +and they must again be more particularly performed at the time of the +pilgrimage to Arafat. I shall here describe them as briefly as possible; +a full detail and explanation of the Mohammedan law on this subject +would be extremely tedious; indeed there exist many voluminous works in +Arabic which treat of nothing else. + +1. Rites to be performed in the Interior of the Temple. + +At the entrance, under the colonnade, some prayers are recited on first +sight of the Kaaba, and then two rikats, or four prostrations addressed +to the divinity, in thanks for having reached the holy spot, and in +salutation of the mosque itself; after which the pilgrim approaches the +Kaaba by one of the paved ways to it, through the open area in which it +stands. In passing under the insulated arch in front of the Kaaba, +called Bab-es’-Salam, certain prayers are said. Other prayers are +recited in a low voice, and the visitor then places himself opposite to +the black stone of the Kaaba, and prays two + +[p.95] rikats; at the conclusion of which, the stone is touched with the +right hand, or kissed, if there is no great pressure of people. The +devotee then begins the Towaf, or walk round the Kaaba, keeping that +building on his left hand. This ceremony is to be repeated seven times; +the three first are in a quick pace, in imitation of the Prophet, whose +enemies having reported that he was dangerously ill, he contradicted +them by running thrice round the Kaaba at full speed. Every circuit must +be accompanied with prescribed prayers, which are recited in a low +voice, and appropriated to the different parts of the building that are +passed: the black stone is kissed or touched at the conclusion of each +circuit, as well as another stone, walled in at one corner of the black +stone. When the seven circuits are finished, the visiter approaches the +wall of the Kaaba, between the black stone and the door of the building, +which space is called El Metzem. There, with widely outstretched arms, +and with his breast closely pressed against the wall, he beseeches the +Lord to pardon his sins. He then retires towards the neighbouring Mekam +Ibrahim, and there prays two rikats, called Sunnet-et-towaf, after which +he repairs to the adjoining well of Zemzem; and, after a short pious +address in honour of the well, drinks as much of the water as he wishes, +or as he can on occasions when the crowd is very great; and this +completes the ceremonies to be observed within the temple. + +I may here add, that the Towaf is a Muselman ceremony not exclusively +practised in the temple at Mekka. In the summer of 1813, I was present +at the annual festival of the patron saint of Kenne, in Upper Egypt, +called Seid Abderrahman el Kennawy. Many thousands of the people of the +country were assembled on the plain, in which stands the saint’s tomb, +at a distance of one mile from the town. Each person, as he arrived, +walked seven times round the small mosque which contains the tomb; and +when the new covering intended to be laid over it for that year was +brought in solemn procession, the whole assembly followed it seven times +round the building, after which it was placed upon the tomb. + +[p.96] 2. Walk between Szafa and Meroua. + +My guide, who, during the whole of the ceremonies above mentioned, had +been close at my heels, reciting all the necessary prayers, which I +repeated after him, now led me out of the mosque by the gate called Bab- +es’-Szafa. About fifty yards from the S.E. side of the mosque, on a +slightly ascending ground, stand three small open arches, connected by +an architrave above, having below three broad stone steps leading up to +them. + +This is called the Hill of Szafa: here, standing on the upper step, with +his face turned towards the mosque, which is hidden from view by +intervening houses, the pilgrim raises his hands towards heaven, +addresses a short prayer to the Deity, and implores his assistance in +the holy walk, or Say, as it is called; he then descends, to begin the +walk, along a level street about six hundred paces in length, which the +Arabian historians call Wady Szafa, leading towards Meroua, which is at +its farther extremity, where stands a stone platform, elevated about +six or eight feet above the level of the street, with several broad +steps ascending to it. The visiter is enjoined to walk at a quick pace +from Szafa to Meroua; and for a short space, which is marked by four +stones or pilasters, called El Myleyn el Akhdereyn, built into the walls +of the houses on both sides, he must run. Two of these stones seemed to +be of a green colour; they exhibit numerous inscriptions; but these are +so high in the walls, that it would be difficult to read them. Prayers +are recited uninterruptedly in a loud voice during this walk. Persons +who are unwell may ride, or be borne in a litter. On reaching Meroua, +the pilgrim ascends the + +ARRIVAL AT MEKKA + +[p.97] steps, and, with uplifted hands, repeats a short prayer like that +of Szaffa, to which place he must now return. The walk between the two +places is to be repeated seven times, concluding at Meroua; four times +from Szaffa to Meroua; and three times from Meroua to Szaffa. + +3. The Visit to the Omra. + +In the vicinity of Meroua are many barbers’ shops; into one of these the +pilgrim enters, having completed the Say, and the barber shaves his +head, reciting a particular prayer, which the pilgrim repeats after him. +The Hanefys, one of the four orthodox sects of Moslims, shave only one- +fourth part of the head; the other three-fourths continuing untouched +till they return from the Omra. After the ceremony of shaving is +finished, the visitor is at liberty to lay aside the ihram, and put on +his ordinary dress; or, if he choose, he may go immediately from thence +to the Omra, in which case he still wears the ihram, and says only two +rikats on setting out. This, however, is seldom done, as the ceremonies +of the Towaf and Say are sufficiently fatiguing to render repose +desirable on their completion the visitor, therefore, dresses in his +usual clothes; but the next or any following day, (the sooner the +better,) he resumes the ihram, with the same ceremonies as are observed +on first assuming it, and then proceeds to the Omra, a place one hour +and a half from Mekka. Here he repeats two rikats in a small chapel, and +returns to the city, chanting all the way the pious ejaculations called +Telby, beginning with the words, “Lebeyk, Alla humma, Lebeyk.” He must +now again perform the Towaf and the Say, have his head completely +shaved, and lay aside the ihram, which closes those ceremonies. A visit +to the Omra is enjoined by the law as absolutely necessary; but many +individuals, notwithstanding, dispense with it. I went thither, on the +third day after my arrival in the city, performing the walk in the +night-time, which is the fashion during the hot season. + +At the time of the Hadj, all these ceremonies must be repeated + +[p.98] after returning from Wady Muna, and again on taking leave of +Mekka. The Towaf, or walk round the Kaaba, should also be performed as +often as convenient; and few foreigners live at Mekka, who do not make +it a point to execute it twice daily; in the evening and before day- +break. + +Prior to the age of Mohammed, when idolatry prevailed in Arabia, the +Kaaba was regarded as a sacred object, and visited with religious +veneration by persons who performed the Towaf nearly in the same manner +as their descendants do at present. The building, however, was, in those +times, ornamented with three hundred and sixty idols, and there was a +very important difference in the ceremony; for men and women were then +obliged to appear in a state of perfect nudity, that their sins might be +thrown off with their garments. The Mohammedan Hadj or pilgrimage, and +the visit to the Kaaba, are, therefore, nothing more than a continuation +and confirmation of the ancient custom. In like manner, Szafa and +Meroua were esteemed by the old Arabians as holy places, which contained +images of the gods Motam and Nehyk; and here the idolaters used to walk +from the one place to the other, after their return from the pilgrimage +to Arafat. Here, if we may believe Mohammedan tradition, Hadjer, the +mother of Ismayl, wandered about in the Desert, after she had been +driven from Abraham’s house, that she might not witness the death of her +infant son, whom she had laid down almost expiring from thirst; when the +angel Gabriel appearing, struck the ground with his foot, which caused +the well of Zemzem immediately to spring forth. In commemoration of the +wanderings of Hadjer, who in her affliction had gone seven times between +Szafa and Meroua, the walk from one place to the other is said to have +been instituted. + +El Azraky relates that, when the idolatrous Arabs had concluded the +ceremonies of the Hadj at Arafat, all the different tribes that had been +present, assembled, on their return to Mekka, at the holy place called +Szafa, there to extol, in loud and impassioned strains, the glory of +their ancestors, their battles, and the fame of their + +[p.99] nation. From each tribe, in its turn, arose a poet who addressed +the multitude. “To our tribe,” exclaimed he, “belonged such and such +eminent warriors and generous Arabs; and now,” he added, “we boast of +others.” He then recited their names, and sang their praises; concluding +with a strain of heroic poetry, and an appeal to the other tribes, in +words like the following:--“Let him who denies the truth of what I have +said, or who lays claim to as much glory, honour, and virtue as we do, +prove it here!” Some rival poet then arose, and celebrated in similar +language the equal or superior glory attached to his own tribe, +endeavouring, at the same time, to undervalue or ridicule his rival’s +pretensions. + +To allay the animosity and jealousies produced by this custom; or, +perhaps, to break the independent spirit of his fierce Bedouins, +Mohammed abolished it by a passage in the Koran, which says:--“When you +have completed the rites of the pilgrimage, remember God, as you +formerly were wont to commemorate your forefathers, and with still +greater fervency.” Thus, probably, was removed the cause of many +quarrels; but, at the same time, this stern lawgiver destroyed the +influence which the songs of those rival national bards exercised over +the martial virtues and literary genius of their countrymen. + +The visit of the Omra was likewise an ancient custom. Mohammed retained +the practice; and it is said that he frequently recited his evening +prayers on that spot. + +Having completed the fatiguing ceremonies of the Towaf and Say, I had a +part of my head shaved, and remained sitting in the barber’s shop, not +knowing any other place of repose. I inquired after lodgings, but +learned that the town was already full of pilgrims, and that many +others, who were expected, had engaged apartments. After some time, +however, I found a man who offered me a ready-furnished room: of this I +took possession, and having no servant, boarded with the owner. He and +his family, consisting of a wife and two children, retired into a small, +open court-yard, on the side of my room. The landlord was a poor man +from Medina, + +MEKKA + +[p.100] and by profession a Metowaf, or cicerone. Although his mode of +living was much below that of even the second class of Mekkawys, yet it +cost me fifteen piastres a day; and I found, after we parted, that +several articles of dress had been pilfered from my travelling sack; but +this was not all: on the feast-day he invited me to a splendid supper, +in company with half a dozen of his friends, in my room, and on the +following morning he presented me with a bill for the whole expense of +this entertainment. + +The thousands of lamps lighted during Ramadhan in the great mosque, +rendered it the nightly resort of all foreigners at Mekka; here they +took their walk, or sat conversing till after midnight. The scene +presented altogether a spectacle which (excepting the absence of women) +resembled rather an European midnight assemblage, than what I should +have expected in the sanctuary of the Mohammedan religion. The night +which closes Ramadhan, did not present those brilliant displays of +rejoicing that are seen in other parts of the East; and the three +subsequent days of the festival are equally devoid of public amusements. +A few swinging machines were placed in the streets to amuse children, +and some Egyptian jugglers exhibited their feats to multitudes assembled +in the streets; but little else occurred to mark the feast, except a +display of gaudy dresses, in which the Arabians surpass both Syrians and +Egyptians. + +I paid the visit, customary on occasion of this feast, to the Kadhy, and +at the expiration of the third day, (on the 15th of September,) set out +for Djidda, to complete my travelling equipments, which are more easily +procured there than at Mekka. On my way to the coast, I was nearly made +prisoner at Bahra by a flying corps of Wahabys. My stay at Djidda was +prolonged to three weeks, chiefly in consequence of sore legs; a disease +very prevalent on this unhealthy coast, where every bite of a gnat, if +neglected, becomes a serious wound. + +About the middle of October I returned to Mekka, accompanied by a slave +whom I had purchased. This boy had been in the caravan with which I went +from the Black Country to Sowakin, and was + +[p.101] quite astonished at seeing me in a condition so superior to that +in which he had before known me. I took with me a camel-load of +provisions, mostly flour, biscuit, and butter, procured in Djidda at one +third of the price demanded at Mekka, where, immediately on my arrival, +I hired decent apartments in a quarter of the town not much frequented, +called Haret el Mesfale. I had here the advantage of several large trees +growing before my windows, the verdure of which, among the barren and +sun-burnt rocks of Mekka, was to me more exhilarating than the finest +landscape could have been under different circumstances. At this place I +enjoyed an enviable freedom and independence, known only to the Kadhy +and his followers, who soon after took their departure. The Pasha and +his court remained at Tayf till the days of the Hadj. I frequented only +such society as pleased me, and, mixing with a crowd of foreign pilgrims +from all parts of the world, I was not liable to impertinent remarks or +disagreeable inquiries. If any question arose about my origin (a +circumstance that rarely happened in a place which always abounds with +strangers), I stated myself to be a reduced member of the Mamelouk corps +of Egypt, and found it easy to avoid those persons whose intimate +knowledge of that country might perhaps have enabled them to detect the +falsehood. But there was little to be apprehended even from the +consequences of such detection; for the assumption of a false character +is frequent among all eastern travellers, and especially at Mekka, where +every one affects poverty in order to escape imposition, or being led +into great expenses. During all my journies in the East, I never enjoyed +such perfect ease as at Mekka; and I shall always retain a pleasing +recollection of my residence there, although the state of my health did +not permit me to benefit by all the advantages that my situation +offered. I shall now proceed to describe the town, its inhabitants, and +the pilgrimage, and then resume the narrative of my travels. + +[p.102] DESCRIPTION OF MEKKA. [EXPLANATION OF THE PLAN. [not included]] + +MEKKA is dignified among the Arabs with many lofty-sounding titles. The +most common are Om el Kora (the mother of towns); + +[p.103] El Mosherefe (the noble); Beled al Ameyn (the region of the +faithful). Firuzabadi, the celebrated author of the Kamus, has composed +a whole treatise on the different names of Mekka. This town is situated +in a valley, narrow and sandy, the main direction of which is from north +to south; but it inclines towards the north-west near the southern +extremity of the town. In breadth this valley varies from one hundred to +seven hundred paces, the chief part of the city being placed where the +valley is most broad. In the narrower part are single rows of houses +only, or detached shops. The town itself covers a space of about fifteen +hundred paces in length, from the quarter called El Shebeyka to the +extremity of the Mala; but the whole extent of ground comprehended under +the denomination of Mekka, from the suburb called Djerouel (where is the +entrance from Djidda) to the suburb called Moabede (on the Tayf road), +amounts to three thousand five hundred paces. The mountains inclosing +this valley (which, before the town was built, the Arabs had named Wady +Mekka or Bekka) are from two to five hundred feet in height, completely +barren and destitute of trees. The principal chain lies on the eastern +side of the town: the valley slopes gently towards the south, where +stands the quarter called El Mesfale (the low place). The rain-water +from the town is lost towards the south of Mesfale in the open valley +named Wady el Tarafeyn. Most of the town is situated in the valley +itself; but there are also parts built on the sides of the mountains, +principally of the eastern chain, where the primitive habitations of the +Koreysh, and the ancient town appear to have been placed. + +Mekka may be styled a handsome town: its streets are in general broader +than those of eastern cities; the houses lofty, and built of stone; and +the numerous windows that face the streets give them a more lively and +European aspect than those of Egypt or Syria, where the houses present +but few windows towards the exterior. Mekka (like Djidda) contains many +houses three stories high; few at Mekka are white-washed; but the dark +grey colour of the stone is much preferable to the glaring white that +offends the eye in Djidda. In most + +[p.104] towns of the Levant the narrowness of a street contributes to +its coolness; and in countries where wheel-carriages are not used, a +space that allows two loaded camels to pass each other is deemed +sufficient. At Mekka, however, it was necessary to leave the passages +wide, for the innumerable visitors who here crowd together; and it is in +the houses adapted for the reception of pilgrims and other sojourners, +that the windows are so contrived as to command a view of the streets. + +The city is open on every side; but the neighbouring mountains, if +properly defended, would form a barrier of considerable strength against +an enemy. In former times it had three walls to protect its extremities; +one was built across the valley, at the street of Mala; another at the +quarter of Shebeyka; and the third at the valley opening into the +Mesfale. These walls were repaired in A.H. 816 and 828, and in a century +after some traces of them still remained. [See Azraky, Fasy, and +Kotobeddyn.] + +The only public place in the body of the town is the ample square of the +great mosque; no trees or gardens cheer the eye; and the scene is +enlivened only during the Hadj by the great number of well-stored shops +which are found in every quarter. Except four or five large houses +belonging to the Sherif, two medreses or colleges (now converted into +corn magazines), and the mosque, with some buildings and schools +attached to it, Mekka cannot boast of any public edifices, and in this +respect is, perhaps, more deficient than any other eastern city of the +same size. Neither khans, for the accommodation of travellers, or for +the deposit of merchandize, nor palaces of grandees, nor mosques, which +adorn every quarter of other towns in the East, are here to be seen; and +we may perhaps attribute this want of splendid buildings to the +veneration which its inhabitants entertain for their temple; this +prevents them from constructing any edifice which might possibly +pretend to rival it. + +he mode of building is the same as that adopted at Djidda, with the +addition of windows looking towards the street; of these many project +from the wall, and have their frame-work elaborately + +[p.105] carved, or gaudily painted. Before them hang blinds made of +slight reeds, which exclude flies and gnats while they admit fresh air. +Every house has its terrace, the floor of which (composed of a +preparation from lime-stone) is built with a slight inclination, so that +the rainwater runs off through gutters into the street; for the rains +here are so irregular that it is not worth while to collect the water of +them in cisterns, as is done in Syria. The terraces are concealed from +view by slight parapet walls; for throughout the east it is reckoned +discreditable that a man should appear upon the terrace, whence he might +be accused of looking at women in the neighbouring houses, as the +females pass much of their time on the terraces, employed in various +domestic occupations, such as drying corn, hanging up linen, &c. The +Europeans of Aleppo alone enjoy the privilege of frequenting their +terraces, which are often beautifully built of stone; here they resort +during the summer evenings, and often to sup and pass the night. All the +houses of the Mekkawys, except those of the principal and richest +inhabitants, are constructed for the accommodation of lodgers, being +divided into many apartments, separated from each other, and each +consisting of a sittingroom and a small kitchen. Since the pilgrimage, +which has begun to decline, (this happened before the Wahaby conquest,) +many of the Mekkawys, no longer deriving profit from the letting of +their lodgings, found themselves unable to afford the expense of +repairs; and thus numerous buildings in the out-skirts have fallen +completely into ruin, and the town itself exhibits in every street +houses rapidly decaying. I saw only one of recent construction; it was +in the quarter of El Shebeyka, belonged to a sherif, and cost, as report +said, one hundred and fifty purses; such a house might have been built +at Cairo for sixty purses. + +The streets are all unpaved; and in summer time the sand and dust in +them are as great a nuisance as the mud is in the rainy season, during +which they are scarcely passable after a shower; for in the interior of +the town the water does not run off, but remains till it is dried up. It +may be ascribed to the destructive rains, + +[p.106] which, though of shorter duration than in other tropical +countries, fall with considerable violence, that no ancient buildings +are found in Mekka. The mosque itself has undergone so many repairs +under different sultans, that it may be called a modern structure; and +of the houses, I do not think there exists one older than four +centuries; it is not, therefore, in this place, that the traveller must +look for interesting specimens of architecture or such beautiful remains +of Saracenic structures as are still admired in Syria, Egypt, Barbary, +and Spain. In this respect the ancient and far-famed Mekka is surpassed +by the smallest provincial towns of Syria or Egypt. The same may be said +with respect to Medina, and I suspect that the towns of Yemen are +generally poor in architectural remains. + +Mekka is deficient in those regulations of police which are customary in +Eastern cities. The streets are totally dark at night, no lamps of any +kind being lighted; its different quarters are without gates, differing +in this respect also from most Eastern towns, where each quarter is +regularly shut up after the last evening prayers. The town may therefore +be crossed at any time of the night, and the same attention is not paid +here to the security of merchants, as well as of husbands, (on whose +account principally, the quarters are closed,) as in Syrian or Egyptian +towns of equal magnitude. The dirt and sweepings of the houses are cast +into the streets, where they soon become dust or mud according to the +season. The same custom seems to have prevailed equally in ancient +times; for I did not perceive in the skirts of the town any of those +heaps of rubbish which are usually found near the large towns of Turkey. + +With respect to water, the most important of all supplies, and that +which always forms the first object of inquiry among Asiatics, Mekka is +not much better provided than Djidda; there are but few cisterns for +collecting rain, and the well-water is so brackish that it is used only +for culinary purposes, except during the time of the pilgrimage, when +the lowest class of hadjys drink it. The famous well of Zemzem, in the +great mosque, is indeed sufficiently copious to supply the whole town; +but, however holy, its water is heavy to + +[p.107] the taste and impedes digestion; the poorer classes besides have +not permission to fill their water-skins with it at pleasure. The best +water in Mekka is brought by a conduit from the vicinity of Arafat, six +or seven hours distant. The present government, instead of constructing +similar works, neglects even the repairs and requisite cleansing of this +aqueduct. It is wholly built of stone; and all those parts of it which +appear above ground, are covered with a thick layer of stone and cement. +I heard that it had not been cleaned during the last fifty years; the +consequence of this negligence is, that the most of the water is lost in +its passage to the city through apertures, or slowly forces its way +through the obstructing sediment, though it flows in a full stream into +the head of the aqueduct at Arafat. The supply which it affords in +ordinary times is barely sufficient for the use of the inhabitants, and +during the pilgrimage sweet water becomes an absolute scarcity; a small +skin of water (two of which skins a person may carry) being then often +sold for one shilling--a very high price among Arabs. + + +There are two places in the interior of Mekka where the aqueduct runs +above ground; there the water is let off into small channels or +fountains, at which some slaves of the Sherif are stationed, to exact a +toll from persons filling their water-skins. In the time of the Hadj, +these fountains are surrounded day and night by crowds of people +quarrelling and fighting for access to the water. During the late siege +the Wahabys cut off the supply of water from the aqueduct; and it was +not till some time after, that the injury which this structure then +received, was partially repaired. + +The history of this aqueduct, a work of vast labour and magnitude, is +given by the Arabian historians at great length. Zebeyda, the wife of +Haroun-er’-Rashid, first carried the spring, called Ayn Noman, from its +source in Djebel Kora to the town. The spring of Ayn Arf from the foot +of Djebel Shamekh to the north of Djebel Kora, which watered the fertile +valley called Wady Honeyn, was next brought to join the Ayn Noman; and, +finally, four other sources were added to the aqueduct--El Beroud, +Zafaran, Meymoun, and Ayn Meshash. + +[p.108] Subsequently it seems to have been obstructed; but in A.H. 643 +it was repaired by Kokeboury, King of Arbela; again in 762, by order of +Sultan Sayd Khadanbede; and a third time, but not completely, in 811, by +the SheriŁ Hassan Ibn Adjelan, then reigning. Kaiabey, Sultan of Egypt, +expended a large sum upon it in 879; and in 916, Kansoue el Ghoury, one +of the last of the Zirkassian kings of Egypt, contributed to its repair: +but the aqueduct was still often obstructed; and whenever that happened, +the Mekkawys and Hadjys were exposed to great privations. In 931, +Sultan Soleyman attempted to construct it anew; but the design was not +completed. At last, his son, Selym Ibn Soleyman, or Selim II., after +many years labour, and at enormous expense, excavated a passage through +the rocks behind Arafat, and formed a new conduit, which alone now +subsists. He succeeded in bringing water very abundantly to the town, in +A.H. 979. The whole length of the aqueduct is seven or eight hours. + +There is a small spring which oozes from under the rocks behind the +great palace of the Sherif, called Beit el Sad; it is said to afford the +best water in this country, but the supply is very scanty. The spring is +inclosed, and appropriated wholly to the Sherif’s family. + +Beggars, and infirm or indigent hadjys, often intreat the passengers in +the streets of Mekka for a draught of sweet water; they particularly +surround the water-stands, which are seen in every corner, and where, +for two paras in the time of the Hadj, and for one para, at other times, +as much water may be obtained as will fill a jar. + +I shall now proceed to describe the different quarters of Mekka, +reserving an account of the great mosque to the last; and then add some +notices respecting the inhabitants and government. + +[p.109] QUARTERS OF MEKKA. + +AT the entrance from the side of Djidda, in turning round the angle of a +sandy and gravelly valley, the traveller sees two round watch-towers. +They were constructed by the Sherif Ghaleb for the defence of his +capital. Similar towers are seen at the other entrances of the town, and +they are sufficiently spacious to contain about twenty men. As the hills +approach very closely at the entrance of the city, these towers command +the passage. Here, it appears, was formerly a gate, the threshold of +which only is now remaining, close to a small building, where the +officers of the Sherif collected the duties on merchandize, &c. carried +into the town. Here, also, is a row of shops, and low, ruined dwelling- +houses, known by the appellation of Hareh, or the quarter El Djerouel. +It comprises an encampment to the right, in which the Bedouins live who +carry on the transport trade between Mekka and Djidda; they belong to +the tribes of Harb, Metrefy, and Lahawy. + + +Beyond the Djerouel, the name of the street changes to that of Haret el +Bab. This is a broad street, with several good houses, and leads into +the quarter of El Shebeyka, which extends principally to the right, and +is so called because the followers of Mohammed, in their wars with the +Koreysh, were here attacked and closely pressed by their enemies. There +are many good houses in Shebeyka, which is one of the cleanest and +airiest quarters in the town. Many of the people of Djidda reside in it; +and here also the Sherif Ghaleb has a good house, where his family, +consisting of several young children + +[p.110] and a grown-up daughter, continued to dwell after his +deposition. The main street is lined with coffee-shops, from which the +post sets out every evening, on asses, with the letters for Djidda. This +is the only post for letters that I have seen in the East, besides that +established among the Europeans at Cairo, between that city and +Alexandria; but the delivery of letters is there much less regular than +it is at Mekka, where it is duly performed, and at the trifling expense +of two paras upon each letter, and as much more for the person who +distributes the letters received from Djidda. + +In the coffee-shops just mentioned, live also the caravan-brokers, +through whose agency the Bedouins let out their camels for the journey +to Djidda and Medina. + +On the western side of the Shebeyka, towards the mountain, is a large +burying-ground, in which are dispersed huts and tents of Bedouins, and +some miserable dwellings of the lowest class of public women: this is +called El Khandaryse. Although tradition says that great numbers of the +friends and adherents of Mohammed lie buried here, yet it has become +unfashionable to deposit the dead in it; and all of the first and second +classes of Mekkawys use the extensive cemeteries lying on the north of +the town. There are few shops in the Shebeyka; and it does not contain +many foreign inmates during the Hadj, being inhabited by persons in easy +circumstances, who consider it disgraceful to let out apartments. + +In proceeding from the Shebeyka along the broad street, northerly, we +come to a bath, which, though by far the best of the three in Mekka, is +inferior to those of other Asiatic cities, from the scarcity of water; +it was built in A.H. 980, by Mohammed Pasha, the vizier of Sultan +Soleyman II., and is one of the best structures in the town. [Vide +Kotobeddyn.] It is frequented principally by foreigners, the native +Arabs being little accustomed to the use of the bath, and choosing to +perform the ablutions prescribed by their religion at their own +dwellings. + +The bath, together with several by-streets leading to the mosque, forms +the quarter called Haret Bab el Omra, which is inhabited by + +[p.111] a number of the guides called Metowef, and is full of pilgrims, +especially of those from Turkey. The streets are narrow, and +excessively dirty; but the hadjys prefer the quarter, because it is the +cheapest in the vicinity of the mosque, near which they are anxious to +reside, that they may be sure of not missing the prayers; or, (as they +add) that, if disturbed in their sleep, they may have the temple close +at hand to dispel their bad dreams. Men are seen, in the middle of the +night, running to the mosque in their sleeping-clothes; here they +perform the walk round the Kaba, kiss the black stone, utter a short +prayer, drink of the water of Zemzem, and then return to their beds. +Near to the gate of the mosque called Bab Omra, from which this quarter +takes its name, is a spacious building, originally a public school, but +now occupied by Hassan Pasha, governor of Mekka. It is probably the +Medrese mentioned by El Fasy, as having been built near Bab el Omra, in +A.H. 814, by the orders of Mansour Ghyath Eddyn Atham Shah, the Lord of +Bengal. In A.H. 519, the governor of Aden also ordered a Medrese to be +built in this neighbourhood, which was called Dar-es’-Selsale. In this +quarter is one of the fountains of sweet water derived from the canal, +and there are several wells of brackish water. + +Returning from hence to the Shebeyka, and then turning southerly along +different streets, composed of good buildings, but which are rapidly +falling to decay, we descend by a slight slope into the street called +Souk-es’-Sogheyr, or the little market, which terminates at the gate of +the great mosque, called Bab Ibrahim. The houses on both sides of this +street are low, and inhabited by the lower classes. There is a continued +range of shops, in which are sold all sorts of provisions, but +principally grain, butter, and dates. In some of the shops locusts are +sold by measure. The Souk is frequented chiefly by Bedouins of the +southern part of Arabia, who bring hither charcoal. Some poor Negro +pilgrims of Africa take up their abode also in the miserable huts and +ruined houses of this part of the town, and have here established a +market for firewood, which they collect in the surrounding mountains. + + +[p.112] The extremity of Souk-es’-Sogheyr, towards the mountain, is +called Haret el Hadjela, or Hadjela b’il Tekyet Sadek; where stand a few +tolerably good houses, inhabited by the eunuchs who guard the mosque, +and who live there with their wives, for they are all married to black +slaves. This is the lowest part of the town; and whenever great floods, +during the rainy season, inundate the valley, the water rushes through +this street, in its way to the open country. Some remains of the +aqueduct are visible here; for when it was kept in good repair, its +water, after supplying the town, was conducted this way into the +southern valley, where it served to irrigate some fields. + +The Souk-es’-Sogheyr is sometimes comprehended in the Mesfale, or “low +place,” the name of the quarter on the east and south sides of the Souk; +but that name is more commonly applied exclusively to the latter +district. The Mesfale is tolerably well built, and, like the Shebeyka, +contains a few new houses; but that part of it which lies towards the +great castle-hill is now almost entirely in ruins. It is inhabited by +Arab and Bedouin merchants, who travel in time of peace to Yemen, +principally to Mokhowa, from whence they import grain, coffee-beans, and +dried grapes. It is also the residence of many poor Indians, established +at Mekka; these let out their houses to their countrymen, who visit this +city in the time of the Hadj. In the ruined dwellings, Negro pilgrims +take up their temporary abode; some of these are settled in Mekka, and +their wives prepare the intoxicating liquor made from durra, and called +bouza, of which the meaner inhabitants are very fond. It was in the +Mesfale, as I have already mentioned, that I took up my lodging on +returning from Djidda, at first in the house of a Maggrebyn settler, +from which I soon afterwards removed into that of a Yemen merchant close +by. The person, whose apartment I hired, was from Szana in Yemen, a +Metowef or guide by profession, and who occupied the first floor of the +house, from which he removed, during my stay, into a corner on the +ground-floor; the other parts of the dwelling were inhabited by the +Maggrebyn landlord and his family, by a village sheikh from + +[p.113] Egypt, who had come to the Hadj, accompanied by several fellahs, +by a poor man from the Afghan country, or territory El Soleymanye, as it +is now usually called; and by a hadjy or pilgrim from one of the Greek +islands. In the house of the Yemen merchant, I found myself among a +party of Maggrebyn pilgrims belonging to the Berber nation, or the +Shilhy, who had come by sea to Egypt. There are few houses in this part +of the town, where the same strange mixture of nations is not to be met +with. + +On the southern extremity of the Mesfale is a large ruined khan, which, +even when new, must have been a mean building. It was destined for the +accommodation of the pilgrim-caravan, which formerly arrived by land +from Yemen, along the coast. Another Yemen pilgrim-caravan came along +the mountains. + +In issuing from the town on this side, we discover a watch-tower +standing in the plain, similar in construction to those at the Djerouel +entrance. A broad valley leads from hence, in a southern direction, to +the small village of Hosseynye, two or three hours distant, where are +some date-trees. Here the Sherif Ghaleb had a small pleasure-garden and +a country-house; and he kept here a herd of buffaloes, brought from +Egypt; but they did not prosper. From Hosseynye a road leads to Arafat, +passing to the S. and S.E. of Mekka, two or three hours distant from +which, on that road, is the small fertile valley and Arab settlement of +Aabedye. The valley just mentioned is called El Tarafeyn; one mile +beyond the present skirts of the city may be traced the ruins of former +habitations; among them are several large, deep, and well-built +cisterns, which, with little labour, might again be rendered fit for +their original purpose of collecting rain-water. At a mile and a half +from the city is a large stone tank, called Birket Madjen, built for the +supplying of water to the Yemen caravan; I found some water in it, but +it is falling rapidly to decay. Beyond this tank, the people of the +Mesfale cultivate a few fields of cucumbers and different vegetables, +immediately after the fall of the rains, when the ground has been +copiously irrigated. Many Bedouin huts and tents of the tribes of Faham + +[p.114] and Djehadele are scattered over this valley: their inhabitants +earn a livelihood by collecting in the mountains grass and wild herbs, +which they sell, when dry, in the Mekka market, twisted into bundles: +they serve to feed horses, camels, and asses; but are so scarce and +dear, that the daily feed for a horse costs from two to three piastres. +These Bedouins also rear a few sheep; but although poor, they keep +themselves quite distinct from the lower classes of the Mekkawys, whom +they scorn to imitate in their habits of mendicity. Some few of them are +water-carriers in the city. + +On one summit of the western chain of the valley of Tarafeyn, just in +front of the Mesfale, stood, prior to the invasion of the Wahabys, a +small building with a dome, erected in honour of Omar, one of Mohammed’s +immediate successors, and therefore called Mekam Seydna Omar. It was +completely ruined by the Wahabys. + +Nearly on the summit of the opposite mountain stands the Great Castle, a +very large and massy structure, surrounded by thick walls and solid +towers. It commands the greatest part of the town, but is commanded by +several higher summits. I heard that this castle owes its origin to the +Sherif Serour, the predecessor of Ghaleb; but I believe it to be of a +more ancient date. It is often mentioned by Asamy, in his history, as +early as the fourteenth century; but he does not say who built it. No +person might enter without permission from the governor of Mekka, and I +did not think it either prudent, or worth the trouble, to apply for that +favour. Ghaleb considerably strengthened and thoroughly repaired the +building, and mounted it with heavy guns. It was said that he had made +its principal magazines bomb-proof. It contains a large cistern and a +small mosque; and might accommodate a garrison of about one thousand +men. To Arabs it is an impregnable fortress; and so it is considered by +the Mekkawys; even against Europeans, it might offer some resistance. +The approach is by a steep narrow path. + +Below the castle-hill, upon a small plain between the mountain and the +Djebel Kobeys, stands the great palace of the reigning + +[p.115] sherif, called Beit es’ Sade. This, too, is said to have been +built by Serour; but I find it mentioned by Asamy in the account of +transactions that occurred two hundred years ago. Its walls are very +high and solid, and seem to have been intended for an outwork to the +castle above it, with which, according to the reports of the Mekkawys, +there is a subterranean communication. It is an irregular pile of +building, and comprises many spacious courts and gloomy chambers, which +have not been inhabited since Sherif Ghaleb fled before the enemy to +Djidda: he then attempted to destroy it by fire; but it was too strongly +built. The Turks, under Mohammed Aly, have converted it into a magazine +of corn. In the adjacent plain, which was formerly the place of exercise +for the Sherif’s troops, I found a herd of camels, with the encampment +of their drivers, who make a journey weekly to Djidda or Tayf. Here also +many poor hadjys, who could not pay for lodgings, had erected their +miserable tents, formed of a few rags spread upon sticks. The soldiers +were busily occupied in destroying all the remaining ceilings of the +palace, in quest of fire-wood. + +In a narrow inlet in the mountain, to the north of the palace, and +adjoining the above-mentioned plain, are numerous low huts built of +brush-wood, the former abodes of Sherif Ghaleb’s slaves, who served as +soldiers in his guard. The greater part of them fled after the Sherif’s +capture; and the huts now form barracks for about two hundred Arab +soldiers, in the service of his successor, Sherif Yahya. + +In turning from hence towards the mosque, on the right hand, we come to +a small quarter, built on the declivity of the mountain, in which are +many half-ruined houses: it is called Haret el Djyad, and is inhabited +by poor people, and several of the lower servants of the Sherif’s +household. Asamy says that it derives its name from having been the post +occupied by the horsemen who accompanied Toba, King of Yemen, in his +expedition against Mekka; an event celebrated among the Moslim writers, +for the miraculous destruction of the army. This is certainly one of the +most ancient quarters of the town. + +[p.116] Close by the mosque, on either side of the entrance to the +abovementioned plain, stands a palace of the Sherif; the northern +consists of two stately houses, connected together, which are occupied +by Sherif Yahya: his women reside in the opposite southern building, +which was erected by Sherif Ghaleb, who in this favourite residence +spent the greater part of his time, induced by its vicinity to the +mosque, its central situation, and the large open space which it +commands. + +Continuing from this place, in a northern direction, parallel with the +mosque, we enter the long street called Mesaa. The small bystreets to +the right, in approaching the Mesaa, form the quarter of El Szafa, which +takes its name from the holy place Szafa, already described. The houses +surrounding this place are handsome buildings, and here the richest +foreigners, in the time of the pilgrimage, take up their abode. In a +large house here resides the Aga of the eunuchs belonging to the temple, +together with all the eunuch boys, who are educated here, till they +attain a sufficient age to allow of their living in private lodgings. + +We now turn into the Mesaa, the straightest and longest street in Mekka, +and one of the best built. It receives its name from the ceremony of the +Say, which is performed in it, and which I have already described: from +this circumstance, and its being full of shops, it is the most noisy and +most frequented part of the town. The shops are of the same description +as those enumerated in the account of Djidda, with the addition of a +dozen of tin-men, who make tin bottles of all sizes, in which the +pilgrims, upon their return, carry the water of Zemzem to their homes. +The shops are generally magazines on the ground-floor of the houses, +before which a stone bench is reared. Here the merchant sits, under the +shade of a slight awning of mats fastened to long poles; this custom +prevails throughout the Hedjaz. All the houses of the Mesaa are rented +by Turkish pilgrims. On the arrival of a party of hadjys from Djidda, +which happens almost every morning, for four or five months of the year, +their baggage is usually deposited in this street, after which they pay +their visit to the mosque, + +[p.117] and then go in quest of lodgings; and in this manner I found the +street crowded almost every day with new comers, newsmongers, and +guides. + +About the time of my stay at Mekka, the Mesaa resembled a +Constantinopolitan bazar. Many shops were kept by Turks from Europe or +Asia Minor, who sold various articles of Turkish dress, which had +belonged to deceased hadjys, or to those who, being deficient in cash, +had sold their wardrobe. Fine swords, good English watches, and +beautiful copies of the Koran, the three most valuable articles in a +Turkish pilgrim’s baggage, were continually offered for sale. +Constantinopolitan pastry-cooks sold here pies and sweetmeats in the +morning; roasted mutton, or kebabs, in the afternoon; and in the +evening, a kind of jelly called mehalabye. Here, too, are numerous +coffee-houses, crowded from three o’clock in the morning until eleven +o’clock at night. The reader will be surprised to learn, that in two +shops intoxicating liquors are publicly sold during the night, though +not in the day-time: one liquor is prepared from fermented raisins, and +although usually mixed with a good deal of water, is still so strong, +that a few glasses of it produce intoxication. The other is a sort of +bouza, mixed with spices, and called soubye. This beverage is known +(although not made so strong) at Cairo. + +The Mesaa is the place of punishment: there capital offenders are put to +death. During my stay, a man was beheaded, by sentence of the Kadhy, for +having robbed a Turkish pilgrim of about two hundred pounds sterling; +this was the only instance of the kind which came to my knowledge, +though thieves are said to abound in Mekka, while the Hadj continues. +The history of Mekka, however, affords many instances of the most cruel +punishments: in A.D. 1624, two thieves were flayed alive in this street; +in 1629, a military chief of Yemen, who had been made prisoner by the +reigning Sherif, had both his arms and shoulders perforated in many +places, and lighted tapers put into the wounds; one of his feet was +turned up, and fastened to his shoulder by an iron hook, and in this +posture he was suspended two days on a tree in the Mala, till he died. +The destruction + +[p.118] of a man’s sight, no uncommon punishment in other parts of the +east, seems never to have been inflicted by the Hedjaz governors. + +In the Mesaa, and annexed to the mosque, stands a handsome building, +erected in A.H. 882, by Kaid Bey, Sultan of Egypt, in which he +established a large public school, with seventy-two different +apartments; he also furnished it with a valuable library. The historian +Kotobeddyn, who, one hundred years afterwards, was librarian here, +complains that only three hundred volumes remained in his time, the rest +having been stolen by his unprincipled predecessors. + +On the northern extremity of the Mesaa is the place called Merowa, the +termination of the Say, as already described; this, as it now stands, +was built in A.H. 801. Behind it is shown a house which was the original +habitation of El Abbas, one of the many uncles of Mohammed. Near the +Merowa are the barbers’ shops, in which pilgrims have their heads shaved +after performing the Say. Here, too, public auctions are held every +morning, where wearing-apparel, and goods of every description, are +offered to the highest bidder: for the sake of the Turkish pilgrims, +their language is used on these occasions; and there is scarcely a boy +at Mekka who is not thus acquainted with, at least, the Turkish +numerals. Near this place, too, is a public fountain, the work of the +Othman Emperor Soleyman Ibn Selym: it is supplied from the Mekka +aqueduct, and is crowded the whole day by hadjys, who come to fill their +water-skins. + +Eastward of the Mesaa, near its extremity at the Merowa, branches off a +street called Soueyga, or the Little Market, which runs almost parallel +with the east side of the mosque. Though narrow, it is the neatest +street in the town, being regularly cleaned and sprinkled with water, +which is not the case with any of the others. Here the rich India +merchants expose their piece-goods for sale, and fine Cashmere shawls +and muslins. There are upwards of twenty shops, in which are sold +perfumes, sweet oils, Mekka balsam, (in an adulterated state,) aloe- +wood, civet, &c. Few pilgrims return to their homes without + +[p.119] carrying some presents for their families and friends; these are +usually beads, perfumes, balm of Mekka, aloe-wood, which last is used +throughout the east, in small pieces, placed upon the lighted tobacco in +the pipe, producing an agreeable odour. + +In other shops are sold strings of coral, and false pearls, rosaries +made of aloe, sandal or kalembac wood, brilliant necklaces of cut +cornelians, cornelians for seal-rings, and various kinds of China ware. +These shops are all kept by Indians, and their merchandize is entirely +of Indian production and manufacture. Against these Indians much +prejudice is entertained in Arabia, from a general opinion that they are +idolaters, who comply in outward appearance only with the rites of +Mohammedism: they are supposed to be of the Ismayley sect; those +mysterious devotees, of whom I have given some account in my journey to +Lebanon, [See Travels in Syria, &c.] and whose name is, at Mekka, applied +to those Indians. About a dozen of them reside here; the others arrive +annually at the pilgrimage; they buy up old gold and silver, which they +remit to Surat, from whence most of them come. Some have lived at Mekka +for ten years, scrupulously performing every religious ceremony; they +rent a large house, in which they live together, never allowing other +strangers to occupy any part of it, even should several of the +apartments be untenanted. Contrary to the practice of all other +Mohammedans, these Indians never bring their women to the pilgrimage, +although they could well afford the expense; and those residing, for +however long a period, at Mekka have never been known to marry there; +which is the more remarkable, as other natives of India, who live here +for any length of time, usually take wives, although they may have been +already married at home. + +The same stories are prevalent respecting them, which are told of the +Syrian Ismayleys, to my account of whom I must refer the reader. [See +Travels in Syria and the Holy Land.] My endeavours to collect authentic +information on the subject of their secret doctrines were as fruitless +here as they had + +[p.120] been in Syria, where it was vaguely reported that the chief seat +of the Ismayleys was in India, and that they kept up regular +correspondence between that country and Syria. A sect of “Light- +extinguishers” is said to exist in India, as well as in Mesopotamia, +and to them the Ismayleys of Syria and those of Mekka may, perhaps, +belong. Those whom I saw at Mekka have rather the features of Persians +than of Indians, and are taller and stouter men than Indians in +general. [The people here mentioned by our author were probably some +Parsees from Surat or Bombay.] + +About the middle of the Soueyga, where the street is only four paces in +breadth, are stone benches on each side. Here Abyssinian male and female +slaves are exposed for sale; and as beauty is an universal attraction, +these benches are always surrounded by hadjys, both old and young, who +often pretend to bargain with the dealers, for the purpose of viewing +the slave-girls, during a few moments, in some adjoining apartment. Many +of these slaves are carried from hence to the northern parts of Turkey. +The price of the handsomest was from one hundred and ten to one hundred +and twenty dollars. + +At the extremity of the Soueyga, the street is covered with a high +vaulted roof of stone, supported on each side by several massy +buildings, serving as warehouses to the wealthy merchants; they were the +work of one Mohammed, Pasha of Damascus, who lived several centuries +ago, and now belong to the mosque. This, being the coolest spot in the +town during mid-day, is on that account the most frequented. In the +Soueyga all the gentlemen hadjys take their morning and evening lounge, +and smoke their pipes. I formed an acquaintance with one of the perfume- +sellers, and daily passed an hour in the morning, and another in the +afternoon, seated on the bench before his shop, smoking my nargyle, and +treating my friend with coffee. Here I heard the news:--whether any great +hadjy had arrived the preceding night; what law-suits had been carried +before + +[p.121] the Kadhy; what was going forward in Mohammed Aly’s army; or +what great commercial bargains had been concluded. Sometimes European +news would be discussed, such as the last fortunes of Bonaparte; for the +pilgrims who arrived from Constantinople and Greece were continually +bringing news from Europe. I usually spent the early part of each +morning, and the later part of the evening, in walking about the town, +and frequenting the coffeehouses in its extremities, where I might meet +with Bedouins, and, by treating them with a cup of coffee, soon engage +them to talk about their country and their nation. During the mid-day +hours I staid at home: the first part of the night I passed in the great +square of the mosque, where a cooling breeze always reigns; here, seated +upon a carpet, which my slave spread for me, I indulged in recollections +of far distant regions, while the pilgrims were busily engaged in +praying and walking round the Kaaba. + +At the eastern extremity of the Soueyga, the street changes its name +into that of Shamye, which is applied also to several by-streets on +either side, those on the right leading towards the mountain, and those +on the left towards the mosque. At the further end the Shamye joins the +quarter of Shebeyka and Bab el Omar. This is a well-built part of the +town, chiefly inhabited by rich merchants, or by olemas attached to the +mosque. There are few shops in the main street except during the +pilgrimage, when many are opened, in which the Syrian merchants display +the produce and manufactures of their country; a circumstance from which +it derives its name. In these shops are found silk stuffs from Damascus +and Aleppo; cambric manufactured in the district of Nablous; gold and +silver thread from Aleppo; Bedouin handkerchiefs, called keffie, of +Baghdad and Damascus fabric; silk from Lebanon; fine carpets from +Anadolia and the Turkman Bedouins; abbas from Hamah; dried fruits and +the kammereddyn from Damascus; pistacios from Aleppo, &c. Among all the +Syrians at Mekka, I could never discover any individual whom I had +known in his own country, except the son of the chief of Palmyra, who, +however, did not recognise me. He had come + +[p.122] with two or three hundred camels, to transport the baggage of +the Pasha of Damascus. + +In returning through the Shamye towards the Soueyga, we find, on the +north side of these streets, a quarter called Garara, the most reputable +of the town, and perhaps the best built, where the wealthiest merchants +have their houses. The two first merchants of the Hedjaz, Djeylany and +Sakkat, live here for the greater part of the year, and only go to +Djidda (where they also have establishments,) when the arrival of the +Indian fleet demands their presence at that place. In the quarter of +Garara, the women of Mohammed Aly Pasha, with a train of eunuchs +attached to them, have now taken up their abode. The houses are all two +or three stories high, many of them gaudily painted, and containing +spacious apartments. Here Sherif Ghaleb built a palace, the finest of +all those he possessed at Mekka, and resided in it principally during +the winter months, when he divided his time between this mansion and +that near the mosque. Some military chiefs have now taken up their +quarters in this palace, which will soon be ruined. It is distinguished +from the other houses of Mekka only by its size, and the number of +windows; having neither a fine portico, nor any other display of +architecture. + +Near the palace, upon a hill which may be described as within the town, +Ghaleb built a fort, flanked by strong towers, but of much smaller size +than the great castle. When the Turkish army advanced towards the +Hedjaz, he mounted it with guns, and stored it well with provisions; but +the garrison, like that of the castle, dispersed immediately after he +was made prisoner. The hill upon which it stands is known by the name of +Djebel Lala, and is often mentioned by Arabian poets. Opposite to this +hill, in a S.E. direction, upon the summit of a mountain beyond the +precincts of the town, stands another small fort, which was also +repaired by Ghaleb. It is called Djebel Hindy, from the circumstance of +a great sheikh or devotee from Cashmere having been buried there. The +tower is now inhabited by a few Indian families, who enjoy the advantage +of an excellent cistern for rain-water. This mountain is also called by +the + +[p.123] present Mekkawys “Djebel Keykaan”--an appellation more ancient +probably than that of Mekka itself. Azraky, however, places the Djebel +Keykaan more to the north, and says that the name is derived from the +cries and the clashing of arms of the Mekkawy army, which was stationed +there, when the Yemen army, under Toba, had taken possession of the hill +of Djyad. Between the two castle-hills, the space is filled with poor, +half-ruined houses, which are principally inhabited by the lowest class +of Indians established at Mekka. + +In turning eastward from the Garara, and passing the quarter called +Rekoube, which, in point of building, nearly equals the Garara, although +it is not reckoned so genteel a residence, we arrive at the great street +called Modaa, which is a continuation of the Mesaa, and then retrace our +steps through the latter to the vicinity of El Szafa, that we may survey +the eastern quarters of the town. + +Near the Szafa branches off a broad street, running almost parallel with +the Modaa, to the east of it, called Geshashye. Here, among many smaller +dwellings, are several well-built, and a few lofty edifices; a number of +coffee-houses; several gunsmiths’ shops; and a bath. Here resides the +Hakem, or superintendant of the police, who is the first officer under +the Sherif at Mekka. Part of the street is built on the lower declivity +of the eastern mountain, called Djebel Kobeys, to which narrow, dirty, +and steep lanes lead up on that side. The Geshashye is a favourite +quarter of the pilgrims, being broad, airy, and open to the northerly +winds. I lived here during the last days of Ramadhan, in September, +1814, when I first arrived at Mekka from Tayf. + +This street, as it proceeds, adopts the name of Haret Souk el Leyl, +which comprises an extensive quarter on the East, where the Moled e’ +Nebby, or Prophet’s birth-place, is shown, and which adjoins the +Moamele, or establishment of the potteries. The by-streets close to the +Moled are denominated Shab el Moled, or “Rocks of the Moled,” the ground +which rises here being covered with stones. + +The Moamele lies on the side of Djebel Kobeys, and comprises about a +dozen furnaces, of which the chief productions are jars, especially + +[p.124] those used in carrying the water of the celebrated well Zemzem. +These Moamele jars, although prettily wrought, are too heavy, differing +in this respect from the beautiful pottery of Upper Egypt and Baghdad, +which are so slight that an empty jar may be thrown down by a mere puff +of wind. The Moamele alone supplies all the Hedjaz, at present, with +these water-vessels; and few hadjys return to their homes without some +jars, as specimens of Mekkawy ingenuity. + +Farther on, the Souk el Leyl takes the name of El Ghazze, and so are +called both sides of the main street, which still forms a continuation +of the Geshashye. Several deep wells of brackish water are situated in +this street. Here also are found the shops of carpenters, upholsterers +from Turkey, undertakers, who make the seryrs, or stands, upon which the +Mekkawys sleep, as well as those on which they are carried to the grave. +Wholesale dealers in fruits and vegetables, which are brought from Tayf +and Wady Fatme, here dispose of their stock to the retail dealers early +in the morning. At the northern end of the Ghazze, where the street +widens considerably, is held a daily market of camels and cows. On the +east side, towards the mountain, and partly on its declivity, stands the +quarter called Shab Aly, adjoining the Shab el Moled: here is shown the +venerated place of Aly’s nativity. Both these quarters, called Shab, +(i.e. rock,) are among the most ancient parts of the town, where the +Koreysh formerly lived; they are even now inhabited principally by +sherifs, and do not contain any shops. The houses are spacious, and in +an airy situation. + +Beyond the cattle-market in the Ghazze, the dwelling-houses terminate, +and low shops and sheds occupy both sides of the street. This part is +called Souk el Haddadeyn; and here blacksmiths and Turkish locksmiths +have their shops. A little further, the street opens into that called +Mala, which is itself a continuation of the Modaa, and forms the +division between the eastern and western parts of the town, running due +north along the slightly ascending slope of the valley. The Modaa and +the Mala, (which latter means + +[p.125] the High Place, in opposition to the Mesfale, or the low +quarter,) are filled with shops on both sides. Here are found grocers, +druggists, corn-merchants, tobacconists, haberdashers, sandal-makers, +and a great number of dealers in old clothes. In the Modaa is a large +corn magazine, formerly a public school; and there is another in the +Mala. From these, the provision-caravans for the Turkish army at Tayf +take their departure: public auctions are held in this place every +morning. At the northern end of the Mala is a market, whither Bedouins +from all quarters bring their sheep for sale. Here, also, are the +butchers’ shops, in which beef, mutton, and camels’ flesh are sold; and +in the same street is a small chapel, or Mesdjed, [I believe this to be +the Mesdjed mentioned by historians under the name of Mesdjed Rayet. El +Azraky speaks of four or five other mosques at Mekka in his time.] for +daily prayers, the great mosque being distant; but the Friday’s prayers +are always said in the latter. Towards this northern end of the Mala, +where it joins the Souk el Haddadeyn, the stone houses terminate, and +are succeeded by a single row of low shops and stands on each side, +where provisions are sold to the eastern Bedouins, who come to Mekka for +grain. Here is a coffee-house, called Kahwet el Hashashein, where are +sold the intoxicating preparations of hashysh and bendj, which are mixed +and smoked with tobacco. This house is frequented by all the lowest and +most disorderly persons of the town. Sherif Ghaleb had imposed a heavy +tax on the sale of hashysh, in order to discourage a practice directly +violating the law. + +The Mala is known also under the appellation of Haret el Naga, which is +derived from the ancient name of Wady el Naga, given to this part of the +valley of Mekka. + +In the by-streets of the Modaa the richest Indian traders have their +houses; here they receive customers, being too proud to open public +shops or warehouses. An Indian of this quarter, originally from Surat, +called El Shamsy, was esteemed the wealthiest man in the Hedjaz; yet his +mercantile concerns were much less extensive than those of Djeylany, and +several others. Though possessing + +[p.126] several hundred thousand pounds sterling, this man bargained +with me personally for nearly an hour and a half about a muslin shawl, +not worth more than four dollars! + +In the Modaa, a high, broad mole or embankment was thrown across the +valley, with an iron gate, by Omar Ibn el Khatab, to resist the torrents +flowing in this direction towards the mosque, during heavy rains. Some +vestiges of it remained till the fourteenth century. While it existed, +the pilgrims on arriving at Mekka used to enjoy from its summit the +first sight of the Kaaba; there also they recited prayers, from which +circumstance the street takes its name, Modaa meaning “ place of +prayers.” + +Between the Modaa and Mala, on the one side, and the Ghazze and +Geshashye on the other, are several quarters consisting of tolerable +buildings, but of extremely dirty and narrow streets, from which the +filth is never removed, and fresh air is always excluded. Here we find +the Zokak e Seiny, or “Chinese street,” where gold and silversmiths have +their shops. They work in the coarsest manner, but are very much +employed, principally in making silver rings for men and women--ornaments +very generally used among the Arabs. To the south of this quarter is the +Zokak el Hadjar (called also Zokak el Merfek), or the “street of the +stone,” which comprises the birth-place of Fatme, the daughter of +Mohammed; and of Abou Beker, the prophet’s successor in the Khalifat. +This street takes its name from the hadjar, or stone, which used +miraculously to greet Mohammed with the salutation of “Salam aleyk,” +whenever he passed this way on his return from the Kaaba. It has been +mute since the days of the prophet, but is still shown, projecting a +little from the wall of a house, which, in honour of it has been white- +washed. + +We now return towards the Mala, a little beyond the spot where it joins +the Ghazze. The shops terminate, and a broad, sandy plain commences, on +which there are only a few detached coffee-houses. This may be called +the extremity of the town. What lies farther towards the north, must be +considered as forming part of the suburbs. Continuing along the plain, +we find on each side of the + +[p.127] road large birkets, or reservoirs of water, for the +accommodation of the pilgrim-caravans: they can be filled from the +aqueduct which passes this way towards the town. Of these birkets, one +is for the Egyptian caravan; another for the Syrian: they were +constructed in A.H. 821, are entirely cased with stone, and continue in +a state of perfect repair. Similar monuments of the munificent Turkish +Sultans are found at every station of the Hadj, from Medina as far as +Damascus and Aleppo. Some of those which I saw to the southward of +Damascus, appeared more solid in their construction than the birkets of +Mekka: that appropriated to the Egyptian pilgrims is about one hundred +and sixty feet square, and from thirty to thirtyfive feet in depth. +When the birket contains from eight to ten feet of water, the supply is +deemed sufficient for the caravan. These reservoirs are never completely +filled. As the aqueduct furnishes water but scantily, adjoining to the +western birket are some acres, irrigated by means of a well, and +producing vegetables. Near it, also, is a small mosque, called Djama č +Soleymanye, in a state of decay, and no longer used for religious +purposes; but serving, at present, to lodge a few Turkish soldiers. It +belongs to the quarter named El Soleymanye, which extends from Djebel +Lala close to the western mountain, as far as the cemeteries beyond the +birkets. It does not contain any good houses; and I heard that it +derives its name from the Soleymanye, as the Muselmans call the people +of Kandahar, Afghanistan, Cashmere, and several other countries on this +side of the Indus. It is said that some descendants of those people who +were the original settlers, still reside here, mixed with many Indians. +It appears, however, from Kotobeddyn’s history, that Sultan Solyman +erected, about A.H. 980, a mosque in this quarter. The mosque at least +may be supposed to have borrowed its name from the founder. The +inhabitants of Soleymanye are Muselmans of the Hanefy sect, the first of +the four orthodox divisions, and not disciples of Aly, like the +Persians; many of whom come yearly to the Hadj of Mekka, either by sea +from Bombay or Bassora, or by land, travelling as dervises, along the +southern provinces of + +[p.128] Persia to Baghdad, and through Mesopotamia and Syria to Egypt. I +have seen many who had come by that route; they appeared to be men of a +much better and more vigorous character than the generality of Indians. + +Opposite to this quarter El Soleymanye, on the eastern mountain, and +adjoining the Ghazze and Shab Aly, is a half-ruined district, called +Shab Aamer, inhabited by Bedouin pedlars of the Thekyf and Koreysh +tribes, and by a few poor sherif families. In this quarter are some +large mills, worked by horses, for the Turkish governor: the town, I +believe, does not contain any others of considerable size. It is the +custom at Mekka to use hand-mills, which are usually turned by the +slaves of the family, or, among the poorer classes, by the women. Here, +also, are the only places in Mekka (or perhaps in the Hedjaz) where +linen and cotton are dyed with indigo and saffron: woollen cloth is not +dyed here. + +As numbers of the public women reside at Shab Aamer, this quarter is not +ranked among the most respectable in Mekka. Sherif Ghaleb imposed a +regular tax upon those females, and required an additional payment from +such of them as, in the time of the pilgrimage, followed the hadjys to +Arafat. A similar tax is levied at Cairo, and in all the great +provincial towns of Egypt. Mekka abounds with the frail sisterhood, +whose numbers are increased during the Hadj by adventurers from foreign +countries. They are somewhat more decorous than the public women in +Egypt, and never appear in the streets without veils. Among them are +many Abyssinian slaves, whose former masters, according to report, share +the profits of their vocation. Some are slaves belonging to Mekkawys. + +The Arabian poets make frequent allusions to Shab Aamer; thus Ibn el +Faredh says:-- + + “Is Shab Aamer, since we left it, still inhabited? + Is it to this day the place of meeting for lovers?” [See Sir William +Jones's Comment de Poës. Asiat., on the subject of a poem by Ibn Faredh, +which abounds with local allusions to Mekka.] + + +[p.129] Proceeding from the birkets northward over the plain, we come to +an insulated house, of good size and construction, belonging to the +Sherif, in which some of Ghaleb’s favourites once resided. Opposite to +this building, a paved causeway leads towards the western hills, through +which is an opening that seems artificial. El Azraky applies the name +Djebel el Hazna to this part of the mountain; and says that the road was +cut through the rock by Yahia Ibn Khold Ibn Barmak. On the other side of +the opening, the road descends into the plain of Sheikh Mahmoud, so +named from the tomb of a saint, round which the Syrian pilgrims +generally encamp. Sherif Ghaleb erected upon the hill, on both sides of +the narrow road, which is formed in rude steps, (whether natural or +artificial, it would be difficult to say,) two watch-towers, similar to +those already described. On both sides of the causeway, in the valley of +Mekka, extend the burying-grounds, where most of the inhabitants of the +city have their family tombs. + +A little beyond the Sherif’s house just mentioned, and at the +termination of the Mala, stands the tomb of Abou Taleb, an uncle of +Mohammed, and father of Aly. The Wahabys reduced the building which +covered the tomb to a mere heap of rubbish; and Mohammed Aly Pasha has +not thought fit to rebuild it. Abou Taleb is the great patron of the +city; and there are many persons at Mekka who, though they would have +little scruple in breaking an oath taken before God, yet would be afraid +of invoking the name of Abou Taleb in confirmation of a falsehood. “I +swear by the Mosque”--“I swear by the Kaaba,” are ejaculations constantly +used by the Mekkawys to impose upon strangers; but to swear by Abou +Taleb is a more serious imprecation, and is seldom heard upon such +occasions. Opposite to the ruined tomb stands a public fountain, +consisting of a trough built of stone, fifty or sixty feet in length, +which is daily filled with water from the aqueduct. Near it grow a few +trees. + +No buildings are seen beyond the fountain, till we come to a large +palace of the Sherif, which is surrounded by high walls flanked with +towers, and contains within the inclosure a spacious court-yard. In the +time of the Sherif it was well garrisoned, and during his wars with the +Wahabys he often resided here, as he could set out from hence upon a + +[p.130] secret attack or expedition, without its becoming immediately +known in the city. The building now serves as a barrack for the Turkish +soldiers. + +To the north of this palace lies the quarter or suburb called Moabede, +which consists partly of low and ill-built stone houses, and partly of +huts constructed of brushwood; it is wholly inhabited by Bedouins, who +have become settlers here, for the purpose of carrying on a traffic, +principally in corn, dates, and cattle, between the town and their +native tribes. I have seen among them Arabs of the tribes of Koreysh, +Thekyf, Hodheyl, and Ateybe; and it was said that, in time of peace, +individuals of all the great tribes of the Desert, and of Nedjed, are +occasionally found here. They live, as I have already observed in +speaking of those who occupy another part of Mekka, much in the same +manner as they would do in the Desert. Their houses contain no furniture +but such as is to be found under the tent of a wealthy Bedouin. Being at +a distance from the great mosque, they have enclosed a square space +with low walls, where such of them as pretend to any regularity in their +devotions (which seldom happens among Bedouins), recite their prayers +upon the sand, according to the custom of the Desert. + +The Turkish governor of Mekka has not thought proper to place here any +of his soldiers, for which the suburb is much indebted to him. The +Moabede is, by its situation, and the pursuits of its inhabitants, so +much separated from the city, that a woman here had not entered the town +for the last three years, as she herself assured me; although the +Bedouin females walk about the valley with freedom. + +The valley of Mekka has here two outlets: on the north side is a narrow +passage, defended by two watch-towers: it leads to Wady Fatme. At the +eastern extremity, the Moabede is terminated by a garden and pleasure- +house of the Sherif, where Ghaleb used frequently to pass the hours of +noon. The garden is enclosed by high walls and towers, and forms a +fortified post in advance of the town. It contains date and nebek and a +few other fruit-trees, the verdure and shade of which must be +particularly agreeable. In the time of Ghaleb, the entrance was always +open to the people of Mekka. The house is badly + +[p.131] built, and is not one of Ghaleb’s works. During his last wars +with the Wahabys, the latter obtained possession of this residence, and +fought for several weeks with the soldiers of Mekka, who were posted at +the neighbouring palace or barrack to the south; and who, having laid a +mine, and blown up a part of the walls, forced the Wahabys to retreat. +Ghaleb subsequently repaired the damage. Some Turkish soldiers now live +in the house, which is already half ruined by them. A public fountain of +sweet water, no longer in use, with a pretty cupola built over it, +stands on one side of the garden; on the other is a large well of +brackish water: many such are dispersed over the Moabede. + +The road from Mekka, eastward, towards Arafat and Tayf, passes by this +house; at a short distance beyond it the valley widens, and here the +Egyptian Hadj establishes its encampment, part of which generally +stretches over the plain towards the birket. Formerly, the Syrian +caravan used to encamp at the same place. Between the gardenhouse and +the palace or barrack just mentioned, the aqueduct of Mekka is conducted +above ground for about one hundred paces, in a channel of stone, +plaistered on the inside, and rising four feet above the surface. This +is the only place in the valley of Mekka where it is visible. + +As soon as we pass these extreme precincts of Mekka, the Desert presents +itself; for neither gardens, trees, nor pleasure-houses, line the +avenues to the town, which is surrounded on every side by barren sandy +valleys, and equally barren hills. A stranger placed on the great road +to Tayf, just beyond the turn of the hill, in the immediate +neighbourhood of the Sherif’s garden-house, would think himself as far +removed from human society as if he were in the midst of the Nubian +Desert. But this may be wholly ascribed to the apathy of the +inhabitants, and their indifference for agricultural pursuits. Numerous +wells, dispersed throughout the town, prove that water may be easily +obtained at about thirty feet below the surface. + +In Arabia, wherever the ground can be irrigated by wells, the sands may +be soon made productive. The industry of a very few years might thus +render Mekka and its environs as remarkable for gardens and plantations, +as it now is for absolute sterility. El Azraky speaks + +[p.132] of gardens in this valley, and describes different springs and +wells that no longer exist, having probably been choked up by the +violent torrents. El Fasy likewise affirms that in his days the town +contained no less than fifty-eight wells. But, in the earliest times of +Arabian history, this place was certainly barren; and the Koran styles +it accordingly “the valley without seeds.” Azraky further says, that +before houses were constructed here by the Kossay, this valley abounded +with acacias and various thorny trees. + +Nothing is more difficult than to compute exactly the population of +eastern towns, where registers are never kept, and where even the number +of houses can scarcely be ascertained. To judge from appearances, and by +comparison with European towns, in which the amount of population is +well known, may be very fallacious. The private habitations in the East +are generally (though the Hedjaz forms an exception to this rule) of one +story only, and therefore contain fewer inmates in proportion than +European dwellings. On the other hand, Eastern towns have very narrow +streets, are without public squares or large market-places, and their +miserable suburbs are in general more nurously peopled than their +principal and best streets. Travellers, however, in passing rapidly +through towns, may be easily deceived, for they see only the bazars and +certain streets, in which the greater part of the male population is +usually assembled during the day. Thus it happens that recent and +respectable authorities have stated two hundred thousand souls as the +population of Aleppo; four hundred thousand as that of Damascus; and +three hundred thousand as that of Cairo. My estimate of the population +of the three great Syrian towns is as follows:--Damascus two hundred and +fifty thousand; Hamah (of which, however, I must speak with less +confidence) from sixty to one hundred thousand; and Aleppo, daily +dwindling into decay, between eighty and ninety thousand. To Cairo I +would allow at most two hundred thousand. As to Mekka, which I have seen +both before and after the Hadj, and know, perhaps, more thoroughly than +any other town of the East, the result of my inquiries gives between +twenty-five and thirty thousand stationary inhabitants, for the +population of the city and suburbs; besides from three to four thousand +Abyssinian and + +[p.133] black slaves: its habitations are capable of containing three +times this number. In the time of Sultan Selym I. (according to +Kotobeddyn, in A.H. 923) a census was taken of the inhabitants of Mekka, +previous to a gratuitous distribution of corn among them, and the number +was found to be twelve thousand, men, women, and children. The same +author shows that, in earlier times, the population was much more +considerable; for when Abou Dhaher, the chief of the Carmatis, (a +heretic sect of Moslims) sacked Mekka, in A.H. 314, thirty thousand of +the inhabitants were killed by his ferocious soldiers. + +[p.134] DESCRIPTION OF THE BEITULLAH, OR GREAT +MOSQUE, AT MECCAH. + +WHERE the valley is wider than in other interior parts of the town, +stands the mosque, called Beitullah, or El Haram, a building remarkable +only on account of the Kaaba, which it encloses; for there are several +mosques in other places of the East nearly equal to this in size, and +much superior to it in beauty. + +The Kaaba stands in an oblong square, two hundred and fifty paces long, +and two hundred broad, none of the sides of which run quite in a +straight line, though at first sight the whole appears to be of a +regular shape. This open square is enclosed on the eastern side by a +colonnade: the pillars stand in a quadruple row: they are three deep on +the other sides, and united by pointed arches, every four of which +support a small dome, plastered and whitened on the outside. These +domes, according to Kotobeddyn, are one hundred and fifty-two in number. +Along the whole colonnade, on the four sides, lamps are suspended from +the arches. Some are lighted every night, and all during the nights of +Ramadhan. The pillars are above twenty feet in height, and generally +from one foot and a half to one foot and three quarters in diameter; but +little regularity has been observed in regard to them. Some are of white +marble, granite, or porphyry, but the greater number are of common stone +of the Mekka mountains. El Fasy states the whole at five hundred and +eighty-nine, and says they are all of marble, excepting one hundred and +twenty-six, which are of common stone, and three of composition. +Kotobeddyn reckons five hundred and fifty-five, of which, according to +him, three hundred and eleven are of marble, and the rest of stone taken +from the neighbouring mountains; but neither of these authors lived to +see + +[p.135] the latest repairs of the mosque, after the destruction +occasioned by a torrent, in A.D. 1626. Between every three or four +columns stands an octagonal one, about four feet in thickness. On the +east side are two shafts of reddish gray granite, in one piece, and one +fine gray porphyry column with slabs of white feldspath. On the north +side is one red granite column, and one of fine-grained red porphyry: +these are probably the columns which Kotobeddyn states to have been +brought from Egypt, and principally from Akhmim (Panopolis), when the +chief El Mohdy enlarged the mosque, in A.H. 163. Among the four hundred +and fifty or five hundred columns, which form the enclosure, I found not +any two capitals or bases exactly alike: the capitals are of coarse +Saracen workmanship; some of them, which had served for former +buildings, by the ignorance of the workmen have been placed upside down +upon the shafts. I observed about half a dozen marble bases of good +Grecian workmanship. A few of the marble columns bear Arabic or Cufic +inscriptions, in which I read the dates 863 and 762. (A.H). A column on +the east side exhibits a very ancient Cufic inscription, somewhat +defaced, which I could neither read nor copy. Those shafts, formed of +the Mekka stone, cut principally from the side of the mountain near the +Shebeyka quarter, are mostly in three pieces, but the marble shafts are +in one piece. Some of the columns are strengthened with broad iron rings +or bands, as in many other Saracen buildings of the East: they were +first employed here by Ibn Dhaher Berkouk, King of Egypt, in rebuilding +the mosque, which had been destroyed by fire in A. H. 802. + +This temple has been so often ruined and repaired, that no traces of +remote antiquity are to be found about it. On the inside of the great +wall which encloses the colonnades, a single Arabic inscription is seen, +in large characters, but containing merely the names of Mohammed and his +immediate successors: Abou Beker, Omar, Othman, and Aly. The name of +Allah, in large characters, occurs also in several places. On the +outside, over the gates, are long inscriptions, in the Solouth +character, commemorating the names of those by whom the gates were +built, long and minute details of which are given by the historians of +Mekka. The inscription on the south side, over Bab + +[p.136] Ibrahim, is most conspicuous; all that side was rebuilt by the +Egyptian Sultan El Ghoury, in A.H. 906. Over the Bab Aly and Bab Abbas +is a long inscription, also in the Solouth character, placed there by +Sultan Murad Ibn Soleyman, in A.H. 984, after he had repaired the whole +building. Kotobeddyn has given this inscription at length; it occupies +several pages in his history, and is a monument of the Sultan's vanity. +This side of the mosque having escaped destruction in 1626, the +inscription remains uninjured. + +Some parts of the walls and arches are gaudily painted, in stripes of +yellow, red, and blue, as are also the minarets. Paintings of flowers, +in the usual Muselman style, are no where seen; the floors of the +colonnades are paved with large stones badly cemented together. + +Seven paved causeways lead from the colonnades towards the Kaaba, or +holy house, in the centre. They are of sufficient breadth to admit four +or five persons to walk abreast, and they are elevated about nine inches +above the ground. Between these causeways, which are covered with fine +gravel or sand, grass appears growing in several places, produced by the +Zemzem water dozing out of the jars, which are placed in the ground in +long rows during the day. The whole area of the mosque is upon a lower +level than any of the streets surrounding it. There is a descent of +eight or ten steps from the gates on the north side into the platform of +the colonnade, and of three or four steps from the gates, on the south +side. + +Towards the middle of this area stands the Kaaba; it is one hundred and +fifteen paces from the north colonnade, and eighty-eight from the south. +For this want of symmetry we may readily account, the Kaaba having +existed prior to the mosque, which was built around it, and enlarged at +different periods. The Kaaba is an oblong massive structure, eighteen +paces in length, fourteen in breadth, and from thirty-five to forty feet +in height. I took the bearing of one of its longest sides, and found it +to be N.N.W. ˝ W. It is constructed of the grey Mekka stone, in large +blocks of different sizes, joined together in a very rough manner, and +with bad cement. It was entirely rebuilt as it now stands in A.D. 1627: +the torrent, in the preceding year, had thrown down three of its sides; +and preparatory to its re-erection, the fourth + +[p.137] side was, according to Asamy, pulled down, after the olemas, or +learned divines, had been consulted on the question, whether mortals +might be permitted to destroy any part of the holy edifice without +incurring the charge of sacrilege and infidelity. + +The Kaaba stands upon a base two feet in height, which presents a sharp +inclined plane; its roof being flat, it has at a distance the appearance +of a perfect cube. The only door which affords entrance, and which is +opened but two or three times in the year, is on the north side, and +about seven feet above the ground. In entering it, therefore, wooden +steps are used--of them I shall speak hereafter. In the first periods of +Islam, however, when it was rebuilt in A.H. 64, by Ibn Zebeyr, chief of +Mekka, the nephew of Aysha, it had two doors even with the ground-floor +of the mosque. The present door (which, according to Azraky, was brought +hither from Constantinople in 1633) is wholly coated with silver, and +has several gilt ornaments. Upon its threshold are placed every night +various small lighted wax candles, and perfuming-pans, filled with musk, +aloe-wood, &c. + +At the North-east corner of the Kaaba, near the door, is the famous +“Black Stone;” it forms a part of the sharp angle of the building, at +four or five feet above the ground. It is an irregular oval, about seven +inches in diameter, with an undulated surface, composed of about a dozen +smaller stones of different sizes and shapes, well joined together with +a small quantity of cement, and perfectly smoothed: it looks as if the +whole had been broken into many pieces by a violent blow, and then +united again. It is very difficult to determine accurately the quality +of this stone, which has been worn to its present surface by the +millions of touches and kisses it has received. It appeared to me like a +lava, containing several small extraneous particles, of a whitish and of +a yellowish substance. Its colour is now a deep reddish brown, +approaching to black: it is surrounded on all sides by a border, +composed of a substance which I took to be a close cement of pitch and +gravel, of a similar, but not quite the same brownish colour. This +border serves to support its detached pieces; it is two or three inches +in breadth, and rises a little above the surface of the stone: Both the +border and the stone itself are encircled by a silver band, broader +below than above + +[p.138] and on the two sides, with a considerable swelling below, as if +a part of the stone were hidden under it. The lower part of the border +is studded with silver nails. + +In the south-east corner of the Kaaba, or, as the Arabs call it, Roken +el Yemány, there is another stone, about five feet from the ground; it +is one foot and a half in length, and two inches in breadth, placed +upright, and of the common Mekka stone. This the people walking round +the Kaaba touch only with the right hand: they do not kiss it. + +On the north side of the Kaaba, just by its door, and close to the wall, +is a slight hollow in the ground, lined with marble, and sufficiently +large to admit of three persons sitting. Here it is thought meritorious +to pray: the spot is called El Madjen, and supposed to be that where +Abraham and his son Ismayl kneaded. the chalk and mud which they used in +building the Kaaba; and near this Madjen, the former is said to have +placed the large stone upon which he stood while working at the masonry. +On the basis of the Kaaba, just over the Madjen, is an ancient Cufic +inscription; but this I was unable to decipher, and had no opportunity +of copying it. I do not find it mentioned by any of the historians. + +On the west side of the Kaaba, about two feet below its summit, is the +famous Myzab, or water-spout, through which the rain-water collected on +the roof of the building is discharged, so as to fall upon the ground; +it is about four feet in length, and six inches in breadth, as well as I +could judge from below, with borders equal in height to its breadth. At +the mouth, hangs what is called the beard of the Myzab, a gilt board, +over which the water falls. This spout was sent hither from +Constantinople in A.H. 981, and is reported to be of pure gold. The +pavement round the Kaaba, below the Myzab, was laid down in A.H. 826, +and consists of various coloured stones, forming a very handsome +specimen of mosaic. There are two large slabs of fine verde-antico in +the centre, which, according to Makrizi, [See, in his work, the chapter +“On the Excellencies of Egypt.”] were sent thither as + +[p.139] presents from Cairo, in A.H. 241. This is the spot where, +according to Mohammedan tradition, Ismayl, the son of Ibrahim, or +Abraham, and his mother Hagar, are buried; and here it is meritorious +for the pilgrim to recite a prayer of two rikats. On this west side is a +semicircular wall, the two extremities of which are in a line with the +sides of the Kaaba, and distant from it three or four feet, leaving an +opening which leads to the burying-place of Ismayl. The wall bears the +name of El Hatym, and the area which it encloses is called Hedjer, or +Hedjer Ismayl, on account of its being separated from the Kaaba: the +wall itself, also, is sometimes so called; and the name Hatym is given +by the historians to the space of ground between the Kaaba and the wall +on one side, and the Bir Zemzem and Makam Ibrahim on the other. The +present Mekkawys, however, apply the name Hatym to the wall only. + +Tradition says that the Kaaba once extended as far as the Hatym, and +that this side having fallen down just at the time of the Hadj, the +expenses of repairing it were demanded from the pilgrims, under a +pretence that the revenues of government were not acquired in a manner +sufficiently pure to admit of their application towards a purpose so +sacred, whilst the money of the hadjys would possess the requisite +sanctity. The sum, however, obtained from them, proved very inadequate: +all that could be done, therefore, was to raise a wall, which marked the +space formerly occupied by the Kaaba. This tradition, although current +among the Metowefs, is at variance with history, which declares that the +Hedjer was built by the Beni Koreysh, who contracted the dimensions of +the Kaaba; that it was united to the building by Hadjadj, and again +separated from it by Ibn Zebeyr. It is asserted by Fasy, that a part of +the Hedjer, as it now stands, was never comprehended within the Kaaba. +The law regards it as a portion of the Kaaba, inasmuch as it is esteemed +equally meritorious to pray in the Hadjer as in the Kaaba itself; and +the pilgrims who have not an opportunity of entering the latter, are +permitted to affirm upon oath that they have prayed in the Kaaba, +although they may have only prostrated themselves within the enclosure +of the Hatym. + +[p.140] The wall is built of solid stone, about five feet in height, and +four in thickness, cased all over with white marble, and inscribed with +prayers and invocations, neatly sculptured upon the stone in modern +characters. These and the casing are the work of El Ghoury, the Egyptian +Sultan, in A.H. 917, as we learn from Kotobeddyn. The walk round the +Kaaba is performed on the outside of the wall--the nearer to it the +better. + +The four sides of the Kaaba are covered with a black silk stuff, hanging +down, and leaving the roof bare. [The Wahabys, during the first year of +their residence at Mekka, covered the Kaaba with a red kesoua, worked at +El Hassa, of the same stuff as the fine Arabian Abbas.] This curtain, or +veil, is called kesoua, and renewed annually at the time of the Hadj, +being brought from Cairo, where it is manufactured at the Grand +Seignior’s expense. [During the first century of Islam, the kesoua was +never taken away, the new one being annually put over the old. But the +Mekkawys at length began to fear that the Kaaba might yield under such +an accumulation, and the Khalif El Mohdy Abou Abdallah removed the +coverings in A.H. 160. (See Makrizy.)] On it are various prayers +interwoven in the same colour as the stuff, and it is, therefore, +extremely difficult to read them. A little above the middle, and running +round the whole building, is a line of similar inscriptions, worked in +gold thread. That part of the kesoua which covers the door is richly +embroidered with silver. Openings are left for the Black Stone, and the +other in the south-east corner, which thus remain uncovered. The kesoua +is always of the same form and pattern; that which I saw on my first +visit to the mosque, was in a decayed state, and full of holes. On the +25th of the month Zul’ Kade the old one is taken away, and the Kaaba +continues without a cover for fifteen days. It is then said that El +Kaaba Yehrem, “The Kaaba has assumed the ihram,” which lasts until the +tenth of Zul Hadje, the day of the return of the pilgrims from Arafat to +Wady Muna, when the new kesoua is put on. During the first days, the new +covering is tucked up by cords fastened to the roof, so as to leave the +lower part of the building exposed: having remained thus for some days, +it is let down, and covers the whole structure, being then tied to +strong brass + +[p.141] rings in the basis of the Kaaba. The removal of the old kesoua +was performed in a very indecorous manner; and a contest ensued among +the hadjys and people of Mekka, both young and old, about a few rags of +it. The hadjys even collect the dust which sticks to the walls of the +Kaaba, under the kesoua, and sell it, on their return, as a sacred +relic. At the moment the building is covered, and completely bare, +(uryan, as it is styled,) a crowd of women assemble round it, rejoicing +with cries called “Walwalou.” + +The black colour of the kesoua, covering a large cube in the midst of a +vast square, gives to the Kaaba, at first sight, a very singular and +imposing appearance; as it is not fastened down tightly, the slightest +breeze causes it to move in slow undulations, which are hailed with +prayers by the congregation assembled around the building, as a sign of +the presence of its guardian angels, whose wings, by their motion, are +supposed to be the cause of the waving of the covering. Seventy thousand +angels have the Kaaba in their holy care, and are ordered to transport +it to Paradise, when the trumpet of the last judgment shall be sounded. + +The clothing of the Kaaba was an ancient custom of the Pagan Arabs. The +first kesoua, says El Azraky, was put on by Asad Toba, one of the +Hamyarite kings of Yemen: before Islam it had two coverings, one for +winter and the other for summer. In the early ages of Islam it was +sometimes white and sometimes red, and consisted of the richest brocade. +In subsequent times it was furnished by the different Sultans of +Baghdad, Egypt, or Yemen, according as their respective influence over +Mekka prevailed; for the clothing of the Kaaba appears to have always +been considered as a proof of sovereignty over the Hedjaz. Kalaoun, +Sultan of Egypt, assumed to himself and successors the exclusive right, +and from them the Sultans at Constantinople have inherited it. Kalaoun +appropriated the revenue of the two large villages Bysous and Sandabeir, +in Lower Egypt, to the expense of the kesoua; and Sultan Solyman Ibn +Selym subsequently added several others; but the Kaaba has long been +deprived of this resource. [Vide Kotobeddyn and Asamy] + +[p.142] Round the Kaaba is a good pavement of marble, about eight inches +below the level of the great square; it was laid in A.H. 981, by order +of the Sultan, and describes an irregular oval; it is surrounded by +thirty-two slender gilt pillars, or rather poles, between every two of +which are suspended seven glass lamps, always lighted after sun-set. +Beyond the poles is a second pavement, about eight paces broad, somewhat +elevated above the first, but of coarser work; then another, six inches +higher, and eighteen paces broad, upon which stand several small +buildings; beyond this is the gravelled ground, so that two broad steps +may be said to lead from the square down to the Kaaba. The small +buildings just mentioned, which surround the Kaaba, are the five Makams, +with the well of Zemzem, the arch called Bab-es’-Salam, and the Mambar. + +Opposite the four sides of the Kaaba stand four other small buildings, +where the Imaums of the orthodox Mohammedan sects, the Hanefy, Shafey, +Hanbaly, and Maleky, take their station, and guide the congregation in +their prayers. The Makam el Maleky, on the south, and that of Hanbaly, +opposite the Black Stone, are small pavilions, open on all sides, and +supported by four slender pillars, with a light sloping roof, +terminating in a point, exactly in the style of Indian pagodas. The +Makam el Hanefy, which is the largest, being fifteen paces by eight, is +open on all sides, and supported by twelve small pillars; it has an +upper story, also open, where the Mueddin who calls to prayers, takes +his stand. This was first built in A.H. 923, by Sultan Selym I.; it was +afterwards rebuilt by Khoshgeldy, governor of Djidda, in 947; but all +the four Makams, as they now stand, were built in A.H. 1074. [Vide +Kotobeddyn and Asamy] The Makam-es-Shafey is over the well Zemzem, to +which it serves as an upper chamber. + +Near their respective Makams, the adherents of the four different sects +seat themselves for prayers. During my stay at Mekka, the Hanefys always +began their prayer first; but according to Muselman custom the Shafeys +should pray first in the mosque; then the Hanefys, Malekys, and +Hanbalys. The prayer of the Magreb is an exception, which they are all +enjoined to utter together. [Vide Fasy.] The Makam el Hanbaly + +[p.143] is the place where the officers of government, and other great +people, are seated during prayers; here the Pasha and the Sherif are +placed; and, in their absence, the eunuchs of the temple. These fill the +space under this Makam in front, and behind it the female hadjys, who +visit the temple, have their places assigned, to which they repair +principally for the two evening prayers, few of them being seen in the +mosque at the three other daily prayers: they also perform the towaf, or +walk round the Kaaba, but generally at night, though it is not uncommon +to see them walking in the day-time among the men. + +The present building which encloses Zemzem, stands close by the Makam +Hanbaly, and was erected in A.H. 1072 [Vide Asamy.]: it is of a square +shape, and of massive construction, with an entrance to the north, +opening into the room which contains the well. This room is beautifully +ornamented with marbles of various colours; and adjoining to it, but +having a separate door, is a small room with a stone reservoir which is +always full of Zemzem water: this the hadjys get to drink by passing +their hand with a cup through an iron grated opening, which serves as a +window, into the reservoir, without entering the room. The mouth of the +well is surrounded by a wall five feet in height, and about ten feet in +diameter. Upon this the people stand, who draw up the water, in leathern +buckets, an iron railing being so placed as to prevent their falling in. +In El Fasy’s time there were eight marble basins in this room, for the +purpose of ablution. + +From before dawn till near midnight, the well-room is constantly filled +with visitors. Every one is at liberty to draw up the water for himself, +but the labour is generally performed by persons placed there on +purpose, and paid by the mosque: they expect also a trifle from those +who come to drink, though they dare not demand it. I have been more than +once in the room a quarter of an hour before I could get a draught of +water, so great was the crowd. Devout hadjys sometimes mount the wall, +and draw the bucket for several hours, in the hope of thus expiating +their evil deeds. + +Before the Wahaby invasion, the well Zemzem belonged to the + +[p.144] Sherif; and the water becoming thus a monopoly, was only to be +purchased at a high price; but one of Saoud’s first orders, on his +arrival at Mekka, was to abolish this traffic, and the holy water is now +dispensed gratis. The Turks consider it a miracle that the water of this +well never diminishes, notwithstanding the continual draught from: it +there certainly is no diminution in its depth; for by an accurate +inspection of the rope by which the buckets are drawn up, I found that +the same length was required both at morning and evening to reach the +surface of the water. Upon inquiry, I learned from one of the persons +who had descended in the time of the Wahabys to repair the masonry, that +the water was flowing at the bottom, and that the well is therefore +supplied by a subterraneous rivulet. The water is heavy to the taste, +and sometimes in its colour resembles milk; but it is perfectly sweet, +and differs very much from that of the brackish wells dispersed over the +town. When first drawn up, it is slightly tepid, resembling, in this +respect, many other fountains of the Hedjaz. + +Zemzem supplies the whole town, and there is scarcely one family that +does not daily fill a jar with the water: this only serves, however, for +drinking or for ablution, as it is thought impious to employ water so +sacred for culinary purposes or on common occasions. Almost every hadjy, +when he repairs to the mosque for evening prayer has a jar of the water +placed before him by those who earn their livelihood by performing this +service. The water is distributed in the mosque to all who are thirsty +for a trifling fee, by water-carriers with large jars upon their backs: +these men are also paid by charitable hadjys for supplying the poorer +pilgrims with this holy beverage immediately before or after prayers. + +The water is regarded as an infallible cure for all diseases; and the +devotees believe that the more they drink of it, the better their health +will be, and their prayers the more acceptable to the Deity. I have seen +some of them at the well swallowing such a quantity of it as I should +hardly have thought possible. A man who lived in the same house with me, +and who was ill of an intermittent fever, repaired every evening to +Zemzem, and drank of the water till he was almost fainting, + +[p.145] after which he lay for several hours extended upon his back on +the pavement near the Kaaba, and then returned to renew his draught. +When by this practice he was brought to the verge of death, he declared +himself fully convinced that the increase of his illness proceeded +wholly from his being unable to swallow a sufficient quantity of the +water! Many hadjys, not content with drinking it merely, strip +themselves in the room, and have buckets of it thrown over them, by +which they believe that the heart is purified as well as the outer body. +Few pilgrims quit Mekka without carrying away some of this water in +copper or tin bottles, either for the purpose of making presents, or for +their own use in case of illness, when they drink it, or for ablution +after death. I carried away four small bottles, with the intention of +offering them as presents to the Mohammedan kings in the Black +countries. I have seen it sold at Suez by hadjys returning from Mekka at +the rate of one piastre for the quantity that filled a coffee-cup. + +The chief of Zemzem is one of the principal olemas of Mekka. I need not +remind the reader that Zemzem is supposed to be the spring found in the +wilderness by Hagar, at the moment when her infant son Ismayl was dying +of thirst. It seems probable that the town of Mekka owes its origin to +this well; for many miles round, no sweet water is found, nor is there +in any part of the adjacent country so copious a supply. + +On the north-east side of Zemzem stand two small buildings, one behind +the other, called El Kobbateyn; they are covered by domes painted in the +same manner as the mosque, and in them are kept water jars, lamps, +carpets, mats, brooms, and other articles used in the very mosque. These +two ugly buildings are injurious to the interior appearance of the +building, their heavy forms and structure being disadvantageously +contrasted with the light and airy shape of the Makams. I heard some +hadjys from Greece, men of better taste than the Arabs, express their +regret that the Kobbateyn should be allowed to disfigure the mosque. +Their contents might be deposited in some of the buildings adjoining the +mosque, of which they form no essential part, no religious importance +being attached to them. They were built by Khoshgeldy, governor of +Djidda, A.H. 947: one is called + +[p.146] Kobbet el Abbas, from having been placed on the site of a small +tank said to have been formed by Abbas, the uncle of Mohammed. + +A few paces west of Zemzem, and directly opposite to the door of the +Kaaba, stands a ladder or staircase, which is moved up to the wall of +the Kaaba, on the days when that building is opened, and by which the +visitors ascend to the door: it is of wood, with some carved ornaments, +moves on low wheels, and is sufficiently broad to admit of four persons +ascending abreast. The first ladder was sent hither from Cairo in A.H. +818, by Moay-ed Abou el Naser, King of Egypt; for in the Hedjaz it seems +there has always been so great a want of artizans, that whenever the +mosque required any work, it was necessary to have mechanics brought +from Cairo, and even sometimes from Constantinople. + +In the same line with the ladder, and close by it, stands a lightly- +built, insulated, and circular arch, about fifteen feet wide and +eighteen feet high, called Bab-es’-Salam, which must not be confounded +with the great gate of the mosque bearing the same name. Those who enter +the Beitullah for the first time, are enjoined to do so by the outer and +inner Bab-es’-Salam: in passing under the latter, they are to exclaim, +“O God, may it be a happy entrance!” I do not know by whom this arch was +built, but it appears to be modern. + +Nearly in front of the Bab-es’-Salam; and nearer to the Kaaba than any +of the other surrounding buildings, stands the Makam Ibrahim. This is a +small building, supported by six pillars about eight feet high, four of +which are surrounded from top to bottom by a fine iron railing, which +thus leaves the space beyond the two hind pillars open: within the +railing is a frame about five feet square, terminating in a pyramidal +top, and said to contain the sacred stone upon which Ibrahim (Abraham) +stood when he built the Kaaba, and which, with the help of his son +Ismayl, he had removed from hence to the place called Madjen, already +mentioned. The stone is said to have yielded under the weight of the +patriarch, and to preserve the impression of his foot still visible upon +it; but no hadjy has ever seen it, as the frame is always entirely +covered with a brocade of red silk richly embroidered. Persons are +constantly seen before the railing, invoking the good offices of + +[p.147] Ibrahim; and a short prayer must be uttered by the side of the +Makam, after the walk round the Kaaba is completed. It is said that many +of the Sahabe, or first adherents of Mohammed, were interred in the open +space between this Makam. and Zemzem, from which circumstance it is one +of the most favourite places of prayer in the mosque. In this part of +the area, the Khalif Soleyman Ibn Abd el Melek, brother of Wolyd, built +a fine reservoir, in A.H. 97, which was filled from a spring east of +Arafat; but the Mekkawys destroyed it after his death, on the pretence +that the water of Zemzem was preferable. [Vide Makrizi’s Treatise-- +“Manhadj myn el Kholafa.”] + +On the side of Makam Ibrahim, facing the middle part of the front of the +Kaaba, stands the Mambar or pulpit of the mosque; it is elegantly formed +of fine white marble, with many sculptured ornaments, and was sent as a +present to the mosque in A.H. 969, by Sultan Soleyman Ibn Selym: [The +first Mambar was sent from Cairo in A.H. 818, together with the steps +above mentioned, by Moay-ed, King of Egypt. See Asamy.] a straight +narrow staircase leads up to the post of the Khatyb, or preacher, which +is surmounted by a gilt polygonal pointed steeple, resembling an +obelisk. Here a sermon is preached on Fridays, and on certain festivals; +these, like the Friday sermons of all mosques in the Mohammedan +countries, are usually of the same tenor, with some slight alterations +upon extraordinary occasions. Before the Wahabys invaded Mekka, prayers +were added for the Sultan and the Sherif; but these were forbidden by +Saoud. Since the Turkish conquest, however, the ancient custom has been +restored; and on Fridays, as well as at the end of the first daily +evening prayers, the Sultan, Mohammed Aly Pasha, and Sherif Yahya are +included in the formula. The right of preaching in the Mambar is vested +in several of the first olemas in Mekka; they are always elderly +persons, and officiate in rotation. In ancient times, Mohammed himself, +his successors, and the Khalifes, whenever they came to Mekka, mounted +the pulpit, and preached to the people. + +The Khatyb, or preacher, appears in the Mambar wrapped in a white cloak, +which covers his head and body, and with a stick in his + +[p.148] hand; a practice observed also in Egypt and Syria, in memory of +the first age of Islam, when the preachers found it necessary to be +armed, from fear of being surprised. As in other mosques, two green +flags are placed on each side of him. + +About the Mambar, the visitors of the Kaaba deposit their shoes; as it +is neither permitted to walk round the Kaaba with covered feet, nor +thought decent to carry the shoes in the hand, as is done in other +mosques. Several persons keep watch over the shoes, for which they +expect a small present; but the vicinity of the holy temple does not +intimidate the dishonest, for I lost successively from this spot three +new pairs of shoes; and the same thing happens to many hadjys. + +I have now described all the buildings within the enclosure of the +Temple. [The ground-plan of the Temple given by Aly Bey el Abbassi is +perfectly correct. This cannot be said of his plan of Mekka, nor of his +different views in the Hedjaz: a comparison of my description with his +work will show in what points I differ from him, as well in regard to +the temple, as to the town and its inhabitants. His travels came to my +hands after I had returned from Arabia. The view of the mosque given by +d’Ohsson, in his valuable work, is tolerably correct, except that the +Kaaba is too large in proportion to the rest of the building. The view +of the town of Mekka, on the contrary, is very unfaithful. That in +Niebuhr, which was copied from an ancient Arabic drawing, is less +accurate than d’Ohsson’s. The original seems to have been taken before +the last alterations made in the buildings of the Temple.] + +The gravel-ground, and part of the adjoining outer pavement of the +Kaaba, is covered, at the time of evening prayers, with carpets of from +sixty to eighty feet in length, and four feet in breadth, of Egyptian +manufacture, which are rolled up after prayers. The greater part of the +hadjys bring their own carpets with them. The more distant parts of the +area, and the floor under the colonnade, are spread with mats, brought +from Souakin; the latter situation being the usual place for the +performance of the mid-day and afternoon prayers. Many of these mats are +presented to the mosque by the hadjys, for which they have in return the +satisfaction of seeing their names inscribed on them in large +characters. + +At sun-set, great numbers assemble for the first evening prayer: they +form themselves into several wide circles, sometimes as many as + +[p.149] twenty, around the Kaaba as a common centre before which every +person makes his prostration; and thus, as the Mohammedan doctors +observe, Mekka is the only spot throughout the world in which the true +believer can, with propriety, turn during his prayers towards any point +of the compass. The Imam takes his post near the gate of the Kaaba, and +his genuflexions are imitated by the whole assembled multitude. The +effect of the joint prostrations of six or eight thousand persons, added +to the recollection of the distance and various quarters from whence +they come, and for what purpose, cannot fail to impress the most cool- +minded spectator with some degree of awe. At night, when the lamps are +lighted, and numbers of devotees are performing the Towaf round the +Kaaba, the sight of the busy crowds--the voices of the Metowefs, intent +upon making themselves heard by those to whom they recite their prayers-- +the loud conversation of many idle persons--the running, playing, and +laughing of boys, give to the whole a very different appearance, and one +more resembling that of a place of public amusement. The crowd, however, +leaves the mosque about nine o’clock, when it again becomes the place of +silent meditation and prayer, to the few visitors who are led to the +spot by sincere piety, and not worldly motives or fashion. + +There is an opinion prevalent at Mekka, founded on holy tradition, that +the mosque will contain any number of the faithful; and that if even the +whole Mohammedan community were to enter at once, they would all find +room in it to pray. The guardian angels, it is said, would invisibly +extend the dimensions of the building, and diminish the size of each +individual. The fact is, that during the most numerous pilgrimages, the +mosque, which can contain, I believe, about thirty-five thousand persons +in the act of prayer, is never half filled. Even on Fridays, the greater +part of the Mekkawys, contrary to the injunctions of the law, pray at +home, if at all, and many hadjys follow their example. I could never +count more than ten thousand individuals in the mosque at one time, even +after the return from Arafat, when the whole body of hadjys were +collected, for a few days, in and about the city. + +At every hour of the day persons may be seen under the colonnade, + +[p.150] occupied in reading the Koran and other religious books; and +here many poor Indians, or negroes, spread their mats, and pass the +whole period of their residence at Mekka. Here they both eat and sleep; +but cooking is not allowed. During the hours of noon, many persons come +to repose beneath the cool shade of the vaulted roof of the colonnade; a +custom which not only accounts for the mode of construction observed in +the old Mohammedan temples of Egypt and Arabia, but for that also of the +ancient Egyptian temples, the immense porticoes of which were probably +left open to the idolatrous natives, whose mud-built houses could afford +them but an imperfect refuge against the mid-day heats. + +It is only during the hours of prayer that the great mosques of these +countries partake of the sanctity of prayer, or in any degree seem to be +regarded as consecrated places. In El Azhar, the first mosque at Cairo, +I have seen boys crying pancakes for sale, barbers shaving their +customers, and many of the lower orders eating their dinners, where, +during prayers, not the slightest motion, nor even whisper, diverts the +attention of the congregation. Not a sound but the voice of the Imam is +heard during prayers in the great mosque at Mekka, which at other times +is the place of meeting for men of business to converse on their +affairs, and is sometimes so full of poor hadjys, or of diseased persons +lying about under the colonnade, in the midst of their miserable +baggage, as to have the appearance of an hospital rather than a temple. +Boys play in the great square, and servants carry luggage across it, to +pass by the nearest route from one part of the town to the other. In +these respects, the temple of Mekka resembles the other great mosques of +the East. But the holy Kaaba is rendered the scene of such indecencies +and criminal acts, as cannot with propriety be more particularly +noticed. They are not only practised here with impunity, but, it may be +said, almost publicly; and my indignation has often been excited, on +witnessing abominations which called forth from other passing spectators +nothing more than a laugh or a slight reprimand. + +In several parts of the colonnade, public schools are held, where young +children are taught to spell and read: they form most noisy + +[p.151] groups, and the schoolmaster’s stick is in constant action. Some +learned men of Mekka deliver lectures on religious subjects every +afternoon under the colonnade, but the auditors are seldom numerous. On +Fridays, after prayer, some Turkish olemas explain to their countrymen +assembled around them a few chapters of the Koran, after which each of +the audience kisses the hand of the expositor, and drops money into his +cap. I particularly admired the fluency of speech of one of these +olemas, although I did not understand him, the lecture being delivered +in the Turkish language. His gesticulations, and the inflexions of his +voice, were most expressive; but like an actor on the stage, he would +laugh and cry in the same minute, and adapt his features to his purpose +in the most skilful manner. He was a native of Brusa, and amassed a +considerable sum of money. + +Near the gate of the mosque called Bab-es’-Salam, a few Arab Sheikhs +daily take their seat, with their ink-stand and paper, ready to write, +for any applicant, letters, accounts, contracts, or any similar +document. They also deal in written charms, like those current in the +Black countries, such as amulets, and love-receipts, called “Kotob +muhbat o kuboul.” They are principally employed by Bedouins, and demand +an exorbitant remuneration. + +Winding-sheets (keffen), and other linen washed in the waters of Zemzem, +are constantly seen hanging to dry between the columns. Many hadjys +purchase at Mekka the shroud in which they wish to be buried, and wash +it themselves at the well of Zemzem, supposing that, if the corpse be +wrapped in linen which has been wetted with this holy water, the peace +of the soul after death will be more effectually secured. Some hadjys +make this linen an article of traffic. + +Mekka generally, but the mosque in particular, abounds with flocks of +wild pigeons, which are considered to be the inviolable property of the +temple, and are called the Pigeons of the Beitullah. Nobody dares to +kill any of them, even when they enter the private houses. In the square +of the mosque, several small stone basins are regularly filled with +water for their use; here also Arab women expose to sale, upon small +straw mats, corn and durra, which the pilgrims + +[p.152] purchase, and throw to the pigeons. I have seen some of the +public women take this mode of exhibiting themselves, and of bargaining +with the pilgrims, under pretence of selling them corn for the sacred +pigeons. + +The gates of the mosque are nineteen in number, and are distributed +about it, without any order or symmetry. I subjoin their names, as they +are usually written upon small cards by the Metowefs: in another column +are the names by which they were known in more ancient times, +principally taken from Azraky and Kotoby. + +Modern Names. Ancient Names. + +Bab-es’-Salam, composed of 3 Bab beni Sheybe. +smaller gates, or arches. +Bab el Neby 2 Bab el Djenaiz, + The dead being + carried through it + to the mosque, + that prayers may + be said over their + bodies. +Bab el Abbas. 3 Bab Sertakat. +Opposite to this the house +of Abbas once stood. +Bab Aly 3 Bab Beni Hashem. +Bab el Zeyt + 2 Bab Bazan. +Bab el Ashra +Bab el Baghle 2 +Bab el Szafa 5 Bab Beni Makhzoum. +Bab Sherif 2 Bab el Djyad. +Bab Medjahed 2 Bab el Dokhmase +Bab Zoleykha 2 Bab Sherif Adjelan + (who built it.) +Bab Om Hany. 2 +So called from the daughter +of Aby Taleb. +Bab el Wodaa. 2 Bab el Hazoura +Through which the pilgrim +passes in taking his final +leave of the temple. +Bab Ibrahim 1 Bab el Kheyatyn, + or Bab Djomah. +[So called, not from +Abraham, but from a +tailor who had his +shop near it.] + +[p.153] + +Bab el Omra 1 +Through which the pilgrims +issue to visit the Omra. +Also called Beni Saham. +Bab Ateek 1 Bab Amer Ibn el + Aas, or Bab el + Sedra. +Bab el Bastye 1 Bab el Adjale. +Bab el Kotoby 1 Bab Zyade Dar + el Nedoua. +[Taking its name from the +famous author of a History +of Mekka, who lived in an +adjoining lane, and opened +this small gate into the +mosque. +Bab Zyade 3 +Bab Dereybe 1 Bab Medrese. + -- +Total number of arches 39 + + +The principal of these gates are:--on the north side, Bab-es-Salam, by +which every pilgrim enters the mosque; Bab Abbas; Bab el Neby, by which +Mohammed is said to have always entered the mosque; Bab Aly. On the east +side, Bab el Zeyt, or Bab el Ashra, through which the ten first Sahabe, +or adherents of Mohammed, used to enter; Bab el Szafa; two gates called +Biban el Sherif, opposite the palaces of the Sherif. On the south side, +Bab Ibrahim, where the colonnade projects beyond the straight line of +the columns, and forms a small square; Bab el Omra, through which it is +necessary to pass, on visiting the Omra. On the west side, Bab el Zyade, +forming a projecting square similar to that at Bab Ibrahim, but larger. +Most of these gates have high pointed arches; but a few round arches are +seen among them, which, like all the arches of this kind in the Hedjaz, +are nearly semi-circular. They are without any ornament, except the +inscription on the exterior, which commemorates the name of the builder; +and they are all posterior in date to the fourteenth century. As each +gate consists of two or three arches, or divisions, separated by narrow +walls, these divisions are counted in the enumeration of the gates +leading into the Kaaba, and thus make up the number thirty-nine. There +being no doors to the gates, the mosque is consequently open at all + +[p.154] times. I have crossed at every hour of the night, and always +found people there, either at prayers, or walking about. + +The outside walls of the mosque are those of the houses which surround +it on all sides. These houses belonged originally to the mosque; the +greater part are now the property of individuals, who have purchased +them; they are let out to the richest hadjys, at very high prices, as +much as five hundred piastres being given, during the pilgrimage, for a +good apartment, with windows opening into the mosque. Windows have, in +consequence, been opened in many parts of the walls, on a level with the +street, and above that of the floor of the colonnades: Hadjys living in +these apartments are allowed to perform the Friday’s prayers at home; +because, having the Kaaba in view from the windows, they are supposed to +be in the mosque itself, and to join in prayer those assembled within +the temple. Upon a level with the ground-floor of the colonnades, and +opening into them, are small apartments formed in the walls, having the +appearance of dungeons: these have remained the property of the mosque, +while the houses above them belong to private individuals. They are let +out to watermen, who deposit in them the Zemzem jars; or to less opulent +hadjys, who wish to live in the mosque. Some of the surrounding houses +still belong to the mosque, and were originally intended for public +schools, as their name of Medrese implies: they are now all let out to +hadjys. In one of the largest of them, Mohammed Aly Pasha lived; in +another Hassan Pasha. [One of the finest Medreses in Mekka, built by +order of Kail Beg, Sultan of Egypt, in A.H. 888, in the side of the +mosque fronting the street Masaa, has also become a private building, +after having been deprived of its revenue by the peculation of its +guardians. Besides the Medreses, there were other buildings of less +extent erected by different Sultans of Egypt and Constantinople for +similar purposes, called Rebat, where poor pilgrims might reside, who +chose to study there; but these have shared the fate of the Medreses, +and are now either the private property of Mekkawys, or let to +individuals on long leases by the mosque, and used as common lodging- +houses.] + +Close to Bab Ibrahim is a large Medrese, now the property of Seyd Ageyl, +one of the principal merchants of the town, whose ware-house opens into +the mosque. This person, who is aged, has the reputation + +[p.155] of great sanctity; and it is said that the hand of Sherif +Ghaleb, when once in the act of collaring him, for refusing to advance +some money, was momentarily struck with palsy. He has every evening +assemblies in his house, where theological books are read, [The cousin of +this man is the famous pirate Syd Mohammed el Ageyl, who has committed +many outrages upon European ships in the Red Sea, and even insulted the +English flag. In the beginning of 1814 he was called to Djidda, with +offers to enter the service of Mohammed Aly Pasha, who, it was then +thought, had some hostile intentions against Yemen. The Pasha made him +considerable presents, either in the hope of engaging him in his +service, or of securing his friendship; but the pirate declined his +proposals. He has amassed great wealth; has establishments in almost +every harbour of the Red Sea; and is adored by his sailors and soldiers +for his great liberality. Like his cousin at Mekka, he has succeeded in +making people believe that he is endowed with supernatural powers.] and +religious topics discussed. + +Among other buildings forming the enclosure of the Mesjed, is the +Mehkam, or house of justice, close by the Bab Zyade: it is a fine, +firmly-built structure, with lofty arches in the interior, and has a row +of high windows looking into the mosque. It is inhabited by the Kadhy. +Adjoining to it stands a large Medrese, inclosing a square, known by the +name of Medrese Soleymanye, built by Sultan Soleyman, and his son Selym +II., in A.H. 973. It is always well filled with Turkish hadjys, the +friends of the Kadhy, who disposes of the lodgings. + +The exterior of the mosque is adorned with seven minarets, irregularly +distributed:--1. Minaret of Bab el Omra; 2. of Bab el Salam; 3. of Bab +Aly; 4. of Bab el Wodaa; 5. of Medrese Kail Beg; 6. of Bab el Zyade; 7. +of Medreset Sultan Soleyman. They are quadrangular or round steeples, in +no way differing from other minarets. The entrance to them is from the +different buildings round the mosque, which they adjoin. A beautiful +view of the busy crowd below is obtained by ascending the most northern +one. + +It will have been seen by the foregoing description, that the mosque of +Mekka differs little in its construction from many other buildings of +the same nature in Asia. The mosque of Zakaria at Aleppo, the great +mosque called El Amouy at Damascus, and the greater number of the larger +mosques at Cairo, are constructed exactly + +[p.156] upon the same plan, with an arched colonnade round an open +square. None is more like it than the mosque of Touloun, at Cairo, built +in A.H. 263; and that of Ammer, situated between Cairo and Old Cairo, +upon the spot where Fostat once stood: it was built by Ammer Ibn el Aas, +in the first years of the conquest of Egypt; it has an arched fountain +in the midst, where at Mekka stands the Kaaba; but is only one-third as +large as the mosque of Mekka. The history of Beitullah (or God’s house) +has exercised the industry of many learned Arabians: it is only in +latter times that the mosque has been enlarged; many trees once stood in +the square, and it is to be regretted that others have not succeeded +them. + +The service of the mosque occupies a vast number of people. The Khatybs, +Imams, Muftis, those attached to Zemzem, the Mueddins who call to +prayers, numbers of olemas, who deliver lectures, lamp-lighters, and a +crowd of menial servants, are all employed about the Beitullah. They +receive regular pay from the mosque, besides what they share of the +presents made to it by hadjys, for the purpose of distribution; those +not made for such purpose, are reserved for the repairs of the building. +The revenue of the mosque is considerable, although it has been deprived +of the best branches of its income. + +There are few towns or districts of the Turkish empire in which it does +not possess property in land or houses; but the annual amount of this +property is often withheld by provincial governors, or at least it is +reduced, by the hands through which it passes, to a small proportion of +its real value. El Is-haaky, in his History of Egypt, states, that in +the time of Sultan Achmed, the son of Sultan Mohammed, (who died in A.H. +1027,) Egypt sent yearly to Mekka two hundred and ninety-five purses, +destined principally for the mosque, and forty-eight thousand and eighty +erdebs of corn. Bayazyd Ibn Sultan Mohammed Khan (in 912) fixed the +income of Mekka and Medina, to be sent from Constantinople, at fourteen +thousand ducats per annum, in addition to what his predecessors had +already ordered; and Sultan Solyman Ibn Selym I. increased the annual +income of Mekka, sent from Constantinople, which his father Selym had +fixed at seven thousand erdebs of corn, to ten thousand erdebs, and five +thousand for the inhabitants of + +[p.157] Medina. [See Kotobeddyn.] He likewise fixed the surra from +Constantinople, or, as it is called, the Greek surra, at thirty-one +thousand ducats per annum. [See Assamy. These surras (or purses) were +first instituted by Mohammed Ibn Sultan Yalderem, in A.H. 816.] Almost +all the revenues derived from Egypt were sequestrated by the Mamelouk +Beys; and Mohammed Aly has now seized what remained. Some revenue is yet +drawn from Yemen, called Wakf el Hamam, and a little is brought in +annually by the Hadj caravans. At present, therefore, the mosque of +Mekka may be called poor in comparison with its former state. [The +princes of India have frequently given proofs of great munificence +towards the mosque at Mekka. In A.H. 798, large presents in money and +valuable articles were sent by the sovereigns of Bengal and Cambay; +those of Bengal, especially, are often mentioned as benefactors by +Asamy.] Excepting a few golden lamps in the Kaaba, it possesses no +treasures whatever, notwithstanding the stories prevalent to the +contrary; and I learnt from the Kadhy himself, that the Sultan, in order +to keep up the establishment, sends at present four hundred purses +annually, as a present to the Kaaba; which sum is partly expended in the +service of the mosque, and partly divided among the servants belonging +to it. + +The income of the mosque must not be confounded with that of a number of +Mekkawys, including many of the servants, which they derive from other +pious foundations in the Turkish empire, known by the name of Surra, and +of which a great part still remains untouched. The donations of the +hadjys, however, are so ample as to afford abundant subsistence to the +great numbers of idle persons employed about the mosque; and as long as +the pilgrimage exists, there is no reason to apprehend their wanting +either the necessaries or the luxuries of life. + +The first officer of the mosque is the Nayb el Haram, or Hares el Haram, +the guardian who keeps the keys of the Kaaba. In his hands are deposited +the sums bestowed as presents to the building, and which he distributes +in conjunction with the Kadhy: under his directions, + +[p.158] also, the repairs of the building are carried on. [The honour of +keeping the keys of the Kaaba, and the profits arising from it, were +often subjects of contention among the ancient Arabian tribes.] I have +been assured, but do not know how truly, that the Nayb el Haram’s yearly +accounts, which are countersigned by the Sherif and Kadhy, and sent to +Constantinople, amount to three hundred purses, merely for the expenses +of the necessary repairs, lighting, carpets, &c., and the maintenance of +the eunuchs belonging to the temple. This officer happens at present to +be one of the heads of the three only families descended from the +ancient Koreysh who remain resident at Mekka. Next to him, the second +officer of the mosque in rank is the Aga of the eunuchs, or, as he is +called; Agat el Towashye. The eunuchs perform the duty of police +officers in the temple; [The employment of slaves or eunuchs in this +mosque is of very ancient date. Mawya Ibn Aly Sofyan, a short time after +Mohammed, first ordered slaves for the Kaaba.--Vid. Fasy.] they prevent +disorders, and daily wash and sweep, with large brooms, the pavement +round the Kaaba. In time of rain, I have seen the water stand on the +pavement to the height of a foot; on such occasions many of the hadjys +assist the eunuchs in removing it through several holes made in the +pavement, which, it is said, lead to large vaults beneath the Kaaba, +though the historians of Mekka and of the temple make no mention of +them. The eunuchs are dressed in the Constantinopolitan kaouk, with wide +robes, bound by a sash, and carry a long stick in their hands. The +engraving of their dress given by d’Ohsson is strikingly correct; as +are, in general, all the representations of costume in that work, which +I had an opportunity of comparing with the original. [This excellent work +is the only perfect source of information respecting the laws and +constitution of the Turkish empire; but it must not be forgotten that +the practices prevalent in the provinces are, unfortunately, often in +direct contravention of the spirit and letter of the code of law, as +explained by the author.] The number of eunuchs now exceeds forty, and +they are supplied by Pashas and other grandees, who send them, when +young, as presents to the mosque: one hundred dollars are sent with each +as an outfit. Mohammed Aly presented ten young eunuchs to the mosque. At +present there + +[p.159] are ten grown-up persons, and twenty boys; the latter live +together in a house, till they are sufficiently instructed to be given +in charge to their elder brethren, with whom they remain a few years, +and then set up their own establishments. Extraordinary as it may +appear, the grown-up eunuchs are all married to black slaves, and +maintain several male and female slaves in their houses as servants. +They affect great importance; and in case of quarrels or riots, lay +freely about them with their sticks. Many of the lower classes of Mekka +kiss their hands on approaching them. Their chief, or Aga, whom they +elect among themselves, is a great personage, and is entitled to sit in +the presence of the Pasha and the Sherif. The eunuchs have a large +income from the revenues of the mosque, and from private donations of +the hadjys; they also receive regular stipends from Constantinople, and +derive profit from trade; for, like almost all the people of Mekka, and +even the first clergy, they are more or less engaged in traffic; and +their ardour in the pursuit of commercial gain is much greater than that +which they evince in the execution of their official duties, being +equalled only by the eagerness with which they court the friendship of +wealthy hadjys. + +Most of the eunuchs, or Towashye, are negroes; a few were copper- +coloured Indians. One of the former is sometimes sent to the Soudan +countries, to collect presents for the Kaaba. The fate of a eunuch of +this description is mentioned by Bruce. Some years since a Towashye +obtained permission to return to Soudan, on presenting another person to +the mosque in his stead. He then repaired to Borgo, west of Darfour, and +is now the powerful governor of a province. + +Whenever negro hadjys come to Mekka, they never fail to pay assiduous +court to the Towashyes. A Towashye, after having been once attached to +the service of the Kaaba, which confers on him the appellation of +Towashye el Neby (the Prophet’s eunuch), can never enter into any other +service. + +In the time of Ramadhan, (the last days of which month, in 1814, I +passed at Mekka,) the mosque is particularly brilliant. The hadjys, at +that period, (which happened to be in the hottest time of the year,) +generally performed the three first daily prayers at home, but assembled + +[p.160] in large crowds in the mosque, for their evening devotions. +Every one then carried in his handkerchief a few dates, a little bread +and cheese, or some grapes, which he placed before him, waiting for the +moment of the call to evening prayers, to be allowed to break the fast. +During this period of suspense, they would politely offer to their +neighbours a part of their meal, and receive as much in return. Some +hadjys, to gain the reputation of peculiar charitableness, were going +from man to man, and placing before each a few morsels of viands, +followed by beggars, who, in their turn, received these morsels from +those hadjys before whom they had been placed. As soon as the Imam on +the top of Zemzem began his cry of “Allahou Akbar,” (God is most great!) +every one hastened to drink of the jar of Zemzem water placed before +him, and to eat something, previous to joining in the prayer; after +which they all returned home to supper, and again revisited the mosque, +for the celebration of the last evening orisons. At this time, the whole +square and colonnades were illuminated by thousands of lamps; and, in +addition to these, most of the hadjys had each his own lantern standing +on the ground before him. The brilliancy of this spectacle, and the cool +breeze pervading the square, caused multitudes to linger here till +midnight. This square, the only wide and open place in the whole town, +admits through all its gates the cooling breeze; but this the Mekkawys +ascribe to the waving wings of those angels who guard the mosque. I +witnessed the enthusiasm of a Darfour pilgrim, who arrived at Mekka on +the last night of Ramadhan. After a long journey across barren and +solitary deserts, on his entering the illuminated temple, he was so much +struck with its appearance, and overawed by the black Kaaba, that he +fell prostrate close by the place where I was sitting, and remained long +in that posture of adoration. He then rose, burst into a flood of tears, +and in the height of his emotion, instead of reciting the usual prayers +of the visitor, only exclaimed, “O God, now take my soul, for this is +Paradise!” + +The termination of the Hadj gives a very different appearance to the +temple. Disease and mortality, which succeed to the fatigues endured on +the journey, or are caused by the light covering of the + +[p.161] ihram, the unhealthy lodgings at Mekka, the bad fare, and +sometimes absolute want, fill the mosque with dead bodies, carried +thither to receive the Imam’s prayer, or with sick persons, many of +whom, when their dissolution approaches, are brought to the colonnades, +that they may either be cured by a sight of the Kaaba, or at least have +the satisfaction of expiring within the sacred enclosure. Poor hadjys, +worn out with disease and hunger, are seen dragging their emaciated +bodies along the columns; and when no longer able to stretch forth their +hand to ask the passenger for charity, they place a bowl to receive alms +near the mat on which they lay themselves. When they feel their last +moments approaching, they cover themselves with their tattered garments; +and often a whole day passes before it is discovered that they are dead. +For a month subsequent to the conclusion of the Hadj, I found, almost +every morning, corpses of pilgrims lying in the mosque; myself and a +Greek hadjy, whom accident had brought to the spot, once closed the eyes +of a poor Mogrebyn pilgrim, who had crawled into the neighbourhood of +the Kaaba, to breathe his last, as the Moslems say, “in the arms of the +prophet and of the guardian angels.” He intimated by signs his wish that +we should sprinkle Zemzem water over him; and while we were doing so, he +expired: half an hour afterwards he was buried. There are several +persons in the service of the mosque employed to wash carefully the spot +on which those who expire in the mosque have lain, and to bury all the +poor and friendless strangers who die at Mekka. + +[p.162] SOME HISTORICAL NOTICES CONCERNING THE KAABA, + +AND THE TEMPLE OF MEKKA; + +EXTRACTED FROM THE WORKS OF EL AZRAKY, EL FASY, KOTOBEDDYN, AND +ASAMY, +WRITERS MORE PARTICULARLY MENTIONED IN THE INTRODUCTION. + +MOHAMMEDAN mythology affirms that the Kaaba was constructed in heaven, +two thousand years before the creation of this world, and that it was +there adored by the angels, whom the Almighty commanded to perform the +Towaf, or walk round it. Adam, who was the first true believer, erected +the Kaaba upon earth, on its present site, which is directly below the +spot that it occupied in heaven. He collected the stones for the +building from the five holy mountains: Lebanon, Tor Syna (Mount Sinai), +El Djoudy (the name given by Muselmans to the mountain on which the ark +of Noah rested after the deluge), Hirra, or Djebel Nour, and Tor Zeyt +(the mountain to which, as I believe, an allusion is made in the ninety- +fifth chapter of the Koran). Ten thousand angels were appointed to guard +the structure from accidents: but they seem, from the history of the +holy building, to have been often remiss in their duty. The sons of Adam +repaired the Kaaba; and after the deluge, Ibrahim (Abraham), when he had +abandoned the idolatry of his forefathers, was ordered by the Almighty +to reconstruct it. His son Ismayl, who from his infancy resided with his +mother Hadjer (Hagar) near the site of Mekka, assisted his father, who +had come from Syria to obey the commands of Allah: on digging, they +found the foundations which + +[p.163] had been laid by Adam. Being in want of a stone to fix into the +corner of the building as a mark from whence the Towaf, or holy walk +round it, was to commence, Ismayl went in search of one. On his way +towards Djebel Kobeys, he met the angel Gabriel, holding in his hand the +famous black stone. It was then of a refulgent bright colour, but became +black, says El Azraky, in consequence of its having suffered repeatedly +by fire, before and after the introduction of Islam. Others say its +colour was changed by the sins of those who touched it. At the day of +judgment, it will bear witness in favour of all those who have touched +it with sincere hearts, and will be endowed with sight and speech. + +After the well of Zemzem was miraculously created, and before Ibrahim +began to build the Kaaba, the Arab tribe of Beni Djorham, a branch of +the Amalekites, settled here, with the permission of Ismayl and his +mother, with whom they lived. Ismayl considered the well as his +property; but having intermarried with the Djorham tribe, they usurped, +after his death, the possession both of the well and the Kaaba. During +their abode in this valley, they rebuilt or thoroughly repaired the +Kaaba; but the well was choked up by the violence of torrents, and +remained so for nearly one thousand years. The tribe of Khozaa +afterwards kept possession of the Kaaba for three hundred years; and +their successors, of the tribe of Kossay Ibn Kelab, again rebuilt it; +for being constantly exposed to the devastations of torrents, it was +often in need of repair. It had hitherto been open at the top: they +roofed it; and from this period its history becomes less involved in +fable and uncertainty. + +An Arab of Kossay, named Ammer Ibn Lahay, first introduced idolatry +among his countrymen; he brought the idol, called Hobal, from Hyt, in +Mesopotamia, [See El Azraky.] and set it up at the Kaaba. Idolatry then +spread rapidly; and it seems that almost every Arab tribe chose its own +god or tutelar divinity; and that, considering the Kaaba as a Pantheon +common to them all, they frequented it in pilgrimage. The date-tree, +called Ozza, says Azraky, was worshipped by the tribe of + +[p.164] Khozaa; and the Beni Thekyf adored the rock called El Lat; a +large tree, called Zat Arowat, was revered by the Koreysh; the holy +places, Muna, Szafa, Meroua, had their respective saints or demi-gods; +and the historians give a long list of other deities. The number of +idols increased so much, that one was to be found in every house and +tent of this valley; and the Kaaba was adorned with three hundred and +sixty of them, corresponding probably to the days of the year. + +The tribe of Kossay were the first who built houses round the Kaaba; in +these they lived during the day, but in the evening they always returned +to their tents, pitched upon the neighbouring mountains. The successors +of the Beni Kossay at Mekka, or Bekka, (the name then applied to the +town,) were the Beni Koreysh. About their time the Kaaba was destroyed +by fire; they rebuilt it of wood, of a smaller size than it had been in +the time of the Kossay, but indicating by the wall Hedjer (already +described) its former limits. The roof was supported within by six +pillars; and the statue of Hobal, the Arabian Jupiter, was placed over a +well, then existing within the Kaaba. This happened during the youth of +Mohammed. All the idols were replaced in the new building; and El Azraky +adduces the ocular testimony of several respectable witnesses, to prove +a remarkable fact, (hitherto, I believe, unnoticed,) that the figure of +the Virgin Mary, with the young Aysa (Jesus) in her lap, was likewise +sculptured as a deity upon one of the six pillars nearest to the gate. + +The grandfather of Mohammed, Abd el Motalleb Ibn Hesham, had restored +the well of Zemzem by an excavation some time before the burning of the +Kaaba. + +When the victorious Mohammed entered the town of his fathers, he +destroyed the images in the temple, and abolished the idolatrous worship +of his countrymen; and his Mueddin, the negro Belal, called the Moslems +to prayers from the top of the Kaaba. + +The Koreysh had built a small town round the Kaaba, which they venerated +so much that no person was permitted to raise the roof of his house +higher than that of the sacred structure. The pilgrimage to this holy +shrine, which the pagan Arabs had instituted, was confirmed by Islam. + +[p.165] Omar Ibn Khatab first built a mosque round the Kaaba. In the +year of the Hedjra 17, having purchased from the Koreysh the small +houses which enclosed it, and carried a wall round the area, Othman Ibn +Affan, in A.H. 27, enlarged the square; and in A.H. 63, when the heretic +and rebel Yezyd was besieged at Mekka by Abdallah Ibn Zebeyr, the nephew +of Aysha, the Kaaba was destroyed by fire, some say accidentally, while +others affirm it to have been done by the slinging machines directed +against it by Yezyd from the top of Djebel Kobeys, where he had taken +post. After his expulsion, Ibn Zebeyr enlarged the enclosure of the wall +by purchasing some more houses of the Mekkawys, and by including their +site, after having levelled them, within the wall. He also rebuilt the +Kaaba upon an enlarged scale, raising it from eighteen pikes (its height +under the Koreysh) to twenty-seven pikes, or nearly equal to what it was +in the time of the Beni Kossay. He opened two doors into it, level with +the surface of the area, and constructed a double roof, supported by +three instead of six pillars, the former number. This new building was +twenty-five pikes in length, twenty in breadth on one side, and twenty- +one on the other. In the interior, the dry well, called Byr Ahsef, still +remained, wherein the treasures were deposited, particularly the golden +vessels that had been presented to the Kaaba. It was at this period +that the structure took the name of Kaaba, which is said to be derived +from kaab, a die or cube, the form which the building now assumed. Its +former title was the House of God, (Beitullah) or the Old House, a name +still often applied to it. + +Twenty years after the last-mentioned date, El Hadjadj Ibn Yousef el +Thakafy, then governor of Mekka, disliking the enlarged size of the +Kaaba, reduced it to the proportions it had in the time of the Koreysh, +cutting off six pikes from its length; he also restored the wall called +Hedjer, which Ibn Zebeyr had included within the building. The size then +given to the edifice is the same as that of the present structure, it +having been scrupulously adhered to in all the repairs or re-erections +which subsequently took place. + +Towards the end of the first century of the Hedjra, Wolyd Ibn Abd el +Melek was the first who reared columns in the mosque. He + +[p.166] caused their capitals to be covered with thin plates of gold, +and incurred a great expense for decorations: it is related that all the +golden ornaments which he gave to the building were sent from Toledo in +Spain, and carried upon mules through Africa and Arabia. + +Abou Djafar el Mansour, one of the Abassides, in A.H. 139, enlarged the +north and south sides of the mosque, and made it twice as large as it +had been before, so that it now occupied a space of forty-seven pikes +and a half in length. He also paved the ground adjoining the well of +Zemzem with marble. + +The Khalife El Mohdy added to the size of the mosque at two different +periods; the last time, in A.H. 163, he bought the ground required for +these additions from the Mekkawys, paying to them twenty-five dinars for +every square pike. It was this Khalife who brought the columns from +Egypt, as I have already observed. The improvements which he had begun, +were completed by his son El Hady. The roof of the colonnade was then +built of sadj, a precious Indian wood. The columns brought from Egypt by +El Mohdy, were landed at one day’s journey north of Djidda; but some +obstacles arising, they were not all transported to Mekka, some of them +having been abandoned on the sands near the shore. I mention this for +the sake of future travellers, who, on discovering them, might perhaps +consider them as the vestiges of some powerful Greek or Egyptian colony. + +The historians of Mekka remark, and not without astonishment, that the +munificent Khalife Haroun er Rasheid, although he repeatedly visited the +Kaaba, added nothing to the mosque, except a new pulpit, or mambar. + +A.H. 226. During the Khalifat of Motasem b’illah, the well of Zemzem was +covered above: it had before been enclosed all round, but not roofed. + +A.H. 241. The space between the Hedjer and the Kaaba was laid out with +fine marbles. At that time there was a gate leading into the space +enclosed within the Hedjer. + +The Khalife El Motaded, in A.H. 281, put the whole mosque into a +complete state of repair: he rebuilt its walls; made new gates, +assigning to them new names; and enlarged the building on the west + +[p.167] side, by adding to it the space formerly occupied by the +celebrated Dar el Nedowa; an ancient building of Mekka, well known in +the history of the Pagan Arabs, which had always been the common +council-house of the chiefs of Mekka. It is said to have stood near the +spot where the Makam el Hanefy is now placed. + +In A.H. 314, or, according to others, 301, Mekka and its temple +experienced great disasters. The army of the heretic sect of the +Carmates, headed by their chief, Abou Dhaher, invaded the Hedjaz, and +seized upon Mekka: fifty thousand of its inhabitants were slain during +the sack of the city, and the temple and the Kaaba were stripped of all +their valuable ornaments. After remaining twenty-one days, the enemy +departed, carrying with them the great jewel of Mekka, the black stone +of the Kaaba. During the fire which injured the Kaaba, in the time of +Ibn Zebeyr, the violent heat had split the stone into three pieces, +which were afterwards joined together again, and replaced in the former +situation, surrounded with a rim of silver; this rim was renewed and +strengthened by Haroun er Rasheid. + +The Carmates carried the stone to Hedjer, [Asamy says that the stone was +carried to El Hassa, near the Persian Gulf, a town which had been +recently built by Abou Dhaher. I find, in the Travels of Ibn Batouta, a +town in the province of El Hassa, called Hedjer.] a fertile spot in the +Desert, on the route of the Syrian caravan, north of Medina, which they +had chosen as one of their abodes. They hoped that all the moslems would +come to visit the stone, and that they should thus succeed to the riches +which the pilgrims from every part of the world had brought to Mekka. +Under this impression, Abou Dhaher refused an offer of fifty thousand +dinars as a ransom for the stone; but after his death, the Carmates, in +A.H. 339, voluntarily sent it back, having been convinced by experience +that their expectations of wealth, from the possession of it, were ill +founded, and that very few moslems came to Hedjer for the purpose of +kissing it. At this time it was in two pieces, having been split by a +blow from a Carmate during the plunder of Mekka. + +Seventy years after its restoration to its ancient seat, the stone + +[p.168] suffered another indignity: Hakem b’amr Illah, the mad king of +Egypt, who had some intentions of claiming divine honours for himself, +sent in A.H. 413, an Egyptian with the pilgrim caravan to Mekka, to +destroy the stone. With an iron club concealed beneath his clothes, the +man approached it, and exclaimed, “How long shall this stone be adored +and kissed? There is neither Mohammed nor Aly to prevent me from doing +this, and to-day I shall destroy this building!” He then struck it three +times with his club. A party of horsemen, belonging to the caravan in +which he had travelled from Egypt, were ready at the gates of the mosque +to assist the lithoclast, as soon as he should have executed his task; +but they were not able to protect him from the fury of the populace. He +was slain by the dagger of a native of Yemen; the horsemen were pursued; +and the whole Egyptian caravan was plundered on the occasion. + +Upon inspection, it was found that three small pieces, of the size of a +man’s nail, had been knocked off by the blows; these were pulverised, +and their dust kneaded into a cement, with which the fractures were +filled up. Since that time, the stone has sustained no further +misfortune, except in the year 1674, when it was found, one morning, +besmeared with dirt, together with the door of the Kaaba; so that every +one who kissed it, retired with a sullied face. The author of this +sacrilegious joke was sought in vain; suspicion fell upon some Persians, +but the fact could not be proved against them. [See Asamy for these +details.] + +The sanctity of the stone appears to have been greatly questioned by one +of the very pillars of Islam. El Azraky gives the testimony of several +witnesses, who heard Omar Ibn Khatab exclaim, while standing before it:-- +“I know thou art a mere stone, that can neither hurt nor help me; nor +should I kiss thee, had I not seen Mohammed do the same.” + +In A.H. 354, the Khalife El Mokteder built the vestibule near the gate +of the mosque, called Bab Ibrahim, which projects beyond the straight +line of the columns, and united in it two ancient gates, called + +[p.169] Bab Beni Djomah and Bab el Khayatein. From that time no further +improvements were made for several centuries. + +In A.H. 802, a fire completely destroyed the north and west sides of the +mosque: two years after, it was rebuilt at the expense of El Naszer +Feradj Ibn Dhaher Berkouk, Sultan of Egypt. The wood necessary for that +purpose was transported partly from Egypt and partly from Tayf, where +the tree Arar, a species of cypress or juniper, furnished good timber. + +In A.H. 906, Kansour el Ghoury, Sultan of Egypt, rebuilt the greater +part of the side of Bab Ibrahim; and to him the Hedjaz owes several +other public edifices. + +In A.H. 959, in the reign of Solyman Ibn Selim I., Sultan of +Constantinople, the roof of the Kaaba was renewed. + +In A.H. 980, the same Sultan rebuilt the side of the mosque towards the +street Mosaa, and caused all the domes to be raised which cover the roof +of the colonnades. He also placed the fine pavement, which is now round +the Kaaba, and a new pavement all around the colonnades. + +In A.H. 984, his son Murad repaired and partly rebuilt the three other +sides, that had not been touched by him. + +In the year 1039, (or 1626 of our era,) a torrent from Djebel Nour +rushed into the town, and filled the mosque so rapidly, that all the +persons then within it were drowned; whatever books, fine copies of the +Koran, &c. &c. were left in the apartments round the walls of the +building, were destroyed; and a part of the wall before the Kaaba, +called Hedjer, and three sides of the Kaaba itself, were carried away. +Five hundred souls perished in the town. In the following year the +damage was repaired, and the Kaaba rebuilt, after the side which had +escaped the fury of the torrent had been pulled down. + +In 1072, the building over the well Zemzem was erected, as it now +stands; and in 1079, the four Makams were built anew. + +After this time, the historians mention no other material repairs or +changes in the mosque; and I believe none took place in the eighteenth +century. We may, therefore, ascribe the building, as it now appears, +almost wholly to the munificence of the last Sultans of Egypt, and + +[p.170] their successors, the Osmanly Sultans of Constantinople, since +the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. + +In the autumn of 1816, several artists and workmen, sent from +Constantinople, were employed in the Hedjaz to repair all the damage +caused by the Wahabys in the chapels of the saints of that country, as +well as to make all the repairs necessary in the mosques at Mekka and +Medina. + +[p.171] DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL OTHER HOLY PLACES, + +VISITED BY PILGRIMS AT MEKKA, AND IN ITS NEIGHBOURHOOD. + +DURING the time of the Wahabys, no person dared to visit these places +without exposing himself to their hostility; and all the buildings which +had been erected on these spots were ruined by them, or their domes +were, at least, destroyed. + +In the town are shown:-- + +Mouled el Neby, the birth-place of Mohammed, in the quarter named from +it. In the time of Fasy a mosque stood near it, called Mesdjed el +Mokhtaba. During my stay, workmen were busily employed in re- +constructing the building over the Mouled upon its former plan. It +consists of a rotunda, the floor of which is about twenty-five feet +below the level of the street, with a staircase leading down to it. A +small hole is shown in the floor, in which Mohammed’s mother sat when +she was delivered of him. This is said to have been the house of +Abdillah, Mohammed’s father. + +Mouled Setna Fatme, or the birth-place of Fatme, the daughter of +Mohammed, is shown in a good stone building, said to have been the house +of her mother Khadidje, in the street called Zogag el Hadjar. A +staircase leads down to the floor of this building, which, like that of +the former, is considerably below the street. This small edifice +includes two holy places: in one is a hole, similar to that in the +Mouled el Neby, to mark the place where Fatme was born; and just by is +another, + +[p.172] of smaller depth, where she is said to have turned her hand- +mill, or rahha, after she was grown up. In an apartment near this, a +narrow cell is shown, where Mohammed used to sit, and receive from the +angel Gabriel the leaves of the Koran brought from heaven. This place is +called Kobbet el Wahy. + +Mouled el Imam Aly, in the quarter called Shab Aly. This is a small +chapel, in the floor of which a hole marks the spot where Aly, the +cousin of Mohammed, is said to have been born. + +Mouled Seydna Abou Beker, a small chapel, just opposite to the stone +which gave a salutation, “Salam Aleykum,” to Mohammed whenever he passed +it. No sacred spot is here shown; but its floor is covered with very +fine Persian carpets. + +All these Mouleds had undergone complete repair since the retreat of the +Wahabys, except that of Mohammed, on which the workmen were still +employed. The guardianship of these places is shared by several +families, principally Sherifs, who attend by turns, with a train of +servants. At every corner of the buildings are spread white handker- +chiefs, or small carpets, upon which visitors are expected to throw some +money; and the gates are lined with women, who occupy their seats by +right, and expect a contribution from the pilgrim’s purse. The value of +a shilling, distributed in paras at each of the Mouleds, fully answers +the expectation of the greedy and the indigent. + +Mouled Abou Taleb, in the Mala, is completely destroyed, as I have +already said; and will, probably, not be rebuilt. + +Kaber Setna Khadidje: the tomb of Khadidje, the wife of Mohammed, the +dome of which was broken down by the Wahabys, and is not yet rebuilt; it +is regularly visited by hadjys, especially on Friday mornings. It lies +in the large burial-ground of the Mala, at the declivity of the western +chain; is enclosed by a square wall, and presents no objects of +curiosity except the tomb-stone, which has a fine inscription in Cufic +characters, containing a passage of the Koran from the chapter entitled, +Souret el Kursy. As the character is not the ancient Cufic, I suspect +that the stone was not intended originally to cover this grave: there is +no date in the inscription. The Sherif Serour, predecessor of Ghaleb, +had the vanity, on his death-bed, to order his family + +[p.173] to bury his body close to the tomb of Khadidje, in the same +enclosure where it still remains. At a short distance from hence, the +tomb of Umna, the mother of Mohammed, is shown. It was covered with a +slab of fine marble, bearing a Cufic inscription, in an older character +than the former. The Wahabys broke it, and removed the two pieces, to +show their indignation at the visits paid to the receptacles of the +bones of mortals, which was, in their estimation, a species of idolatry. +Even at these tombs I found women, to whom permission was granted to +spread their handkerchiefs, and ask alms of every visitor. + +In walking about these extensive cemeteries, I found many other tomb- +stones with Cufic inscriptions, but not in a very ancient character. I +could decipher no date prior to the sixth century of the Hedjra (the +twelfth of our era); but the greater part of them contain mere prayers, +without either the name of the deceased, or a date. The tombs, in +general, are formed of four large stones placed in an oblong square, +with a broad stone set upright at one end, bearing the inscription. I +saw no massive tomb or turban cut in stone, or any such ornament as is +used in other parts of Asia. A few small buildings have been raised by +the first families of Mekka, to enclose the tombs of their relations; +they are paved inside, but have no roof, and are of the most simple +construction. In two or three of them I found trees planted, which are +irrigated from cisterns built within the enclosure for the reception of +rain-water: here, the families to whom they belong sometimes pass the +day. Of several buildings, surmounted with domes, in which men +celebrated for their learning had been interred, the domes were +invariably broken down by the Wahabys: these fanatics, however, never +touched the tombs themselves, and every where respected the remains of +the dead. Among the tombs are those of several Pashas of Syria and of +Egypt, constructed with little ornament. + +At the extremity of almost every tomb, opposite to the epitaph, I found +the low shrub saber, a species of aloe, planted in the ground: it is an +evergreen, and requires very little water, as its Arabic name, saber, +(patience) implies: it is chosen for this purpose from an allusion to +the patience necessary in waiting for the resurrection. On the whole, +this burial-ground is in a state of ruin, caused, it is said, by the +devastations + +[p.174] of the Wahabys; but, I believe, still more by the little care +which the Mekkawys take of the graves containing the bodies of their +relations and friends. + +The places visited out of the town are:-- + +Djebel Abou Kobeys. This mountain is one of the highest in the immediate +neighbourhood of the town, and commands it from the east. Muselman +tradition says that it was the first mountain created upon earth; its +name is found in almost every Arabic historian and poet. Two different +spots upon its summit are visited by the pilgrims. The one is called +Mekan el Hedjar (the spot of the stone), where Omar, who afterwards +succeeded to the Khalifat, used to call the people to prayers, in the +first years of Islam, when the Koreysh or inhabitants of Mekka were, for +the greater part, idolaters. Here is shown a cavity cut in the rock, +resembling a small tomb, in which it is said that God, at the deluge, +ordered the guardian angels to place the black stone, revered by them +long before Abraham built the Kaaba, and to make the rock unite over it, +that the waters might not touch it; and that, after the deluge, the +angel Gabriel split the rock, and conveyed the stone back to the site of +the Kaaba. The other place of visit, or Zyara, is across a narrow +valley, at a short distance from the former, on the summit of the +mountain; it is called Mekan Shak el Kamr, or place where the moon was +split-one of Mohammed’s greatest miracles. The story, however, is now +differently related by the Mekkawys, who say that, when he was praying +here at mid-day, the first people among the incredulous Koreysh came and +desired him to convince them at once, by some miracles, [It is recorded +by historians, that at the desire of some unbelieving Koreysh, he caused +the full moon to appear as if cleft asunder, so that one half was +visible behind Djebel Abou Kobeys, and the other at the opposite side of +the hemisphere, above Djebel Kaykaan.] that he was really the prophet of +the Almighty. “What shall I do,” he replied, “to make you true +believers?” “Let the sun retire,” said they, “and the moon and stars +appear; let the moon descend upon earth, come to this mountain, enter +into one of the sleeves of your gown, issue by the other, return to the +firmament, and then let day-light shine again upon us.” Mohammed +retired, addressed a short prayer to the Deity, and the whole miracle +was forthwith + +[p.175] performed; after which the Koreysh were converted. These and +similar tales, applied to different places by the Mekkawys, for the +purpose of extorting money from the pilgrims, are quite unsupported by +the authenticated traditions of the prophet. To this spot the people of +Mekka resort, that they may enjoy a view of the new moon of Ramadhan, +and of the month following it. Between these two places, and a little to +the east of them, are the ruins of a solid building, some walls only +remaining. It is said to have formerly been a state prison of the +sherifs of Mekka. In it are several dungeon-like towers, and it was +probably a castle built upon Djebel Kobeys by Mekether el Hashemy, a +chief of Mekka, about the year 530 or 540 of the Hedjra; or it may have +been a mosque called Mesdjid Ibrahim, which, according to Azraky, stood +here in the seventh century of our era. It is vulgarly believed at +Mekka that whoever eats a roasted sheep’s head upon Djebel Kobeys, will +be for ever cured of all head-aches. + +Djebel Nour, the mountain of light. This lies to the north of the town. +Passing the Sherif’s garden-house on the road towards Arafat, a little +further on, we enter a valley, which extends in a direction N.E. by N. +and is terminated by the mountain, which is conical. Steps were formerly +cut in the steep ascent, but they are now ruined; and it required three +quarters of an hour, and much fatiguing exertion, to reach the top. In +the rocky floor of a small building, ruined by the Wahabys, a cleft is +shown, about the size of a man in length and breadth. It is said that +Mohammed, wearied, and grieved at the assertions of his enemies and +dubious adherents at Mekka, who had given out that God had entirely +abandoned him, retired to this mountain, and stretched himself out in +the cleft, imploring help from above. The angel Gabriel was despatched +to him with that short chapter of the Koran, which we call the ninety- +fourth, beginning with the words “Have we not gladdened thy breast?”--the +previous chapter alludes also to his state of grief. A little below this +place is a small cavern in the red granite rock, which forms the upper +stratum of this mountain; it is called Mogharat el Hira. [In the time of +the Pagan Arabs this mountain was called Djebel Hira. I may here add, +that a great many mountains and valleys in the Hedjaz have lost their +ancient names. This is amply proved by the topographical notices of +Azraky, of the historians of Medina, and of Zamakhshary, in his valuable +work entitled El Myat o’ el djebal.] Here several other passages + +[p.176] of the Koran are said to have been revealed to the prophet, who +often repaired to this elevated spot; but none of those present could +tell me what those passages were. The guardians of these two places are +Bedouins of the tribe of Lahyan (or Laha-yn). + +I had left Mekka on foot, at night, with a large party of hadjys, to +visit this place, which is usually done on Saturdays. We were on the +summit before dawn; and when the sun rose, a very extensive view +presented itself to the north and west, the other points being bounded +by mountains. The country before us had a dreary aspect, not a single +green spot being visible: barren black and grey hills, and white sandy +valleys, were the only objects in sight. On the declivity of the +mountain, a little way from the top, is a small stone reservoir, built +to supply the visitors with water. It was dry when I saw it, and in bad +repair. + +Djebel Thor. About an hour and a half south of Mekka, to the left of the +road to the village of Hosseynye, is a lofty mountain of this name, +higher, it is said, than Djebel Nour. On the summit of it is a cavern in +which Mohammed and his friend Abou Beker took refuge from the Mekkawys +before he fled to Medina. A spider had spun its web before the entrance, +and his pursuers seeing this, supposed, of course, that the fugitives +could not be within. To this circumstance an allusion is made in the +Koran (chap. ix.) I did not visit the spot. + +El Omra. Of this building I have already spoken: it is a small chapel +with a single row of columns, on the road to Wady Fatme. Every pilgrim +is required to visit it; but he is left to his own discretion respecting +the places before mentioned. The Omra is surrounded by ruins of several +habitations: there is a copious well near it, and traces of cultivation +are seen in the valley. I believe the well to be that called by the +historians of Mekka “Bir Tenaym.” According to Fasy, a mosque, called +Mesdjed Ahlyledje, stood here in the earliest times of Islam. I shall +conclude my description of Mekka with that of + +[p.177] the opening of the Kaaba, which I deferred, that the description +of the mosque might not be interrupted. + +The Kaaba is opened only three times in the year: on the 20th of the +month of Ramadhan, on the 15th of Zulkade, and on the 10th of Moharram +(or Ashour, as the Arabs call it). The opening takes place one hour +after sun-rise, when the steps are wheeled up to the gate of the +building: as soon as they touch the wall, immense crowds rush upon them, +and in a moment fill the whole interior of the Kaaba. The steps are +lined by the eunuchs of the mosque, who endeavour in vain to keep order, +and whose sticks fall heavy upon those who do not drop a fee into their +hands; many of the crowd, however, are often unmercifully crushed. In +the interior every visitor is to pray eight rikats, or make sixteen +prostrations; in every corner of it two rikats: but it may easily be +conceived how these prayers are performed, and that while one is bowing +down, another walks over him. After the prayers are finished, the +visitor is to lean with extended arms against any part of the wall, with +his face pressed against it, and thus to recite two pious ejaculations. +Sobbing and moaning fill the room; and I thought I perceived most +heartfelt emotions and sincere repentance in many of the visitors: the +following, and other similar ejaculations, are heard, and many faces are +bedewed with tears: “O God of the house, O God forgive me, and forgive +my parents, and my children! O God, admit me into paradise! O God, +deliver our necks from hell-fire, O thou God of the old house!” I could +not stay longer than five minutes; the heat was so great that I almost +fainted, and several persons were carried out with great difficulty, +quite senseless. + +At the entrance sits a Sherif, holding the silver key of the Kaaba in +his hand, which he presents to be kissed by the pilgrim, who for this +pays a fee, on coming out; money is also given to a eunuch, who sits by +that Sherif. Some eunuchs on the steps, and several menial officers and +servants on the pavement below, which surrounds the Kaaba, expect also +to be paid. I heard many hadjys animadvert severely upon this shameful +practice, saying that the most holy spot upon earth should not be made +the scene of human avarice and greediness; but the Mekkawys are +invulnerable to such reproaches. + +[p.178] The Kaaba remains open till about eleven o’clock. On the +following day it is opened exclusively for women. After visiting the +Kaaba it is thought necessary to perform the towaf round it. + +The interior of the Kaaba consists of a single room, the roof of which +is supported by two columns, and it has no other light than what is +received by the door. The ceiling, the upper half of the two columns, +and the side walls, to within about five feet of the floor, are hung +with a thick stuff of red silk, richly interwoven with flowers and +inscriptions in large characters of silver; the lower part of each +column is lined with carved aloe-wood; and that part of the walls below +the silk hangings is lined with fine white marble, ornamented with +inscriptions cut in relief, and with elegant arabesques; the whole being +of exquisite workmanship. The floor, which is upon a level with the +door, and therefore about seven feet above the level of the area of the +mosque, is laid with marble of different colours. Between the pillars +numerous lamps are suspended, donations of the faithful, and said to be +of solid gold; they were not touched by the Wahabys. [Kotobeddyn relates, +that the Sheikhs of Mekka stole the golden lamps suspended in the Kaaba, +and conveyed them away in the wide sleeves of their gowns. Many golden +lamps were sent here by Sultan Soleyman.] In the north-west corner of +the chamber is a small gate, which leads up to the flat roof of the +building. I observed nothing else worthy of remark; but the room is so +dark, that it requires some time before any thing can be seen in it. The +interior ornaments are coeval with the restoration of the Kaaba, which +took place A.D. 1627. I am unacquainted with any holy ceremony observed +in washing the floor of the Kaaba, as mentioned in the Travels of Aly +Bey el Abasy: I have seen the Towasheys perform that duty, in the same +manner as on the pavement around it; although it appears from the +history of Asamy, that the floor of the Kaaba is sometimes washed by +great personages. + +The visit to the interior of the Kaaba forms no part of the religious +duty of the pilgrim, and many of them quit Mekka without seeing it. I +saw it twice; on the 15th of Zulkade, and the 10th of Moharram. At the +latter period the new hangings, brought from Cairo by Mohammed Aly, had +been put up: they were of very rich stuff, much finer and + +[p.179] closer in texture than the black exterior cover. The old +hangings, which had been up for more than twenty years, were now +publicly sold to devotees at the rate of about one dollar for a +piece of six inches square. The right of offering these hangings +was in the person who gave the exterior kessoua, though exceptions +sometimes occurred, as in A.H. 865, when Shah Rokh, king of Persia, +sent a magnificent covering for the interior. [See Kotobeddyn.] + +Before the gate called Bab-es-Salam is a shop where pieces both of the +exterior and interior coverings are constantly for sale: those of the +latter are most esteemed. I have seen waistcoats made of them, which, of +course, are reckoned the safest coat of mail that one of the faithful +can wear. In the same shop are sold drawings of Mekka and Medina, done +in a coarse and most gaudy style upon paper or linen, and small +impressions of prayers, &c. from engravings on wood. I bought some of +these, for the same purpose as the Zemzem bottles which I took front +hence. + +[p.180] REMARKS ON THE INHABITANTS OF MEKKA AND DJIDDA. + +MEKKA and Djidda are inhabited by the same class of people; and their +character and customs are the same. I have already remarked that all the +rich Mekkawys have houses at Djidda, and that the commercial employments +of the two cities are alike. + +The inhabitants of Mekka may be all styled foreigners, or the offspring +of foreigners, except a few Hedjaz Bedouins, or their descendants, who +have settled here. The ancient tribe of Koreysh, which was divided into +a wandering and a settled branch, is almost extinct. There are some +Bedouins of Koreysh still in the neighbourhood; but the settled Koreysh, +who were the inhabitants of Mekka in the time of Mohammed, have either +been destroyed, or have migrated, in consequence of the frequent +intestine wars. At this moment three Koreysh families only, descendants +of the ancient tribe of that name, are found at Mekka, the head of one +of which is the Nayb, or keeper of the mosque; and the two others are +poor people, also attached to its service. The neighbourhood of the +great mart of Djidda, the yearly arrival of immense caravans, and the +holy house, have attracted, however, a sufficient number of strangers to +supply the place of the Koreysh. In every hadj some of the pilgrims +remain behind: the Mohammedan, whenever resident for any time in a town, +takes a wife, and is thus often induced to settle permanently on the +spot. Hence most of the Mekkawys are descendants of foreigners from +distant parts of the + +[p.181] globe, who have adopted Arabian manners, and, by intermarrying, +have produced a race which can no longer be distinguished from the +indigenous Arabians. On questioning shopkeepers, merchants, olemas, +metowafs, and indeed people of every description, they are found to be +the sons, grandsons, or descendants of foreigners. The most numerous are +those whose fathers came from Yemen and Hadramaut; next to them in +numbers are the descendants of Indians, Egyptians, Syrians, Mogrebyns, +and Turks. There are also Mekkawys of Persian origin; Tatars, Bokhars, +Kurds, Afghans; in short, of almost every Mohammedan country in the +world. The Mekkawy is careful in preserving, by tradition, the knowledge +of his original country. My metowaf or guide traced his descent to an +Usbek Tatar, from the neighbourhood of Bokhara, and whenever any hadjys +arrived from that quarter, he never failed to recommend himself as their +guide, though entirely ignorant of their language. + +There is, however, one branch of the ancient Arabians remaining in +Mekka; these are the native Sherifs, (as distinguished from the +descendants of foreign Sherifs who have settled here:) they derive their +pedigree from Hassan and Hosseyn, the sons of Fatme, the daughter of +Mohammed; a descent claimed equally by the other Sherifs, but whose +genealogies are supposed to be less authentic. The Mekka Sherifs form a +large class, into which no foreigners are admitted, and it is spreading +over many other parts of Arabia. I am not thoroughly acquainted with +their history, or the period at which they began to branch out into +particular tribes; and I can only state that they acknowledge many, but +not all Sherifs of Yemen, and other parts of the Hedjaz, as their +distant relations: at present they are divided into several tribes, out +of one of which the reigning Sherif must be chosen, as I shall mention +below. At Mekka a difference is observed in the name given to the +Sherifs, according to their profession. Those who are employed in study +and the law, and occupied more or less about the temple and its +dependencies are called Seyd, while those who become soldiers, and mix +in state affairs, are known exclusively by the term Sherif. The Seyds +are followers of religion (say the Mekkawys), the Sherifs are soldiers. +The son usually follows the vocation of the + +[p.182] father. These native Sherifs are the head men of the town, or +at least were so before their pride was broken by the Turkish conquest. + +Though a mixed population, the inhabitants of Mekka wear the same sort +of dress, and have the same customs; and although of different origin, +they seem to be much less tenacious of their national costume and +manners in this holy city than any where else. In Syria and Egypt, +strangers from all parts of Asia retain with the greatest strictness the +dress and mode of living of their native countries, though established +for life in their new abodes; a circumstance which renders the view of +an eastern bazar infinitely more interesting than any large assemblage +of people in Europe. In the Hedjaz, on the contrary, most of the foreign +visitors change their native costume for that of the people of the +country; and their children born there are brought up and clothed in the +fashion of the Mekkawys. The Indians, as I have already remarked in +speaking of Djidda, offer an exception to this general rule; they form a +distinct colony, and retain their native language, which the children of +other strangers usually forget, their mothers being in many instances +Arabs, natives of Mekka. + +The colour of the Mekkawy and Djiddawy is a yellowish sickly brown, +lighter or darker according to the origin of the mother, who is very +often an Abyssinian slave. Their features approach much nearer to those +of Bedouins than I have observed in any townsmen of the East; this is +particularly observable in the Sherifs, who are gifted with very +handsome countenances; they have the eye, face, and aquiline nose of the +Bedouin, but are more fleshy. The lower class of Mekkawys are generally +stout, with muscular limbs, while the higher orders are distinguishable +by their meagre emaciated forms, as are also all those inhabitants who +draw their origin from India or Yemen. The Bedouins who surround Mekka, +though poor, are much stronger-bodied than the wealthier Bedouins of the +interior of the Desert, probably because their habits are less roving, +and because they are less exposed to the hardships of long journies. The +Mekkawy, it may be generally said, is inferior in strength and size to +the Syrian or Egyptian, but far exceeds him in expressive features, and +especially in the vivacity and brilliancy of the eye. + +[p.183] All the male natives of Mekka and Djidda are tattooed with a +particular mark, which is performed by their parents when they are forty +days of age. It consists of three long cuts down both cheeks; and two on +the right temple, the scars of which, sometimes three or four lines in +breadth, remain through life. It is called Meshále. The Bedouins do not +follow this practice; but the Mekkawys pride themselves in the +distinction, which precludes the other inhabitants of the Hedjaz from +claiming, in foreign countries, the honour of being born in the holy +cities. This tattooing is sometimes, though very seldom, applied to +female children. The people of Bornou, in the interior of Africa, have a +similar, though much slighter, mark on both cheeks. + +The dress of the higher classes, in winter, is a cloth benish, or upper +cloak; and a djubbe, or under cloak, likewise of cloth, and such as is +worn in all parts of Turkey. A showy silk gown, tied with a thin +cashmere sash, a white muslin turban, and yellow slippers, constitute +the rest of the dress. In summer, instead of the cloth benish, they wear +one of very slight silk stuff, of Indian manufacture, called Moktar +khána. + +The highest classes, who affect the Turkish fashion in their dress, wear +red Barbary caps under the turban; those of the other classes are of +linen richly embroidered with silk, the work of the women of Mekka, and +a common present from a woman to her lover: on the top sometimes are +embroidered in large characters sentences of the Koran. + +The gowns of well-dressed people of the middle class are generally of +white India muslin, without any lining; they are called beden, and +differ from the common Levantine antery, in being very short, and +without sleeves, and in being of course much cooler: over the beden a +djubbe of light cloth, or Indian silk stuff, is worn, which, in time of +great heat, a man throws over his shoulders; the gown and under-shirt +are then his only covering. The shirts are of Indian silk or Egyptian or +Anatolian linen, and as fine as the wearer can afford to purchase. + +The lower classes usually wear, at least in summer, nothing but a shirt, +and instead of trowsers a piece of yellow Indian nankin, or + +[p.184] striped Egyptian linen round their loins; over this, in winter, +they have a beden of striped Indian calico, but without a belt to tie it +round the body. + +The lower and middle classes wear sandals instead of shoes, a custom +very agreeable in this hot climate, as it contributes to the coolness of +the feet. The best sandals come from Yemen, where all kinds of leather +manufacture seem to flourish. + +In summer, many people, and all the lower Indians, wear the cap only, +without the turban. The usual turban is of Indian cambric, or muslin, +which each class ties round the head in a particular kind of fold. Those +who style themselves Olemas, or learned doctors, allow the extremity to +fall down in a narrow stripe to the middle of their back. The Mekkawys +are cleaner in their dress than any Eastern people I have seen. As white +muslin, or white cambric, forms the principal part of their clothing, it +requires frequent washing; and this is regularly done, so that even the +poorest orders endeavour to change their linen at least once a week. +With the higher and middle classes, the change is, of course, more +frequent. The rich wear every day a different dress; and it is no +uncommon thing with many to possess thirty or forty suits. The people of +the Hedjaz delight in dress much more than the northern Mohammedans; and +the earnings of the lower classes are mostly spent in clothes. When a +Mekkawy returns home from his shop, or even after a short walk into the +town, he immediately undresses, hangs up his clothes over a cord tied +across his sitting-room, takes off his turban, changes his shirt, and +then seats himself upon his carpet, with a thin under-cap upon his head. +In this dishabille they receive visitors; and to delineate a Mekkawy, he +should be represented sitting in his undress, near a projecting latticed +window, having in one hand a sort of fan, generally of this form, [not +included] made of chippings of date-leaves, with which he drives away +the flies; and in the other, the long snake of his Persian pipe. + +[p.185] On feast-days they display their love of dress in a still higher +degree; from the richest to the poorest, every one must then be dressed +in a new suit of clothes; and if he cannot afford to buy, he hires one +from the dealers for two or three days. On these occasions, as much as +one hundred piastres are sometimes given for the hire of a dress, worth +altogether, perhaps, fifteen hundred or two thousand piastres. No one is +then content with a dress suited to his station in life, but assumes +that of the class above him. The common shopkeeper, who walks about the +whole year in his short gown, with a napkin round his loins, appears in +a pink-coloured benish, lined with satin, a gold-embroidered turban, a +rich silk sash, worked with silver thread, and a djombye, or crooked +knife, stuck in his sash, the scabbard of which is covered with coins of +silver and gold. The children are dressed out in the same expensive +manner; and a person would submit to be called a thief, rather than +allow those of equal rank to exceed him in finery. In general, the most +gaudy colours are preferred; and the upper cloak must always be a +contrast in colour to the garment worn beneath it. During festivals, +cashmere shawls are also worn, though seldom seen at other times, except +on women, and the warlike Sherifs; but every Mekkawy in easy +circumstances has an assortment of them in his wardrobe. After the +feast, the fine suit is laid aside, and every one returns to his wonted +station. Every grown-up Mekkawy carries a long stick; among the lower +orders, they may rather be called bludgeons. An olema is never seen +without his stick. Few persons go armed, except among the lower classes, +or the Sherifs, who carry crooked knives in their belts. + +The women of Mekka and Djidda dress in Indian silk gowns, and very large +blue striped trowsers, reaching down to the ankles, and embroidered +below with silver thread; over these they wear the wide gown called +habra, of black silk stuff, used in Egypt and Syria; or a blue and white +striped silk mellaye of Indian manufacture. The face is concealed by a +white, or light blue borko; on the head, covered by the mellaye, they +wear a cap like the men’s, around which a piece of coloured muslin is +tightly twisted in folds. The head-dress is said to + +[p.186] be less ornamented with gold coins, pearls, and jewels, than +that of the ladies of Egypt and Syria; but they have, at least, one +string of sequins tied round it: many have gold necklaces, bracelets, +and silver ankle-rings. The poorer women wear the blue Egyptian shirt, +and large trowsers, like those already mentioned; and bracelets of horn, +glass, or amber. + +The children of Mekka are not so spoiled by their parents as they are in +other countries of the East; as soon as they can walk freely, they are +allowed to play in the street before the house, clad in very light +clothes, or rather half-naked. On this account, probably, they are +stouter and healthier than the bandaged children of Syria and Egypt; of +whom it may be truly said that they are often nursed to death. + +There are few families at Mekka, in moderate circumstances, that do not +keep slaves. Mohammed found the African slave-trade so firmly +established in Arabia, that he made no effort to abolish it; and thus he +has confirmed, and extended throughout Northern Africa, this traffic, +with all its attendant cruelties, besides those which have followed the +propagation of Islam. The male and female servants are negroes, or +noubas, usually brought from Sowakin: the concubines are always +Abyssinian slaves. No wealthy Mekkawy prefers domestic peace to the +gratification of his passions; they all keep mistresses in common with +their lawful wives: but if a slave gives birth to a child, the master +generally marries her, or, if he fails to do so, is censured by the +community. The keeping of Abyssinian concubines is still more prevalent +at Djidda. Many Mekkawys have no other than Abyssinian wives, finding +the Arabians more expensive, and less disposed to yield to the will of +the husband. The same practice is adopted by many foreigners, who reside +in the Hedjaz for a short time. Upon their arrival, they buy a female +companion, with the design of selling her at their departure; but +sometimes their stay is protracted; the slave bears a child; they marry +her, and become stationary in the town. There are very few men +unmarried, or without a slave. This, indeed, is general in the East, and +no where more so than at Mekka. The + +[p.187] mixture of Abyssinian blood has, no doubt, given to the Mekkawys +that yellow tinge of the skin which distinguishes them from the natives +of the Desert. + +Among the richer classes, it is considered shameful to sell a concubine +slave. If she bears a child, and the master has not already four legally +married wives, he takes her in matrimony; if not, she remains in his +house for life; and in some instances the number of concubines is +increased to several dozen, old and young. The middling and lower +classes in Mekka are not so scrupulous as their superiors: they buy up +young Abyssinians on speculation; educate them in the family; teach them +cooking, sewing, &c.; and then sell them at a profit to foreigners, at +least such as prove barren. I have been informed by physicians, barbers, +and druggists, that the practice of causing abortion is frequent here. +The seed of the tree which produces the balsam of Mekka, is the drug +commonly used for this purpose. The Mekkawys make no distinction +whatever between sons born of Abyssinian slaves and those of free +Arabian women. + +The inhabitants of Mekka have but two kinds of employment,--trade, and +the service of the Beitullah, or Temple; but the former has the +preference, and there are very few olemas, or persons employed in the +mosque, who are not engaged in some commercial affairs, though they are +too proud to pursue them openly. The reader has probably remarked, in +the foregoing description of Mekka, how few artisans inhabit its +streets; such as masons, carpenters, tailors, shoemakers, smiths, &c., +and these are far inferior, in skill, to the same class in Egypt. With +the exception of a few potteries and dying-houses, the Mekkawys have not +a single manufactory; but, like the people of Djidda, are dependent upon +other countries for a supply of their wants. Mekka, therefore, has +necessarily a considerable degree of foreign commerce, which is chiefly +carried on, during the pilgrimage, and some months preceding it, by the +wealthy hadjys, who bring from every Muselman country its native +productions to Djidda, either by sea or across the Desert from Damascus, +exchanging them amongst each other; or receiving from the merchants of +Mekka the goods of India and Arabia, which the latter have accumulated +the whole year in + +[p.188] their warehouses. At this period, Mekka becomes one of the +largest fairs of the East, and certainly the most interesting, from the +variety of nations which frequent it. The value of the exports from +Mekka is, however, greatly superior to that of the imports, and a +considerable sum of money, in dollars and sequins, required to balance +them. Of these, some part finds its way to Yemen and India; and about +one-fourth remains in the hands of the Mekkawys. So profitable is this +trade, that the goods bought at Djidda from the merchants, who purchase +them out of the ships which arrive there from India, yield, when sold +wholesale at Mekka, during the Hadj, a clear gain of twenty to thirty +per cent., and of fifty per cent. when sold in retail. It is not +surprising, therefore, that all the people of Mekka are merchants. +Whoever can make up a sum of a few hundred dollars, repairs to Djidda, +and lays it out on goods, which he exposes for sale during the +pilgrimage. Much profit is also fraudulently made: great numbers of +hadjys are ignorant of the Arabic language, and are consequently placed +in the hands of brokers or interpreters, who never fail to make them pay +dearly for their services; indeed, all Mekka seems united in the design +of cheating the pilgrims. + +Formerly, when the caravans enjoyed perfect security on the road, goods +were chiefly transported by land to. Mekka: at present, few merchants +trust their property to the hazards of a passage across the Desert; they +rather forego the advantage of importing them into Mekka duty-free, the +great privilege possessed by the caravans, and carry them by sea to +Djidda, on which road all the hadjys of Africa and Turkey pay a double +duty; once in Egypt, and again at Djidda both duties are received by +Mohammed Aly. At present, therefore, the smaller traffic only is carried +on by the caravans, which remain but a few days at Mekka. The +shopkeepers and retail dealers of the city derive greater profits from +them than the wholesale merchants. The principal business of the latter +occurs during the months previous to the pilgrimage, when foreign +merchants arrive by the way of Djidda, and have full leisure to settle +their affairs before the Hadj takes place. + +In time of peace with the interior, there is a considerable trade + +[p.189] with the Bedouins, and especially with the inhabitants of the +towns of Nedjed, who are in want of India goods, drugs, and articles of +dress, which they procure either from Medina, or at a cheaper rate from +Mekka. Coffee, so much used in the Desert, is imported by the people of +Nedjed themselves, who send their own caravans to the coffee country of +Yemen. + +The Mekkawys, especially those who are not sufficiently opulent to trade +in India goods, (which require a good deal of ready cash, and lie +sometimes long on hand,) employ their capital during the interval of the +Hadj, in the traffic of corn and provisions. This was much more +profitable formerly than it is at present; for Mohammed Aly having made +these articles a monopoly, the people are now obliged to purchase the +grain in Djidda, at the Pasha’s own price, and to be contented with a +moderate gain on re-selling it at Mekka. After paying freight, however, +it still leaves a profit of fifteen or twenty per cent.; and it is a +species of traffic peculiarly attractive to the smaller capitals, as, +the prices being very variable, it is a lottery by which money may +sometimes be doubled in a short time. + +At the approach of the pilgrimage, every kind of provision rises in +value; and, in a smaller proportion, every other article of trade. Those +who have warehouses filled with corn, rice, and biscuits, are sure to +obtain considerable profits. To provide food, during their stay, for an +influx of population amounting to sixty thousand human beings, and for +twenty thousand camels, together with provisions for their return +homewards, is a matter of no small moment, and Mohammed Aly has not yet +ventured to take the whole of it into his hands. Every Mekkawy +possessing a few dollars, lays them out in the purchase of some kind of +provision, which, when the Hadj approaches, he transports upon his ass +from Djidda to Mekka. + +Whenever the interior of Arabia is open to caravans, Bedouins from all +the surrounding parts purchase their yearly provision of corn at Mekka; +which itself also, in time of peace, receives a considerable quantity of +corn from Yemen, especially Mokhowa, a town which is ten days’ journey +distant, at the western foot of the great chain, and the mart of the +Arabs who cultivate those mountains. I heard that + +[p.190] the imports from Mokhowa amounted to half the demand of Mekka; +but this seems doubtful, though I have no means of forming a correct +estimate, as the route is at present unfrequented, and Mekka receives +its provisions wholly from Djidda. The consumption of grain, it may be +observed, is much greater in Arabia than in any of the surrounding +countries; the great mass of the population living almost entirely upon +wheat, barley, lentils, or rice; using no vegetables, but a great deal +of butter. + +Unless a person is himself engaged in commercial concerns, or has an +intelligent friend among the wholesale merchants, it is difficult, if +not impossible, for him to obtain any accurate details of so extensive a +trade as that carried on by Mekka. I shall, therefore, abstain from +making any partial, and, on that account, probably erroneous remarks, on +its different branches, with which I am not well acquainted, and which I +could find no one at Mekka to explain to me. + +It will naturally be supposed that Mekka is a rich town: it would be +still more so, if the lower classes did not so rapidly spend their gains +in personal indulgences. The wholesale merchants are rich; and as the +whole of their business is carried on with ready money, they are less +exposed to losses than other Eastern merchants. Most of them have an +establishment at Djidda, and the trade of both towns is closely +connected. During the time of the Wahabys, the interior of Arabia was +opened to Mekka; but the foreign imports, by sea and land, were reduced +to what was wanted for the use of the inhabitants. The great fair of the +pilgrimage no longer took place; and although some foreign hadjys still +visited the holy city, they did not trust their goods to the chance of +being seized by the Wahabys. Under these circumstances, the principal +inducement with the Mekkawys to remain in the town, namely, their +unceasing gains, no longer existed. The rich waited for a renewal of the +Hadj caravans; but many of the poor, unable longer to find subsistence, +retired from Mekka, and settled at Djidda, or other harbours on the Red +Sea; whither they have been followed by many of the more respectable +traders. + +Trade is carried on by means of brokers, many of whom are Indians: in +general, the community of Indians is the wealthiest in + +[p.191] Mekka. They are in direct intercourse with all the harbours of +Hindostan, and can often afford to undersell their competitors. + +Many of them, as has been already observed, are stationary here, while +others are constantly travelling backward and forward between India and +the Hedjaz. They all retain their native language, which they teach +their children, and also many merchants of Mekka superficially, so that +most of the latter understand, at least, the Hindostanee numerals, and +the most ordinary phrases employed in buying and selling. The Indians +labour under great difficulties in learning Arabic; I never heard any of +them, however long resident in the Hedjaz, speak it with a tolerable +accent: in this respect they are inferior to the Turks, whose +pronunciation of Arabic so often affords subject of ridicule to the +Arabian mob. The children of Indians, born at Mekka, of course speak +Arabic as their native language. The Indians have the custom of writing +Arabic with Hindostanee characters. + +They are said to be extremely parsimonious; and, from what I saw of them +in the houses of some of their first merchants, they seem to deserve the +character. They are shrewd traders, and an overmatch, sometimes, even +for the Arabians. They are despicable, from their want of charity; but +they display among themselves a spirited manner, which makes them +respected, and even sometimes dreaded, at Mekka. Many of them have +partners in India; consequently they receive their goods cheaper than +they can be bought from the Indian ships at Djidda: hence the inferior +dealers and shopkeepers at Mekka often find it more convenient to +purchase from them at short credit, than to go to Djidda, where every +thing must be paid for in ready money. With the exception of one or two +houses, no Arabian merchants of Mekka receive their goods direct from +India, but purchase them from the India fleet. Of all the people at +Mekka none are more strict in the performance of their religious rites +than the Indians. + +Dealers, when bargaining in the presence of others from whom they wish +to conceal their business, join their right hands under the corner of +the gown or sleeve of one of the parties; by touching the different +joints of the fingers they note the numerals, and thus silently conclude +their bargain. + +[p.192] The Mekkawys who do not ostensibly follow commerce, are attached +to the government, or to the establishment of the mosque; but as I have +already said, they all engage, more or less, in some branch of traffic, +and the whole population looks forward to the period of the Hadj as the +source of their income. + +The persons attached to the mosque have regular salaries, partake in the +general presents made to it, expect many private donations from +charitable devotees, and share in the stipends which are brought by the +Syrian and Egyptian caravans. These stipends, called Surra, (of which I +have already given an account,) derive their origin principally from the +Sultans of Constantinople, who, upon their accession to the throne, +generally fix a certain yearly sum for the maintenance of the poor, and +the worthiest individuals of Mekka and Medina. They are distributed in +both towns by the Kadhy, as he thinks proper; but if a person has been +once presented with a stipend, he enjoys it for life, and it descends to +his children. He receives a ticket signed by the Kadhy, the Sherif, and +the Surra-writer, and his name is entered in a register at Mekka, of +which a duplicate is sent annually by the returning Hadj to +Constantinople, where the name is enrolled in the general Surra-book. +The Surra is made up at Constantinople in a great number of small +packets, each containing the stipulated sum, and indorsed with the name +of the individual to whom it is destined. If any fresh sum is sent to be +distributed, the Kadhy divides it, informs the inspector of the Surra at +Constantinople to whom the money has been given, and in the following +year the additional packages, addressed to the new pensioners, are added +to the former number. Some of the Surras are brought from Egypt, but the +far greater part from Constantinople, by way of Syria: this part is very +regularly received. Each caravan has its own Surra-writer, whose duty +also it is to distribute all the other money or tribute which the +caravan pays to Bedouins and Arabs, on its road to Mekka. + +The Surra for Mekka is distributed in the mosque, under the windows of +the Kadhy’s house, after the departure of the Hadj. There are persons +who receive so small a sum as one piastre; the greater number from ten +to twenty piastres; but there are a few + +[p.193] families who receive as much as two thousand piastres annually. +Although not always given to the most worthy, many poor families derive +support from this allowance. The tickets are transferable; the Kadhy and +the Sherif must sign the transfer; and the new name, a small compliment +being given to the Kadhy’s scribe, is registered and sent to +Constantinople. In former times a Mekkawy could scarcely be induced to +sell his Surra, which he considered an honour as well as the most +certain provision for his family. The value, however, of the Surra has +much changed. During the time of the Wahabys the tickets had almost +entirely lost their value, as for eight years their holders had received +no pay. They have now recovered a little; but some were lately sold at +two years and a half purchase, which may afford an idea of the opinion +current at Mekka as to the stability of the Turkish government, or the +probability of the return of the Wahabys. + +The idlest, most impudent, and vilest individuals of Mekka adopt the +profession of guides (metowaf or delyl); and as there is no want of +those qualities, and a sufficient demand for guides during the Hadj, +they are very numerous. Besides the places which I have described in the +town, the metowafs accompany the hadjys to all the other places of +resort in the sacred district, and are ready to perform every kind of +service in the city. But their utility is more than counterbalanced by +their importunity and knavery. They besiege the room of the hadjy from +sun-rise to sun-set; and will not allow him to do any thing without +obtruding their advice: they sit down with him to breakfast, dinner, and +supper; lead him into all possible expenses, that they may pocket a +share of them; suffer no opportunity to pass of asking him for money; +and woe to the poor ignorant Turk who employs them as his interpreter in +any mercantile concern. My first delyl was the man of Medina at whose +house I lodged during the last days of Ramadhan. On returning to Mekka a +second time, I unfortunately met him in the street; and though I was far +from giving him a hearty welcome, having sufficient reason to suspect +his honesty, he eagerly embraced me, and forthwith made my new lodgings +his home. At first he accompanied me every day in my walks round the +Kaaba, to recite the prayers used on that occasion: these, however, I +soon learned + +[p.194] by heart, and therefore dispensed with his services on the +occasion. He sat down regularly at dinner with me, and often brought a +small basket, which he ordered my slave to fill with biscuits, meat +vegetables or fruit, and carried away with him. Every third or fourth +day he asked for money: “It is not you who give it,” he said; “it is God +who sends it to me.” Finding there was no polite mode of getting rid of +him, I told him plainly, that I no longer wanted his services; language +to which a Mekka delyl is not accustomed. After three days, however, he +returned, as if nothing had happened, and asked me for a dollar. “God +does not move me to give you any thing,” I replied; “if he judged it +right, he would soften my heart, and cause me to give you my whole +purse.” “Pull my beard,” he exclaimed, “if God does not send you ten +times more hereafter than what I beg at present.” “Pull out every hair +of mine,” I replied, “if I give you one para, until I am convinced that +God will consider it a meritorious act.” On hearing this he jumped up, +and walked away, saying, “We fly for refuge to God, from the hearts of +the proud and the hands of the avaricious.” These people never speak ten +words without pronouncing the name of God or Mohammed; they are +constantly seen with the rosary in their hands, and mumble prayers even +during conversation. This character of the metowafs is so applicable to +the people of Mekka in general, that at Cairo they use the following +proverb, to repress the importunity of an insolent beggar: “Thou art +like the Mekkawy, thou sayest ‘Give me,’ and ‘I am thy master.’” + +As I was obliged to have a delyl, I next engaged an old man of Tatar +origin, with whom having made a sort of treaty at the outset, I had +reason to be tolerably satisfied. What I paid at Mekka to the delyls, +and at the places of holy visit, amounted, perhaps, altogether to three +hundred and fifty piastres, or thirty dollars; but I gave no presents, +either to the mosque, or to any of its officers, which is done only by +great hadjys, or by those who wish to be publicly noticed. Some of the +delyls are constantly stationed near the Kaaba, waiting to be hired for +the walks round it; and if they see a pilgrim walking alone, they often, +unasked, take hold of his hand, and begin to recite the prayers. The +charge for this service is about half a piastre; and I + +[p.195] have observed them bargaining with the hadjy at the very gate of +the Kaaba, in the hearing of every body. The poorer delyls are contented +with the fourth of a piastre. Many shopkeepers, and people of the third +class, send their sons who know the prayers by heart, to this station, +to learn the profession of delyl. Those who understand the Turkish +language earn great wages. As the Turkish hadjys usually arrive by way +of Djidda, in parties of from eight to twelve, who have quitted their +homes in company, and live together at Mekka, one delyl generally takes +charge of the whole party, and expects a fee in proportion to their +number. It often happens that the hadjys, on returning home, recommend +him to some other party of their countrymen, who, on reaching Djidda, +send him orders to provide lodgings for them in Mekka, to meet them at +Djidda, to superintend their short journey to the holy city, and to +guide them in the prayers that must be recited on first entering it. +Some of these delyls are constantly found at Djidda during the three +months immediately preceding the Hadj: I have seen them on the road to +Mekka, riding at the head of their party, and treated by them with great +respect and politeness. A Turk from Europe, or Asia Minor, who knows not +a word of Arabic, is overjoyed to find a smooth-tongued Arab who speaks +his language, and who promises all kinds of comforts in Mekka, which he +had been taught to consider as a place where nothing awaited him but +danger and fatigue. A delyl who has twelve Turkish hadjys under his care +for a month, generally gains as much as suffices for the expenses of his +house during the whole year, besides new clothing for himself and all +his children. + +Some of these delyls have a very singular office. The Mohammedan law +prescribes that no unmarried woman shall perform the pilgrimage; and +that even every married woman must be accompanied by her husband, or at +least a very near relation (the Shafay sect does not even allow the +latter). Female hadjys sometimes arrive from Turkey for the Hadj; rich +old widows, who wish to see Mekka before they die; or women who set out +with their husbands, and lose them on the road by disease. In such +cases, the female finds at Djidda, delyls (or, as this class is called, +Muhallil) ready to facilitate their progress through the sacred +territory in the character of husbands. + +[p.196] The marriage contract is written out before the Kadhy; and the +ladt, accompanied by her delyl, performs the pilgrimage to Mekka, +Arafat, and all the sacred places. This, however, is understood to be +merely a nominal marriage; and the delyl must divorce the woman on his +return to Djidda: if he were to refuse a divorce, the law cannot compel +him to it, and the marriage would be considered binding; but he could no +longer exercise the lucrative profession of delyl; and my informant +could only recollect two examples of the delyl continuing to be the +woman’s husband. I believe there is not any exaggeration of the number, +in stating that there are eight hundred full-grown delyls, besides boys +who are learning the profession. Whenever a shopkeeper loses his +customers, or a poor man of letters wishes to gain as much money as will +purchase an Abyssinian slave, he turns delyl. The profession is one of +little repute; but many a prosperous Mekkawy has, at some period of his +life, been a member of it. + +From trade, stipends, and the profits afforded by hadjys, the riches +which annually flow into Mekka are very considerable, and might have +rendered it one of the richest cities in the East, were it not for the +dissolute habits of its inhabitants. With the exception of the first +class of merchants, who, though they keep splendid establishments, +generally live below their income, and a great part of the second class, +who hoard up money with the view of attaining the first rank, the +generality of Mekkawys, of all descriptions and professions, are loose +and disorderly spendthrifts. The great gains which they make during +three or four months, are squandered in good living, dress, and the +grossest gratifications; and in proportion as they feel assured of the +profits of the following year, they care little about saving any part of +those of the present. In the month of Moharram, as soon as the Hadj is +over, and the greater part of the pilgrims have departed, it is +customary to celebrate marriage and circumcision feasts. These are +celebrated at Mekka in a very splendid style; and a man that has not +more than three hundred dollars to spend in the year, will then throw +away half that sum in the marriage or the circumcision of his child. +Neither the sanctity of the holy city, nor the solemn injunctions of the +Koran, are able to deter the inhabitants of Mekka from the using of + +[p.197] spirituous liquors, and indulging in all the excesses which are +the usual consequences of drunkenness. The Indian fleet imports large +quantities of raky in barrels. This spirit, mixed with sugar, and an +extract of cinnamon, is sold under the name of cinnamon-water. The +Sherifs in Mekka and Djidda, great merchants, olemas, and all the chief +people are in the habit of drinking this liquor, which they persuade +themselves is neither wine nor brandy, and therefore not prohibited by +the law. The less wealthy inhabitants cannot purchase so dear a +commodity; but they use a fermented liquor made from raisins, and +imported from Tayf, while the lower classes drink bouza. During my stay +at Tayf, a Turk belonging to the suite of Mohammed Aly Pasha distilled +brandy from grapes, and publicly sold it at forty piastres the bottle. + +The Mekkawys are very expensive in their houses: the rooms are +embellished with fine carpets, and an abundance of cushions and sofas +covered with brocade: amidst the furniture is seen much beautiful china- +ware, and several nargiles adorned with silver. A petty shopkeeper would +be ashamed to receive his acquaintances in a house less splendidly +fitted up. Their tables also are better supplied than in any other +country of the East, where even respectable families live economically +in this respect. A Mekkawy, even of the lower class, must have daily on +his table meat which costs from one and a half to two piastres the +pound; his coffee-pot is never removed from the fire; and himself, his +women and children are almost constantly using the nargile, and the +tobacco which supplies it cannot be a very trifling expense. + +The women have introduced the fashion, not uncommon in Turkey, of +visiting each other at least once a week with all their children; the +visit lasts the whole day, and an abundant entertainment is provided on +the occasion: the vanity of each mistress of a house makes her endeavour +to surpass her acquaintances in show and magnificence; thus a continual +expense is entailed on every family. Among the sources of expenditure +must be enumerated the purchasing of Abyssinian female slaves who are +kept by the men, or money bestowed on the public women whom several of +them frequent. Considerable sums are also lavished in sensual +gratification still more vicious and degrading, but + +[p.198] unfortunately as prevalent in the towns of the Hedjaz as in some +other parts of Asia, or in Egypt under the Mamelouks. It has been +already observed that the temple of Mekka itself, the very sanctuary of +the Mohammedan religion, is almost publicly and daily contaminated by +practices of the grossest depravity: to these no disgrace is here +attached; the young of all classes are encouraged in them by the old, +and even parents have been so base as to connive at them for the sake of +money. From such pollution, however, the encampments of the Arabian +Bedouins are exempt; although their ancestors were not, in this respect, +immaculate, if we may credit some scandalous anecdotes recorded by +Eastern historians. + +But my account of the public women (who are very numerous) must here be +resumed. I have already observed that the quarter called Shab Aamer was +the residence of the poorer class; those of the higher order are +dispersed over the town. Their outward behaviour is more decent than +that of any public women in the East, and it requires the experienced +eye of a Mekkawy to ascertain by a particular movement in her gait, that +the veiled female passing before him belongs to the venal tribe. I shall +not venture to speak of the married women of the Hedjaz: I have heard +anecdotes related, little to their credit; but in the East, as in other +countries, the young men sometimes boast of favours which they never +have enjoyed. The exterior demeanour of the women of Djidda and Mekka is +very decorous: few of them are ever seen walking or riding in the +street; a practice so common at Cairo, though contrary to Oriental ideas +of propriety: and I lived in three different houses at Mekka without +having seen the unveiled faces of the female inmates. + +The great merchants of Mekka live very splendidly: in the houses of +Djeylany, Sakkat, Ageyl, and El Nour, are establishments of fifty or +sixty persons. These merchants obtained their riches principally during +the reign of Ghaleb, to whom Djeylany and Sakkat served as spies upon +the other merchants. Their tables are furnished daily in abundance with +every native delicacy, as well as with those which India and Egypt +afford. About twenty persons sit down to dinner with them; the favourite +Abyssinian slaves, who serve often as writers or + +[p.199] cashiers, are admitted to the table of their master; but the +inferior slaves and the servants are fed only upon flour and butter. The +china and glass ware, in which the dishes are served up, is of the best +quality; rose-water is sprinkled on the beards of the guests after +dinner, and the room is filled with the odours of aloe-wood, burnt upon +the nargiles. There is great politeness without formality; and no men +appear in a more amiable light, than the great Mekkawys dispensing +hospitality to their guests. Whoever happens to be sitting in the outer +hall, when dinner is served up, is requested to join at table, which he +does without conceiving himself at all obliged by the invitation, while +the host, on his part, appears to think compliance a favour conferred +upon him. + +The rich Mekkawys make two meals daily, one before mid-day, the other +after sun-set; the lower classes breakfast at sun-rise, and eat nothing +more till near sun-set. As in the negro countries, it is very indecorous +for a man to be seen eating in the streets: the Turkish soldiers, who +retain their native manners, are daily reprehended by the people of +Mekka for their ill-breeding in this respect. + +Before the Turkish conquest, and the wars of the Sherif with the Wahabys +which preceded it, the merchants of Mekka led a very happy life. During +the months of May and June they went to attend the sale of India goods +at Djidda. In July and August (unless the Hadj happened in these months) +they retired to their houses at Tayf, where they passed the hottest +season, leaving their acting partners or writers at Djidda and Mekka. +During the months of the pilgrimage, they were of course always at +Mekka; and every wealthy Mekkawy family followed the Hadj to Arafat as a +tour of pleasure, and encamped for three days at Wady Muna. + +In the month of Radjeb, which is the seventh after the month of the +Hadj, a caravan used always to set out from Mekka for Medina, composed +of several hundred merchants, mounted upon dromedaries. At that time a +large fair was held at Medina, and frequented by many of the surrounding +Bedouins, and people of the Hedjaz and Nedjed. + +The merchandize for its supply was sent from Mekka by a heavy caravan of +camels, which set out immediately after the merchants, and + +[p.200] was called Rukub el Medina. [In general, the Arabs of the Hedjaz +call the caravans Rukub; speaking of the Baghdad caravan, they say Rukub +es’ Shám, or Rukub el Erak.] They remained about twenty days at Medina, +and then returned to Mekka. This frequent, yet regular change of abode, +must have been very agreeable to the merchants, particularly in those +times, when they could calculate with certainty that the next pilgrimage +would be a source of new riches to them. Tayf and Medina being now half- +ruined, the merchants of Mekka resort to Djidda, as their only place of +recreation: but even those who have wives and houses there, talk of +their establishments at Mekka as their only real homes, and in it they +spend the greater part of the year. + +The inhabitants of Mekka, Djidda, and (in a less degree) of Medina, are +generally of a more lively disposition than either the Syrians or +Egyptians. None of those silent, grave automatons are seen here, so +common in other parts of the Levant, whose insensibility, or stupidity +is commonly regarded among themselves as a proof of feeling, shrewdness, +and wisdom. + +The character of the Mekkawy resembles, in this respect, that of the +Bedouin; and did not greediness of gain often distort their features, +the smile of mirth would always be on their lips. In the streets and +bazars, in the house, and even in the mosque, the Mekkawy loves to laugh +and joke. In dealing with each other, or in talking on grave subjects, a +proverb, a pun, or some witty allusion, is often introduced, and +produces laughter. As the Mekkawys possess, with this vivacity of +temper, much intellect, sagacity, and great suavity of manners, which +they well know how to reconcile with their innate pride, their +conversation is very agreeable; and whoever cultivates a mere +superficial acquaintance with them, seldom fails to be delighted with +their character. They are more polite towards each other, as well as +towards strangers, than the inhabitants of Syria and Egypt, and retain +something of the good-natured disposition of the Bedouins, from whom +they derive their origin. When they accost each other in + +[p.201] the streets for the first time in the course of the day, the +young man kisses the elder’s hand, or the inferior that of his superior +in rank, while the latter returns the salute by a kiss upon the +forehead. Individuals of equal rank and age, not of the first class, +mutually kiss each other’s hands. [In shaking hands, the people of the +Hedjaz lay hold of each other’s thumbs with the whole hand, pressing it, +and again opening the hand three or four times. This is called Mesáfeha, +and is said to have been a habit of Mohammed.] They say to a stranger, +“O faithful,” or “brother;” and the saying of the prophet, “that all +faithful are brethren,” is constantly upon their lips. “Welcome, a +thousand times welcome,” says a shopkeeper to his foreign customer; “you +are the stranger of God, the guest of the holy city; my whole property +is at your disposal.” When the service of any one is wanted, the +applicant says, “Our whole subsistence, after God, is owing to you +pilgrims; can we do less than be grateful?” If in the mosque a foreigner +is exposed to the sun, the Mekkawy will make room for him in a shady +place; if he passes a coffee-shop, he will hear voices calling him to +enter and take a cup of coffee; if a Mekkawy takes a jar to drink from +any public water-seller, he will offer it, before he sets it to his +mouth, to any passenger; and upon the slightest acquaintance, he will +say to his new friend, “When will you honour me at home, and take your +supper with me?” When they quarrel among themselves, none of those +scurrilous names or vile language is heard, so frequently used in Egypt +and Syria; blows are only given on very extraordinary occasions, and the +arrival of a respectable person puts an immediate stop to any dispute, +on his recommending peace: “God has made us great sinners,” they will +then say, “but he has bestowed upon us, likewise, the virtue of easy +repentance.” + +To these amiable qualities the Mekkawys add another, for which they must +also be commended: they are a proud race, and though their pride is not +founded upon innate worth, it is infinitely preferable to the cringing +servility of the other Levantines, who redeem their slavish deference to +superiors by the most overbearing haughtiness towards those below them. +The Mekkawys are proud of being + +[p.202] natives of the holy city, of being the countrymen of their +prophet; of having preserved, in some degree, his manners; of speaking +his pure language; of enjoying, in expectation, all the honours in the +next world, which are promised to the neighbours of the Kaaba; and of +being much freer men than any of the foreigners whom they see crowding +to their city. They exhibit this pride to their own superiors, whom they +have taught to treat them with great forbearance and circumspection; and +they look upon all other Mohammedan nations as people of an inferior +order, to whom their kindness and politeness are the effect of their +condescension. Many good consequences might result from this pride, +without which a people cannot expect to sustain its rank among nations. +It has prevented the people of Mekka from sinking so deep into slavery +as some of their neighbours; but it excites them to nothing laudable, +while its more immediate effects are seen in the contempt which they +entertain for foreigners. This contempt, as I have already remarked, in +speaking of Djidda, is chiefly displayed towards the Turks, whose +ignorance of the Arabic language, whose dress and manners, the meanness +of their conduct whenever they cannot talk as masters; their cowardice +exhibited whenever the Hadj has been assailed in its route across the +Desert, and the little respect that was shown to them by the Governors +of Mekka, as long as the Sherif’s power was unbroken, have lowered them +so much in the estimation of the Arabians, that they are held in the +Hedjaz as little better than infidels; and although many of the Mekkawys +are of Turkish origin, they heartily join the rest of their townsmen in +vilifying the stock from which they sprang. The word Turky has become a +term of insult towards each other among the children. Noszrany +(Christians), or Yahoudy (Jews), are often applied to the Turks by the +people of Mekka; and their manners and language afford a perpetual +source of ridicule or reproach. The Syrians and Egyptians experience +similar effects from the pride of the people of the Hedjaz, but +especially the former, as the Egyptians, of all foreigners, approach +nearest to the people of Arabia in customs and language, and keep up the +most intimate intercourse with them. But the haughty Syrian Moslim, who +calls Aleppo or Damascus “Om el Donia,” (the mother of the + +[p.203] world,) and believes no race of men equal to his own, nor any +language so pure as the Syrian, though it is undoubtedly the worst +dialect of the Arabic next to the Moggrebyn, is obliged to behave here +with great modesty and circumspection, and at least to affect +politeness. Although an Arab, he is reproached with dressing and living +like a Turk; and to the epithet Shámy (Syrian) the idea is attached of a +heavy, untutored clown. If the Arabians were to see the Turks in the +countries where they are masters, their dislike towards them would be +still greater; for it must be said, that their behaviour in the holy +city is, in general, much more decent and conformable to the precepts of +their religion, than in the countries from which they come. + +The Mekkawys believe that their city, with all the inhabitants, is under +the especial care of Providence, and that they are so far favoured above +all other nations. “This is Mekka! this is the city of God!” they +exclaim, when any surprise is expressed at the greater part of them +having remained in the town during the stagnation of trade and the +absence of pilgrims: “None ever wants his daily bread [h]ere; none fears +here the incursion of enemies.” That Saoud saved the town from pillage; +that no plundering took place when the Turkish cavalry, under Mostafa +Bey, recaptured it from the Wahabys; that the capture of Sherif Ghaleb +led to no massacres within the precincts of Mekka, are to them so many +visible miracles of the Almighty, to prove the truth of that passage of +the Koran, (chap. 106.) in which it is said, “Let them adore the God of +the house (the Kaaba), who feeds them in hunger, and secures them from +all fear.” But they forget to look back to their own history, which +mentions many terrible famines and sanguinary battles, that have +happened in this sacred asylum. Indeed, the Hedjaz has suffered more +from famine than, perhaps, any other Eastern country. The historians +abound with descriptions of such lamentable events: I shall only mention +one that happened in 1664, when, as Asamy relates, many people sold +their own children at Mekka for a single measure of corn; and when, at +Djidda, the populace fed publicly on human flesh. + +A Mekkawy related to me, that having once resolved to abandon the city, +in consequence of the non-arrival of Turkish hadjys, who supplied + +[p.204] his means of subsistence, an angel appeared to him in his sleep +on the night previous to his intended departure. The angel had a flaming +sword in his hand, and stood upon the gate of Mekka, through which the +dreamer was about to leave the town, and exclaimed, “Unbeliever, remain! +the Mekkawys shall eat honey, while all the other people of the earth +shall be content with barley bread!” In consequence of this vision he +abandoned his project, and continued to live in the town. + +The exterior politeness of the people of Mekka is in the same proportion +to their sincerity, as are their professions of zealous faith and +adherence to their religion, with the observance of its precepts. Many +of them, especially those who have no particular interest in imposing +upon the hadjys by an appearance of extreme strictness, are very relaxed +in observing the forms of their religion, thinking it quite sufficient +to be Mekkawys and to utter pious ejaculations in public, or supposing +that the rigid practice of its precepts is more particularly incumbent +upon foreign visitors, who see Mekka only once in their life. Like the +Bedouins, many of them are either very irregular in their prayers, or do +not pray at all. During the Friday’s prayers, which every Moslim +resident in a town is bound to attend, the mosque is filled chiefly with +strangers, while many of the people of Mekka are seen smoking in their +shops. After the pilgrims have left the town, the service in the mosque +is very thinly attended. They never distribute alms, excusing themselves +by saying that they were placed by Providence in this town to receive +charity, and not to bestow it. They ape the manners recorded of +Mohammed, but in his most trifling habits only: their mustachios are cut +short, and their beard kept regularly under the scissors, because it was +the prophet’s custom to do so. In like manner they allow the end of the +turban to fall loosely over the cap; every other day they put kohhel or +antimony on their eye-lids, and have always in their hands a messouak or +tooth-brush made of a thin branch of the shrub Arak, or one imported by +the Persian hadjys. They know by heart many passages of the Koran and +Hadyth, (or sacred traditions,) and allude to, or quote them every +moment; but they forget that these precepts were given for rules of +conduct, and not for mere repetition. Intoxicating liquors are sold at + +[p.205] the very gates of the mosque: the delyls themselves act in +direct contradiction of the law by loudly reciting prayers in the mosque +to their pupils the hadjys, in order to allure by their sonorous voices +other pilgrims to their guidance, carrying at the same time the common +large stick of the Mekkawys. It is also a transgression against the law, +when the intoxicating hashysh is openly smoked: cards are played in +almost every Arab coffee-house, (they use small Chinese cards,) though +the Koran directly forbids games of hazard. The open protection afforded +by the government to persons both male and female of the most profligate +character, is a further encouragement to daily transgressions against +the rigid principles of the Mohammedan law. Cheating and false swearing +have ceased to be crimes among them. They are fully conscious of the +scandal of these vices: every delyl exclaims against the corruption of +manners, but none set an example of reformation; and while acting +constantly on principles quite opposite to those which they profess, +they unanimously declare that times are such, as to justify the saying, +“In el Haram fi belád el Harameyn,” “that the cities forbidden to +infidels abound with forbidden things.” + +In a place where there is no variety of creeds, persecution cannot show +itself; but it is probable that the Mekkawys might easily be incited to +excesses against those whom they call infidels: for I have always +remarked in the East, that the Muselmans most negligent in performing +the duties of their religion are the most violent in urging its precepts +against unbelievers; and that the grossest superstition is generally +found among those who trifle with their duties, or who, like many +Osmanlys, even deride them, and lay claim to free-thinking. There is no +class of Turks more inveterate in their hatred against Christians than +those who, coming frequently into intercourse with them, find it +convenient to throw off for a while the appearance of their prejudices. +In all the European harbours of the Mediterranean, the Moggrebyns live +like unbelievers; but when at home, nothing but fear can induce them to +set bounds to their fanaticism. It is the same with the Turks in the +Archipelago, and I might adduce many examples from Syria and Egypt in +corroboration of this assertion. If fanaticism has somewhat decreased +within the last twenty years throughout the + +[p.206] Turkish empire, the circumstance, I think, may be ascribed +solely to the decreasing energy of the inhabitants, and the growing +indifference for their own religion, and certainly not to a diffusion of +more philanthropic or charitable principles. The text of the Mohammedan +law is precise in inciting its followers to unceasing hatred and +contempt of all those who profess a different creed. This contempt has +not decreased; but animosity gives way to an exterior politeness, +whenever the interest of the Mohammedan is concerned. The degree of +toleration enjoyed by the Christians, depends upon the interest of the +provincial government under which they live: and if they happen to be +favoured by it, the Turkish subject bows to the Christian. In all the +eastern countries which I have visited, more privileges are allowed to +Christians in general than the Moslim code prescribes; but their +condition depends upon the fiat of the governor of the town or district; +as they experienced about seven years since at Damascus, under Yousef +Pasha, when they were suddenly reduced to their former abject state. +Twenty years ago, a Copt of Egypt was in much the same situation as a +Jew is now in Barbary; but at present, when the free-thinking, though +certainly not liberal, Mohammed Aly finds it his interest to conciliate +the Christians, a Greek beats a Turk without much fear of consequences +from the mob; and I know an instance of an Armenian having murdered his +own Muselman servant, and escaped punishment, on paying a fine to +government, although the fact was publicly known. Convinced as the Turks +must now be, in many parts of the East, of the superiority of these +Europeans, whom they cannot but consider as the brethren of their +Christian subjects, their behaviour towards the latter will, +nevertheless, be strictly regulated by the avowed sentiments of their +governors; and it would be as easy for Mohammed Aly by a single word to +degrade the Christians in Egypt, as he found it to raise them to their +present consideration, superior, I believe, to what they enjoy in any +other part of Turkey. + +The hatred against Christians is nearly equal in every part of the +Ottoman empire; and if the Moslims sacrifice that feeling, it is not to +the principles of charity or humanity, but to the frown of those who +happen to be in power; and their baseness is such, that they will kiss + +[p.207] to-day the hands of him whom they have trodden under foot +yesterday. In examining into the fanatical riots, many of which are +recorded in the chanceries of the European consuls in the Levant, it +will generally be found that government had a share in the affrays, and +easily succeeded in quelling them. The late Sultan Selim, in his +regenerating system, which led him to favour the Christians, found no +opposition from the mass of his people, but from the jealous +Janissaries; and when the latter had prevailed, the demi-Gallicized +grandees of Constantinople easily sunk again into Sunnys. Sometimes, +indeed, a rash devotee, or mad Sheikh or Dervish at the head of a few +partisans, affords an exception to these general statements; and will +insult a Christian placed in the highest favour with the public +authorities, as happened at Damascus in 1811, to the Greek Patriarch, +after Yousef Pasha had been repulsed: but his countrymen, although +cherishing the same principles, and full of the same uncharitableness, +seldom have the courage to give vent to their feelings, and to follow +the example of the Saint. None of those genuine popular commotions, +which were once so frequent in Europe, when the members of the reigning +church saw individuals of a rival persuasion extending their influence, +are now witnessed in the East. Whatever may be thought of it in a moral +point of view, we must respect the energy of a man who enters headlong +into a contention, of at least uncertain issue, and generally +detrimental to his own worldly interests, merely because he fancies or +believes that his religious duty commands his exertions. The Moslim of +the Turkish empire, as far as I have had an opportunity of remarking, +easily suppresses his feelings, his passions, the dictates of his +conscience, and what he supposes agreeable to the will of the Almighty, +at the dictates of his interest, or according to the wish or example of +the ruling power. + +In the time of the Sherif, Christians were often ill treated at Djidda; +they could not wear the European dress, or approach the quarter of the +town situated towards the gate of Mekka. But since the arrival of +Mohammed Aly’s army, they walk about, and dress as they like. In +December 1814, when two Englishmen passed the gate of Mekka on a walk +round the town, (the first persons, probably, in a + +[p.208] European dress, who had ever passed the holy boundary,) a woman +was heard to exclaim, “Truly the world must be near its end, if Kafirs +(or infidels) dare to tread upon this ground!” Even now, if a Christian +dies there, it is not permitted that he should be interred on shore; the +body is carried to a small desert island in the harbour. When, in 1815, +the plague raged in the Hedjaz, an event which had never before been +known, the Kadhy of Djidda, with the whole body of olemas, waited upon +the Turkish governor of the city, to desire him to demolish a windmill +which some Greek Christians from Cairo had built withoutside one of the +gates, by order of Mohammed Aly. They were certain, they said, that the +hand of God had visited them on account of this violation of the sacred +territory by Christians. Some years ago an English ship was wrecked near +Djidda, and among various spoils obtained from the wreck by Sherif +Ghaleb was a large hog, an animal probably never before seen at Djidda: +this hog, turned loose in the town with two ostriches, became the terror +of all the sellers of bread and vegetables; for the mere touching of so +unclean an animal as the hog, even with the edge of the gown, renders +the Moslim impure, and unable to perform his prayers without previous +ablution. The animal was kept for six months, when it was offered by the +Sherif to an American captain for fifty dollars; but such a price being +of course refused, it soon after died of a surfeit, to the great +satisfaction of the inhabitants. + +The Mekkawys, however, tolerate within their walls notorious heretics. I +have already mentioned the Ismaylys, an idolatrous sect from India, who +appear here in the garb of Moslims. The Persian hadjys, well known as +sectaries of Aly, and revilers of Mohammed and his immediate followers, +are not subjected to any particular inconveniences. The Sherif tolerated +them, but levied a capitation-tax on each. The Sherifs, however, +themselves, as I shall presently explain, are mostly of the sect of +Zyoud, Muselmans who dispute with the orthodox Sunnyes (the great +opponents of the Persian sectaries,) several of their principal dogmas. + +Whenever the word Christian or European is mentioned by the + +[p.209] Mekkawys, it is coupled with the most opprobrious and +contemptuous epithets. They include them all in the appellation of +Káfer, without having any clear ideas of the different nations of which +they are composed. The English, however, being more in contact with +them, from their Indian possessions, are often called exclusively “El +Kafer,” or “the Infidels;” and whenever this appellation is so used, the +English are to be understood. Thus, they say “El Kafer fy’l Hind,” the +Kafer in India; or “Merkeb el Kafer fy Djidda,” the Kafer’s ship at +Djidda, always meaning the English. + +When the French invaded Egypt, a Moggrebyn saint at Mekka, called Sheikh +el Djeylany, a distant relation of a wealthy merchant at Mekka, and who +had for some time been in the habit of delivering lectures in the great +mosque, mounted the pulpit, and preached a crusade against the infidels, +who had seized upon the gate of the Kaaba, as Egypt is styled. Being a +very eloquent speaker, and held in much veneration, many Arabs flocked +to his standard, others gave him money; and it is said that even many +women brought him their gold and silver trinkets, to assist him in his +holy enterprise. He embarked at Djidda with his zealous followers, on +board a small fleet, and landed at Cosseir. The governments of Mekka and +Djidda seem to have had little share in the enterprise, though they +threw no obstacles in its way. The fate of these Arabs (many of whom +were of the same Wahaby tribes who afterwards offered so much resistance +to Mohammed Aly), and the fury with which they encountered the French in +Upper Egypt, are already known to the reader by Denon’s animated +description. Sheikh Djeylany was killed, and very few of his followers +returned. I believe their number is rather over-rated by Denon; for I +never heard it stated at more than fifteen hundred. + +The Mekkawys, like the inhabitants of Turkey, are in general free from +the vices of pilfering and thieving; and robberies are seldom heard of, +although, during the Hadj, and in the months which precede and follow +it, Mekka abounds with rogues, who are tempted by the facility of +opening the locks of this country. + +Formerly the slaves of the Sherif were noted for their disorderly +behaviour; Ghaleb, however, established good order among them; and + +[p.210] during his reign, a burglary was never committed without the +discovery and punishment of the perpetrator. + +The streets of Mekka abound with beggars and poor hadjys, who are +supported by the charity of strangers; for the Mekkawys think themselves +privileged to dispense with this duty. Of them, however, many adopt +mendicity as a profession, especially during the Hadj, when the pilgrims +are bound to exercise that virtue which is so particularly enjoined by +the precepts of Mohammed. The greater part of the beggars are Indians, +others Syrians, Moggrebyns, and Egyptians: the Negroes are but few, as +these generally prefer labour to begging; but a large proportion comes +from Yemen. It is generally said in the East, that Mekka is the paradise +of beggars: some perhaps may save a little money, but the wretched +aspect of others plainly shows how much their expectations must have +been disappointed. The Indians are the most modest among them; they +accost the passenger with the words “Ya allah’ya kerim!” “O God, O +bounteous God!” and if alms are refused, they walk away, without a word +except the repetition of “Ya allah, ya kerim.” Not so the Yemeny or +Mekkawy; “Think of your duty as a pilgrim,” he cries; “God does not like +the cold-hearted; will you reject the blessings of the faithful? Give, +and it shall be given unto thee; and with these and many other pious +sentences they address the passenger, and when they have the alms safe +in their hand, they often say, as my delyl did, “It is God, and not you, +who gives it to me.” Some of these beggars are extremely importunate, +and seem to ask for alms as if they were legally entitled to it. While I +was at Djidda, a Yemen beggar mounted the minaret daily, after mid-day +prayer, and exclaimed loud enough to be heard through the whole bazar, +“I ask from God fifty dollars, a suit of clothes, and a copy of the +Koran; O faithful, hear me, I ask of you fifty dollars,” &c. &c. This he +repeated for several weeks, when at last a Turkish pilgrim, struck by +the singularity of the beggar’s appeal, desired him to take thirty +dollars, and discontinue his cries, which reflected shame upon the +charity of all the hadjys present. “No,” said the beggar, “I will not +take them, because I am convinced that God will send me the whole of +what I beg of him so earnestly.” After repeating his public + +[p.211] supplication for some days more, the same hadjy gave him the +whole sum that he asked for; but without being thanked. I have heard +people exclaim in the mosques at Mekka, immediately after prayers, “O +brethren, O faithful, hear me! I ask twenty dollars from God, to pay for +my passage home; twenty dollars only. You know that God is all- +bountiful, and may send me a hundred dollars; but it is twenty dollars +only that I ask. Remember that charity is the sure road to paradise.” +There can be no doubt that this practice is sometimes attended with +success. + +But learning and science cannot be expected to flourish in a place where +every mind is occupied in the search of gain, or of paradise; and I +think I have sufficient reason for affirming that Mekka is at present +much inferior even in Mohammedan learning to any town of equal +population in Syria or Egypt. It probably was not so when the many +public schools or Medreses were built, which are now converted into +private lodgings for pilgrims. El Fasy says, that in his time there were +eleven medreses in Mekka, besides a number of rebats, or less richly +endowed schools, which contained also lodgings for poor hadjys; many of +the Rebats in the vicinity of the mosque still remain, but are used only +as lodging-houses. There is not a single public school in the town where +lectures are given, as in other parts of Turkey; and the great mosque is +the only place where teachers of Eastern learning are found. The schools +in which boys are taught to read and write, are, as I have already +mentioned, held in the mosque, where, after prayers, chiefly in the +afternoon, some learned olemas explain a few religious books to a very +thin audience, consisting principally of Indians, Malays, Negroes, and a +few natives of Hadramaut and Yemen, who, attracted by the great name of +Mekka, remain here a few years, until they think themselves sufficiently +instructed to pass at home for learned men. The Mekkawys themselves, who +wish to improve in science, go to Damascus or to Cairo. At the latter +many of them are constantly found, studying in the mosque El Azhar. + +The lectures delivered in the mosque at Mekka resemble those of other +Eastern towns. They are delivered gratis; each lecture occupies one hour +or two; and any person may lecture who thinks himself competent + +[p.212] to the task, whether he belongs to the mosque or not. This +happens also in the Azhar at Cairo, where I have seen more than forty +different persons occupied at the same time in delivering their +lectures. The subjects of the lectures in the Beitullah of Mokka, are, +as usual, dissertations on the law, commentaries on the Koran, and +traditions of the Prophet. There were none, during my residence, on +grammar, logic, rhetoric, or the sciences, nor even on the Towhyd, or +explanation of the essence or unity of God, which forms a principal +branch of the learning of Moslim divines. I understood, however, that +sometimes the Arabic syntax is explained, and the Elfye Ibn Malek on +grammar. But the Mekkawys who have acquired an intimate knowledge of the +whole structure of their language, owe it to their residence at Cairo. + +There is no public library attached to the mosque; the ancient +libraries, of which I have already spoken, have all disappeared. The +Nayb el Haram has a small collection of books which belonged originally +to the mosque; but it is now considered as his private property, and the +books cannot be hired without difficulty. The Azhar at Cairo is on a +very different footing. To each of the Rowak, or private establishments +for the different Mohammedan nations, which it contains, (and which are +now twenty-six in number,) a large library is annexed, and all the +members of the Rowak are at liberty to take books from it to assist them +in their studies. Mekka is equally destitute of private libraries, with +the exception of those of the rich merchants, who exhibit a few books to +distinguish them from the vulgar; or of the olemas, of whom some possess +such as are necessary for their daily reference in matters of law. + +The Wahabys, according to report, carried off many loads of books; but +they were also said to have paid for every thing they took: it is not +likely that they carried away all the libraries of Mekka, and I +endeavoured in vain to discover even a single collection of books. Not a +book-shop or a book-binder is found in Mekka. After the return of the +Hadj from Arafat, a few of the poorer olemas expose some books for sale +in the mosque, near Bab-es’-Salam: all those which I saw were on the +law, korans with commentaries, and similar works, together with a few on +grammar. No work on history, or on any other branch + +[p.213] of knowledge, could be found; and, notwithstanding all my pains, +I could never obtain a sight of any history of Mekka, although the names +of the authors were not unknown to the Mekkawys. They told me that book- +dealers used formerly to come here with the Hadj from Yemen, and sell +valuable books, brought principally from Szanaa and Loheya. The only +good work I saw at Mekka was a fine copy of the Arabic Dictionary called +Kamous; it was purchased by a Malay for six hundred and twenty piastres; +at Cairo it might be worth half that sum. Many pilgrims inquired for +books, and were inclined to pay good prices for them; and it was matter +of surprise to me that the speculating Mekkawys did not avail themselves +of this branch of trade, not so lucrative certainly as that of coffee +and India goods. I much regretted my total want of books, and especially +the copies of the historians of Mekka, which I had left at Cairo; they +would have led me to many inquiries on topography, which by Azraky in +particular is treated with great industry. + +The Persian hadjys and the Malays are those who chiefly search for +books: the Wahabys, it is said, were particularly inquisitive after +historical works; a remark I heard repeated at Medina. During my stay at +Damascus, which is the richest book-market in the East, and the +cheapest, from being very little frequented by Europeans, I heard that +several Arabs of Baghdad, secretly commissioned for that purpose by +Saoud, the Wahaby chief, had purchased there many historical works. When +Abou Nokta plundered the harbours of Yemen, he carried off a great +number of books, and sent them to Derayeh. + +The scarcity of valuable books at Mekka may, perhaps, be ascribed to the +continual purchases made by pilgrims; for there are no copyists at Mekka +to replace the books which have been exported. [At Cairo, I saw many +books in the Hedjaz character, some of which I purchased.] The want of +copyists is, indeed, a general complaint also in Syria and Egypt, and +must, in the end, lead to a total deficiency of books in those +countries, if the exportation to Europe continues. There are at Cairo, +at this time, not more than three professed copyists, who write a good +hand, or who possess sufficient knowledge to enable them to avoid the +grossest + +[p.214] errors. At Mekka, there was a man of Lahor, who wrote Arabic +most beautifully, though he spoke it very indifferently. He sat in a +shop near Bab-es’-Salam, and copied for the hadjys such prayers as it +was necessary to recite during the pilgrimage. The hand-writing of the +Hedjaz is different from that used in Egypt or Syria; but a little +practice makes it easily read. In general, not only every country, but +every province, even, of the East, has its peculiar mode of writing, +which practice alone can enable one to distinguish. There are shades of +difference in the writing of the Aleppines, of the people of Damascus, +and of Acre; and, in Egypt, the writing of a Cahirein is easily +distinguished from that of a native of Upper Egypt. That of the Moslims +is different every where from that of the Christians, who are taught to +write by their priests, and not by Turkish schoolmasters. The Copts of +Egypt have also a character differing from that of the other Christians +established in the country. An experienced person knows, from the +address of a letter, the province and the race to which the writer +belongs. The dialects, and the style of letter-writing are not less +distinguishable than the hand-writing; and this remark is particularly +applicable to the complimentary expressions with which the letters +always abound. The style of Syria is the most flowery; yet even in +letters of mere business we find it used. That of Egypt is less +complimentary; that of the Hedjaz is simple and manly, and approaches to +Bedouin frankness, containing, before the immediate purport of the +letter, only a few words of inquiry after the health and welfare of the +person addressed. Each country has also its peculiar manner of folding a +letter. In the Hedjaz, letters are sealed with gum-Aabic; and a small +vessel full of the diluted gum is suspended near the gate of every large +house or khan. + +Whatever may be the indifference of the Mekkawys for learning, [I may +mention, as a strong proof of the neglect of learning at Mekka, that of +a dozen persons, respectable from their situations in life, of whom I +inquired respecting the place Okath, not one of them knew where it was, +or if it still existed. The Okath was the place where the ancient +Arabian poets, as late even as the time of Mohammed, used to recite +their works to crowds assembled there at a great fair. The prize poems +were afterwards suspended at the Kaaba. It is to this custom that we owe +the celebrated poems called the Seba Moallakat. A Bedouin of Hodheyl +told me that the Okath was now a ruined place in the country of Beni +Naszera, between two and three days’ journey south of Tayf. But in El +Fasy’s history, I find it stated to be one day’s journey from Tayf; and +that it ceased to be frequented as a fair in A.H. 1229. El Azraky says +that it was at that distance from Tayf, on the road to Szanaa in Yemen, +and belonged to the tribe of Beni Kanane.] + +[p.215] the language of their city is still more pure and elegant, both +in phraseology and pronunciation, than that of any other town where +Arabic is spoken. It approaches more nearly than any other dialect to +the old written Arabic, and is free from those affectations and +perversions of the original sense, which abound in other provinces. I do +not consider the Arabic language as on the decline: it is true, there +are no longer any poets who write like Motanebbi, Abol’ Ola, or Ibn el +Faredh; and a fine flowing prose the Arabs never possessed. The modern +poets content themselves with imitating their ancient masters, humbly +borrowing the sublime metaphors and exalted sentiments produced from +nobler and freer breasts than those of the olemas of the present day. +But even now, the language is deeply studied by all the learned men; it +is the only science with which the orthodox Moslim can beguile his +leisure hours, after he has explored the labyrinth of the law; and every +where in the East it is thought an indispensable requisite of a good +education, not only to write the language with purity, but to have read +and studied the classic poets, and to know their finest passages by +heart. The admiration with which Arabic scholars regard their best +writers, is the same as that esteem in which Europeans hold their own +classics. The far greater part of the Eastern population, it is true, +neither write nor read; but of those who have been instructed in +letters, a much larger proportion write elegantly, and are well read in +the native authors, than among the same class in Europe. + +The Mekkawys study little besides the language and the law. Some boys +learn at least as much Turkish as will enable them to cheat the Osmanly +pilgrims to whom their knowledge of that tongue may recommend them as +guides. The astronomer of the mosque learns to know the exact time of +the Sun’s passing the meridian, and occupies himself occasionally with +astrology and horoscopes. A Persian doctor, the only avowed medical +professor I saw at Mekka, deals in nothing + +[p.216] but miraculous balsams and infallible elixirs; his potions are +all sweet and agreeable; and the musk and aloe-wood which he burns, +diffuse through his shop a delicious odour, which has contributed to +establish his reputation. Music, in general so passionately loved among +the Arabs, is less practised at Mekka than in Syria and Egypt. Of +instruments they possess only the rababa, (a kind of guitar,) the nay, +(a species of clarinet,) and the tambour, or tambourine. Few songs are +heard in the evenings, except among the Bedouins in the skirts of the +town. The choral song called Djok, is sometimes sung by the young men at +night in the coffee-houses, its measure being accompanied with the +clapping of hands. In general, the voices of the Hedjazys are harsh, and +not clear: I heard none of those sonorous and harmonious voices which +are so remarkable in Egypt, and still more in Syria, whether giving +utterance to love songs, or chanting the praises of Mohammed from the +minarets, which in the depth of night has a peculiarly grand effect. +Even the Imams of the mosque, and those who chant the anthems, in +repeating the last words of the introductory prayers of the Imam, men +who in other places are chosen for their fine voices, can here be +distinguished only by their hoarseness and dissonance. + +The Sherif has a band of martial music, similar to that kept by Pashas, +composed of kettle-drums, trumpets, fifes, &c.: it plays twice a day +before his door, and for about an hour on every evening of the new moon. + +Weddings are attended by professional females, who sing and dance: they +have, it is said, good voices, and are not of that dissolute class to +which the public singers and dancers belong in Syria and Egypt. The +Mekkawys say, that before the Wahaby invasion, singers might be heard +during the evening in every street, but that the austerity of the +Wahabys, who, though passionately fond of their own Bedouin songs, +disapproved of the public singing of females, occasioned the ruin of all +musical pursuits:--this, however, may be only an idle notion, to be +ranked with that which is as prevalent in the East as it is in Europe, +that old times were always better in every respect than the present. + +[p.217] The sakas or water-carriers of Mekka, many of whom are +foreigners, having a song which is very affecting from its simplicity +and the purpose for which it is used, the wealthier pilgrims frequently +purchase the whole contents of a saka’s water-skin, on quitting the +mosque, especially at night, and order him to distribute it gratis among +the poor. While pouring out the water into the wooden bowls, with which +every beggar is provided, they exclaim “Sebyl Allah, ya atshan, Sebyl!” +“hasten, O thirsty, to the ways of God!” and then break out in the +following short song of three notes only, which I never heard without +emotion. + +Ed-djene wa el moy fezata ly Saheb es-sabyl “Paradise and forgiveness be +the lot of him who gave you this water!” + +I cannot describe the marriage-feasts as celebrated at Mekka, not having +attended any; but I have seen the bride carried to the house of her +husband, accompanied by all her female friends. No canopy is used on +this occasion, as in Egypt, nor any music; but rich clothes and +furniture are displayed, and the feasting is sumptuous, and often lasts +for three or four days. On settling a marriage, the money to be paid for +the bride is carried in procession from the house of the bridegroom to +that of the girl’s father; it is borne through the streets upon two +tabourets, wrapped up in a rich handkerchief, and covered again with an +embroidered satin stuff. Before the two persons who hold these +tabourets, two others walk, with a flask of rose-water in one hand, and +a censer in the other, upon which all sorts of perfumes and odours are +burning. Behind them follow, in a long train, all the kindred and +friends of the bridegroom, dressed in their best clothes. The price paid +for virgins among the respectable classes, varies at Mekka from forty to +three hundred dollars, and from ten to twenty dollars among the poor +classes. Half the sum only is usually paid down; the other half is left +in possession of the husband, who pays it in case he should divorce his +wife. + +[p.218] The circumcision feasts are similar to those at Cairo: the +child, after the operation, is dressed in the richest stuffs, set upon a +fine horse highly adorned, and is thus carried in procession through the +town with drums beating before him. + +Funerals differ in nothing from those in Egypt and Syria. + +The people of Mekka, in general, have very few horses; I believe that +there are not more than sixty kept by private individuals. The Sherif +has about twenty or thirty in his stables; but Sherif Ghaleb had a +larger stud. The military Sherifs keep mares, but the greater part of +these were absent with the army. The Bedouins, who are settled in the +suburb Moabede, and in some other parts of the town, as being concerned +with public affairs, have also their horses; but none of the merchants +or other classes keep any. They are afraid of being deprived by the +Sherif of any fine animal they might possess, and therefore content +themselves with mules or gedishes (geldings of a low breed). Asses are +very common, but no person of quality ever rides upon them. The few +horses kept at Mekka are of noble breed, and purchased from the +Bedouins: in the spring they are usually sent to some Bedouin +encampment, to feed upon the fine nutritious herbage of the Desert. +Sherif Yahya has a gray mare, from the stud of Ghaleb, which was valued +at twenty purses; she was as beautiful a creature as I ever saw, and the +only one perfectly fine that I met with in the Hedjaz. The Bedouins of +that country, and those especially around Mekka, are very poor in +horses; a few Sheikhs only having any, pasture being scarce, and the +expense of a horse’s keep being three piastres a day. + +In the Eastern plain, behind Tayf, horses are more numerous, although +much less so than in Nedjed and the deserts of Syria, in consequence of +the comparative scarcity of corn, and the uncertainty of the rain; a +deficiency of which often leaves the Bedouin a whole year without +vegetation; a circumstance that rarely happens in the more northern +deserts, where the rains seldom fail in the proper seasons. + +[p.219] GOVERNMENT OF MEKKA. + +The territories of Mekka, Tayf, Gonfade, (which stretches southwards as +far as Haly, on the coast,) and of Yembo, were, previous to the Wahaby +and Egyptian conquests, under the command of the Sherif of Mekka, who +had extended his authority over Djidda also, though this town was +nominally separated from his dominions, and governed by a Pasha, sent +thither by the Porte, to be sole master of the town, and to divide its +revenue with the Sherif. The Sherif, raised to his station by force or +by personal influence, and the consent of the powerful Sherif families +of Mekka, held his authority from the Grand Signor, who invariably +confirmed the individual that had possessed himself of it. [The +government of the Hedjaz has often been a subject of dispute between the +Khalifes of Baghdad, the Sultans of Egypt, and the Imams of Yemen. The +honour attached, even to a nominal authority over the holy cities, was +the only object they had in view, although that authority, instead of +increasing their income, obliged them to incur great expenses. The right +of clothing the Kaaba, and of having their name inserted in the Friday’s +prayers in the mosque, was the sole benefit they derived. The supremacy +of Egypt over Mekka, so firmly established from the beginning of the +fifteenth century, was transferred, after the conquest of that country +by Selim I., to the Sultans of Constantinople.] He was invested annually +with a pelisse, brought from Constantinople by the Kaftandji Bashy; and, +in the Turkish ceremonial, he was ranked among the first Pashas of the +empire. When the power of the Pashas of Djidda became merely nominal, +and the Porte was no longer able to send large armies with the Hadj +caravans of the Hedjaz, to secure its command over that country, the +Sherifs of Mekka became independent, and disregarded all the orders of +the Porte, although + +[p.220] they still called themselves the servants of the Sultan, +received the annual investiture of the pelisse, acknowledged the Kadhi +sent from Constantinople, and prayed for the Sultan in the great mosque. +Mohammed Aly has restored the authority of the Osmanlys in the Hedjaz, +and usurps all the power of the Sherif; allowing to the present Sherif +Yahya a merely nominal sway. + +The Sherif of Mekka was chosen from one of the many tribes of Sherifs, +or descendants of the Prophet, who settled in the Hedjaz; these were +once numerous, but are now reduced to a few families of Mekka. Till the +last century, the right of succession was in the Dwy [Dwy means Ahl, or +family.] Barakat, so called after Barakat, the son of Seyd Hassan +Adjelan, who succeeded his father in A.H. 829; he belonged to the sherif +tribe of Katade, which was originally settled in the valley of Alkamye, +forming part of Yembo el Nakhel, and was related, by the female side, to +the Beni Hashem, whom they had dispossessed of the government of Mekka +in A.H. 600, after the death of the last Hashemy, called Mekether. +During the last century, the Dwy Barakat had to sustain many wars with +their rival tribes, and finally yielded to the most numerous, that of +Dwy Zeyd, to whom the present Sherifs belong, and which, together with +all the Ketade, form part of the great tribe of Abou Nema. Most of the +Barakat emigrated; many of them settling in the fertile valleys of the +Hedjaz, and others in Yemen. Of the Sherifs still existing in and about +Mekka, besides the tribes above mentioned, the following five were named +to me: Abadele, Ahl Serour, Herazy, Dwy Hamoud, Sowamele. [In addition to +these, I find several others mentioned by Asamy, as Dwy Masoud, Dwy +Shambar, Dwy el Hareth, Dwy Thokaba, Dwy Djazan, Dwy Baz. It would +demand more leisure than I enjoy, to compile a history of Mekka from the +above-mentioned sources. D’Ohsson has given an historical notice on the +Sherifs of Mekka, in which are several errors. The long pedigrees that +must be traced, to acquire a clear notion of the rulers of any part of +Arabia, render the history of that country extremely intricate.] + +The succession to the government of Mekka, like that of the Bedouin +Sheikhs, was not hereditary; though it remained in the same tribe as +long as the power of that tribe preponderated. After the + +[p.221] death of a Sherif, his relative, whether son, brother, or +cousin, &c. who had the strongest party, or the public voice in his +favour, became the successor. There were no ceremonies of installation +or oaths of allegiance. The new Sherif received the complimentary visits +of the Mekkawys; his band played before the door, which seems to be the +sign of royalty here, as it is in the black country; and his name was +henceforth inserted in the public prayers. Though a succession seldom +took place without some contest, there was little bloodshed in general; +and tho[u]gh instances of cruelty sometimes occurred, the principles of +honour and good faith which distinguish the wars of the Desert tribes, +were generally observed. The rivals submitted, and usually remained in +the town, neither attending the levees of their victorious relative, nor +dreading his resentment, after peace had once been settled. During the +war, the rights of hospitality were held as sacred as they are in the +Desert; the dakhyl, or refugee, was always respected: for the blood shed +on both sides, atonement was made by fines paid to the relations of the +slain, and the same laws of retaliation were observed, which prevail +among the Bedouins. There was always a strong party in opposition to the +reigning power; but this opposition was evinced more in the protection +afforded to individuals persecuted by the chief, than in open attempts +against his authority. Wars, however, frequently happened; each party +had its adherents among the neighbouring Bedouins; but these were +carried on according to the system in Bedouin feuds, and were seldom of +long duration. + +Though such customs might have a tendency to crush the power of the +reigning Sherif, they were attended with bad consequences to the +community: every individual was obliged to attach himself to one or +other of the parties, and to some protector, who treated his adherents +with the same tyranny and injustice that he experienced from his +superior; laws were little respected; every thing was decided by +personal influence. The power of the Sherifs was considerably diminished +by Serour, who reigned from 1773 to 1786; but even, in later times, +Ghaleb, although possessed of more authority than any of his +predecessors, had often to fight with his own relations. + +This continued prevalence of intestine broils, the wars and contentions +[p.222] of the prevailing parties, the vicissitudes of fortune which +attended them, and the arts of popularity which the chiefs were obliged +to employ, gave to the government of the Hedjaz a character different +from that of most of the other governments in the East, and which it +retained, in outward appearance, even after Ghaleb had almost succeeded +in reigning as a despot. None of that ceremony was observed, which draws +a line of distinction between the Eastern sovereigns, or their +vicegerents, and the people. The court of the Sherif was small, and +almost entirely devoid of pomp. His title is neither Sultan, nor Sultan +Sherif, nor “Sire,” as Aly Bey Abbas asserts. “Sydna,” “our Lord,” was +the title which his subjects used in conversing with him; or that of +“Sádetkum,” or “your Highness,” which is given to all Pashas. The +distance between the subject and the chief was not thought so great as +to prevent the latter, in cases of need, from representing his griefs +personally, and respectfully but boldly demanding redress. + The reigning Sherif did not keep a large body of regular troops; +but he summoned his partisans among the Sherifs, with their adherents, +whenever war was determined upon. These Sherifs he attached to his +person by respecting their rank and influence, and they were accustomed +to consider him in no other light than as the first among equals. + To give a history of the events which have occurred at Mekka since +the period at which the Arabian historians conclude, (about the middle, +I believe, of the seventeenth century,) would be a work of some labour, +as it must be drawn from verbal communications; for nobody, in this +country, thinks of committing to paper the events of his own times. The +circumstances under which I visited the place would have prevented me +from obtaining any very extensive and accurate information on the +political state of the country, even if I had had leisure, as such +inquiries would have obliged me to mix with people of rank, and those +holding offices; a class of society which, for obvious reasons, it was +my constant endeavour to shun. The following is the amount of what +information I was able to collect concerning the recent history of +Mekka. + +[p.223] 1750. Sherif Mesaad was appointed to the government of Mekka, +which he held for twenty years. The power of the Sherifs involved him in +frequent wars with them; as he seldom succeeded, their influence +remained undiminished. Having betrayed symptoms of enmity towards Aly +Beg, then governor of Egypt, the latter sent his favourite slave, Abou +Dahab, whom he had made Beg, with a strong body of soldiers, as chief of +the Hadj caravan, to Mekka, in order to expel Mesaad; but the Sherif +died a few days before his arrival. + +1769, or 1770. After Mesaad’s death, Hosseyn, who, although of the same +tribe, had been his opponent on every occasion, was raised by his own +party to the government, and confirmed therein by the assistance of Abou +Dahab. He continued to rule till the year + +1773 or 4, when he was slain in a war with Serour, the son of Mesaad. +The name of Serour, who reigned thirteen or fourteen years, is still +venerated by the Mekkawys: he was the first who humbled the pride and +power of the Sherifs, and established rigid justice in the town. +Previous to his reign, every Sherif had in his house at Mekka an +establishment of thirty or forty armed slaves, servants, and relations, +besides having powerful friends among the Bedouins. Ignorant of every +occupation but that of arms, they lived upon the cattle which they kept +among the Bedouins, and in different parts of the Hedjaz; the surra +which they were entitled to receive from the Hadj; and the presents +which they exacted from the pilgrims, and from their dependents in the +town. Some of them, in addition to these general sources of income, had +extorted from former chief Sherifs lucrative sinecures, such as duties +on ships, or on certain articles of merchandize; tolls collected at one +of the gates of Djidda; the capitation-tax levied upon the Persian +pilgrims, &c. &c. Their behaviour in the town was wild and disorderly; +the orders of the chief Sherif were disregarded; every one made use of +his personal authority to increase his wealth; family quarrels +frequently occurred; and, in the time of the Hadj, they often waylaid +small parties of pilgrims in their route from Medina or Djidda to Mekka, +plundering those who made no defence, and killing those who resisted. + +After a long struggle, Serour succeeded at length in reducing + +[p.224] the Sherifs to obedience, chiefly by cultivating the goodwill of +the common class of Mekkawys, and of the Bedouins, by his great +simplicity of manners, personal frugality, and generosity towards his +friends, together with a reputation for excessive bravery and sagacity. +He had often made peace with his enemies; but fresh wars as repeatedly +broke forth. It is said that he once discovered a conspiracy to murder +him in one of his nightly walks round the Kaaba; and that he generously +spared the lives of the conspirators, and only banished them. He +strengthened the great castle of Mekka; kept a large body of armed +slaves and Bedouins constantly in his service, the expenses of which he +defrayed by his commercial profits, being an active trader with Yemen; +and, finally, he obliged the most powerful Sherif families to expatriate +themselves, and seek for refuge in Yemen, while many Sherifs were killed +in battle, and others fell by the hands of the executioner. After this, +Serour applied himself to re-establish the administration of justice; +and numerous acts are related of him, which reflect equal honour upon +his love of equity and his sagacity. He drove the Jews from Djidda, +where they had acquired considerable riches by their brokerage and +fraudulent dealings; protected the pilgrims in their progress through +the Hedjaz; and regulated the receipt of customs and taxes, which had +previously been levied in a very arbitrary manner. When he died, the +whole population of Mekka followed his remains to the grave. He is still +considered by the Mekkawys as a kind of saint, and his name is venerated +even by the Wahabys. + +1785, or 86. After the death of Serour, Abd el Mayn, one of his +brothers, succeeded for four or five days, when his younger brother +Ghaleb, by his superior skill in intrigue, and by the great popularity +which his valour, understanding, and engaging address had acquired for +him in the time of Serour, dispossessed Abd el Mayn, and suffered him +quietly to retire. During the first years of his reign, Ghaleb was the +tool of Serour’s powerful slaves and eunuchs, who were completely +masters of the town, and indulged in the same disorderly behaviour, +injustice, and oppression which had formerly characterized the Sherifs. +Ghaleb, however, soon freed himself from their influence, and acquired +at length a firmer authority over the Hedjaz than any of his +predecessors + +[p.225] had possessed, and which he retained till the wars of the +Wahabys, and the treachery of Mohammed Aly put an end to his reign. +Ghaleb’s government was milder than that of Serour, though far from +being so just. Very few individuals were put to death by his orders; but +he became avaricious, and culprits were often permitted to purchase +their lives by large fines. To accomplish this extortion, he filled his +prisons with the refractory; but blood only flowed in his transactions +with the Wahabys. During his wars with these invaders, the younger sons +of Serour Abdulla ibn Serour, and Seyd ibn Serour, attempted to wrest +the government from their uncle, but without success; when reconciled +with Ghaleb, they were permitted to return quietly to Mekka, and here +they resided when Mohammed Aly arrived. He sent Abdulla to Cairo +together with Ghaleb, but was ordered by the Porte to set the former at +liberty. Abdulla had been once at Constantinople to obtain the Sultan’s +assistance against Ghaleb. The great temerity of Abdulla has gained him +more admirers than friends at Mekka; but it seems probable that, should +the Turks be again obliged to abandon the Hedjaz, he would replace his +brother Yahia, the present chief, who received the appointment from +Mohammed Aly in 1813, and whose reputation and influence at Mekka are +only suited to this honorary situation. The Pasha having seized the +revenues of the government of Mekka, has assigned to the Sherif a +monthly allowance of only fifty purses, or about eight hundred pounds, +to support both his troops and his household. The latter is nominally +the same it was before the Turkish conquest, and consists of a few +Sherifs, some Mekkawys, and Abyssinian or black slaves, who are +indiscriminately appointed to the several employments about his person, +the pompous titles of which are borrowed from the red book of the +Turkish court. At Yembo, Tayf, Mekka, and Djidda, Ghaleb kept his +vizier, who was called El Hakem at Mekka and Tayf. He had, besides, his +khasnadar, or treasurer; his selahdar, or sword-bearer; moherdar, or +keeper of the seal; and a few other officers, who, however, were far +from keeping up so strict an etiquette, or being persons of as much +consequence, as those officers are in the Turkish court. The whole of +the private establishment of Ghaleb consisted of fifty or sixty servants +and officers, + +[p.226] and as many slaves and eunuchs. Besides his wives, he kept about +two dozen of Abyssinian slaves, and double that number of females to +attend upon them and to nurse his children. In his stables were from +thirty to forty horses of the best Arabian breed; half a dozen mules, +upon which he sometimes rode; and as many dromedaries. I learned from +one of his old servants, that an erdeb (about fifteen bushels) was +issued daily from the store for the use of the household; this, with +perhaps half a hundred weight of butter, and two sheep, formed the +principal expenditure of provision. It was partly consumed by the +Bedouins, who came to Mekka upon business, and who were in the habit of +repairing to the Sherif’s house, to claim his hospitality, just as they +would alight at the tent of a Sheikh in an encampment in the Desert. +When they departed, their sacks were filled with provisions for the +road, such being the Arab custom, and the Sherifs of Mekka having always +shown an anxious desire to treat the Bedouins with kindness and +liberality. + +The dress of the Sherif is the same as that of all the heads of Sherif +families at Mekka; consisting, usually, of an Indian silk gown, over +which is thrown a white abba, of the finest manufacture of El Ahsa, in +the Persian Gulf; a Cashmere shawl, for the head; and yellow slippers, +or sometimes sandals, for the feet. I saw no Mekkawy Sherifs with green +turbans. Such of them as enter into the service of government, or are +brought up to arms, and who are called by the Mekkawys exclusively +“Sherifs,” generally wear coloured Cashmere shawls; the others, who lead +a private life, or are employed in the law and the mosque, tie a small +white muslin shawl round their caps. The Sherifs, however, possess one +distinguishing mark of dress--a high woollen cap of a green colour, round +which they tie the white muslin or the Cashmere shawl; beyond which the +cap projects, so as to screen the wearer’s face from the rays of the +sun: for its convenience in this respect, it is sometimes used also by +elderly persons; but this is far from being a common fashion. + +When the Sherif rides out, he carries in his hand a short, slender +stick, called metrek, such as the Bedouins sometimes use in driving +their camels; a horseman, who rides close by him, carries in his hand + +[p.227] an umbrella or canopy, of Chinese design, adorned with silk +tassels, which he holds over the Sherif’s head when the sun incommodes +him. This is the only sign of royalty by which the Sherif is +distinguished when he appears in public; and even this is not used when +he walks in the street. The Wahabys compelled him to lay aside the +canopy, and to go on foot to the mosque, alleging as a reason, that it +was inconsistent with the requisite humility, to come into the presence +of the Kaaba on horseback. But when Ghaleb was in full power al Mekka, +he obliged the Pashas who accompanied the pilgrim caravan, to +acknowledge his right of precedency on all occasions; and he +disseminated throughout the Hedjaz a belief that his rank was superior +to that of any officer of the Porte; and that even at Constantinople the +Sultan himself ought, in strictness of etiquette, to rise and salute +him. I have already mentioned the annual investiture of the Sherif by +the Kaftandjy Bashy. According to the ceremonial practised on the +arrival of the caravan, the Sherif pays the first visit to the Pasha, or +Emir el Hadj. The latter, on returning the visit, receives a horse, +richly caparisoned, from the Sherif. After the return of the Hadj from +Wady Muna, the Pasha presents him, on the first day, with a similar +horse; and they both exchange visits in their tents at Muna. When the +caravan is ready to leave Mekka, on its return home, the Sherif visits +the Pasha a second time, in his camp outside the town, and is there +presented with another horse. + +The Sherif is supposed to have under his jurisdiction all the Bedouin +tribes of the Hedjaz; at least they are named in his own and the Porte’s +registers, as the dutiful subjects of the Sultan and of the Sherif. When +in the full enjoyment of his power, Ghaleb possessed a considerable +influence over these tribes, but without any direct authority. They +looked upon the Sherif, with his soldiers and friends, in the same light +as one of their own Sheikhs, with his adherents; and all the laws of war +current in the Desert, were strictly observed by the Sherif. In his late +expeditions against the Wahabys, he was accompanied by six or eight +thousand Bedouins, who joined him, as they would have joined another +Sheikh, without receiving any regular pay + +[p.228] for their services, but following their own chiefs, whose +interest and attachment Ghaleb purchased by presents. + +To those who are unacquainted with the politics of the Desert, the +government of Mekka will present some singularities; but every thing is +easily explained, if the Sherif be considered as a Bedouin chief, whom +wealth and power have led to assume arbitrary sway; who has adopted the +exterior form of an Osmanly governor, but who strictly adheres to all +the ancient usages of his nation. In former times, the heads of the +Sherif families at Mekka exercised the same influence as the fathers of +families in the Bedouin encampments; the authority of the great chief +afterwards prevailed, and the others were obliged to submit; but they +still retain, in many cases, the rights of their forefathers. The rest +of the Mekkawys were considered by the contending parties, not as their +equals, but as settlers under their domination; in the same way as +Bedouin tribes fight for villages which pay to them certain assessments, +and whose inhabitants are considered to be on a much lower level than +themselves. The Mekkawys, however, were not to be dealt with like +inhabitants of the towns in the northern provinces of Turkey; they took +a part in the feuds of the Sherifs, and shared in the influence and +power obtained by their respective patrons. When Serour and Ghaleb +successively possessed themselves of a more uncontrolled authority than +any of their predecessors had enjoyed, the remaining Sherifs united more +closely with the Mekkawys, and, till the most recent period, formed with +them a body respectable for its warlike character, as was evinced in +frequent quarrels among themselves; and a resistance against the +government, when its measures affected their lives, although they were +so far reduced as never to revolt when their purses only were assailed. + +The government of Ghaleb, notwithstanding his pecuniary extortion, was +lenient and cautious: he respected the pride of the Mekkawys, and seldom +made any attempts against the personal safety or even fortunes of +individuals, although they smarted under those regulations which +affected them collectively. He permitted his avowed enemies to live +peaceably in the bosom of their families, and the people + +[p.229] to indulge in bloody affrays among themselves, which frequently +happened either in consequence of blood-revenge, or the jealousies which +the inhabitants of different quarters of the town entertained against +each other; sometimes fighting for weeks together, but generally with +sticks, lances, and daggers, and not with fire-arms. + +The Sherifs, or descendants of Mohammed, resident at Mekka and in the +neighbourhood, who delight in arms, and are so often engaged in civil +broils, have a practice of sending every male child, eight days after +its birth, to some tent of the neighbouring Bedouins, where it is +brought up with the children of the tent, and educated like a true +Bedouin for eight or ten years, or till the boy is able to mount a mare, +when his father takes him back to his home. During the whole of the +above period, the boy never visits his parents, nor enters the town, +except when in his sixth month; his foster-mother then carries him on a +short visit to his family, and immediately returns with him to her +tribe. The child is, in no instance, left longer than thirty days after +his birth in the hands of his mother; and his stay among the Bedouins is +sometimes protracted till his thirteenth or fifteenth year. By this +means, he becomes familiar with all the perils and vicissitudes of a +Bedouin life; his body is inured to fatigue and privation; and he +acquires a knowledge of the pure language of the Bedouins, and an +influence among them that becomes afterwards of much importance to him. +There is no sherif, from the chief down to the poorest among them, who +has not been brought up among the Bedouins; and many of them are also +married to Bedouin girls. The sons of the reigning Sherif family were +usually educated among the tribe of Adouan, celebrated for the prowess +and hospitality of its members; but it has been so much reduced by the +intestine wars of the Sherifs, in which they always took part, and by +the late invasion of Mohammed Aly, that they found it expedient to +abandon the territory of the Hedjaz, and seek refuge in the encampments +of the tribes of the Eastern plain. Othman el Medhayfe, the famous +Wahaby chief, a principal instrument employed by Saoud in the +subjugation of the Hedjaz, was himself a Sheikh of Adouan; and Sherif +Ghaleb had married his sister. The other Sherifs + +[p.230] sent their children to the encampments of Hodheyl, Thekyf, Beni +Sad, and others; some few to the Koreysh, or Harb. + +The Bedouins in whose tent a Sherif has been educated, were ever after +treated by him with the same respect as his own parents and brethren; he +called them respectively, father, mother, brother; and received from +them corresponding appellations. Whenever they came to Mekka, they +lodged at the house of their pupil, and never left it without receiving +presents. During his pupilage, the Sherif gave the name of Erham to the +more distant relatives of the Bedouin family, who were also entitled to +his friendship and attention; and he considered himself, during his +life, as belonging to the encampment in which he had passed his early +years: he termed its inhabitants “our people,” or, “our family;” took +the liveliest interest in their various fortunes; and, when at leisure, +often paid them a visit during the spring months, and sometimes +accompanied them in their wanderings and their wars. + +Sherif Ghaleb always showed himself extremely attentive to his Bedouin +foster-parents; whenever they visited him, he used to rise from his +seat, and embrace them, though in no way distinguished from any meanly- +dressed inhabitant of the Desert. Of course, it often happened that +Sherif boys could not easily be induced to acknowledge their real +parents at home; and they sometimes escaped, and rejoined the friends of +their infancy, the Bedouins in the Desert. + +The custom which I have just described is very ancient in Arabia. +Mohammed was educated among foreigners, in the tribe of Beni Sad; and +his example is continually quoted by the Mekkawys, when speaking of the +practice still usual among the Sherifs. But they are almost the only +people in Arabia by whom it is now followed. The Bedouins called +Mowalys, [This tribe is originally from the Hedjaz: it lived in the +neighbourhood of Medina, and is often mentioned by the historians of +that town, during the first century after Mohammed.] once a potent +tribe, but now reduced to a small number, and pasturing their flocks in +the vicinity of Aleppo, are the only Arabs among whom I met with any +thing similar. With them it is an established + +[p.231] usage, that the son of the chief of that tribe should be +educated in the family of another individual of the same tribe, but +generally of a different encampment, until he is sufficiently old to be +able to shift for himself. The pupil calls his tutor Morabby, and +displays the greatest regard for him during the rest of his life. + +The Sherifs derive considerable advantages from their Bedouin education; +acquiring not only strength and activity of body, but some part of that +energy, freedom of manners, and boldness, which characterize the +inhabitant of the Desert; together with a greater regard to the virtues +of good faith and hospitality, than if they had been brought up in +Mekka. + +I did not see many Sherifs. Of the small number now remaining, some were +employed, during my residence at Mekka, either as guides with the army +of Mohammed Aly, or were incorporated by him in a small corps of +Bedouins, commanded by Sherif Radjeh, one of their most distinguished +members; or in the service of Sherif Yahya, who sent them on duty to the +advanced posts towards Yemen. Some of them had retired, after Ghaleb was +taken, to the Wahabys, or to Yemen, where a few of them still remained. +Those whom I had an opportunity of seeing, were distinguished by fine +manly countenances, strongly expressive of noble extraction; and they +had all the exterior manners of Bedouins; free, bold, frank, warm +friends; bitter enemies; seeking for popularity, and endowed with an +innate pride, which, in their own estimation, sets them far above the +Sultan of Constantinople. I never beheld a handsomer man than Sherif +Radjeh, whose heroism I have mentioned in my history of Mohammed Aly’s +campaign, and the dignity of whose deportment would make him remarked +among thousands; nor can a more spirited and intelligent face be easily +imagined, than was that of Sherif Ghaleb. Yahya, the present Sherif, is +of a very dark complexion, like that of his father; his mother was a +dark brown Abyssinian slave. + +The Mekkawys give the Sherifs little credit for honesty, and they have +constantly shown great versatility of character and conduct; but this +could hardly be otherwise, considering the sphere and the times in which +they moved: their Bedouin education has certainly + +[p.232] made them preferable, in many respects, to the common class of +Mekkawys. + +It is a rule among the Sherifs, that the daughters of the reigning chief +can never marry; and while their brothers are often playing in the +streets with their comrades, from whom they are in no way distinguished, +either in dress or dignity of appearance, the unfortunate girls remain +shut up in the father’s house. I have seen a son of Sherif Ghaleb, whose +father was then in exile at Salonica, play before the door of his house. +But I have heard that, when the boys of the reigning Sherif return from +the Desert, and are not yet sufficiently grown up to appear with a manly +air in public, they are kept within their father’s house or court-yard, +and seen only by the inmates of the family, appearing for the first time +in public, on horseback, by the side of their father; from which period +they are considered to be of age, soon after marry, and take a share in +public affairs. + +The greater part of the Sherifs of Mekka, and those especially of the +reigning tribe of Dwy Zeyd, are strongly suspected to be Muselman +sectaries, belonging to the Zyoud, or followers of Zeyd, a sect which +has numerous proselytes in Yemen, and especially in the mountains about +Sada. This, however, the Sherifs do not acknowledge, but comply with the +doctrines of the orthodox sect of Shafeys, to which most of the Mekkawys +belong; but the Sherifs residing abroad do not deny it; and whenever +points of law are discussing upon which the Zyoud are at variance with +the Sunnys, the Sherifs always decline taking an active part in the +discussion. + +I believe that the Zeyds are divided into different sects. Those of +Yemen and Mekka acknowledge as the founder of their creed El Imam el +Hady ill el Hak Yahyn ibn el Hosseyn, who traces his pedigree to +Hassan, the son of Aly. He was born at Rass, in the province of Kasym, +in A.H. 245, and first rose as a sectary at Sada, in Yemen, in 280. He +fought with the Abassides, took Sana, out of which he was driven, +afterwards attacked the Karmates, and died of poison at Sada in A.H. +298. Others trace the origin of this sect higher, to Zeyd ibn Aly Zeyn +el Aabedyn ibn el Hosseyn ibn Aly ibn Aby Taleb, who was killed at Koufa +in A.H. 121, by the party of the Khalif Hesham. The + +[p.233] Zeydites appear, generally, to entertain a great veneration for +Aly; at the same time that they do not, as the Persians, curse Abou +Beker and Omar. They entertain notions different from those of the +Sunnys respecting the succession of the twelve Imams, but agree, in +other respects, much more with them than with the Persians. The Zeydites +of Yemen, to whom the Imam of Sana himself belongs, designate their +creeds as the fifth of the orthodox Mohammedan creeds, next to the +Hanefys, Shafeys, Malekys, and Hanbalys, and for that reason they are +called Ahl el Khams Mezaheb. In Yemen they publicly avow their +doctrines; at Mekka they conceal them. I heard that one of their +principal tenets is, that in praying, whether in the mosque, or at home, +no other expressions should be used than those contained in the Koran, +or such as are formed from passages of that book. + +The Mekkawys regard the Zyoud as heretics; and assert that, like +Persians, they hold in disrespect the immediate successors of Mohammed. +Stories are related of the Zyoud in Yemen writing the name of Mawya over +the most unclean part of their houses, to show their contempt of him; +but such tenets are not avowed, and the Sherifs agree outwardly in every +point with the Sunnys, whatever may be their private opinions. + +I have already stated that the Kadhy of Mekka is sent annually from +Constantinople, according to the usual practice of the Turkish +government with respect to the great cities of the empire. This system +began with the early emperors, who thought that, by depriving the +provincial governors of the administration of justice, and placing it in +the hands of a learned man sent periodically from Constantinople, and +quite independent of the governors, they might prevent the latter from +exercising any undue influence over the courts of law, at the same time +that the consequences likely to result from the same judge remaining in +office for any length of time were avoided. But manners are very +different throughout the empire from what they were three hundred years +ago. In every town the Kadhy is now under the immediate influence of the +governor, who is left to tyrannize at pleasure, provided he sends his +regular subsidies to the Porte. No person can gain a suit at law unless +he enjoys credit with the government, or + +[p.234] gives a bribe to the judge, which the governor shares or +connives at, in return for the Kadhy’s compliance with his interests in +other cases. The fees of court are enormous, and generally swallow up +one fourth of the sum in litigation; while the court is deaf to the +clearest right, if not supported by largesses to the Kadhy and the swarm +of officers and servants who surround his seat. These disorders are +countenanced by the Porte: the office of Kadhy is there publicly sold to +the best bidder, with the understanding that he is to remunerate himself +by the perquisites of his administration. + +In those countries where Arabs flock to his court, the Kadhy, who +generally knows but little of the Arabic language, is in the hands of +his interpreter, whose office is usually permanent, and who instructs +every new Kadhy in the modes of bribery current in the place, and takes +a full share of the harvest. The barefaced acts of injustice and +shameless briberies daily occurring in the Mehkames, or halls of +justice, would seem almost incredible to an European, and especially an +Englishman. + +The Kadhy of Mekka has shared the fate of his brother judges in other +parts of the empire, and has been for many years so completely under the +influence of the Sherif, that all suits were carried directly before his +tribunal, and the Kadhy was thus reduced to spend his time in +unprofitable leisure. I was informed by the Kadhy himself, that the +Grand Signior, in consideration of the trifling emoluments of the +situation, had, for some time back, been in the habit of paying to the +Kadhy of Mekka one hundred purses per annum out of his treasury. Since +the conquest of Mohammed Aly, the Kadhy has recovered his importance, in +the same proportion as the influence of the Sherif has been diminished. +When I was at Mekka, all law-suits were decided in the Mehkame. Mohammed +Aly seldom interposed his authority, as he wished to conciliate the +good-will of the Arabs, and the Kadhy himself seems to have received +from him very strict orders to act with circumspection; for justice was, +at this time, tolerably well administered, at least in comparison with +other tribunals; and the inhabitants were not averse to the new order of +things. The Kadhy of Mekka appoints to the law-offices of Djidda and +Tayf, which are filled + +[p.235] by Arabs, not Turks. In law-suits of importance, the Muftis of +the four orthodox sects have considerable influence on the decision. + +The income of the Sherif is derived principally from the customs paid at +Djidda, which, as I have already mentioned, instead of being, according +to the intention of the Turkish government, divided between himself and +the Pasha of Djidda, were seized wholly by the late Sherifs, and are now +in the hands of Mohammed Aly. The customs of Djidda, properly the same +as those levied in every other part of the Turkish empire, were much +increased by Ghaleb, which was the principal reason why the whole body +of merchants opposes him. He had also engrossed too large a share of the +commerce to himself. Eight dows belonging to him were constantly +employed in the coffee-trade between Yemen, Djidda, and Egypt; and when +the sale of that article was slow, he obliged the merchants to purchase +his cargoes for ready money at the market-price, in order to send off +the sooner his returns of dollars to Yemen. Two of the largest of his +vessels (one an English-built ship of three or four hundred tons, +purchased at Bombay,) made a voyage annually to the East Indies, and the +cargoes which they brought home were either sold to the Hadj at Mekka, +or were divided among the merchants of Djidda, who were forced to +purchase them. + +Besides the port of Djidda, that of Yembo, where the Sherif kept a +governor, was subjected to similar duties. He also levied a tax as well +upon all cattle and provisions carried from the interior of the country +into Djidda, as upon those carried into Mekka, Tayf, and Yembo, except +what came with the two great hadj-caravans from the north, which passed +every where duty-free. The inhabitants of Mekka and Djidda pay no other +taxes than those just mentioned, their houses, persons, and property +being free from all other imposts; an advantage which they have never +sufficiently acknowledged, though they might have readily drawn a +comparison between themselves and their neighbours of Syria and Egypt. +The other branches of the Sherif’s revenues were the profits derived +from the sale of provisions at Mekka, of which, although he did not +monopolize them like Mohammed Aly, yet he had always such a considerable +stock on hand, as enabled him to + +[p.236] influence the daily prices; the capitation-tax on all Persian +hadjys, whether coming by land from Baghdad, or by the way of the Red +Sea and Yemen; and presents to a considerable amount, either offered to +him gratuitously, or extorted from the rich hadjys of all +countries. [Formerly, when the Sherifs of Mekka were more powerful, they +levied a tribute upon the two great pilgrim-caravans, similar to that +exacted by the Bedouins on the road. Abou Nima, in A.H. 654, took from +every camel of the Yemen caravan thirty dirhems, and fifty upon every +one in the Egyptian caravan.] + +Of the money sent from Constantinople to the holy city, temple, &c. a +large portion was appropriated by the Sherif to his own treasury; and it +is said that he regularly shared in all the presents which were made to +the mosque. Ghaleb possessed considerable landed property; many of the +gardens round Tayf, and of the plantations in the valley of Hosseynye, +Wady Fatme, Wady Lymoun, and Wady Medyk, belonged to him. At Djidda he +had many houses and caravansaries, which he let out to foreigners; and +so far resembled his successor Mohammed Aly, that the most trifling +profit became a matter of consideration with him, his attention being +constantly directed towards the acquiring of wealth. The annual revenue +of Ghaleb, during the plenitude of his power, may have amounted to about +three hundred and fifty thousand pounds sterling; but, since the +occupation of the Hedjaz by the Wahabys, it has probably not exceeded +half that sum. + +As Ghaleb was a merchant and land-owner, and procured all the articles +of consumption at the first hand, the maintenance of his household, with +his women and slaves, did not, I should imagine, require above twenty +thousand pounds sterling per annum. In time of peace the Sherif kept a +small permanent force, not exceeding five hundred men, of whom about one +hundred were in garrison at Djidda, fifty at Tayf, as many at Yembo, and +the rest at Mekka: of this body about eight hundred were cavalry, in +addition to his own mounted household. Many of the soldiers were his +domestic slaves; but the greater part were Bedouins from different parts +of Arabia; those from Yemen, the mountains of Asyr, and Nedjed, being +the most numerous. Their pay was from eight to twelve dollars per month; + +[p.237] and they were commanded by Sherifs, whom they obeyed as Bedouins +obey their leader during war, that is to say, that, trained to no +regular exercise, they accompanied the Sherif whenever he took a ride +out of the town, and on returning fired off their guns, according to the +Arabian custom, in leaping wildly about. The arms of the infantry were a +matchlock and crooked knife; the horsemen had a lance. + +When Ghaleb engaged in war, this force was increased by the accession of +many Sherifs and their retinues, who received no pay, but occasional +presents, and a share in the booty acquired; these wars being generally +directed against some Bedouin tribes, whose cattle was the sole object +of invasion. Upon these occasions, the Sherif was joined also by other +Bedouins, who returned with their Sheikhs to their homes, as soon as the +expedition was terminated. On the breaking out of the Wahaby war, and +when the Wahabys began to make successful attacks upon the Hedjaz, +Ghaleb found it necessary to increase his standing force; he therefore +added to it a number of black slaves, thereby augmenting it to eight +hundred, following, in this respect, the practice of his predecessors, +who always considered their own purchased slaves as the most faithful +men under their command; [During the last century, the Sherifs of Mekka +constantly kept a small corps of Georgian Mamelouks as their body +guard.] he also enlisted additional numbers of Bedouins, and had, during +the whole of the contest, generally from two to three thousand men; a +number thought fully sufficient to guard his cities. Whenever he planned +an attack on the Wahabys, he collected his allies among the Bedouins, +and advanced several times towards Nedjed with an united force of ten +thousand men. When those allies were obliged, successively, to yield to +the invaders, and the southern Bedouins, on whom Ghaleb always +principally depended, were conquered by the great exertions and activity +of Othman el Medhayfe, Ghaleb found himself alone, with his few troops, +unable to prolong the contest, and was soon driven to extremities and +obliged to submit, though he still kept a corps of troops in his pay, +after Saoud had obtained firm possession of the Hedjaz, and conducted +his affairs with such consummate + +[p.238] skill, as to maintain his authority, and command the respect of +the Wahabys. + +The expenses attending the increased forces of the Sherif during the +Wahaby war, were considerable; it was necessary to make donations to the +Sherif and the Bedouins, to keep them in his interest; but it happened, +for once, that his interests were equally their own; and Bedouins, +though never tired of asking for presents, are generally content with +small sums. It may hence be easily conceived that Ghaleb never, during +any period of his reign, lived up to the amount of his income; and it +was a general, and, I believe, well-founded opinion in the Hedjaz, that +during the twenty-seven years of his official life, he had amassed a +large treasure in money. When Mohammed Aly seized his person, the amount +of the whole of his disposable property found at Mekka and Djidda, was +calculated at about two hundred thousand or two hundred and fifty +thousand pounds sterling; and it was presumed that he had either +secreted his treasure in the castle of Mekka, or sent it to his friends +in India, while Mohammed Aly was making preparations for his attack. It +is most probable that he employed both modes of secreting his wealth, +and thus made another addition to the large sums daily buried in the +East, by persons in authority, as well as by private individuals. But +such is the bad use to which Eastern rulers apply their riches, that the +public prosperity of the country suffers little by the loss. [The +prevalence of the practice of concealing riches in Turkey, and the cause +of it, will at once appear from the following account of a circumstance +which happened in 1813, at Cairo. Mohammed Aly having demanded 15,000 +purses from the Copts employed in the finances of Egypt, they divided +the sum among themselves; and Moallem Felteos, an old man, who had been +in former times a chief financier, was assessed at twelve hundred +purses, or about 18,000l. sterling: this he refused to pay, alleging his +poverty; but, after long parleys, at last offered to give two hundred +purses. The Pasha sent for him, threatened, and, seeing him obstinate, +ordered him to be beaten: after receiving five hundred strokes with the +stick, and being nearly half dead, be swore that he could pay no more +than two hundred purses. Mohammed Aly thought he was telling the truth; +but his son, Ibrahim Pasha, who happened to be present, said that he was +sure the man had more money. Felteos, therefore, received three hundred +additional strokes, after which he confessed that he was possessed of +the sum demanded, and promised to pay it. He was then permitted to +[p.239] return home; and at the end of a fortnight, being so much +recovered from the effects of his beating that he could walk about, +commissioners were sent to his house from the Pasha, labourers were +called, and Felteos descended with them into the privy of his house, at +the bottom of which they removed a large stone which closed up a small +passage containing a vaulted niche, where two iron chests were +deposited. On opening these, two thousand purses in sequins were found, +twelve hundred of which the Pasha took, and left the remainder to the +owner, who died three months after, not in consequence of the blows he +had received, but of grief for the loss of his money. Had he been able +secretly to remove the treasure, he would probably have done so, had not +a guard been posted in his house immediately on his promising to pay; +the Pasha suspecting that the money was concealed in some secret spot, +according to a practice general in the East.] + +[p.240] CLIMATE AND DISEASES OF MEKKA AND DJIDDA. + +THE climate of Mekka is sultry and unwholesome; the rocks which enclose +its narrow valley, intercept the wind, especially that from the north, +and reflect the rays of the sun with redoubled heat. In the months of +August, September, and October, the heat is excessive: during my +residence at Mekka a suffocating hot wind pervaded the atmosphere for +five successive days in September. The rainy season usually begins in +December; but the rains are not uninterrupted, as in other tropical +countries falling only at intervals of five or six days but then with +great violence. Showers are not unfrequent, even in summer: the Mekkawys +say that the clouds coming from the sea-side are those which copiously +irrigate the ground; while those which come from the East, or the high +mountains, produce only mere showers, or gushes. The want of rain is +very frequently felt here: I was told that four successive years of +copious rains are seldom experienced; which is, probably, the main +reason why all the Bedouins in this neighbourhood are poor, the greater +part of their cattle dying in years of drought, from want of pasturage. + +The air of Mekka is generally very dry. Dews begin to fall in the month +of January, after a few heavy showers of rain: the contrary is the case +at Djidda, where the atmosphere, even during the greatest heat, is damp, +arising from the sea vapours, and the numerous marshes on that low +coast. The dampness of the air is there so great, that in the month of +September, in a hot and perfectly clear day, I found my + +[p.241] upper gown wet completely through, from being two hours in the +open air. There are heavy dews also by night, during that month and in +October; thick fogs appeared on the coast, in the evening and morning. +During the summer months, the wind blows generally between east and +south, seldom veering to the west, but sometimes to the north. In +September, the regular northerly winds set in, and continue during the +whole winter. In the Hedjaz, as on the sea-coast of Egypt, the north- +east wind is more damp than any other; and during its prevalence, the +stone pavement in the interior of the houses always appeared as if +covered with moisture. + +The diseases prevalent in both towns are much the same; and the coast of +the Hedjaz is perhaps among the most unhealthy countries of the East. +Intermittent fevers are extremely common, as are likewise dysenteries, +which usually terminate in swellings of the abdomen, and often prove +fatal. Few persons pass a whole year without a slight attack of these +disorders; and no stranger settles at Mekka or Djidda, without being +obliged to submit, during the first months of his residence, to one of +these distempers; a fact, of which ample proof was afforded in the +Turkish army, under Mohammed Aly Pacha. Inflammatory fevers are less +frequent at Djidda than at Mekka; but the former place is often visited +with a putrid fever, which, as the inhabitants told me, sometimes +appeared to be contagious; fifty persons having been known to die of it +in one day. Asamy and Fasy mention frequent epidemical diseases at +Mekka: in A.H. 671, a pestilence broke out, which carried off fifty +persons a day; and in 749, 793, and 829, others also infected the town: +in the latter year two thousand persons died. These authors, however, +never mention the plague; nor had it made its appearance in the Hedjaz +within the memory of the oldest inhabitants; whence a belief was +entertained, that the Almighty protected this holy province from its +ravages; but, in the spring of 1815, it broke out with great violence, +as I shall mention in another place, and Mekka and Djidda lost, perhaps, +one-sixth of their population. + +Ophthalmia is very little known in the Hedjaz. I saw a single + +[p.242] instance of leprosy, in a Bedouin at Tayf. The elephantiasis and +Guinea-worm are not uncommon, especially the former, of which I have +seen many frightful cases. It is said that stone in the bladder is +frequent at Mekka, caused, perhaps, by the peculiar quality of the +water; to the badness of which many other diseases also may be ascribed +in this hot country, where such quantities of it are daily drunk. I +heard that the only surgeons who knew how to perform the operation of +extracting the stone from the bladder, are Bedouins of the tribe of Beni +Sad, who live in the mountains, about thirty miles south of Tayf. In +time of peace, some of them repair annually to Mekka, to perform this +operation, the knowledge of which they consider as a secret hereditary +in some families of their tribe. They are said to use a common razor, +and, in general, with success. + +Sores on the legs, especially on the shin-bone, are extremely common +both at Mekka and Djidda; but more so at the latter place, where the +dampness of the atmosphere renders their cure much more difficult; +indeed, in that damp climate, the smallest scratch, or bite of any +insect, if neglected, becomes a sore, and soon after an open wound: +nothing is more common than to see persons walking in the streets, +having on their legs sores of this kind, which, if neglected, often +corrode the bone. As their cure demands patience, and, above all, +repose, the lower classes seldom apply the proper remedies in time; and +when they have increased to such a state as to render their application +indispensably necessary, no good surgeons are to be found; fever ensues, +and many of the patients die. I believe that one-fourth of the +population of Djidda is constantly afflicted with ulcers on their legs; +the bad nature of these sores is further aggravated by the use of +seawater for ablutions. + +During my stay at Mekka, I seldom enjoyed perfect good health. I was +twice attacked by fever; and, after the departure of the Syrian Hadj, by +a violent diarrhśa, from which I had scarcely recovered when I set out +for Medina. In those days, even when I was free from disease, I felt +great lassitude, a depression of spirits, and a total want of appetite. +During the five days of the Hadj, I was luckily in good + +[p.243] health, though I was under great apprehensions from the +consequences of taking the ihram. My strength was greatly diminished, +and it required much effort, whenever I left my room, to walk about. + +I attributed my illness chiefly to bad water, previous experience having +taught me that my constitution is very susceptible of the want of good +light water, that prime article of life in eastern countries. Brackish +water in the Desert is perhaps salutary to travellers: heated as they +are by the journey, and often labouring under obstructions from the +quality of their food on the road, it acts as a gentle aperient, and +thus supplies the place of medicinal draughts; but the contrary is the +case when the same water is used during a continued sedentary residence, +when long habit only can accustom the stomach to receive it. Had I found +myself in better health and spirits, I should probably have visited some +of the neighbouring valleys to the south, or passed a few months among +the Bedouins of the Hedjaz; but the worst effect of ill health upon a +traveller, is the pusillanimity which accompanies it, and the +apprehensions with which it fills the mind, of fatigues and dangers, +that, under other circumstances, would be thought undeserving of notice. + + The current price of provisions at Mekka in December, 1814, was as +follows:-- + + Piastres. Paras. +1 lb. of beef .......................... 2 10 +1 lb. of mutton ........................ 20 +1 lb. of camel’s flesh ................. 10 +1 lb. of butter ........................ 5 +1 lb. of fresh unsalted cheese ......... 3 +A fowl ................................. 6 +An egg ................................. 0 8 +1 lb. of milk .......................... 2 +1 lb. of vegetables, viz. leek, spinach, +turnips, radishes, calabashes, egg- +plants, green onions, petrosiles, &c.... 0 30 + +[p.244] + + Piastres. Paras. +A small, round, flat loaf of bread ..... 0 20 +1 lb. of dry biscuits .................. 0 32 +1 lb. of raisins from Tayf ............. 1 20 +1 lb. of dates ......................... 0 25 +1 lb. of sugar (Indian) ................ 2 10 +1 lb. of coffee ........................ 2 20 +A pomegranate .......................... 0 15 +An orange .............................. 0 15 +A lemon, (the size of a walnut, the + Same species as the Egyptian lemon) 0 10 +1 lb. of good Syrian tobacco ........... 6 +1 lb. of common tobacco ................ 1 30 +1 lb. of tombac, or tobacco for the + Persian pipe ........................ 3 +1 keyle of wheat ....................... 3 +1 do. of flour ......................... 3 20 +1 do. of Indian rice ................... 3 +1 do. Of lentils from Egypt ............ 2 30 +1 do. Of dried locusts ................. 1 +A skin of water ........................ 1 20 +As much wood as will cook two dishes ... 0 20 +A labourer for the day ................. 3 +A porter for going in town the distance + Of half a mile ...................... 1 +Common wages of servants,[FN#1] besides + Clothes and food, per month ........ 30 +Wages of craftsmen, as smiths, carpen- + ters, &c. per day, besides food ..........5 + + +N.B. The Spanish dollar was worth from nine to twelve piastres during my +residence at Mekka, changing its value almost daily. + +[p.245] One piastre equal to forty paras or diwanys, as they are called +in the Hedjaz. The pound, or rotolo, of Mekka, has a hundred and forty- +four drams. The Egyptian erdeb, equivalent to about fifteen English +bushels, is divided here into fifty keyles or measures. At Medina the +erdeb is divided into ninety-six keyles. The pound of Djidda is nearly +double that of Mekka. +[The Mekkawys have only slaves; but many Egyptians are ready to +enter into the service of hadjys. The most common servants in the +families of Mekka are the younger sons or some poor relations.] + +[p.246] THE HADJ, OR PILGRIMAGE. + +THE time has passed (and, probably for ever,) when hadjys or pilgrims, +from all regions of the Muselman world, came every year in multitudes, +that they might visit devotionally the sacred places of the Hedjaz. An +increasing indifference to their religion, and an increase of expense +attending the journey, now deter the greater part of the Mohammedans +from complying with that law of the Koran, which enjoins to every Moslim +who can afford it, the performance of a pilgrimage to Mekka, once at +least in his life. To those whom indispensable occupations confine to +their homes, the law permits a substitution of prayers; but even with +this injunction few people now comply, or it is evaded by giving a few +dollars to some hadjy, who, taking from several persons commissions of +the same kind, includes all their names in the addition consequently +made to the prayers recited by him at the places of holy visit. When +Muselman zeal was more ardent, the difficulties of the journey being +held to increase the merit of it, became with many an additional +incitement to join the caravans, and to perform the whole journey by +land; but at present, most of the pilgrims do not join any regular Hadj +caravan, but reach Djidda by sea from Egypt, or the Persian Gulf; +commercial and lucrative speculations being the chief inducements to +this journey. + +In 1814, many hadjys had arrived at Mekka, three or four months previous +to the prescribed time of the pilgrimage. To pass the Ramadhan in this +holy city, is a great inducement with such as can afford the expense, to +hasten their arrival, and prolong their residence in it. + +[p.247] About the time when the regular caravans were expected, at least +four thousand pilgrims from Turkey, who had come by sea, were already +assembled at Mekka, and perhaps half that number from other distant +quarters of the Mohammedan world. Of the five or six regular caravans +which, formerly, always arrived at Mekka a few days before the Hadj, two +only made their appearance this year; these were from Syria and Egypt; +the latter composed entirely of people belonging to the retinue of the +commander of the Hadj, and his troops; no pilgrims having come by land +from Cairo, though the road was safe. + +The Syrian caravan has always been the strongest, since the time when +the Khalifes, in person, accompanied the pilgrims from Baghdad. It. sets +out from Constantinople, and collects the pilgrims of Northern Asia in +its passage through Anatolia and Syria, until it reaches Damascus, where +it remains for several weeks. During the whole of the route from +Constantinople to Damascus, every care is taken for the safety and +convenience of the caravan; it is accompanied from town to town by the +armed forces of the governors; at every station caravansaries and public +fountains have been constructed by former Sultans, to accommodate it on +its passage, which is attended so far with continual festivities and +rejoicings. At Damascus, it is necessary to prepare for a journey of +thirty days, across the Desert to Medina; and the camels which had +transported it thus far, must be changed, the Anatolian camel not being +able to bear the fatigues of such a journey. Almost every town in the +eastern part of Syria furnishes its beasts for the purpose; and the +great Bedouin Sheikhs of the frontiers of that country contract largely +for camels with the government of Damascus. Their number must be +supposed very great, even if the caravan be but thinly attended, when it +is considered that besides those carrying water and provisions for the +hadjys and soldiers, their horses, and the spare camels brought to +supply such as may fail on the road, daily food for the camels +themselves must be similarly transported; as well as provisions, which +are deposited in castles on the Hadj route, to form a supply for the +return. The Bedouins take good care that the camels shall not be +overloaded, that the numbers wanted may thus be increased. In 1814, +though the caravan consisted of not more than + +[p.248] four or five thousand persons, including soldiers and servants, +it had fifteen thousand camels. [El Fasy relates that, when the mother of +Motasem b’Illah, the last of the Abassides, performed the pilgrimage in +A.H. 631, her caravan was composed of one hundred and twenty thousand +camels. When Solyman Ibn Abd el Melek performed the pilgrimage in A.H. +97, nine hundred camels were employed in the transport of his wardrobe +only. It is observable that none of the Othman Emperors of +Constantinople ever performed the pilgrimage in person. The Khalife El +Mohdy Abou Abdallah Mohammed expended on his pilgrimage in A.H. 160, +thirty millions of dirhems. He carried with him an immense number of +gowns to distribute as presents. He built fine houses at every station +from Baghdad to Mekka, and caused them to be splendidly furnished; he +also erected mile-stones along the whole route, and was the first +Khalife who carried snow with him, to cool sherbet on the road, in which +he was imitated by many of his successors. Haroun el Rasheid, who +performed the pilgrimage nine times, spent, in one of his visits, one +million and fifty thousand dynars in presents to the Mekkawys and the +poor hadjys. El Melek Nasir eddyn Abou el Maaly, Sultan of Egypt, +carried with him, on his pilgrimage in A.H. 719, five hundred camels, +for the transport of sweetmeats and confectionary only; and two hundred +and eighty for pomegranates, almonds, and other fruits: in his +travelling larder were one thousand geese, and three thousand fowls. +Vide Makrisi’s Treatise Man Hadj myn el Kholafa.] + +The Syrian caravan is very well regulated, though, as in all matters of +oriental government, the abuses and exceptions are numerous. The Pasha +of Damascus, or one of his principal officers, always accompanies this +caravan, and gives the signal for encamping and starting, by firing a +musket. On the route, a troop of horsemen ride in front, and another in +the rear, to bring up the stragglers. The different parties of hadjys, +distinguished by their provinces or towns, keep close together ; and +each knows its never-varying station in the caravan, which is determined +by the geographical proximity of the place from whence it comes. When +they encamp, the same order is constantly observed; thus the people from +Aleppo always encamp close by those of Homs, &c. This regulation is very +necessary to prevent disorder in night-marches. [In our author’s Syrian +Travels, (p. 242.) the reader will find some further remarks on this +Hadj-caravan, and in the Appendix to that volume (No. 3.) an account of +the route between Damascus and Mekka.--ED.] + +The hadjys usually contract for the journey with a Mekowem, one who +speculates in the furnishing of camels and provisions to the Hadj. + +[p.249] From twenty to thirty pilgrims are under the care of the same +Mekowem, who has his tents and servants, and saves the hadjys from all +fatigue and trouble on the road: their tent, coffee, water, breakfast, +and dinner are prepared for them, and they need not take the slightest +trouble about packing and loading. If a camel should die, the Mekowem +must find another; and, however great may be the want of provisions on +the road, he must furnish his passengers with their daily meals. In +1814, the hire of one Mekowem, and the boarding at his table, was one +hundred and fifty dollars from Damascus to Medina, and fifty dollars +more from Medina to Mekka. Out of these two hundred dollars, sixty were +given by the Mekowem to a man who led the camel by the halter during the +night-marches; a precaution necessary in so great a caravan, when the +rider usually sleeps, and the animal might otherwise easily wander from +the path. In addition to the stipulated hire, the Mekowem always +receives some presents from his pilgrims. On the return to Syria, the +sum is something less, as many camels then go unloaded. + +Few travellers choose to perform the journey at their own risk, or upon +their own camels; for if they are not particularly protected by the +soldiery, or the chief of the caravan, they find it difficult to escape +the ill-treatment of the Mekowem at watering-places, as well as on the +march; the latter endeavouring to check, by every means in their power, +the practice of traveling independent of them, so that it is rarely done +except by rich hadjys, who have the means of forming a party of their +own amounting to forty or fifty individuals. + +At night, torches are lighted, and the daily distance is usually +performed between three o’clock in the afternoon, and an hour or two +after sun-rise on the following day. The Bedouins who carry provisions +for the troops, travel by day only, and in advance of the caravan, the +encampment of which they pass in the morning, and are overtaken in turn, +and passed by the caravan on the following night, at their own resting- +place. The journey with these Bedouins is less fatiguing than with the +great body of the caravan, as a regular night’s rest is obtained; but +their bad character deters most pilgrims from joining them. + +[p.250] At every watering-place on the route are a small castle and a +large tank, at which the camels water. The castles are garrisoned by a +few persons, who remain during the whole year to guard the provisions +deposited there. It is at these watering-places, which belong to the +Bedouins, that the Sheikhs of the tribes meet the caravan, and receive +the accustomed tribute. Water is plentiful on the route: the stations +are no where more distant than eleven or twelve hours’ march; and in +winter, pools of rain-water are frequently found. Those pilgrims who can +travel with a litter, or on commodious camel-saddles, may sleep at +night, and perform the journey with little inconvenience; but of those +whom poverty, or the desire of soon acquiring a large sum of money, +induces to follow the caravan on foot, or to hire themselves as +servants, many die on the road from fatigue. + +The Egyptian caravan, which starts from Cairo, is under the same +regulations as the Syrian, but seldom equals the latter in numbers, +being composed of Egyptians only, besides the military escort. Its route +is more dangerous and fatiguing than that of the Syrian caravan; the +road along the shore of the Red Sea leading through the territories of +wild and warlike tribes of Bedouins, who frequently endeavour to cut off +a part of the caravan by open force. The watering-places too are much +fewer on this route than on the other; three days frequently intervening +between the wells, which are, besides, seldom copious, and, with the +exception of two or three, are of bad brackish water. In 1814, this +caravan was composed of soldiers only with the retinue of the sacred +camel, and some public officers; all the Egyptian pilgrims having +preferred taking the route by Suez. In 1816, several grandees of Cairo +joined the Hadj, one of whom had one hundred and ten camels for the +transport of his baggage and retinue, and eight tents: his travelling +expenses in going and coming must have amounted to ten thousand pounds. +There were also about five hundred peasants, with their women, from +upper and lower Egypt, who were less afraid of the fatigues and dangers +of the Desert than of the Sea. I saw with them a party of public women +and dancing-girls, whose tents and equipage were among the most splendid +in the + +[p.251] caravan. Female hadjys of a similar class accompany the Syrian +caravan also. + +The Persian Hadj, which used to set out from Baghdad, and come through +Nedjed to Mekka, was discontinued about the time when the Wahabys +stopped the Syrian Hadj. After Abdullah ibn Saoud had made peace with +Tousoun Pasha in 1815, it ventured to cross the Desert, and passed by +Derayeh unmolested; but within four days’ journey of Mekka, it was +attacked by the Beni Shammar, a tribe which had remained neuter during +the war between Tousoun and the Wahabys. The caravan then returned to +Derayeh; through the intercession of Saoud, the goods of which it had +been plundered were restored; and he sent a party of his own people to +escort it to the holy city. + +The Persian caravan is usually escorted by the Ageyl Arabs, of Baghdad. +As its pilgrims are known to be sectaries, they are exposed to great +extortions on the road: Saoud exacted a heavy capitation-tax from them, +as did Sherif Ghaleb at Mekka, amounting in latter times to thirty +sequins per head. Persian hadjys are all persons of property, and no +pilgrims suffer so much imposition as they during the whole route. Great +numbers of them come by sea: they embark at Bassora for Mokha, and if +they fall in with the trade-wind, run straight to Djidda; if not, they +form themselves into a caravan, and come by land along the coast of +Yemen. In 1814, when I was present at the Hadj, the few Persians who +came by land, had passed through Baghdad to Syria, and had followed the +Syrian caravan, accompanied by Baghdad camel-drivers. + +It deserves notice here, that the Persians were not always permitted to +come to the holy city; being notorious heretics, who conceal their +doctrines only during the Hadj, that they may not give offence to the +Sunnys. In 1634, a few years after the temple of Mekka had been rebuilt, +Sultan Murad IV. commanded that no Persian of the sect of Aly should be +allowed to perform the pilgrimage, or enter the Beittullah. This +prohibition was complied with for several years; but the money expended +by the Persians soon re-opened the way to Arafat + +[p.252] and the Kaaba. We learn from Asamy, that, in 1625, a sectary of +Aly was impaled alive at Mekka, because he would not abjure his creed. + +The Moggrebyn Hadj caravan has for many years ceased to be regular. It +is usually accompanied by a relative of the King of Morocco, and +proceeds from his residence by slow marches towards Tunis and Tripoly, +collecting additional pilgrims in every district through which it +passes. Its route from Tripoly is along the shores of the Syrtis to +Derne, and from thence along the coast of Egypt, passing either by +Alexandria, or taking the direction of the Natron lakes straight for +Cairo, from whence it follows the common pilgrim-route. This caravan +returning from Mekka always visits Medina, which the Egyptian Hadj never +does, and sometimes extends its route by land as far as Jerusalem. Few +troops accompany it; but its pilgrims are well armed, and ready to +defend themselves: of the two other great caravans, no body fights but +the escort. + +The last Moggrebyn caravan passed through Egypt in 1811; the Wahabys +permitted them to visit Mekka, as they saw that they were free from +those scandalous practices with which they upbraided the Egyptians and +Syrians; but the caravan experienced many misfortunes on its return, +from enemies, and from a want of guides, and provisions, in consequence +of which many of its people died. The pilgrims from Barbary arrive now +usually by sea at Alexandria, and re-embark at Suez, in parties of fifty +or a hundred at a time. Although poorly dressed, they have generally +sufficient money to defray their expenses, and few of them are beggars; +of this class, however, I saw a small party, Arabs from Draa, on the +S.E. side of Mount Atlas, who had set out with the Egyptian caravan by +land in September, 1816. They told me that they had obtained a. free +passage by sea from Tunis to Alexandria. One of them was a Bedouin of +the Shilouh nation, whose encampment, when he left it, was at twenty +days’ journey from Tombuctou. + +In the Moggrebyn caravan also are generally found some natives of the +island of Djerba, or Girba, who are strongly suspected of being +sectaries of Aly; and some of whom are often stationary at Cairo, + +[p.253] inhabiting the quarter called Teyloun, and keeping themselves +wholly separate from all other Moggrebyns established in the town. But +the far greater part of the caravan is from the kingdom of Marocco. + +I believe that two thousand is the largest yearly number of Barbary +pilgrims. The last caravans comprised altogether from six to eight +thousand men. + +Two Yemen pilgrim caravans used to arrive at Mekka, in former times, by +land. The one called Hadj el Kebsy, started from Sada, in Yemen, and +took its course along the mountains to Tayf and to Mekka. Two +itineraries of this caravan, with some notices on it, will be found in +the Appendix. The other, which was formed of natives of Yemen, and of +Persians and Indians who had arrived in the harbours of that country, +came along the coast. This caravan was discontinued about 1803, and has +not yet been re-established. It was once considerable, and rich in +merchandize and coffee; and sometimes enjoyed the honour of being +accompanied by the Imams of Yemen. Like the Syrian and Egyptian +caravans, it had a particular place assigned for its camp near Mekka, +where a large stone tank was built to supply it with water. + +I have seen the route of an Indian pilgrim caravan, laid down in several +maps as starting from Maskat, and coming by Nedjed to Mekka; but I could +obtain no information respecting it; that such, however, existed +formerly, appears from the frequent mention of it made by the historian +Asamy. Those persons whom I questioned assured me that no such caravan +had arrived within their memory; but I believe that, in the time of +peace, Indian, Persian, and Arab beggars, in small parties, sometimes +arrive in the Hedjaz by the above route. + +Before the power of the Sherifs was broken by the chief Sherif Serour, +the former extorted from every caravan that came to Mekka considerable +sums, besides the surra to which they were entitled. As soon as they +heard of the near approach of a caravan, they issued from Mekka with all +their armed retinue and their Bedouin friends, and often disputed with +the leaders of the caravan for several days before the amount of the +tribute was settled. + +To the regular caravans above mentioned, must be added large bodies of +Bedouins, which resort to Mekka, during peace, from every part of the +Desert; for even among the least religious Bedouins, the title of hadjy +is respected: Nedjed sends its pilgrims, as do also the Southern +Bedouins. When the Wahabys were in possession of Mekka, hosts of these +sectaries came to Arafat, as much, perhaps, for the purpose of paying +their court to the chief, who, it was known, liked to see his Arabs +collected there, as from religious motives. The last time the Wahabys +performed the Hadj was in 1811, shortly after the first defeat of +Tousoun Pasha at Djedeyde: they were accompanied by large bodies of +Bedouins of Kahtan, Asyr, with others from the most interior part of the +Desert. The plunder taken from the Turkish army was sold to the Mekkawys +in the market at Arafat. I shall here observe that Aly Bey el Abassy has +made a strange mistake with respect to the host of Wahabys, whom he saw +entering Mekka at the time of the pilgrimage; for he fancied that they +came to take possession of the town, and flattered himself that he was +present at the first conquest of Mekka by the Wahabys, while every child +in the place could have informed him that this event happened three +years before his arrival in the Hedjaz. + +At present, as I have already mentioned, most of the hadjys arrive by +sea at Djidda: those who come from the north embark at Suez or Cosseir, +and among them are a large proportion of the Barbary pilgrims, many +Turks from Anatolia and European Turkey, Syrians, and numerous dervishes +from Persia, Tartary, and the realms watered by the Indus. The want of +shipping on the Red Sea, occasioned by the increased demand for ships to +accommodate the Turkish army of the Hedjaz, renders the passage +precarious; and they sometimes lose the opportunity, and arrive too late +for the pilgrimage, as happened to a party in 1814, who reached Mekka +three days after the Hadj, having been long detained at Suez. From the +bad quality of the vessels, and their crowded state, the passage is very +disagreeable, and often dangerous. Nothing has yet been done by Mohammed +Aly Pasha to make this voyage more commodious to the pilgrims; but, on +the contrary, be has laid a tax upon them, by forcing a contract for +their passage to Djidda + +[p.255] at a high price, (it was eighteen dollars a head in 1814), with +his governor at Suez, who distributed them on board the Arab ships, and +paid to the masters of the vessels only six dollars per head. Formerly +hadjys were permitted to carry with them from Suez as great a quantity +of provisions as they chose, part of which they afterwards sold in the +Hedjaz to some profit; but at present none can embark with more than +what is barely sufficient for his own consumption during the pilgrimage. +The advantage of carrying along with them their provisions, chiefly +butter, flour, biscuits, and dried flesh, purchased at cheap prices in +Egypt, for the whole journey, was a principal reason for preferring a +sea voyage; for those who go by land must purchase all their provisions +at Mekka, where the prices are high. + +If the foreign pilgrims, on their arrival at Cairo, cannot hear of any +ships lying in the harbour of Suez, they often pursue their way up the +Nile as far as Genne, and from thence cross the Desert to Cosseir, from +whence it is but a short voyage to Djidda. In returning from the Hedjaz, +this Cosseir route is preferred by the greater part of the Turkish +hadjys. The natives of Upper Egypt go by Cosseir; likewise many negro +pilgrims, after having followed the banks of the Nile from Sennar down +to Genne. The usual fare for hadjys from Cosseir to Djidda, is from six +to eight dollars. + +In the last days of the Mamelouks, when they held possession of Upper +Egypt, while the lower was conquered by Mohammed Aly, many Turkish +hadjys who repaired to the Hedjaz in small parties, though it was then +in the hands of the Wahabys, suffered much illtreatment from the +Mamelouks, on their return to Egypt; many of them were stripped and +slain in their passage down the Nile. The sanguinary Greek, Hassan Beg +el Yahoudy, boasted of having himself killed five hundred of them. These +massacres of inoffensive pilgrims furnished Mohammed Aly with an excuse +for his treachery in putting the Mamelouks to death at the castle of +Cairo. + +Other pilgrims arrive by sea from Yemen and the East India, namely, +Mohammedan Hindous, and Malays; Cashmerians, and people from Guzerat; +Persians, from the Persian Gulf; Arabians, from Bassora, Maskat, Oman, +Hadramaut; and those from the coasts + +[p.256] of Melinda and Mombaza, who are comprised under the generic name +of the people of the Sowahel, i.e. the level coast; Abyssinian Moslims, +and many negro pilgrims, who come by the same route. All Moslims +dwelling on the coasts of the ocean are certain of finding, towards the +period of the Hadj, some ship departing from a neighbouring harbour for +the Red Sea; but the greater number arrive with the regular Indian fleet +in May, and remain at Mekka or Medina till the time of the Hadj; soon +after which, they embark on board country ships at Djidda for Yemen, +where they wait till the period of the trade-winds to pass the Bab el +Mandeb. Multitudes of beggars come to Mekka from the above-mentioned +countries; they get a free passage from charitable individuals in their +own country, or the cost of it is defrayed by those who employ them as +their proxies in performing the Hadj; but when they land, they are +thrown entirely upon the charity of other hadjys; and the alms they +collect, must serve to carry them back to their homes. + +Few pilgrims, except the mendicants, arrive without bringing some +productions of their respective countries for sale; and this remark is +applicable as well to the merchants, with whom commercial pursuits are +the main object, as to those who are actuated by religious zeal for to +the latter, the profits derived from selling a few native articles at +Mekka, diminish, in some degree, the heavy expenses of the journey. The +Moggrebyns, for example, bring their red bonnets and woollen cloaks; the +European Turks, shoes and slippers, hardware, embroidered stuffs, +sweetmeats, amber, trinkets of European manufacture, knit silk purses, +&c.; the Turks of Anatolia bring carpets, silks, and Angora shawls; the +Persians, cashmere shawls and large silk handkerchiefs; the Afghans, +tooth-brushes, called Mesouak Kattary, made of the spongy boughs of a +tree growing in Bokhara, beads of a yellow soap-stone, and plain, coarse +shawls, manufactured in their own country; the Indians, the numerous +productions of their rich and extensive region; the people of Yemen, +snakes for the Persian pipes, sandals, and various other works in +leather; and the Africans bring various articles adapted to the slave- +trade. The hadjys are, however, often disappointed in their expectations +of gain; want of money makes + +[p.257] them hastily sell their little adventures at the public +auctions, and often obliges them to accept very low prices. + +Of all the poor pilgrims who arrive in the Hedjaz, none bear a more +respectable character for industry than the Negroes, or Tekrourys, as +they are called here. All the poorer class of Indians turn beggars as +soon as they are landed at Djidda. Many Syrians and Egyptians follow the +same trade; but not so the Negroes. I have already stated in a former +journal, that the latter reach the Hedjaz by the three harbours of +Massouah, Souakin, and Cosseir. Those who come by Sennar and Abyssinia +to Massoua, are all paupers. The small sum of one dollar carries them +from Massoua to the opposite coast of Yemen; and they usually land at +Hodeyda. Here they wait for the arrival of a sufficient number of their +countrymen, to form a small caravan, and then ascend the mountains of +Yemen, along the fertile valleys of which, inhabited by hospitable +Arabs, they beg their way to Djidda or to Mekka. [In 1813, a party of +Tekrourys, about sixty in number, having taken that road, the Arabs of +those mountains, who are Wahabys, and who had often seen black slaves +among the Turkish soldiers, conceived that the negro hadjys were in the +habit of entering into the service of the Turks. To prevent the party +then passing from being ever opposed to them, they waylaid the poor +Tekrourys on the road, and killed many of them.] If rich enough to spare +two dollars, they obtain, perhaps, a passage from Massoua direct to +Djidda, where they meet with such of their countrymen as may have landed +there from Souakin or Cosseir. Immediately on their arrival at Djidda or +Mekka, they apply themselves to labour: some serve as porters, for the +transport of goods and corn from the ships to the warehouses; others +hire themselves to clean the court-yards, fetch wood from the +neighbouring mountains, for the supply of which the inhabitants of +Djidda and Mekka are exclusively indebted to them, as none of their own +lazy poor will undertake that labour, although four piastres a day may +be gained by it. At Mekka, they make small hearths of clay, (kanoun,) +which they paint with yellow and red; these are bought by the hadjys, +who boil their coffee-pots upon them. Some manufacture small baskets and +mats of date-leaves, or prepare the intoxicating drink called bouza; and +others serve as water-carriers: in short, when any occasion requires +manual + +[p.258] labour, a Tekroury from the market is always employed. If any of +them is attacked by disease, his companions attend upon him, and defray +his expenses. I have seen very few of them ask for charity, except on +the first days after their arrival, before they have been able to obtain +employment. From Mekka, they either travel by land, or sometimes make a +sea voyage by way of Yembo to Medina, where they again supply the town +with fire-wood. Indeed, the hadjys would be much at a loss in the +Hedjaz, if they could not command the laborious services of these +blacks. During the Wahaby conquest, they continued to perform the +pilgrimage; and it is said that Saoud expressed a particular esteem for +them. [Makrisi states, in his treatise on the Khalifes who performed the +Hadj, that in A.H. 724, a negro king called Mousa arrived at Cairo on +his way to Mekka, and was splendidly entertained by Kalaoun, then Sultan +of Egypt. He had with him, according to Makrisi, fourteen thousand +chosen female slaves.] + +When these negroes have completed the Hadj, and the visit to Mekka, they +repair to Djidda, where they continue to work till an opportunity offers +of sailing to Souakin; for very few, if any, return by way of Abyssinia. +On leaving the Hedjaz, they all possess a sufficient sum of money, saved +from the profits of their industry, to purchase some small adventure, +or, at least, to provide, on their reaching Souakin, for a more +comfortable passage through the Desert than that which they experienced +on their outward journey, and then proceed homewards by Shendy and +Cordofan. Many of them, however, instead of returning on the completion +of the pilgrimage, disperse over Arabia, visit the mosque at Jerusalem, +or Ibrahim’s (Abraham’ s) tomb at Hebron, and thus remain absent from +their home for many years, subsisting always upon the product of their +own labour. + +The benefactors to the Kaaba have enriched the temple of Mekka, and the +idle persons employed in it; but no one has thought of forming any +establishment for facilitating the pilgrimage of the poor negroes and +Indians, or of procuring for them a free passage across the gulf to the +Hedjaz; the expense of which, amounting to a dollar or two, is that +which they feel most heavily. They often arrive in the harbours of the +African side of the gulf, after having spent the + +[p.259] little they had taken with them from home, or having been robbed +of it on the journey; and finding, perhaps, no means there of earning as +much as will pay their passage across the Red Sea, are obliged to wait +till the return of their richer companions from the Hedjaz, who +charitably pay for their passage. + +The poor Indians afford a complete contrast, both in appearance and +character, to the negroes: more wretched countenances can hardly be +imagined; they seem to have lost not only all energy, but even hope. +With bodies which appear scarcely capable of withstanding a gust of +wind, and voices equally feeble, they would be worthy objects of +commiseration, did not daily experience prove that they delight to +appear in this plight, because it secures to them the alms of the +charitable, and exempts them from labour. The streets of Mekka are +crowded with them; the most decrepid make their doleful appeals to the +passenger, lying at full length on their backs in the middle of the +street; the gates of the mosque are always beset with them; every +coffee-house and water-stand is a station for some of them; and no hadjy +can purchase provisions in the markets, without being importuned by +Indians soliciting a portion of them. I saw among them one of those +devotees who are so common in the north of India and in Persia: one of +his arms was held up straight over his head, and so fixed by long habit, +that it could not be placed in any other situation. From the curiosity +which he excited, I was led to suppose that such characters seldom find +their way to the Hedjaz. + +Dervishes of every sect and order in the Turkish empire are found among +the pilgrims; many of them madmen, or at least assuming the appearance +of insanity, which causes them to be much respected by the hadjys, and +fills their pockets with money. The behaviour of some of them is so +violent, and at the same time so cunning, that even the least charitably +disposed hadjys give willingly something to escape from them. They +mostly come from other countries; for among the Arabians themselves +there are fewer crazy of these people than in other parts of the east. +Egypt chiefly abounds with them; and almost every village in the valley +of the Nile furnishes some Masloub, or + +[p.260] reputed madman, whom the inhabitants regard as an inspired +being, and a blessing sent to them from heaven. [In 1813, the Christian +community of Gous, in Upper Egypt, had the honour of possessing an +insane youth, who walked about the bazars quite naked. But the Moslims +of the place growing jealous, seized him one night, and converted him by +circumcision into a Mohammedan saint.] + +The arrival of strangers from all parts of the Mohammedan world, from +Tombuctou to Samarkand, and from Georgia to Borneo, would render Djidda +a most desirable residence for an inquisitive European traveller, who, +by affording assistance to poor hadjys, and spending a small sum in +provisions for them, would attract large numbers to his house, and might +thus collect much information respecting the most distant and unknown +parts of Africa and Asia. All, except the higher classes of Mekkawys, +let out their houses during the Hadj, and demand from their under- +tenants as much for a few weeks or months as they pay to the proprietor +for a whole year. I paid for one room with a small kitchen and a by- +place for my slave, fifteen dollars for six weeks, which equalled the +annual rent of the whole house received by the landlord; and I should +have been obliged to pay the same price if I had taken it only during +the fortnight preceding and following the Hadj. The house in which I +hired these rooms was divided into several lodgings, and was let +altogether to different hadjys at one hundred and twenty dollars, the +owners having retired into apartments so mean that strangers would not +occupy them. + +Of the numerous pilgrims who arrive at Mekka before the caravan, some +are professed merchants; many others bring a few articles for sale, +which they dispose of without trouble. They then pass the interval of +time before the Hadj very pleasantly; free from cares and apprehensions, +and enjoying that supreme happiness of an Asiatic, the dolce far +niente[.] Except those of a very high rank, the pilgrims live together +in a state of freedom and equality. They keep but few servants: many, +indeed, have none, and divide among themselves the various duties of +house-keeping, such as bringing the provisions from market and cooking +them, although accustomed at home to the + +[p.261] services of an attendant. The freedom and oblivion of care which +accompany travelling, render it a period of enjoyment among the people +of the East as among Europeans; and the same kind of happiness results +from their residence at Mekka, where reading the Koran, smoking in the +streets or coffee-houses, praying or conversing in the mosque, are added +to the indulgence of their pride in being near the holy house, and to +the anticipation of the honours attached to the title of hadjy for the +remainder of their lives; besides the gratification of religious +feelings, and the hopes of futurity, which influence many of the +pilgrims. The hadjys who come by the caravans pass their time very +differently. As soon as they have finished their tedious journey, they +must undergo the fatiguing ceremonies of visiting the Kaaba and Omra; +immediately after which, they are hurried away to Arafat and Mekka, and, +still heated from the effects of the journey, are exposed to the keen +air of the Hedjaz mountains under the slight and inadequate covering of +the ihram: then returning to Mekka, they have only a few days left to +recruit their strength, and to make their repeated visits to the +Beitullah, when the caravan sets off on its return; and thus the whole +pilgrimage is a severe trial of bodily strength, and a continual series +of fatigues and privations. This mode of visiting the holy city is, +however, in accordance with the opinions of many most learned Moslim +divines, who thought that a long residence in the Hedjaz, however +meritorious the intention, is little conducive to true belief, since the +daily sight of the holy places weakened the first impressions made by +them. Notwithstanding the general decline of Muselman zeal, there are +still found Mohammedans whose devotion induces them to visit repeatedly +the holy places. I knew Turks established at Cairo, who, even while the +Wahaby faith predominated in the Hedjaz, went every year by way of +Cosseir to Mekka; and there are a few individuals who reside constantly +in that city, that they may pass the remainder of their days in pious +duties and abstraction from the world. During my stay, a Turkish grandee +arrived from Constantinople; he had been Kahwadjy Bashy to Sultan Selym; +and the present Grand Signior had permitted him to go, that he might die +in the sacred territory, where his arrival was announced by princely +donations to the mosque. + +[p.262] The Syrian and Egyptian caravans always arrive at fixed periods; +generally a day or two before the departure of the Hadj for Arafat. Both +caravans usually pass by Beder, on the same day, or with an interval of +one day only. The Syrian caravan coming from Medina, and the Egyptian +from Yembo el Nakhel, prosecute their route from Beder to Mekka, at a +short distance from each other. On the 5th of the month of Zul Hadj, +A.H. 1229, or the 21st of November, 1814, the approach of the Syrian +caravan was announced by one of its Mekowem, who came galloping into the +town, to win the prize which is always awarded to the Sabbák, or him who +brings the first tidings of the safe arrival of that caravan. The loud +acclamations of the mob followed him to the governor’s house, where his +horse expired the moment he dismounted. The news was the more important, +as nothing had been heard of this Hadj, and rumours had even been +circulated of the Bedouins having plundered it on the road to the north +of Medina. Two hours after, many other persons belonging to it arrived; +and in the night the whole body came up, and encamped, with the Pasha of +Damascus at their head, in the plain of Sheikh Mahmoud. + +Early the next morning, the Egyptian caravan also arrived. The heavy +baggage and the camels were sent to the usual place of encampment of the +Egyptian Hadj, in the Moabede; but the Mahmal, or holy camel, remained +at Sheikh Mahmoud, that it might pass from thence in procession next day +through the town. Mohammed Aly Pasha arrived unexpectedly this morning +from Tayf, to be present at the Hadj, and to inspect the cavalry which +had come with the Egyptian caravan, a reinforcement that strongly +excited his hopes of success against the Wahabys. He was dressed in a +very handsome ihram, having two large entirely white cashmirene shawls +wrapped round his loins and shoulders: his head was bare; but an officer +held over it an umbrella to protect him from the sun, while riding +through the streets. On the same morning, all the hadjys resident at +Mekka took the ihram at their own lodgings, with the usual ceremonies, +preparatory to their setting out for Arafat; and at mid-day they +assembled in the mosque, where a short sermon was preached on the +occasion. The hadjys who had come with the caravan had already + +[p.263] taken the ihram at Asfan, two stations in advance of Mekka; but +a great number of them, especially the servants and camel-drivers, did +not throw off their ordinary dresses, and even appeared in them at +Arafat, without causing either surprise or indignation. There is no +religious police or inquisition here; and every body is left to the +dictates of his conscience, either to observe or neglect the precepts of +the canonical law. + +Great bustle prevailed this evening in the town. Every body was +preparing for his journey to Arafat; Syrian hadjys came to engage +lodgings, to inquire about the state of the markets, and to pay their +first visits to the Kaaba. A number of pedlars and petty shopkeepers +left the town to establish themselves at Arafat, and to be ready there +for the accommodation of the pilgrims. A number of camel-drivers from +Syria and Egypt led their unloaded camels through the streets, offering +to let them out to the hadjys going to Arafat. The rate of hire this +year was very moderate, on account of the great number of beasts of +burden: I engaged two of these camels, for the journey of four days to +Arafat and back again, for three dollars. + +On the 8th of Zul Hadj, early in the morning, the Syrian Hadj passed in +procession through the town, accompanied by all its soldiers, and +carrying the Mahmal in front. All its baggage was left at Sheikh +Mahmoud, excepting the tents that were to be pitched at Arafat. Most of +the hadjys were mounted in the Shebrye, a sort of palankeen placed upon +the camel. The great people, and the Pasha of Damascus himself, rode in +takhtrouans, a kind of closed [l]itter or box carried by two camels, one +before and the other behind, and forming a very commodious conveyance, +except that it is necessary always to have a ladder, by means of which +one may mount or descend. The camels’ heads were decorated with +feathers, tassels, and bells; but their heads, bent down towards the +ground, showed how much they were fatigued by their journey. While these +passed, the streets were lined by people of all classes, who greeted the +caravan with loud acclamations and praise. The martial music of the +Pasha of Damascus, a dozen of fine caparisoned horses led in front of +his litter, and the rich takhtrouans in which his women rode, +particularly attracted attention. + +[p.264] Soon after the Syrians had passed, the Egyptian procession +followed, consisting of its Mahmal or sacred camel, (for each of the +caravans carries one,) and the Shebryes of the public officers, who +always accompany the Hadj; but not a single private pilgrim was to be +seen in its suite. The good appearance of the soldiers who were with +them, the splendour of the Mahmal, and of the equipage of the Emir el +Hadj, who was a commander of the Turkish horsemen called Delhis, drew +from the Mekkawys many signs of approbation, such as had been given to +those who immediately preceded them. Both caravans continued their route +to Arafat without stopping. + +Before mid-day, all the hadjys who had resided for some time at Mekka, +likewise mounted their camels, and crowded the streets as they pressed +forward to follow the Hadj. They were joined by the far greater part of +the population of Mekka, who make it a rule to go every year to Arafat; +and by a similar portion of the population of Djidda, who had been +assembled here for some time. During five or six days, the gates of +Djidda, thus deserted by so many people, remain shut. + +I left my lodgings on foot, after mid-day, with a companion and a slave- +boy mounted on two camels, which I had hired from a Syrian driver, a +native of Homs. It is thought meritorious to make the six hours’ journey +to Arafat on foot, particularly if the pilgrim goes barefooted. Many +hadjys did so; and I preferred this mode, because I had led a very +sedentary life for some months. We were several hours before we could +reach the outskirts of the town beyond the Moabede, so great was the +crowd of camels; and many accidents happened. Of the half-naked hadjys, +all dressed in the white ihram, some sat reading the Koran upon their +camels; some ejaculated loud prayers; whilst others cursed their +drivers, and quarrelled with those near them, who were choking up the +passage. Beyond the town the road widens, and we passed on through the +valleys, at a very slow march, for two hours, to Wady Muna, in the +narrow entrance of which great confusion again occurred. The law enjoins +that the hadjys shall recite five prayers at Muna, Mohammed having +always done so; that is to say, that they shall arrive there at noon, in +time for the mid-day prayer, and remaining + +[p.265] until the next morning, shall perform the prayers of the Aszer, +of Mogreb, and of Ashe, and that of the dawn on the ensuing day. The +inconvenience, however, arising from a delay on the route has led to the +neglect of this precept for some time past; and the Hadj now passes +Muna, on its way to Arafat, without halting. + +In advance of Muna, we had the mosque of Mozdelife to our right, whither +many pilgrims went to recite the Salat el Aszer and Salat el Mogreb; but +the caravan continued its march. Beyond Mozdelife, we again entered the +mountains by the pass called El Mazoumeyn, on the eastern side of which +we issued towards the plain of Arafat. Here the pilgrims passed between +the two pillars called Alameyn, and, on approaching the vicinity of +Djebel Arafat, dispersed over the plain in search of their place of +encampment. I reached the camp about three hours after sun-set; but the +last stragglers did not arrive till midnight. Numberless fires were seen +lighted on an extent of ground of three or four miles in length; and +high and brilliant clusters of lamps marked the different places of +encampment of Mohammed Aly, Soleyman Pasha, and the Emir el Hadj of the +Egyptian caravan. Hadjys were seen in every direction wandering among +the tents in search of their companions, whom they had lost in the +confusion on the road; and it was several hours before the noise and +clamour had subsided. Few persons slept during that night: the devotees +sat up praying, and their loud chants were particularly distinguished on +the side of the Syrian encampment; the merry Mekkawys formed themselves +into parties, singing the jovial songs called djok, accompanied by +clapping of hands; and the coffee-houses scattered over the plain were +crowded the whole night with customers. + +The night was dark and cold, and a few drops of rain fell. I had formed +a resting-place for myself by means of a large carpet tied to the back +part of a Mekkawy’s tent; and having walked about for the greater part +of the night, I had just disposed myself to sleep, when two guns, fired +by the Syrian and Egyptian Hadj, announced the approaching dawn of the +day of pilgrimage, and summoned the faithful to prepare for their +morning prayers. + +To illustrate the following account, a plan of Arafat is annexed; + +[p.266] and the figures and marks of reference which it contains are +explained below. [not included] + +At sun-rise on the 9th of Zul Hadj, every pilgrim issued from his tent, +to walk over the plains, and take a view of the busy crowds assembled +there. Long streets of tents, fitted up as bazars, furnished all kinds +of provisions. The Syrian and Egyptian cavalry were exercised by their +chiefs early in the morning, while thousands of camels were seen feeding +upon the dry shrubs of the plain all round the camp. I walked to Mount +Arafat, to enjoy from its summit a more distinct view of the whole. This +granite hill, which is also called Djebel er’ Rahme, or the Mountain of +Mercy, rises on the north-east side of the plain, close to the mountains +which encompass it, but separated from them by a rocky valley; it is +about a mile, or a mile and a half in circuit; its sides are sloping, +and its summit is nearly two hundred feet above the level of the plain. +On the eastern side broad stone steps lead up to the top, and a broad +unpaved path, on the western, over rude masses of granite, with which +its declivity is covered. After mounting about forty steps, we find a +spot a little on the left, called Modaa Seydna Adam, or the place of +prayer of our Lord Adam, where, it is related, that the father of +mankind used to stand while praying; for here it was, according to +Mohammedan tradition, that the angel Gabriel first instructed Adam how +to adore his Creator. A marble slab, bearing an inscription in modern +characters, is fixed in the side of the mountain. On reaching about the +sixtieth step, we come to a + +[p.267] small paved platform to our right, on a level spot of the hill, +where the preacher stands who admonishes the pilgrims on the afternoon +of this day, as I shall hereafter mention. Thus high, the steps are so +broad and easy that a horse or camel may ascend, but higher up they +become more steep and uneven. On the summit the place is shown where +Mohammed used to take his station during the Hadj; a small chapel +formerly stood over it; but this was destroyed by the Wahabys: here the +pilgrims usually pray two rikats, in salutation of Arafat. The steps and +the summit are covered with handkerchiefs to receive their pious gifts, +and each family of the Mekkawys or Bedouins of the tribe of Koreysh, in +whose territory Arafat lies, has its particular spot assigned to it for +this purpose. The summit commands a very extensive and singular +prospect. I brought my compass to take a circle of bearings; but the +crowd was so great, that I could not use it. Towards the western +extremity of the plain are seen Bir Bazan and the Aalameyn; somewhat +nearer, southwards, the mosque called Djama Nimre, or Djama Seydna +Ibrahim; and on the south-east, a small house where the Sherif used to +lodge during the pilgrimage. From thence an elevated rocky ground in the +plain extends towards Arafat. On the eastern side of the mountain, and +close to its foot, are the ruins of a small mosque, built on rocky +ground, called Djama el Szakhrat, where Mohammed was accustomed to pray, +and where the pilgrims make four prostrations in memory of the prophet. +Several large reservoirs lined with stone are dispersed over the plain; +two or three are close to the foot of Arafat, and there are some near +the house of the Sherifs: they are filled from the same fine aqueduct +which supplies Mekka, and the head of which is about one hour and a half +distant, in the eastern mountains. The canal is left open here for the +convenience of pilgrims, and is conducted round the three sides of the +mountains, passing by Modaa Seydna Adam. [At the close of the sixteenth +century, according to Kotobeddyn, the whole plain of Arafat was +cultivated.] + +From the summit of Arafat, I counted about three thousand tents +dispersed over the plain, of which two thirds belonged to the two + +[p.268] Hadj caravans, and to the suite and soldiers of Mohammed Aly; +the rest to the Arabs of the Sherif, the Bedouin hadjys, and the people +of Mekka and Djidda. These assembled multitudes were for the greater +number, like myself, without tents. The two caravans were encamped +without much order, each party of pilgrims or soldiers having pitched +its tents in large circles or dowars, in the midst of which many of +their camels were reposing. The plain contained, dispersed in different +parts, from twenty to twenty-five thousand camels, twelve thousand of +which belonged to the Syrian Hadj, and from five to six thousand to the +Egyptian; besides about three thousand, purchased by Mohammed Aly from +the Bedouins in the Syrian Deserts, and brought to Mekka with the Hadj, +to convey the pilgrims to this place, previously to being used for the +transport of army-provisions to Tayf. + +The Syrian Hadj was encamped on the south and south-west side of the +mountain; the Egyptian on the south-east. Around the house of the +Sherif, Yahya himself was encamped with his Bedouin troops, and in its +neighbourhood were all the Hedjaz people. Here it was that the two Yemen +caravans used formerly to take their station. Mohammed Aly, and Soleyman +Pasha of Damascus, as well as several of their officers, had very +handsome tents; but the most magnificent of all was that of the wife of +Mohammed Aly, the mother of Tousoun Pasha, and Ibrahim Pasha, who had +lately arrived from Cairo for the Hadj, with a truly royal equipage, +five hundred camels being necessary to transport her baggage from Djidda +to Mekka. Her tent was in fact an encampment consisting of a dozen tents +of different sizes, inhabited by her women; the whole enclosed by a wall +of linen cloth, eight hundred paces in circuit, the single entrance to +which was guarded by eunuchs in splendid dresses. Around this enclosure +were pitched the tents of the men who formed her numerous suite. The +beautiful embroidery on the exterior of this linen palace, with the +various colours displayed in every part of it, constituted an object +which reminded me of some descriptions in the Arabian Tales of the +Thousand and One Nights. Among the rich equipages of the other hadjys, +or of the Mekka people, none were so conspicuous as that belonging to +the family of Djeylany, the merchant, whose tents, pitched + +[p.269] in a semicircle, rivalled in beauty those of the two Pashas, and +far exceeded those of Sherif Yahya. In other parts of the East, a +merchant would as soon think of buying a rope for his own neck, as of +displaying his wealth in the presence of a Pasha; but Djeylany has not +yet laid aside the customs which the Mekkawys learned under their old +government, particularly that of Sherif Ghaleb, who seldom exercised +extortion upon single individuals; and they now rely on the promises of +Mohammed Aly, that he will respect their property. + +During the whole morning, there were repeated discharges of the +artillery which both Pashas had brought with them. A few pilgrims had +taken up their quarters on Djebel Arafat itself, where some small +cavern, or impending block of granite, afforded them shelter from the +sun. It is a belief generally entertained in the East, and strengthened +by many boasting hadjys on their return home, that all the pilgrims, on +this day, encamp upon Mount Arafat; and that the mountain possesses the +miraculous property of expansion, so as to admit an indefinite number of +the faithful upon its summit. The law ordains that the wakfe, or +position of the Hadj, should be on Djebel Arafat; but it wisely provides +against any impossibility, by declaring that the plain in the immediate +neighbourhood of the mountain may be regarded as comprised under the +term “mountain,” or Djebel Arafat. + +I estimated the number of persons assembled here at about seventy +thousand. The camp was from three to four miles long, and between one +and two in breadth. There is, perhaps, no spot on earth where, in so +small a place, such a diversity of languages are heard; I reckoned about +forty, and have no doubt that there were many more. It appeared to me as +if I were here placed in a holy temple of travellers only; and never did +I at any time feel a more ardent wish to be able to penetrate once into +the inmost recesses of the countries of many of those persons whom I now +saw before me, fondly imagining that I might have no more difficulty in +reaching their homes, than what they had experienced in their journey to +this spot. + +When the attention is engrossed by such a multitude of new objects, time +passes rapidly away. I had only descended from Mount + +[p.270] Arafat, and had walked for some time about the camp, here and +there entering into conversation with pilgrims; inquiring at the Syrian +camp after some of my friends; and among the Syrian Bedouins, for news +from their deserts, when mid-day had already passed. The prayers of this +period of the day ought to be performed either within, or in the +immediate neighbourhood of, the mosque of Nimre, whither the two Pashas +had repaired for that purpose. The far greater number of hadjys, +however, dispense with this observance, and many of them with the mid- +day prayers altogether; for no one concerns himself whether his +neighbour is punctual or not in the performance of the prescribed rites. +After mid-day, the pilgrims are to wash and purify the body, by means of +the entire ablution prescribed by the law, and called Ghossel, for which +purpose chiefly, the numerous tents in the plain have been constructed; +but the weather was cloudy, and rather cold, which induced nine-tenths +of the pilgrims, shivering as they were already under the thin covering +of the ihram, to omit the rite also, and to content themselves with the +ordinary ablution. The time of Aszer (or about three o’clock, P.M.) +approached, when that ceremony of the Hadj takes place, for which the +whole assembly had come hither. The pilgrims now pressed forward towards +the mountain of Arafat, and covered its sides from top to bottom. At the +precise time of Aszer, the preacher took his stand upon the platform on +the mountain, and began to address the multitude. This sermon, which +lasts till sun-set, constitutes the holy ceremony of the Hadj called +Khotbet el Wakfe; and no pilgrim, although he may have visited all the +holy places of Mekka, is entitled to the name of hadjy, unless he has +been present on this occasion. As Aszer approached, therefore, all the +tents were struck, every thing was packed up, the caravans began to +load, and the pilgrims belonging to them mounted their camels, and +crowded round the mountain, to be within sight of the preacher, which is +sufficient, as the greater part of the multitude is necessarily too +distant to hear him. The two Pashas, with their whole cavalry drawn up +in two squadrons behind them, took their post in the rear of the deep +lines of camels of the hadjys, to which those of the people of the +Hedjaz were also joined; and here they waited in solemn and respectful + +[p.271] silence the conclusion of the sermon. Further removed from the +preacher, was the Sherif Yahya, with his small body of soldiers, +distinguished by several green standards carried before him. The two +Mahmals, or holy camels, which carry on their back the high structure +that serves as the banner of their respective caravans, made way with +difficulty through the ranks of camels that encircled the southern and +eastern sides of the hill, opposite to the preacher, and took their +station, surrounded by their guards, directly under the platform in +front of him. [The Mahmal (an exact representation of which is given by +D’Ohsson,) is a high, hollow, wooden frame, in the form of a cone, with +a pyramidal top, covered with a fine silk brocade adorned with ostrich +feathers, and having a small book of prayers and charms placed in the +midst of it, wrapped up in a piece of silk. (My description is taken +from the Egyptian Mahmal.) When on the road, it serves as a holy banner +to the caravan; and on the return of the Egyptian caravan, the book of +prayers is exposed in the mosque El Hassaneyn, at Cairo, where men and +women of the lower classes go to kiss it, and obtain a blessing by +rubbing their foreheads upon it. No copy of the Koran, nor any thing but +the book of prayers, is placed in the Cairo Mahmal. The Wahabys declared +this ceremony of the Hadj to be a vain pomp, of idolatrous origin, and +contrary to the spirit of true religion; and its use was one of the +principal reasons which they assigned for interdicting the caravans from +repairing to Mekka. In the first centuries of Islam, neither the +Omeyades nor the Abassides ever had a Mahmal. Makrisi, in his treatise +“On those Khalifes and Sultans who performed the pilgrimage in person,” +says that Dhaher Bybars el Bondokdary, Sultan of Egypt, was the first +who introduced the Mahmal, about A.H. 670. Since his time, all the +Sultans who sent their caravans to Mekka, have considered it as a +privilege to send one with each, as a sign of their own royalty. The +first Mahmal from Yemen came in A.H. 960; and in A.H.1049, El Moayed +Billah, king, and Imam of Yemen, who publicly professed the creed of +Zeyd, came with one to Arafat; and the caravans of Baghdad, Damascus, +and Cairo, have always carried it with them. In A.H. 730, the Baghdad +caravan brought it to Arafat upon an elephant (vide Asamy). I believe +the custom to have arisen in the battle-banner of the Bedouins, called +Merkeb and Otfe, which I have mentioned in my remarks on the Bedouins, +and which resemble the Mahmal, inasmuch as they are high wooden frames +placed upon camels.] + +The preacher, or Khatyb, who is usually the Kadhy of Mekka, was mounted +upon a finely-caparisoned camel, which had been led up the steps; it +being traditionally said that Mohammed was always seated when he here +addressed his followers, a practice in which he was imitated by all the +Khalifes who came to the Hadj, and who from + +[p.272] hence addressed their subjects in person. The Turkish gentleman +of Constantinople, however, unused to camel-riding, could not keep his +seat so well as the hardy Bedouin prophet; and the camel becoming +unruly, he was soon obliged to alight from it. He read his sermon from a +book in Arabic, which he held in his hands. At intervals of every four +or five minutes he paused, and stretched forth his arms to +implore blessings from above; while the assembled multitudes around and +before him, waved the skirts of their ihrams over their heads, and rent +the air with shouts of “Lebeyk, Allahuma Lebeyk,” (i.e. Here we are, at +thy commands, O God!) During the wavings of the ihrams, the side of the +mountain, thickly crowded as it was by the people in their white +garments, had the appearance, of a cataract of water; while the green +umbrellas, with which several thousand hadjys, sitting on their camels +below, were provided, bore some resemblance to a verdant plain. + +During his sermon, which lasted almost three hours, the Kadhy was seen +constantly to wipe his eyes with a handkerchief; for the law enjoins the +Khatyb or preacher to be moved with feeling and compunction; and adds +that, whenever tears appear on his face, it is a sign that the Almighty +enlightens him, and is ready to listen to his prayers. The pilgrims who +stood near me, upon the large blocks of granite which cover the sides of +Arafat, appeared under various aspects. Some of them, mostly foreigners, +were crying loudly and weeping, beating their breasts, and denouncing +themselves to be great sinners before the Lord; others (but by far the +smaller number,) stood in silent reflexion and adoration, with tears in +their eyes. Many natives of the Hedjaz, and many soldiers of the Turkish +army, were meanwhile conversing and joking; and whenever the others were +waving the ihram, made violent gesticulations, as if to ridicule that +ceremony. Behind, on the hill, I observed several parties of Arabs and +soldiers, who were quietly smoking their nargyles; and in a cavern just +by sat a common woman, who sold coffee, and whose visiters, by their +loud laughter and riotous conduct, often interrupted the fervent +devotions of the hadjys near them. Numbers of people were present in +their ordinary clothes. Towards the conclusion of the sermon, the far +greater part of the + +[p.273] assembly seemed to be wearied, and many descended the mountain +before the preacher had finished his discourse. It must be observed, +however, that the crowds assembled on the mountain were, for the greater +part, of the lower classes; the pilgrims of respectability being mounted +upon their camels or horses in the plain. + +At length the sun began to descend behind the western mountains; upon +which the Kadhy, having shut his book, received a last greeting of +“Lebeyk;” and the crowds rushed down the mountain, in order to quit +Arafat. It is thought meritorious to accelerate the pace on this +occasion; and many persons make it a complete race, called by the Arabs, +Ad’dafa min Arafat. In former times, when the strength of the Syrian and +Egyptian caravans happened to be nearly balanced, bloody affrays took +place here almost every year between them, each party endeavouring to +out-run and to carry its mahmal in advance of the other. The same +happened when the mahmals approached the platform at the commencement of +the sermon; and two hundred lives have on some occasions been lost in +supporting what was thought the honour of the respective caravans. At +present the power of Mohammed Aly preponderates, and the Syrian hadjys +display great humility. + +The united caravans and the whole mass of pilgrims now moved forward +over the plain; every tent had been previously packed up, to be ready +for the occasion. The pilgrims pressed through the Aalameyn, which they +must repass on their return; and night came on before they reached the +defile called El Mazoumeyn. Innumerable torches were now lighted, +twenty-four being carried before each Pasha; and the sparks of fire from +them flew far over the plain. There were continual discharges of +artillery; the soldiers fired their muskets; the martial bands of both +the Pashas played; sky-rockets were thrown as well by the Pashas’ +officers, as by many private pilgrims; while the Hadj passed at a quick +pace in the greatest disorder, amidst a deafening clamour, through the +pass of Mazoumeyn, leading towards Mezdelfe, where all alighted, after a +two hours’ march. No order was observed here in encamping; and every one +lay down on the spot that first presented itself, no tents being pitched +except those of the Pashas and their + +[p.274] suites; before which was an illumination of lamps in the form of +high arches, which continued to blaze the whole night, while the firing +of the artillery was kept up without intermission. + +In the indescribable confusion attending the departure of the Hadj from +Arafat, many pilgrims had lost their camels, and were now heard calling +loudly for their drivers, as they sought them over the plain: I myself +was among their number. When I went to the mountain of Arafat, I ordered +my camel-driver and my slave to remain in readiness upon the spot where +they then were, till I should return to them after sun-set; but seeing, +soon after I quitted them, that the other loaded camels pressed forward +towards the mountain, they followed the example; and when I returned to +the place where I left them, they were not to be found. I was therefore +obliged to walk to Mezdelfe, where I slept on the sand, covered only by +my ihram, after having searched for my people during several hours[.] + +On the 10th of the month of Zul Hadj, or the day of the feast called +Nehar el Dhahye, or Nehar el Nahher, the morning gun awoke the pilgrims +before dawn. At the first appearance of day-break, the Kadhy took his +station upon the elevated platform which encloses the mosque of +Mezdelfe, usually called Moshar el Harám, and began a sermon similar to +that which he had preached the day before. The Hadj surrounded the +mosque on all sides with lighted torches, and accompanied the sermon +with the same exclamations of “Lebeyk Allah huma Lebeyk;” but though +this sermon forms one of the principal duties of the pilgrimage, by far +the greater number of the hadjys remained with their baggage, and did +not attend it. The sermon is not very long, lasting only from the first +dawn till sun-rise; a space of time much shorter of course in this +latitude, than in our northern countries. The Salat el Ayd, or the +prayer of the feast, is performed at the same time by the whole +community according to its rites. When the first rays of the sun shot +athwart the cloudy sky, the pilgrims moved on at a slow march towards +Wady Muna, one hour distant from hence. + +On arriving at Wady Muna, each nation encamped upon the spot which +custom has assigned to it, at every returning Hadj. After + +[p.275] disposing of the baggage, the hadjys hastened to the ceremony of +throwing stones at the devil. It is said that, when Abraham or Ibrahim +returned from the pilgrimage to Arafat, and arrived at Wady Muna, the +devil Eblys presented himself before him at the entrance of the valley, +to obstruct his passage; when the angel Gabriel, who accompanied the +Patriarch, advised him to throw stones at him, which he did, and after +pelting him seven times, Eblys retired. When Abraham reached the middle +of the valley, he again appeared before him, and, for the last time, at +its western extremity, and was both times repulsed by the same number of +stones. According to Azraky, the Pagan Arabs, in commemoration of this +tradition, used to cast stones in this valley as they returned from the +pilgrimage; and set up seven idols at Muna, of which there was one in +each of the three spots where the devil appeared, at each of which they +cast three stones. Mohammed, who made this ceremony one of the chief +duties of the hadjys, increased the number of stones to seven. At the +entrance of the valley, towards Mezdelfe, stands a rude stone pillar, or +rather altar, between six and seven feet high, in the midst of the +street, against which the first seven stones are thrown, as the place +where the devil made his first stand: towards the middle of the valley +is a similar pillar, and at its western end a wall of stones, which is +made to serve the same purpose. The hadjys crowded in rapid succession +round the first pillar, called “Djamrat el Awla;” and every one threw +seven small stones successively upon it: they then passed to the second +and third spots, (called “Djamrat el Owsat,” and “Djamrat el Sofaly,” or +“el Akaba,” or “el Aksa,”) where the same ceremony was repeated. In +throwing the stones, they are to exclaim, “In the name of God; God is +great (we do this) to secure ourselves from the devil and his troops.” +The stones used for this purpose are to be of the size of a horse-bean, +or thereabouts; and the pilgrims are advised to collect them in the +plain of Mezdelfe, but they may likewise take them from Muna; and many +people, contrary to the law, collect those that have already been +thrown. + +Having performed the ceremony of casting stones, the pilgrims kill the +animals which they bring with them for sacrifice; and all Mohammedans, +in whatever part of the world they may be, are bound, at this + +[p.276] time, to perform the same rite. Between six and eight thousand +sheep and goats, under the care of Bedouins, (who demanded high prices +for them,) were ready on this occasion. The act of sacrifice itself is +subject to no other ceremonies than that of turning the victim’s face +towards the Kebly or the Kaaba, and to say, during the act of cutting +its throat, “In the name of the most merciful God! O supreme God!” +(Bismillah! irrahman irrahhym, Allahou akbar!) Any place may be chosen +for these sacrifices, which are performed in every corner of Wady Muna; +but the favourite spot is a smooth rock on its western extremity, where +several thousand sheep were killed in the space of a quarter of an +hour. [Kotobeddyn relates that, when the Khalife Mokteder performed the +pilgrimage about A.H. 350, he sacrificed on this day forty thousand +camels and cows, and fifty thousand sheep. Even now, persons of wealth +kill camels. The slaughtering may be performed by proxy.] + +As soon as the sacrifices were completed, the pilgrims sent for barbers, +or repaired to their shops, of which a row of thirty or forty had been +set up near the favourite place of sacrifice. They had their heads +shaved, except those who were of the Shafey sect, who shave only one- +fourth of the head here, reserving the other three-fourths till they +have visited the Kaaba, after returning to Mekka. They threw off the +ihram, and resumed their ordinary clothes; those who could afford it +putting on new dresses, this being now the day of the feast. So far the +Hadj was completed, and all the pilgrims joined in mutual +congratulations, and wishes that the performance of this Hadj might be +acceptable to the Deity. “Tekabbel Allah!” was heard on all sides, and +everybody appeared contented. But this was not quite the case with +myself; for all endeavours to find my camels had hitherto proved vain, +such were the immense crowds that filled the valley; and while the other +hadjys were dressed in their clothes, I was obliged to walk about in my +ihram. Fortunately, my purse, which I had hung about my neck according +to the pilgrim custom, (the ihram having no pockets,) enabled me to buy +a sheep for sacrifice, and pay a barber. It was not till after sun-set +that I found out my people, who had encamped on the northern mountain, +and had been all the while under great anxiety about me. + +The pilgrims remain two days more at Muna. Exactly at mid-day, + +[p.277] on the 11th of Zul Hadj, seven small stones are again thrown +against each of the three places where the devil appeared; and the same +is done on the 12th of Zul Hadj, so that by the three repeated +throwings, each time of twenty-one stones, the number of sixty-three is +cast during the three days. Many pilgrims are ignorant of the precise +tenor of the law in this respect, as they are of several other points in +the ceremonies of the pilgrimage, and either throw early in the morning +the stones they should throw at mid-day, or do not throw the number +enjoined. After the last throwing on the 12th, the Hadj returns to Mekka +in the afternoon. + +Muna [This name is said to be derived from Adam, who, during his stay in +the valley, when God told him to ask a favour, replied, “I ask (ytemuna) +for paradise;” and this place received its appellation from the answer. +Others say it derived its name from the flowing of blood in the day of +sacrifice.] is a narrow valley, extending in a right line from west to +east, about fifteen hundred paces in length, and varying in breadth, +enclosed on both sides by steep and barren cliffs of granite. Along the +middle, on both sides of the way, is a row of buildings, the far greater +part in ruins: they belong to Mekkans or Bedouins of the Koreysh, by +whom they are either let out, or occupied during the three days of the +Hadj, and left empty the rest of the year, when Muna is never inhabited. +Some of these are tolerable stone buildings, two stories high; but not +more than a dozen of them are kept in complete repair. On the farthest +eastern extremity of the valley, stands a good house, belonging to the +reigning Sherif of Mekka, in which he usually lives during those days. +It was now occupied by the ladies of Mohammed Aly; Sherif Yahya, after +throwing off the ihram, having returned to Mekka, where many hadjys also +repair immediately after that ceremony; but it is their duty to revisit +Muna at noon on the 11th or 12th of this month, in order to throw the +stones, as the neglect of this ceremony would render their pilgrimage +imperfect. The remainder of those two days they may spend where they +please. In the evening of the day of sacrifice, the merchant hadjys +usually go to Mekka, that they may unpack whatever merchandize they have +brought there. + +[p.278]In the open space between the Sherif’s house and the habitations +of the Mekkans, is situated the mosque called Mesdjed el Kheyf; it is a +good solid building, the open square of which is surrounded by a high +and strong wall. In the midst of it is a public fountain, with a small +dome; and the west side, where the pulpit is placed, is occupied by a +colonnade with a triple row of pillars. The mosque is very ancient; it +was newly constructed in A.H. 559, by the celebrated Salaheddyn; but it +was rebuilt in its present form by Kayd Beg, Sultan of Egypt, in A.H. +874. It is reported, according to Fasy, that at the foot of the mountain +behind it, Mohammed received many revelations from heaven, and that Adam +was buried in the mosque. Close by it is a reservoir of water, also +founded, according to Kotobeddyn, by Kayd Beg; it was now completely +dry, as was a similar one where the Syrian Hadj encamped. The want of +water at Muna subjected the poorer hadjys to great hardships. Some was +brought either from Mezdelife, or from the tank situated beyond Muna, on +the road to Mekka, and the skin-full was sold for four piastres. In +Fasy’s time, there were fifteen wells of brackish water at Muna: it +seems that water may be found at a certain depth in all the country +round Mekka. + +The annexed ground-plan [not included] shows whatever is worthy of +notice in the town or village of Muna. [not included] The house of +Djeylany, the best that it contained, was constantly crowded by +visitors, whom he treated + +[p.279] sumptuously. The houses of the Kadhy and the rich families of +Sakkat, were next to it; and, on the same side of the way, a long, +narrow hall had been lately repaired and fitted up, where about fifty +Mekkan and Turkish shopkeepers exhibited their wares. The houses of the +northern row are almost totally in ruins: the row of shops (No. 16.) on +that side were open without any doors. There were, besides, many sheds +constructed in the midst of the street, where victuals might be +purchased in great abundance, but at exorbitant prices. + +On the declivity of the mountain to the north, called Djebel Thebeyr, a +place is visited by the hadjys, where Abraham, as some accounts inform +us, requested permission to offer up his son as a sacrifice. A granite +block, cleft in two, is shown here, upon which the knife of Abraham +fell, at the moment when the angel Gabriel showed him the ram close by. +At the touch of the knife the stone separated in two. It is in +commemoration of this sacrifice that the faithful, after the Hadj is +completed, slaughter their victims. The commentators on the law, +however, do not agree about the person whom Abraham intended to +sacrifice. Some state him to have been Yakoub (Jacob), but the far +greater number Ismayl. In the immediate neighbourhood of the block is a +small cavern, capable of holding four or five persons, where Hadjer (or +Hagar) is said to have given birth to Ismayl; this, however, directly +contradicts even Mohammedan tradition, which says that Ismayl was born +in Syria, and that his mother Hadjer carried him into the Hedjaz, when +an infant at her breast; but the small cavern offering itself so +conveniently, justified the substitution of Muna for Syria, as a fit +birth-place for the father of the Bedouins, more especially as it +attracts so many pious donations to the Mekkans, who sit around with +outspread handkerchiefs. Where the valley terminates towards Mekka, is a +small house of the Sherif, in which he makes his sacrifice, and throws +off the ihram. It was mentioned, that in a side-valley leading from this +place towards Djebel Nour, stands a mosque called Mesdjed el Ashra, +where the followers of Mohammed used to pray; but I did not visit it. +According to Azraky, another mosque, called Mesdjed el Kabsh, stood near +the cavern; and Fasy says there was one between + +[p.280] the first and second of the devil’s pillars, which is probably +that marked 20 in the plan. + +To every division of the hadjys, its place of encampment is appointed in +Wady Muna, or at Arafat; but the space is here much narrower. The +Egyptian Hadj alights near the house of the Sherif, where Mohammed Aly +had pitched his tent, in the vicinity of his cavalry. Two large leathern +vessels, constantly kept filled with water, were placed in front of his +tent, for the use of the hadjys. At a short distance from it, towards +the Mesdjed el Kheyf, stood the tent of Soleyman Pasha of Damascus, +whose caravan was encamped on the opposite side of the way; before his +tent was placed a row of ten field-pieces, which he had brought with him +from Damascus. His ammunition had exploded on the way, while the caravan +halted at Beder, and fifty people had been killed by the accident; but +Mohammed Aly had furnished him with a fresh supply; and the guns were +frequently discharged, as were twelve others which stood near Mohammed +Aly’s tent. The greatest number of hadjys had encamped without any +order, on the rocky and uneven plain behind the village to the north. +The tents of the Mekkans were very neatly fitted up; and this being now +the feast, men, women, and children were dressed in their best apparel. +At night, few people ventured to sleep, on account of thieves, who +abound at Muna. A hadjy had been robbed, on the preceding night, of +three hundred dollars; and at Arafat several dozen of camels were stolen +by the Bedouins: two of the thieves had been pursued and seized, and +carried before Mohammed Aly at Muna, who ordered them to be beheaded. +Their mutilated bodies lay before his tent the whole of the three days, +with a guard, to prevent their friends from taking them away. Such +exhibitions create neither horror nor disgust in the breast of an +Osmanly; their continual recurrence hardens his feelings, and renders +him insensible to the emotions of pity. I heard a Bedouin, probably a +friend of the slain, who stood near the bodies, exclaim, “God have mercy +upon them; but no mercy upon him who killed them!” + +The street, which extends the whole length of Muna, was now converted +into a market and fair: every inch of ground not built upon, + +[p.281] was occupied by sheds or booths, made of mats; or by small +tents, fitted up as shops. Provisions, and merchandize of every kind, +had been brought here from Mekka; and, contrary to the custom in other +Mohammedan countries, where all commerce is laid aside during the feast- +days, all the merchants, shopkeepers, and brokers, were busily employed +in traffic. The merchants who had arrived with the Syrian caravan, began +their bargains for Indian goods, and exhibited samples of the articles +which they had themselves brought, and which were lying in the +warehouses at Mekka. A number of poor hadjys were crying their small +adventures, which they carried along the street on their heads; and as +all business was confined to this single street, the mixture of nations, +costumes, and merchandize, was still more striking than at Mekka. [This +pilgrimage among the Pagan Arabs was, at all times, connected with a +large fair held at Mekka. In the month before the pilgrimage, they +visited some other neighbouring fairs, namely, those of Okath, the +market of the tribe of Kenane; of Medjna and Zou el Medjaz; the markets +of the tribe of Hodeyl; and of Hasha, that of the Beni Lazed. After +having spent their time in amusements at those fairs, they repaired to +the Hadj at Arafat, and then returned to Mekka, where another large fair +was held (see Azraky). At Arafat and Muna, on the contrary, they +scrupulously abstained from any traffic during the days of their +sojourning there, and the performance of the holy rites; but the Koran +abrogated this observance, and by a passage in chap. ii. permitted +trafficking even in the days of the Hadj; at least it has been so +explained. (See El Fasy.)] + +In the afternoon of the first day of Muna, the two Pashas paid mutual +visits; and their cavalry manśuvred before their tents. Among the troops +of Soleyman Pasha, about sixty Sambarek (Zembourek) attracted notice: +these are artillerymen, mounted on camels, having a. small swivel before +them, which turned on a pivot fixed to the pommel of the camel’s saddle. +They fire while at a trot, and the animal bears the shock of the +discharge with great tranquillity. The Syrian cavalry consisted of about +fifteen hundred men, principally delhys; no infantry whatever being with +the caravan. Soleyman Pasha appeared to-day with a very brilliant +equipage; all his body-guards were dressed in richly-embroidered stuffs +glittering with gold, and were well mounted, though the Pasha’s own stud +was very indifferent. After the two + +[p.282] Pashas had interchanged visits, their officers followed the +example, and were admitted to kiss the hands of the Pashas, when each of +them received presents in money, according to his rank. The Kadhy, the +rich merchants of Mekka, and the grandees among the hadjys, likewise +paid their respects to the Pashas, and each of their visits lasted about +five minutes. An immense crowd was, at the same time, assembled in a +wide semicircle round their open tents, to witness this brilliant sight. +In the afternoon, a body of negro pilgrims, under a leader, made their +way through this crowd, and, walking up to Soleyman Pasha, (who sat +quite alone, smoking upon a sofa in the recess of his tent,) boldly +saluted him, and wished him joy on the accomplishment of the pilgrimage; +in return they received some gold coins. They afterwards tried the same +experiment with Mohammed Aly Pasha; but received only blows on the back +from his officers, in return for their compliments. Among the +curiosities which attracted the notice of the crowd, was a curricle +belonging to the wife of Mohammed Aly, which stood in the gateway of the +Sherif’s house. This lady had carried it on board her ship to Djidda, +from whence she rode in it to Mekka and Arafat, her person being, of +course, completely concealed; it was drawn by two fine horses, and was +seen frequently afterwards parading the streets of Mekka. + +At night, the whole valley blazed; every house and tent was lighted up; +before the tents of the Pashas were fine illuminations; and the Bedouins +made large bonfires upon the summits of the mountains. The noise of guns +continued throughout the night; fire-works were exhibited; and several +of the Mekkans let off rockets. + +The second day of the feast at Muna was passed in the same manner as the +first; but the putrefying carcases of the sheep became excessively +offensive in some parts of the valley, as very few of the richer hadjys +can consume the victims which they kill. The Hanefys are not even +allowed by the laws of their sect to eat more than one-eighth of a +sheep. The greater part of the flesh falls to the lot of the poorer +hadjys, and the entrails are thrown about the valley + +[p.283] and the street. The negroes and Indians were employed in cutting +some of the meat into slices, and drying it for their travelling +provision. [Until the sixteenth century, it was an established rule with +the Sultans of Egypt, and afterwards with those of Constantinople, to +furnish, at Muna, all the poor hadjys with food at the expense of the +royal treasury. The Pagan Arabs distinguished themselves more +particularly during the Hadj for their hospitality; and such of them as +went on the pilgrimage, were gratuitously entertained by all those whose +tents they passed on the road; they having previously prepared for that +purpose large supplies of food. (See Kotobeddyn.)--Among the wonders +which distinguish Muna from other valleys, El Fasy relates that it +occasionally extends its dimensions to accommodate any number of +pilgrims; that on the day of sacrifice, no vultures ever carry off the +slaughtered lambs, thus leaving them for the poor hadjys; and that, +notwithstanding the quantity of raw flesh, no flies ever molest the +visiters at this place. That the last remark is false, I can declare +from my own experience.] + +To-day many hadjys performed their prayers in the Mesdjed el Kheyf, +which I found crowded with poor Indians, who had taken up their quarters +in it. The pavement was thickly spread with carrion; and on cords +extended between the columns were suspended slices of meat, for the +purpose of being dried. The sight and smell were very disgusting; and +many hadjys seemed surprised that such indecencies should be allowed. In +general, foreign hadjys see many practices at Mekka, which are not +calculated to inspire them with great veneration for the holy places of +their religion; and although some may, nevertheless, retain all their +religious zeal undiminished, others, we may be assured, lose much of it +in consequence of what they witness during the Hadj. It is to this loss +of respect for religion, and to the nefarious and shameful practices in +some measure legitimatised by their frequent occurrence in the holy +city, that we must attribute those proverbs which reflect upon the +hadjys as less religious and less trustworthy than any other persons. +But our Christian holy-land is liable to some censure, for practices of +the same kind. The most devout and rigid Mohammedans acknowledge and +deplore the existence of this evil; and prove that they are either more +clear-sighted or more sincere than the Christian pilgrim +Chateaubriand. [Mons. C. may have had very statesman-like motives for +giving in his Itinerary so highly coloured a picture of Palestine and +its priesthood; but, as a traveller, he cannot escape blame for having +departed from the truth, and often totally misrepresented the facts that +fell under his observation.] + +[p.284]At mid-day on the 12th of Zul Hadj, immediately after having +thrown the last twenty-one stones, the hadjys left Muna, and returned +along the valley to Mekka, evincing their high spirits by songs, loud +talking, and laughter; a contrast to the gloom which affected every body +in proceeding here four days ago. On arriving at Mekka, the pilgrims +must visit the Kaaba, which in the mean time has been covered with the +new black clothing brought from Cairo, walk seven times round it, and +perform the ceremony of the Say: this is called the Towaf el Ifadhe. He +then takes the ihram once more, in order to visit the Omra; and on +returning from the Omra, again performs the Towaf and Say, and with this +the ceremony of the Hadj is finally terminated. + +The principal duties incumbent upon the hadjy are, therefore:--1. that he +should take the ihram; 2. be present, on the 9th of Zul Hadj, from +afternoon till sun-set, at the sermon preached at Arafat; 3. attend a +similar sermon at Mezdelfe, at sun-rise of the 10th of Zul Hadj; 4. on +the 10th, 11th, and 12th of Zul Hadj, throw on each day twenty-one +stones against the devil’s pillars at Muna; 5. perform the sacrifice at +Muna; or, if he is too poor, substitute for it a fast at some future +time; and, 6. upon his return to Mekka, visit the Kaaba and the Omra. +The law makes so many nice distinctions, and increases so greatly the +number of rules which are to guide the pilgrim at every step, that very +few can flatter themselves with being quite regular hadjys; but as no +ritual police is kept up during the ceremony, every one is completely +his own master, and assumes the title of hadjy, whether he has strictly +performed all the duties or not. It is enough for such that they have +been at Arafat on the proper day--this is the least distinction: but a +mere visit to Mekka does not authorise a man to style himself hadjy; and +the assumption of this title without some further pretensions, exposes +him to ridicule. There is not any formal certificate given to hadjys at +Mekka, as at Jerusalem; but many of the great people purchase a few +drawings of the town, &c.; annexed to which is an attestation of four +witnesses, that the purchasers were + +[p.285] regular hadjys. If the 9th of Zul Hadj, or the day of El Wakfe, +falls upon a Friday, it is held to be particularly fortunate. + +Some hadjys are anxious to acquire the title of “Khadem el Mesdjed,” or +servant of the mosque, which may be obtained at the expense of about +thirty dollars; for this sum, a paper, bestowing that appellation upon +him, is delivered to the purchaser, signed by the Sherif and Kadhy. It +is not uncommon to permit even Christians to obtain the privilege of +calling themselves servants of the Mesdjed, and the honour is +particularly sought for by the Greek inhabitants of the islands and +shores of the Archipelago; as, in case of their being captured by the +Barbary pirates, such a certificate is often respected by the most rigid +Moggrebyns. I saw a Greek captain who obtained one for two hundred +dollars; he had commanded one of Mohammed Aly’s dows, and was now on his +way home; and he felt satisfied that, whatever ship he might hereafter +take under his charge in the Archipelago, would be secured by this +certificate from the pirates. In former times, this title of Khadem +appears to have been of more importance than it is now; for I find, in +the historians of Mekka, many great people mentioned, who annexed it to +their names. + +After the return of the Hadj from Muna, the principal street of Mekka +becomes almost impassable from the crowds assembled there. The Syrian +hadjy merchants hire shops, and make the best use of the short time +which is granted to them for their commercial transactions. Every body +purchases provisions for his journey home; and the pursuit of gain now +engrosses all minds, from the highest to the lowest. The two caravans +usually leave Mekka about the 23d of Zul Hadj, after ten days’ stay in +the town. Sometimes the leaders of them are prevailed upon by the +merchants, who pay highly for the favour, to grant a respite of a few +days; but this year they did not require it, as the caravan was detained +by Mohammed Aly, who, preparing to open his campaign against the +Wahabys, thought proper to employ about twelve thousand camels of the +Syrian Hadj in two journies to Djidda, and one to Tayf, for the +transport of provisions. As to the Egyptian caravan, which, as I have +already mentioned, contained no private hadjys, it was wholly detained +by Mohammed Aly, who ordered all + +[p.286] the horsemen and camels that had accompanied it, to assist him +in his campaign. The Mahmal, or sacred camel, was sent back by sea to +Suez, a circumstance which had never before occurred. The Syrian caravan +did not leave Mekka till the 29th of Zul Hadj; and the incessant labour +to which its camels had been subjected, weakened them so much, that +numbers of them died on their return through the Desert. The caravans of +unloaded camels which were hourly leaving Mekka for Djidda, to take up +provisions there, facilitated the short journey to that place of those +hadjys who wished to return home by sea. + +Having heard that the supply of money for which I had written to Cairo +on my first reaching Djidda, had been received there, I rode over in the +night of the 1st of December, and remained in that town six or seven +days. The hadjys who had, in the mean while, daily flocked into it on +their return from Mekka, were seen encamped in every quarter, and thus +it soon became as crowded as Mekka had just been. Among the ships in the +harbour, ready to take hadjy passengers on board, was a merchant-vessel +lately arrived from Bombay, belonging to a Persian house at that +presidency, and commanded by an English captain, who had beat up to +Djidda against the trade-winds, at this late season. I passed many +agreeable hours in the company of Captain Boag, on board his ship, and +regretted that my pursuits should call me away so soon. Two other +Europeans had arrived at Djidda about the same time, by way of Cairo; +the one an Englishman, who was going to India; the other a German +physician. This gentleman was a Hanoverian by birth, and a baron: +misfortunes of a very distressing nature had driven him from his home, +and he had thought of practising his profession at Djidda, or of +proceeding to Mokha; but his mind was too unsettled to determine upon +any thing; and he was of too independent a character to receive either +counsel or assistance. I left him at Djidda when I returned to Mekka, +and learnt afterwards that he died there in the month of March, of the +plague, and that he was buried by the Greeks of Djidda upon an island in +the harbour. + +When I returned to Mekka, about the 8th or 9th of December, I found no +longer the same multitudes of people; but the beggars had + +[p.287] become so numerous and troublesome, that many of the hadjys +preferred staying all day at home, to escape at once the importunities, +the expense of acceding to them, or the scandal of wanting charity. +These beggars were soliciting alms to carry them home; and their numbers +were increased by many pilgrims of respectable appearance, whose money +had been spent during the Hadj. It was my intention, in returning to +Mekka, to join the Syrian caravan, and travel with it as far as Medina; +I therefore, in imitation of some other Syrian pilgrims who had arrived +at Mekka before the caravan, engaged with a Bedouin of the Harb tribe +for two of his camels; although most of the hadjys, who, after the +pilgrimage, visit Mohammed’s tomb at Medina, accompany the Syrian +caravan, agreeing with some Mekowem to defray all expenses on the road; +but it is better, for many reasons, to travel with Bedouins than with +towns-people, especially on a route across the Bedouin territory. An +accident, however, prevented me from availing myself of this +opportunity. + +The caravan being ready for departure on the 15th of December, I packed +up my effects in the morning, and at noon a gun was fired, to announce +that Soleyman Pasha had quitted the plain of Sheikh Mahmoud, where the +caravan had been encamped; but still my Bedouin had not arrived. I ran +out towards Sheikh Mahmoud, when I understood that a rumour, whether +false or true, having been spread, that Mohammed Aly was only waiting to +see the camels all assembled in the morning upon the plain, that he +might seize and send them to Tayf, several Bedouins had made their +escape during the night: it was evident that those with whom I had +bargained were among the number. In the hurry and bustle of departure no +other camels could possibly be found; and I was therefore obliged to +return to the town, together with several Mekkans, who had been +disappointed in the same manner. + +At the moment of starting, the leader of the Damascus caravan always +distributes a certain quantity of provision to the poor. Soleyman Pasha +had, for this purpose, heaped up two hundred camel-loads near his tent; +and when he mounted his horse, at a given signal it was seized upon by +those who were waiting, in the most outrageous and + +[p.288] disorderly manner: a party of about forty negro pilgrims, armed +with sticks, secured a considerable part of the heap to themselves. + +It is usual for the Syrian Hadj to stop two or three days, on its +return, in Wady Fatme, the first station from Mekka, to allow the camels +some fine pasturage in that neighbourhood; but Soleyman Pasha, who +entertained a great distrust of Mohammed Aly, and was particularly +fearful lest he should make some further demand upon his caravan for +camels, performed an uninterrupted march for two stations, and passed +Wady Fatme; thus disappointing many Mekkan shopkeepers, who had repaired +thither in hopes of establishing a market for the time. The Pasha became +delirious during the journey, and, before he reached Damascus, was put +under restraint by his own officers: he recovered his senses at +Damascus, but died there soon after. + +I was obliged to remain at Mekka a whole month after the departure of +the Hadj, waiting for another opportunity of proceeding to Medina. I +might have easily gone from Djidda, by sea, to Yembo; but I preferred +the journey by land. At this time the people of the Hedjaz were kept in +anxious suspense, on account of Mohammed Aly, who was preparing to set +out from Mekka, in person, against the Wahabys. They knew that, if his +expedition should fail, the Bedouins of the Hedjaz would immediately +resort to their wonted practices, and cut off the route to the interior +from all travellers; and experience had also taught them, that if the +Wahabys obtained possession of the country a second time, the town of +Mekka alone could indulge in any hope of escaping from being plundered. +These considerations retarded the departure of caravans for Medina. A +strong caravan usually leaves Mekka on the 11th of Moharrem, +(corresponding this year with the 2nd of January, 1815,) the day after +the opening of the Kaaba, which always takes place on the 10th of +Moharrem, or the day called Ashour. Towards the end of December, the +inhabitants were alarmed by a false report of the arrival of a Wahaby +force, by the way of the seacoast, from the south: soon after, in the +first days of January, 1815, Mohammed Aly set out from Mekka. He met the +Wahaby army, four days after, at Byssel, in the neighbourhood of Tayf, +where he gained + +[p.289] the complete victory of which I have elsewhere given the +details; this was no sooner known at Mekka, than the caravan for Medina, +which had long been prepared, set out, on the 15th of January. + +After the Syrian Hadj had departed, and the greater part of the other +pilgrims retired to Djidda, waiting for an opportunity to embark, Mekka +appeared like a deserted town. Of its brilliant shops, one-fourth only +remained; and in the streets, where a few weeks before it was necessary +to force one’s way through the crowd, not a single hadjy was seen, +except solitary beggars, who raised their plaintive voices towards the +windows of the houses which they supposed to be still inhabited. Rubbish +and filth covered all the streets, and nobody appeared disposed to +remove it. The skirts of the town were crowded with the dead carcases of +camels, the smell from which rendered the air, even in the midst of the +town, offensive, and certainly contributed to the many diseases now +prevalent. Several hundreds of these carcases lay near the reservoirs of +the Hadj, and the Arabs inhabiting that part of Mekka never walked out +without stuffing into their nostrils small pieces of cotton, which they +carried suspended by a thread round the neck. [The Arabs in general, even +the Bedouins, are much more sensitive than the Europeans concerning the +slightest offensive smell. This is one of the principal reasons why the +Bedouins never enter a town without repugnance. They entertain a belief +that bad smells affect the health by entering through the nostrils into +the lungs; and it is for this reason, more than for the disagreeable +sensation itself arising from the smell, that Arabs and Bedouins are +often seen covering their noses with the skirts of their turbans, in +walking through the streets.] But this was not all. At this time the +Mekkans are in the habit of emptying the privies of their houses; and, +too lazy to carry the contents beyond the precincts of the town, they +merely dig a hole in the street, before the door of the dwelling, and +there deposit them, covering the spot only with a layer of earth. The +consequences of such a practice may easily be imagined. + +The feasts of nuptials and circumcision now take place, being always +celebrated immediately after the Hadj, as soon as the Mekkans are left +to themselves, and before the people have had time to spend the sums +gained during the residence of the pilgrims; but I saw many + +[p.290] more funerals than nuptial processions. Numbers of hadjys, +already ill from the fatigues of the road, or from cold caught while +wearing the ihram, are unable to proceed on their journey homewards; +they remain in the hope of recovering strength, but often terminate +their existence here. If they have some companion or relative with them, +he carries off the dead man’s property, on paying a fee to the Kadhy; if +he is alone, the Kadhy and Sherif are his heirs, and these inheritances +are no inconsiderable source of income. When I quitted Mekka, there were +still remaining there perhaps a thousand hadjys, many of whom intended +to pass a whole year in the holy city, and to be present at another +Hadj; others to protract their residence only for a few months. + +On the day of quitting Mekka, it is thought becoming to pay a parting +visit to the Kaaba, called Towaf el Wodaa, and to perform the Towaf and +Say. The hadjys generally do it when every thing is ready for departure, +and mount their camels the moment they have finished the ceremony. + +[p.291]JOURNEY FROM MEKKA TO MEDINA. + +ON the 15th of January, 1815, I left Mekka with a small caravan of +hadjys, who were going to visit the tomb of the prophet: it consisted of +about fifty camels, the property of some Bedouins of the Ryshye and +Zebeyde tribes, who either accompanied their beasts themselves, or had +sent slaves with them. I had hired two camels, to carry myself and my +slave and baggage; and, as is customary in the Hedjaz, I had paid the +money in advance, at the rate of one hundred and eighty piastres per +camel. My late cicerone, with whom I had every reason to be satisfied, +though not quite free from those professional vices already mentioned, +accompanied me out of town, as far as the plain of Sheikh Mahmoud, where +the camels had assembled, and from whence the caravan started at nine +o’clock in the evening. The journey to Medina, like that between Mekka +and Djidda, is performed by night, which renders it much less profitable +to the traveller, and, in winter time, much less comfortable than it +would be by day. + +Having proceeded an hour and a quarter, [I had bought a watch at Mekka, +and had obtained a good compass from the English ship at Djidda.] we +passed the Omra thus far the road is paved in several parts with large +stones, particularly on the ascents. We passed through valleys of firm +sand, between irregular chains of low hills, where some shrubs and +stunted acacia-trees grow. The road, with few exceptions, was perfectly +level. + +[p.292]At five hours from Mekka, we passed a ruined building called El +Meymounye, with the tomb of a saint, the dome of which was demolished by +the Wahabys. Near it is a well of sweet water, and a small birket, or +reservoir, built of stone: a little building annexed to the tomb serves +as a sort of khan for travellers. For the first six hours from Mekka our +road lay N.W., when we turned a steep hill, which caravans cannot cross, +and proceeded N.N.W. to Wady Fatme, which we reached at the end of eight +hours from Mekka, just at the first appearance of dawn. + +January 16th. We alighted on the spot where the pilgrim caravans repose +on the day before they reach Mekka, in a part of the valley of Fatme, +called Wady Djemmoum. Wady Fatme is low ground, abounding in springs and +wells; it extends in an E.N.E. direction to the distance of four or five +hours, until it nearly joins Wady Lymoun. To the west of our resting- +place, it terminates at about an hour and a half’s distance, being about +six hours in its whole length. The most western point is called Medoua. +On the western side are the principal plantations; to the east it is +cultivated in a few spots only. It presented to the view on that side a +plain of several miles in breadth, covered with shrubs, and flanked on +both sides by low barren hills or elevated ground; but towards its +eastern extremity it is said to be very well cultivated. Wady Fatme has +different appellations in different parts; but the whole is commonly +known to the people of Djidda and Mekka by the name of El Wady, or the +valley. By the Arabian historians it is usually called Wady Merr. +Between Wady Fatme and Hadda, (the station so named on the Djidda road,) +are the two places, called Serouat and Rekany. (See Asamy.) + +The cultivated grounds in Wady Fatme contain principally date-trees, +which supply the markets of the two neighbouring towns; and vegetables, +which are carried every night, on small droves of asses, to Mekka and +Djidda. Wheat and barley are also cultivated in small quantities. The +Wady being well supplied with water, might easily be rendered more +productive than it now is; but the Hedjaz people are generally averse to +all manual labour. Near the place where we alighted, runs a small +rivulet, coming from the eastward, about three + +[p.293] feet broad, and two feet deep, and flowing in a subterranean +channel cased with stone, which is uncovered for a short space where the +caravans take their supply of water, which is much more tepid than that +of the Zemzem at Mekka, and is much better tasted. Close by are several +ruined Saracen buildings and a large khan; and here also, according to +Fasy, stood formerly a Mesdjed called El Fath. Among the date-groves are +some Arab huts belonging to the cultivators of the soil, chiefly of the +Lahyan tribe; the more wealthy of them belong to the tribe of the +Sherifs of Mekka, called Dwy Barakat, who live here like Bedouins, in +tents and huts. They have a few cattle; their cows, like all those of +the Hedjaz, are small, and have a hump on their shoulders. Wady Fatme is +also distinguished for its numerous henna-trees, with the odoriferous +flowers of which, reduced to powder, the people of the East dye the +palms of the hands, the soles of the feet, or the nails of both. The +henna of this valley is sold at Mekka to the hadjys in small red +leathern bags; and many of them carry some of it home, as a present to +their female relations. I think it probable that the Oaditć of Ptolemy +were the inhabitants of this valley, (Wady, Oadi). + +We found at our halting-place a party of about twenty servants and +camel-drivers belonging to the Turkish army at Mekka, who had left that +place secretly to escape the embargo laid by Mohammed Aly upon all +persons of their description. They were without any provisions, and had +very little money; but hearing that there was a caravan to start for +Medina, they thought they should be able to accompany it thither. Some +of them, who were Egyptians, intended to go to Yembo; others, who were +Syrians, had formed the plan of returning home through the Desert by the +Hedjaz route, and of begging their way along the Bedouin encampments, +not having money enough to pay for their passage by sea to Suez. + +We left our resting-place at three o’clock P.M., and were one hour in +crossing the Wady to its northern side; from whence the Hadj road, on +which we travelled, rises gently between hills, through valleys full of +acacia-trees, in a direction N. 40 W. The rock is all granite of the + +[p.294] gray and red species. At the end of two hours, the country +opens, the trees diminish, and the course changes to N. 55 W. Towards +sun-set I had walked a little way in front of the caravan, and being +tired, sat down under a tree to wait its approach; when five Bedouins +crept along the bushes towards me, and suddenly snatched up my stick, +the only weapon which was lying on the ground behind me. Their leader +said that I was, no doubt, a deserter from the Turkish army, and +therefore their lawful prize. I offered no resistance; but seeing them +much less determined than Bedouin robbers generally are, I concluded +that they were not free from fear. I told them, therefore, that I was a +hadjy, and belonged to a large caravan escorted by Harb Bedouins; that +they might wait a little before they stopped me, to assure themselves of +this fact by the arrival of the caravan; and that they had better not +offer me any violence, as our guides would no doubt know the +perpetrators, and would report it to those who had the power to punish +them. I felt assured that they had no intention of doing me any bodily +harm, and was under no apprehension, especially as I had only a +travelling dress and a few dollars to lose, should the worst happen. One +of them, an old man, advised his comrades to wait a little; for that it +would not be well to incur the consequences of robbing a hadjy. During +our parley, I looked impatiently for the caravan coming in sight; but it +had stopped behind for a quarter of an hour, to allow the travellers +time to perform the evening prayers, a daily practice among them, of +which. I was yet ignorant. This delay was very much against me, and I +expected every moment to be stripped, when, the tread of the camels +being at last heard, the Bedouins retreated as suddenly as they had +approached. + +Although the road from Mekka to Medina was considered safe even for +caravans unarmed like ours, yet stragglers are always exposed; and had +it not been for the terror with which, a few days before, Mohammed Aly’s +victory over the Wahabys had inspired all the neighbouring Bedouins, I +should probably have been punished for my imprudence in walking on +alone. We rode the greater part of the night, over a plain more gravelly +than sandy, where some ashour trees + +[p.295] grow among the acacias, the same species (Asclepia gigantea) +which I have so often mentioned in my Nubian Travels. This ground is +called El Barka. After a seven hours’ march, we stopped at El Kara. + +January 17th. We slept a few hours during the night, a circumstance that +seldom occurred on this journey. El Kara is a black, flinty plain, with +low hills at a great distance to the east: it bears a few thorny trees, +but affords no water. I was struck by its great resemblance to the +Nubian Desert, south of Shigre. Although in the midst of winter, the +heat was intense the whole morning of our stay at Kara. Nobody in the +caravan had a tent, and I was more exposed than any person; all the +others being mounted on a shebrye, or shekdof, a sort of covered camel- +saddle, which affords some shelter from the sun, both while on the +camel, and when placed on the ground: the shebrye serves for one person, +and the shekdof for two-one sitting on each side of the camel. But I had +always preferred the open seat upon a loaded camel, as more commodious, +besides being more Arablike, and affording the advantage of mounting or +dismounting without the aid of the driver, and without stopping the +animal; which it is very difficult to effect with those machines on +their back, especially the shekdof, where both riders must keep +continually balancing each other. + +I formed to-day a closer acquaintance with my fellow-travellers; for, in +small caravans, every one endeavours to be upon friendly terms with his +companions. They were Malays, or, as they are called in the Levant, +Jawas; and, with the exception of a few of them, who came from the coast +of Malacca, all British subjects, natives of Sumatra, Java, and the +coast of Malabar. The Malays come regularly to the Hadj, and often bring +their women with them, three of whom were in our caravan. Many remain +for years at Mekka, to study the Koran and the law, and are known among +the Indians in the Hedjaz as scrupulous adherents to the precepts, or at +least to the rites, of their religion. Few of them talk Arabic fluently; +but they all read the Koran, and, even when travelling, are engaged in +studying it. They defray the expenses of their journey by selling aloe- +wood, the best kind of which, called Ma Wardy, they told me, cost, in +their country, + +[p.296] between three and four dollars per pound, and sells at Mekka at +between twenty and twenty-five dollars. Their broad, long features, and +prominent forehead, their short but stout stature, and their decayed +teeth, which present a striking contrast to the pearly teeth of the +Arabs, every where distinguish them, although they wear the common +Indian dress. Their women, who all went unveiled, wore robes and +handkerchiefs of striped silk stuff, of Chinese manufacture. They +appeared to be people of very sober habits and quiet demeanour, but +avaricious in the extreme; and their want of charity was sufficiently +proved by their treatment of the destitute fugitives who had joined the +caravan at Wady Fatme. They lived, during the whole journey, upon rice +and salted fish: they boiled the rice in water, without any butter, a +dear article in the Hedjaz, but which they did not dislike; for several +of them begged my slave to give them secretly some of mine, for +seasoning their dish. As they were people of property, avarice alone +could be the motive for this abstemious diet; but they were sufficiently +punished by the curses of the Bedouins, who had, of course, expected to +partake of their dinners, and could not be prevailed upon to swallow the +watery rice. Their copper vessels were all of Chinese manufacture, and +instead of the abrik, or pot, which the Levantines use in washing and +making their ablutions, they carried with them Chinese tea-pots. + +During this journey, I had frequent opportunities of learning the +opinion entertained by these Malays of the government and manners of the +English, their present masters; they discovered a determined rancour and +hostile spirit towards them, and greatly reviled their manners, of +which, however, the worst they knew was, that they indulged too freely +in wine, and that the sexes mixed together in social intercourse; none, +however, impeached the justice of the government, which they contrasted +with the oppression of their native princes; and although they bestowed +upon the British the same opprobrious epithets with which the fanatic +Moslims every where revile Europeans, they never failed to add, “but +their government is good.” I have overheard many similar conversations +among the Indians at Djidda and Mekka, and also among the Arabian +sailors who + +[p.297] trade to Bombay and Surat; the spirit of all which was, that the +Moslims of India hate the English, though they love their government. + +We left our resting-place at ten o’clock P.M., and proceeded over the +plain of Kara, in a direction N. 40 W. At the end of three hours we +passed a ruined building called Sebyl el Kara, where a well, now filled +up, formerly supplied the passengers with water. I saw no hills to the +west, as far as my eyes could reach. The plain is here overgrown with +some trees and thick shrubs. We continued to cross it till six hours, +where it closes; and the road begins to ascend slightly through a broad +woody valley: here is situated Bir Asfán, a large, deep well, lined with +stone, with a spring of good water in the bottom. This is a station of +the Hadj. There is another way from Wady Fatme to Asfan, four miles to +the eastward of our route. We passed the well without stopping. +Samhoudy, the historian of Medina, mentions a village at Asfan, with a +spring called Owla; there is now no village here. At seven hours begins +a very narrow ascending passage between rocks, affording room for only +one camel. The torrents which rush down through this passage in winter +have entirely destroyed the road, and filled it with large, sharp blocks +of stone; the Hadj route seemed, in several places, to be cut out of the +rock, but the night was too dark for seeing any thing distinctly. At the +end of eight hours we reached the top of this defile, where a small +building stands, perhaps the tomb of a Sheikh. From hence we rode over a +wide plain, sometimes sandy, and in other parts a mixture of sand and +clay, where trees and shrubs grow. At fourteen hours, near the break of +dawn, we passed a small Bedouin encampment, and alighted, at the end of +fifteen hours, in the neighbourhood of a village called Kholeys. We had +made several short halts during the night, and kindled fires to warm +ourselves. + +Kholeys stands upon a wide plain, in several parts of which date-groves +are seen, with fields, where dhourra, bemye, and dokken are cultivated. +Several hamlets appear scattered about, which are comprised in the +general name of Kholeys; the largest is called Es-Souk, or the market- +place, near which the Hadj encamps. A small rivulet, tepid, like that in +Wady Fatme, rises near the Souk, and is collected + +[p.298] on the outside of the village in a small birket, now ruined, and +then waters the plain. Near the birket there are also the ruins of a +sebyl. [A sebyl is a small, open building, often found by the side of +fountains; in these sebyls travellers pray, and take their repose.] +According to Kotobeddyn, the birket and sebyl were built by Kayd Beg, +Sultan of Egypt, about A.H. 885. At that time, Kholeys had its own Emir, +who was a very powerful person in the Hedjaz. I saw plenty of cattle, +cows, and sheep; but the Arabs complained that their plantations +suffered from drought, no rain having yet fallen, though the season was +far advanced. The water from the rivulet did not appear sufficient to +irrigate all the cultivated grounds, and the supply was even less than +it might have been, as half of the water was suffered, through +negligence, to escape from the narrow channels. + +The village Es-Souk contains about fifty houses, all built of mud, and +very low: its main street is lined with shops, kept by the people of +Kholeys, and frequented by all the neighbouring Bedouins. The principal +article for sale was dates, with which most of the shops were filled; in +the others were sold dhourra, barley, lentils and onions, (both from +Egypt,) rice, and some other articles of provision; but no wheat, that +grain being little used by the Bedouins of this country: there were also +spices, a few drugs, the bark of a tree for tanning the water-skins, and +some butter. Milk was not to be found, for no one likes to be called a +milk-seller. A tolerably well-built mosque stands by the rivulet, near +some gigantic sycamore trees. I found in it two negro hadjys from +Darfour; they had, the night before, been stripped on the road of a few +piastres, earned at Mekka: one of them having attempted to defend +himself, had been severely beaten; and they now intended to go back to +Djidda, and endeavour to retrieve their loss by a few months’ labour. +One of the Bedouins who had stripped them, was smoking his pipe in the +village; but they had not the means of proving the robbery against him, +nor of obtaining justice. Kholeys is the chief seat of the Arab tribe of +Zebeyd, a branch of Beni Harb, and the residence of their Sheikh. The +greater part of them are Bedouins; and many even of those who cultivate +the ground, pass some part of the + +[p.299] year under tents in the Desert, for the purpose of pasturing +their cattle upon the wild herbage. A few families of Beni Amer, (or +Aamer, [The Beni Aamer must not be confounded with Amer, another tribe of +Harb.]) another branch of Harb, are mixed with this tribe at Kholeys. + +Before the Turkish conquest, the usual currency at this market was +dhourra; at present, piastres and paras are taken. Kholeys often sends +small caravans to Djidda, which is two long days’ journeys, or three +caravan journeys distant. I was told that the neighbouring mountains +were well peopled with Bedouins. About three hours distant, in a N.E. +direction, is a fertile valley called Wady Khowar, known for its +numerous plantations of bananas, by which the fruit-markets of Mekka and +Djidda are supplied. + +January 18th. Having filled our water-skins, we set out at three +o’clock, P.M. Our road lay N. 20 E. over the plain. In two hours we came +to a high hill, called Thenyet Kholeys, the steep side of which was +deeply covered with sand, through which our camels ascended with +difficulty. Some ancient ruins of a large building stand on its top, and +the road on both sides of the hill is lined with walls, to prevent too +great an accumulation of the sand. It was covered with carcases of +camels, the relics of the late Hadj caravans. On descending the other +side, a plain extended before us to the north and east, as far as the +eye could reach. To the E.N.E. high mountains were visible, distant +between twenty and thirty miles. Descending into the plain, we took the +direction N. 10 W. At three hours and a half the plain, which thus far +had been firm gravel, changed into deep sand, with tarfa (or tamarisk) +trees, which delight particularly in sand, and in the driest season, +when all vegetation around them is withered, never lose their verdure. +It is one of the most common productions of the Arabian Desert, from the +Euphrates to Mekka, and is also frequent in the Nubian deserts: its +young leaves form an excellent food for camels. At four hours and a +quarter, we found the road covered with a saline crust, indicating the +neighbourhood of the sea; from hence, our course was in various +directions. + +According to the usual practice in the Hedjaz, the camels walk in + +[p.300] a single row--those behind tied to the tails of those that +precede them. The Arab, riding foremost, was to lead the troop; but he +frequently fell asleep, as well as his companions behind; and his camel +then took its own course, and often led the whole caravan astray. After +a twelve hours’ march, we alighted at the Hadj station called Kolleya, +and also Kobeyba. Every spot in the plains of Arabia is known by a +particular name; and it requires the eye and experience of a Bedouin to +distinguish one small district from another: for this purpose, the +different species of shrubs and pasturage produced in them by the rains, +are of great assistance; and whenever they wish to mention a certain +spot to their companions, which happens to have no name, they always +designate it by the herbs that grow there; as, for instance, Abou Shyh, +Abou Agál, &c. + +About two hours distant from the spot where we rested, to the north- +east, is water, with a small date-grove. I heard that the sea was from +six to eight hours distant. The mountains continued to be seen between +twenty and thirty miles on the east; their summits sharp, and presenting +steep and insulated peaks. They are inhabited by the tribe of Ateybe, +which in the seventeenth century, according to Asamy, also inhabited +Wady Fatme. In the morning some Bedouin women appeared, with a few +starved herds of sheep and goats, which were searching for the scanty +herbage. No rain had fallen in the plain, and every shrub was withered; +yet these Bedouins did not dare to seek for better pasturage in the +neighbouring mountains, which did not belong to the territory of their +tribe; for, whenever there is a drought, the limits of each territory +are rigorously watched by the shepherds. I went out with several of the +Malays to meet the women, and to ask them for some milk; the Malays had +taken money with them to buy it; and I had filled my pockets with +biscuit, for the same purpose. They refused to take the money, saying +they were not accustomed to sell milk; but when I made them a present of +the biscuits, they filled my wooden bowl in return. During the passage +of the Hadj, these poor Bedouins fly in all directions, knowing the +predatory habits of the soldiers who escort the caravan. + +January 19th. We left Kolleya at half-past one o’clock P.M., and + +[p.301] proceeded over the plain. In three hours, we came to low hills +of moving sand; at four hours, to a stony plain, with masses of rock +lying across the road: direction N. 25 W. At the end of nine hours, we +halted during the night near the village of Rabegh, our road having been +constantly level. Three or four hamlets, little distant from each other, +are all comprised under this appellation; the principal of which, like +that of Kholeys, is distinguished by the additional name of Es-Souk, or +the market-place. The neighbouring plain is cultivated, and thick +plantations of palm-trees render Rabegh a place of note on this route. +Amongst the palm-trees grow a few tamarinds, or Thamr Hindy, the green +fruit of which was now sufficiently ripe and pleasant. A few of these +trees likewise grow at Mekka. Some rain had fallen here lately, and the +ground was, in many parts, tilled. The ploughs of those Arabs, which are +drawn by oxen or camels, resemble those delineated by Niebuhr, and which +are, I believe, generally used in the Hedjaz and. Yemen. [I cannot +conceive what could have led Ptolemy to place a river in the direction +between Mekka and Yembo, as certainly no river empties itself into the +sea any where in the Hedjaz. In winter time, many torrents rush down +from the mountains.] Rabegh possesses the advantage of a number of +wells, the water of which is, however, but indifferent: its vicinity to +the sea, which, as I heard, was six or seven miles distant, though the +view of it was hid by palm-groves, causes the coast of Rabegh to be +visited by many country ships that are in want of water. The Bedouins of +this coast are active fishermen, and bring hither from the more distant +ports their salted fish; a quantity of which may always be found in the +market, where it is bought up by the Arab ships’ crews, who consume a +great part of it, and carry the rest to Egypt or Djidda. The inhabitants +of Rabegh are of the above-mentioned Harb tribes of Aamer and Zebeyd, +principally the latter. In the opposite mountains, to the east, live the +Beni Owf, another tribe of Harb. The hadjys passing by sea from Egypt to +Djidda, are obliged to take the ihram opposite to Rabegh, which they may +do either on shore, or on board snip. + +An accident occurred here, which showed in the strongest light the total +want of charity in our companions the Malays. There were several poorer +Malays, who, unable to pay for the hire of a camel, followed + +[p.302] their comrades on foot; but as our night journeys were long, +these men came in sometimes an hour or two after we had alighted in the +morning. To-day one of them was brought in under an escort of two +Bedouins of the tribe of Owf, who told us that they had found him +straying in the Desert, and that he had promised them twenty piastres if +they would guide him to the caravan, and that they expected his friends +would make up this sum, the man, as they saw, being himself quite +destitute of money. When they found that none of our party showed any +inclination to pay even the smallest part of this sum, and that all of +them disclaimed any knowledge or acquaintance with the man, who, they +said had joined the caravan at starting from Mekka without his person +being in the least known to them, the Bedouins declared that they should +take the little clothing he had upon him, and keep him a prisoner in +their tents till some other Malays should pass, who might release him. +When the caravan was preparing to start, they seized him, and carried +him off a short distance towards the wood. He was so terrified that he +had lost the power of speech, and permitted himself to be led away, +without making the slightest resistance. Our own guides were no match +for the Owf, a tribe much dreaded for its warlike and savage character; +there was no judge in the village of Rabegh, to whose authority an +appeal might be made; and the two Bedouins had a legitimate claim upon +their prisoner. I should have performed no great act of generosity in +paying his ransom myself; but I thought that this was a duty incumbent +upon his countrymen the Malays, and therefore used all my endeavours to +persuade them to do it. I really never met with such hard-hearted, +unfeeling wretches; they unanimously declared that they did not know the +man, and were not bound to incur any expense on his account. The camels +were loaded; they had all mounted, and the leader was on the point of +starting, when the miserable object of the dispute broke out in loud +lamentations. I had waited for this moment. Relying on the respect I +enjoyed in the caravan from being supposed a hadjy in some measure +attached to Mohammed Aly’s army, and the good-will of our guides, which +I had cultivated by distributing victuals liberally amongst them ever +since we left Mekka, I seized the leader’s camel, made it couch down, +and exclaimed, that the + +[p.303] caravan should not proceed till the man was released. I then +went from load to load, and partly by imprecating curses on the Malays +and their women, and partly by collaring some of them, I took from every +one of their camels twenty paras, (about three pence,) and, after a long +contest, made up the twenty piastres. This sum I carried to the Bedouins +who had remained at a distance with their prisoner, and representing to +them his forlorn state, and appealing to the honour of their tribe, +induced them to take ten piastres. According to true Turkish maxims, I +should have pocketed the other ten, as a compensation for my trouble; I, +however, gave them to the poor Malay, to the infinite mortification of +his countrymen. The consequence was, that, during the rest of the +journey, they entirely discarded him from their party, and he was thrown +upon my hands, till we arrived at Medina, and during his residence +there. I intended to have provided him with the means of returning to +Yembo, but I fell dangerously ill soon after my arrival at Medina, and +know not what afterwards became of him. + +Several pilgrims were begging for charity in the market of Rabegh. These +poor people, in starting from Mekka for Medina with the great caravan, +fancy that they are sufficiently strong to bear the fatigues of that +journey, and know that, in travelling with the caravan, charitable +hadjys are to be found who will supply them with food and water; but the +long night-marches soon exhaust their strength, they linger behind on +the road, and, after great privations and delays, are obliged to proceed +on their journey by other opportunities. An Afghan pilgrim here joined +our party; he was an old man, of very extraordinary strength, and had +come the whole way from Kaboul to Mekka on foot, and intended to return +in the same manner. I regretted his slight acquaintance with Arabic, as +he seemed an intelligent man, and could no doubt have given me some +interesting information respecting his country. + +January 20th. We left Rabegh at four P.M. Our road lay N. 8 W., in most +parts of black flint, interspersed with some hills of sand, upon which +were a few trees. Having enjoyed no repose whatever for the last two +days, I fell asleep upon my camel, and can only say, that after a ride +of eleven hours, over hilly and sandy ground, we alighted at + +[p.304] Mastoura, a station of the Hadj. Two large and deep wells, cased +with stone, afford here a copious supply of good water. Near them stood +the tomb of a saint called Sheikh Madely, which had been demolished by +the Wahabys. About ten miles east of this is a high mountain, called +Djebel Ayoub, “Job’s Mountain,” overtopping the other summits of the +chain of which it forms a part, and covered in many spots with trees. +It is inhabited by the Owf tribe. The whole road from Kolleya to this +place is dangerous on account of the robberies of these Bedouins; and +the caravan never passes without losing some of its loads or camels. In +the time of the Wahabys it was completely secure; the Sheikhs of the +Harb, and the whole tribe being made responsible for all depredations +committed in their territory. The Wahabys, however, had not been able to +subdue the Owf in their own mountains; and a proof of their independence +appeared in the long hair which this tribe wore, contrary to the Wahaby +precept, which had established it as a universal law to shave the head +bare. + +We found, at the wells of Mastoura, several flocks of camels and sheep, +which the Owf shepherds and shepherdesses were watering. I bought from +them a lamb for a few piastres and some tobacco, and divided it among +our guides and those who accompanied us on foot. The Malays came to ask +me for their share, giving me to understand that their compliance with +my entreaties in favour of their poor countryman, was deserving of +reward; but the Bedouins who were with us, saved me, by their taunting +reprimands, the trouble of answering them. Several tombs of hadjys were +seen near the wells, which the Wahabys had respected; for they seldom +injured any tombs that pride or bigotry had left unadorned. + +January 21st. We set out at three o’clock P.M. The plain we crossed is +either flinty, or presents spots of cultivable clay. The direction was +north. After proceeding over a sandy plain, covered with low brush-wood +for two hours and a half, we had Djebel Ayoub about six miles distant: +then begins a lower ridge of mountains, running parallel to the road. +Here we quitted the great Hadj route, which turns off in a more westerly +direction, and we proceeded towards the mountains N. 15 E. to reach +Szafra by the nearest route. After a + +[p.305] march of thirteen hours, over uneven ground and low hills, we +halted near day-break, in a sandy plain, by the well called Bir-es’- +Sheikh. It will have been observed, that our night marches were always +very long; but the rate of the camel’s walk was very slow, scarcely more +than two miles an hour, or two and a quarter. Bir-es’-Sheikh is a well +between thirty and forty feet deep, and fifteen feet in diameter, +solidly cased with stone; the work of men who felt more anxiety for the +convenience of travellers to the holy cities, than the present chiefs of +the faithful evince. If pressed for time, the Hadj sometimes takes this +route; but it goes usually by Beder, where the Egyptian and Syrian +caravans, on their road to Mekka, follow each other, at the interval of +one day or two, their time of setting out upon the journey invariably +taking place on fixed days. We were now close to the great chain, which, +since we left Kholeys, had been on our right: a ridge of it, a few miles +north of Bir-es’-Sheikh, takes a westerly direction towards the sea, and +at its extremity lies Beder. We met Bedouins at this well also; they +were of the tribe of Beni Salem, or Sowaleme: our guides bought a sheep +of them, and roasted it in the Medjba, a hole dug in the sand, and +lined with small stones, which are heated; the flesh is laid upon them, +and then covered by cinders and the wet skin of the animal, and closely +shut up with sand and clay. In an hour and a half the meat is cooked, +and, as it loses none of its juices, has an excellent flavour. + +January 22nd. We left the well at half-past three P.M. Route N. 10 W. +ascending over uneven ground. In an hour and a half we entered the +mountains, at the angle formed by the great chain on one side, and the +above-mentioned branch, which extends towards Beder, on the other. From +hence we continued N.N.E. in valleys of sandy soil, full of detached +rocks. High mountains with sharp-pointed summits, and entirely barren, +enclosed the road on both sides. The Eastern mountain, which here runs +parallel with it, is called Djebel Sobh; the territory of the powerful +tribe of Beni Sobh, a branch of the Beni Harb. Their mountains contain +many fertile valleys, where date-trees grow, and some dhourra is sown. +It is here that the Mekka balsam-tree is principally found, and the +Senna Mekka, or Arabian + +[p.306] senna, which the Syrian caravan exports, is collected +exclusively in this district. The passage into the interior parts of +this mountain is described as very difficult, and could never be forced +by the Wahabys. Numerous families of the other tribes of Harb had +retreated thither, with all their goods and cattle, from the arms of +Saoud; and while all the Hedjaz Bedouins submitted to the Wahaby +dominion, the Sobh was the only tribe which successfully defended their +territory, and boldly asserted their independence. + +After a march of six hours and a half, the road began to ascend among +low rocky hills. At seven hours and a half we entered Wady Zogág, a +narrow valley of gentle ascent, full of loose stones, and overgrown with +acacia-trees. In proceeding up, it grew narrower, the path became +steeper, and more difficult for the camels. At the end of thirteen +hours, we came to level ground at its top, and there entered the valley +of Es’ Szafra, close by the village of the same name, at which we +alighted. + +January 23d. Our camels being tired, having found very little food on +the road, though they always had the whole morning to pasture, and +several of them threatening to break down, the drivers stopped here the +whole day. Like the before-mentioned Bedouin villages, Szafra is a +market-place for all the surrounding tribes: its houses are built on the +declivity of the mountain, and in the valley, which is narrow, leaving +scarcely room enough for the date-groves which line both sides of it. A +copious rivulet flows down the valley, the water of which is dispersed +among the date-trees, and irrigates some cultivated fields in the wider +parts of the windings of this valley. Wheat, dhourra, barley, and dokhen +are sown here; of vegetables the Badendján, or egg-plant, Meloukhye +onions and radishes are cultivated; and vines, lemon, and banana-trees +abound. The soil is every where sandy, but rendered fertile by +irrigation: copious rains had fallen three days since in the mountains, +and a torrent twenty feet broad, and three or four feet deep, was still +flowing. The date-groves extend about four miles; they belong to the +inhabitants of Szafra, as well as of neighbouring Bedouins, who keep +some of their own people, or Arab labourers, employed in irrigating the +grounds, and repair hither themselves when + +[p.307] the dates are ripe. The date-trees pass from one person to +another in the course of trade, and are sold by the single tree; the +price paid to a girl’s father on marrying her, consists often in date- +trees. They all stand in deep sand, which is collected from the middle +parts of the valley, and heaped up round their root, and must be renewed +annually, as the torrents usually wash it away. Every small grove is +enclosed by a mud or stone wall; the cultivators inhabit several +hamlets, or insulated houses, scattered among the trees. The houses are +low, and generally have only two rooms, and there is a small court-yard +for the cattle. Several springs of running water, and many wells, are +found in the gardens; the principal rivulet has its source in a grove +close to the market; a small Mesdjed or mosque is built beside it, and +it is overshadowed by a few large wild chesnut-trees. I saw no others of +that species in the Hedjaz. Here, too, the water of the spring was +tepid, but in a less degree than at Rabegh and Kholeys. + +The inhabitants of this valley, the name of which is celebrated in the +Hedjaz for the abundance of its dates, are of the Beni Salem tribe, the +most numerous branch of Harb, and, like most other tribes of the Hedjaz, +partly Bedouins and partly settled inhabitants; the latter remaining in +their houses and gardens the whole year round, though they dress and +live in the same manner as their brethren under tents. The Wahaby chief +had been aware of the importance of this station; and having succeeded, +after a long resistance, in overpowering the Beni Harb, who held the key +of the Northern Hedjaz, [In this enterprise he was assisted by Medheyan, +formerly a chief of Harb, who had been deprived of his post by Djezy, a +fortunate rival. Medheyan was afterwards treacherously seized by the +Turks at Medina, and beheaded at Constantinople; and Djezy, a friend of +Mohammed Aly, was killed by the Turkish governor of Medina, for having +spoken too highly of his services.] thought it necessary to keep a +watchful eye over this valley, and there built several strong block- +houses or towers, in which the collectors of his revenues resided, and +where they deposited the taxes collected from the valley. All these +Bedouins were decidedly hostile to the Wahaby system: even now, though +free from their yoke, they load them with as many reproaches, + +[p.308] as the Mekkans bestow praises on them. Before the Wababy +invasion, the Beni Harb had never known a master, nor had the produce of +their fields ever been taxed. The Sherif of Mekka certainly assumed a +nominal supremacy over them; but they were in fact completely +independent, and their Sheikhs seconded the Sherif’s views so far only +as they were thought beneficial, or of pecuniary advantage to their own +people. The latter now complained greatly of the heavy taxation imposed +by the Wahabys, and said that, besides the money they were obliged to +pay into Saoud’s treasury, the chief of all the Wahaby Sheikhs of the +Hedjaz, Othman el Medheyfe, had extorted from them many additional +sums. I thought the accuracy of this information doubtful; for I knew +that the Wahaby chief had always shown particular care in preventing +such acts of injustice in his officers, and punished those who were +guilty. They also told me that not only had their gardens and +plantations been taxed, but the very water with which they irrigated +them had been assessed at a yearly sum. + +The dress of the people of Szafra consists of a shirt, and a short gown +of coarse Indian coloured calico, over which they wear a white abba of +light texture, the same as that worn by the Bedouins of the Euphrates, +near Aleppo, and which is similar to the dress of all the Beni Harb who +have become settlers; while the Bedouins of the tribe wear the brown and +white striped abba. The profits which they derive from the passage of +caravans, and their petty dealings, seem to have had a baneful influence +upon their character, for they cheat as much as they can: they are, +however, not destitute of commiseration and hospitality towards the poor +hadjys, who, in their passage, contrive to collect from the shops as +much as is necessary for their daily food. We here met several poor +pilgrims on their way to Medina, who had nothing to subsist upon but +what they obtained from the generosity of the Bedouins on the road. This +was not the first time that I reflected how ill had been applied the +splendid liberality of many Khalifes and Sultans, who, while they +enriched Mekka and Medina, and spent enormous sums to provide for the +sumptuous passage of the great Hadj caravans through the holy land, yet +entirely neglected to provide for the comfort and security of the +immense number of poor pilgrims + +[p.309] who are continually travelling through that country. Half-a- +dozen houses of charity, established between Mekka and Medina, with an +annual endowment of a few thousand dollars, would be of more real +service to the cause of their religion, than all the sums spent in +feeding the idle, or keeping up a vain show. On the whole of this route +between Mekka and Medina, there is not a public khan, nor has any thing +been done for the benefit of travellers, beyond keeping the wells in +repair. The only instance of a truly charitable act in any of the +sovereigns who enriched Mekka, recorded by the historians, is the +building of an hospital at Mekka, in A.H. 816, by order of Moayed, +Sultan of Egypt. No traces of it now remain. + +In the market-street of Szafra, which is called Souk-es’-Szafra, dates +are the principal article for sale. The pound, which costs twenty-five +paras at Mekka, was sold here for ten. Honey, preserved in sheep-skins, +forms another article of trade here. The neighbouring mountains are full +of bee-hives. In those districts which are known to be frequented by +bees, the Bedouins place wooden hives upon the ground, and the bees +never fail to take possession of them. The honey is of the best quality; +I saw one sort of it as white, and almost as clear, as water. Drugs and +spices, and some perfumes, of which the Bedouins of those countries are +very fond, may here also be purchased. + +Szafra and Beder are the only places in the Hedjaz where the balsam of +Mekka, or Balesan, can be procured in a pure state. The tree from which +it is collected grows in the neighbouring mountains, but principally +upon Djebel Sobh, and is called by the Arabs Beshem. I was informed that +it is from ten to fifteen feet high, with a smooth trunk, and thin bark. +In the middle of summer, small incisions are made in the bark; and the +juice, which immediately issues, is taken off with the thumb-nail, and +put into a vessel. The gum appears to be of two kinds; one of a white, +and the other of a yellowish-white colour: the first is the most +esteemed. I saw here some of the latter sort, in a small sheep-skin, +which the Bedouins use in bringing it to market: it had a strong, +turpentine smell, and its taste was bitter. The people of Szafra usually +adulterate it with sesamum oil, and tar. When they try its purity, they +dip their finger into it and then set fire to it; if it burn + +[p.310] without hurting or leaving a mark on the finger, they judge it +to be of good quality; but if it burn the finger as soon as it is set on +fire, they consider it to be adulterated. I remember to have read, in +Bruce’s Travels, an account of the mode of trying it, by letting a drop +fall into a cup filled with water; the good Balesan falling coagulated +to the bottom, and the bad dissolving, and swimming on the surface. I +tried this experiment, which was unknown to the people here, and found +the drop swim upon the water; I tried also their test by fire upon the +finger of a Bedouin, who had to regret his temerity: I therefore +regarded the balsam sold here as adulterated; it was of less density +than honey. I wished to purchase some; but neither my own baggage, nor +any of the shops of Szafra, could furnish any thing like a bottle to +hold it: the whole skin was too dear. The Bedouins, who bring it here, +usually demand two or three dollars per pound for it, when quite pure; +and the Szafra Arabs re-sell it to the hadjys of the great caravan, at +between eight and twelve dollars per pound in an adulterated state. It +is bought up principally by Persians. + +The Balesan for sale at Djidda and Mekka, from whence it comes to Cairo, +always undergoes several adulterations; and if a hadjy does not casually +meet with some Bedouins, from whom he may purchase it at first hand, no +hopes can be entertained of getting it in a pure state. The richer +classes of the hadjys put a drop of Balesan into the first cup of coffee +they drink in the morning, from a notion that it acts as a tonic. The +seeds of the tree from which it is obtained, are employed in the Hedjaz +to procure abortion. + +I must notice here, as a peculiarity in the customs of the Beni Salem +tribe, that, in case of the Dye, or the fine for a man slain, (amounting +here to eight hundred dollars,) being accepted by the deceased’s family, +the sum is made up by the murderer and his family, and by his relations; +the former paying one-third, and the kindred two-thirds; a practice +which, as far as my knowledge extends, does not prevail in any other +part of the Desert. + +Our Bedouin guides had here a long quarrel with the Malays. The guides +had bargained in the market for two camels, to replace two that were +unfit to continue the journey; but not having money enough to + +[p.311] pay for them, they required the assistance of the Malays, and +begged them to lend ten dollars, to be repaid at Medina. The Malays +refused, and being hardly pressed, endeavoured to engage my +interposition in their behalf; but the Bedouins forced the money from +them by the same means which I had employed on a former occasion: the +purse of a Malay, which had been concealed in a bag of rice, now came to +light; it probably contained three hundred dollars. The owner was so +much frightened by this discovery, and the apprehension that the Arabs +would murder him on the road for the sake of his money, that by way of +punishment for his avarice, they contrived to keep him in a constant +state of alarm till we arrived at Medina. + +January 24th. We left the Souk-Es’-Szafra [During the night, a Kurd +courier, mounted upon a dromedary, escorted by several Bedouins, passed +through Szafra; he came from the head-quarters of Mohammed Aly, and was +the bearer of the intelligence of the capture of Tarabe to Tousoun +Pasha, at Medina] we passed the Omra thus far the road is paved in +several parts with large stones, particularly on the ascents. We passed +through valleys of firm sand, between irregular chains of low hills, +where some shrubs and stunted acacia-trees grow. The road, with few +exceptions, was perfectly level.] at 3 P.M., and rode along the valley, +which widens a little beyond the market-place. The brilliant verdure of +the date-trees and plantations form a singular contrast with the barren +mountains on each side. Our direction was N. 10 E. I found the rock here +composed throughout of red Thon stone, with transverse strata of the +same substance, but of a green colour; beyond Djedeyde, a little higher +up, I found, in my return from Medina, feldspar rocks. At one hour from +the Souk, we passed a similar village in the valley, called El Kharma, +which is comprised within the Wady Szafra. At the end of two hours, we +came to a public fountain in ruins, on the road, near a well half choked +up. The valley here divides; one branch turns towards the N.W.; the +other, which we followed, N.N.E. Two hours and a half, we passed a +hamlet called Dar el Hamra, with gardens of date-trees, and plantations, +inhabited by the tribe of Howaseb, another branch of Harb. Several small +watch-towers had been built here on the summits of the neighbouring +mountains, on both sides of the valleys, by Othman el Medhayfe, to +secure this passage. Plenty of bananas were offered us for sale, as we +passed this place. At the end of two hours and three quarters, the road +begins to ascend, and the soil of the valley, which thus far from Szafra +is gravel intermixed with sand, now becomes stony. + +[p.312] In four hours and a quarter we passed the village called Mokad, +which also produces dates. + +We stopped here for a quarter of an hour; where we were surrounded by +many of the inhabitants; and on remounting my camel, I found that +several trifling articles had been pilfered from my baggage. This defile +is particularly dreaded by the Hadj caravans; and stories are related of +daring robberies committed by the Arabs which appear almost incredible. +They dress sometimes like Turkish soldiers, and introduce themselves +into the caravan while on their march during the night; and in this +manner they carried off, the year before, one of the finest led horses +of the Pasha of Damascus, the chief of the Syrian caravan. They jump +from behind upon the camel of the sleeping hadjy, stop his mouth with +their abbas, and throw down to their companions whatever valuables they +find upon him. If discovered, they draw their daggers and cut their way +through; for, if taken, they can expect no mercy. The usual mode of +punishment on such occasions, is to impale them at the moment the +caravan starts from the next station, leaving them to perish on the +stake, or be devoured by wild beasts. The horrors of such a punishment, +however, do not deter others from committing the same crimes; and +individuals among the Bedouins pride themselves in being reckoned expert +Hadj-robbers, because great courage and dexterity are necessary to such +a character. From hence our road lay N. 20 E. A barren valley about +three hundred yards across begins here, which, at the end of six hours +and a half, conducted us with many windings to Djedeyde, situated in a +spot where the road becomes straight and has a steep ascent. I saw a +great many date-trees on both sides of the valley, which takes the +general name of Djedeyde, and is divided into several villages. Near the +southern entrance is the market-place, or Es’-Souk Djedeyde, which +appeared to be of greater extent than that of Szafra; but it is now +almost in ruins. From thence the valley becomes still narrower, running +between steep rocks for about one hour. It was in this spot that +Mohammed Aly’s first expedition against the Wahabys, under the command +of his son Tousoun Beg, was defeated in autumn 1811. They had possession +of both mountains, and the discharges of musketry from each side + +[p.313] reached across the valley, where the Turkish army attempted in +vain to pass. Most of the Sheikhs of the tribe of Harb, and the two +great southern Wahaby chiefs, Othman el Medheyfe and Tamy, were present, +with two of the sons of Saoud. + +At seven hours and a half, we passed El Kheyf, the last village in the +valley of Djedeyde; several insulated groups of houses are also +scattered along the valley. About eighty tents of Turkish soldiers were +pitched here, to guard this pass; one of the most important positions in +the Hedjaz, because it is the only way by which caravans can proceed +from Mekka or Yembo to Medina. The Harb tribe are well fitted, by their +warlike temper, to defend this post. Even before the Wahaby conquest, +they had repeatedly been at war with the Syrian caravan, and Djezzar +Pasha himself had been several times repulsed here, and obliged to take +the eastern Hadj route, at the back of the great chain, rather than +submit to the exorbitant demands of the Beni Harb for permitting the +Hadj to pass through their territories. Abdullah Pasha of Damascus, who +conducted the Hadj eighteen times in person to Mekka, was compelled to +do the same. Whenever the Harb are in amity with the caravan, they have +a right to a considerable passage duty, which is paid at Djedeyde. + +Szafra appeared to me better peopled, and to contain more houses, than +are now in Djedeyde. In speaking of this pass, the Arabs generally join +the two names, and say, “the valley of Szafra and Djedeyde.” Beyond El +Kheyf the valley widens, and forms many windings. Our caravan was here +in constant fear of robbers, which kept us awake, though the severe cold +during the night would not have suffered us to sleep. Our main direction +from Kheyf was N. 40 E. At twelve hours, gently ascending through the +valley, we entered a plain, situated in the midst of the mountains, +about ten miles in length, called El Nazye, where we alighted. + +January 26th. We remained encamped here the whole day, some passengers +having acquainted us that disturbances had broken out on the road before +us, which we did not discover to be a false report till the next day. +The rocks surrounding this plain are partly of granite, and partly of +lime-stone. The plain is thickly covered with acacia-trees. + +[p.314] Good water is found on the side of the mountains, but not in the +plain itself. Some Bedouins of Beni Salem, to which tribe the +inhabitants of Djedeyde also belong, pastured their flocks here: they +were chiefly occupied in collecting food for their camels from the +acacia-trees; for this purpose, they spread a straw mat under the tree, +and beat its boughs with long sticks, when the youngest and freshest +leaves, from the extremities of the twigs, fall down: these are esteemed +the best food for camels. I saw them sold in measures, in the market at +Szafra. We exchanged some biscuits for milk with these Bedouins; and +one, to whom I had given a small dose of rhubarb, brought me some fresh +butter in return. + +January 26th. We started at two P.M., and an hour and a half’s march +over the plain brought us to the mountain. The whole breadth of this +plain is about six miles. We then entered the mountain in the direction +N. 50 E. The mixed rocks of granite and lime-stone present no regular +strata. We next passed through a short defile, and, at the end of two +hours and a half, entered a small plain called Shab el Hál, between the +mountains, where were several encampments of Bedouins. At five hours, we +entered a broad valley, running in a straight line, and covered with +white sand. The night was cold, and the moon shone beautifully; I +therefore walked in front of the caravan, whose pace being slow, I soon +advanced, without perceiving it, to a considerable distance a-head. +Finding that it did not come up, I sat down under a tree, and was going +to light a fire, when I heard the tread of horses advancing towards me. +I kept hidden behind the trees, and presently saw some Bedouins of very +suspicious appearance pass by. After waiting a long time for the +caravan, and unable to account for its delay, I retraced my steps, and +found the camels standing at rest, and taking breath, and every soul +upon them fast asleep, the foot-passengers being still behind. This +happened to us several times during our journey. When the camel hears no +voices about it, and is not urged by the leader, it slackens its pace, +and at last stands still to rest; and if the leading camel once stops, +all the rest do the same. I roused the Arabs, and we proceeded. The next +day, we learnt that some travellers had been plundered this night on the +road--no doubt by the horsemen + +[p.315] who passed me, and who probably dispersed when they saw a large +caravan approaching. + +The valley in which we were travelling is called Wady es’ Shohada, or +the “Valley of Martyrs,” where many followers of Mohammed are said to +have been killed in battle: their remains are covered by rude heaps of +stones in different parts of the valley. Here also are seen several +tombs of hadjys; and I observed some walls, much ruined, where a small +chapel or mosque appeared to have stood: no water is found here. This is +a station of the Hadj caravan. At the end of nine hours, we issued from +this wady, which is on a very slight ascent; and then taking a direction +E.N.E. we crossed a rocky ground, and entered a wide plain called El +Fereysh, where two small caravans from Medina bound to Yembo passed us. +At the end of eleven hours and a half we alighted. + +The plain of Fereysh, according to the historian Asamy, was the scene of +a sanguinary battle, between the Sherif of Mekka and the Bedouin tribes +of Dhofyr and Aeneze, in A.H. 1063. The Dhofyr, who are now settled in +Mesopotamia, towards Baghdad, were at that time pasturing their herds in +the neighbourhood of Medina. + +January 27th. The rocks here are all of red granite. A party of +Bedouins, with their women, children, and tents passed us; they belonged +to the tribe of Harb, called El Hamede, and had left the upper country, +where no rain had yet fallen, to seek better pasturage in the lower +mountains. While we were encamped, a heavy storm, with thunder and +lightning, overtook us, and the rain poured down: as it threatened to be +of long duration, and we had no tents, it was thought advisable to +proceed. We started in the afternoon; and it continued to rain during +the rest of the day and the whole night, which, joined to the cold +climate in these elevated regions, was severely felt by all of us. Our +road ascended through rocky valleys full of thorny trees; it was crossed +by several torrents that had rapidly swollen, and which we passed with +difficulty. After seven hours’ march we reached the summit of this chain +of mountains, when the immense eastern plain lay stretched before us: we +passed several insulated hills. The ground is covered with black and +brown flints. In nine hours we passed at + +[p.316] some distance to the west of the date-plantations, and the few +houses built round the well called Bir Aly. At the end of ten hours, in +the middle of the night, just as the weather had cleared up, and a +severe frost succeeded the rain, we arrived before the gate of Medina. +It was shut, and we had to wait till day-light before it could be +opened. Being unable to light a fire on the wet ground with wet fuel, +and being all completely soaked with the rain, the sharp frost of the +morning became distressing to us, and was probably the cause of the +fever which confined me so long in this town; for I had enjoyed perfect +health during the whole journey. + +We entered Medina at sun-rise on the 28th of January, the thirteenth day +after our leaving Mekka, having halted two days on the road. The Hadj +caravan usually performs the journey in eleven days, and, if pressed for +time, in ten. + +The Bedouins apply to the whole country between Mekka and Medina, west +of the mountains, the name of El Djohfe, which, however, is sometimes +understood to mean the country from Mekka to Beder only. + +[p.317]MEDINA. + +THE caravan alighted in a large court-yard in the suburb, where the +loads were deposited; and all the travellers who had come with it +immediately dispersed in quest of lodgings. With the help of a Mezowar, +a professional class of men, similar to the delyls at Mekka, I procured, +after some trouble, a good apartment in the principal market-street of +the town, about fifty yards from the great mosque. I transported my +baggage to those lodgings, where I was called upon by the Mezowar to +visit the mosque and the holy tomb of Mohammed; it being a law here, as +at Mekka, that a traveller arriving in the town must fulfil this duty, +before he undertakes the most trifling business. + +The ceremonies are here much easier and shorter than at Mekka, as will +be presently seen. In a quarter of an hour I had gone through them, when +I was at liberty to return home to arrange my domestic affairs. My +Mezowar assisted me in the purchase of all necessary provisions, which +were not obtained without difficulty; Tousoun Pasha, the governor of the +town, having, by his inconsiderate measures, frightened away the +Bedouins and camel-drivers, who used to bring in provisions. Flour and +butter, however, those prime articles in an Eastern kitchen, were to be +had before sunset, though not found in the public market; but it was +three days before I could procure any coal, the want of which was +sensibly felt at this cold season of the year. Hearing that Yahya +Efendi, the physician of Tousoun Pasha, the same person who + +[p.318] in July last had taken my bill upon Djidda, was here. I paid him +a visit next day, and showed him a letter received at Mekka, before I +had left that town, from my Cairo banker, mentioning the payment of the +bill, no news of which had yet reached Yahya himself. Much as this +gentleman’s acquaintance had been of service to me on that occasion, a +good deal took place now to detract from it. At a visit which he paid me +soon after, he happened to see my small stock of medicines, the same +that I had in my Nubian journey, during which it never was touched, some +emetics and purges only having been used whilst I staid at Djidda and +Mekka; I had therefore half a pound of good bark in my medicine sack, +untouched. Several persons of the Pasha’s court were at this time ill of +fevers; Tousoun Pasha himself was in an indifferent state of health, and +his physician had few medicines fit for such cases. He begged of me the +bark, which I gave him, as I was then in good health, and thought myself +already in the vicinity of Egypt, where I hoped to arrive in about two +months. I owed him, moreover, some obligations, and was glad to testify +my gratitude. Two days after I had cause to repent of my liberality; for +I was attacked by a fever, which soon took a very serious turn. As it +was intermittent, I wished to take bark; but when I asked the physician +for some of it, he assured me that he had already distributed the last +dram, and he brought me, instead of it, some of the powder of the +Gentiana, which had lost all its virtue from age. My fever thus +increased, accompanied by daily and repeated vomiting, and profuse +sweats, being for the whole first month quotidian. The emetics I took +proved of no service; and after having from want of bark gone through +the course of medicines I thought applicable to the case, and being very +seldom favoured with a visit from my friend Yahya Effendi, I left my +disease to nature. After the first month, there was an interval of a +week’s repose, of which had I been able to profit by taking bark, my +disorder would, no doubt, have been overcome; but it had abated only to +return with greater violence, and now became a tertian fever, while the +vomiting still continued, accompanied by occasional faintings, and ended +in a total prostration of strength. I was now unable to rise from my +carpet, without the assistance of my slave, a poor fellow, who by habit + +[p.319] and nature was more fitted to take care of a camel, than to +nurse his drooping master. + +I had by this time lost all hope of returning to Egypt, and had prepared +myself for dying here. Despondency had seized me, from an apprehension +that, if the news of my death should arrive in England, my whole Hedjaz +journey would, perhaps, be condemned as the unauthorised act of an +imprudent, or at least over-zealous missionary; and I had neither books, +nor any society, to divert my mind from such reflections: one book only +was in my possession, a pocket edition of Milton, which Captain Boag, at +Djidda, had kindly permitted me to take from his cabin-library, and this +I must admit was now worth a whole shelf full of others. The mistress of +my lodgings, an old infirm woman, by birth an Egyptian, who during my +stay took up her quarters in an upper story, from which she could speak +to me without being seen, as it opened into my own room below, used to +converse with me for half an hour every evening; and my cicerone, or +Mezowar, paid me occasional visits, in order, as I strongly suspected, +to seize upon part of my baggage in case of my death. Yahya Effendi left +the town in the month of March, with the army of Tousoun Pasha, which +marched against the Wababys. + +About the beginning of April, the returning warmth of the spring put a +stop to my illness; but it was nearly a fortnight before I could venture +to walk out, and every breeze made me dread a return of the fever. The +bad climate of the town, its detestable water, and the great number of +diseases now prevalent, made me extremely desirous to leave Medina. My +original intention was, to remain here, at most, one month, then to take +some Bedouin guides, and with them to cross the Desert to Akaba, at the +extremity of the Red Sea, in a straight direction, from whence I might +easily have found my way to Cairo. In this route I wished to visit +Hedjer, on the Syrian Hadj road, where I expected to find some remains +of the remotest antiquity, that had not been described by any other +traveller, while the interior of the country might have offered many +other objects of research and curiosity. It was, however, utterly +impossible for me to perform this journey in my convalescent state; nor +had I any hopes of recovering, in + +[p.320] two months, strength sufficient for a journey of such fatigue. +To wait so long, continually exposed to suffer again from the climate, +was highly unadvisable; and I panted for a change of air, being +convinced that, without it, my fever would soon return. With these +feelings I abandoned the long-projected design of my journey, and now +determined on going to Yembo, on the sea-coast, and from thence to +embark for Egypt; a decision in some degree rendered necessary by the +state of my purse, which a long stay at Medina had greatly reduced. When +I found myself strong enough to mount a camel, I looked out for some +conveyance to Yembo, and contracted with a Bedouin, who, together with +his companions, forming a small caravan, started for that place on the +1st of April, within six days of three months after my arrival at +Medina, eight weeks of which time I had been confined to my couch. My +remarks on Medina are but scanty; with good health, I should have added +to them: but as this town is totally unknown to Europeans, they may +contain some acceptable information. The plan of the town was made by me +during the first days of my stay; and I can vouch for the correctness of +its outlines; but I had not the same leisure to trace it in all its +details, as I had that of Mekka. + +[p.321] DESCRIPTION OF MEDINA.[EXPLANATION OF THE PLAN OF MEDINA. [Not +included]] + +MEDINA is situated on the edge of the great Arabian Desert, close to the +chain of mountains which traverses that country from north to south, and +is a continuation of Libanon. I have already stated in my Journal +through Arabia Petrća, that the chain on the east of the Dead Sea runs +down towards Akaba. From thence, it extends along the shore of the Red +Sea as far as Yemen, sometimes close to the sea, + +[p.322] at others having an intervening plain called by the Arabs +Tahama, a name which, in Yemen, is also bestowed upon a particular part +of it. I have likewise mentioned in that Journal, that the eastern +descent of these mountains, all along the Jordan, the Dead Sea, and the +valley called Araba, down to Akaba, is much less than the western, and +that therefore the great plain of Arabia, which begins eastward of these +mountains, is considerably elevated above the level of the sea. I made +the same remark in going to Tayf, after having crossed the mountain +called Djebel Kura, which forms part of that chain; and the same is to +be observed at Medina. The mountain which we had ascended in coming from +Mekka, when seen from the coast, presents peaks of considerable height; +when we reached the upper plain, in the neighbourhood of Medina, these +summits appeared on our left like mere hills, their elevation above the +eastern plain being not more than one-third of that from the western +sea-shore. + +The last undulations of these mountains touch the town on the north +side; on its other side, the country is flat, though not always a +completely even plain. A branch of the chain, called Djebel Ohod, +projects a little into the plain, at one hour’s distance from the town, +bearing from the latter N.N.E. to N.E. [In these bearings the variation +of the needle is not computed.] At eight or ten hours’ distance, (E. 6 +N.-E. 6 S.) a chain of low hills rises in an eastern direction, across +which lies the road to Nedjed. Similar hills, at the same distance, are +to the S.E. The country to the south extends on a perfect level as far +as can be seen. On the S.W., about an hour, or an hour and a half +distant, a branch called Djebel Ayra projects, like Djebel Ohod, from +the main chain, into the plain. + +The town itself is built on the lowest part of the plain; for it +receives the torrents from the western mountains, as well as the +currents from the S. and S.E. quarters; and they produce in the rainy +season numerous pools of stagnant water, which is left to evaporate +gradually; the gardens, trees, and walls, with which the plain abounds, +interrupting the free current of air. These gardens, and date- +plantations, interspersed with fields, enclose the town on three sides, +leaving + +[p.323] only that part of the plain open to the view, which is on the +side of the road towards Mekka, where the rocky nature of the ground +renders cultivation impossible. + +Medina is divided into the interior town, and the suburbs; the interior +forms an oval, of about two thousand eight hundred paces in total +circuit, ending in a point. The castle is built at the point, upon a +small rocky elevation; and the whole is enclosed by a thick stone wall, +between thirty-five and forty feet high, flanked by about thirty towers, +and surrounded by a ditch, (the work of the Wahabys,) which is in many +places nearly filled up. The wall is in complete repair, forming, in +Arabia, a very respectable defence; so that Medina has always been +considered as the principal fortress of the Hedjaz. The wall was built +A.H. 860; and till that time the town was quite open, and daily exposed +to the incursions of the neighbouring Bedouins. It was subsequently +rebuilt at different times, but principally in A.H. 900, a ditch having +been previously carried round it in 751 (v. S.) According to Asamy, it +was built as it now stands, with its gates, by order of Solyman ibn +Selym, at the close of the sixteenth century of our era. Three fine +gates lead into the town: Bab el Masry, on the south side, (which, next +to Bab el Fatouh, at Cairo, is the finest town-gate I have seen in the +East); Bab es’ Shámy, on the north side; and Bab el Ujoma, on the east +side: a smaller by-gate, called Bab es’ Soghyr, in the south wall, had +been closed up by the Wahabys. Near the Bab es’ Shámy, close to the +castle, is a niche in the town-wall, where, it is related, a small +chapel once stood, called Mesdjed es’ Sabak, from whence the warlike +adherents of Mohammed used to start in their exercise of running. + +Medina is well built, entirely of stone; its houses are generally two +stories high, with flat roofs. As they are not white-washed, and the +stone is of a dark colour, the streets have rather a gloomy aspect; and +are, for the most part, very narrow, often only two or three paces +across: a few of the principal streets are paved with large blocks of +stone; a comfort which a traveller little expects to find in Arabia. It +is, on the whole, one of the best-built towns I have seen in the East, +ranking, in this respect, next to Aleppo. At present, it has a desolate + +[p.324] appearance: the houses are suffered to decay; their owners, who +formerly derived great profits from the crowd of visiters which arrived +here at all times of the year, now find their income diminished, and +decline the heavy expense of building, as they know they cannot be +reimbursed by the letting out of apartments. Ruined houses, and walls +wanting repair, are seen in every part of the town; and Medina presents +the same disheartening view as most of the Eastern towns, which now +afford but faint images of their ancient splendour. + +The principal street of Medina is also the broadest, and leads from the +Cairo gate to the great mosque: in this street are most of the shops. +Another considerable street, called El Belát, runs from the mosque to +the Syrian gate; but many of its houses are in ruins: this contains also +a few shops, but none are found in other parts of the town; thus +differing from Mekka, which is one continued market. In general, the +latter is much more like an Arab town than Medina, which resembles more +a Syrian city. I had no time to trace all the different quarters of the +town; but I shall here give the names by which they are at present +known. + +The quarter comprised between the two main streets leading from the +Egyptian and Syrian gates to the mosque, are, Es-Saha, Komet Hasheyfe, +El Belát, Zogág el Towál, (here is situated the Mekkam, or house of the +Kadhy, and several pleasant gardens are attached to the larger +buildings;) Zogág el Dhorra, Sakyfet Shakhy, Zogág el Bakar. + +The quarters lying to the north of the street El Belát, extending to the +north of the mosque, as far as the gate El Djoma, are:--El Hamáta, Zogág +el Habs, Zogág Ankyny, Zogág es’ Semáhedy, Háret el Meyda, Haret es’ +Shershoura, Zogág el Bedour, Haret el Agowat, where the eunuchs of the +mosque live. + +The quarters from the gate El Djoma, along the southern parts of the +town, as far as the Egyptian gate, and the great market-street, are: +Derwan, Es-Salehye, Zogág Yáhou, Háret Ahmed Heydar, Háret Beni Hosseyn, +the tribe of Beni Hosseyn living here; Háret el Besough, Háret Sakyfet, +Er-Resás, Zogág el Zerendy, Zogág el Kibreit, + +[p.325] Zogág el Hadjamyn, Háret Sydy Málek, where Málek ibn Anes, the +founder of the Malekite sect, had his house, and Háret el Kamáshyn. + +Very few large buildings, or public edifices, are found in the precincts +of the town. The great mosque, containing the tomb of Mohammed, is the +only temple. A fine public school, called Medrese el Hamdye, in the +street El Belát; a similar one, near the mosque, where the Sheikh el +Haram, or its guardian, lives; a large corn-magazine, enclosing a wide +yard, in the southern quarter of the town; a bath, (the only one,) not +far distant from it, built in A.H. 973, by Mohammed Pasha, vizier of +Sultan Soleyman, are all the public buildings which fell under my +observation. [The historian of Medina mentions several Okals, or public +khans, in this town; but I saw none, nor do I believe that they now +exist] This want of splendid monuments was likewise remarked by me at +Mekka. The Arabians, in general, have little taste for architecture; and +even their chiefs content themselves in their mansions with what is +merely necessary. Whatever public edifices are still found in Mekka and +Medina, are the work of the Sultans of Egypt or of Constantinople; and +the necessary expenses incurred annually by these distant sovereigns, +for the sake of the two holy cities, were too great to allow of any +augmentation for mere show. For the want of public buildings, however, +in the town, a compensation is made by the number of pretty private +habitations, having small gardens, with wells, the water of which is +used in irrigation, and fills marble basins, round which, in summer- +time, the owners pass the hours of noon under lofty sheds. + +The castle, which I have mentioned above, is surrounded by very strong +walls, and several high and solid towers. I was not permitted to enter +it, on applying at the gate. It contains sufficient space for six or +eight hundred men; has many arched rooms, bomb-proof; and, if well +garrisoned, and furnished with provisions, may be deemed impregnable by +an Arabian force, as it is built upon a rock, and therefore cannot be +undermined. To European artillery, however, it would appear an +insignificant fort. It contains a deep well of good water. + +[p.326] Two or three, guns only are at present mounted on its towers; +nor were there more than a dozen serviceable guns to defend the whole +town. + +On the west and south of the town extend the suburbs, which cover more +ground than the town itself. They are separated from it by an open +space, narrow on the south side, but widening on the west, before the +Cairo gate, where it forms a large public place, called Monákh; a name +implying that caravans alight there, which is really the case, as it is +always crowded with camels and Bedouins. Several rows of small huts and +sheds are erected here, in which provisions are sold, principally corn, +dates, vegetables, and butter; and a number of coffee-huts, which are +beset the whole day with visiters. The side of the suburbs fronting the +Monakh has no walls; but on the outside, to the west and south, they are +enclosed by a wall, of inferior size and strength to the interior town +wall. In several parts it is completely ruined; on the south side only +it is defended by small towers. Four gates lead from the suburbs into +the open country; they are small wooden doors, of no strength, except +that leading from the Cairo gate, which is larger and better built than +the rest. + +The greater part of the suburbs consists in large court-yards, with low +apartments built round them, on the ground-floor, and separated from +each other by gardens and plantations. These are called Hosh, (plur. +Hyshan,) and are inhabited by all the lower classes of the town, many +Bedouins who have become settlers here, and all those who are engaged in +agriculture. Each hosh contains thirty or forty families; thus forming +so many small separate hamlets, which, in times of unsettled government, +are frequently engaged in desperate feuds with each other. The cattle is +kept in the midst of the court-yard, in each of which is a large well; +and the only gate of entrance is regularly shut at night. On the S. and +N.W. sides of the town, within the precincts of the wall, the suburbs +consist entirely of similar court-yards, with extensive gardens between +and behind them. On the west side, directly opposite the Cairo gate and +the Monakh, the suburb consists of regular and well-built streets, with +houses resembling those of the + +[p.327] interior of the town. The broad street, called El Ambarye, +crosses this part of the suburb, and has good buildings on both sides. +In this neighbourhood lived Tousoun Pasha, in a private dwelling; and +near it, in the best house of the town, belonging to the rich merchant +Abd el Shekour, lived the Pasha’s mother, the wife of Mohammed Aly, and +his own women, who had lately come on a visit. + +The principal quarters of the suburbs are Háret el Ambarye, Háret el +Wádjeha, Háret es’ Sahh, Háret Abou Aysa, Háret Masr, Háret el Teyar, +Háret Nefýse, Háret el Hamdye, Háret el Shahrye, Háret el Kheybarye, +Háret el Djafar. Many people of the interior town have their summer +houses in these quarters, where they pass a month in the date-harvest. +Every garden is enclosed by mud walls, and several narrow by-lanes, just +broad enough for a loaded camel to cross the suburbs in every direction. + +There are two mosques in the Monákh: the one, called Mesdjed Aly, or the +mosque of the Prophet’s cousin, is said to be as old as the time of +Mohammed; but the building, as it stands, was rebuilt in A.H. 876. +Mohammed is said to have often prayed here; and, for the convenience of +the inhabitants of the suburbs who are at a distance from the great +mosque, the Khotbe, or Friday’s prayer, is likewise performed in it. The +other mosque, called Mesdjed Omar, to which a public medrese, or school, +was attached, serves at present as a magazine, and quarters for many +soldiers. To both these mosques the historian of Mekka applies the name +of Mesdjed el Fath: he calls the one Mesdjed el Aala, from standing on +the highest part of the town. Two other mosques, the one called Mesdjed +Aly Beker, and the other Mesdjed Zobáb, stood in this neighbourhood in +the sixteenth century; and the Monákh at that time bore the name of +Djebel Sola, the Arabians applying the name of Djebel (or mountain) to +any slightly elevated spot of ground. In the same author’s time there +were fifteen mosques in this town and its neighbourhood, all now ruined; +and he gives the names and history of thirty-seven that were erected in +the former ages of Islam. + +I was told, that in the quarter El Ambarye the house where Mohammed +lived is still shown; but many doubt this tradition, and the spot is not +visited as one of the holy places. Here, as in Mekka, no + +[p.328] ancient buildings are found. The winter rains, the nitrous, damp +atmosphere during the rainy season, and the intense heat which follows +it, are destructive to buildings; and the cement employed in their +construction being of a very indifferent quality, the stones soon become +loosened and the walls decay. + +The town is supplied with sweet water by a fine subterraneous canal, +carried hither from the village of Koba, about three quarters of an hour +distant, in a southern direction, at the expense of Sultan Solyman, the +son of Selym I. The water is abundant, and, in several parts of the +town, steps are made down to the canal, where the inhabitants supply +themselves with water, but are not, like the people of Mekka, obliged to +pay for it. On the skirts of the Monákh, a large reservoir, cased with +stone, has also been made, on a level with the canal, which is +constantly kept full. The water in the canal runs at the depth of +between twenty and twenty-five feet below the surface; it is derived +from several springs at Koba, and, though not disagreeable to the taste, +is nevertheless of bad quality. If left for half an hour in a vessel, it +covers the sides of it with a white nitrous crust; and all foreigners, +who are not accustomed to it from their earliest youth, complain of its +producing indigestion. It is tepid at its source in Koba, and even at +Medina slightly preserves its temperature. There are also many wells +scattered over the town; every garden has one, by which it is irrigated; +and wherever the ground is bored to the depth of twenty-five or thirty +feet, water is found in plenty. Of some wells the water is sweet enough +for drinking; of others quite brackish. The fertility of the fields and +gardens is in proportion to the quality of the well-water; those +irrigated with brackish water, repay badly the labour of their owners; +the date-trees alone thriving equally well in any place. + +In addition to the water of the wells and the aqueduct, the town in +winter time receives a supply from the considerable torrent called Seyl +el Medina, or Seyl Bathán, which flows from S. to N. passing across the +suburbs, and losing itself in a stony valley to the N.W. [All the +neighbouring torrents lose themselves in a low ground in the western +mountains, called El Ghába, and also El Zaghába. See Samhoudy.] A heavy +rain for one night will fill its bed, though it usually decreases as +fast + +[p.329] as it swells. In that part of the suburb, called El Ambarye, we +find a good arched stone bridge thrown across its banks, where it is +about forty feet in breadth. The neighbouring country abounds with +similar torrents, which fill many ponds and low grounds, where the water +often remains till the summer months: these, together with the wells, +contribute to render the environs of this town celebrated for the +abundance of water, surpassing, in this respect, perhaps, any other spot +in northern Arabia, and which had made this a considerable settlement of +Arabs, long before it became sacred among the Moslims, by the flight, +residence, and death of Mohammed, to which it owes its name of Medina, +or Medinet el Neby. + +The great abundance of water has made cisterns of little use in the +town; and I do not believe that more than two or three houses have them; +though it would be very desirable to collect the rain-water for +drinking, from the torrents, in preference to the nitrous water of Koba. +During heavy rains the Monákh, between the suburbs and the town, becomes +a complete lake, and the S. and S.E. environs are covered with a sheet +of water. The inhabitants hail these inundations as a sure promise of +plenty, because they not only copiously irrigate their date-trees, but +likewise cause verdure to spread over the more distant plains inhabited +by Bedouins, on whose imports of cattle and butter Medina depends for +its consumption. + +The precious jewel of Medina, which sets the town almost upon a level +with Mekka, and has even caused it to be preferred to the latter, by +many Arabic writers, [This is particularly the case with the sect of the +Malekites, who pretend that Medina is more to be honoured than Mekka.] +is the great mosque, containing the tomb of Mohammed. Like the mosque of +Mekka, it bears the name of El Haram, on account of its inviolability; a +name which is constantly given to it by the people of Medina, while, in +foreign parts, it is more generally known under the appellation of +Mesdjed en’ Neby, the mosque or temple of the Prophet, who was its +original founder. The ground-plan will show that this mosque is situated +towards the eastern extremity of the town, and not in the midst of it, +as the Arabian historians + +[p.330] and geographers often state. Its dimensions are much smaller +than those of the mosque at Mekka, being a hundred and sixty-five paces +in length, and a hundred and thirty in breadth; but it is built much +upon the same plan, forming an open square, surrounded on all sides by +covered colonnades, with a small building in the centre of the +square. [The representations of this mosque, given both by Niebuhr and +D’Ohhson, are very incorrect, being copied, probably, from old Arab +drawings. I had intended to make a correct plan of it, but was prevented +by my illness; and I should not wish to add one from mere recollection. +Samhoudy states its dimensions as quite different, and says that it is +two hundred and forty pikes in length, one hundred and sixty-five pikes +in breadth on the S. side, and one hundred and thirty on the N. side. He +adds that there are two hundred and ninety-six columns. I am not quite +sure whether the building has been materially changed since his time, +and after the fire in A.H. 886; but I believe not, and regard his +account as much exaggerated.] These colonnades are much less regular +than those at Mekka, where the rows of pillars stand at much the same +depth on all sides. On the south side of this mosque, the colonnade is +composed of ten rows of pillars behind each other; and on the west side +are four rows; on the north, and part of the east side, only three rows. +The columns themselves are of different sizes. On the south side, which +contains the Prophet’s tomb, and which forms the most holy part of the +building, they are of larger dimensions than in the other parts, and +about two feet and a half in diameter. They have no pediments, the +shafts touching the ground; and the same diversity and bad taste are as +conspicuous in the capitals here as in the mosque at Mekka, no two being +alike. The columns are of stone, but, being all plastered white, it is +difficult to decide of what species. To the height of about six feet +from the ground they are painted with flowers and arabesques, in a +coarse and gaudy style; by which means, probably, it was intended to +remedy the want of pediments. Those standing nearest to that part of the +southern colonnade called El Rodha, are cased for half their height with +bright glazed green tiles or slates, decorated with arabesques of +various colours: the tiles seem to be of Venetian pottery, and are of +the same kind as those used to cover stoves in Germany and Switzerland. + +[p.331]The roof of the colonnade consists of a number of small domes, +white-washed on the outside, in the same manner as those of Mekka. The +interior walls are also white-washed all round, except the southern one, +and part of the S.E. corner, which are cased with slabs of marble, +nearly up to the top. Several rows of inscriptions, in large gilt +letters, are conducted along this wall, one above the other, and have a +very brilliant effect upon the white marble. The floor under the +colonnades, on the west and east sides, and part of the north, is laid +out with a coarse pavement; the other part of the N. side being unpaved, +and merely covered with sand; as is likewise the whole open yard. On the +south side, where the builder of the mosque has lavished all this +ornament, the floor is paved with fine marble across the whole +colonnade; and in those parts nearest to the tomb of Mohammed, this +pavement is in mosaic, of excellent workmanship, forming one of the best +specimens of that kind to be seen in the East. Large and high windows, +with glass panes, (of which I know not any other instance in the Hedjaz) +admit the light through the southern wall; some of them are of fine +painted glass. On the other sides, smaller windows are dispersed along +the walls, but not with glass panes. [The art of painting glass with +durable colours seems never to have been lost in the East.] + +Near the S.E. corner stands the famous tomb, so detached from the walls +of the mosque, as to leave between it and the S. wall a space of about +twenty-five feet, and fifteen between it and the E. wall. The enclosure, +which defends the tomb from the too near approach of visiters, forms an +irregular square of about twenty paces, in the midst of the colonnade, +several of its pillars being included within it: it is an iron railing, +painted green, about two-thirds the height of the columns, filling up +the intervals between them, so as to leave their upper part projecting +above it, and entirely open. The railing is of good workmanship, in +imitation of filligree, and is interwoven with open-worked inscriptions +of yellow bronze, supposed by the vulgar to be of gold, and of so close +a texture, that no view can be gained into + +[p.332] the interior, except by several small windows, about six inches +square, which are placed in the four sides of the railing, about five +feet above the ground. On the south side of the railing, where are the +two principal of these windows, before which the visiters stand when +praying, the railing is thinly plated over with silver, and the often- +repeated inscription of “La Illaha il Allah al hak al Mobyn,” (“There is +no God but God, the evident Truth,”) is carried in silver letters across +the railing all round these windows. This enclosure is entered by four +gates, three of which are constantly kept shut, and one only is opened, +every morning and .evening, to admit the eunuchs, whose office it is to +clean the floor and light the lamps. Each of these gates has its +particular name: Báb en’ Neby, Báb Errahme, Báb et Touba, Báb Setna +Fatme. The permission to enter into this enclosure, which is called El +Hedjra, is granted gratis to people of rank, as Pashas, or chiefs of the +Hadj caravans, and may be purchased by other people from the principal +eunuchs, at the price of about twelve or fifteen dollars, distributed in +presents among them: but few visiters avail themselves of this +privilege, because they well know that, on entering the enclosure, +nothing more is to be seen than what falls under their observation when +peeping in at the windows of the railing, which are constantly kept +open; and I was myself not inclined to attract general notice, by thus +satisfying my curiosity. What appears of the interior is a curtain +carried round, which takes up almost the whole space, having between it +and the railing an open walk, of a few paces only in breadth. The +curtain is equal in height to the railing; but I could not distinguish +from below, whether, like the latter, it is open at the top. There is a +covering, (as the eunuchs affirm,) of the same stuff of which the +curtain is made; this is a rich silk brocade, of various colours, +interwoven with silver flowers and arabesques, with a band of +inscriptions in golden characters, running across the midst of it, like +that of the covering of the Kaaba. This curtain is at least thirty feet +high: it has a small gate to the north, which is always shut; no person +whatever being permitted to enter within its holy precincts, except the +chief eunuchs, who take care of it, and who put on, during the night, +the new curtain sent from + +[p.333] Constantinople, whenever the old one is decayed, or when a new +Sultan ascends the throne. The old curtains are sent to Constantinople, +and serve to cover the tombs of the sultans and princes. [See D’Ohhson. +The historian of Medina says, that in his time it was changed every six +years, and that the income from several villages in Egypt was set apart +at Cairo for the manufacturing of those curtains.] + +According to the historian of Medina, the curtain covers a square +building of black stones, supported by two pillars, in the interior of +which are the tombs of Mohammed, and his two earliest friends and +immediate successors, Abou Beker and Omar. As far as I could learn here, +these tombs are also covered with precious stuffs, and in the shape of +catafalques, like that of Ibrahim in the great mosque of Mekka. They are +said to be placed in the following order: [not included] The largest +being that of Mohammed, and the one above it Abou Beker’s. The historian +says, that these tombs are deep holes; and that the coffin which +contains the dust of Mohammed, is cased with silver, and has on the top +a marble slab, inscribed, “Bismillahi Allahuma Sally aley.” (“In the +name of God, bestow thy mercy upon him.”) They did not always stand in +their present position: Samhoudy places them at different times thus: +[not included] + +The stories once prevalent in Europe, of the prophet’s tomb being +suspended in the air, are unknown in the Hedjaz; nor have I ever heard +them in other parts of the East, though the most exaggerated accounts of +the wonders and the riches of this tomb are propagated by those who have +visited Medina, and wish to add to their own importance by relating +fabulous stories of what they pretend to have + +[p.334] seen. Round these tombs the treasures of the Hedjaz were +formerly kept, either suspended on silken ropes, drawn across the +interior of the building, or placed in chests on the ground. Among +these, may be particularly mentioned a copy of the Koran, in Cufic +characters, kept there as a precious relic, from having belonged to +Othman ibn Affan. It is said still to exist in Medina; but we may doubt +whether it escaped the conflagration which destroyed the mosque. I have +related, in my history of the Wahabys, that during the siege of Medina +considerable portions of the treasures, more particularly all the golden +vessels, were seized by the chiefs of the town, ostensibly for the +purpose of being distributed among the poor, but that they were, +finally, divided among themselves. When Saoud took the town, he entered +the Hedjra himself, and penetrated behind the curtain, where he seized +upon every thing valuable he found; of this he sold a part to the Sherif +of Mekka, and the rest he carried with him to Derayeh. Among the +precious articles which he took, the most valuable is said to have been +a brilliant star set in diamonds and pearls, which was suspended +directly over the Prophet’s tomb. It is often spoken of by the Arabs, +who call it Kokab ed’durry. Here were deposited all sorts of vessels, +set with jewels, ear-rings, bracelets, necklaces, and other ornaments, +sent as presents from all parts of the empire, but brought principally +by great hadjys who passed through Medina. There is no doubt that the +whole formed a. collection of considerable value, but far from being +inestimable, as the people are inclined to fancy. Sherif Ghaleb +estimated that part of it which he bought, at one hundred thousand +dollars. The chiefs of the town are said to have carried. off about one +hundred weight of golden vessels, at most worth forty or fifty thousand +dollars; and what Saoud took with him is said to have consisted chiefly +in pearls and corals, and was certainly not worth more than Ghaleb’s +purchase. The total value, therefore, might have amounted to about three +hundred thousand dollars. Money never appears to have been deposited +here; for whatever presents were made to the mosque in cash, were +immediately distributed among its attendants. There is good reason for +supposing, however, that the donations of the faithful, which +accumulated here for ages, amounted to a much greater sun than what + +[p.335] is stated above; but it would be strange if the governors of +Medina, who were often independent, or the guardians of the tomb +themselves, should not have made occasional draughts upon this treasure, +in the same manner as the olemas of Mekka, about three hundred years +since, stole the golden lamps of the Kaaba, and carried them out of the +temple, hid under their wide sleeves, according to Kotobeddyn the +historian. + +Tousoun Pasha, on his arrival at Medina, made search for the golden +vessels, which had been re-sold by the chiefs of the town to some other +of the inhabitants, and not yet melted. He found several of them, which +he bought from the owners for about ten thousand dollars, and replaced +them in their original situation. + +The floor between the curtain and the railing, and of all this part of +the mosque, is laid with various coloured marbles in mosaic: here glass +lamps are suspended all round the curtains, which are lighted every +evening, and remain burning all night. The whole of this enclosure, or +Hedjra, is covered with a fine lofty dome, rising far above the domes +which form the roof of the colonnades, and visible at a great distance +from the town; and the visiters coming to Medina, as soon as they catch +the sight of it, repeat certain prayers. The covering is of lead +surmounted with a globe of considerable size, and a crescent, both +glittering with gold. [The globe was gilt, and the crescent sent from +Constantinople, by the Sultan Soleyman ibn Selym. (See Asamy.) The +cupola, and the whole of the temple as it now stands, was built by Kait +Beg, Sultan of Egypt, from A.H. 881 to 892.] + +It is reported that they are of massy gold; which can scarcely be +believed, if we consider the little inclination that even the richest +and most powerful of the Sultans have shown, to ornament with splendour +either the mosque of Mekka or Medina. The Wahabys, allured by the +appearance of the globe, and acting upon their invariable practice of +destroying all domes or cupolas erected over the tombs of mortals, among +whom Mohammed was to be reckoned, attempted to destroy the dome, and +throw down the globe and crescent; but their solid construction, and the +lead covering, rendered this a difficult undertaking two of the workmen +slipped from the smooth roof, and were precipitated + +[p.336] below, after which the work of destruction was abandoned; a +circumstance which is now cited as a visible miracle worked by the +Prophet in favour of his monument. + +Near the curtain of the Hedjra, but separated from it, though within the +precincts of the railing, which here, to admit it, deviates a little +from its square shape, is the tomb of Setna Fatme, the daughter of +Mohammed, and wife of Aly: it consists of a catafalque forming a cube, +covered with a rich embroidered black brocade, and without any other +ornament. But some difference of opinion exists, whether her remains +actually rest here or in the burial-ground called Bakya, beyond the +town. Till this dispute, however, be settled, the pilgrims are conducted +to both places, and made to pay double fees. On the E. wall of the +mosque, nearly opposite to this tomb, a small window is shown, at the +place where the archangel Gabriel is said to have repeatedly descended +from heaven, with messages to Mohammed. It is called Mahbat Djybrail. + +Mohammedan tradition says, that when the last trumpet shall sound, Aysa +(Jesus Christ) is to descend from heaven to earth, and to announce to +its inhabitants the great day of judgment: after which he is to die, and +will be buried in this Hedjra, by the side of Mohammed: that, when the +dead shall rise from their graves, they will both rise together, ascend +to heaven, and Aysa, on that day, will be ordered by the Almighty to +separate the faithful from the infidels. In conformity with this +tradition, the spot is pointed at through the curtain of the Hedjra, +where the tomb of Aysa will be placed. + +Outside the railing on the north, close by the tomb of Fatme, is a +square bench in the mosque, elevated above the ground about four feet, +and fifteen paces square, called El Meyda, or the table. Here the eunuch +guardians of the mosque sit; and the councils of the primates of the +town, or their principal assemblies, are often held here. + +A wooden partition about eight feet high, and richly painted with +arabesques, runs from the western side of the railing across the mosque, +parallel with the south wall, and about twenty-five feet distant from +it, and terminating near the gate called Báb-es-Salám, thus extending +from the Hedjra nearly across the whole breadth of the mosque. It + +[p.337] has several small doors, and is made to separate the holy place +called El Rodha from the common passage of the visiters, who, on +entering through Báb-es’-Salám, pass forward towards the Hedjra, along +the columns standing between this partition and the south wall. Next to +the Hedjra, that part of the southern colonnade north of the partition +is considered the most holy place in the mosque, and called Rodha, i. e. +a garden, or the Garden of the Faithful; a name bestowed upon it by +Mohammed, who said: “Between my tomb and my pulpit is a garden of the +gardens of Paradise.” The pulpit of the mosque stands close to this +partition, about midway between the Hedjra and the west wall of the +mosque, and the name Rodha strictly belongs to that space only which is +between the pulpit and the Hedjra, though the whole southern colonnade +of the temple to the north of the partition is often comprised under +that appellation. It is on account of this name of Rodha, or garden, +that the columns within its limits are painted to the height of five or +six feet with flowers and arabesques, to assist the imagination, which +otherwise might not readily discover any resemblance between this place +and the Garden of Eden. Two mahrabs, or niches, towards which the people +turn when praying, as they indicate the exact bearing of the Kaaba, [The +Mahrab was turned S. 11 W. (variation not computed), which is therefore +taken here as the exact bearing of Mekka.] are placed on both sides of +the pulpit, and are, together with it, of exquisite workmanship, being +the finest mosaic. One niche was sent from Egypt as a present to the +mosque, by Kait Beg, and the other from Constantinople by Sultan +Soleyman ibn Selym. The floor of the Rodha is covered with a number of +handsome carpets, sent hither from Constantinople; and, as at Mekka, +they are the only articles of real value that I saw in the mosque, and +may be worth, altogether, about a thousand pounds. The upper part of the +colonnades is covered with mats. + +The congregation assembles upon the carpets of the Rodha, this being the +favourite spot for prayers. No ceremony is observed in the seats; every +one may place himself where he likes: it is however understood, that the +first row nearest to the partition, and those especially + +[p.338] in the immediate neighbourhood of the Imam, are destined for +people of rank, and no one who does not belong to that class intrudes +himself there. The entrance to the Rodha, near Báb-es’-Salám, has a +splendid appearance: the gaudy colours displayed on every side, the +glazed columns, fine carpets, rich pavement, the gilt inscriptions on +the wall to the south, and the glittering railing of the Hedjra in the +back-ground, dazzle the sight at first; but, after a short pause, it +becomes evident that this is a display of tinsel decoration, and not of +real riches. When we recollect that this spot is one of the holiest of +the Mohammedan world, and celebrated for its splendour, magnificence, +and costly ornaments, and that it is decorated with the united pious +donations of all the devotees of that religion, we are still more +forcibly struck with its paltry appearance. It will bear no comparison +with the shrine of the most insignificant saint in any Catholic church +in Europe, and may serve as a convincing proof, that in pious gifts the +Mohammedan have at no period equalled the Catholic devotees; without +noticing many other circumstances, which help to strengthen the belief, +that, whatever may be their superstition and fanaticism, Mohammedans are +never inclined to make as many pecuniary sacrifices for their religious +establishments, as Catholic, and even Protestant Christians do for +theirs. + +The ceremonies on visiting the mosque are the following:--At first the +pilgrim, before he enters the town, is to purify himself by a total +ablution, and, if possible, to perfume his body with sweet odours. When +he arrives in sight of the dome, he is to utter some pious ejaculations. +When he intends to visit the temple, the cicerone, or, as he is here +called, Mezowar, leads him into the gate called Báb-es’-Salám, passing +his right foot first over the threshold, which is the general custom in +all mosques, and particularly insisted upon here. While reciting some +prayers, he steps forward into the Rodha, where he performs a short +prayer, with four prostrations, as a salutation to the mosque, during +which he is enjoined to recite the two short chapters (109th and 112th) +of the Koran. He then passes through one of the small doors of the +partition of the Rodha, and walks slowly towards the railing of the +Hedjra, before the western window of which, on its + +[p.339] south side, he takes his stand; with arms half raised he +addresses his invocations to Mohammed, in the words “Salam aleyka ya +Mohammed, Salam ya Rasoul illah,” &c. recapitulating about twenty of the +different surnames or honorable titles of Mohammed, and prefixing to +each of them “Salam aleyk.” He next invokes his intercession in heaven, +and distinctly mentions the names of all those of his relations and +friends whom he is desirous to include in his prayers: it is for this +reason, that an inhabitant of Medina never receives a letter from +abroad, without being entreated, at the end of it, to mention the +writer’s name at the tomb of the Prophet. If the pilgrim is delegated on +the pilgrimage for another, he is bound here to mention the name of his +principal. In this prayer an expression is used, as at all the places +visited for their sanctity about the town, but which appeared to me +little calculated to inspire the visiter with humane or charitable +feelings; among other favours supplicated in prayer to the Deity, the +following request is made: “Destroy our enemies, and may the torments of +hell-fire be their lot.” + +After these prayers are said, the visiter is desired to remain a few +minutes with his bead pressed close against the window, in silent +adoration; he then steps back, and performs a prayer of four +prostrations, under the neighbouring colonnade, opposite the railing; +after which he approaches the second window, on this same side, said to +face the tomb of Abou Beker, and goes through prayers similar to those +said at the former window, (called Shobák-en’-Neby,) which are recited +in honour of Abou Beker. Stepping back a second time to the colonnade, +he again performs a short prayer, and then advances to the third window +on this side of the railing, which is opposite that part of the curtain +behind which the tomb of Omar is said to lie: similar prayers are said +here. When this ceremony is finished, the visiter walks round the S.E. +corner of the Hedjra, and presents himself before the tomb of Setna +Fatme, where, after four prostrations, a prayer is addressed to Fatme- +e’-Zohera, or the bright blooming Fatme, as she is called. He then +returns to the Rodha, where a prayer is said as a salutation to the +Deity on leaving the mosque, which completes this ceremony, the +performance of which occupies at most twenty minutes. + +[p.340]On every spot where prayers are to be said, people sit with hand- +kerchiefs spread out to receive the gifts of the visiters, which appear +to be considered less as alms, than as a sort of toll; at least, a well- +dressed visiter would find it difficult to make his way without paying +these taxes. Before the window of Setna Fatme sits a party of women, +(Fatme being herself a female saint,) who likewise receive gifts in +their handkerchiefs. In the Rodha stand the eunuchs, or the guardians of +the temple, waiting till the visiter has finished his last prayer of +salutation, to wish him joy on having successfully completed the zyara +or visit, and to receive their fees; and the great gate of Báb-es’-Salám +is constantly crowded with poor, who closely beset the visiter, on his +leaving the mosque: the porter also expects his compliment, as a matter +of right. The whole visit cost me about fifteen piastres, and I gave ten +piastres to my cicerone; but I might, perhaps, have got through for half +that sum. + +The ceremonies may be repeated as often as the visiter wishes: but few +perform them all, except on arriving at Medina, and when on the point of +departing. It is a general practice, however, to go every day, at least +once, to the window opposite Mohammed’s tomb, and recite there a short +prayer: many persons do it whenever they enter the mosque. It is also a +rule never to sit down in the mosque, for any of the usual daily +prayers, without having previously addressed an invocation to the +Prophet, with uplifted hands, and the face turned towards his tomb. A +similar practice is prevalent in many other mosques in the East, which +contain the tomb of a saint. The Moslim divines affirm, that prayers +recited in the mosque of Medina are peculiarly acceptable to the Deity; +and invite the faithful to perform this pilgrimage, by telling them that +one prayer said in sight of the Hedjra is as efficacious as a thousand +said in any other mosque except that of Mekka. + +I have already stated, that the north and east sides, and part of the +west side, of the mosque are by no means so well built as the south +side, where are the Hedjra and Rodha. The columns in those parts are +more slender, and less carefully painted; the pavement is coarse, and no +kind of ornament is seen on the white plastered walls, + +[p.341] except on the east side, where the coarsely painted +representations of the mosque of St. Sophia, of Sultan Ahmed, of Bayazed +Waly, and of Scutari, celebrated temples in the capital, attract some +notice: they are painted in water-colours, upon the white wall, without +the smallest attention to perspective. The whole north side was at +present under repair; and the old pavement had been removed, to be +replaced by a better one. + +The open court enclosed between the colonnades is unpaved, and covered +with sand and gravel. In the midst of it stands a small building, with a +vaulted roof, where the lamps of the mosque are kept. Near it is a small +enclosure of low wooden railing, which contains some palm-trees, held +sacred by the Moslims, because they are said to have been planted by +Fatme, and another tree, of which the stem only now remains, and which I +believe to have been a nebek, or lotus-tree. By it is a well, called +Bir-en-Neby, the water of which is brackish, and for this reason, +probably, enjoys no reputation for holiness. Samhoudy says that it is +called Es-Sháme. + +In the evening lamps are lighted round the colonnades; but principally +on the south side, where they are in greater numbers than on the others; +they are suspended from iron bars, extending from column to column. The +eunuchs and the servants of the mosque are employed in lighting them; +for a small donation to the latter, the visiters to the tomb are +permitted to assist, and many foreign hadjys are anxious to perform that +office, which is thought meritorious, and for which they are +particularly praised by the eunuchs: but they are never allowed to light +the lamps in the interior of the Hedjra. On the sides of the Mambar, or +the pulpit, and of both the Mahrabs, large wax candles are placed, as +thick as a man’s body, and twelve feet high, which are lighted in the +evening by means of a ladder placed near them. They are sent from +Constantinople. The lady of Mohammed Aly, who was now at Medina, had +brought several of these candles as a present to the mosque, which had +been transported with great difficulty from Yembo to this place. + +The mosque has four gates: 1. Báb-es-Salám, formerly called Báb Merouán, +(according to Samhoudy), on the south-west corner, is the + +[p.342] principal one, by which the pilgrim is obliged to enter the +mosque at his first visit. It is a beautiful arched gateway, much +superior to any of those of the great mosque at Mekka, though inferior +in size to several of them, and handsomer than any gate of a mosque I +had before seen in the East. Its sides are inlaid with marble and glazed +tiles of various colours; and a number of inscriptions in relief, in +large gilt characters, above and on the sides of the arch, give it a +very dazzling appearance. Just before this gate is a small fountain, +filled by the water of the canal, where people usually perform their +ablutions, if they do not choose to do it in the mosque itself, where +jars are kept for the purpose. + +2. Báb Errhame, formerly called Báb Atake, in the west wall, by which +the dead are carried into the mosque, when prayers are to be read over +them. + +3. Báb Ed’ Djeber, called often likewise Báb Djybrail; and + +4. Báb el. Nesa, on the east wall, the first close to the tomb of Setna +Fatme, the other a little farther on. + +A few steps lead from the neighbouring streets up to the gates, the area +of the mosque being on a somewhat higher level, contrary to what is seen +at Mekka. About three hours after sun-set the gates are regularly shut, +by means of folding-doors coated with iron, and not opened till about an +hour before dawn; but those who wish to pray all night in the mosque, +can easily obtain permission from the eunuch in guard, who sleeps near +the Hedjra. During Ramadhan, the mosque is kept open the whole night. + +On the north-west and north sides are several small doors opening into +the mosque, belonging to public schools or medreses originally annexed +to it, but which have now forfeited their ancient distinction. On this +side the schoolmasters sit with the boys in a circle round them, and +teach them the rudiments of reading. + +The police of the mosque, the office of washing the Hedjra and the whole +of the building, of lighting the lamps, &c. &c. is entrusted to the care +of forty or fifty eunuchs, who have an establishment similar to that of +the eunuchs of the Beitullah at Mekka; but they are persons of greater +consequence here; they are more richly dressed, though in the + +[p.343] same costume; usually wear fine Cashmere shawls, and gowns of +the best Indian silk stuffs, and assume airs of great importance. When +they pass through the Bazar, every body hastens to kiss their hands; and +they exercise considerable influence in the internal affairs of the +town. They have large stipends, which are sent annually from +Constantinople by the Syrian Hadj caravan; they share also in all +donations made to the mosque, and they expect presents from every rich +hadjy, besides what they take as fees from the visiters of the Hedjra. +They live together in one of the best quarters of Medina, to the +eastward of the mosque, and their houses are said to be furnished in a +more costly manner than any others in the town. The adults are all +married to black or Abyssinian slaves. + +The black eunuchs, unlike those of Europe, become emaciated; their +features are extremely coarse, nothing but the bones being +distinguishable; their hands are those of a skeleton, and their whole +appearance is extremely disgusting. By the help of thick clothing they +hide their leanness; but their bony features are so prominent, that they +can be distinguished at first sight. Their voice, however, undergoes +little, if any change, and is far from being reduced to that fine +feminine tone so much admired in the Italian Singers. + +The chief of the eunuchs is called Sheikh el Haram; he is also the chief +of the mosque, and the principal person in the town; being consequently +of much higher rank than the Aga, or chief of the eunuchs at Mekka. He +is himself a eunuch, sent from Constantinople, and usually belonging to +the court of the Grand Signor, who sends him hither by way of punishment +or exile, in the same manner as Pashas are sent to Djidda. The present +Sheikh el Haram had been formerly Kislar Agassi, or prefect of the women +of the Emperor Selym, which is one of the first charges in the court. +Whether it was the dignity of his former employ, of which the eastern +grandees usually retain the rank through life, even if they are +dispossessed of it, or his new dignity of Sheikh el Haram, that gave him +his importance, I am unable to say; but he took, on every occasion, +precedence of Tousoun Pasha, whose rank was that of Pasha of Djidda, and +of three tails; and the latter, whenever they met, kissed the Sheikh’s +hands, which I have + +[p.344] seen him do in the mosque. He has a court composed in a manner +similar to that of a Pasha, but much less numerous. His dress is given +with the most minute accuracy in D’Ohhson’s work: it consists of a fine +pelisse, over a rich embroidered silk gown, made in the fashion of the +capital; a khandjar, or dagger, set with diamonds, stuck in his belt; +and a kaouk, or high bonnet, on his head. The present Sheikh kept about +a dozen horses: whenever he walked out, a number of servants, or +Ferráshyn of the mosque, armed with large sticks, walked before him. + +The person of the Sheikh el Haram was respected by the Wahabys: when +Saoud took Medina, he permitted the Sheikh, with several other eunuchs, +to retire to Yembo, with his wives, and all his baggage and valuables; +but would not receive another into the town; and the eunuchs themselves +then appointed one of their number to preside over them, till after an +interval of eight years, when the present chief was sent from +Constantinople; but his influence over the affairs of the town is +reduced to a mere shadow of what it was. + +A eunuch of the mosque would be highly affronted if he were so termed by +any person. Their usual title is Aga. Their chief takes the title of +Highness, or Sadetkom, like a Pasha, or the Sherif of Mekka. + +Besides those eunuchs, the mosque reckons among its servants a number of +the inhabitants of the town; these are called Ferráshyn, a name implying +that their duty consists in keeping the mosque clean, and spreading the +carpets. Some of them attend at the mosque to light the lamps, and to +clean the floor, together with the eunuchs; with others it is a mere +sinecure, and some of the first people of the town belong to this body. +I am unacquainted how the office is obtained, but believe that it is +purchased from the Sheikh el Haram. The name of each Ferrásh is put down +in the lists which are yearly sent to Constantinople, and they all share +in the stipends which the town receives from that capital, and the whole +Turkish empire, in which there is always a considerable portion for the +Ferráshyn. It would appear that the office is hereditary; at least often +transmitted from father to son. The number is fixed at five hundred; but +to + +[p.345] increase it, an expedient has, according to D’Ohhson, been +adopted, of dividing each number into half, and third, and eighth +shares; and any fractional part may be bestowed upon an individual, who +thus becomes an inferior member of the corps. Many of these Ferráshyn +are in partibus, the title having been given to great foreign hadjys, +dispersed over the whole empire, who think themselves honoured in +possessing it. + +Many of these Ferráshyn are, at the same time ciceroni, or Mezowars, and +exercise also, the very lucrative profession of saying prayers for the +absent. Most hadjys of any consequence who pass here, form an +acquaintance with some of these men, their guides over the holy places. +On their return home, they often make it a pious rule to send annually +some money, one or two zecchins, to their ancient cicerone, who is thus +bound in honour to recite some prayers, in the name of the donor, before +the window of the Hedjra. These remittances, wrapped up in small sealed +papers, with the address upon them, are collected in every province or +principal town of Anatolia, or Turkey in Europe, from whence they are +principally sent, and brought to Medina by the Surra writer of +Constantinople, who accompanies the pilgrim caravan, and is at the head +of its financial department. Some of the principal Ferráshyns have +monopolized whole towns and provinces; the natives of those parts, who +pass through Medina, being introduced to them by their countrymen. The +correspondents of others are dispersed over the whole empire. The +profits which they derive from this profession, which resemble those +accruing to Roman Catholic priests for the reading of masses, are very +considerable: I have heard that some of the principal Ferráshyn have +from four to five hundred correspondents dispersed over Turkey, from +each of whom they receive yearly stipends, the smallest of which is one +Venetian zecchin. + +The number of Ferráshyn, as well as of Mezowars, is very great. The +duties of their office can be so easily performed, that they are for the +greater part a very idle class. During the time of the Wahabys, however, +their perquisites ceased; and, as few pilgrims then arrived, they were +reduced to great extremities, from which they are now beginning slowly +to recover. They complain, that the long cessation of the yearly +stipends has accustomed so many original correspondents + +[p.346] to withhold their gifts, that, although the caravan intercourse +is re-established, little inclination appears to renew them. + +The Wahabys are forbidden by their law to visit the tomb of the Prophet, +or to stand before the Hedjra and pray for his intercession in heaven. +As Mohammed is considered by them a mere mortal, his tomb is thought +unworthy of any particular notice. It was as much a strict religious +principle, as a love of plunder, that induced Saoud to carry off the +treasures of the Hedjra, which were thought little adapted in decency +and humility to adorn a grave. The tomb itself he left untouched; and, +for once, gave way to the national feelings of the Arabians, and perhaps +to the compunctions of his own conscience, which could not entirely +divest itself of earlier impressions; he neither removed the brocade +from the tomb, nor the curtain which encloses it. Dreams, it is said, +terrified him, or withheld his sacrilegious hand; and he in like manner +respected that of Fatme: but, on the other hand, he ruined, without +exception, all the buildings of the public burial-ground, where many +great saints repose, and destroyed even the sculptured and ornamented +stones of those tombs, a simple block being thought by him quite +sufficient to cover the remains of the dead. + +In prohibiting any visit to the tomb, the Wahabys never entertained the +idea of discontinuing the visit to the mosque. That edifice having been +built by the Prophet, at the remarkable epoch of his flight from Mekka, +which laid the first foundations of Islam, it is considered by them as +the most holy spot upon earth, next to the Beitullah of Mekka. Saoud had +indeed once given orders, that none of these Turkish pilgrims, who still +flocked from Yembo to this tomb, even after the interruption of the +regular pilgrim-caravans, should any more be permitted to enter Medina: +and this he did to prevent what he called their idolatrous praying; a +practice which it was impossible to abolish without excluding them at +once from the mosque; this prohibition Saoud did not think proper to +enforce: he therefore preferred keeping them from the city, under +pretence that their improper behaviour rendered such a proceeding +necessary. He himself, with all his adherents, often paid a devout visit +to the holy mosque; and in the treaty of peace which his son Abdallah, +concluded with + +[p.347] Tousoun Pasha in 1815, it is expressly stipulated that the +Wahabys should be permitted to visit the Mesdjed-e’-Neby, or the mosque +of the Prophet, (not his tomb,) without molestation. + +Even with the orthodox Moslims, the visit to this tomb and mosque is +merely a meritorious action, which has nothing to do with the +obligations to perform the Hadj, incumbent upon the faithful; but which, +like the visit to the mosque at Jerusalem, and the tomb of Abraham at +Hebron, is thought to be an act highly acceptable to the Deity, and to +expiate many sins, while it entitles the visiter, at the same time, to +the pratronage of the Prophet and the Patriarch in heaven: and it is +said, that he who recites forty prayers in this mosque, will be +delivered from hell-fire and torments after death. As saints, however, +are often more venerated than the Deity himself, who it is well known +accepts of no other offerings than a pure conscience or sincere +repentance, and is therefore not so easily appeased; so the visit to +Medina is nearly as much esteemed as that to the house of God, the +Beitullah at Mekka; and the visiters crowd with more zeal and eagerness +to this shrine, than they do even to the Kaaba. Throughout the year, +swarms of pilgrims arrive from all parts of the Mohammedan world, +usually by the way of Yembo. The Moggrebyns especially seem the most +fervent in their visits: they are, however, brought here by another +object, for in this town is situated the tomb of the Imám Málek ibn +Anes, the founder of the orthodox sect of the Malekites, to which belong +the Moggrebyns. + +The mosque at Mekka is visited daily by female hadjys, who have their +own station assigned to them. At Medina, on the contrary, it is thought +very indecorous in women to enter the mosque. Those who come here from +foreign parts, visit the tomb during the night, after the last prayers, +while the women resident in the town hardly ever venture to pass the +threshold: my old landlady, who had lived close to it for fifty years, +assured me that she had been only once in her life within its precincts, +and that females of a loose character only are daring enough to perform +their prayers there. In general, women are seldom seen in the mosques in +the East, although free access is not forbidden. A few are sometimes met +in the most holy temples, as that + + [p.348] of the Azhar at Cairo, where they offer up their thanks to +Providence, for any favour which they may have taken a vow thus to +acknowledge. Even in their houses the women seldom pray, except devout +old ladies; and it is remarked as an extraordinary accomplishment in a +woman, if she knows her prayers well, and has got by heart some chapters +of the Koran. Women being considered in the East as inferior creatures, +to whom some learned commentators on the Koran deny even the entrance +into Paradise, their husbands care little about their strict observance +of religious rites, and many of them even dislike it, because it raises +them to a nearer level with themselves; and it is remarked, that the +woman makes a bad wife, who can once claim the respect to which she is +entitled by the regular reading of prayers. + +There are no sacred pigeons in this mosque, as in that at Mekka; but the +quantity of woollen carpets spread in it, where the most dirty Arabs sit +down by the side of the best dressed hadjys, have rendered it the +favourite abode of millions of other animals less harmless than pigeons, +and a great plague to all visiters, who transfer them to their private +lodgings, which thus swarm with vermin. + +This mosque being much smaller than that of Mekka, and a strict police +kept up in it by the eunuchs, it is less infested with beggars and idle +characters than the former. It should seem also, that the tomb of +Mohammed inspires the people of Medina with much greater awe, and +religious respect, than the Kaaba does those of Mekka; which sentiment +deters them from approaching it with idle thoughts, or as a mere +pastime: much more decorum is therefore observed within its precincts +than within those of the Beitullah. + +As at Mekka, a number of Khatybs, Imáms, Mueddins, and other persons +belonging to the body of Olemas, are attached to the mosque. The olemas +here are said to be more learned than their brethren of Mekka; and those +of former days have produced many valuable writings. At present, +however, there is less appearance of learning here than at Mekka. During +my visits to the mosque I never saw a native Arab teaching knowledge of +any kind, and only a few Turkish hadjys explaining some religious books +in their own language, to a very few auditors, from whom they collected +trifling sums, to defray + +[p.349] the expenses of their journey home. Tousoun Pasha, the only one +of his family who is not an avowed atheist, frequently attended those +lectures, and sat in the same circle with the other persons present. I +was told, that in the medrese called El Hamdye some public lectures are +delivered; but I had no opportunity of ascertaining the fact. I believe +that there is not in the whole Mohammedan empire a town so large as +Medina where lectures are not held in the mosques; that this was +formerly the case also in this town, is proved by the many pious +foundations established exclusively for this purpose, the emoluments of +which many olemas still enjoy without performing the duties. + +The haram or mosque of Medina, like that at Mekka, possesses +considerable property and annuities in every part of the empire. Its +yearly income is divided among the eunuchs, the olemas, and the +Ferráshyn. The daily expenses of lighting and repairing the building are +made to account for the expenditure of the whole. As, excepting the +precious articles contained in the Hedjra, no money-treasure has ever +been kept in the mosque, a double advantage accrues to the inhabitants +of the town, numbers of whom gain a comfortable livelihood, while all +are exempted from the danger and the internal broils which would, no +doubt, occur, were it known that a large sum of money might be obtained +by seizing the mosque. The days are past, in the East, when a public +treasure can be deposited in a place sufficiently sacred to guard it +from the hands of plunderers. The smallest part of the income of all +public foundations is spent in the relief of the poor, or the pious +purpose to which it was destined: it serves merely to pamper a swarm of +idle hypocrites, who have no other motives for acquiring a smattering of +learning, than the hope of sharing in the illegal profits that accrue to +the guardians or agents of these institutions. + +Like most of the public buildings in the East, the approach to the +mosque is choked on all sides by private habitations, so as to leave, in +some parts, only an open street between them and the walls of the +mosque; while in others the houses are built against the walls, and +conceal them. Either three or five minarets (I forget + +[p.350] which) are erected on different sides of the building; and one +of them is said to stand on the spot where Bellal, the Abyssinian, the +Mueddin of Mohammed, and one of his great favourites, used to call the +faithful to prayers. + +The following brief history of the mosque is taken from Samhoudy, the +historian of Medina: + +“The mosque of Medina was founded by Mohammed himself, and is therefore +called his mosque, or Mesdjed-e’-Neby. When he reached the city, at that +time an open settlement of Arabs, called Yathreb, (subsequently Medina) +after his flight from Mekka, and was sure of being now among friends, he +erected a small chapel on the spot where his camel had first rested in +the town, having bought the ground from the Arabs; and he enclosed it +with mud walls, upon which he placed a roof of palm-leaves, supported by +the stems of palm-trees for pillars: this edifice he soon after +enlarged, having laid the foundations with stone. Instead of the Mahrab, +or niche, which is placed in mosques to show the direction in which the +faithful ought to turn in their prayers, Mohammed placed a large stone, +which was at first turned to the north, towards Jerusalem, and placed in +the direction of the Kaaba of Mekka, in the second year of the Hedjra, +when the ancient Kebly was changed. + +“Omar ibn el Khatab widened the mosque with mud walls and palm-branches, +and, instead of the stems of palms, he made pillars of mud. He first +carried a wall round the Hedjra, or the place where the body of Mohammed +had been deposited at his death, and which was at first enclosed only by +palm-branches. The square enclosed by the walls of the mosque was +increased to one hundred and forty pikes in length, and one hundred and +twenty in breadth, A.H. 17. + +“Othman built the walls of hewn stone: in A.H. 29, he renewed the +earthen pillars, strengthening the new ones with hoops of iron, and made +the roof of the precious Indian wood called Sadj. The square was +enlarged to one hundred and sixty pikes by one hundred and fifty; and +six gates were opened into it. + +“Wolyd, he to whom Damascus owes its beautiful mosque, called Djama el +Ammouy, further enlarged the Mesdjed-e’-Neby in A.H. 91. + +[p.351] Till then, the houses where the wives and daughter and female +relations of Mohammed had resided, stood close to the Hedjra, beyond the +precincts of the mosque, into which they had private gates. +Notwithstanding the great opposition he encountered, Wolyd compelled the +women to leave their houses, and to accept a fair price for them; he +then razed them, and extended the wall of the mosque on that side. The +Greek Emperor, with whom he happened to be at peace, sent him workmen +from Constantinople, who assisted in the new building; [Makrisi, in his +account of various sovereigns who performed the pilgrimage, says that +the Greek Emperor (whom he does not name) sent one hundred workmen to +Wolyd, and a present of a hundred thousand methkal of gold, together +with forty loads of small cut stones, for a mosaic pavement.] several of +whom, being Christians, behaved, as it is related, with great indecency; +one of them, in particular, when in the act of defiling the very tomb +of the Prophet, was killed by a stone which fell from the roof. New +stone pillars were now placed in the mosque, with gilt capitals. The +walls were cased with marble variously adorned, and parts of them +likewise gilt, and the whole building thus completely renewed. + +“About A.H. 160, the Khalife El Mohdy still further enlarged the +enclosure, and made it two hundred and forty pikes in length; and in +this state the mosque remained for several centuries. + +“Hakem b’amr Illah, the mad King of Egypt, who sent one of his +emissaries to destroy the black stone of the Kaaba, also made an +unsuccessful attempt to take from the mosque of Medina Mohammed’s tomb, +and transport it to Cairo. In A.H. 557, in the time of El Melek el Adel +Noureddyn, king of Egypt, two Christians in disguise were discovered at +Medina, who had made a subterraneous passage from a neighbouring house +into the Hedjra, and stolen from thence articles of great value. Being +put to the torture, they confessed having been sent by the King of Spain +for that purpose; and they paid for their temerity with their lives. +Sultan Noureddyn, after this, carried a trench round the Hedjra, and +filled it with lead, to prevent similar attempts. + +“In A.H. 654, a few months after the eruption of a volcano near the + +[p.352] town, the mosque caught fire, and was burnt to the ground; but +the Korans deposited in the Hedjra were saved. This accident was +ascribed to the Persian sectaries of Beni Hosseyn, who were then the +guardians of the tomb. In the following year its restoration was +undertaken at the expense of the Khalife Mostasem Billah, Ibn el +Montaser Billah, and the lord of Yemen, El Mothaffer Shams eddyn Yousef, +and completed by El Dhaher Bybars, Sultan of Egypt, in A.H. 657. The +dome over the tomb was erected in 678. Several kings of Egypt +successively improved and enlarged the building, till A.H. 886, when it +was again destroyed by fire occasioned by lightning. The destruction was +complete; all the walls of the mosque, and part of those of the Hedjra, +the roof, and one hundred and twenty columns fell: all the books in the +mosque were destroyed; but the fire appears to have spared the interior +of the tomb in the Hedjra. Kayd Beg, then king of Egypt, to whom that +country and the Hedjaz owe a number of public works, completely rebuilt +the mosque, as it now stands, in A.H. 892. He sent three hundred workmen +from Cairo for that purpose. The interior of the Hedjra was cleared, and +three deep graves were found in the inside, full of rubbish; but the +author of this history, who himself entered it, saw no traces of tombs. +The original place of Mohammed’s tomb was ascertained with great +difficulty. The walls of the Hedjra were then rebuilt, and the iron +railing placed round it which is now there. The dome was again raised +over it; the gates were distributed as they now are; a new mambar, or +pulpit, was sent as a present from Cairo, and the whole mosque assumed +its present form. Since the above period, a few immaterial improvements +have been made by the Othman Emperors of Constantinople.” + +[p.353]GARDENS and plantations, as I have already said, surround the +town of Medina, with its suburbs, on three sides, and to the eastward +and southward extend to the distance of six or eight miles. They consist +principally of date-groves and wheat and barley fields; the latter +usually enclosed with mud walls, and containing small habitations for +the cultivators. Their houses in the immediate neighbourhood of the town +are well built, often with a vestibule supported by columns, and a +vaulted sitting-room adjoining, and a tank cased with stone in front of +them. They are the summer residence of many families of the town, who +make it a custom to pass there a couple of months in the hottest season. +Few of the date-groves, unless those dispersed over the fields, are at +all enclosed; and most of them are irrigated only by the torrents and +winter rains. The gardens themselves are very low, the earth being taken +from the middle parts of them, and heaped up round the walls, so as to +leave the space destined for agriculture, like a pit, ten or twelve feet +below the surface of the plain: this is done to get at a better soil, +experience having shown that the upper stratum is much more impregnated +with salt, and less fit for cultivation, than the lower. No great +industry is any where applied; much ground continues waste; and even +where the fields are laid out, no economy whatever is shown in the +culture of them. Many spots are wholly barren; and the saline nature of +the soil prevents the seed from growing. The ground towards the village +of Koba, and beyond it, in a south and east direction, is said to +consist of good earth, without any saline mixture; and in value it is +consequently much higher than that near the town, which, after rains, I +have seen completely covered for several days with a saline crust, +partly deposited from the waters, and partly evaporated from the soil +itself, in the more elevated spots which the waters do not reach. + +Most of the gardens and plantations belong to the people of the + +[p.354] town; and the Arabs who cultivate them (called nowakhele) are +mostly farmers. The property of the gardens is either mulk or wakf; the +former, if they belong to an individual; the latter, if they belong to +the mosque, or any of the medreses or pious foundations, from which they +are farmed, at very long leases, by the people of Medina themselves, who +re-let them on shorter terms to the cultivators. They pay no duties +whatever. Not the smallest land-tax, or miri, is levied; an immunity +which, I believe, all the fertile oases of the Hedjaz enjoyed previous +to the invasion by the Wahabys: these, however, had no sooner taken +possession of the town, than they taxed the soil, according to their +established rule. The fields were assessed, not by their produce in +corn, but in dates, the number of date-trees in every field being +usually proportionate to the fertility of the soil, and also to its crop +of grain. From every erdeb of dates the Wahaby tax-gatherers took their +quota either in kind or in money, according to the market-price they +then bore. These regulations caused the Wahabys to be disliked here much +more than they were at Mekka, where the inhabitants had no fields to be +taxed; and where the tax which the Wahabys had imposed was dispensed +with, or rather given up to the Sherif, the ancient governor of the +town, as I have already remarked. The Mekkans, besides, carried on +commerce, from which they could at all times derive some profit, +independent of the advantages accruing to them from the foreign hadjys. +The people of Medina, on the contrary, are very petty merchants; and +their main support depends upon the pilgrims, the yearly stipends from +Turkey, or their landed property. As they were obliged entirely to +renounce the former, and were curtailed in the profits from the latter; +and as the Wahabys showed much less respect for their venerated tomb +than they did for the Beitullah at Mekka, we cannot wonder that their +name is execrated by the people of Medina, and loaded with the most +opprobrious epithets. + +The principal produce of the fields [They are here called Beled, (plur. +Boldan): the beled of such a one.] about Medina, is wheat and barley, +some clover, and garden-fruits, but chiefly dates. Barley is + +[p.355] grown in much larger quantity than wheat; and barley-bread forms +a principal article of food with the lower classes. Its harvest is in +the middle of March. The crops are very thin; but the produce is of a +good quality, and sells in the market of Medina at about fifteen per +cent higher than the Egyptian. After harvest, the fields are left fallow +till the next year; for though there is sufficient water in the +wells [Every garden or field has its well, from whence the water is drawn +up by asses, cows, or camels, in large leathern buckets. I believe there +are no fields that are not regularly watered, and the seed of none is +left merely to the chance of the winter-rains.] to produce a second +irrigation, the soil is too poor to suffer it, without becoming entirely +exhausted. No oats are sown here, nor any where else in the Hedjaz. The +fruit-trees are found principally on the side of the village of Koba. +Pomegranates and grapes are said to be excellent, especially the former: +there are likewise some peaches, bananas, and, in the gardens of Koba, a +few water-melons, and vegetables, as spinach, turnips, leeks, onions, +carrots, and beans, but in very small quantities. The nebek-tree, +producing the lotus, is extremely common in the plain of Medina, as well +as in the neighbouring mountains; and incredible quantities of its fruit +are brought to market in March, when the lower classes make it a prime +article of food. But the staple produce of Medina is dates, for the +excellence of which fruit this neighbourhood is celebrated throughout +Arabia. The date-trees stand either in the enclosed fields, where they +are irrigated together with the seeds in the ground, or in the open +plain, where they are watered by the rains only: the fruit of the +latter, though less abundant, is more esteemed. Numbers of them grow +wild on the plain, but every tree has its owner. Their size is, in +general, inferior to that of the Egyptian palm-tree, fed by the rich +soil of the country, and the waters of the Nile; but their fruit is much +sweeter, and has a more fragrant smell. + +The many different uses to which almost every part of the date-tree is +applied, have already been mentioned by several travellers; they render +it as dear to the settled Arab, as the camel is to the Bedouin. + +[p.356] Mohammed, in one of the sayings recorded of him, compares the +virtuous and generous man to this noble tree. “He stands erect before +his Lord; in his every action he follows the impulse received from +above, and his whole life is devoted to the welfare of his fellow- +creatures.” [See also the 1st Psalm, v. 3.--“And he shall be like a tree +planted by the rivers of water,” &c.] The people of the Hedjaz, like the +Egyptians, make use of the leaves, the outer and inner bark of the +trunk, and the fleshy substance at the root of the leaves where they +spring from the trunk; and, besides this, they use the kernels of the +fruit, as food for their cattle: they soak them for two days in water, +when they become softened, and then give them to camels, cows, and +sheep, instead of barley; and they are said to be much more nutritive +than that grain. There are shops at Medina in which nothing else is sold +but date-kernels; and the beggars are continually employed, in all the +main streets, in picking up those that are thrown away. In the province +of Nedjed the Arabs grind the kernels for the same purpose; but this is +not done in the Hedjaz. + +Various kinds of dates are found at Medina, as well as in all other +fruitful vallies of this country; and every place, almost, has its own +species, which grows no where else. I have heard that upwards of one +hundred different sorts of dates grow in the immediate neighbourhood of +the town; the author of the description of Medina mentions one hundred +and thirty. Of the most common sorts are the Djebely, the cheapest, and +I believe the most universally spread in the Hedjaz; the Heloua; the +Heleya, a very small date, not larger than a mulberry; it has its name +from its extraordinary sweetness, in which it does not yield to the +finest figs from Smyrna, and like them is covered, when dried, by a +saccharine crust. The inhabitants relate, that Mohammed performed a +great miracle with this date: he put a stone of it into the earth, which +immediately took root, grew up, and within five minutes a full-grown +tree, covered with fruit, stood before him. Another miracle is related +of the species called El Syhány, a tree of + +[p.357] which addressed a loud “Salam Aleykum” to the Prophet, as he +passed under it. The Birny is esteemed the most wholesome, as it is +certainly the easiest of digestion: it was the favourite of Mohammed, +who advised the Arabs to eat seven of its fruit every morning before +breakfast. The Djeleby is the scarcest of them all: it is about three +inches in length, and one in breadth, and has a peculiarly agreeable +taste, although not so sweet as the Heleya. It seems that it grows with +great difficulty; for there are, at most, not more than one hundred +trees of this species, and they are less fertile than any of the other. +They grow in no part of the Hedjaz, but here and in the groves of Yembo +el Nakhel. The price of the Birny is twenty paras per keile, a measure, +containing at least one hundred and twenty dates, while the Djeleby is +sold at eight dates for twenty paras: they are in great request with the +hadjys, who usually carry some of these dates home, to present to their +friends, as coming from the city of the Prophet; and small boxes, +holding about one hundred of them, are made at Medina, for their +conveyance. + +Dates form an article of food by far the most essential to the lower +classes of Medina: their harvest is expected with as much anxiety, and +attended with as much general rejoicings, as the vintage in the south of +Europe; and if the crop fails, which often happens, as these trees are +seldom known to produce abundantly for three or four successive years, +or is eaten up by the locusts, universal gloom overspreads the +population, as if a famine were apprehended. + +One species of the Medina dates, the name of which I have forgotten, +remains perfectly green although ripe, and dried; another retains a +bright saffron colour: these dates are threaded on strings, and sold all +over the Hedjaz, where they go by the name of Kalayd es’ Sham, or +necklaces of the North; and the young children frequently wear them +round the neck. The first dates are eaten in the begining of June, and +at that period of their growth are called Rotab; but the general date- +harvest is at the end of that month. In Egypt it is a month later. Dates +are dressed in many different ways by the Arabs; boiled in milk, broiled +with butter; or reduced to a thick pulp + +[p.358] by boiling in water, over which honey is poured; and the Arabs +say that a good housewife will daily furnish her lord, for a month, a +dish of dates differently dressed. + +In these gardens a very common tree is the Ithel, a species of tamarisk, +cultivated for its hard wood, of which the Arabs make their camels’ +saddles, and every utensil that requires strong handles. + +In the gardens we seldom find the ground perfectly level, and the +cultivation is often interrupted by heaps of rocks. On the N.W. and W. +sides of the town, the whole plain is so rocky as to defeat all attempts +at improvement. The cultivable soil is clay, mixed with a good deal of +chalk and sand, and is of a grayish white colour: in other parts it +consists of a yellow loam, and also of a substance very similar to bole- +earth; small conical pieces of the latter, about an inch and a half +long, and dried in the sun, are sold, suspended on a piece of riband, to +the visiters of Medina. It is related that Mohammed cured a Bedouin of +Beni Hareth, and several others, of a fever by washing their bodies with +water in which this earth had been dissolved; and the pilgrims are eager +to carry home a memorial of this miracle. The earth is taken from a +ditch at a place called El Medshounye, in the neighbourhood of the town. + +All the rocky places, as well as the lower ridge of the northern +mountainous chain, are covered by a layer of volcanic rock: it is of a +bluish black colour, very porous, yet heavy, and, hard, not glazed, like +schlacken, and contains frequently small white substances in its pores +of the size of a pin’s head, which I never found crystallised. The plain +has a completely black colour from this rock, and the small pieces with +which it is overspread. I met with no lava, although the nature of the +ground seemed strongly to indicate the neighbourhood of a volcano. Had I +enjoyed better health, I should have made some excursions to the more +distant parts of the gardens of Medina, to look for specimens of +minerals; but the first days of my stay were taken up in making out a +plan of the town, and gaining information on its inhabitants; and I was +not afterwards capable of the slightest bodily exertion. It was not till +my return to Cairo, that, in reading the description of Medina, which I +had purchased at the former place, (and of + +[p.259] which, and of the descriptions of Mekka, I could never find +copies in the Hedjaz, notwithstanding all my endeavours,) I met with the +account of an earthquake and a volcanic eruption which took place in the +immediate neighbourhood of Medina about the middle of the thirteenth +century; and upon inquiry I learnt from a man of Medina, established at +Cairo, that the place of the stream of lava is still shown, at about one +hour E. of the town. During my stay, I remember to have once made the +observation to my cicerone, in going with him to Djebel Ohod, that the +country appeared as if all burnt by fire; but I received an unmeaning +reply; no hint or information afterwards in the town which could lead me +to suppose that I was near so interesting, a phenomenon of nature. + +Some extracts from the work to which I have alluded, describing this +eruption, may be thought worthy of the reader’s attention, and are given +in the subjoined note. [“On the first of the month Djomad el Akhyr, in +A.H. 654, a slight earthquake was felt in the town; on the third, +another stronger shock took place, during the day; about two o’clock in +the ensuing morning, repeated violent shocks awakened the inhabitants, +increasing in force during the rest of the morning, and continuing at +intervals till Friday the sixth of the month. Many houses and walls +tumbled down. On Friday morning a thundering noise was heard, and at +mid-day the fire burst forth. On the spot where it issued from the earth +a smoke first arose, which completely darkened the sky. To the eastward +of the town, towards the close of day, the flames were visible, a fiery +mass of immense size, which bore the appearance of a large town, with +walls, battlements, and minarets, ascending to heaven. Out of this flame +issued a river of red and blue fire, accompanied with the noise of +thunder. The burning waves carried whole rocks before them, and farther +on heaped them up like high mounds. The river was approaching nearer to +the town, when Providence sent a cool breeze, which arrested its further +progress on this side. All the inhabitants of Medina passed that night +in the great mosque; and the reflection of the fire changed that night +into day-light. The fiery river took a northern direction, and +terminated at the mountain called Djebel Wayra, standing in the valley +called Wady el Shathat, which is a little to the eastward of Djebel Ohod +[two miles and a half from Medina]. For five days the flame was seen +ascending, and the river remained burning for three months. Nobody could +approach it on account of its heat. It destroyed all rocks; but, (says +the historian,) this being the sacred territory of Medina, where +Mohammed had ordained that no trees should be cut within a certain +space, it spared all the trees it met with in its course. The entire +length of the river was four farsakh, or twelve miles; the breadth of it +four miles; and its depth, eight or nine feet. The valley of Shathat was +quite choked up; and the place where it is thus choked, called from this +circumstance El Sedd, is still to be seen. The flame was seen at Yembo +and at Mekka. An Arab of Teyma (a small town in the N.E. Desert from six +to eight days’ journey from Medina) wrote a letter during night by the +light reflected from it to that distance. + “In the same year, a great inundation of the Tigris happened, by +which half the town of Baghdad was destroyed; and at the close of this +same year the temple of Medina itself was burnt to the ground. + “The Arabs were prepared to witness such a conflagration; for they +remembered the saying of Mohammed, that ‘the day of judgment will not +happen until a fire shall appear in the Hedjaz, which shall cause the +necks of the camels at Basra to shine.’”] + +From this account the stream of lava must be sought at about one + +[p.360] hour distant to the E. of the town. The volcanic productions +which cover the immediate neighbourhood of the town and the plain to the +west of it, are probably owing to former eruptions of the same volcano; +for nothing is said, in the relation, of stones having been cast out of +the crater to any considerable distance, and the whole plain to the +westward, as far as Wady Akyk, three miles distant, is covered with the +above-described volcanic productions. I have little doubt that on many +other points of that great chain of mountains, similar volcanoes have +existed. The great number of warm springs found at almost every station +of the road to Mekka, authorises such a conjecture. + +I am here induced, by a passage in the extract contained in the last +note, to offer the following remark. According to the strict precept of +Mohammed, that part of the territory of Medina which encompassed the +town in a circle of twelve miles, having on the S. side Djebel Ayre, and +on the N. side Djebel Thor, (a small mountain just behind Djebel Ohod,) +as the boundary, should be considered sacred; no person should be slain +therein, except aggressors, and enemies, in self-defence, or infidels +who polluted it; and neither game should be killed nor trees cut in such +a holy territory. This interdiction, however, is at present completely +set aside; trees are cut, game is killed, bloody affrays happen in the +town itself and + +[p.361] in its immediate vicinity ; and though an avowed follower of any +other religion than the Mohammedan is not permitted to enter the gates +of the town, yet several instances occurred, during my stay there, (and +while I resided at Yembo,) of Greek Christians employed in the +commissariat of the army of Tousoun Pasha encamping within gun-shot of +Medina, previous to their departure for the head-quarters of the Pasha, +then in the province of Kasym. + +[p.362] ACCOUNT OF SOME PLACES OF ZYARA, + +OR OBJECTS OF PIOUS VISITATION IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF MEDINA. + +ON the day after the pilgrim has performed his first duties at the +mosque and the tomb, he usually visits the burial-ground of the town, in +memory of the many saints who lie buried there. It is just beyond the +town-walls, near the gate of Bab Djoma, and bears the name of El Bekya. +A square of several hundred paces is enclosed by a wall which, on the +southern side, joins the suburb, and on the others is surrounded with +date-groves. Considering the sanctity of the persons whose bodies it +contains, it is a very mean place; and perhaps the most dirty and +miserable burial-ground in any eastern town of the size of Medina. It +does not contain a single good tomb, nor even any large inscribed blocks +of stone covering tombs; but instead, mere rude heaps of earth, with low +borders of loose stones placed about them. The Wahabys are accused of +having defaced the tombs; and in proof of this, the ruins of small domes +and buildings are pointed out, which formerly covered the tombs of +Othman, Abbas, Setna Fatme, and the aunts of Mohammed, which owed their +destruction to those sectaries: but they would certainly not have +annihilated every other simple tomb built of stone here, which they did +neither at Mekka nor any other place. The miserable state of this +cemetery must have existed prior to the Wahaby conquest, and is to be +ascribed to the niggardly minds of the towns-people, who are little +disposed to + +[p.363] incur any expense in honouring the remains of their celebrated +countrymen. The whole place is a confused accumulation of heaps of +earth, wide pits, rubbish, without a single regular tomb-stone. The +pilgrim is made to visit a number of graves, and, while standing before +them, to repeat prayers for the dead. Many persons make it their +exclusive profession to watch the whole day near each of the principal +tombs, with a handkerchief spread out, in expectation of the pilgrims +who come to visit them; and this is the exclusive privilege of certain +Ferráshyns and their families, who have divided the tombs among +themselves, where each takes his post, or sends his servant in his +stead. + +The most conspicuous personages that lie buried here are Ibrahim, the +son of Mohammed, who died in his youth; Fatme, his daughter, according +to the opinion of many, who say that she was buried here and not in the +mosque; several of the wives of Mohammed; some of his daughters; his +foster-mother; Fatme, the daughter of Asad, and mother of Aly; Abbas ibn +Abd el Motalleb; Othman ibn Affan, one of the immediate successors of +Mohammed, who collected the scattered leaves of the Koran into one +volume; the Martyrs, or Shohada, as they are called, who were slain here +by the army of the heretics under Yezyd ibn Mawya, whose commander, +Moslim, in A.H. 60, (others say 62,) came from Syria and sacked the +town, the inhabitants of which had acknowledged the rebel Abdallah ibn +Hantala as their chief; Hassan ibn Aly, whose trunk only lies buried +here, his head having been sent to Cairo, where it is preserved in the +fine mosque called El Hassamya; the Imam Malek ibn Anes, the founder of +the sect of the Malekites. Indeed so rich is Medina in the remains of +great saints that they have almost lost their individual importance, +while the relics of one of the persons just mentioned would be +sufficient to render celebrated any other Moslim town. As a formula of +the invocation addressed here to the manes of the saint, I shall +transcribe that which is said with uplifted hands, after having +performed a short prayer of two rikats, over the tomb of Othman ibn +Affan: “Peace be with thee, O Othman! Peace be with thee, O friend of +the chosen! Peace be with + +[p.364] thee, O collector of the Koran! Mayest thou deserve the +contentment of God! May God ordain Paradise as thy dwelling, thy +resting-place, thy habitation, and thy abode! I deposit on this spot, +and near thee, O Othman, the profession everlasting, from this day to +the day of judgment, that there is no God but God, and that Mohammed is +his servant and his prophet.” + +The inhabitants of Medina bury all their dead on this ground, in the +same homely tombs as those of the saints. Branches of palm-trees are +stuck upon the graves, and changed once a year, at the feast of +Ramadhan, when the family visits the grave of its relations, where it +sometimes remains for several days. + +VISIT TO DJEBEL OHOD.--One of the principal Zyara or places of sacred +visitation of Medina, is Ohod, with the tomb of Hamze, the uncle of +Mohammed. The mountain of Ohod forms part of the great chain, branching +out from it into the eastern plain, so as to stand almost insulated. It +is three quarters of an hour’s walk from the town. In the fourth year of +the Hedjra, when Mohammed had fixed his residence at Medina, the +idolatrous Koreysh, headed by Abou Sofyan, invaded these parts, and took +post at this mountain. Mohammed issued from the town, and there fought, +with great disparity of force, the most arduous battle in which he was +ever engaged. His uncle Hamze was killed, together with seventy-five of +his followers: he himself was wounded, but he killed with his own lance +one of the bravest men of the opposite party, and gained at last a +complete victory. The tomb of Hamze and of the seventy-five martyrs, as +they are called, form the object of the visit to Djebel Ohod. + +I started on foot, with my cicerone, by the Syrian gate, in the company +of several other visiters; for it was thought unsafe to go there alone, +from fear of Bedouin robbers. The visit is generally performed on +Thursdays. We passed the place where the Syrian Hadj encamp, and where +several wells and half-ruined tanks, cased with stone, supply the +pilgrims with water during their three days’ stay at this place, in +their way to and from Mekka. A little further on is a pretty kiosk, with +a dome, now likewise half-ruined, called El Goreyn, where + +[p.365] the chief of that caravan usually takes up his temporary abode. +The road further on is completely level; date-trees stand here and +there, and several spots are seen which the people only cultivate when +the rains are copious. About one mile from the town stands a ruined +edifice of stones and bricks, where a short prayer is recited in +remembrance of Mohammed having here put on his coat of mail, when he +went to engage the enemy. Farther on is a large stone, upon which it is +said that Mohammed leaned for a few minutes on his way to Ohod; the +visiter is enjoined to press his back against this stone, and to recite +the Fateha, or opening chapter of the Koran. + +In approaching the mountain, we passed a torrent, coming from E. or S.E. +with water to the depth of two feet, the remains of the rain that had +fallen five days ago. It swells sometimes so high as to become +impassable, and inundates the whole surrounding country. To the east of +this torrent, the ground leading towards the mountain is barren, stony, +with a slight ascent, on the slope of which stands a mosque, surrounded +by about a dozen ruined houses, once the pleasure villas of wealthy +towns-people; near them is a cistern, filled by the torrent-water. The +mosque is a square solid-built edifice of small dimensions. Its dome was +thrown down by the Wahabys, but they spared the tomb. The mosque +encloses the tomb of Hamze, and those of his principal men who were +slain in the battle; namely, Mesab ibn Omeyr, Djafar ibn Shemmas, and +Abdallah ibn Djahsh. The tombs are in a small open yard, and, like those +of the Bekya, mere heaps of earth, with a few loose stones placed around +them. Beside them is a small portico, which serves as a mosque: a short +prayer is said here, and the pilgrims then advance to the tombs, where +they recite the chapter of Yasein (from the Koran), or the short chapter +of El Khalas forty times; after which Hamze and his friends are invoked +to intercede with the Almighty, and obtain for the pilgrim and all his +family, faith, health, wealth, and the utter destruction of all their +enemies. Money is given, as usual, at every corner, to the guardians of +the mosque, of the tombs, to the Mueddin, Imám, &c. &c. + +A little further on, towards the mountain, which is only at a gun-shot +distance, a small cupola marks the place where Mohammed was + +[p.366] struck in battle by a stone, which knocked out four of his front +teeth, and felled him to the ground. [This story is related here, +though the historians of the Prophet do not agree on the subject.] His +party thought he was killed; but the angel Gabriel immediately appeared, +and exclaimed that he was still alive. At a short distance from this +cupola, which like all the rest has been demolished, are the tombs of +twelve other partisans of the Prophet, who were killed in the battle. +They form together several mounds of rubbish and stones, in which their +respective tombs can no longer be distinguished. Prayers are again +recited, with that passage of the Koran which says, in speaking of the +slain: “Do not think that those who were killed in war with the infidels +are dead; no, they are living, and their reward is with their Lord:” a +sentence still used to encourage, even in our days, the Turkish soldiers +in their battles with Europeans. + +The mountain of Ohod consists of different coloured granite; on its +sides I likewise found flint, but no lava. The entire mountain is almost +four miles in length, from west to east. Having been the scene of the +famous battle, which so much contributed to strengthen the party of +Mohammed and his new religion, it is not surprising that Djebel Ohod +should be the object of peculiar veneration. The people of Medina +believe that on the day of resurrection it will be transported into +Paradise; and that when mankind shall appear before the Almighty for +judgment, they will be assembled upon it, as the most favoured station. +The mountain of Ayra, mentioned above as situated to the S.W. of the +town, (about the same distance from it as Ohod is, on the other side,) +will on that day experience a much less enviable fate. Having denied +water to the Prophet, who once lost his way in its valleys, and became +thirsty, it will be punished for inhospitality, by being cast at once +into hell. + +The people of Medina frequently visit Ohod, pitching their tents in the +ruined houses, where they remain a few days, especially convalescents, +who during their illness had made a vow to slaughter a sheep in honour +of Hamze, if they recovered. Once a year, (in July, I + +[p.367] believe,) the inhabitants flock thither in crowds, and remain +for three days, as if it were during the feast days of the saint. +Regular markets are then kept there: and this visit forms one of the +principal public amusements of the town. + +KOBA.--In this neighbouring village all the pilgrims visit the spot where +Mohammed first alighted on coming from Mekka: it lies to the south of +the town, distant about three quarters of an hour. The road to it passes +through a plain, overgrown with date-trees, and covered in many spots +with white sand. At half an hour from the town begin gardens, which +spread over a space of four or five miles in circuit, and form, perhaps, +the most fertile and agreeable spot in the Northern Hedjaz. All kinds of +fruit-trees (with the exception of apple and pear, none of which I +believe grow in Arabia,) are seen in the gardens, which are all enclosed +by walls, and irrigated by numerous wells. It is from hence that Medina +is supplied with fruits: lemon and orange trees, pomegranates, bananas, +vines, peach, apricot, and fig trees, are planted amidst the date and +nebek trees, and form as thick groves as in Syria and Egypt, while their +shade renders Koba a delightful residence. The kheroa (Ricinus, or Palma +Christi,) is likewise very common here. The village is frequently +visited by the people of Medina; parties are continually made to spend +the day, and many sick people are carried to enjoy the benefits of a +cooler atmosphere. + +In the midst of these groves stands the Mesdjed of Koba, with about +thirty or forty houses. It is a mean building, and much decayed. In the +interior of it several holy spots are visited, at each of which a short +prayer of two rikats is performed, and some additional invocations +recited in honour of the place. We first see here the Mobrak el Naka, +the very spot on the floor of the mosque where the she-camel which +Mohammed rode, in his flight from Mekka, crouched down, and would not +rise again, thus advising her master to stop here, which he did for a +few days, previous to his entering Medina. It was to consecrate this +spot, that the mosque was founded by Mohammed himself with loose stones, +which were changed into a regular building the year after, by Benou +Ammer ibn Owf; but the present building is of modern construction. +Further on is shown the spot + +[p.368] upon which Mohammed once stood, after his prayers, and +distinctly saw from thence Mekka, and all that the Koreysh were doing +there; and, thirdly, the spot where the Koranic passage relating to the +inhabitants of Koba was revealed to Mohammed: “A temple, from its first +day founded in piety; there thou best standest up to prayers. There men +live who like to be purified: and God loves the clean.” In this passage +an allusion is discovered to the extraordinary personal cleanliness of +those who inhabited Koba, more especially in certain acts of ablution. + +I saw no inscriptions in this mosque, except those of hadjys who had +written their names on the white-washed walls; a practice in which +Eastern travellers indulge as frequently as European tourists, adding +often to the names some verses of favourite poets, or sentences of the +Koran. The mosque forms a narrow colonnade round a small open courtyard, +in which the Mobrak el Naka stands, with a small cupola over it, rising +to the height of about six feet. On issuing from the mosque, we were +assailed by a crowd of beggars. At a short distance from it, among the +cluster of houses, stands a small chapel, called Mesdjed Aly, in honour +of Aly, the cousin of Mohammed. Close to it, in a garden, a deep well is +shown, called Ayn Ezzerka, with a small chapel, built at its mouth. This +was a favourite spot with Mohammed, who used often to sit among the +trees with his disciples, enjoying the pleasure of seeing the water +issuing in a limpid stream; an object which at the present day +powerfully attracts the natives of the East, and, with the addition of a +shady tree, is perhaps the only feature of landscape which they admire. +When he once was sitting here, the Prophet’s seal-ring dropped into the +well, and could never be again found; and the supposition that the ring +is still there, renders the well famous. The water is tepid at its +source, with a slight sulphureous taste, which it loses in its course. +It is collected together with that of several other springs into the +canal which supplies Medina, and which is kept constantly flowing by the +supply of various channels of well-water. Omar el Khatab first carried +the spring to Medina; but the present canal was built at the expense of +the Sultan Soleyman, son of Selim I., about A.H. 973: it is a very solid +subterranean work. + +[p.369] This canal, and that of Mekka, are the greatest architectural +curiosities in the Hedjaz. Near to the mosque of Koba stands a building +erected by Sultan Morad, for dervishes. A little beyond the village, on +the road towards the town, stands a small chapel, called Mesdjed Djoma, +in remembrance of the spot where the people of Medina met Mohammed upon +his arrival. + +EL KEBLETYN.--Towards the N.W. of the town, about one hour distant, a +place is visited bearing this name. It is said to consist of two rude +pillars (for I did not see it myself,) and was the spot where Mohammed +first changed the Kebly, or the direction in which prayers are said, in +the seventeenth month after the Hedjra, or his flight to Medina. +Together with the Jewish Bedouins, his own adherents had till then +Jerusalem as their Kebly; but Mohammed now turned it towards the Kaaba, +to which that fine passage of the Koran alludes: “Say, to God belong the +east and the west; he directs whomsoever he pleases in the road of +piety:”--a sentence written to convince the Moslims, that wherever they +turned, in their prayers, God stood before them. Near this spot stands a +small ruined chapel. + +The above are the only places visited by pilgrims. The country round +Koba, and towards the S.E. of the town, presents many spots of nearly +equal beauty with Koba, which in summer are places of recreation to the +people of Medina; but I believe there are no villages any where to be +seen, only insulated houses, or small groupes of buildings, scattered +amongst the date-trees. + +[p.370]ON THE INHABITANTS OF MEDINA. + +LIKE the Mekkans, the people of Medina are for the greater part +strangers, whom the Prophet’s tomb, and the gains which it insures to +its neighbours, have drawn to this place. But few original Arabs, +descendants of those families who lived at Medina when Mohammed came +from Mekka, now remain in the town; on the contrary, we find in it +colonies from almost every quarter of the Muselman empire, east and +west. I was informed, that of the original Arab residents, to whom the +Mohammedan writers apply the name of El Ansar, and who at Mohammed’s +entrance were principally composed of the tribes of Ows and Khezredj, +only about ten families remain who can prove their descent by pedigrees, +or well-ascertained traditions: they are poor people, and live as +peasants in the suburbs and gardens. The number of Sherifs descended of +Hassan, the grandson of Mohammed, is considerable; but most of them are +not originally from this place, their ancestors having come hither from +Mekka, during the wars waged by the Sherifs for the possession of that +town. They almost all belong to the class of olemas, very few military +sherifs, like those of Mekka, being found here. Among them is a small +tribe of Beni Hosseyn, descended from Hosseyn, the brother of Hassan. +They are said to have been formerly very powerful at Medina, and had +appropriated to themselves the chief part of the income of the mosque: +in the thirteenth century, (according to Samhoudy,) they were the +privileged + +[p.371] guardians of the Prophet’s tomb; but at present they are reduced +to about a dozen families, who still rank among the grandees of the town +and its most wealthy inhabitants. They occupy a quarter by themselves, +and obtain very large profits, particularly from the Persian pilgrims +who pass here. They are universally stated to be heretics, of the +Persian sect of Aly, and to perform secretly the rites of that creed, +although they publicly profess the doctrines of the Sunnys. This report +is too general, and confirmed by too many people of respectability, to +be doubted: but the Beni Hosseyn have powerful influence in the town, in +appearance strictly comply with the orthodox principles, and are +therefore not molested. + +It is publicly said that the remnants of the Ansars, and great numbers +of the peasant Arabs who cultivate the gardens and fields in the +neighbourhood of the town, are addicted to the same heresy. The latter, +called Nowakhele, (a name implying that they live among date-trees,) are +numerous, and very warlike. They had offered determined resistance to +the Wahabys, and in civil contests have proved always superior to the +town’s-people. They are said to be descendants of the partisans of +Yezid, the son of Mawya, who took and sacked the town sixty years after +the Hedjra. They marry only among themselves; and exhibit on all +occasions a great esprit de corps. Many of them publicly profess the +creed of Aly when in their date-groves, but are Sunnys whenever they +come to town. Some of them are established in the suburbs, and they have +monopolised the occupation of butchers. In quarrels I have heard +individuals among them publicly called sectaries and rowafedh, without +their ever denying it. In the Eastern Desert, at three or four days’ +journey from Medina, lives a whole Bedouin tribe, called Beni Aly, who +are all of this Persian creed; and it is matter of astonishment to find +the two most holy spots of the orthodox Muselman religion surrounded, +one by the sectaries of Zeyd, and the other by those of Aly, without an +attempt having been made to dislodge them. + +Among the ancient families of Medina are likewise reckoned a few +descendants of the Abassides, now reduced to great poverty: they + +[p.372] go by the name of Khalifye, implying that they are descended +from the Khalifes. + +Most of the inhabitants are of foreign origin, and present as motley a +race as those of Mekka. No year passes without some new settlers being +added to their number; and no pilgrim caravan crosses the town without +leaving here a few of its travellers, who stop at first with the +intention of remaining for a year or two only, but generally continue to +reside here permanently. Descendants of people from northern Turkey are +very numerous; but the greater part trace their origin to settlers of +the southern countries of Arabia, Yemen and Hadramaut, and from Syria, +and Egypt, and many also from Barbary. My cicerone was called Sheikh +Sad-eddyn el Kurdy, because his grandfather was a Kurd who had settled +here: the proprietor of the house in which I lived was Seyd Omar, a +Sherif of the Yafá˙ tribe of Yemen, whose ancestors had come hither +several hundred years since. Indians are likewise found, but in less +number than at Mekka. As there, they are druggists, and petty +shopkeepers; but I believe that no Indian wholesale dealers in their +native products are to be found at Medina. They adhere to their national +dress and manners, forming a small colony, and rarely intermarry or mix +with the other inhabitants. + +The individuals of different nations settled here have in their second +and third generations all become Arabs as to features and character; but +are, nevertheless, distinguishable from the Mekkans; they are not nearly +so brown as the latter, thus forming an intermediate link between the +Hedjaz people and the northern Syrians. Their features are somewhat +broader, their beards thicker, and their body stouter, than those of the +Mekkans; but the Arab face, the expression, and cast of features are in +both places the same. + +The Medinans in their dress resemble more the Turkish than their +southern neighbours: very few of them wear the beden, or the national +Arab cloak without sleeves; but even the poorer people dress in long +gowns, with a cloth djobbe, or upper cloak, or, instead of it, an abba, +of the same brown and white stripe as is common in Syria and all over +the Desert. Red Tunis bonnets and Turkish shoes are + +[p.373] more used here than at Mekka, where the lower classes wear white +bonnets, and sandals. People in easy circumstances dress well, wearing +good cloth cloaks, fine gowns, and, in winter, good pelisses, brought +from Constantinople by way of Cairo; which I found a very common article +of dress in January and February, a season when it is much colder here +than Europeans would expect it to be in Arabian deserts. Generally +speaking, we may say that the Medinans dress better than the Mekkans, +though with much less cleanliness: but no national costume is observed +here; and, particularly in the cold of winter, the lower classes cover +themselves with whatever articles of dress they can obtain at low prices +in the public auctions; so that it is not uncommon to see a man fitted +out in the dress of three or four different countries-like an Arab as +high as his waist, and like a Turkish soldier over his breast and +shoulders. The richer people make a great display of dress, and vie with +each other in finery. I saw more new suits of clothes here, even when +the yearly feasts were terminated, than I had seen before in any other +part of the East. As at Mekka, the Sherifs wear no green, but simple +white muslin turbans, excepting those from the northern part of Turkey, +who have recently settled here, and who continue to wear the badge of +their noble extraction. + +Prior to the Wahaby conquest, when the inhabitants were often exposed to +bloody affrays among themselves, they always went armed with the +djombye, or crooked Arabian knife: at present few of these are seen; but +every body, from the highest to the lowest, carries in his hand a long +heavy stick. The rich have their sticks headed with silver; others fix +iron spikes to them; and thus make a formidable weapon, which the Arabs +handle with much dexterity. The women dress like those of Mekka; blue +gowns being worn by the lower classes, and silk mellayes by the higher. + +The Bedouins settled in and near the suburbs, use exactly the same +costume as those of the Syrian Desert: a shirt, abba, a kessye on the +head, a leathern girdle in which the knife is stuck, and sandals on the +feet. Even those who have become settlers, form a distinct race, and do +not intermix with the rest of the town’s-people. They preserve their +national dress, language, and customs, and live in their + +[p.374] houses as they would under tents in the Desert. Of all Eastern +nations, the Arabian Bedouins perhaps are those who abandon their +national habits with most reluctance. In Syria, in Egypt, and in the +Hedjaz, settlements are seen, the members of which have become +cultivators for several centuries back; yet they have adopted only few +of the habits of peasants, and still pride themselves on their Bedouin +origin and manners. + +The Medinans have not the same means of gaining a living, as the +Mekkans. Although this town is never free from foreign pilgrims, there +is never that immense influx of hadjys which renders Mekka so populous +for several months in the year, and which makes it a market for all +parts of the East. The hadjys who come to Medina are seldom merchants, +or at least do not go there for mercantile pursuits, and therefore leave +on the coast their heavy baggage. Even the Syrian merchants who pass +with the great caravan seldom engage in trade, unless it be for some +camel-loads of tobacco and dried fruits. The Medina trade is therefore +merely for home consumption, and to supply the neighbouring Bedouins +with articles of dress and provisions. These are received by way of +Yembo, and come almost exclusively from Egypt. No great merchants are +settled in Medina: the trade is merely retail; and those who possess +capital, generally invest it in goods, as usual throughout Syria and +Egypt, there not being any public institution like banks, or trading +societies, or national funds, from which the capitalist might derive +interest for his money. The Turkish law rigorously forbids the taking of +interest; and even if it were otherwise, there is not any government nor +any class of men to which the people would intrust considerable sums. +The investment of capital in landed property is also liable to great +risk. [By a decree of Mohammed Aly in 1813, the purchase of land in Egypt +is rendered impracticable; for it orders all the Moltezims (or landed +proprietors who shared in the possession of villages and grounds, and +who formed a class living on their rents in the country towns,) to +receive their yearly revenue from the Pasha’s treasury, where they +suffered every kind of humiliation and injustice; and the whole of the +soil was declared to be the property of government, or in other words of +Mohammed Aly himself, who leaves the cultivation of it to the fellahs on +his own terms. It happened lately that the Fellahs, who farmed five +thousand acres belonging to the village of Damkour near Cairo, were +deprived of their leases on the land being declared public property, +because the Pasha wished to sow clover for his cavalry upon the soil +that the Fellahs had possessed. Landed property in Syria also subjects +the owner to great inconveniences: he is oppressed by every governor of +a district, and by every soldier who passes; he suffers in his receipts +from the extortions of the Pashas, which generally fall more heavily +upon the cultivator than upon the monied man: and if he do not +constantly watch his peasants, he is most probably cheated out of all +his profits.] The usual + +[p.375] method is to enter into partnership with different petty +merchants or retail dealers, and obtain a share of their profits; but it +is subject to almost as much anxiety as an active trade, from the +necessity of keeping a constant account with the partners, and +incessantly watching them. Usury is practised, and an annual interest +from thirty to fifty per cent is paid at Cairo for money: but few of the +Turkish merchants descend to this practice, which is reckoned +dishonorable. Usury is wholly in the hands of Jews, and Christians the +outcasts of Europe. There is, perhaps, nothing in the present deplorable +state of eastern society that has a more baneful effect upon the minds +and happiness of the people, than the necessity of continuing during +their whole lives in business full of intrigues and chances. The +cheering hopes which animate an European, the prospect of enjoying in +old age the profits of early exertions, are unknown to the native of the +East, whose retirement would bring nothing but danger, by marking him as +wealthy in the eyes of his rapacious governor. The double influence of +the Turkish government and Muselman religion have produced such an +universal hypocrisy, that there is scarcely a Mohammedan (whose tranquil +air, as he smokes his pipe reclining on the sofa, gives one an idea of +the most perfect contentment and apathy,) that does not suffer under all +the agonies of envy, unsatisfied avarice, ambition, or the fear of +losing his ill-gotten property. + +Travellers who pass rapidly through the East, without a knowledge of the +language, and rarely mixing with any but persons interested in +misrepresenting their true character, are continually deceived by the +dignified deportment of the Turks, their patriarchal manners and solemn +speeches,--although they would ridicule a Frenchman who, + +[p.376] after a few months’ residence in England, and ignorant of the +English language, should pretend to a competent knowledge of the British +character and constitution; not recollecting that it is much easier for +a Frenchman to judge of a neighbouring European nation, than for any +European to judge of Oriental nations, whose manners, ideas, and notions +are so different from his own. For my own part, a long residence among +Turks, Syrians, and Egyptians, justifies me in declaring that they are +wholly deficient in virtue, honour, and justice; that they have little +true piety, and still less charity or forbearance; and that honesty is +only to be found in their paupers or idiots. Like the Athenians of old, +a Turk may perhaps know what is right and praiseworthy, but he leaves +the practice to others; though, with fine maxims on his lips, he +endeavours to persuade himself that he acts as they direct. Thus he +believes himself to be a good Muselman, because he does not omit the +performance of certain prayers and ablutions, and frequently invokes the +forgiveness of God. + +At Medina several persons engage in small commercial transactions, +chiefly concerning provisions; a lucrative branch of traffic, as the +town depends for its support upon the caravans from Yembo, which are +seldom regular, and this circumstance causes the prices of provisions +continually to fluctuate. The evil consequence of this is, that the +richer corn-dealers sometimes succeed in establishing a monopoly, no +grain remaining but in their warehouses, the petty traders having been +obliged to sell off. Whenever the caravans are delayed for any +considerable time, corn rises to an enormous price; and as the chiefs of +the town are thus interested, it can scarcely be supposed that the +magistrates would interfere. + +Next to the provision-trade, that with the neighbouring Bedouins is the +most considerable: they provide the town with butter, honey, (a very +essential article in Hedjaz cookery,) sheep, and charcoal; for which +they take, in return, corn and clothing. Their arrival at Medina is +likewise subject to great irregularity; and if two tribes happen to be +at war, the town is kept for a month at the mercy of the few substantial +merchants who happen to have a stock of those articles in hand. When I +first reached Medina, no butter was to be had in + +[p.377] the market, and corn was fifty per cent dearer than at Yembo; +soon after, it was not to be had at all in the market: at another time +salt failed; the same happened with charcoal; and in general the +provision-market was very badly regulated. In other eastern towns, as at +Mekka and Djidda, a public officer, called Mohteseb, is appointed to +watch over the sale of provisions; to take care that they do not rise to +immoderate prices, and fix a maximum to all the victualling traders, so +that they may have a fair but not exorbitant profit. But this is not the +case at Medina, because the Mohteseb is there without any authority. +Corn is sold twenty per cent dearer in one part of the town than in +another, and the same with every other article, so that foreigners +unacquainted with the ways of the place are made to suffer materially. +During my stay, the communication with Yembo was kept up by a caravan of +about one hundred and fifty camels, which arrived at Medina every +fortnight, and by small parties of Bedouin traders with from five to ten +camels, which arrived every five or six days. The far greater part of +the loads was destined for the army of Tousoun Pasha; the rest consisted +of merchandize and provisions; but the latter were very inadequate to +the wants of the town. I heard from a well-informed person, that the +daily consumption of Medina was from thirty to forty erdebs, or twenty- +five to thirty-five Hedjaz camel-loads. The produce of the fields which +surround the town, is said to be barely sufficient for four months’ +consumption; for the rest, therefore, it must depend upon Yembo, or +imports from Egypt. In time of peace there is plenty: but lately, since +the Turkish army has been stationed here, the Bedouins fear to trust +their camels in the hands of the Turks, and the supply has fallen much +below the wants of the town. The inhabitants were put to great +inconvenience on that account, and had greatly reduced their consumption +of corn, and eaten up the last of their stock on hand. Tousoun Pasha had +very imprudently seized a great number of the Bedouins’ camels, and +obliged them to accompany his army, which had so terrified them, that, +previous to Mohammed Aly’s arrival, famine was apprehended from the want +of beasts of transport. The Pasha endeavoured to restore confidence, and +some of the Bedouins began to return with their beasts. + +[p.378] In time of peace, corn caravans arrive also from Nedjed, +principally from that district of it called Kasym; but these were +altogether interrupted. I was informed that the transport trade in +provisions from Yembo had been shut up for several years after the +conquest of Medina by the Wahabys, whose chief, Saoud, wished to favour +his own subjects of Nedjed; and that Medina in the mean time drew all +its supplies from Nedjed, and its own fields. Provisions were now +excessively dear: the lower class lived almost entirely upon dates, and +very coarse barley bread; few could afford a little butter, much fewer +meat. The fruit of the lotus, or Nebek, which ripened in the beginning +of March, induced them to quit the dates, and became almost their sole +nourishment for several months; large heaps of it were seen in the +market, and a person might procure enough to satisfy himself for a +pennyworth of corn, which was usually taken in exchange instead of +money, by the Bedouins, who brought the fruit to the town. The +vegetables cultivated in the gardens are chiefly for the use of +foreigners, and are of very indifferent flavour. Arabs dislike them, and +they are only used by those who have acquired the relish in foreign +countries. Fresh onions, leeks, and garlic, are the only vegetables of +which the Arabs are fond. + +The prime article of food at Medina, as I have already stated, is dates. +During the two or three months of the date-harvest, (for this fruit is +not all ripe at the same time, each species having its season), from +July till September, the lower classes feed on nothing else; and during +the rest of the year dried dates continue to be their main nourishment. +The date-harvest is here of the same importance as that of wheat in +Europe, and its failure causes general distress. “What is the price of +dates at Mekka or Medina?” is always the first question asked by a +Bedouin who meets a passenger on the road. Of these dates a considerable +part is brought to Medina from distant quarters, and especially from +Fera, a fertile valley in the possession of the Beni Aamer tribe, where +there are numerous date-groves: it is three or four days’ journey from +Medina, and as many from Rabegh in the mountains. The dates are brought +from thence in large baskets, in which they are pressed together into a +paste, as I have already mentioned. + +[p.379]Although commercial dealings are pretty universal, yet few of the +inhabitants ostensibly follow them. Most of the people are either +cultivators, or, in the higher classes, landed proprietors, and servants +of the mosque. The possession of fields and gardens is much desired; to +be a land-owner is considered honorable; and the rents of the fields, if +the date-harvest be good, is very considerable. If I may judge from two +instances reported to me, the fields are sold at such a rate, as to +leave to the owner, in ordinary years, an income of from twelve to +sixteen per cent upon his capital, after giving up, as is generally +done, half the produce to the actual cultivators. Last year, however, it +was calculated that their money yielded forty per cent. The middling +classes cannot afford to lay out their small capital in gardens, because +to them sixteen or twenty per cent would be an insufficient return; and, +in the Hedjaz, no person who trades with a trifling fund is contented +with less than fifty per cent annually; and in general they contrive, by +cheating foreigners, to double their capital. Those, therefore, only are +land-owners, who by trade, or by their income from the mosque, and from +hadjys, have already acquired considerable wealth. + +The chief support of Medina is from the mosque and the hadjys. I have +already mentioned the Ferrashyn, or servants of the mosque, and their +profits; to them must be added a vast number of people attached to the +temple, whose offices are mere sinecures, and who share in the income of +the Haram; a train of ciceroni or mezowars; and almost every +householder, who lets out apartments to the pilgrims Besides the share +in the income of the mosque, the servants of every class have their +surra or annuity, which is brought from Constantinople and Cairo; and +all the inhabitants besides enjoy similar yearly gifts, which also go by +the name of surra. These stipends, it is true, are not always regularly +distributed, and many of the poorest class, for whom they were +originally destined, are now deprived of them; the sums, however, reach +the town, and are brought into circulation. [Kayd Beg, Sultan of Egypt, +after having, in A.H. 881, rebuilt the mosque, appropriated a yearly +income of seven thousand five hundred erdebs for the inhabitants of the +town, to be sent from Egypt; and Sultan Soleyman ibn Selim allowed five +thousand erdebs for the same purpose. (See Kotobeddyn and Samhoudy.)] +Many + +[p.380] families are, in this manner, wholly supported by the surra, and +receive as much as 100l. and 200l sterling per annum, without performing +any duty whatever. The Medinans say, that without these surras the town +would soon be abandoned to the land-owners and cultivators; and this +consideration was certainly the original motive for establishing them, +and the numerous wakfs, or pious foundations, which in all parts of the +Turkish empire are annexed to the towns or mosques. At present the surra +is misapplied, and serves only to feed a swarm of persons in a state of +complete idleness, while the poor are left destitute, and not the +smallest encouragement is given to industry. As to want of industry, +Medina is still more remarkable than Mekka. It wants even the most +indispensable mechanics; and the few that live here are foreigners, and +only settle for a time. There is a single upholsterer, and only one +locksmith in the town; carpenters and masons are so scarce, that to +repair a house, they must be brought from Yembo. Whenever the mosque +requires workmen, they are sent from Cairo, or even from Constantinople, +as was the case during my stay, when a master-mason from the latter +place was occupied in repairing the roof of the building. All the wants +of the town, down to the most trifling articles, are supplied by Egypt. +When I was here, not even earthen water jars were made. Some years ago a +native of Damascus established a manufacture of this most indispensable +article; but he had left the town, and the inhabitants were reduced to +the necessity of drinking out of the half-broken jars yet left, or of +importing others, at a great expense, from Mekka No dying, no woollen +manufactures, no looms, no tanneries nor works in leather, no iron-works +of any kind are seen; even nails and horse-shoes are brought from Egypt +and Yembo. In my account of Mekka, I attributed the general aversion of +the people of the Hedjaz from handicrafts, to their indolence and +dislike of all manual labour. But the same remark is not applicable to +Medina, where the cultivators and gardeners, though not very industrious +in improving their land, are nevertheless a hard-working people, and + +[p.381] might apply themselves to occupations in town, without +undergoing greater bodily labour than they endure in their fields. I am +inclined to think that the want of artisans here is to be attributed to +the very low estimation in which they are held by the Arabians, whose +pride often proves stronger than their cupidity, and prevents a father +from educating his sons in any craft. This aversion they probably +inherit from the ancient inhabitants, the Bedouins, who, as I have +remarked, exclude, to this day, all handicraftsmen from their tribes, +and consider those who settle in their encampment as of an inferior +cast, with whom they neither associate nor intermarry. They are +differently esteemed in other parts of the East, in Syria, and in Egypt, +where the corporations of artisans are almost as much respected as they +were in France and Germany during the middle ages. A master craftsman is +fully equal in rank and consideration to a merchant of the second class; +he can intermarry with the respectable families of the town, and is +usually a man of more influence in his quarter, than a merchant who +possesses three times more wealth than himself. The first Turkish +emperors did every thing in their power to favour industry and the arts; +and fifty years ago they still flourished in Syria and Egypt: in the +former country they are now upon the decline, except, perhaps, at +Damascus; in Egypt they are reduced to the lowest state: for, while +Mohammed Aly entices English and Italian workmen into his service, who +labour on his sole account, and none of whom prosper, he oppresses +native industry, by monopolizing its produce, and by employing the +greater part of the workmen himself, at a daily salary thirty per cent +less than they might get, if they were permitted to work on their own +account, or for private individuals. + +The only industrious persons found in Medina are the destitute pilgrims, +especially those from Syria, who abound here, and who endeavour by hard +labour, during a few months, to earn money sufficient for the expenses +of their journey homewards. They work only at intervals, and on their +departure the town is often without any artisans for a considerable +time. Whilst I resided in Medina, there was but one man who washed +linen; when he went away, as the Arabian women will rarely condescend to +be so employed, the foreign hadjys + +[p.382] were all obliged to wash for themselves. Under these +circumstances a traveller cannot expect to find here the most trifling +comforts; and even money cannot supply his wants. Here is, however, one +class of men, to whom I have already referred in describing Mekka, and +who render themselves equally useful at Medina. I mean the black +pilgrims from Soudan. Few negroes, or Tekayrne, as they are called, come +to Mekka, without visiting Medina also, a town even more venerable in +their estimation than Mekka. The orthodox sect of Málekites, to which +they belong, carry, in general, their respect for Mohammed further than +any of the three other sects; and the negroes, little instructed as they +usually are, may be said to adore the Prophet, placing him, if not on a +level with the Deity, at least very little below him. They approach his +tomb with a terrified and appalled conscience, and with more intense +feelings than when they visit the Kaaba; and they are fully persuaded, +that the prayers which they utter while standing before the window of +the Hedjra, will sooner or later obtain their object. A negro hadjy once +asked me, after a short conversation with him in the mosque, if I knew +what prayers he should recite to make Mohammed appear to him in his +sleep, as he wished to ask him a particular question; and when I +expressed my ignorance, he told me that the Prophet had here appeared to +a great many of his countrymen. These people furnish Medina with fire- +wood, which they collect in the neighbouring mountains, and sell to +great advantage. If none, or only few of them, happen to be at Medina, +no wood can be got even for money. They likewise serve as carriers or +porters; and such of them as are not strong enough for hard work, make +small mats and baskets of date-leaves. They usually live together in +some of the huts of the public place called El Menakh, and remain till +they have earned money enough for their journey home. Very few of them +are beggars; of forty or fifty whom I saw here, only two or three +resorted to mendicity, being unfit for any other vocation. In general +beggars are much less numerous at Medina than at Mekka; and most of the +foreign beggars, as at Mekka, are Indians. Few hadjys come here without +either bringing the necessary funds, or being certain of gaining their +livelihood by labour, the distance of Medina from the sea being much + +[p.383] greater than that of Mekka, and the road through the Desert +being dreaded by absolute paupers. It may be calculated that only one- +third of the pilgrims who visit Mekka go also to Medina. The Egyptian +caravan of pilgrims seldom passes by the town. [Whenever the Egyptian +caravan passes by Medina, it is always on its return from Mekka, and +then remains, like the Syrian, for three days only. In going from Cairo +to Mekka, this caravan never visits Medina.] Medina has pilgrims during +the whole year, there being no prescribed season for visiting the tomb; +and they usually stay here about a fortnight or a month. They are in the +greatest number during the months following the pilgrimage to Arafat, +and likewise during the month of Rabya el Thany, on the 12th of which, +the birth-day of Mohammed, or Mouled el Naby, is celebrated. + +The Medinans make up for the paucity of beggars in their own town by +going elsewhere to beg. It is a custom with those inhabitants of the +town who have received some education, and can read and write, to make a +mendicant journey in Turkey once or twice in their lives. They generally +repair to Constantinople, where, by means of Turkish hadjys, whom they +have known in their own town, they introduce themselves among the +grandees, plead poverty, and receive considerable presents in clothes +and money, being held in esteem as natives of Medina, and neighbours of +the Prophet’s tomb. Some of these mendicants serve as Imáms in the +houses of the great. After a residence of a couple of years, they invest +the alms they have collected in merchandize, and thus return with a +considerable capital. There are very few individuals of the above +description at Medina, who have not once made the grand tour of Turkey: +I have seen several of them at Cairo, where they quartered themselves +upon people with whom their acquaintance at Medina had been very slight, +and became extremely disagreeable by their incessant craving and +impudence. There are few large cities in Syria, Anatolia, and European +Turkey, where some of these people are not to be found. For their +travelling purposes, and for the duties incumbent upon them as ciceroni +in their own town, many individuals learn a little Turkish; and it is +their pride to + +[p.384] persuade the Turkish pilgrims, that they are Turks, and not +Arabians, however little they may like the former. + +The Medinans generally are of a less cheerful and lively disposition +than the Mekkans. They display more gravity and austerity in their +manners, but much less than the northern Turks. They outwardly appear +more religious than their southern neighbours. They are much more rigid +in the observance of their sacred rites, and public decorum is much more +observed at Medina than at Mekka: the morals, however, of the +inhabitants appear to be much upon the same level with those of the +Mekkans; all means are adopted to cheat the hadjys. The vices which +disgrace the Mekkans are also prevalent here; and their religious +austerity has not been able to exclude the use of intoxicating liquors. +These are prepared by the negroes, as well as date-wine, which is made +by pouring water over dates, and leaving it to ferment. On the whole, I +believe the Medinans to be as worthless as the Mekkans, and greater +hypocrites. They, however, wish to approach nearer to the northern +Turkish character; and, for that reason, abandon the few good qualities +for which the Mekkans may be commended. In giving this general character +of the Medinans, I do not found it merely on the short experience I had +of them in their own town, but upon information acquired from many +individuals, natives of Medina, whom I met in every part of the Hedjaz. +They appear to be as expensive as the Mekkans. There were only two or +three people in Medina reputed to be worth ten or twelve thousand pounds +sterling, half of which might be invested in landed property, and the +other half in trade. The family of Abd el Shekour was reckoned the +richest. The other merchants have generally very small capitals, from +four to five hundred pounds only; and most of the people attached to the +mosque, or who derive their livelihood from stipends, and from pilgrims, +spend, to the last farthing, their yearly income. They outwardly appear +much richer than the Mekkans, because they dress better; but, not the +slightest comparison can be made between the mass of property in this +town and that in Mekka. + +In their own houses, the people of Medina are said to live poorly, with +regard to food; but their houses are well furnished, and their + +[p.385] expense in dress is very considerable. Slaves are not so +numerous here as at Mekka; many, however, from Abyssinia are found here, +and some females are settled, as married women. The women of the +cultivators, and of the inhabitants of the suburbs, serve in the +families of the town’s-people, as domestics, principally to grind corn +in the hand-mills. The Medina women behave with great decency, and have +the general reputation of being much more virtuous than those of Mekka +and Djidda. + +The families that possess gardens go to great expense in entertaining +their friends, by turns, at their country houses, where all the members, +men and women, of the families invited assemble together. It is said +that this fashion is carried to great excess in spring-time, and that +the Medinans vie with each other in this respect, so that it becomes a +matter of public notoriety, whether such a person has given more or less +country parties, during the season, than his neighbours. A few families +pass the whole year at their gardens; among these was the large family +of a saint, established in a delightful little garden to the south of +the town. This man is greatly renowned for his sanctity, so much so, +that Tousoun Pasha himself once kissed his hands. I paid him a visit, +like many other pilgrims, in the first days of my arrival, and found him +seated in an arched recess or large niche adjoining the house, from +whence he never moved. He was more polite than any saint I had ever +seen, and was not averse to talk of worldly matters. I had heard that he +possessed some historical books, which he would perhaps sell; but upon +inquiry, I learnt from him that he did not trouble himself with any +learning except that of the Law, the Koran, and his language. He gave me +a nargyle to smoke, and treated me with a dish of dates, the produce of +his own garden; and after I had put, on taking leave, a dollar under the +carpet upon which I sat, (an act usual, as it was said, on such an +occasion,) he accompanied me to the garden-gate, and begged me to repeat +my visit. + +Smoking nargyles, or the Persian pipe, is as general here as at Mekka; +common pipes are more in use here than in other parts of the Hedjaz, the +climate being colder. The use of coffee is immoderate. In the gardens +fruit can be bought with coffee-beans as well as with + +[p.386] money; and the fondness for tea in England and Holland is not +equal to that of the Arabians for coffee. + +The people of Medina keep no horses. Except those of the Sheikh el +Haram, and a few of his suite, I believe there is not one horse kept in +this town. In general, these parts of Arabia are poor in horses, because +there is no fine pasture for them: the Bedouins to the N. and E. of the +town, in the Desert, have, on the contrary, large breeds. The gardens of +Medina might afford pasturage; and formerly, when there were warlike +individuals in the town, horses were kept by them, and expeditions +planned against Bedouins with whom they happened to be at war. At +present the spirit of the Medinans is more pacific; and the few horses +yet kept when the Wahabys captured the town, were immediately sold by +their owners, to escape the military conscription to which principally +the horsemen in the Wahaby dominions were subjected. Some of the richer +families kept mules, and also dromedaries. Asses are very common, +especially among the cultivators, who bring to town upon them the +produce of their fields. They are of a smaller breed than those of Mekka +and the Hedjaz. The wants of the Turkish army had caused a great +diminution in the number of camels formerly kept by the cultivators, who +sold them, under the apprehension of their being placed in requisition. +The Bedouins of the eastern Desert, at three or four days’ journey from +the town, are rich in camels; a strolling party of the horsemen of +Tousoun Pasha sent in, during my stay, seven hundred of them, which they +had taken from a single encampment of the Beni Hetym tribe. + +It is not unworthy of remark, that Medina, as far as I know, is the only +town in the East from which dogs are excluded: they are never permitted +to pass the gate into the interior, but must remain in the suburbs. I +was told that the watchmen of the different quarters assemble once a +year to drive out any of those animals that might have crept unperceived +into the town. The apprehension of a dog entering the mosque, and +polluting its sanctity, probably gave rise to their exclusion; they are, +however, tolerated at Mekka. + +Among the sheep of this neighbourhood, a small species is noticed with a +white and brown spotted skin; the same species is likewise + +[p.387] known about Mekka. It is of a diminutive size: they are bought +up by foreigners, and carried home with them as rarities from the Holy +Land. At Cairo they are kept in the houses of the grandees, who cause +them to be painted red, with henna, and hang a collar with little bells +round their necks, to amuse the children. + +I believe the people of Medina have no other times of public rejoicing +than the regular feast-days, except the Mouled el Naby or Prophet’s +birth-day, on the twelfth of the month of Rabya el Thany. This is +considered a national festival: all the shops are shut during the day, +and every one appears in his best dress. Early in the morning the olemas +and a number of well-dressed people assemble in the mosque, where one of +the Khatybs, after a short sermon, reads an account of Mohammed’s +actions, from his birth to his death; after which the company, at least +the chief people present, are treated with lemonade, or liquorice-water. +The zealous Muselmans pass the night preceding this day in prayer. The +lady of Mohammed Aly Pasha, who, having performed the pilgrimage to +Mekka, came here to visit the tomb, and see her son Tousoun Pasha, +passed the greater part of the night in devotion at the mosque: when she +returned to a house she had taken for that purpose, close by the gate of +the mosque, her son paid her a short visit, and then left her to repose, +while he himself ordered a carpet to be spread in the middle of the +street, and there slept, at the threshold of his mother’s dwelling; +offering a testimony of respect and humility which does as much honour +to the son, as to the character of the mother who could inspire him with +such sentiments. The wife of Mohammed Aly is a highly respectable woman, +and very charitable without ostentation. Her son Tousoun I believe to be +the only one of the family, whose breast harbours any noble feeling; the +rest are corrupted by the numerous vices inseparable from a Turkish +grandee: but he has given, in many instances, proofs of elevated +sentiment; and even his enemies cannot deny his valour, generosity, +filial love, and good-nature. We must regret, that he is as much +inferior in intellect to his father and his brother Ibrahim, as he is +superior to them in moral character. His mother had appeared here with +all the pomp of an eastern queen: from her donations to the temple, and +to + +[p.388] the poor, she was regarded by the people as an angel sent from +heaven. She brought to her son presents to the value of about twenty- +five thousand pounds sterling, among which were remarked twelve complete +suits, including every article of dress, from the finest Cashmere shawl +down to the slippers; a diamond ring worth five thousand pounds; and two +beautiful Georgian slaves. In her retinue there was also a Georgian +slave of great beauty and rare accomplishments, whom Mohammed Aly had +lately married at Mekka; but as she had not yet borne any children, she +was considered much inferior in rank to Tousoun’s mother, who counted +three Pashas as her own sons. [Ismayl Pasha is the younger brother of the +two mentioned above. It is reported that Ibrahim Pasha is not the son of +Mohammed Aly, but was adopted by him when he married his mother, then +the widow of an Aga of Karala, on the Hellespont, the native town of the +present Pasha of Egypt.] This slave had belonged to the Kadhy of Mekka, +who brought her from Constantinople. Mohammed Aly, who had heard his own +women praise her beauty and accomplishments, obliged the Kadhy, much +against his will, to part with her for the sum of fifty thousand +piastres, and soon after presented her with the marriage contract. + +I can say little of any customs peculiar to the Medinans, having had so +few opportunities of mixing with them. I may, however, mention, that in +the honours they pay to the dead, they do not comply with the general +rules observed in the Fast. I believe this to be the only town where +women do not howl and cry on the death of a member of the family. The +contrary practice is too generally known to need repetition here; or +that, in other parts of the Levant, a particular class of women is +called in, on that occasion, whose sole profession is that of howling, +in the most heart-rending accents, for a small sum paid to them by the +hour. There is no such practice here, (though it is known in other parts +of the Hedjaz) and it is even considered disgraceful. The father of a +family died in a house next to that where I lived, and which +communicated with it. His death happened at midnight, and his only boy, +moved by natural feelings, burst into loud lamentations. I then heard +his mother exclaiming, “For God’s sake, + +[p.389] do not cry: what a shame to cry! You will expose us before the +whole neighbourhood;” and after some time she contrived to quiet her +child. There is also a national custom observed at funerals: the bier, +on issuing from the house of the deceased, is carried upon the shoulders +of some of his relations or friends, the rest of whom follow behind; but +when the procession advances into the street, every by-stander, or +passenger, hastens to relieve the bearers for a moment; some giving way +to others, who press forward to take in their turn the charge, which is +done without stopping. The bier, thus unceasingly passes from shoulders +to shoulders, till it is finally deposited near the tomb. If we could +suppose for a moment, that this simple and affecting custom was the +offspring of true feeling, it would prove much more sensibility than +what is displayed in the funeral pomp with which Europeans accompany +their dead to the grave. But in the East every thing is done according +to ancient custom: it originated, no doubt, in the impulse of feeling, +or a sense of duty and piety in those who introduced it; but has become, +in these days, a mere matter of form. + +The women of Medina never wear mourning; in which respect they differ +from those of Egypt. It has been often stated by travellers, that the +people of the East have no mourning dresses; but this is erroneous, as +to Egypt at least, and part of Syria. The men, it is true, never indulge +in this practice, which is prohibited by the spirit of the law; but the +women, in the interior of the house, wear mourning in every part of +Egypt: for this purpose, they first dye their hands blue, with indigo; +they put on a black borko, or face-veil, and thus follow the funeral +through the streets; and if they can afford it, they put on a black +gown, and. even a black shift. They continue to wear their mourning for +seven, or fifteen, or sometimes for forty days. + +As to the state of learning, I shall add that the Medinans are regarded +as more accomplished olemas than the Mekkans; though, as I have +mentioned above, there are few, if any, public schools. Several +individuals study the Muselman sciences at Damascus, and Cairo, in both +of which cities there are pious foundations for the purpose. As at Mekka +there is no public book-market, the only books I saw exposed + +[p.390] for sale were in some retail clothes-shops near the Bab es’ +Salam. There are said to be some fine private libraries; I saw one in +the house of a Sheikh, where at least three thousand volumes were heaped +up; but I could not examine them. As it often happens in the East, these +libraries are all wakf, that is, have been presented to some mosque by +its founder, or entailed upon some private family, so that the books +cannot be alienated. The Wahabys are said to have carried off many loads +of books. + +Notwithstanding my repeated inquiries here, as well as at Mekka, I could +never hear of a single person who had composed, or even made short notes +of, the history of his own times, or of the Wahabys. It appeared to me, +on the whole, that literature flourished as little at Medina as in other +parts of the Hedjaz; and that the sole occupation of all was getting +money, and spending it in sensual gratifications. + +The language of the Medinans is not so pure as that of the Mekkans; it +approaches much nearer to that of Egypt; and the Syrians established +here continue for several generations to retain a tinge of their native +dialect. It is common to hear natives talk, or at least utter a few +words of Turkish. The gardeners and husbandmen in the neighbourhood have +a dialect and certain phrases of their own, which often afford subject +for ridicule to the inhabitants of the town. + +[p.391]ON THE GOVERNMENT OF MEDINA. + +MEDINA, since the commencement of Islam, has always been considered as a +separate principality. When the Hedjaz came under subjection to the +Khalifes, Medina was governed by persons appointed by them, and +independent of the governors of Mekka. When the power of the Khalifes +declined, the chiefs of Medina made themselves independent, and +exercised the same influence in the northern Hedjaz that those of Mekka +did in the southern. Sometimes the chiefs of Mekka succeeded in +extending a temporary authority over Medina; and in the fifteenth and +sixteenth centuries this power seems to have been well established; but +it often became dependent on the mighty Sultans of Egypt, whenever they +assumed the sovereignty over Mekka. When the family of Othman mounted +the Turkish throne, the Emperor Selym I., and his son Soleyman, (who +paid, in general, more attention to the welfare of the Hedjaz than any +of their predecessors,) thought it necessary to acquire a firmer footing +in this town, which is the key of the Hedjaz, and became of so much +importance to the great pilgrim caravans. They sent hither a garrison of +Turkish soldiers, composed of Janissaries and Spahies, under the command +of an Aga, who was to be the military commander of the town; while the +civil government was placed in the hands of the Sheikh el Haram, or Aga +el Haram, the prefect of the temple, who was to correspond regularly + +[p.392] with the capital, and to have the same rank as Pashas in other +towns. With the exception of a short period towards the end of the +seventeenth century, when the Sheikh el Haram and the whole town fell +under the jurisdiction of the Sherif of Mekka, this mode of government +continued until the period of the Wahaby invasion. An Aga was at the +head of a few soldiers, some of whom were in possession of the castle; +and the Aga el Haram, who also had a small train of soldiers, was the +nominal chief of the town. But great abuses had prevailed for the last +century: the military commander was no longer chosen by the Sultans, but +by his own people, and there were no longer any Turkish soldiers, but +only the descendants of those originally sent hither, who had +intermarried with the natives. This Aga had become the real master of +the town, and his party was spread over all the first families. He had +no other soldiers than the rabble of the town itself, and was chosen by +the first officers of the garrison, whose employments were still kept up +by their descendants, as they had been settled in former times, although +the greater part of them had renounced the military profession. This +tribe of soldiers, called Merabetein, had been enlarged to strengthen +the Aga’s party, and its privileges extended to many other inhabitants +of the town, and foreigners who settled here. They were entitled to +share in the yearly salaries originally fixed by the Sultan, for the pay +of the garrison, and regularly transmitted from Constantinople; and had, +besides, usurped a share of the surra or stipends sent to the mosque and +to the whole town. + +The Aga el Haram, together with the Kadhy, who was sent hither annually +from Constantinople, to preside over the tribunal of justice, became, +under the above circumstances, mere ciphers. The former was usually a +eunuch, who knew nothing of Arabic, and who received the appointment +rather in the way of exile, than as a preferment. His income, which he +received from Constantinople, although handsome, did not enable him to +keep up any military guard sufficient to cope with his rival, the Aga of +the town; and he soon found himself only left in the charge of the +temple, and the command of the eunuchs and + +[p.393] Ferráshyn. But the Aga of the town himself was not complete +master; several of the chiefs of the different quarters had great +authority; the Sherifs settled here had their own chief, called Sheikh- +es’-Sadat, a man of great power; and thus, much disorder prevailed. The +people of the town, and the gardeners and inhabitants of the suburbs, +were often contending for months together: in the interior of the town +itself bloody affrays often occurred between the inhabitants of the +different quarters, on which occasions they sometimes barricadoed the +streets, and kept up a firing upon each other from the tops of their +houses. Instances are related of people firing even into the mosque upon +their enemies, while engaged in prayer. + +Within the last twenty years a man named Hassan had been appointed Aga +of the castle, which gave him the surname of Hassan el Kalay. Born among +the dregs of the people, his great skill and cunning, and determined +hardihood, had raised him to this office. He was a man of a very short +stature and a limping gait, but notwithstanding of great bodily +strength; and his voice, when he was in anger, is said to have terrified +even the boldest. After several years’ hard struggle, this man succeeded +in becoming complete master and tyrant of the town: he kept a guard of +town’s-people, of Bedouins, and Moggrebyns in his service, and had all +the rabble on his side. He was guilty of the most flagrant acts of +injustice; he oppressed the pilgrims, extorted money from them, +confiscated the property of all the hadjys and foreigners who died here, +withheld the surra brought from Constantinople by the Hadj, from the +people for whom it was destined, and amassed great wealth. Instances are +recorded of tyranny and brutality which cover his name with infamy. A +rich old widow, with her daughter, having arrived at Medina, from +Constantinople, to visit the tomb, he seized on her, and compelled her +to marry him; two days after, she was found dead, her property was +seized by him; and a short time after he forced the daughter to yield to +his embraces. Many complaints were made at Constantinople against this +man, but the Sultan had not power enough to dispossess him; and whenever +the caravan arrived from Syria, Hassan el Kalay showed + +[p.394] so imposing an attitude, that its chiefs could attempt nothing +against him. He threw great obstacles in their way; and it is generally +ascribed to him, that the last caravan from Damascus, which attempted to +perform the journey after the Wahaby conquest, was obliged to return to +Syria. + +When the Wahabys began to make inroads into the Hedjaz, and to direct +their forces against Medina, the conduct of Hassan became still more +violent. During the two or three years which preceded the capture of the +town, he set no bounds to his oppressions, and was often seen to inflict +the severest punishments upon persons who happened to be laughing among +themselves when he passed by, pretending that his limping gait was the +cause of their mirth. During the night shops were robbed by the Arabs in +his service, who patrolled the streets in large parties, and no justice +could be obtained against them. When he saw the impossibility of holding +the town longer against the Wahabys, after all the surrounding Bedouins, +and Mekka itself, had surrendered, he gave up the place to Saoud, on +condition that he should be continued in his command; this was promised, +and the promise was kept: a Wahaby garrison was then placed in the +castle; the Aga el Haram, with all the Turks residing in Medina, were +obliged to leave the town, where he had been for several years a mere +shadow; and Hassan el Kalay remained governor under the Wahabys. Being +now unable to act with the same injustice as he had before done, he +affected the greatest zeal for the new religion, and oppressed the +inhabitants, by enforcing upon them, with the most scrupulous severity, +the precepts of the Wababy creed. Saoud showed much less respect for +Medina than he had done for Mekka: the income of the latter town was +left, as it was, in the hands of the Sherif, and the inhabitants were +exempted from the zekat, or tribute, which the other Wahaby subjects +paid to the chief, who here abandoned his right in favour of Ghaleb. The +same conciliatory system was not observed at Medina: the inhabitants, +who had never before known what imposts were, except the payment of some +trifling land-tax, found themselves grievously oppressed; and Hassan el +Kalay, with the tax-gatherers of Saoud, enforced the taxes with the +utmost rigour. + +[p.395] The Hadj caravans now ceased; few pilgrims arrived by way of +Yembo; Saoud, soon after, prohibited the passage to the town to all +Turkish pilgrims; and the surra or stipends were of course withheld. +Under these circumstances the Medinans felt most heavily the pressure of +the times, and became exasperated against the Wahabys. Some further +details on the subject will be found in my account of Mohammed Aly’s +campaign. + +When Mohammed Aly first prepared an expedition against the Hedjaz, a +strong garrison was placed in Medina, consisting principally of warlike +Bedouins from Nedjed and the southern provinces, under the command of +Medheyan, whom Saoud had named Sheikh of the tribe of Harb. Hassan el +Kalay showed great zeal for the common cause; and, after the first +defeat of Tousoun Pasha at Djedeyde, was confirmed in his situation at +Medina; but when Tousoun returned a second time with a larger force, +Hassan, foreseeing his success, entered into secret negotiations with +him, and received the promise of being continued in his office, provided +he would facilitate the capture of the town by the Osmanlys. On their +arrival before its gates, he joined them, and was received by Ahmed +Bonaparte, the Turkish commander, with distinguished honours; the town +was soon after attacked, and the castle taken by capitulation: but after +the Wahaby party was totally suppressed in these parts, both Medheyan, +to whom safe-conduct had been promised, and Hassan el Kalay, were +seized, put in chains, and sent by way of Cairo to Constantinople, where +they experienced the fate which, the latter at least, well merited, +though his crimes can never excuse the treachery of those who seized +him. + +Soon after the above events, the Aga el Haram, a Kislar Agassi of Sultan +Selym, returned, and partly recovered his authority; but the real +command was now in the hands of the Turkish governor. Towards the end of +the year 1814, Tousoun Pasha came here as governor, preparatory to his +intended attack upon Nedjed; and here I found him on my arrival. His +government was not bad, because his intentions were good, and he was +liked by the inhabitants for his + +[p.396] generosity and devotion; but his proceedings were foolish +enough: he frightened away the Bedouins, by seizing their camels; he +thus cut off the supplies from the town, created a general want of every +kind of provision, and other necessaries; and his soldiers then soon +began to commit excesses, which he neglected to suppress by punishment. +After Tousoun’s departure, his father, Mohammed Aly, arrived here in +April, 1815, and with his more experienced judgment immediately took the +proper measures for repairing the errors of his son. + +Medina now continues under the government of a Turkish commander; a post +filled for a few months by the Scotchman, Thomas Keith, or Ibrahim Aga, +whom I have mentioned as being the treasurer of Tousoun Pasha. The Aga +el Haram keeps about sixty or eighty soldiers, a motley crew of Turks, +Arabs, Moggrebyns, and people of Medina; and all ecclesiastical affairs, +and the pecuniary business of the mosque, are left in his hands. Next to +him in importance stands the Kadhy, who, in the time of the Wahabys, had +been obliged to retire. The Sheikh of the Sherifs, or Sadat, continues +to enjoy great respect, as well as several other Sheikhs of the town; +and I believe, after all, that the Medinans dislike their present +masters, the Turks, less than any other class of the people of the +Hedjaz, although they certainly have not yet been cordially reconciled +to them. + +Prior to the Wahaby invasion, the Sherif of Mekka kept an officer here +of inferior rank, to receive some trifling duties upon vegetables, +flesh, and other provisions brought to market; the only tax of the kind +paid by the Medinans, and the last remnant of the jurisdiction once +enjoyed by the Sherif of Mekka over Medina, and which, in later times, +has been entirely lost. Sherif Ghaleb had no authority here whatever; +but I believe, though I am not quite sure, that he still assumed the +nominal superiority, or the title of Chief of Medina; and that Medina +was supposed by the Porte to form part of the Hedjaz, under the command +of the Sherif of Mekka. + +Several respectable Arabian writers affirm, that Medina forms a part of +Nedjed, and not of the Hedjaz, situated as it is on the eastern side of +the great chain; and this opinion seems to be well founded, + +[p.397] if the natural boundary be considered; but, in the common +acceptation of the word on the coast, and at Mekka and Medina, the +latter town is supposed to form part of the Hedjaz, although the +Bedouins of the interior give quite a different meaning to this +appellation. + +[p.398] CLIMATE AND DISEASES OF MEDINA. + +I FOUND the climate at Medina, during the winter months, much colder +than that of Mekka. Snow is unknown here, though I heard that some old +people remembered to have seen it in the neighbouring mountains. The +rains have no fixed period in winter, but fall at intervals, and usually +in violent storms, which last for one day, or perhaps two days, only: +sometimes a whole winter passes without more than one fall of rain, +excepting a few light showers; the consequence of which is a general +dearth. The Medinans say, that three or four gushes of rain are +necessary to irrigate their soil; the water of the torrents then +inundating many parts of the country, especially the pasturing grounds +of the Bedouins. Uninterrupted rains for a week, or longer, such as +often occur in Syria, are quite unknown here; and after every gush of +rain, which lasts for twenty-four hours, the sky clears up, and the +finest spring weather prevails for several weeks. The last storms are +usually in April, but occasional showers are not unfrequent even in the +middle of summer. + +The Medinans, and many foreigners, assert, that the summer-heat is +greater here than in any other part of the Hedjaz: I was not able to +judge myself. I have already stated that the saline nature of the soil +and water, the stagnant pools of rain-water round the town, and perhaps +the exhalation and vapours produced by the thick date-groves + +[p.399] in its neighbourhood, render the air of Medina little favourable +to health. + +Fevers are the most common disease, to which many of the inhabitants +themselves are subject, and from which strangers who remain here any +time seldom escape, especially in spring. Yahya Effendi, the physician +of Tousoun Pasha, assured me, when I was sick, that he had eighty +persons ill of fever under his care; and it appeared that he was more +fortunate in their cure than in mine. The fevers are almost all +intermittent, and attended after their cure by great languor: relapses +are much dreaded. When I went out after my recovery, I found the streets +filled with convalescents, whose appearance but too clearly showed how +numerous were my fellow-sufferers in the town. If not cured within a +certain time, these fevers often occasion hard swellings in the stomach +and legs, which are not removed without great difficulty. The Medinans +care little about this intermittent fever, to which they are accustomed, +and with them it seldom proves fatal; but the case is otherwise with +strangers. In some seasons it assumes an epidemic character, when as +many as eighty persons are known to have died in one week; instances of +this kind, however, seldom happen. + +Dysenteries are said to be rare here. Bilious complaints, and jaundice, +are very common. There appears to be in general a much greater mortality +here than in any other part of the East that I have visited. My lodgings +were very near to one of the principal gates of the mosque, through +which the corpses were carried when prayers were to be said over them; +and I could hear, from my sick bed, the exclamations of “La illah il +Allah,” with which that ceremony was accompanied. During my three +months’ confinement one funeral at least, and often two, passed every +day under my window. If we reckon on the average three bodies per day +carried into the mosque through this gate, as well as the others, +besides the poor Arabs who die in the suburbs, and over whose bodies +prayers are said in the mosque situated in the Monakh, we shall have +about twelve hundred deaths annually, in this small town, the whole +population of which, I believe + +[p.400] to be at most from sixteen to twenty thousand; a mortality which +cannot be repaired by births, and would long ago have depopulated the +place, did not the arrival of foreigners continually supply the loss. Of +this population I reckon about ten or twelve thousand for the town +itself, and the rest for the suburbs. + +[p.401] JOURNEY FROM MEDINA TO YEMBO. + +April 21st. 1815. OUR small caravan assembled in the afternoon near the +outer gate of the town, and at five o’clock P.M. we passed through the +same gate by which I entered, on my arrival, three months ago. Then I +was in full health and spirits, and indulging the fond hopes of +exploring unknown and interesting parts of the Desert on my return to +Egypt; but now, worn down by lingering disease, dejected, and +desponding, with no more anxious wish than to reach a friendly and +salubrious spot, where I might regain my health. The ground leading to +the town on this side is rocky. About three quarters of an hour distant, +the road has a steep short descent, hemmed in by rocks, and is paved, to +facilitate the passage of caravans. Our direction was S.W. by S. In one +hour we came to the bed of a torrent called Wady el Akyk, which during +the late rains had received so copious a supply from the neighbouring +mountains, that it had become like a deep and broad river, which our +camels could not attempt to pass. As the day was fine, we expected to +see it considerably diminished the next morning, and therefore encamped +on its banks, at a place called El Madderidje. Here is a small ruined +village, the houses of which were well built of stone, with a small +birket or reservoir, and a ruined well close by. Its inhabitants +cultivate some fields on the bank of Wady Akyk, but the incursions of +the Bedouins had obliged them to retire. + +[p.402] Wady Akyk is celebrated by the Arabian poets. [Samhoudy says, +that this torrent empties itself into the same low ground called El +Ghaba, or Zaghaba, to the west of Medina, in the mountains where all the +torrents in this neighbourhood discharge themselves. He says also, that +on the banks of this torrent, eastward, stood the small Arab +fortification called Kasr el Meradjel; and from thence towards Ghaba the +torrent crosses a district called El Nakya. About five miles distant +from Medina was a station of the Hadj, called Zy’l Haleyfe, situated on +the banks of Wady Akyk, with a small castle and a birket, which was +rebuilt in A.H. 861. Perhaps this Madderidje is meant by it.] On its +banks stand a number of ashour trees, which were now in full flower. We +were accompanied thus far by a number of people from Medina, in +compliment to one of the Muftis of Mekka, who had been on a visit to the +town, and was now returning to his home, intending to leave our caravan +at Szafra. He had several tents and women with him. My other fellow- +travellers were petty merchants of Medina going to await at Djidda the +arrival of the Indian ships, and a rich merchant from Maskat, whom I had +seen at Mekka, where he was on the pilgrimage: he had ten camels to +carry his women, his infant children, his servants, and his baggage; and +he spent, at every station, considerable sums in charity. He appeared, +in every respect, a liberal and worthy Arab. + +April 22nd. The torrent had decreased, and we crossed it in the +afternoon. We rode for an hour in a narrow valley, following the torrent +upwards. At the end of an hour and half we left the torrent: the plain +opened to the east, and is here called Esselsele; our road over it was +in the direction W.S.W. The rocks spread over the plain were calcareous. +At the end of three hours and a half we again entered the mountain, and +continued in its vallies, slowly descending, for the whole night. At the +break of day we passed the plain called El Fereysh, where I had encamped +the day before I reached Medina; and alighted, after a march of twelve +hours and a half, in the upper part of Wady es Shohada. [The distances of +this journey do not exactly agree with those given in coming to Medina; +but I prefer stating them as I found them noted down in my journal.] + +April 23rd. We had no sooner deposited our baggage than a + +[p.403] heavy rain set in, accompanied with tremendous peals of thunder +and flashes of lightning. The whole Wady was flooded in a moment, and we +expected that it would be necessary to pass the whole day here. I found +shelter in the tent of the merchant of Maskat. In the afternoon the +storm ceased. At two P.M. we started, and at the end of an hour passed +the tombs of the Martyrs or Shohada, the followers of Mohammed, forty of +whom, it was said, lie buried there. We continued slowly descending in +the Wady, mostly in the direction S.S.W. At the top of Wady Shohada, the +granite rocks begin, the upper ranges of that chain being calcareous. At +the end of five hours we issued from the Wady. In the night we passed +the plains of Shab el Hal and Nazye; and, after a march of thirteen +hours and a half, encamped in the mountains, in the wide valley called +Wady Medyk, which lies in the road from Nazye to Djedeyde, two hours +distant from the former, and which we had passed at night in my former +journey. I heard that in these mountains between Medina and the sea, all +the way northward, mountain-goats are met with, and that leopards are +not uncommon. + +April 24th. A few Arabs of Beni Salem here sow some fields with durra, +which they irrigate by means of a fine spring of running water issuing +from a cleft in the mountains, where it forms several small basins and +pretty cascades--the best water I had drank since leaving the mountains +of Tayf. We started from hence in the afternoon, and encountered more +heavy rain from mid-day to sun-set. In the caravan were several sick and +convalescents, especially women, who were all complaining. I had had a +strong attack of fever during the night, which returned to-day, and +lasted till I reached Yembo. It was particularly distressing to me, +being accompanied by profuse perspiration during the night, followed by +shivering fits towards day-break; and as the caravan could not halt on +my account, I had no opportunity to change my linen. We were, moreover, +obliged to encamp upon wet ground; and as the number of camel-drivers +was very small, considering the quantity of baggage, I could not avoid +assisting to load, my own Bedouin being one of the most ill-natured and +lazy fellows I ever met with among people of his nation. + +[p.404] We rode in the winding valley for two hours and a half, to El +Kheyf, the beginning of Wady Djedeyde, where the chief of the Turkish +post stationed there inquired for news from head-quarters: he had been a +whole fortnight without hearing what was done at Medina. During the +whole Turkish campaign in the Hedjaz, no regular couriers had been any +where established. Tousoun Pasha was often left for months at Medina, +ignorant of the state of the army under his father; and even the latter +usually received his intelligence from Mekka and Djidda by ordinary +conveyances of caravans; expresses were seldom despatched, and still +less any regular communication established over land between Cairo and +Mekka. Not merely in this respect, but in many other details of warfare, +the best Turkish commanders show an incredible want of activity or +foresight, which causes the surprise even of Bedouins, and must expose +their operations to certain failure whenever they encounter a more +vigilant enemy with no disparity of force. + +The camp of the soldiers at Kheyf was completely inundated, and the +whole breadth of the wady covered with a rapid stream of water. Without +stopping any where we passed Djedeyde at the end of three hours and a +half, and further on Dar el Hamra, where the inhabitants had cultivated +several new plantations, since I passed this way in January. The copious +rains were a sure prognostic of a plentiful year, and the ever-recurring +questions put to our guides by the people they passed on the road were, +whether such and such a spot in the upper country was well drenched with +rain. In seven hours we came to Szafra. The party from Mekka that was +with us, separated here, having hired their camels only thus far, from +whence they intended to take others for the journey to Mekka; and those +which had carried them thus far, followed our party to Yembo. All those +camels which are engaged in the transport and carriage between the coast +and Medina, belong to the Beni Harb tribe. + +We remained a few minutes only, about midnight, at Szafra, to drink some +coffee in one of the shops, and then continued our road to the westward +of the route by which I reached Szafra in coming from Mekka. Thick date- +plantations form an uninterrupted line on both + +[p.405] sides of the narrow valley in which we slowly descended. After +nine hours and a half we passed a village called El Waset, built among +the date-groves, and having extensive gardens of fruit-trees in its +vicinity. At every step water is found in wells or fountains. A little +beyond this village we left the valley to the right, and took our way up +a steep mountain, this being a nearer road than that through the valley. +The route over the mountain was rocky and steep; our guides obliged us +to walk, and it was with difficulty that I mustered strength sufficient +to reach the summit; from thence we descended by a less rough declivity, +and, after twelve hours’ march, again fell into the road in the valley, +near a small village called Djedyd. The mountain we had crossed has the +name of Thenyet Waset. The valley we had left to our right takes a +western circuitous tour, and includes several other villages, of which I +heard the following mentioned: Hosseynye, (nearest to Waset); then, +lower down, Fara and Barake, in the vicinity of Djedyd. Below Waset the +the valley is considered as belonging to Wady Beder, and above it to +Szafra. Djedyd has very few date-trees and fields; it stands upon a +plain, through which the torrent passes, after having irrigated the +upper plantations of the wady. We continued on this plain for one hour, +direction S. 50 W. After a thirteen hours’ march we entered a chain of +mountains, extending westward, the same which I have mentioned in my +journey to Medina, as branching out westward from the great chain near +Bir-es’-Sheikh. Our road lay in a broad sandy valley, with little +windings, which brought us, after a very fatiguing march of fourteen +hours and a half, to Beder. + +April 25th. Beder, or as it is also called, Beder Honeyn, is a small +town, the houses of which are built either of stone or mud, and of +better appearance, although less numerous, than those of Szafra. It is +surrounded by a miserable mud wall, ruined in many places. A copious +rivulet flows through the town, which rises in the ridge of mountains we +had just passed, and is conducted in a stone channel: it waters +extensive date-groves, with gardens and fields on the south-west side of +the place; and, although at a distance from its source, + +[p.406] is still somewhat tepid. El Assamy, the historian of Mekka, says +that El Ghoury, Sultan of Egypt, built a fine reservoir at Beder, for +the Hadj; but I did not see it, and am ignorant whether it be yet in +existence. + +Beder is situated in a plain bounded towards the N. and E. by steep +mountains; to the S. by rocky hills, and to the W. by hills of moving +sand. The Hadj caravans usually make this a station; and we found the +place where they had encamped just by the gate of the town, four months +ago, still covered with carcases of camels, rags of clothes, and remains +of broken utensils, &c. Beder is famous in Arabian history for the +battle fought here by Mohammed, in the second year of the Hedjra, with a +superior force of the Koreysh Arabs, who had come in aid of a rich +caravan expected from Syria, which Mohammed intended to waylay on this +spot. Although very ill, I walked out with the Maskat hadjys, to inspect +the field of battle, to which we were guided by a man from Beder. To the +south of the town, about one mile distant, at the foot of the hills, are +the tombs of the thirteen followers and friends of the Prophet, who fell +by his side. They are mere heaps of earth, enclosed by a row of loose +stones, and are all close together. The Koreysh, as our guide explained +to us, were posted upon the hill behind the tombs, while Mohammed had +divided his small force into two parts, with one of which he himself +advanced in the plain against the enemy, and the reserve was entrusted +to Aly ibn Aby Taleb, with orders to take his post upon the sand-hill on +the western side. The battle could not be won without the interposition +of heaven; and three thousand angels, with Gabriel at their head, were +sent to Mohammed’s assistance. The above-mentioned thirteen persons were +slain in the first onset. The Prophet, hard pressed, hid himself behind +a large rock, which opened miraculously to admit him, and enabled him to +reach his reserve; he then made a second attack, and with the heavenly +auxiliaries was victorious, not losing another man, although seventy of +his adversaries were killed on the spot. A handful of stones, or dust, +which he (or according to the Koran, which God) threw towards his +enemies, caused them to fly. After he had forced their position, he +rested a little upon + +[p.407] a stone, which, sensible of the honour, forthwith assumed the +form of a seat. The rock and the stone are shown; and, at all events +answer one good purpose, which is to excite the visiter’s charity +towards the poor of Beder, who assemble at it whenever a caravan +arrives. The position of Aly’s troop upon the distant hill, that of the +party of Mohammed close to the enemy, and the plain beyond that hill, +where the caravan from Syria pursued its route during the battle, are +made to explain the passage of the Koran, which alludes to it thus; “You +were on the nearer side of the valley, and they on the further side, and +the caravan was below,” (Sur. 8.): but I could not well understand that +passage, according to the usual interpretation; and rather believe that +by the word rukb, which is taken here as synonymous with caravan, the +party of horsemen under Aly must be understood, whose position, although +upon a hill, was, with relation to Beder, a low one, the ground +descending slightly. Several small domes, which had been erected here, +were ruined by the Wahabys. In returning to the village, we walked, on +its south side, into the mosque called Mesdjed el Ghemáme, built on the +spot where Mohammed once sat exposed to the sun’s rays, and prayed to +God for a cloud which might overshadow him; this was immediately +granted; and the mosque derives its name from the cloud. It is better +built and more spacious than might be expected in such a poor place. + +The market of Beder is furnished with the same articles as that of +Szafra. Some water-melons, the produce of the gardens, were offered for +sale. The Maskat merchant purchased, without my knowledge, five pounds +of Mekka balsam, all that remained in the market, which he intended for +a present to the Imám of Maskat. It was in the same adulterated state as +that I had formerly seen at Szafra. The inhabitants of Beder are chiefly +Bedouins of the tribe of Sobh, belonging to Harb, some of whom have +become settlers here. Others only have their shops here, and return +every evening to the tents of their family in the neighbouring +mountains. Beder being a place much frequented by Bedouins and +travellers, the houses are in great request, and a small shop in the +market pays as much as twenty + +[p.408] dollars a year rent. Some Sherif families are also established +here, to whom the Hadj pays at passing considerable stipends. + +In the evening several hundred camels belonging to Bedouins came to be +watered at the rivulet, escorted principally by women, who freely +entered into conversation with us. The Beni Harb established at +Djedeyde, Szafra, and Beder, give their daughters in marriage to +strangers, and even to settlers; and a few Turkish soldiers, attracted +by the beauty of some Bedouin girls, had fixed themselves here, and +married them: one of them, an Arnaut, who spoke good Arabic, and had +been accustomed from his youth to the wild life of warlike mountaineers, +intended to follow his young wife to the mountain. In the neighbouring +mountains are immense numbers of the eagle (rakham); hundreds of them +were constantly hovering about us; and some actually pounced down, and +carried off the meat from our dishes. + +April 26th. We had remained here the whole of yesterday. Some people of +Beder kept watch at night over our caravan, for which they received a +small compliment. This place abounds with robbers, and we were encamped +outside the gate of the town. We left Beder in the evening, and took a +direction N. 45 W. After proceeding for three quarters of an hour, we +came to the ridge of sand-hills above mentioned, the highest summit of +which is called Goz Aly, in memory of the position occupied there by +Aly, during the battle of Beder. We crossed these hills for half an hour +with difficulty, the sands being very deep, and then descended into the +great western plain, extending as far as the sea, which is reached from +Beder in one night’s march, at a small harbour, south of Yembo, called +Bereyke, much frequented by shipping. The plain, which we entered in the +direction W. 1 N. is overgrown with shrubs. During our night-march we +saw the fires of different Bedouin encampments. We met two negro +pilgrims, who had started from Yembo by themselves, and were in great +distress for water: we gave them both meat and drink, and directed them +towards the Bedouin encampments. Without a compass, these enterprising +travellers find their route across deserts: the direction of the road is +shown to them at starting, and they pursue it in a straight line by + +[p.409] night and by day, until they arrive at the destined spot. After +a ride of ten hours from Beder, we encamped at the break of day in a +part of the plain, where low acacia-trees grow, called adheyba. + +April 27. I found myself in a very low state this morning. Violent +vomiting and profuse sweats had rendered the last night one of the most +disagreeable nights I passed in my travels. A quarrel with my guide, +about victuals, further increased my fever to-day, to which perhaps the +late relaxation of my nerves through illness contributed. To our right, +northwards, about six hours distant, a chain of high mountains extends +towards the sea. Nearer to us a lower ridge takes the same direction. +The plain upon which we encamped is sandy, covered with small pebbles +and petrosilex. We set out after mid-day. Four hours and a half, +direction N.W. by N., trees and shrubs are no longer seen; a few saline +shrubs only indicate the proximity of the sea; and a little further on, +the ground becomes covered with a salt crust, while the air is strongly +impregnated with sea-vapours. At the end of seven hours and a half, we +again found some trees in the plain, interspersed with salt-increased +spots. At fourteen hours, having travelled the whole night over bad +ground, we saw Yembo at sun-rise; and after a ride of fifteen hours and +a half, at a very slow pace, we reached the gate of the town: just +before it we crossed an inlet of the harbour, it being then low water, +but which extends to a considerable distance inland at high tide. + +[p.410] YEMBO. + +IT was with some difficulty that I could find a room in one of the +okales or khans of the town, which were filled with soldiers, who had +received permission to return to Cairo, after their last expedition +against the southern Wahabys, and had come here from Djidda and Mekka; +and, besides them, there were many hadjys, who, after their return from +Medina, intended to embark for Suez or Cosseir. Among the latter was the +lady of Mohammed Aly Pasha, who had arrived from Medina; for the +transport of whose escort, suite, and baggage, four ships were in a +state of preparation. After having deposited my baggage in an airy room, +on the terrace of an okale, I walked towards the harbour, to inquire +about a passage to Egypt. This, I soon understood, it was impossible to +obtain at present. Positive orders had been given, that none should +embark but soldiers, who had already engaged three or four ships, then +ready to sail; and of whom upwards of fifteen hundred, including many +Turkish hadjys, who passed for soldiers, being armed and dressed like +them, were still waiting for conveyances. + +While I was sitting in a coffee-house near the harbour, three funerals +passed at short intervals; and upon expressing my surprise at this, I +learned that many people had died within these few days of feverish +complaints. I had heard, when at Beder, that a bad fever prevailed at +Yembo, but then paid little attention to the report. During the rest of +the day I saw several other funerals, but had not the slightest + +[p.411] idea to what so many deaths were to be attributed, till night, +when I had retired to my room up-stairs, which overlooked a considerable +part of the town; I then heard, in every direction, innumerable voices +breaking out in those heart-rending cries which all over the Levant, +accompany the parting breath of a friend or relative. At that moment the +thought flashed upon my mind, that it might be the plague: I attempted, +in vain, to dispel my apprehensions, or at least to drown them in sleep; +but the dreadful cries kept me awake the whole night. When I descended +early in the morning into the okale, where many Arabs were drinking +their coffee, I communicated to them my apprehensions; but had no sooner +mentioned the word plague, than they called me to order, asking me if I +was ignorant that the Almighty had for ever excluded that disorder from +the holy territory of the Hedjaz? Such an argument admits of no reply +among Moslims; I therefore walked out, in search of some Greek +Christians, several of whom I had seen the day before, in the street, +and from them I received a full confirmation of my fears. The plague had +broken out ten days ago: it had been raging at Cairo with the greatest +fury for several months; and at Suez a large part of the population had +died: from that port two ships laden with cotton stuffs had carried it +to Djidda, and from thence it was communicated to Yembo. No instance of +the plague had ever before been witnessed in the Hedjaz, at least none +within the memory of man; and the inhabitants could with difficulty +persuade themselves that such an event had occurred, especially at a +time when the holy cities had been reconquered from the Wahabys. The +intercourse with Egypt had not at any time been greater than now, and it +was, therefore, no wonder that this scourge should be carried to the +Hedjaz. While ten or fifteen people only died per day, the Arabs of the +town could not believe that the disease was the plague, although the +usual appearance of the biles upon the bodies of the infected, and the +rapid progress of the disorder, which seldom lasted more than three or +four days, might have been convincing proofs. In five or six days after +my arrival the mortality increased; forty or fifty persons died in a +day, which, in a population of five or six thousand, was a terrible +mortality. The inhabitants now felt a panic: little disposed to submit + +[p.412] as patiently to the danger as the Turks do in every other part +of the East, the greater part of them fled into the open country, and +the town became deserted; but the disease followed the fugitives, who +had encamped close together; and thus finding no remedy to the evil, +many of them returned. They excused their flight by saying, “God in his +mercy sends this disease, to call us to his presence; but we are +conscious of our unworthiness, and feel that we do not deserve his +grace; therefore, we think it better to decline it, for the present, and +to fly from it:” an argument which I heard frequently repeated. Had I +been myself in full strength, I should, no doubt, have followed their +example and gone into the Desert; but I felt extremely weak, and +incapable of any exertions. I thought also that I might escape the +disease, shut up in my insulated room, and indulged moreover the hope of +a speedy passage to Egypt; in the latter, however, I was deceived. By +making a few presents, and a little bribery, I might perhaps have found +means to embark forthwith; but the vessels now ready to sail were +crowded to excess, and full of diseased soldiers, so that a stay in the +infected town was to be preferred to a departure by such a conveyance. +Some days after, I learnt that a small open boat, free from troops, was +ready to sail for Cosseir, and I immediately agreed for a passage on +board it; but its sailing was delayed from day to day, until the +fifteenth of May, when I finally left Yembo, after a stay of eighteen +days in the midst of the plague. + +It was, perhaps, my own bad state of health, and the almost +uninterrupted low fever under which I laboured, that preserved me; for, +notwithstanding all my care, I was many times exposed to infection. The +great street of Yembo was lined with sick, in the very agonies of death, +asking for charity; in the yard of the okale where I lived, an Arab was +dying; the master of the okale lost a sister and a son in his own +family, and related to me, as he sat on my carpet, how his son died the +preceding night in his arms. The imprudence of my slave likewise +counteracted all my measures of precaution. Having missed him for +several days early in the morning, I inquired the cause of his absence, +when he told me that he had gone to assist in washing the dead bodies. +The poor who died during + +[p.413] the night were exposed in the morning upon biers, on the sea- +shore, to be washed before the ceremony of praying over them in the +mosque; and my slave thought it meritorious to join in this office, +which had devolved upon several negro pilgrims, who happened to be at +Yembo. I desired him to remain at home, for the future, at that hour, to +prepare my breakfast; but I was as little able to prevent his walking +out at other times, as I could myself dispense with that duty; and one +could scarcely pass the bazar without touching infected people, or at +least those who had been in close contact with them. + +The sense of the danger which then threatened me is much greater, now +that I find myself far removed from it, than I felt it at the time. +After the first four or five days, I became tolerably familiarized with +the idea of the plague, and compared the small numbers who died every +day with the mass of the remaining inhabitants. The great many cases of +persons remaining in full health, notwithstanding the closest connexion +with the deceased, considerably removed the apprehensions of the malady +being communicated by infection; and example works so powerfully on the +mind, that when I saw the number of foreigners then in the town quite +unconcerned, I began to be almost ashamed of myself for possessing less +courage than they displayed. The disease seemed, however, to be of the +most malignant kind; very few of those who were attacked, escaped, and +the same was observed at Djidda. The Arabs used no kind of medicine; I +heard of a few people having been bled, and of others having been cured +by applying a drawing-plaster to the neck; but these were rare +instances, which were not imitated by the great mass. As it is the +custom to bury the dead in a very few hours after decease, two instances +occurred during my stay at Yembo, of persons supposed dead being buried +alive: the stupor into which they fell when the disorder was at a +crisis, had been mistaken for death. One of them gave signs of life at +the moment they were depositing him in the grave, and was saved: the +body of the other, when his tomb was re-opened several days after his +burial, to admit the corpse of a near relation, was found with bloody +hands and face, and the winding-sheet torn, by the unavailing + +[p.414] efforts he had made to rise. On seeing this, the people said, +that the devil, being unable to hurt his soul, had thus disfigured his +body. + +The governor of Yembo took great care that the exact amount of the +mortality in the town should not be known; but the solemn exclamations +of “La illaha ill’ Allah,” which indicate a Moslim funeral, struck the +ear from every side and quarter of the town, and I counted myself forty- +two in one day. To the poor the plague becomes a real feast; every +family that can afford it, kills a sheep on the death of any of its +members, and the day after, the men and women of the whole neighbourhood +are entertained at the house. The women enter the apartments, embrace +and console all the females of the family, and expose themselves every +moment to infection. It is to this custom, more than any other cause, +that the rapid dissemination of the plague in Mohammedan towns must be +ascribed; for when the disease once breaks out in a family, it never +fails of being transmitted to the whole neighbourhood. + +It is a common belief among Europeans, and even eastern Christians, that +the Mohammedan religion forbids any precautionary measures against the +plague; but this is erroneous. That religion forbids its followers from +avoiding the disease if it has once entered a town or country; but it +warns them at the same time, not to enter any place where the plague +rages: and it accordingly forbids individuals to shut themselves up in a +house, and to cut off all communication with the rest of the infected +town, because this is the same as flying from the plague; but it favours +measures of quarantine, to prevent the importation of the disease, or +its communication to strangers upon their arrival. The belief in +predestination, however, is so deeply and universally rooted in the +minds of the eastern nations, that not the slightest measures of safety +are any where adopted. The numberless extraordinary instances of the +disease sparing those who have come into closest contact with it, +confirm them in their opinion that it is not epidemic; and their prophet +Mohammed has declared to them, “that the plague is caused by the demon’s +hostile attack upon mankind,” and that “those who die of it are +martyrs.” The universal opinion + +[p.415] prevails among Moslims, that an invisible angel of death, armed +with a lance, touches the victims he destines for the plague, whom he +finds out in the most hidden recesses. The trunk of a palm-tree lay in +one of the streets of Yembo, and it had been observed that many people +who had stepped over it, had soon after been seized with the plague; it +was therefore believed that the demon had there taken his favourite +stand, to wound the passer-by; and therefore the Arabs took a circuitous +road, to avoid their foe, although they were persuaded that he was +light-footed and could overtake them wherever they went. + +That the Christians and Franks escape the disease by shutting themselves +up in their houses, affords but a feeble proof to the contrary. +Imprudence, and the tardy adoption of these measures, always cause a +slight mortality even among them; and such cases are afterwards adduced +in proof of the folly of attempting to oppose the decrees of Providence. +Besides, there are many Christians in the East, who follow Turkish +maxims, and, impressed with the same notions of predestination, think it +superfluous to take any steps for their safety. Turks trifle with so +many of the prescribed duties of their religion, that it might not, +perhaps, be difficult, in this instance, to make them adopt rational +opinions; and the more so, as the Koran is silent upon this head: but no +private measures can be adopted, and rigidly observed, as long as every +individual, almost, is convinced in his own mind of their folly and +inefficacy. If this were not universally the case, the Turks themselves +would, long ago, have found means of resorting to prophylactics, in +spite of their religious doctrines; as the Arabs now did in the Hedjaz; +and their olemas would have furnished them with fetwas, and quotations +from the law, in favour of what their good sense might have led them to +adopt. In the Hadyth, or sacred traditions, a saying of Mohammed is +recorded: “Fly from the leprous, as thou flyest from the lion.” + +The case is different, respecting the means of preventing the plague +from being imported, or to establish regular quarantines. This is a +measure depending entirely upon the government. The most fanatic and +orthodox Muselmans, those of the Barbary states, have adopted this +system; and the laws of quarantine are as strictly enforced in their + +[p.416] harbours, as they are in the European ports on the northern +shores of the Mediterranean. That a similar system has not been +introduced into Turkey is matter of deep concern, and may be attributed +rather to motives of interest, than to bigotry. Constantinople, and the +ports of the Archipelago, I have not visited myself; but I know that it +would be easy for the governors of Syria, and still more for the +governor of Egypt, to use their authority in introducing a system of +quarantine on the coast, without any dread of opposition from their +subjects. The governments of Syria, however, must be guided in such +matters by the Porte, and would hardly attempt to establish quarantine, +without the authority of their sovereign: but Mohammed Aly has often +acted directly contrary to the orders of the Porte, even in matters +affecting his sovereign’s pecuniary interest; and we may believe that it +is not solely the fear of displeasing his master, which has prevented +him from listening to the frequent friendly advice and representations +made to him on this subject by European powers; and, at the same time, +his loose religious principles are too well known, to suppose that +bigotry restrains him from yielding to their solicitations. + +While for four succeeding years, from 1812 to 1816, the plague has every +spring made ravages in Egypt, Mohammed Aly himself, with his family and +principal officers, have been shut up in their palaces with scrupulous +care; thus offering infinitely more scandal to the people than they +would have done by the establishment of quarantine regulations. Wishing, +however, to be considered by Europeans as a liberally-thinking man, +devoid of any prejudices, he had really given orders, in 1813 and 1814, +to establish a quarantine at Alexandria; but the shameful manner in +which it was conducted, clearly proved that he had no sincere wish to +guard his subjects from the horrors of infection; and the whole scheme +was soon after abandoned. My own inquiries, and the opinion of many +Turks themselves, who judge of the measures of their own government much +better than is generally supposed, have led me to believe, that the +Grand Signior, as well as his Pashas, tolerate the plague in their +dominions, because the numerous deaths fill their purses: with respect +to Egypt, I hold this to be indisputably the secret cause. The +commercial towns of Cairo, Alexandria, + +[p.417] and Damietta, are crowded with foreign merchants, and other +strangers from all quarters of the East are established there: according +to the law, the property of all persons who have no near heirs to claim +it, falls to the Beit el Mál; a treasury, formerly destined for purposes +beneficial to the subjects, but now entirely at the private disposal of +the governors. The increased mortality thus causes great sums to fall +into their hands. The prefect of every quarter of the town must, under +the heaviest penalties, inform the government of any stranger or +individual without heirs who dies within his district; and not only is +the property of such people seized, but even that of those persons whose +heirs, although known, are absent in foreign countries, and to whom no +other privilege is granted, in return, than that of addressing their +unavailing claims to the same governor, who converts the income of the +Beit el Mál to his own use. The most flagrant injustice is committed +with respect to the property of deceased persons, as well during the +plague as at other times; and the Kadhy, with a whole train of olemas, +officers, and people in inferior employments, share in the illegal +spoil. In the same manner the property of military officers, and of many +soldiers, is sequestrated at their death. Upon a moderate calculation, +the plague this year in Egypt, which carried off in the city of Cairo +alone from thirty to forty thousand, added twenty thousand purses, or +ten millions of piastres, to the coffers of the Pasha, a sum large +enough to stifle any feelings of humanity in the breast of a Turk. That +the population has diminished, and consequently the regular revenues +suffered, is a reflection which a Turkish governor never makes, who +calculates merely the immediate consequences of an event; and, provided +he be safe himself, and his wealth increasing, cares little for the fate +of his subjects. As the plague seldom visits the open country, and +therefore does not deprive the soil of its labourers, its effects are +less dreaded by the Pasha. He will never be convinced that policy, as +well as humanity, dictates a removal of the causes of plague, until he +has seen a whole province depopulated, and the fields which yield him +his revenues deserted. [The little care taken by the government in Egypt +for preserving the lives of the subject is evinced in an equally strange +manner, by the neglect with which the small-pox is treated; a disease +that makes as great ravages in Upper Egypt as ever the plague could do, +which, itself seldom visits those southern provinces. The numerous +representations made to Mohammed Aly for the introduction of vaccination +have been of no avail, though, if he had chosen to inquire, he might +have known that in 1813, in the small town of Esne alone, upwards of two +hundred and fifty persons, adults and children, fell victims to the +small-pox, the violence of which is much greater in these climates than +in Europe.] + +[p.418] It should seem as if Constantinople and Cairo were the great +receptacles of plague in the East, communicating it mutually to each +other, and to the neighbouring countries. How far the joint and +energetic representations of European powers might induce the Grand +Signior to adopt measures of safety for his capital, and to insure by +that means the safety of the population of European Turkey and Anatolia, +I am unable to decide; but I have little doubt, that a firm remonstrance +from the English government would induce the Pasha of Egypt to obey the +call of humanity, and thus benefit Egypt, as well as Syria and the +English possessions in the Mediterranean. + +The ravages of the plague were still more deplorable at Djidda than at +Yembo; as many as two hundred and fifty persons died there per day. +Great numbers of the inhabitants fled to Mekka, thinking to be safe in +that sacred asylum; but they carried the disease with them, and a number +of Mekkans died, although much less in proportion than at Djidda. Even +the Kadhy of Djidda, an Arab, made his escape to Mekka, with all his +olemas; but Hassan Pasha, then governor of the holy city, ordered him, +under pain of death, to return immediately to his post; and he died on +the road. The principal marketstreet of Djidda was quite deserted, and +numbers of families were entirely destroyed. As a great many foreign +merchants were then in Djidda, their property considerably increased +Mohammed Aly’s treasure; and I heard from eye-witnesses, that the only +business then done in the town was the transport of corpses to the +burial-ground, and that of the deceased’s valuable property to the house +of the commandant. Medina remained free from the plague, as did the open +country between Yembo and Djidda. + +I shall mention here a particular custom of the Arabs. When the + +[p.419] plague had reached its height at Yembo, the Arab inhabitants led +in procession through the town a she-camel, thickly covered with all +sorts of ornaments, feathers, bells, &c. &c.: when they reached the +burialground, they killed it, and threw its flesh to the vultures and +the dogs. They hoped that the plague, dispersed over the town, would +hasten to take refuge in the body of the camel, and that by slaughtering +the victim, they would get rid at once of the disease. Many of the more +sensible Arabs laughed at this; but it was so far of some use, that it +inspired the lower classes with courage. + +The town of Yembo is built on the northern side of a deep bay, which +affords good anchorage for ships, and is protected from the violence of +the wind by an island at its entrance. The ships lie close in shore, and +the harbour is spacious enough to contain the largest fleet. The town is +divided by a creek of the bay into two parts; the largest division is +called exclusively Yembo; the other, on the western side, bears the name +of El Kad, and is principally inhabited by seafaring people. Both +divisions have the sea in front, and are enclosed on the other sides by +a common wall, of considerable strength, better built than those of +Djidda, Tayf, and Medina. It is flanked by many towers and was erected +by the joint labour of the inhabitants themselves, as a defence against +the Wahabys, the ancient wall being ruined, and enclosing only a part of +the town. The new wall comprises an area almost double the space +occupied by habitations, leaving between it and the latter, large open +squares, which are either used as burial-grounds, encamping-places for +caravans, for the exercising of troops, or are abandoned as waste +ground. The extent of the wall would require a large garrison to defend +it at all points; the whole armed population of Yembo is inadequate to +it: but Eastern engineers always estimate the strength of a +fortification by its size; and with the same view a thick wall and deep +ditch have been lately carried along the outskirts of the old town of +Alexandria, which it would require at least twenty-five thousand men to +defend. + +Yembo has two gates towards the east and north; Bab el Medina, and Bab +el Masry. The houses of the town are worse built than those + +[p.420] of any other town in the Hedjaz. Their structure is so coarse, +that few of the stones with which they are built have their surfaces +hewn smooth. The stone is calcareous, full of fossils, and of a glaring +white colour, which renders the view of the town particularly +distressing to the eyes. Most of the houses have only a ground-floor. +Except three or four badly-built mosques, a few half-ruined public +khans, and the house of the governor on the sea-side, (also a mean +building), there is no large edifice in the place. + +Yembo is a complete Arab town; very few foreigners are settled here: of +Indians, who have such numerous colonies at Mekka, Djidda, and Medina, +two or three individuals only are found as shopkeepers; all the +merchants being Arabs, except a few Turks, who occasionally take up a +temporary residence. Most of the inhabitants belong to the Bedouin tribe +of Djeheyne, in this neighbourhood, (which extends northward along the +sea-shore), many of whom have become settlers: several families of +Sherifs, originally from Mekka, have mixed with them. The settlers in +this town, or, as they are called, the Yembawys, continue to live and +dress like Bedouins. They wear the keffie, or green and yellow striped +silk handkerchief, on the head, and a white abba on their shoulder, with +a gown of blue linen, or coloured cotton, or silk stuff, under it, which +they tie close with a leathern girdle. Their eating, and whole mode of +living, their manners and customs, are those of Bedouins. The different +branches of the Djeheyne tribe established here have each their sheikh: +they quarrel with each other as often as they might do if encamping in +the open country, and observe the same laws in their hostilities and +their blood-revenge as the Bedouins. + +The principal occupation of the Yembawys is trade and navigation. The +town possesses about forty or fifty ships, engaged in all branches of +the Red Sea trade, and navigated by natives of the town, or slaves. The +intercourse between Yembo and Egypt is very frequent. Many Yembawys are +settled at Suez and Cosseir, and some at Cairo and Kenne in Upper Egypt, +from whence they trade with their native place. Others trade with the +Bedouins of the Hedjaz, and on the shores of the Red Sea, as far +Moeyleh, and exchange in their encampments the + +[p.421] provisions brought to Yembo from Egypt, for cattle, butter, and +honey, which they sell again at a great profit upon their return to the +town. + +The people of Yembo are less civil, and of more rude and sometimes wild +behaviour, than those of Djidda or Mekka, but, on the other hand, their +manners are much more orderly, and they are less addicted to vice than +the latter, and enjoy, generally, over the Hedjaz, all the advantages of +a respectable name. Although there are no individuals of great wealth in +the town, every body seems to enjoy more ease and plenty than even at +Mekka. Almost all the respectable families of Yembo have a country-house +in the fruitful valley called Yembo el Nakhel, or Gara Yembo, or Yembo +el Berr, about six or seven hours’ distance from. hence, at the foot of +the mountains, in a N.E. direction. It is similar to the valleys of +Djedeyde [There is a road, of difficult passage, from Yembo el Nakhel to +Djedeyde, over the mountains to the north of the great road.] and +Szafra, where date-trees grow, and fields are cultivated. It extends +about seven hours in length, and contains upwards of a dozen hamlets, +scattered on the side of the mountain. The principal of these is +Soueyga, the market-place, where the great Sheikh of the Djeheyne +resides, who is acknowledged as such by the Bedouins of that tribe, as +well as by the people of Yembo. + +The valley of Yembo is cultivated exclusively by Djeheyne, who have +either become settlers, and remain there the whole year, or keep a few +labourers in their plantations, while they themselves remain encamped in +the mountain, and reside in the valley only at the time of the date- +harvest, when all the Yembawys who possess gardens there, likewise +repair for a month to the same place. All kinds of fruits are cultivated +there, with which the market of Yembo is supplied. The houses, I heard, +are built of stone, and of a better appearance than those of Djedeyde. +The Yembawys consider this valley as their original place of abode, to +which the town and harbour belong as a colony. The Egyptian Hadj route +passes by Yembo el Nakhel, from whence it makes one night’s journey to +Beder: this caravan, therefore, never touches the + +[p.422] harbour of Yembo, although many individuals of it, in returning +from Mekka, take from Mastoura the road to Yembo, to transact some +business in the town, and rejoin the caravan at one day’s journey north +of Yembo. + +The trade of Yembo consists chiefly in provisions: no great warehouses +of goods are found here; but, in the shops, some Indian and Egyptian +articles of dress are exposed for sale. The ship-owners are not, as at +Djidda, merchants, but merely carriers; yet they always invest their +profits in some little mercantile speculation. The transport trade to +Medina occupies many people, and all the merchants of that town have +their agents among the Arabs of Yembo. In time of peace, the caravan for +Medina starts every fortnight; lately, from the want of camels, it +departed only every month. There are often conveyances by land for +Djidda and Mekka, and sometimes for Wodjeh and Moeyleh, the fortified +stations of the Egyptian caravan on the Red Sea. The people of Yembo are +very daring smugglers, and no ship of theirs enters the harbour without +a considerable part of its cargo being sent on shore by stealth, to +elude the heavy duties. Parties of twenty or thirty men, well armed, +repair to the harbour at night, for this purpose, and if detected, often +resist the custom-house officers by open force. + +The skirts of the town are entirely barren, no trees or verdure are +seen, either within or without the walls. Beyond the salt-ground, next +to the sea, the plain is covered with sand, and continues so as far as +the mountains. To the N.E. is seen a high mountain, from whence the +great chain takes a more western course towards Beder. I believe this to +be the mountain of Redoua, which the Arabian geographers often mention. +Samhoudy places it at one day’s journey from Yembo, and four days from +Medina. About one hour to the east of the town is a cluster of wells of +sweet water, called Aseylya, which are made to irrigate a few melon- +fields. Bedouins sometimes encamp there; at this time a corps of Turkish +cavalry had pitched their tents near these wells. + +In the town are several wells of brackish water, but no cisterns. The +supply of water for drinking is obtained from some large cisterns, + +[p.423] at about five minutes’ walk from the Medina gate, where the +rainwater is collected. Small canals have been dug across the +neighbouring plains, to convey the streams of rain-water to these +cisterns. They are spacious, well-cased, subterranean reservoirs, and +some of them large enough to supply the whole town for several weeks. +They are the property of private families, whose ancestors built them, +and who sell the water, at certain prices, fixed by the governor, who +also exacts a tax from each of them. The water is excellent, much better +than that of any other town of the Hedjaz, where the inhabitants are not +industrious enough to form similar cisterns. When the winter-rains fail, +the inhabitants of Yembo suffer severely, and are obliged to fill their +water-skins at the distant wells of Aseylya. + +Yembo was formerly annexed to the government of the Sherif of Mekka, who +ought to have divided the receipts at the custom-house with the Turkish +Pasha of Djidda. Ghaleb appropriated it entirely to his own treasury, +and kept here a vizier, or governor, with a guard of about fifty or +sixty men. He appears to have had little other authority than that of +collecting the customs, while the Arabs of the town were left to the +government of their own Sheikhs, and enjoyed much greater liberty than +the people of Mekka and Djidda. The powerful tribe of Djeheyne was not +to be trifled with by the Sherif; and whenever a man of Yembo was +unjustly persecuted, he flew to his relations in the Desert, who +retorted the oppression upon some of the Sherif’s people or caravans +until the matter was compromised. + +When Saoud, the Wahaby chief, attacked the northern parts of the Hedjaz, +his first endeavours were to reduce the two great Bedouin tribes Beni +Harb and Beni Djeheyne to submission; which was greatly facilitated by +the hatred and animosity that had always existed between those tribes, +who were frequently at war with each other. After the Djeheyne had +surrendered, and Yembo el Nakhel had received a garrison of Wahaby +soldiers, Saoud attacked Yembo, for the first time, in 1802, with a +considerable force, which remained encamped before it for several weeks, +and repeatedly attempted to carry it by assault. After his retreat, the +Yembawys built the new strong wall round + +[p.424] the town, by order of the Sherif, who made them bear the whole +expense of the work. After Sherif Ghaleb himself had submitted to the +superior power of Saoud, who took possession of Mekka, Yembo still held +out for some months; and it was not till a strong army was preparing to +attack it, and the Vizier himself had fled, that the Yembawys sent a +messenger to Saoud, and capitulated, adopting at the same time his +creed. The Wahabys did not place a garrison in the town; the Sherif +continued to keep his governor there: but the Wahaby tax-gatherers came; +and the inhabitants, who, except customhouse duties, had never before +been subject to any imposts, found the government of the Wahabys press +very heavily upon them. + +In the autumn of 1811, when the Turkish army under Tousoun Pasha +effected its first landing near the town, the Yembawys were very willing +to shake off the government both of the Sherif and the Wahabys; and the +officers of Ghaleb and Saoud then in the town fled, and, after a +trifling show of resistance, the two first days, by Ghaleb’s commander, +who had but a few soldiers with him, and who soon saw that the spirit of +the inhabitants was wholly against fighting, the town opened its gates, +and experienced some slight injuries from the disorderly Turkish +soldiers. Since that time Yembo has been garrisoned by them, and was +made the commissariat depot of the Turkish army employed against the +enemy in the neighbourhood of Medina. The soldiers, being at a distance +from the Pasha, or his son, behaved with much more irregularity than +they dared to do either at Djidda or Mekka. Every Bimbashy, or commander +of a company, who landed here with his soldiers, assumed, during his +stay, the government of the town; while the real governor, Selym Aga, +who had but a few soldiers under him, was often reduced to a mere +cipher. Several affrays happened during my stay, and the inhabitants +were extremely exasperated. A Turkish officer shot, with his pistol, in +the open street in mid-day, a young Arab, to whom he had for some time +been making infamous proposals; he committed this murder with the +greatest composure, in revenge for his refusal, and then took refuge in +the quarters of a Bimbashy, whose soldiers were called out + +[p.425] to defend him against the fury of the populace. The relations of +the Arab hastened to Medina to ask the life of the aggressor from +Mohammed Aly Pasha; I left Yembo before the affair was settled. + +The Yembawys are all armed, although they seldom appear so in public, +and they carry usually a heavy bludgeon in their hand. A few of them +keep horses; the Djeheyne established at Yembo el Nakhel have good +breeds of Nedjed horses, though in small numbers. Asses are kept by +every family, to bring water to the town. The want of servants and day- +labourers is felt here still more than in the other towns of the Hedjaz. +No Yembawy will engage in any menial labour, if he has the smallest +chance of providing for his existence by other means. Egyptian peasants, +left on this coast after their pilgrimage, and obliged to earn money for +their passage home, engage themselves as porters and labourers, bring +wood, water, &c. I have seen a piastre and a half paid to a man for +carrying a load the distance of five hundred yards from the shore to a +house. + +Yembo is the cheapest place in the Hedjaz with regard to provisions; and +as it possesses good water, and appears to be in a much more healthy +situation than Djidda, a residence in it might be tolerable, were it not +for the incredible quantity of flies that haunt this coast. No person +walks out without a straw fan in his hand to drive off these vermin; and +it is utterly impossible to eat, without swallowing some of them, which +enter the mouth the moment it is opened. Clouds of them are seen passing +over the town; they settle even upon the ships that sail out of the +harbour, and remain on board during the whole voyage. + +[p.426]FROM YEMBO TO CAIRO. + +I EMBARKED at Yembo on the morning of the 15th of May, in an open +sambouk, or large boat, bound to Cosseir, there to load with corn; the +Reys or master was the son of the owner, a native of Yembo. I had agreed +for my own and my slave’s passage from hence to Cosseir at five dollars, +two dollars being the usual charge paid by hadjys, and one dollar by +poor people and servants. The government allowed the ship-owners only +half a dollar per head for the transport of soldiers. As the partner of +the commander of Yembo had a share in this boat, it was allowed to +proceed without soldiers, and the Reys had told me that there were only +a dozen Arab passengers on board. In making me pay two dollars more than +the usual fare, he had agreed to let me have a small place behind the +steerage to myself. When I came on board, however, I found that I had +been deceived; above thirty passengers, principally Syrians and +Egyptians, were crowded together in the boat, with about ten sailors. +The Reys, his younger brother, the pilot, and the steward, had +established themselves in the place behind the helm for which I had +agreed. To revisit Yembo, the abode of death, was not advisable; and as +I saw no appearance of plague on board, I submitted to my lot without +any unavailing dispute. We immediately set sail, keeping close in shore. +In the evening I saw that my situation was much worse than I had +suspected it to be when I came on board; in the hold were lying half a +dozen + +[p.427] sick people, two of whom were in a violent delirium; the Reys’s +young brother, who had his seat close to me, was paid to attend the +sick; one of them died on the following day, and the body was thrown +overboard. Little doubt remained of the plague being actually in the +ship, though the sailors insisted that it was a different malady. On the +third day, the boy, the Reys’s brother, felt great pains in his head, +and, struck with the idea of the plague, he insisted on being set on +shore. We were then in a small bay; the Reys yielded to his entreaties, +and agreed with a Bedouin on shore to carry him back on his camel to +Yembo. He was landed, and I am ignorant of his fate. The only precaution +I could take against infection, was to place my baggage round me, so as +to form an insulated spot in which I had just room enough to sit at my +ease; but notwithstanding this, I was compelled to come in contact every +moment with the ship’s company. Very luckily the disease did not spread; +we had only another death, on the fifth day from our departure, though +several of the passengers were seized with the malady, which I cannot +possibly affirm to have been the plague, as I did not examine the +corpses, but every thing led me to that belief. The continual sea- +sickness and vomiting of the passengers were, perhaps, to them a +salutary operation of nature. As to myself, I was in a very low state of +health the whole of the voyage, and frequently tormented with my ague, +which was increased by the utter want of comforts on board. I had taken +a disgust to all food, excepting broths: whenever we entered a port, I +bought a sheep of the Bedouins, in order to have a dish of soup; and by +distributing the meat among the ship’s people, I obtained their good- +will, so that in every instance I was well treated by them; and could +command their assistance whenever I stood in need of it, either to raise +a temporary awning every morning, or to fill my water-skins on shore. + +The navigation is here the same as what I have already described in my +voyage from Sowakin to Djidda. We went into a harbour every evening, +never sailing during the night, and started again at day-break. If it +was known that no small creek or harbour lay before us, near enough to +be reached before sun-set with the then existing wind, we sometimes +stopped at an anchoring-place soon after mid-day. Unfortunately, + +[p.428] the ship’s boat had been carried away by a heavy sea, in a +preceding voyage; we therefore could seldom get on shore, excepting at +places where we found other vessels, whose boats we took, as we usually +anchored in deep water. The sailors showed as great cowardice here, as +those of Sowakin on a former occasion. Whenever it blew fresh, the sails +were taken in; the dread of a storm made them take shelter in a harbour, +and we never made longer courses than from twenty-five to thirty-five +miles per day. A large square cask of water was the only one on board, +and contained a supply for three days for the ship’s crew only. The +passengers had each his own water-skin; and whenever we reached a +watering-place, the Bedouins came to the beach, and sold us the contents +of their full skins. As it sometimes happens that the ships are becalmed +in a bay distant from any wells, or prevented from quitting it by +adverse winds, the crew is exposed to great sufferings from thirst, for +they have never more on board their boats than a supply for three or +four days. + +For the first three days we steered along a sandy shore, here entirely +barren and uninhabited, the mountains continuing at a distance inland. +At three days’ journey by land and by sea from Yembo, as it is generally +computed, lies the mountain called Djebel Hassány, reaching close to the +shore; and from thence northward the lower range of the mountains are, +in the vicinity of the beach, thinly inhabited throughout by Bedouins. +The encampments of the tribe of Djeheyne extend as far as these +mountains: to the north of it, as far as the station of the Hadj called +El Wodjeh, or as it is also pronounced, El Wosh, are the dwelling-places +of the Heteym Bedouins. In front of Djebel Hassány are several islands; +and the sea is here particularly full of shoals and coral rocks, rising +nearly to the surface; from the various colours of which, the water, +when viewed from a distance, assumes all the hues of the rainbow. In +spring, after the rains, some of these little islands are inhabited by +the Bedouins of the coast, who there pasture their cattle as long as +food is found: they have small boats, and are all active fishers. They +salt the fish, and either carry it in their own boats to Yembo and +Cosseir, or sell it to the ships which pass. One of these islands, +called El Harra, belongs to + +[p.429] the Beni Abs, once a powerful Bedouin tribe, but now reduced to +a few families, who live mixed with the Beni Heteym, and, like them, are +held in great disrepute by all their neighbours. Upon another island +stands the tomb of a saint, called Sheikh Hassan el Merábet, with a few +low buildings and huts round it, where a Bedouin family of the Heteym +tribe is stationary, to whom the guardianship of the tomb belongs. The +course of the Arab ships being usually close by this island, the crews +often despatch a boat with a few measures of corn to those people, or +some butter, biscuits, and coffee-beans, because they consider Sheikh +Hassan to be the patron of these seas. When we sailed by, our Reys made +a large loaf of bread, which he baked in ashes, and distributed a morsel +of it to every person on board, who eat it in honour of the saint, after +which we were treated by him with a cup of coffee. + +In general, the Arab sailors are very superstitious; they hold certain +passages in great horror; not because they are more dangerous than +others, but because they believe that evil spirits dwell among the coral +rocks, and might possibly attract the ship towards the shoal, and cause +her to founder. For the same reason they observe the constant practice +of throwing, at every meal, a handful of dressed victuals into the sea, +before they sit down themselves to the repast; saying that the +inhabitants of the sea must also have their morsel, otherwise they will +impede the vessel’s course. Our Reys once forgot this tribute; but on +recollecting it, he ordered a fresh loaf to be baked, and threw it into +the sea. + +We met every day, during this voyage, ships coming from Egypt, and often +lay in the same bay with three or four of them, in the evening. On such +occasions quarrels frequently happen about water; and ships are often +obliged to wait one or two days before the Bedouins bring a sufficient +supply down to the coast. Butter, milk, honey, sheep, goats, salt fish, +firewood, thin branches of the shrub Arak, of which the Arabians make +their tooth-brushes, and which the Bedouins collect on this coast, are +every where to be had in plenty, and are generally exchanged for corn or +tobacco. These Bedouins are daring robbers, and often swim to the ships +during the night, to watch for the opportunity + +[p.430] of pilfering. The water on the whole coast is bad, except at +Wodjeh and at Dhoba. Wodjeh, which is usually reckoned at three days’ +journey northward from Djebel Hassány, is a castle on the Hadj route, +about three miles inland. Close by it is excellent spring water; and +there are likewise copious wells of tolerable water in the vicinity of +the small bay which serves as a harbour to the castle, and is therefore +called Mersa el Wodjeh. Some Moggrebyn soldiers garrison the castle, +which was said to be well stocked with provisions. Several of them were +married to Bedouin women, and carried on a trifling trade in provisions +with the ships that pass. + +The neighbouring mountains of Wodjeh are inhabited by the Bedouin tribe +of Bily. To the north of Wodjeh, and about two days’ journey south of +Moeyleh, lies the anchorage of Dhoba, renowned for its excellent wells. +The anchoring-place is in a large bay, one of the best harbours on this +coast, and the wells are about half an hour’s distance inland, under a +grove of palm and Doum date-trees. The route of the Egyptian Hadj passes +here; and for its convenience, a birket, or reservoir, has been +constructed. The ships that sail from Cosseir to Yembo generally make +this point, and continue from thence their coasting voyage southwards. +North of Dhoba two days, lies the castle and small village of Moeyleh, +in the territory of the Howeytat and Omran Bedouins. We passed it at a +distance; but I could see considerable plantations of date-trees near +the shore. What is called the castle, appears to be a square building, +upon the plain close by the water-side. The position of Moeyleh is +distinguishable from afar by the high mountain just behind it; three +pointed summits of which, overtopping the rest, are visible sixty to +eighty miles off: I was told that in clear winter days they could be +distinguished, from Cosseir, at the moment of sun-rise. Moeyleh is the +principal position on this coast from Akaba down to Yembo. Its +inhabitants, who are for the greater part Bedouins, become settlers, +carry on a trade in cattle and fish with Tor and Yembo, and their market +is visited by numerous Bedouins of the interior of the country. It is +the only place on this coast where a regular market is kept, and where +provisions are always to be found, and thus often affords timely relief +to ships detained on their + +[p.431] passage by contrary winds. Provisions being very dear in the +Hedjaz, and very cheap in Egypt, ships, on leaving the Hedjaz harbours +for Cosseir or Suez, never lay in more than is absolutely necessary; but +the passage, which is usually calculated by them at twenty days, very +often lasts a month, and sometimes even two months. + +From off Moeyleh, the point of the peninsula of Sinai, called Ras Abou +Mohammed, is clearly distinguished. Ships bound from Yembo to Cosseir +generally make this promontory, or one of the islands lying before it, +and thence steer south to Cosseir. They do this, in order to take +advantage of the northerly winds that blow in these parts of the Red Sea +for nine months of the year; and they prefer the tedious, but safer mode +of a coasting voyage, during which they often enjoy a land-breeze, to +the danger and fatigue of beating up, in open sea, against the wind, or +of standing straight across from Djidda or Yembo to the African coast; +with the harbours of which, south of Cosseir, very few Red Sea pilots +are acquainted, and of the Bedouin inhabitants of which they all +entertain great fears. + +On reaching Ras Mohammed, they anchor near one of the small islands, or +go into the harbour called Sherm, where they wait till a fair wind +springs up, which usually carries them to Cosseir in one or two days. + +As for ourselves, we had not during the whole voyage any sort of +disagreeable occurrence, though the wind, which was seldom fair, obliged +us once to remain three days at the same anchorage; and I often expected +the vessel to be wrecked, on seeing the pilot steer among the shoals in +shore: a practice in which these people have acquired great experience, +and in which they display as much boldness as they do cowardice in the +open sea. + +After twenty days’ voyage we reached the neighbourhood of Ras Abou +Mohammed, on the 4th of June: the boat was secured for the night with +grapplings to some coral rocks, leeward of a small island ahead of the +promontory; the pilot intending to strike across the next morning. + +As I knew that Bedouins were always to be found in the harbour of Sherm, +to transport passengers by land to Tor or Suez, I wished to be set on +shore here. The road from hence to Cairo was much shorter + +[p.432] than by way of Cosseir; and my low state of health rendered it +desirable to leave the vessel where I had not the slightest +accommodation, and where the fears of the plague had not yet subsided, +though no person had died on board during the last fortnight. For the +sum of four dollars given to the Reys, and one to the pilot, they were +kind enough to go a little out of their course, and on the following +morning, the 5th of June, we entered the harbour of Sherm. + +Sherm is about four or five hours distant from the point called Ras Abou +Mohammed, and is a good and spacious harbour, with anchorage for large +ships; it lies at the entrance of the gulf of Akaba, and is the best +harbour on the west side of that gulf. Under the name Sherm, or Sheroum, +(the plural,) are included two harbours half a mile distant from each +other, both equally good; but the southern is the most frequented. As a +copious well is near, these harbours are often visited by ships coming +from and going to the Hedjaz; and passengers who wish to save themselves +a voyage up the Gulf of Suez, (which during the prevalence of the +northerly winds is often of long duration,) land here, and are carried +by the Bedouins upon camels to Tor and Suez. These Bedouins, living up +in the mountains, see the ships from afar, and on their arrival hasten +to the coast to offer their services. In former times, when the Pashas +of Egypt exercised but a nominal power over the neighbouring Bedouins, +the Arabs of Tor were much dreaded by the crews of ships; they enforced +from them regular tributes whenever they entered their harbours, and +conducted themselves in a very oppressive manner. At present, Mohammed +Aly, through the means of the commander at Suez, has succeeded in +overawing these Bedouins; their conduct is now very friendly, and +travelling with them is perfectly safe: but if a ship happens to be +wrecked on their coasts, or on the islands near them (no unfrequent +occurrence), they still assert their ancient right of plundering the +cargo. + + +In the evening a ship came in, laden with soldiers, which left Yembo six +days before us; the commander of the soldiers, and four or five of his +party, were set on shore, to proceed by land to Cairo, and both vessels +continued their voyage the next morning for Cosseir. + +[p.433] There was no difficulty in obtaining camels; more than thirty +were ready to be hired; and we started, on the evening of our arrival, +in two parties, the one in advance composed of the soldiers, and the +other, at about two hours’ distance behind, composed of myself and +slave, and two fellow passengers, men of Damascus, who were glad of this +opportunity of shortening their journey home. We rode this evening about +one hour and a half in a valley, and then rested for the night. + +On the 6th of June we continued our road in barren valleys, among steep +rocks, mostly of granite, till we halted, about noon, under a projecting +rock that afforded us some shade. The Bedouins went to fetch water from +a place up in the western mountains, called El Hamra, which proved to be +of excellent quality. A poor woman with two goats lived in the valley +quite alone. Among the Bedouins themselves the most perfect security +prevails in this district, which is interrupted only by the scandalous +behaviour of the Turkish soldiers who pass this way. I knew these men +well from repeated experience, and therefore had declined joining their +party. When we continued our route towards evening, we met on the road +one of the Bedouin boys who served as camel-drivers to the party before +us. His camel, upon which one of the soldiers was mounted, had not been +able to keep up with the others, and its rider, furious at this delay, +had drawn his sabre, and cut the animal to make it move at a quicker +pace: when the boy remonstrated and seized the halter, he also received +a cut on the shoulder; and as he persisted in keeping his hold, the +ruffian discharged his gun at him; the boy then ran off, and waited for +our coming up. At a few miles’ distance we heard from afar the soldier’s +loud cursing, and found him walking behind the camel. As I expected an +affray, I had loaded my gun and pistols. When he saw me riding in front +of our people, he immediately ran towards me, and cried out to me in +Turkish to descend and to change camels with him. I laughed at him, and +told him in Arabic I was no fellah, to be addressed in that manner. In +the usual style of those soldiers, who think that every person who is +not a soldier must yield to their commands, he then turned towards my +slave and ordered him to alight, swearing + +[p.434] that he would shoot one of us, if we did not obey. On hearing +this I took up my gun, and assured him that it was loaded with good +powder, and would send a bullet to his heart better than his would to +mine. During this altercation his camel had strayed a little into the +valley, and fearing for his baggage, he ran after it, and we rode on. +Not being able to follow us in the sands, he discharged his gun at me, +from a distance, which I immediately answered, and thus the battle +ended. Farther on we came up with his companions, who had alighted. I +told them, that their friend behind was embarrassed with his camel, upon +which they dispatched one of their Bedouins to fetch him, while I myself +rode on, and encamped that night in a side valley out of the road, where +the Bedouin boy again joined us, not wishing to be seen by the other +soldiers. + +We now conducted our journey in such a manner as not to fall in again +with the soldiers; but two days after I met the man again at Tor. The +governor of Suez was then there, to whom I might have addressed my +complaints: this he was afraid of, and therefore walked up to me with a +smiling countenance, and said he hoped that no rancour subsisted between +us; that as to the shot he fired, it was merely for the purpose of +calling his companions to assist him with his camel. In reply, I assured +him that my shot had quite a different object, and that I was sorry it +had missed; upon which he laughed and went away. There are not on earth +more insolent, haughty, and at the same time vile and cowardly beings +than Turkish soldiers: wherever they expect to meet with no resistance, +they act in the most overbearing, despotic manner, and think nothing of +killing an inoffensive person, in the slightest fit of passion; but when +they meet with a firm resistance, or apprehend any bad consequences from +their conduct, there is no meanness to which they will not immediately +submit. During my journey through Egypt from Cairo to Assouan, the whole +of which was performed by land, I had several similar rencontres with +soldiers; and I must lay it down as a rule for travellers, constantly to +treat these fellows with great hauteur, as the most trifling +condescension is attributed by them to fear, and their conduct becomes +intolerable. We travelled this day about nine hours. + +[p.435] June 7th. We continued our course in valleys for about two hours +and a half, when we came to a high mountain, where I was obliged to +dismount. It was with great difficulty that I could reach the summit, +for my strength was exhausted; and I had been shivering with a fever +the whole preceding night. It took us about two hours and a half to pass +the mountain, and to descend into the valley on the other side. From the +top we had a fine view of the Gulf of Akaba. The upper part of this +mountain is granite, and its lower ridges grünstein. In the afternoon we +issued from this chain into the western plain, which declines slowly +towards the sea of Suez, and encamped in it after a ride of about ten +hours. + +June 8th. We reached Tor, in about three hours and a half from our +resting-place. Here we found every thing in a great bustle. The lady of +Mohammed Aly Pasha, whom I had met with at almost every station on this +journey, had arrived here from Yembo a few days before, and, as it blew +strong from the north, had come on shore, that she might proceed by land +to Suez. The governor of Suez and Mustafa Beg, her own brother, one of +the Pasha’s principal officers, had come to meet her, and her tents were +pitched close by the little village of Tor. From four to five hundred +camels were required to transport her suite and soldiers to Suez, and as +that number could not soon be prepared, she had already been waiting +here a whole week. + +I had intended to stop at Tor a few days, merely to recover sufficient +strength for my journey to Cairo; but when I learned that the plague was +still at Suez, as well as at Cairo, I changed my plan, and determined to +wait here some weeks, till the season for the disease should be passed. +I soon found, however, that a residence at Tor was not very agreeable. +This little village is built in a sandy plain, close to the beach, +without any shelter from the sun; a few date-plantations are at some +distance behind it. The houses are miserable, and swarms of flies and +mosquitoes choke up the avenues of every dwelling. I remained at Tor for +the night; and having heard from the Bedouins that at one hour’s +distance was another small village, in an elevated situation, with +abundance of gardens and excellent water, I resolved to take up my +quarters there. + +[p.436] It is surrounded by a half-ruined wall: the remains of a small +castle are seen, said to have been constructed by Sultan Selym I., who +fortified all the outposts of his empire. The French intended to rebuild +it, but they left Egypt before the work was begun. Two small villages, +about a mile distance, on both sides of Tor, are inhabited by Arabs, +while in Tor itself none reside but Greeks, consisting of about twenty +families, with a priest, who is under the Archbishop of Mount Sinai. +They earn their livelihood by selling provisions to the ships that +anchor here to take in water, which abounds in wells, and is of a good +quality. Provisions are here twice as dear as at Cairo; and the people +of Tor have their own small boats, in which they sail to Suez for those +provisions. Were it not for the passage of Turkish soldiers, they would +be rich, as they live very parsimoniously; but the rapacity of a few of +these men often deprives them, in a single day, of the profits they have +earned during a whole year. No garrison is kept here by the Pasha. + +June 9th. In the morning I rode over the ascending plain to the above- +mentioned village, which is called El Wady, after having laid in a +sufficient stock of provisions at Tor. I easily found a lodging, and was +glad to see that my expectations of the site of this village were not +disappointed: it consists of about thirty houses, built in gardens, and +among date-trees, almost every house having its own little garden. I +hired a small half-open building, which I had covered with dateleaves, +and enjoyed the immediate vicinity of a shady pleasure-ground, where +grew palm, nebek, pomegranate, and apricot trees. A large well, in the +midst of them, afforded a supply of excellent water, and I had nothing +more to wish for at present. The people of the village, who are for the +greater part Bedouins become settlers, could not suspect any motive I +might have for residing here, as they saw that I was scarcely able to +stand upon my legs: they treated me, in consequence, kindly; and little +presents of meat and other provision, which I distributed among them, +soon insured their good-will, and I had every reason to be satisfied +with their conduct. Thus enjoying complete repose, and the good mountain +air of this village, which lies so much higher than Tor, my strength +soon returned. + +[p.437] For the last four years, since I had left the society of my +friends Mr. Barker and Mr. Masseyk, and the delightful gardens of +Aleppo, I had not found myself so comfortable as I did here; and even +the first day that I passed in this retreat produced a visible +improvement in my health. As I thought that slight exercise might be +useful, I rode over to the Hammám, a warm bath, round the corner of the +mountain, situated to the north of Tor, and about half an hour distant +from El Wady. Several warm springs issue from the calcareous mountain, +the principal of which has a roof built over it, and is visited by all +the surrounding Bedouins. Some half-ruined buildings, probably as old as +the demolished castle of Tor, offered, in former times, accommodation to +the visiters. The water is of a moderate heat, and appears to be +strongly impregnated with nitre. Close by the springs are extensive +date-plantations. I have never seen a richer and more luxurious growth +of palm-trees than in this place; they form so thick a wood, that it is +difficult to find one’s way through it. These plantations belong to the +Bedouins of the peninsula, who come here with their families at the +date-harvest. The largest grove, however, is the property of the Greek +priests of Mount Sinai, one of whom lives in an insulated tower in the +midst of it, like a hermit, for he is the only constant resident in the +place. The fear of the Bedouins keeps him shut up for months in this +tower the entrance to which is by a ladder; and a waterman, who provides +him every week with a supply of water, is the only individual who +approaches him. The priest is placed here as gardener of the convent; +but experience shows the inefficacy of all attempts to protect the trees +from the pilfering Bedouins, and they have therefore given up the fruit +to the first comer: so that this grove, the produce of which often +amounts to the value of four or five thousand piastres, becomes public +property. + +I had some difficulty in providing myself with flesh-meat at Wady: sheep +are very scarce in the whole peninsula, and no Arab is inclined to sell +what he has. A flock had been sent from Suez to Tor, for the supply of +Mohammed Aly’s lady and her suite. I was obliged to pay twelve piastres +here for a small kid. + +[p.438] The second week’s residence at El Wady considerably improved my +health. I was not thoroughly recovered, but only wished., at present, to +acquire sufficient strength for the journey to Cairo, where the means of +a complete cure might be found. I was the more inclined to hasten my +departure, as it was said that all the Bedouins who had camels to spare, +and had not given them up for the transport of the Pasha’s women, were +soon to leave this neighbourhood, with loads of coals for Cairo, when I +should find it difficult to procure beasts of transport. I had been for +eighteen months without any letters from Europe, and felt impatient to +reach Cairo, where I knew that many awaited me. I knew too, that the +plague would have nearly subsided by the time of my arrival, as about +the end of June it always yields to the influence of the hot season. I +therefore engaged two camels from hence to Cairo, for which I paid +twelve dollars. + +The Arabs of these parts have established particular transport customs: +of those who inhabit this peninsula, the tribe of Sowaleha is entitled +to one half of the transport, and the other half is shared by the two +tribes of Mezeyne and Aleygat. As I wanted two camels, one was to be +furnished to me by a Sowaleha, and the other either by a Mezeyne or +Aleygat. If no individuals of those three tribes happen to be present, +the business is easily settled with one of them, and the others have no +after claim; but if several of them are on the spot, quarrels always +arise among them, and he who conducts the traveller is obliged to give +to the others a small sum of money, to silence their claims. The same +custom or law marks out certain limits, which when the traveller and his +guide have once passed, the countrymen of the latter have no more claims +for the transport. The limit from Tor, northward, is half way between +Tor and Wady. The Bedouin who had carried me from Tor to Wady passed +this limit by stealth, none of his friends knowing of it: they pursued +when they saw us on the road; but we had passed the limits before they +came up with us, and I had thus fallen to the lot of this guide; when, +on inquiring at Wady for a new guide to Cairo, I was told that no person +could take the transport upon himself, without the knowledge or +permission of the Bedouin + +[p.439] who had brought me to Wady from Tor, and upon whose camel I had +once crossed the limits. The man was therefore sent for, and as his own +camels were not present, he ceded his right to another for two dollars; +and with the latter I departed. These quarrels about transport are very +curious, and sometimes very intricate to decide: in the mean while the +traveller remains completely passive, but there is not much danger of +imposition, for the amount of the hire is always publicly known, and one +dollar is the largest sum he can lose. + +I left Wady on the 17th of June. Our road lay upon an elevated plain, +bounded on the east by the high summits of the Sinai mountains, and on +the west by a low ridge of calcareous hills, which separate the plain +from the sea, and run parallel with it for about five or six hours. This +plain, which is completely barren, and of a gravelly soil, is called El +Kaa, and is in bad repute with the Bedouins, from having no springs, and +being extremely hot, from the nature of its position. Thus I found it +myself. During this day we suffered much from one of the hottest winds I +ever remember to have experienced. We alighted during the mid-day hours +in the open plain, without finding any tree to afford shade. A Bedouin +cloak, fastened to four poles, was erected as a tent, barely sheltering +me from the sun, while my two guides and my slave wrapped themselves in +their mantles, and lay down and slept in the sun. Instead of causing +perspiration, the hot air of the Semoum chokes up every pore; and in the +evening I again had the ague, which continued from hence, in irregular +fits, till I arrived at Cairo. We encamped this night in El Kaa. + +June 18th. We entered, in the morning, Wady Feiran, followed it down +towards the sea, and then continued along shore for the rest of the day, +till we reached the neighbourhood of the well called El Merkha, in front +of the bay which bears the name of Birket Faraoun. + +June 19th. From Merkha we again proceeded along shore, then entered the +Wady Taybe, leaving to our left the mountains, which reach close to the +shore, and in the midst of which lies the bath, called Hamam Seydna +Mousa. Taybe is a valley full of trees, which were now withered for want +of rain. Having reached its top, we + +[p.440] continued over a high plain, passed Wady Osayt, and slept that +night in Wady Gharendel. + +June 20th. Passing by the brackish spring of Howara, we crossed a barren +plain, reached Wady Wardan at mid-day, and encamped in the evening at +Wady Seder. Our days’ journeys were very long, and we travelled some +hours during the night, that we might reach Suez in time to join the +caravan, which was preparing there to conduct the Pasha’s women to +Cairo. As I shall speak in detail of this road in the journal of my +visit to Mount Sinai, I forbear entering here into any particulars: the +remarks I now made were, besides, very superficial. + +June 26th. [sic] In the morning we passed Ayoun Mousa, and reached Suez +in the afternoon. The caravan was just preparing to depart, and we +started with it in the evening. There was a strong guard, and altogether +we had about six hundred camels. We travelled the whole night without +interruption, and on the morning of + +June 22nd alighted at the place called El Hamra, the Hadj station +between Cairo and Adjeroud. The ladies of the Pasha had brought two +carriages with them from the Hedjaz, in which they had travelled all the +way from Tor to Suez, the road being every where of easy passage. Two +more carriages were sent for them from Cairo to Suez, one of which, an +elegant English barouche, was drawn by four horses: they got into these +at Suez, and quitted them occasionally for splendid litters or +palanquins, carried by mules. We started again in the evening, and, +travelling the whole night, reached Birket el Hadj on the morning of the +23rd, having thus made the whole journey from Tor in six days; a forced +march which, from the heat of the season, had fatigued me extremely. At +the Birket El Hadj the caravan was met by many grandees from Cairo: the +ladies of the Pasha intended to encamp there for a few days among the +date-groves. Being unable myself, from weakness, to proceed on the same +day, (although Cairo is but four hours distant,) I slept here, and +entered the city on the morning of the 24th of June, after an absence +from thence of nearly two years and a half. I found that two letters, +which I sent + +[p.441]here from Medina, had not been received, and my acquaintances had +supposed me lost. The plague had nearly subsided; some of the +Christians had already re-opened their houses; but great gloom seemed to +have overspread the town from the mortality that had taken place. + +The joy I felt at my safe return to Cairo was considerably increased by +flattering and encouraging letters from England; but my state of health +was too low to admit of fully indulging in the pleasures of success. The +physicians of Cairo are of the same set of European quacks so frequently +found in other parts of the Levant: they made me swallow pounds of bark, +and thus rendered my disease worse; and it was not till two months after +that I regained my perfect health at Alexandria, whither I had gone to +pay a visit to Colonel Missett, the British resident in Egypt, who had +already laid me under so many obligations, and to whose kind attentions, +added to regular exercise on horseback, more than to any thing else, I +was indebted for my recovery. A delightful journey, in the winter +months, through Lower Egypt, and by the Lake Menzaleh, restored me to my +wonted strength, which I am happy to say has never since experienced any +abatement. + +[p.443] APPENDIX. + +[p.445] APPENDIX. + +No. I. + +Stations of the Pilgrim Caravan, called the “Hadj el Kebsy,” through the +mountainous country between Mekka and Sanaa in Yemen. + +MEKKA. + +1st day. Shedád; some coffee-huts. + +2. Kura, a small village on the summit of the mountain so called. + +3. Tayf. + +4. Abbasa, in the district of the Thekyf Arabs. + +5. Melawy Djedára, district of the Beni Sad Arabs. + +6. Mekhra, district of the Naszera Arabs. The principal village of the +Beni Sad tribe is Lagham, and of the Naszera tribe, Sour; distant one +day N. of the farthest limits of Zohran. In this district is also the +fortified village of Bedjeyle. + +7. Esserrar, of the Thekyf Arabs. + +8. Berahrah, on the N. extremity of Zohran, a district inhabited by +Arabs of the same name. This Zohran is one of the most fertile countries +in the mountainous chain, although its villages are separated from each +other by intervals of barren rock. It is inhabited by the Zohran tribes +of Beni Malek and Beni Ghamed. The Zohran chief, Bakhroudj, having +bravely resisted Mohammed Aly Pasha, was taken by surprise, in March +1815, and cruelly cut to pieces by that Turkish general’s order. + +9. Wady Aly, in the same district. + +10. Meshnye, on the S. borders of Zohran. + +11. Raghdán, a market-place of the Ghamed Arabs. + +12. Korn el Maghsal, of the Ghamed Arabs. + +13. Al Záhera, of the same Arabs. These two tribes of Zohran and Ghamed +possess the Hedjaz (viz. the mountains) and adjoining districts in +Tehama, or the Western plain [p.446] towards the sea, as well as the +Eastern upper plain. The chief place of the Ghamed tribe is Mokhowa, a +town not to be confounded with Mokha. + +14. El Roheyta, of the powerful tribe of Shomrán. + +15. Adama, of the Shomrán Arabs. + +16. Tabala, of the Shomrán Arabs, who extend over both sides of the +mountains in the W. and E. plain. + +17. El Hasba, market of the Shomrán Arabs. + +18. El Asábely, a village of the Asábely tribe. + +19. Beni Shefra, a market-place of the tribe so called, formerly united +with the Asábelys, but formed by the Wahaby chief into a distinct tribe. + +20. Shat Ibn Aryf. + +21. Sedouán: this place and Shat Ibn Aryf are inhabited by Arabs of the +tribe called Ahl Aryef. + +22. El Matsa. + +23. Ibn Maan, which with El Matsa belong to the Ibn Katlan Arabs. + +24. Ibl, in the territory of the powerful tribe of Asyr. + +25. Ibn el Shayr, of the Asyr tribe. + +26. Dahban, of the Kahtan Arabs, one of the most powerful tribes of the +Eastern Desert. + +27. Derb Ibn el Okeyda, a wady inhabited by the Refeydha tribe, who +belong to the Asyr. They are strong in horses. + +28. Derb Selmán, of the Refeydha tribe. + +29. Wakasha, of the Abyda Arabs. In the district of Abyda is the town of +Aryn, in a very fertile territory. From Aryn southward the Arabs keep on +the mountains a few camels, but many sheep and goats, and are what the +Bedouins call Shouáwy, or Ahl Sháh, or Ahl Bul. + +30. Wady Yaowd, of the Abyda Arabs. + +31. Howd Ibn Zyad, of the Abyda Arabs. + +32. Thohran, a district and market-place of the tribe of Wadaa. + +33. Keradb, of the Wadaa tribe. + +34. Rogháfa, of the Sahhar Arabs. + +35. Dohyán, of the Sahhar Arabs. + +36. Sada, of the Sahhar tribe. From Sada the caravan, or Hadj el Kebsy, +takes its departure; it is so called from the Emir, or chief of the +Hadj, who is styled Kebsy. The pilgrims from all the interior parts of +Yemen assemble at Sada: it is a large town, but much decayed, famous in +Arabia Felix as the birth-place of Yabya Ibn Hosseyn, chief promoter of +the sect of Zeyd, which has numerous adherents in that country. Of late +a new saint has appeared at Sada; he is called Seyd Ahmed, and is much +revered by the Zyoud, or sect of Zeyd, who entitle him Woly, or Saint, +even during his life. Sada is governed by Arabs: the Wahaby influence +extended thus far. From Sada towards Sanaa the country is inhabited by +Arabs, under the dominion of the Imám of Sanaa. + +37. Aashemye, of the Sofyan tribe. + +38. A market-place, or Souk, of the Bekyl Arabs. + +[p.447] + +39. Another market-place of the same tribe. The Bekyl and Háshed Arabs +of this district serve in the army of the Imám of Sana; many of them go +to India, and are preferred by the native princes there to any other +class of soldiers: Tipoo Saheb had several hundred of them in his +service. They generally embark at Shaher, in Hadramaut; and their chief +destination at present is Guzerat and Cutch. + +40. Ghoulet Adjyb, of the Háshed Arabs. + +41. Reyda, of the Omran Arabs. + +42. Ayal Soráh, of the Hamdan tribe. + +43. Sanaa. From Mekka to Sanaa, forty-three days’ very slow travelling: +for most of the pilgrims perform the whole journey on foot. + +No. II. + +Of the country through which the Kebsy pilgrims travel, and the +extraordinary customs of some Arabian tribes. + +THE route of this pilgrimage lies wholly along the mountains of the +Hedjaz and Yemen, having the Eastern plain on one side, and Tehama, or +the sea-coast, on the other. The road often leads through difficult +passes on the very summit of the mountains. Water abounds, in wells, +springs, and rivulets: the entire tract of country is well peopled, +although not every where cultivated, enclosed fields and trees being +only found in the vicinity of water. There is a village at every station +of the Hadj: most of these villages are built of stone, and inhabited by +Arab tribes, originally of these mountains, and now spread over the +adjoining plains. Some are very considerable tribes, such as Zohran, +Ghamed, Shomran, Asyr, and Abyda, of whom each can muster from six to +eight thousand firelocks: their principal strength consists in +matchlocks. Horses are but few in these mountains; yet the Kahtan, +Refeydha, and Abyda tribes, who likewise spread over the plain, possess +the good Koheyl breed. This country produces not only enough for the +inhabitants, but enables them to export great quantities of coffee- +beans, corn, beans, raisins, almonds, dried apricots, &c. + +It is said that the coffee-tree does not grow northward beyond Meshnye, +in the Zohran country; the tree improves in quality southward: the best +coffee is produced in the neighbourhood of Sanaa. Grapes abound in these +mountains. Raisins constitute a common article of food with the Arabs, +and are exported to the towns on the sea-coast, and to Djidda and Mekka, +where a kind of wine is made from them, as follows:--The raisins are put +into + +[p.448] earthen jars, which are then filled with water, buried in the +ground, and left there for a whole month, during which the fermentation +takes place. Most other fruits are cultivated in these mountains, where +water is at all times abundant, and the climate temperate. Snow has +sometimes fallen, and water been frozen as far as Sada. The Arabs +purchase their cotton dresses in the market-places of Tehama, or on the +coast: the passing pilgrims sell to them a few drugs, spices, and +needles, and proceed on their way in perfect security, at least since +the Wahabys have subjugated the whole country, by overpowering, after +many sanguinary battles, the hostile Sheikhs, who were forced to pay an +annual tribute. + +Most of the Arab tribes south of Zohran belong to the sect of Zeyd: they +live in villages, and are chiefly what the Arabs call Hadhar, or +settlers, not Bedouins; but as they keep large herds of cattle, they +descend, in time of rain, into the Eastern plain, which affords rich +pasturage for cows, camels, and sheep. They procure clothes, drugs, +utensils, &c. from the sea-ports of Yemen, where they sell dried fruits, +dates, honey, butter, coffee-beans, &c. With the Bedouins of the Eastern +plain they exchange durra for cattle. The Spanish dollar is current +among them; but in their markets all things are valued by measures of +corn. The dress of these Bedouins generally consists in cotton stuffs +and leather. + +Before the Wahabys taught them the true Mohammedan doctrines, they knew +nothing more of their religion than the creed, La Illaha ill’ Allah, wa +Mohammed rasoul Allah, (There is no God but God, and Mohammed is the +prophet of God); nor did they ever perform the prescribed rites. The El +Merekede, a branch of the great Asyr tribe, indulged in an ancient +custom of their forefathers by assigning to the stranger, who alighted +at their tents or houses, some female of the family to be his companion +during the night, most commonly the host’s own wife; but to this +barbarous system of hospitality young virgins were never sacrificed. If +the stranger rendered himself agreeable to his fair partner, he was +treated next morning with the utmost attention by his host, and +furnished, on parting, with provisions sufficient for the remainder of +his journey: but if, unfortunately, he did not please the lady, his +cloak was found next day to want a piece, cut off by her as a signal of +contempt. This circumstance being known, the unlucky traveller was +driven away with disgrace by all the women and children of the village +or encampment. It was not without much difficulty that the Wahabys +forced them to renounce this custom; and as there was a scarcity of rain +for two years after, the Merekedes regarded this misfortune as a +punishment for having abandoned the laudable rites of hospitality, +practised during so many centuries by their ancestors. + +That this extraordinary custom prevailed in the Merekede tribe, I had +often heard during my travels among the Syrian Bedouins, but could not +readily believe a report so inconsistent with our established notions of +the respect in which female honour is held by the Arabs; but I can no +longer entertain a doubt on the subject, having received, both at Mekka +and Tayf, from various persons who had actually witnessed the fact, most +unequivocal evidence in confirmation of the statement. + +Before the Wahaby conquest it was a custom among the Asyr Arabs, to take +their marriageable daughters, attired in their best clothes, to the +public market, and there, walking before them, to cry out, Man yshtery +el Aadera? “Who will buy the virgin?” The match, + +[p.449] sometimes previously settled, was always concluded in the +market-place; and no girl was permitted to marry in any other manner. + +I heard that tigers and wolves abound in these mountains, but that there +are not any lions. The Arabs have here a fine breed of mules and asses. + +No. III. + +Route from Tayf to Sanaa. + +This itinerary was communicated to me by a poor man who had travelled +with his wife, in 1814, from Sada to Mekka. He was a native of some +place near Sanaa; and as the pilgrimage or Hadj el Kebsy had been for +some years interrupted, and he could not afford a passage by sea to +Djidda, he undertook this route, which is practicable even in these +critical times to those who can pass unsuspected in the character of +pilgrims. He was every where treated with hospitality. On his arrival at +a village he proceeded to the Mesdjed or mosque, and recited some +chapter of the Koran: the Arab inhabitants then inquired who he was, and +supplied him with plenty of flour, milk, raisins, meat, &c. He was never +stopped by robbers until he reached the advanced posts of Mohammed Aly’s +Turkish army; there he was plundered by some soldiers of all his +provisions. He could not mark exactly each day’s journey, because he +loitered about from one settlement to another, waiting often several +days that he might have companions on the road. The journey occupied him +altogether three months. He supported himself at Mekka by singing, +during the night, before the houses of wealthy pilgrims, some verses in +honour of the propbet and of the pilgrimage. His route was as follows:-- + +El Tayf--Beni Sad, Arabs--Naszera, Arabs--Begyle (or Bedjele), a market- +place--Rebah, a market-place--El Mandak, in the Zohran country--El Bekaa, +in the Zohran country--Raghdan, in the district of the Ghamed Arabs-- +Ghamed, Arabs--Sollebat, inhabited by Ghamed Arabs and those called +Khotham, a very ancient tribe that flourished in the beginning of Islám-- +Shomran, Arabs--Bel Korn--Ibn Dohman, an Arab tribe so called--Ibn el +Ahmar, another Arab tribe--Ibn el Asmar, an Arab tribe--The country here +is called after the inhabitants, which my informer had not forgotten, +although he did not always recollect the names of the villages through +which he passed in the districts of each tribe--Asyr; this tribe is now +united with the three former under one head--The Asyr chief, El Tamy, +proved the steadiest antagonist of Mohammed Aly: his principal residence +was the strong castle of El Tor, situated upon a high level surrounded +by mountains; he + +[p.450] had also a smaller castle, called El Tobab, with a town, from +four to five days’ journey distant from Gonfode on the sea-coast. + +In the Asyr district, the pilgrim passed the villages called Shekrateyn, +Ed-dahye, Shohata, and Ed-djof. So far the road had always been on the +very summit of the mountain: the traveller henceforward continuing along +the valleys composing the lower chain of hills that intersect the +Eastern plain. + +Refeydha, Arabs--Abyda, Arabs--Harradja, a town in the district of the +Senhán Arabs; which also contains the fertile wady called Ráha--Homra, a +place inhabited by the Senhan Arabs: at one day’s journey eastward is +Wady Nedjran, belonging to the tribe of Yam-Thohran, inhabited by the +Wadaa tribe: this place is high in the mountain, but the Wadaa occupy +also the low valleys--Bágem, a tribe of Arabs: eastward of them resides +the powerful tribe of Kholán Arabs--Dohhyán, of the Sahhar tribe-Sada: +from Sada the most usual stages to Sanaa are Beit Medjáhed--Djorf--Kheywan +and Houth, two places in the district of the Háshed tribe--Zybein,--Omrán- +Sanaa-Seven days from Sada to Sanaa. + +No. IV. + +Notices respecting the Country south of Mekka. + +I HAVE already described the road from Mekka to Tayf. Four hours distant +from Tayf, in a S.E. direction, is Lye, a wady with a rivulet, fine +gardens, and many houses on the borders of the stream. About two hours +S. of Lye, in the mountain, stands the celebrated castle of Byssel, +built by the late chief of all the Hedjaz Arabs, Othman el Medhayfe, who +was taken prisoner near it in autumn 1812. Here Mohammed Aly Pasha, in +January 1815, fought his decisive battle with the united Wababy forces. +From Lye the road leads over mountains for about two hours, and then +descends into the great Eastern plain, where, at a distance of seven or +eight hours from Lye, and twelve from Tayf, lies the small town of +Kolákh: here were the head-quarters of the Turkish army for several +months in 1814. It is an open place, without trees or enclosures, with +many water-pits. It lies from Tayf in the direction of E.S.E. About Lye +and Kolákh, live the Arabs of the Ossama tribe, who form part of the +great Ateybe tribe. Between Kolákh and Taraba, off the straight road, +lies Abyla, once the residence of the great chief Medhayfe. By Kolákh +passes the most frequented road from Nedjed to Zohran, and from thence +to the sea-ports of Yemen. Continuing over the plain from Kolákh in a +more southern direction for about eighteen hours, we come to the town of +Taraba, as the people of Tayf and Mekka call it, or Toroba according + +[p.451] to the Bedouin pronunciation. A soldier who possessed a watch +told me that he had counted three hours on the march between Tayf and +Taraba. This is a considerable town, as large as Tayf, and remarkable +for its plantations, that furnish all the surrounding country with +dates; and famous for its resistance against the Turkish forces of +Mohammed Aly, until January 1815, when its inhabitants were compelled to +submit. Taraba is environed with palm-groves and gardens, watered by +numerous rivulets; near it are some inconsiderable hills, at the foot of +which the Arabs cultivate durra and barley: the inhabitants are of the +Begoum tribe, and their Sheikh is Ibn Korshán. One Ghálye, the widow of +a deceased Sheikh, had immortalised her name by devoting her property to +the defence of the town, and taking an active part in the council of the +chiefs. The country about Taraba, and thence to Kolákh, is inhabited by +the Ateybe Arabs, the most numerous of the Hedjaz tribes. The Begoums +had enclosed Taraba with a wall, and constructed some towers: at present +a Turkish garrison is stationed here, this being a principal position +and the grand thoroughfare between Nedjed and Yemen. + +Pursuing the road from Taraba southwards to the east of the great chain +of mountains, over an uneven ground intersected by many wadys, we come, +at two days from Taraba, to the town of Ranye, inhabited by the Arab +tribe of Sabya, whose Sheikh is Ibn Katnán, a personage distinguished +for his bravery in the campaign against the Pasha’s Turkish troops. +Three or four days from Ranye is the town of Beishe, the intermediate +space being peopled by the Beni Oklob tribe. Beishe, the most important +position between Tayf and Sanaa, is a very fertile district, extremely +rich in date-trees. The Turkish army of Mohammed Aly, with its followers +and allied Bedouins, amounting in all to ten or twelve thousand men, +found here sufficient provisions for a fortnight’s halt, and for a +supply on their march of several days towards the south. The Arabs +entitle Beishe the key of Yemen: it lies on one of the great roads from +Nedjed to Yemen; and it was said that heavy-laden camels from Mekka to +Yemen could not come by any other way, and that on the sea-shore beyond +Beishe is an easy passage westward through the great chain of mountains. +At Beishe many battles were fought between Sherif Ghaleb and Saoud the +Wahaby general, who being victorious erected two castles in the +neighbourhood, and gave them in charge to Ibn Shokbán, whom he also made +chief of the Beni Salem tribe, the inhabitants of Beishe, who could +furnish from eight to ten thousand matchlocks. Ibn Shokbán afterwards +gallantly opposed the Turkish army. I believe that in former times the +Sherifs of Mekka possessed at least a nominal authority over all the +country, from Tayf to Beishe. In Asamy’s history we find many instances +of the Sherifs residing occasionally at Beishe, and having in their army +auxiliaries of the Beni Salem tribe. + +Beishe is a broad valley, from six to eight hours in length, abounding +with rivulets, wells, and gardens. The houses here are better than those +of Tayf, and irregularly scattered over the whole tract. The principal +castle is very strong, with substantial and lofty walls, and surrounded +by a ditch. About three or four days’ journey to the E. and S.E. of +Beishe, the plain is covered with numerous encampments of the Kahtan +Arabs, one of the most ancient tribes, that flourished long before +Mohammed, in the idolatrous ages. Some of these Beni Kahtan emigrated to +Egypt, where the historian Mesoudi knew them as inhabitants of Assouan. +The Wahabys found great difficulty in subduing this tribe, which, +however, + +[p.452] subsequently became attached to the conquerors, and still +continues so. The Beni Kahtan possess excellent pasturage, and breed +many fine horses: the vast number of their camels have become proverbial +in Arabia. The tribe is divided into two main branches, Es Saháma, and +El Aasy. In December 1814 the Kahans made an incursion towards Djidda, +and carried off the whole baggage of some Turkish cavalry, stationed to +protect the road between Djidda and Mekka: large parties of them +sometimes pasture their cattle in the province of Nedjed. + +From Beishe to Aryn, in the country of the Abyda Arabs, is a journey of +five days, according to the Bedouin mode of travelling, but six or seven +days as the Kebsy pilgrims march. Beishe itself is about two days +distant from the western mountain. It is a journey of at least four days +from Beishe to the district of Zohran: all the Arabs from Taraba to +Beishe, and from thence westward, are cultivators or agriculturists; +those due south and east, are Bedouins, or wandering Nomades. + +South-east of Beishe, four or five days, live the Dowáser Arabs during +the winter; but in summer they remove to the more fertile pasture-lands +of Nedjed, the nearest frontiers of which are only eight days distant. +They have no horses, but furnish to the Wahabys in their wars about +three thousand camel-riders. The Dowáser are said to be very tall men, +and almost black. In former times they used to sell at Mekka ostrich +feathers to the northern pilgrims, and many pedlars of Mekka came here +in winter to exchange cotton stuffs for those feathers. + +Adjoining the Dowáser, but I cannot exactly ascertain in what direction, +are the Beni Kelb, Bedouins of whom many absurd fables are related in +the Hedjaz: thus it is said, the men never speak Arabic, but bark like +dogs; a notion, perhaps, arising from the name Kelb, which signifies a +dog. Their women, however, it is allowed, can speak Arabic; but the +truth is, that the stranger who alights at their tents is entertained by +the women, and not by the men. + +Half way between Wady Dowáser, or the winter pasture-land of the Dowáser +tribe, and Sanaa the capital of Yemen, a short day’s journey east of +Thohrán, (the territory of the Wadaa Arabs,) and four or five days from +the town of Sada, lies the Wady Nedjrán, on the first of the great chain +of mountains. It is a fertile valley between inaccessible mountains, in +which the passes are so narrow that two camels cannot go abreast. The +valley is watered by rivulets, and abounds with date-trees. Here reside +the Beni Yam, an ancient tribe, distinguished lately by their opposition +to the Wahabys: they consist of settlers and Bedouins; the former being +Shyas, or heretics of the Persian sect, followers of Aly, while the +Bedouins are mostly Sunne or orthodox Muselmans. The latter are +subdivided into the tribes of Okmán and El Marra, weaker than the +disciples of Aly, and often at variance with them, although both parties +unite whenever Nedjrán is attacked by a foreign enemy. The settlers can +muster about fifteen hundred firelocks. They twice repulsed the Wahaby +chief Saoud, who had subdued all the other Arab tribes except the Beni +Sobh, of the Harb race, in the northern parts of the Hedjaz. The Beni +Yam made a kind of treaty with the Wahabys, and were allowed to perform +the pilgrimage annually. Some of them visit the tomb of Aly, at Meshehed +Aly, but under circumstances of great difficulty; for their lives would +pay the forfeit of their religious zeal, should they be detected on the +road; and this frequently happens, + +[p.453] as they are betrayed by their peculiar accent or dialect: one +who has performed his devotions at Aly’s tomb is regarded as a saint at +Nedjrán. + +When a man of this Beni Yam tribe undertakes a journey, he sends his +wife to the house of a friend, who, it is understood, must in all +respects supply the husband’s place during his absence, and restore the +lady to him at his return. It may be here remarked, that the name of +Nedjran el Yemen is mentioned in the Catechism of the Druses; one of the +questions being, “Is Nedjran of Yemen in ruins or not?” The tanneries of +Nedjran are famous throughout Arabia. + +The less mountainous districts mentioned here, south of Mekka, are even +in time of peace accessible only to Bedouins, or Bedouin merchants, and +have not any regular communication with Mekka by caravans--Taraba +excepted, the inhabitants of which carry their dates in monthly caravans +to Mekka and Djidda. The people of Nedjed pass continually through this +district in search of coffee-beans, and during the Wahaby dominion there +was no other intercourse between Yemen and the northern provinces of +Arabia. This country seldom enjoys peace, the mountaineers being hostile +to the pastoral inhabitants of the low districts, and often at variance +among themselves. They are all very warlike, but the Wahabys have +succeeded in checking their private feuds. + +The country from Mekka southwards near the sea-shore, to the west of the +chain of mountains, is flat, intersected with hills that gradually +disappear as we approach the sea, of which the shore presents a level +plain in almost every direction at the distance of several hours. In +time of peace the land road is most frequented by caravans, which either +proceed along the coast close to the barbour, or by the foot of the +mountains. The former way affords but little water. The first inhabited +place south of Djidda is Leyth, four days distant, a small harbour, +which the people were now deserting through dread of the mountaineers. +The inhabitants of Leyth are mostly of the Beni Harb tribe, numerous and +powerful in the country between Mekka and Medina. On this coast are many +encampments of the Heteym Arabs. From Leyth up the mountains to the +district of Zohrán, is a journey of three days and a half: from Leyth to +Shagga, a small town, is one day’s journey: from thence to Doga, the +same distance. Doga lies near the mountainous region, and is a +considerable market-place; but its houses, or rather huts, are +constructed only of brush-wood and reeds, not of stone. The inhabitants +are mostly Sherifs, connected in kindred with the Sherif families of +Mekka, to whom they often granted an asylum in the late civil wars. It +is a journey of one day from Doga to Gonfode, the well-known harbour. +One day and a half south of Gonfode, is the small harbour of Haly: this +was the southern limit of the territory belonging to the Sherif of +Mekka, who kept custom-house officers at Gonfode and Haly. The Wahaby +chieftain, Othman el Medhayfe, in 1805 (or 1806), took Gonfode from the +Sherif, and the whole coast from thence to Djidda fell under the Wahaby +dominion. In 1814 the Turkish troops of Mohammed Aly Pasha endeavoured +to establish themselves there, but were soon dislodged with considerable +loss by Tamy. Gonfode, however, was retaken in 1815 by Mohammed Aly +himself, after his return from the expedition against Tamy, the Sheikh +of Asyr. + +The caravan distance from Djidda to Gonfode along the coast is seven +days, easy travelling. From Djidda to Leyth, another more eastern road, +somewhat mountainous, five + +[p.454] days’ journey, yielding plenty of water: while on the coast +road, but one well is found between the two towns. + +The other road from Mekka to Yemen, close along the western foot of the +great mountains, is much frequented in time of peace: there are weekly +arrivals of caravans, chiefly from Mokhowa, which is distant fifteen +hours from Doga, and one day from the district of Zohrán in the +mountains. Mokhowa is a large town, nine days’ journey from Mekka, for +caravans travelling slowly: it has stone buildings, and is the market +where the husbandmen of Zohrán and the neighbouring districts sell the +produce of their labour to the merchants of Mokhowa, who send it to +Mekka and Djidda. The country about Mokhowa is very fertile, and +inhabited by the three tribes of Beni Selym, Beni Seydán, and Beni Aly: +the two latter had submitted to the Wahabys, and were commanded by Tamy, +the Sheikh of Asyr. There are likewise at Mokhowa many of the Beni +Ghamed tribe. In time of peace the intercourse between this town and +Mekka is very considerable; perhaps one third of the supplies of Mekka +in grain of different kinds come from this place. Between these towns +the road lies chiefly through valleys, and crosses but few hills: on it +are some villages, of which the huts are inhabited by Bedouins as well +as agriculturists. I must here repeat that Mokhowa is not to be +confounded with Mokha. + +The two first days’ journeys lie in the territory of the Djebádele +tribe, whose boundary on the S. is Wady Lemlem, a fertile valley with +springs. Beyond that live the Beni Fahem, an ancient tribe, now much +reduced in numbers: they are celebrated throughout the Hedjaz for having +retained the purity of their language in a higher degree than other +tribes; and those who hear one of their boys speak, will be convinced +that they deserve thin praise. + +The country west of the great mountainous chain down to the sea is +called Tehama; an appellation not given, at least in this part of +Arabia, to any particular province, but assigned generally to the +comparatively low grounds towards the coast; and the Bedouins extend +this appellation northwards as far as Yembo. The people of Tehama are +poor, those excepted who engage in trade; for the country has few +fertile spots, and less pasturage than the mountains, where rain falls +more abundantly. In the lower Tehama there are sometimes, during a whole +year, but three or four days of rain. The Tehama Bedouins south of Mekka +had mostly retired up into the mountains, when Mohammed Aly invaded the +Hedjaz, not from dread of the Turks, but because, in such an unsettled +state of affairs, weak tribes were not secure, in the open country, from +being surprised by straggling Bedouins from the more powerful hostile +tribes, who during the power of the Wahabys did not venture to show +their enmity, and now impatiently broke loose. Among the Bedouins of +Tehama are many tribes of the Beni Heteym, a tribe more widely spread +than any other in Arabia. + +The Great Desert, east of Beishe and Wady Dowáser, and south of the +province of Nedjed, extending eastwards to the frontiers of Oman, is +called by the Bedouins Roba el Khaly, “the empty or deserted abode.” In +summer it is wholly deserted, being without any wells. In winter, after +rains, when the sands produce herbage, all the great tribes of the +Nedjed, Hedjaz and Yemen pasture their flocks in the parts of this +desert bordering respectively on their own countries. The sandy soil is +much frequented by ostriches, which + +[p.455] are killed by the Dowáser Arabs. Several Bedouins assured me, +that in the Robá el Khály there are many parts which have never yet been +explored; because towards the east it does not, even in winter time, +afford the slightest vegetation. The only habitable spot on this dreary +expanse of sand is the Wady Djebryn. There the road passes, by which, in +winter, the Arabs of Nedjed travel to Hadramaut: it is a low ground with +date-trees and wells; but the pestilential climate deters people from +residing there. The dates are gathered by the passing travellers. + +No. V. + +Stations of the Hadj or Pilgrim Caravan from Cairo to Mekka. + +THE following account refers to the route of the caravan in 1816; but +formerly, as I learn from Arabian authors, the stations differed in many +instances. + +The caravan assembles for several days at a place eastward of the +Gardens near Cairo, about one hour distant, called El Hassoua, and then +proceeds to Birket el Hadj, four hours distant, where they remain two +days. From this place the caravan starts on the 27th of the month Showál: +it travels only by night, generally setting out at four o’clock in the +afternoon, and alighting soon after sun-rise at the station where they +encamp, until evening. + +From the Birket el Hadj-- + +1st night--To Dár el Hamra. + +2. To Adjeroud: here they halt the whole day and following night. The +caravan is supplied with water from Suez, that which Adjeroud furnishes +being extremely bad. + +4. To Roos el Nowatyr, a plain in the mountain, without water: here they +halt only a few hours, and proceed + +5. To Wady Tyh, the entrance to the Desert of Tyh: here they halt a few +hours, but, not finding any water, go on + +6. To the castle of Nakhel: here they repose, after their forced march, +during the whole day and following night, supply themselves with water, +and set out next evening. + +8. To El Alaya, where they remain one hour, but find no water. + +9. To Sath el Akaba, the summit of the western chain of Akaba: here is a +small village. The road up and down the mountain is very difficult. From +this station they march a whole night, to descend in the narrow passes +to the plain and castle of Akaba. + +10. Here they remain the day and night. + +12. Thaher el Homar, a rocky ground, with bad water and numerous date- +trees. + +[p.456] + +13. (Night,) To Shorafa, a barren long extended valley, without water. + +14. To Moghayr Shayb: many wells of sweet water, date-plantations, and +trees among the rocks, render this one of the most agreeable stations on +the route; but it is infested by robbers. + +15. To Ayoun el Kassab, a plain ground with date-trees, and water. +It belongs to the territory of Moeyleh. + +16. To El Moeyleh, where are fine pasture-grounds and good water: here +the caravan halts for the night, and remains till the next evening. + +18. To Selma, a place yielding water. + +19. To Kalat Ezlam. + +20. To El Astabel, or Astabel Antar: the only water here is in a few +holes dug in the sands of the valley, + +21. To Kalat el Wodjeh, where there is good water: they halt this night, +and next evening proceed + +23. To Akra; a very long march; they arrive at Akra in the evening: here +the water is of a most offensive smell. The caravan halts one hour. + +24. To El Houra, likewise called Dár el Ashreyn, because it is the +twentieth station from Cairo. Between Akra and Houra lies El Hank, a +valley without water. At Houra are many trees; also the shrub Arak, of +which the pilgrims cut branches, to use as toothbrushes. The water here +is bad, and of a strong aperient quality. + +25. To Nabt. + +26. To El Khedheyra, where the caravan stops one hour in the morning, +and marches the rest of the day, the whole night, and next day till +evening. + +27. To Yembo el Nakhel, where they remain the night, and proceed + +29. To Beder: here they remain that day and night; and set out early +next morning, and arrive at El Kaa in the afternoon, where they halt +till evening, and then proceed + +31. To Rábegh. + +32. To Djereynát. + +33. To Akabet e’ Sukar. + +34. To Kholeys. + +35. To Asfán. + +36. To Wady Fatme. + +37. To Mekka. + +Thirty-seven days on the road--thirty-one nights marching--seven days +halt. + +[p.457] No. VI. + +Geographical Notices of the Country northward and eastward of Medina. + +THE stations of the caravan between Damascus and Medina are well known. +The most interesting spot on this road, within the limits of Arabia, +appears to be Hedjer, or, as it is sometimes called, Medayen Saleb, +seven days north of Medina. This place, according to many passages of +the Koran, (which has a chapter entitled Hedjer,) was inhabited by a +gigantic race of men, called Beni Thamoud, whose dwellings were +destroyed because they refused to obey the admonitions of the prophet +Saleh. In circumference Hedjer extends several miles; the soil is +fertile, watered by many wells and a running stream: here are generally +large encampments of Bedouins. The Wahaby chief, Saoud, intended to +build a town on this spot; his olemas deterred him, by declaring that it +would be impious to restore a place that the Almighty had visited with +his wrath. An inconsiderable mountain bounds this fertile plain on the +west, at about four miles’ distance from the ground where the pilgrim +caravan usually encamps. + +In that mountain are large caves or habitations cut out of the rock, +with sculptured figures of men and various animals, small pillars on +both sides of the entrances, and, if I may believe the testimony of +Bedouins, numerous inscriptions over the doors; but I am inclined to +think that the Arabs may have mistaken sculptured ornaments for letters. +The rock is of a blackish colour, probably volcanic, for there is a +lukewarm well in the vicinity. My illness at Medina, and subsequent +weakness, prevented me from visiting this spot, from whence I might, in +a straight direction, have proceeded to Akaba, on the extremity of the +eastern gulf of the Red Sea. + +The Bedouins call the whole country between Hedye and Oela (a more +northern station of the pilgrims) the district of Sheffa. From thence to +Akaba el Shám, or the Syrian Akaba, (likewise a Hadj station), the +country is called Essafha. It is this Akaba that may be properly +described as the boundary of Arabia towards Syria. Here a steep mountain +extends for several days’ journey westward towards the Red Sea, and +eastward towards the interior of the Desert. On the north of that +mountain we enter the higher or upper plain, which continues to +Damascus. Between the Syrian Akaba and the Egyptian Akaba is another +pass through the same mountain, called Báb el Nedjed, or the “Gate of +Nedjed,” because here the Bedouins of southern Syria (or, as they are +called by the Arabian Bedouins, Ahl el Shemál, “People of the North,”) +pass on their way to Nedjed. In those passes the Wahabys, when they make +excursions against the Bedouins, leave strong guards, to secure their +own retreat. + +The Hadj route from Medina direct to Syria is not much frequented even +in time of + +[p.458] peace. Sometimes a few Bedouin merchants take camel-loads of +coffee-beans by this road to Damascus; but it is infested by strolling +parties of the Beni Omran and Howeytat tribes, who live in the western +mountain, and frequently descend to rob travellers in the plain. The +most frequented route to the north of Medina is towards the country of +Kasym, which, as I have already mentioned, supplies Medina in time of +peace with all sorts of provisions. The route to Kasym lies between the +Hadj route on one side, and the straight road to Derayeh (the Wahaby +capital) on the other. The direction of the province of Kasym, as well +as of Nedjed, was often pointed out to me at Medina, and I always found. +it to be + +E. ˝ N. for Kasym +E. by S. for Derayeh bearing from Medina. + +Between the Hadj road and that to Kasym lies a third route, leading +straight from Medina to the province of Djebel Shammar, which in +peaceable times is much frequented; but the most common way from Medina +to Djebel Shammar is by Kasym, two days longer than the last route, but +less fatiguing for camels, because there is abundance of water on this +road, and very little on the other. + +Caravans going from Medina to Kasym visit the following stations: + +Medina.--At one hour’s walk beyond the gardens (the road passing E. of +Djebel Ohod) is an open space called El Areydh, with the tomb of a +sheikh, having a cupola over it. Near this is a well, named Byr Rasheyd. + +3 hours from thence is El Hafná, with the bed of a torrent. + +19 hours. Soweyder. The road from Hafná to this place is rocky, with two +ascents, difficult for camels, and wholly without water. Soweyder lies +between two mountains, and has some wells of brackish water dug in the +ground; also Doum date-trees. The road from Medina to this place is +inhabited by Mezeyne (or Omzeyne) Arabs, of the Beni Harb tribe, and by +the Heteym and Beni Safar Arabs, also of the same tribe. + +4 hours. A valley, with wells and Doum date-trees. + +7 hours. Hanakye, in the plain, with many ponds and wells of sweet water +dug in the ground. At a certain depth water is always found here. The +ruins of an ancient castle, in the Saracen style, are visible; and here +date-trees grow. This important position is frequently visited by the +Bedouin tribes. + +6 hours. Abou Khesheyb. The road from Hanakye to this place is on a +sandy plain. Abou Khesheyb lies between two mountains, and affords good +well-water. + +12 hours. El Heymedj, a station having sweet and saltish water. + +8 hours. El Mawát. The road from Heymedj to this place is sandy, with +low mountains, no trees; the herb called adjref grows here. The pasture- +ground of the Beni Harb tribe extends as far as Heymedj: then begin the +pastures of the Meteyr Arabs. El Máwát has the best water on the whole +route: it is a sandy spot in an inlet of the mountains. + +16 hours. El Badje. The road from Mawát to this place is without water, +on a sandy plain, having mountains on both sides: the chain on the left +is called Taâye. Badje is an extensive tract, with trees and herbage, +and wells both of sweet and brackish water. + +3 hours. Neffoud, or, as it is called from the soil, Gherek-ed-Dessem, a +plain of deep + +[p.459] sand, four hours long, after which the road becomes less sandy +and difficult, being covered with small stones. + +14 hours. Djerdáwye, a plain with wells of good water; from thence in + +7 hours, to Dát, the first town of Kasym.--In all, one hundred hours. + +From Dát to Rass, one of the chief towns of Kasym, is four or five +hours. From Rass to a place called Khabara, five hours; and from Khabara +to Shebeybe, four hours. According to the night journies of the +Bedouins, one hundred hours are equal to ten or eleven marches by day. +The journey here detailed was performed by Tousoun Pasha’s army at +night. Three days from Medina to Hanakye, and eight days from thence to +Dát. A person belonging to the court of Tousoun Pasha measured the +distance by his watch. The caravans, loaded with corn, are generally ten +or eleven days on the road between Medina and Rass. + +Kasym, which is the most fertile district in the province of Nedjed, +begins at Dát. The name of Nedjed, signifying high or elevated ground, +is given to this country in opposition to Tehama or “low lands,” applied +to the sea-coast. It seems to be an oblong tract, extending between +three and four days’ journies from west to east, and two journies in +breadth south to north. Within this space are above twenty-six small +towns or villages, well peopled, in a cultivated territory, irrigated by +water from numerous wells. The chief town is Bereyda, where resides the +Sheikh of Kasym, an old man named El Hedjeylan, once an enemy to the +Wahabys, now a convert to their doctrine. The neighbourhood of Rass +produces the most corn; and that part of Kasym about Dát and Rass lies +nearest to Medina. In time of peace, regular caravans arrive every month +at Medina from Rass. Tousoun Pasha’s army found plenty of provisions in +the few villages of Kasym which they occupied. + +The most considerable place in Kasym is Aneyzy, said to be equal in size +to Siout in Upper Egypt, which contained, according to the French +computation, three thousand houses. Aneyzy has bazars, and is inhabited +by respectable Arab merchants. Of the other towns and villages, the +following are most noted:--Es’ Shenáne, Balgha, Heshashye, El Helalye, El +Bekeyrye, Batah el Nebhanye, Ashebeybe, Ayoun, Kowár, and Mozneb. + +Small tribes of the Aenezes, of Ateybe (whose chief seat is on the +Hedjaz mountains inhabited by the Beni Harb), of Meteyr, and others, +encamp during the whole year among the plains of Kasym, which afford +excellent pasturage. + +Between Kasym and Derayeh, the capital of Nedjed, the intermediate +district, mostly a desert, is called El Woshem: from the eastern +extremity of the district of Kasym to Derayeh is a distance of five +days. The last place in Kasym, on this side, is Mozneb then begins Wady +Sarr, a broad sandy valley with pasturage, which continues for several +days towards Derayeh through the district of Woshem. + +Nedjed, near Derayeh, assumes the name of El Aredh, a district once +separate from Nedjed, but now considered as belonging to it. El Aredh is +less fertile than El Kasym, from which, in fact, it is partly supplied +with provisions. Its principal town, Derayeb, has always been a place of +note, but much increased since it has become the capital of the Wahaby +power and sect. Its direction was often indicated to me; and I found it +to bear from Medina E. by S. (variation not computed); the bearing of +Kasym from Medina, + +[p.460] E. ˝ N. Derayeh is situated in a valley, the inlets and outlets +of which on the N. and S. sides are very narrow, admitting only one +camel at a time. The houses (many built of stone) are placed on the +declivities of both mountains, the valley itself being throughout very +narrow. The town is not walled. The number of inhabitants may be +estimated, according to the report of the Bedouins, who state that the +town furnished three thousand men armed with firelocks to the Wahaby +chief: they are composed of different tribes, principally the Mekren, a +branch of the Messalykh, part of the great Aeneze race. All the +inhabitants of Nedjed trace their pedigrees to some ancient Bedouin +tribe; thus the people of Rass claim descent from the Beni Yam, who now +reside at Nedjran, in Yemen. The smaller tribe of Beni Lam (related to +those of the same name on the river Tigris, but not, like them, of the +sect of Aly), and the small tribe of Essehoun, dwell in the Aredh, and +seldom encamp beyond its limits. Derayeh is supplied with water from +wells. Ibn Saoud, the late Wahaby chief, discovered a spring behind this +house, which he built, and wished to persuade the people that God had +inspired him on the occasion. The mansion of the Wahaby chief stands on +the mountain, at about ten minutes’ walk from the town: it is spacious, +but without any splendid apartments: all the married members of the +reigning family have their own chambers; and there are many rooms for +guests, with whom the house is constantly filled; for all the chiefs of +tribes who come to Derayeh on business are invited to the mansion or +palace of the great Sheikh. There are not any khans or public inns, so +that every stranger quarters himself upon some inhabitant; and the +people of Derayeh are proverbially hospitable. The immediate +neighbourhood is barren, yielding only some date-trees. Derayeh is +supplied with provisions chiefly from Dhoroma, a large and populous +village, one day’s journey towards the E. or N.E., which has gardens and +orchards well watered from copious wells. + +From Derayeh to Mekka is a distance of eleven or twelve long caravan +days’ journies. For three days beyond Derayeh are found cultivated spots +and small settlements of Arabs; the rest of the road is through a desert +country, as far as Wady Zeyme, two days from Mekka. The distance from +Rass (in Kasym) to Mekka is also computed at twelve days’ journey. This +latter road abounds more with water than the former, and likewise passes +by Wady Zeyme. + +A straight road from Nedjed to the mountains of Hedjaz (I use this word +here in the Bedouin sense, meaning the mountains south of Tayf), and to +the country of Beishe and Yemen, passes by the village of Derye, on the +southern extremity of Nedjed, on the great road from Kasym to Mekka. The +road from Derye to Beishe lies four or five days east of Mekka. Between +Derye and Taraba (above mentioned) is a pasture-land, with many wells, +called El Bakarra, a well-known halting-place of all the Bedouins of +these countries. It belongs to the Kereyshát tribe, a branch of the +Sabya Arabs inhabiting Ranye. + +Nedjed is celebrated throughout Arabia for its excellent pastures, which +abound even in its deserts after rain: its plains are frequented by +innumerable Bedouins, who continue there for most of the year, and +purchase corn and barley from the inhabitants. During the rainy season +these Bedouins retire towards the interior of the Desert, where they +remain until the rain-water collected in the hollow grounds is consumed +by their cattle. Previous to the Wahaby establishment, the pasturage of +Nedjed belonged exclusively to the Aenezes, + +[p.461] which I have already mentioned as the largest of all the Bedouin +tribes of Arabia. Great numbers of them frequented this territory in +spring, and kept off all the other tribes, except the powerful Meteyr, +who reside in the Desert between Kasym and Medina. These strengthened +their party by an alliance with the Kahtan Arabs, while the Aenezes were +assisted by the Beni Shaman. Between these tribes an inveterate hatred +subsisted, which every spring was the cause of much bloodshed, and +checked the commercial intercourse with the Hedjaz; and both parties +levied contributions on the settled inhabitants of Nedjed: but this +custom has been abolished by the Wahabys, whose chief, instead, receives +a regular tribute, and has reconciled the hostile parties, and opened +the pastures of Nedjed to any tribes of Wahabys who may choose to +frequent them. A Bedouin assured me that twenty encampments of different +tribes may now be seen here in the course of one day’s march--such is the +security maintained by the Wahaby chief, who is inexorable in the +punishment of robbers. + +The fine pastures of Nedjed have produced an excellent breed of camels, +more numerous here than in any other Arabian province of equal extent. +The Arabs call this country Om el Bel, or “the mother of camels,” and +resort to it from all quarters for the supply of their own herds; and it +constantly furnishes not only Hedjaz, but Syria and Yemen, with camels, +of which useful creatures an ordinary one is sold for about ten dollars +in Nedjed. In this country there is also a most excellent breed of +horses, so remarkable that the finest blood Arabs are properly +denominated Kheyl Nedjade, or Nedjed horses. But the Wahaby power has +caused a diminution of this breed; for many Arabs have sold their best +horses in foreign parts, lest they should be forced to attend the Wahaby +chief, who, in his wars, frequently required cavalry. + +Nedjed, however, is often subject to scarcity, caused by the failure of +rain, and consequently of herbage: this soon affects the cattle of the +Bedouins, who seldom expect, in this country, more than three or four +successive years of plenty, although absolute famine does not occur +above once in ten, or perhaps fifteen years. It is generally accompanied +by epidemical diseases, much like the plague, consisting of violent +fevers (but without biles or buboes,) that prove fatal to great numbers. +Nedjed is peopled by small tribes of Bedouins, who never leave it, and +by settlers intermarried with them, and often travelling as merchants to +Damascus, Baghdad, Medina, Mekka, and Yemen: they export camels and +woollen cloaks (abbas), of which the best are manufactured at El Hassa; +and from Baghdad they receive rice, (the produce of the banks of the +Tigris), and articles of dress, especially the keffies, or +handkerchiefs, striped green and yellow, of cotton, wool, or silk: these +the Bedouins wear over their bonnets. From Mekka they get coffee, drugs, +and perfumes, much used among them, particularly the perfume called +Arez, which comes from Mokha. In general there is a spirit of commerce +very prevalent in Nedjed, where the merchants are wealthy and of better +repute for honesty than most of the Eastern traders. The settlers here +are armed with matchlocks, and constitute the best portion of the Wababy +infantry: they are generally successful against the Bedouins who invade +their crops or pastures; and, as saltpetre is found in Nedjed, every +family makes its own yearly provision of gunpowder. + +In Nedjed are many ancient wells, lined with stone, and ascribed by the +inhabitants to a primeval race of giants. They are generally from +twenty-five to thirty fathoms deep, and + +[p.462] mostly the property of individuals, who exact a certain +contribution from the tribes whose cattle they supply with water. Here +likewise are numerous remains of ancient buildings, of very massive +structure and large dimensions, but in a state of complete ruin. These +are attributed to a primitive (or perhaps a fabulous) tribe of Arabs, +the Beni Tamour, of whose supposed works some vestiges are likewise seen +in the Syrian deserts eastward of the plains of Hauran. + +Of all the Bedouin tribes that exist in Arabia, some few families at +least may be found in Nedjed, to which refugees fly for security against +their enemies. This country, in fact, is not only the seat of the Wahaby +government, but seems the most important of the interior districts of +Arabia, from its fertility and population, its central position, and +facility of intercourse with other provinces. To acquire a perfect +knowledge of the Bedouins, it would be necessary to examine them in +Nedjed, where their manners continue unaltered by conquest, and +retaining all their original purity: nor have they been contaminated by +an influx of strangers; for, except the Hadj caravan coming from +Baghdad, no foreigners ever pass through Nedjed. For this reason I +consider Nedjed and the mountains between Tayf and Sanaa as the most +interesting portion of Arabia, affording more objects of inquiry to a +traveller than any other part of the peninsula. + +From Derayeh eastward towards the Persian Gulf, the country is called +Zedeyr, as far as the limits of the province of El Hassa, six days +distant from Derayeh, of which three days are without water. The +district of Hassa (or, as it is sometimes written, El Ahsa) is +celebrated for its numerous wells, and extends for about two days’ +journey parallel with the sea-coast, from which it is distant, inland, +fifty or sixty miles. In breadth it is about thirty-five miles. The +abundance of water enables the Arabs to cultivate clover, which serves +to feed their finest horses. The Wahaby chief sends all his horses to +this place every season. + +The town of El Hassa (built by the Karmates in the tenth century) is +populous; in it reside some wealthy merchants. It has walls and towers, +and was successfully defended against the Pasha of Baghdad in 1797. It +is one of the principal strongholds of the Wahabys; and their chief +derives from this fertile district the greater part of his income. The +sea-port for El Hassa is Akyr, a small town on the Persian Gulf, much +frequented by the Arabs of Maskat and the pirates of the Kowasem (qy. +Jowasem) tribe, who inhabit the port of Ras el Kheyme. The woollen +cloaks, of abbas, made at El Hassa are in great demand all over Arabia +and Mesopotamia: they cost from ten to fifty dollars each. + +The territory of Hassa contains about twenty villages: the principal +Bedouins that inhabit it are the Beni Khaled (a tribe extended over many +parts of Arabia), the Bisher Arabs, a tribe of the Benezes, and the El +Zab tribe. Here also, as well as in Nedjed, are some of the Beni +Hosseyn, a tribe belonging to the Persian sect of Moslims. + +Between El Hassa and. Basra, water abounds. The road from Derayeh to +Baghdad leads through the provinces of Kasym and Djebel Shammar, taking +a western direction, because in a direct line no water is found in the +Desert. Having reached Kowar, a small town on the frontiers of Kasym, +towards Djebel Shammar (eight days from Derayeh), the traveller proceeds +one day’s journey to Kahfe, a village within the territory of Djebel +Shammar. The road continues two days in the cultivated parts of this +province as far as the well of + +[p.463] Shebeyke, which bounds Shammar on this side. From thence is one +day’s journey to Lyne, famous for its numerous and abundant wells, that +supplied the whole Wababy army with water: this place is much frequented +by the Aeneze Arabs. Between Nedjed and the Euphrates a well in the +Desert furnishes sulphur to the powder manufactories of Nedjed. + +From Lyne three days’ journey, in a desert without water, brings the +traveller to the well of Shebekka, and from that one day to the town of +Meshehd Aly. This is the summer route in winter, when the rain-water is +collected in ponds on the way, the Arabs travel from the well of +Shebekka by the road called Derb Bereydha, the ancient Hadj route of the +Khalifes when they went on pilgrimage. Here are many tanks, cased with +stone, constructed by the Khalifes to supply the pilgrims with water; +and the road passes straight on from Meshehd Aly towards Djebel Shammar, +without touching at Lyne. From Meshehd Aly to Djebel Shammar the +distance is reckoned eight days, and the traveller from Baghdad to +Nedjed always passes by the tomb of Aly. This route is much frequented, +especially by the Ageyl Arabs of Baghdad, of whom many are from Nedjed, +which they often visit as pedlars. All the Arabian Bedouins settled in +the suburbs of Baghdad are comprised under the name of Ageyl. This was +once a powerful tribe, but it has much degenerated. + +Through the province of Djebel Shammar, or, as it is commonly called, El +Djebel, lies also the road from Nedjed to Damascus. It is a mountainous +tract to the N.E. of the province of Kasym, bearing from Medina E.N.E. +Its inhabitants are the powerful Beni Shammar, a tribe of which some +have passed over to Mesopotamia. Their Sheikh, Ibn Aly, is a main +supporter of the Wahaby government. They are said to muster seven +thousand matchlocks; and, like their neighbours in Nedjed, they +cultivate palm-trees by means of water drawn up from wells in leathern +buckets by camels. One of the principal towns in Djebel Shammar, is El +Mestadjedde: the chief town is said to be El Hayl; and the neat in size, +Kofár. + +From Djebel Shammar to Damascus the road passes by the district El Djof, +which is five days distant from it. The road is of deep sand, without +any water but what is afforded by the well of Shageyg, four days from +Djebel Shammar, and one from Djof. I believe that there is no other +station of equal length entirely destitute of water, in any part of +Arabia frequented by caravans, like the four days between Djebel and +Shageyg. The well of Shageyg belongs to the Aenezy tribe of Rowalla; and +whoever wishes to go from Southern Syria to Nedjed, must necessarily +pass here. There is not any water from Djof southwards, in a direct line +towards Khaibar and Medina; the road is therefore not frequented. Arabs +going from Djof to Medina must pass by Shageyg and Shammar and Kasym, +taking a circuitous route. + +My residence at Medina in time of war, when the eastern and northern +Bedouins were hostile, and did not come into the town, prevented me from +acquiring as much information as if a peaceable intercourse had +subsisted. Whenever this is the case, small caravans from Khaibar and +Teyme frequently repair to Medina. Khaibar is well known in Arabian +history, as the scene of early Muselman wars under Mohammed, Aly, and +their successors. It is said to be four or five days (some say only +three) from Medina, the road passing between the Hadj route to Damascus +and the route to Kasym. The Arabs of Khaibar, in time of + +[p.464] peace, bring their dates for sale to Medina. They are said to be +of a darker complexion than the surrounding Bedouins: this may be caused +by the great heat in the low situation of that place. Khaibar is about +six hours distant from the Hadj route to Syria, and lies, I believe, in +a direction N.E. from Medina. It appears in former times to have formed +part of the territory of the Sherif of Mekka. When the Sherif Hassan +Abou Nema was installed in 966, (A.H.) his territory, as we learn from +Asamy, comprised Mekka, Tayf, Gonfode, Haly, Yembo, Medina, and Khaibar. +The present inhabitants of Khaibar are the Wold Aly, a tribe of Aenezes +mustering about three hundred horsemen, whose sheikh Aleyda +distinguished himself in the Wahaby war. Another branch of the Wold Aly +inhabit the deserts near Hauran, south of Damascus. At Khaibar also are +encampments of the Oulad Soleyman, a tribe of the Bisher Arabs (likewise +of the Aeneze nation); but the Wold Aly possess the ground and the date- +plantations. + +A colony of Jews formerly settled at Khaibar has wholly disappeared. It +is commonly believed at Mekka and Djidda, that their descendants still +exist there, strictly performing the duties of their religion; but, upon +minute inquiry at Medina, I found this notion to be unfounded, nor are +there any Jews in the northern parts of the Arabian Desert. The Jews who +were formerly settled in Arabia, belonged to the tribe of Beni Koreyta +(Caraites). They came to Medina after Nebuchadnezzar had taken +Jerusalem; when Kerb Ibn Hassan el Hemyary (one of the Toba kings of +Yemen who had possessed themselves of Mekka) made an inroad towards +Medina, which he besieged, and on his return from thence carried some of +the Beni Koreyta with him to Yemen. These are the first Jews who settled +in that country, and their descendants still remain at Szanaa. (See +Samhoudy’s History of Medina.) + +The small town of Teyme is three days from Khaibar, and as many from +Hedjer, in an eastern direction. It is inhabited by the Aeneze Arabs, +and abounds with dates. It belongs neither to Nedjed nor Kasym, and, +like Kbaibar, was an independent Bedouin settlement before the time of +the Wahabys. Those small towns in the interior of the Arabian Desert, +are like the Oases in the Libyan; and serve as points of intercourse +between the Bedouins and the neighbouring cultivated countries. Their +Bedouin inhabitants are agriculturists, and mostly petty merchants who +sell to their wandering brethren of the Desert the goods which they +purchase at the first cost in the Syrian or Arabian towns. Beginning +northward with the small town of Deir on the Euphrates, we can trace a +line of these oases that form advanced points towards the Desert all the +way south as far as Medina. Deir, Sokhne, Tedmor, Djof, Maan, Ola, +Khaibar, and Teyme, are all inhabited by Bedouins, who cultivate the +soil, and form an intermediate class between Bedouins and peasants. +These positions would be highly important to those who might wish to +subdue, or at least to check the Bedouins; and they might become of +still greater importance, in being rendered the means of inspiring the +whole Bedouin nation with more amicable sentiments towards the Syrian +and Hedjaz inhabitants. + +[p.465] No. VII. + +Postscript to the Description of the Beitullah or Mosque at Mekka--(See +p. 161.) + +THE law forbids that blood should be shed either in the mosque or town +of Mekka, or within a small space around it: neither is it lawful there +to cut down trees, or to kill game. This privilege of the mosque is +generally respected in common cases of delinquency, and many criminals +take refuge in the Beitullah accordingly; but it is also frequently +violated. I have myself seen Mohammed Aly’s soldiers pursue a deserter, +seize and carry him off from the covering of the Kaaba to which he had +clung; and the history of Mekka cites numerous examples of men killed in +the mosque, among others the Sherif of Mekka, Djazan Ibn Barakat, +assassinated while he performed the towaf round the Kaaba. Sanguinary +battles (as in A.H. 817.) have even been fought within its sacred +precincts, which afford the most open spot in the town for skirmishing. +Horsemen have often entered and passed a whole night in it. Therefore we +may say that the privilege is generally useless in those cases where it +would be most valuable; such as the protection of fugitives from the +powerful oppressor. As to the sanctity of the territory, it is but a +name, and seems to have been little respected even in the first ages of +Islám. The extent of the sacred territory is variously stated by the +three historians whose works I possess, and who were themselves Mekkans. +The four Imáms or founders of the orthodox sects also disagree upon the +subject. At present the privilege of the sacred territory seems almost +forgotten; and it has been crossed in every direction by infidel +Christians employed in the army of Mohammed Aly or Tousoun Pasha, who, +though they have not entered Mekka, have visited Mount Arafat. Contrary +to the precepts of Mohammed, wood is now cut in the mountains close +behind Mekka, and no one is prevented from shooting in the neighbouring +valleys. The plain of Arafat alone is respected, and there the trees are +never cut down. The sacred district, or, as it is called, Hedoud el +Haram (the limits of the Haram), is at present commonly supposed to be +enclosed by those positions where the ihram is assumed on the approach +to Mekka: those are, Hadda to the west, Asfan to the north, Wady Mohrem +to the east, and Zat Ork to the south. Aly Bey el Abbassi has +represented this district, in his map, as a particular province or +sacred territory called Belad el Harameyn: but in fact, no such province +has ever existed; and the title of Belad el Harameyn is given, not to +this sacred space, but to both the territories of Mekka and Medina. + +[p.466] No. VII + +Philological Observations. + + +MANY Arabic terms which have become obsolete in other places, and are +found only in the good authors, many expressions even of the Koran, no +longer used elsewhere, are heard at Mekka in the common conversation of +the people, who retain, at least in part, the original language of the +Koreysh. Some neighbouring Bedouin tribes, especially those of Fahm and +Hodheyl, use a dialect still more pure and free from provincialisms and +grammatical errors. I sometimes attended the lectures of a Sheikh in the +mosque, who to his own excellent native Arabic had added the result of +his studies at Cairo: and I never heard finer Arabic spoken. He prided +himself in sounding all the vowels, not only in reading, but even in +conversation; and every word he uttered might be noted as of standard +purity. + +It is to their extensive commerce with foreigners that we must ascribe +the corruption of the Mekkan dialect when compared with that of the +neighbouring Bedouins, though it still serves as a model of softness to +the natives of Syria and Egypt. In pronunciation, the Mekkans imitate +the Bedouin purity--every letter has its precise and distinct sound: they +pronounce [Arabic consonant] like k, and the [Arabic consonant] like a +soft g, (as in the word going); although in the public service of the +mosque, and in reading the Koran, they express that letter with the +guttural aspiration given to it in Syria, and which is therefore +regarded as the true pronunciation. The [Arabic consonant] is pronounced +djem; but in the mountains to the south, and the interior of Yemen, it +is sounded gym, as at Cairo. The guttural pronunciation of the elif +[Arabic consonant], often neglected in other places, is here strictly +observed. The only fault in the Mekkan pronunciation is, that in common +with the Bedouins they sometimes give, in words of two syllables, too +great an emphasis to the last: thus they say Zahab, [Arabic] Safar, +[Arabic]Lahem, [Arabic] Matar, [Arabic] Saby, [Arabic] and others. + +The people of Yemen whom I saw at Mekka pronounced and spoke Arabic +almost equally well as the Mekkans: those from Szanaa spoke with purity, +but a harsh accent; but the Hedjazi, like the Bedouin accent, is as soft +as the language will admit. + +It has been said that the dialects of Arabic differ widely from each +other; and Michaelis, one of the most learned orientalists, affirms that +the Hedjazi is as different from the Moggrebyn dialect as Latin from +Italian; and a noble Sherif traveller makes a strong distinction between +Moorish and Arabic, pretending to understand the latter and not the +former; and even the accurate and industrious Niebuhr seems to have +entertained some erroneous notions on this subject. But my own inquiries +have led me to a very different opinion. There certainly exists a great +variety of dialects in Arabic; more perhaps than in other languages: but +notwithstanding the vast extent of country in which Arabic prevails, +from Mogador to Maskat, whoever has learned one dialect will easily +understand all the others. In respect to pronunciation, whoever can +spell correctly will feel little embarrasment + +[p.467] from the diversity of sound, and soon become familiar with it. +The same sense is often expressed by different terms; but this is +applicable rather to substantive nouns than to verbs. Many words are +used in one country and not in another: thus bread is called khobs in +Syria, and aysh in Egypt; both terms being genuine Arabic, a language +rich in synonyms: but the Syrian dialect still retains what has become +obsolete in the Egyptian. From the specimen given by Niebuhr of the +Egyptian and Hedjazi dialect, I could show, word by word, that there is +not one provincialism in the whole. If the Egyptian says okod, and the +Arabian edjles, they both use genuine Arabic words to express the same +thing, one of which is more common in Arabia, the other in Egypt, when +both terms are well understood by all who have mixed in the busy crowd, +or have had even an ordinary education. An Englishman is justified in +using “steed” for “horse;” thus the Moggrebyn calls a horse owd, the +eastern Arab hoszan; but many poets use the word owd, which is at +present unknown to the vulgar in Egypt. This variation of terms arose +probably from the settlement of different tribes, each having their +peculiar vocabulary; for it is known that Feyrouzabády compiled the +materials of his celebrated Dictionary (the Kámous) by going from one +tribe to another. The Arabs spreading over conquered countries took +their idioms with them, but the joint-stock of the language continued +known to all who could read or write. + +Pronunciation may have been affected by the nature of different +countries, retaining its softness in the low valleys of Egypt and +Mesopotamia, and becoming harsh among the frozen mountains of Barbary +and Syria. As far as I know, the greatest difference exists between the +Moggrebyns of Marocco, and the Hedjaz Bedouins near Mekka; but their +dialects do not differ more from each other than the German of a Suabian +peasant does from that of a Saxon. I have heard learned men of Syria +express their ignorance of many Bedouin terms used by tribes in the +interior of the Desert, especially the Aenezey, who, on the other hand, +do not comprehend certain words of the Syrian town-language; but the +wants and habits of a Bedouin are so different from those of a town- +person, that the one frequently cannot find terms to express the ideas +of the other. + +As to pronunciation, the best is that of the Bedouins of Arabia, of the +Mekkans, and people of the Hedjaz; that of Baghdad and of Yemen is next +in purity. At Cairo the pronunciation is worse than in any other part of +Egypt; after which I should rank the language of the Libyan Arabs, who +have a tinge of the Moggrebyn pronunciation mixed with the Egyptian. +Then comes the Arabic spoken in the eastern and western plains of Syria, +(at Damascus, Aleppo, and on the sea-coast); then the dialect of the +Syrian mountaineers, the Druzes, and Christians; next, that of the +Barbary coast, of Tripoly, and of Tunis; and lastly, the rough +articulation of the Marocco and Fez people, which has a few sounds +different from any other, and is subdivided into several dialects. The +Arabs, however, of the eastern side of Mount Atlas, at Tafilelt, and +Draa, pronounce their Moggrebyn tongue with much less harshness than +their western neighbours. But I must acknowledge, that of all Arabic +dialects, none appeared to me so disagreeable and so adulterated as that +of the young Christian fops of Cairo and Aleppo. + +[p.468] No. IX. + +Topographical Notices of the Valley of Mekka and its Mountains; +extracted from the History of Azraky, showing the names assigned to +every part. [It may be here remarked, that the Bedouins of the present +day continue to bestow on the smallest hill, projecting rock, or little +plain, a distinct and particular name; which circumstance renders the +history of Arabia often obscure, as the names have, in the course of +ages, sometimes changed.] + +THE different mountains forming the southern chain of the valley of +Mekka are:--Djebel Fádeh, on the lower part of Djebel Kobeys, nearest to +the town--El Khandame, likewise part of Djebel Kobeys--Djebel el Abyadh, +called among the Pagan Arabs Mestebzera, belonging also to Djebel +Kobeys--Mozazem--Korn Meskale, lower ridge of Shab Aamer--Djebel Benhán, +ibid.--Djebel Yakyán, on the side of Shab Aamer--Djebel el Aaredj, near +the latter--Djebel el Motabekh, or Shab Aamer; so called because the Toba +kings of Yemen, when they invaded Mekka, established here their kitchen-- +Shab Abou Dobb--Shab e’ Szafa, or Djebel Ráha, Shab Beni Kenáne--Shab el +Khor--Shab Athmen. + +On the northern side are:--El Hazoura; here was formerly the market of +Mekka--El Djethme--Zogág el Nár--Beit el Ezlám--Djebel Zerzera, in the +Djehelye called El Káym--Djebel Omar, in the Djehelye called Da Aasyr-- +Djebel el Adkhar, [El Adkhar is a shrub or plant, mixed by the Mekkans +with mortar in the construction of their houses. El Aadhad a thorny +tree, common in Arabia.] in the time of the Djehelye called El Mozhebát, +or El Aadhad--Djebel el Hazna-Shab Arny--Thenyet Keda Batn Zy Towa--Djebel +el Mokta--Fah, a valley beyond the Djidda gate--El Momdera--El Moghesh, +from whence was cut the white marble used in the mosque--El Herrowra-- +Istár--Mokbaret el Noszára, the burial-ground of the Christians--Djebel el +Beroud--Thenyet el Beydha--El Hashás--Da el Medowar--Djebel Moslim--Wády Zy +Towa--Thenyet Om el Harth--Djebel Aby el Keyt--Fedj--Shab Ashras--Shab el +Motalleb--Zát Khalilyn--Djebel Kabsh--Djebel Rahhá--El Bagheybagha--Djebel +Keyd--El Ark--Zát el Hantal--El Akla--Shab el Irnye--El Alká--Shab el Leben +--Melhet el Ghoraba--Melhet el Herouth--Kaber el Abd. + +On the lower side of Mekka are:--Adjyád, or Djyad--Ras el Insán, between +the Djebel Kobeys and Adjyád--Shab el Khatem, near Adjyád--Djebel Khalife-- +Djebel Oráb--Djebel Omar--Ghadaf--El Mokba--El Lahdje--El Kadfade--Zát el +Lahá--Zou Merah--Es Selfeyn--El Dokhádekh--Zou el Shedyd--Zát e’ Selym--Adhat +el Nabt, so called from some Nabateans who resided there, and were sent +by Mawya Ibn Aly Sofyán to make mortar at Mekka--Om Kerdan. + +On the north side of the Mala are--Djebel Deylamy--Djebel Sheyb--Djebel +Habeshy-- + +[p.469] Shab el Mokbera--Abou Dedjáne--Djebel el Lyám--El Ghoráb--Shab el +Akhnes, also called El Khowaredj, or El Gheyshoum--El Káad. + +On the road towards Mekka are:--El Mofdjer, or El Khoder--Shab Howa--Er +Rebáb-Zou el Aráke--El Ambara, in the Djehelye called Semyra--E’ Seder. + +On the road towards Djebel Thor, southward of Mekka, are:--Zát el +Lakhob--Zát Ardjá--El Kaflye--Thor--and El Bána. + +No. X. + +ADDITIONAL NOTES. + +Mokhowa, [Arabic] mentioned in pp. 112, 189, &c. must not be confounded +with Mokha, [Arabic] on the sea-coast. Mokhowa is a town ten days +distant from Mekka at the western foot of the great chain of mountains. + +The word Hedjer, [Arabic] mentioned in p. 139, is not to be mistaken +for Hadjar, a stone: the space of ground is called Hedjer “because it is +separated from the Kaaba or Beitullah;”--[Arabic] + +Page 299--The Beni Amer--The word Amer [Arabic] in this place must not be +confounded with Amer [Arabic] another tribe of Harb. The damma [Arabic +vowel] in [Arabic] is never pronounced by the Arabians, who say Amr Ibn +el Las, ([Arabic]) and not Amrou Ibn el Las, placing the damma [Arabic +vowel] merely to distinguish the word from [Arabic] Omar. + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Travels In Arabia, by John Lewis Burckhardt + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TRAVELS IN ARABIA *** + +This file should be named 9457-8.txt or 9457-8.zip + +Produced by William Thierens + +Project Gutenberg eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the US +unless a copyright notice is included. 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