Ou/0 OLli "■%A,,i,' CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 3 1924 062 544 709 o^^^mi^-sssjwTioN ■S^iKiw'K^iii^^ IRR*? *t lyyi"" * JATT TT5ci)^ fmm ~a^ JWT^i ^mH$ yfAfi'"^ GAVIORD PRINTED IN U.SA Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/cletails/cu31924062544709 Production Note Cornell University Library pro- duced this volume to replace the irreparably deteriorated original. It was scanned using Xerox soft- ware and equipment at 600 dots per inch resolution and com- pressed prior to storage using CCITT Group 4 compression. The digital data were used to create Cornell's replacement volume on paper that meets the ANSI Stand- ard Z39. 48-1984. The production of this volume was supported in part by the Commission on Pres- ervation and Access and the Xerox Corporation. Digital file copy- right by Cornell University Library 1991. I^ceanica jfmtiK^tjff CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY Gift of Herbert Fisk Johnson '22 5 C "5 u , (> C " PERSONAL NARRATIVE OF A PILGEIMAGE TO EL MEDIMH anb MECOAH. BT RICHARD F. BURTON, CAPTAIN BOMBAY ARMY. " Our notions of Mecca must be drawn from the Arabians : as no unbeliever is permitted to enter the city, our travellers are silent."- Gibbon, chap, 50. SECOND EDITION. IN TWO VOLUMES. VOL. II. LONDON: LONGMAN, BROWN, GREEN, LONGMANS, AND ROBERTS. 1857. '%ACKti TO LIEUT. -GENERAL W. MONTEITH, 'MADRAS ENGINEERS) K. L. S. r. R. SOC. p. B. G. SOC. &c. &c. &c. THIS VOLUME IS INSCRIBED, A FEEBLE EVIDENCE OF THE AUTHOR'S GBATITaDE. CONTENTS THE SECOND VOLUME. CHAPTER XXI. Page The People of El Medinah - - 1 CHAPTER XXII. A Visit to the Saints' Cemetery - - 28 CHAPTER XXIII. The Damascus Caravan ... 50 CHAPTER XXin*. From El Medinah to El Suwayrkiyah - - - 58 CHAPTER XXIV. The Bedouins of El Hejaz - - - 76 CHAPTER XXV. From El Suwayrkiyah to Meccah 1 19 CHAPTER XXVI. TheBaytUllah ... .151 CHAPTER XXVII. The First Visit to the House of Allah - - 184 CHAPTER XXVni. The Ceremonies of the Taum el Tarwiyah, or the First Day ----- . - 201 CHAPTER XXIX. The Ceremonies of the Taum Arafat, or the Second Day 214 IV CONTENTS. CHAPTER XXX. Fags The Ceremonies of the Yaum Nahr, or the Third Day - 225 CHAPTER XXXI. The Three Days of Drying Flesh - - 242 CHAPTER XXXn. Life at Meccah, and Umrah, or the Little Pilgrimage - 250 CHAPTER XXXin. Places of Pious Visitation at Meccah - - 271 CHAPTER XXXrV. ToJeddah - - - - - 283 APPENDIX I. Specimen of a Murshid's Diploma, in the Kadiri Order of the Mystic Craft El Tasawwuf - - - 303 APPENDIX IL The Navigation and Voyages of Ludovicus Vertomannus, Gentleman of Rome. a. d. 1503 - - - 309 APPENDIX III. The Pilgrimage of Joseph Pitts to Meccah and El Medinah. a. d. 1680 - - - - 330 APPENDIX IV. Giovanni Finati - - - -" - 357 APPENDIX V. The Trihes of El Hejaz - - - - 367 APPENDIX VL Of Hajj, or Pilgrimage ... 372 Index . - - - - .^SQ LIST OF PLATES VOL. II. The Pretty Bedouin Girl - - Frontispiece. View or El Medinah, the Burial Place of THE Prophet ... To face page 1 Sketch of El Medinah by a Native Artist „ 27 The Pilgrim's Costume - - - „ 58 Bedouin and Wahhabi Heads and Head- dresses - - - - - „ 76 Plan op the Prophet's Mosque at Mecoah- „ 97 The Village of El Suwatekiyah - - „ 119 Mount Arafat during the Pilgrimage - „ 209 Stoning the Great Devil - - - „ 226 A Square in Jeddah - „ 292 A PILGRIMAGE EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. CHAP. XXI. THE PEOPLE OP EL MEDINAH. El Medinah contains but few families descended from the Prophet's Auxiliaries. I heard only of four whose genealogy is undoubted. These were, — 1. The Bayt el Ansari, or descendants of Abu Ayyub, a most noble race whose tree ramifies through a space of 1500 years. They keep the keys of the Kuba Mosque, and are Imams in the Haram, but the family is no longer wealthy or powerful. 2. The Bayt Abu Jud : they supply the Haram with Imams and Muezzins.* I was told that there are now but two surviving members of this family, a boy and a girl. 3. The Bayt el Shaab, a numerous race. Some of the members travel professionally, others trade, and others are employed in the Haram. 4. The Bayt el Karrani, who are mostly engaged in commerce. * Ibn Jubayr relates that in his day a descendant of Belal, the original Muezzin of the Prophet, practised his ancestral profession at El Medinah. 2 PILGEIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. There is also a race called el Nakhawilah*, who, accord- ing to some, are descendants of the Ansar, whilst others derive them from Yezid, the son of Muawiyah : the latter opinion is improbable, as the Caliph in question was a mortal foe to All's family, which is inordinately venerated by these people. As far as I could ascertain, they abuse the Shaykhayn j : all my informants agreed upon this point, but none could tell me why they neglected to bedevil Osman, the third object of hatred to the Shiah persuasion. They are numerous and warlike, yet they are despised by the townspeople, because they openly profess heresy, and are moreover of humble degree. They have their own priests and instructors, although subject to the orthodox Kazi, marry in their own sect, are confined tq low offices, such as slaughtering animals, sweeping, and gardening, and are not allowed to enter the Haram during life, or to be car- ried to it after death. Their corpses are taken down an outer street called the Darb el Jenazah — Road of Biers — to their own cemetery near El Bakia. They dress and speak Arabic, like the townspeople ; but the Arabs pre- tend to distinguish them by a peculiar look denoting their * This word is said to be the plural of Nakwali, one who cultivates the date tree, a gardener or farmer. No one could tell me whether these heretics had not a peculiar name for themselves. I hazard a conjecture that they may be identical vrith the Mutawalli (also written Mutawilah, Mutaalis, and Metoualis), the hardy, courageous, and hospitable moun- taineers of Syria, and Coelosyria Proper. This race of sectarians, about 35,000 in number, holds to the Imamship, or supreme pontificate of Ali and his descendants. They differ, however, in doctrine from the Persians, believing in a transmigration of the soul, which, gradually purified, is at last " orbed into a perfect star.'' They are scrupulous of caste, and will not allow a Jew or a Frank to touch a piece of their furniture : yet they erect guest-houses for Infidels. In this they resemble the Shiahs, who are far more particular about ceremonial purity than the Sunnis. They use ablu- tions before each meal, and herein remind us of the Hindus. t The " two Shaykhs " — Abubekr and Omar. THE NAKHAWILAH. 3 degradation, — doubtless the mistake of effect for cause, made about all such " Tribes of the -vrandering foot and weary breast." A number of reports are current about the horrid cus- toms of these people, and their community of women* with the Persian pilgrims who pass through the town. It need scarcely be said that such tales coming from the mouths of fanatic foes are not to be credited. I regret not having had an opportunity to become intimate with any of the Nakhawilah, from whom curious information might be elicited. Orthodox Moslems do not like to be questioned about such hateful subjects ; when I attempted to learn something from one of my acquaintance, Shaykh Ula el Din, of a Kurd family, settled at El Medinah, a man who had travelled over the East, and who spoke five languages to perfection, he coldly replied that he had never consorted with these heretics. Sayyids and Sherifsf, the descendants of the Prophet, here abound. The Beni Husayn of El Medinah have their head-quarters at Suwayrkiyahf : the * The communist principles of Mazdak the Persian (6th centniy) have given his nation a permanent bad fame in this particular among the Arabs. f In Arabia the Sherif is the descendant of Hasan through his two sons, Zayd and Hasan el Musanna : the Sayyid is the descendant of Hosayn through Zajn el Abidin, the sole of twelve children who survived the fatal field of Kerbela. The former devotes himself to government and war, the latter, to learning and religion. In Persia and India, the Sherif is the son of a Sayyid woman and a common Moslem. The Sayyid " Nejib el Taraf " (noble on one side) is the son of a Sayyid father and a common Moslemah. The Sayyid "Nejib el Tarafayn" (noble on both sides) is one whose parents are both Sayyids. i Burckhardt alludes to this settlement when he says, " In the Eastern desert, at three or four days' jonmey from Medinah, lives a whole Bedouin tribe, called Beni Aly, who are all of this Persian creed." I travelled to Suwayrkiyah, and found it inhabited by Beni Husayn. The Beni Ali are Bedouins settled at the Awali, near the Kuba Mosque : they were origi- nally slaves of the great house of Auf, and are still heretical in their opinions. B 2 4 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. former place contains six or seven families; the latter, ninety-three or ninety-four. Anciently they were much more numerous, and such was their power, that for cen- turies they retained charge of the Prophet's Tomb. They subsist principally upon their Amlak, property in land, for which they have title-deeds extending back to Moham- med's day, and Aukaf, religious bequests ; popular rumour accuses them of frequent murders for the sake of succession. At El Medinah they live chiefly at the Hosh Ibn Saad, a settlement outside the town and south of the Darb el Jenazah. There is, however, no objection to their dwell- ing within the walls, and they are taken to the Haram after death, if there be no evil report against the individual. Their burial-place is the Bakia cemetery. The reason of this toleration is, that some are supposed to be Sunni, or orthodox, and even the most heretical keep their " Rafz"* a profound secret. Most learned Arabs believe that they belong, like the Persians, to the sect of Ali ; the truth, however, is so vaguely known, that I could find out none of the peculiarities of their faith, till I met a Shirazi friend at Bombay. The Beni Husayn are spare dark men of Bedouin appearance, and they dress in the old Arab style still affected by the Sherifs, — a Kufiyah on the headf, and a Benish, a long and wide-sleeved garment resembling our magicians' gown, thrown over the white cotton Kamis (shirt): in public they always carry swords, even when others leave weapons at home. There are about 200 families of Sayyid Alawiyah, — descendants of Ali by any ♦ " Befiising, rejecting." Hence the origin of Bafizi, a rejecter, a heretic." " Inna rafaznahum," " Verily we have rejected them" (Abubekr, Omar, and Osman,) exclaim the Persians, glorying in the opprobrious epithet t Sayyids in El Hejaz, as a general rule, do not denote their descent by the green turban. In fact, most of them wear a red Cashmire shawl round the head, when able to afford the luxury. The green turban is an innova- tion in El Islam. In some countries it is confined to the Sayyids. In others it is worn as a mark of distinction by pilgrims. THE MEDINITES. 5 of his wives but Fatimah, — they bear no distinctive mark in dress or appearance, and are either employed at the temple or engage in trade. Of the Khalifiyyah, or de- scendants of Abbas, there is, I am told, but one household, the Bayt el Khalifah, who act as Imams in the Haram, and have charge of Hamzah's tomb. Some declare that there are a few of the Siddikiyah, or descendants from Abubekr ; others ignored them, and none could give me any information about the Beni Najjar. The rest of the population of El Medinah is a motley race composed of offshoots from every nation in El Islam. The sanctity of the city attracts strangers, who, purposing to stay but a short time, become residents : after finding some employment, they marry, have families, die, and are buried there with an eye to the spiritual advantages of the place. I was much importuned to stay at El Medinah. The only known physician was one Shaykh Abdullah Sahib, an Indian, a learned man, but of so melancholic a temperament, and so ascetic in his habits, that his know- ledge was entirely lost to the public. " Why dost thou not," said my friends, " hire a shop somewhere near the Prophet's Mosque ? There thou wilt eat bread by thy skill, and thy soul will have the blessing of being on holy ground." Shaykh Nur also opined after a short residence at El Medinah that it was " bara jannati Shahr," a " very heavenly City," and little would have induced him to make it his home. The present ruling race at El Medinah, in consequence of political vicissitudes, are the " Sufat,"* sons of Turkish fathers by Arab mothers. These half- castes are now numerous, and have managed to secure the highest and most lucrative offices. Besides Turks, there are families originally from the Maghrib, Takruris, Egyptians in considerable numbers, settlers from Yemen * Plural of Suftah— a half-caste Turk. 6 FILGBIHA6E TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. and other parts of Arabia, Syrians, Kurds, Afghans, Daghistani from the Caucasus, and a few Jawi — Java Moslems. The Sindhians, I was told, reckon about 100 families, who are exceedingly despised for their cowardice and want of manliness, whilst the Beloch and the Afghan are respected. The Indians are not so numerous in pro- portion here as at Meccah ; still Hindostanee is by no means uncommonly heard in the streets. They preserve their peculiar costume, the women persisting in showing their faces, and in wearing tight, exceedingly tight, pan- taloons. This, together with other reasons, secures for them the contempt of the Arabs. At El Medinah they are generally small shopkeepers, especially druggists and sellers of Kumash (cloth), and form a society of their own. The terrible cases of misery and starvation which so commonly occur among the improvident Indians at Jeddah and Meccah are here rare. The Hanafi school holds the first rank at El Medinah, as in most parts of El Islam, although many of the citizens, and almost all the Bedouins, are Shafeis. The reader will have remarked with astonishment that at one of the fountain-heads of the faith, there are several races of schismatics, the Beni Husayn, the Beni Ali, and the Nakhawilah. At the town of Safra there are said to be a number of the Zuyud*, who visit El Medinah, and have settled in force at Meccah, and some declare that Bayazif also exist. The citizens of El Medinah are a favoured race, although their city is not, like Meccah, the grand mart of the Moslem world or the meeting-place of nations. They pay * Floral of ZajdL These are well known schismatics of the Shiah per- snasion, who abound in Sonthem Arabia. f The Bayazi sect floarishea near Mnscat, whose Imam or Prince, it is said, belongs to the heretical persuasion. It rejects Osman, and advocates the snperioritj of Omar over the other two Caliphs. THE HONOEAEIUM. 7 no taxes, and reject the idea of a " Miri," or land-cess, with extreme disdain. " Are we the children of the Prophet," they exclaim, " to support or to be supported?" The Wahhabis, not understanding the argument, taxed them, as was their wont, in specie and in materials, for which reason the very name of the Puritans is an abomi- nation. As has before been shown, all the numerous attendants at the Mosque are paid partly by the Sultan, partly by Aukaf, the rents of houses and lands bequeathed to the shrine, and scattered over every part of the Moslem world. When a Madani is inclined to travel, he applies to the Mudir el Haram, and receives from him a paper which entitles him to the receipt of a considerable sum at Constantinople. The " Ikram " (honorarium), as it is called, varies with the rank of the recipient, the citizens being divided into these four orders : — First and highest: the Sadat* and Imams, who are entitled to 12 purses, or about 60/. Of these there are said to be 300 families. The Khanahdan, who keep open house and receive poor strangers gratis. Their Ikram amounts to 8 purses, and they number from 100 to 150 families. The Ahali f or Madani, properly speaking, who have homes and families, and were born in El Medinah. They claim 6 purses. The Mujawirin, strangers, as Egyptians or Indians settled at, though not born in. El Medinah. Their hono- rarium is 4 purses. ♦ Sadat is the plural of Sayyid. This word in the northern Hejaz is applied indifferently to the posterity of Hasan and Hnsayn. t The plural of Ahl, an inhabitant (of a particular place). The reader will excuse my troubling him with these terms. As they are almost all local in their application, and therefore are not explained in such restricted sense by lexicographers, the specification may not be useless to the Oriental student. 8 PILGEIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. The Madani traveller, on arrival at Constantinople, reports his arrival to his consul, the Wakil el Haramayn. This " Agent of the two Holy Places " applies to the Nazir el Aukaf, or " Intendant of Bequests ; " the latter, after transmitting the demand to the different officers of the treasury, sends the money to the Wakil, who delivers it to the applicant. This gift is sometimes squandered in pleasure, more often invested profitably either in mer- chandise or in articles of home-use, presents of dress and jewellery for the women, handsome arms, especially pistols and Balas *, silk tassels, amber pipe-pieces, slippers, and embroidered purses. They are packed up in one or two large Sahharahs, and then commences the labor of re- turning home gratis. Besides the Ikram, most of the Madani, when upon these begging trips, are received as guests by great men at Constantinople. The citizens whose turn it is not to travel, await the Aukaf and Sadakat f, forwarded every year by the Damascus cara- van ; besides which, as has been before explained, the Haram supplies even those not officially employed in it with many perquisites. Without these advantages El Medinah would soon be abandoned to cultivators and Bedouins. Though com- merce is here honorable, as everywhere in the East, usiness is " slack," | because the higher classes prefer he idleness of administering their landed estates, and being servants to the Mosque. I heard of only four respectable houses. El Isawi, El Shaab, Abd el Jawwad, • The Turkish "yataghan." It is a long dagger, intended for thrusting rather than cutting, and has a curve, which, methinks, has been wisely copied by the Duke of Orleans, in the bayonet of the Chafseors de Yin- cennes. t See Chapter XVIL J Umar EflFendi's brothers, grandsons of the principal Mnfti of El Me- dinah, were both shopkeepers, and were always exhorting him to do some useful work, rather than muddle his brains and waste his time on books. TKADE AT EL MEDINAH. 9 and a family from El Shark.* They all deal in grain, cloth, and provisions, and perhaps the richest have a capital of 20,000 dollars. Caravans in the cold weather are constantly passing between El Medinah and Egypt, but they are rather bodies of visitors to Constantinople than traders travelling for gain. Corn is brought from Jeddah by land, and imported into Yambu or El Rais, a port on the Red Sea, one day and a half's journey from Safra. There is an active provision trade with the neigh- bouring Bedouins, and the Syrian Hajj supplies the citi- zens with apparel and articles of luxury — tobacco, dried fruits, sweetmeats, knives, and all that is included under the word " notions." There are few store-keepers, and their dealings are petty, because articles of every kind are brought from Egypt, Syria, and Constantinople. As a general rule, labor is exceedingly expensive t, and at the visitation time a man will demand fifteen or twenty piastres from a stranger for such a trifling job as mending an umbrella. Handicraftsmen and artisans — carpenters, masons, locksmiths, potters, and others — are either slaves or foreigners, mostly Egyptians. $ This proceeds partly from the pride of the people. They are taught from their childhood that the Madani is a favored being, to be respected however vile or schismatic, and that the ven- geance of Allah will fall upon any one who ventures to abuse, much more to strike him.§ They receive a * See Chapter XIV. ■f To a townsman, even daring the dead season, the pay of a gardener woald be 2 piastres, a carpenter 8 piastres per diem, and a common servant (a Bawwab or norter, lor instance'), 25 piastres per mensem, or 3/. per annum, besides soard and dress. Considenng the value of money in the country, these are Tery high rates. t Who alone seil milV curds, or baiter. The reason of their monopoly has been giyen m Chapter XIII. § History informs us that the sanctity ot their birth-place has not always preserved the people of El Medinah. But the memory oi their misfortunes is soon washed away by the overwhelming pride of the race. 10 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. stranger at the shop window with the haughtiness of Pachas, and take pains to show him, by words as well as by looks, that they consider themselves as " good gentle- men as the king, only not so rich." Added to this pride are indolence, and the true Arab prejudice, which, even in the present day, prevents a Bedouin from marrying the daughter of an artisan. Like Castilians, they con- sider labor humiliating to any but a slave ; nor is this, as a clever French author remarks, by any means an unreasonable idea, since Heaven, to punish man for dis- obedience, caused him to eat daily bread by the sweat of his brow. Besides, there is degradation, moral and physical, in handiwork compared with the freedom of the desert. The loom and the file do not conserve courtesy and chivalry like the sword and spear ; man extending his tongue, to use an Arab phrase, when a cuff and not a stab is to be the consequence of an injurious expression. Even the ruffian becomes polite in California, where his brother-ruffian carries a revolver, and those European nations who were most polished when every gentleman wore a rapier have become the rudest since Civilisation disarmed them. By the tariff quoted below it will be evident that El Medinah is not a cheap place.* Yet the citizens, despite ' The market is under the charge of an Arab Muhtasih or Bazar-master, who again is subject to the Muhafiz or Facha goTerning the place. The following is the current price of provisions at Medinah early in August, 1853: during the Tisitation season everything is doubled. 1 lb. mutton, 2 piastres (beef is half price, but seldom eaten; there is no buffalo meat, and only Bedouins will touch the camel). A fowl, 5 piastres. Eggs, in summer 8, in winter 4, for the piastre. 1 lb. clarified butter, 4 piastres (when cheap it falls to 2^. Bntter is made at home by those who eat it, and sometimes by the Egyptians for sale). 1 lb. milk, I piastre. 1 lb. cheese, 2 piastres (when cheap it is 1, when dear 3 piastres per lb.) TARIFF AT EL MEDINAH. 11 their being generally in debt, manage to live well. Their cookery, like that of Meccah, has borrowed something from Egypt, Turkey, Syria, Persia, and India; like all Orientals they are exceedingly fond of clarified butter.* Wheaten loaf weighing 12 dirhams, 10 parahs. (There are loaves of 24 dirhams, costing ^ piastre.) 1 lb. dry biscuits (imported), 3 piastres. 1 lb. of TCgetables, J piastre. 1 Madd dates, yaries according to quality from 4 piastres to 100. 1 lb. grapes, Ij piastre. A lime, 1 parah. A pomegranate, from 20 parahs to 1 piastre. A water-melon, from 3 to 6 piastres each. 1 lb. peaches, 2 piastres. 1 lb. coffee, i piastres (the Yemani is the only kind drunk here). 1 lb. tea, 15 piastres (black tea, imported from India). 1 lb. European loaf-sugar, 6 piastres, (white Egyptian, 5 piastres ; brown Egyptian, 3 piastres ; brown Indian, for cooking and conserves, 3 piastres). 1 lb. spermaceti candles, 7 piastres (called wax, and imported from Egypt). 1 lb. tallow candles, 3 piastres. 1 Ardebb wheat, 295 piastres. 1 Ardebb onions, 33 piastres (when cheap 20, when dear 40). I Ardebb barley, 120 piastres (minimum 90, maximum 180). 1 Ardebb rice, Indian, 302 piastres (it varies from 260 to 350 piastres, according to quality). Durrah or maize is generally given to animals, and is very cheap. Barsim (clover, a bundle of), 3 Wakkiyahs (36 Dirhams), costs 1 parah. Adas or Lentil is the same price as rice. 1 lb. Latakia tobacco, 16 piastres. 1 lb. Syrian tobacco, 8 piastres. 1 lb. Tumbak (Persian), 6 piastres. 1 lb. olive oil, 6 piastres (when cheap it is 4). A skin of water, J piastre. Bag of charcoal, containing 100 Wukkah, 10 piastres. The best kind is made from an Acacia called " Samur." The Parah (Turkish), faddeh (Egyptian), or Diwani (Hejazi word), is the 40th part of a piastre, or nearly the quarter of a farthing. The piastre is about § pence. Throughout El Hejaz there is no want of small change, as in Egypt, where the deficiency calls for the attention of the Government. * Physiologists have remarked that fat and greasy food, containing a 12 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. I have seen the boy Mohammed drink off nearly a tumbler full, although his friends warned him that it would make him as fat as an elephant. When a man cannot enjoy clarified butter in these countries, it is considered a sign that his stomach is out of order, and all my excuses of a melancholic temperament were required to be in full play to prevent the infliction of fried meat swimming in grease, or that guest-dish*, rice saturated with melted — perhaps I should say — rancid butter. The " Samn " of El Hejaz, however, is often fresh, being brought in by the Bedouins ; it has not therefore the foul flavor derived from the old and impregnated skin-bag which distinguishes the ghee of India, f The house of a Madani in good circumstances is comfortable, for the building is substantial, and the at- tendance respectable. Black slave-girls here perform the complicated duties of servant-maids in England ; they are taught to sew, to cook, and to wash, besides sweeping the house and drawing water for domestic use. Hasinah (the "Charmer," a decided misnomer) costs from 40 to 50 dollars : if she be a mother, her value is less, but neat- handedness, propriety of demeanour, and skill in feminine accomplishments, raise her to 100 dollars, 251. A little black boy, perfect in all his points, and tolerably intel- ligent, costs about 1000 piastres; girls are dearer, and eunuchs fetch double that sum. The older the children quantity of carbon, is pecnliar to cold countries, whereas the inhabitants of the tropics delight in fruits, vegetables, and articles of diet which do not increase caloric. This must be taken cum grano. In Italy, Spain, and Greece, the general use of olire oil begins. In Africa and Asia, especially in the hottest parts, the people habitually eat enough clarified butter to satisfy an Esquimaux. • In Persia, you jocosely say to a man, when he is threatened with a sudden inroad of guests, " Go swamp the rice with Eaughan (clarified butter)." f Among the Indians, ghee, placed in pots carefully stopped up and kept for years till a hard black mass only remains, is considered a panacea for diseases and wounds. APPEAEANCK OF THE MADANI. 13 become, the more their value diminishes, and no one would purchase, save under exceptional circumstances, an adult slave, because he is never parted with but for some incurable vice. The Abyssinian, mostly Galla, girls, so much prized because their skins are always cool in the hottest weather, are here rare; they seldom sell for less than 20Z., and often fetch 60/. I never heard of a Jariyah Bayza, a white slave girl, being in the market at El Medinah : in Circassia they fetch from 100/. to 400/. prime cost, and few men in El Hejaz could afford so expensive a luxury. The bazar at El Medinah is poor, and, as almost all the slaves are brought from Meccah by the Jallabs, or drivers, after exporting the best to Egypt, the town receives only the refuse.* The personal appearance of the Madani makes the stranger wonder how this mongrel population of settlers has acquired a peculiar and almost an Arab physiognomy. They are remarkably fair, the effect of a cold climate ; sometimes the cheeks are lighted up with red, and the hair is a dark chestnut — at El Medinah I was not stared at as a white man. The cheeks and different parts of the children's bodies are sometimes marked with Masbali or Tashrih, not the three long stripes of the Meccansf, but little scars generally in threes. In some points they ap- proach the true Arab type, that is to say, the Bedouins of ancient and noble family. The cheek-bones are high and saillant, the eye small, more round than long, piercing, * Some of these slaves come from Abyssinia: the greater part are driven from the Galla country, and exported at the harbors of the Somauli coast, Berberah, Tajurrah, and Zayla. As many as 2000 slaves from the former place, and 4000 from the latter, are annually shipped oflF to Mocha, Jeddah, Suez, and Muscat. It is strange that the Imam of the latter place should voluntarily have made a treaty with us for the suppression of this vile trade, and yet should allow so extensive an importation to his dominions. f More will be said concerning the origin of this strange custom, when speaking of Meccah and the Meccans. 14 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. fiery, deep-set, and brown rather than black. The head is small, the ears well-cut, the face long and oval, though not unfrequently disfigured by what is popularly called the " lantern-jaw ; " the forehead high, bony, broad and slightly retreating, and the beard and mustachios scanty, consisting of two tufts upon the chin, with, generally speaking, little or no whisker. These are the points of resemblance between the city and the country Arab. The difference is equally remarkable. The temperament of the Madani is not purely nervous, like that of the Be- douins, but admits a large admixture of the bilious and, though rarely, the lymphatic. The cheeks are fuller, the jaws project more than in the pure race, the lips are more fleshy, more sensual and ill-fitting, the features are broader, and the limbs are stouter and more bony. The beard is a little thicker, and the young Arabs of the towns are beginning to imitate the Turks in that abomination to their ancestors — shaving. Personal vanity, always a ruling passion among Orientals, and a hopeless wish to emulate the flowing beards of the Turks and the Persians — the only nations m the world who ought not to shave the chin — have overruled even the religious objections to such innovation. I was more frequently appealed to at El Medinah than anywhere else, for some means of removing the opprobrium "Kusah."* They dye the beard with gall-nuts, henna, and other preparations.! Much reflne- ment of dress is now found at El Medinah, Constantinople, the Paris of the East, supplying it with the newest fashions. Kespectable men wear either a Benish or a Jubbah ; the latter, as at Meccah, is generally of some light and flashy color, gamboge, yellow, tender green, or * A " scant-bearded man." f They use the Egyptian mixtare, composed of sulphate of iron one part, ammoniure of iron one part, gall-nuts two parts, infused in eight parts of distilled water. It is a very bad dye. DEESS OF THE MADANI. 15 bright pink.* The proper Badan, or long coat without sleeves, still worn in truly Arab countries, is here confined to the lowest classes. That ugliest of head-dresses, the red Tunisian cap, called "Tarbush,"t is much used, only the Arabs have too great regard for their eyes and faces to wear it, as the Turks do, without a turban. It is with regret that one sees the most graceful head-gear imagi- nable, the Kufiyah and the Aakal, proscribed except amongst the Sherifs and the Bedouins. The women dress, like the men, handsomely. In-doors they wear, I am told, a Sudayriyah, or bodice of calico and other stuiFs, like the Choli of India, which supports the bosom without the evils of European stays. Over this is a Saub, or white shirt, of the white stuff called Halaili or Burun- juk, with enormous sleeves, and flowing down to the feet : the Sarwal or pantaloons are not wide, like the Egyptians', but rather tight, approaching to the Indian cut, without its exaggeration. J Abroad, they throw over the head a silk or a cotton Milayah, generally chequered white and blue. The Burka, all over El Hejaz, is white, a decided improvement in point of cleanliness upon that of Egypt. Women of all ranks dye the soles of the feet and the palms of the hands black, and trace thin lines down the inside of the fingers, by first applying a plaster of henna and then * This is the sign of a " dressy " man in other countries. If you have a single coat, it should be of some modest colour, as a dark violet ; to appear always in the same tender green, or bright pink, would excite derision. But the Hejazis, poor and rich, always prefer these tulip tints. f The word Tarbush is a corruption from the Persian Sarpush, " head- covering," " head-dress." The Anglo-Saxon further debases it to "Tar- brush." The other name for the Tarbush, " Fez," denotes the place where the best were made. Some Egyptians distinguish between the two, calling the large high crimson cap " Fez," the smaller " Tarbush.'' f In India, as in Sindh, a lady of fashion will sometimes be occupied a quarter of an hour in persuading her " bloomers " to pass over the region of the ancle. 16 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. a mixture, called " Shadar," of gall-nuts, alum, and lime. The hair, parted in the centre, is plaited into about twenty little twists called Jadilah.* Of ornaments, as usual among Orientals, they have a vast variety, ranging from brass and spangles to gold and precious stones ; and they delight in strong perfumes, — musk, civet, ambergris, ottar of rose, oil of jasmine, aloe- wood, and extract of cinnamon. Both sexes wear Constantinople slippers. The women draw on Khuff, inner slippers, of bright yellow leather, serving for socks, and covering the ancle, with Papooshes of the same material, sometimes lined with velvet and em- broidered with a gold sprig under the hollow of the foot. In mourning the men show no diflference of dress, like good Moslems, to whom such display of grief is forbidden. But the women, who cannot dissociate the heart and the toilette, evince their sorrow by wearing white clothes and by doffing their ornaments. This is a modern custom : the accurate Burckhardt informs us that in his day the women of El Mediuah did not wear mourning. The Madani generally appear abroad on foot. Few animals are kept here, on account, I suppose, of the ex- pense of feeding them. The Cavalry are mounted on poor Egyptian nags. The horses ridden by rich men are generally Nejdi, costing from 200 to 300 dollars. Camels are numerous, but those bred in El Hejaz are small, weak, and consequently little prized. Dromedaries of good breed, called Ahrar f and Namani, from the place of that name, are to be had for any sum between 10 and 400 dollars ; they are diminutive but exceedingly swift, sure- footed, sagacious, thoroughbred, with eyes like the ante- lope, and muzzles that would almost enter a tumbler. * In the plural called Jedail. It is a most becoming head-dress when the hair is thick, and when — which I regret to say is rare in Arabia — the twists are undone for ablution once a day. f Plural of " Hurrah," the free, the noble. MANNERS OF THE MADANI. 17 Mules are not found at El Medinah, although popular prejudice does not now forbid the people to mount them. Asses come from Egypt and Meccah: I am told that some good animals are to be found in the town, and that certain ignoble Bedouin clans have a fine breed, but I never saw any.* The manners of the Madani are graver and somewhat more pompous than those of any Arabs with whom I ever mixed. This they appear to have borrowed from their rulers, the Turks. But their austerity and ceremonious- ness are skin deep. In intimacy or in anger the garb of politeness is thrown off, and the screaming Arab voice, the voluble, copious, and emphatic abuse, and the mania for gesticulation, return in all their deformity. They are great talkers, as the following little trait shows. When a man is opposed to more than his match in dis- puting or bargaining, instead of patiently saying to him- self, S'il crache il est mort, he interrupts the adversary with a " Sail' ala Mohammed," — Bless the Prophet. Every good Moslem is obliged to obey such requisition by responding, " AUahumma salli alayh," — O Allah bless him! But the Madani curtails the phrase to " A'n," supposing it to be an equivalent, and proceeds in his loquacity. Then perhaps the baffled opponent will shout * Of beasts intended for food, the sbeep is the only common one in this part of El Hejaz. There are three distinct breeds. The larger animal comes from Nejd and the Anizah Bedouins, who drive a flourishing trade ; the smaller is a native of the country. Both are the common Arab sheep, of a tawny colour, with a long fat tail. Occasionally one meets with what at Aden is called the Berberah sheep, a totally different animal, — white, with a black broad face, a dew-lap, and a short fat tail, that looks as if twisted up into a knot. Cows are rare at El Medinah. Beef throughout the East is considered an unwholesome food, and the Bedouins will not drink cow's milk, preferring that of the camel, the ewe, and the goat. The flesh of the latter animal is scarcely ever eaten in the city, except by the poorest classes. 18 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. out « "Wahhid," i. e. " Attest the unity of the Deity ; " when, instead of employing the usual religious phrases to assert that dogma, he will briefly ejaculate " Al," and hurry on with the course of conversation. As it may be supposed, these wars of words frequently end in violent quarrels ; for, to do the Madani justice, they are always ready to fight. The desperate old feud between the " Juwwa " and the " Barra " — the town and the suburbs — has been put down with the greatest diflBculty. The boys, indeed, still keep it up, turning out in bodies and making determined onslaughts with sticks and stones.* It is not to be believed that in a town garrisoned by Turkish troops, full of travelled traders, and which sup- ports itself by plundering Hajis, the primitive virtues of the Arab could exist. The Meccans, a dark people, say of the Madani, that their hearts are black as their skins are whitcf This is of course exaggerated ; but it is not too much to assert that pride, pugnacity, a peculiar point of honor, and a vindictiveness of wonderful force and patience, are the only characteristic traits of Arab character which the citizens of El Medinah habitually display. Here you * This appears to be, and to hare been, a favorite weapon with the Arabs. At the battle of Obod, we read that the combatants amused them- selves with throwing stones. On our road to Meccah, the Bedouins attacked a party of city Arabs, and the fight was determined with these harmless weapons. At Meccah, the men, as well as the boys, use them with as much skill as the Somalis at Aden. As regards these feuds between different quarters of the Arab towns, the reader will bear in mind that such things can co-exist with considerable amount of civilisation. In my time, the different villages in the Sorrentine plain were always at war. The Irish still fight in bodies at Birkenhead. And in the days of our fathers, the gamins of London amused themselves every Sunday by pitched battles on Primrose-Hill, and the fields about Mary-le-bone and St. Pancras. f Alluding especially to their revengefulness, and their habit of storing up an injury, and of forgetting old friendships or benefits, when a trivial cause of quarrel arises. CHAEACTEB OP THE MADANI. 19 meet with scant remains of the chivalry of the desert. A man will abuse his guest, even though he will not dine without him, and would protect him bravely against an enemy. And words often pass lightly between individuals which suffice to cause a blood feud amongst Bedouins. The outward appearance of decorum is conspicuous amongst the Madani. There are no places where Corinthians dwell, as at Meccah, Cairo, and Jeddah. Adultery, if detected, would be punished by lapidation according to the rigor of the Koranic law*, and simple immorality by religious stripes, or, if of repeated occurrence, by expulsion from the city. But scandals seldom occur, and the women, I am told, behave with great decency. Abroad, they have the usual Moslem pleasures of marriage, lyings-in, circum- cision feasts, holy visitations, and funerals. At home, they employ themselves with domestic matters, and especially in scolding " Hasinah " and " Zaafaran." In this occupa- tion they surpass even the notable English housekeeper of the middle orders of society — the latter being confined to " knagging " at her slave, whereas the Arab lady is allowed an unbounded extent of vocabulary. At Shaykh Hamid's house, however, I cannot accuse the women of " Swearing into strong shudders The immortal gods who heard them." They abused the black girls with unction, but without any violent expletives. At Meccah, however, the old lady in whose house I was living would, when excited by the me- lancholy temperament of her eldest son and his irregular hours of eating, scold him in the grossest terms, not un- * The sentence is passed by the Kazi : in cases of murder, he tries the criminal, and, after finding him guiltj, sends him to the Pacha, who orders a Kawwas or policeman to strike off his head with a sword. TbieTes are punished by mutilation of the hand. In fact, justice at El Medinah is ad- ministered in perfect conformity with the Shariat or Holy Law. , 20 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAU AND MECCAH. frequently ridiculous in the extreme. For instance, one of her assertions was that he — the son — was the offspring of an immoral mother ; which assertion, one might suppose, reflected not indirectly upon herself. So in Egypt I have frequently heard a father, when reproving his boy, address him by " O dog, son of a dog ! " and " spawn of an In- fidel — of a Jew — of a Christian !" Amongst the men of El Medinah I remarked a considerable share of hypocrisy. Their mouths were as full of religious salutations, excla- mations, and hackneyed quotations from the Koran, as of indecency and vile abuse — a point in which they resemble the Persians. As before observed, they preserve their reputation as the sons of a holy city by praying only in public. At Constantinople they are by no means remark- able for sobriety. Intoxicating liquors, especially Araki, are made in El Medinah, only by the Turks : the citizens seldom indulge in this way at home, as detection by smell is imminent among a people of water-bibbers. During the whole time of my stay I had to content myself with a single bottle of Cognac, coloured and scented to resemble medicine. The Madani are, like the Meccans, a curious mixture of generosity and meanness, of profuseness and penuriousness. But the former quality is the result of ostentation, the latter a characteristic of the Semitic race, long ago made familiar to Europe by the Jew. The citi- zens will run deeply in debt, expecting a good season of devotees to pay off their liabilities, or relying upon the next begging trip to Turkey ; and such a proceeding, con- trary to the custom of the Moslem world, is not condemned by public opinion. Above all their qualities, personal conceit is remarkable : they show it in their strut, in their looks, and almost in every word. " I am such a one, the son of such a one," is a common expletive, especially in times of danger ; and this spirit is not wholly to be con- demned, as it certainly acts as an incentive to gallant MARRIAGE. 21 actions. But it often excites them to vie with one another in expensive entertainments and similar vanities. The ex- pression, so offensive to English ears, " Inshallah Bukra '' — Please God, to-morrow — always said about what should be done to-day, is here as commonly heard as in Egypt or in India. This procrastination belongs more or less to all Orientals. But Arabia especially abounds in the " Ta- wakkal al' Allah, ya Shaykh!" — Place thy reliance upon Allah, O Shaykh ! — enjoined when a man should rely upon his own efforts. Upon the whole, though alive to the in- firmities of the Madani character, I thought favourably of it, finding among this people more of the redeeming point, manliness, than in most eastern nations with whom I am acquainted. The Arabs, like the Egyptians, all marry. Yet, as usual, they are hard and facetious upon that ill-treated subject — matrimony. It has exercised not a little the brain of their wits and sages, who have not failed to indite notable things concerning it. Saith " Harikar el Hakim " (Dominie do-all) to his nephew Nadan (Sir Witless), whom he would dissuade from taking to himself a wife, " Marriage is joy for a month and sorrow for a life, and the paying of settlements and the breaking of back (i. e. under the load of misery), and the listening to a woman's tongue ! " And again, we have in verse : — " They said ' Marry ! ' I replied, ' Far be it from me To take to my bosom a sackful of snakes. I am free — why then become a slave? May Allah never bless womankind ! ' " And the following lines are generaUy quoted, as affording a kind of bird's-eye view of female existence : — " From 10 (years of age) unto 20, A repose to the eyes of beholders.* • A phrase corresponding with our " beaute du diable." 22 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AKD MECCAH. From 20 unto 30, Still fair and full of flesh. From 30 unto 40, A mother of many boys and girls. From 40 unto 50, An old woman of the deceitful. From 50 unto 60, Slay her with a knife. From 60 unto 70, The curse of Allah upon them, one and all ! " Another popular couplet makes a most unsupported as- sertion : — " They declare womankind to be heaven to man, I say, ' Allah give me Jehaimum, and not this heaven.' " Yet the fair sex has the laugh on its side, for these railers, at El Medinah as at other places, invariably marry. The ceremony is tedious and expensive. It begins with a Khitbah or betrothal: the father of the young man re- pairs to the parent or guardian of the marriageable girl, and at the end of his visit exclaims, " The Fatihah ! we beg of your kindness your daughter for our son." Should the other be favourable to the proposal, his reply is, " Welcome and congratulation to you : but we must per- form Istikharah ; " * and when consent is given, both pledge themselves to the agreement by reciting the Fati- hah. Then commence negotiations about the Mahr or sum settled upon the bride f ; and after the smoothing of • This means consulting the will of the Deity, by praying for a dream in sleep, by the rosary, by opening the Koran, and other such devices, which bear blame if a negative be deemed necessary. It is a custom throughout the Moslem world, a relic, doubtless, of the Azlam or Kidah (seven divin- ing-arrows) of the Pagan times. At El Medinah it is generally called Khirah. t Among respectable citizens 400 dollars would be considered a fair average sum; the expense of the ceremony would be about half. This amount of ready money (150/.) not being always procurable, many of the Madani marry late in life. FUNERALS. 23 this difficulty follow feastings of friends and relatives, male and female. The marriage itself is called Akd el Nikah or Ziwaj. A Walimah or banquet is prepared by the father of the Aris * at his own house, and the Kazi attends to perform the nuptial ceremony, the girl's consent being obtained through her Wakil, any male relation whom she commissions to act for her. Then, with great pomp and circumstance, the Aris visits his Arusah at her father's house ; and finally, with a procession and sundry cere- monies at the Haram, the bride is brought to her new home. Arab funerals are as simple as their marriages are com- plicated. Neither Naddabah (myriologist or hired keener), nor indeed any female, even a relation, is present at bu- rials as in other parts of the Moslem world f, and it is esteemed disgraceful for a man to weep aloud. The Pro- phet, who doubtless had heard of those pagan mournings, where an effeminate and unlimited display of woe was often terminated by licentious excesses, like our half heathen " wakes," forbad aught beyond a decent demon- stration of grief. And his strong good sense enabled him to see the folly of professional mourners. At El Medinah the corpse is interred shortly after decease. The bier is carried through the streets at a moderate pace, by the friends and the relatives J, these bringing up the rear. Every man who passes lends his shoulder for a minute, a mark of respect to the dead, and also considered a pious and a prayerful act. Arrived at the Haram, they carry the corpse in visitation to the Prophet's window, and pray * El Aris is the bridegroom, El Arasab the bride. f Boys are allowed to be present, but they are not permitted to ciy. Of their so misdemeaning themselves there is little danger; the Arab in these matters is a man from his cradle. ) They are called the Asdikah, in the singular Sadik. c 4 24 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. over it at Osman'e niche. Finally, it is interred after the usual Moslem fashion in the cemetery El Bakia. El Medinah, though pillaged by the Wahhabis, still abounds in books. Near the Haram are two Madrasah or colleges — the Mahmudiyah, so called from Sultan Mahmud, and that of Bashir Agha: both have large stores of theological and other works. I also heard of extensive private collections, particularly of one belonging to the Nejib el Ashraf, or chief of the Sayyids, a cer- tain Mohammed Jamal el Layl, whose father is well kno' ra in India. Besides which,' there is a large Wakf or bequest of books presented to the Mosque or entailed upon particular families.* The celebrated Mohammed Ibn Abdillah el Sannusi f has removed his collection, amc unting it is said to 8000 volumes, from El Medinah to his house in Jebel Kubays at Meccah. The burial- place of the Prophet no longer lies open to the charge of utter ignorance brought against it by my predecessor.^ The people now praise their Olema for learning, and boast a superiority in respect of science over Meccah. * From what I saw at El Medinah, the people are not so unprejudiced in this point as the Caircnes, who think little of selling a book in Wakf. The subject of Wakf, however, is extensive, and does not wholly exclude the legality of sale. f This Shaykh is a Maliki Moslem from Algiers, celebrated as an Alim (sage), especially in the mystic study El Jafr. He is a Wall or saint ; but opinions differ as regards his Kiramat (saint's miracles), some disciples look upon him as the Mahdi (the forerunner of the Prophet), others con- sider him a clever impostor. His peculiar dogma is the superiority of live over dead saints, whose tombs are therefore not to be visited — a new doctrine in a Maliki ! Abbas Facha loved and respected him, and, as he refused all presents, built him a new Zawiyah (oratory) at Bulak : and when the Egyptian ruler's mother was at El Medinah, she called upon him three times, it is said, before he would receive her. His followers and disciples are scattered in numbers about Tripoli and, amongst other oases of the Fezzan, at Siwah, where they saved the Abbe Hamilton's life in A.D. 1843. \ Burckhardt's Travels in Arabia, vol. ii. p. 174. COUNT CAGLIOSTKO. 25 Yet many students leave the place for Damascus and Cairo, where the Riwak El Haramayn (College of the Two Shrines) in the Azhar Mosque is always crowded, and though Umar Effendi boasted to me that his city was full of lore, he did not appear the less anxious to attend the lectures of Egyptian professors. But none of my in- formants claimed for El Medinah any facilities of studying other than the purely religious sciences.* Philosophy, medicine, arithmetic, mathematics, and algebra cannot be learnt here. I was careful to inquire about the occult sciences, remembering that Paracelsus had travelled in Arabia, and that the Count Cagliostro (Giuseppe Bal- samo), who claimed the Meccan Sherif as his father, as- serted that about A. D. 1765 he had studied alchemy at El Medinah. The only trace I could find was a supf.r- ficial knowledge of the Magic Mirror. But after denying the Madani the praise of varied learning, it must be owned that their quick observation and retentive memories have stored up for them an abundance of superficial knowledge, culled from conversations in the market and in the camp. I found It impossible here to display those feats which in Sindh, Southern Persia, Eastern Arabia, and many parts of India, would be looked upon as miraculous. Most probably one of the company had witnessed the per- formance of some Italian conjuror at Constantinople or Alexandria, and retained a lively recollection of every manoeuvre. As linguists they are not equal to the Meccans, who surpass all Orientals excepting only the Armenians ; the Madani seldom know Turkish, and more rarely still Persian and Indian. Those only who have studied in Egypt chaunt the Koran well. The citizens speak and pronounce f their language purely ; they are • Of which I have given an acconnt in Chapter XVL t The only abnormal sound amongst the consonants heard here and in 26 PILGEIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. not equal to the people of the southern Hejaz, still their Arabic is refreshing after the horrors of Cairo and Muscat. The classical Arabic, be it observed, in consequence of an extended empire, soon split up into various dialects, as the Latin under similar circumstances separated into the Neo-Roman patois of Italy, Sicily, Provence, and Lan- guedoc. And though Niebuhr has been deservedly con- demned for comparing the Koranic language to Latin and the vulgar tongue to Italian, still there is a great dif- ference between them, almost every word having under- gone some alteration in addition to the manifold changes and simplifications of grammar and syntax. The traveller will hear in every part of Arabia that some distant tribe preserves the linguistic purity of its ancestors, uses final vowels with the noun, and rejects the addition of the pro- noun which apocope in the verb now renders necessary.* But I greatly doubt the existence of such a race of phi- lologists. In El Hejaz, however, it is considered graceful El Hejaz generally is the pronouncing of A ( :;) a hard g — for instance "Gnr'an" for "Kur'an" (a Koran), and Haggi for Hakki (my right). This g, however, is pronounced deep in the throat, and does not resemble the corrupt Egyptian pronunciation of the jim (j, _), a letter which the Copts knew not, and which their modem descendants cannot articulate. In El Hejaz the only abnormal sounds amongst the vowels are o for xi, as Ehokh, a peach, and 8 for iZ, as Ohod for Uhud. The two short vowels fath and kasr are correctly pronounced, the former never becoming a short e, as in Egypt (El for Al and Temen for Yaman), or a short t, as in Syria ("min" for "man" who? &c.) These vowels, however, are differently articulated in every part of the Arab world. So says St Jerome of the Hebrew: " Nee refert ntmm Salem aut Salim nominetur ; cum vocalibus in medio Uteris perraro utantor Hebrsei ; et pro voluntate lectorum, ac varietate regionnm, eadem verba diversis sonis atque accentibus proferantur." • e.g. Ant Zarabt— thou struckedst — for Zarabta. The final vowel, suffering apocope, would leave "Zai'abt" equally applicable to the first person singular and the second person singular masculine. THE AEABIC LANGUAGE. 27 in an old man, especially when conversing publicly, to lean towards classical Arabic. On the contrary, in a youth this would be treated as pedantic affectation, and condemned in some such satiric quotation as " There are two things colder than ice, A young old man, and an old young man." The Hibai. 28 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. CHAP. XXII. A VISIT TO THE SAINTS' CEMETERY. A SPLENDID comet, blazing in the western sky, had aroused the apprehensions of the Madani. They all fell to predicting the usual disasters — war, famine, and pesti- lence, — it being still an article of Moslem belief that the dread star -foreshows all manner of calamities. Men discussed the probability of Abd el Mejid'a immediate decease ; for here as in Rome, " When beggars die, there are no comets seen : The heavens themselves blaze forth the death of princes : " And in every strange atmospheric appearance about the time of the Hajj, the Hejazis are accustomed to read tidings of the dreaded Eih el Asfar.* Whether the event is attributable to the Zu Zuwabah — the " Lord of the Forelock," — or whether it was a case of post hoc ergo propter hoc, I would not commit myself by deciding ; but, influenced by some cause or other, the Hawazim and the Hawamid, subfamilies of the Beni-Harb, began to fight about this time with prodigious fury. These tribes are eternally at feud, and the least provoca- tion fans their smouldering wrath into a flame. The Hawamid number, it is said, between 3000 and 4000 fighting men, and the Hawazim not more than 700 : the latter, however, are considered a race of desperadoes who pride themselves upon never retreating, and under their • The cholera. See Chapter XVni. MUJKIM THE SINFUL. 29 fiery Shaykhs, Abbas and Abu Ali, they are a thorn in the sides of their disproportionate foe. On the present occasion a Hamidah* happened to strike the camel of a Hazimi which had trespassed ; upon which the Hazimi smote the Hamidah, and called him a rough name. The Hamidah instantly shot the Hazimi, the tribes were called out, and they fought with asperity for some days. During the whole of the afternoon of Tuesday the 30th August the sound of firing amongst the mountains was distinctly heard in the city. Through the streets parties of Bedouins, sword and matchlock in hand, or merely carrying quarter- staves on their shoulders, might be seen hurrying along, frantic at the chance of missing the fray. The townspeople cursed them privily, expressing a hope that the whole race of vermin might consume itself. And the pilgrims were in no small trepidation, fearing the desertion of their camel-men, and knowing what a blaze is kindled in this inflammable, land by an ounce of gunpowder. I afterwards heard that the Bedouins fought till night, and separated after losing on both sides ten men. This quarrel put an end to any lingering possibility of my prosecuting my journey to Muscatf as originally in- tended. I had on the way from Yambu to El Medinah privily made a friendship with one Mujrim of the Beni- Harb. The " Sinful," as his name, an ancient and classical one amongst the Arabs, means, understood that I had some motive of secret interest to undertake the perilous journey. He could not promise at first to guide me, as his beat lay between Yambu, El Medinah, Meccah, and Jeddah. But he offered to make all inquiries about the * The word Hawamid is plural of Hamidah, Hawazim of Hazimi. t Anciently there was a caravan from Muscat to El Medinah. My friends could not tell me when the line had been given up, but all were agreed that for years they had not seen an Oman caravan, the pilgrims preferring to enter El Hejaz via Jeddah. 30 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. route, and to bring me the result at noonday, a time when the household was asleep. He had almost consented at last to travel with me about the end of August, in which case I should have slipped out of Hamid's house and started like a Bedouin towards the Indian Ocean. But when the war commenced, Mujrim, who doubtless wished to stand by his brethren the Hawazim, began to show signs of recusancy in putting off the day of departure to the end of September. At last, when pressed, he frankly told me that no traveller, nay, not a Bedouin, could leave the city in that direction, even as far as Khaybar*, which informa- tion I afterwards ascertained to be correct. It was im- possible to start alone, and when in despair I had recourse to Shaykh Hamid, he seemed to think me mad for wishing to wend northwards when all the world was hurrying towards the south. My disappointment was bitter at first, but consolation soon suggested itself. Under the most favorable circumstances, a Bedouin-trip from El Medinah to Muscat, 1500 or 1600 miles, would require at least ten months ; whereas, under pain of losing my commissionf, I was ordered to be at Bombay before the end of March. Moreover, entering Arabia by El Hejaz, as has before been said, I was obliged to leave behind all my instruments except a watch and a pocket compass, so the benefit ren- dered to geography by my trip would have been scanty. Still remained to me the comfort of reflecting that possibly * According to Abulfeda, Khaybar is 6 stations N. E. of El Medinah; it is 4 according to El Edrisi; bnt my informants assured me that camels go there easily, as the Tarikh el Khamisy says, in 3 days. I should place it 80 miles N.N.E. of El Medinah. El Atwal locates it in 65° 20' E. Ion,, and 25° 20' N. lat.; El Kanun in Ion. 67° 30', and lat. 24° 20'; Ibn Said in Ion. 64° 56', and lat. 27°; and D'Anville in Ion. 57°, and lat. 25°. In Burckhardt's map, and those copied from it, Khaybar is placed about 2° distant from El Medinah, which I believe to be too far. ■f The parliamentary limit of an officer's leave from India is five years: if he overstay that period, he forfeits his commission. EL BAKIA. 31 at Meccah some opportunity of crossing the Peninsula might present itself. At any rate I had the certainty of seeing the strange wild country of the Hejaz, and of being present at the ceremonies of the Holy City. I must request the reader to bear with a Visitation once more : we shall conclude it with a ride to El Bakia.* This venerable spot is frequented by the pious every day after the prayer at the Prophet's Tomb, and especially on Fridays. Our party started one morning, — on donkeys, as usual, for my foot was not yet strong, — along the Darb el Jena- zah round the southern wall of the town. The locomotives were decidedly slow, principally in consequence of the tent-ropes which the Hajis had pinned down literally all over the plain, and falls were by no means infrequent. At last we arrived at the end of the Darb, where I com- mitted myself by mistaking the decaying place of those miserable schismatics the Nakhawilahf for El Bakia, the glorious cemetery of the Saints. Hamid corrected my blunder with tartness, to which I replied as tartly, that in our country — Affghanistan — we burned the body of every heretic upon whom we could lay our hands. This truly Islamitic custom was heard with general applause, and as the little dispute ended, we stood at the open gate of El Bakia. Then having dismounted I sat down on a low Dakkah or stone bench within the walls, to obtain a general view and to prepare for the most fatiguing of the visitations. There is a tradition that 70,000, or according to others 100,000 saints, all with faces like full moons, shall cleave • The name means " the place of many roots." It is also called Bakia El Gharkad — the place of many roots of the tree Ehamnus. Gharkad is translated in different ways : some term it the lote, others the tree of the Jews (Forskal, sub voce). t See Chapter XXL 32 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. on the last day the yawning bosom of El Bakia.* About 10,000 of the Ashab (companions of the Prophet) and innumerable Sayyids are buried here : their graves are forgotten, because, in the olden time, tombstones were not placed over the last dwelling-places of mankind. The first of flesh who shall arise is Mohammed, the second Abubekr, the third Omar, then the people of El Bakia (amongst whom is Osman, the fourth Caliph), and then the incolae of the Jannat el Maala, the Meccan cemetery. The Hadis, " whoever dies at the two Harams shall rise with the Secure on the Day of Judgment," has made these spots priceless in value. And even upon earth they might be made a mine of wealth. Like the catacombs at Eome, El Bakia is literally full of the odour of sanctity, and a single item of the great aggregate here would render any other Moslem town famous. It is a pity that this people refuses to exhume its relics. The first person buried in El Bakia was Usman bin Mazun, the first of the Muhajirs who died at EI Medinah. In the month of Shaaban, A. H. 3, the Prophet kissed the forehead of the corpse and ordered it to be interred within sit^ht of his abode. In those days the field was covered with the tree Gharkad ; the vegetation was cut down, the ground was levelled, and Usman was placed in the centre of the new cemetery. With his own hands Mohammed planted two large upright stones at the head and the feet of his faithful follower f; and in process of time a dome covered the spot. Ibrahim, the Prophet's infant second * The same is said of the Makbarah Beni Salmah or Salim, a cemetery to the west of El Medinah, below rising ground called Jebel Sula. It has long ago been deserted. See Chapter XIV. f These stones were removed by El Marwan, who determined that Usmau's grave should not be distinguished from his fellows. For this act, the lieutenant of Muawiyah was reproved and blamed by pious Moslems. £L BAKIA. 33 son, was laid by Usman's side, after which El Bakia be- came a celebrated cemetery. The Burial-place of the Saints is an irregular oblong surrounded by walls which are connected with the suburb at their S.W. angle. The Darb el Jenazah separates it from the enceinte of the town, and the Eastern Desert Bead beginning from the Bab el Jumah bounds it on the north. Around it palm plantations seem to flourish. It is small, considering the extensive use made of it : all that die at El Medinah, strangers as well as natives, except only heretics and schismatics, expect to be interred in it. It must be choked with corpses, which it could not contain did not the Moslem style of burial greatly favor rapid decomposition, and it has all the inconveniences of " intramural sepulture." The gate is small and ignoble ; a mere doorway in the wall. Inside there are no flower- plots, no tall trees, in fact none of the refinements which lighten the gloom of a Christian burial-place : the build- ings are simple, they might even be called mean. Almost all are the common Arab Mosque, cleanly whitewashed, and looking quite new. The ancient monuments were levelled to the ground by Saad the Wahhabi and his puritan followers, who waged pitiless warfare against what must have apj^eared to them magnificent mausolea, deeming as they did a loose heap of stones sufficient for a grave. In Burckhardt's time the whole place was a " con- fused accumulation of heaps of earth, wide pits, and rub- bish, without a single regular tombstone." The present erections owe their existence, I was told, to the liberality of the Sultans Abd el Hamid and Mahmud. A poor pilgrim has lately started on his last journey, and his corpse, unattended by friends or mourners, is carried upon the shoulders of hired buriers into the ceme- terj'. Suddenly they stay their rapid steps, and throw the body upon the ground. There is a life-like pliability vol.. TT. T) 34 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. about it as it falls, and the tight cerements so define the outlines that the action makes me shudder. It looks al- most as if the dead were conscious of what is about to occur. They have forgotten their tools ; one man starts to fetch them, and three sit down to smoke. After a time a shallow grave is hastily scooped out* The corpse is packed in it with such unseemly haste that earth touches it in all directions, — cruel carelessness among M(5slems, who believe this to torture the sentient frame, f One comfort suggests itself. The poor man being a pilgrim has died Shahid — in martyrdom. Ere long his spirit shall leave El Bakia, - And he on honey-dew shall feed, And drink the milk of Paradise." I entered the holy cemetery right foot forwards, as if it were a Mosque, arid barefooted, to avoid suspicion of being a heretic. For though the citizens wear their shoes in the Bakia, they are much offended at seeing the Persians follow their example. We began by the general benediction. J " Peace be upon ye, O people of El Bakia ! * It onght to be high enough for the tenant to sit upright when answer- ing the Interrogating Angels. f Because of this superstition, in every part of El Islam, some contri- Tance is made to prevent the earth pressing upon the body. J This blessing is in Mohammed's words, as the beauty of the Arabic shows. Ayisha relates that in the month Safar, A..H. II, one night the Pro- phet, who was beginning to suffer from the headache which caused his death, arose from his couch, and walked out into the darkness ; whereupon she followed him in a fit of jealousy, thinking that he might be about to visit some other wife. He went to El Bakia, delivered the above benedic- tion (which others give somewhat differently), raised his hands three times, and turned to go home. Ayisha hurried back, but she could not conceal her agitation from her husband, who asked what she had done. Upon her confessing her suspicions, he sternly informed her that he had gone forth, by order of the archangel Gabriel, to bless and to intercede for the people of £1 Bakia. Some authors relate a more facetious termination of the colloquy. — M. C. de Perceval (Essai, &c. voL iii. p. 314.). THE TOMB OP OSMAN. 35 Peace be upon ye, O admitted to the presence of the Most High ! Receive ye what ye have been promised ! Peace be upon ye, martyrs of El Bakia, one and all ! We verily, if Allah please, are about to join ye ! O Allah pardon us and them, and the mercy of God, and his blessings ! " After which we recited the Chapter El Ikhlas and the Testification, then raised our hands, mumbled the Fatihah, passed our palms down our faces, and went on. Walking down a rough narrow path, which leads from the western to the eastern extremity of El Bakia, we entered the humble mausoleum of the Caliph Osman — Osman " El Mazlum,'* or the " ill-treated," he is called by some Moslem travellers. When he was slain *, his friends wished to bury him by the Prophet in the Hujrah, and Ayisha made no objection to the measure. But the people of Egypt became violent, swore that the corpse should neither be buried nor be prayed over, and only permitted it to be removed upon the threat of Habibah (one of the " Mothers of the Moslems," and daughter of Abu Sufiyan) to expose her countenance. During the night that followed his death, Osman was carried out by several of his friends to El Bakia, from which, however, they were driven away, and obliged to deposit their burden in a garden, eastward of and outside the saints' cemetery. It was called Hisn Kaukab, and was looked upon as an inauspicious place of sepulture, till Marwan included it in El Bakia. We stood before Osman's monument, repeating, " Peace be upon thee, O our"' Lord Osman, son of Affanlf Peace be upon thee, O Caliph * "Limping Osman,'' as the Persians contemptnonsly call him, was slain hj rebels, and therefore became a martyr according to the Sunhis. The Shiahs justify the mnrder, saying it was the act of an " Ijma cl Mus- limin," or the general consensus of £1 Islam, which in their opinion ratifies an act of " Lynch law." f This specifying the father Affan, proves him to have been a Moslem. D 2 36 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. of Allah's Prophet! Peace be upon thee, O writer of Allah's book ! Peace be upon thee, in whose presence the angels are ashamed ! * Peace be upon thee, O col- lector of the Koran ! Peace be upon thee, O son-in-law of the Prophet ! Peace be upon thee, O Lord of the Two Lights ! t Peace be upon thee, who fought the battle of the Faith ! Allah be satisfied with thee, and cause thee to be satisfied, and render heaven thy habitation ! Peace be upon thee, and the mercy of Allah and his blessing, and praise be to Allah, Lord of the (three) worlds!" This supplication concluded in the usual manner. After which we gave alms, and settled with ten piastres the demands of the Khadim | who takes charge of the tomb : this double-disbursing process had to be repeated at each station. Then moving a few paces to the north, we faced east- wards, and performed the visitation of Abu Said el Kha- zari, a Sahib or companion of the Prophet, whose sepulchre lies outside El Bakia. The third place visited was a dome containing the tomb of our lady Halimah, the Bedouin wet-nurse who took charge of Mohammed § : she is ad- Abubekr's father, " Kahafah," and Omar's " El Khattab," arc not mentioned by name in the Ceremonies of Visitation. * The Christian reader must remember that the Moslems rank angelic nature, under certain conditions, below human nature. f Osman married two daughters of the Prophet, a circumstance which the Snnnis quote as honorable to him : the Shiahs, on the contrary, declare that he killed them both by ill-treatment. J These men are generally descendants of the Saint whose tomb they own : they receive pensions from the Mudir of the Mosque, and retain all fees presented to them by visitors. Some families are respectably supported in this way. § This woman, according to some accounts, also saved Mohammed's life, when an Arab Kahin or diviner, foreseeing that the child was destined to subvert the national faith, urged the bystanders to bury their swords in his bosom. The Shcrifs of Meccah still entrust their children to the Bedouins, that THE MAKTTES OF EL BAKIA, 37 dressed thus : " Peace be upon thee, O Halimah the auspicious!* Peace be upon thee, who performed thy trust in suckling the best of mankind! Peace be upon thee, O wet-nurse of El Mustafa ! Peace be upon thee, O wet-nurse of El Mujtaba ! t May Allah be satisfied with thee, and cause thee to be satisfied, and render Heaven thy house and habitation ! and verily we have come visiting thee, and by means of thee drawing near to Allah's Prophet, and through him to God the Lord of the Heavens and the Earths. "J After which, fronting the north, we stood before a low enclosure, containing ovals of loose stones, disposed side by side. These are the martyrs of El Bakia, who received the crown of glory at the hands of El Muslim §, the general of the arch-heretic Yezid.|| The prayer here recited differs so little from that addressed to the martyrs of Ohod, that I will not transcribe it. The fifth station is near the centre of the cemetery at the tomb of Ibrahim, who died, to the eternal regret of El Islam, some say six months old, others in his second year. He was the son of Mariyah, they may be hardened by the discipline of the Desert. And the late Pacha of Egypt gave one of his sons in charge of the Anizah tribe, near Akabah. Bnrckhardt (Travels in Arabia, vol i. p. 427.), makes some sensible re- marks about this custom, which cannot be too much praised. * EI " Sadiyah," a double entendre; it means auspicious, and also alludes to Halimah's tribe, the Beni Saad. f Both these words are titles of the Prophet. El Mustafa means the " Chosen j " El Mujtaba, the " Accepted." i There being, according to the Moslems, many heavens and many earths. § See Chap. XX. II The Sbafei school allows its disciples to curse El Yezid, the son of Muawiyah, whose cruelties to the descendants of the Prophet, and crimes and vices, have made him the Judas Iscariot of El Islam. I have heard Hanafi Moslems, especially Sayyids, revile him, but this is not strictly speaking correct. The Shiahs, of course, place no limits to their abuse of him. You first call a man " Omar," then " Shimr" (the slayer of El Husayn), and lastly, " Yezid," beyond which insult does not extend. 38 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. the Coptic girl, sent as a present to Mohammed by Jarih the Mukaukas or governor of Alexandria. The Prophet with his own hand piled earth upon the grave, and sprinkled it with water, — a ceremony then first performed, — dis- posed small stones upon it, and pronounced the final salu- tation.* Then we visited El Nafi Maula, son of Omar, generally called Imam Nafi el Kari, or the Koran chaunter ; and near him the great doctor Imam Malik Ibn Anas, a native of El Medinah, and one of the most dutiful of her sons. The eighth station is at the tomb of Ukayl bin Abi Talib, brother of Ali.f Then we visited the spot where lie interred all the Prophet's wives, Ayisha in- cluded.^ After the " Mothers of the Moslems," we prayed at the tombs of Mohammed's daughters, said to be ten in number. In compliment probably to the Hajj, the beggars mus- tered strong that morning at El Bakia. Along the walls and at the entrance of each building squatted ancient dames, all engaged in fervent contemplation of every ap- proaching face, and in pointing to dirty cotton napkins spread upon the ground before them, and studded with a few coins, gold, silver, or copper, according to the ex- pectations of the proprietress. They raised their voices to demand largesse : some promised to write Fatihahs, and the most [^audacious seized visitors by the skirts of their garments. Fakihs, ready to write " Y. S.," or any- thing else demanded of them, covered the little heaps and * For which reason many holy men were buried in this part of the cemetery, every one being ambitious to lie in ground which had been honored by the Prophet's hands. f Ukayl or Akil, as many write the name, died at Damascus, during the caliphate of El Muawiyah. Sonie say he was buried there, others that his corpse was transported to El Medinah, and buried in a place where for- merly his house, known as " Dar Ukayl," stood. J Khadijah, who lies at Meccah, is the only exception. Mohammed married fifteen wives, of whom nine survived him. THE BEGGARS OF EL BAKIA. 39 eminences of the cemetery, all begging lustily, and looking as though they would murder you, when told how bene- ficent is Allah.* At the doors of the tombs old house- wives, and some young ones also, struggled with you for your slippers as you doffed them, and not unfrequently the charge of the pair was divided between two. Inside, when the boys were not loud enough or importunate enough for presents, they were urged on by the adults and seniors, the relatives of the " Khadims " and hangers- on. Unfortunately for me, Shaykh Hamid was renowned for taking charge of wealthy pilgrims : the result was, that my purse was lightened of three dollars. I must add that although at least fifty female voices loudly promised that morning, for the sum of ten parahs each, to supplicate Allah in behalf of my lameness, no perceptible good came of their efforts. Before leaving El Bakia, we went to the eleventh station t, the Kubbat el Abbasiyah, or Dome of Abbas. Originally built by the Abbaside Caliphs in A. H. 519, it is a larger and a handsomer building than its fellows, and is situated on the right-hand side of the gate as you enter in. The crowd of beggars at the door testified to its importance : they were attracted by the Persians who assemble here in force to weep and pray. Crossing the threshold with some difficulty, I walked round a mass of tombs which occupies the centre of the building, leaving but a narrow passage between it and the walls. It is railed round, covered over with several "Kiswahs" of green cloth, worked with white letters, and looked like a confused heap ; but it might have appeared irregular to me ♦ A polite form of objecting to be charitable. t Some are of opinion that the ceremonies of Ziyarat formerly did, and still should, begin here. Bat the order of visitation differs infinitely, and no two aathors seem to agree. I was led by Shaykh Hamid, and indulged in no scruples. 40 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. by the reason of the mob around. The eastern portion contains the body of El Hasan, the son of Ali and grand- son of the Prophet*; the Imam Zayn el Abidin, son of El Husayn, and great grandson to the Prophet ; the Imam Mohammed El Bakir (fifth Imam), son to Zayn el Abidin ; and his son the Imam Jaafar el Sadik — all four descen- dants of the Prophet, and buried in the same grave with Abbas ibn Abd el Muttalib, uncle to Mohammed. It is almost needless to say that these names are subjects of great controversy. El Masudi mentions that here was found an inscribed stone declaring it to be the tomb of the Lady Fatimah, of Hasan her son, of Ali bin Husayn, of Mohammed bin Ali, and of Jaafar bin Mohammed. Ibn Jubayr, describing El Bakia, mentions only two in this tomb, Abbas and Hasan ; the head of the latter, he says, in the direction of the former's feet. Other authors * Burckhardt makes a series of mistakes upon this subject. " Hassan ibn Alj, whose trunk only lies buried here (in El Bakia), his bead having been sent to Cairo, where it is preserved in the fine Mosque called EI Hassanya." The Mosque El Hasanayn (the " two Hasans ") is supposed to contain only the head of £1 Husayn, which, when the crusaders took Ascalon, was brought from thence by Sultan SaJih or Beybars, and conveyed to Cairo. As I have said before, the Persians in Egypt openly show their contempt of this tradition. It must be remembered that El Hasan died poisoned at El Medinah by his wife Jaadah. EI Husayn, on the other hand, was slain and decapitated at Kerbela. According to the Shiahs, Zayn el Abidin obtained from Yezid, after a space of forty days, his father's head, and carried it back to Ker- bela, for which reason the event is known to the Persians as " Chilleyeh sar o tan," the "forty days of (sepai-ation between) the head and trunk." They vehemently deny that the body lies at Kerbela, and the head at Cairo. Others, again, declare that El Husayn's head was sent by Yezid to Amir bin el As, the governor of El Medinah, and was by him buried near Fati- mah's Tomb. Nor are they wanting who declare, that after Yezid's death the head was found in his treasury, and was shrouded and buried at Damascus. Such is the uncertainty which hangs over the early history of EI Islam. THE TOMB OF FATIMAH. 41 relate that in It, about the ninth century of the Hijrah, was found a wooden box covered with fresh-looking red felt cloth, with bright brass nails, and they believe it to have contained the corpse of Ali, placed here by his son Hasan. We stood opposite this mysterious tomb, and repeated, with diflSculty by reason of the Persians weeping, the following supplication : — " Peace be upon ye, O family of the Prophet ! O lord Abbas, the free from impurity and uncleanness, and father's brother to the best of men ! And thou too O lord Hasan, grandson of the Prophet ! And thou too O lord Zayn el Abidin 1 * Peace be upon ye, one and all, for verily God hath been pleased to deliver you from all guile, and to purify you with all purity. The mercy of Allah and his blessings be upon you, and verily he is the Praised, the Mighty ! " After which, free- ing ourselves from the hands of greedy boys, we turned round and faced the southern wall, close to which is a tomb attributed to the Lady Fatimah.f I will not repeat the prayer, it being the same as that recited in the Haram. * The names of the fifth and sixth Imams, Mohammed el Bakia and Jaafar el Sadik, were omitted hj Hamid, as doubtful whether tbej are really buried here or not. t Moslem historians seem to delight in the obscurity which hangs over the lady's last resting-place, as if it were an honor even for the receptacle of her ashes to be concealed from the eyes of men. Some place her in the Haram, relying upon this tradition: — Fatimab, feeling aboat to die, rose up joyfully, performed the greater ablution, dressed herself in pure gar- ments, spread a mat upon the floor of her house near the Prophet's Tomb, lay down fronting the Kiblah, placed her hand under her cheek, and said to her attendant, " I am pure and in a pure dress ; now let no one uncover my body, but bury me where I lie ! " When Ali returned he found his wife dead, and complied with her last wishes. Umar bin Abd el Aziz believed this tradition, when he included the room in the Mosque; and generally in £1 Islam Fatimah is supposed to be buried in the Haram. Those who suppose the Prophet's daughter to be buried in EI Bakia rely upon a saying of the Imam Hasan, " If men will not allow me to sleep be- side my grandsire, place me in El Bakia, by my mother." They give tlie 42 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. Issuing from the hot and crowded dome, we recovered our slippers after much trouble, and found that our gar- ments had suffered from the frantic gesticulations of the Persians. We then walked to the gate of El Bakia, stood facing the cemetery upon an elevated piece of ground, and delivered the general benediction. « O AUah ! O Allah ! O Allah ! O full of mercy ! O abounding in beneficence ! Lord of length (of days), and prosperity, and goodness ! O thou who when asked, grantest, and when prayed for aid, aidest ! Have mercy upon the companions of thy Prophet, of the Muhajirin, and the Ansar ! Have mercy upon them, one and all ! Have mercy upon Abdullah bin Hantal (and so on, specifying their names), and make Paradise their resting-place, their habi- tation, their dwelling, and their abode ! O Allah ! accept following account of his death and buriaL His body was bathed and shrouded by Ali and Umar Salmab. Otheis say that Asma bint Umays, the wife of Abubekr, was present with Fatimah, who at her last hour com- plained of being carried out, as was the custom of those days, to burial like a man. Asma promised to make her a covered bier, like a bride's litter, of palm sticks, in shape like what she had seen in Abyssinia: whereupon Fatimah smiled for the first time after her father's death, and exacted from her a promise to allow no one entrance as long as her corpse was in the house. Ayisha, shortly afterwards knocking at the door, was refused admittance by Asma: the former complained of this to her father, and declared that her stepmother had been making a bride's litter to carry out the corpse. Abubekr went to the door, and when informed by his wife that all was the result of Fatimah's orders, he returned home making no objection. The death of the Prophet's daughter was concealed by her own desire from high and low; she was buried at night, and none accompanied her .bier, or prayed at her grave, except Ali and a few relatives. The Shiahs found a charge of irreverence and disrepect against Abubekr for ab- sence on this occasion. The third place which claims Fatimah's honored remains, is a small Mosque in El Bakia, south of the Sepulchre of Abbas. It was called Bayt el Huzn — House of Mourning — because here the Lady passed the end of her days, lamenting the loss of her father. Her tomb appears to have for- merly been shown there. Now visitors pray, and pray only twice, — at the Haram, and in the Kubbat el Abbasiyah. THE BENEDICTION OF EL BAKIA. 43 our Ziyarat, and supply our wants, and lighten our griefs, and restore us to our homes, and comfort our fears, and disappoint not our hopes, and pardon us, for on no other do we rely ; and let us depart in thy faith, and after the practice of thy Prophet, and be thou satisfied with us ! O Allah ! forgive our past offences, and leave us not to our (evil) natures during the glance of an eye, or a lesser tinie ; and pardon us, and pity us, and let us return to our houses and homes safe (i. e. spiritually and physically), fortunate, abstaining from what is unlawful, re-established after our distresses, and belonging to the good, thy servants upon whom is no fear, nor do they know distress. Re- pentance, O Lord ! Repentance, O Merciful ! Repentance, O Pitiful I Repentance before death, and pardon after death ! I beg pairdou of Allah I Thanks be to Allah I Praise be to Allah! Amen, O Lord of the (three) worlds ! " After which, issuing from El Bakia*, we advanced * The other celebrities in El Bakia are, Fatimah bint Asad, mother of Ali. She was buried with great re- ligions pomp. The Prophet shrouded her with his own garment (to prevent hell from touching her), dug her grave, lay down in it (that it might never squeeze or be narrow to her), assisted in carrying the bier, prayed over her, and proclaimed her certain of future felicity. Over her tomb was written, " The grave hath not closed upon one like Fatimah, daughter of Asad." Historians relate that Mohammed lay down in only four graves : Eha- dijah's, at Meccah ; Kasim's, her son by him ; that of Umm Buman, Ayisha's mother; and that of Abdullah el Mazni, a friend and companion. Abd el Bahmin bin Auf was interred near Usman bin Mazun. Ayisha oflTered to bury him in her house near the Prophet, but he replied that he did not wish to narrow her abode, and that he had promised to sleep by the side of his friend Mazun. I have already alluded to the belief that none has been able to occupy the spare place in the Hujrah. Ibn Hufazah el Sahmi, who was one of the Ashab el Hijratayn (who had accompanied both Flights, the Greater and the Lesser), here died of a wound received at Ohod, and was buried in Shawwal, a.h. 3, one month after Usman bin Mazun. 44 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. northwards, leaving the city gate on the left hand, and came to a small Kubbah close to the road. It is visited as containing the tomb of the Prophet's paternal aunts, especially of Safiyah, daughter of Abd el Muttalib, sister of Hamzah, and one of the many heroines of early El Islam. Hurrying over our directions here, — for we were tired indeed, — we applied to a Sakka for water, and en- tered a little coffee-house near the gate of the town, after which we rode home. I have now described, I fear at a wearying length, the spots visited by every Zair at El Medinah. The guide- books mention altogether between fifty and fifty-five mosques and other holy places, most of which are now unknown even by name to the citizens. The most ce- lebrated of these are the few following, which I describe from hearsay. About three miles to the N.W. of the town, close to the Wady el Akik, lies the Mosque called El Kiblatayn — " The Two Directions of Prayer." Some give this title to the Masjid el Takwa at Kuba.* Others assert that the Prophet, after visiting and eating at the house of an old woman named Umm Mabshar, went to pray the mid-day Abdullah Lin Masud, who, according to others, is buried at Kufah. Saad ibn Zararah, interred near Usman bin Mazun. Saad bin Maaz, who was buried by the Prophet. He died of a wound received during the battle of the Moat. Abd el Rahman el Ausat, son of Omar. He was generally known as Abu Shahmah, the " Father of Fat : " he sickened and died, after receiving from his father the religious flogging — impudicitise causa. Abu Sufiyan bin el Haris, grandson of Abd el Muttalib. He was buried near Abdullah bin Jaafar el Tayyar, popularly known as the " most gene- rous of the Arabs," and near Ukayl bin Abi Talib, the brother of Ali men- tioned above. These are the principal names mentioned by popular authors. The curious reader will find in old histories a multitude of others, whose graves are now utterly forgotten at El Medinah. » See Chap. XIX. CELKBRATED MOSQUES. 45 prayer in the JNIosque of the BenI Salmah. He had per- formed the prostration with his face towards Jerusalem, when suddenly warned by revelation he turned southwards and concluded his orisons in that direction. I am told it is a mean dome without inner walls, outer enclosures, or minaret. The Masjid Beni Zafar (some write the word Tifr) is also called Masjid el Baghlah — of the She-mule, — be- cause, according to El Matari, on the ridge of stone to the south of this Mosque are the marks where the Prophet leaned his arm, and where the she-mule, Duldul, sent by the Mukaukas as a present with Mariyah the Coptic Girl and Yafur the donkey, placed her hoofs. At the Mosque was shown a slab upon which the Prophet sat hearing recitations from the Koran ; and historians declare that by following his example many women have been blessed with offspring.* This Mosque is to the east of El Bakia. The Masjid el Jumah — of Friday, or El Anikah, of the Sand-heaps — is in the valley near Kuba, where Moham- med prayed and preached on the first Friday after his flight from Meccah.f The Masjid el Fazikh — of Date-liquor — is so called because when Abu Ayyub and others of the Ansar were sitting with cups in their hands, they heard that intoxi- cating draughts were for the future forbidden, upon which they poured the liquor upon the ground. Here the Pro- phet prayed six days whilst he was engaged in warring iown the Beni Nazir Jews. The Mosque derives its Dther name. El Shams — of the Sun — because, being jrected on rising ground east of and near Kuba, it receives the first rays of morning light. * I cannot say whether this valuable stone be still at the Mosque Beni rifr. But I perfectly remember that my friend Larking had a mutilated phynx in his garden at Alexandria, which was found equally efficacious. t See Chap. XVII. 46 PILGEIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. To the eastward of the Masjid el Fazikh lies the Masjid el Kurayzah, erected on a spot where the Prophet de- scended to attack the Jewish tribe of that name. Re- turning from the Battle of the Moat, wayworn and tired with fighting:, he here sat down to wash and comb his hair, when suddenly appeared to him the Archangel Ga- briel in the figure of a horseman dressed in a corslet and covered with dust. " The Angels of Allah," said the pre- ternatural visitor, " are still in arms, O Prophet, and it is Allah's- will that thy foot return to the stirrup. I go before thee to prepare a victory over the Infidels, the sons of Kurayzah." The legend adds that the dust raised by the angelic host was seen in the streets of El Medinah, but that mortal eye fell upon no horseman's form. The Prophet ordered his followers to sound the battle-call, gave his flag to Ali, — the Arab token of appointing a commander-in-chief, — and for twenty -five days invested the habitations of the enemy. This hapless tribe was ex- terminated, sentence of death being passed upon them by Saad ibn Maaz, an Ausi whom they constituted their judge because he belonged to an allied tribe. 600 men were beheaded in the market-place of El Medinah, their property was plundered, and their wives and children were reduced to slavery. " Tantane relligio potuit suadere maJorum ! " The Masjid Mashrabat Umm Ibrahim, or Mosque of the garden of Ibrahim's mother, is a place where Mariyah had a garden and became the mother of Ibrahim, the Pro- phet's second son.* It is a small building in what is called the Awali, or highest part of the El Medinah plain, to the * Mohammed's eldest son was Kasim, who died in his infancy, and was buried at Meccah. Hence the Prophet's psedonymic, Abu Kosim, the sire of Kasim. CELEBEATED MOSQUES. 47 north of the Masjid Beni Kurayzah, and near the eastern Harrah or ridge.* Northwards of El Bakia is, or was, a small building called the Masjid el Ijabah — of Granting, — from the following circumstance. One day the Prophet stopped to perform his devotions at this place, which then belonged to the Beni Muawiyah of the tribe of Aus. He made a long Dua or supplication, and then turning to his com- panionSj exclaimed, " I have asked of Allah three favors, two hath he vouchsafed to me, but the third was refused ! " Those granted were that the Moslems might never be destroyed by famine or by deluge. The third was that they might not perish by internecine strife. The Masjid el Fath — of Victory, — vulgarly called the " Four Mosques," are situated in the Wady El Sayh f, which comes from the direction of Kuba, and about half a mile, to the east of " El Kiblatayn." The largest is called the Masjid el Fath or El Ahzab — of the troops, — and is alluded to in the Koran. Here it is said the Prophet prayed for three days during the Battle of the Moat, also called the battle " El Ahzab," the last fought with the Infidel Kuraysh under Abu Sufiyan. After three days of devotion, a cold and violent blast arose, with rain and sleet, and discomfited the foe. The Prophet's prayer having here been granted, it is supposed by ardent Mos- lems that no petition put up at the Mosque El Ahzab is ever neglected by Allah. The form of supplication is differently quoted by different authors. When El Shafei was in trouble and fear of Harun el Rashid, by the virtue of this formula he escaped all danger : I would willingly » Ayisha used to relate that she was exceedingly jealous of the Coptic girl's beauty, and the Prophet's love for her. Mohammed seeing this, removed Mariyah from the house of Harisat bin el Numan, in which he had Dlaccd her, to the Awali of El Medinah, where the Mosque now is. f I am very doubtful about this location of the Masjid el Fath. 4S PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. offer so valuable a prophylactory to my readers, only it is of an unmanageable length. The doctors of El Islam also greatly differ about the s[)Ot where the Prophet stood on this occasion; most of them support the claims of the Masjid el Path, the most elevated of the four, to that dis- tinction. Below, and to the south of the highest ground, is the Masjid Salman el Farsi, the Persian, from whose brain emanated the bright idea of the Moat. At the mature age of 250, some say 350, after spending his life in search of a religion, from a Magus * becoming succes- sively a Jew and a Nazarene, he ended with being a Moslem, and a companion of Mohammed. During his eventful career he had been ten times sold into slavery. Below Salman's Mosque is the Masjid Ali, and the smallest building on the south of the hill is called Masjid Abubekr. All these places owe their existence to El Walid the Caliph : they were repaired at times by his successors. The Masjid el Rayah — of the Banner — was originally built by El Walid upon a place where the Prophet pitched his tent during the War of the Moat. Others call it El Zubab, after a hill upon which it stands. El Rayah is separated from the Masjid el Path by a rising ground called Jebel Sula or Jebel Sawab f : the former being on the eastern, whilst the latter lies upon the western de- clivity of the hill. The position of this place is greatly admired, as commanding the fairest view of the Haram. About a mile and a half south-east of El Bakia is a dome called Kuwwat Islam, the Strength of El Islam. Here the Prophet planted a dry palm-stick, which grew up, blossomed, and bore fruit at once. Moreover, on one • A magician, one supposed to worship fire. f The Mosque of "reward in heaven." It is so called because during the War of the Moat, the Prophet used to live in a cave there, and after- wards he made it a frequent resort for prayer. hamzah's tomb. 49 occasion when the Moslems were unable to perform the pilgrimage, Mohammed here produced the appearance of a Kaabah, an Arafat, and all the appurtenances of the Hajj. I must warn my readers not to condemn the founder of El Islam for these puerile inventions. The Masjid Unayn lies south of Hamzah's tomb. It is on a hill called Jebel el Rumat, the Shooters' Hill, and here during the battle of Ohod stood the archers of El Islam. According to some the Prince of Martyrs here received his death- wound ; others place that event at the Masjid el Askar or the Masjid el Wady.* Besides these fourteen, I find the names, and nothing but the names, of forty Mosques. The reader loses little by my unwillingness to offer him a detailed list of such appellations as Masjid Beni Abd el Ashhal, Masjid Beni Harisah, Masjid Beni Haram, Masjid el Fash, Masjid el Sukiya, Masjid Beni Bayazah, Masjid Beni Hatmah, "Cum multis aliis quae nunc perscribere longum est." * Hamzah's fall is now placed at the Eubbat el Moera. See Chap. XX. 50 PILGEIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. CHAP. XXIII. THE DAMASCUS CARAVAN. The Damascus Caravan was to start on the 27th Zu'l Kaadah (1st September). I had intended to stay at El Medinah till the last moment, and to accompany the Kafilat el Tayyarah, or the " Flying Caravan," which usually leaves on the 2nd Zu'l Hijjah, two days after that of Damascus. Suddenly arose the rumour that there would be no Tayyarah *, and that all pilgrims must proceed with the Damascus Caravan or await the Rakb.f The Sherif Zayd, Saad the Robber's only friend, had paid him an unsuccessful visit. Schinderhans demanded back his Shaykh-ship, in return for a safe-conduct through his country : " Otherwise," said he, " I will cut the throat of every hen that ventures into the passes." The Sherif Zayd returned to El Medinah on the 25th Zu'l Kaadah (30th August). Early on the morning of the next day, Shaykh Hamid returned hurriedly from the bazar, exclaiming, " You must make ready at once, Ef- fendil — there will be no Tayyarah — all Hajis start to- morrow — Allah will make it easy to you! — have you your water-skins in order ? — you are to travel down the Darb el Sharki, where you will not see water for three days ! " Poor Hamid looked horror-struck as he concluded this * The " Tayyarah," or " Flying Caravan," is lightly laden, and travels by forced marches. + The Rakb is a dromedary Caravan, in which each person carries only his saddle-bags. It usually descends by the road called El lihabt, and makes Mcccah on the fifth day. PEErAEATIONS. 5 1 fearful announcement, which filled me with joy. Burck- hardt had visited and described the Darb el Sultani, the road along the coast. But no European had as yet tra- velled down by Harun el Rashid's and the Lady Zubay- dah's celebrated route through the Nejd Desert. Not a moment, however, was to be lost : we expected to start early the next morning. The boy Mohammed went forth, and bought for eighty piastres a Shugduf, which lasted us throughout the pilgrimage, and for fif- teen piastres a Shibriyah or cot to be occupied by Shaykh Nur, who did not relish sleeping on boxes. The youth was employed all day, with sleeves tucked up and working like a porter, in covering the litter with matting and rugs, in' mending broken parts, and in providing it with large pockets for provisions inside and outside, with pouches to contain the guggleta of cooled water. Meanwhile Shaykh Nur and I, having inspected the water-skins, found that the rats had made considerable rents in two of them. There being no workman pro- curable at this time for gold, I sat down to patch the damaged articles, whilst Nur was sent to lay in provisions for fourteen days.* By my companion's advice I took wheat-flour, rice, turmeric, onions, dates, unleavened bread of two kinds, cheese, limes, tobacco, sugar, tea and coffee. Hamid himself started upon the most important part of our business. Faithful camel-men are required upon a road where robberies are frequent and stabbings occasional, and where there is no law to prevent desertion or to limit new and exorbitant demands. After a time he returned, accompanied by a boy and a Bedouin, a short, thin, well- built old man with regular features, a white beard, and a cool clear eye ; liis limbs, as usual, were scarred with * The journey is calculated at eleven days; but provisions are apt to spoil, and the Bedouin camel-mou expect to be fed. Besides which, pilferers abound. 52 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. wounds. Maaud, of the Eahlah, a sub-family of the Ha- midah family of the Beni-Harb, came in with a dignified demeanour, applied his dexter palm to ours*, sat down, declined a pipe, accepted coffee, and after drinking it, looked at us to show that he was ready for negotiation. "We opened the proceedings with " We want men and not camels," and the conversation proceeded in the purest Hejazi.f After much discussion we agreed, if compelled to travel by the Darb el Sharki, to pay twenty dollars for two camels I, and to advance arbun or earnest-money to half that amount. § The Shaykh bound himself to provide us with good animals, which moreover were to be changed in case of accidents ; he was also to supply his beasts with water, and to accompany us to Arafat and back. But, absolutely refusing to carry my large chest, he declared that the tent under the Shugduf was burden enough for one camel, and that the green box of drugs, the saddle- bags, and the provision-sacks surmounted by Nur's cot, were amply sufficient for the other. On our part we bound ourselves to feed the Shaykh and his son, supplying them either with raw or with cooked provender, and, upon our return to Meccah from Mount Arafat, to pay the re- maining hire Avith a discretionary present. • This " Musafahah," as it is called, is the Arab fashion of shaking hands. They apply the palms of the right hands flat to each other, without squeezing the fingers, and then raise the hand to the forehead. f On this occasion I heard three new words : " Kharitah," used to signify a single trip to Meccah (without return to El Medinah), " Taarifah," going out from Meccah to Mount Arafat, and " Tanzilah," return from Mount Arafat to Meccah. J And part of an extra animal which was to carry water for the party. Had we travelled by the Darb el SuUani, we should have paid 6^ dollars, instead of 10, for each beast. § The system of advances, as well as earnest-money, is common all over Arabia. In some places, Aden for instance, I have heard of two- thirds the price of a cargo of coffee being required from the purchaser before the seller would undertake to furnish a single bale. NICKNAMES. — SALT. 53 Hamid then addressed to me flowery praises of the old Bedouin. After which, turning to the latter, he ex- claimed, " Thou wilt treat these friends well, O Masud the Harbi ! " The ancient replied with a dignity that had no pomposity in it, — "Even as Abu Shawarib — the TFather of Mustachios * — behaveth to us, so will we be- have to him ! " He then arose, bade us be prepared when the departure-gun sounded, saluted us, and stalked out of the room, followed by his son, who, under pretext of dozing, had mentally made an inventory of every article in the room, ourselves especially included. When the Bedouins disappeared, Shaykh Hamid shook his head, advising me to give them plenty to eat, and never to allow twenty-four hours to elapse without dipping hand in the same dish with them, in order that the party might always be " Malihin," — on terms of saltf He concluded with a copious lecture upon the villany of * Most men of the Shafei school clip their mustachios exceedingly short ; some clean share the upper lip, the imperial, and the parts of the beard about the corners of the mouth, and the fore-part of the cheeks. I neglected so to do, which soon won for me the epithet recorded above. Arabs are vastly given to " nick-naming God's creatures ; " their habit is the effect of acute observation, and the want of variety in proper names. Sonnini appears not to like having been called the " Father of a nose." But there is nothing disrespectful in these personal allusions. In Arabia you must be " father " of something, and it is better to be father of a feature, than father of a cooking-pot, or father of a strong smell (" Abu- Zirt.") f Salt among the Hindus is considered the essence and preserver of the seasi it was therefore used in their offerings to the gods. The old idea in Europe was, that salt is a body composed of various elements, into which it cannot be resolved by human means; hence, it became the type of an indis- soluble tie between individuals. Homer calls salt sacred and divine, and whoever ate it with a stranger was supposed to become his friend. By the Greek authors, as by the Arabs, hospitality and salt are words expressing a kindred idea. When describing the Bedouins of El Hejaz, I shall have occasion to notice their peculiar notions of the Salt-law. 54 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. Bedouins, and their habit of drinking travellers' water. I was to place the skins on a camel in front, and not behind ; to hang the skins with their mouths carefully tied, and turned upwards, contrary to the general practice ; always to keep a good store of liquid, and at night to place it under the safeguard of the tent. In the afternoon, Umar Effendi and others dropped in to take leave. They found me in the midst of preparations, sewing sacks, fitting up a pipe, patching water-bags, and packing medicines. My fellow-traveller had brought me some pencils * and a penknife, as " forget-me-nots," for we were by no means sure of meeting again. He hinted, however, at another escape from the paternal abode, and proposed, if possible, to join the Dromedary-Caravan. Shaykh Hamid said the same, but I saw, by the expression of his face, that his mother and wife would not give him leave from home so soon after his return. Towards evening-time the Barr el ]\Iunakhah became a scene of exceeding confusion. The town of tents lay upon the ground. Camels were being laden, and were roaring under the weight of litters, cots, boxes, and baggage. Horses and mules gallopped about. Men were rushing Avildly in all directions on worldly errands, or hurrying to pay a farewell visit to the Prophet's Tomb. Women and children sat screaming on the ground, or ran about dis- tracted, or called their vehicles to escape the danger of being crushed. Every now and then a random shot ex- cited all into the belief that the departure-gun had sounded. At times we heard a volley from the robbers' hills, which elicited a general groan, for the pilgrims were still, to use their own phrase, " between fear and hope," and, conse- * The import of such articles shows the march of progress in El Hejaz. During the last generation, schoolmasters used for pencils bits of bar lead beaten to a point. THE PAEEWELL VISITATION. 65 quently, still far from " one of the two comforts."* Then would sound the loud " Jhin- Jhin " of the camels' bells, as the stately animals paced away with some grandee's gilt and emblazoned litter, the sharp grunt of the drome- dary, and the loud neighing of excited steeds. About an hour after sunset all our preparations were concluded, save only the Shugduf, at which the boy Mohammed still worked with untiring zeal; he wisely remembered that in it he had to spend the best portion of a week and a half. The evening was hot, we therefore dined outside the house. I was told to repair to the Haram for the Ziyarat el Widaa, or the " Farewell Visitation ; " but my decided objection to this step was that we were all to part, — hqw soon! — and when to meet again we knew not. My companions smiled consent, assuring me that the ceremony could be performed as well at a distance as in the temple. Then Shaykh Hamid made me pray a two-prostration prayer, and afterwards facing towards the Haram, to recite this supplication with raised hands : " O Prophet of Allah, we beg thee to entreat Almighty Allah, that he cut off no portion of the good resulting to us, from this visit to thee and to thy Haram ! May he cause us to return safe and prosperous to our birthplaces ; aid then us in the progeny he hath given us, and continue to us his benefits, and make us thankful for our daily bread ! O AJlah, let not this be the last of our visitations to thy Prophet's Tomb! Yet if thou summon us before such blessing, verily in my death I bear witness, as in my life " (here the forefinger of the right hand is extended, that the members of the body may take part with the tongue and the heart), "that there is no god but Allah, one and * The " two comforts" are success and despair; the latter, according to the Arabs, being a more enviable state of feeling than doubt or hope deferred. 56 PILGBIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. without partner, and verily that our lord Mohammed is his Servant and his Prophet! O Allah, grant us in this world weal, and in the future weal, and save us from the torments of hell fire ! Praise to thee, O Lord, Lord of Glory, greater than man can describe ! and peace be upon the Prophet, and laud to Allah, the Lord of the (three) worlds."* Then began the uncomfortable process of paying off little bills. The Eastern creditor always, for divers rea- sons, waits the last moment before he claims his debt. Shaykh Hamid had frequently hinted at his diflSculties; the only means of escape from which, he said, was to rely upon Allah. He had treated me so hospitably, that I could not take back any part of the 51. lent to him at Suez. His three brothers received a dollar or two each, and one or two of his cousins hinted to some effect that such a proceeding would meet with their approbation. The luggage was then carried down, and disposed in packs upon the ground before the house, so as to be ready for loading at a moment's notice. Many flying parties of travellers had almost started on the high road, and late in the evening came a new report that the body of the Caravan Would march about midnight. We sat up till about 2 A. M., when, having heard no gun, and seen no camels, we lay down to sleep through the sultry remnant of the hours of darkness. Thus, gentle reader, was spent my last night at El Medinah. ' This concludes, as usual, with the Testification and the Fatihah. Pious men on such an occasion always go to the Bauzah, where they strive, if possible, to shed a tear,— a single drop being a sign of acceptance, — give alms to the utmost of their ability, vow piety, repentance, and obedience, and retire overwhelmed with grief, at separating themselves from their Prophet and Intercessor. It is customary, too, before leaving El Medinah, to pass at least one night in vigils at the Haram, and for learned men to read through the Koran once before the Tomb. THE traveller's FIRST DANGER PASSED. 57 I had reason to congratulate myself upon having passed through the first danger. Meccah is so near the coast, that, in case of detection, the traveller might escape in a few hours to Jeddah, where he would find an English vice-consul, protection from the Turkish authorities, and possibly a British cruiser in the harbour. But at El Medinah discovery would entail more serious consequences. The next risk to be run was the journey between the two cities, on which it would be easy for the local officials quietly to dispose of a suspected person by giving a dollar to a Bedouin. 58 riLGBIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. CHAP. XXIII. FROM EL MEDINAH TO EL SUWAYEKITAH. Four roads lead from El Medinah to Meccah. The " Darb el Sultani/' or " Sultan's "Way," follows the line of coast : this general passage has been minutely described by my great predecessor. The " Tarik el Ghabir," a mountain path, is avoided by the Mahmal and the great Caravans, oa account of its rugged passes ; water abounds along the whole line, but there is not a single village ; and the Sobh Bedouins, who own the soil, are inveterate plun- derers. The route called " "VVady el Kura " is a favorite with Dromedary-Caravans ; on this road are two or three small settlements, regular wells, and free passage through the Beni Amr tribe. The Darb el Sharki, or " Eastern road," down which I travelled, owes its existence to the piety of Zubaydah Khatun, wife of Harun el Rashid. That estimable princess dug wells from Baghdad to El Medinah, and built, we are told, a wall to direct pilgrims over the shifting sands.* There is a fifth road, or rather mountain-path, concerning which I can give no informa- tion. At 8 A. M. on Wednesday, the 26th Zu'l Kaadah (31st August, 1853), as we were sitting at the window * The distance from Baghdad to EI Medinah is 1 80 parasangs, according to Abd el Karim : " Voyage de I'lnde a la Mecque;" translated by M. Langles, Paris, 1797. This book is a disappointment, as it describes every- thing except El Medinah and Meccah: these gaps are filled up by the translator with the erroneous descriptions of other authors, not eye-wit- nesses. DEPARTURE OF THE CARAVAN. — EL GHADIR. 59 of Hamid's house after our early meal, suddenly appeared, in hottest haste, Masud, our camel- Shay kh. He was a6- companied by his son, a bold boy about fourteen years of age, who fought sturdily about the"weight of each package as it was thrown over the camel's back ; and his nephew, an ugly pock-marked lad, too lazy even to quarrel. We Avere ordered to lose no time in loading ; all started into activity, and at 9 A. m. I found myself standing opposite the Egyptian Gate, surrounded by ray friends, who had accompanied me thus far on foot, to take leave with due honor. After affectionate embraces and parting mementos, we mounted, the boy Mohammed and I in the litter, and Shaykh Nur in his cot. Then, in company with some Turks and Meccans, for Masud owned a string of nine camels, we passed througli the little gate near the castle, and shaped our course towards the north. On our right lay the palm-groves, which conceal this part of the city ; far to the left rose the domes of Hamzah's Mosques at the foot of Mount Ohod ; and in front a band of road, crowded with motley groups, stretched over a barren stony plain. After an hour's slow march, bending gradually from N. to N.E., we fell into the Nejd highway and came to a place of renown called El Ghadir, or the Basin.* This is a depression conducting the drainage of the plain to- wards the Northern Hills. The skirts of Ohod still limited the prospect to the left. On the right was the Bir Rashid (Well of Rashid), and the little whitewashed dome of Ali el Urays, a descendant from Zayn el Abidin: — the tomb is still a place of visitation. There we halted and turned to take farewell of the Holy City. All the pilgrims dis- mounted and gazed at the venerable minarets and the * Here, it is believed, was fought the battle of Buas, celebrated in the pagan days of El Mcdinah (a. d. 615). Our dictionaries translate " Ghadir' by " pool" or " stagnant water." Here it is applied to places where water stands for a short time after rain. W PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. Green Dome, — spots upon which their memory would ever dwell with a fond and yearning interest. Remounting at noon we crossed a Fiumara which runs, according to my camel- Shay kh, from N. to S. ; we were therefore emerging from the Medinah basin. The sky began to be clouded, and although the air was still full of Simoom, cold draughts occasionally poured down from the hills. Arabs fear this " bitter change Of fierce extremes, extremes by change more fierce," and call that a dangerous climate which is cold in the hot season and hot in the cold. Travellins over a rouo-h and stony path, dotted with thorny Acacias, we arrived about 2 P.M. at the bed of lava heard of by Burckhardt.* The » Travels in Arabia, vol. ii. p. 217. The Swiss Traveller was prevented by sickness from visiting it. The " Jazb el Kulnb " affords the following account of a celebrated eruption, beginning on the Salkh (last day) of Jamadi el Awwal, and ending on the evening of the third of Jamadi el Akhir, a. h. 654. Terrible earthquakes, accompanied by a thundering noise, shook the town ; from fourteen to eighteen were observed each night. On the third of Jamadi el Akhir, after the Isha prayers, a fire burst out in the direction of El Hejaz (eastward); it resembled a vast city with a turreted and battlemented fort, in which men appeared drawing the flame about, as it were, whilst it roared, burned, and melted like a sea everything that came in its way. Presently, red and bluish streams, bursting from it, ran close to El Medinah; and, at the same time, the city was fanned by a cooling zephyr from the same direction. El Kistlani, an eye-witness, asserts that " the brilliant light of the volcano made the face of the country bright as day; and the interior of the Haram was as if the sun shone upon it, so that men worked and required nought of the sun and moon (the latter of which was also eclipsed?)." Se- veral saw the light at Meccah, at Tayma (in Nejd, six days' journey from EI Medinah), and at Busra, of Syria, reminding men of the Prophet's saying, " A fire shall burst forth from the direction of El Hejaz ; its light shall make visible the necks of the camels at Busra." Historians relate that the length of this stream was four parasangs (from fourteen to sixteen miles), its breadth four miles (56§ to the degree), and its depth about nine feet. It flowed like a torrent with the waves of a sea; the rocks, melted by its beat, stood up as a wall, and for a time, it prevented the passage of TRACES OF EXTINCT VOLCANOES. 61 aspect of the country was volcanic, abounding in basalts and scoriEe, more or less porous : sand veiled the black bed whose present dimensions by no means equal the de- scriptions of Arabian historians. ' I made diligent in- quiries about the existence of active volcanoes in this part of El Hejaz, and heard of none. At 5 p. M., travelling towards tiie East, we entered a Bughaz *, or Pass, which follows the course of a wide Fiumara, walled in by steep and barren hills, — the portals of a region too wild even for Bedouins. The torrent-bed narrowed where the turns were abrupt, and the drift of heavy stones, with a water-mark from 6 to 7 feet high, showed that after rains a violent stream runs from E. and S.E. to W. and N.W. The fertilising fluid is close to Bedouins, who, coming from that direction, used to annoy the citizens. Jamal Matari, one of the historians of £1 Medinah, relates that the flames, which destroyed the stones, spared the trees ; and he asserts that some men, sent by the governor to inspect the fire, felt no heat ; also that the feathers of an arrow shot into it were burned whilst the shaft remained whole. This he attributes to the sanctity of the trees within the Haram. On the contrary, El Kistlani asserts the fire to hare been so vehement that no one could approach within two arrow-flights, and that it melted the outer half of a rock beyond the limits of the sanctuary, leaving the inner part unscathed. The Kazi, the Governor, and the citizens engaged in devotional exercises, and during the whole length of the Thursday and the Friday nights, all, even the women and children, with bare heads wept round the Prophet's tomb. Then the lava-current turned northwards. This current ran, according to some, three entire months. El Kistlani dates its beginning on Friday, 6 Jamadi el Akhir, and its cessation on Sunday, 27 Kajab: in this period of fifty-two days he includes, it is sup- posed, the length of its extreme heat. That same year (a.d. 654) is in- famous in El Islam for other portents, such as the inundation of Baghdad by the Tigris, and the burning of the Prophet's Mosque. In the next year first appeared the Tartars, whe slew £1 Mutasim Billah, the Caliph, mas- sacred the Moslems during more than a month, destroyed their books, monuments, and tombs, and stabled their war steeds in the Mustansariyah College. • In this part of El Hejaz they have many names for a Pass : — Nakb Saghrah, and Mazik are those best known. 62 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. the surface, evidenced by a spare growth of Acacia, camel-grass, and at some angles of the bed by the Daum, or Theban palm.* I remarked what are technically called " Hufrah," holes dug for water in the sand ; and my guide assured me that somewhere near there is a spring flowing from the rocks. After the long and sultry afternoon, beasts of burden began to sink in considerable numbers. The fresh car- casses of asses, ponies, and camels dotted the way-side : those that had been allowed to die were abandoned to the foul carrion-birds, the Rakham (vulture), and the yellow Ukab ; and all whose throats had been properly cut, were surrounded by troops of Takruri pilgrims. These half- starved wretches cut steaks from the choice portions, and slung them over their shoulders till an opportunity of cooking might arrive. I never saw men more destitute. They carried wooden bowls, which they filled with water by begging ; their only weapon was a small knife, tied in a leathern sheath above the elbow ; and their costume an old skull-cap, strips of leather like sandals under the feet, and a long dirty shirt, or sometimes a mere rag covering the loins. Some were perfect savages, others had been fine-looking men, broad-shouldered, thin-flanked and long- limbed ; many were lamed by fatigue and thorns ; and looking at most of them, I saw death depicted in their forms and features. After two hours' slow marching up the Fiumara east- wards, we saw in front of us a wall of rock, and turning abruptly southwards, we left the bed, and ascended rising ground. Already it was night ; an hour, however, elapsed before we saw, at a distance, the twinkling fires, and heard the watch-cries of our camp. It was pitched in a hollow. * This is the palm, capped with large fan-shaped leaves, described by every traveller in Egypt and the nearer East. HOW PILGRIMS LIVE ON A MAECH. 63 under hills, in excellent order ; the Pacha's pavilion sur- rounded by his soldiers and guards disposed in tents, with sentinels, regularly posted, protecting the outskirts of the encampment. One of our men, whom we had sent for- ward, met us on the way, and led us to an open place, where we unloaded the camels, raised our canvas home, lighted fires, and prepared, with supper, for a good night's rest. Living is simple on such marches. The pouches inside and outside the Shugduf contain provisions and water, with which you supply yourself when inclined. At certain hours of the day, ambulant vendors oflfer sherbet, lemonade, hot coffee, and water-pipes admirably pre- pared.* Chibouques may be smoked in the litter ; but few care to do so during the Simoom. The first thing, however, called for at the halting-place is the pipe, and its delightfully soothing influence, followed by a cup of coffee, and a " forty winks " upon the sand, will awaken an appetite not to be roused by other means. How could Waterton, the Traveller, abuse a pipe ? During the night- halt, provisions are cooked : rice, or Kichri, a mixture of pulse and rice, are eaten with Chutnee and lime-pickle, varied, occasionally, by tough mutton and indigestible goat. We arrived at Ja el Sherifah at 8 p. M., after a march of about twenty-two miles, f This halting-place is the • The charge for a cup of coffee is one piastre and a half. A pipe-bearer will engage himself for about ll. per mensem: he is always a veteran smoker, and, in these regions, it is an axiom that the flavour of your pipe mainly depends upon the filler. For convenience the Persian Kalian is generally used. f A day's journey in Arabia is generally reckoned at twenty-four or twenty-five Arab miles. Abulfeda leaves the distance of a Marhalah (or Manzil, a station) undetermined. El Idrisi reckons it at thirty miles, but speaks of short as well as long marches. The common literary measures of length are these: — 3 Kadam (man's foot) = 1 Kliatwah (pace): 1000 paces = 1 Mil (mile) ; 3 miles = I Farsakh (parasang) ; and 4 parasangs = 1 Berid or post. The "Burhan i Katia" gives the table thus: — 24 64 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. rendezvous of caravans : it lies 50° S.E. of El Medinah, and belongs rather to Nejd than to El Hejaz. At 3 A. M.j on Thursday, we started up at the sound of the departure-gun, struck the tent, loaded the camels, mounted, and found ourselves hurrying through a gloomy Pass, in the hills, to secure a good place in the Caravan. This is an object of some importance, as, during the whole journey, marching order must not be broken. We met with a host of minor accidents, camels falling, Shugdufs bumping against one another, and plentiful abuse. Perti- naciously we hurried on till 6 A. M., at which hour we emerged from the black pass. The large crimson sun rose upon us, disclosing, through purple mists, a hollow of coarse yellow gravel, based upon a hard whitish clay. It is about five miles broad by twelve long, collects the waters of the high grounds after rain, and distributes the surplus through an exit towards the N.E., a gap in the low undulating hills around. Entering it, we dismounted, prayed, broke our fast, and after half an hour's halt proceeded to cross its breadth. The appearance of the Caravan was most striking, as it threaded its slow way over the smooth surface of the Khabt.* To judge by the eye, the host was composed of at least 7000 souls, on foot, on horseback, in litters, or bestriding the splendid camels of Syria.f There were finger breadths (or 6 breadths of the clenched hand, from 20 to 24 inches !) = 1 Gaz or yard ; 1000 yards = 1 mile; 3 miles = 1 parasang. Some call the four thousand yard measure a Kuroh (the Indian Cos), which, howeyer, is sometimes less by 1000 Gaz. The only ideas of distance known to the Bedouin of El Hejaz are the fanciful Saat or hour, and the uncertain Manzil or halt : the former varies from 2 to 3^ miles, the latter from 15 to 25. * " Khabt " is a low plain ; " Midan," " Fayhah," or " Sath,'' a plain generally ; and " Batha," a low, sandy flat. f In Burckhardt's day there were 5000 souls and 15,000 camels. Capt. Sadlier, who travelled during the war (1819), found the number reduced to 500. The extent of this Caravan has been enormously exaggerated in Europe. I have heard of 15,000, and even of 20,000 men. THE APPEARANCE OF THE CAKAVAN. 65 eight gradations of pilgrims. The lowest hobbled with heavy staves. Then came the riders of asses, camels, and mules. Respectable men, especially Arabs, mounted dro- medaries, and the soldiers had horses : a led animal was saddled for every grandee, ready whenever he might wish to leave his litter. Women, children, and invalids of the poorer classes sat upon a " Haml Musattah," — rugs and cloths spread over the two large boxes which form the camel's load.* Many occupied Shibriyahs, a few, Shug- The Shibrijah. dufs, and only the wealthy and the noble rode in Takht- rawan (litters), cai*ried by camels or mules.f The morning beams fell brightly upon the glancing arms which sur- rounded the stripped Mahmal|, and upon the scarlet and I include in the 7000 about ] 200 Persians. They are no longer placed, as Abd el Karim relates, in the rear of the Caravan, or the post of danger. * Lane has accurately described this article : in the Hcjaz it is sometimes made to resemble a little tent. f The vehicle mainly regulates the expense, as it evidences a man's means. I have heard of a husband and wife leaving Alexandria with three months' provision and the sum of 5l. They would mount a camel, lodge in public buildings when possible, probably be reduced to beggary, and possibly starve upon the road. On the other hand the minimum ex- penditure, — for necessaries, not donations and luxuries, — of a man who rides in a Takht-rawan from Damascus and back, would be about 1200/. J On the line of march the Mahmal, stripped of its embroidered cover, is carried on camel-back, a mere framewood. Even the gilt silver balls and crescent are exchanged for similar articles in brass. 66 PILGEIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. gilt litters of the grandees. Not the least beauty of the spectacle was its wondrous variety of detail : no man was dressed like his neighbour, no camel was caparisoned, no horse clothed in uniform, as it were. And nothing stranger than the contrasts; — a band of half-naked Takruri march- ing with the Pacha's equipage, and long-capped, bearded Persians conversing with Tarbushed and shaven Turks. The plain even at an early hour reeked with vapors distilled by the fires of the Simoom : about noon, however, the air became cloudy, and nothing of color remained, save that milky white haze, dull, but glaring withal, which is the prevailing day-tint in these regions. At mid-day we reached a narrowing of the basin, where, from both sides, " Irk,'' or low hills, stretch their last spurs into the plain. But after half a mile. It again widened to upwards of two miles. At two p. M. we turned towards the S. W., ascended stony ground, and found ourselves one hour afterwards in a desolate rocky flat, distant about twenty- four miles of unusually winding road from our last station. " Mahattah Ghurab,"* or the Ravens Station, lies 10° S. W. from Ja el Sharifah, in the irregular masses of hill on the frontier of El Hejaz, where the highlands of Nejd begin. After pitching the tent, we prepared to recruit our supply of water; for Masud warned me that his camels had not drunk for ninety hours, and that they would soon sink under the privation. The boy Mohammed, mounting a dromedary, set off with the Shaykh and many water- bags, giving me an opportunity of writing out my journal. They did not return home till after nightfall, a delay caused by many adventures. The wells are in a Fiumara, as usual, about two miles distant from the halting-place, * Mahattah is a spot where luggage is taken down, i. e. a station. By some Hejazis it is used in the sense of a halting-place, where you spend an hour or two. THE HALT, — THE NIGHT-MARCH. 67 and the soldiers, regular as well as Irregular, occupied the water and exacted hard coin in exchange for it- The men are not to blame ; they would die of starvation, but for this resource. The boy Mohammed had been engaged in several quarrels; but after snapping his pistol at a Persian pilgrim's head, he came forth triumphant with two skins of sweetish water, for which we paid ten piastres. He was in his glory. There were many Meccans in the Caravan, among them his elder brother and several friends : the Sherif Zayd had sent, he said, to ask why he did not travel with his compatriots. That evening he drank so copiously of clarified butter, and ate dates mashed with flour and other abominations to such an extent, that at night he prepared to give up the ghost. We passed a pleasant hour or two before sleeping. I began to like the old Shaykh Masud, who, seeing it, entertained me with his genealogy, his battles, and his family affairs. The rest of the party could not prevent expressing contempt when they heard me putting frequent questions about torrents, hills. Bedouins, and the directions of places. " Let the Father of Mustachios ask and learn," said the old man ; " he is friendly with the Bedouins*, and knows better than you all." This reproof was intended to be bitter as the poet's satire, — " All fools have still an itching to deride, And fain would be upon the laughing side." It called forth, however, another burst of merriment, for the jeerers remembered my nickname to have be- longed to that pestilent heretic, Saud the Wahhabi. On Saturday, the 3rd September, that hateful signal- o-un awoke us at one A. M. In Arab travel there is nothing more disagreeable than the Sariyah or night-march, and yet the people are inexorable about it. " Choose early * "Khalik ma el Badu" is a favorite complimentary saying among this people, and means that you are no greasy burgher. G8 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. darkness (Daljah) for your wayfarings," said the Prophet, " as the calamities of the earth — serpents and wild beasts — aj)pear not at night." I can scarcely find words to express the weary horrors of a long night's march, during which the hapless traveller, fuming, if a Euro- pean, with disappointment in his hopes of " seeing the country," is compelled to sit upon the back of a creeping camel. The day sleep too is a kind of lethargy, and it is all but impossible to preserve an appetite during the hours of heat. At half-past five a. m., after drowsily stumbling through hours of outer darkness, we entered a spacious basin at least six miles broad, and limited by a circlet of low hill. It was overgrown with camel-grass and Acacia trees — mere vegetable mummies, — in many places the water had left a mark ; and here and there the ground was pitted with mud-flnkes, the remains of recently dried pools. After an hour's rapid march we toiled over a rugged ridge, composed of broken and detached blocks of basalt and scoriae, fantastically piled together, and dotted with thorny trees ; Shaykh Masud passed the time in walking to and fro along his line of camels, addressing us with a Khallikum guddam, " to the front (of the litter) ! " as we ascended, and a Khallikum wara " to the rear ! " during the descent. It was wonderful to see the animals stepping from block to block with the sagacity of muontalneers ; assuring themselves of their forefeet before trusting all their weight to advance. Not a camel fell, either here or on any other ridge : they moaned, how- ever, piteously, for the sudden turns of the path puzzled them ; the ascents were painful, the descents were still more so ; the rocks were sharp, deep holes yawned be- tween the blocks, and occasionally an Acacia caught the Shugduf, almost overthrowing the hapless bearer by the suddenness and the tenacity of its clutch. This passage SAND-COLUMNS. — THE SIMOOM. 69 took place during daylight. But we had many at night, which I shall neither forget nor describe. Descending the ridge, we entered another hill-encircled basin of gravel and clay. In many places basalt in piles and crumbling strata of hornblende schiste, disposed edge- ways, green within, and without blackened by sun and rain, cropped out of the ground. At half-past ten we found ourselves in an " Acacia-barren," one of the things which pilgrims dread. Here Shugdufs are bodily pulled off the camel's back and broken upon the hard ground ; the animals drop upon their knees, the whole line is de- ranged, and every one, losing his temper, attacks his Moslem brother. The road was flanked on the left by an iron wall of black basalt. Noon brought us to another ridge, whence we descended into a second wooded basin surrounded by hills. Here the air was filled with those pillars of sand so graphically described by Abyssinian Bruce. They scudded on the wings of the whirlwind over the plain — huge yellow shafts, with lofty heads, horizontally bent back- wards, in the form of clouds ; — and on more than one occasion camels were overthrown by them. It required little stretch of fancy to enter into the Arabs' superstition. These sand-columns are supposed to be Genii of the Waste, which cannot be caught, — a notion arising from the fitful movements of the wind-eddy that raises them, — and, as they advance, the pious Moslem stretches out his finger, exclaiming, " Iron ! O thou ill-omened one ! "* During the forenoon we were troubled with Simoom, which, instead of promoting perspiration, chokes up and hardens the skin. The Arabs complain greatly of its vio- lence on this line of road. Here I first remarked the diffi- culty with which the Bedouins bear thirst. " Ya Latif " — O ! merciful Lord, — they exclaimed at times, and yet * Even Europeans, in popular parlance, call them "devils." & 70 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. they behaved like men.* I had ordered them to place the -water-camel in front, so as to exercise due supervision. Shaykh Masud and his son made only an occasional re- ference to the skins. But his nephew, a short, thin, pock- marked lad of eighteen, whose black skin and Avoolly head suggested the idea of a semi-African and ignoble origin, was always drinking ; except when he climbed the camel's back and, dozing upon the damp load, forgot his thirst. In vain we ordered, we taunted, and we abused him : he would drink, he would sleep, but he would not work. At one P. M. we crossed a Fiumara ; and an hour after- wards we pursued the course of a second. Masud called this the Wady el Khunak, and assured me that it runs from the E. and the S. E. in a N. and N. W. direction, to the Medinah plain. Early in the afternoon we reached a diminutive flat, on the Fiumara bank. Beyond it lies a Mahjar or stony ground, black as usual in El Hejaz, and over its length lay the road, white with dust and the sand deposited by the camels' feet. Having arrived before the Pacha, we did not know where to pitch ; many opining "that the Caravan would traverse the Mahjar and halt beyond it. We soon alighted, however, pitched the tent under a burning sun, and were imitated by the rest of the party. Masud called the place Hijriyah. According to my * The Eastern Arabs allay the torments of thirst by a spoonful of clarified butter, carried on journeys in a leathern bottle. Every European traveller has some recipe of his own. One chews a musket-bullet or a small stone. A second smears his legs with butter. Another eats a crust of dry bread, which exacerbates the torments, and afterwards brings relief. A fourth throws water over his face and hands or his legs and feet ; a fifth smokes, and a sixth turns his dorsal region (raising his coat-tail) to a toasting fire. I have always found that the only remedy is to be patient and not to talk. The more you drink, the more you require to drink — water or strong waters. But after the first two hours' abstinence you have mastered the overpowering feeling of thirst, and then to refrain is easy. THE CAEA van's ORDER OF MAECII. 71 computation it is twenty-five miles from Ghurab, and its direction is S. E. 22°. Late in the afternoon the boy Mohammed started with a dromedary to procure water from the higher part of the Fiumara. Here are some wells, still called Bir Harun, after the great Caliph. The youth returned soon with two bags filled at an expense of nine piastres. This being the twenty-eighth Zu'l Kaadah, many pilgrims busied them- selves rather fruitlessly with endeavours to sight the crescent moon. They failed ; but we vi^ere consoled by seeing through a gap in the western hills a heavy cloud discharge its blessed load, and a cool night was the result. We loitered on Sunday, the 4th of September, at El Hijriyah, although the Shaykh forewarned us of a long march. But there is a kind of discipline in these great Caravans. A gun * sounds the order to strike the tents, and a second bids you march off with all speed. There are short halts of half an hour each at dawn, noon, the afternoon, and sunset, for devotional purposes, and these are regulated by a cannon or a culverin. At such times the Syrian and Persian servants, who are admirably expert in their calling, pitch the large green tents, Avith gilt crescents, for the dignitaries and their hareems. The last resting-place is known by the hurrying forward of these "Farrash,"t who are determined to be the first on the ground and at the well. A discharge of three guns denotes the station, and when the Caravan moves by night, a single cannon sounds three or four halts at irregular intervals. ' We carried two small brass gnns, which, on the line of march, were dismounted and placed upon camels. At the halt they were restored to their carriages. The Bedouins think much of these harmless articles, to which I have seen a gunner apply a match thrice before he could induce a discharge. t Tent-pitchers, &c. 72 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. The principal officers were the Emir el Hajj, one Ashgar AH Pacha, a veteran of whom my companions spoke slightingly, because he had been the slave of a slave, probably the pipe-bearer of some grandee, who in his youth had been pipe-bearer to some other grandee. Under him was a Wakil or lieutenant, who managed the executive. The Emir el Surrah — called simply El Surrah, or the Purse — had charge of the Caravan, treasure, and remit- tances to the Holy Cities. And lastly there was a commander of the forces (Bashat el Askar): his host consisted of about 1000 irregular horsemen, Bashi Buzuks, half bandits half soldiers, each habited and armed after his own fashion, exceedingly dirty, picturesque-looking, brave, and in such a country of no use whatever. Leaving El Hijriyah at seven a.m., we passed over the grim stone-field by a detestable footpath, andjat nine o'clock struck into a broad Fiumara, which runs from the east towards the north-west. Its sandy bed is overgrown with Acacia, the Senna plant, different species of Euphorbias, the wild Capparis and the Daum Palm. Up this line we travelled the whole day. About six p.m., we came iipon a basin at least twelve miles broad, which absorbs the water of the adjacent hills. Accustomed as I have been to mirage, a long thin line of salt efflorescence appearing at some distance on the plain below us, when the shades of evening invested the view, completely deceived me. Even the Arabs were divided in opinion, some thinking it WBS the effects of the rain which fell the day before : others were more acute.* Upon the horizon beyond the plain rose dark, fort-like masses of rock which I mistook for buildings, the more readily as the Shaykh had warned me that we were approaching a populous place. At last * It is said that beasts are never deceived by the mirage, and this, as far lis my experience goes, is correct. May not the reason be that most of ihom know the vicinity of water rather by smell than by sight ? GEOLOGICAL FEATURES OF THE ROUTE. 73 descending a long steep hill, we entered upon the level ground, and discovered our error by the crunching sound of the camels' feet upon large curling flakes of nitrous salt overlying caked mud. * Those civilised birds, the kite and the crow, warned us that we were in the vicinity of man . It was not, however, before eleven p.m., that we entered the confines of El Suwayrkiyah. The fact was made patent to us by the stumbling and the falling of our dromedaries over the little ridges of dried clay disposed in squares upon the fields. There were other obstacles, such as garden walls, wells, and hovels, so that midnight had sped before our weary camels reached the resting place. A rumor that we were to halt here the next day, made us think lightly of present troubles ; it proved, however, to be false. During the last four days I attentively observed the general face of the country. This line is a succession of low plains and basins, here quasi-circular, there irregularly oblong, surrounded by rolling hills and cut by Fiumaras which pass through the higher ground. The basins are divided by ridges and flats of basalt and greenstone ave- raging from 100 to 200 feet in height. The general form is a huge prism ; sometimes there is a table on the top. From El Medinah to El Suwayrkiyah the low beds of sandy Fiumaras abound. From El Suwayrkiyah to El Zaribah, their place is taken by " Ghadir," or basins in which water stagnates. And beyond El Zaribah the tra- veller enters a region of water-courses tending W. and S.W. The versant is generally from the E. and S.E. to- wards the W. and N.W. Water obtained by digging is good where rain is fresh in the Fiumaras ; saltish, so as to taste at first unnaturally sweet, in the plains ; and bitter in the basins and lowlands where nitre effloresces and rain • Hereabouts the Arabs call these places " Bahr milh," or Sea of Salt ; in other regions " Bahr bila ma," or " Waterless Sea." 74 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. has had time to become tainted. The landward faces of the hills are disposed at a sloping angle, contrasting strongly with the perpendicularity of their seaward sides, and I saw no inner range corresponding with, and parallel to, the maritime chain. Nowhere is there a land in which Earth's anatomy lies so barren, or one richer in volcanic and primary formations.* Especially towards the south, the hills are abrupt and highly vertical, with black and barren flanks, ribbed with furrows and fissures, with wide and formidable precipices and castellated summits like the work of man. The predominant formation was basalt, called by the Arabs Hajar Jehannum, or Hell-stone ; here and there it is porous and cellular ; in some places com- pact and black ; and in others coarse and gritty, of a tarry colour, and when fractured shining with bright points. Hornblende abounds at El Medinah and throughout this part of El Hejaz : it crops out of the ground edgeways, black and brittle. Greenstone, diorite, and actinolite are found, though not so abundantly as those above mentioned. The granites, called in Arabic Suwanf, abound. Some are large grained, of a pink color, and appear in blocks, which, flaking oS under the influence of the atmosphere, form into ooidal blocks and boulders piled in irregular heaps. Others are grey and compact enough to take a high polish when cut. The syenite is generally coarse, although there is occasionally found a rich red variety of that stone. I have never seen eurite or euritic porphyry except in small pieces, and the same may be said of the petrosilex ' Being but little read in geology, I submitted, after my return to Bombay, a few specimens collected on the way, to a learned friend, Dr. Carter, Secretary to the Bombay branch of the Koyal Asiatic Society. His name is a guarantee of accuracy., f The Arabic language has a copious terminology for the mineral as well as the botanical productions of the country : with little alteration it might be made to express all the requirements of modem geology. VARIETIES AND USES OV THE STONE. 75 and the milky quartz. In some parts, particularly between Yambu and El Medinah, there is an abundance of tawny yellow gneiss markedly stratified. The transition forma- tions are represented by a fine calcareous sandstone of a bright ochre color : it is used at Meccah to adorn the ex- teriors of houses, bands of this stone being here and there inserted into the courses of masonry. There is also a small admixture of the greenish sandstone which abounds at Aden. The secondary formation is represented by a fine limestone, in some places almost fit for the purposes of lithography, and a coarse gypsum often of a tufaceous nature. The maritime towns are mostly built of coi'alline. For the superficial accumulations of the country, I may refer the reader to any description of the Desert between Cairo and Suez. 76 ■ PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. CHAP. XXIV. THE BEDOUINS OF EL HEJAZ. The Arab may be divided into three races — a classifica- tion which agrees equally well with genesitic genealogy, the traditions of the country, and the observations of modern physiologists.* * In Holy Writ, as the indigens are not alluded to — only the Noachian race being described — we find two divisions : 1. The children of Joktan (great grandson of Shem), Mesopotamians settled in Southern Arabia, " from Mesha (Musa or Meccah ?) to Sephar " (Zafar) : that is to say, they occupied the lands from El Tehamah to Mahrah. ^ 2. The children of Ishmael, and his Egyptian wife, peopled only the wilderness of Paran in the Sinaitic Peninsula and the parts adjacent. Dr. Sprengor (Life of Mohammed, p. 18.) throws philosophic doubt upon the Ishmaelitish descent of Mohammed, who in personal appearance was a pure Caucasian, without any mingling of Egyptian blood. And the Ish- maelitish origin of the whole Arab race is an utterly untenable theory. Years ago, our great historian sensibly remarked that " the name (Sara- cens), used by Ptolemy and Pliny in a more confined, by Ammianus and Procopius in a larger sense, has been derived ridiculously from Sarah the wife of Abraham." In Gibbon's observation, the erudite Interpreter of the One Primaeval Language, — the acute bibliologist who metamorphoses the quail of the wilderness into a "ruddy goose," — detects " insidiousness " and " a spirit of restless and rancorous hostility '' against revealed religion. He proceeds on these sound grounds to attack the accuracy, the honesty, and the learning of the mighty dead. This may be Christian zeal ; it is not Christian charity. Of late years it has been the fashion of every aspirant to ecclesiastical honors to deal a blow at the ghost of Gibbon. And, as has before been remarked, Mr. Foster gi'atuitously attacked Burck- hardt, whose manes had long rested in the good will of man. This contrasts offensively with Lord Lindsay's happy compliment to the memory of the honest Swiss and the amiable eulogy quoted by Dr. Keith from the Quar- terly (vol. xxiii.), and thus adopted as his own. It may seem folly to defend the historian of the Decline and Fall against BEDOUIN AND WAHHABI* HEADS AND HEAD-DRESSES.. To face page 76. Vol. II. This is the typical face. Kinglets called " Daiik " ( Jji^^ 3, The Iiair on crown called , " Shushah " (a,a*j^^). 4. Shape of sliaved head: firmness and self-es- teem higli. '* Tlie Wahhabi tribe generally shave the head ; some still wear the hair long, which i* .the ancieiil ;doiiin practice. THE ORIGINAL RACE. 77 The first race, indigens or autochthones, are those sub- Caucasian tribes which may still be met with in the pro- vince of Mahrah, and generally along the coast between Muscat and Hadramaut.* The Mahrah, the Jenabah, and the Gara especially show a low development, for which hardship and privation only will not satisfactorily account.f These are " Arab el Aribah," for whose inferiority oriental fable accounts as usual by thaumaturgy. The principal advense are the Noachians, a great Chal- daean or Mesopotamian tribe which entered Arabia about 2200 A. c, and by slow and gradual encroachments drove before them the ancient owners and seized the happier lands of the Peninsula. The vast Anizah tribe and the Nejdi families are types of this race, which is purely Caucasian and shows a highly nervous temperament, to- the compiler of the Historical Geography of Arabia. But contineatal Orientalists have expressed their wonder at the appearance in this 19th century of the " Voice of Israel from Mount Sinai " and the •' India in Greece " : they should be informed that all our Eastern students are not votaries of such obsolete vagaries. * This is said without any theory. According to all historians of long inhabited lands, the advens — whether migratory tribes or visitors — find indigens or ajBiyevets. + They are described as having small heads, with low brows and ill-formed noses, (strongly contrasting with the Jewish feature,) irregular lines, black skins, and frames for the most part frail and slender. Tor a physiological description of this race, I must refer my readers to the writings of J)r. Carter of Bombay, the medical officer of the Palinurus, when engaged on the survey of Eastern Arabia. With ample means of observation he has not failed to remark the similarity between the lowest type of Bedouin and the Indigens of India, as represented by the Bheels and other Jungle races. This, from a man of science who is not writing up to a theory, may be considered strong evidence in favor of variety in the Arabian family. The fact has long been suspected, but few tra- vellers have given their attention to the subject since the downfall of Sir William Jones' Indian origin theoiy. I am convinced that there is not in Arabia " one Arab face, cast of features and expression," as was formerly supposed to be the case, and I venture to recommend the subject for consideration to future observers. I u jrix^i^uiiuiiuji nj a^L, MJSDXJVAH AND MECCAH, gether with those signs of " blood " which distinguish even the lower animals, the horse and camel, the greyhound and the goat of Arabia. These advenas would correspond with the Arab el Mustaarabah, or Arabicized Arabs of the east- ern historians.* The third family, an ancient and a noble stock, dating from A. C. 1 900, and typified in history_by Ishmael, still occupies the Sinaitic Peninsula. These Arabs, however, do not, and never did, extend beyond the limits of the mountains, where, still dwelling in the presence of their brethren, they retain all the wild customs and the un- tameable spirit of their forefathers. They are distinguished from the pure stock by an admixture of Egyptian blood f, * Of this Mesopotamian race there are now many local varieties. The subjects of the four Abyssinian and Christian sovereigns who succeeded Yusuf, the Jewish " Lord of the Pit," produced, in Yemen, the modern "Akhdam" or "Serviles." The "Hujur" of Yemen and Oman are a mixed race whose origin is still unknown. And to quote no more cases, the "Ebna" mentioned by Ibn Ishak were descended from the Persian soldiers of Anushirwan, who expelled the Abyssinian invader. f That the Copts, or ancient Egyptians, were " Half-caste Arabs," a mixed people like the Abyssiniaus, the Gallas, the Somal, and the Kafirs, an Arab graft upon an African stock, appears highly probable. Hence the old Nilotic race has been represented as woolly-headed and of negro feature. Thus Leo Africanus makes the Africans to be descendants of the Arabs. Hence the tradition that Egypt was peopled by .JIthiopia, and has been gradually whitened by admixture of Persian and Median, Greek and Roman blood. Hence, too, the fancied connection of .Slthiopia with Gush, Susiana, Khuzistan or the lands about the Tigris. Thus learned Virgil, confounding the Western with the Eastern .Slthiopians, alludes to " Usque coloratos Nilus devexus ad Indos." And Strabo maintains the people of Mauritania to be Indians who had come with Hercules. "We cannot but remark in Southern Arabia the footprints of the Hindu, whose superstitions, like the Phoenix which flew from India to expire in Egypt, passed over to Arabia, with Dwipa Snkhatra (Socotra) for a resting place on its way, to the regions of the remotest west. As regards the dif- ference between the Japhetic and Semitic tongnes it may be remarked, that though nothing can be more distinct than Sanscrit and Arabic, yet that THE BEDOUINS. 7i) and by preserving the ancient characteristics of the Nilotic family. The Ishmaelites are sub-Caucasian, and are de- noted in history as the " Arab el Mustaarabah," the in- sititious or half-caste Arab. Oriental ethnography, which, like most Eastern sciences, luxuriates in nomenclative distinction, recognises a fourth race under the name of " Arab el Mustaajamah." These " barbarized Arabs " are now represented by such a popu- lation as that of Meccah. That Aus and Khazraj, the Himyaritic tribes which emigrated to El Hejaz, mixed with the Amalikah, the Jurham and the Katirah, also races from Yemen, and with the Hebrews, a northern branch of the Semitic family, we have ample historical evidence. And they who know how immutable is race in the desert, will scarcely doubt that the Bedouin of El Hejaz preserves in purity the blood transmitted to him by his ancestors.* I will not apologise for entering into details concerning the personale of the Bedouins f ; a precise physical portrait Pahlavi and Hebrew (Prof. Bohlen on Genesis) present some remarkable points of resemblance. I have attempted in a work on Sindh to collect words common to both families. And further research convinces me that such vocables as the Arabic Taur , J the Persian Tora \.^ and the Latin " Taurus" denote an ancient rapprochement, whose mysteries still invite the elucidation of modern science. * The Sherif families affect marrying female slaves, thereby showing the intense pride which finds no Arab noble enough for them. Others take to wife Bedouin girls : their blood, therefore, is by no means pure. The worst feature of their system is the forced celibacy of their daughters : they are never married into any but Sherif families ; consequently they often die in spinsterhood. The effects of this custom are most pernicious, for though celibacy exists in the East it is by no means synonymous with chastity. Here it springs from a morbid sense of honor, and arose, it is popularly said, from an affront taken by a Sherif against his daughter's husband, but all Arabs condemn the practice. f I use this word as popular abuse has fixed it. Every Orientalist knows that Badawin (Bedouin) is the plural form of Badawi, an " Ism el nisbah," or adjective derived from Badu, a, desert. " Some words notoriously cor- 80 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. of race, it has justly been remarked, is the sole deficiency in the pages of Bruce and Burckhardt. The temperament of the Hejazi is not unfrequently the pure nervous, as the height of the forehead and the fine texture of the hair prove. Sometimes the bilious, and rarely the sanguine, elements predominate : the lymphatic I never saw. He has large nervous centres, and well- formed spine and brain, a conformation favorable to lon- gevity. Bartema well describes his color as a " dark leonine:" it varies from the deepest Spanish to a cho- colate hue, and its varieties are attributed by the people to blood. The skin is hard, dry, and soon wrinkled by exposure. The xanthous complexion is rare, though not unknown in cities, but the leucous does not exist. The crinal hair is frequently lightened by bleaching, and the pilar is browner than the crinal. The voice is strong and clear, but rather barytone than bass : in anger it becomes a shrill chattering like the cry of a wild animal. The look of a chief is dignified and grave even to pensiveness ; the " respectable man's " is self-sufficient and fierce ; the lower orders look ferocious, stupid, and inquisitive. Yet there is not much difference in this point between men of the same tribe, who have similar pursuits which engender similar passions. Expression is the grand diversifier of appearance among civilised people : in the Desert it knows few varieties. The Bedouin cranium is small, ooidal, long, high, narrow, and remarkable in the occiput for the develop- ment of Gall's second propensity ; the crown slopes up- rupt," says Gibbon, " are fixed, and as it were naturalised, in the vulgar tongue." The word "Badawi" is not insulting, like "Turk" applied to an Os- inanli, or " Fellah " to the Egyptian. But you affront the wild man by mistaking his clan for a lower one. " Ya Hitaymi," for instance, addressed to a Harb Bedouin, makes him finger his dagger. THE BEDOUINS. 81 wards towards the region of firmness, which is elevated ; whilst the sides are flat to a fault. The hair, exposed to sun, wind, and rain, acquires a coarseness not natural to it * : worn in " Kurun " f — ragged elf-locks — hanging down to the breast, or shaved in the form " Sbushah," nothing can be wilder than its appearance. The face is made to be a long oval, but want of flesh detracts from its regularity. The forehead is high, broad, and retreat- ing ; the upper portion is moderately developed ; but nothing can be finer than the lower brow, and the frontal sinuses stand out, indicating bodily strength and activity of character. The temporal fossa are deep, the cheek bones salient, and the elevated zygoma combined with the " lantern-jaw," often gives a death's-head appearance to the face. The eyebrows are long, bushy, and crooked, broken, as it were, at the angle where " Order " is sup- posed to be, and bent in sign of thoughtfulness. Most popular writers, following De Page t, describe the Arab eye as large, ardent, and black. The Bedouin of the Hejaz, and indeed the race generally, has a small eye, round, restless, deep-set and fiery, denoting keen inspec- * This coarseness is not a little increased by a truly Bedouin habit of washing the locks with Ij^l A^ It is not considered wholly impure, and is also used for the eyes, upon which its ammonia would act as a rude stimulant. The only cosmetic is clarified butter freely applied to the body as well as to the hair. t "Kurun" ( ,, jj) properly means "horns." The Sherifs generally wear their hair in "HaflFah " (-), long locks hanging down both sides of the neck and shaved away about a finger's breadth round the forehead and behind the neck. % This traveller describes the modem Mesopotamian and northern race, which, as its bushy beard — unusual feature in pure Arab blood — denotes, is mixed with central Asian. In the north, as might be expected, the camels are hairy; whereas in El Hejaz and in the low parts of El Yemen, a whole animal does not give a handful fit for weaving. The Arabs attribute this, as we should, to heat, which causes the longer hairs to drop off. VOL. 11. G 82 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH, tion with an ardent temperament and an impassioned character. Its colour is dark brown or green-brown, and the pupil is often speckled. The habit of pursing up the skin below the orbits, and half closing the lids to prevent dazzle, plants the outer angles with premature crows' feet. Another peculiarity is the sudden way in which the eye opens, especially under excitement. This, com- bined with its fixity of glance, forms an expression now of lively fierceness, then of exceeding sternness ; whilst the narrow space between the orbits impresses the countenance in repose with an intelligence, not destitute of cunning. As a general rule, however, the expression of the Be- douin's face is rather dignity than that cunning for which the Semitic race is celebrated, and there are lines about the mouth in variance with the stern or the fierce look of the brow. The ears are like those of Arab horses, small, well-cut, " castey " and elaborate, with many elevations and depressions. His nose is pronounced, generally aqui- line, but sometimes straight like those Greek statues which have been treated as prodigious exaggerations of the facial angle. For the most part, it is a well-made feature with delicate nostrils below which the septum appears : in anger they swell and open like a perfectly bred mare's. I have, however, seen, in not a few in- stances, pert and oflfensive " pugs." Deep furrows de- scend from the wings of the nose, showing an uncertain temper, now too grave, then too gay. The mouth is ir- regular. The lips are either hordes, denoting rudeness and want of taste, or they form a mere line. In the latter case there is an appearance of undue development in the upper portion of the countenance, especially when the jaws are ascetically thin, and the chin weakly retreats. The latter feature, however, is generally Avell and strongly made. The teeth, as usual among Orientals, are white, even, short, and broad — indications of strength. Some THE BEDOUINS. 83 tribes trim their mustachios according to the " Sunnat ; " the Shafei often shave them, and many allow them to hang Persian-like over the lips. The beard is represented by two tangled tufts upon the chin ; where whisker should be, the place is either bare or thinly covered with strag- gling pile. The Bedouins of El Hejaz are short men, about the height of the Indians near Bombay, but weighing on an average a stone more. As usual in this stage of society, stature varies little ; you rarely see a giant, and scarcely ever a dwarf. Deformity is checked by the Spartan re- straint upon population, and no weakly infant can live through a Bedouin life. The figure, though spare, is square and well knit ; fulness of limb never appears but about spring, when milk abounds : I have seen two or three muscular figures, but never a fat man. The neck is sinewy, the chest broad, the flank thin, and the stomach in-drawn ; the legs, though fleshless, are well made, es- pecially when the knee and ankle are not bowed by too early riding. The shins seldom bend to the front as in the African race. The arms are thin, with muscles like whip-cords, and the hands and feet are, in point of size and delicacy, a link between Europe and India. As in the Celt, the Arab thumb is remarkably long, extending almost to the first joint of the index *, which, with its easy rotation, makes it a perfect prehensile instrument : the palm also is fleshless, small-boned, and elastic. With his small active figure it is not strange that the wildest Bedouin's gait should be pleasing ; he neither unfits him- self for walking, nor distorts his ankles by turning out his toes according to the farcical rule of fashion, and his shoulders are not dressed like a drill sergeant's, to throw all the weight of the body upon the heels. Yet there is * Whereas the Saxon thumb is thick, flat, and short, extending scarcely half way to the middle joint of the index. G 2 84 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. no slouch in his walk ; it is light and springy, and errs only in one point, sometimes becoming a kind of strut. Such is the Bedouin, and such he has been for aces. The national type has been preserved by systematic in- termarriage. The wild men do not refuse their daughters to a stranger, but the son-in-law would be forced to settle among them, and this life, which has charms for a while, ends in becoming wearisome. Here no evil results are anticipated from the union of first cousins, and the ex- perience of ages and of a nation may be trusted. Every Bedouin has a right to marry his father's brother's daughter before she is given to a stranger ; hence " cousin " (bint Amm) in polite phrase signifies a " wife." * Our physiologists f adduce the Sangre Azul of Spain and the case of the lower animals to prove that degeneracy in- evitably follows " breeding-in." | Either they have theo- rized from insufficient facts, or civilisation and artificial livino- exercise some peculiar influence, or Arabia is a solitary exception to a general rule. The fact which I have mentioned is patent to every Eastern traveller. After this weary description, the reader will perceive with pleasure that we are approaching an interesting " A similar unwillingness to name the wife may be found in some parts of southern Europe, where probably jealousy or possibly Asiatic custom has given rise to it. Among the Maltese it appears in a truly ridiculous way, e. g., " dice la mia moglie, con rispetto parlando," &c. says the hus- band, adding to the word spouse a " saving your presence," as if he were speaking of something offensive. t Dr. Howe (Report on Idiotcy in Massachussetts, 1848,) asserts that " the law against the marriage of relations is made out as clearly as though it were written on tables of stone." He proceeds to show that in seventeen households where the parents were connected by blood, of ninety-6ve chil- dren one was a dwarf, one deaf, twelve scrofulous, and forty-four idiots total fifty-eight diseased! 1 Yet the celebrated "Flying Childers" and all his race were remark- ably bred-in. There is still, in my humble opinion, much mystery about the subject, to be cleared up only by the studies of physiologists. THE BEDOUINS. 85 theme, the first question of mankind to the wanderer — " What are the women like ? " Truth compels me to state that the women of the Hejazi Bedouins are by no means comely. Although the Beni Amur boast of some pretty girls, yet they are far inferior to the high-bosomed beauties of Nejd. And I warn all men that if they run to El Hejaz in search of the charming face which appears in my sketch-book as " a Bedouin girl," they will be bitterly disappointed: the dress was Arab, but it was worn by a fairy of the West. The Hejazi woman's eyes are fierce, her features harsh, and her face haggard ; like all people of the South, she soon fades, and in old age her appearance is truly witch-like. Withered crones abound in the camps, where old men are seldom seen. The sword and the sun are fatal to " A green old age, unconscious of decay." The manners of the Bedouins are free and simple: " vulgarity " and affectation, awkwardness and embarrass- ment, are weeds of civilised growth, unknown to the people of the desert.* Yet their manners are sometimes dashed with a strangje ceremoniousness. When two friends meet, they either embrace or both extend the right hands, clapping palm to palm ; their foreheads are either pressed together, or their heads are moved from side to ' side, whilst for minutes together mutual inquiries are made and answered. It is a breach of decorum, even when eating, to turn the back upon a person, and when a Bedouin does it, he intends an insult. When a man pre- pares coffee he drinks the first cup : the " Sharbat Kajari" of the Persians, and the " Sulaymani"t of Egypt, render » This sounds in English like an "Irish bull." I translate "Badu," as the dictionaries do, " a desert." t The Sharbat Kajari is the " Acquetta " of Persia, and derives its name from the present royal family. It is said to be a mixture of verdigris with milk ; if so, it is a very clumsy engine of state policy. In Eg}'pt and 86 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. this precaution necessary. When a friend approaches the camp, — it is not done to strangers for fear of startling them, — those who catch sight of him shout out his name, and gallop up saluting with lances or firing matchlocks in the air. This is the well-known " Laab el Barut," or gunpowder play. As a general rule the Bedouins are polite in language, but in anger temper is soon shown, and, although life be in peril, the foulest epithets, dog, drunkard, liar, and infidel, are discharged like pistol shots by both parties. The best character of the Bedouin is a truly noble compound of determination, gentleness, and generosity. Usually they are a mixture of worldly cunning and great simplicity, sensitive to touchiness, good-tempered souls, solemn and dignified withal, fond of a jest yet of a grave turn of mind, easily managed by a laugh and a soft word, and placable after passion, though madly revengeful after injury. It has been sarcastically said of the Beni-Harb that there is not a man " Que s'il ne violoit, Toloit, tuoit, bruloit Ne fut assez bonne personne." The reader will inquire, like the critics of a certain modern humorist, how the fabric of society can be sup- ported by such material. In the first place, it is a kind of " societe leonine," in which the fiercest, the strongest, and the craftiest obtains complete mastery over his fel- lows, and this gives a key-stone to the arch. Secondly, there is the terrible blood-feud, which even the most reckless fear for their posterity. And, thirdly, though the revealed law of the Koran, being insufficient for the desert, is openly disregarded, the immemorial customs of Mosul, Sulaymani (the common name for an Afghan) is used to signify "poison ; " but I know not whether it be merely euphuistic or confined to some species. The banks of the Nile are infamous for these arts, and Mohammed Ali Pacha imported, it is said, professional poisoners from Europe. THE BEDOUINS. 87 the " Kazi el Arab " • form a system stringent in the extreme. The valour of the Bedouin is fitful and uncertain. Man is by nature an animal of prey, educated by the complicated relations of society, but readily relapsing into his old habits. Ravenous and sanguinary propensities grow apace in the desert, but for the same reason the recklessness of civilisation is unknown there. Savages and semi-barbarians are always cautious, because they have nothing valuable but their lives and limbs. The civilised man, on the contrary, has a hundred wants or hopes or aims, without which life has for him no charms. Arab ideas of bravery do not prepossess us. Their ro- mances, full of foolhardy feats and impossible exploits, might charm for a time, but would not become the standard works of a really fighting people.f Nor would ' Throughout the world the strictness of the Lex Scripta is in inverse ratio to that of custom : whenever the former is lax, the latter is stringent, and vice versa. Thus in England, where law leaves men comparatively free, they are slaves to a grinding despotism of conventionalities, unknown in the lands of tyrannical rule. This explains why many men, accustomed to live under despotic governments, feel fettered and enslaved in the so- called free countries. Hence, also, the reason why notably in a republic there is less private and practical liberty than under a despotism. The " Kazi el Arab " (Judge of the Arabs) was in distinction to the Kazi el Shara, or the Kazi of the Koran. The former was, almost always, some sharp-witted greybeard, with a minute knowledge of genealogy and precedents, a retentive memory and an eloquent tongue. f Thus the Arabs, being decidedly a parsimonious people, indulge in exaggerated praises and instances of liberality. Hatim Tai, whose gene- rosity is unintelligible to Europeans, becomes the Arab model of the " open hand." Generally a high beau ideal is no proof of a people's practical pre- eminence, and when exaggeration enters into it and suits the public taste, a low standard of actuality may be fairly suspected. But to convince the Oriental mind you must dazzle it. Hence, in part, the superhuman courage of Antar, the liberality of Hatim, the justice of Omar, and the purity of Layla and Majnun under circumstances more trying than aught chronicled in Mathilde, or in the newest American novel, o 4 88 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH, a truly valorous race admire the timid freebooters who safely fire down upon caravans from their eyries. Arab wars, too, are a succession of skirmishes, in which 500 men will retreat after losing a dozen of their number. In this partisan fighting the first charge secures a victorj', and the vanquished fly till covered by the shades of night. Then come cries and taunts of women, deep oaths, wild poetry, excitement, and reprisals, which will probably end in the flight of the former victor. When peace is to be made, both parties count up their dead, and the usual blood-money is paid for excess on either side. Generally, however, the feud endures till, all becoming weary of it, some great man, as the Sherif of Meccah, is called upon to settle the terms of a treaty, which is nothing but an armistice. After a few months' peace, a glance or a word will draw blood, for these hates are old things, and new dissensions easily shoot up from them. But contemptible though their battles be, the Bedouins are not cowards. The habit of danger in raids and blood-feuds, the continual uncertainty of existence, the desert, the chase, the hard life and exposure to the air, blunting the nervous system ; the presence and the prac- tice of weapons, horsemanship, sharpshooting, and martial exercises, habituate them to look death in the face like men, and powerful motives will make them heroes. The English, it is said, fight willingly for liberty, our neigh- bours for glory ; the Spaniard fights, or rather fought, for religion and the "Pundonor;" and the Irishman fights for the fun of fighting. Gain and revenge draw the Arab's sword; yet then he uses it fitfully enough, without the gay gallantry of the French or the persistency of the Anglo-Saxon. To become desperate he must have the all-powerful stimulants of honor and fanaticism. Frenzied by the taunts of his women, or by the fear of being branded FEMALE INFLUENCE AMONG THE BEDOUINS. 89 as a coward, he is capable of any mad deed.* And the obstinacy produced by strong religious impressions gives a steadfastness to his spirit unknown to mere enthusiasm. The history of the Bedouin tells this plainly. Some nnobserving travellers, indeed, have mistaken his exceeding cautiousness for stark cowardice. The incongruity is easily read by one who understands the principles of Bedouin warfare ; M'ith them, as amongst the Eed Indians, one death dims a victory. And though reckless when their passions are thoroughly aroused, though heedless of danger when the voice of honor calls them, the Bedouins will not sacrifice themselves for light motives. Besides, they have, as has been said, another and a potent incentive to cautiousness. Whenever peace is concluded, they have to pay for a victory. There are two things which tend to soften the ferocity of Bedouin life. These are, in the first place, intercourse with citizens, who frequently visit and intrust their children to the people of the Black tents ; and, secondly, the social position of the women. The author of a certain " Lecture on Poetry, addressed to Working Men," asserts that Passion became Love under the influence of Christianity, and that the idea of a Virgin "■ At the battle of Bissel, when Mohammed Ali of Egypt broke the 40,000 guerillas of Faysal son of Saud the Wahhabi, whole lines of the Beni Asir tribe were found dead and tied by the legs with ropes. This system of colligation dates from old times in Arabia as the " Affair of Chains " (Zat el Salasil) proves. It is alluded to by the late Sir Henry Elliot in his " Appendix to the Arabs in Sind," — a work of remarkable sagacity and research. According to the " Beglar-Nameh," it was a " cus- tom of the people of Hind and Sind, whenever they devote themselves to death, to bind themselves to each other by their mantles and waistbands." It seems to have been an ancient practice in the West as in the East : the Cimbri, to quote no other instances, were tied together with cords when attacked by Marius. Tactic truly worthy of savages to prepare for victory by expecting a defeat! 90 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. Mother spread over the sex a sanctity unknown to the poetry or the philosophy of Greece and Eome.* Passing over the objections of deified Eros and Immortal Psyche and of the Virgin Mother, — symbol of moral purity, — being common to every old and material faith f, I believe that all the noble tribes of savages display the principle. Thus we might expect to find, wherever the fancy, the imagination, and the ideality are strong, some traces of a sentiment innate in the human organisation. It exists, says Mr. Catlin, amongst the North American Indians, and even the Gallas and the Somal of Africa are not wholly destitute of it But when the barbarian becomes a semi-barbarian, as are the most polished Orientals, or as were the classical authors of Greece and Home, then women fall from their proper place in society, become mere articles of luxury, and sink into the lowest moral condition. J * Though difFering in opinion, upon one subject, with the Eev. Mr. Robertson, the lamented author of this little work, I cannot refrain from expressing the highest admiration of those noble thoughts, those exalted views, and those polished sentiments which, combining the driicacjr of the present with the chivalry of a past age, appear in a style " As smooth as woman and as strong as man." Would that it were in my power to pay a more adequate tribute to his memory ! f Even Juno, in the most meaningless of idolatries, became, according to Pausanias (lib. ii. cap. 38.), a virgin once every year. And be it observed that El Islam (the faith not the practice) popularly decided to debase the social state of womankind, exalts it by holding up to view no less than two examples of perfection in the Prophet's household. Kbadijah, his first wife, was a, minor saint, and the Lady Fatimah is sup- posed to have been spiritually unspotted by 'sin, and materially ever a virgin, even after giving birth to Hasan and Husayn. J Miss Martineau, when travelling through Egypt, once visited a harem, and there found, among many things, especially in their ignorance of books and book-making, materials for a heart-broken wail over the degradation of her sex. The learned lady indulges, too, in sundry strong and unsa- voury comparisons between the harem and certain haunts of vice in Europe. On the other hand, male travellers generally speak lovingly of the harem. THE ARAB LOVER. 91 Were it not evidentthat the spiritualising of sexuality by imagination is universal among the highest orders of man- kind, I should attribute the origin of love to the influence of the Arabs' poetry and chivalry upon European ideas rather than to mediaeval Christianity. In nomad life, tribes often meet for a time, live to- gether whilst pasturage lasts, and then separate perhaps for a generation. Under such circumstances youths, who hold with the Italian that " Perduto e tutto il tempo Che in amor non si spende," will lose heart to maidens, whom possibly, by the laws of the clan, they may not marry*, and the light o' love will fly her home. The fugitives must brave every danger, for revenge, at all times the Bedouin's idol, now becomes the lode-star of his existence. But the Arab lover will Sonnini, no admirer of Egypt, expatiates on " the generous virtues, the examples of magnanimity and affectionate attachment, the sentiments ardent, yet gentle, forming a delightful unison with personal charms in the harems of the Mamelukes." As usual, the truth lies somewhere between the two extremes. Human nature, all the world over, differs but in degree. Every where women may be " capricious, coy, and hard to please " in common conjunctures : in the hour of need they will display devoted heroism. Any chronicler of the Afghan war will bear witness that warm hearts, noble sentiments, and an overflowing kindness to the poor, the weak, and the unhappy are found even in a harem. Europe now knows that the Moslem husband provides separate apartments and a distinct establishment for each of his wives, unless, as sometimes happens, one be an old woman and the other a child. And, confessing that envy, hatred, and malice often flourish in polygamy, the Moslem asks. Is monogamy open to no objections? As far as my limited observations go, polyandry is the only state of society in which jealousy and quarrels about the sex are the exception and not the rule of life. In quality of doctor I have seen a little and heard much of the harem. It very much resembles a European home composed of a man, his wife, and his mother. And I have seen in the West many a " happy fire-side " fitter to make Miss Martineau's heart ache than any harem in Grand Cairo. * There is no objection to intermarriage between equal clans, but the higher will not give their daughters to the lower in dignity. 92 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. dare all consequences. " Men have died and the worms have eaten them, but not for love," may be true in the West : it is false in the East. This is attested in every tale where love, and not ambition, is the groundwork of the narrative.* And nothing can be more tender, more pathetic than the use made of these separations and long absences by the old Arab poets. Whoever peruses the Suspended Poem of Lebid, will find thoughts at once so plaintive and so noble, that even Dr. Carlyle's learned verse cannot wholly deface their charm. The author returns from afar. He looks upon the traces of hearth and home still furrowing the desert ground. In bitterness of spirit he checks himself from calling aloud upon his lovers and his friends. He melts at the remembrance of their departure, and long indulges in the absorbing theme. Then he strengthens himself by the thought of Nawara's inconstancy, how she left him and never thought of him again. He impatiently dwells upon the charms of the places which detain her, advocates flight from the changing lover and the false friend, and, in the exultation with which he feels his swift dromedary start under him upon her rapid course, he seems to seek and find some consolation for woman's perfidy and forgetfulness. Yet he cannot abandon Nawara's name or memory. Again he dwells with yearn- ing upon scenes of past felicity, and he boasts of his * For instance : " A certain religious man was so deeply affected with the love of a king's daughter that he was brought to the brink of the grave," is a favourite inceptive formula. Usually the hero " sickens in consequence of the heroine's absence, and continues to the hour of his death in the utmost grief and anxiety." He rarely kills himself, but sometimes, when in love with a pretty Infidel, he drinks wine and he burns the Koran. The " hated rival " is not a formidable person ; but there are for good reasons great jealousy of female friends, and not a little fear of the beloved's kinsmen. Such are the material sentiments ; the spiritual part is a thread of mysticism, upon which all the pearls of adventure and accident are strung. ARABIAN HEROINES. 93 prowess — a fresh reproach to her, — of his gentle birth, and of his hospitality. He ends with an encomium upon his clan, to which he attributes, as a noble Arab should, all the virtues of man. This is Goldsmith's deserted vil- lage in El Hejaz. But the Arab, with equal simplicity and pathos, has a fire, a force of language, and a depth of feeling, which the Irishman, admirable as his verse is, could never rival. As the author of the Peninsular War well remarks, women in troublous times, throwing oif their accustomed feebleness and frivolity, become helpmates meet for man. The same is true of pastoral life.* Here, between the extremes of fierceness and sensibility, the weaker sex, remedying its great want, power, raises itself by courage, physical as well as moral. In the early days of El Islam, if history be credible, Arabia had a race of heroines. Within the last century, Ghaliyah, the wife of a Wahhabi chief, opposed Mohammed Ali himself in many a bloody field. A few years ago, when Ibn Asm, popularly called Ibn Rumi, chief of the Zubayd clan about Rabigh, was treacherously slain by the Turkish general, Kurdi Usman, his sister, a fair young girl, determined to revenge him. She fixed upon the " Arafat-day " of pilgrimage for the accomplishment of her designs, disguised herself in male attire, drew her kerchief in the form " Lisam " over the lower part of her face, and with lighted match awaited her enemy. The Turk, however, was not present, and the * It is curious that these pastoral races, which supply poetry with namby- pamby Colinades, figure as the great tragedians of history. The Scythians the Huns, the Arabs, and the Tartars were all shepherds. They first armed themselves with clubs to defend their flocks from wild beasts. Then they learned warfare, and improved means of destruction by petty quarrels about pastures ; and, finally, united by the commanding genius of some skin-clad Csesar or Napoleon, they fell like avalanches upon those valleys of the world — Mesopotamia, India, and Egypt — whose enervated races offered them at once temptations to attack, and certainty of success. 94 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. girl was arrested to win for herself a local reputation equal to the maid of Salamanca. Thus it is that the Arab has learned to swear that great oath " by the honor of my women." The Bedouins are not without a certain Platonic affec- tion, which they call " Hawa (or Ishk) uzri," — pardon- able love.* They draw the fine line between amant and amoureux : this is derided by the townspeople, little suspecting how much such a custom says In favour of the wild men. In the cities, however, It could not pre- vail, f Arabs, like other Orientals, hold that. In such matters, man is saved, not by faith, but by want of faith. They have also a saying not unlike ours — " She partly is to blame who has been tried, He comes too near who comes to be denied." The evil of this system Is that they, like certain Southerns, pensano sempre al male — always suspect, which may be worldly wise, and also always show their suspicions, which Is assuredly foolish. For thus they demoralise their women, who might be kept In the way of right by self-respect and a sense of duty. To raise our fellow- creatures, we have only to show that we think better of them than they deserve — disapprobation and suspicion draw forth the worst traits of character and conduct. From ancient periods of the Arab's history we find him practising knight-errantry, the wildest form of chivalry. | " The Songs of Antar," says the author of the " Crescent and the Cross," " show little of the true chlvalric spirit." * Even amongst the Indians, as a race the least chivalrous of men, there is an oath which binds two persons of different sex in the tie of friendship, by making them brother and sister to each other. f I have been told that it is found in the towns of Eastern Arabia ; but the circumstance appears highly improbable. { Kichardson derives our "knight" from Nikht (la.^0, a tilter with spears; and " CaitiflF" from Khattaf (j_j \U^ \ a snatcher or ravisher. THE SONGS OF ANTAK. 95 What thinks the reader of sentiments like these ?* *' This valiant man," remarks Antar, (who was " ever interested for the weaker sex,") " hath defended the honor of women," We read in another place, " Mercy, my lord, is the noblest quality of the noble." Again, " it is the most ignominious of deeds to take free-born women prisoners." " Bear not malice, O Shibub," quoth the hero, " for of malice good never came." Is there no true greatness in this sentiment? — " Birth is the boast of the faineant; noble is the youth who beareth every ill, who clotheth himself in mail during the noon-tide heat, and who wandereth through the outer darkness of night." And why does the " knight of knights " love Ibla ? Because " she is blooming as the sun at dawn, with hair black aa the midnight shades, with Paradise in her eye, her bosom an enchantment, and a form waving like the tamarisk when the soft wind blows from the hills of Nejd ? " Yes ! but his chest expands also with the thoughts of her " faith, purity, and afFection," — it is her moral as well as her material excellence that makes her the hero's "hope, and hearing, and sight." Briefly, in Antar I discern •' — A love exalted high, By all the glow of chivalry ; " and I lament to see so many intelligent travellers mis- judging the Arab after a superficial experience of a few debased Syrians or Sinaites. The true children of Antar have not " ceased to be gentlemen." In the days of ignorance, it was the custom for Bedouins, when tormented by the tender passion, which seems to have attacked them in the form of " possession," for long years to sigh and wail and wander, doing the * I am not ignorant that the greater part of " Antar " is of modem and disputed origin. Still it accurately expresses Arab sentiment. 96 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. most truculent deeds to melt the obdurate fair. When Arabia Islamized, the practice changed its element for proselytism. The Fourth Caliph is fabled to have tra- velled far, redressing the injured, punishing the injurer, preaching to the infidel, and especially protecting women — the chief end and aim of knighthood. The Caliph El Mutasim heard in the assembly of his courtiers that a woman of Sayyid family had been taken prisoner by a " Greek barbarian " of Ammoria. The man on one occasion struck her, when she cried " Help me, O Mu- tasim ! " and the clown said derisively, " Wait till he Cometh upon his pied steed ! " The chivalrous prince arose, sealed up the wine cup which he held in his hand, took oath to do his knightly devoir, and on the morrow started for Ammoria, with 70,000 men, each mounted on a piebald charger. Having taken the place, he entered it, exclaiming, " Labbayki, Labbayki ! " — Here am I at thy call. He struck off the caitifTs head, released the lady with his own hands, ordered the cupbearer to bring the sealed bowl, and drank from it, exclaiming, " Now, indeed, wine is good!" To conclude this part of the subject with another far-famed instance. When El Mu- tanabbi, the poet, prophet, and warrior of Hatns (a. h. 354) started together with his son on their last journey, the father proposed to seek a place of safety for the night. " Art thou the Mutanabbi," exclaimed his slave, " who wrote these lines, — " ' I am known to the night, and the wild, and the steed, To the guest, and the sword, to the paper and reed? ' " The poet, in reply, lay down to sleep on Tigris' bank, in a place haunted by thieves, and, disdaining flight, lost his life during the hours of darkness. It is the existence of this chivalry among the " Chil- dren of Antar " which mnkes the society of Bedouins (" damned saints," perchance, and " honorable villains,") H a '1^ ^ h H < % m S t^ ^ b W o* r^ pq ea © ^ M N ^ (-1 < , h 1 fe 1 ,3 ^ fe BEDOUIN POETRY. 97 SO delightful to the traveller who, like the late Haji Wall (Dr. Wallin), understands and is understood by them. Nothing more naive than his lamentations at finding him- self in the " loathsome company of Persians," or among Arab townspeople, whose " filthy and cowardly minds " he contrasts with the " high and chivalrous spirit of the true Sons of the Desert." Your guide will protect you with blade and spear, even against his kindred, and he expects you to do the same for him. You may give a man the lie, but you must lose no time in baring your sword. If involved in dispute with overwhelming num- bers, you address some elder, " Dakhilak ya Shaykh ! " (I am) thy protected, O Sir, — and he will espouse your quarrel with greater heat and energy, indeed, than if it were his own.* But why multiply instances? The language of love and war and all excitement is poetry, and, here again, the Bedouin excels. Travellers complain that the wild men have ceased to sing. This is true if " poet " be limited to a few authors whose existence everywhere depends upon the accidents of patronage or political occurrences. A far stronger evidence of poetic feeling is afforded by the phraseology of the Arab, and the highly imaginative turn of his commonest expressions. Destitute of the poetic taste, as we define it, he certainly is : as in the Milesian, wit and fancy, vivacity and passion, are too strong for reason and judgment, the reins which guide Apollo's car.f And although the Bedouins no longer boast a Lebid or a Maysunah, yet they are passion- * The subject of " Dakhl " has been thoroughly exhausted by Burck- hardt and Layard. It only remains to be said that the Turks, through ignorance of the custom, have in some cases made themselves contemptible by claiming the protection of women. t It is by no means intended to push this comparison of the Arab's with the Hibernian's poetry. The former has an intensity which prevents ou feeling that " there are too many flowers for the fruit j " the latter is too often VnT.. TT, 98 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. ately fond of their ancient bards.* A man skilful in reading El Mutanabbi and the suspended Poems would be received by them with the honors paid by civilisation to the travelling miUionnaire.f And their elders have a goodly store of ancient and modern war songs, legends, and love ditties which all enjoy. I cannot well explain the eflfect of Arab poetry to one who has not visited the Desert.* Apart from the pomp of words, and the music of the sound §, there is a dreami- ness of idea and a haze thrown over the object, infinitely a mere blaze of words, which dazzle and startle, but which, decomposed by reflection, are found to mean nothing. Witness " The diamond turrets of Shadukiam, And the fragrant bowers of Amberabad ! " • I am informed that the Beni Kahtan still improvise, but I never heard them. The traveller in Arabia will always be told that some remote clan still produces mighty barde, and uses in conversation the terminal vowels of the classic tongue, but he will not believe these assertions till personally convinced of their truth. The Bedouin dialect, however, though debased, is still, as of yore, purer than the language of the citizens. During the days when philology was a passion in the East, those Stephens and Johnsons of Semitic lore, Firuzabadi and El Zamakhshari, wandered from tribe to tribe and tent to tent, col- lecting words and elucidating disputed significations. Their grammatical adventures are still remembered, and are favorite stories with scholars. t X say " skilful in reading," because the Arabs, like the Spaniards, bate to hear their language mangled by mispronunciation. When Burckhardt, who spoke badly, began to read verse to the Bedouins, they could not refrain from a movement of impatience, and used to snatch the book out of his handj. t The civilised poets of the Arab cities throw the charm of the Desert over their verse, by images borrowed from its scenery — the dromedary, the mirage, and the well — as naturally as certain of our songsters, confessedly haters of the country, babble of lowing kine, shady groves, spring showers, and purling rills. § Some will object to this expression; Arabic being a harsh and guttural tongue. But the sound of language, in the first place, depends chiefly upon the articulator. Who thinks German rough in the mouth of a woman, with a suspicion of a lisp, or that English is the dialect of birds, when spoken by an Italian? Secondly, there is a music far more spirit-stirring ARAB POETRY IN THE DESERT. 99 attractive, but indescribable. Description, indeed, would rob the song of indistinctness, its essence. To borrow a simile from a sister art. The Arab poet sets before the mental eye, the dim grand outlines of picture, — which must be filled up by the reader, guided only by a few glorious touches, powerfully standing out, and the sen- timent which the scene is intended to express ; — whereas, we Europeans and moderns, by stippling and minute touches, produce a miniature on a large scale so objective as to exhaust rather than to arouse reflection. As the poet is a creator, the Arab's is poetry, the European's versical description.* The language, " like a faithful wife, in harshness than in softness : the languages of Castile and of Tuscany are equally beautiful, yet who does not prefer the sound of the former ? The gutturality of Arabia is less offensive than that of the highlands of Barbary. Professor Willis, of Cambridge, attributes the broad sounds and the guttural consonants of mountaineers and the people of elevated plains to the physical action of cold. Conceding this to be a partial cause, I would rather refer the phenomenon to the habit of loud speaking, acquired by the dwellers in tents, and those who live much in the open air. The Todas of the Neilgherry Hills have given the soft Tamul all the harshness of Arabic, and he who hears them calling to each other from the neighbouring peaks, can remark the process of broadening vowel and gutturalising consonant. On the other hand, the Gallas and the Persians, also a mountain-people, but inhabiting houses, speak comparatively soft tongues. The Cairenes actually omit some of the harshest sounds of Arabia, turning Makass into Ma'as, and Sakka into Sa'a. It is impossible to help remarking the bellow of the Bedouin when he first enters a dwelling-place, and the softening of the sound when he has become accustomed to speak within walls. Moreover, it is to be observed there is a great difference of articulation, not pronunciation, among the several Bedouin clans. The Beni Auf are recognised by their sharp, loud, and sudden speech, which the citizens compare to the barking of dogs. The Beni Amr, on the contrary, speak with a soft and drawling sound. The Hutaym, in addition to other pecu- liarities, add a pleonastic " ah," to soften the termination of words, as A'atini hawajiyaA, (for hawaiji), " Give me my clothes." * The Germans have returned for inspiration to the old Eastern source. Biickert was guided by Jelal el din to the fountains of Sufyism. And even the French have of late made an inroad into Teutonic mysticism success- fully enough to have astonished Bacine and horrified La Harpe. 100 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. following the mind and giving birth to Its offspring," and free from that "luggage of particles," which clogs our modern tongues, leaves a mysterious vagueness between the relation of word to word, which materially assists the sentiment, not the sense, of the poem. When verbs and nouns have, each one, many different significations, only the radical or general idea suggests itself.* Rich and varied synonyms, illustrating the finest shades of meaning, are artfully used ; now scattered to startle us by distinct- ness, now to form as it were a star about which dimly seen satellites revolve. And, to cut short a disquisition which might be prolonged indefinitely, there is in the Semitic dialect a copiousness of rhyme which leaves the poet almost unfettered to choose the desired expression.! Hence it is that a stranger speaking Arabic becomes poetical as naturally as he would be witty in French and philosophic in German. Truly spake Mohammed el Damiri, " Wisdom hath alighted upon three things — the brain of the Franks, * This, however, does not prevent the language hecoming optionally most precise in meaning ; hence its high philosophical character. The word " Farz," for instance, means, radically " cutting," secondarily " ordering," or " paying a debt," after which come numerous meanings foreign to the primal sense, such as a shield, part of a tinder-box, an uufeathered arrow, and a particular kind of date. In theology it is limited to a single signi- fication, namely, a divine command revealed in the Koran. Under these circumstances, the Arabic becomes, in grammar, logic, rhetoric, and mathe- matics, as perfect and precise as Greek. I have heard Europeans com- plain that it is unfit for mercantile transactions. — Perhaps ! t As a general rule there is a rhyme at the end of every second line, and the unison is a mere fringe — a long a, for instance, throughout th j poem suflBcing for the delicate ear of the Arab. In this they were imitated by the old Spaniards, who, neglecting the consonants, merely required the terminating vowels to be alike. We speak of the " sort of harmonious simple flow which atones for the imperfect nature of the rhyme." But the fine organs of some races would be hurt by that ponderous unison which a people of blunter senses find necessary to produce an impression. The reader will feel this after perusing in " Percy's Reliques " Rio Verde ! Rio Verde ! and its translation. BONDAGE HONORABLE AMONG THE BEDOUINS. 101 the hands of the Chinese, and the tongues of the Arabs." The name of " Harami " — brigand — is still honorable among the Hejazi Bedouins. Slain in raid or foray, a man is said to die " Ghandur," or a brave. He, on the other hand, who is lucky enough, as we should express it, to die in his bed, is called " fatis " (carrion, the corps cr^ve of the Klephts) ; his weeping mother will exclaim, " O that my son had perished of a cut throat ! " and her at- tendant crones will suggest, with deference, that such evil came of the will of Allah. It is told of the Lahabah, a sept of the Auf near Rabigh, that a girl will refuse even her cousin unless, in the absence of other opportunities, he plunder some article from the Hajj Caravan in front of the Pasha's links. Detected twenty years ago, the de- linquent would have been impaled ; now he escapes with a rib-roasting. Fear of the blood-feud, and the certainty of a shut road to future travellers, prevent the Turks pro- ceeding to extremes. They conceal their weakness by pretending that the Sultan hesitates to wage a war of extermination with the thieves of the Holy Land. It is easy to understand this respect for brigands. Whoso revolts against society requires an iron mind in an Iron body, and this mankind Instinctively admires, how- ever mis-directed be its energies. Thus, In all Imaginative countries, the brigand is a hero ; even the assassin who shoots his victim from behind a hedge appeals to the fancy in TIpperary or the Abruzzlan hills. Komance invests his loneliness with grandeur ; If he hath a wife or a friend's wife, romance becomes doubly romantic, and a tithe of the superfluity robbed from the rich and bestowed upon the poor will win to Gasperlnl the hearts of a people. The true Bedouin style of plundering, with its numerous nice- ties of honor and gentlemanly manners, gives the robber a consciousness of moral rectitude. " Strip off that coat, O 102 PILGEIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. certain person ! and that turban," exclaims the highway- man, "they are wanted by my lady-cousin." You will (of course, if necessary) lend ready ear to an order thus politely attributed to the wants of the fair sex. If you will add a few obliging expressions to the bundle, and offer Latro a cup of coffee and a pipe, you will talk half your toilette back to your own person ; and if you can quote a little poetry, you will part the best of friends, leaving perhaps only a pair of sandals behind you. But should you hesitate, Latro, lamenting the painful necessity, touches up your back with the heel of his spear. If this hint suffice not, he will make things plain by the lance's point, and when blood shows, the tiger-part of humanity appears. Between Bedouins, to be tamely plundered, especially of the mare*, is a lasting disgrace ; a man of family lays down his life rather than yield even to over- powering numbers. This desperation has raised the courage of the Bedouins to high repute amongst the settled Arabs, who talk of single braves capable, like the Homeric heroes, of overpowering 300 men. I omit general details about the often described Sar (Thar), or Vendetta. The price of blood is 800 dollars ( = 200/.), or rather that sum imperfectly expressed by live-stock. All the Khamsah or Aamam, blood relations of the slayer, assist to make up the required amount, rating each animal at three or four times its proper value. On such occasions violent scenes arise from the conflict of the Arab's two pet passions, avarice and revenge. The " avenger of blood " longs to cut the foe's throat. On the other hand, how let slip an opportunity of enriching him- * In our knightly ages the mare was ridden only by jugglers and charlatans. Did this custom arise from the hatred of and contempt for the habits of the Arabs, imported into Europe by the Crusaders ? Certainly the popular Eastern idea of a Frank was formed in those days, and survives to these. THE " AVENGER OF BLOOD." 103 self? His covetousness is intense, as are all his passions. He has always a project of buying a new dromedary, or of investing capital in some marvellous colt ; the consequence is, that he is insatiable. Still he receives blood-money with a feeling of shame, and if it be offered to an old woman, — the most revengeful variety of our species, be it remarked, — she will dash it to the ground, and clutch her knife, and fiercely swear by Allah that she will not eat her son's blood. The Bedouin considers himself a man only when mounted on horseback, lance in hand, bound for a foray or a fray, and carolling some such gaiety as — " A steede ! a steede of matchlesse speedc ! A sword of metal keene ! All else to noble minds is drosse, AU else on earth is meane." Even in his sports he effects those that imitate War. Preserving the instinctive qualities which lie dormant in civilisation, he is an admirable sportsman. The children, men in miniature, begin with a rude system of gymnastics when they can walk. " My young ones play upon the backs of camels," was the reply made to me by a Jahayni Bedouin when offered some Egyptian plaything. The men pass their time principally in hawking, shooting, and riding. The " Sakr,"* I am told, is the only falcon in * Baron Von Hammer-Purgstall, in the " Falkner-Klee," calls this bird the " Saker-falke." Hence the French and English names Sacre and Saker. The learned John Beckmann (History of Inventions, Discoveries, and Origins: sub voce) derives falconry from India, where, " as early as the time of Ctesias, hares and foxes were hunted by means of rapacious birds." I believe, however, that no trace of this sport is found in the writings of the Hindus. Beckmann agrees with Giraldas, against other literati, that the ancient Greeks knew the art of hawking, and proves from Aristotle, that, in Thrace men trained falcons. But Aristotle alludes to the use of the bird as an owl is employed in Italy: the falcon is described as frightening, not catching, the birds. (Elian corroborates Aristotle's testimony. Pliny, however, distinctly asserts that the hawks strike their prey down. " In 104 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. general use ; they train it to pursue the gazelle, which greyhounds pull down when fatigued. I have heard much of their excellent marksmanship, but saw only moderate practice with a long matchlock rested and fired at standing objects. Double-barreled guns are rare amongst them.* Their principal weapons are matchlocks and firelocks, pistols, javelins, spears, swords, and the dagger called " Jambiyah ; " the sling and the bow have long been given up. The guns come from Egypt, Syria, and Tur- key ; for the Bedouin cannot make, although he can re- pair, this arm. He particularly values a good old barrel seven spans long, and would rather keep it than his coat ; consequently, a family often boasts of four or five guns, which descend from generation to generation. Their price varies from two to sixty dollars. The Bedouins collect Italy it was very common," says the learned Beckmann, " for Martial and Apuleius speak of it as a thing everywhere known. Hence the science spread over Europe, and reached perfection at the principal courts in the twelfth century." The Emperor Frederic II. wrote " De Arte Venandi cum Avibus," and the royal author was followed by a host of imitators in the vulgar tongue. Though I am not aware that the Hindus ever cultivated the art, (Elian, it must be confessed, describes their style of training falcons exactly similar to that in use among the modern Persians, Sindhians, and Arabs. The Emperor Frederic owes the " capella," or hood, to the Bedouins, and talks of the " most expert falconers " sent to him with various kinds of birds by some of the kings- of Arabia. The origin of falconry is ascribed by El Masudi, on the authority of Adham bin Muhriz, to the king El Haris bin Muawiyah; in Dr. Sprenger's admirable translation the reader will find (pp. 426. 428.) much information upon the subject. The Persians claim the invention for their Just King, Anushirawan, contemporary with Mo- hammed. Thence the sport passed into Turkey, where it is said the Sultans maintained a body of 6000 falconers. And Frederic Barbarossa, in the twelfth century, brought falcons to Italy. We may fairly give the honor of the invention to Central Asia. * Here called " Bandukiyah bi ruhayn," or the two-mouthed gun. The leathern cover is termed " Gushat ; " it is a bag with a long-fringed tassel at the top of the barrel, and u. strap by which it is slung to the owner's back. "WEAPONS USED BY BEDOUINS. 105 nitre in the country, make excellent charcoal, and import sulphur from Egypt and India ; their powder, however, is coarse and weak. For hares and birds they cut up into slugs a bar of lead hammered out to a convenient size, and they cast bullets in moulds. They are fond of ball- practice, firing, as every sensible man does, at short dis- tances, and striving at extreme precision. They are fond of backing themselves with wagers, and will shoot for a sheep, the loser inviting his friends to a feast. On fes- tivals they boil a sheep's head, and use it as mark and prize. Those who affect excellence are said to fire at a buUet hanging by a thread ; curious, however, to relate, the Bedouins of El Hejaz have but just learned the art, general in Persia and Barbary, of shooting from horseback at speed. Pistols have been lately introduced into the Hejaz, and are not common amongst the Bedouins. The citizens are fond of this weapon, as it is derived from Constantinople. In the Desert a tolerable pair with flint locks may be worth thirty dollars, ten times their price in England. The spears*, called Kanat, or reeds, are made of male bamboos imported from India. They are at least twelve feet long, iron shod, with a tapering point, beneath which are one or two tufts of black ostrich feathers.f Besides • I have described elsewhere the Mirzak, or javelin. t Ostriches are found in El Hejaz, where the Bedouins shoot after coursing them. The young ones are caught and tamed, and the eggs may be bought in the Medinah bazar. Throughout Arabia there is a belief that the ostrich throws stones at the hunter. The superstition may have arisen from the pebbles being flung up behind by the bird's large feet in his rapid flight, or it may be a mere " foolery of fancy." Even in lands which have long given up animal- worship, wherever a beast is conspicuous or terrible, it becomes the subject of some marvellous tale. So the bear in Persia imitates a moolah's dress ; the wolf in France is a human being transformed, and the beaver of N. America, also a metamorphosis, belts trees so as to fell them in the direction most suitable to his after purpose. 106 PILGEIJtAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. the Mirzak, or javelin, they have a spear called " Shalfah," a bamboo or a palm stick garnished with a head about the breadth of a man's hand. No good swords are fabricated in El Hejaz. The Khe- lawiyah and other Desert clans have made some poor attempts at blades. They are brought from Persia, India, and Egypt ; but I never saw anything of value. The Darakah, or shield, also comes from India. It ia the common Cutch article, supposed to be made of rhi- noceros hide, and displaying as much brass knob and gold wash as possible. The Bedouins still use in the remoter parts Diraa, or coats of mail, worn by horsemen over buff jackets. The dagger is made in Yemen and other places : it has a vast variety of shapes, each of which, as usual, has its proper names. Generally they are but little curved (whereas the Gadaymi of Yemen and Hazramaut is almost a semicircle), with tapering blade, wooden handle, and scabbard of the same material overlaid with brass. At the point of the scabbard is a round knob, and the weapon is so long, that a man when walking cannot swing his right arm. In narrow places he must enter sideways. But it is the mode always to appear in dagger, and the weapon, like the French soldier's coupe-choux, is really useful for such bloodless purposes as cutting wood and gathering grass. In price they vary from one to thirty dollars. The Bedouins boast greatly of sword play; but it is apparently confined to delivering a tremendous slash, and to jumping away from a return cut instead of parrying either with sword or shield. The citizens have learned the Turkish scimitar play, which, in grotesqueness and general absurdity, rivals the Indian school. None of these Orientals know the use of the point which characterises the highest school of swordsmanship ; their intellects could never reacli it. MUSICAL INSTBTJMENTS, ETC., OF THE BEDOUINS. 107 The Hejazi Bedouins have no game of chance, and dare not, I am told, ferment the juice of the Daum palm, as proximity to Aden has taught the wild men of Yemen.* Their music is in a rude state. The principal instrument is the Tabl, or kettle-drum, which is of two kinds ; one, the smaller, used at festivals ; the other, a large copper " tom-tom," for martial purposes, covered with leather, and played upon, pulpit-like, with fist and not with stick. Besides which, they have the one-stringed Rubabah, or guitar, that " monotonous but charming instrument of the Desert." In another place I have described their dancing, which Is an ignoble spectacle. The Bedouins of El Hejaz have all the knowledge necessary for procuring and protecting the riches of savage life. They are perfect in the breeding, the training, and the selling of cattle. They know sufficient of astronomy to guide themselves by night, and are acquainted with the names of the principal stars. Their local memory is won- derful. And such is their instinct in the art of Asar, or tracking, that it is popularly said of the Zubayd clan, which lives between Meccah and El Medinah, a man will lose a she camel and know her four-year-old colt by its foot. Always engaged in rough exercises and perilous journeys, they have learned a kind of farriery and a simple system of surgery. In cases of fracture they bind on splints with cloth bands, and the patient drinks camel's milk and clarified butter till he is cured. Cut-wounds are washed carefully, sprinkled with meal gunpowder, and sewn up. They dress gunshot wounds with raw camel's flesh, and * Not that the " Agrabi " of Bir Eamid and other parts have much to learn of us in vice. The land of Yemen, is, I believe, the most demoralised country, and Senaa the most depraved city in Arabia. The fair sex dis- tinguishes itself by a peculiar laxity of conduct, which is looked upon with an indulgent eye. And the men drink and gamble, to say nothing of other peccadilloes, with perfect impunity. 108 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. rely entirely upon nature and diet. "When bitten by snakes or stung by scorpions, they scarify the wound with a razor, recite a charm, and apply to it a dressing of garlic* The wealthy have " Fiss," or ring-stones, brought from India, and used with a formula of prayer to extract venom. Some few possess the " Teriyak" (Theriack) of El Irak — the great counter-poison, internal as well as external, of the East. The poorer classes all wear the Zaal or " hibas " of Yemen ; two yarns of black sheep's wool tied round the leg, under the knee and above the ankle. When bitten, the sufferer tightens these cords above the injured part, which he immediately scarifies ; thus they act as tourni- quets. The Bedouin's knowledge of medicine is unusually limited in this part of Arabia, where even simples are not required by a people who rise with dawn, eat little, always breathe desert air, and " at night make the camels their curfew." The great tonic is clarified butter, and the "kay," or actual cautery, is used even for rheumatism. This counter-irritant, together with a curious and artful phle- botomy, blood being taken, as by the Italians, from the toes, the fingers, and other parts of the body, are the Arab panaceas. They treat scald-head with grease and sulphur. Ulcers, which here abound, without, however, assuming the fearful type of the " Helcoma Yemenense," are cau- terised and stimulated by verdigris. The evil of which Fracastorius sang is cured by sudorifics, by unguents of oil and sulphur, and especially by the sand-bath. The patient, buried up to the neck, remains in the sun fasting all day ; in the evening he is allowed a little food. This rude course of " packing " lasts for about a month. It suits some constitutions ; but others, especially Europeans, have tried the sand-bath and died of fever. Mules' teeth, * In Yemen it is believed, that if a man eat three heads of garlic in good mountain-samn (or clai-ified butter) for forty days, his blood will kill the snake tliat draivs it. EKLIGION OF THE BEDOUINS. 109 roasted and imperfectly pounded, cure cataract. Teeth are extracted by the farrier's pincers, and the worm which throughout the East is supposed to produce toothache, falls by fumigation. And, finally, after great fatigue, or when suffering from cold, the body is copiously greased with clarified butter and exposed to a blazing fire. Mohammed and his followers conquered only the more civilised Bedouins ; and there is even to this day little or no religion amongst the wild people, except those on the coast or in the vicinity of cities. The faith of the Bedouin comes from El Islam, whose hold is weak. But his cus- toms and institutions, the growth of his climate, his nature, and his wants, are still those of his ancestors, cherished ere Meccah had sent forth a Prophet, and likely to survive the day when every vestige of the Kaabah shall have dis- appeared. Of this nature are the Hejazi's pagan oaths, their heathenish names (few being Moslem except " Mo- hammed"), their ordeal of licking red-hot iron, their Salkh, or scarification, — proof of manliness, — their blood revenge, their eating carrion (z. e. the body of an animal killed without the usual formula), and their lending wives to strangers. All these I hold to be remnants of some old creed ; nor should I despair of finding among the Bedouins bordering upon the Great Desert some lingering system of idolatry. The Bedouins of El Hejaz call themselves Shafei ; but what is put into the mouths of their brethren in the West applies equally well here. "We pray not. because we must drink the water of ablution ; we give no alms, be- cause we ask them; we fast not the Ramazan month, because we starve throughout the year; and we do no pilgrimage because the world is the House of Allah." Their blunders in religious matters supply the citizens with many droll stories. And it is to be observed that they do not, like the Greek pirates or the Italian bandits, ILU riLGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. preserve a religious element in their plunderings ; they make no vows and carefully avoid offerings. The ceremonies of Bedouin life are few and simple — circumcisions, marriages, and funerals. Of the former rite there are two forms, " Taharah," as usual in El Islam, and " Salkh," * an Arab invention, derived from the times of Paganism. During Wahhabi rule it was forbidden under pain of death, but now the people have returned to it. The usual age for Taharah is between five and six ; among some classes, however, it is performed ten years later. On such occasions feastings and merry-makings take place as at our christenings. Women being a marketable commodity in barbarism as in civilisation, youths in El Hejaz are not married till the father can afford to pay for a bride. There is little pomp or ceremony save firing of guns, dancing, singing, and eating mutton. The " settlement " is usually about thirty sound Spanish dollars f, half paid down, and the other half owed by the bridegroom to the fathers, the brothers, or the kindred of his spouse. Some tribes will take animals in lieu of ready money. A man of wrath not contented with his bride, puts her away at once. If peaceably inclined, by a short delay he avoids scandal. Divorces are very frequent among Bedouins, and if the settlement money be duly paid, no evil comes of them. * Nonnnllos occidit ingens suppuratio, decern autem excoriatis supersunt plerumque octo : hi pecten habent nullum, Tentremque pallida tegit cutis. f The Spanish dollar is most prized in El Hejaz ; in Yemen the Maria Theresa. The Spanish government has refused to perpetuate its Pillar- dollar, which at one time was so great a favorite in the East. The traveller wonders how " Maria Theresas " still supply both shores of the Red Sea. The marvel is easily explained : the Austrians receive silver at Milan, and stamp it for a certain per-centage. This coin was doubtless preferred by the Bedouins for its superiority to the currency of the day : they make from it ornaments for their women and decorations for their weapons. The generic term for dollars is " Eiyal Fransah." FUNEEAL EITES OF THE BEDOUINS. Ill The funerals of the wild men resemble those of the citizens, only they are more simple, the dead being buried where they die. The corpse, after ablution, is shrouded in any rags procurable, and, women and hired weepers not being permitted to attend, is carried to the grave by men only. A hole is dug, according to Moslem custom ; dry wood, which everywhere abounds, is disposed to cover the corpse, and an oval of stones surrounding a mound of earth keeps out jackals and denotes the spot. These Bedouins have not, like the wild Sindhis and Belochis, favorite cemeteries, to which they transport their dead from afar. The traveller will find no difficulty in living amongst the Hejazi Bedouins. " Trust to their honor and you are safe," as was said of the Crow Indians ; " to their honesty, and they will steal the hair off your head." Only the wanderer must adopt the wild man's motto, " omnia mea mecum porto," he must have good nerves, be capable of fatigue and hardship, possess some knowledge of drugs, shoot and ride well, speak Arabic and Turkish, know by reading the customs, and avoid offending against local prejudices, by causing himself, for instance, to be called " Taggaa." The payment of a small sum secures to him a " Ilafik,"* and this " friend," after once engaging in the task, wUl be faithful. " We have eaten salt together " fNahnu Malihin) is still a bond of friendship : there are, however, some tribes who require to renew the bond every twenty-four hours, as otherwise, to use their own phrase, " the salt is not in their stomachs." Caution must be exercised in choosing a companion who has not too many blood feuds. There is no objection to carrying a copper watch and a pocket compass, and a Koran could be fitted with secret pockets for notes and pencil. Strangers * An explanation of this term will be found below. 112 PILGKIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. should especially avoid handsome weapons; these tempt the Bedouins' cupidity more than gold. The other extreme, defencelessness, is equally objectionable. It is- needless to say that the traveller must never be seen writing anything but charms, and on no account sketch in public. He should be careful in questioning, and rather lead up to information than ask directly. It offends some Bedouins, besides denoting ignorance and curiosity, to be asked their names or those of their clans : a man may be living incognito, and the tribes distinguish them- selves when they desire to do so by dress, personal ap- pearance, voice, dialect, and accentuation, points of differ- ence plain to the initiated, A few dollars suffice for the road, and if you would be " respectable," a taste which I dare not deprecate, some such presents as razors and Tar- bushes are required for the chiefs. The government of the Arabs may be called almost an autonomy. The tribes never obey their Shaykhs, unless for personal considerations, and, as in a civilised army, there generally is some sharp-witted and brazen-faced individual whose voice is louder than the general's. In their leonine society the sword is the great administrator of law. Relations between the Bedouin tribes of El Hejaz are of a threefold character : they are either " Ashab," " Ki- man," or " Akhwan." " Ashab," or " comrades," are those who are bound by oath to an alliance offensive and defensive: they inter- marry, and are therefore closely connected. "Kiman,"* or foes, are tribes between whom a blood feud, the cause and the effect of deadly enmity, exists. * It is the plural of " Kaum," which means " rising up in rebellion or enmity against," as well as the popular signification u, " people." In some parts of Arabia it is used for a " plundering party.'' "black mail," or transit dues. 113 " Akhawat," or " brotherhood," denotes the tie between the stranger and the Bedouin, who asserts an immemorial and inalienable right to the soil upon which his forefathers fed their flocks. Trespass by a neighbour instantly causes war. Territorial increase is rarely attempted, for if of a whole clan but a single boy escape he will one day assert his claim to the land, and be assisted by all the Ashab, or allies of the slain. By paying a small sum, varying, according to your means, from a few pence worth of trinkets, accepted by man, woman, or child, to a couple of dollars, you share bread and salt with the tribe, you and your horse become " Dakhil " (protected), and every one must afford you brother-help. If traveller or trader at- tempt to pass through the land without paying El Akha- wah or El Rifkah, as it is termed, he must expect to be plundered, and, resisting, to be slain : it is no dishonor to pay it, and he clearly is in the wrong who refuses to con- form to custom. The "Kafik," under different names, exists throughout this part of the world ; at Sinai he was called a " Ghafir," a " Rabia " in Eastern Arabia, amongst the Somal an " Abban," and by the Grallas " Mogasa." I have called the tax " black mail ; " it deserves a better name, being clearly the rudest form of those transit dues and octrois which are in nowise improved by " progress." The Ahl Bayt *, or dwellers in the black tents, levy the tax from the Ahl Hayt, or the people of walls ; that is to say, townsmen and villagers who have forfeited right to be held Bedouins. It is demanded from bastard Arabs and from tribes which, like the Hutaym and the Khelawiyah, have been born basely or have become " nideriug." And these people are obliged to pay it at home as well as * Bajt (in the plural Buyut) is used in this sense to denote the tents of the nomades. " Bayt " radically means a " nigliting-place ; " theiicc a tent, a bouse, a lair, &c. &c. 114 PILGEIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. abroad. Then it becomes a sign of disgrace, and the pure clans, like the Beni-Harb, will not give their damsels in marriage to " brothers," Besides this Akhawat-tax and the pensions by the Porte to chiefs of clans, the wealth of the Bedouin consists in his flocks and herds, his mare, and his weapons. Some clans are rich in horses ; others are celebrated for camels ; and not a few for their sheep, asses, or greyhounds. The Ahamidah tribe, as has been mentioned, possesses few animals ; it subsists by plunder and by presents from pil- grims. The principal wants of the country are sulphur, lead, cloths of all kinds, sugar, spices, coffee, corn, and rice. Arms are valued by the men, and it is advisable to carry a stock of Birmingham jewellery for the purpose of conciliating womankind. In exchange the Bedouins give sheep*, cattle, clarified butter, milk, wool, and hides, which they use for water-bags, as the Egyptians and other Easterns do potteries. But as there is now a fair store of dollars in the country, it is rarely necessary to barter. The Arab's dress marks his simplicity ; it gives him a nationality, as, according to John Evelyn, "prodigious breeches " did to the Swiss. It is remarkably picturesque, and with sorrow we see it now confined to the wildest Bedouins and a few Sherifs. To the practised eye, a He- jazi in Tarbush and Caftan is ridiculous as a Basque or a Catalonian girl in a cachemire and a little chip. The necessary dress of a man is his Saub (Tobe), a blue calico shirt, reaching from neck to ankles, tight or loose-sleeved, opening at the chest in front, and rather narrow below ; so that the wearer, when running, must either hold it up or tuck it into his belt. The latter article, called Hakw, is a plaited leathern thong, twisted round the waist very tightly, so as to support the back. The trowsers and the * Some tribes will not sell their sheep, keeping them for guests or feasts. THE DRESS OF THE BEDOUINS. 115 " Futah," or loin-cloth of cities, are looked upon as signs of effeminacy. In cold weather the chiefs wear over the shirt an Aba, or cloak. These garments are made in Nejd and the eastern districts; they are of four colors, white, black, red, and brown-striped. The best are of camels' hair, and may cost fifteen dollars ; the worst, of sheep's wool, are worth only three ; both are cheap, as they last for years. The Mahramah (head-cloth) comes from Syria ; which, with Nejd, supplies also the Kufiyah, or headker- chief. The "Ukal,"* fillets bound over the kerchief, are of many kinds ; the Bishr tribe near Meccah make a kind of crown like the gloria round a saint's head, with bits of wood, in which are set pieces of mother-o'-pearl. Sandals, too, are of every description, from the simple sole of leather tied on with thongs, to the handsome and elaborate chaus- sure of Meccah ; the price varies from a piastre to a dol- lar, and the very poor walk bare-footed. A leathern bandoleer,' called Majdal, passed over the left shoulder, and, reaching to the right hip, supports a line of brass cylinders for cartridges.! The other cross-belt (El Mas- dar), made of leather ornamented with brass rings, hungs down at the left side, and carries a Kharizah, or hide-case for bullets. And finally, the Hizam, or waist-belt, holds, the dao-ffer and extra cartridge cases. A Bedouin never appears in public unarmed. Women wear, like their masters, dark blue cotton Tobes, but larger and looser. When abroad they cover the head with a Yashmak of black stuff, or a po[)py- colored Burka of the Egyptian shape. They wear no pantaloons, and rarely slippers or sandals. The hair is twisted into " Majdul," little pig-tails, and copiously anointed with clarified butter. The rich perfume the • So the word is pronounced at Meccah. The dictionaries give " Aakdl," which in Eastern Arabia is corrupted to " Igal." t Called " Tatarif." plural of Tatrifah. a. r arhridgr. 116 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. skin with rose and cinnamon-scented oils, and adorn the hair with El Shayh, sweetest herb of the desert; their ornaments are bracelets, collars, ear and nose-rings of gold, silver, or silver-gilt. The poorer classes have strings of silver coins hung round the neck. The true Bedouin is an abstemious man, capable of living for six months on ten ounces of food per diem; the milk of a single camel, and a handful of dates, dry or fried in clarified butter, suffice for his wants. He despises the obese and all who require regular and plen- tiful meals, sleeps on a mat, and knows neither luxury nor comfort, freezing during one quarter and frying three quarters of the year. But though he can endure hunger, like all savages, he will gorge when an ojipor- tunity offers. I never saw the man who could refrain from water upon the line of march, and in this point they contrast disadvantageously with the hardy "VVah- habis of the East, and the rugged mountaineers of Jebel Shamar. They are still " acridophagi," and even the citizens far prefer a dish of locusts to the " Fasikh," which act as anchovies, sardines, and herrings in Egypt. They light a fire at night, and as the insects fall dead they quote this couplet to justify their being eaten — " We are allowed Iwo carrions and two bloods, The fish and locust, the liver and the spleen." * Where they have no crops to lose, the people are thankful for a fall of locusts. In El Hejaz the flights are uncertain ; during the last five years El Medinah has seen but few. They are prepared for eating by boiling in salt water and drying four or five days in the sun : a " wet " locust to an Arab is as a snail to a * The liver and the spleen are both supposed to be " congealed blood." Nicbulir has exhausted the names and the description of the locust. In £1 Uejaz they have many local and fantastic terms : the smallest kind, for instance, is called " Jarad Iblis," Satan's locust. AEABS AND NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 117 Briton. The head is plucked off, the stomach drawn, the wings and the prickly part of the legs are plucked, and the insect is ready for the table. Locusts are never eaten with sweet things, which would be nauseous: the dish is always " hot," with salt and pepper, or onions fried in clarified butter, when it tastes nearly as well as a plate of stale shrimps. The favorite food on the line of march is meat cut into strips and sun-dried. This, with a bag of milk- balls* and a little coffee, must suffice for journey or campaign. The Bedouins know neither fermented nor distilled liquors, although " Ikhs ya '1 Khammar ! " Fie upon thee, drunkard ! is a popular phrase, preserving the memory of a better state of things. Some clans, though not all, smoke tobacco. It is generally the growth of the country called Hejazi or Kazimiyah ; a green weed, very strong, with a foul smell, and costing about one piastre per pound. The Bedouins do not relish Persian tobacco, and cannot procure Latakia : it is probably the pungency of the native growth offending the delicate organs of the Desert-men, that caused nicotiana to be proscribed by the Wahhabis, who revived against its origin a senseless and obsolete calumny. The almost absolute independence of the Arabs, and of that noble race the North American Indians of a former generation, has produced a similarity between them worthy of note, because it may warn the anthropologist not always to detect in coincidence of custom identity of » This is the Kurut of Sindh and the Kashk of Persia. The butter-milk separated from the butter by a little water is simmered over a slow fire, thickened with wheaten flour, about a handful to a gallon, well mixed, so that no knots remain in it, and allowed to cool. The mixture is then put into a bag and strained, after which salt is sprinkled over it. The mass begins to harden after a few hours, when it is made up into balls and dried in the sun. 118 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. origin. Both have the same wild chivalry, the same fiery sense of honor, and the same boundless hospitality : love elopements from tribe to tribe, the blood feud, and the Vendetta are common to the two. Both are grave and cautious in demeanour, and formal in manner, — princes in rags or paint. The Arabs plunder pilgrims, the Indians, bands of trappers ; both glory in forays, raids, and cattle-lifting ; and both rob according to certain rules. Both are alternately brave to desperation, and shy of danger. Both are remarkable for nervous and powerful eloquence, dry humour, satire, whimsical tales, frequent tropes, boasts, and ruffling style, pithy proverbs, extem- pore songs, and languages wondrous in their complexity. Both, recognising no other occupation but war and the chase, despise artifices and the eflFeminate people of cities, as the ganje-cock spurns the vulgar roosters of the poultry- yard.* The chivalry of the western wolds, like that of the eastern wilds, salutes the visitor by a charge of cavalry, by discharging guns, and by wheeling around him with shouts and yells. The " brave " stamps a red hand upon his mouth to show that he has drunk the blood of a foe. Of the Utaybah " Haramie " it is similarly related, that after mortal combat he tastes the dead man's gore. Of these two chivalrous races of savages, the Bedouin claims our preference on account of his treatment of women, his superior development of intellect, and the glorious page of history which he has filled. » The North American trappers adopted this natural prejudice : the " free trapper " called his more ciyilised confrere, " mangeur de lard." 119 CHAP. XXV. FROM EL SUWATKKIYAH TO MECCAH. We have now left the territory of El Medinah. EI Suwayrkiyah, which belongs to the Sherif of Meccah, is about twenty-eight miles distant from Hijriyah, and by dead reckoning ninety -nine miles along the road from the Prophet's burial-place. Its bearing from the last station was S.W. 11°. The town, consisting of about 100 houses, is built at the base and on the sides of a basaltic mass, which rises abruptly from the hard clayey plain. The summit is converted into a rude fortalice — without one no settlement can exist in El Hejaz — by a bulwark of uncut stone, piled up so as to make a parapet. The lower part of the town is protected by a mud wall, with the usual semicircular towers. Inside there is a bazar, well supplied Avith meat (principally mutton) by the neighbouring Be- douins, and wheat, barley, and dates are grown near the town. There is little to describe in the narrow streets and the mud houses, which are essentially Arab. The fields around are divided into little square plots by earthen ridges and stone walls ; some of the palms are fine grown trees, and the wells appeared numerous. The water is near the surface and plentiful, but it has a brackish taste, highly disagreeable after a few days' use, and the effects are the reverse of chalybeate. The town belongs to the BenI Husayn, a race of schis- matics mentioned in the foregoing pages. They claim the allegiance of the Bedouin tribes around, principally Mu- tayr, and I was informed that their fealty to the Prince of 120 PILGKIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. The morning after our arrival at El Suwayrkiyah witnessed a commotion in our little party : hitlierto they had kept together in fear of the road. Among the num- ber was one Ali bin Ya Sin, a perfect " old man of the sea." By profession he was a "Zem Zemi," or dispenser of water from the Holy Well *, and he had a handsome " palazzo " at the foot of Abu Kubays in Meccah, which he period- ically converted into a boarding house. Though past sixty, very decrepit, bent by age, white-bearded, and toothless, he still acted cicerone to pilgrims, and for that purpose travelled once every year to El Medinah. These trips had given him the cunning of a veteran voyager. He lived well and cheaply ; his home-made Shugduf, the model of comfort, was garnished with soft cushions and pillows, whilst from the pockets protruded select bottles of piclded limes and similar luxuries ; he had his travelling Shishah t, and at the halting-place, disdaining the crowded, reeking tent, he had a contrivance for converting his vehicle into a habitation. He was a type of the Arab old man. He mumbled all day and three-quarters of the night, for he had des insomnies. His nerves were so fine, that if any one mounted his Shugduf, the unfortunate was condemned to lie like a statue. Fidgetty and priggishly neat, no- thing annoyed him so much as a moment's delay or an article out of place, a rag removed from his water-gugglet, or a cooking pot imperfectly free from soot ; and I judged * There are certain officers called Zem Zemi, who distribute the holy water. In the case of a respectable pilgrim they have a large jar of the shape described in Chapter IV., marked with his names and titles, and sent every morning to his lodgings. If he be generous, one or more will be placed in the Haram, that men may drink in his honor. The Zem Zemi expects a present varying from five to eleven dollars. f The Shishah, smoked on the camel, is a tin canister divided into two comiiartmcnts, the lower half for the water, the upper one for the tobacco. The cover is pierced with holes to feed the fire, and a short hooka-snake projects from one side. A TYPE OF THE AKAB OLD MAN. 121 his avarice by observing that he made a point of picking up and eating the grains scattered from our pomegranates, exclaiming that the heavenly seed (located there by Arab superstition) might be one of those so wantonly wasted. Ali bin Ya Sin, returning to his native city, had not been happy in his choice of a companion this time. The other occupant of the handsome Shugduf was an ignoble- faced Egyptian from El Medinah. This ill-suited pair clave together for awhile, but at El Suwayrkiyah some dispute about a copper coin made them permanent foes. With threats and abuse such as none but as an Egyptian could tamely hear, Ali kicked his quondam friend out of the vehicle. But terrified, after reflection by the possi- bility that the man now his enemy might combine with two or three Syrians of our party to do him a harm, and frightened by a few black looks, the senior determined to fortify himself by a friend. Connected with the boy Mohammed's family, he easily obtained an introduction to me ; he kissed my hand with great servility, declared that his servant had behaved disgracefully, and begged my pro- tection, together with an occasional attendance of my "slave." This was readily granted in pity for the old man, who became immensely grateful. He offered at once to take Shaykh Nur into his Shugduf. The Indian boy had already reduced to ruins the frail structure of his Shibriyah, by lying upon it lengthways, whereas prudent travellers sit in it cross-legged and facing the camel. Moreover, he had been laughed to scorn by the Bedouins, who seeing him pull up his dromedary to mount and dismount, had questioned his sex, and determined him to be a woman of the "Miyan."* I could not rebuke them; the poor * The Hindostanee "sir."' Bedouins address it slightingly to Indians, Chapter XII. 122 PILGEIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. fellow's timidity was a ridiculous contrast to the Bedouin's style of mounting ; a pull at the camel's head, the left foot placed on the neck, an agile spring, and a scramble into the saddle. Shaykh Nur, elated by the sight of old Ali's luxuries, promised himself some joyous hours; but next morning he owned with a sigh that he had purchased splendor at the extravagant price of happiness — the senior's . tongue never rested throughout the livelong night. During our half-halt at El Sawayrkiyah we determined to have a small feast ; we bought some fresh dates, and paid a dollar and a half for a sheep. Hungry travellers^ consider " liver and fry " a dish! to set before a Shaykh. On this occasion, however, our enjoyment was marred by the water ; even Soyer's dinners would scarcely charm if washed down with cups of a certain mineral-spring found at Epsom. We started at 10 a.m. in a south-easterly direction, and travelled over a flat, thinly dotted with desert vegetation. At 1 P.M. we passed a basaltic ridge, and then, entering a long depressed line of country, a kind of valley, paced down it five tedious hours. The Simoom as usual was blowing hard, and it seemed to affect the traveller's tem- per. In one place I saw a Turk, who could not speak a word of Arabic, violently disputing with an Arab who could not understand a word of Turkish. The pilgrim insisted upon adding to the camel's load a few dry sticks, such as are picked up for cooking. The camel-man as perseveringly threw off the extra burthen. They screamed with rage, hustled each other, and at last the Turk dealt the Arab a heavy blow. I afterwards heard that the pilgrim was mortally wounded that night, his stomach being ripped open with a dagger. On inquiring what had become of him, I was assured that he had been comfort- ably wrapped up in his shroud and placed in a half-dug grave. This is the general practice in the case of the poor THE BAGHDAD CARAVAN. 123 and solitary, whom illness or accident incapacitates from proceeding. It is impossible to contemplate such a fate without horror: the torturing thirst of a wound*, the burning sun heating the brain to madness, and — worst of all, for they do not wait till death — the attacks of the jackal, the vulture, and the raven of the wild. At 6 p. M., before the light of day had faded, we tra- versed a rough and troublesome ridge. Descending it, our course lay in a southerly direction along a road flanked on the left by low hills of red sandstone and bright por- phyry. About an hour afterwards we came to a basalt field, through whose blocks we threaded our way painfully and slowly, for it was then dark. At 8 p. m. the camels began to stumble over the dwarf dykes of the wheat and barley fields, and presently we arrived at our halting- place, a large village called El Sufayna. The plain was already dotted with tents and lights. "We found the Baghdad Caravan, whose route here falls into the Darb el Sharki. It consists of a few Persians and Kurds, and col- lects the people of north-eastern Arabia, Wahhabis and others. They are escorted by the Agayl tribe and the fierce mountaineers of Jebel Shamar. Scarcely was our tent pitched when the distant pattering of musketry and an ominous tapping of the kettle-drum sent all my com- panions in different directions to inquire what was the cause of quarrel. The Baghdad Cafila, though not more than 2000 in number, men, women, and children, had been proving to the Damascus Caravan, that, being perfectly ready to fight, they were not going to yield any point of precedence. From that time the two bodies encamped in diflTerent places. I never saw a more pugnacious assembly : a look sufficed for a quarrel. Once a Wahhabi stood in * When Indians would say " He was killed upon the spot," they use the picturesque phrase, " He asked not for water." 124 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. front of US, and by pointing with his finger, and other in- sulting gestures, showed his hatred to the chibouque, in which I was peaceably indulging. It was impossible to refrain from chastising his insolence by a polite and smiling offer of the offending pipe. This made him draw his dagger without a thought ; but it was sheathed again, for we all cocked our pistols, and these gentry prefer steel to lead. We had travelled about seventeen miles, and the direction of El Sufayna from our last halting-place was S. E. 5°. Though it was night when we encamped, Shaykh Masud set out to water his moaning camels : they had not quenched their thirst for three days. He returned in a depressed state, having been bled by the soldiery at the well to the extent of forty piastres, or about eight shillings. After supper we spread our rugs and prepared to rest. And here I first remarked the coolness of the nights, proving, at this season of the year, a considerable altitude above the sea. As a general rule the atmosphere stag- nated between sunrise and 10 a. m., when a light wind rose. During the forenoon the breeze strengthened, and it gradually diminished through the afternoon. Often about sunset there was a gale accompanied by dry storms of dust. At El Sufayna, though there was no night- breeze and little dew, a blanket was necessary, and the hours of darkness were invigorating enough to mitigate the effect of the sand and Simoom-ridden day. Before sleeping I was introduced to a namesake, one Shaykh Abdullah of Meccah. Having committed his Shugduf to his son, a lad of fourteen, he had ridden forward on a dromedary, and had suddenly fallen ill. His objects in meeting me were to ask for some medicine, and a tempo- rary seat in my Shugduf; the latter I offered with plea- sure, as the boy Mohammed was longing to mount a camel. The Shaykh's illness was nothing but weakness brought on by the hardships of the journey : he attributed EL SUFATNA. 125 it to the hot wind, and the weight of a bag of dollars, which he had attached to his waist belt. He was a man about forty, long, thin, pale, and of a purely nervous temperament : and a few questions elicited the fact, that he had lately and suddenly given up his daily opium pill. I prepared one for him, placed him in my litter, and per- suaded him to stow away his burden in some place where it would be less troublesome. He was my companion for two marches, at the end of which he found his own Shug- duf, and I never met amongst the Arab citizens a better bred or better informed man. At Constantinople he had learned a little French, Italian, and Greek ; and from the properties of a shrub to the varieties of honey*, he was full of " useful knowledge,'' and open as a dictionary. We parted near Meccah, where I met him only once, and then accidentally, in the Valley of Muna. At half-past 5 A. M., on the 5 th of September, we arose refreshed by the cool, comfortable night, and loaded the , camels. I had an opportunity of inspecting El Sufayna. It is a village of fifty or sixty mud-walled, flat-roofed houses, defended by the usual rampart. Around it lie ample date-grounds, and fields of wheat, barley, and maize. Its bazar at this season of the year is well supplied : even fowls can be procured. We travelled towards the south-east, and entered a country destitute of the low ranges of hill which from El Medinah southwards had bounded the horizon. After two miles' march, our camels climbed up a precipi- tous ridge, and then descended into a broad gravel plain * The Arabs are curious in, and fond of, honey: Meccah alone affords eight or nine diflerent varieties. The best, and in Arab parlance the " coldest," is the green kind, produced by bees that feed upon a thorny plant called " Sihhah." The white and red honeys rank next. The worst is the Asal Asmar (brown honey), which sells for something under a piastre per pound. The Abyssinian mead is unknown in El Hejaz, but honey enters into a variety of dishes. 126 riLGllIMAGE TO EL MEDINA!! AND MECCAH. From 10 to 11 A.M. our course was southerly over a high table-land, and we afterwards traversed for five hours and a half a plain which bore signs of standing water. This day's march was peculiarly Arabia. It was a desert peopled only with echoes, — a place of death for what little there is to die in it, — a wilderness where, to use my companion's phrase, there is nothing but He.* Nature, scalped, flayed, discovered her anatomy to the gazer's eye. The horizon was a sea of mirage ; gigantic sand-columns whirled over the plain; and on both sides of our road were huge piles of bare rock, standing detached upon the surface of sand and clay. Here they appeared in oval lumps, heaped up with a semblance of symmetry ; there a single boulder stood, with its narrow foundation based upon a pedestal of low, dome-shaped rock. All are of a pink coarse-grained granite, which flakes off" in large crusts under the influence of the atmosphere. I remarked one ,block which could not measure less than thirty feet in height. Through these scenes we travelled till about half- past 4 P.M., when the guns suddenly roared a halt. There was not a trace of human habitation around us: a few parched shrubs and the granite heaps were the only objects diversifying the hard clayey plain. Shaykh Masud cor- rectly guessed the cause of our detention at the inhospi- table " halting-place of the Mutayr." " Cook your bread and boil your coffee," said the old man ; " the camels will rest for awhile and the gun sound at nightfall." We had passed over about eighteen miles of ground ; and our present direction was S.W. 20° of El Sufayna. At half-past ten that evening we heard the signal for departure, and, as the moon was still young, we prepared for a hard night's work. We took a south-westerly course, through what is called a Waar — rough ground covered * " La siwa Hu," i. c. where there is none but Allah. A NIGHT JOURNEY DESCRIBED. 127 with thicket. Darkness fell upon us like a pall. The tjamels tripped and stumbled, tossing their litters like cock- boats in a short sea ; at times the Shugdufs were well nigh torn off their backs. When we came to a ridge worse than usual, old Masud would seize my camel's halter, and, ac- companied by his son and nephew bearing lights, encouraged the animals with gesture and voice. It was a strange, wild scene. The black basaltic field was dotted with the huge and doubtful forms of spongy-footed camels, with silent tread, looming like phantoms in the midnight air ; the hot wind moaned, and whirled from the torches sheets of flame and fiery smoke ; whilst ever and anon a swift-travelling Takht-rawan, drawn by mules, and surrounded by runners bearing gigantic Mashals*, threw a passing glow of red light upon the dark road and the dusky multitude. On this occasion the rule was " every man for himself." Each pressed forward into the best path, thinking only of pre- ceding others. The Syrians, amongst whom our little party had become entangled, proved most unpleasant com- panions : they often stopped the way, insisting upon their right to precedence. On one occasion a horseman had the audacity to untie the halter of my dromedary, and thus to cast us adrift, as it were, in order to make room for some excluded friend. I seized my sword ; but Shaykh Abd- ullah stayed my hand, and addressed the intruder in terms sufficiently violent to make him slink away. Nor was this the only occasion on which my companion was successful with the Syrians. He would begin with a mild " Move a little, O my father ! " followed, if fruitless, by " Out of • This article, an iron cylinder with bands, mounted on a long pole, cor- responds with the European cresset of the fifteenth century. The Pacha's cressets are known by their smell, a, little incense being mingled with the wood. By this means the Bedouins discover the digni- tary's place. 128 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. the way, O father of Syria!"* and, if still ineffectual, ad- vancing to a " Begone, O he ! " This ranged between civility and sternness. If without effect, it was supported by revilings to the " Abusers of the Salt," the " Yezid," the " Offspring of Shimr." Another remark which I made about my companion's conduct well illustrates the differ- ence between the Eastern and the Western man. When traversing a dangerous place, Shaykh Abdullah the Euro- pean attended to his camel with loud cries of " Hai ! Hai ! "f and an occasional switching. Shaykh Abdullah the Asiatic commended himself to Allah by repeated ejaculations of "YaSatir! Ya Sattdr!"t The morning of Wednesday (Sept. 6th) broke as we entered a wide plain. In many places were signs of water: * " Abu Sham," a familiar address in El Hejaz to Syrians. They are called "abusers of the salt," from their treachery, and " oflfspring of Shimr " (the execrated murderer of the Imam Husayn), because he was a native of that country. Such is the detestation in which the Shiah sect, especially the Persians^ hold Syria and the Syrians, that I hardly ever met with a truly religious man who did not desire a general massacre of the polluted race. And history informs us that the plains of Syria have repeatedly been drenched with innocent blood shed by sectarian animosity. Yet Jelal el Din (Hist, of Jerusalem ) says, "as to Damascus, all learned men fully agree that it is the most eminent of cities after Meccah and El Medinah." Hence its many titles, " The Smile of the Prophet," the " Great Gate of Pilgrimage," " Sham Sherif," the " Right Hand of the Cities of Syria," &c. &c. And many sayings of Mohammed in honor of Syria are recorded. He was fond of using such Syriac words as " Bakh°° ! Bakh"" ! " to Ali, and " Kakh"° ! Kakh"" ! " to Husayn. I will not enter into the curious history of the latter word, which spread to Egypt and, slightly altered, passed through Latin mythology into French, English, German, Italian, and other modem European tongues. ■f There is regular language to camels. " Ikh ! ikh ! " makes them kneel ; " Yahh ! Yalih ! " mges them on ; " Hai ! Hai ! " induces caution and so on. J Both these names of the Almighty are of kindred origin. The former is generally used when a woman is in danger of exposing her face by acci- dent, or an animal of falling. EL GHADIR. 129 lines of basalt here and tliere seamed the surface, and wide sheets of the tufaceous gypsum called by the Arabs " Sab- khah" shone like mirrors set in the russet frame-work of the flat. Tins substance is found in cakes, often a foot long by an inch in depth, curled by the sun's rays and overlying clay into which water had sunk. After our harassing night, day came on with a sad feeling of oppres- sion, greatly increased by the unnatural glare ; — " In vain the sight, dejected to the ground, Stoop'd for relief : thence hot ascending streams And keen reflection pain'd." We were disappointed in our expectations of water, which usually abounds near this station, as its name, " El Ghadir," denotes. At 10 a. m. we pitched the tent in the first convenient spot, and lost no time in stretching our cramped limbs upon the bosom of mother Earth. From the halting place of the Mutayr to El Ghadir is a march of about twenty miles, and the direction S. W. 21°. El Ghadir is an extensive plain, which probably presents the appearance of a lake after heavy rains. It is overgrown in parts with desert vegetation, and requires nothing but a regular supply of water to make it useful to man. On the east it is bounded by a wall of rock, at whose base are three wells, said to have been dug by the Caliph Harun. They are guarded by a Burj, or tower, which betrays symptoms of decay. In our anxiety to rest we had strayed from the Damascus Caravan into the mountaineers of Shamar. Our Shaykh Masud manifestly did not like the company ; for shortly after 3 P. M. he insisted upon our striking the tent and re- joining the Hajj, which lay encamped about two miles distant in the western part of the basin. "VVe loaded, therefore, and half an hour before sunset found ourselves in more congenial society. To my great disappointment, VOL. II. If 130 riLGEIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. a stir was observable in the Caravan. I at once understood that another night-march was in store for us. At 6 P.M. we again mounted, and turned towards the eastern plain. A heavy shower was falling upon the western hills, whence came damp and dangerous .blasts. Between 9 p.m. and the dawn of the next day we had a repetition of the last night's scenes, over a road so rugged and dangerous, that I wondered how men could prefer to travel in the darkness. But the camels of Damascus were now worn out with fatigue ; they could not endure the sun, and our time was too precious for a halt. My night was spent perched upon the front bar of my Shugduf, en- couraging the dromedary; and that we had not one fall excited my extreme astonishment. At 5 A.M. we entered a wide plain thickly clothed with the usual thorny trees, in whose strong grasp many a Shugduf lost its covering and not a few were dragged with their screaming inmates to the ground. About five hours afterwards we crossed a high ridge, and saw below us the camp of the Caravan, not more than two miles distant. As we approached it, a figure came running out to meet us. It was the boy Mohammed, who, heartily tired of riding a dromedary with his friend, and possibly hungry, hastened to inform my companion Abdullah that he would lead him to his Shugduf and his son. The Shaykh, a little ofiended by the fact that for two days not a friend nor an acquaintance had taken the trouble to see or to inquire about him, received Mohammed roughly ; but the youth, guessing the grievance, explained it away by swearing that he and all the party had tried to find us in vain. This wore the semblance of truth : it is almost impossible to come upon any one who strays from his place in so large and motley a body. At 1 1 A. M. we had reached our station. It is about twenty-four miles from El Ghadir, and its direction is S. E. 10°. It is called El Birkat (the Tank), from a large and now ruinous cistern built of hewn stone by the /^ A FEROCIOUS CLAN OP BEDOUINS. 131 Caliph Harun.* The land belongs to the Utaybah Be- douins, the bravest and most ferocious tribe in El Hejaz ; and the citizens denote their dread of these banditti by asserting, that to increase their courage they drink their enemy's blood.f My companions shook their heads when questioned upon the subject, and prayed that we' might not become too well acquainted with them — an ill-omened speech ! The Pacha allowed us a rest of five hours at El Birkat : we spent them in my tent, which was crowded with Shaykh Abdullah's friends. To requite me for this in- convenience, he prepared for me an excellent water-pipe, a cup of coffee, which, untainted by cloves and cinnamon, would have been delicious, and a dish of dry fruits. As we were now near the Holy City, all the Meccans were busy canvassing for lodgers and offering their services to pilgrims. Quarrels, too, were of hourly occurrence. In our party was an Arnaut, a white bearded old man, so decrepit that he could scarcely stand, and yet so violent that no one could manage him but his African slave, a brazen-faced little wretch about fourteen years of age. Words were bandied between this angry senior and » A " Birkat " in this part of Arabia may be an artificial cistern or a natural basin ; in the latter case it is smaller than a " Ghadir." This road was a favorite with Harun el Bashid, the pious tyrant who boasted that every year he performed either a pilgrimage or a crusade. The reader will find in d'Herbelot an account of the celebrated pedestrian visit of Harun to the Holy Cities. Nor less known in Oriental history is the pilgrimage of Zubaydah Khatun (wife of Harun and mother of Amin) by this route. + Some believe this literally, others consider it a phrase expressive of blood-thirstiness. It is the only suspicion of cannibalism, if I may use the word, now attaching to El Hejaz. Possibly the disgusting act may occa- sionally have taken place after a stern fight of more than usual rancour. Who does not remember the account of the Turkish officer licking his blood after having sabred the corpse of a Russian spy ? It is said that the Mutayr and the Utaybah are not allowed to enter Meccah, even daring the pilgrimage season. 132 PILGEIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. Shaykh Masud, when the latter insinuated sarcastically, that if the former had teeth he would be more intelli- gible. The Arnaut in his rage seized a pole, raised it, and delivered a blow which missed the camel-man, but brought the striker headlong to the ground. Maaud ex- claimed, with shrieks of rage, " Have we come to this, that every old dastard Turk smites us ? " Our party had the greatest trouble to quiet the quarrelers. The Arab listened to us when we threatened him with the Pacha. But the Arnaut, whose rage was " like red-hot steel," would hear nothing but our repeated declarations, that unless he behaved more like a pilgrim, we should be com- pelled to leave him and his slave behind. On the 7th September, at 4 p. M., we left El Birkat, and travelled eastwards over rolling ground thickly wooded. There was a network of footpaths through the thickets, and clouds obscured the moon ; the consequence was in- evitable loss of way. About 2 p. m. we began ascending hills in a south-westerly direction, and presently fell into the bed of a large rock-girt Fiumara, which runs from east to west. The sands were overgrown with saline and salsolaceous plants ; the Coloquintida, which, having no support, spreads along the ground * ; the Senna, with its small green leaf; the Rhazya stricta j ; and a large luxu- riant variety of the Asclepias gigantea $, cottoned over * Coloquintida is here used, as in most parts of the East, medicinallj. The pulp and the seeds of the ripe fruit are scooped out, and the rind is filled with milk, which is exposed to the night air, and drunk in the morning. f Used in Arabian medicine as a refrigerant and tonic. It abounds in Sindh and Affghanistan, where, according to that most practical of botanists, the lamented Dr. Stocks, it is called "Ishwarg." J Here called " Ashr." According to Seetzen, it bears the long-songht apple of Sodom. Yet, if truth be told, the soft green bag is as unlike an apple as can be imagined ; nor is the hard and brittle yellow rind of the ripe fruit a whit more resembling. The Arabs use the thick and acrid milk of the green bag with steel filings as a tonic, and speak highly of its eflfects ; EL ZARIBAH. 133 with mist and dew. At 6 a.m. we left the Flumara, and, turning to the west, we arrived about an hour afterwards at the station. El Zaribah, " the valley," is an undu- lating plain amongst high granite hills. It many parts it was faintly green; water was close to the surface, and rain stood upon the ground. During the night we had travelled about twenty-three miles, and our present sta- tion was S. E. 56° from our last. Having pitched the tent and eaten and slept, we pre- pared to perform the ceremony of El Ihram (assuming the pilgrim-garb), as El Zaribah is the Mikat, or the appointed place.* Between the noonday and the afternoon prayers a barber attended to shave our heads, cut our nails, and trim our mustachios. Then, having bathed and perfumed ourselves, — the latter is a questionable point, — we donned the attire, which is nothing but two new cotton cloths, each six feet long by three and-a-half broad, white, with narrow red stripes and fringes ; in fact, the costume called " El Eddeh " in the baths at Cairo.* One of these they employ it also to intoxicate or narcotise monkeys and other animals which they wish to catch. It is esteemed in Hindu medicine. The Nubians and Indians use the filaments of the fruit as tinder : they become white and shining as floss-silk. The Bedouins also have applied it to a similar pur- pose. Our Egyptian travellers call it the " Silk-tree ; " and in Northern Africa, where it abounds, Europeans make of it stuffing for mattresses. which are expensive, and highly esteemed for their coolness and cleanliness. In Bengal a kind of gutta percha is made by boiling the juice. This weed^ so common in the East, may one day become in the West an important article of commerce. * " El Ihram '' literally meaning " prohibition " or " making unlawful," equivalent to our " mortification," is applied to the ceremony of the toilette, ind also to the dress itself. The vulgar pronounce the word " Heram," or "L'ehram." It is opposed to " Ihlal," "making lawful," or "returning to laical life." The further from Meccah it is assumed, provided that it be during the three months of Hajj, the greater is the religious merit of the pilgrim ; consequently some come from India and Egypt in the dangerous attire. ♦ These sheets are not positively necessary ; any clean cotton cloth not 134 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. sheets, technically termed the " Rida," is thrown over the back, and, exposing the arm and shoulder, is knotted at the right side in the style " Wishah." The « Izar," is wrapped round the loins from waist to knee, and, knotted or tucked in at the middle, supports itself. Our heads were bare, and nothing was allowed upon the instep.* It is said that some classes of Arabs still preserve this re- ligious but most uncomfortable costume : it is doubtless of ancient date, and to this day, in the regions lying west of the Red Sea, it continues to be the common dress of the people. After the toilette we were placed with our faces in the direction of Meccah, and ordered to say aloud fj " I ^ow this Ihram of Hajj (the pilgrimage) and the Umrah (the little pilgrimage) to Allah Almighty ! " Having thus performed a two-bow prayer, we repeated, without rising from the sitting position, these words, " O Allah ! verily I purpose the Hajj and the Umrah, then enable me to accomplish the two, and accept them both of me, and make both blessed to me ! " Followed the " Talbiyat," or exclaiming, — " Here I am ! O Allah ! here am I — No partner hast thou, here am I : Verily the praise and the beneficence are thine, and the kingdom^ No partner hast thou, here am I ! " :f sewn in any part will serve equally well. Servants and attendants expect the master to present them with an " Ihram.'" * Sandals are made at Meccah expressly for the pilgrimage : the poorer classes cut oflf the upper leathers of an old pair of shoes. f This Niyat, as it is technically called, is preferably performed aloud. Some authorities, however, direct it to be meditated sotto-voce. \ " Talbiyat " is from the word Labbayka (" Here I am ") in the cry — " Labbayk' AUahumma, Labbayk ! (Labbayka) La Sharika laka, Labbayk ! Inna '1 hamda wa 'n 'niamata laka w 'al mulk La Sharika laka, Labbayk ! " THE " TALBITAT." 135 And we were warned to repeat these words as often as possible, until the conclusion of the ceremonies. Then Shaykh Abdullah, who acted as director of our con- sciences, bade us be good pilgrims, avoiding quarrels, bad language, immorality, and light conversation. We must so reverence life that we should avoid killing game, caus- ing an animal to fly, and even pointing it out for destruc- tion * ; nor should we scratch ourselves, save with the open palm, lest vermin be destroyed, or a hair uprooted by the nail. We were to respect the sanctuary by sparing the trees, and not to pluck a single blade of grass. As regards personal considerations, we were to abstain from all oils, perfumes, and unguents ; from washing the head with mallow or lote leaves; from dyeing, shaving, cutting, or vellicating a single pile or hair ; and though we might take advantage of shade, and even form it with upraised hands, we must by no means cover our sconces. For each infraction of these ordinances we must sacrifice a sheep t ; and it is commonly said by Moslems, that none but the Prophet could be perfect in the intricacies of pil- grimage. Old Ali began with an irregularity : he declared that age prevented his assuming the garb, but that, ar- rived at Meccah, he would clear himself by an offering. The wife and daughters of a Turkish pilgrim of our party assumed the Ihram at the same time as ourselves. Some add, " Here I am, and I honor thee, I the son of thy two slaves : beneficence and good are all between thy hands.'' The " Talbiyat " is allowed in any language, but is preferred in Arabic. It has a few varieties; the form above given is the most common. * The object of these ordinances is clearly to inculcate the strictest observance of the " truce of God." Pilgrims, however, are allowed to slay if necessary " the five noxious," viz., a crow, a kite, a scorpion, a rat, and a biting dog. f The victim is sacrificed as a confession that the ofiender deems him- self worthy of death : the offerer is not allowed to taste any portion of his offering. 136 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. They appeared dressed in white garments; and they had exchanged the Lisam, that coquettish fold of muslin which veils without concealing the lower part of the face, for a hideous mask, made of split, dried, and plaited palm-leaves, with two " buUs'-eyes " for light* I could not help laughing when these strange figures met my sight, and, to judge from the shaking of their shoulders, they were not less susceptible to the merriment which they had caused. At 3 p. M. we left El Zaribah, travelling towards the S. W., and a wondrously picturesque scene met the eye. Crowds hurried along, habited in the pilgrim garb, whose whiteness contrasted strangely with their black skins, their newly shaven heads glistening in the sun, and their long black hair streaming in the wind. The rocks rang with shouts of " Labbayk ! Labbayk ! " At a pass we fell in with the Wahhabis, accompanying the Baghdad Caravan, screaming " Here am I ; " and, guided by a large loud kettle-drum, they followed in double file the camel of a standard-bearer, whose green flag bore in huge white letters the formula of the Moslem creed. They were wild-looking mountaineers, dark and fierce, with hair twisted into thin Dalik or plaits : each was armed with a long spear, a matchlock, or a dagger. They were seated upon coarse wooden saddles, without cushions or stirrups, a fine saddle-cloth alone denoting a chief. The women emulated the men ; they either guided their own drome- daries, or., sitting in pillion, they clung to their husbands ; veils they disdained, and their countenances certainly be- longed not to a " soft sex." These Wahhabis were by no means pleasant companions. Most of them were followed by spare dromedaries, either unladen or carrying water- skins, fodder, fuel, and other necessaries for the march. * The reason why this " ngly " must be worn, is, that -^ woman's veil during the pilgrimage ceremonies is not allowed to touch her face. A SUSPICIOUS-LOOKING PLACE. 137 The beasts delighted in dashing furiously through our file, which being colligated, was thrown each time into the greatest confusion. And whenever we were observed smoking, we were cursed aloud for Infidels and idolaters. Looking back at El Zaribah, soon after our departure, I saw a heavy nimbus settle upon the hill tops, a sheet of rain being stretched between it and the plain. The low grumbling of thunder sounded joyfully in our ears. We hoped for a shower, but were disappointed by a dust- storm, which ended with a few heavy drops. There arose a report that the Bedouins had attacked a party of Mec- cans with stones, and the news caused men to look ex- ceeding grave. At 5 p. M. we entered the wide bed of the Fiumara, down which we were to travel all night. Here the country falls rapidly towards the sea, as the increasing heat of the air, the direction of the water-courses, and signs of violence in the torrent-bed show. The Fiumara varies in breadth from 150 feet to three-quarters of a mile ; its course, I was told, is towards the south-west, and it enters the sea near Jeddah. The channel is a coarse sand, with here and there masses of sheet rock and patches of thin vegetation. At about half-past 5 P. M. we entered a suspicious- looking place. On the right was a stony buttress, along whose base the stream, when there is one, flows ; and to this depression was our road limited by the rocks and thorn trees, which filled the other half of the channel. The left side was a precipice, grim and barren, but not so abrupt as its brother. Opposite us the way seemed barred by piles of hills, crest rising above crest into the far blue distance. Day still smiled upon the upper peaks, but the lower slopes and the Fiumara bed were already curtained with gray sombre shade. A damp seemed to fall upon our spirits as we approached 138 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. this Valley Perilous. I remarked that the voices of the women and children sank into silence, and the loud Lab- baykas of the pilgrims were gradually stilled. Whilst still speculating upon the cause of this phenomenon, it became apparent. A small curl of the smoke, like a lady's ring- let, on the summit of the right-hand precipice, caught my eye, and, simultaneous with the echoing crack of the match- lock, a high-trotting dromedary in front of me rolled over upon the sands, — a bullet had split his heart, — throwing his rider a goodly somerset of five or six yards. Ensued terrible confusion ; women screamed, children shrieked, and men vociferated, each one striving with might and main to urge his animal out of the place of death. But the road being narrow, they only managed to jam the vehicles in a solid immovable mass. At every matchlock shot a shudder ran through the huge body, as when the surgeon's scalpel touches some more sensitive nerve. The irregular horsemen, perfectly useless, galloped up and down over the stones, shouting to and ordering one another. The Pacha of the army had his carpet spread at the foot of the left-hand precipice, and debated over his pipe with the officers what ought to be done. No good genius whispei^ed " Crown the heights." Then it was that the conduct of the Wahhabis found favor in my eyes. They came up, galloping their ca- mels, — " Torrents less rapid, and less rash, — " with their elf-locks tossing in the wind, and their flaring matches casting a strange lurid light over their features. Taking up a position, one body began to fire upon the Utaybah robbers, whilst two or three hundred, dis- mounting, swarmed up the hill under the guidance of the Sherif Zayd. I had remarked this nobleman at El Medinah as a model specimen of the pure Arab. Like all Sherifs, he is celebrated for bravery, and has killed many THE CARAVAN ATTACKED BY ROBBERS. 139 with his own hand.* When urged at El Zarlbah to ride into Meccah, he swore that he would not leave the caravan till in sight of the walls ; and, fortunately for the pilgrims he kept his word. Presently the firing was heard far in our rear — the robbers having fled ; the head of the column advanced, and the dense body of pilgrims opened out. Our forced halt was now exchanged for a flight It re- quired much management to steer our desert-craft clear of danger; but Shaykh Masud was equal to the occasion. That many were lost was evident by the boxes and bag- gage that strewed the shingles. I had no means of ascer- taining the number of men killed and wounded : reports were contradictory, and exaggeration unanimous. The robbers were said to be 150 in number ; their object was plunder, and they would eat the shot camels. But their principal ambition was the boast " We, the Utaybah, on such and such a night stopped the Sultan's Mahmal one whole hour in the Pass." At the beginning of the skirmish I had primed my pis- tols, and sat with them ready for use. But soon seeing that there was nothing to be done, and, wishing to make an impression, — nowhere does Bobadil now " go down " but in the East, — I called aloud for my supper. Shaykh Nur, exanimate with fear, could not move. The boy Mo- hammed ejaculated only an " Oh, sir ! " and the people * The Sherifs are bom and bred to fighting : the peculiar privileges of their caste favor their development of pugaacitj. Thas, the modem Dijah, or price of blood, being 800 dollars for a common Moslem, the chiefs demand for one of their nnmber doable that sum, with a sword, a camel, a female slave, and other items ; and, if one of their slaves or ser- vants be slain, a fourfold price. The rigoroas way in which this custom is carried out gives the Sherif and his retainer ^reat power among the Arabs. As a general rule, thej are at the bottom of all mischief. It was a Sherif (Hosajn bin Ali) who tore down and trampled upon the British flag at Mocha ; a Sherif (Abd el Rahman of Waht; who murdered Captain Mylne near Lahedge. A page might be filled with the names of the distinguished mffians. 140 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. around exclaimed in disgust, " By Allah, he eats ! " Shaykh Abdullah, the Meccan, being a man of spirit, was amused by the spectacle. " Are these Afghan manners, Effendim?" he inquired from the Shugduf behind me, " Yes," I replied aloud, " in my. country we always dine before an attack of robbers, because that gentry is in the habit of sending men to bed supperless." The Shaykh laughed aloud, but those around him looked offended. I thought the bravado this time mal plac^ ; but a little event which took place on my way to Jeddah proved that it was not quite a failure. As we advanced, our escort took care to fire every large dry Asclepias, to disperse the shades which buried us. Again the scene became wondrous wild : — " Full many a waste I've wander'd o'er, Clomb many a crag, cross'd many a shore, But, by my halidome, A scene so rude, so wild as this, Yet so sublime in barrenness. Ne'er did my wandering footsteps press, Where'er I chanced to roam." On either side were ribbed precipices, dark, angry, and towering above, till their summits mingled with the glooms of night ; and between them formidable looked the chasm, down which our host hurried with shouts and discharges of matchlocks. The torch-smoke and the night-fires of flaming Asclepias formed a canopy, sable above and livid red below, which hung over our heads like a sheet, and divided the cliffs into two equal parts. Here the fire flashed fiercely from a tall thorn, that crackled and shot up showers of sparks into the air ; there it died away in lurid gleams, which lit up a truly Stygian scene. As usual, however, the picturesque had its inconveniences. There was no path. Rocks, stone-banks, and trees obstructed our passage. The camels, now blind in darkness, then dazzled by a flood of light, stumbled frequently ; in some AN ACCIDENT ON CAMEL-BACK. 141 places slipping down a steep descent, in others sliding over a sheet of mud. There were furious quarrels and fierce language between camel-men and their hirers, and threats to fellow-travellers ; in fact, we were united in discord. I passed that night crying, " Hai ! Hai ! " switching the camel, and fruitlessly endeavoring to fusti- gate Masud's nephew, who resolutely slept upon the water- bags. During the hours of darkness we made four or five halts, when we boiled coffee and smoked pipes, but man and beasts were beginning to suffer from a deadly fatigue. Dawn found us still travelling down the Fiumara, which here is about 100 yards broad. The granite hUls on both sides were less precipitous, and the borders of the torrent- bed became natural quays of stiff" clay, which showed a water-mark of from twelve to fifteen feet in height. In many parts the bed was muddy ; and the moist places, as usual, caused accidents. I happened to be looking back at Shaykh Abdullah, who was then riding in old Ali bin Ya Sin's fine Shugduf; suddenly the camel's four legs disappeared from under him, his right side flattening the ground, and the two riders were pitched severally out of the smashed vehicle. Abdullah started up fiirious, and abused the Bedouins, who were absent, with great zest " Feed these Arabs," he exclaimed, quoting a Turkish proverb, " and they will fire at Heaven ! " But I ob- served that, when Shaykh Masud came up, the citizen was only gruff". We then turned northward, and sighted El Mazik, more generally known as Wady Laymun, the Valley of Limes. On the right bank of the Fiumara stood the Meccan Sherirs state pavilion, green and gold : it was surrounded by his attendants, and prepared to receive the Pacha of the Caravan. We advanced half a mile, and encamped temporarily in a hill-girt bulge of the Fiumara bed. At 8 A.M. we had travelled about twenty^four 142 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. miles from El Zaribah, and the direction of our present station was S. W. 50°. Shaykh Masud allowed us only four hours' halt; he wished to precede the main body. After breaking our fast joyously upon limes, pomegranates, and fresh dates, we sallied forth to admire the beauties of the place. We are once more on classic ground — the ground of the ancient Arab poets, — " Deserted is the village — waste the halting place and home At Mina, o'er Kijam and Ghul wild beasts unheeded roam, On Eayyan hill the channel lines have left a naked trace, Time-worn, as primal Writ that dints the mountain's flinty face* ;" — and this Wady, celebrated for the purity of its air, has from remote ages been a favorite resort of the Meccans. Nothing can be more soothing to the brain than the dark- green foliage of the limes and pomegranates ; and from the base of the southern hill bursts a bubbling stream, whose " Chiare, fresche e dolci acque " flow through the garden, filling them with the most de- licious of melodies, the gladdest sound which nature in these regions knows. Exactly at noon Masud seized the halter of the fore- most camel, and we started down the Fiumara. Troops of Bedouin girls looked over the orchard walls laughingly, * In these lines of Lebid, the " Mina " alluded to must not, we are warned by the scholiast, be confounded with " Mina " (vulg. " Muna "), the Valley of Victims. Ghul and Eayyan are hills close to the Wady Laymuu. The passage made me suspect that inscriptions would be found among the rocks, as the scholiast informs us that " men used to write upon rocks in order that their writing might remain." (De Sacy's Moallaka de Lebid, p. 289.) I neither saw nor heard of any. But some months afterwards I was delighted to hear from the Abbe Hamilton that he had discovered in one of the rock monuments a "lithographed proof" of the presence of Sesostris (Rhameses II.). THE BALM OF GILEAD. 143 and children came out to offer us fresh fruit and sweet water. At 2 p. m., travelling south-west, we arrived at a point where the torrent-bed turns to the right, and quit- ting it, we climbed with difficulty over a steep ridge of granite. Before three o'clock we entered a hill-girt plain, Avhich my companions called " Sola." In some places were clumps of trees, and scattered villages warned us that we were approaching a city. Far to the left rose the blue peaks of Taif, and the mountain road, a white thread upon the nearer heights, was pointed out to me. Here I first saw the tree, or rather shrub, which bears the balm of Gilead, erst so celebrated for its tonic and stomachic properties.* I told Shaykh Masud to break off a twig, * The " Balsamon " of Theophrastus and Dioscorides, a corruption of the Arabic " Balisau " or " Basham," by which name the Bedouins know it. In the valley of the Jordan it was worth its weight in silver, and kings warred for what is now a weed. Cleopatra by a commission brought it to Egypt. It was grown at Heliopolis. The last tree died there, we are told by Niebuhr, in the early part of the seventeenth century (according to others, in a.d. 1502) ; a circumstance the more curious, as it was used by the Copts in chrisome, and by Europe for anointing kings. From Egypt it was carried to El Hcjaz, where it now grows wild on sandy and stony grounds ; but I could not discover the date of its naturalisation. Moslems generally believe it to have been presented to Solomon by Bilkis, Queen of Sheba. Bruce relates that it was produced at Mohammed's prayer from the blood of the Bedr-martyr. In the Gospel of Infancy (book i. ch. 8.) we read, — " 9. Hence they (Joseph and Mary) went out to that sycamore, which is now called Matarea (the modern and Arabic name for Heliopolis). " 10. And in Matarea the Lord Jesus caused a well to spring forth, in which St. Mary washed his coat ; " 11. And a balsam is produced or grows in that country from the sweat which ran down there from the Lord Jesus." The sycamore is still shown, and the learned recognise in this ridiculous old legend the " Hiero-sykaminon," of pagan Egypt, under which Isis and Horns sat. Hence Sir J. Maundeville and an old writer allude reverently to the sovereign virtues of " Bawme.'' I believe its qualities to have been exaggerated, but have found it useful in dressing wounds. Burckhardt vol ii. p. 124.) alludes to, but appears not to have seen it. The best balsam is produced upon stony hills like Arafat and Muna. In 44 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDIfTAH AND MECCAH. which he did heedlessly. The act was witnessed by our party with a roar of laughter, and the astounded Shaykh was warned that he had become subject to an atoning sacrifice.* Of course he denounced me as the instigator, and I could not fairly refuse assistance. The tree has of late years been carefully described by many botanists ; I will only say that the bark resembled in color a cherry-stick pipe, the inside was a light yellow, and the juice made my fingers stick together. At 4 p. M. we came to a steep and rocky Pass, up which we toiled with difficulty. The face of the country was The " Main Pass " of Meccah. rising once more, and again presented the aspect of nume- rous small basins divided and surrounded by hills. As hot weather incisions are made in the bai'k, and the soft gum which exudes is collected in bottles. The purest kind is of the consistence of honey, and yellowish-brown, like treacle. It is frequently adulterated with water, when, if my informant Shaykh Abdullah speak truth, it becomes much lighter in weight. I never heard of the vipers which Pliny mentions as abounding in these trees, and which Bmce declares were shown to him alive at Jeddah and Yambu. Dr. Carter found the balm, under the name of Luban Dukah, among the Gara tribe of Eastern Aiabia, and botanists have seen it at Aden. We may fairly question its being originally from the banks of the Jordan. * This being one of the " Muharrimat," or actions forbidden to a pilgrim. At all times, say the Moslems, there are three vile trades, viz., those of the Harik el Hajar (stone-burner), the Kali el Shajar (tree-cutter), and the Bayi el Basilar (man-seller). THE SHEKIP OF MECCAH. 145 we jogged on we were passed by the cavalcade of no less a personage than the Sherif of Meccah. Abd el Muttalib bin Ghalib is a dark, beardless, old man with African fea- tures derived from his mother. He was plainly dressed in white garments and a white muslin turban*, which made him look jet black ; he rode an ambling mule, and the only emblem of his dignity was the large green satin umbrella borne by an attendant on foot.f Scattered around him were about forty matchlock-men, mostly slaves. At long intervals, after their father, came his four sons, Kiza Bey, Abdullah, Ali and Ahmed, the latter still a child. The three elder brothers rode splendid dromedaries at speed ; they were young men of light com- plexion, with the true Meccan cast of features, showily dressed in bright -colored silks, and armed, to denote their rank, with sword and gold-hilted dagger. J • This attire was customary even in El Idrisi's time. ■f From India to Abyssinia the umbrella is the sign of royalty : the Arabs of Meccah and Senaa probfibly derived the custom from the Hindus. t I purposely omit long descriptions of the Sherif, my fellow-travellers, Messrs. Didier and Hamilton, being far more competent to lay the subject before the public. A few political remarks may not be deemed out of place . The present Sherif, despite his civilised trainiug at Constantinople, is a fanatic, bigoted man. He applied for the expulsion of the British vice-consul at Jeddah, on the ground that an Infidel should not hold position in the Holy Land. His pride and reserve have made him few friends, although ths Meccans, with their enthusiastic nationality, extol his bravery to the skies, and praise him for conduct as well as courage. His position at present is anomalous. Ahmed Facha of El Hejaz rules politically as representative of the Sultan. The Sherif, who, like the Pope, claims temporal as well as spiritual dominion, attempts to command the authorities by force of bigotry. The Pacha heads the Turkish, now the ruling party. The Sherif has in bis interest the Arabs and the Bedouins. Both thwart each other on all possible occasions ; quarreb are bitter and endless ; there is no government, and the vessel of the state is in danger of being water- logged, in conse- quence of the squabbling between her two captains. When I was at Meccah all were in a ferment, the Sherif having, it is said, insisted upon the Facha leaving Taif. The position of the Turks in El Hejaz becomes every day more dan- 146 PILGEIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. We halted as evening approached, and strained our eyes, but all in vain, to catch sight of Meccah, which lies in a winding valley. By Shykah Abdullah's direction I recited, after the usual devotions, the following prayer. The reader is forewarned that it is difficult to preserve the flowers of Oriental rhetoric in a European tongue. " O Allah ! verily this is thy safeguard (Amn) and thy Sanctuary (Haram)! Into it whoso entereth becometh safe (Amin). So deny (Harrim) my flesh and blood, my bones and skin, to hell-fire. O Allah ! Save me from thy wrath on the day when thy servants shall be raised from the dead. I conjure thee by this that thou art Allah, besides whom is none (thou only), the Merciful, the Com- passionate. And have mercy upon our lord Mohammed, and upon the progeny of our lord Mohammed, and upon his followers, one and all ! " This was concluded with the " Talbiyat," and with an especial prayer for myself. geroDS. Want of money presses upon them, and reduces them to degrading measures. In February, 1853, the Pacha hired a forced loan from the merchants, and but for Mr. Cole's spirit and firmness, the English proteges would have been compelled to contribute their share. After a long and animated discussion, the Facha yielded the point by imprisoning his recu- sant subjects, who insisted upon Indians paying like themselves. He waited in person with an apology upon Mr. Cole. Though established at Jeddah since 1838, the French and English consuls, contented with a proxy, never required a return of visit from the governor. If the Turks be frequently reduced to such expedients for the payment of their troops, they will soon be swept from the land. On the other hand, the Sherif approaches a crisis. His salary, paid by the Sultan, may be roughly estimated at 1 5,000/. ger annum. If the Turks maintain their foot- ing in Arabia, it will probably be found that an honorable retreat at Stam- boul is better for the 31st descendant of the Prophet than the turbulent life of Meccah ; or that a reduced allowance of 500?. per annum would place him in a higher spiritual, though in a lower temporal position. Since the above was written, the Sherif Abd el Mnttalib has been deposed. The Arabs of El Hejaz united in revolt against the Sultan, but after a few skirmishes they were reduced to subjection by their old ruler the Sherif bin Aim. THE PILGRIM SIGHTS MECCAH. 147 We again mounted, and night completed our disappoint- ment. About 1 A.M. I was aroused by general excitement. " Meccah ! Meccah !" cried some voices ; " The Sanctuary! O the Sanctuary ! " exclaimed others ; and all burst into loud " Labbayk," not unfrequently broken by sobs. I looked out from my litter, and saw by the light of the southern stars the dim outlines of a large city, a shade darker than the surrounding plain. We were passing over the last ridge by an artificial cut, called the Saniyat Kudaa.* The " winding path " is flanked on both sides by watch-towers, which command the " Darb el Maala," or road leading from the north into Meccah. Thence we passed into the Maabidah (northern suburb), where the Sherif's palace is built.f After this, on the left hand, came the deserted abode of the Sherif bin Aun, now said to be a "haunted house."! Opposite to it lies the Jannat el ISIaala, the * Saniyat means a " winding path," and Kudaa, " the cut." Formerly Meccah had three gates: 1. Bab el Maala, north-east; 2. Bab el Umrah. or Bab el Zabir, on the Jeddah road, west ) and, 3. Bab el Masfal on the Yemen road. These were still standing in the twelfth century, but the walls were destroyed. It is better to enter Meccah by day and on foot ; but this not a matter of vital consequence in pilgrimage. f It is a large whitewashed building, with extensive wooden balconied windows, but no pretensions to architectural splendor. Around it trees grow, and amongst them I remarked a young cocoa. El Idrisi (a.d. 1154) calls the palace El Marbaah. This may be a cleri- cal error, for to the present day all know it as El Maabidah (pronounced El Mab'da). The Nubian describes it as a " stone castle, three miles from the town, in a palm garden.'' The word " Maabidah," says Kutb el Din, means a " body of servants," and is applied generally to this suburb because here was a body of Bedouins in charge of the Masjid el Ijabah, a mosque now not existing. J I cannot conceive what made the accurate Niebuhr fall into the strange error that " apparitions are unknown in Arabia." Arabs fear to sleep alone, to enter the bath at night, to pass by cemeteries during dark, and to sit amongst ruins, simply for fear of apparitions. And Arabia, together with Persia, has supplied half the Western world with its ghost stories and tales of angels, demons, and fairies. To quote Milton, the land is struck "with, superstition as with a ninnnt " 148 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. holy cemetery of Meccah. Thence, turning to the right, we entered the Sulaymaniyah or Afghan quarter. Here the boy Mohammed, being an inhabitant of the Shamiyah or Syrian ward, thought proper to display some appre- hension. These two are on bad terms; children never meet without exchanging volleys of stones, and men fight furiously with quarter-staves. Sometimes, despite the terrors of religion, the knife and sabre are drawn. But these hostilities have their code. If a citizen be killed, there is a subscription for blood-money. An inhabitant of one quarter, passing singly through another, becomes a guest ; once beyond the walls, he is likely to be beaten to insensibility by his hospitable foes. At the Sulaymaniyah we turned off the main road into a by-way, and ascended by narrow lanes the rough heights of Jebel Hindi, upon which stands a small white- washed and crenellated building called a fort. Thence descending, we threaded dark streets, in places crowded with rude cots and dusky figures, and finally at 2 A. M. we found ourselves at the door of the boy Mohammed's house. From Wady Laymun to Meccah the distance, according to my calculation, was about twenty-three miles, the di- rection S. E. 45°. We arrived on the morning of Sunday the 7th Zu'l Hijjah (11th September, 1853), and had one day before the beginning of the pilgrimage to repose and visit the Haram. I conclude this chapter with a few remarks upon the watershed of El Hejaz. The country, in my humble opinion, has a compound slope, southwards and west- wards. I have, however, little but the conviction of the THE WATERSHED OF EL HEJAZ. 149 modern Arabs to support the assertion that this part of Arabia declines from the north. All declare the course of water to be southerly, and believe the fountain of Arafat to pass underground from Baghdad. The slope, as geo- graphers know, is still a disputed point. Ritter, Jomard, and some old Arab authors, make the country rise towards the south, whilst Wallin and others express an opposite opinion. From the sea to El Musahhal is a gentle rise. The water-marks of the Fiumaras show that El Medinah is considerably above the coast, though geographers may not be correct in claiming for Jebel Radhwa a height of 6000 feet ; yet that elevation is not perhaps too great for the plateau upon which stands the Prophet's burial-place. From El Medinah to El Suwayrkiyah is another gentle rise, and from the latter to El Zaribah stagnating water denotes a level. I believe the report of a perennial lake on the eastern boundary of El Hejaz as little as the river placed by Ptolemy between Yambu and Meccah. No Bedouins could tell me of this feature, which, had it existed, would have changed the whole conditions and history of the country ; we know the Greek's river to be a Fiumara, and the lake probably owes its existence to a similar cause, a heavy fall of rain. Beginning at El Zaribah is a decided fall, which continues to the sea. The Arafat tor- rent sweeps from east to west with great force, sometimes carrying away the habitations, and even injuring the sanctuary.* * This is a synopsis of our marches, which, protracted on Bnrckhardt's map, gives an error of ten miles. Miles. 1. From El Medinah, to Ja el Sharifah, S. E. 50° 22 2. From Ja el Sharifah to Ghnrab, - S. W. 10° - 24 3. From Ghurab to El Hijriyah, S. E. 22° 25 4. From El Hijriyah to El Suwayrkiyah, S. W. 1 1° 28 5. From El Suwayrkiyah to El Sufayna, S. E. 5° - 17 = 116 150 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. Miles. Brouglit forward - - - " " 6. FromElSufaynatotlic"BciiiMutayr,"S.W, 20° - 18 7. From the " Bcni Miitayr " to El Ghadir, S.W. 21° 20 116 8. From El Ghadir to El Birkat, 9. From El Birkat to El Zaribah, 10. From El Zaribah to Wady Laynmn, 1 1. From Wady Laymun to Mcccah, - S. E. 10° 24 a E, 56° - 23 S. W. 50° - 24 S. E. 45° • 23 = 132 Total English miles 248 The P«e8 of Deulh. 151 CHAP. XXVI. THE BAYT ULLAH, The House of Allah* has been so fully described by my predecessors, that there is little inducement to attempt a new portrait. Readers, however, may desire a view of the great sanctuary, and, indeed, without a plan and its explanation, the ceremonies of the Haram would be scarcely intelligible. I will do homage to the memory of the accurate Burckhardt, and extract from his pages a description which may be illustrated by a few notes. " The Kaabah stands in an oblong square (enclosed by a great wall) 250 paces long, and 200 broad f, 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 152 in number. J The pillars are above twenty feet • " Bayt TJllah " (House of Allah) and " Kaabah," i. e. cube (house), " la maison carree," are synonymous. t Ali Bey gives 536 feet 9 inches by 356 feet : my measurement 257 paces by 210. Most Moslem authors, reckoning by cubits, make the paral- lelogram 404 by 310. i On each short side I counted 24 domes ; on the long, 35. This would give a total of 118 along the cloisters. The Arabs reckon in all 152 ; viz. 24 on the east side, on the north 36, on the south 36 ; one on the mosque comer, near the Zarurah minaret ; 16 at the porch of the Bab el Ziyadah ; 152 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 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 Meccah mountains.* El Fasy states the whole at 589, and says. they are all of marble excepting 126, which are of common stone, and three of composition. Kotobeddyn reckons 555, of which, ac- cording to him, 311 are of marble, and the rest of the stone taken from the neighloouring mountains ; but neither of these authors lived to see the latest repairs of the mosque, after the destruction occasioned by a torrent in A. D. 1626.t Between every three or four columns stands an octagonal one, about four feet in thickness. On the east side are two shafts of reddish grey granite in one piece, and one fine grey porphyry 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 (Pan- opolis), when the chief (Caliph) El Mohdy enlarged the and 1 5 at the Bab Ibrahim. The shape of these domes is the usual " Media- Naranja," and the superstition of the Meccans informs the pilgrim that they cannot be counted. Books reclcon 1352 pinnacles or battlements on the temple wall. • The " common stone of the Meccah mountains " is a fine grey granite quarried principally from a hill near the Bab el Shabayki, which furnished materials for the Kaabah. Eastern authors describe the pillars as consisting of three different substances, viz.: Rukham, white marble, not "alabaster," its general sense; Suwan, or granite (syenite?); and "Hajar Shumaysi," a kind of yellow sandstone, so called from " Bir Shumays," a place on the Jeddah road, near Haddab, the half-way station. f I counted in the temple 554 pillars. It is, however, difficult to be accurate, as the four colonnades and the porticos about the two great gates are irregular ; topographical observations, moreover, must here be made under difficulties. Ali Bey numbers them roughly at "plus de 500 colonnes et pilastres. " THE MOSQUE AT MECCAH. 153 mosque in a. h. 163. Among the 450 or 500 columns which form the enclosure I found not any two capitals or bases exactly alike. The capitals are of course 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 in- scriptions, 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. Some of the columns are strengthened with broad iron rings or bands f, as in many other Saracen buildings of the East. They were first employed by Ibn Dhaher Berkouk, king of Egypt, in rebuilding the mosque, which had been destroyed by fire in a. h. 802." J " 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." " Some paved causeways lead from the colonnades * The anthor afterwards iafonns as, that "the temple has heen so often rained and repaired, that no traces of remote antiquity are to be found about it." He mentions some modem and unimportant inscriptions upon the walls and over the gates. Knowing that many of the pillars were sent in ships from Syria and Egypt by the Caliph El Mahdi, a traveller would have expected better things. -)- The reason being, that " those shafts formed of the Meccan stone are mostly in three pieces ; but the marble shafts are in one piece." J To this may be added, that the fa9ades of the cloisters are twenty-four along the short walls, and thirty-six along the others ; they have stone ornaments, not inaptly compared to the French "fleur de lis." The capital and bases of the outer pillars are grander and more regular than the inner ; they support pointed arches, and the Arab secures his beloved variety by placing at every fourth arch a square pilaster. Of these there are un the long sides ten, on the short seven. 154 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH._ towards the Kaabah, 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 Zem Zem water oozing out of the jars which are placed in {on) the ground in long rows during the day.f 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 Kaabah ; it is 115 paces from the north colonnade, and 88 from the south. For this want of symmetry we may readily account, the Kaabah having existed prior to the mosque, which was built around it, and enlarged at different periods. The Kaabah is an oblong massive structure, 18 paces in length, 14 in breadth, and from 35 to 40 feet in height. | It is constructed of the grey Mekka stone, in large blocks of different sizes joined together, in a ' I counted eight, not including the broad pavement which leads from the Bab el Ziyadah to the Kaabah, or the four cross branches which connect tlie main lines. These " Tirasli el Hajar," as they are called, also serve to partition off the area. One space, for instance, is called " Haswat el Harim,'' or the " Women's sanded place," because appropriated to female devotees. t Tlie jars are little amphoraj, each inscribed with the name of the donor and a peculiar cypher. t My measurements give 22 paces or 55 feet in length by 18 (45), of breadtli, and the height appeared greater than the length. AH Bey makes- tlio eastern side 37 French feet, 2 inches and 6 lines, the western 38° 4' 6", the northern 29 feet, the southern 31° 6' and the height 34° 4'. He there- fore calls it a " veritable trapezium." In El Idrisi's time it was 25 cubits by 24, and 27 cubits high. THE KAABAH, OR BATT ULLAH. 155 very rough manner, with bad cement.* It was entirely rebuilt, as it now stands, in A. d. 1 627. The torrent in the preceding year had thrown down three of its sides, and, preparatory to its re-erection, the fourth side was, according to Asamy, pulled down, after the Oleraas, or learned divines, had been consulted on the question whe- ther mortals might be permitted to destroy any part of the holy edifice without incurring the charge of sacrilege and infidelity." " The Kaabah stands upon a base two feet in height, which presents a sharp inclined plane.f 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. ♦ I would alter this sentence thus : — " It is built of fine grey granite in horizontal courses of masonry of irregular depth ; the stones are tolerably fitted together, and held by excellent mortar like Roman cement." The lines are also straight. f This base is called EI Shazarwan, from the Persian Shadarwan, a cornice, eaves, or canopy. It is in pent-house shape, projecting about a foot beyond the wall, and composed of fine white marble slabs, polished like glass ; there are two breaks in it, one opposite and under the doorway, and another in front of Ishmael's tomb. Pilgrims are directed, during cir- cumambulation, to keep their bodies outside of the Shazarwan ; this would imply it to be part of the building, but its only use appears in the large brass rings welded into it, for the purpose of holding down the Kaabah covering. J All Bey also errs in describing the roof as " plat en dcssus." Were such the case, rain would not pour off with violence through the spout. Most Oriental authors allow a cubit of depression from south-west to north- west. In El Idrisi's day the Kaabah had » double roof. Some say this is the case in the present building, Avhich has not been materially altered in shape since its restoration by El Hajjaj A. n. 83. The roof was then eighteen cubits long by fifteen broad. § In Ibn Jubayr's time the Kaabah was opened every day in Eajab, and in other months on every Monday and Friday. The house may now be entered ten or twelve times a year gratis ; and by pilgrims as often as they can collect, amongst parties, a sum sufficient to tempt the guardians' cupidity. 156 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. and about seven feet above the ground.* In the first periods of Islam, however, when it was rebuilt in A, H. 64 by Ibn Zebeyr (Zubayr), chief of Mecca, it had two doors even with the ground-floor of the mosque.f The present * This mistake, in which Buvckhardt is followed by all our popular authors, is the more extraordinary, as all Arabic authors call the door-wall Janib el Mashrik — the eastern side — or Wajh el Bayt, the front of the house, opposed to Zahr el Bayt, the back. Niebuhr is equally in error when he asserts that the door fronts to the south. Arabs always hold the " Rukn el Iraki," or Ii-ak angle, to face the polar star, and so it appears in Ali Bey's plan. The Kaabah, therefore, has no northern side. And it must be observed that Moslem writers make the length of the Kaabah from east to west, whereas our travellers make it from north to south. Ali Bey makes the door only six feet from the pavement, but he calculates distances by the old ITi'ench measure. It is about seven feet from the ground, and six from the corner of the Black Stone. Between the two the space of wall is called El Multazem (in Burckhardt, by a clerical error, " El Metzem," vol. i. p. 1 73.). It derives its name, the " Attached-to," because here the circumambulator should apply his bosom, and beg pardon for his sins. El Multazem, according to M. de Percival, following d'Ohsson, was formerly " le lieu des engagements," whence, according to him, its name. " Le Moltezem," says M. Galland (Kits et Ceremonies du Pclerinage de la Mecque) " qui est entre la pierre noire et la porte, est I'endroit ou Mahomet se reconcilia avec ses dix compaguons, qui disaient qu'il n'etait pas veri- tablement Prophete.'' t Erom the Bab el Ziyadah, or gate in the northei'n colonnade, you descend by two flights of steps, in all about twenty-five. This depression manifestly arises from the level of the town having been raised, like Home, by successive layers of ruins; the most populous and substantial quarters (as the Shaniiyah to the north) would, we might expect, be the highest, and this is actually the case. But I am unable to account satisfactorily for the second hollow within the temple, and immediately around the House of Allah, where the door formerly, according to all historians, on a level with the pavement, and now about seven feet above it, shows the exact amount of depression, which cannot be accounted for simply by calcation. Some clironiolers assert, that when the Kuraysh rebuilt the house they raised the door to prevent devotees entering without their permission. But seven feet would scarcely oppose an entrance, and how will this account for the floor of the building being also raised to that height above the pavement ? It is curious to observe the similarity between this inner hollow of the Meccan fane and the artificial depression of the Hindu pagoda where it is intended to be flooded. The Hindus would also revere the form of THE KAABAH. 157 door (which, according to Azraky, was brought hither from Constantinople in A. D. 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-eastf corner of the Kaabah, near the door, is the famous 'Black Stone;'| it forms a part of the the Meccan fane, exactly resembling their square temples, at whose corners are placed Brahma, Vishnu, Shiwa and Ganesha, who adore the universal generator in the centre. The second door anciently stood on the side of the temple opposite the present entrance; inside, its place can still be traced. All Bey suspects its having existed in the modern building, and declares that the exterior surface of the wall shows the tracery of a blocked-up door, similar to that still open. Some historians declare that it was closed by the ICuraysh when they rebuilt the house in Mohammed's day, and that subsequent erections have had only one. The general opinion is, that El Hajjaj finally closed up the western entrance. Doctors also differ as to its size; the popular measurement is three cubits broad and a little more than five in length. * Pilgrims and ignorant devotees collect the drippings of wax, the ashes of the aloe-wood, and the dnst from the " Atabah," or threshold of the Kaabah, either to rub upon their foreheads or to preserve as relics. These supei'stitious practices are sternly rebuked by the Olema. ■f For north-east rend south-east. J I will not enter into the fabulous origin of the Hajar el Aswad. Some of the traditions connected with it are truly absurd. " When Allah," says Ali, " made covenant with the sons of Adam on the Day of Fealty, he placed the paper inside the stone;" it will, therefore, appear at the judg- ment, and bear witness to all who have touched it, Moslems agree that it was originally white, and became black by reason of men's sins. It appeared to me a common aerolite covered with a thick shaggy coating, glossy and pitch-like, worn and polished. Dr. Wilson of Bombay showed me a spe- cimen in his possession, which externally appeared to be a black slag, with the inside of a bright and sparkling greyish-white, the result of admixture of nickel with the iron. This might possibly, as the learned Oi'ientalist then suggested, account for the mythic change of color, its appearance on earth after a thunderstorm, and its being originally a material part of the heavens. ICutb el Din expressly declares that, when the Karamitah restored it after twenty-two years to the Meccans, men kissed it and rubbed it upon their brows ; and remarked, that the blackness was only superficial, the inside being white. Some Greek philosophers, it will be remembered, be- lieved the heavens to be composed of stones (Cosmos, " Shooting Stars ") : 158 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. sharp angle of the building % at four or five feet above and Sanconiathon, ascribing the aerolite-worship to the god Coelus, de- clares them to be living or animated stones. " The Arabians,'' says Maximus of Tyre (Dissert. 38. p. 455.), " pay homage to I know not what god, which they represent by a quadrangular stone." The gross fetisism of the Hindus, it is well known, introduced them to litholatry. At Ja- gannath they worship a pyramidal black stone, fabled to have fallen from heaven, or miraculously to have presented itself on the place where the temple now stands. Moreover, they revere the Salagram, as the emblem of Vishnu, the second person in their triad. The rudest emblem of the " Bonus Deus " was a round stone. It was succeeded in India by the cone and triangle ; in Egypt by the pyramid ; in Greece it was represented by cones of tcrra-cotta about three inches and a half long. AVithout going deep into theory, it may be said that the Kaabah and the Hajar are the only two idols which have survived the .360 composing the heavenly host of the Arab pantheon. Thus the Hindu poet exclaims: — " Behold the marvels of my idol-temple, O Moslem ! That when its idols are destroy'd, it becomes Allah's House." Wilford (As. Soc. vols. iii. and iv.) makes the Hindus declare that the Black Stone at Mokshesha, or Moksha-sthana (Meccah) was an incarnation of Moksheshwara, an incarnation of Shiwa, who with his consort visited El Hejaz. When the Kaabah was rebuilt, this emblem was placed in the outer wall for contempt, but the people still respected it. In the Dabistan the Black Stone is said to be an image of Kaywan or Saturn ; and El Shahristani also declares the temple to have been dedicated to the same planet Zuhal, wliose genius is represented in the Puranas as fierce, hideous, four-armed, and liabitcd in a black cloak, with a dark tui'ban. Moslem historians arc unanimous in asserting that Sasan, son of Babegan, and other Persian monarchs, gave rich presents to the Kaabah ; they especially men- tion two golden crescent moons, a significant offering. The Guebers assert that, among the images and relics left by Mahabad and his successors in the Kaabah, was the Black Stone, an emblem of Saturn. They also call the city Maligah — moon's place — from an exceedingly beautiful image of the moon j whence they say the Arabs derived " Meccah.'' And the Saba;ans equally respect the Kaabah and the pyramids, which they assert to be the tombs of Seth, Enoch (or Hermes), and Sabi the son of Enoch. Meccah, then, is claimed as a sacred place, and the Hajar el Aswad, as well as the Kaabah, are revered as holy emblems by four different faiths -7- the Hindu, Saba;an, Gueber, and Moslem. I have little doubt, and hope to prove at another time, that the Jews connected it with traditions about Abraham. This would be the fifth religion that looked towards the Kaabah — a rare meeting-place of devotion. * Presenting this appearance in profile. The Hajar has suffered from THE FAMOUS "BLACK STONE," OR " HAJAE." 159 the ground.* It is an irregular oval, about seven inches in diameter, with an undulating surface, composed of about a dozen smaller stones of different sizes and shapes, well joined together with a small quantity of cement, and per- fectly well smoothed : it looks as if the whole had been broken intomany 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 ex- traneous^particles of a whitish and of a yellowish substance. Its color 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 color.f ' This border serves to support its detached pieces; it is two or three inches in breadth, and rises a little The Black Stone. the iconoclastic principle of Islam, having once narrowly escaped tlestruction by order of El Hakim of Egypt. In these days the metal rim serves as a protection as well as an ornament. * The height of the Hajar from the ground, according to my measure- ment, is four feet nine inches ; All Bey places it forty-two inches above the pavement. f The color appeared to me black and metallic, and the centre of the stone was sunk about two inches below the metal circle. Bound the sides was a reddish brown cement, almost level with the metal, and sloping down to the middle of the stone, Ibn Jubayr declares the depth of the stone unknown, but that most people believe it to extend two cubits into the wall. In his day it was three "Shibr" (the large span from the thumb to the httle iinger tip) broad, and one span long, with knobs, and a joining of four pieces, which the Kara- mitah had broken. The stone was set in a silver band. Its softness and moisture were such, says Ibn Jubayr, " that the sinner never would remove 160 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. above the surface of the stone. Both the border and the stone itself are encircled by a silver band*, broader below than above, 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 Kaabah f, or, as the Arabs call it, Kokn el Yemany, 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 Meccah stone. This the people walking round the Kaabah touch only with the right hand ; they do not kiss it. f •' On the north side of the Kaabah, just by its door§, his mouth from it, which phenomenon made the Prophet declare it to be the covenant of Allah on earth.'' * The band is now a massive arch of gold or silver gilt. I foand the aperture in which the stone is, one span and three fingers broad. t The Bukn el Yemani" is the comer facing the south. The part alluded to in the text is the wall of the Kaabah, between the Shami and Yemani angles, distant about three feet from the latter, and near the site of the old western door, long since closed. The stone is darker and redder than the rest of the wall. It is called El Mustajab (or Mustajab min el Zunub or Mustajab el Dua, " where prayer is granted "). Pilgrims here extend their arms, press their bodies against the building, and beg pardon for their sins. I I have frequently seen it kissed by men and women. § Kl Maajan, the place of mixing or kneading, because the patriarchs here kneaded the mud used as cement in the holy building. Some call it El Hufrah (the digging), and it is generally known as Makam Jibrail (the place of Gabriel), because here descended the inspired order for the five daily prayers, and at this spot the archangel and the Prophet performed their devotions, making it a most auspicious spot It is on the north of the door, from which it is distant about two feet ; its length is seven spans and seven fingers ; breadth five spans three fingers ; and depth one span four fingers. The following sentence from Herklet's " Qanoon e Islam " (eh. xii. sec. 5.) may serve to show the extent of error still popular. The author, after separating the Bayt UUah from the Kaabah, erroneously making the former the name of the whole temple, proceeds to say, " the rain water EL MAAJAN, " THE PLACE OF MIXING." 161 and close to the wall, is a slight hollow in the ground, lined with marble, and sufficiently large to admit of tliree persons sitting. Here it is thought meritorious to pray : the spot is called El Maajan, and supposed to be where Abraham and his son Ismail kneaded the chalk and mud which they used in building the Kaabah ; and near this Maajan the former is said to have placed the large stone upon which he stood while working at the masonry. On the basis of the Kaabah, just over the Maajan, is an an- cient Cufic inscription ; but this I was unable to decipher, and had no opportunity of copying it." " On the west (north-west) side of the Kaabah, 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 flows. This spout was sent hither from Constantinople In a. h. 981, and is reported to be of pure gold. The pavement round the Kaabah, below the Myzab, was laid down in a. h. 826, and consists of va- rious coloured stones, forming a very handsome specimen of mosaic. There are two large slabs of fine verde antico'\ which falls on its (the Kaabah's) terrace runs off through a golden spout on a stone near it, called Sookn-e- Yemeni, or alabaster-stone, and stands over the grave of Ishmaeel " ! • Generally called Mizab el Rahmah (of mercy). It carries rain from the roof, and discharges it upon Ishmael's grave, where pilgrims stand fighting to catch it. In El Idrisi's time it was of wood ; now it is said to be gold, but it looks very dingy. f TTsnally called the Hajar el Akhzar, or green stone. El Idrisi speaks of a white stone covering Ishmael's remains, Ibn Jubayr of " green mar- ble, longish, in form of i Mihrab arch, and near it a white round slab, in both of which are spots that make them appear yellow," Near 162 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AKD MECCAH. in the centre, which, according to Makrizi, were sent thither, as presents from Cairo, in A. H. 241. This is the spot where, according to Mohammedan tradition, Ismayl the son of Ibrahim, and his mother Hajirah, are buried ; and here it is meritorious for the pilgrim to re- cite a prayer of two Rikats. On this side is a semicircular wall, the two extremities of which are in a line with the sides of the Kaabah, and distant from it three or four feet *, leaving an opening, which leads to the burial-place of Ismayl. The wall bears the name of El Hatym f ; and the area which it encloses is called Hedjer or Hedjer IsmaylJ , on account of its being separated from the Kaabah : the wall itself also is sometimes so called." " Tradition says that the Kaabah 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 them, we are told, and towards the Iraki comer, is the tomb of Hagar, under a green slab one span and a half broad, and pilgrims used to pray at both places. All Bey erroneously applies the words Kl Hajar Ismail to the parapet about the slab. " My measurements give five feet six inches. In El Idrisi's day the wall was fifty cubits long. t El Hatim ( .U^ W lit. the " broken "). Burckhardt asserts that the Mekkawi no longer apply the word, as some historians do, to the space bounded by the Kaabah, the Partition, the Zem Zem, and the Makam of Ibrahim. I heard it, however, so used by learned Meccans, and they gave as the meaning of the name the break in this part of the oval pavement which surrounds the Kaabah. Historians relate that all who rebuilt the " House of Allah " followed Abraham's plan till the Kuraysh, and after them El Hajjaj, curtailed it in the direction of El Hatim, which part was then first broken off, and ever since remained so. J El Hijr (jsji..!) is the space separated, as the name denotes, from the [aabah. Some suppose that Abraham ili Bey means this part of the Tern / _V \) Ismail — les pieires d'Ismail. Kaabah. Some suppose that Abraham here penned his sheep. Possibly Ali Bey means this part of the Temple when he speaks of El Hajar LIMITS OP THE KAABAH. 163 revenues of government were not acquired in a manner sufficiently pure to admit of their application towards a purpose so sacred. The sum, however, obtained proved very inadequate ; all that could be done, therefore, was to raise a wall, which marked the space formerly occupied by the Kaabah. This tradition, although current among the Metowefs (cicerones), is at variance with history; which declares that the Hedjer was built by the Beni Koreish, who contracted the dimensions of the Kaabah ; 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 Kaabah, The law regards it as a portion of the Kaabah, inasmuch as it is esteemed equally meritorious to pray in the Hedjer as in the Kaabah itself; and the jnlgrims who have not an oppor- tunity of entering the latter are permitted to affirm upon ,oath that they have prayed in the Kaabah, although they have only prostrated themselves within the enclosure of the Hatym. 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.f These and the casing, are the work of El Ghoury, the Egyptian sultan, in A. H. 917. The walk round the Kaabah is performed on the outside of the wall — the nearer to it the better." " E,ound the Kaabah is a good pavement of marble J * " El Hajjaj ;" this, as will afterwards be seen, is a mistake. He ex- cluded the Hatim. ■f As well as memory serves me, for I have preserved no note, the inscriptions are in the marble casing, and indeed no other stone meets the eye. I It is a fine, close, grey granite, polished like glass by the feet of the faithful ; the walk is called El Mataf, or the place of cii'cumambulation. 164 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. about eight inches below the level of the great square ; it Avaslaid 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 sunset.* 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 build- ings; beyond this is the gravelled ground; so that two broad steps may be said to lead from the square down to the Kaabah. The small buildings just mentioned which surround the Kaabah are the five Makamsf, with the well of Zem Zem, the arch called Bab es Salam, and the Mambar." ■ " Opposite the four sides of the ICaabah stand four other small buildings, where the Imaums of the orthodox Mo- hammedan 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, * These are now iron posts, very numerous, supporting cross rods, and of tolerably elegant, shape. In Ali Bey's time there were " trente-une colonnes minces en piliers en bronze." Some native works say thirty-three, including two marble columns. Between each two hang several white or green glass globe-lamps, with wicks and oil floating on water ; their light is faint and dismal. The whole ofthe lamps in the Haram is said to be more than 1000, yet they serve but to "make darkness visible." f There are only four " Makams," the Hanafi, Maliki, Hanbali, and the Makam Ibrahim ; and there is some error of diction below, for in these it is that the Imams stand before their congregations, and nearest the Kaabah. In Ibn Jubayr's time the Zaydi sect was allowed an Imam, though known to be schismatics and abusers of the caliphs. Now, not being permitted to have a separate station for prayer, they suppose theirs to be suspended from heaven above the Kaabah roof. THE POUR MAKAMS, OK STATIONS FOR PRAYER. 165 exactly in style of Indian pagodas.* The Makam el Hanafy, which is the largest, being fifteen paces by eight, is open on all sides, and supported by twelve small pillars ; is 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 the Sultan Selim 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. The Makam-es'-Shafey is over the well Zem Zem, to which it serves as an upper chambei'.t "Near their respective Makams the adherents of the four diflFerent sects seat themselves for prayers. During my stay at Meccah 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 Maghreb is an excep- tion, Avhich they are all enjoined to utter together.^ The Makam el Hanbaly is the place where the officers of government and other great people are seated during prayers ; here the Pacha and the sheriff are placed, and in their absence the eunuchs of the temple. These fill the * The Makam el Maliki is on the west of, and thirty -seven cuhits from, the Kaabah ; that of the Hanbali forty-seven paces distant. t Only the Muezzin takes his stand liere, and the Shafcis pray behind their Imam on the pavement round the Kaabah, between the corner of the well Zem Zem, and the Makam Ibrahim. This place is forty cubits from the Kaabah, that is to say, eight cubits nearer than the northern and southern " Makams." Thus the pavement forms an irregular oval ring round the house. t In Burckhardt's time the schools prayed according to the seniority of their founders, and they uttered the Azan of El Maghrib together, because that is a peculiarly delicate hour, which easily passes by unnoticed. In the twelfth century, at all times but the evening, the Shafei began, then came the Maliki and Hanbali simultaneously, and, lastly, the Hanafi. Now the Shaykh el Muezzin begins the call, which is taken up by the others. He is a Hanafi ; as indeed arc all the principal people at Meccah, only a few wild Sherifs of the hills being Shafei. 166 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. space under this Makatn iu 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 Kaabah, 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 Zem Zem stands close by the Makam Hanbaly, and was erected in a. h. 1072 : 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 orna- mented with marbles of various colors ; and adjoining to it, but having a separate door, is a small room with a stone reservoir, which is always full of Zem Zem 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. " On the north-east (south-east) side of Zem Zem stand two small buildings, one behind the other f, 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 * The door of the Zem Zem building opens to the south-east. t This is not exactly correct. As the plan will show, the angle of one building touches the angle of its neighbour. EL DARAJ, OR THE LADDER. 167 in the very mosque.* These two ugly buildings are inju- rious to the interior appearance of the building, their heavy forms and structure being very disadvantageously con- trasted 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. They were built by Khoshgeldy, governor of Dijidda A. H. 947 ; one is called Kobbert 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 (north-west) of Zem Zem, and directly opposite to the door of the Kaabah, stands a lad- der or staircase t, which is moved up to the wall of the Kaabah on 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 Moyaed Abou el Naser, king of Egypt." * Their names aad ofSces are now changed. One is called the Kubbat el Saat, and contains the clocks and chronometers (two of them English) sent as presents to the mosque by the Sultan. The other, known as the Kubbat el Kutub, is used as a, store-room for manuscripts bequeathed to the mosque. They still are open to Burckhardt's just criticism, being nothing but the common dome springing from four walls, and vulgarly painted with bands of red, yellow, and green. In Ibn Jubayr's time the two domes contained bequests of books and candles. The Kubbat Abbas, or that further from the Kaabah than its neighbour, was also called Kubbat el Sherab (the Dome of Brink), because Zem Zem water was here kept cooling for the use of pilgrims in Daurak, or earthen jars. The nearer was termed Kubbat el Yahudi ; and the tradition they told me was, that a Jew having refused to sell his house upon this spot, it was permitted to remain in loco by the prophet, as a lasting testimony to his regard for justice. A similar tale is told of an old woman's hut, which was allowed to stand in the comer of the great Nushirawan's royal halls. f Called " £1 Daraj." A correct drawing of it may be found in Ali Bey's work. 168 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. " 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 Bait UlUh 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, ' 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 the Kaabah than any of the other surrounding buildings, stands the Makam Ibrahim. t This is a small buildino- supported by six pillars about eight feet high, four of which are surrounded from top to bottom by a fine iron railing, while they leave 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 stood when he built the Kaabah, and which with the help of his son Ismayl he had removed from hence to the place called Maajen, al- ready 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 J, as the frame is always entirely covered with a brocade of red silk richly embroidered. Persons are con- * The Bab H Salam, or Bab el Naby, or Bab beni Shaybah, resembles in its isolation a triumphal arch, and is built of cut stone. t " The (praying) place of Abraham." Headers will remember that the Meccan Mosque is peculiarly connected with Ibrahim, whom Moslems prefer to all prophets except Mohammed. J This I believe to be incorrect. I was asked five dollars for permission to enter ; but the sura was too high for my finances. Learned men told me thut the stone shows the impress of two feet, especially the big toes, and devout pilgrims fill the cavities with water, which they rub over their eyes and faces. When the Caliph el Mahdi visited Meccah, one Abdullah bin Usman presented himself at the unusual hour of noon, and informing STONE ON ■WHICH ABRAHAM STOOD. 169 stantly seen before the railing invoking the good offices of Ibrahim; and a short prayer must be uttered by the side of the Makam after the walk round the Kaabah is com- pleted. It is said that many of the Sahaba, or first ad- herents of Mohammed, wei-e interred in the open space between this Makam and Zem Zem*; from which cir- cumstance it is one of the most favorite places of prayers in the mosque. In this part of the area the Khalif So- leyman Ibn Abd el Melek, brother of Wolyd (El Walid), built a fine resei'voir in A.H. 97, which was filled from a spring east of Arafat f ; but the Mekkawys destroyed it after his death, on the pretence that the water of Zem Zem was preferable." " On the side of Makam Ibrahim, facing the middle part of the front of the Kaabah, stands the Mambar, or pulpit of the mosque ; It is elegantly formed of fine white the prince that he had brought him a relic which no man but himself had yet seen, produced this celebrated stone. El Mahdi, rejoicing greatly, kissed it, rubbed his face against it, and pouring water upon it, drank the draught. Kutb el Din, one of the Meccan historians, says that it was visited in his day. In All Bey's time it was covered with " un magnifique drap noir brod6 en or et en argent aveo de gros glands en or ; " he does not say, however, that he saw the stone. Its veils, called Sitr Ibrahim el Khalil, are a green " Ibrisham," or silk mixed with cotton and embroidered with gold. They aie made at Cairo of three different colors, black, red, and green ; and one is devoted to each year. Tlie gold embroidery is in the Sulsi character, and expresses the Throne-verse, the Chapter of the Cave, and the name of the reigning Sultan ; on the top is "Allah," below it Mohammed ; beneath this is " Ibrahim el IChalil ;" and at each corner is the name of one of the four caliphs. In a note to the "Dabistan" (vol. ii. page 410.) we find two learned Orientalists confounding the Black Stone with Abraham's Station or Plat- form. " The Prophet honored the Black Stone, upon which Abraham conversed with Hagar, to which he tied his camels, and upon which the traces of his feet are still seen." * Not only here, I was told by learned Meccans, but under all the oval pavements surrounding the Kaabah. t The spring gushes from tlie southern base of Mount Arafat, as will afterwards be noticed. It is cxceedinelv Dure. 170 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. marble, with many sculptured ornaments ; and was sent as a present to the mosque in A, H. 969 by Sultan Soley- man Ibn Selym.* A straight, narrow staircase leads up to the post of the Khatyb, or preacher, which is sur- mounted by a gilt polygonal pointed steepile, 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 turn, with some slight alterations upon extra- ordinary occasions." f " I have now described all the buildings within the inclosure of the temple." " The gates of the mosque are nineteen in number, and are distributed about it without any order or symmetry. "| * The author informs us that " the first pulpit was sent from Cairo in A. H. 818, together with the staircase, both being the gifts of Moayed, caliph of Egypt." Ali Bey accurately describes the present Mambar. ■f The curious will find a specimen of a Moslem sermon in Lane's Mod. Egypt, vol. i. ch. 3. J Burckhardt " subjoins 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." I have added a few remarks in brackets. Modern names. Arches. Ancient names. 1. Bab el Salam, composed of Bab Beni Shaybah (this is properly smaller gates or arches - 3 applied to the inner, not the outer Salam Gate). Bab el Jenaiz, Gate of Biers, the dead being carried through it to the mosque. Bab Sertakat (some Moslem authors confound this Bab el Abbas with the Gate of Biers). ; Bab Beni Hashem. Bab Bazan (so called from a neigh- bouring hill). Bab Beni Makhzoum. 2, Bab el Neby - - 2 3. Bab el Abbas, opposite to this the house of Abbas once stood - - 3 4. BabAly - - - 3 5. Bab el Zayt ' Bab el' Ashra _■ - 2 6. Bab el Baghlah - - 2 7. Bab el Szafa (Safa) - - 5 Carry forward - 20 THE GATES OF THE MOSQUE. 171 Burckhardt's description of the gates is short and im- perfect. On the eastern side of the Mosque there are four principal entrances, seven on the southern side, three in the western, and five in the northern wall. 8. Modern names. Brought forward Bab Sherif Arches. 20 - 2 - 2 9. Bab Medjahed - 10. Bab Zoleykha - - - 2 11. Bab Cm Hany, so called from the daughter of Aby Taleb - - - - 2 12. Bab el Wodaa (El Widaa) through which the pil- grim passes when taking his final leave of the tem- ple - - - - 2 13. Bab Ibrahim, so called from a tailor who had a shop near it - - - - 1 14. Bab el Omra, through which pilgrims issue to visit the Omra. Also called Beni Saham - - - - 1 15. Bab Atech- - - - 1 16. Bab el Bastye - - - 1 17. Bab el Kotoby, so called from an historian of Mek- ka who lived in an ad- joining lane and opened this small gate into the Ancient names. Bab el Djiyad (so called because leading to the hill Jiyad). Bab el Dokhmah. Bab Sherif Adjelau, who built it. Bab el Hazoura (some write this Bab el Zarurah). Bab el Kheyatyn or Bab Djomah. Bab Amer Ibn el Aas, or Bab el Sedra. Bab el Adjale, Bab Zyade Dar el Nedoua. mosque - - 1 18. Bab Zyade - 3 (It is called Bab Ziyadah — Gate of Excess — because it is a new struc- ture thrown out into the Shamiyah, ' or Syrian quarter.) 19. Bab Dereybe - - 1 Bab Medrese. Total - 39 172 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. The eastern gates are the Greater Bab el Salam, through Avhich the pilgrim enters the temple ; it is close to the north-east angle. Next to it the Lesser Bab el Salam, ■with two small arches; thirdly, the Bab el Nabi, where the Prophet used to pass through from Khadijah's house ; and, lastly, near the south-east corner, the Bab Ali, or of the Beni Hashim, opening upon the street between Safa and Marwah. Beyond the north-eastern corner, in the northern wall, is the Bab Duraybah, a small entrance with one arch. Next to it, almost fronting the Kaabah, is the grand adit, Bab el Ziyadah, also known as Bab el Nadwah. Here the colonnade, projecting far beyond the normal line, forms a small square or hall supported by pillars, and a false colonnade of sixty-one columns leads to the true cloister of the Mosque. This portion of the building, being cool and shady, is crowded by the poor, the diseased, and the dying, during divine worship, and at other times by idlers, schoolboys, and merchants. Passing through three ex- ternal arches, pilgrims descend by a flight of steps into the hall, where they deposit their slippers, it not being con- sidered decorous to hold them when circumambulating the Kaabah.* A broad pavement, in the shape of an Irregular triangle, whose base is the cloister, leads to the cii'cuit of the house. Next to the Ziyadah Gate is a small, single- arched entrance, " Bab Kutubi," and beyond it one similar, the Bab el Ajlah ( especially when situated in a populous quarter. f This is equivalent to throwing oneself upon the sofa in Europe. Only in the East it asserts a decided claim to superiority ; the West would 196 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. surveyed them with a self-satisfied simper, stretched my legs a trifle farther, and conversed with my water-pipe- Presently, when they all departed for a time, the boy Mo- hammed raised, by request, my green box of medicines, and deposited it upon the Mastabah ; thus defining, as it were, a line of demarcation, and asserting my pri-vilege to it before the Turks. Most of these men were of one party, headed by a colonel of Nizam, whom they called a Bey. My acquaintance with them began roughly enough, but afterwards, with some exceptions, who were gruflT as an English butcher when accosted by a lean foreigner, they proved to be kind-hearted and not unsociable men. It often happens to the traveller, as the charming Mrs. Malaprop observes, to find it all the better by beginning with a little aversion. In the evening, accompanied by the boy Mohammed, and followed by Shaykh Nur, who carried a lantern and a praying-rug, I again repaired to the " Navel of the World;"* this time jesthetically, to enjoy the dehghts of the hour after the " gaudy, babbling and remorseful day." The moon, now approaching the full, tipped thu brow of Abu Kubays, and lit up the spectacle with a more solemn light. In the midst stood the huge bier-like erection, — " Black as the wings Which some spirit of ill o'er a sepulchre flings," — except where the moonbeams streaked it like jets of silver falling upon the darkest marble. It formed the point of rest for the eye ; the little pagoda-like buildings and domes around it, with all their gilding and fretwork, vanished. One object, unique in appearance, stood in view — the * Ibn Haukal begins his cosmography with Meccah " because the temple of the Lord is situated there, and the holy Kaabah is the navel of the earth, and Meccah is styled in sacred writ the parent city, or the mother of towns." Unfortunately, Ibn Haukal, like most other Moslem travellers and geo- graphers, snys no more about Meccah. MECCATI RESEMBLES BATH OR FLORENCE. 197 temple of the one AUali, the God of Abraham, of Ishmael, and of his posterity. Sublime it was, and expressing by all the eloquence of fancy the grandeur of the One Idea which vitalised EI Islam, and tiie sternness and stedfast- ness of its votaries. The oval pavement around the Kaabah was crowded with men, women, and children, mostly divided into parties, which followed a jNIutawwif; some walking staidly, and others running, whilst many stood in groups to prayer. AVhat a scene of contrast ! Here stalked the Bedouin woman, in her long black robe like a nun's serge, and poppy-colored face-veil, pierced to show two fiercely flashing orbs. There an Indian woman, with her semi- Tartar features, nakedly hideous, and her thin legs, en- cased in wrinkled tights, hurried round the fane. Every now and then a corpse, borne upon its wooden shell, cir- cuited the shrine by means of four bearers, whom other iloslems, as is the custom, occasionally relieved. A few fair-skinned Turks lounged about, looking cold and re- pulsive, as their wont is. In one place a fast Calcutta " Kliitmugar " stood, with turban awry and arms akimbo, contemplating the view jauntily, as those gentlemen's gentlemen will do. In another, some poor wretch, with arms thrown on high, so that every part of his person mischt touch tlie Kaabah, was clinginjf to the curtain and sobbing as though his heart would break. From this spectacle my eyes turned towards Abu Ku- bays. The city extends in that direction half way up the grim hill : the site might be compared, at an humble distance, to Bath. Some writers liken it to Florence ; but conceive a Florence without beauty ! To the south lav Jebel Jiyad the greater*, also partly built over and * To distinguiali it from the Jiyad (above the cemetery El Maahi) over which Khalid entere.l Meccah. Some topographers call the Jiyad upon which the fort is built " the lesser," and apply " greater " to Jiyad Ami:', t.lip hill nnrf.h nf Afoz-^nli 198 PILGRIMAGE TO EL JIEDINAII AND MECCAH. crowned with a fort, which at a distance looks less useful than romantic*: a flood of pale light was sparkling upon its stony surface. Below, the minarets became pillars of silver, and the cloisters, dimly streaked by oil lamps, bounded the view of the temple with horizontal lines of shade. Before nightfall the boy Mohammed rose to feed the pigeons f, for whom he had brought a pocketful of barley. He went to the place where these birds flock ; the line of pavement leading from the isolated arch to the eastern cloisters. During the day women and children are to be seen sitting here, with small piles of grain upon little plaited trays of basket-work. For each they demand a copper piece ; and religious pilgrims consider it their duty to j)rovide the revered blue rocks with a plentiful meal. Late in the evening I saw a negro in the state called Malbus — religious frenzy. To all appearance a Takruri, * The Meccans, however, do not fail to boast of its strength ; and it has stood some sieges. t The Hindu Pandits assert that Shiwa and his spouse, under the forms and names of Kapot-Eshwara (pigeon god) and Kapotesi, dwelt at Meccah. Tlic dove was the device of the old Assyrian Empire, because it is supposed Semiramis was preserved by that bird. The Meccan pigeons — large blue rocks — are held sacred probably in consequence of the wild traditions of the Arabs about Noah's dove. Some authors declare that, in Mohammed's time, among the idols of the Meccan Pantheon, was a pigeon carved iu wood, and above it another, which Ali, mounting upon the Prophet's shoul- der, pulled down This might have been a Hindu, a Jewish, or u Christian symbol. The Moslems connect the pigeon on two occasions with their faith : first, when that bird appeared to whisper in Mohammed's ear; and, secondly, during the flight to El Medinah. Moreover, in many coun- tries they are called " Allah's proclaimers," because their movement when cooing resembles prostration. Almost everywhere the pigeon has entered into the history of religion ; which probably induced Mr. Lascelles to incur the derision of our grand- fathers by pronoiincing it a " holy bird." At Meccah they are called the doves of the Kaabali, and never appear at table. They are remarkable for pro- priety when sitting upon the holy building. This may be a minor miracle: I would rather believe that there is some contrivance on the roof. A FKANTIC NEGKO. 199 he was *a fine and a powerful man, as the numbers required to hold him testified. He threw his arms wildly about him, uttering shrill cries, which sounded like le le le le \ and when held, he swayed his body, and waved his head from side to side, like a chained and furious elephant, straining out the deepest groans. The Africans appear unusually subject to this nervous state, which, seen by the ignorant, and the imagination, would at once suggest a "demoniacal possession."* Either their organisation is more impressionable, or more probably the hardships, privations, and fatigues endured whilst wearily traversing inhospitable wilds and perilous seas have exalted their imaginations to a pitch bordering upon frenzy. Often they are seen prostrate on the pavement, or clinging to the curtain, or rubbing their foreheads upon the stones, weep- ing bitterly, and pouring forth the wildest ejaculations. That night I stayed in the Haram till 2 a. m., wishing to see if it would be empty. But the morrow was to witness the egress to Arafat ; many, therefore, passed the hours of darkness in the Haram. Numerous parties of pil- grims sat upon their rugs, with lanterns in front of them, conversing, praying, and contemplating the Kaabah. The cloisters were full of merchants, who resorted there to "talk shop" and vend such holy goods as combs, tooth- sticks, and rosaries. Before 10 r. at. 1 found no opportu- nity of praying the usual two prostrations over the grave of Ishmael. After waiting long and patiently, at last I was stepping into the vacant place, when another pilgrim rushed forward; the boy Mohammed, assisted by me^ instantly seized him, and, despite his cries and struggles, * In the Miindal, or palm divination, a black slave is considered the best subject. European travellers have frequently remarked their nervous sensi- bility. In Abyssinia the maladies called " Bouda " and " Tigritiya " appear to depend upon some obscure connexion between a, weak impressionable brain and the strong will of a feared and hated race — the blacksmiths. o i ^uu iJi^UKifliAiiii XU KL MEDINAH AND MECCAIT. taught him to wait. Till midnight we sat chatting with the different ciceroni, who came up tu offer their services. I could not help remarking their shabby and dirty clothes, and was informed that, dOring pilgrimage, when splendor is liable to be spoiled, they wear out old dresses, and appear " endimanches " for the Muharram fete, when most travellers have left the city. Presently my two compa- nions, exhausted with fatigue, fell asleep ; I went up to the Kaabah, with the intention of " annexing " a bit of the torn, old Kiswat or curtain, but too many eyes were looking on.* The opportunity, however, was favorable for a survey, and with a piece of tape, and the simple processes of stepping and s^ianning, I managed to measure all the objects concerning which I was curious. At last sleep began to weigh heavily upon my eyelids. I awoke my companions, and in the dizziness of slumber they walked with me through the tall, narrow street from the Bab el Ziyadah to our home in the Shamiyah. The brilliant moonshine prevented our complaining, as other travellers have had reasim to do, of the darkness and the difficulty of Meccah's streets. The town, too, appeared safe ; there were no watchmen, and yet people slept every- where upon cots placed opposite their open doors. Arrived at the house, we made some brief preparations for snatch- ing a few hours' sleep upon the Mastabah — a place so stifling, tliat nothing but utter exhaustion could induce lethargy there. * At tliis season of the year the Kiswat is much tattered at the base, partly by pilgrims' fiiiKcrs, and partly by the strain of the cord which con- fines it when the wind is blowing. It is considered a mere peccadillo to purloin a bit of the venerable stuff; but as the officers of the temple make money bj' selling it, they certainly ivould visit detection with an unmcrc'- ful application of the quarter staff. The piece in my possession was given to mo by the boy Jlohamined before I left Meceah. Waistcoats ciitoutof tlio Kiswat still make the combatant invulnerable in battle, and are considered presents fit for princes. The Moslems generally try to secure a strip of this cloth as a mark for the Koran, &c. &e. 201 CHAP. XXVIII. THE CEREMONIES OF THE YAUM EL TARWIYAH, OR THE FIRST DAY. At 10 A.M. on Monday the 8th Zu'l Hijjah, a. H. 1269 (Monday, 12th Sept. 1853), habited in our Ihram, or pilgrim garbs, we mounted the litter. Shaykh Masud had been standing at the door from dawn-time, impatient to start before the Damascus and the Egyptian caravans made the road dangerous. Our delay arose from the tyrannical conduct of the boy Mohammed, who insisted upon leaving his little nephew behind. It was long before he yielded. I then placed the poor child, who was crying bitterly, in the litter between us, and started. We followed the road by which we entered Meccah. It 'was covered with white-robed pilgrims, some few wending their way on foot*, others riding, and all men barefooted and bareheaded. Most of the wealthier classes mounted asses. The scene was, as usual, one of strange contrasts; Bedouins bestriding swift dromedaries; Turkish dignitaries on fine horses ; the most picturesque beggars, and the most uninteresting looking Nizam. Not a little wrangling, mingled with the loud bursts of " Talbyat." Dead animals dotted the ground, and carcasses had been cast into a dry tank, the " Birkat el Shami," which caused every Bedouin to hold his nose.f Here, on the right of * Pilgrims wlio would win the heavenly reward promised to those who walk, start at an early hour. f The true Bcduuin, when in the tainted atmosphere of towns, is always 202 riLGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. the road, the poorer pilgrims, who could not find houses, had erected huts, and pitched their ragged tents. Travers- ing the suburb El Mab'da, in a valley between the two barren prolongations of Kaykaan and Khandamah, wc turned to tlie north-east, leaving on the left certain barracks of Turkish soldiery, and the negro militia' here stationed, with the " Saniyat Kudaa " in tha background. Advancing about 3000 paces over rising ground, we passed by the conical head of Jebel Nur*, and entered the plain of many names.f It contained nothing but a few whitewashed walls, surrounding places of prayer, and a number of stone cisterns, some well preserved, others in ruins. All, however, were dry, and water vendors crowded the roadside. Gravel and lumps of granite there grew like grass, and from under every large stone, as Shaykh Masud took a delight in showing, a small scorpion, with tail curled over his back, fled, Parthian-like, from the invaders of his home. At 11 a.m. ascending a Mudarraj, or flight of stone steps, about thirty yards broad, we passed without difficulty, for we were in advance of the caravans, over the Akabah, or steeps|, and the narrow, hill-girt entrance, to the low gravel basin in which Muna lies. Muna, more classically called Mina§, is a place of con- knomi b}' bits of cotton in his nostrils, or his kerchief tightly drawn over his nose, a heavy frown marking extreme disgust. * Anciently called Hira. It is still visited as the place of the Prophet's early lucubrations, and because here the first verse of the Koran descended. As I did not ascend the hill, I must refer readers for a description of it to Burckliardt, vol. i. p. 320. t EI Abtah, " Low Ground," El Khayf, " The Declivity ; " Eina Makkah, the " Court of Meccah ; " El Muhassib (from Hasba, a shining white pebbk), corrupted by our authors to Mihsab and Mohsab. J The spot where Kusay fought and Mohammed made his covenant. § If rtolcmys " Mincei " be riglitly located in this valley, the present name and derivation 'Jluna" (desire), because Adam here desired Paradise MUJfA, A HOLY PLACE. 203 siderable sanctity. Its three standing miracles are these: — The pebbles thrown at " the devil " return by angelic agency to whence they came ; during the three Days of Drying Meat rapacious beasts and birds cannot prey there ; and flies do not settle upon the articles of food ex- posed so abundantly in the bazars.* During pilgrimage houses are let for an exorbitant sum, and it becomes a " world's fair " of Moslem merchants. At all other seasons it is almost deserted, in consequence, says popular superstition, of the Rajm or diabolical lapidation.f Distant about three miles from Meccah, it is a long, narrow, straggling village, composed of mud and stone houses of one or two stories, built in the common Arab style. Travers- ing a narrow street, we passed on the left the Great Devil, which shall be described at a future time. After a quarter of an hour's halt, spent over pipes and coffee, we came to an open space, where stands the mosque " El Khayf." Here, according to some Arabs, Adam lies, his head being at one end of the long wall, and his feet at another, whilst the dome covers his omphalic region. Grand preparations for fireworks were being made in this square ; I especially remarked a fire-ship, which savoured strongly of Stamboul. After passing through the town, we came to Batn el Muhassir, "the Basin of the Troubler "J, at the beginning of Allah, must be modern. Sale, following Pococke, makes " Mina " (from Mana) allude to the flowing of Tietims' blood. Possibly it may be the plural of Minyat, which in many Arabic dialects means a village. This basin was doubtless thickly populated in ancient times, and Moslem historians mention its seven idols, representing the seven planets. * According to Mohammed the pebbles of the accepted are removed by angels ; as, however, each man and woman must throw 49 or 70 stones, it is fair to suspect the intervention of something more material. Animals arc frightened away by the bustling crowd, and flies are found in myriads. f This demoniacal practice is still as firmly believed in Arabi.i as it formerly was in Europe. t Probably because here Satan appeared to tempt Adam, Abraham, and 204 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDIXAII AND MECCAII. of a descent leading to Muzdalifali (the approacher), where the road falls into the course of the Arafat torrent. At noon we reached the mosque Muzdalifah, also called ^Nlashar el Haram, the "Place dedicated to Keligious Ceremonies." * It is known in El Islam as " the Minaret without the Mosque," opposed to Masjid Nimrah, which is the " Mosque without the Minaret." Half way between Muna and Arafat — about three miles from both — there is something peculiarly striking in the distant appearance of the tall, solitary tower, rising abruptly ft-om the desolate valley of gravel, flanked with buttresses of yellow rock. No wonder that the ancient Arabs loved to give the high-sounding name of this oratory to distant places in their giant empire. Here, as we hulted to perform the mid-day prayer, we were overtaken by the Damascus Caravan. It was a grand spectacle. The Mahmal, no longer naked, as upon the line of march, flashed in the sun all green and gold. Around the moving host of white-robed pilgrims hovered a crowd of Bedouins, male and female, all mounted on swift dro!nedaries, and many of them armed to the teeth. As their drapery floated in the wind, and their faces were veiled with the " Lisam," it was frequently difficult to distinguish the sex of the wild beinn; flosfsing its animal to speed. These people, as has been said, often resort to Arafat for blood-revenge, in hopes of finding the victim Ishmacl. Tlio Qanoon e Islam erroneously calls it the " Valley of Mulia- surah," and corrupts Mashar el Haram into " Muzar el Haram " (the holy .shrine). • Many, even since Sale corrected the error, have confounded this JIashar el Haram with Ma.sjid el Haram of Meccah. According to El F.isi, quoted by Eiirckhardt, it is the name of a little eminence at the end of tlie Muzdalifali valley, and anciently called Jebel Kuzah ; it is also, he saysi, applied to "an elevated platform inclosing the mosque of Muzd.ilifah." Ibn JuLiayr makes Mashar el Haram synonymous with Muzdalifah, to whi('h he (rives a third name, '• Janii." THE PLAIN OF ARAFAT. 205 unprepared. Nothing can be more sinful in El Islam than such deed, — it is murder, " made sicker " by sa- crilege ; yet the prevalence of the practice proves how feeble is the religion's hold upon the race. The women are as unscrupulous : I remarked many of them emulating the men in reckless riding, and striking with their sticks every animal in the way. Travelling eastward up the Arafat Fiumara, after about half an hour we came to a narrow pass called El Akh- shabayn*, or the " Two Rugged Hills." Here the s[)urs of the rock limit the road to about 100 paces, and it is generally a scene of great confusion. After this wc arrived at El Bazan (the Basin), a widening of the plain f, and another half-hour brought us to the Alamayn (the " Two Signs '■), whitewashed pillars, or rather thin, narrow walls, surmounted with pinnacles, which denote the precincts of the Arafat plain. Here, in full sight of the Holy Hill, standing quietly out from the fair blue sky, the host of pilgrims broke into loud Labbayks. A little beyond, and to our right, was the simple enclosure called the Masjid Nimrah.J We then turned from our eastern course northwards, and began threading our way down the main street of the town of tents which clustered about the southern fort of Arafat. At last, about 3 p.m.. » BurckhartU calls it " Mazoumeyn," or El JIazik, the pass. " Akshab " may mean wooded or rugged j in which latter sense it is frequently applied to hills. Kaykaan and Abu Kubays at Meccah are called Kl Akshshabayu in some books. The left hill, in Ibn Jubayr's time, was celebrated as a meeting-place for brigands. t Kutb el Din makes another Bazan the southern limit of Meecah. t Burekhardt calls this building, which he confounds with the " Jami Ibra - him," the Jami Nimre ; others Namirah, Nimrah, Namrah, and Namurali. It was erected, he says, by Kait Bey of Egypt, and had fallen into decay. It has now been repaired, and is generally considered neutral, .and not Sanctuary ground, between the Haram of Meecah and the Holy Hill. 206 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. we found a vacant space near the Matbakh, or kitchen, formerly belonging to a Sherif's palace, but now a ruin, with a few shells of arches. Arafat is about a six hours' march, or twelve miles*, on the Taif road, due east of Meccah. We arrived there in a shorter time, but our weary camels, during the last third of the way, frequently threw themselves upon the ground. Human beinffs suffered more. Between Muna and Arafat I saw no less than five men fall down and die upon the highway, exhausted and moribund, they had dragged them- selves out to give up the ghost where it departs to instant beatitude.! The spectacle showed how easy it is to die in these latitudes I; each man suddenly staggered, fell as if shot, and after a brief convulsion, lay still as marble. The corpses were carefully taken up, and carelessly buried that same evening, in a vacant space amongst the crowds encamped upon the Arafat plain. § The boy Mohammed, who had long chafed at my per- tinacious claim to dervishhood, resolved on this occasion to be errand. To swell the party, he had invited Umar Effendi, whom we accidentally met in the streets of Meccah, to join us : but failing therein, he brought with him two cousins, fat youths of sixteen and seventeen, and his mother's ground-floor servants. These were four Indians ; an old man ; his wife, a middle-aged woman of the most ordinary appearance, their son, a sharp boy, who * The Calcutta Review (art. 1. Sept, 1853) notably errs in making Arafat eighteen miles east of Meccah. Ibn Jubaj'r reckons five miles from Jleccah to Muzdalifah, and five from this to Arafat. f Those who die on a pilgrimage become martyrs. J I cannot help believing that some unknown cause renders death easier to man in hot than in cold climates ; certain it is that in Europe rare are the quiet and painless deathbeds so common in the East. § We bury our dead, to preserve them as it were ; the Moslem tries to secure rapid decomposition, and makes the graveyard a dangerous as well as a disagiceable place. THE RECKLESS PILGRIMAGE FROM INDIA. 20/" spoke excellent Arabic*; and a family friend, a stout fellow about thirty years old. They were Panjabis, and the bachelor's history was instructive. He was gaining an honest liveliliood in his own country, when suddenly one night Hazrat Ali, dressed in green, and mounted upon his charger Duldulf — at least, so said the narrator — appeared, crying in a terrible voice, " How long wilt thou toil for this world, and be idle about the life to come ? " From that moment, like an English murderer, he knew no peace. Conscience and Hazrat Ali haunted him.| Finding life unendurable at home, he sold everything, raised the sum of 20Z., and started for the Holy Land. He reached Jeddah with a few rupees in his pocket, and came to Meccah, where, everything being exorbitantly dear, and charity all but unknown, he might have starved, had ho not been received by his old friend. The married pair and their son had been taken as house-servants by the boy Mohammed's mother, who generously allowed them * Arabs observe that Indians, unless brought young into the country, never learn its language well. They have a word to express the vicious pronun- ciation of a slave or an Indian, " Barbarat el Hunud." This root Barbara ( , ,), like the Greek "Barbaros," appears to bo derived from the Sanscrit Varvvaraha, an outcast, a barbarian, a man with curly hair. t All's charger was named Maymun, or, according to others, ^'u'l Jenah (the winged). Indians generally confound it with " Duldul," Mohammed's mule. \ These visions are common in history. Ali appeared to the Imam Shafei, saluted him, — an omen of eternal felicity, — placed a ring upon his finger, as a sign that his fame should extend wide as the donor's, and sent him to the Holy Land. Ibrahim bin Adham, the saint-poet, hearing, when hunting, a voice exclaim, " Man ! it is not for this that Allah made thee ! " answered, " It is Allah who speaks, his servant will obey ! " He changed clothes with an attendant, and wandered forth upon a pilgrimage, celebrated in El Islam. He performed it alone, and making 1100 genuflexions each mile, prolonged it to twelve years. The history of Colonel Gardiner, and of many others amongst ourselves, prove that these visions are not confined to the Arabs. 208 riLGBIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. shelter and a pound of rice per diem to each, but not a farthing of pay. They were even expected to provide their own turmeric and onions. Yet these poor people were anxiously awaiting the opportunity to visit El Medinah, without which their pilgrimnge would not, they believed, be complete. They would beg their way through the terrible Desert and its Bedouins — an old man, a boy, and a woman ! What were their chances of returning to their homes ? Such, I believe, is too often the history of those wretches, whom a fit of religious enthusiasm, liicest to insanity, hurries away to the Holy Land. I strongly recommend the subject to the consideration of our Indian government as one that calls loudly for their interference. No Eastern ruler parts, as we do, with his subjects ; all object to lose productive power. To an " Empire of Opinion " this emigration is fraught with evils. It sends forth a horde of malcontents that ripen into bigots ; it teaches foreign nations to despise our rule ; and unveils the nakedness of once wealthy India. And, we have both 2)reventlon and cure in our own hands.* * As no Moslem except the Maliki is bound to pilgrimage without a sum sufiBeient to support himself and his family, all who embark at the dilierent ports of India sliould bo obliged to prove their solvency before being pro- vided with a permit. Arrived at Jeddah, they should present the certificate at the British vice-consulate, where they would become entitled to assistance in case of necessity. The vice consul at Jeddah ought also be instructed to assist our Indian pilgrims. Mr. Cole, when holding that appointment, informed me that, though men die of starvation in the streets, he was unable to relieve them. The streets of Mcccah abound in pathetic Indian beggars, who affect lank bodies, shrinking frames, whining voices, and all the circumstance of misery, because it supports them in idleness. There are no less than 1500 Indians at Meccah and Jeddah, besides 700 or 800 in Yemen. Such a body requires a consul. By the representation of a vice-consul when other powers send an officer of superior rank to El Hejaz, we voluntarily place ourselves in an inferior positioi;. And although the Meccan Shcrif might for a time object to establishinL; ;i Moslem agent MOUNT ARAFAT. 209 With the Indians' assistance the boy Mohammed re- moved the handsome Persian rugs with which he had covered the Shugduf, pitched the tent, carpeted the ground, disposed a Diwan of silk and satin cushions round the interior, and strewed the centre with new Chibouques, and highly polished Shishas. At the doorway was placed a large copper fire-pan, with coffee pots singing a welcome to visitors. In front of us were the litters, and by divers similar arrangements our establishment was made to look grand. The youth also insisted upon my removing the Kida, or upper cotton cloth, which had become way-soiled, and he supplied its place by a fine cashmere, left with him, some years before, by a son of the king of Delhi. Little thought I that this bravery of attire would lose me every word of the Arafat sermon next day. Arafat, anciently called Jebel Hal ( \'j,\), the Mount of Wrestling in Prayer, and now Jebel el Rahmah, the " Mount of Mercy," is a mass of coarse granite split into large blocks, with a thin coat of withered thorns, about one mile in circumference and rising abruptly from the low gravelly plain — a dwarf wall at the southern base forming the line of demarcation — to the height of 180 or 200 feet. It is separated by Batn Arnah (^, r)*, a sandy vale, from the spurs of the Taif hills. Nothing can be more picturesque than the view it affords of the blue peaks behind, and the vast encampment scattered over the barren yellow plain below.t On the north lay the at the Holy City with orders to report to the consul at Jeddah, his opposition would soon fall to the ground. * This vale is not considered " standing-ground," because Satan once appeared to the Prophet as he was traversing it. t According to Kutb el Din, the Arafat plain was once highly cultivated. Stone-lined cisterns abound, and ruins of buildings are frequent. At the eastern foot of the mountain was a broad canal, beginning at a spur of the Taif hills, and conveying water to Meccah ; it is now destroyed beyond 210 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. regularly pitched camp of the guards that defend the unarmed pilgrims. To the eastward was the Sherifs encampment with the bright Mahmals and the gilt knobs of the grandees' pavilions ; whilst, on the southern and western sides, the tents of the vulgar crowded the ground, disposed in Dowars, or circles, for penning cattle. After many calculations, I estimated the number to be not less than 50,000, of all ages and sexes ; a sad falling off, it is true, but still considerable.* The Holy Hill owes its name f and honors to a well- known legend. When our first parents forfeited heaven by eating wheat, which deprived them of their primeval purity, they were cast down upon earth. The serpent descended at Ispahan, the peacock at Cabul, Satan at Bilbays (others say Semnan and Seistan), Eve upon Arafat, and Adam at Ceylon. The latter, determining to seek his wife, began a journey, to which earth owes its Arafat The plain is cut by torrents, which at times sweep with desolating violence into the Holy City, and a thick desert vegetation shows that water is not deep below the surface. * Ali Bey(A. D. 1807) calculates 83,000 pilgrims ; Burckhardt (1814), 70,000. I reduce it, in 1 853, to 50,000, and in a. d. 1854,'owing to political causes, it fell to about 25,000. Of these at least 10,000 are Meccans, as every one who can leave the city does so at pilgrimage-time. The Arabs have a superstition that the numbers at Arafat cannot be counted, and that if less than 600,000 mortals stand upon the hill to hear the sermon, the angels descend and complete the number. Even this year my Arab friends declared that 1 50,000 spirits were present in human shape. It may be ob- served, that when the good old Bertrander de la Brocquiere, esquire-carver to Philip of Burgundy, declares that the yearly Caravan from Damascus to El Mediuah must always be composed of 700,000 persons, and that this number being incomplete, Allah sends some of his angels to make it up, he probably confounds the Caravan with the Arafat multitude. f The word is explained in many ways. One derivation has already been mentioned. Others assert that when Gabriel taught Abraham the ceremonies, he ended by saying " A 'arajta manasik'ak? " — Hast thou learned thy pilgrim rites ? To which the friend of Allah replied, " Araftu I " — I have learned them. LEGEND OF ADAM AND EVE. 211 present mottled appearance. Wherever our first father placed his foot — which was large — a town afterwards arose ; between the strides will always be " country." Wandering for many years, he came to the Mountain of Mercy, where our common mother was continually calling upon his name, and their recognition gave the place the name of Arafat. Upon its summit Adam, instructed by the archangel, erected a " Madaa," or place of prayer ; and between this spot and the Nimrah mosque the pair abode till death. Others declare that, after recognition, the first pair returned to India, whence for forty-four years in succession they visited the Holy City at pilgrimage- time. From the Holy Hill I walked down to look at the camp arrangements. The main street of tents and booths, huts and shops, was bright with lanterns, and the bazars were crowded with people and stocked with all manner of eastern delicacies. Some anomalous spectacles met the eye. Many pilgrims, especially the soldiers, were in laical costume. In one place a half-drunken Arnaut stalked down the road, elbowing peaceful passengers and frowning fiercely in hopes of a quarrel. In another, a huge dimly lit tent, reeking hot, and garnished with cane- seats, contained knots of Egyptians, as their red Tarbushes, white turbans, and black Zaabuts showed, noisily in- toxicating themselves with forbidden hemp. There were frequent brawls and great confusion ; many men had lost their parties, and, mixed with loud Labbayks, rose the shouted names of women as well as men. I was surprised at the disproportion of female nomenclature, — the missing number of fair ones seemed to double that of the other sex, — and at a practice so opposed to the customs of the Moslem world. At length the boy Mohammed en- lightened me. Egyptian and other bold women, when unable to join the pilgrimage, will pay or persuade a friend 212 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. to shout their names in hearing of the Holy Hill, with a view of ensuring a real presence at the desired spot next year. So the welkin rang with the indecent sounds of O Fatimah ! O Zaynab ! Khayzaran ! * Plunderers, too, were abroad. As we returned to the tent we found a crowd assembled near it ; a woman had seized a thief as he was beginning operations, and had the courage to hold his beard till men ran to her assistance. And we were obliged to defend by force our position against a knot of grave-diggers, who would bury a little heap of bodies within a yard or two of our tent. One point struck me at once, the difference in point of cleanliness between an encampment of citizens and Be- douins. Poor Masud sat holding his nose in ineffable disgust; for which he was derided by the Meccans. I consoled him with quoting the celebrated song of May- 8unah.f " take these purple robes away, Give back 1117 cloak of camel's hair, And bear me from this tow'ring pile To where the Black Tents flap i' the air. The camel's colt with falt'ring tread, The dog that ba;s at all bat me. Delight me more than ambling mules — Than every art of minstrelsy. And any cousin, poor but free, Might take me, fatted ass ! from thee." I * The latter name, " Ratan," is servile. Respectable women are never publicly addressed by Moslems except as " daughter," " female pilgrim," after some male relation, " O mother of Mohammed," " O sister of Umar," or "tout bonnement," by a man's name. It would be ill-omened and dangerous were the true name known. So most women, when travelling, adopt an alias. Whoever knew an Afghan fair who was not " Nur Jan," or "Sahib Jan"? f The beautiful Be Jouin wife of the Caliph Muawiyah. Nothing can be more charming in its own Arabic than this little song : the Bedouins never heard it without screams of joy. t The British reader will be shocked to hear that by the term " fatted A PRAYEEFUL OLD GENTLEMAN. 213 The old man, delighted, clapped my shoulder, and exclaimed " Verily, O Father of Mustachios, I Avill show thee the black tents of my tribe this year ! " At length night came, and we threw ourselves upon our rugs, but not to sleep. Close by, to our bane, was a prayerful old gentleman, who began his devotions at a late hour and concluded them not before dawn. He reminded me of the undergraduate my neighbour at Trinity College, Avho would spout 2Eschylu3 at 2 A.M. Sometimes the chaunt would grow drowsy, and my ears would hear a dull retreating sound; presently, as if in self-reproach, it would rise to a sharp treble, and proceed at a rate per- fectly appalling. The coffee-houses, too, were by no means silent ; deep into the night I heard the clapping of hands accompanying merry Arab songs, and the loud shouts of laughter of the Egyptian hemp- drinkers. And the guards and protectors of the camp were not "Charleys" or night-nurses. ass " the intellectual Jady alluded to her husband. The story is, that Muawiyah, overhearing the song, sent back the singer to her cousins and beloved wilds. Maysunah departed with her son Yezid, and did not return to Damascus till the " fatted ass " had joined his forefathers. Yezid inherited, with his mother's talents, all her contempt for his father; at least the following quatrain, addressed to Muawiyah, and generally known in El Islam, would appear to argue anything but reverence: — " I drank the water of the vine — that draught had power to rouse Thy wrath, grim father ! now, indeed, 'tis joyous to carouse ! I'll drink ! — ^Be wrath ! — I reck not ! — Ah ! dear to this heart of mine It is to scoff a sire's command — to quaff forbidden wine." 214 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH, CHAP. XXIX. THE CEREMONIES OF THE YAUM ARAFAT, OR THE SECOND DAY. The morning of the ninth Zu'l Hijjah (Tuesday, 13th Sept.) was ushered in by military sounds: a loud dis- charge of cannon warned us to arise and to prepare for the ceremonies of this eventful day. After ablution and prayer, I proceeded with the boy Mohammed to inspect the numerous consecrated sites on the " Mountain of Mercy." In the first place, we repaired to a spot on rising ground to the south-east, and within a hundred yards of the hill. It is called " Jami el Sakhrah"* N — the Assembling Place of the Rock — from two granite boulders upon which the Prophet stood to perform "Talbiyat." There is nothing but a small inclosure of dwarf and white- washed stone walls, divided into halves by a similar par- tition, and provided with a niche to direct prayer towards Meccah. Entering by steps we found crowds of devotees and guardians, who for a consideration offered mats and carpets. After a two-bow prayer and a long supplication opposite the niche, we retired to the inner compartment, stood upon a boulder and shouted the Labbayk. Thence, threading our way through many obstacles of tent and stone, we ascended the broad flight of rugged steps * All Bey calls it " JaAi el Bahmah " — of Mercy. THE " MOUNTAIN OF MEECT." 215 which winds up the southern face of the rocky hill. Even at this early hour it was crowded with pilgrims, principally 3. Dwarf wa!I enclosing the mountain. S. Fligtic of steps which the Mahmnis ascend. 3. The station of the Mahmals side by side. 4. The place where the Khatib preaches. 5. The fountain. Bedouins and Wahhabis*, who had secured favorable positions for hearing the sermon. Already their green flag was planted upon the summit close to Adam's Place of Prayer. About half-way up I counted sixty-six steps, and remarked that they became narrower and steeper. Crowds of beggars instantly seized the pilgrims' robes and strove to prevent our entering a second enclosure. This place, which resembles the former, except that it has but one compartment and no boulders, is that whence Mohammed used to address his followers, and here, to the present day, the Khatib, or preacher, in imitation of the " Last of Prophets," sitting upon a dromedary, recites the Arafat sermon. Here, also, we prayed a two-bow prayer, and gave a small sum to the guardian. • The wilder Arabs insist that "Wukuf" (standing) should take place upon the Hill. This is not done by the more civilised, who hold that all the plain within the Alamayn ranks as Arafat. According to Ali Bey, the Maliki school is not allowed to stand upon the mountain. T> 4 216 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. Thence ascending with increased difficulty to the hill- top, we arrived at a large stuccoed platform *, with prayer- niche and a kind of obelisk, mean and badly built of lime and granite stone, whitewashed, and conspicuous from afar. It is called the Makam, or Madaa Say- yidna Adam.f Here we performed the customary ceremonies amongst a crowd of pilgrims, and then descended the little hill. Close to the plain we saw the place where the Egyptian and Damascus Mahmals stand during the sermon ; and, descending the wall that surrounds Arafat by a steep and narrow flight of coarse stone steps, on our right was the fountain which supplies the place with water. It bubbles from the rock, and is exceedingly pure, as such water generally is in El Hejaz. Our excursion employed us longer than the description requires, — nine o'clock had struck before we reached the plain. All were in a state of excitement. Guns -fired incessantly. Horsemen and camel-riders galloped about without apparent object. Even the women and the children stood and walked, too restless even to sleep. Arrived at the tent, I was unpleasantly surprised to find a new visitor in an old acquaintance, Ali ibn Ya Sin the Zem Zemi. He had lost his mule, and, wandering in search of its keeper, he unfortunately fell in with our party. I had solid reasons to regret the mishap — he was far too curious and observant to suit my tastes. On the present occasion he, being uncomfortable, made us equally so. Accustomed to all the terrible " neatness " of an * Here was a small chapel, which the Wahhabis were demolishing when Ali Bey was nt Meccah. It has not been rebuilt. Upon this spot the Prophet, according to Burckhardt, used to stand during the ceremonies. 't' Burckhardt gives this name to a place a little way on the left, and about forty steps up the mountain. THE BEST BREED OP ARAB HORSES AT NED J. 217 elderly damsel in Great Britain, a few specks of dirt upon the rugs, and half-a-dozen bits of cinder upon the ground, sufficed to give him attacks of " nerves." That day we breakfasted late, for night must come before we could eat again. After midday prayer we per- formed ablutions, some the greater, others the less, in preparation for the " Wukuf," or Standing. From noon onwards the hum and murmur of the multitude increased, and people were seen swarming about in all directions. A second discharge of cannon (about P.M. 3.15) an- nounced the approach of El Asr, the afternoon prayer, and almost immediately we heard the Naubat, or band preced- ing the Sherifs procession as he wended his way towards the mountain. Fortunately my tent was pitched close to the road, so that without trouble I had a perfect view of the scene. First came a cloud of mace -bearers, who, as usual on such occasions, cleared the path with scant ceremony. They were followed by the horsemen of the desert, wielding long and tufted spears. Immediately behind them came the led horses of the Sherif, upon which I fixed a curious eye. All were highly bred, and one, a brown Nejdi with black points, struck me as the perfec- tion of an Arab. They were small, and apparently of the northern race.* Of their old crimson-velvet caparisons the * In Solomon's time the Egyptian horse cost 150 silver shekels, which, if the greater shekel be meant, would still be about the average price, 18Z. Abbas, the late Pacha, did his best to buy first-rate Arab stallions: on one occasion he sent a mission to £1 Hedinab for the sole purpose of fetching a rare work on farriery. Yet it is doubted whether he ever had a first-rate Nejdi. A Bedouin sent to Cairo by one of the chiefs of Nejd, being shown by the viceroy's order over the stables, on being asked his opinion of the blood, replied bluntly, to the great man's disgust, that they did not contain a single thorough-bred. He added an apology on the part of his laird for the animals he had brought from Arabia, saying, that neither Sultan nor Sbaykh could procm-e colts of the best strain. For none of these horses would a stanch admii'cr of the long-legged 218 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. less said the better ; no little Indian Nawab would show- aught so shabby on state occasions. After the chargers came a band of black slaves on foot, bearing huge match- locks ; and immediately preceded by three green and two red flags, was the Sherif, riding in front of his family and courtiers. The prince, habited in a simple white Ihram, and bare-headed, mounted a mule ; the only sign of his rank was a large green and gold-embroidered umbrella, held over him by a slave. The rear was brought up by another troop of Bedouins on horses and camels^ Behind this procession were the tents, whose doors and walls were monster called in England a thorough-bred give twenty pounds. They are mere " rats," short and stunted, ragged and fleshless, with rough coats and a slouching walk. But the experienced glance notes at once the fine snake- like head, ears like reeds, wide and projecting nostrils, large eyes, fiery and soft alternately, broad brow, deep base of skull, wide chest, crooked tail, limbs padded with muscle, and long elastic pasterns. And the animal put out to speed soon displays the Wondrous force of blood. In fact, when buying Ai'abs, there are only three things to be considered, — blood, blood> and again blood. In Marco Polo's time Aden supplied the Indian market. The state of the tribes round the " Eye of Yemen " has effectually closed the road against horse-caravans for many years past. It is said that the Zu Mohammed and the Zu Husayn, sub-families of the Beni Yam, a large tribe living around and north of Sanaa, in Yemen, have a fine large breed called El Jaufi, and the clan El Aulaki, ( ,al jx.), rear animals celebrated for swiftness and endurance. The other races are stunted, and some Arabs declare that the air of Yemen causes a degeneracy in the first generation. The Southern JBedouins, on the contrary, uphold their superiority, and talk with the utmost contempt of the African horse. In India we now depend for Arab blood upon the Persian Gulf, and the consequences of monopoly display themselves in an increased price for inferior animals. Our studs are generally believed to be sinks for rupees. The governments of India now object, it is said, to rearing, at a great cost, animals distinguished by nothing but ferocity. It is evident that El Hejaz never can stock the Indian market. Whether Nejd will supply us when the transit becomes safer, is a consideration which time only can decide. Meanwhile it would be highly advisable to . take steps for restoring the Aden trade by entering into closer relations with the Imam of Sanaa and the Bedouin chiefs in the north of Yemen. THE PRELIMINARIES OF THE SERMON. 219 scarcely visible for the crowd ; and the picturesque back- ground was the granite' hill covered, wherever standing- room was to be found, with white-robed pilgrims shouting Labbayks and waving the skirts of their glistening gar- ments violently over their heads. Slowly the procession advanced towards the hill. Ex- actly at the hour El Asr the two Mahmals had taken their station side by side on a platform in the lower slope. That of Damascus could be distinguished as the narrower and the more ornamented of the pair. The Sherif placed himself with his standard-bearers and retinue a little above the Mahmals, within hearing of the preacher. The pilgrims crowded up to the foot of the mountain; the loud Labbayks of the Bedouins and Wahhabis * fell to a solemn silence, and the waving of white robes ceased — a sign that the preacher had begun the Khutbat el Wakfah,"]" From my tent I could distinguish the form of the old man upon his camel, but the distance was too great for ear to reach. But how came I to be at the tent ? A short confession will explain. They will shrive me who believe in inspired Spenser's lines : — " And every spirit as it is more pure, And hath in it the more of heavenly light, So it the fairer body doth procure To habit in." * I obtained the following note upon the ceremonies of Wahhabi pilgrim- age from one of their princes, Khalid Bey. The Wahhabi (who, it must be borne in mind, calls himself a Muwahhid, or Unitarian, in opposition to Mushrik — Polytheist — any other sect but his own) at Meccah follows out his two principal tenets, public prayer for men daily, for women on Fridays, and rejection of the Prophet's mediation. Imitating Mohammed, he spends the first night of pilgrimage at Mnna, stands upon the hill Arafat, and, returning to Muna, passes three whole days there. He derides other Moslems, abridges and simplifies the Kaabah cere- monies, and, if possible, is guided in his devotions by one of his own sect, t The " Sermon of the Standing " (upon Arafat). 220 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND B^ECCAH. The evil came of a " fairer body." I had prepared en cachette a slip of paper, and had hid in my Ihram a pencil destined to put down the heads of this rarely heard discoui-se. But unhappily that red cashmere shawl was upon my shoulders. Close to us sat a party of fair Meccans, apparently belonging to the higher classes, and one of these I had already several times remarked. She was a tall girl, about eighteen years old, with regular features, a skin somewhat citrine-coloured, but soft and clear, sym- metrical eyebrows, the most beautiful eyes, and a figure all grace. There was no head thrown back, no straight- ened neck, no flat shoulders, nor toes turned out — in fact, no elegant barbarisms, — but the shape was what the Arabs love, soft, bending, and relaxed, as a woman's figure ought to be. Unhappily she wore, instead of the usual veil, a " Yashmak " of transparent muslin, bound round the face ; and the chaperone, mo- ther, or duenna, by whose side she stood, was apparently a very unsuspicious or complaisant old person. Flirtilla fixed a glance of admiration upon my cash- mere. I directed a reply with interest at her eyes. She then, by the usual coquettish gesture, threw back an inch or two of head-veil, disclosing broad bands of jetty hair, crowning a lovely oval. My palpable admiration of the new charm was rewarded by a partial removal of the Yashmak ; when a dimpled mouth and a rounded chin stood out from the envious muslin. Seeing that my companions were safely employed, I ventured upon the dangerous ground of raising hand to forehead. She smiled almost imperceptibly, and turned away. The jjilgrim was in ecstasy. The sermon was then half over. I resolved to stay upon the plain and see what Flirtilla would do. Gr&ce The Yashmak. THE PILGRIMS PERMITTED TO DEPART. 221 to the cashmere, we came to a good understanding. The next page will record my disappointment ; — that evening the pilgrim resumed his soiled cotton cloth, and testily returned the red shawl to the boy Mohammed. The sermon always lasts till near sunset, or about three hours. At first it was spoken amid profound sUence. Then loud, scattered " Amins " (Amen) and volleys of Labbayks exploded at uncertain intervals. At last the breeze brought to our ears a purgatorial chorus of cries, sobs, and shrieks. Even my party thought proper to be affected : old Ali rubbed his eyes, which in no case un- connected with dollars could by any amount of straining be made to shed even a crocodile's tear; and the boy Mohammed wisely hid his face in the skirt of his Rida. Presently the people, exhausted by emotion, began to des- cend the hill in small parties ; and those below struck their tents and commenced loading their camels, although at least an hour's sermon remained. On this occasion, how- ever, all hurry to be foremost, as the race from Arafat is enjoyed by none but the Bedouins. Although we worked with a will, our animals were not ready to move before sunset, when the preacher gave the signal of " israf," or permission to depart. The pilgrims, " swaying to and fro, Like waves of a great sea, that in mid shock Confound each other, white with foam and fear," rushed down the hill with a Labbayk, sounding like a blast, and took the road to Muna. Then I saw the scene which has given to the part of the ceremonies the name of El Dafa min Arafat, — the " Hurry from Arafat." Every man urged his beast with might and main : it was sunset ; the plain bristled with tent-pegs, litters were crushed, pedestrians trampled, and camels overthrown : single combats with sticks and other weapons took place; — 222 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. here a womanj there a child, and there an animal were lost, — briefly, it was a state of chaotic confusion. To my disgust, old Ali insisted upon bestowing his company upon me. He gave over his newly found mule to the boy Mohammed, bidding him take care of the beast, and mounted with me in the Shugduf. I had persuaded Shaykh Masud, with a dollar, to keep close in rear of the pretty Meccan; and I wanted to sketch the Holy Hill. The senior began to give orders about the camel — I, counter orders. The camel was halted. I urged it on, old Ali directed it to be stopped. Meanwhile the charming face that smiled at me from the litter grew dimmer and dimmer ; the more I stormed, the less I was listened to — a string of camels crossed our path — I lost sight of the beauty. Then we began to advance. Now, my determination to sketch seemed likely to fail before the Zem Zemi's little snake's eye. After a few minutes' angry search for ex- pedients, one suggested itself. " Effendi ! " said old Ali, " sit quiet ; there is danger here." I tossed about like one suffering from evil conscience or the colic. " Effendi ! " shrieked the senior, " what are you doing ? You will be the death of us." " Wallah ! " I replied, with a violent plunge, " it is all your fault ! There ! (another plunge) — put your beard out of the other opening, and Allah will make it easy to us." In the ecstasy of fear my tor- mentor turned his face, as he was bidden, towards the camel's head. A second halt ensued, when I looked out of the aperture in rear, and made a rough drawing of the Mountain of Mercy. At the Akhshabayn, double lines of camels, bristling witli litters, clashed, and gave a shock more noisy than the meeting of torrents. It was already dark : no man knew what he was doing. The guns roared their brazen notes, re-echoed far and wide by the voices of the stony hills. A shower of rockets bursting in the air threw into still THE pilgrim's COMPANIONj OLD ALL 223 greater confusion the timorous mob of women and children. At the same time martial music rose from the masses of Nizam, and the stouter-hearted pilgrims were not sparing of their Labbayks *, and " Eed kum Mubarak " j — May your festival be happy ! After the Pass of the Two Kugged Hills, the road widened, and old Ali, who, during the bumping, had been in a silent convulsion of terror, recovered speech and spirits. This change he evidenced by beginning to be troublesome once more. Again I resolved to be his equal. Exclaiming, " My eyes are yellow with hunger!" I seized a pot full of savoury meat which the old man had previously stored for supper, and, without further pre- amble, began to eat it greedily, at the same time ready to shout with laughter at the mumbling and grumbling sounds that proceeded from the darkness of the litter. We were at least three hours on the road before reaching Muzdalifah, and, being fatigued, we resolved to pass the night there.l The Mosque was brilliantly illuminated, but my hungry companions § apparently thought more of supper and sleep than devotion. || Whilst the tent was raised, the Indians prepared our food, boiled our coffee, filled pipes, and spread the rugs. Before sleeping, each man collected for himself seven " Jamrah " — bits of • This cry is repeated till the pilgrim reaches Muna; not afterwards. f Another phrase is " Antum min al Aidiu " — " May you be of the Keepers of Festival ! " J Hanafis usually follow the Prophet's example in nighting at Muzdalifah j in the evening after prayers they attend at the Mosque, listen to the discourse, and shed plentiful tears. Most Shafeis spend only a few hours at Muzda- lifah. § We failed to buy meat at Arafat, after noon, although the bazar was large and well stocked; it is usual to eat flesh there, consequently it is greedily bought up at an exorbitant price. 11 Some sects consider the prayer at Muzdalifah a matter of vital import- ance. 224 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. granite, the size of a small bean.* Then, weary with emotion and exertion, all lay down except the boy Mohammed, who preceded us to find encamping ground at Muna. Old Ali, in lending his mule, made the most stringent arrangements with the youth about the exact place and the exact hour of meeting — an act of simphcity at which I could not but smile. The night was by no means peaceful or silent. Lines of camels passed us every ten minutes, and the shouting of travellers continued till near dawn. Pilgrims ought to have nighted at the Mosque, but, as in Burckhardt's time, so in mine, baggage was considered to be in danger hereabouts, and con- sequently most of the devotees spent the sermon hours in brooding over their boxes. * Jamrah is a "small pebble; "it is also called " Easa," in the plural " Hasayat." 225 CHAP. XXX. THE CEREMONIES OF THE YATJM NAHR, OB THE THIRD DAY. At dawn, on the Eed el Kurban (10th Zu'l Hijjah, Wednesday, 14th Sept.) a gun warned us to lose no time ; we arose hurriedly, and started up the Batn Muhassir to Muna. By this means we lost at Muzdalifah the " Salat el Eed," or " Festival Prayers," the great solemnity of the Moslem year, performed by all the community at day- break. My companion was so anxious to reach Meccah, that he would not hear of devotions. About 8 A. M. we entered the village, and looked for the boy Mohammed in vain. Old Ali was dreadfully perplexed : a host of high- bom Turkish pilgrims were, he said, expecting him ; his mule was missing, — could never appear, — he must be late, — should probably never reach Meccah, — what loould become of him ? I began by administering admonition to the mind diseased ; but signally failing in a cure, amused myself with contemplating the world from my Shugduf, leaving the office of directing it to the old Zem Zemi. Now he stopped, then he pressed forward ; here he thought he saw Mohammed, there he discovered our tent ; at one time he would " nakh " the camel to await, in patience, his supreme hour ; at another, half mad with nervousness, he would urge the excellent Masud to hopeless inquiries. Finally, by good fortune, we found one of the boy Mohammed's cousins, who led us to an enclosure called Hosh el Uzam, in the southern portion of the Muna Basin, 226 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. at the base of Mount Sabir.* There we pitched the tent, refreshed ourselves, and awaited the truant's return. Old Ali, failing to disturb my equanimity, attempted, as those who consort with philosophers often will do, to quarrel with me. But, finding no material wherewith to build a dispute in such fragments as " Ah " — " Hem ! " — " Wallah ! " he hinted desperate intentions against the boy Mohammed. Wlien, however, the youth appeared, with even more jauntiness of mien than usual, Ali bin Ya Sin lost heart, brushed by him, mounted his mule, and, doubtless cursing us " under the tongue," rode away, frowning viciously, with his heels playing upon the beast's sides. Mohammed had been delayed, he said, by the difficulty of finding; asses. We were now to mount for "the Throwing,"! — as a preliminary to which, we washed "with seven waters " the seven pebbles brought from Muzdalifah, and bound them in our Ihrams. Our first destination was the entrance to the western end of the long line which composes the Muna village. We found a swarm- ing crowd in the narrow road opposite the " Jamrat el Akabah," J or, as it is vulgarly called, the Shaytan el Kabir — the "Great Devil." These names distinguish it from another pillar, the " Wusta," or " Central Place " (of stoning), built in the middle of Muna, and a third at the eastern end, " El Ula," or the " First Place." § * Even pitching ground here is charged to pilgrims. f Some authorities advise that this rite of " Ramy " be performed on foot. ^ The word " Jamrah " is applied to the place of stoning, as well as to the stones. § These numbers mark the successive spots where the Devil, in the shape of an old Shaykh, appeared to Adam, Abraham, and Ishmael, and was • driven back by the simple process taught by Gabriel, of throwing stones about the size of a bean. DANGEROUS STRUGGLE TO APPROACH THE DEVIL. 227 The " Shay tan el Kabir" is a dwarf buttress of rude masonry, about eight feet high by two and a half broad, placed against a rough wall of stones, at the Meccan entrance to Muna. As the ceremony of " Kamy," or Lapidation, must be performed on the first day by all pilgrims between sunrise and sunset, and as the fiend was malicious enough to appear in a rugged Pass *, the crowd makes the place dangerous. On one side of the road, which is not forty feet broad, stood a row of shops belong- ing principally to barbers. On the other side is the rugged wall of the pillar, with a chevaux de frise of Bedouins and naked boys. The narrow space was crowded with pilgrims, all struggling like drowning men to ap- proach as near as possible to the Devil ; — it would have been easy to run over the heads of the mass. Amongst them were horsemen with rearing chargers. Bedouins on wild camels, and grandees on mules and asses, with outrunners, were breaking a way by assault and battery. I had read Ali Bey'e self-felicitations upon escaping this place with " only two wounds in the left leg," and had duly provided myself with a hidden dagger. The pre- caution was not useless. Scarcely had my donkey entered the crowd than he was overthrown by a dromedary, and I found myself under the stamping and roaring beast's stomach. By a judicious use of the knife, I avoided being trampled upon, and lost no time in escaping from a place so ignobly dangerous. Some Moslem travellers assert, in proof of the sanctity of the spot, that no Moslem is ever killed here : I was assured by Meccans that acci- dents are by no means rare. * I borrow this phrase from Ali Bey, who, however, speaks more like an ignorant Spaniard than a learned Abbaside, when he calls the pillar " La Maison du Diable," and facetiously asserts that " le diable a eu la malice de placer sa maison dans un lieu fort etroit qui n'a peut-etre pas 34 pieds de large." 228 PILGEIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. Presently the boy Mohammed fought his way out of the crowd with a bleeding nose. We both sat down upon a bench before a barber's booth, and, schooled by adver- sity, awaited with patience an opportunity. Finding an opening, we approached within about five cubits of the place, and holding each stone between the thumb and the forefinger* of the right hand, cast it at the pillar, ex- claiming, " In the name of Allah, and Allah is Almighty ! (I do this) in hatred of the Fiend and to his shame.' After which came the Tahlil and the " Sana," or praise to Allah. The seven stones being duly thrown, we retired, and entering the barber's booth, took our places upon one of the earthen benches around it. This was the time to remove the Ihram or pilgrim's garb, and to return to Ihlal, the normal state of El Islam. The barber shaved our heads f, and, after trimming our beards and cutting our nails, made us repeat these words : " I purpose loosening my Ihram according to the practice of the Prophet, whom may Allah bless and preserve ! O Allah, make unto me jn every hair, a light, a purity, and a generous reward ! In the name of Allah, and Allah is Almighty ! " At the conclusion of his labour the barber politely addressed to us a "Naiman" — Pleasure to you! To which we as ceremoniously replied, " Allah give thee pleasure ! " We had no clothes with us, but we could use our cloths * Some hold the pebble as a schoolboy does a marble, others between the thumb and forefinger extended, others shoot them from the thumb knuckle, and most men consult their own convenience. ■f The barber removed all my hair. Hanifis shave at least a quarter of the head, Shafeis a few hairs on the right side. The prayer is, as usual, dif- ferently worded, some saying, " O Allah this my forelock is in thy hand, then grant me for every hair a light on Resurrection-day, by thy mercy O most Merciful of the Merciful ! " I remarked that the hair was allowed to lie upon the ground, whereas strict Moslems, with that reverence for man's body — the Temple of the Supreme — which characterises their creed, care- fully bury it in the earth. THE PILGKIM ENTERS THE KAABAH. 229 to cover our heads and defend our feet from the fiery sun; and we now could safely twirl our mustachios and stroke our beards, — placid enjoyments of which we had been deprived by the laws of pilgrimage. After resting about an hour in the booth, which, though crowded with sitting customers, was delightfully cool compared with the burning glare of the road, we mounted our asses, and at eleven a.m. started Meccah-wards. This return from Muna to Meccah is called El Nafr, or the Flight * : we did not fail to keep our asses at speed, with a few halts to refresh ourselves with gugglets of water. There was nothing remarkable in the scene : our ride in was a repetition of our ride out. In about half an hour we entered the city, passing through that classical locality called " Batn Kuraysh," which was crowded with people, and then repaired to the boy Mohammed's house for the purpose of bathing and preparing to enter the Kaabah. Shortly after our arrival, the youth returned home in a state of excitement, exclaiming " Rise, Effendi ! bathe, dress, and follow me ! " The Kaabah, though open, would for a time be empty, so that we should escape the crowd. My pilgrim's garb, which had not been removed, was made to look neat and somewhat Indian, and we sallied forth together without loss of time. A crowd had gathered round the Kaabah, and I had no wish to stand bareheaded and barefooted in the midday September sun. At the cry of "Open a path for the Haji who would enter the House," the gazers made way. Two stout Meccans, who stood below the door, raised me in their arms, whilst a third drew me from above into the building. At the entrance I was accosted by several offi- * This word is confounded with " Dafa " by many Moslem authors. Some speak of the Nafr from Arafat to Muzdulifah and the Dafa from Mazdali- fah to Muna. I hare used the words as mj Mutawwif used them. 230 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. cials, dark-looking Meccans, of whom the darkest and plainest was a youth of the Beni Shaybnh family *, the true-blue blood of El Hejaz. He held in his hand the huge silver-gilt padlock of the Kaabah f, and presently taking his seat upon a kind of wooden press in the left corner of the hall, he oflScially inquired my name, nation, and other particulars. The replies were satisfactory, and the boy Mohammed was authoritatively ordered to conduct me round the building, and recite the prayers. I will not deny that, looking at the windowless walls, the officials at the door, and the crowd below — " And the place death, considering who I was," { my feelings were of the ^ trapped-rat description, acknowledged by the immortal nephew of his uncle Perez. This did not, however, prevent my carefully observing the scene during our long prayers, and mak- ing a rough plan with a pencil upon my white Ihram. Nothing is more sim- ple than the interior of this celebrated build- ing. The pavement, which is level with the * They keep the keys of the house. In my day the head of the family was " Shaykh Ahmed." t In Ibn Jubayr's time this large padlock was of gold. It is said popu- larly that none but the Beni Shay bah can open it ; a minor miracle, doubt- less proceeding from the art of some Eastern Hobbs or Bramah. J However safe a Christian might be at Meccah, nothing could preserve him from the ready knives of enraged fanatics if detected in the House. The very idea is pollution to a Moslem. PLAN OF KAABAH. 1. Black Stone (exterior). 2. Wooden sate, in whicti key is kept. S. Yemani corner. 4. Shami corner. 5. Bah el Taubah, dwarf door, leading to stair- case by wtiich men ascend to tlie roof. 6. Iraki corner. 7. Door. 8, 8, 8. Rafters. 9, i), 9. Colnmns. A. First place of prayer. B. Second place. C. Third place. D. Fourth place. THE INTERIOE OF THE KAABAH, 231 ;round, is composed of slabs of fine and various colored darbies, mostly however white, disposed chequer-wise. The walls, as far as they can be seen, are of the same ma- erial, but the pieces are irregularly sliaped, and many if them are engraved with long inscriptions in the Suls ,nd other modern characters. The upper part of the walls, ogether with the ceiling, at which it is considered dis- espectful to look*, are covered with handsome red da- aask, flowered over with goldf, and tucked up about six eet high, so as to be removed from pilgrims' hands. The leiling is upheld by three cross-beams, whose shapes ap- )ear under the arras; they rest upon the eastern and vestem walls, and are supported in the centre by three :olumns J about twenty inches in diameter, covered with sarved and ornamented aloe wood.§ At the Iraki corner here is a dwarf door, called Bab el Taubah (of Repent- ince||), leading into a narrow passage built for the stair- iase by which the servants ascend to the roof: it is never )pened except for working purposes. The " Aswad " or * I do not know the origin of this superstition; but it would be unsafe for , pilgrim to look fixedly at the Kaabah ceiling. Under the aiTas I was told i a strong planking of Saj, or Indian teak, and above it a stuccoed Sath, or [at roof. f Exactly realising the description of our English bard : — " Goodly an-as of great majesty, Woven with gold and silk so close and nere. That the rich metal lurked privily, As feigning to be hid from envious eye." J Ibn Jubayr mentions three columns of teak. Burckhardt and All Bey wo. In El Fasy's day there were four. The Kuraysh erected six columns n double row. Generally the pillars have been three in number. § This wood, which has been used of old to ornament sacred buildings n the East, is brought to Meccah in great quantities by Malay and Java )ilgrims. The best kind is known by its oily appearance and a " fizzing " ionnd in fire; the cunning vendors easily supply it with these desiderata. II Ibn Jubayr calls it Bab el Bahmah. Q 4 232 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. " As'ad"* corner is occupied by a flat-topped and quadrant- shaped press or safe f in which at times is placed the key of the Kaabah-I Both door and safe are of aloe wood. Between the columns and about nine feet from the ground ran bars of a metal which I could not distinguish, and hanging to them were many lamps said to be of gold. Although there were in the Kaabah but a few attend- ants engaged in preparing it for the entrance of pilgrims §, the windowless stone walls and the choked-up door made it worse than the Piombi of Venice; the perspiration trickled in large drops, and I thought with horror what it must be when filled with a mass of jo.stling and crushing fanatics. Our devotions consisted of a two-bow prayer ||, followed by long supplications at the Sharai (west) corner, the Iraki (north) angle, the Yemani (south), and, lastly, opposite the southern third of the back wall. IT These concluded, I returned to the door, where payment is made. The boy Mohammed told me that the total expense would be seven dollars. At the same time he had been indulging aloud in his favorite rhodomontade, boasting of my great- ness, and had declared me to be an Indian pilgrim, a race still * The Hajar el Aswad is also called El As'ad, or the Propitious. t Here, in Ibn Jubayr's time, stood two boxes full of Korans. J The key is sometimes placed in the hands of a child of the house of Shaybah, who sits in state, with black slaves on both sides. § In Ibn Jubayr's day the Kaabah was opened with more ceremony. The ladder was rolled up to the door, and the chief of the Beni Shaybah, ascending it, was covered by attendants with a black veil from head to foot, whilst he opened the padlock. Then, having kissed the threshold, he entered, shut the door behind him, and prayed two Rukats ; after which all the Beni Shaybah, and, lastly, the vulgar were admitted. In these days the veil is obsolete. The Shaykh enters the Eaabab alone, perfumes it and prays; the pilgrims are then admitted en masse; and the style in which the eunuchs handle their quarter-staves forms a scene more animated than decorous. II Some pray four instead of two bows. f Burckhardt erroneously says, " in every comer." THE FEES ON VISITING THE KAABAH. 233 supposed at Mecca to be made of gold.* When seven dollars were tendered they were rejected with instance. Expecting something of the kind, I had been careful to bring no more than eight. Being pulled and interpellated by half a dozen attendants, my course was to look stupid, and to pretend ignorance of the language. Presently the Shaybah youth bethought him of a contrivance. Drawing forth from the press the key of the Kaabah he partly bared it of its green-silk gold-lettered etui j, and rubbed a golden knob quatrefoil shaped upon my eyes, in order to brighten them. I submitted to the operation with good grace, and added a dollar — my last — to the former offering. The Sherif received it with a hopeless glance, and, to my satis- faction, would not put forth his hand to be kissed. Then the attendants began to demand vails. I replied by open- ing my empty pouch. When let down from the door by the two brawny Meccans I was expected to pay them, and accordingly appointed to meet them at the boy Mo- hammed's house ; an arrangement to which they grum- blingly assented. When delivered from these troubles, I was congratulated by my sharp companion thus : " Wallah Efiendi ! thou hast escaped well ! some men have left their skins behind."! * These Indians are ever in extremes, paupers or millionnaires, and, like all Moslems, the more tliey pay at Meccah the higher becomes their cha- racter and religious titles. A Turkish Pacha seldom squanders so much money as does a Moslem merchant from the far East. Kbudabakhsh, the Lahore shawl-dealer, owned to having spent 800/. in feastings and presents. He appeared to consider that sum a trifle, although, had a debtor carried off one tithe of it, his health would hare been seriously affected. t The cover of the key is made, like Abraham's veil, of three colors, red, black or green. It is of silk, embroidered with golden letters, and upon it are written the Bismillah, the name of the reigning Sultan, " Bag of the key of the holy Kaabah," and a verselet from the "Family of Amran" (Koran, ch. 3.). It is made, like the Kiswah, at Khurunfish; a place that will be noticed below. X " Ecorches " — " pelati ; " the idea is common to most imaginative nations. 234 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. All pilgrims do not enter the Kaabah*; and many- refuse to do so for religious reasons. Umar EfFendi, for instance, who never missed a pilgrimage, had never seen the interior-! Those who tread the hallowed floor are bound, among many other things, never again to walk barefooted, to take up fire witli the fingers, or to tell lies. Most really conscientious men cannot afford the luxuries of slippers, tongs, and truth. So thought Thomas, when offered the apple which would give him the tongue that cannot lie. " ' My tongue is mine ain,' true Thomas said. ' A gudely gift ye wad gie to jjae ! 1 neitlier dought to buy nor sell At fair or tryst, where I may be, I dought neither speak to princj or peer, Nor ask of grace from fair ladye !' " Amongst the Hindus I have met with men who have proceeded upon a pilgrimage to Dwarka, and yet would not receive the brand of the god, because lying would then be forbidden to them. A confidential servant of a friend in Bombay naively declared that he had not been marked, as the act would have ruined him. There is a sad truth in what he said. Lying to the Oriental is meat and drink, and the roof that covers him. The Kaabah had been dressed in her new attire when we entered.^ The covering, however, instead of being * The same is the case at El Medinah ; many religious men object on conscientious grounds to enter the Prophet's mosque. The poet quoted below made many visitations to El Medinah, but never could persuade himself to approach the tomb. The Esquire- Carver saw two young Turks who had voluntarily had their eyes thrust out at Meccah as soon as they had seen the glory and visible sanctity of the tomb of Mohammed. I " doubt the fact," which thus appears ushered in by a fiction. ■f I have not thought it necessary to go deep into the list of " Muhar- rimat," or actions forbidden to the pilgrim who has entered the Kaabah. They are numerous and meaningless. f The use of the feminine pronoun is explained below. When unclothed. THE KAABAH IN ITS NEW COVERING. 235 secured at the bottom to the metal rings in the basement, was tucked up by ropes from the roof and depended over The Kaabah in its new covering. each face in two long tongues. It was of a brilliant black, and the Hizam, — the zone or golden band running round the upper portion of the building, — as well as. the •Burka (face- veil)*, were of dazzling brightness. The origin of this custom must be sought in the ancient practice of typifying the church visible by a virgin or bride. The poet Abd el Rahim el Burai, in one of his Gnostic effusions, has embodied the idea : — And Meccah's bride (i.e. the Kaabah) appeareth decked with (miraeulous) signs." This idea doubtless led to the face-veil, the covering, and the guardianship of eunuchs. The Meccan temple was first dressed as a mark of honor the Kaabah is called Uiyanah (naked), in opposition to its normal state, " Muhramah," or clad in Ihram. In Burckhardt's time the house remained naked for fifteen days ; now the investiture is effected in a few hours. * The gold-embroidered curtain covering the Kaabah door is called by the learned " Burkat el Kaabah " (the Kaabah's face- veil), by the vulgar Burkat Fatimah j they connect it in idea with the Prophet's daughter. 236 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDISTAH AND MECCAH. by Tobba the Himyarite when he Judaized.* If we accept this fact, which is vouched for by oriental history, we are led to the conclusion that the children of Israel settled at Meccah had connected the temple with their own faith, and, as a corollary, that the prophet of El Islam in- troduced their apocryphal traditions into his creed. The pagan Arabs did not remove the coverings : the old and torn Kiswah was covered with a new cloth, and the weight threatened to crush the building, f From the time of Kusay, the Kaabah was veiled by subscription, till Abu Rabiat el Mughayrah bin Abdillah, who, having acquired great wealth by commerce, offered to provide the Kiswah on alternate years, and thereby gained the name of El Adl. The Prophet preferred a covering of fine Yemen cloth, and directed the expense to be defrayed by the Bayt el Mai, or public treasury. Omar chose Egyptian linen, ordering the Kiswah to be renewed every year, and the old covering to be distributed among the pilgrims. In the reign of Osman, the Kaabah was twice clothed, in winter and summer. For the former season, it received a Kamis, or Tobe (shirt of brocade), with an Izar, or veil : for the latter a suit of fine linen. Muawiyah at first supplied linen and brocade; he afterwards exchanged the former for striped Yemen stuff, and ordered Shaybah bin Usman to strip the Kaabah, and perfume the walls with Khaluk. Shaybah divided the old Kiswah among the pilgrims, and Abdullah bin Abbas did not object to this distribution. f * The pyramids, it is said, were covered from base to summit with yellow silk or satin. ■\ At present the Kiswah, it need scarcely be said, does not cover the flat roof. I Ayisha also, when Shaybah proposed to bury the old Kiswah, that it might not be worn by the impure, directed him to sell it, and to distribute the proceeds to the poor. The Meceans still follow the first half, but neglect the other part of the order given by the " Mother of the Moslems." Kazi Khan advises the proceeds of the sale being devoted to the repairs of the CHANGES IN STYLE AND MAKE OP KISWAH. 237 The Caliph Maamun (9th century) ordered the dress to be changed three times a year. In his day it was red brocade on the 10th Muharran ; fine linen on the 1st Rajab; and white brocade on the 1st Shawwal, At last he was informed that the veil applied on the 10th of Muharran was too closely followed by the red brocade in the next month, and that it required renewing on the 1st of Shawwal. This he ordered to be done. El Muta- wakkil (9th century), when informed that the dress was spoiled by pilgrims, at first ordered two to be given, and the brocade shirt to be let down as far as the pavement : at last he sent a new veil every two months. During the Caliphat of the Abassides this investiture came to signify sovereignty in El Hejaz, which passed alternately from Baghdad to Egypt and Yemen, In El Idrisi's time (12th cent. A. D.) the Kiswah was composed of black silk and renewed every year by the Caliph of Baghdad. Ibn Jubayr writes that it was green and gold. The Kiswah remained with Egypt when Sultan Kalaun (13th cent. A.D.), conveyed the rents of two villages, "Baysus " and " Sindbus,"* to the expense of providing an outer black, and an inner red curtain for the Kaabahf, and hangings for the Prophet's tomb at El Medinah. When the Holy Land fell under the power of the Osmanli, Sultan Selim ordered the Kiswah to be black, and his son, Sultan Sulazraan the Magnificent (16th cent, a.d.), devoted con- temple. The " Siraj el Wahhaj " positively forbids, as sinful, the cutting, transporting, selling, baying, and placing it between the leaves of the Koran. Kutb el Din (from whom I borrow these particulars) introduces some fine and casuistic distinctions. In his day, however, the Beni Shaybah claimed the old, after the arrival of the new Kiswah ; and their right to it was ad- mitted. To the present day they continue to sell it. • Bnrckhardt says " Bysous " and " Sandabeir." f Some authors also mention a green Kiswah, applied by this monarch. Embroidered on it were certain verselets of the Koran, the formula of the Moslem faith, and the names of the Prophet's companions. 238 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH, siderable sums to the purpose. The Kiswah was after- wards renewed at the accession of each Sultan. And the Wahhabi, during the first year of their conquest, covered the Kaabah with a red Kiswah of the same stuff as the fine Arabian Aba or cloak, and made at El Hasa. The Kiswah is now worked at a cotton manufactory- called El Khurunfish.of the Tumn Bab el Shaariyah, Cairo. It is made by a hereditary family, called the Bayt el Sadi, and, as the specimen in my possession proves, it i8 a coarse tissue of silk and cotton mixed. The Kiswah is composed of eight pieces, — two for each face of the Kaabah, — the seams being concealed by the Hizam, a broad band, which at a distance looks like gold ; it is lined with white calico, and supplied with cotton ropes. Anciently it is said all the Koran was interwoven into it. Now, it is inscribed, " Verily, the first of houses founded for mankind (to worship in) is that at Bekkah * ; blessed and a direction to all creatures ; " together with seven chapters, namely, the Cave, Mariam, the Family of Amran, Repentance, T. H. with Y. S. and Tabarak. The cha- racter is that called Tumar, the largest style of Eastern caligraphy, legible from a considerable distance.! The Hizam is a band about two feet broad, and surrounding the Kaabah at two-thirds of its height. It is divided into four pieces, which are sewn together. On the first and second is inscribed the " Throne verselet," and on the third and fourth the titles of the reigning Sultan. These inscriptions are, like the Burka, or door curtain, gold worked into red silk, by the Bayt el Sadi. "When the Kiswah is ready at Khurunfish, it is carried in procession * From the " Family of Amran " (chap. 3.). " Bekkah " is " a place of crowding; " hence applied to Meccah generally. Some writers, however, limit it to the part of the city round the Haram. f It is larger than the Suls. Admirers of Eastern caligraphy may see a " Bismillah," beautifully written in Tumar, on the wall of Sultan Muayyad's tnnisnnp. fit. Hairo. THE BOX Mohammed's mother. 239 to the Mosque El Hasanayn, where it is lined, sewn, and prepared for the journey.* After quitting the Kaabah, I returned home exhausted, and washed with henna and warm water, to mitigate the pain of the sun-scalds upon my arms, shoulders, and breast. The house was empty, all the Turkish pilgrims being still at Muna, and the Kabirah — the old lady — received me with peculiar attention. I was ushered into an upper room, whose teak wainscotings, covered with Cufic and other inscriptions, large carpets, and ample Diwans still showed a ragged splendor. The family had " seen better days,'' the Sherif Ghalib having confiscated three of its houses ; but it is still proud, and cannot merge the past into the present. In the " drawing-room," which the Turkish colonel occupied when at Meccah, the Kabirah supplied me with a pipe, coffee, cold water, and breakfast. I won her heart by praising the graceless boy Mohammed ; like all mothers, she dearly loved the scamp of the family. When he entered, and saw his maternal parent standing near me, with only the end of her veil drawn over her mouth, he began to scold her with divers insinuations. " Soon thou wilt sit amongst the men in the hall ! " he exclaimed. " O, my son," rejoined the Kabirah, "fear Allah, thy mother is in years!" — and truly she was so, being at least fifty. " A-a-h ! " sneered the youth, who had formed, as boys of the world must do, or appear to do, a very low estimate of the sex. The old lady understood the drift of the exclamation, and departed with a half laughing " May Allah disappoint thee ! " She soon, however, returned, bringing me water for ablution ; * Mr. Lane (Mod. Egypt, vol. iii. chap. 25.) has given an ample and accurate description of the Kiswah. I have added a few details, derived from " Khalil Effendi " of Cairo, a professor of Arabic, and an excellent French scholar. 240 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. and having heard that I had not yet sacrificed a sheep at Muna, enjoined me to return and perform without delay that important rite. After resuming our laical toilette, and dressing gaily for the great festival, we mounted our asses about the cool of the afternoon, and, returning to Muna, found the tent full of visitors. Ali ibn Ya Sin, the Zem Zemi, had sent me an amphora of holy water, and the carrier was awaiting the customary dollar. With him were several Meccans, one of whom spoke excellent Persian. We sat down, and chatted together for an hour ; and I afterwards learned from the boy Mohammed, that all had pronounced me to be an " Ajami." After their departure we debated about the victim, which is only a Sunnat, or Practice of the Prophet.* It is generally sacrificed immediately after the first lapidation, and we had already been guilty of delay. Under these circumstances, and considering the meagre condition of my purse, I would not buy a sheep, but contented myself with watching my neighbours. They gave themselves great trouble, especially a large party of Indians pitched near us, to buy the victim cheap ; but the Bedouins were not less acute, and he was happy who paid less than a dollar and a quarter. Some preferred con- tributing to buy a lean ox. None but the Sherif and the principal dignitaries slaughtered camels. The pilgrims dragged their victims to a smooth rock near the Akabah, above which stands a small open pavilion, whose sides, red with fresh blood, showed that the prince and his attendants had been busy at sacrifice.! Otliers stood before their tents, and, directing the victim's face towards the Kaabah, ■ * Those who omit the rite fast ten days ; three during the pilgrimage season, and the remaining seven at some other time. f The camel is sacrificed by thrusting a pointed instrument into the interval between the sternum and the neck. This anomaly may be accounted for by the thickness and hardness of the muscles of the throat. SACKIFICE8 AT MUNA. 241 cut its throat, ejaculating, " Bismillah ! AUahu Akbar ! " * The boy Mohammed sneeringly directed my attention to the Indians, who, being a mild race, had hired an Arab butcher to do the deed of blood ; and he aroused all Shaykh Nur's ire by his taunting comments upon the chicken- heartedness of the men of Hind. It is considered a meri- torious act to give away the victim without eating any portion of its flesh. Parties of Takruri might be seen, sitting vulture-like, contemplating the sheep and goats ; and no sooner was the signal given, than they fell upon the bodies, and cut them up without removing them. The surface 'of the valley soon came to resemble the dirtiest slaughter-house, and my prescient soul drew bad auguries for the future. We had spent a sultry afternoon in the basin of Muna, which is not unlike a volcanic crater, an Aden closed up at the sea-side. Towards night the occasional puffs of Simoom ceased, and through the air of deadly stillness a mass of purple nimbus, bisected by a thin grey line of mist-cloud, rolled down upon us from the Taif hills. When darkness gave the signal, most of the pilgrims pressed towards the square in front of the Muna Mosque, to enjoy the pyrotechnics and the discharge of cannon. But during the spectacle came on a windy storm, whose lightnings, flashing their fire from pole to pole, paled the rockets, and whose thunderings, re-echoed by the rocky hills, drowned the puny artillery of man. We were dis- appointed in our hopes of rain. A few huge drops pattered upon the plain and sank into its thirsty entrails ; all the rest was thunder and lightning, dust-clouds and whirlwind. * It is strange that Borckhardt should make the Moslem saj, when slaughtering or sacrificing, " In the name of the most Merciful God! " As Mr. Lane justly observes, the attribute of mercy is omitted on these occasions. 242 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. CHAP. XXXI. THE THREE DAYS OF DRYING FLESH. All was dull after the excitement of the Great Festival. The heat of the night succeeding it rendered every effort to sleep abortive ; and as our little camp required a guard in a place so celebrated for plunderers, I spent the great part of the time sitting in the clear pure moonlight. After midnight* we again repaired to the Devils, and, beginning with the Ula, or first pillar, at the eastern ex- tremity of Muna, threw at each 7 stones (making a total of 21), with the ceremonies before described. On Thursday we arose before dawn, and prepared with a light breakfast for the fatigues of a climbing walk. After half an hour spent in hopping from boulder to boulder, we arrived at a place situated on the lower declivity of Jebel Sabir, the northern wall of the Muna basin. Here is the Majarr el Kabsh, " the Dragging- place of the Kam ; " a small, whitewashed square, divided into two compartments. The first is entered by a few ragged steps in the S.E. angle, which lead to an enclosure 30 feet by 15. In the N.E. comer is a block of granite (a), in which a huge gash, several inches broad, some feet * It is not safe to perform this ceremony at an early hour, althongh the ritual forbids it being deferred after sunset. A crowd of women, however, assembled at the Devils in the earlier part of the 11th night (our 10th); and these dames, despite the oriental modesty of face-veils, attack a stranger ■with hands and stones as heartily as English hop-gatherers hasten to duck the Acteon who falls in their way. Hence, popular usage allows stones to 1 _ .1 v— .«»» ,.T.»;1 t\ta TnnminrT Timvurs nf thp 1 1 tb T^ll'l Hiilflh. THE UEJAZI APES. 243 deep, and completely splitting the stone in knife-shape, notes the spot where Ibrahim's blade fell when the arch- angel Gabriel forbade him to slay Ismail his son. The second compartment contains a diminutive hypogeum (b). In this cave the patriarch sacrificed the victim, which gives the place a name. We descended by a flight of steps, and under the stifling ledge of rock found mats and praying-rugs, which, at this early hour, were not over- crowded. We followed the example of the patriarchs, and prayed a two-bow prayer in each of the enclosures. After distributing the usual gratification, we left the place, and proceeded to mount the hill, in hope of seeing some of the apes said still to haunt the heights. These animals are supposed by the Meccans to have been Jews, thus trans- formed for having broken the Sabbath by hunting.* They abound in the elevated regions about Arafat and Taif, where they are caught by mixing the juice of the Asclepias and narcotics with dates and other sweet bait.f The Hejazi ape is a hideous cynocephalus, with small eyes placed close together, and almost hidden by a dispropor- tionate snout; a greenish-brown coat, long arms, and a stern of lively pink, like fresh meat. They are docile, and are said to be fond of spirituous liquors, and to display an inordinate affection for women. £1 Masudi tells about them a variety of anecdotes. According to him, their principal use in Hind and Chin was to protect kings from poison, by eating suspected dishes. The Bedouins have * Traditions about these animals vary in the different parts of Arabia. At Aden, for instance, they are supposed to be a remnant of the rebellious tribe of Ad. It is curious that the popular Arabic, like the Persian names, Saadan, Maymnn, Shadi, &c. &c., are all expressive of (a probably enphoistic) "propitioMness." f The Egyptians generally catch, train, and take them to the banks of the Nile, where the " Kuraydati " (ape-leader) is a popular character. E S 244 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. many tales concerning them. It is universally believed that they catch and kill kites, by exposing the pink portion of their persons and concealing the rest : the bird pounces upon what appears to be raw meat, and presently finds himself viciously plucked alive. Throughout Arabia an old story is told of them. A merchant was once plun- dered during his absence by a troop of these apes ; they tore open his bales, and, charmed with the scarlet hue of the Tarbushes, began applying those articles of dress to uses quite opposite to their normal purpose. The mer- chant was in despair, when his slave offered for a consider- ation to recover the goods. Placing himself in the front, like a fugleman to the ape-company, he went through a variety of manceuvres with a Tarbush, and concluded with throwing it far away. The recruits carefully imitated him, and the drill concluded with his firing a shot : the plunderers decamped and the caps were regained. Failing to see any apes, we retired to the tent ere the sun waxed hot, in anticipation of a terrible day. Nor were we far wrong. In addition to the heat, we had swarms of flies, and the blood-stained earth began to reek with noisome vapours. Nought moved in the air except kites and vultures, speckling the deep blue sky : the denizens of earth seemed paralysed by the sun. I spent the time between breakfast and nightfall lying half- dressed upon a mat, moving round the tent-pole to escape the glare, and watching my numerous neighbours, male and female. The Indians were particularly kind, filling my pipe, offering cooled water, and performing similar little offices. I repaid them with a supply of provisions, which, at the Muna market-prices, these unfortunates could ill afford.] When the moon arose the boy Mohammed and I walked out into the town, performed our second lapida- COFFEE-HOUSES AT MUNA. 245 tlon*, and visited the coffee-houses. The shops were closed early, but business was transacted in places of public resort till midnight- We entered the houses of numerous acquaintances, who accosted my companion, and were hospitably welcomed with pipes and coffee. The first question always was ''Who is this pilgrim?" and more than once the reply, "An Afghan," elicited the language of my own country, which I could no longer speak. Of this phenomenon, however, nothing was thought : many Afghans settled in India know not a word of Pushtu, and even above the Passes many of the townspeople are imperfectly acquainted with it. The Meccans, in consequence of their extensive intercourse with strangers and habits of travelling, are admirable conversational linguists. They speak Arabic remarkably well, and with a volubility surpassing the most lively * This ceremony, as the reader will hare perceired, is performed by the Shafei on the 10th, the 1 1th, and the 12th of Zu'l Hijjah. The Eanafis conclude their stoning on the 13th. The times vary with each day, and differ considerably in religions efScacy. On the night of the 10th (oar 9th), for instance, lapidation, according to some anthorities, cannot take place; others permit it, with a sufficient reason. Between the dawn and sunrise it is Makruh, or disapproved of. Between sunrise and the declination is the Sunnat-time, and therefore the best From noon to sunset it is Mubah, or permissible: the same is the case with the night, if a cause exist. On the 1 1th and 12th of Zu'l Hijjah lapidation is disapproved of from sunset to sunrise. The Sunnat is from noon to sunset, and it is permissible at all other hours. The number of stones thrown by the Shafels, is 49, viz., 7 on the 10th day, 7 at each pillar (total 21) on the 11th day, and the same on the 12th Zu'l Hijjah. The Hanafis also throw 21 stones on the 13th, which raises their number to 70. The 7 first bits of granite must be collected at Muzdalifah; the rest may be taken from the Muna valley ; and all must be washed 7 times before being thrown. In throwing, the Hanafis attempt to approach the pillar, if possible, standing within reach of it Shafeis may stand at a greater distance, which should not, however, pass the limits of 5 cubits. 3 246 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. of our continental nations. Persian, Turkish, and Hin- dostanee are generally known ; and the Mutawwifs, who devote themselves to particular races of pilgrims, soon become masters of the language. Returning homewards, we were called to a spot by the clapping of hands * and the loud sound of song. We found a crowd of Bedouins surrounding a group engaged in their favorite occupation of dancing. The perform- ance is wild in the extreme, resembling rather the hopping of bears than the inspirations of Terpsichore. The by- standers joined in the song ; an interminable recitative, as usual, in the minor key, and — Orientals are admirable timists — it sounded like one voice. The refrain appeared to be — "LaTayha! LaTayha!" to which no one could assign a meaning. At other times they sang something intelligible. For instance : — ^ This couplet may have, like the puerilities of certain modern and European poets, an abstruse and mystical * Here called Safk. It is mentioned by Herodotns, and known to almost every oriental people. The Bedouins sometimes, though rarely, use a table or kettledrum. Yet, amongst the " Fardah," or musical modes of the East, we find the Hejazi ranking with the Isfahani and the Iraki. Southern Arabia has never been celebrated for producing musicians, like the banks of the Tigris, to which we owe, besides castanets and cymbals, the gnitar, the drum, and the lute, father of the modem harp. The name of this in- strument is a corruption of the Arabic " El TJd" /JjJl). through liuto and lutb, into lute. X That is to say, — " On the Great Festival-day at Muna I saw my lord. I am a stranger amongst yon, therefore pity me ! " THE EUFAYHAH, OE WAR-DXSCE. 247 meaning, to be discovered when the Arabs learn to write erudite essays upon nursery rhymes. The style of salta- tion, called Rufayhah, rivalled the song. The dancers raised both arms high above their heads, brandishing a dagger, pistol, or some other small weapon. They followed each other by hops, on one or both feet, sometimes indulging in the most demented leaps ; whilst the bystanders clapped with their palms a more enlivening measure. This I was told is especially their war-dance. They have other forms, which my eyes were not fated to see. Amongst the Bedouins of El Hejaz, unlike the Somali and other African races, the sexes never mingle: the girls may dance together, but it would be disgraceful to perform in the company of men. After so much excitement we retired to rest, and slept soundly. On Friday, the 12th Zu'l Hijjah, the camels appeared, according to order, at early dawn, and they were loaded with little delay. We were anxious to enter Meccah in time for the sermon, and I for one was eager to escape the now pestilential air of Muna. Literally, the land stank. Five or six thousand animals had been slain and cut up in this Devil's Punch-bowl. I leave the reader to imagine the rest. The evil might be avoided by building " abattoirs," or, more easily still, by digging long trenches, and by ordering all pilgrims, under pain of mulct, to sacrifice in the same place. Unhappily, the spirit of El Islam is opposed to these precautions of common sense. " Inshallah " and " Kismat " take the place of prevention and cure. And at Meccah, the head- quarters of the faith, a desolating attack of cholera is pre- ferred to the impiety of " flying in the face of Providence," and the folly of endeavouring to avert inevitable decrees. Mounting our camels, and led by Masud, we entered Muna by the eastern end, and from the litter threw the re- 248 PILGKIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH- maining twenty-one stones. I could now see the principal lines of shops, and, having been led to expect a grand display of merchandise, was surprised to find only mat-booths and sheds, stocked chiefly with provisions. The exit from Muna was crowded, for many, like ourselves, were flying from the revolting scene. I could not think without pity of those whom religious scruples detained another day and a half in this foul spot. After entering Meccah we bathed, and when the noon drew nigh we repaired to the Haram for the purpose of hearing the sermon. Descending to the cloisters below the Bab el Ziyadah, I stood wonder-struck by the scene before me. The vast quadrangle was crowded with worshippers sitting in long rows, and everywhere facing the central black tower : the showy colors of their dresses were not to be surpassed by a garden of the most brilliant flowers, and such diversity of detail would probably not be seen massed together in any other building upon earth. The women, a dull and sombre-looking group, sat apart in their peculiar place. The Pacha stood on the roof of Zem Zem, surrounded by guards in Nizam uniform. Where the principal Olema stationed themselves the crowd was thicker ; and in the more auspicious spots nought was to be seen but a pavement of heads and' shoulders. Nothing seemed to move but a few dervishes, who, censer in hand, sidled through the rows and received the unsolicited alms of the Faithful. Apparently in the midst, and raised above the crowd by the tall, pointed pulpit, whose gilt spire flamed in the sun, sat the preacher, an old man with snowy beard. The style of head-dress called " Taylasan " * covered his turban, which was white as his robes t, and a short staff supported his left ' A scarf thrown over the head, with one end brought round under the cbinaud passed over the left shoulder, composes the " Taylasan." f As late OB Ibn Jubayr's time the preacher was habited from head to foo THE SERMON AT MECCAH. 249 hand.* Presently he arose,took the staff in his right hand, pronounced a few inaudible words t, and sat down again on one of the lower steps, whilst a Muezzin, at the foot of the pulpit, recited the call to sermon. Then the old man stood up and began to preach. As the majestic figure began to exert itself there was a deep silence. Presently a general " Amin " was intoned by the crowd at the conclusion of some long sentence. And at last, towards the end of the sermon, every third or fourth word was followed by the simultaneous rise and fall of thousands of voices. I have seen the religious ceremonies of many lands, but never — nowhere — aught so solemn, so impressive as this. in black ; and two Muezzins held black flags fixed in rings on both sides of the pulpit, with the staves propped upon the first step. • Ml'. Lane remarks, that the wooden sword is never held by the preacher but in a country that has been won from infidels by Moslems. Burckhardt more correctly traces the origin of the custom to the eai-ly days of El Islam, when the preachers found it nccessai-y to be prepared for surprises. And all authors who, like Ibn Jubayr, described the Meccan ceremonies, mention the sword or staflT. The curious reader will consult this most accurate of Moslem travellers ; and a perusal of the pages will show that anciently the sermon differed considerably from, and was far more ceremonious than, the present Khutbah. f The words were " Peace be upon ye! and the mercy of Allah and his blessings ! ", 250 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. CHAP. XXXII. LIFE AT MECCAH, AND UMKAH, OE THE LITTLE PILGEIMAGE. My few remaining days at Mecoah sped pleasantly enough. TJmar Effendi visited me regularly, and arranged to ac- company me furtively to Cairo. I had already consulted Mohanmied Shiklibha — who suddenly appeared at Muna, having dropped down from Suez to Jeddah, and reached Meccah in time for pilgrimage — about the possibility of proceeding eastward. The honest fellow's eyebrows rose till they almost touched his turban, and he exclaimed in a roaring voice, " Wallah! Effendi! thou art surely mad." Every day he brought me news of the different caravans. The Bedouins of El Hejaz were, he said, in a ferment caused by reports of the Holy War, want of money, and rumors of quarrels between the Sherif and the Pacha: already they spoke of an attack upon Jeddah. Shaykh Masud, the camel-man, with whom I parted on the best of terms, seriously advised my remaining at Meccah for some months even before proceeding to Sanaa. Others gave the same counseL Briefly I saw that my star was not then in the ascendant, and resolved to reserve myself for a more propitious conjuncture by returning to Egypt. The Turkish colonel and I had become as friendly as two men ignoring each other's speech could be. He had derived benefit from some prescription ; but, like all his countrymen, he was pining to leave Meccah.* Whilst the * Not more than one quarter of the pUgrims who appear at Arafat go on THE HEAT AT MECCAH UNBEAEABLE. 251 pilgrimage lasted, said they, no mal de pays came to trouble them ; but, its excitement over, they could think of nothing but their wives and children. Long-drawn faces and continual sighs evidenced nostalgia. At last the house became a scene of preparation. Blue china-ware and basketed bottles of Zem Zem water appeared stand- ing in solid columns, and pilgrims occupied themselves in hunting for mementos of Meccah, drawings, combs, balm, henna, tooth-sticks, aloe-wood, turquoises, coral, and mother-o'-pearl rosaries, shreds of Kiswat-cloth and fine Abas, or cloaks of camels'-wool. It was not safe to mount the stairs without shouting " Tarik " — Out of the way ! — at every step, or peril of meeting face to face some excited fair.* The lower floor was crowded with pro- vision-vendors; and the staple article of conversation seemed to be the chance of a steamer from Jeddah to Suez. Weary of the wrangling and chaffering of the hall be- low, I had persuaded my kind hostess, in spite of the surly skeleton her brother, partially to clear out a small store- room in the first floor, and to abandon it to me between the hours of ten and four. During the heat of the day clothing is unendurable at Meccah. The city is so " com- pacted together" by hills, that even the Simoom can scarcely sweep it, the heat reverberated by the bare rocks is intense, and the normal atmosphere of an eastern town communicates a faint lassitude to the body and irritability to the mind. The houses being unusually strong and to El Hedinah: the expense, the hardships, and the dangers of the jonmey accoont for the smallness of the namber. In theology it is " Jaiz," or ad- missible, to begin with the Frophet's place of burial. Eut those performing the " Hajyat el Islam " are enjoined to commence at Meccah. ' When respectable married men live together in the same honse, a rare occurrence, except on journeys, this most ungallant practice of clearing the wav is and mast be kent up in the East. 252 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AST) MECCAH. well-built, might by some art of thermantidote be ren- dered cool enough in the hottest weather : they are now ovens.* It was my habit to retire immediately after the late breakfast to the little room upstairs, to sprinkle it with water, and lie down upon a mat. In the few precious moments of privacy notes were committed to paper, but one eye was ever fixed on the door. Sometimes a patient would interrupt me, but a doctor is far less popular in El Hejaz than in Egypt. The people, being more healthy, have less faith in physic : Shaykh Masud and his son had never tasted in their lives aught more medicinal than green dates and camel's milk. Occasionally the black slave-girls came into the room, asking if the pilgrim wanted a pipe or a cup of coffee : they generally retired in a state of delight, attempting vainly to conceal with a corner of tattered veil a grand display of ivory consequent upon some small and innocent facetiousness. The most frequent of my visitors was Abdullah, the Kabirah's eldest son. This melancholy Jacques had joined our caravan at * I offer no lengthened description of the town of Meccah : Ali Bey and Borckhardt have already said all that requires saying. Although the origin of the Bayt Ullah be lost in the glooms of past time, the city is a com- paratively modem place, built about a. d 450, by Kosay and the Kuraysh. It contains about 30,000 inhabitants, with lodging room for at least treble that number; and the material of the houses is brick, granite, and sandstone from the neighbouring hills. The site is a winding valley, on a small plateau, half- way " below the Ghauts." Its utmost length is two miles and a half from the Mab'dab (north) to the southern mound Jiyad; and three-quarters of a mile would be the extreme breadth between Abu Kubays eastward, — upon whose western slope the most solid mass of the town clusters, — and Jebel Hindj westward of the city. In the centre of this line stands the Kaabah. I regret being unable to offer the reader a sketch of Meccah, or of the Great Temple. The stranger who would do this should visit the city out of the pilgrimage season, and hire a room looking into the quadrangle of the Haram. This addition to our knowledge is the more required, as our popular sketches (generally taken from D'Ohsson) are utterly incorrect. The Kaabah is always a recognisable building; but the " View of Meccah " known to Europe is not more like Meccah than like Cairo or Bombay. A SAUDAWI, OK MELANCHOLIST. 253 El Hamra, on the Yambu road, accompanied us to El Medinah, lived there, and journeyed to Meccah with the Syrian pilgrimage ; yet he had not once come to visit me or to see his brother, the boy Mohammed. When gently reproached for this omission he declared it to be his way — that he never called upon strangers until sent for. He was a perfect Saudawi (melancholist) in mind, manners, and personal appearance, and this class of humanity in the East ia almost as uncomfortable to the household as the idiot of Europe. I was frequently obliged to share my meals with him, as his mother — though most filially and reverentially entreated — would not supply him with breakfast two hours after the proper time, or with a dinner served up forty minutes before the rest of the household. Often, too, I had to curb, by polite depreca- tion, the impetuosity of the fiery old Kabirah's tongue. Thus Abdullah and I became friends, after a fashion. He purchased several little articles required, and never failed to pass hours in my closet, giving me much information about the country, deploring the laxity of Meccan morals, and lamenting that in these evil days his countrymen had forfeited their name at Cairo and Constantinople. His curiosity about the English in India was great, and I satisfied it by praising, as a Moslem would, their " poli- tike," their even-handed justice, and their good star. Then he would inquire into the truth of a fable extensively known on the shores of the Mediterranean and tie Red Sea. The English, it is said, sent a mission to Moham- med, inquiring into his doctrines, and begging that Khalid bin Walid* might be sent to proselytise them. Unfor- ' It is cnrions that the Afghans should claim this Knravsh noble as their compatrioL " On one occasion, when Khalid bin Walid was saying some- thing in his native tongae (the Pushtu or Afghani), Mohammed remarked that assuredly that language was the peculiar dialect or the damned. As Khalid appeared to suffer from the observation, and to betray certain sjm- 254 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. tunately, the envoys arrived too late — the Prophet's soul had winged its way to Paradise. An abstract of the Moslem scheme was, however, sent to the " Ingreez," who declined, as the founder of the new faith was no more, to abandon their own religion ; but the refusal was accom- panied with expressions of regard. For this reason many Moslems in Barbary and other countries hold the English to be of all " People of the Books " the best inclined to- wards them. As regards the Prophet's tradition con- cerning the fall of his birthplace "and the thin-calved from the Habash ( Abyssinians) shall destroy the Kaabah," I was informed that towards the end of time a host will pass over from Africa in such multitudes that a stone shall be conveyed from hand to hand between Jeddah and Meccah. This latter condition might easily be accom- plished by 60,000 men, the distance being only 44 miles, but the citizens consider it to express a countless horde. Some pious Moslems have hoped that in Abdullah bin Zubayr's re-erection of the Kaabah the prophecy was ful- filled* : the popular belief, however, remains, that the fatal event is still in the womb of time. In a previous part of these volumes I have alluded to similar evil presentiments which haunt the mind of El Islam; and the Christian, zealous for the propagation of his faith, may see in them an earnest of its still wider diffusion in future ages.t Late in the afternoon I used to rise, perform ablution, and repair to the Haram, or wander about the bazars till ptoms of insubordination, the Prophet condescended to comfort him by graciously pronouncing the words " Ghashe linda raora," i. e. Bring me my bow and arrows. (Remarks on Dr. Dom's Chrestomathy of the Pushtu or Afghan Language. Trans. Bombay As. Society, 1848.) * See the 9th building of the Kaabah, described in Chap. IV. f It requires not the ken of a prophet to foresee the day when political necessity — sternest of'Avdymil — will compel us to occupy in force the fountain-head of El Islam, THE CITIZENS OF MECCAU. 255 sunaet. After this it was necessary to return home and prepare for supper — dinner it would be called in the West. The meal concluded, I used to sit for a time out- side the street-door in great dignity, upon a broken-backed black-wood chair, traditionally said to have been left in the house by one of the princes of Delhi, smoking a Shishah, and drinking sundry cups of strong green tea with a slice of lime, a fair substitute for milk. At this hour the seat was as in a theatre, but the words of the actors were of a nature somewhat too Fescennine for a respectable public. After nightfall we either returned to the Haram or retired to rest. Our common dormitory was the flat roof of the house ; under each cot stood a water-gugglet; and all slept, as must be done in the torrid lands, on and not in bed. I sojourned at Meccah but a short time, and, as usual with travellers, did not see the best specimens of the po- pulation. The citizens appeared to me more civilised and more vicious than those of El Medinah. They often leave — " Home, where small experience grows," and — *' qui multum peregrinatur, raro sanctificatur " — become a worldly-wise, God-forgetting, and Mammonish sort of folk. " Tuf w' asaa, w' aamil el Saba " — " Cir- cumambulate and run (i. e. between Safa and Marwah) and do the seven (deadly sins) " — is a satire popularly levied against them. Hence, too, the proverb " El Haram f il Haramayn " — « Evil (d weUeth) in the two Holy (Cities) ; " and no wonder, since plenary indulgence is so easily se- cured.* The pilgrim is forbidden, or rather dissuaded, from abiding at Meccah after the rites, and wisely. Great emotions must be followed by a reaction. And he who * Good acts done at Meccah are rewarded a hundred-thonsand-fold in heaven; jet it is not auspicious to dwell there. Omar informs us that an evil deed receives the punishment of seventy. 256 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. Stands struck by the first aspect of Allah's house, after a few months, the marvel becoming stale, sweeps past it with indifference or something worse. There is, however, little at Meccah to offend the eye. Like certain other nations further west, a layer of ashes overspreads the fire : the mine is concealed by a green turf fair to look upon. It is only when wandering by starlight through the northern outskirts of the town that men may be seen with light complexions and delicate limbs, coarse turbans and Egyptian woollen robes, speaking disguise and the purpose of disguise. No one within the memory of man has suffered the penalty of immorality. Spirituous liquors are no longer sold, as in Burckhardt's day*, in shops ; and some Amaut officers assured me that they found considerable difficulty in smuggling flasks of " raki " from Jeddah. The Meccan is a darker man than the Medinite. The people explain this by the heat of the climate. I rather believe it to be caused by the number of female slaves that find their way into the market. Gallas, Sawahilis, a few Somalia, and Abyssinians are embarked at Suakin, Zayla, Tajurrah, and Berberah, carried in thousands to Jeddah, and the Holy City has the pick of each batch. Thence the stream sets northwards, a small current towards El Medinah, and the main line to Egypt and Turkey. Most Meccans have black concubines, and, as has been said, the appearance of the Sherif is almost that of a negro. I did not see one handsome man in the Holy City, although some of the women appeared to me beautiful. The male profile is high and bony, the forehead recedes, and the head rises unpleasantly towards the region of firmness. In most families male children, when forty days old, are taken to the Kaabah, prayed over, and carried home, where the * It must be remembered that my predecessor visited Meccah when the Egyptian army, commanded by Mohammed Ali, held the town. " BEAUTT-MAEKS " IN VOGUE. 257 barber draws with a razor three parallel gashes down the fleshy portion of each cheek, from the exterior angles of the eyes almost to the corners of the mouth. These " Ma- shali," as they are called *, may be of modern date : the citizens declare that the custom was unknown to their ancestors. I am tempted to assign to it a high antiquity, and cannot but attribute a pagan origin to a custom still prevailing, despite all the interdictions of the Olema. In point of figure the Meccan is somewhat coarse and lym- phatic. The ludicrous leanness of the outward man, as described by Ali Bey, survives only in the remnants of themselves belonging to a bygone century. The young men are rather stout and athletic, but in middle age — when man " swills and swells " — they are apt to dege- nerate into corpulence. The Meccan is a covetous spendthrift. His wealth, lightly won, is lightly prized. Pay, pension, stipends, presents, and the " Ikram " here, as at El Medinah, supply the citizen with the means of idleness. With him everything is on the most expensive scale, his marriage, his , religious ceremonies, and his household expenses. * The act is called " Tashrit," or gashing. The body is also marked, but with smaller cuts, so that the child is coTered with blood. Ali Bey was told by some Meccans that the face-gashes served for the purpose of phle- botomy, by others that they were signs that the scarred was the servant of Allah's house. He attributes this gashing, like female tattooing, to coquetry. The citizens told me that the custom arose from the necessity of preserving children from the kidnapping Persians, and that it is preserved as a mark of the Holy City. But its wide diffusion denotes an earlier origin. Moham- med expressly forbad his followers to mark the skin with scars. These " beauty-marks " are common to the nations in the regions to the west of the Red Sea. The Barabarah of Upper Egypt adorn their faces with scars exactly like the Meccans. The Abysslnians moxa themselves in hecatombs for fashion's sake. I have seen cheeks gashed, as in the Holy City, among the Gallas. Certain races of the Sawahil trace around the head a corona of little cuts, like those of a cupping instrument. And, to quote no other instances, some Somalis raise ghastly seams upon their chocolate- colored skins. VOL. II. S 258 riLGRIlIAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. His house is luxuriously furnished, entertainments are frequent, and the junketings of the women make up a heavy bill at the end of the year. It is a common prac- tice for the citizen to anticipate the pilgrimage season by falling into the hands of the usurer. If he be in luck, he catches and " skins " one or more of the richest Hajis. On the other hand, should fortune fail him, he will feel for life the effect of interest running on at the rate of at least 50 per cent., the simple and the compound forms of which are equally familiar to the wily Sarraf.* The most unpleasant peculiarities of the Meccansf are their pride and coarseness of language. They look upon themselves as the cream of earth's sons, and resent with extreme asperity the least slighting word concerning the Holy City and its denizens. They plume themselves upon their holy descent, their exclusion of Infidels |, their strict fastings, their learned men, and their purity of lan- guage. § In fact, their pride shows itself at every * The Indian " Shroff" — banker, money-changer, and usurer. ■f When speaking of the Meccans I allude only to the section of society which fell under my observation, and that more extensire division con- cerning which I obtained notices that could be depended upon. { The editor of Burckhardt's " Travels in Arabia " supposes that his author's " Sect of light extinguishers," were probably Parsees from Surat or Bombay. The mistake is truly ludicrous, for no pious Parsee will extin- guish a light. Moreover, Infidels are not allowed by law to pass the fron- tiers of the Sanctuary. The sect alluded to is an obscure heresy in Central Asia ; and concerning it the most improbable scandals have been propa- gated by the orthodox. § It is strange how travellers and linguists differ upon the subject of Arabic and its dialects. Niebuhr compares their relation to that of Pro- vencal, Spanish, and Itahan, whereas Lane declares the dialects to resemble each other more than those of some different counties in England. Herbin (Grammar) draws a broad line between ancient and modem Arabic ; but Hochst (Nachrichten von Marokos und Fez) asserts that the difference is not so great as is imagined. Perhaps the soundest opinion is that proposed by Clodius, in his " Arabic Grammar : " " dialectus Arabum vulgaris tan- tum diffcrt ab erudita, quantum Isocrates dictio ab hodiema lingua Grjeca.'' POINTS IN THE MECCAN CHAKACTEK. 259 moment ; but it is not the pride which makes a man too proud to do " dirty work." My predecessor did not re- mark their scurrility : he seems, on the contrary, rather to commend them for respectability in this point. If he be correct, the present generation has degenerated. The Meccans appeared to me distinguished, even in this foul- mouthed East, by the superior licentiousness of their language. Abuse was bad enough in the streets, but in the house it became intolerable. The Turkish pilgrims remarked, but they were too proud to notice it. The boy Mohammed and one of his tall cousins at last transsressed the limits of my endurance. They had been abusing each other vilely one day at the house-door about dawn, when I administered the most open reprimand : " In my country (Afghanistan) we hold this to be the hour of prayer, the season of good thoughts, when men remember Allah ; even the Kafir doth not begin the day with curses and abuse." The people around approved, and even the offenders could not refrain from saying, " Thou hast spoken truth, O Effendi ! " Then the bystanders began, as usual, to " improve the occasion." " See," they ex- claimed, " this Sulaymani gentleman, he is not the son of a Holy City, and yet he teacheth you — ye, the children of the Prophet! — repent and fear Allah!" They replied, " Verily we do repent, and Allah is a Pardoner and the Merciful!" — were silent for an hour, and then abused each other more foully than before. Yet it is a good point in the Meccan character, that it is But it must be remembered that the Arabs divide their spoken and even written language into two orders, the " Kalam Wati," or vulgar tongue, sometimes employed in epistolary correspondence, and the " Nahwi," or grammatical and classical language. Every man of education uses the former, and can use the latter. And the Eorau is no more a model of Arabic (as it is often assumed to be) than " Paradise Lost " is of English. Inimitable, no man imitates them. s 2 260 PILGEIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. open to reason, can confess itself in error, and displays none of that doggedness of vice which distinguishes the sinner of a more stolid race. Like the people of Southern Europe, the Semite is easily managed by a jest : though grave and thoughtful, he is by no means deficient in the sly wit which we call humour, and the solemn gravity ot his words contrasts amusingly with his ideas. He parti- cularly excels in the Cervantic art, the spirit of which, says Sterne, is to clothe low subjects in sublime language. In Mohammed's life we find that he by no means dis- dained a joke, sometimes a little hasarde, as in the case of the Paradise-coveting old woman. The other redeeming qualities of the Meccan are his courage, his bonhomie, his manly suavity of manners, his fiery sense of honor, his strong family aflFections, his near approach to what we call patriotism, and his general knowledge : the reproach of extreme ignorance which Burckhardt directs against the Holy City has long ago sped to the Limbo of things that were. The dark half of the picture is pride, bigotry, irreligion, greed of gain, immorality, and prodigal osten- tation. Of the pilgrimage ceremonies I cannot speak harshly. It may be true that " the rites of the Kaabah, emas- culated of every idolatrous tendency, still hang a strange unmeaning shroud around the living theism of Islam." But what nation, either in the West or the East, has been able to cast out from its ceremonies every suspicion of its old idolatry ? What are the English mistletoe, the Irish wake, the Pardon of Brittany, the Carnival and the Worship at Iserna ? Better far to consider the Meccan pilgrimage rites in the light of Evil-worship turned into lessons of Good than to philosophise about their strange- ness, and to err in asserting them to be insignificant. Even the Bedouin circumambulating the Kaabah fortifies his wild belief by the fond thought that he treads the MECCAN AND CHKISTIAN SUPEESTITIONS. 261 path of " Allah's friend." At Arafat the good Moslem worships in imitation of the " Pure of Allah ; " * and when hurling stones and curses at the three senseless little buttresses which commemorate the appearance of the fiend, the materialism of the action gives to its senti- ment all the strength and endurance of reality. The supernatural agencies of pilgrimage are carefully and sparingly distributed. The angels who restore the stones from Muna to Muzdalifah, the heavenly host whose pinions cause the Kaabah's veil to rise and wave, and the mysterious complement of the pilgrims' total at the Arafat sermon, all belong to the category of spiritual creatures walking earth unseen, — a poetical tenet, not condemned by Christianity. The Meccans are, it is true, to be reproached with their open Mammon- worship, at times and at places the most sacred and venerable ; but this has no other effect upon the pilgrims than to excite disgust and open reprehension. Here, however, we see no such silly frauds as heavenly fire drawn from a phos- phor-match ; nor do two rival churches fight in the flesh with teeth and nails, requiring the contemptuous inter- ference of an infidel power to keep around order. Here we see no fair dames staring with their glasses " braqu^s " at the Head of the Church, or supporting exhausted nature with the furtive sandwich, or carrying pampered curs who, too often, will not be silent, or scrambling and squeezing to hear theatrical music, reckless of the fate of the old lady who — on such occasions there is always one — has been " thrown down and cruelly trampled upon by the crowd," If the Meccan citizens are disposed to scoff at the wild Takruri, they do it not so publicly or shame- lessly as the Koman jeering with ribald jest at the fana- ticism of strangers from the bogs of Ireland. Finally, at * Safi Ullah— Adam. s 3 262 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. Meccah there is nothing theatrical, nothing that suggests the opera; but all is simple and impressive, fiUing the mind with — " A weight of awe not easy to be borne," and tending, I believe, after its fashion, to good. As regards the Meccan and Moslem belief that Abraham and his son built the Kaabah, it may be observed that the Genesitic account of the Great Patriarch has suggested to learned men the idea of two Abrahams, one the son of Terah, another the son of Azar (fire), a Prometheus, who imported civilisation and knowledge into Arabia from Harran, the sacred centre of Sabaean learning.* Moslem historians all agree in representing Abraham as a star- worshipper in youth, and Eusebius calls the patriarch son of Athar ; his father's name, therefore, is no Arab in- vention. Whether Ishmael or his sire ever visited Meccah to build the Kaabah is, in my humble opinion, an open question. The Jewish Scripture informs us only that the patriarch dwelt at Beersheba and Gerar, in the S.W. of Palestine, without any allusion to the annual visit which Moslems declare he paid to their Holy City. At the * The legend that Abraham was the " Son of Fire " might have arisen from his birthplace, TJr of the Chaldees. This Ur (whence the Latin uro) becomes in Persian Hir ; in Arabic Irr or Arr. It explains the origin of " Orotalt " better than by means of " Allahu Taala.'' This word, variously spelt Ourotalt, Orotalt, and Orotal (the latter woiUd be the masculine form in Arabic), is Urrat-ilat, or the goddess of fire, most probably the Sun (El Shams) which the Semites make a feminine. Forbiggen translates it Son- nen-gott, an error of gender, as the final consonant proves. The other deity of pagan Arabia, Alilat, is clearly Al Lat. May not the Phoenicians have supplied the word " Irr," which still sur- vives in Erin and Ireland? even so they gave to the world the name of [cJLiii i^y Britain, Brettainke, Barrat et Tanuki ( i '■ O.'m Jj I, the Land of Tin. And I should more readily believe that Eeran is the land of fire, than accept iffl Hprivflf.inn frnm Fpr fvir'\ a TnRn_ DANGEES OP VISITING MECCAH. 263 same time Arab tradition speaks clearly and consistently upon the subject, and generally omits those miraculous and superstitious adjuncts which cast shadows of sore doubt upon the philosopher's mind. Those who know the habits of the expatriated Jews and Christians of the East — ^their practice of connecting all remarkable spots with their old traditions — will readily believe that the children of Israel settled in pagan Meccah saw in its idolatry some perverted form of their own worship.* The amount of risk which a stranger must encounter at the pilgrimage rites is still considerable. A learned Orientalist and divine intimated his intention, in a work published but a few years ago, of visiting Meccah without disguise. He was assured that the Turkish governor would now offer no obstacle to a European traveller. I would strongly dissuade a friend from making the attempt. It is true that the Frank is no longer, as in Capt. Head's dayf, insulted when he ventures out of the Meccan Gate of Jeddah ; and that our vice-consuls and travellers are allowed, on condition that their glance do not pollute the shrine, to visit Taif and the regions lying eastward of the Holy City. Neither the Pacha nor the Sherif would, in these days, dare to enforce, in the case of an Englishman, the old law, a choice thrice offered between circumcision and death. But the first Bedouin who caught sight of the Frank's hat would not deem himself a man if he did not drive a bullet through the wearer's head. At the pilgrimage season disguise is easy, on account of the vast and varied multitudes which visit Meccah, exposing the traveller only to "stand the buffet with knaves who smell * The best, and indeed the only proof that they did so, is the respect paid b;- the Judaized Tobba to the Kaabah. Chap. YIU. -f Capt. C. F. Head, aathor of " Eastern and Egyptian Scenery," was, as late as A. s. 1829, pelted by the Bedouins, because he passed the eastern gate of Jeddah in a Prankish dress. s 4 264 PILGEIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. of sweat." But woe to the unfortunate who happens to be recognised in public as an Infidel — unless at least he could throw himself at once upon the protection of the go- vernment.* Amidst, however, a crowd of pilgrims, whose fanaticism is worked up to the highest pitch, detection would probably ensure his dismissal at once al numero de' pill. Those who find danger the salt of pleasure may visit Meccah ; but if asked whether the results justify the risk, I should reply in the negative. And the vice-consul at Jeddah would only do his duty in peremptorily for- bidding European travellers to attempt Meccah without disguise, until the day comes when such steps can be taken in the certainty of not causing a mishap, which would not redound to our reputation, as we could not in justice re- venge it.f On the 14th Z'ul Hijjah we started to perform the rite of Umrah, or Little Pilgrimage. After performing ab- lution, and resuming the Ihram with the usual ceremonies, I set out, accompanied by the boy Mohammed and his brother Abdullah. Mounting asses, which resembled mules in size and speed |, we rode to the Haram, and * The best way would be to rush, if possible, into a house ; and the owner would then, for his own interest, as well as honor, defend a stranger till assistance could be procured. f Future pilgrims must also remember that the season is gradually re- ceding towards the heart of the hot weather. For the next fifteen years, therefore, an additional risk will attend the traveller. J Pliny is certainly right about this useful quadruped and its congeners, the zebra and the wild ass, in describing it as " animal frigoris maxime im- patiens." It degenerates in cold regions, unless, as in Afghanistan and Barbary, there be a long, hot, and dry summer. Aden, Cutch, and Bagh- dad, have fine breeds, whereas those of India and south-eastern Africa are poor and weak. The best and the highest-priced come from the Maghrib, and second to them ranks the Egyptian race. At Meccah careful feeding and kind usage transform the dull slave into an active and symmetrical friend of man : he knows his owner's kind voice, and if one of the two fast^ it is irenerallv the bined. The asses of the Holy City are tall and plump. THE UMEAH OR LITTLE PILGRIMAGE. 265 prayed there. Again remounting, we issued through the Bab el Safa towards the open country N.E. of the city. The way was crowded with pilgrims, on foot as well as mounted, and their loud Labbayks distinguished those engaged in the Umrah rite from the many whose business was with the camp of the Damascus caravan. At about half a mile from the city we passed on the left a huge heap of stones, where my companions stood and cursed. This grim-looking cairn is popularly believed to note the place of the well where Abu Lahab laid an ambuscade for the Prophet. This wicked uncle stationed there a slave, with orders to throw headlong into the pit the first person who approached him, and privily persuaded his nephew to visit the spot at night : after a time, anxiously hoping to hear that the deed had been done, Abu Lahab incautiously drew nigh, and was precipitated by his own bravo into the place of destruction.* Hence the well-known saying in Islam, " Whoso diggeth a well for his brother shall fall into it himself." We added our quota of stones f, and with sleek coat;, generally ash or grey-coloared, the eyes of deer, heads gracefully carried, an ambling gait, and extremely sure-footed. They are equal to great fatigue, and the stallions hare been known, in their ferocity, to kill the groom. The price varies from 25 to 150 dollars. • Such is the popular version of the tale, which differs in some points from that recorded in books. Others declare that here, in days gone by, stood the house of another notorious malignant, Abu Jahl. Some, again, suppose that in this place a tyrannical governor of Meccah was summarily " lynched " by the indignant populace. The two first traditions, however, are the favorites, the vulgar — citizens, as well as pilgrims — loving to con- nect such places with the events of their early sacred history. Even in the twelfth century we read that pilgrims used to cast stones at two cairns covering the remains of Abu Lahab, and the beautiful termagant, his wife. t Certain credulous authors have contrasted these heaps with the clear ground at Muna, for the purpose of a minor miracle. According to them this cairn steadily grows, as we may believe it would ; and that, were it not for the guardian angels, the millions of little stones annually thrown at the devils would soon form a mass of equal magnitude. 266 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. proceeding, saw the Jeddah road spanning the plain like a white ribbon. In front of us the highway was now lined with coffee-tents, before which effeminate dancing-boys performed to admiring Syrians : a small whitewashed " Bungalow," the palace of the Emir el Hajj, lay on the left, and all around it clustered the motley encampment of his pilgrims. After cantering about three miles from the city, we reached the Alamayn, or two pillars that limit the Sanctuary ; and a little beyond it, is the small settlement, popularly called El Umrah.* Dismounting here, we sat down on rugs outside a coffee-tent to enjoy the beauty of the moonlit night, and an hour of " Kayf," in the sweet air of the desert. Presently the coffee-tent keeper, after receiving pay- ment, brought us water for ablution. This preamble over, we entered the principal chapel; an unpretending building, badly lighted, spread with dirty rugs, full of pilgrims, and offensively close. Here we prayed the Isha, or night devotions, and then a two-bow prayer in honor of the Ihram f, after which we distributed gratuities to the guardians, and alms to the importunate beggars. This custom of lapidation, in token of hate, is an ancient practice, still common in the East. Yet, in some parts of Arabia, stones are thrown at tombs as a compliment to the tenant. And in the Somali country, the places where it is said holy men sat, receive the same doubtful homage. * It is called in books El Tanim (bestowing plenty) ; a word which readers must not confound with the district of the same name in the pro- vince Khaulan (made by Niebuhr the " Thumna," " Thorana," or " Tamna," capital of the Catabanites). Other authors apply El Tanim to the spot where Abu Lahab is supposed to lie. There are two places called El Umrah near Meccah. The Kabirah, or Greater, is, I am told, in the Wady Fatimah, and the Prophet ordered Ayisha and her sister to begin the ceremonies at that place. It is now visited by picnic parties and those who would pray at the tomb of Maimu- nah, one of the Prophet's wives. Modem pilgrims commence always, I am told, at the Umrah Saghirah (the lesser), which is about halfway nearer the city. f Some assume the Ihram garb at this place. THE NITAT OP THE ETJNNING. 267 And now I perceived the object of Abdullah's compan- ionship. The melancholy man assured me that he had ridden out for love of me, and in order to perform as Wakil (substitute) a vicarious pilgrimage for my parents. Vainly I assured him that they had been strict in the exercises of their faith. He would take no denial, and I perceived that love of me meant love of my dollars. With a surly assent, he was at last permitted to act for the " pious pilgrims Yusuf (Joseph) bin Ahmed and Fatimah bint Yunus," — my progenitors. It was impossible to prevent smiling at contrasts, as Abdullah, gravely raising his hands, and directing his face to the Kaabah, intoned, " I do vow this Ihram of Umrah in the name of Yusuf son of Ahmed, and Fatimah daughter of Yunus ; then render it attainable to them, and accept it of them ! Bismillab ! Allahu Akbar ! " Remounting, we galloped towards Meccah, shouting Labbayk, and halting at every half mile to smoke and drink coffee. In a short time we entered the city, and repairing to the Haram by the Safa Gate, performed the Ta- waf, or circumambulation of Umrah. After this dull round and necessary repose we left the temple by the same exit, and mounting once more, turned towards El Safa, which stands about 100 yards S.E. of the Mosque, and as little deserves its name of " Mountain " as do those that un- dulate the face of modern Rome. The Safa end is closed by a mean-looking building, composed of three round arches, with a dwarf flight of steps leading up to them out of a narrow road. Without dismbunting, we wheeled our donkeys* round, " left shoulders forward " — no easy task in the crowd, — and vainly striving to sight the Kaabah through the Bab el Safa, performed the Niyat, * We had still the pretext of my injured foot. When the Sai rite is per- formed, as it should be, bj a pedestrian, he mounts the steps to about the height of a man, and then turns towards the temple. 268 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH^ or VOW of the rite El Sai, or the running.* After Tahlil, Takbir, and Talbiyat, we raised our hands in the sup- plicatory position, and twice repeated f, " There is no god but Allah, alone, without partner ; his is the kingdom, unto him be praise ; he giveth life and death, he is alive and perisheth not ; in his hand is good, and he over all things is omnipotent." Then, with the donkey-boys leading our animals and a stout fellow preceding us with lantern and a quarter-staff to keep off the running Be- douins, camel-men, and riders of asses, we descended Safa, and walked slowly down the street El Masaa, towards Marwah.if During our descent we recited aloud, " O Allah, cause me to act according to the Sunnat of thy Prophet, and to die in his faith, and defend me from errors and disobedience by thy mercy, O most Merciful of the Merciful!" Arrived at what is called the Batn el Wady (Belly of the Vale), a place now denoted by the Milayn el Akhzarayn (the two green pillars §), one fixed in the eastern course of the Haram, the other in a house on the right side ||, we began the running by urging on our beasts. Here the prayer was, " O Lord, pardon and pity, and pass over what thou knowest, for thou art the most dear and the most generous ! Save us from hell-fire safely, and cause us safely to enter Paradise ! O Lord, • I will not trouble the reader with this Niyat, which is the same as that used in the Tawaf rite. t Almost eyery Mutawwif, it must be remembered, has his own set of prayers. J " Safa " means a large, hard rock ; " Marwah," hard, white flints, full of fire. § In former times a devastating torrent used to sweep this place after rains. The Fiumara bed has now disappeared, and the pillars are used as landmarks. Galland observes that these columns are planted npon the place which supported Eve's knees, when, after three hundred years' sepa- ration, she was found by Adam. II This house is called in books Kubat el Abbas. MARWAH. 269 give us happiness here and happiness hereafter, and spare us the torture of the flames ! " At the end of this sup- plication we had passed the Batn, or lowest ground, whose farther limits were marked by two other pillars. Again we began to ascend, repeating, as we went, " Verily, Safa and Marwah are two of the monuments of Allah. Whoso, therefore, pilgrimeth to the temple of Meccah or performeth Umrah, it shall be no crime in him (to run between them both). And as for him who voluntarily doeth a good deed, verily Allah is grateful and omni- scient ! " * At length we reached Marwah, a little rise like Safa in the lower slope of Abu Kubays. The houses cluster in amphitheatre shape above it, and from the Masaa, or street below, a short flight of steps leads to a platform, bounded on three sides like a tennis court, by tall walls without arches. The street^ seen from above, has a bowstring curve : it is between 800 and 900 feet longf, with high houses on both sides, and small lanes branching off from it. At the foot of the platform we brought "right shoulders forward," so as to face the Kaabah, and raising hands to ears, thrice exclaimed, " Allahu Akbar." This concluded the first course, and, of these, seven compose the ceremony El Sai, or the running. There was a startling contrast with the origin of this ceremony, — " When the poor outcast on the cheerless wild, Arabia's parent clasped her fainting child," — as the Turkish infantry marched, in European dress, with sloped arms, down the Masaa to relieve guard. By the side of the half-naked, running Bedouins, they looked as * Koran, chap. 2. f Ibn Jabayr gives 893 steps : other aathorities make the distance '80 short cubits, the size of an average man's forearm. 270 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. if epochs, disconnected by long centuries, had met A laxity, too, there was in the frequent appearance of dogs upon this holy and most memorial ground, which said little in favor of the religious strictness of the adminis- tration. Our Sai ended at Mount Marwah. There we dis- mounted, and sat outside a barber's shop, on the right- hand of the street. He operated upon our heads, causing us to repeat, " O Allah, this my forelock is in thy hand, then grant me for every hair a light on the resurrection- day, O most Merciful of the Merciful ! " This, and the paying for it, constituted the fourth portion of the Umrah, or Little Pilgrimage. Throwing the skirts of our garments over our heads, to show that our " Ihram " was now exchanged for the nor- mal state, "Ihlal," we cantered to the Haram, prayed there a two-bow prayer, and returned home not a little fatigued. 271 CHAP. XXXIII. PLACES OF PIOUS VISITATION AT MECCAH. The traveller has little work at the Holy City. With exceptions of Jebel Nur and Jebel Saur*, all the places of pious visitation lie inside or close outside the city. It is well worth the while to ascend Abu Kubays ; not so much to inspect the Makan el Hajar and the Shakk el Kamarf, as to obtain an excellent bird's-eye view of the Haram and the parts adjacent.^ The boy Mohammed had applied himself sedulously to commerce after his return home ; and had actually been seen by Shaykh Nur sitting in a shop and selling small curiosities. With my plenary consent I was made over to Abdullah, his brother. On the morning of the 15th Zu'l Hijjah (19th Sept.) he hired two asses, and accompanied me as guide to the holy places. Mounting our animals, we followed the road before de- * Jebel Kar, or Hira, has been mentioned before. Jebel Saur rises at some distance to the south of Meccah, and contains the celebrated cave in which Mohammed and Ababekr took refuge during the flight. f The tradition of these places is related by every historian. The former is the repository of the Black Stone during the Deluge. The latter, "splitting of the moon," is the spot where the Prophet stood when, to con- vert the idolatrous Knraysh, he caused half the orb of night to rise from behind Abu Kubays, and the other from Jebel Eaykaan, on the western horizon. This silly legend appears unknown to Mohammed's day. j The pilgrimage season, strictly speaking, concluded this year on the I3th Zn'l Hijjah (I7th Sept.); at which time travellers began to move to- wards Jeddab. Those who purposed visiting £1 Medinah would start about three weeks afterwards, and many who had leisure intended witnessing the Mnharram ceremonies at Meccah. 272 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MEOCAH. scribed to the Jannat el Maala, the sacred cemetery of Meccah. A rough wall, with a poor gateway, encloses a patch of barren and grim-looking ground, at the foot of the chain which bounds the city's western suburb and below El Akabah, the gap through which Khalid bin Walid entered Meccah with the triumphant Prophet. Inside are a few ignoble, whitewashed domes : all are of modem con- struction, for here, as at El Bakia, further north, the Wahhabis indulged their levelling propensities. The rest of the ground shows some small enclosures belonging to particular houses, — equivalent to our family 'faults, — and the ruins of humble tombs, lying in confusion, whilst a few parched aloes spring from between the bricks and stones.* This cemetery is celebrated in local history : here the body of Abdullah bin Zubayr was exposed by order of Hajjaj bin Yusuf ; and the number of saints buried in it has been so numerous, that even in the twelfth century many had fallen into oblivion. It is visited by the citizens on Fridays, and by women on Thursdays, to prevent that meeting of sexes which in the East is so detrimental to public decorum. I shall be sparing in my description of the Maala ceremonies, as the prayers, prostrations, and • The aloe here, as in Egypt, is hung, like the dried crocodile, over honses as a talisman against evil spirits. Burckhardt assigns, as a motive for it being planted in graveyards, that its name Saber denotes the patience with which the believer awaits the Last Day. And Lane remarks, " The aloe thus hung (over the door), without earth and water, will live for several years, and even blossom: hence it is called Saber, which signifies patience." In India it is hung up to prevent mosquitos entering a room. I believe the superstition to be a fragment of African feticism. The Gallas, to the present day, plant aloes on graves, and suppose that when the plant sprouts the deceased has been admitted into the gardens of " Wak" — the Creator. Ideas breed vocables ; but seldom, except among rhymesters, does a vocable give birth to a popular idea: and in Arabic " Sibr," as well as " Sabr," is the name of the aloe. TOMBS OF THE PEOPHET'S WIFE AND MOTHER. 273 supplications are almost identical with those performed at El Bakia. After a long supplication, pronounced standing at the doorway, we entered, and sauntered about the burial- ground. On the left of the road stood an enclosure, which, according to Abdullah, belonged to his family. The door and stone slabs, being valuable to the poor, had been removed, and the graves of his forefathers appeared to have been invaded by the jackal. He sighed, recited a Fatihah with tears in his eyes, and hurried me away from the spot. The first dome which we visited covered the remains of Abd el Rahman, the son of Abubekr, one of the Worthies of El Islam, equally respected by Sunni and Shiah. The tomb was a simple catafalque, covered with the usual cloth. After performing our devotions at this grave, and distributing a few Piastres to guardians and beggars, we crossed the main path, and found ourselves at the door of the cupola, beneath which sleeps the venerable Khadijah, Mohammed's first wife. The tomb was covered with a green cloth, and the walls of the little building were de- corated with written specimens of religious poetry. A little beyond it, we were shown into another dome, the resting-place of Sitt Aminah, the Prophet's mother.* Burckhardt chronicles its ill usage by the fanatic Wah- habis : it has now been rebuilt in that frugal style which characterises the architecture of El Hejaz. An old woman exceedinofly garrulous came to the door, invited us in, and * Burckhardt mentions the " Tomb of Umna, the mother of Mohammed," in the Maala at Meccah ; and all the ciceroni agree about the locality. Yet historians place it at Abwa, where she gave up the ghost, after visiting El Medinah to Introduce her son to his relations. And the learned believe that the Prophet refused to pray over or to intercede for his mother, she having died before El Islam was revealed. VOL. II. T 274 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. superintended our devotions; at the end of which she sprinkled rosewater upon my face. When asked for a cool draught she handed me a metal saucer, whose con- tents smelt strongly of mastic, earnestly directing me to drink it in a sitting posture. This tomb she informed us is the property of a single woman, who visits it every evening, receives the contributions of the Faithful, prays, sweeps the pavement, and dusts the furniture. We left five Piastres for this respectable maiden, and gratified the officious crone with another shilling. She repaid us by signalling to some score of beggars that a rich pilgrim had entered the Maala, and their importunities fairly drove me out of the hallowed walls. Leaving the Jannat el Maala, we returned towards the town, and halted on the left side of the road, at a mean building called the Masjid el Jinn (of the Genii). Here was revealed the seventy- second chapter of the Koran, called after the name of the mysterious fire-drakes who paid fealty to the Prophet. Descending a flight of steps, — for this mosque, like all ancient localities at Meccah, is as much below as above ground, — we entered a small apartment containing water-pots for drinking and all the appurtenances of ablution. In it is shown the Mauza el Khatt (place of the writing), where Mohammed wrote a letter to Abu Masud after the homage of the Genii. A second and interior flight of stone steps led to another di- minutive oratory where the Prophet used to pray and receive the archangel Gabriel. Having performed a pair of bows, which caused the perspiration to burst forth as if in a Russian bath, I paid a few Piastres, and issued from the building with much satisfaction. We had some difficulty in urging our donkeys through the crowded street, called the Zukak el Hajar. Presently we arrived at the Bayt el Naby, the Prophet's old house, in which he lived with the Sitt Khadijah. Here, says THE prophet's OLD HOUSE. 275 Burckhardt, the Lady Fatimah first saw the light * ; and here, according to Ibn Jubayr, Hasan and Husayn were born. Dismounting at the entrance we descended a deep flight of steps, and found ourselves in a spacious hall, vaulted, and of better appearance than most of the sacred edifices at Meccah. In the centre, and well railed round, stood a closet of rich green and gold stuffs, in shape not unlike an umbrella-tent. A surly porter guarded the closed door, which some respectable people vainly at- tempted to open by honeyed words : a whisper from Ab- dullah solved the difficulty. I was directed to lie at full length upon my stomach, and to kiss a black-looking stone — said to be the lower half of the Lady Fatimah's quern f — fixed at the bottom of a basin of the same material. Thence we repaired to a corner, and recited a two-bow at the place where the Prophet used to pray the Sunnat and the Nafilah, or supererogatory devotions. | Again remounting, we proceeded at a leisurely pace homewards, and on the way we passed through the princi- pal slave-market. It is a large street roofed with matting, and full of coffee-houses. The merchandise sat in rows, parallel with the walls. The prettiest girls occupied the highest benches, below them were the plain, and lowest of all the boys. They were all gaily dressed in pink and other light-coloured muslins, with transparent veils over their heads ; and, whether from the effect of such unusual splendor, or from the reaction succeeding to their * Bnrckhardt calls it " Maulid Sittna Fatimah : " but the name " Kubbat el Wahy," applied by my predecessor to this locality, is generally made synonymous with El Mukhtaba, the "hiding-place" where the Prophet and his followers used in dangerous times to meet for prayer. ■f So loose is local tradition, that some have confounded this quern with the Natak el Naby, the stone which gave God-speed to the Prophet J He would of course pray the Farz, or obligatory devotions, at the shrine. 276 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. terrible land-journey and sea- voyage, they appeared per- fectly happy, laughing loudly, talking unknown tongues, and quizzing purchasers, even during the delicate opera- tion of purchasing. There were some pretty Gallas, douce- looking Abyssinians, and Africans of various degrees of hideousness, from the half- Arab Somal to the baboon-like Sawahili. The highest price of which I could hear was 601. And here I matured a resolve to strike, if favoured by fortune, a death-blow at a trade which is eating into the vitals of industry in Eastern Africa. The reflection was pleasant, — the idea that the humble Haji, contemplat- ing the scene from his donkey, might become the instru- ment of the total abolition of this pernicious traffic* What would have become cf that pilgrim had the crowd in the slave-market guessed his intentions ? Passing through the large bazaar, called the Suk el Layl, I saw the palace of Mohammed bin Aun, quondam Prince of Meccah. It has a certain look of rude magnifi- cence, the effect of huge hanging balconies scattered in profusion over lofty walls, claire-voies of brickwork, and courses of various-coloured stone. The owner is highly popular among the Bedouins, and feared by the citizens on account of his fierce looks, courage, and treachery. They described him to me as " vir bonus, bene strangu- lando peritus ; " but Mr. Cole, who knew him personally, * About a year since writing the above, a Firman was issued by the Porte suppressing the traffic from Central Africa. Hitherto we have respected slavery in the Ked Sea, because tlie Turk thence drew his supplies ; we . are now destitute of an excuse. A single steamer would destroy the trade, and if we delay to take active measures, the people of England, who have spent millions in keeping up a West African squadron, will not hold us guiltless of negligence. Note to Second Edition. — The slave trade has, since these remarks were penned, been suppressed with a high hand ; the Arabs of El Hejaz resented the measure by disowning the supremacy of the Porte, but they were soon reduced to submission. PLACES OF PIOUS VISITATION. 277 gave him a high character for generosity and freedom from fanaticism. He seems to have some idea of the state which should " hedge in " a ruler. His palaces at Meceah, and that now turned into a Wakalah at Jeddah, are the only places in the country that can be called princely. He is now a state prisoner at Constantinople, and the Bedouins pray for his return in vain. * The other places of pious visitation at Meceah are briefly these : — 1. Natak el Naby, a small oratory in the Zukak el Hajar. It derives its name from the following circum- stance : — As the Prophet was knocking at the door of Abubekr's shop, a stone gave him God-speed, and told him that the master was not at home. This wonderful mineral is of a reddish-black colour, about a foot in dimension, and fixed in the wall somewhat higher than a man's head. There are servants attached to it, and the street sides are spread, as usual, with the napkins of importunate beggars. * This prince was first invested with the Sherifat by Mohammed Ali Of Egypt in A. d. 1827, when Yahya fled, after stabbing his nephew in the Kaabah, to the Beni Harb Bedouins. He was supported by Ahmed Pacha of Meceah, with a large army ; but after the battle of Tarabah, in which Ibrahim Pacha was worsted by the Bedouins, Mohammed bin Aun, accused of acting as Sylla, was sent in honorable bondage to Cairo. He again, returned to Meccali, where the rapacity of his eldest son Abdullah, who would rob pilgrims, caused fresh misfortunes. In a. d. 1851, when Abd el Muttalib was appointed Sherif, the Pacha was ordered to send Bin Aun to Stamboul ; no easy task. The Turk succeeded by a manoeuvre. Mohammed's two sons, happening to be at Jeddah, were invited to inspect a man-of-war, and were there made prisoners. Upon this the father yielded himself up ; although, it is said, the flashing of the Bedouin's sabre during his embarka- tion made the Turks rejoice that they had won the day by state-craft. The wild men of El Hejaz still sing songs in honour of this Sherif. Note to Second Edition. — Early in 1856, when the Sherif Abd el Muttalib was deposed, Mohammed bin Aun was sent from Constantinople to quiet the insurrection caused by the new slave laws in El Hejaz. In a short space of time he completely succeeded. T 3 278 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. • 2. Maulid el 'Nahj, or the Prophet's birthplace.* This is a little chapel in the Suk el Layl, not far from Mo- hammed bin Ann's palace. It is below the present level of the ground, and in the centre is a kind of tent, conceal- ing, it is said, a hole in the floor upon which Aminah sat to be delivered. 3. In the quarter " Shaab Ali," near the Maulid el Naby, is the birthplace of Ali, another oratory below the ground. Here, as in the former place, a " Maulid" and a Ziyarah are held on the anniversary of the Lion's birth. 4. Near Khadijah's house and the Natak el Naby is a place called El Muttaka, from a stone against which the Prophet leaned when worn out with fatigue. It is much visited by devotees ; and some declare that, on one occa- sion, when the Father of Lies appeared to the Prophet in the form of an elderly man and tempted him to sin by asserting that the mosque-prayers were over, this stone, disclosing the fraud, caused the Fiend to flee. 5. Maulid Hamzah, a little building at the old Bab Umrah, near the Shabayki cemetery. Here was the Bazan, or channel down which the Ayn Hunayn ran into the Birkat Majid. Many authorities doubt that Hamzah was born at this place.f * The 12th of Rabia el Awwal, Mohammed's birthday, is here celebrated with great festivities, feasts, prayers, and perusals of the Koran. These " Maulid" (ceremonies of nativity) are by no means limited to a single day in the year. t The reader is warned that I did not see the five places above enume- rated. The ciceroni and books mention twelve other visitations, several of which are known only by name. 1. El Mukhtaba, the "hiding-place" alluded to in the preceding pages. Its locality is the subject of debate. 2. Dar el Khayzaran, where the Prophet prayed secretly till the conver- sion of Omar enabled him to dispense with concealment. 3. Maulid Omar, or Omar's birthplace, mentioned in books as being visited by devotees in the 14th Eabia el Awwal of every year. 4. Abnbekr's house, near the Natak el Naby. It is supposed to have been destroyed in the twelfth century. A DINNER AT MECCAH. 279 The reader must now be as tired of " Pious Visitations" as I was. Before leaving Meccah I was urgently invited to dine by old Ali bin Ya Sin, the Zem Zemi ; a proof that he entertained inordinate expectations, excited, it appeared, by the boy Mohammed, for the simple purpose of exalting his own dignity. One day we were hurriedly summoned about 3 P.M. to the senior's house, a large buildina; in the Zukak el Hajar. We found it full of pilgrims, amongst ■whom we had no trouble to recognise our fellow-travellers the quarrelsome old Arnaut and his impudent slave-boy. Ali met us upon the staircase and conducted us into an upper room, -where we sat upon Divans and with pipes and coffee prepared for dinner. Presently the semicircle arose to receive a eunuch, who lodged somewhere in the house. He was a person of importance, being the guar- dian of some dames of high degree at Cairo or Constan- tinople : the highest place and the best pipe were unhesi- tatingly offered to and accepted by him. He sat down with dignity, answered diplomatically certain mysterious questions about the dames, and then applied his blubber lips to a handsome mouthpiece of lemon-coloured amber. It was a fair lesson of humility for a man to find himself ranked beneath this high- shouldered, spindle-shanked, 5. Maulid Jaafar el Tayyar, near the Shabayki cemetery. 6. £1 Madaa, an oratory, also called Naf el Arz, because creation here began. 7. Dar el Hijrah, where Mohammed and Ababekr mounted for the flight. 8. Masjid el Eayah, where the Prophet planted his flag when Meccah surrendered. 9. Masjid el Shajarah, a spot at which Mohammed caused a tree to advance and retire. 10. Masjid el Jaaranah, where Mohammed clad himself in the pilgrim garb. It is still visited by some Persians. 11. Masjid Ibrahim, or Abu Kubays. 12. Masjid Zu Tawa. T 4 280 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. beardless bit of neutrality, and as such I took it duly to heart. The dinner was served up in a " Sini," a plated copper tray about six feet in circumference, and handsomely ornamented with arabesques and inscriptions. Under this was the usual Kursi, or stool, composed of mother-o'-pearl facets set in sandal wood ; and upon it a well-tinned and clean-looking service of the same material as the Sini. We began with a variety of stews ; stews with spinach, stews with Bamiyah (hibiscus), and rich vegetable stews. These being removed, we dipped hands in " Biryani," a meat pillaw, abounding in clarified butter ; " Kimah," finely chopped meat ; " Warak Mahshi,'' vine leaves filled with chopped and spiced mutton, and folded into small triangles ; " Kabab," or bits of roti spitted in mouthfuls upon a splinter of wood ; together with a " Salatah" of the crispest cucumber, and various dishes of water-melon cut up into squares. Bread was represented by the eastern scone ; but it was of superior flavour and far better than the ill-famed Chapati of India. Our drink was water per- fumed with mastic. After the meat came a " Kunafah," fine vermicelli sweetened with honey and sprinkled with powdered white sugar ; several stews of apples and quinces ; " Muhallibah," a thin jelly made of rice, flour, milk, starch, and a little perfume ; together with squares of Rahah*, a comfiture highly prized in these regions, because it comes from Constantinople. Fruits were then placed upon the table ; plates full of pomegranate grains * Familiar for "Rabat el Hulkum," — the Pleasure of the Throat, — a name which has sorely puzzled our tourists. This sweetmeat would be pleasant did it not smell so strongly of the perruquier's shop. Kosewater tempts to many culinary sins in the East ; and Europeans cannot dissociate it from the idea of a lotion. However, if a guest is to be honoured, rosewater must often take the place of the pure clement, even in tea. THE pilgrim's GENEROSITY. 281 and dates of the finest flavour.* The dinner concluded with a pillaw of boiled rice and butter ; for the easier dis- cussion of which we were provided with carved wooden spoons. Arabs ignore the delightful French art of prolonging a dinner. After washing your hands, you sit down, throw an embroidered napkin over your knees, and with a " Bismillah," by way of grace, plunge your hand into the attractive dish, changing ad libitum, occasionally sucking your finger-tips as boys do lollipops, and varying that diversion by cramming a chosen morsel into a friend's mouth. When your hunger is satisfied you do not sit for your companions; you exclaim " Al Hamd!" edge away from the tray, wash your hands and mouth with soap, dis- play signs of repletion, otherwise you will be pressed to eat more, seize your pipe, sip your coffee, and take your " Kayf." Nor is it customary, in these benighted lands, to sit together after dinner — the evening prayer cuts short the seance. Before we arose to take leave of Ali bin Ya Sin a boy ran into the room, and displayed those infantine civilities which in the East are equivalent to begging for a present. I slipped a dollar into his hand ; at the sight of which he, veritable little Meccan, could not contain his joy. " The Eiyal ! " he exclaimed ; " the Riyal ! look, grandpa', the good Effendi has given me a Eiyal!" The old gentleman's eyes twinkled with emotion: he saw how easily the money had slipped from my fingers, and he fondly hoped that he had not seen the last piece. " Verily thou art a good young man ! " he ejaculated, adding fer- vently, as prayers cost nothing, " May Allah further all * Meccah is amply supplied with water-melons, dates, limes, grapes, encumber, and other vegetables, from Taif and Wadj- Fatimah. During the pilgrimage season the former place sends at least 100 camels every day to the capitaL 282 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. thy desires." A gentle patting of the back evidenced high approval. I never saw old Ali after that evening, but entrusted to the boy Mohammed what was considered a just equiva- ent for his services. 283 CHAP. XXXIV. TO JEDDAH. A GENERAL plunge into worldly pursuits and pleasures announced the end of the pilgrimage ceremonies. All the devotees were now "whitewashed" — the book of their sins was a tabula rasa : too many of them lost no time in making a new departure " down south," and in opening a fresh account.* The "Moslem's "Holy Week" over, nothing detained me at Meccah. For reasons before stated, I resolved upon returning to Cairo, resting there for awhile, and starting a second time for the interior, via Muwaylah. The Meccans are as fond of little presents as are nuns : the Kabirah took an affectionate leave of me, begsred me to be careful of her boy, who was to accompany me to Jeddah, and laid friendly but firm hands upon a brass pestle and mortar, upon which she had long cast the eye of concupiscence. Having hired two camels for thirty-five Piastres, and paid half the sum in advance, I sent on my heavy boxes * The faith must not bear the blame of the irregularities. They may be equally observed in the Calvinist, after a Sunday of prayer, sinning through Monday with a zest, and the Romanist falling back with new fervour upon the causes of his confession and penance, as in the Moslem who washes his soul clean by running and circumambulation. And, in fairnesss, it must be observed, that as amongst Christians, so in the Moslem persuasion, there are many notable exceptions to this rule of extremes. Several of my friends and acquaintances date their reformation from their first sight of the Kaabah. 284 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. with Shaykh, now Haji Nur, to Jeddah.* Umar Effendi was to wait at Meccah till his father had started, in com- mand of the dromedary caravan, when he would privily take ass, join me at the port, and return to his beloved Cairo. I bade a long farewell to all my friends, embraced the Turkish pilgrims, and mounting on donkeys, the boy Mohammed and I left the house. Abdullah the Melan- choly followed us on foot through the city, and took leave of me, though without embracing, at the Shabayki quarter. Issuing into the open plain, I felt a thrill of pleasure — such pleasure as only the captive delivered from his dun- geon can experience. The sunbeams warmed me into renewed life and vigour, the air of the desert was a per- fume, and the homely face of nature was as the smile of a dear old friend. I contemplated the Syrian caravan, lying on the right of our road, without any of the sadness usually suggested by a last look. It is not my intention minutely to describe the line down which we travelled that night : the pages of Burck- hardt give full information about the country. Leaving Meccah, we fell into the direct road ^running south of Wady Fatimah, and traversed for about an hour a flat surrounded by hills. Then we entered a valley by a flight of rough stone steps, dangerously slippery and zigzag, in- tended to facilitate the descent for camels and laden beasts. About midnight we passed into a hill-girt Wady, now covered with deep sands, now hard Avith gravelly clay ; and, finally, about dawn, we sighted the maritime plain of Jeddah. Shortly after leaving the city our party was joined by other travellers, and towards evening we found ourselves * The usual hire is thirty Piastres ; but in the pilgrimage season a dollar is often paid. The hire of an ass varies from one to three Riyals. CONVERSATION WITH A ONE-ETED LINGUIST. 285 In force, the effect of an order that pilgrims must not pro- ceed singly upon this road. Coifee-houses and places of refreshment abounding, we halted every five miles to re- fresh ourselves and the donkeys.* At sunset we prayed near a Turkish guard-house, where one of the soldiers kindly supplied me with water for ablution. Before nightfall I was accosted, in Turkish, by a one- eyed old fellow, who, — " With faded brow, Entrenched with many a frown, and conic beard," — and habited in unclean garments, was bestriding a donkey faded as himself. When I shook my head, he addressed me in Persian. The same manoeuvre made him try Arabic : still he obtained no answer. He then grumbled out good Hindostanee. That also failing, he tried succes- sively Pushtu, Armenian, English, French, and Italian. At last I could " keep a stiff lip " no longer ; — at every change of dialect his emphasis beginning with " Then who the d are you?" became more emphatic. I turned upon him in Persian, and found that he had been a pilot, a courier, and a servant to eastern tourists, and that he had visited England, France, and Italy, the Cape, India, Central Asia, and China. We then chatted in English, which Haji Akif spoke well, but with all manner of courier's phrases ; Haji Abdullah so badly, that he was counselled a course of study. It was not a little curious to hear such phrases as " Come 'p, Neddy," and " Cre nom d'un baudet," almost within earshot of the tomb of Ishmael, the birthplace of Mohammed, and the Sanctuary of El Islarn. At about 8 P.M. we passed the Alamayn, which define • Besides the remains of those in ruins, there are on this road eight coffee-houses and stations for travellers,— private buildings, belonging to men who supply water and other necessaries. 286 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. the Sanctuary in this direction. They stand about nine miles from Meccah, and near them are a coffee-house and a little oratory, popularly known as the Sabail Agha Al- mas. On the road, as night advanced, we met long strings of camels, some carrying litters, others huge beams, and others bales of coffee, grain, and merchandise. Sleep be- gan to weigh heavy upon my companions' eyelids, and the boy Mohammed hung over the flank of his donkey in a most ludicrous position. About midnight we reached a mass of huts, called El Haddah.* At " the Boundary," which is considered to be the half-way halting place, pilgrims must assume the religious garbf, and Infidels travelling to Taif are taken off the Meccan road into one leading northwards to Arafat. The settlement is a collection of huts and hovels, built with sticks and reeds, supporting brushwood and burned and blackened palm leaves. It is maintained for supply- ing pilgrims with coffee and water. Travellers speak with horror of its heat during the day; Ali Bey, who visited it twice, compares it to a furnace. Here the country slopes gradually towards the sea, the hills draw off, and every object denotes departure from the Meccan plateau. At El Haddah we dismounted for an hour's halt. A coffee- house supplied us with mats, water-pipes, and other ne- cessaries; we then produced a basket of provisions, the parting gift of the kind Kabirah, and, this late supper concluded, we lay down to dose. After half an hour's halt had expired, and the donkeys were saddled, I shook up with difficulty the boy Moham- med, and induced him to mount. He was, to use his own expression, dead of sleep; and we had scarcely advanced an hour when, arriving at another little coffee-house, he * Ali Bey places El Haddah eight leagues from Jeddah. f In Ibn Jubayr's time the Ihram was assumed at El Furayn, now a de- cayed station, about two hours' jouniey from El Haddah towards Jeddah. THE PILGRIM INSISTS UPON REPOSE. 287 threw himself upon the ground, and declared it impossible to proceed. This act caused some confusion. The donkey- boy was a pert little Bedouin, offensively republican in manner. He had several times addressed me impudently, ordering me not to flog his animal, or to hammer its sides with my heels. On these occasions he received a con- temptuous snub, which had the effect of silencing him. But now, thinking we were in his power, he swore that he would lead away the beasts, and leave us behind to be robbed and murdered. A pinch of the wind-pipe, and a spin over the ground, altered his plans at the outset of execution. He gnawed his hand with impotent rage, and went away, threatening us with the governor of Jeddah next morning. Then an Egyptian of the party took up the thread of remonstrance ; and, aided by the old linguist, who said, in English, " by G ! you must budge, you'll catch it here ! " he assumed a brisk and energetic style, exclaiming, " Yallah! rise and mount, thou art only losing our time; thou dost not intend to sleep in the Desert!" I replied, " Son of my uncle, do not exceed in talk ! " * rolled over on the other side heavily, as doth Encelades, and pretended to snore, whilst the cowed Egyptian urged the others to make us move. The question was thus settled by the boy Mohammed, who had been aroused by the dis- pute : " Do you know," he whispered, in awful accents, " what ?/i a/ person is?" and he pointed at me. "Why, no," replied the others. "Well," said the youth, "the other day the Utaybah showed us death in the Zaribah Pass, and what do you think he did ? " " Wallah ! what do we know ! " exclaimed theJEgyptian, " What did he do ? " " He called for — his dinner," replied the youth, with a slow and sarcastic emphasis. That trait was enough. The others mounted and left us quietly to sleep. * "Fuzul" (excess) in Arabic is equivalent to telling a man in English not to be impertinent. 288 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. I have been diffuse in relating this little adventure, which is characteristic, showing what bravado can do in Arabia. It also suggests a lesson, which every traveller in these regions should take well to heart. The people are always ready to terrify him with frightful stories, which are the merest phantoms of cowardice. The reason why the Egyptian displayed so much philanthropy was that, had one of the party been lost, the survivors might have fallen into trouble. But in this place, we were, I believe, — despite the declarations of our companions that it was infested with Turpins and Gasperonis, — as safe as if in Meccah. Every night, during the pilgrimage season, a troop of about fifty horsemen patrols the roads; we were all armed to the teeth, and our party looked too formidable to be " cruelly beaten by a single footpad." Our nap concluded, we remounted and resumed the weary way down a sandy valley, in which the poor don- keys sank fetlock-deep. At dawn we found our com- panions halted, and praying at the Kahwat Turki, another little coffee-house. Here an exchange of what is popu- larly called " chaff"" took place. " Well," cried the Egyp- tian, " what have ye gained by halting ? We have been quiet here, praying and smoking for the last hour !" " Go, eat thy buried beans,"* we replied; "What does an Egyptian boor know of manliness!" The surly donkey- boy was worked up into a paroxysm of passion by such small jokes as telling him to convey our salams to the Governor of Jeddah, and by calling the asses after the name of his tribe. He replied by " foul, unmannered, scurril taunts," which only drew forth fresh derision, and the coffee-house-keeper laughed consumedly, having pro- bably seldom entertained such "funny gentlemen." Shortly after leaving the Kahwat Turki we found the • The favorite Egyptian " kitchen ;" held to be contemptible food by the Arabs. ENTER BAB MAKKAH. 289 last spur of the hills that sink into the Jeddah Plain. This view would»for some time be ray last of — " Infamous hills, and sandy, perilous wilds ;'' and I contemplated it with the pleasure of one escaping from it. Before us lay the usual iron flat of these regions, whitish with salt, and tawny with stones and gravel ; but relieved and beautified by the distant white walls, whose canopy was the lovely blue sea. Not a tree, not a patch of verdure was in sight ; nothing distracted our attention from the sheet of turquoises in the distance. Merrily the little donkeys hobbled on, in spite of their fatigue. Soon we distinguished the features of the town, the minarets, the fortifications — so celebrated since their honeycombed guns beat off the thousands of the Wahhabi*, and a small dome outside the walls. The sun began to glow fiercely, and we were not sorry when, at about 8 a. m., after passing through the mass of hovels and coffee-houses, cemeteries and sand hills, which forms the eastern approach to Jeddah, we entered the for- tified Bab Makkah. Allowing eleven hours for our actual march, — we halted about three, — those wonderful don- keys had accomplished between forty-four and forty-six miles t, generally of deep sand, in one night. And they • In 1817 Abdullah bin Saud attacked Jeddah with 50,000 men, de- termining to overthrow its " Kafir-works," namely, its walls and towers. The assault is described as ludicrous. All the inhabitants aided the garri- son : they waited till the wild men flocked about the place, crying " Come, and let us look at the labours of the Intidel ;" they then let fly, and raked them with matchlock-balls and old nails acting grape. The Wahhabi host at last departed, unable to take a place which a single battery of our smallest siege-guns would breach in an hour. And since that day the Meccans have never ceased to boast of their Gibraltir, and to taunt the Medinites with their wall-less port, Yambu. •)■ El Idrisi places Meccah forty (Arab) miles from Jeddah. Burckhardt gives fifty-five miles, and All Bey has not computed the total distance. 290 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. passed the archway of Jeddah almost as nimbly as when they left Meccah. Shaykh Nur had been ordered to take rooms for me in a vast pile of madrepore, once the palace of Mohammed bin Ann, and now converted into a Wakalah. Instead of so doing, Indian-like, he had made a gipsy encampment in the square opening ujjon the harbour. After administering the requisite correction, I found a room that would suit me. In less than an hour it was swept, sprinkled with water, spread with mats, and made as comfortable as its capability admitted. At Jeddah I felt once more at home. The British flag was a restorative, and the sight of the sea acted as a tonic. The Maharattas were not far wrong when they kept their English captives out of reach of the ocean, declaring that we are an amphibious race, to whom the wave is a home. After a day's repose at the Caravanserai, the camel-man and donkey-boy clamouring for money, and I not having more than tenpence of bor- rowed coin, it was necessary to cash at the British vice- consulate a draft given to me by the Royal Geographical Society. With some trouble I saw Mr. Cole, who, suffer- ing from fever, was declared to be " not at home." His dragoman did by no means admire my looks ; in fact, the general voice of the household was against me. After some fruitless messages, I sent up an imploring scrawl to Mr. Cole, who decided upon admitting the importunate Afghan. An exclamation of astonishment and a hos- pitable welcome followed my self-introduction as an officer of the Indian army. Amongst other things, the vice- consul informed me that, in divers discussions with the Turks about the possibility of an Englishman finding his way en cachette to Meccah, he had asserted that his com- patriots could do everything, even pilgrim to the Holy City. The Moslems politely assented to the first, but denied the second part of the proposition. Mr. Cole pro- 'MR. COLE, THE ENGLISH CONSUL, 291 mised himself a laugh at the Turks' beards ; but, since my departure, he wrote to me that the subject made the owners' faces look so serious, that he did not like recur- ring to it. Truly gratifying to the pride of an Englishman was our high oflScial position assumed and maintained at Jeddah. Mr. Cole had never lowered himself in the estimation of the proud race with which he has to deal, by private or mercantile transactions with the authorities. He has steadily withstood the wrath of the Meccan Sherif, and taught him to respect the British name. The Abb^ Hamilton ascribed the attentions of the Prince to " the in- finite respect which the Arabs entertain for Mr. Cole's straightforward way of doing business, — It was a delicate flattery addressed to him." And the writer was right: honesty of purpose is never thrown away amongst these people. I have no doubt, if Mr. Cole be duly supported, that in a few years the Greeks and other Christians will re- move their place of worship from its present place of banish- ment outside to within the walls. The general contrast between our consular proceedings at Cairo and Jeddah is another proof of the advisability of selecting Indian oflB- cials to fill offices of trust at Oriental courts. They have lived amongst Easterns, must know one Asiatic language, with many Asiatic customs, and, chief merit of all, they have learned to assume the tone of command, without which, whatever may be thought of it in England, it is impossible to take the lead in the East. The "home- bred" diplomate is not only unconscious of the thousand traps everywhere laid for him, he even plays into the hands of his crafty antagonists by a .ceremonious polite- ness; which they interpret — taking ample care that the interpretation should spread — to be the eifect of fear or fraud. D 3 292 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. Jeddah* has been often described by modern pens. Burckhardt (in A.D. 1814) devoted 100 pages of his two volumes to the unhappy capital of the Tehamet el Hejar, the lowlands of the mountain region. Later still, MM. Mari and Chedufau wrote upon the subject, and two other French travellers, MM. Galinier and Ferret, published tables of the commerce in its present state, quoting as authority the celebrated Arabicist M. Fresnel. f These * Abulfeda writes the word " Juddah," and Mr. Lane, as well as MM. Mari and Chedufau, adopt this form, which signifies "a 'plain wanting water." The water of Jeddah is still very scarce and bad : all who can aflFord it drink the produce of hill-springs brought in skins by the Bedouins. Ibn Jubayr mentions that outside the town were 360 old wells ( ?), dug, it is supposed, by the Persians. " Jeddah,'' or " Jiddah," is the ^Tilgar pro- nunciation ; and not a few of the learned call it " Jaddah " (the grand- mother), in allusion to the legend of Eve's tomb. t In Chapters III. and VI. of this work I have ventured some remarks upon the advisability of our being represented in El Hejaz by a consul, and at Meccah by a native agent, till the day shall come when the tide of events forces us to occupy the mother-city of El Islam. My apology for reverting to these points must be the nature of an Englishman, who would everywhere see his nation " second to none," even at Jeddah. Yet, when we consider that from twenty-five to thirty vessels here arrive annually from India, and that the value of the trade is about twenty-five lacs of rupees, the matter may be thought worth attending to. The following extracts from a letter written to me by Mr. Cole shall conclude this part of my task : — " You must know, that in 1 838 a commercial treaty was concluded be- tween Great Britain and the Porte, specifying (amongst many other clauses here omitted), — " 1. That all merchandise imported from English ports to El Hejaz should pay 4 per cent. duty. "2. That all merchandise imported by British subjects from countries not under the dominion of the Porte should likewise pay but 5 per cent. '- 3. That all goods exported from countries under the dominion of the Porte should pay 12 per cent., after a deduction of 16 per cent, from the market-value of the articles. " 4. That all monopolies be abolished." • •««*• " Now, when I arrived at Jeddah, the state of affairs was this : — a mono- poly had been established upon salt ; and this weighed only upon our STATE OF COMMOTION AT JEDDAH. 293 have been translated by the author of " Life in Abyssi- nia." Abdulkerim, writing in 1742, informs us that the French had a factory at Jeddah; and in 1760, when Bruce revisited the port, he found the East India Com- pany in possession of a post, whence they dispersed their merchandise over the adjoining regions. But though the English were at an early epoch of their appearance in the East received here with especial favour, I failed to procure a single ancient document. Jeddah, when I visited it, was in a state of commotion, owing to the perpetual passage of pilgrims, and provisions were for the same reason scarce and dear. The two large Wakalah, of which the place boasts, were crowded with travellers, and many were reduced to encamping upon the squares. Another subject of confusion was the state of the soldiery. The Nizam, or Regulars, had not been paid for seven months, and the Arnauts could scarcely sum up what was owing to them. Easterns are wonderfully amen- able to discipline ; a European army, under the circum- stances, would probably have helped itself. But the Pacha knew that there is a limit to man's endurance, and he was anxiously casting about for some contrivance that would replenish the empty pouches of his troops. The worried dignitary must have sighed for those beaux jours when privily firing the town and allowing the soldiers Anglo-Indian subjects, they being the sole purchasers. Five per cent, was levied upon full value of goods, no deduction of the 20 per cent, being allowed : the same was the case with exports ; and, most vexatious of all, various charges had been established by the local authorities, under the names of boat-hire, weighing, brokerage, &c. &c. The duties had thus been raised from 4 to at least 8 per cent. • * • This being represented at Constantinople, brought a peremptory Firman ordering the governor to act up to the treaty letter by letter. » * * j have had the satisfaction to rectify the abuses of sixteen years' standing during my first few months of office ; but I expect all manner of difficulties in claiming reimbursement tor the over-exactions." 294 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. to plunder, was the Oriental style of settling arrears of pay.* Jeddah displays all the licence of a seaport and garrison town. Fair Corinthians establish themselves even within earshot of the Karakun, or guard-post ; a system of ex- cessive laxity in the authorities, for it is the duty of the watch to visit all such irregularities with a bastinado preparatory to confinement. My guardians and attendants at the Wakalah used to fetch araki in a clear glass bottle, without even the decency of a cloth, and the messenger twice returned from these errands decidedly drunk. More extraordinary still, the people seemed to take no notice of the scandal. The little " Dwarka" had been sent by the Bombay Steam Navigation Company to convey pilgrims from El Hejaz to India. I was still hesitating about my next voyage, not wishing to coast the Red Sea in this season without a companion, when one morning Umar EfFendi appeared at the door, weary, and dragging after him an ass more weary than himself. We supplied him with a pipe and a cup of hot tea, and, as he was fearful of pursuit, we showed him a dark hole full of grass under which he might sleep concealed. The student's fears were realised ; his father appeared early the next morning, and having ascertained from the porter that the fugitive was in the house, politely called upon me. Whilst he plied all manner of questions, his black slave furtively stared at everything in and about the room. But we had found time to cover the runaway with grass, and the old gentleman departed, after a fruitless search. There was, however, a grim smile about his mouth, which boded no good. • M. Rochet (soi-disant d'Hericourt) amusingly describes this manceuvre of the eovernor of El Hudaydah. THE RUNAWAY RECLAIMED. 295 That evening I went out to the Hammam, and, return- ing home, found the house in an uproar. The boy Mo- hammed, who had been miserably mauled, was furious with rage, and Shaykh Nur was equally unmanageable, by reason of his fear. In my absence the father had re- turned with a posse comitatus of friends and relatives. They questioned the youth, who delivered himself of many circumstantial and emphatic mis-statements. Then they proceeded to open the boxes ; upon which the boy Mohammed cast himself sprawling, with a vow to die rather than to endure such a disgrace. This procured for him some scattered slaps, which presently became a storm of blows, when a prying little boy discovered Umar Ef- fendi's leg in the hiding-place. The student was led away unresisting, but mildly swearing that he would allow no opportunity of escape to pass. I examined the boy Mo- hammed, and was pleased to find that he was not seriously hurt. To pacify his mind, I offered to sally out with him, and to rescue Umar EflFendi by main force. This, which would only have brought us all into a brunt with quarter- staves, and similar servile weapons, was declined, as had been foreseen. But the youth recovered complacency, and a few well-merited encomiums upon his "pluck" restored him to high spirits. The reader must not fancy such escapade to be a serious thing in Arabia. The father did not punish his son ; he merely bargained with him to return home for a few days before starting to Egypt. This the young man did, and shortly afterwards I met him unexpectedly in the streets of Cairo. Deprived of my companion, I resolved to waste no time in the Red Sea, but to return to Egypt with the utmost expedition. The boy Mohammed having laid in a large store of grain, purchased with my money, having secured all my disposable articles, and having hinted that, after my 296 PILGEIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. return to India, a present of twenty dollars would find him at Meccah, asked leave, and departed with a coolness for which I could not account. Some days afterwards Sliaykh Nur explained the cause. I had taken the youth with me on board the steamer, where a bad suspicion crossed his mind. "Now, I understand," said the boy Mohammed to his fellow-servant, " your master is a Sahib from India ; he hath laughed at our beards." He parted as coolly from Shaykh Nur. These worthy youths had been drinking together, when Mohammed, having learned at Stamboul the fashionable practice of " Bad-masti," or " liquor-vice," dug his "fives" into Nur's eye. Nur erro- neously considering such exercise likely to induce blindness, complained to me ; but my sympathy was all with the other side. I asked the Indian why he had not returned the compliment, and the Meccan once more overwhelmed the " Miyan" with taunt and jibe. It is not easy to pass the time at Jeddah. In the square opposite us was an unhappy idiot, who afforded us a melancholy spectacle. He delighted to wander about in a primitive state of toilette, as all such wretches do ; but the people of Jeddah, far too civilised to retain Moslem respect for madness, forced him, despite shrieks and strug- gles, into a shirt, and when he tore it off they beat him. At other times the open space before us was diversified by the arrival and the departure of pilgrims, but it was a mere rechauffe of the feast, and had lost all power to please. Whilst the boy Mohammed remained he used to pass the time in wrangling with some Indians, who were living next door to us, men, women, and children, in a promiscuous way. After his departure I used to spend my days at the vice-consulate ; the proceeding was not per- haps of the safest, but the temptation of meeting a fellow- countryman, and of chatting " shop " about the service, was too great to be resisted. I met there the principal SITTNA HAWWA. 297 merchants of Jeddah ; Khwajah Sower, a Greek ; M. An- ton, a Christian from Baghdad, and others. And I was introduced to Khalid Bey, brother of Abdullah bin Saud, the Wahhabi. This noble Arab once held the official position of Mukayyid el Jawabat, or Secretary, at Cairo, where he was brought up by Mohammed Ali. He is brave, frank, and unprejudiced, fond of Europeans, and a lover of pleasure. Should it be his fate to become chief of the tribe, a journey to Daraiyah, and a visit to Central Arabia, will offer no difficulties to our travellers. I now proceed to the last of my visitations. Outside the town of Jeddah lies no less a personage than Sittna Hawwa, the Mother of mankind. The boy Mohammed and I, mounting asses one evening, issued through the Meccan gate, and turned towards the north-east over a sandy plain. After half an hour's ride, amongst dirty huts and tattered coffee-hovels, we reached the enceinte, and found the door closed. Presently a man came running with might from the town; he was followed by two others ; and it struck me at the time that they applied the key with peculiar empressement, and made inordi- nately low congees as we entered the enclosure of white- washed walls. " The Mother " is supposed to lie, like a Moslemah, fronting the Kaabah, with her feet northwards, her head southwards, and her right cheek propped by her right hand. Whitewashed, and conspicuous to the voyager and traveller from afar, is a diminutive dome with an opening to the west ; it is furnished as such places usually are in El Hejaz. Under it and in the centre is a square stone, planted upright and fancifully carved, to represent the omphalic region of the human frame. This, as well as the dome, is called El Surrah, or the navel. The cicerone directed me to kiss this manner of hieroglyph, which I did, thinkins: the while that, under the circumstances, the 298 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. salutation was quite uncalled for. Having prayed here, and at the head, where a few young trees grow, we walked along the side of the two parallel dwarf walls which de- fine the outlines of the body : they are about six paces apart, and between them, upon Eve's neck, are two tombs, occupied, I was told, by Usman Pacha and his son, who repaired the Mother's sepulchre. I could not help re- marking to the boy Mohammed, that if our first parent measured 120 paces from head to waist, and 80 from waist to heel, she must have presented much the appearance of a duck. To this the youth replied, flippantly, that he TOMBS S ►>H lao PACES r-?rn 80 PACES (131 ^ °4 ^=- =. 1) 1 THC HEAD TOMBS 1 THE FEET Plan of Eve's Tomb. thanked his stars the Mother was under ground, otherwise that men would lose their senses with fright.* * Ibn Jubayr (twelfth century) mentions only an old dome " bnilt upon the place where Eve stopped on the way to Meccah." Yet El Idrisi (a. d. 1154) declares Eve's grave to be at Jeddah. Abdelkarim (1742) compares it to a parterre, with a little dome in the centre, and the extremities ending in barriers of palisades ; the circumference was 190 of his steps. In Rooke's Travels we are told that the tomb is 20 feet long. JiIi_Bey_. who twice EMBARKATION ON BOARD THE " DWARKA." 299 On leaving the graveyard I offered the guardian a dollar, which he received with a remonstrance, that a man of my dignity should give so paltry a fee. Nor was he at all contented with the assurance that nothing more could be expected from an Afghan dervish, however pious. Next day the boy Mohammed explained the man's empres- sement and disappointment, — I had been mistaken for the Pacha of El Medinah. • • # » For a time my peregrinations ended. Worn out with fatigue, and the fatal fiery heat, I embarked on board the " Dwarka," experienced the greatest kindness from the commander and chief officer (Messrs. Wolley and Taylor), and, wondering the while how the Turkish pilgrims who crowded the vessel did not take the trouble to throw me overboard, in due time arrived at Suez. visited Jeddah, makes no allusion to it ; we may therefore conclude that it had been destroyed by the "Wahhabis. Burckhardt, who, I need scarcely say, has been carefully copied by our popular authors, was informed that it was 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 Bakaa in Syria (?). Bruce writes: "Two days' journey east from this place (Meccah or Jeddah ?) Eve's grave, of green sods, about 50 yards in length, is shown to this day ;" but the great traveller probably never issued from the town-gates. And Sir W. Harris, who could not have visited the holy place, repeats, in 1840, that "Eve's grave of green sod is still shown on the barren shore of the Red Sea." The present struc- ture is clearly modern ; anciently, I was told at Jeddah, the sepulchre con- sisted of a stone at the head, a second at the feet, and the navel-dome. The idol of Jeddah, in the days of Arab litholatry, was called " Sakhrah Tawilah," the Long Stone. May not this stone of Eve be the Moslemized revival of the old idolatry ? It is to be observed that the Arabs, if the tombs be admitted as evidence, are inconsistent in their dimensions of the patriarchal stature. The sepulchre of Adam at the Masjid el Khayf is, like that of Eve, gigantic. That of Noah at El Bakaa is thirty-eight paces long by one and a half wide..t Job's tomb near Hulah (seven parasangs from Kerbela) is small. I have not seen the grave of Moses (south-east of the Red Sea), which is becoming known by the bitumen cups there sold to pil- grims. But Aaron's sepolcbre in the Sinaitic peninsula is of moderate 300 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. And here, reader, we part. Bear with me while I con- clude, in the Avords of a brother traveller, long gone, but not forgotten — Fathian — this Personal Narrative of my Journey to El Hejaz : " I have been exposed to perils, and I have escaped from them ; I have traversed the sea, and have not succumbed under the severest fatigues ; and my heart is moved with emotions of gratitude, that I have been permitted to effect the objects I had in view." APPENDICES. 303 APPENDIX U SPECIMEN OF A MURSHID's DIPLOMA, IN THE KADIRI ORDER OF THE MYSTIC CRAFT EL TASAWWUF, This is a tree whose root is firm, and whose branches are spreading, and whose shade is perpetual: and the bearer is a good man — we beg of Allah to grant him purity of intention by the power of him upon whom Revelation descended and In- spiration I I have passed it on, and I, the poorest of men, and the ser- vant of the poor, am Sayyid A^ son of Sayyid B the Kadiri, the servant of the prayer-rug of his grand- sire, of the Shaykh Abd el Kadir Jilani, Allah sanctify his honored tomb ! Amen. A C Sayyid A \ Son of Sayyid B | ofC.« J And of him— In the name of Allah the Merciful, the Compassionate— we beg aid. Praise be to Allah, opener of the locks of hearts with his name, and withdrawer of the veils of hidden I This document is written upon slips of paper pasted together, 4 feet b inches long, by about 6| inches broad, and contains alto- gether 71 lines below the triangle. The divisions are in red ink. It rolls up, and fits into a metal cylinder, to which are attached smalt silk cords, to sling it over the shoulder when travelling or on pilgrimage. 2 The names are here omitted for obvious reasons. 3 Facsimile of the seal of the great Saint Abd el Kadir. This upon the document is a sign that the owner has become a master in the craft. * This Is the living Shaykh*s seal, and is the only one applied to theapprenti' diploma. 304 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH, ETC. things with his beneficence, and raiser of the flags of increase to those who persevere in thanking him. I praise him because that he hath made us of the people of Unity. And I thank him, being desirous of his benefits. And I bless and salute our Lord Moham- med, the best of his Prophets and of his Servants, and (I bless and salute) his (Mohammed's) family and com- panions, the excelling in dignity, for the increase of their dignity and its augmentation. But afterwards thus saith the needy slave, who confesseth his sins and his weakness and his faults, and hopeth for the pardon of his Lord the Almighty — Sayyid A the Kadiri, son of Sayyid B the Kadiri, son of Sayyid Abubekr the Kadiri, son of Sayyid Ismail the Kadiri, son of Sayyid Abd el "Wahhab the Kadiri, son of Sayyid Nur el Din ! the Kadiri, son of Sayyid Darwaysh the Kadiri, son of j Sayyid Husam el Din the Kadiri, son of Sayyid Nur el Din the Kadiri, son of Sayyid Waly el Din the Kadiri, son of Sayyid Zayn el Din the Kadiri, son of Sayyid Sharaf el Din the Kadiri, son of Sayyid Shams el Din the Kadiri, son of Sayyid Mohammed el Hattak, son of Sayyid Abd el Aziz, son of the Sayyid of Sayyids, Polar-Star of Existence, the White Pearl, the Lord of the Reins of (worldly) possession, the Chief of (Allah's) APPENDIX I. 303 friends, the incomgarable Imam, the Essence negativ- ing accidents, the Polar Star of Polar Stars ', the Greatest Assistance ^, the Uniter of the Lover and the Beloved ', the Sayyid (Prince), the Shaykh (Teacher), Muhiy el Din, Abd el Kadir of Jilan*, Allah sanctify his honored Sepulchre, and Allah enlighten his place of rest ! — Son of Abu Salih Musa Jangi-dost, son of Sayyid Abdullah el Jayli, son of Sayyid Yahya el Zahid, son of Sayyid Mohammed, son of Sayyid Daud, son of Saj'yid Musa, son of Sayyid Abdullah, son of Sayyid Musa el Juni, son of Sayyid Abdullah el Mahz, son of Sayyid Hasan el Musanna', son of the Imam Hasan, son of the Imam and the Amir of True Be- lievers, Ali the son of Abu Talib — may Allah be satisfied with him ! — Son of Abd el Muttalib ^ son of Hashim, son of Abd el Munaf, son of Kusay, son of Kilab, son of Murrah, son of Kuab, son of Luwiyy, son of Ghalib, son of Fihr (Kuraysh), son of Malik, son of Nazr, son of Kananah, son of Khuzaymah, son of Mudrikah, son of Iliyas, son of Muzarr, son of Nizar, son of Adnan ^, son of Ada, son of Udad, son of Mahmisah, son of Hamal, son of Nayyit, son of Kuzar, son of Ismail, son of Ibrahim, son of Karikh, son of Kasir, son of Arghwa, son of Phaligh, son of Shalikh, son of Kaynan, son of Arfakhshad, son of Sam, son of 1 Or Prince of Princes, a liarti' l»r degree in Tasawwuf. 2 Ghaus (Assise ance) also meat n person who, ii Tasawwur, has arrived at the highest point to wliii-h fervor of devotion leads. 3 The human soul, and its Su- preme Source. ^ For a short notice of this celebrated m^'st see d'Herbelot, ' Abdalcader.' .7 ' " Hasan the Second," from whom sprang the Sherifs of El Hejai. 6 Father to Ab- dullah, lather of lUuhammed. ' Dated by M. C dp Perceval almuc 130 years B. fc. 306 PILGKIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH, ETC. 'hus, between nan and Adam hrtve eighteni lerations ! Kl ikitli and El b.iri give lorty ween Adnan 1 Ishmaet. ich Urn Klial- 1, confirmed by C. de Percfval, nks too small umber. The .t, however, presses the jular estimate, t it must be nembered that ; Prophet-used say, '* beyond inan none but lai) knoweth, d the fienealo- .ts lie.*' Moslems cleav- T to the Neptu- in theory of rthy origin. Your humble rrant, gentle ader. The former enealOEV proved ly master to be 'iMt is terlini- ally cnlled ■Kli.ililah Jatlili," r hereditary in lis dignity. The i.!lD\*ing table hows that he is il>o ■* KhuH'ai " .idopted to siic- ;■ ed), and t:ives .he 11 nne and tlie lescent ot the miy man who idoi)ted him. Noah, son of Shays, son of Adam the Father of Man- kind^ — with whom be peace, and upon our Prophet the best of blessings and salutation ! — and Adam was of dust, and dust is of the earth, and earth is of foam, and foam is of the wave, and the wave is of water ^, and water is of the rainy firmament, and the rainy fir- mament is of Power, and Power is of Will, and Will is of the Omniscience of the glorious God. But after- wards that good man, the approaching to his Lord, the averse to all besides him, the desirous of the abodes of futurity, the hoper for mercy, the Dervish Abdul- lah^, son of the Pilgrim Joseph the Afghan, — hence- forward let him be known by the name of "Dervish Kin^-in-the-name-of- Allah !" — hath come to us and visited us and begged of us instruction in the Saying of Unity. I thereibre taught him the saying which I learned by ordinance from my Shaykh and my instruc- tor and my paternal uncle the Sayyid the Shaykh Abd el Kadir^ the Kadiri, son of the Sayyid the Siiakyh Abubekr the Kadiri, son of the Sayyid the Shaykh Ismail the Kadiri, son of the Sayyid the Slmykh Abd el Wahhab the Kadiri, son of Sayyid the Shaykh Nur el Din the Kadiri, son of the Sayyid the Shaykh Shah- darwaysh the Kadiri, son of the Sayyid the Shaykh Husam el Din the Kadiri, son of the Sayyid the APPENDIX I. 307 Sliajkh Nur el Din the Kadiri, from his sire and Shajkh Waly el Din the Kadiri, from his sire and Shaykh Zayn el Din the Kadiri, from his sire and Shaykh Sharaf el Din the Kadiri, from his sire and Siiaykh Mohammed el Huttak the Kadiri, from his sire and Shaykh Abd el Aziz — Ailih sanctify his honored Sepulchre and Allah enlighten his place of rest ! — from his sire and Shaykh Sayyid the Polar Star of Existence, the White Pearl, the Polar Star of Holy Men, the Director of those that tread the path, the Sayyid the Shaykh Muhiyy el Din Abd el Kadir of Jilan — Allah sanctify his honored Sepulchre and Allah enlighten his place of rest ! Amen ! — from his Shaykh the Shaykh Abu-Said el Mubarak el Makhzumi, from his Shaykh the Shaykh Abu '1 Hasan el Hankari, from his Shaykh tiie Shaykh Abu Faras el Tarsusi, from his Shaykh the Shaykh Abd el Waliid el Tamimi, from his Shaykh the Shaykh Abu '1 Kasim el Junayd of Baghdad, from his Shaykh the Shaykh el Sirri el Sakati, from his Shaykh the Shaykh el Maaruf el Karkhi, from his Shaykh the Shaykh Daud el Tai, from his Shaykh the Shaykh Habib el Ajemi, from his Shaykh the Shaykh el Hasan of Bussorah, from his Shaykh the Prince of True Believers, Ali Son of Abu Talib — Allah be satisfied with him ! and Allah honor 308 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDIXAH, ETC. his countenance ! — from the Prophet of Allah, upon ! whom may AUah have mercy, from Jibrail, from the Omnipotent, the Glorious. And afterwards we taught | him (i. e. that good man Abdullah) the Saying of 1 Unity, and ordered its recital 165 times after each ch obligator; er is called a Farizah ', and on all occasions according to his capa- zah^ 1 he )fkli theretore :ts the Saving nity, I. e. "La 1 ilr Allah, e repeated bility. And Allah have mercy upon our Lord Mo- hammed and upon his family and upon his companions imes per 1. one and all ! And Praise be to Allah, Lcrd of the (3) Worlds! It is finished. There is no god but Alhih ! e. number of ftitioiis alter 1 obligatory fer. Number - 165. 309 APPENDIX 11. THE NAVIGATION AND VOTAGES OF LUDOVICUS VERTOMANNtJS, GENTLEMAN OF ROME. A.D. 1503. The first of the pilgrims to Meccah and El Medinah who has left an authentic account of the Holy Cities is " Lewes Wer- tomannus (Lodovico Bartema), gentelman of the citie of Rome."* " If any man," says this aucthor, " shall demand of me the cause of this my voyage, certeynely I can shewe no better reason than is the ardent desire of knowledge, which hath moved many other to see the world and the miracles of God therein.'' In the year of our Lord 1503 he departed from Venice "with prosperous wynds," arrived at Alexandria and visited Babylon of Egypt, Berynto, Tripoli, Antioch, and Damascus. He started from the latter place on the 8th of April, 1503, "in familiaritie and friendshyppe with a certayne Captayne Mameluke" (which term he applies to "al such Christians as have forsaken theyr fayth, to serve the Mahume- tans and Turks"), and in the garb of a "Mamaluchi renegado.'' He estimates the Damascus caravan to consist of 40,000 men and 35,000 camels, nearly six times its present number.f On the way they were "enforced to conflict with a great multi- tude of the Arabians ;" but the three score mamelukes compos- • I have consulted the " Navigation and Voyages of Lewes Wertoman- nus to the Regions of Arabia, Egypt, Persia, Syria, Ethiopia, and East India, both within and without the River of Ganges, etc., conteyning many nota- ble and straunge things both Historicall and Natural. Translated out of Latine into Englyshe by Richarde Eden. In the year of our Lord, 1576." — (JIakluysfs Voyages, vol. iv.) The curious reader will also find the work in Purchas {Pilgrimmes and Pilgrimage, vol. ii.)and Earausio (ifocco/to delle Navigaziani e Viaggi, torn. i.). The Travels of Bartema were first published at Milan, a.d, 1511, and the first English translation appeared in Willes and Eden's Decades, 4to. a.d. 1555. f The number of pilgrims in this Caravan is still grossly exaggerated. I cannot believe that it contains more than 7000 of both sexes, and all 310 PILGEIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. ing their escort were more than a match for 50,000 Bedouin?. On one occasion the caravan, attacked by 24,000 Arabians, slew 1500 of the enemies, losing in the conflict only a man and a woman.* This "marveyle" — which is probably not without some exaggeration — he explains by the "strength and valiant- ness of the Mamalukes," by the practice (still popular) of using the " camelles in tlie steede of a bulwarke, and placing the mer- chaunts in the myddest of the army (that is), in the myddest of the camelles, whyle the pilgrims fought manfully on every side;" and, finally, by the circumstance that the Arabs were unarmed, and "weare only a thynne loose vesture, and are besyde almost naked : theyr horses also beyng euyll furnished, and without saddles or other furniture.'' The Hejazi Bedouin of this day is a much more dangerous enemy ; the matchlock and musket have made him so ; and the only means of crippling him is to prevent the importation of fire-arms and lead, and by slow degrees to disarm the population. After performing the ceremonies of pilgrimage at El Medinah and Meccah, he es- caped to Zida or Gida (Jeddah), "despite the trumpetter of the caravana giving warning to all the Mamalukes to make readie their horses, to direct their journey toward Syria, with procla- mation of death to all that shoulde refuse so to doe," and em- barked for Persia upon the Red Sea. He touched at certain ports of Yemen, and got into trouble at Aden, "where the Mahumetans took him," and " put shackles on his legges, which came by occasion of a certayne idolatour, who cryed after him, saying, O, Christian Dogge, borne of Dogges."f The lieutenant * This may confirm Strabo's account of CElius Gallus' loss, after a con- flict with a host of Arabs — two Boman soldiers. Mons. Jomard, noticing the case, pleasantly remarks, tbat the two individuals in question are to be pitied for their extreme ill-luck, t This venerable form of abuse still survives the lapse of time. One of the first salutations reaching the ears of the " Overlands " at Alexandria is some little boy's — Ya Nasrani Kalb awani, &c. &c. — O Nazarene, O dog obscene, &c. &c. In Percy's Reliques we read of the Knight calling his Moslem opponent " unchristen hounde," — a retort courteous to the " Christen hounde," pre- viously applied to him by the " Pagan." APPENDIX II. 311 of the Sultan " assembled his council," consulted them about putting the traveller to death as a " spye of Portugales," and threw him ironed into a dungeon. On being carried shackled into the presence of the Sultan, Bartema said that he was a "Roman, professed a Mamaluke in Babylon of Alcayr;" but when told to utter the formula of the Moslem faith, he held his tongue, "eyther that it pleased not God, or that for feare and scruple of conscience he durst not." For which offence he was again "deprived of ye fruition of heaven." But, happily for Bartema, in those days the women of Arabia were " greatly in love with whyte men." Before escaping from Meccah, he lay hid in the house of a Mohammedan, and could not express his gratitude for the good wife's care ; " also," he says, "this furthered my good enterteynement, that there was in the house a fayre young mayde, the niese of the Mahuraetan, who was greatly in love with me." At Aden he was equally fortunate. One of the Sultan's three wives, on the departure of her lord and master, bestowed her heart upon the traveller. She was " very faire and comely, after theyr maner, and of colour inclynyng to blacke ;" she would spend the whole day in beholding Bartema, who wandered about simulating mad- ness", and "in the meane season, divers tymes, sent him secretly muche good meate by her maydens." He seems to have played his part to some purpose, under the colour of mad- ness, converting a "great fatt shepe" to Mohammedanism, slaying an ass because he refused to be a proselyte, and, finally, he " handeled a Jewe so euyll that he had almost killed hym." After sundry adventures and a trip to Sanaa, he started fo* Persia witli the Indian fl^et, in which, by means of fair pro- mises, he had made friendship with a certain captain. He visited Zayla and Berberah in the Somali country, and at last reached Hormuz. The 3rd book " entreateth of Persia," the 4th of " India, and of the cities and other notable thynges scene there." The 8th book contains the "voyage of India," in which he includes Pegu, Sumatra, Borneo, and Java, where, * For a full account of the mania fit I must refer the curious reader to the original (Book ii. chap. v. ). The only mistake the traveller seems to haTe committed, was that, bj.his ignorance of the rules of ablution, he made men agree that he was " no sainct, but a madman.' 4 312 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. " abhorryng the beastly maners '' of a cannibal population, he made but a short stay. Keturning to Calicut, he used " great subtiltie," escaped to the " Portugales," and was well received by the viceroy. After describing in his 7th book the " viage or navigation of Ethiopia, Melinda, Mombaza, Mozambrich (Mozambique), and Zaphala (Sofala)," he passed the Cape called " Caput Bonse Spei, and repaired to the goodly citie of Luxburne (Lisbon)," where he had the honor of kissing hands. The king confirmed with his great seal the " letters patentes," whereby his lieutenant the viceroy of India had given the pilgrim the order of knighthood. " And thus," says Bartema by way of conclusion, " departing from thence, with the kyngs pasporte and safe conducte, at the length after these my long and great trauayles and dangers, I came to my long desyred native countrey, the citie of Rome, by the grace of God, to whom be all honour and glory." This old traveller's pages abound with the information to be collected in a fresh field by an unscrupulous and hard-headed observer. They are of course disfigured with a little romanc- ing. His Jews at Khaybar, near El Medinah, were five or six spans long. At Meccah he saw two unicorns, the younger " at the age of one yeare, and lyke a young coolte ; the home of this is of the length of four handfuls." * And so credulous is he about anthropophagi, that he relates of Mahumet (son to the Sultan of Sanaa) how he " by a certayne naturall tyrannye and madnesse delyteth to eate man's fleeshe, and therefore secretly kylleth many to eate them." "f But all things well con- sidered, Lodovico Bartema, for correctness of observation and readiness of wit, stands in the foremost rank of the old oriental travellers. * He proceeds, however, to say that " the head is lyke a hart's," the " legges thynne and slender, lyke a fawne or hyde, the hoofs divided much like the feet of a goat ; that they were sent from Ethiopia (the Somali country ), and were "shewed to the people for a myracle." They might, therefore, possibly have been African antelopes, which a lusus nature had deprived of their second horn. But the suspicion of fable remains. t This is a tale not unfamiliar to the western world. Louis XI. of France was supposed to drink the blood of babes, — " pour rajeunir sa veine epuisee." The reasons in favor of such unnatural diet have been fully ex- plained by the infamous M. de Sadc. APPENDIX II. 313 I proceed to quote, and to illustrate -with notes, the few chapters devoted in the 1st volume of this little-known work to Meccah and El Medinah. Chap. XI. — Of a Mountayne inhabited with Jewes, and of the Citie of Medinathalnabi, where Mahumet was buried. In the space of eyght dayes we came to a mountayne which conteyneth in circuite ten or twelve myles. This is inhabited with Jewes, to the number of fyue thousande 'or thereabout. They are very little stature, as of the lieyght of fiue or sixe spannes, and some muche lesse. They have small voyces lyke women, and of blacke colour, yet some blacker then other. They feede of none other meate than goates fleshe.* They are circumcised, and deny not themselues to be Jewes. If by chaunce, any Mahumetan come into their handes, they flay him alyue. At the foot of the mountayne we found a certayne hole, out of whiche flowed aboundance of water. By fyndyng this oportunitie, we laded sixtiene thousand camels ; which thyng greatly offended the Jewes. They wandred in that mountayne, scattered like wylde goates or prickettes, yet durst they not come downe, partly for feare, and partly for hatred agaynst the Mahumetans. Beneath the mountaine are seene seuen or eyght thorne trees, very fayre, and in them we founde a payre of turtle doues, which seemed to vs in maner a miracle, hauyng before made so long journeyes, and saw neyther beast nor foule. Then proceedyng two dayes journey, we came to a certayne citie name Medinathalnabi : foure myles from the said citie, we founde a well. Heere the carauana (that is, the whole hearde of camelles) rested. And remayning here one day, we washed ourselves, and chaunged our shertes, the more freshely to enter into the citie ; it is well peopled, and conteyneth about three hundred houses ; the walles are lyke bulwarkes of earth, and the houses both of stone and bricke. The soile about the citie is vtterly barren, except that about two myles from tlie citie are seene about fyftie palme trees that beare dates.j" There, * This is, to the present day, a food confined to the Bedouins, f This alludes to the gardens of Kuba. The number of date-trees is now greatly increased. (See Chap. XIS.) 314 PILGKIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. by a certayne garden, runneth a course of water fallyng into a lower playne, where also passingers are accustomed to water theyr camelles.* And here opportunitie now serueth to con- fute the opinion of them whiche thynke that the arke or toombe of wicket Mahumet to hang in the ayre, not borne vp with any thyng. As touching which thyng, I am vtterly of an other opinion, and affirme this neyther to be true, nor to haue any lykenesse of trueth, as I presently behelde these thynges, and sawe the place where Mahumet is buried, in the said citie of Medi- nathalnabi : for we taryed there three days, to come to the true knowledge of all these thynges. When wee were desirous to enter into theyr Temple (which they call Meschitaf, and all other churches by the same name), we coulde not be suffered to enter without a companion little or great. They taking vs by the hande, brought vs to the place where they saye Mahumet is buried. Chap. XII. — Of the Temple or Chapell, and Sepulchre of Mahumet, and of his Felowes. His temple is vaulted, and is a hundred pases in length, fourescore in breadth ; the entry into it is by two gates ; from the sydes it is couered with three vaultes ; it is borne vp with 4 hundred columnes or pillars of white brick ; there are scene, hanging lampes, about the number of 3 thousande. From the other part of the temple in the first place of the Meschita, is seene a tower of the circuite of fyue pases vaulted on euery syde, and couered with a cloth or silk, and is borne vp with a grate of copper, curiously wrought and distant from it two pases : and of them that goe thyther, is seene as it were through a lattesse.| Towarde the lefte hande, is the way to the tower, and when you come tliyther, you must enter by a narrower gate. On euery syde of those gates or doores, are seene many bookes in maner of a librarie, on the one syde 20, and on the other syde 25. These contayne the filthie traditions and lyfe of Mahumet and his fellowes : within the sayde gate is seene a sepulchre, (that is) a digged place, where they say Mahumet • The Ayn el Zarka, flowing from the direction of Kuba. (Chap. XVIII. ) t Masjid, a Mosque. X Nothing can be more correct than this part of Bartema's description. APPENDIX II. 315 is buried and his felowes, which are these, Nabi, Bubacar, Othomar, Aumar, and Fatoma*; but Mahumet was theyr chiefe captayne, and an Arabian borne. Hali was sonne in lawe to Mahumet, for he tooke to wyfe his daughter Fatoma. Bubacar is he who they say was exalted to the dignitie of a chiefe counsellor and great gouernour, although he came not to the high degree of an apostle, or prophet, as dyd Mahumet. Othomar and Aumar were chief captaynes of the army of Ma- humet. Euery of these haue their proper bookes of their factes and traditions. And hereof proceedeth the great dissention and discorde of religion and maners among this kynde of filthie men, whyle some confirm one doctrine, and some another, by reason of theyr dyuers sectes of Patrons, Doctours, and Saintes, as they call them. By this meanes are they marueylously diuided among themselues, and lyke beastes kyll themselues for such quarelles of dyuers opinions, and all false. This also is the chiefe cause of warre betweene the sophie of Persia and the great Turke, being neuerthelesse both Mahumetans, and lyue in mortall hatred one agaynst the other for the mayntenaunce of theyr sectes, saintes and apostles, whyle euery of them thynketh theyr owne to bee best. Chap. XIII. — Of the Secte of Mahumet. Now will we speake of the maners and sect of Mahumet. Vnderstande, therefore, that in the highest part of the tower aforesayde, is an open round place. Now shall you vnder- stande what crafte they vsed to deceyue our carauana. The first euenyng that we came thytl'er to see the sepulchre of Mahumetj our captayne sent for the chiefe priest of the temple to come to him, and when he came, declared vnto him that the only cause of his commyng thyther was to visite the sepulchre and bodie of Nabi, by which woord is signified the prophet Mahumet; and that he vnderstoode that the price to be ad- mitted to the syght of these mysteries should be foure thou- • Nabi (the Prophet), Abubekr, Osman, Omar, and Fatimab. It was never believed that Osman was baried in the Prophet's mosque. This part of the description is utterlj incorrect. The tombs are within the " tower * above mentioned ; and Bartema, in his ISlh chapter, quoted below, seems to ko aware of the fact. 316 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. sande seraphes of golde. Also that he had no parents, neythei* brothers, sisters, kinsefolkes, chyldren, or wyues ; neither that he came thyther to buy merchauudies, as spices, or bacca, or nardus, or any maner of precious jewelles ; but only for very zeale of religion and salutation of his soule, and was therefore greatly desirous to see the bodie of the prophet. To whom the priest of the temple (they call them Side), with countenance lyke one that were distraught *, made aunswere in this maner : " Barest thou with those eyes, with the which thou hast com- mitted so many horrible sinnes, desyre to see him by whose sight God hath created heauen and earth ?" To whom agayne our captayne aunswered thus : " My Lord, you have sayde truely ; neuerthelesse I pray you that I aay fynde so much fauour with you, that I may see the Prophet ; whom when I haue seene, I will immediately thrust out myne eyes." The Side aunswered, " Prince, I will open all thynges vnto thee. So it is that no man can denye but that our Prophet dyed heere, who, if he woulde, myght haue dyed at Mecha. But to shewe in himself a token of humilitie, and thereby to giue vs example to folowe him, was wyllyng rather heere then else- where to departe out of this worlde, and was incontinent of angelles borne into heauen, and there receyued as equall with tliem." Then our captayne sayde to him, " Where is Jesus Christus, the sonne of Marie ?" To whom the Side answered, ' At the feete of Mahumet."f Then sayde our captayne agayne : " It suffyceth, it suflFyceth ; I will knowe no more." After this our captayne commyng out of the temple, and turnyng to vs, sayH, " See (I pray you) for what goodly stufFe I would haue paide three thousande seraphes of golde." The same daye at euenyng, at almost three a clocke of the nyght, ten or twelue of the elders of the secte of Mahumet en- tered into our carauana, which remayned not paste a stone caste from the gate of the citie. J These ranne hyther * The request was an unconscionable one ; and the " chief priest " knew that the body, being enclosed within four walls, could not be seen. f This is erroneous. " Hazrat Isa," after his second coming, will be buried in the Prophet's " Hujrah " But no Moslems believe that the founder of Christianity left his corpse in this world. (See Chap. XVI.) J Most probably, in the Barr el Munakhah, where the Damascus caravan still pitches tents. APPENDIX II. 317 and thyther, crying lyke madde men, with these wordes, "Mahumetj the messenger and Apostle of God, shall ryse agayne ! O Prophet, O God, Mahumet shall ryse agayne ! Have mercy on vs God ! " Our captayne and we, all raysed with this crye, tooke weapon with all expedition, suspectyng that the Arabians were come to robbe our carauana ; we asked what was the cause of that exclamation, and what they cryed? For they cryed as doe the Christians, when sodeynly any marueyloiis thyng chaunceth. The Elders answered, " Sawe you not the lyghtning whiche shone out of the sepulchre of the Prophet Mahumet?"* Our captayne answered that he sawe nothyng ; and we also beying demaunded, answered in lyke maner. Then sayde one of the old men, "Are you slaues?" that is to say, bought men ; meanyng thereby Mamalukes. Then sayde our captayne, " We are in deede Mamalukes." Then agayne the olde man sayde, " You, my Lordes, cannot see heauenly thinyes, as being Neophiti, (that is) newly come to the fayth, and not yet confirmed in our religion." To this our captayne answered agayne, " O you madde and insensate beastes, I had thought to have giuen you three thousande peeces of golde ; but now, you dogges and progenie of dogges, I will gyue you nothing." It is therefore to bee vnderstoode, that none other shynyng came out of the sepulchre, then a certayne flame whic h the priests caused to come out of the open place of the towref spoken of here before, whereby they would hauc deceyved vs. And therefore our captayne commaunded that thereafter none of vs should enter into the temple. Of this also we haue most true experience, and most certaynely assure you that there is neyther iron or Steele or the magnes stone that should so make the toombe of Mahumet to hange in the ayre, as some haue falsely imagined ; neyther is there any mountayne nearer than foure myles : we remayned here three dayes to refreshe our company. To this citie victualles and all kynde of corne is brought from Arabia Fselix, and Babylon or * This passage shows the antiquity of the still popular superitition which makes a light to proceed from the Prophet's tomb. f It is unnecessary to suppose any deception of the kind. If only the " illuminati " could see this light, the sight would necessarily be confined to a very small number. 318 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. Alcayr, and also from Ethiope, by the Redde Sea, which is from this citie but four dayes journey.* Chap. XIV. — The Journey to Mecha.f After that we were satisfied, or rather wearyed, with the filthinesse and lothesomeiiesse of the trumperyes, deceites, trifles, and hypocrisis of the religion of Mahumet, we deter- mined to goe forward on our journey ; and that by guyding of a pylot who might directe our course witli the mariners boxe or compasse, with also the carde of the sea, euen as is vsed in sayling on the sea. And thus bendyng our journey to the west we founde a very fayre well or fountayne, from the which flowed great aboundance of water. The iuhabitantes afiyrme that Sainct Marke the Euangelist was the aucthour of this foun- tiiyne, by a miracle of God, when that region was in maner burned with incredible drynesse.f Here we and our beastes were satisfied with drynke. I may not here omit to speake of the sea of sande, and of the daungers thereof This was founde of vs before we came to the mountayne of (he Jewes. In this sea of sande we traueiled the journey of three days and nightes : this is a great brode plaine, all couered with white sande, in maner as small as floure. If by euil fortune it so chaunce that any trauaile that way southward, if in the mean time the wind come to the north, they are ouerwhelmed with sande, that they scatter out of the way, and can scarsely see the one the other 10 pases of. And therefore the inhabitants trauayling this way, are inclosed in cages of woodde, borne with camels, and lyue in them §, so passing the jorney, guided by pilots with maryner's compasse and card, euen as on the sea, as we haue sayde. In • Cosseir, Snez, and Jeddah still supply El Medinah. f It is impossible to distinguish from this description the route taken by the Damascus Caravan in a.d. 1503. Of one thing only we may be certain, namely, that between El Medinah and Meccah there are no " Seas of Sand." J The name of St. Mark is unknown in El Hejaz. Probably the origin of the fountain described in the text was a theory that sprang from the brains of the Christian Mamelukes. § A fair description of the still favorite vehicles, the Shugduf, the Takh- trawan, and the Shibriyah. It is almost needless to say that the use of the mariner's compass is unknown to the guides in El Hejaz. APPENDIX II. 319 this jorney also many peryshe for thirst, and many for drynkyng to muche, when they finde suche good waters. In these sandes is founde Momia, which is the fleshe of such men as are drowned in these sandes, and there dryed by the hciite of the sunne : so that those bodyes are preserued from putrifaction by the drynesse of the sand ; and therefore that drye fleshe is esteemed medicinable. • Albeit there is another kynde of more pretious Momia, which is the dryed and embalmed bodies of kynges and princes, whiche of long tyme haue been preserued drye without corruption. When the wynde bloweth from the northeast, then the sandriseth and is driuen against a certayne mountayne which is an arme of the mount Sinai.! There we found certayne pyllers artificially wrought, whiche they call lanuan. On the lefte hande of the sayde mountayne, in the toppe or rydge thereof, is a denne, and the entrie into it is by an iron gate. Some fayne that in that place Mahumet lyued in contemplation. Here we heard a certayne horrible noyse and crye ; for passyng the sayde mountayne, we were in so great daunger, that we thought neuer to have escaped. De- partyng, therefore, from the fountayne, we continued our journey for the space of 10 dayes, and twyse in the way fought with fyftie thousande Arabians, and so at the length came to the citie of Mecha, where al thinges were troubled by reason of the warres betweene two brethren, contendyng whiche of them should possesse the kyngedom of Mecha. Chap. XV. — Of the Fourme and Situation of the Citie of Mecha : and why the Mohumetans resort thyther. Nowe the tyme requireth to speake somewhat of the famous citie of Mecha, or Mecca, what it is, howe it is situate, and by whom it is gouerned. The citie is very fayre and well in- habited, and conteyneth in rounde fourme syxe thousande houses, as well buylded as ours, and some that cost three or • Wonderfal tales are still told about this same Momiya (mummy). I was assured by an Arab physician, that he had broken a fowl's leg, and bound it tightly with a cloth containing man's dried flesh, which caused the bird to walk about, with a sound shank, on the second (^y. f This is probably Jebil Warkan, on the Darb el Sultani, or Sea road to Meccah. For the Moslem tradition about its Sinaitic origin, see 320 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. foure thousande peeces of golde : it hath no walles. About two furlongs from the citie is a mount, where the way is cutte out*, whiche leadeth to a playne beneath. It is on euery syde fortified with mountains, in the stead of walles or bulwarkes, and hatii foure entries. The Gouernour is a Soltan, and one of the foure brethren of the progenie of Mahumet, and is subject to the Soltan of Babylon of whom we haue spoken before. His other three brethren be at continuall warre with hym. The 18 daye of Maye we entered into the citie by the north syde ; then, by a declyning way, we came into a playne. On the south syde are two mountaynes, the one very neere the other, distant onely by a little valley, which is the way that leadeth to the gate of Mecha. On the east syde is an open place betweene two mountaynes, like vnto a valley f, and is the waye to the moun- tayne where they sacrifice to the Patriarkes Abraham and Isaac.:]: This mountayne is from the cite about 10 or 12 myles, and of the heyght of three stones cast : it is of stone as harde as marble, yet no marble. § In the toppe of the mountayne is a temple or Mescliita, made after their fashion, and hath three wayes to enter into it.|| At the foote of the mountayne are two cesterns, which conserue waters without corruption : of these, the one is reserued to minister water to the camels of the carauana of Babylon or Alcayr ; and the other, for them of Damasco. It is rayne water, and is deriued far of.^I But to returne to speake of the citie ; for as touchyng the maner of sacrifice which they vse at the foote of the mountayne wee wyll speake hereafter. Entryng, therefore, into the citie, wee founde there the carauana of Memphis, or Babylon, which prevented vs eyght dayes, and came not the waye that wee came. This carauana conteyned threescore and foure thousande camelles, and a hundred Mamalukes to guyde them. And here * The Saniyat Kuda, a pass opening upon the Meccah plain. Here two towers are now erected. t This is the open ground leading to the Muna Pass. J An error. The sacrifice is performed at Muna, not on Arafat, the mountain here alluded to. § The material is a close grey granite. II The form of the building has now been changed. ^ The Meccans have a tradition concerning it, that it is derived from B.is'hrtad. APPENDIX II. 321 ought you to consyder that, by the opinion of all men, this citie is greatly cursed of God as appereth by the great barrennesse thereof, for it is destitute of all maner of fruites and corne.* It is scorched with drymesse for lacke of water, and therefore the water is there growen to suche pryce, that you cannot for twelue pence buye, as much water as wyll satysfie your thyrst for one day. Nowe, therefore, I will declare what prouision they have for victuales. The most part is brought them from the citie of Babylon, otherwise named Memphis, Cayrus, or Alcayr, a citie of the ryuer of Nilus in Egypt, as we have sayde before, and is brought by the Red Sea (called Mare Erythreum) from a certayne port named Gida, distaunt from Mecha fourtie myles.f The rest of theyr prouisions is brought from Arabia F^elix, (that is) the happye or blessed Arabia : so named for the fruitfulnesse thereof, in respect of the other two Arabiaes, called Petrea and Diserta, that is, stonye and desart. They haue also muche corne from Ethyopia. Here we found a marueylous number of straungers and peregrynes, or pylgryms; of the whiche some came from Syria, some from Persia, and other from both the East Indiaes, (that is to say) both India within the ryuer of Ganges, and also the other India without the same ryuer. I neuer sawe in anye place greater abundaunce and frequentation of people, forasmuche as I could perceyue by tarrying there the space of 20 dayes. These people resort thyther for diuers causes, as some for merchandies, some to obserue theyr vowe of pylgrymage, and other to haue pardon for theyr sinnes : as touchyng the whiche we wyll speake more hereafter. Chap. XVII. — Of the Pardons or Indulgences of Mecha. Let vs now returne to speake of the pardons of pilgryms, for the which so many strange nations resort thither. In the myddest of the citie is a temple, in fashyon lyke vnto the colossus of Rome, the amphitheatrum, I meane, lyke vnto a • Moslems who are disposed to be facetious on serious subjects, often remark that it is a mystery why Allah should have built his house in a spot so barren and desolate. f Suez still supplies Jeddah with corn and other provisions. 322 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. Stage, yet not of marbled or hewed stones, but of burnt bryckes ; for this temple, like unto an amphitheatre, hath fourescore and ten, or an hundred gates *, and is vaulted. The entrance is by a discent of twelve stayers or degrees on euery parti: in the church porche, are sold only jewels and precious stones. In the entry the gylted walles shyne on euery syde with incom- parable splendour. In the lower part of the temple (that is vnder the vaulted places) is seene a maruelous multitude of men ; for there are fyue or sixe thousande men that sell none other thyng then sweete oyntmentes, and especially a certayne odoriferous and most sweete pouder wherewith dead bodies are embalmed. | And hence, all maner of sweete sauours are carried in maner into the countreys of all the Mahumetans. It passeth all beleefe to thynke of the exceedyng sweetnesse of these sauours, farre surmounting the shoppes of the apothecaries. The 23 daye of Maye the pardones began to be graunted in the temple, and in what maner we wyll nowe declare. The temple in the myddest is open without any inclosyng, and in the myddest also thereof is a turrett of the largnesse of syxe passes in cercuitie§, and inuolued or hanged with cloth or tapestry of sylke (|, and passeth not the heyght of a man. They enter into the turret by a gate of syluer, and is on euery syde besette with vesselles full of balme. On the day of Pentecost licence is graunted to al men to se these thynges. The inhabitantes affyrm that balme or balsame to be part of the treasure of the Soltan that is Lorde of Mecha. At euery vaulte of the turret * A prodigions exaggeration. Burckhardt enumerates twenty. The principal gates are seventeen in number. In the old building they were more numerous. Jos. Pitts says, "it hath about forty-two doors to enter into it ; — not so much, I think, for necessity, as figure ; for in some places they are close by one another." f Bartema alludes, probably, to the Bab el Ziyadah, in the northern en- ceinte. J I saw nothing of the kind, though constantly in the Haram at Meccab. § "The Kaabah is an oblong massive structure, 18 paces in length, 14 in breadth, and from 35 to 40 feet in height." (Burckhardt, voL i. p. 248.) My measurements gave 18 paces in breadth, and 28 in length. 11 In ancient times possibly it was silk: now, it is of silk and cotton mixed. APPENDIX ri. 323 is fastened a rounde circle of iron, lyke to the ryng of a doore.* The 22 day of Maye, a great multitude of people beganne, early in the mornyng before day, seuen tymes to walke about the turret, kyssing euery corner thereof, often tymes feelyng and handelyng them. From this turret about tenne or twelue pases is an other turret, like a chappell buylded after our maner. This hath three or foure entryes : in the myddest thereof is a well of threescore and tenne cubites deepe ; the water of this well is infected with salt peter or saltniter.j' Egypt men are therevnto appoynted to drawe water for all the people: and when a multitude of people haue seuen tymes gone rounde about the first turret, they come to this well, and touchyng the mouth or brym thereof, they saye thus, " Be it in the honour of God ; God pardon ,me, and forgeue me my synnes." When these woordes are sayde, they that drawe the water powre three buckettes of water on the headdes of euery one of them, and stand neere about the well, and washe them all wette from the headde to the foote, although they be apparelled with sylk. Then the dotyng fooles dreame that they are cleane from all theyr synnes, and that theyr synnes are forgeuen them. They saye furthermore, that the fyrst turret, whereof we haue spoken, was the fyrst house that euer Abraham buylded, and, therefore, whyle they are yet all wette of the sayd washyng, they go to the mountayne, where (as we have sayde before) they are accustomed to sacrifice to Abraham.^ And remaining there two dales, they make the said sacrifice to Abraham at the foote of the mountayne. Chap. XVIII. — The Maner of Sacrificing at Mecha. Forasmuche as for the most parte noble spirites are delyted with nouelties of great and straunge thyngs, therefore, to satisfie • These are the brazen rings which serve to fasten the lower edge of the Kiswah, or covering. + A true description of the water of the well Zem Zem. j There is great confusion in this part of Bartema's narrative. On the 9th of Zu '1 Hijjah, the pilgrims leave Mount Arafat. On the 10tl<, many hasten into Meccah, and enter the Kaahah. They then return to the valley of Muna, where their tents are pitched, and sacrifice the victims. On the 12th, the tents are struck, and the pilgrims re-enter Meccah. Y 2 324 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. their expectation, I wyll describe theyr maner of sacrifycyng. Therefore, when they intend to sacrifice, some of them kyll three sheepe, some foure, and some tenne ; so that the butcherie sometyme so floweth with blood that in one sacrifice are slayne above three thousande sheepe. They are slayne at the rysyng of the sunne, and shortly after are distributed to the poore for God's sake: for I sawe there a great and confounded multitude of poor people, as to the number of 20 thousande. These make many and long dyches in the feeldes, where they keepe fyre with camels doong, and rost or seeth the fleshe that is geuen them, and eate it euen there. I beleue that these poor people come thither rather for hunger than for deuotion, which I thinke by thisconiectur, — that great abundance of cucumbers are brought thyther from Arabia Fselix, whiche they eate, castyng away the parynges without their houses or tabernacles, where a multitude of the sayde poore people geather them euen out of the myre and sande, and eate them, and are so greedie of these parynges that they fyght who may geather most.* The daye folowing f , their Cadi (which are in place with them as with vs the preachers of God's worde) ascended into a hygh mountayne, to preach to the people that remaineth beneath; and preached to them in theyr language the space of an houre. The summe of the sermon was, that with teares they shoulde bewayle theyr sinnes, and beate their brestes with sighes and lamentation. And the preacher hymselfe with loude voyce spake these wordes, " Abraham beloued of God, O Isaac chosen of God, and his friend, praye to God for the people of Nabi." When these woordes were sayde, sodenly were heard lamenting voyces. When the sermon was done, a rumor was spredde that a great armye of Arabians, to the number of twentie thousande, were commyng. With which newes, they • This well describes the wretched state of the poor " Takruri," and other Africans, but it attributes to them an unworthy motive. I once asked a learned Arab what induced the wretches to rush upon destruction, as they ■ do, when the Faith renders pilgrimage obligatory only upon those who can aBford necessaries for the way. " By Allah," he replied, " there is fire within their hearts, which can be quenched only at God's House, and His Prophet's tomb," ■f Bartema alludes to the " Day of Arafat," 9th of Zu '1 Hijjah, which precedes, not follows, the " Day of Sacrifice." APPENDIX II. 325 that kept the carauanas beyng greatly feared, with all speede, lyke madde men, fledde into the citie of Mecha, and we agajne bearyng newes of the Arabians approche, fledde also into the citie. But whyle wee were in the mydwaye betweene the mountayne and Mecha, we came by a despicable wall, of the breadth of foiire cubites : the people passyng this wall, had couered the way with stones, the cause whereof, they saye to be this : when Abraham was commaunded to sacrifice his sonne, he wylled his sonne Isaac to folowe hym to the place where he should execute the commaundement of God. As Isaac went to folowe his father, there appeared to him in the way a Deuyl, in lykenesse of a fayre and freendly person, not farre from the sayde wall, and asked hym freendlye whyther he went. Isaac answered that he went to his father who tarryed for hym. To this the enimie of mankynde answered, that it was best for hym to tarrye, and yf that he went anye further, his father would sacrifice him. But Isaac nothyng feareyng this aduer- tisement of the Deuyl, went forward, that his father on hym myght execute the commaundement of God: and with this answere (as they saye) they Deuyell departed. Yet as Isaac went forwarde, the Diuell appeared to hym agayne in the lyke- nesse of an other frendlye person, and forbade hym as before. Then Isaac takyng vp a stone in that place, hurlde it at the Deuyl and wounded hym in the forehead : In witnesse and re- membraunce whereof, the people passyng that waye when they come neare the wall, are accustomed to cast stones agaynst it, and from thence go into the citie.* As we went this way, the ayre was in maner darkened with a multitude of stock doues. They saye that these doues, are of the progenie of the done that spake in the eare of Mahumet, in lykenesse of the Holye Ghost.']' ♦ Bartema alludes to the " Shaytan el Kabir," the " Great Deril," as the bnttress at El Muna is called. His account of Satan's appearance is not strictly correct. Most Moslems believe that Abraham threw the stone at the "Rajim," — the Lapidated One ; but there are various traditions upon the subject. f A Christian version of an obscure Moslem legend about a white dove alighting on the Prophet's shoulder, and appearing to whisper in his ear whilst he was addressing a congregation. Butler alludes to it : — " Th' apostles of this fierce religion, Like Mahomet's, were ass and widgeon ; " T 3 326 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. These are seene euery where, as in the villages, houses, tauems and graniers of come and ryse, and are so tame that one can scharsely dryue them away. To take them or kyll them is es- teemed a thyng worthy death*, and therefore a certayne* pen- syon is geuen to nourysshe them in the temple. Chap. XX. — Of diuers thynges which chaunced to me in Mecha ; and of Zida, a port of Mecha,. It may seeme good here to make mention of certayne thynges, in the which is seene sharpenesse of witte in case of vrgent necessitie, which hath no lawe as sayeth the prouerbe, for I was dryuen to the point howe I myght priuely escape from Mecha. Therefore whereas my Captayne gaue me charge to buy certayne thynges, as I was in the market place, a certayne Mamaluke knewe me to be a christian, and therefore in his owne language spake vnto me these woordes, " Inte mename," that is, whence art thou ? f To whom I answered that I was a Mahumetan. But he sayde. Thou sayest not truely. I sayde agayne, By the head of Mahumet I am a Mahumetan. Then he sayde agayne. Come home to my house, I folowed hym willingly. When we were there, he began to speake to me in the Italian tongue, and asked me agayne from whence I was, afiyrming that he knewe me, and that I was no Mahumetan : also that he had been sometyme in Genua and Venice. And that his woordes myght be better beleeued, he rehearsed many thinges which testified that he sayed trueth. When I vnder- stoode this, I confessed freely, that I was a Bomane, but pro- fessed to the fay th of Mahumet in the citie of Babylon, and there made one of the Mamalukes ; whereof he seemed greatly to reioyce and therefore vsed me honourably. But because my desyre was yet to goe further, I asked the Mahumetan whether that "citie of Mecha was so famous as all the world spake of it : and inquired of him where was the great aboundaunce of the latter word being probably a clerical error for pigeon. When describ- ing the Kaabah, I have alluded to the " blue-rocks " of Meccah. • No one would cat the pigeons of the Kaabah ; but in other places, El Medinah, for instance, they are sometimes used as articles of food. \ In the Tulgar dialect, " Ant min ayn ?" APPENDIX II. 327 pearles, precious stones, spices, and other rich merchandies that the bruite went of to be in that citie. And all my talke was to the ende to grope the mjnde of the Mahumetan, that I might know the cause why such thinges were not brought thyther as in tyme paste. But to auoyde all suspition, I durst here make no mention of the dominion which the Kyng of Portugale had in the most parte of that ocean, and of the gulfes of the Redde Sea and Persia. Then he began with more attentyue mynde, in order to declare vnto me the cause why that marte was not so greatly frequented as it had been before, and layde the only faulte thereof in the Kyng of Portugale. But when he had made mention of the kyng, I began of purpose to detracte his fame, lest the Mahumetan might thinke that I reioyced that the Christians came thyther for merchandies. When he perceyued that I was of profession an enemy to the Christians, he had me yet in greater estimation, and proceeded to tell me many thynges more. When I was well instructed in all thynges, I spake vnto him friendly these woordes in the Mahumet's lan- guage Menaba Menalhabi, that is to say, " I pray you assist mee."* He asked mee wherein. " To help me (sayed I) howe I may secretly departe hence." Confyrmyng by great othes, that I would goe to those kinges that were most enemies to the Christians : affyrmyng furthermore, that I knewe certayne secretes greatly to be esteemed, which if they were knowen to the sayde kynges, I doubted not but that in shorte tyme I should bee sent for from Mecha. Astonyshed at these woordes, he sayde vnto mee, I pray you what arte or secrete doe you know? I answered, that I would giue place to no man in makyng of all maner of gunnes and artillerie. Then sayde hee, " praysed be Mahumet who sent thee hyther, to do hym and his saintes good seruice ; " and willed me to remayne secretly in his house with his wyfe, and requyred me earnestly to ob- tayne leaue of our Captayne that under his name he myght leade from Mecha fifteine camelles laden with spices, without paying any custome : for they ordinarily paye to the Soltan * I confess inability to explain these words: the printer has probably done more than the author to make them unintelligible. "Atamannik minalnabi," in vulgar and rather corrupt Arabic, would mean " I beg you (to aid me) for the sake of the Prophet." y 4 328 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. thirtie seraphes* of golde, for transportyng of such merchan- dies for the charge of so many camelles. I put him in good hope of his request, he greatly reioyced, although he would aske for a hundred, afiyrmyng that might easily be obteyned by the priuileges of the Mamalukes, and therefore desyred hym that I might safely remayne in his house. Then nothyng doubtyng to obtayne his request, he greatly reioyced, and talkyng with me yet more freely, gaue me further instructions and coun- sayled me to repayre to a certayne kyng of the greater India, in the kyngdome and realme of Decham | whereof we will speake hereafter. Therefore the day before the carauana departed from Mecha, he willed me to lye hydde in the most secrete parte of his house. The day folowyng, early in the mornyng the trumpetter of the carauana gaue warning to all the Mama- lukes to make readie their horses, to directe their journey toward Syria, with proclamation ^of death to.aU. that shoulde refuse so to doe. When I hearde the sounde of the trumpet, and was aduertised of the streight commaundement, I was marueylously troubled in minde, and with heauy countenaunce desired the Mahumetans wife not to bewraye me, and with earnest prayer committed myselfe to the mercie of God. On the Tuesday folowyng, our carauana departed from Mecha, and I remayned in the Mahumetans house with his wyfe, but he folowed the carauana. Yet before he departed, he gaue com- maundement to his wife to bryng me to the carauana, which shoulde departe from Zida | the porte of Mecha to goe into India. This porte is distant from Mecha 40 miles. Whilest I laye thus bjd in the Mahumetans house, I can not expresse how friendly his wyfe vsed me. This alone furthered my good enterteynement, that there was in the house a fayre young mayde, and niese of the Mahumetao, who was greatly in loue with me. But at that tyme, in the myddest of those troubles and feare, the fyre of Venus was almost extincte in mee : and therefore with daliaunce of fayre woordes and promises, I styll kepte my selfe in her fauour. Therefore the Friday folowyng, about noone tyde, I departed, folowyng the carauana of India. And about myd nyght we came to a certayne village of the Ashrafi, ducats. f The Deccan. t Jeddah. APPENDIX II. 329 Arabians, and there remayned the rest of that nyght, and the next day tyll noone. From iience we went forwarde on our journey toward Zida, and came thyther in the silence of the nyght. This citie hath no walles, yet fayre houses, somewhat after the buyldyng of Italie. Here is great aboundaunce of all kynd of merchandies, by reason of resorte in maner of all nations thyther, excepte jewes and christians, to whom it is not lawfuU to come thyther. As soone as I entered into the citie, I went to their temple or Meschita, where 1 sawe a great multitude of poore people, as about the number of 25 thousande, attendyng a certaine pilot who should bryng them iato their countrey. Heere I suffered muche trouble and affliction, beying enforced to hyde myselfe among these poore folkes, fayning myselfe very sicke, to the ende that none should be inquisityue what I was, whence I came, or whyther I would. The lord of this citie is the Soltan of Babylon, brother to the Soltan of Mecha, who is his subiecte The inhabitauntes are Mahumetans. The soyle is vufruitfull, and lacketh freshe water. The sea beateth agaynst the towne. There is neuerthelesse aboundance of all thinges : but brought thyther from other places, as from Babylon of Nylus, Arabia Fcelix, and diuers other places. The heate is here so great, that men are in maner dryed up therewith. And therefore there is euer a great number of sicke folkes. The citie con- teyneth about fyue hundred houses. After fyftiene dayes were past, I couenaunted with a pilot, who was ready to depart from thence into Persia, and agreed of the price, to goe with him. There lay at anker in the hauen almost a hundred brigantines and foistes *, with diuers boates and barkes of sundry sortes, both with ores and without ores. Therefore after three days, gyuyng wynde to our sayles, we entered into the Bedde Sea, otherwise named Mare Erythrasum. * A foist, foyst or buss was a kind of felucca, partially decked. 330 APPENDIX III. THE PILGEIMAGE OK JOSEPH PITTS TO MECCAH AND EL MEDINAH. — A. D. 1680. Our second pilgrim was Jos. Pitts of Exon*, a youth 15 or 16 years old, when in a. d. 1678, his genius " leading him to be a sailor and to see foreign countries," caused him to be captured by an Algerine pirate. After living in slavery for some years, he was taken by his " patroon " to Meocah and El Medinah via Alexandria, Rosetta, Cairo and Suez. His description of these places is accurate in the main points, and, though tainted with prejudice and bigotry, he is free from superstition and credu- lity. Conversant with Turkish and Arabic, he has acquired more knowledge of the tenets and practice of El Islam than his predecessor, and the term of his residence at Algier, fifteen years, sufficed, despite the defects of his education, to give ful- ness and finish to his observations. His chief patroon, captain of a troop of horse, was a profligate and debauched man in his time, and a murderer, " who determined to proselyte a Christian slave as an atonement for past impieties." He began by large offers and failed ; he succeeded by dint of a great cudgel re- peatedly applied to Joseph Pitts' bare feet. " I roared out," says the relator, " to feel the pain of his cruel strokes, but the more I cried, the more furiously he laid on, and to stop the • It is curious, as Crichton (Arabia, toL ii. p. 208.) observes, that Gibbon seems not to have seen or known anything of the little work published by Pitts on his return home. It is entitled " A faithful Account of the Religion and the Manners of the Mahometans, in which is a particular Kelatiou of their Pilgrimage to Mecca, the Place of Mahomet's Birth, and Description of Medina, and of his Tomb there," &c., &c. My copy is the 4th edition, printed for T. Longman and R. Hett, London, a.d. 1708. The only re- markable feature in the "getting up" of the little octavo is, that the engraving headed " the most sacred and antient Temple of the Mahometans at Mecca," is the reverse of the impression. APPENDIX III. 331 noise of my crying, would stamp with his feet on my mouth. " At last," through terror " he turned and spake the words (la ilaha, &c.) as usual holding up the forefinger of the right hand ; " he was then circumcised in due form. Of course, such conversion was not a sincere one — " there was yet swines-flesh in his teeth." He boasts of saying his prayers in a state of im- purity, hates his fellow religionists, was truly pleased to hear Mahomet called sabbatero, i.e. shoemaker, reads his bible, talks of the horrid evil of apostacy, calls the Prophet a " bloody imposter," eats heartily in private of hog, and is very much concerned for one of his countrymen who went home to his own country, but came again to Algier, and voluntarily, without the least force used towards him, became a Mahometan. His first letter from his father reached him some days after he had been com- pelled by his patroon's barbarity to abjure his faith. One sen- tence appears particularly to have afflicted him ; it was this, " to have a care and keep close to God, and to be sure never, by any methods of cruelty that could be used towards me, be prevailed to deny my blessed Saviour, and that he (the father) would rather hear of my death than of my being a Maho- metan." Indeed, throughout the work, it appears that his re- pentance was sincere. " God be merciful to me a Sinner!" is the deprecation that precedes the account of his turning " Turk," and the book concludes with, "To him, therefore. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Three Persons and one God, be all Honour, Glory and Praise, world without end. Amen." Having received from his patroon, whom he acknowledges to have been a second parent to him, a letter of freedom at Meccah and entered into pay, still living with his master, Pitts began to think of escape. The Grand Turk had sent to Al- giers for ships, and the renegade was allowed to embark on board one of them provided with a diplomatic letter* from * Some years afterwards, Mr. Consul Baker, when waited upon by Pitts, in London, gave him a copy of the letter, with the following memorandum upon the back of it : — " Copy of my letter to Consul Eayo at Smyrna, to favour the escape of Joseph Pitts, an English renegade, from a squadron of 332 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. Mr. Baker, consul of Algier, to Mr. Raye, consul at Smyrna. The devil, we are told, was very busy with him in the Levant, tempting him to lay aside all thoughts of escaping, to return to Algier, and to continue a Mussulman^ and the loss of eight months' pay and certain other monies seems to have weighed heavily upon his soul. Still he prepared for the desperate enterprise, in which failure would have exposed him to be dragged about the streets on the stones till half dead, and then be burned to ashes in the Jews burial-place. A generous friend, Mr. Eliot, a Cornish merchant who had served some part of his apprenticeship in Exon and had settled at Smyrna, paid 4Z. for his passage in a French ship to Leghorn. There- from, in the evening before sailing, he went on board " appa- rel'd as an Englishman with his beard shaven, a campaign periwig, and a cane in his hand, accompanied with three or four of his friends. At Leghorn he prostrated himself, and kissed the earth, blessing Almighty God, for his mercy and goodness to him, that he once more set footing on the European Chris- tian ' part of the world.'' He travelled through Italy, Ger- many, and Holland, where he received many and great kind- nesses. But his patriotism was damped as he entered " Eng- land, his own native country," and the civilised land must have made him for a time regret ev(?r having left Algiers. The very first night he lay ashore, he was " imprest into the kings service " (we having at that time war with France) ; despite arguments and tears he spent some days in Colchester jail, and finally he was put on board a smack to be carried to the Dread- nought man-of-war. But happily for himself he had written to Sir William Falkener, one of the Smyrna or Turkey company in London ; that gentleman used his interest to procure a pro- tection from the Admiralty office, upon the receipt of which good news, Joseph Pitts did " rejoice exceedingly and could not Algier men-of-war. Had my kindness to him been discovered by the govern- ment of Algiers, my legs and arms had first been broken, and my carcass bnmt — a danger hitherto not courted by any." • The italics in the text are the author's. This is admirably charac- teristic of the man. Asiatic Christendom would not satisfy him. He seems to hate the " damnable doctrines " of the " Papists," ahnost as much as those of the Moslems. APPENDIX III. 333 forbear leaping upon the deck." He went to London, thanked Sir William, and hurried down to Exeter, where he ends his fifteen years' tale with a homely, heartful and affecting descrip- tion of his first mefiting with his father. His mother died about a year before his return. TTie following passages are parts of the 1th and Sth chapters of Pitt's little-known work. "Next we came to Gidda, the nearest sea-port town to Mecca, not quite one day's journey from it*, where the ships are unloaded. Here we are met by Dilleels f, i. e. certain per- sons who come from Mecca on purpose to instruct the Hagges, or pilgrims, in the ceremonies (most of them being ignorant of them) which are to be used in their worship at the temple there ; in the middle of which is a place which they call Beat Allah, i. e. the House of God. They say that Abraham built it ; to which I give no credit. " As soon as we come to the town of Mecca, the Dilleel, or guide, carries us into the great street, which is in the midst of the town, and to which the temple joins, f After the camels are laid down, he first directs us to the Fountains, there to take Abdes§ ; which being done, he brings us to the temple, into which (having left our shoes with one who constantly attends to receive them) we enter at the door called Bab-el- salem, i. e. the Welcome Gate, or Gate of Peace. After a few paces entrance, the DiUeel makes a stand, and holds up his hands towards the Beat- Allah (it being in the middle of the mosque), the Hagges imitating him, and saying after him the same words which he speaks. At the very first sight of the Beat- Allah, the Hagges melt into tears, then we are led up to it, still speaking after the Dilleel ; then we are led round it • He most have been accustomed to long days' journeys. El Edrisi makes Jeddah forty miles from Meccafa ; I calculated about forty-four. t Dalil, a guide, generally called at Meccah " Mutawwif." X Pitts' note, — " before they'll provide for themselves, they serve God in their way." § Abdast is the Turkish word, borrowed from the Persian, for " Wuzu," the minor ablution. 334 FILOBIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. seven times, and then make two Erkaets. * This being done, we are led out into the street again, where we are sometimes to run and sometimes to walk very quick with the Dilleel from one place of the street to the other, about a bowshot, f And I profess I could not chuse but admire to see those poor creatures so extraordinary devout, and affectionate, when they were about these superstitions, and with what awe and trem- bling they were possessed ; in so much that I could scarce forbear shedding of tears, to see their zeal, though blind and idolatrous. After aU this is done, we returned to the place in the street where we left our camels, with our provisions, and necessaries, and then look out for lodgings ; where when we come, we disrobe and take off our Hirrawems |, and put on our ordinary clothes again. " All the pilgrims hold it to be their great duty weU to im- prove their time whilst they are at Mecca, not to do their accustomed duty and devotion in the temple, but to spend all their leisure 'time there, and as far as strength will permit to continue at Towoaf, i. e. to walk round the Beat- Allah, which is about four and twenty paces square. At one corner of the Beat, there is a black stone fastened and framed in with silver plate §, and every time they come to that corner, they kiss the stone ; and having gone round seven times they perform two Erkaets-nomas, or prayers. This stone, they say, was formerly white, and then it was called Haggar Essaed, i. e. the White Stone. II But by reason of the sins of the multitudes of people who kiss it, it is become black, and is now called Haggar Es- swaed, or the Black Stone. " This place is so much frequented by people going round it, that the place of the Towoaf, i. e. the circuit which they take in going round it, is seldom void of people at any time of the » Eukaat, a bow. This two-curvation prayer is in honor of the Mosque. f This is the ceremony technically called El-Say, or running between Safa and Marwah. Burckhardt describes it accurately, vol. i pp. 174, 175. J Ihram, the pilgrim-garb. § Now gold or gilt. II This is an error. The stone is called Hajar Aswad, the Black Stone, or Hajar Asad, the Blessed Stone. APPENDIX III. 335 day or night* Many have waited several weeks, nay months, for the opportunity of finding it so. For they say, that if any person is blessed with such an opportunity, that for his or her zeal in keeping up the honour of Towoaf, let they petition what they will at the Beat-AUah, they shall be answered. Many will walk round till they are quite weary, then rest, and at it again ; carefully remembering at the end of every seventh time to perform two Erkaets. The Beat is in effect the object of their devotion, the idol which they adore : for, let them be never so far distant from it. East, "West, North, or South of it, they will be sure to bow down towards it ; but when they are at the Beat, they may go on which side they please and pay their Sallah towards itf Sometimes there are several hundreds at Towoaf at once, especially after Acshamnomas, or fourth time of service, which is after candle-lighting (as you heard before), and these both men and women, but the women walk on the outside the men, and the men nearest to the Beat. In so great a resort as this, it is not to be supposed that every in- dividual person can come to kiss the stone afore-mentioned; therefore, in such a case, the lifting up the hands towards it, smoothing down their faces, and using a short expression of de- votion, as Allah-waick barick, i. e. Blessed God, or Allah cabor, i. e. Great God, some such like ; and so by passing by it tiU. opportunity of kissing it offers, is thought sufficient, f But when there are but few men at Towaof, then the women get the opportunity to kiss the said stone, and when they have gotten it, they close in with it as they come round, and walk round as quick as they can to come to it again, and keep possession of it for a considerable time. The men, when they see that the women have got the place, will be so civil as to pass by and give them leave to take their fill, as I may say, in their Towoaf or walking round, during which they are using some formal ex- pressions. When the women are at the stone, then it is esteemed * The Meccans, in effect, still make this a boast f Nothing more blindly prejudiced than this statement. Moslems tnm towards Meccab, as Christians towards Jerusalem. % As will afterwards be explained, all the four orthodox schools do not think it necessary to kiss the stone after each circumambulation. 336 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. a very rude and abominable thing to go near them, respecting the time and place. " I shall now give you a more particular description of Mecca and the temple there. " First, as to Mecca. It is a town situated in a barren place (about one day's journey from the Red Sea) in a valley, or rather in the midst of many little hills. It is a place of no force, wanting both walls and gates. Its buildings are (as I said before) very ordinary, insomuch that it would Ibe a place of no tolerable entertainment, were it not for the anniver- sary resort of so many thousand Hagges, or pilgrims, on whose coming the whole dependance of the town (in a manner) is ; for many shops are scarcely open all the year besides. " The people here, I observed, are a poor sort of people, very thin, lean, and swarthy. The town is surrounded for several miles with many thousands of little hills, which are very near one to the other. I have been on the top of some of them near Mecca, where I could see some miles about, yet was not able to see the farthest of the hills. They are all stony-rock and blackish, and pretty near of a bigness, appearing at a distance like cocks of hay, but all pointing towards Mecca. Some of them are half a mile in circumference, but all near of one height. The people here have an odd and foolish sort of tradition concern- ing them, viz. : That when Abraham went about building the Beat- Allah, God by his wonderful providence did so orderit, that every mountain in the world should contribute something to the building thereof; and accordingly every one did send its proportion ; though there is a mountain near Algier, which is called Corradog, i. e. Black Mountain ; and the reason of its blackness, they say, is because it did not send any part of itself towards building the temple at Mecca.* Between these hills is good and plain travelling, though they stand one to another. " There is upon the top of one of them a cave, which they term Hira "f, »• «• Blessing ; into which (they say) Mahomet did usually retire for his solitary devotions, meditations, and fastings ; and here they believe he had a great part of the • These are mere local traditions. The original Eaabah was composed of materials gathered from the six mountains of Paradise (C3iap. XX.). The present building is of grey granite quarried in a hill near Meccah. t Now Jebel Nur. APPENDIX III. 337 Alcoran brought him by the Angel Gabriel. I have been in this cave, and observed that it is not at all beautified ; at which I admired. " About half a mile out of Mecca is a very steep hill, and there are stairs made to go to the top of it, where is a cupola under which is a cloven rock ; into this, they say, Mahomet, when very young, viz. about four years of age, was carried by the Angel Gabriel, who opened his breast, and took out his heart, from which he picked some black blood-specks, which was his original corruption ; then put it into its place again, and afterwards closed up the part ; and that during this opera- tion Mahomet felt no pain. '' Into this very place I myself went, because the rest of my company did so, and performed some Erkaets, as they did. " The town hath plenty of water, and yet but few herbs, un- less in some particular places. Here are several sorts of good fruits to be had, viz. grapes, melons, water-melons, cucumbers, pumkins, and the like ; but these are brought two or three days' journey off, where tliere is a place of very great plenty, called, if I mistake not, Habbash.* Likewise sheep are brought hither and sold. So that as to Mecca itself, it affords little or nothing of comfortable provisions. It lieth in a very hot country, insomuch that people run from one side of the streets to the other to get into the shadow, as the motion of the sun causes it. The inhabitants, especially men, do usually sleep on the tops of the houses for the air, or in the streets before their doors. Some lay the small bedding they have on a thin mat on the ground ; otliers have a slight frame, made much like drink-stalls on which we place barrels, standing on four legs, corded with palm cordage, on which they put their bedding. Before they bring out their bedding, they sweep the streets and water them. As for my own part, I usually lay open, * They come from the well-known Taif, which the country people call Hejaz, but never Habbash. The word Taif literally means the " circum- ambulator." It is said that when Adam settled at Mcccah, finding the country barren, he prayed to Allah to supply him with a bit of fertile land. Immediately appeared a mountain, which having performed " Tawaf " round the Kaabah, settled itself donn eastward of Meccah. Hence, to tlie present day, Taif is called Kita min el Sham, a piece of Syria, its father- land. 338 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. without any bed-covering, on the top of the house ; only I took a linen cloth, dipt in water, and after I had wrung it, covered myself with it in the night ; and when I awoke I should find it dry ; then I would wet it again : and thus I did two or three times in a night. " Secondly. I shall next give you some account of the temple of Mecca. " It hath about forty-two doors to enter into it, not so much, I think, for necessity, as figure ; for in some places they are close by one another. The form of it is much resembling that of the Royal Exchange in London, but I believe it is near ten times bigger. It is all open and gravelled in the midst, except some paths that come from certain doors which lead to the Beat- Allah, and are paved with broad stones. The walks, or cloisters, all round are arched over-head, and paved beneath with fine broad stone ; and all round are little rooms, or cells, where such dwell and give themselves up to readinor, studying, and a devout life, who are much akin to their dervises, or hermits. " The Beat- Allah, which stands in the middle of the temple, is four-square, about twenty-four paces each square, and near twenty-four foot * in height. It is built with great stone, all smooth, and plain, without the least bit of carved work on it. It is covered all over from top to bottom with a thick sort of silk. Above the middle part of the covering are imbroidered all round letters of gold, the meaning of which I cannot well call to mind, but I think they were some devout expressions. Each letter is near two foot in length and two inches broad. Near the lower end of this Beat are large brass rings fastened into it, through which passeth a great cotton rope ; and to this the lower end of the covering is tacked. The threshold of the door that belongs to the Beat is as high as a man can reach ; and therefore when any person enters into it, a sort of ladder- stairs are brought for that purpose. The door is plated all over with silver -[■ and there is a covering hangs over it and • This is an error of printing for " paces." f (Pitts' Note.) " Not of massy gold, as a late French author (who, I am sure, was never there) says. The door is of wood, only plated over with APPENDIX III. 339 reaches to the ground, which is kept turned up all the week, except Thursday night, and Friday, which is their Sabbath. The said covering of the door is very thick imbroidered with gold, insomuch that it weighs several score pounds. The top of the Beat is flat, beaten with lime and sand ; and there is a long gutter, or spout, to carry off the water when it rains ; at which time the people will run, throng, and struggle, to get under the said gutter, that so the water that comes off the Beat may fall upon them, accounting it as the dew of Heaven, and looking on it as a great happiness to have it drop upon them. But if they can recover some of this water to drink, they esteem it to be yet a much greater happiness. Many poor people make it their endeavour to get some of it, and present it to the Hagges, for which they are well rewarded. My Fatroon had a present made him of this water, with which he was not a little pleased, and gave him that brought it a good reward. " This Beat- Allah is opened but two days in the space of six weeks, viz. one day for the men, and the next day for the women.* As I was at Mecca about four months, I had the opportunity of entering into it twice; a reputed advantage, which many thousands of the Hagges have not met with, for those that come by land make no longer stay at Mecca than sixteen or seventeen days. " When any enter into the Beat, all that they have to do is to perform two Erkaets on each sidef, with the holding up their two hands, and petitioning at the conclusion of each two Erkaets. And they are so very reverent and devout in doing this, that they will not suffer their eyes to wander and gaze about ; for they account it very sinful so to do. Nay, they say that one was smitten blind for gazing about when in the silver ; much less is the inside of the Beat ceiled with massy gold, as the same Frenchman asserts. I can assure the world it is no such thing." The door is of wood, thickly plated over with silver, in many parts gilt. And whatever hereabouts is gilt, the Meccans always call gold. (R. F. B.) * This is no longer the case. Few women ever enter the Kaabah, on account of the personal danger they run there. + More correctly, at three of the corners, and the fourth opposite the southern third of the western wall. 340 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. Beat, as the reward of his vain and unlawful curiosity.* I could not, for my part, give any credit to this story, but looked on it as a legendary relation, and, therefore, was resolved, if I could, to take my view of it ; I mean not to continue gazing about it, but now and then to cast an observing eye. And I profess I found nothing worth seeing in it, only two wooden pillars in the midst, to keep up the roof j, and a bar of iron fastened to them, on which banged three or four silver lamps, which are, I suppose, but seldom, if ever, lighted. In one corner of the Beat is an iron or brass chain, I cannot tell which (for I made no use of it): the pilgrims just clap it about their necks in token of repentance. The floor of the Beat is marble, and so is the inside of the walls, on which there is written something in Arabick, which I had not time to read. The walls, though of marble on the inside, are hung all over with silk, which is puUed off | before the Hagges enter. Those that go into the Beat tarry there but a very little while, viz. scarce so much as half a quarter of an hour, because others wait for the same privilege ; and while some go in, others are going out. After all is over, and all that will have done this, the Sultan of Mecca, who is Shirreef, i. e. one of the race of Ma- homet, accounts himself not too good to cleanse the Beat ; and, therefore, with some of his favourites, doth wash and cleanse it. And first of all, they wash it with the holy water, Zem Zem, and after that with sweet water. The stairs which were brought to enter in at the door of the Beat being removed, the people crowd under the door to receive on them the sweepings of the said water. And the besoms wherewith the Beat is cleansed are broken in pieces, and thrown out amongst the mob ; and he that gets a small stick or twig of it, keeps it as a sacred relique. " But to speak something further of the temple of Meccah (for I am willing to be very particular in matters about it, though in so being, I should, it may be, speak of things which by some people may be thought trivial). The compass of * It is deemed disrespectful to look at the ceiling, but pilgrims may turn their eyes in any other direction they please. t There are now three, t It is tucked up about six feet high. APPENDIX III. 341 ground round the Beat (where the people exercise themselves in the duty of Towoaf) is paved with marble* about 50 foot in breadth, and round this marble pavement stand pillars of brass about 15 foot high-j- and 20 foot distant from each other; above the middle part of which iron bars are fastened, reaching from one to the other, and several lamps made of glass are hanged to each of the said bars, with brass wires in the form of a triangle, to give light in the night season, for they pay their devotions at the Beat- Allah as much by night as by day, during the Hagges' stay at Mecca. These glasses are half-filled with water, and a third part with oil, on which a round wire of brass buoyed up with three little corks ; in the midst of this wire is made a place to put in the wick or cotton, which bums till the oil is spent. Every day they are washed clean, and re- plenished with fresh water, oil, and cotton. " On each of the four squares of the Beat is a little room built, and over every one of them is a little chamber with win- dows all round it, in which chambers the £maums (together with the Mezzins) perform Sallah, in the audience of all the people which are below. These four chambers are built one at each square of the Beat, by reason that there are four sorts of Mahometans. The first are called Hanifee ; most of them are Turks. The second SchafeeJ; whose manners and ways the Arabians follow. The third Hanbelee ; of which there are but few. The fourth Malakee ; of which there are those that live westward of Egypt, even to the Emperor of Morocco's country. These all agree in fundamentals, only there is some small differ- ence between them in the ceremonial part. " About twelve paces from the Beat is (as they say) the sepulchre of Abraham §, who by God's immediate command, they tell you, built this Beat-AUah ; which sepulchre is en- closed within iron grates. It is made somewhat like the tomb- * It is a close kind of grey granite, ^rhich takes a high polish irom the pilgrims' feet. t Now iron posts. j The Shafei school have not, and never had, a peculiar oratory like the other three schools. They pray near the well Zem Zem. § This place contains the stone which served Abraham for a scaffold when he was erecting the Kaabah. Some of our popular writers confound this stone with the Hajar el Aswad. z 3 342 PILGKIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. Stones which people of fashion have among us, but with a very handsome imbroidered covering. Into this persons are apt to gaze. A small distance from it, on the left-hand, is a well, which they call Beer el Zem Zem, the water whereof they call holy water ; and as superstitiously esteem it as the Papists do theirs. In the month of Ramadan they will be sure to break their fast with it. They report that it is as sweet as milk ; but for my part I could perceive no other taste in it than in com- mon water, except that it was somewhat brackish. The Hagges, when they come first to Mecca, drink of it unreason- ably ; by which means they are not only much purged, but their flesh breaks out all in pimples ; and this they call the purging of their spiritual corruptions. There are hundreds of pitchers belonging to the temple, which in the month of Rama- dan are filled with the said water and placed all along before the people (with cups to drink), as they are kneeling and wait- ing for Acsham-nomas, or evening service ; and as soon as the Mezzins or clerks on the tops of the minarets begin their bawling to call them to nomas, they fall a drinking thereof before they begin their devotions. This Beer or well of Zem Zem is in the midst of one of the little rooms before mentioned, at each square of the Beat, distant about twelve or fourteen paces from it, out of which four men are employed to draw water, without any pay or reward, for any that shall desire it. Each of these men have two leather buckets tied to a rope on a small wheel, one of which comes up full, while the other goes down empty. They do not only drink this water, but often times bathe themselves with it, at which time they take off their clothes, only covering their lower parts with a thin wrapper, and one of the drawers pours on each person's head five or six buckets of water. * The person bathing may law- fully wash himself therewith above the middle, but not his lower parts, because they account they are not worthy, only * (Pitts' Note.) "The worthy Mons. Thevenot saith, that the waters of Meccah are bitter; but I nerer found them so, but as sweet and as good as any others, for aught as I could perceive." Pitts has just remarked that he found the water of Zem Zem brackish. To my taste it was a salt-bitter, which was exceedingly disagreeable. (R. F. B.) APPENDIX III. 343 letting the water take its way downwards. In short, they make use of this water only to drink, take Abdes, and for bath- ing ; neither may they take Abdes with it, unless they first cleanse their secret parts with other common water. Yea, such an high esteem they have for it, that many Hagges carry it home to their respective countries in little latten or tin pots ; and present it to their friends, half a spoonful, may be, to each, who receive it in the hollow of their hand with great care and abundance of thanks, sipping a little of it, and bestowing the rest on their faces and naked heads; at the same time holding up their hands, and desiring of God that they also may be so happy and prosperous as to go on pilgrimage to Mecca. The reason of their putting such an high value upon the water of this well, is because (as they say) it is the place where Ismael was laid by his mother Hagar. I have heard them tell the story exactly as it is recorded in the 2Ist chapter of Genesis ; and they say, that in the very place where the child paddled with his feet, the water flowed out. " I shall now inform you how, when, and where, they receive the honourable title of Hagges, for which they are at all this pains and expence. " The Curbaen Byram, or the Feast of Sacrifice, follows two months and ten days after the Bamadan fast. The eighth day after the said two months they all enter into Hirrawem, i. e. put on their mortifying habit again, and in that manner go to a cer- tain hill called Gibbel el Orphat (El Arafat), i. e. the Mountain of Knowledge ; for there, they say, Adam first found and knew his wife Eve. And they likewise say, that she was buried at Gidda near the Bed Sea ; at whose sepulchre all the Hagges who come to Mecca by way of the Bed Sea, perform two Erkaets-nomas, and, I think, no more. I could not but smile to hear this their ridiculous tradition (for so I must pronounce it), when observing the marks which were set, the one at the head, and the other at the foot of the grave : I guessed them to be about a bow-shot distance from each other. On the middle of her supposed grave is a little mosque built, where the Hagges pay their religious respect. " This Gibbel or hiU is not so big as to contain the vast multitudes which resort thither ; for it is said by them, that there meet no less than 70,000 souls every year, in the ninth 344 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH, day after the two months after Eamadan ; and if it happen that in any year there be wanting some of that number, God, they say, will supply the deficiency by so many angels.* " I do confess the number of Hagges I saw at this mountain was very great ; nevertheless, I cannot think they could amount to so many as 70,000. There are certain bound-stones placed round the Gibbel, in the plain, to shew how far the sacred ground (as they esteem it) extends ; and many are so zealous as to come and pitch their tents within these bounds, some time before the hour of paying their devotion here comes, waiting for it. But why they so solemnly approach this moun- tain beyond any other place, and receive from hence the title of Hagges, I confess I do not more fully understand than what I have already said, giving but little heed to these delusions. I observed nothing worth seeing on this hill, for there was only a small cupola on the top of itf ; neither are there any inhabi- tants nearer to it than Mecca. About one or two of the clock, which is the time of Eulea-nomas, having washed and made themselves ready for it, they perform that, and at the same time perform Ekinde-nomas, which they never do at one tim% but upon this occasion; because at the time when Ekinde-nomas should be performed in the accustomed order, viz., about four of the clock in the afternoon, they are imploring pardon for their sins, and receiving the Emaum's benediction. { " It was a sight indeed, able to pierce one's heart, to behold so many thousands in their garments of humility and mortifi- cation, with their naked heads, and cheeks watered with tears ; and to hear their grievous sighs and sobs, begging earnestly for the remission of their sins, promising newness of life, using a form of penitential expressions, and thus continuing for the space of four or five hours, \iz. until the time of Acsham-nomas, ♦ Tliey are not so modest. 600,000 is the mystical number j others de- dare it to be incalculable. Oftentimes 70,000 have met at Arafat. ■f The cupola has now disappeared ; there is a tall piUar of masonry work, whitewashed, rising from a plastered floor, for praying. J On the 9th Zu 1 Hijjah, or the Day of Arafat, the pilgrims having taken their stations within the sacred limits, perform ablution about noon, and pray as directed at that hour. At three p.m., after again performing the usual devotions, or more frequently after neglecting them, they repair to the hill, and hear the sermon. APPENDIX III. 345 which is to be performed about half an hour after sunset. (It is matter of sorrowful reflection, to compare the indifference of manj Christians with this zeal of these poor blind Mahometans, who will, it is to be feared, rise up in judgment against them and condemn them.) After their solemn performance of their devotions thus at the Gibbel, they all at once receive that honourable title of Hagge from the Emaum, and are so stiled to their dying day. Immediately upon their receiving this name, the trumpet is sounded, and they all leave the hill and return for Mecca, and being gone two or three miles on their way, they then rest for that night*; but after nomas^ before they go to rest, each person gathers nine-and-forty small stones, about the bigness of an hazle nut ; the meaning of which I shall acquaint you with presently. " The next morning they move to a place called Mina, or Muna ; the place, as they say, where Abraham went to offer up his son Isaac f, and therefore in this place they sacrifice their sheep. It is about two or three miles from Mecca. I was here shown a stone or little rock, which was parted in the middle. They -told me, that when Abraham was going to sacrifice his son, instead of striking him. Providence directed his hand to this stone, which he clave in two. It must be a good stroke indeed I " Here they all pitch their tents (it being in a spacious plain), and spend the time of Curbaen Byram, viz. three days. As soon as their tents are pitched, and all things orderly disposed, every individual Hagge, the first day, goes and throws seven of the small stones, which they had gathered, against a small pillar, or little square stone building.^ Which action of theirs is intended to testify their defiance of the devil and his deeds ; for they at the same time pronounce the following words, viz. * At Mozdalifah. f This, I need scarcely say, is speaking as a Christian. All Moslems be- lieve that Ishmael, and not Isaac, was ordered to be sacrificed. The place to which Pitts allades is still shown to pilgrims. t (Pitts' Note.) " Monsienr de Thevenot saith, that they throw these stones at the Gibbel or Mount ; but, indeed, it is otherwise ; though I must needs say, he is very exact in almost every thing of Tu'kish matters ; and I pay much deference to that great author." 346 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. Erzum le Shetane wazbehe • ; i. e. stone the devil, and them that please him.f And there are two other of the like pillars, which are situated near one another ; at each of which (I mean all three), the second day, they throw seven stones ; and the same they do the third day. As I was going to perform this ceremony of throwing the stones, a facetious Hagge met me ; saith he, ' You may save your labour at present, if you please, for I have hit out the devil's eyes already.' Tou must observe, that after they have thrown the seven stones on the first day (the country people having brought great flocks of sheep to be sold), every one buys a sheep and sacrifices it ; some of which they give to their friends, some to the poor which come out of Mecca and the country adjacent, very ragged poor, and the rest they eat themselves ; after which they shave their heads, throw ofi' Hirrawem, and put on other clothes, and then salute one another with a kiss, saying, ' Byram Mabarick Ela,' t. e. the feast be a blessing to you. " These three days of Byram they spend festivally, rejoicing with abundance of illuminations all night, shooting of guns, and fireworks flying in the air ; for they reckon that all their sins are now done away, and they shall, when they die, go directly to heaven, if they don't apostatize ; and that for the future, if they keep their vow and do well, God will set down for every good action ten ; but if they do ill, God wiU likewise reckon every evil action ten : and any person, who, after having received the title of Hagge, shall fall back to a vicious course of life, is esteemed to be very vile and infamous by them. | " Some have written, that many of the Hagges, after they have returned home, have been so austere to themselves as to pore a long time over red-hot bricks, or ingots of iron, and by * The Kami or Jaculator now usuaDy says, as he casts each stone, " In the name of Allah, and Allah ia Omnipotent (Raghman li'sh' Shaytani wa lihizyatih), in token of abhorrence to Satan, and for his ignominy (I do this)." f The Arabic wonld mean " Stone the devil and slay him," unless " waz- behe " be an error for " wa ashabih," — " and his companions." % Even in the present day, men who have led " wild " lives in their youth, often date their reformation from the first pilgrimage. APPENDIX III. 347 that means willingly lose their sight, desiring to see nothing evil or profane, after so sacred a sight as the temple at Mecca ; bat I never knew any such thing done. " During their three days' stay at Mina, scarce any Hagge (unless impotent) but thinks it his duty to pay his visit, once at least, to the temple at Mecca. They scarce cease running all the way thitherward,shewing their vehement desire to have a fresh sight of the Beat- Allah ; which as soon as ever they come in sight of, they burst into tears for joy ; and after having per- formed Towoaf for a while, and a few Erkaets, they return again to Mina. And when the three days of Byram are ex- pired, they aUi with their tents, &c., come back again to Mecca. " They say, that after the Hagges are gone from Mina to Mecca, God doth usually send a good shower of rain to wash away the filth and dung of the sacrifices there slain ; and also that those vast numbers of little stones, which I told you the Hagges throw in defiance of the devil, are all carried away by the angels before the year comes about again. But I am sure I saw vast numbers of them that were thrown the year before, lie upon the ground. After they are returned to Mecca, they can tarry there no longer than the stated time, which is about ten or twelve days; during which time there is a great fair held, where are sold all manner of East India goods, and abun- dance of fine stones for rings and bracelets, &c., brought from Yeamane * ; also of China-ware and musk, and variety of other curiosities. Now is the time in which the Hagges are busily employed in buying, for they do not think it lawful to buy any thing till they have received the title of Hagge. Every one almost now buys a caffin, or shroud of fine linen, to be buried in (for they never use coffins for that purpose), which might have been procured at Algier, or their other respective homes, at a much cheaper rate ; but they choose to buy it here, be- cause they have the advantage of dipping it in the holy water, Zem Zem. They are very careful to carry the said caffin with them wherever they travel, whether by sea or land, that they may be sure to be buried therein. * Yemen, southern Arabia, whose " Akik," or cornelians were cele- brated. 348 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. " The evening before they leave Mecca, every one must go to take their solemn leave of the Beat, entering at the gate called Babe el Salem, i. e. Welcome Gate, and having continued at Towoaf as long as they please, which many do till they are quite tired, and it being the last time of their paying their de- votions to it, they do it with floods of tears, as being extremely unwilling to part and bid farewell ; and having drank their fill of the water Zem Zem, they go to one side of the Beat, their backs being towards the door called by the name of Babe el Weedoh, i. e. the farewell door, which is opposite to the wel- come door ; where, having performed two or three Erkaets, they get upon their legs and hold up their hands towards the Beat, making earnest petitions; and then keep going backwiird till they come to the above said farewell gate, being guided by some other, for they account it a very irreverent thing to turn their backs towards the Beat when they take leave of it. All the way as they retreat they continue petitioning, holding up their hands, with their eyes fixed upon the Beat, till they are out of sight of it ; and so go to their lodgings weeping. " Ere I leave Mecca, I shall acquaint you with a passage of a Turk to me in the temple cloyster, in the night time, between Acsham-nomas, and Gega-nomas, i. e. between the evening and the night services. The Hagges do usually spend that time, or good part of it, (which is about an hour and a half) at Towoaf, and then sit down on the mats, and rest themselves. This I did, and after I had sat a while, and for my more ease at last was lying on my back, with my feet towards the Beat, but at a distance as many others did, a Turk which sat by me, asked me what countryman I was ; ' A Mogrebee ' (said I), t. e. one of the West. ' Pray,' quoth he, 'how far west did you come?' I told him from Gazair, t. e. Algier. ' Ah ! ' replied he, ' have you taken so much pains, and been at so much cost, and now be guilty of this irreverent posture before the Beat- Allah ?' " Here are many Moors, who get a beggarly livelihood by sellings model of the temple unto strangers, and in being ser- viceable to the Pilgrims. Here are also several EfPendies, or masters of learning, who daily expound out of the Alcoran, sit- ting in high chairs, and some of the learned Pilgrims, whilst they are here, do undertake the same. " Under the room of the Hanifees (which I mentioned be- APPENDIX III. 349 fore), people do usually gather together (between the hours of devotion), and sitting round cross-legged, it may be, twenty or thirty of them, they have a very large pair of Tessbeehs, or beads, each bead near as big as a man's fist, which they keep passing round, bead after bead, one to the other, all the time, using some devout expressions. I myself was once got in amongst them, and me thought it was a pretty play enough for children, — however, I was to appearance very devout. " There are likewise some dervises that get money here, as well as at other places, by burning of incense, swinging their censers as they go along before the people that are sitting; as this they do commonly on Friday, their Sabbath. In all other Gamiler or mosques, when the Hattib is preaching, and the people all sitting still at their devotion, they are all in ranks, so that the dervise, without the least disturbance to any, walks between every rank, with his censer in one hand, and with the other takes his powered incense out of a little pouch that hangs by his side. • " But though this place, Mecca, is esteemed so very holy, yet it comes short of none for lewdness and debauchery. As for uncleanness, it is equal to Grand Cairo ; and they will steal even in the temple itself. " Chap. VIII. — Of the PUgrim^ return from Meccah : their visit made at Medinah to Mahomet s tomb there. " Having thus given you an account of the Turks' pilgrim- age to Meccah, and of their worship there (the manner and circumstances of which I have faithfully and punctually related, and may challenge the world to convict me of a known false- hood), I now come to take leave of the temple and town of Mecca. "Having hired camels of the carriers, we set out, but we give as much for the hire of one from Mecca to Egypt, which is about forty days' journey, as the real worth of it is (viz.), about five or six pounds sterling. If it happen that the camel dies by the way, the carrier is to supply us with another ; and * This is still practised in Moslem countries, being considered a decent way of begging during public prayers, without interrupting them. 350 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. therefore, those carriers* who come from Egypt to Mecca with the caravan, bring with them several spare camels ; for there is hardly a night passeth but many die upon the road, for if a camel should chance to fall, it is seldom known that it is able to rise again ; and if it should, they despair of its being capable of performing the journey, or ever being useful more. It is a common thing, therefore, when a camel once falls, to take off its burden and put it on another, and then kill it ; which the poorer sort of the company eat. I myself have eaten of camel's flesh, and it is very sweet and nourishing. If a camel tires, they even leave him upon the place. " The first day we set out from Mecca, it was without any order at all, all hurly burly ; but the next day every one laboured to get forward ; and in order to it, there was many time much quarrelling and fighting. But after every one had taken his place in the caravan, they orderly and peaceably kept the same place till they came to Grand Cairo. They travel four camels in a breast, which are all tied one after the other, like as in teams, f The whole body is called a caravan, which is divided into several cottors, or companies, each of which hath its name, and consists, it may be, of several thousand camels ; and they move one cottor after another, like distinct troops. In the head of each cottor is some great gentleman or officer, who ia carried in a thing like a horse-litter, borne by two camels, one before and the other behind, which is covered all over with sear-cloth, and over that again with green broad cloth, and set forth very handsomely. If the said great person hath a wife with him, she is carried in another of the same. J In the head of every cottor there goes, likewise, a sumpter camel, which carries his treasure, &c. This camel hath two bells, about the bigness of our market-bells, having one on each side, the sound of which may be heard a great way off. Some other of the camels have round bells about their necks, some about their * These people will contract to board the pilgrim, and provide him with a tent, as well as convey his Inggage. f The usual way now is in " Kitar," or Indian file, each camel's halter being tied to the tail of the beast that precedes him. Pitts' " cottor "must be a kitar, but be nses the word in another of its numerous senses. J This vehicle is the " Takht-rawan " of Arabia. APPENDIX III. 351 legs, like those which our carriers put about their fore-horses' necks ; which together with the servants (who belong to the camels, and travel on foot) singing all night, make a pleasant noise, and the journey passes away delightfully. They say this musick makes the camels brisk and lively. Thus they travel, in good order every day, till they come to Grand Cairo ; and were it not for this order, you may guess what confusion would be amongst such a vast multitude. " They have lights by night (which is the chief time of tra- velling, because of the exceeding heat of the sun by day), which are carried on the tops of high poles, to direct the Hagges in their march. * They are somewhat like iron stoves, into which they put short dry wood, which some of the camels are loaded with ; it is carried in great sacks, which have an hole near the bottom, where the servants take it out, as they see the fires need a recruit. Every cottor hath one of these poles belonging to it, some of which have ten, some twelve, of these lights on their tops, or more or less ; and they are like- wise of different figures as well as numbers ; one, perhaps, oval way, like a gate ; another triangular, or like an N or M, &c., so that e^ery one knows by them his respective cottor. Thej' are carried in the front, and set up in the place where the caravan is to pitch, before that comes up, at some distance from one another. They are also carried by day, not lighted, but yet by the figure and number of them, the Hagges are directed to what cottor they belong, as soldiers are, by their colours, where to rendezvous ; and without such directions it would be impos- sible to avoid confusion in such a vast number of people. " Every day, viz., in the morning, they pitch their tents, and rest several hours. When the camels are unloaded the owners drive them to water, and give them their provender, &c. So that we had nothing to do with them, besides helping to load them. "As soon as our tents were pitched, my business was to make a little fire and get a pot of coffee. When we had ate some small matter and drank the coffee, we lay down to sleep. Between eleven and twelve, we boiled something for dinner, * He describes the Mashals still in use. Lane has sketched them, Mod. Egypt., chap. vi. 352 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. and having dined, lay down again, till about four in the after- noon ; when the trumpet was sounded which gave notice to every one to take down their tents, pack up their things, and load their camels in order to proceed on their journey. It takes up about two hours time ere they are in all their places again. At the time of Acsham-nomas, and also Gega-nomas, they make a halt, and perform their Sallah (so punctual are they in their worship), and then they travel till next morning. If water be scarce, what I call an imaginary Abdes* will do. As for ancient men, it being very troublesome for such to alight off the camels, and get ijp again, it is lawful for them to defer these two times of nomas till the next day ; but they will be sure to perform it then. " As for provisions, we bring enough out of Egypt to suflSce us till we return thither again. At Mecca we compute how much will serve us for one day, and consequently, for the forty days' journey to E,»ypt, and if we find we have more than we may well guess will" suffice us for a long time, we sell the over- plus at Mecca. There is a charity maintained by the Grand Seignior, for water to refresh the poor who travel on foot all the way ; for there are many such undertake this journey (or pilgrimage) without any money, relying on the charity of the Hagges for subsistence, knowing that they largely extend it at such a time. "Every Hagge carries his provisons, water, bedding, &c., with hira, and usually three or four diet together, and some- times discharge a poor man's expenses the whole journey for his attendance on them. There was an Irish renegade, who was taken very young,' insomuch that he had not only lost his Christian religion, but his native language also. This man had endured thirty years slavery in Spain, and in the French gallies, but was afterwards redeemed and came home to Algier. He was looked upon as a very pious man, and a great zealot, by the Turks, for his not turning from the Mahommedan faith, notwithstanding the great temptations he had so to do. Some of my neighbours who intended for Mecca, the same year I went with my patroon thither, offered this renegade that if he would * Pitts means by "imaginary Abdes," the sand ablution, — lawful when water is wanted for sustaining life. APPENDIX III. 353 serve them on this journey they would defray his charges throughout. He gladly embraced the offer, and I remember when we arrived at Mecca he passionately told me, that God had delivered him out of hell upon earth (meaning his former slavery in France and Spain), and had brought him into an heaven upon earth, viz. Mecca. I admired much his zeal, but pitied his condition. " Their water they carry in goats' skins, which they fasten to one side of their camels. It sometimes happens that no water is to be met with for two, three, or more days ; but yet it is well known that a camel is a creature that can live long without drinking (God in his wise providence so ordering it: for otherwise it would be very difficult, if not impossible to travel through the parched deserts of Arabia). "In this journey many times the skulking, thievish Arabs do much mischief to some of the Hagges ; for in the night time they will steal upon them (especially such as are on the outside of the caravan), and being taken to be some of the servants that belong to the carriers, or owners of the camels, they are not suspected. When they see an Hagge fast asleep (for it is usual for them to sleep on the road), they loose a camel before and behind, and one of the thieves leads it away with the Hagge upon its back asleep. Another of them in the mean while, pulls on the next camel to tie it to the camel from whence the halter of the other was cut ; for if that camel be not fastened again to the leading ^camel, it will stop, and all that are behind will then stop of course, which might be a means of discovering the robbers. When they have gotten the stolen camel, with his rider, at a convenient distance from the caravan, and think themselves out of danger, they awake the Hagge, and some- times destroy him immediately; but at other times, being a little more inclined to mercy, they strip him naked, and let him re- turn to the caravan.* " About the tenth easy day's journey, after we come out of Mecca, we enter into Medina, the place where Mahomet lies * As I have explained already, there are still some Hejazi Bedouins whose young men, before entering life, risk everything in order to plunder a Haji. They care little for the value of the article stolen, the exploit con- sists in stealing it. 354 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. entombed. Although it be (as I take it) two or three days' journey out of the direct way from Mecca to Egypt, yet the Hagges pay their visit there for the space of two days, and come away the third. " Those Mahometans which live to the southward of Mecca, at the East Indies, and thereaway, are not bound to make a visit to Medina, but to Mecca only, because it would be so much out of their way. But such as come from Turkey, Tar- tary, Egypt, and Africa, think themselves obliged so to do. " Medina is but a little town, and poor, yet it is walled round *, and hath in it a great mosque, but nothing near so big as the temple at Mecca. In one corner of the mosque is a place, built about fourteen or fifteen paces square. About this place are great windows fi fenced with brass grates. In the inside it is decked with some lamps, and ornaments. It is arched all over head. (I find some relate, that there are no less than 3000 lamps about Mahomet's tomb ; but it is a mistake, for there are not, as I verily believe, an hundred ; and I speak what I know, and have been an eye-witness of). In the middle of this place is the tomb of Mahomet, where the corpse of that bloody im- postor is laid, which hath silken curtains all around it like a bed; which curtains are not costly nor beautiful. There is nothing of his tomb to be seen by any, by reason of the cur- tains round it, nor are any of the Hagges permitted to enter there, t None go in but the Eunuchs, who keep watch over it, and they only to light the lamps, which burn there by night, and to sweep and cleanse the place. All the privilege the Hagges have, is only to thrust in their hands at the windows§ , between the brass grates, and to petition the dead juggler, which they do with a wonderful deal of reverence, afiection, and zeal. My patroon had his silk handkerchief stole out of his bosom, while he stood at his devotion here. * The walls, therefore, were built between a.d. 1503 and A.D. 1680. ■f These are not windows, but simply the inter-columnar spaces filled with gprating. t This account is perfectly correct. The Eunuchs, however, do not go into the Tomb ; they only light the lamps in, and sweep the passage round, the Sepulchre. § These are the small apertures in the southern grating. See Chap. XVI. APPENDIX III. 355 " It is storied by some, that the coffin of Mahomet hangs up by the attractive virtue of a loadstone to the roof of the mosque ; but believe me it is a false story. When I looked through the brass grate, I saw as much as any of the Hagges ; and the top of the curtains, which covered the tomb, were not half so high as the roof or arch ; so that it is impossible hia coffin should be hanging there. I never heard the Mahometans say anything like it. On the outside of this place, where Mahomet's tomb is, are some sepulchres of their reputed saints ; among which is one prepared for Christ Jesus, when he shall come again per- sonally into the world; for they hold that Christ will come again in the flesh, forty years before the end of the world, to confirm the Mahometan faith, and say likewise, that our Saviour was not crucified in person, but in effigy, or one like him. " Medina is much supplied by the opposite Abyssine coun- try, which- is on the other side of the Red Sea ; from thence they have corn and necessaries brought in ships ; an odd sort of vessels as ever I saw, their sails being made of matting, such as they use in their houses and mosques to tread upon. " When we had taken our leave of Medina, the third day, and travelled about ten days more, we were met by a great many Arabians, who brought abundance of fruit to us, par- ticularly raisins ; but from whence I cannot tell.* When we came within fifteen days' journey of Grand Cairo, we were met by many people who came from thence, with their camels laden with presents for the Hagges, sent from their friends and relations, as sweet-meats, &o. But some of them came rather for profit, to sell fresh provisions to the Hagges, and trade with them. " About ten days before we got to Cairo, we came to a very long steep hill, called Ackaba, which the Hagges are usually much afraid how they shall be able to get up. Those who can will walk it. The poor camels, having no hoofs, find it very hard work, and many drop here. They were all untied, and we dealt gently with them, moving very slowly, and often halting. Before we came to this hill, I observed no descent, • The caravan must have been near the harbour of Mawaylah, where supplies are abundant. A A.2 356 PILSEIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. and when we were at the top there was none, but all plain as before. " We past by Mount Sinai by night, and, perhaps, when I was asleep ; so that I had no prospect of it. " When we came within seven days' journey of Cairo, we were met by abundance of people more, some hundreds, who came to welcome their friends and relations ; but it being night, it was difficult to find those they wanted, and, therefore, as the caravans past along they kept calling them aloud by their names, and 'by this means found them out. And when we were in three days* journey of it, we had many camel-loads of the water of the Nile brought us to drink. But the day and the night before we came to Cairo, thousands came out to meet us with extraordinary rejoicing. It is thirty-seven days' journey from Mecca to Cairo, and three days we tarry by the way, which together make up (as I said) forty days' journey ; and in all this way there is scarce any green thing to be met with, nor beast nor fowl to be seen or heard ; nothing but sand and stones, excepting one place which we passed by night ; I suppose it was a village, where were some trees, and, as we thought, gardens." 35: APPENDIX IV. Giovanni Finati. The third pilgrim on our list is Giovanni Finati, who, under the Moslem name of " Haji Mohammed," made the campaign against the Wahhabees for the recovery of Mecca and Medina. A native of Ferrara, the eldest of the four scions of a small landed proprietor, " tenderly attached to his mother," and brought up most unwillingly for a holy vocation, — to use his own words, " instructed in all that course of frivolous and empty ceremonials and mysteries, which form a principal feature in the training of a priest for the Bomish Church," in a.d. 1805, Giovanni Finati's name appeared in the list of Italian conscripts. After a few vain struggles with fate, he was marched to Milan, drilled, and trained ; the next year his division was ordered to the Tyrol, where the young man, "brought up for the church," instantly deserted. Discovered in his native town, he was sent under circumstances of suitable indignity to join his regiment at Venice, where a general act of grace, promulgated on occa- sion of Napoleon's short visit, preserved him from a platoon of infantry. His next move was to Spalatro in Dalmatia, where he marched under General Marmont to Cattaro, the last retreat of the hardy and warlike Montenegrins. At Budoa, a sea-port S.E. of Bagusa, having consulted an Albanian " captain- merchant," Giovanni Finati, and fifteen other Italians — "in- cluding the sergeant's wife," swore fidelity to one another, and deserted with all their arms and accoutrements. They passed into the Albanese territory, and were hospitably treated as " soldiers, who had deserted from the infidel army in Dalmatia,'' by the Pacha, posted at Antivari to keep check upon the French operations. At first they were lodged in the mosque, and the sergeant's wife had been set apart from the rest; but as they refused to apostatise they were made common slaves, and worked at the quarries till their "backs were sore." Under 3 358 PIL6EIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. these circumstances, the sergeant discovering and promulgating his discovery that " the Mahometans believe as we do in a god ; and upon examination that we might find the differences from our mother church to be less than we had imagined," — all at once came to the determination oi professing to be Mahomedans. Our Italian Candide took the name of Mahomet, and became pipe-bearer to a Turkish general officer in the garrison. This young man trusted the deserter to such an extent that the doors of the Harem were open to him *, and Giovanni Finati repaid his kindness by seducing Fatimah, a Georgian girl, his master's favorite wife. The garrison then removed to Scutari. Being of course hated by his fellow servants, the renegade at last fell into disgrace, and exchanging the pipe-stick for the hatchet, he became a hewer of wood. This degradation did not diminish poor Fatimah's affection : she continued to visit him, and to leave little presents and tokens for him in his room. But presently the girl proved likely to become a mother — their intercourse was more than suspected, — Giovanni Finati had a dread of circumcision f, so he came to the felon resolu- tion of flying alone from Scutari. He happened to meet his ",'original friend the captain-merchant," and in March 1809 obtained from him a passage to Egypt, the El Dorado to which aU poverty-struck Albanian adventurers were then flocking. At Alexandria the new Mahomet, after twice deserting from a Christian service, at the risk of life and honor, voluntarily enlisted as an Albanian private soldier in a Moslem land ; the naivete with which he admires and comments upon his conduct is a curious moral phenomenon. Thence he proceeded to Cairo, * He describes the Harem as containing " the females of different conn- tries, aJl of them young, and all more or less attractive, and the merriest creatures I ever saw." His narration proves that affection and fidelity were not wanting there. f Mr. Bankes, Finati's employer and translator, here comments upon Ali Bey's assertion, " Even to travellers in Mahometan countries, I look upon the safety of their journey as almost impossible, unless they have previously submitted to the rite." Ali Bey is correct; the danger is doubled by non- compliance with the custom. Mr. Bankes apprehends that " very few rene- gadoes do submit to it." In bigoted Moslem countries, it is considered a sine qua non. APPENDIX IV. 359 and became a "Belik bash" (corporal), in charge of six Al- banian privates, of Mohammed Ali's body-guard. Ensued a campaign against the Mamelukes in Upper Egypt, and his being present at the massacre of those miscreants in the citadel of Cairo, — he confined his part in the affair to plundering from the Beys a " saddle richly mounted in silver gilt," and a slave girl with trinkets and money. He married the captive, and was stationed for six months at Matariyah (Heliopolis), with the force preparing to march upon Mecca, under Tussum Pacha. Here he suffered from thieves, and shot by mistake his Bim Bashi or sergeant, who was engaged in the unwonted and dangerous exercise of prayer in the dark. The affair was compromised by the. amiable young commander-in-chief, who paid the blood money amounting to some thousand piastres. On sixth the October, 1811, the army^ started for Suez, where eighteen vessels waited to convey them to Tambu. Mahomet assisted at the capture of that port, and was fortunate enough to escape aUve from the desperate action of Jadaydah.* Rheu- matism obliged him to return to Cairo, where he began by divorcing his wife for great levity of conduct. In the early part of 1814, Mahomet, inspired by the news of Mohammed Ali Pacha's success in El Hejaz, joined a reinforcement of Albanians, travelled to Suez, touched at Yambu and Jeddah, assisted at the siege and capture of Kunfudah, and was present at its recapture by the Wahhabees. Wounded, sick, harassed by the Bedouins, and disgusted by his commanding officer, he determined to desert again, adding, as an excuse, " not that the step, on my part at least, had the character of a complete de- sertion, since I intended to join the main body of the army ; " and to his mania for desertion we owe the following particulars concerning the city of Mecca. " Exulting in my escape, my mind was in a state to receive very strong impressions, and I was much struck with all I saw upon entering the city; for though it is neither large nor beautiful in itself, there is something in it that is calculated to impress a sort of awe, and it was the hour of noon when every thing is very silent, except the Muezzins calling from the minarets. * See Chap. XIII. of this work. 4 360 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. • • • # • * * " The principal feature of the city is that celebrated sacred enclosure which is placed about the centre of it ; it is a vast paved court with doorways opening into it from every side, and with a covered colonnade carried all round like a cloister, while in the midst of the open space stands the edifice called the Caaba, whose walls are entirely covered over on the outside with hangings of rich velvet *, on which there are Arabic in- scriptions embroidered in gold. " Facing one of its angles (for this little edifice is of a square form) f , there is a well which is called the well Zemzem, of which the water is considered so peculiarly hofy that some of it is even sent annually to the Sultan at Constantinople ; and no person who comes to Meccah, whether on pilgrimage or for mere worldly considerations, ever fails both to drink of it and to use it in his ablutions, since it is supposed to wipe out the stain of all past transgressions. " There is a stone also near the bottom of the building itself which all the visitants kiss as they pass round it, and the mul- titude of them has been so prodigious as to have worn the sur- face quite away. " Quite detached, but fronting to the Caaba, stand four pa- vilions (corresponding to the four sects of the Mahometan reli- gion), adapted for the pilgrims ; and though the concourse had of late years been from time to time much interrupted, there arrived just when I came to Meccah two caravans of them, one Asiatic and one from the African side, amounting to no less than about 40,000 persons, who all seemed to be full of reve- rence towards the holy place.'' J After commenting on the crowded state of the city, the lodg- * " Black cloth, according to Ali Bey; and I believe he is correct." So Mr. Bankes. If Ali Bey meant broad-cloth, both are in error, as the speci- men in my possession — a mixture of silk and cotton — proves. f Ali Bey showed by his measurements that no two sides correspond exactly. To all appearance the sides are equal, though it is certain they are not; the height exceeds the length and the breadth. t Ali Bey (a.d. 1807) computes 80,000 men, 2,000 women, and 1,000 children at Arafat. Burckhardt (a.d. 1814) calculated it at 70,000. I do not think that in all there were more than 50,000 souls assembled together in 1853. APPENDIX IV. 361 ing of pilgrims in tents and huts, or on the bare ground outside the walls *, and the extravagant prices of provisions, Haji Ma- homet proceeds with his description. " Over and above the general ceremonies of the purification at the well, and of the kissing of the corner-stone t, and of the walking round the Caaba a certain number of times in a devout manner, every one has also his own separate prayer to put up, and so to fulfil the conditions of his vow and the objects of his particular pilgrimage." We have then an account of the mosque-pigeons, for whom it is said, " some pilgrims bring with them even from the most remote countries a small quantity of grain, with which they may take the opportunity of feeding these birds." This may have occurred in times of scarcity ; the grain is now sold in the mosque. " The superstitions and ceremonies of the place,'' we are told, " are by no means completed within the city, for the pilgrims, after having performed their devotions for a certain time at the Caaba, at last in a sort of procession go to a place called Arafat, an eminence which stands detached in the centre of a valley ; and in the way thither there is a part of the road for about the space of a mile where it is customary to run.J The road also passes near a spot where was formerly a well which is super- stitiously supposed to be something unholy and cursed by the Prophet himself. And for this reason, every pilgrim as he goes by it throws a stone ; and the custom is so universal and has prevailed so long that none can be picked up in the neigh- bourhood, and it is necessary therefore to provide them from a distance, and some persons even bring them out of their own remote countries, thinking thereby to gain the greater favour in the sight of Heaven."§ * Bich pilgrims always secure lodgings; the poorer class cannot afford them; therefore, the great Caravans from Egypt, Damascos, Bagdad, and other places, pitch on certain spots outside the city. t An incorrect expression; the stone is fixed in a massive gold or silver gilt circle to the S.E. angle, but it is not part of the building. ^ All Bey is right in stating that the running is on the return from Arafat, directly after sunset § This sentence abounds in blunders. Sale, Ali Bey, and Burckhardt, all give correct accounts of the little pillar of masonry — it has nothing to 362 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. " Beyond this point stands a column *, which is set up as the extreme limit of the pilgrimage, and this every pilgrim must have passed before sunrise ; while all such as have not gone beyond it by that time must wait till the next year, if they wish to be entitled to the consideration and privileges of com- plete Hajis, since, without this circumstance, all the rest re- mains imperfect." " The hill of Arafat lying at a distance of seven hours from Meccah,it is necessary to set out very early in order to be there in time ; many of the pilgrims, and especially the more devout amongst them, performing all the way on foot." "When they have reached the place f all who have any money according to their means sacrifice a sheep, and the rich often furnish those who are poor and destitute with the means of buying one." " Such a quantity of sacrifices quite fills the whole open space with victims, and the poor flock from all the country round to have meat distributed to them." " After which, at the conclusion of the whole ceremony, all the names are registered by a scribe appointed for the pur- pose J; and when this is finished the African and Asiatic do with the well — which denotes the place where Satan appeared to Abra- ham. The pilgrims do not throw one stone, but many. The pebbles are partly brought from Muzdalifah, partly from the valley of Muna, in which stands the pillar. * Mr. Bankes confounds this column with the Devil's Pillar at Muna. Finati alludes to the landmarks of the Arafat plain, now called El AJamayn (the two marks). The pilgrims must stand within thes"e boundaries on a certain day (the 9th of Zu'I Hijjah), otherwise he has failed to observe a ritaJ ordinance. t He appears to confound the proper place with Arafat. The sacrifice is performed in the valley of Muna, after leaving the mountain. But Finati, we are told by his translator, wrote from memory — a pernicious practice for a traveller. J This custom is now obsolete, as regards the grand body of pilgrims. Anciently, a certificate from the Sherif was given to all who could afford money for a proof of having performed the pDgrimage, but no such practice at present exists. My friends have frequently asked me, what proof there is of a Moslem's having become » Haji. None whatever; consequently im- postors abound, Saadi, in the Gulistan, notices a case. But the ceremonies of the Hajj are so complicated and unintelligible by mere description. APPENDIX IV. 363 caravans part company and return to their own several coun- tries, many detachments of the pilgrims visiting Medinah in the way." Desirous of being enrolled in some new division of Mo- hammed All's army, Finati overcame the difficulty of personal access to him by getting a memorial written in Turkish and standing at the window of a house joined on to the enclosure of the great temple. After the sixth day the Pacha observed him, and in the "greatest rage imaginable" desired a detailed account of the defeat at Kunfudah. Finati then received five hundred piastres and an order to join a corps at Taif, together with a strict charge of secrecy, ," since it was of importance that no reverse or check should be generally talked of." Before starting our author adds some " singular particulars" which es- caped him in his account of Meccah. " Many of the pilgrims go through the ceremony of walking the entire circuit of the city upon the outside ; and the order in which this is performed is as follows. The devoted first goes without the gates, and, after presenting himself there to the religious officer who presides, throws oflf all his clothes, and takes a sort of large wrapping garment in lieu of them to cover himself ; upon which he sets oflf walking at a very quick pace, or rather running, to reach the nearest of the four corners of the city, a sort of guide going with him at 'the same rate all the way, who prompts certain ejaculations or prayers, which he ought to mention at particular spots as he passes ; at every angle he finds a barber, who with wonderful quickness wets and shaves one quarter of his head, and so on ; till he has reached the barber at the fourth angle, who completes the work. After which the pilgrim takes his clothes again, and has finished that act of devotion."* that a little cross- questioning applied to the false Haji would easily detect him, • No wonder that Mr. Bankes is somewhat puzzled by this passage. Certainly none but a pilgrim could guess that the author refers to the rites called £1 Umrah and £1 Sai, or the running between Mounts Safa and Marwah. The curious reader may compare the above with Burckhardt's correct description of the ceremonies. As regards the shaving, Finati possibly was right in his day; in Ali Bey's, as in my time, the head was 364 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. " There is also near the holy city an eminence called the hill of light*, as 1 imagine from its remarkable whiteness. Upon this the pilgrims have a custom of leaping while they repeat at the same time prayers and verses of the Koran. Many also resort to a lesser hill, about a mile distant from the city, on which there is a small mosque, which is reputed as a place of great sanctity. " An annual ceremony takes place in the great temple itself which is worth mentioning before I quit the subject altogether." " I have already spoken of the little square building whose walls are covered with hangings of black and gold, and which is called the Caaba. Once in the yearf, and once only, this holy of holies is opened, and as there is nothing to prevent admission it appears surprising at first to see so few who are willing to go into the interior, and especially since this act is supposed to have great efficacy in the remission of all past sins. But the reason must be sought for in the conditions which are annexed, since he who enters is, in the first place, bound to exercise no gainful pursuit or trade, nor to work for his liveli- hood in any way whatever ; and, next, he must submit patiently to all offences and injuries, and must never again touch any- thing that is impure or unholy." J only shaved once, and a few strokes of the razor sufficed for the pnrpose of religious tonsure. * Jebel Nur, anciently Hira, is a dull grey as of granite; it derives its modem name from the spiritual light of religion. CircAnstances pre- vented my ascending it, so I cannot comment upon Finati's " custom of leaping." t Open three days in the year, according to Ali Bey, the same in Burck- hardt's, and in my time. Besides these public occasions, private largesses can always turn the key. J I heard from good authority, that the Kaabah is never opened without several pilgrims being crushed to death. Ali Bey (remarks Mr. Bankes) says nothing of the supposed conditions annexed. I have given them, as I received them from the lips of learned and respectable Moslems. They differ considerably from Finati's, and no wonder ; his ac- count is completely opposed to the strong good sense which pervades the customs of El Islam. As regards his sneer at the monastic orders in Italy — that the conditions of entering are stricter and more binding than those of Kaabah, yet that numbers are ready to profess in them — it must not be APPENDIX IV. 365 " One more remark witli reference to the great scene of sacrifice at Arafat. Though the Pacha's power in Arabia had been now for some time established, yet it was not complete or universal by any means — the Wahhabees still retaining upon many sides a very considerable footing, so that open and unpro- tected places, even within half a day's journey of Meccah, might be liable to surprise and violence." For these reasons, our author informs us, a sufficient force was disposed round Arafat, and the prodigious multitude went and returned without molestation or insult. * After the pilgrimage Haji Mahomet repaired to Tayf. On the road he remarked a phenomenon observable in El Hejaz — the lightness of the nights there. Finati attributes it to the southern position of the place. But, observing a perceptible twilight there, I was forced to seek further cause. May not the absence of vegetation, and the heat-absorbing nature of the soil, — granite, quartz, and basalt, — account for the phenome- non P^j^ The natives as usual, observing it, have invested its origin with the garb of fable. It is not my intention to accompany Mohamet to the shame- ful defeat of Taraba, where Tussun Pacha lost three quarters of his army, or to the glorious victory of Bissil, where Mo- imagined that Arab hiunaa natDre differs very materially from Italian. Many unworthy feet pass the threshold of the Kaabah ; but there are many Moslems, my friend, Umar Effendi, for instance, who have performed the pil- grimage a dozen times, and would never, from conscientious motives, enter the holy edifipe. * In 1807, according to Ali Bey, the Wahhabees took the same precau- tion, says Mr. Bankes. The fact is, some such precautions must always be taken. The pilgrims are forbidden to quarrel, to fight, or to destroy life, except under circumstances duly provided for. Moreover, as I have explained in another part of this work, it was of old, and still is, the custom of the fiercer kind of Bedouins to flock to Arafat — where the victim is sure to be found — for the purpose of revenging their blood-losses. As our authorities at Aden well know, there cannot be a congregation of different Arab tribes without a little murder. After fighting vrith the common foe, or if unable to fight with him, the wild men invariably turn their swords against their private enemies. t So, on the wild and tree-clad heights of the Neilgherry hills, despite the brilliance of the stars, every traveller remarks the darkness of the atmo- sphere at night. 366 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. hammed Ali on the 10th Jan. 1815 hroke 24,000 Wahhabees commanded by Faysal ben Saud. His account of this interest- ing campaign is not full or accurate like Mengin's ; still, being the tale of an eye-witness, it attracts attention. Nothing can be more graphic than his picture of the old conqueror sitting with exulting countenance upon the carpet where he had vowed to await death or victory, and surrounded by heaps of enemies' heads.* Still less would it be to the purpose to describe the latter details of Haji Mohamet's career, his return to Cairo, his ac- companying Mr. Bankes to Upper Egypt and Syria, and his various trips to Aleppo, Kurdistan, the Said, the great Oasis, Nabathsea, Sennaar, and Dongola. We concede to him the praise claimed by his translator, that he was a traveller to no ordinary extent ; t)ut beyond this we cannot go. He was so ignorant that he had forgotten to write f ; his curiosity and his powers of observation keep pace with his knowledge J ; his moral character as it appears in print is of that description which knows no sense of shame : it is not candour but sheer insen- sibility which makes him relate circumstantially his repeated desertions, his betrayal of Fatimah, and his various plunder- ings. * Mohammed Ali gave six dollars for every Arab head, which fact ac- counts for the heaps that surrounded him. One would suppose that when acting against an enemy, so quick and agile as the Arabs, such an order would be an unwise one. Experiment, however, proved the contrary. f " Finati's long disuse of European writing," says Mr. Bankes, " made him very slow with his pen." Fortunately, he found in London some person who took down the story in easy, unaffected, and not inelegant Italian. In 1828, Mr. Bankes translated it into English, securing accuracy by consulting the author, when necessary. I His translator and editor is obliged to explain that he means Cufic, by " characters that are not now in use," and the statue of Memnon by " one of two enormous sitting figures in the plain, from which, according to an old story or superstition, a sound proceeds when the sun rises." When the crew of his Nile-boat " form in circle upon the bank, and perform a sort of religious mummery, shaking their heads and shoulders violently, and uttering a hoarse sobbing or barking noise, till some of them would drop or faU into convtilsions," — a sight likely to excite the curiosity of most men he " takes his gun in pursuit of wild geese." He allowed Mr. Bankes' mare to eat Oleander leaves, and thus to die of the commonest poison. Briefly, he seems to have been a man who, under favorable circumstances, earned as little as possible. APPENDIX V. The tribes of El Hejaz are tediously numerous: it will be sufficient to enumerate the principal branches of the Bedouin tree, without detailing the hundred little offshoots which, it has put forth in the course of ages. Burckhardt shrank from the intricate pedigree of the Meccan Sherifs. I have seen a work upon the subject in four folio volumes in point of matter equi- valent to treble the number in Europe. The best known genea- logical works are El Kalkashandi (originally in seventy-five books, extended to one hundred) ; the Umdat el Tullab by Ibn Khaldun ; the " Tohfat el Arab fi Anser el Arab," a well-known volume by El Siyuti ; and, lastly, the Sirat el Halabi, in six vols. 8vo. Of the latter work there is an abridgment by Mo- hammed el Banna el Dimyati in two vols. 8vo. ; but both are rare, and consequently expensive. Those ancient clans the Abs and Adnan have almost died out. The latter, it is said, still exists in the neighbourhood of Taif ; and the Abs, I am informed, are to be found near Ku- sayr (Cosseir), on the African coast, but not in El Hejaz. Of the Ans, Khazraj, and Nazir details have been given in a pre- vious chapter. The Beni-Harb is now the ruling clan in the Holy Land. It is divided by genealogists into two great bodies, first, the Beni Salim, and, secondly, the Masruh, or " Koaming tribes." I give the following details of the Harb upon the authority of my friend Umar Effendi, who is great in matters of genealogy. The Beni Salim, again, have eight subdivisions, viz. : — 1. Ahamidah (in the singular Ahmadi) : this sept owns for chief Shaykh Saad of the mountains. It is said to contain about 3500 men. Its principal subdivision is the Haydari. 2. Hawazim (Hazimi), the rival sept, 3000 in number : it is again divided into Muzayni and Zahiri. 368 PILGKIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 3. Sobh (Sobhi), 3500, habitat near El Badr. 4. Salaymah (Salimi), also called Aulad Salim. 5. Saadin (Saadani). 6. Mahamid (Mahmadi), 8000. 7. Eahalah (Kihayli), 1000. 8. Timam (Tamimi). The Masruh tree splits into two great branches, Beni Auf (Aufi) and Beni Amur ( Amri). The former is a large sept, ex- tending from Wady Nakia ( -_ , ,?; jJ'^), near Nejd, to Rabigh and El Medinah. They have few horses, but many drome- daries, camels, and sheep, and are much feared by the people, on account of their warlike and savage character. The Auf separate into ten subdivisions, viz. : — 1. Sihliyah (Sihli), about 2000 in number. 2. Sawaid (Saidi), 1000. 3. Bukhasah (Bakhis). 4. Kassanin (Kassan) : this sub-sept claims origin from the old " Gassan " stock, and is found in considerable numbers at Wady Nakia and other places near El Medinah. 5. Rubaah (Babai). 6. Khazarah (Khuzayri). 7. Lahabah (Lahaybi), 1500 in number. 8. Faradah (Faraydi), 9. Beni Ali (Alawi). 10. Zubayd (Zubaydi), near Meccah, a numerous body of fighting thieves. Also under the Beni Amur — as the word is popularly pro- nounced — are ten subdivisions. 1. Marabitah (Murabti). They principally inhabit the 2. Hussar (Hasir). lands about El Fara, i jsi\ 3. Beni Jabir (Jabiri). a collection of settlements four 4. Babaykah (Rubayki). marches south of El Medinah, number about 10,000 men, and have droves of sheep and ca- mels, but few horses. 5. Hisnan (Hasuni). 6. Bizan (Bayzani). APPENDIX V. 369 7. Badarin (Badrani). 8. Biladiyah (Biladi). 9. Jaham (the singular and plural forms are the same). 10. Shatarah (Shitayri). To these Mr. C. Cole, H. B. M.'s Vice-Consul atJcddali, adds seven other subdivisions, viz. : — 1. Ahali el Kura (" the people of Kura?"), 5000. 2. Eadadah, 800. 3. Hijlah, 600. 4. Dubayah, 1500. 5. Beni Kalb, 2000. 6. Bayzanah, 800. 7. Beni Tahya, 800. And he makes the total of the Beni Harb about El Jedaydah amount to 35,000 men. I had no means of personally ascer- taining the correctness of this information. The great Anizah tribe now, I was told, inhabits Khaybar, and it must not visit El Medinah without a Bafik or protector. Properly speaking, there are no outcasts in El Hejaz, as in Yemen and the Somali country. But the Hitman (pi. of Hu- taym or Hitaym), inhabiting the sea-board about Yambu, are taxed by other Bedouins as low and vile of origin. The un- chastity of the women is connived at by the men, who, however, are brave and celebrated as marksmen : they make, eat, and sell cheese, for which reason that food is despised by the Harb. And the Khelawiyah (pi. of Khalawi) are equally despised : they are generally blacksmiths, have a fine breed of grey- hounds, and give asses as a dowry, which secures for them the derision of their fellows. Mr. C. Cole was kind enough to collect for me notices of the different families in central and southern Hejaz. His in- formants divide the great tribe Juhaynah, living about Yambu and Yambu el Nakhl, into five clans, viz.: — 1. Beni Ibrahimali, in number about 5000. 2. Ishran, 700. 3. Beni Malik, 6000. 4. Arwah, 5000. .5. Kaunah, 300. 370 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. Thus giving a total of 19,700 men capable of carrying arms. The reader, however, will remember that nothing like exactitude in numbers can be expected from an Arab. Some rate the Beni-Harb at 6000 ; others, equally well in- formed, at 15,000; others, again, at 80,000. The reason of this is, that whilst one is speaking of the whole race, another may be limiting it to his own tribe and its immediate allies. The same gentleman, whose labours in Eastern Arabia during the coast survey of the " Palinurus " are well known to the Indian world, gives the following names of the tribes under allegiance to the Sherif of Meccah. 1. Sakif (Thakif ) el Yemen, 2000. 2. Sakif el Sham, 1000. ("Sham" which, properly speaking, means Damascus or Syria, in Southern Arabia and Eastern Africa is universally applied to El Hejaz.) 3. Beni Malik, 6000. 4. Nasirah, 3000. 5. Beni Saad, 4000. 6. Huzayl (Hudhayl), 5000. 7. Bakum (Begoum), 5000. 8. Adudah, 500. 9. Bashar, 1000. 10. Said, 1500. 11. Zubayd, 4000. 12. Aydah, 1000. The following is a list of the southern Hejazi tribes, kindly forwarded to me by the Abbe Hamilton, after his return from a visit to the Sherif at Taif. 1. Ghamid el Badawy (" of the nomades )", 30,000. 2. Ghamid el Hazar (" the settled "), 40,000. 3. Zahran, 38,000. 4. Beni Malik, 30,000. 5. Nasirah, 15,000. 6. Asir, 40,000. 7. Tamum, 1 ^ ^her, 80,000. 8. Bilkarn, J 9. Beni Ahmar, 10,000. APPENDIX V. 371 10. Utaybah, living north of Meccah ; no number given. 11. Shuabin. 12. Deraysh, 2000. 13. Beni Sufyan, 15,000. U. El HuUad, 3000. It is evident that the numbers given by this traveller include the women, and probably the children of the tribes. Some exaggeration wiU also be suspected. The principal families which practise the pagan Salkh, or excoriation, are, in El Hejaz, the Huzayl and the Beni Su^an, together with the following in El Tehamah : — 1. Juhadilah. 2. Kabakabi. 3. Beni Fahm. 4. Beni Mahmud. 5. Saramu (?) 6. Majarish. 7. Beni Yezid. 372 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. APPENDIX VI. OF HAJJ, OK PILGRIMAGE. The word Hajj is explained by Moslem divines to mean " Kasd," or aspiration, and to express man's sentiment that he is but a wayfarer on earth wending towards another and a nobler world. This explains the origin and the belief that the greater the hardships, the higher will be the reward of the pious wanderer. He is urged by the voice of his soul : " thou who toilest so hard for worldly pleasures and perishable profit, wilt thou endure nothing to win a more lasting re- ward ? " Hence it is that pilgrimage is common to all old faiths. The Hindus still wander to Egypt, to Tibet, and to the inhospitable Caucasus : the classic philosophers visited Egypt ; the Jews annually flocked to Jerusalem ; and the Tartars and Mongols — Buddhists — journey to distant Lama- serais. The spirit of pilgrimage was predominant in mediaeval Europe, and the processions of the Roman Catholic Church are, according to her votaries *, modern memorials of the effete rite. Every Moslem is bound, under certain conditions f, t» pay at least one visit to the Holy City. This constitutes the Hajj at el Farz (the one obligatory pilgrimage), or Hajj at el ♦ M. Hue's " Travels in Tartary." f The two extremes, between which lie many gradations, are these. Abu Ilanifah direets every Moslem and Moslemah to perform the pilgrimage only if they have health and money for the road and the support of their families ; moreover, he allows a deputy-pilgrim, whose APPENDIX VI. 373 Islam, (of the Mohammedan faith). Bepetitions become mere Sunnats, or practices of the Prophet, and are therefore supererogatory. Some European writers have of late years laboured to represent the Meccan pilgrimage as a fair, a pretext to collect merchants and to afford Arabia the benefits of purchase and barter. It would be vain to speculate whether the secular or the spiritual element originally prevailed ; most probably each had its portion. But those who peruse this volume will see that, despite the comparatively lukewarm piety of the age, the Meccan pilgrimage is religious essentially, acci- dentally an affair of commerce. Moslem pilgrimage is of three kinds. 1. El Mukarinah (the uniting) is when the votary performs the Hajj and the Umrah * together, as was done by the Prophet in his last visit to Meccah. 2. El Ifrad (singulation) is when either the Hajj or the Umrah is performed singularly, the former preceding the expenses must be paid by the principal. Ibn Malik, on the contraiy, enjoins every follower to visit Meccah, if able to walk, and to earn his bread on the way. As a general rule, in El Islam there are four Shnrut el Wujnb, or necessary conditions, viz. : — 1. Islam, the being a Moslem. 2. Bulngh, adolescence. 3. Hurriyat, the being a free man. 4. Akl, or mental sanity. Other authorities increase the conditions to eight, viz. : — 5. Wnjud el Zad, sufficiency of provision. 6. El Bahlah, having a beast of burthen, if living two days' journey from Meccah. 7. Takhliyat el Tank, the road being open ; and 8. Imkan el Masir, the being able to walk two stages, if the pilgrim hath no beast. Others, again, include all conditions under two heads : — 1. Sihhat, health. 2. Istitaat, ability. These subjects have exercised not a little the casuistic talents of the Arab doctors : a folio volume might be filled with differences of opinion on the subject " Is a blind man sound ? " * The technical meaning of these words will be explained below. - - 3 374 PILGBIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. latter. The pilgrim may be either El Mufrid b'il Hajj (one who is performing only the Hajj), or vice versa, El Mufrid b'il Umrah. According to Abu Hanifah, this form is more efficacious than the following. 3. El Tamattu (" possession ") is when the pilgrim assumes the Ihram, and preserves it throughout the months of Shawwal, Z'ui Kaadah, and nine days (ten nights) in Z'ul Hijjah *, per- forming Hajj and Umrah the while.f There is another threefold division of pilgrimage ; — 1. Umrah (the Little Pilgrimage), performed at any time except the pilgrimage season. It differs in some of its forms from Hajj, as will afterwards appear. 2. Hajj (or simple Pilgrimage), performed at the proper season. 3. Hajj el Akbar (the Great Pilgrimage) is when the " day of Arafat " happens to fall upon a Friday. This is a most auspicious occasion. M. Caussin de Perceval and other writers, departing from the practice of (modern ?) Islam, make " Hajj el Akbar '' to mean the simple pilgrimage, in opposition to the Umrah, which they call " Hajj el Asghar.'' The following compendium of the Shafei pilgrim-rites is translated from a little treatise by Mohammed of Shirbin, surnamed El Khatib, a learned doctor, whose work is generally read in Egypt and the countries adjoining. * At any other time of the year Ihram is considered Makruh, or ob- jectionable, withoDt being absolutely sinful. t M. Galland explains these terms incorrectly: — "II y a trois sortes d'lhrams : le premier s'appelle Karen : c'est celui qa'on met qnand on se propose d'aller a la Mecque, et d'y faire un sacrifice. "Le second s'appelle 3fq/re Sultan, his restoration of the mosque of £1 Kuba, 1.391. Abd el Malik bin Marwar, the caliph, his additions to the House of Allah, ii. 181. Abd el Mfjid, Sultan, his mahmal turned back by robbers, i. 2oO. Imbecility of Ills government in Arabia, 250. His Tan- ziinat, 2M). Sends gifts to the robbers of Ar;ibia, 2.^3. His war with the Czar, 2tlO. His additions lu the Prophet's mosque at El Medinali, 29^. 3.'>3. Abolishes Wakf in Turkey, 344. n. Abd el Muialieb (Shaybah), grandfather of the Propliet, i. 33?. n. Abd el Miittalib bin Ghalib, sherif of Mec- cah, i. 252. Description ol him, ii. 145. His cavalcade, 145, 146. His children, 145. His quarrel with Ahmed Pacha of El Hejaz, 145. n. Deposed, 145. n. His palacp, 147. His procession to the cere- monies of the day of Arafat, 217, 218. Abd el ffaMm el Barai, the saint of Jahay- dah, i. 2-')5. Abd el Rahim el Burai, the poet, quoted, ii. 235. C C Abd el Rahman, meaning of the name, t. 14. n. Abd el Rahman, son of Abubekr, tomb of, ii. 273. Abd el Rahman el Ausnt, or Abii Shahmah (" Father kh of the Hawazim, ii. 29. Abu Ayyub, the Aosari, his reception of Mohrtmmed after ihe Flight, i. ^7. 340. 342. Abubekr, the caliph, his window at Kl Me- dinah, i. 303. 307. The benediction be- stowed on, 3(7. His tomb, 311. Elected caliph, 326. How regarded by orthodox Moslems ard ShiAhh, 3:^9, 340. n. His dwelling near the mosque, 3i.3. His mo-que at El Medinah, 37B. The firt>t «ho bissinian slaves in Exypl. i- 58. Style of courtship of, ''9. Derivation of the name, 173. n. Abyssinian slave girls, their value, ii. 13. Abyssinian mend, 126. n. Acacia, quantities of, ii. t)8. 72. Acacia-barren, termrs of an, 69. Academia, the, of Kl Medinah, i. 325. Adam, stature of, according in Moslem le- gends, i. i99. His I urial-place at the hill Abu Kubays, ii. 1H5, n. Legend of Adam and Eve at Mount Arafat, 210. His place j of prayer at Arafat, 215. Adnan, the tribe of Arabs so called, 267. | Ada6 (lentiU). £ife Lentils. i Ad^n, ancient wells at, i. 199. n. ; dry storms of, 240. «. Adultery, how punished at El Medinah, ii- 19. Advenee*. the, of Arabia, ii. 77. n. Xlius, Gallus, expedition of, referred to, i. 184. Aerolite worship, ii. If>7. n, Afghans, th(\ a chivalrous race, i. 39, 40. Africans, their susceptibility to religious Irenzv, ii. 199. Agapt-monee, supprcESioii of, in Egypt, i. 60. n Aphas, or eunuchs of the trmb of the Pro- phet, i. 303. n., 308. n., 310. 72., 311. n., 318.; Agha, pt. Aghawat, a term of ad- dress t" the euuuchs of the ttmib, 356. n. See Ennurhs. Agni, the Indian fire-god, ii. 185. n. Ague, prevalence of, in the East, i. 13. Ahali, or burghers of El Medinah, i. 368. Ahl el Kisa, or the " people of the garment," i.3l4. Ahmed Pacha, of El Hcjaz, 1. 249 ; his quar> rel with the sherif of Meccah, ii. 145. n. Ahmed, son of the sherif of Meccah, ii. 145. Ahzab, the Ma^jid el, li. 47. Ahzab, El, the battle of, ii. 47. Aimroat, the Shajkh el, of the Prophet's motque, i. 359. Ajami, meaning of the term, i. 11. Ajwah, the date so called, i. 384. Ajwah (conserve of dates), 1. 384. n. Akabbh, the ill-omened, i. 198. 207. Akabah (a steep descent), i. 244. Akd el Nikah. or Ziwaj (Arab marriage), the, at El Medinah, ii. 23. Akdham ^or Serviles), the, of Yemen, ii. 77. n. Akhshabayn, El (the "two rugged hills"), near Arafat, ii. 205. Confusion of the re- turn of the pilgrims at, 223, Akhawal, £1, the Black Mail among the Bedouins so called, ii. 113. Akif, Haji, accosts the pilgrim, ii. 285. Akik, iheWady el. i. 270. Aksa, the Musjid El, at Jerusalem, i. 293. Akhauat, the relationship among the Be- douins so called, ii. 113. Alai (or regiment), of soldiers. I. 377. Alamayn (the *' Twin Signs"), near Arafat, i. 36j ; ii. 205. Visit to the, 266. Albanians, or Amaouts, their desperate manners and customs, i. 128. The man- ahooting amusements, 129. A drinking bout with one, 131. One killed by a sun-stroke, 257. Parade of irregular horse, 258. Their singular appearance, 258, 259. Their delight in the noise of mnsketrr. 260. n. Their method ol rifling their bullets, 260. n. Fight bt-tween them and tlie hill Arabs, 261. 26.'i. A qnarrel- Gome one in (he caravan, il. 131. 132. Alchemy, a favourite Egyptian pursuit, i. 106. n. Alexander of Alexandria, i. 139. n. Alexandria, i. 7. A city of mi.snomers, 0. Its peculiar interebt to Moslems, 10. m. Shopping in. 11. Venerable localities in, 11. Whiteness of the walls of, 20. r*. The Foreign Office of, 21. The Transit Office of, 26. Algetjra, study of, in Egypt, i. 104, n., 105. n. Alhambra, the, i. 92. n. Alh»mdulillah, meaning of the ejaculation, i.7. Ali,the fourth caliph, reference to, i. 272. n. His pillar at El Medinah, 313. n. His spouse, Lady Fiilimah, 314. et seq. Cnlumn of, ill the Prophet's mosque, 323. Remaintt with the Piophet, 339. Joins Mohammed at Kuba, 341. His duelling near the mosque, 343. His mosque at Kl Medinah, 378. Called the "Musalla el £ed," 378. His birthplace atMeccali, ii. 27S. Ali, the Masjid, at £1 Kuba, i 395. At El Medinah, 326. All Agha, an Albanian captain of irregulars or Yuzbashi, i. 127. His per^onal ap- pearauct-. 127- Origin of the nilvrim's acquaintance with him, 126. Mannf-rs anu customs of his countrymen, Ivh. His call and invitation, 130. A drii>king buut with him, 131. INDEX. 391 All Bey el Abbasi, i. 208, n., 219, n. Em- ployeii as a spy bv the French govern- ment, ii. 176. n. Value of his works, 176, n. History of him, 176. n. All bin Yh Sin, the Zemzeml, ii. 120. A typp of the Arab old man, 120. His acci- denton cam^l-back, 141. His appearance at the ceremonies or the day of Arafat, 216. Insists upon bestowing his company on the pilgrim, 222. His irritation, 22a, His invitation to the pilgrin to din- 220. ner, t279. Description of thi* meal, '^8' All el UrHys, a deacencLant of the Prophet, his tomb. 59. All Murad, owner of the pilgrimship, i. 164. 187—189. Aliki tribe of Arabs, i. 141. Alms (Sadaka), given to the Prophet's moiique, i. 229. 367. Aloe, superstitions of the Arabs and Africans respecting the, ir. 272. Amalekiies, the, identified with the Amalik of the Moslems, i. 329. n. Amatikah, their fonndation of the fifth houseuf Allah, ii. 179. Ambassadors, sh.tmeful degradation of, by Moiilems, i. 109 n- Ambari gate of Kl Medinah, i. 274. 276 378. iimbariyah, or El Medinah, house uf the Cuntic girl Mariyah at, i. 348. n. American IndinDs, North, compared with the Bedouins, ii. 118. 119. Amin, Kl (the Honebt), origin of the sur- name ofthe Prophet, ii. 180. Ainmah, Sitt 'mother of the Prophet), her tomb, i. 337. n. j ii, 274. Amiak ben Arfakhsfaad bin Sam bin Nuh, i. 129. Amlak (property in land) of the Beni Hosayn, ii. 4. Amalik, the tribe. See Aulad Sam ben Nuh, Amatikah tribes, their mixture with the Himy»ritic. ii. 79- Amm Jemat, the Medinite, i. 224. Amr, tribe of, saved Irom the deluge of Irem,i.334. Their abodes at LI Medinah, 340. Their liinguage, ii. 99. n. Amr bin Amin M.i el-Sama, his stratagem, i. 334, Saved from the Yemenian deiuge, 334. The forefather of Mohammed, 334. Amr el Kays, poet and warrior, his death from ulcer, i. 372. Amusements of the Cairenes, i. 1 12. Of the Araiis, 70.311. Anakim, or Giants, M'slem. belief in,i. 199. Anatolia, pilgrims from, i. 186. Angels, place of the Malaikah), at El Me- dniah, 1.313. Praye' ailhe, 313. Anizah, the Beni (a Jewish tribe), in Arabia, i. 332. n. Their temperament, ii. 77. Ansar, the, Arab tribe of. i, 3-^. Ansar (or Auxiliaries), of El Medinah. i. 340. 342. Afcsist Mohammed in building the firct Mosque, 345. One uf the, sells his house to the Prophet, 346. Antar, suugs of, Warburton's opinion ofthe, ii 94. Antimony (Kohl), used as a remedy in small-pox, i.368. Auzah (iron-shod javelin), of Mohammed, 1.390. Apez, the, of El Hejaz, ii. 243. Traditions C C respecting them, 243. n. Stories told of them, 244. Apple of Sodom, the, ii. 132. n. " .-arabesque," oriftin of, i. 92. Arabesques, the vulgar, of the riwaks at El Medinah and of the tombs at Cairo, i. 321. Arabia, horses of, i. 3. The Ruba el Khali, 3. Abounds in ^umaras, 3. Fo!)Ses6es no river worthy of the name, 3. Testi- mony of I n Haukal to tliis fact, 3. n. The three distinct races of, 4. Remnants of heathenry in, 4. Destruction of the idols ofthe Arab pantheon, 89. Origin of Arab art, 93. n, Arabia closed against trade with Christians as early as the 7th century, 1 10. n. The "Mountains of Paradise * with which it abounds, 217. The little villages in, cnntinuHlly chang- ing their names, 238. The *' dry storm" of, 240. A caravan in, 241, 242. The water.courses (Misyal)of. 243. 246. Jour- ney ihruugh a comitrv fantkites, Canaan ies, and Hyksos, 329. n. Supplanted by the Jews, 333. AuE, Arab trioe of the, i. 333, 335. Their wars with the Kharaj,335. Converted by Mahammed, 337. 'i heir plot against Mo- hammed, 343. Their mixture with ibe Amalikah, li. 79. Austnans. despised in Egypt, i. 108. , Awali, the, or plains about Kuba, i. 363. Awpm , the, or nobile valgus of El Medinah, i. 360. A>at, or Koranic verse, i. 339. Ayisha, accedes to the wishes of Osman and Hasan to be buried near the Prophet, 1. 312. Her pillar in the mosque of the Prophet, 322. Her chamt>er, or the Hujrah, 348. Anecdote of her, ii. 34. n. INDEX. 393 Her tomb, 38. Her jealousy of the Coptic girl Marivah, 47. Ayn el Birkat, thej. 221. Avn el Zarka (azure spring), the, of El Medinah, i. 364, 3G5. Ayr. Jebel, Us disunce from El Medinah, i. 362. Cursed by the Prophet, i. 404. Avyas bin Maaz, converted by the Prophet, i. 337. Ayyaz, Kazl, his theological works, i. 104. n. Ayynb, Abu, the Ansari, i. 390. The Bait Ayyub, his descendants, 391. Ayyub, well of, at El Medinah, i. 346. Aziin, the, or summons to prayer, i. 75, 348 Azhar, £1, mosque, the, at Cairo, i. 95. 97- ei seq. Foundation of, 99. Immense numbers of stude-nts at, 100. Course of study pursu'd in, 101. The principal of the Afghan College, Shaykh Abd el ^Vab■ hab ibn, Yui*s el Sulnymani, 125 — 127- Azrael, the angel of death, i. 291. 350. Azrak, Bahr el, remarks on the usual trans- lation of the expression, 364. n. Bah el Atakhah (Gate of Deliverance), at El Medinah, i. 319 n. Bah el Jabr ( Gate of Repairing), i. 390. n. Bab el Nasr, the gare of Cairo so called, i. 139. Tombs outside the. 322. n. Bab el Nisa, the, at El Medinah, i. 319. Bab el Rammah (Gate of Pity), at £1 Medi- nah, i.3I9. Bab el Salam, anciently called the Bab el Araknh, 1. 319. Bab Jibrail ( Gate of the Archangel Gabriel), i. 320. Bab Mejidi (G^te of the Sultan Abd el Mejidi), at El Medinah, i. 319. Babel or Babylon, settled by the family of Noah, i. 329. Badanjan. (egg plant), i. 387. Bad-masti, or liquor'n of labour, 10. Furious fight between the Hawazim and the Hawamid, 28, Prac- tice of entrusting children to their care that they may be hardened by the diEci- pline of thf Desert, n. Their fondness for robbing a Hajji, 353, The Sobh tribe inveterate nlunoerFrs, &8. Their ideas of distance, 65. n. Their diflQculty of l>earing thirst, 69. Account of the Bedouins of El Hejaz, 76. et seq. The three racps, 76. Theniditiens, or auiochthones,77. Their similarity to the indigens ot India, 77. n. The ailvens, 77, 1 he Ishmaelites, 78. Mixture of the Himyaritic and Amah- kah tribes, 78. Immntability of race in the desert, 79. Portrait of the Hejazi Be- douins, SO, Their features, complexion, &c., 80. 82. Their stature, 83. Their systematic mtermarriage, M. Appearance of the women, 85. Manners of the Be- douins, 85. 'J'heir true character, 86. How Arab society is bound together, 86, 87. Fitful and uncertain valour of the Bedouins, 87. Causes of their bravery, 88. The two things whith lend to soften their ferocity, 89. Tenderness and pathos of their old poets, 92, Heroism of the wo- men, 93. Bedouin platonic affection, ahd their chivalry, 94. Dakhl, or protection, among them, 97. Their poetic feelmg, 97. 98 Effect of Arab poetry in the Desert, 98. Brigandage honourable among the Bedouins, )01. The price of bluod among them, 102. Intensity of their passions, 102, Their aporis, 103. Their weapons, 104, 105. Their sword-play, 106. Their muKicandmusicalinstruments, 107. Their surgery, 107. Their religion, 109. Their ceremonies, 110. Circumcision, 1 10. Mar- riagf!, 110. Funeral rites. 111. Methods of living on terms ot friendship with them, 111,112. Their bond of t.alt, 111. Their governmeiit, 112. The threefold kind of relationshipamoDg the tribes: the Ashab, the Kiman, and the Akhaw^t, 113. Their dresb. 114, 115. 1 heir tood, 116. Smoking, 117. The Bedouins compared with ttie !North American Indians, 117. IIB. Su- periority of the former, 118. Enumeration of the principal branchcb of the Bedouin genealogical tree, 367. Ferocity of the Utayhah Bedouins, 131. Their visit to the House of Allah, 192. Their dis- gust when ID towns, 201. «. Their ap- pearance in the Damascus caravan on the Arafat plain, 204. TiiPir cleanliness com- pared with the dirt of the city Arabs, 212. Their fondness for the song of Maysunah, 212. n. Their wild dances and songs, 246. A pert donkey-boy. 287. (See also Arabs.) Bedr, El, the scene of the Prophet's princi- pal military exploits, i. 219. 253, 266. n. Beei, considered unwholesome by the Arabs, ii. 17. n. Beggars in the Prophet's mosque, i. 299. Female beggars near the tomb of the Ladr Fatimah, 3l5. 318. At the tomb of the Prophet, 318. Strong muster of, at EI Hakia, ii. 38. Bekkah, or Place of Crowding, Meccah so called, ii. 238. Belal, tr e Prophet's muezzin, i. 321 ; i. 1 . n. Bells, origin and symbolical meaning of, i. 77. n. Beloihi nomades, the, i. 239. Beni-Harb,the Arab tribe, 1.240,241. Their pride, 241. Sub-families and families of the, 249- Their defeat of Tussun Bey and his 8(00 Turks, 255. Beni Israel, Dr. Wilson's observations on the, i. 143. n. Beni-Jahayiiah, the, i. 208. n. Bet.i-Kalb, the, i. 'i08. n. 240. I Benjamin of Tudela, his account of the I Jewish colony in Arabia, i. 3::I2 n. I Beqne»i8 (Aukaf) left to the Prophet's mosque, i. 3Ji9. Berberis, characteristics of the, i. 61, 62. 197. n. Bertolucci, M., his visit to Meccah, i. 4. n. Beyhars, EtZahir, Sultan of Egypt, hiscon- tributioD to the mosque of the Prophet, i. 3-S3. ** Bidaat," or custom unknown at the time of the Prophet, i. 356. n. Bir Abbas, in Kl Hejaz, i. 255. Description of it. 2.56. Bir el Arib, the, in the garden of Kuba, i. 395. C.illed also the Bir el Taflat (of Saliva), :f96. Bir el Hindi, the hailing -place, i. 267. Bir Said (Said's well), i. 244. Bilious complaints common In Arabia, i. 370. Birds, the, of the palm-groves of El Medi- nah, i. 382. Carrion birds on the road between El Medinah and Meccah, li. 61. The Rakham and Ukab, 62. Vicii age of the kite and crow to the dwellings of man, 73. Birkah, El, the village so called, i. 29. Birkat, El (the Tank), description of, ii. 130. Birni, El, the date b-^ called, i. 384. The grape so termed, 3H7. Bissel, battle of, ii. 89. n. Bizr el Kutn (cotton seed), used as a re- medy in dysentery, i. 371 Black mail levied by the Bedouins, i. 227. n. 253; ii. 113. Black Stone (Hajar el Aswad). the fam^^us, 01 the Kaabah, ii. 15. I7«. 192. Tra- ditions reEpecting the. 157. n. Its po- sition, 158. Its fppearance, l'i9. Cere- monies on visiting it, 188. 191. Blessing the Prophet, efficacy of the act of, i.3(il. n. The idea borrowed fromamore ancient faith, 301. n. Blood -revenge, the. i. 229. Blood-feud, proper use of the, i. 251. Its importance in Arab society, ii. 86. The price of blood, 102. Bokhari, £1, the celebrated diviDe, i. 103. n. INDEX. 395 Books, Moilem, those read in schools in Egypt, i. 102. Works on Moslem divinity, 103. et seq. And on logic and rhetoric, 104. n. Algebra, 104. n. Hisitory and philosophy, lu4.n. Poetry, lit4. n. Abun- dance of books at El Medinah, it. 24. Borneo, pilgrims from, to Meccah, i. 175. Botany of the Arabian desert, ii. V6i. Bouda, the Abysainian malady so called, ii. 199. n. Brauhi Duinades, the, i. 239. n. Bravado, its effect in Arabia, ii. 287. Bread in Arabia, i. 238. That called Kakh, 23H. u. tondness uf Orientals for stale unleavened bread, 238 n. Breakfast, an Arab, i. 287. ** Breeding in," question of, ii. 284. Brigandage, held in honour among the Be- douins, ii. lot. Britain, probable origin of the name, ii. 332. n. Buas, battle of, between the Aus and Kba- raj tribeti, i. 335 ; ii. 59. n. Bughaz, or detile, the, where Tussun Bey was defeated, i. '256. Bukht el Nasr (Nebuchadnezzar), invasion oi, i. 332, 333. Bulak, the suburb of, i. 31. *' Bulak Independent," the, i. 106. n. Burayd.!! el Aslami, escorts Mohammed to Kl Medinah, i. 339. Burckhardt, his grave near Cairo, i. 83. n. Error In his xMap of Arabia, 245. Refe- rence to his " Travels," 275, ». His ac- count '. Departs from Cairo, 139. The Desert. 140. et teq. The midnight halt, 150. Resumes the march, 150. Rests among a party of Maghrabi pilgrims, 152. Adventure on entering Suez, 156. An uncomfortable night, 155. Interview with the governor of Suez, 1S6. Description of the pilgrim's fellow-travellers at Suez, l.'i7. et teq. Advantages of making a lo^n, 161. Sus- picion awakened by a sextant, 163. Pass- ports a source of trouble, 164. Kindness of Mr. West, 165. Preparations for the voyage from Suez, 168. Society at the George Inn, 168 The pilgrim-ship, the "Golden Wire." 181. A battle with the Maghrabis, 187. Leaves Suez, 189. ( ourse of the vessel, 190. Halts near thn Hummum Bluflfs, 192. The "Golden Wire" aground, 195. Re-embarks, 19G. Reaches Tur, 197. Visits Moses' Hot Baths, 198. Leaves Tur, iOi. Effects of a thirty-six hours' sail, 204. Makes Dham- ghah anchorage. 20"*. Enters Wijh Har- bour, 209. Sails for Jebel Hasan. 212. Nearly wrecked, 214. Makes Jebel Haj^an, 215. Wounds his loot, 21.r The halt at Gambu, 219. Bargains for camels, 224. An evening party at Yambu. 226. Personates an Arab, 227. His Hamail or pocket Koran, 233. Departs from Y^mbu, 235. The Desert, 2:i6. The hulting ground, 237. Resumes the march, 240. Alarm of ** Harami " on ihteves, 242. Reaches Bir Said, 244. Encamps at El Hainra, 24fi. Visits the village. 246. A comfort- less day there. 240. Attempt of the Be- douins to levy black mail, 253. Encamps at Bir Abb^s, 2=).'}. A forced halt, 263. Prepares to mount and march, 264. Scene in the Shaub el Hhj, 264. Arrives at Shuhada, 266. The 'avourite halting place, Bir el Hindi, 267. Reaches Su- waykah, 267. Has a final dispute with Saad the Devil. 268. Disappearance of the uamel-men. 269. First view of the city of El Medinah, 271. Poetical excla- mations and enthusiasm of the pilgrim:!, 271,272. Stays at the house ol Shaykh Hamid, 277. The visitors and children there, 280—282. The style of living at El Medinah, 283—^91. View from the majlis' windows, 2Ho. Visits the Pro- phet's tomb, 292—328. Expensiveness of the visit, 318. Reasons for doubtmg that th« Prophet's remains are depo- sited in the Hujrah, 326. Visits the mosque of Knba, 381. Sums spent in sight-seeing, 394. Takes "Kayf" at El Kuba, 395. Arrival of the ** Damascus pilgrimage" at El Medinah, 399. The visitation of Ohod. 402. Attends at the Haram In the evening, 416. Visits the Cemetery of El Bakia, ii. 31. Prepares to 396 INDEX. leave El Medinah, 51. Adieus. .'54. PThe iMst night at El Medinah, fl6. The |next dangers, 67. The march from El Medi- nah, 58, 59. Thefii-sthalt, 63. A gluomy pass, 64. Journey from Ei Suwayrkijah to Meccah.iHS. A email feast. 122. A night journey, 126. An attack' of the Utaybah, 138. The pilgrim sights Mec- cah, 147. His first visit to the House of Allah, 184. HiB uncomrortable lodging, 194. Returns to the Kaabah, 196. Cere- monies of the dayof Arafai,2l4. et sea.-. and ot the day of Victims, 225. Accident at the Great Devil, 227. Revisits the Kaabah. 229. The sacrifices at Muna, 240, 241. The sermon »t the Haram, 248. Life at Meccah, and the Little Pil- grimage, 2.'i0. The pilgrim's contem- plated resolution to destroy the slave- trade, 276. Dearription of a dinner at Meccah, 280. Leaves Mercah, 284. Events on the road, 284. rtj^ff. Enters Jeddah, i89. End of the jjilgrim's pere- grinations, 299. Busat, Bir el, at Kuba, i. 397. n. Business, style of doing, in ihe East, i. 27. Bassora, a den of thieves, how relormed. i. 251. n. Butter clarified fSamn in Arabia, the In- dian ghee) used in the East. i. 177. 238. n. Fondness of Orienials for, ii.il. Buzaat, Bir el, at Kuba, i. 397. Cagliostro, Count (Gut^^eppe Balsamo), the impostor, his settlement of Greeks at £1 Medinah, i. SfSO. n. ; ii. 25. Cain, his burial-place under Jebe! tbam- san, ii. I8-^. n. Cairo, its celebrated latticed windows, i. 35. Medical practitioners in, 57. Expenses of a bachelor in, 64. A Cairo drugtiifit described, 66. The Abbasiyeh palace, 77. Scene from the Mosque oi Moham- med Ali by moonlight, 82—84. A stroll in the city at night, 87. Immense number of mosques at, 93. Once cele- brated for its libraries, 99. n. Fanatic ShaykhB, of, 110. ». The corporattonE, or secret societies, of, 110. Description of the festival following the Ramazan, 111. The "New Year Calls " at Cairo, 113. Meaning of the name Cairo. 113. n. The pressitang in, 114. The inhabitants panic-stricken at the rumours of a con- spiracy. 114. Scenes before the police magistrate, 114, 115. Vulgar arabesques on the tombs outside the Bab el Nasr, 322. n. iiardens in the mosques of, 324. The magician of, 370. 371. r. Cambay, Gulf of, i. 207. Camel-grass ufthe Desert, i. 245. CameU, observations on riding, i. 138, 139. The '* nakh," 147 Ti.,237. The Shaykh or agent of(the Mukharrij), 224. Hisduties, 224. n. Loading camels in Arabia, 228. The mashab, or stick for guiding, 230 n. The Arab assertion Ihat ihe feet of the camel are pained when standing still, 234. ». Mounting a camel, 234. Tra- velling in Indian file. 236.241. Face at which camels travel, 237. n. Method of camel-stealing in Arabia, :J42. n. The celebrated camelsof Nijd, 268. n. Camel- travelling compared with dromedary- travelling, 273. B. The slie-camel which guided Mohammed, 340, 341. 345. Ca- thartic qualitifs of camels' milk. The huge white Syrian dromedary, 400. The Dalul, 400. The Nakah, 400. n. The camels of EI Medinah, ii. 16. Camel hir- ing at El Medinah, 2.';2. The camel's 6urefootedne6s,68, A night-journey with, in the Desert, 127. Specimens of the language used to camels, 128. n. Mode of sacrificing camels. 240. ». Canaanites, the, identified with the Amalik of the Moslems, i. 329. n. Canal, the proposed, between Pelusium and Sufz, i. 110. Capparis, the wild, in Arabia, ii. 72. Caramania, pilgrims from, i. 186. Caravan, a, i. 241, 242. The escort, 242. The Tayyarah, or flying caravan, ii. 50. The Rakh, or dromedary cnravan, .^0, Frmcipal officers of the caravan to Mec- cah, 7'A Caravanserai, the, of Egypt. See Wakaleh. Caste in India, observations on, i. 35. n. Castor-plant, the. i. 386. Cathedrals of Sp^in, proofs of their Orien- tal origin, i. 2i94. n. Catherine, St., convent of, on the shores of the Red Sea, i. 197. n. Cattle, breeding of, among the Bedouins, ii. 107. Cautery, the actual, used in cases of dysen- tery, i. 371. And of uh ers, 372. Cavalry, Albanian irregular, i. 258. Eng- lish cavalry tactics detective, 260. Refer- ence to Captain Nolan's work, 260. Aticient and modern cavalry, 260. The Chasseurs de Vincennes, 260. Cave, the, of Mount Ohod, i. 405. Celibacy in the East, pernicious effects of, il. 79. n. Cemerery of EI Bakia. See Bdkia. Cemetery of Meccah (Jannat el Maala), visit to the, ii. 272. Cephren. pyramid of. i. 30. Cereals, the, of the Medinah plain, i. 387. ** Chains, Affair of," (Zat el Salasil;, il. 89. n. Chaldseans, the, in Arabia, ii. 77. Chasseurs de Vincennea, i. 260. ChauntiDg the Koran, i. 104. Cheops, pyramid of, i. 30. Children of the Arabs, i. 281. Their bad behaviour and bad language, 281, 21^2. Causes of this. 281. n. Custom of en- trusting childreti to Bedouins, ii. 89. Chivalry, Arab. ii. 94. Songs of Antar, ?4. Chivalry of the Caliph El Mutasem,96. Chob-Chini. See Jing-seng. Cholera Morbus in El Hejaz. See Rib el Asfar. Christ, personal suffering of, denied by all Moslems, i. 313. n. Christians, colony of, on the shores of the Red Sea, i. 197. Abuse of Christians in the East. li. 310. n. Civilisation, the earliest, always took place in a fertile valley with a navigable river, i. 329. n. Circumambulation. See Tawwaf. Circumcision, ceremony of, among the Be- ' douins, ii. 110. The two kinds, Taharab and Saikh, 110. Cleopatra's Baths, i. 10. INDEX. 397 Cleopatra's Needle, i. 10. Called Pharaoh's packing-needle by the native Ciceroni, 10. n. Cleopatra, her introduction of balm of Gile^d into Egypt, ii. 143. Coffee-house, description of an Eastern, i. 210. Good quality of the coffee drank at El Medinah.-279. n. Filthiness of that of Egypt, -^79. n. The " Kishr " of Ye- men, 279. n. The coffee-houses of El Medinah, 374, 375. Coffee-drinking on the march, ii. 63. The coffee-houses at Muna, 244. Coffee-houses on the road near Mecc^h, 285. Cole, Mr. Charles, vice-consul at Jeddah, his account or the population of the prin- cipal towns of Arabia, i. .376. n. His straightforwardness and honesty of pur- 5ose, ii. 291. His letter on the trade of eddah, 292. n. Colleges (Madrasah), the two, of El Me- dinah. ii. 24. Colligation, system of, in battle, ii. 89. The " Affair of Chains " (Zat el Salasil), 89. n. Coloquintida, its growth in the deserts of Arabia, ii. 1.^2. Used as a medicine by the Arabs, 132. ». Comet, apprehensions of the Madani at the appearance of one, ii. 28. Commerce, the, of Suez, i. 174. Communist priociples of Mcadak the Per- sian, ii. 3. n. Consular dragoman, the, a great abuse in the East, i. 124. n. Instances of the evils caused by the tribe, 124. n. Hanna Mas- sara, 124. n. Remedies proposed, 124. n. Conversation, specimen of Oriental, i. 8-S. Coptic Christians, good arithmeticTans, !. 105. n. Coptic artists employed on the mosque of El Medinah, 350. Probably hatf-caste Arabs, ii. 78. n. Coral Reefs of the Red Sea, i. 2)3. Corinthians, fair, not any at El Medinah, 11. 19. Those of Jeddah, 294. Cosmetic, Bedouin, ii. 81. n. Cot, Column of the, in the Prophet's mosque, i. 323. Cotton seed (Bizr el Kutun), used as a remedy in dysentery, i. 371. Courtship, Abyssinian style of, i. 59. Covetousness of the Arab, its intensity, ii. 103. Cressets (Mashals), of the East, 127. The Pacha's cressets, 127. n. Cressy, reference to the battle of, i. 259. Crown of Thorns, the, i. 388. n. Curtain, the, of the Prophet's tomb, i. 309. See Kiswah. Custom, strictness of, everywhere in in- verse ratio to that of the lex scripta, ii. 87. n. Dabistan el Mazahib, the, I 329. n. Daggers of the Bedouins, ii. 106. Dakhl, or protection, among the Arabs, ii. 97. Dakkat el Aghawat, or eunuch's bench, at El Medinah, i. 303. Dakuri, El, shrine of the s^nt, i. 151. Damascus, brocade of, i. 3U9. n. Cathedral of, 349. Its eminence among Moslem citifs, ii. 128. n. Epithets applied to it, 128. n. Sayings of the Prophet respect- ing, 128. n. Said to be the burial place of Abel. I8i.n. Damascus caravan, the, i. 308. n. Rejoic- ing at £1 Medimh on the arrival of the caravan, 321. Description of its arrival at El Medinah, 399. The Etnir el Hajj, 402. Number of pilgrims in the, ii. 310. Quarrel between it and that Irom Bufih' dad, 123. Stopped in a perilous pass, 138. Grand spectacle afforded by the, on the plain of Arafat, 204. Damghah, Marsa, on the Red Sea, i. 20S. Dancing of the Bedouins, its wildness, ii. 246. Datiiral, El Nabi (Daniel the Prophet), tomb of, i. 11. Dar el Baida, the viceroj-'s palace in the Desert,!. 150. Daraiyah, the capital city of the Wahhabis, i 351. Daraj, El (the ladder), at the Kaabab, ii. 167. Darb el Shark!, or Eastern road, from EI Medinah to Meccah, ii. 58. Darb Sultani (the Sultan's road), 1. 252; ii. 68. Dates, the delicious, of Tur, i. 199. Those of the hypaethral Court of the Prophet's mosque, 324. The date "El Sayhani," 324. n. The date-groves of Kuba, 364. The fruit of Nejd, 366. n. The Tamr el Birni kind used as a diet in small-pox, 369. Celebrity of the dates of El Medi^ nah, 383. Varieties of the date- tree, 383. El Shelebi date, 383. The Ajwah, 384. £1 Hilwah. 384. El Bimi, 384. The Wahshi. 384. The Sayhani, 384. The Khuzayrlyah, 384. The Jebeli, 384. The Laun, 38i. The Hilayah, 385. Fond- ness of the Madani for dates, 385. Rutab, or wet dates, 385. Variety of ways of cooking the fruit, 385. 'I'be merry-mak- ings at the fruit gatherings, 386. Causes of the excellence of the dates of £L Me- dinah, 386. Daud Pacha, his palace at £1 Medinah, i. 377. Daughters of the Prophet, tombs of the, ii. 38. Daurak, or earthen jars, used for cooling the holy water of Zem Zem, ii. 167. David, King. i. 207. Death, easy in the east, Ii. 206. Death-wail, the, of Oriental women, i. 114. Dervishes, wandering, i. 13. A dervish'8 the safest disguise, 14. The two orders of dervishes, 15. D'EscayracLauture, M. le Comte, his preparations for a pilgrimage to Aleccah, i. 44 n. Desert, the Great, by moonlight, i. 83. Camel riding in, 139, 140. Redected heat of, 138. n. Habits and manners of the Bedouin camel-men, 139, 140. Peculiari- ties by which inhabitants of the Desert may be recognised, 140. n. Feeling awakened by a voyage through the De- sert, 144. 145. The oases, U.*}. Unaptly compared to a sandy sea, 145. n. The pleasures of the Desert. 146, 147. Effect of the different seasons in the, 147. n. Pleasures of smoking m the, 14". A mid- night halt in the, 149. The absinthe 398 INDEX. ("wormwood of Pontus") of the, 151. Rest under the shade of the mimosa tree, 151. Perfect safety of the Suez road across the, 152. A Bedouin ambuscade, 152, Charms of the Desert, 154. That near Yambu, 236. Fears of the travellers in crossmg, 237. Breakfast in the, 237. Dinner in the, 238. Hot winds in the, 240. Desert valleys. 245. Fatal results from taking strong drinks in the, during summer heas, 257. n. Discipline of the Desert, il. 36. n. Effect of Arab poetry in the, 98. Description of an Arabian desert. 246. Deri dialect, said to be spoken by the Al- mighty, i. 329, n. Descendanis of 'the Prophet, one of the live orders of pensioners at El Medinah, i. 360. Devil, the Great (Shaytan el Kabir), cere- mony of throwing stones at, ii. 2'26. 228. Second visit to the. 242. Dews in Arabia, i. 238. D'Herbelot, reference to, i. 273. n. Dickson, Dr. Samuel, his discovery of the chronothermal practice of physic, i. 13. n. Dictionaries and vocabularies, Egyptian, imperfections of. i. 105, 106. n. Dinner, in the Desert, i- '^'iH. Description of one at Meccah^ ii. 280. Dire, i. 184. Discipline, Oriental, must be based on fear, i. 207. Diseases, tbe, of EI Hejaz, 367. The Rib el Asfar, or cholera morbus, 367. The Taun, or plague. 367. The Judari, or smalUpox, 367. Inoculation, 367. Dis- eases divided by Orientals into hot, cold, and tempe ate. 368. Ophthalmia, 368. Quotidian and tertian fevers (Hummah, Salis),368, 369. Low fevers (Hummah), 1^70. Jaundice and bilious complaints, 370. Dysenteries, 371. Popular medical treatment, 371. The Filaria Medinensis (Farantit), 372. Vena in the legs, 372. Hydrophobia, 372. Leprosy (Baras), 372. Ulcers, 373. Divination, Oriental, i. 12. Divinity, smdy of, in Egypt, i. 102. The Sharh, 102, Buuks read by students In, 103. Divorces, frequency of, among the Be- douins, ii. 110. Diwan, luxury of the, i, 284. n. Diwani, value of the Hejazi coin so called, ii. 12. n. Doctors. See Medicine. Dogs, pugnacity of those of El Medinah, i. 289. Superstitions respecting them, 290. Donkey boys of Kgypt, i. 108. n. Donkeys despiseil by the Bedouins, 292. Dragoman, consular. See Consular drago- man. Dress, Oriental ; gold ornaments forbidden to be worn by the Moslem law, i. 34. n. Fashions of young Egyptians, 96. F-aults of Moslem ladies' dressing, 1 19. n. Dress of the Maghrabis, 152. The face*veil of Moslem ladies, 223, The Lisam of Con- Btantiiiople, 223. n. That of Arab Shaykhs, 228. Description of an Arab Sha)kh fully equipped for travelling, 228. The Kamis, or cotton »hirt, 229. The Aba, or camel's hair cloak, 229. The Arab and Indian sandal, 230. n- Dress of the poorer classes of Arabs, 231. The belt for carrying arms. 232. Dress of the Beni-Harb, 241. The Knfiyah, 2-'>7. n. Costume of the Shavkhs of the Harbis, 258. Dress of a Medinite Shaykh, 277, 278. Dress of city Arabs, 278, n. And of a Zair, or visitor to the sepulchre of the Prophet, 296. n. Dress of the Beni Husayn, li. 4. Costume of the Madani, 14, 15. Dress of the Bedouins, 114. The ceremony of El Ihram (or assuming the pilgrim dress) on approaching Meccah, 133. Costume of the regions lying west of the R-d Sea, 134. The style of dress called Tnytaaan, 248. Drinking bout with an Albanian, i. 131. Drinking water, Oriental method of, i. 6> Drinks, intoxicating, not known to the Bedouins, ii. 117. Dromedaries, sums charged for the hire of, i. 1;j7. Those of El Medinah, u. 16. Dromedary-travelling compared with ca- mel-travelling, i. 273. Drusiun mysteries, foundation of, i. 95. Dry storms of Arabia, i. 240. Dua, the, or supplication after the two-bow prayers, 299. n. Dubajpt, Aub-rt. i. 110. n. Dust storms, ii. 124. Dye used for the beard, ii. 14. Dysentery, frequent occurrence of, in the fruit season in Arabia, i. 371. Popular treatment of, 37 !• . Dwellings of the Arabs in the time of Mo- hammed, i. 343. Earnest money (Arbun), ii. 52. Ebna, the descendants of tbe soldiers of Anushirwan, ii. 78. Echinus, the, common in the Red Sea, 1. 215. n. Ed fh. £1, the dress in the baths at Cairo, so called, ii. 134. Edrisi. El, i. 190. n. Education, Moslem,]. \0\.etseg. Remarks on Dr. Bowring's strictures on, 107. ^eypt, curiosity of its police, i. 2, Alexan* d'ria. (See Alexandria.) Egypt's first steps in civilisation, 17. Inconveniences of the passport system of, 18. Officials of, 19. 20. Her progress during the last half-century, '^9. The Nile, 30. The Barrage bridge, 30. The Wakalehs or inns of, 41. The tobacco of, 64. Short- ness of the lives of the natives of Lower Egypt, 68. The worst part of the day in, 76. All Agapemones suppressed in, 80. Fashions of young Egyptians, 96. Subjects taught in Egyptian schools, 101. et $eq. Theology in bgypt, 104. Slate of learning not purely religious. 104. et seq. Degenerate state of modern Egyp- tian taste in poetry, 104. n. Acquire- ments of the Egyptians in the exact sciences, 105. n. And in natural science, 105. n. Their capabilities for being good linguists, 106. n. Their knowledge of the higher branches of language, 106. n. State of periodical literature in Egypt, 106. n. Bigotry of the Egyptians, 107. Their feelings at the prospect of the present Russian war, 108. 113. Their INDKX. 399 views respecting various natioDS of foreigners, 108. Their longings for European rule, 109. Their hatred of a timid tyranny, 109. An instance of this, 109. n. The proposed ship canal and railway in, 110. Importance of, to the rulers of India, 100. Secret societies of, 110. n. I'ress-gangs in, 114. Employ- ment of Albaninn irregulars in, 129. S4>mi-religious tradition of the supe- riority of Osmanlis over Egyptians, 143. n. Story respecting this, 143. n. Seasons of severe drought, 176. Diseases of the country, 176, 177. Food ol' the Suezians, 179. Reason of the superiority of Egyp- tian soldiers in the field, 179, 180. In- solence of demeanour and coarseness of language of the officials in Egypt, 190, n. Ruinous sute of El Hejaz the eflTect of the wars between the Egyptians and the Wahhrfbis, 247. n. Bad quality ol the cofFep of, 279. n. The scourge of oph- thalmia in, 368. n. The pot-beltied children of the b'pt, i. 108. Fable in Arabia respectmg their desire to become Moslems, ii. 253. Eothen, reference to, i. 120. n. Epithets, Arab i. 2ti9. n. ; 270. n.314. Ap. plied CO the Syrians, ii. 127. And to Da- mascus, 128. ». Era, the Moslem, commencement of, L 341. Erythraean Sea, the, i. 191. n. Esma Sultanah, sister of Sultan Mahmud, i. 356. Etique te in El Hejaz, i. 402. n. Eunuchs of the Prophets* tomb, 1. 304. n., SOi). H , 310. n., 31 1. n., 318. 320. 324. 328. 356. Antiquity of eunuchs. 356. n. Ori- ginated with Semiramis, 356. n. Employ- ment of, uniinown at the time of the Prophet, 356. n. Considerations which gave rise (o the employment of, 3')6. r. Method of addressing them, 356. n. Value of ttie title of Eunueh of the Tomb, 356. n. Shaykhs of the Eunuchs, 356. The three orders of Eunuchs of the Tomb, 356. The curious and exceptional character of the eunuch, 357. His p«r- Eonal appearance, 357. Value of eunuch slaves at Ei Medinah, ii. 12. Eunuchs of the mosque at Meccah, 176. Respect paid to a eunuch at Meccah, 279. See ■ Euphorbiee, in Arabia, ii. 72. Eve's tomb, near Jeddah, ii. 297. Traditions respecting it, 298. n. Ezbekiyeh, the, of Cairo, i. 79. Drained and piaaced by Mohammed All, 79. n. Eziou-Geber, i. 184. Face-gashing in Meccali, ii. 257. In other countries, 257. n. Fadak, town of, founded by the Jews, i. 333. Fahd, Shaykh, the robber chief, i. 249. Fa-hinn quoted, ii. 300. Fairies, good and bad, origin of, i. 301. n. Fakihs, the, at the mosque at El Medinah, i. 303. Falconry, nmong the Arabs, ii. 103. Origin of the sporr, 103. n. Its perfection as a science in the 12th century. 104. Faramah (Pharaohs), the, origin of, accord- ing to the Moslem writers, i. 330. Faraj Vusuf, the merchant of Jeddah, i. 47. Farantit. See Filaria Medinensis. Farrash (tent-pitchers, &c.) ii. 71. Farrashin, or free servants of the moique, i. 357. '* Farsh el Hajar." the, of the mosque of the Prophef, i. 319. Faruk (the Spectator), a title of the Caliph Omar, i. 3ns. Farz, or obligatory prayers, i. 299, Fa>tB, Mnslems*, i. 75. Fath, the Masjid el (of Victory), ii. 47, Fatlhah, the, i. 189. 19n. Repeated at the tomb of the Prophet, 306. Said tor friends and relations, 306, n. Fatimah, the Lady, her tomb at El Medinah. i. 296. n.; ii. 41. Gate of, i. 303. n., 314. Prayer repeated at her lomb, 314. Epi- thets applied to her, 314. n. The doctrine of her perpetual virginity, 315. ». Her g-irden in the mosque of the Prophet, 324. Three places lay claim to he her burial- place, 326. Mosque of, at Kuba, 394. Ob- scurity of tradition respecting her last resting-place, ii. 41. n. Fatimah bint Asad, mother of Ali, her tomb, ii. 43. n. Fattumah, the name, i. 170. Fatur (breakfast), i. 78. Fayru2, the murderer of Omar, i. 417. Fazikh, the Masjid el (of date-liquor), ii. 45. Fazzah, value of the Egyptian, ii. 12. n. " Fealty of the Steep, the First," i. 337. '* The Second Fealty of the Steep," 338. " Great Fealty of the Steep.'* 338, 339. Festivals, the, following the Ramazan, i. HI, 112. Scene of jollity at the cemetery outside the Bab el Nasr, 112. Feuds between the Desert and City Arabs, ii. IX. Fevers, quotidian and tertian (Hammah Sa- lis), in Arabia, i. 369. Remedies for, 370. Fiends, summoning of, favorite Egyptian pursuit of, i. 105. n. Fiji (radishes), i. 387. Fikh (hoty law), study of, in schools, i. 101. Filaria Medmensis ( Farantit), not now common at El Medinah, i. 372. Finati, Giovanni, Haji Mohammed, his pil- grimage, t 194. Sketch of his adventures, 357. Fire-worship introduced into Arabia from India, ii. 185. n. Agni, the Indian fire- god, 185. n. Firutbadi, his grammatical adventures, ii. 98. Fiumaras, the, of Arabia, i. 3. The fiumara " El Sayh,"382. ThatofMount Ohod,407. Fizurabadi, his Kamus. or lexicon, i. 106. n. Flight, the, of Muhamraed, i. 339. 341 .n.. Flowers of Arabia, i. 244. Of India, 244. Of Persia, 244. Food of the Bedouins, ii. 116. Their en- durance of hunger, 116. Method of cook- 400 INDEX. ing locusts, 116. Their favorite food on journeys, 117- Forskal, his description of the Red Sea, I. 213. Forster, Rev. C, strictures on his attack on Gibbon, ii. 76. n. Fortress of El Medinah, i. 376, 377. Forts of the East, a specimen of, i. 153. Fountain, the public (Sabil), of El Medinah, i. 374. French, their popularity in Egypt, i. 108. Causes of this, 109, Friday Sermon, the, of the Prophet, i. 322. Fruit-trees, the, of El Medinah, i. 387. Fugitives, pilUr of, iu the mosque of the Prophet, L 322. Fukaha, the, or poor divines, of the mosque of the Prophet, i. 360. Fukayvir, Sir el. at Kuba, i. 397. n. Funerals, Arab, ii. 23. Description of a burial at £1 Bakia, 33. Funeral ceremo- nies of the Bedouins, Ill- Gabriel the Archangel. See Jibrail. Gabriel's place (Makan Jibrail), in the mosque of the Prophet, i. 323. Gabriel, the Archangel, his communications to the Prophet, i. 345, 346. 348. Galla slave girls, their value, ii. 13. Gallantry of Orientals, i. 205. Ungallantry of some " Overlands,** 205. Gambling unknown amongst the Bedouins, ii. 107. Gara tribe of Arabs, i. Ml. Low develop. meat of the indigens of, ii. 77. Garden of our lady Fatimah iu the mosque of the Prophet, i. 324. Date trees of the, 324. Venerable palms of, 324. Gardens not uncommon in mosques, 324. Garlic and onions, use of,m the East, i. 32. n. Giites, the, of El Medinah, i, 373. Geesh, Lord of, i. 7. Genealogy of the Arabs, intricacy of the subject of the, ii. 367. The best known Arabic genealogical works, 367. Generalisation unknown to the Arabs, 1. 243. n. Geographical Society of London, Royal ; its zeal for discovery, i. I. Geography among the modem Egyptians, i. 105. n., 243. n. Geology of the neighbourhood of Et Medi* nah, i. 275. Of the road between El Medinah and Meccah, ii. 73, 74. Geomancy, favorite Egyptian pursuit of, i. 105. n. Geometry, study of, in Egypt, i. 104. n. George Inn, the, at Suez, L 168. Society at the, 169. Ghabba, El, or the water-shed of El Medi. nah, 1. 363. Ghadir, El, description of the plain of, ii. 129. Thethree wells of theCaliph Harun at, 129. Ghalib, the late sherif of Meccah, revered as a saint, i. 327. n. Purchases the treasures of the Prophet's tomb from Saad the Wahhabi, 364. Ghaliy», her heroism, ii.93. Ghazi (or a crusader), i. 316. n. Ghazi (twenty, two piastres), paid to the free servant)* of the Mosque, i. Z^7. Ghee, the, of India, I. 357. ii. 12.. Con- sidered by Indians almost as a panacea for diseases and wounds, 12. n. Ghiil (Devi)), how expelled from persons suffering from hydrophobia, i. 37 'I. Ghut, the hill near Meccah, iii. 136. Ghurbal, Bir el, at Kuba. i. 397. n. Ghuri, El, the Sultan, his additions to the Knabah, ii. 163. Ghuzat, or Crusaders, i.316. n. Giaffar Bey (governor of Suez), i. 143. 156. Account of him, 156. Giants ( Jababirah), the, who fought against Israel, i. 330. Gibbon, Edmund, his derivation of the name Saracens, ii. 76. n. The Rev. C. Forster's attack on him, 76. n. Gibraltar, the name, i. 7. Gilead, tialm of, grows as a weed in El Hejaz, ii. 143. ItsjArab name, 143. n. Its value in the valley of the Jord'in, 143. n. Introduced by Cleopatra into Egypt, 143.». Places where the best is produced, 143. n. Qualities of the best kind, 144. n. Goat, milk of the, ii. 17. n. Flesh of the, 17. n. Gold ornaments, forbidden to be worn by the Moslem law, i. 34. n. " Golden Wire," the pilgrim-ship, i. 183. Its wretched state, 184. Ali Murad, the owner, 164. The passengers, 184—186. Riot on board, 186. Halt near the Hum- man Bluffs, 192. Runs aground, 19-5. Gospel of Infancy, quotation from the, ii. 143. n. Grammar, how taught in Egyptian schools, i. 101. Prosodyamong the Arabs, \Oh.n. Granites (Suwan), the, of the plams of Arab a, ii. 74. Of Meccah, 152. n. Grapes of El iWedinah, i. 387. The Sheriff grape, 387. The Hejazi, 387- The Sa- wadi, or black grape, 387. The Raziki, or smalt white grape, 387. Gratitude, no Eastern word for, 1. 51. Graves, shapeof the, of the Bedouins.!. 267. Injunctions of Mohammed to his followers to visit, 302, n. At Mount Ohod, 41SL Miisaniiam, or raised graves, 412. Mu- sattah, or level graves, 412. The graves of rhe saints at El Bakia, ii. 31. Greek Emperor, the, his presents to the mosque of El Medinah,!. 350. Greeks, the, hated in Egypt, i. 108. Those settled on the Red Sea, 197. Those in El Medinah, 280. Guebres, fable of the, respecting man's good works, i. 301. n. I'heir claim to the Kftabah as a sacred place, ii. 158. Fire worship introduced from In'iia, 185 n. Grouse, the sand (or Kata), i. 1-50. n. Guest-dish, the, ii. 12. ** Gugglets," for cooling water, i. 382. Gunpowder play (Laab el Barut) of the Arabs, ii. 86. Guns sounding the order of the march, ii. 71. Guns of the Bedouins, IU4. Gypsum, tufaceous, in the Desert, ii. 129. Habash (Abyssinia), i. 173. Haddah, El, the seitlement so called, ii. 286. Hadis (the traditions of the Prophet), study of. in schools, i. 101. 293. Hsmorrhoids, frequency of, in El Hejaz, i. 371. Treatment of, 372. INDEX. 401 Hagar, her tomb at Meccah, ii. 162. Hajar el Akiizar, or green stone, of the Kuabah, ii. 161. n. HaJHr el Aswad (Black Stone), the famous, of the Kaabah. (£fe Black Stone.) Hajar Shumaysi (yellow sandstone) of Meccah, ii, 151. n. Haji Wall, i. 42, 43. His advice to the pil- grim, 43 — 45. His lawsuit, 4f!. His visit to the *• Ci'HSui General" at Cairo, 84. Accompanies the author in paying visits, 113. Intriiiluces the pii^irim to tlie Per- sian consul, 124. His horror at a drink- ing bout, 133. Takes leave of the pil- Erim, 13H. HajiD, the Egyptian she-dromedary, i. 400, n. Hajj (pilgrimage), difference between the, and the Ziyarat, i. 593. The Hajj (or simple pilgnmaee), ii. 37-1. Hajj el Akbar (tlie great pilgrimage), 374. Hajj bill Akhtah, plots against Mohammed, i. 343. Hajj el Shami (the Damascus pilgrimage), 1. 3!)g. Hajjaj bin Yusuf, general of Abd el Malik, ordered to rebuild the house of Allah, it lUl. Hajjat el Farz (obligatory pilgrimage), ii. 375. The Hajjat el Islam (the pilgrimage of the Mohammedan faith), 375. Hakim. El b'ainr Iilah, his attempt ro steal the bodies of the Prophet and his two companions, i. 3^'2. Hakim. El, the Sultan of Egypt, i. 95. " H-lal," to. a sheep, i. 248. Halimah, the Lady, the Bedouin wet-nurse of the Prophet, her tomb, i. 315. n. ; ii. 36. Halliwell, Mr., his mistake respecting the "Methone" of Sir Juhn Mandeville, 1. 276. Hamail, the, or pocket Koran, of pilgrims, i. 233. Hamid el Samman. Shaykh, description of, i. 158, 195. Lands at Yambu, 2i9. Vaunts the strong walls of Yambu, 236. Leaves Yambu, V35. Halal of a sheep in the desert, 24rt. His fear of the Bedouins, 253. His determination to push through a nesc of robbers, -^63 Takes his place in the caravan, 264. Arrives at El Me- dinab, '273. His toilet after the journey, 277. His hospitality, 277, 278. Improve- ment in his manners, 279. Behaviour of his children, 281,282. His politeness, 282. Description of his abode, 283. 2HS. His household, 285. Accompanies the pil- grim to the Prophet's lomb, 292. Intro- duces the pilgrim to the Prophet's win- dow, 308. Accompanies him to the mosique of Kuba, 381. To Mount Ohod, 402. et seg. And to the cemetery of EI Bakia, ii. 31. et seg. Procures a faithful camel-man for the journey to Meccah, 61. His debt forgiven, .56. Hamidah, the principal family of the Beni- Harb, i. 249. Their attack on the cara- van, 265, 266. Hammam, or the hot bath. the. 1. G9. Hamra, KI, 1.242, Derivation of is name, 245. Called also El Wasitah, 245. En- campment at, 246. Description ofthevil- lageof,247. The fortress of, 247,248. The VOL. II. D third station fi-om Et Medinah in the Darb Sultani, 252. The El Hamra tor- rents, 270. n. Hamzah, friend of Mohammed, prayer in honour of, i. 315. Sent forward by the Projihet to El Medinah, 339. Mosque of, 407, 408. The place where he was slain. 415. Hanafi school, their views respecting the proper dress for visiting the Prophet's tomb. i. 296. n. Their place of praver at the, 297. n. Mufti of the, at Kl Medinah, 358. Holds the first rank at £1 Medinah, ii. 6. Their station for prayer at the Kaa- bah, ii. 169. Their importance in Meccah, 170. n. Their practice of nighting at Muzdalifah, 223 n. Hanbali school, the, i. 358. Station of the, for prayer at the Kaabah, ii. 164. Hands, clapping of (Safk), practice of, in the East, ii. 246. " Hanieii," the word, i. 82. Hanna Mass^ara, the consular Dragoman of Cairo, i. 124. n. Haram, (or Sanctuary), the Prophet's, at Medinah, i. 285. 293, 294. The Shaykh el, or principal officer of the mosque, 356. I'he Mudirel, or chief treasurer of the Tomb of the Prophet, 356. The Hudud el Haram, 362. All Muharrjimut or sins forbidden within the, 3G2. n- Dignity of the Haram, 362. n. See Kaabah. Haramayn, or sanctuaries, the, two of El Is- lam, i, 2-i4. 292. " Harami," or thieves, in the Desert, i. 242, Harh. the Beni, tlie present ruling tribe in the Holy Land, ii. 369- Its divisions aud subdivisions, 369. n. Harb, the, of Kl Hejaz. i. 258. Harem, the, of a Medinite, i. 281. Arrange- ments of the, ii. 91^ Its resemblance to a European home, 91. n. Hariri, El, poem of. i. 104. n. Harrah. the, or ridges of rock, i. 243. 271. n., 274. El Harratayn, 271. n. Harrah, the, or ridge, as represented in our popular works, i. 328. Meaning of the term, 403. n. The second and third Har- rahs, 403. n., 406. The PrtjphH's predic- tion at the HarratKl Wakinor El Zahrah, 403. n. The " Affair of the Hidge," 403. n Hanin, the Kubbat (or Aaron's tomb), on Mount Ohod, i. 4(i5. Harnn, Bir (well of Harun),ii. 71. Harun el Keshid. his three wt'lls at El Ghadir, ii. 129. His pilgrimages and crusades, 131. n. Hasan, pnodson of Mohammed, i. 95. n. Prayers for, 315, His descendants at El Meuinah, ii. 3.n. His tomb, 40. Burck- hardt's mistakes respecting him, 40. n. His death. 40. n, Hasan el Marabit, Shaykh, tomb of, on the shore of the Red Sea,'i. 212. Hasan the Imam, requests to be buried near the Prophet, i. 312. Hasan, Sultan, moiique of, at Cairo, i. 95. Hasan, Jebel (Mount Hasan), i. 215. Hasanayn mosque, the, at Cairo, i. 23. Hashim, great grandfather of the Prophet, i. 337.n. Hashish, smoking the, i. 43. Haswah, or gravelled place, i. 276. 402 INDEX. Hatchadoor Noory, Mr., his friendship with the author, i. 118. Hntim, the generous Arab chieftain, i. 1G2. Hatim, £1 (the broken), of the Kaabah, ii. 162. Hawamtd Arabs, their fight with the Haw- azim, ii. 29. Hawazira Arabs, their furious fight with the Hawamid, ii. 29. Their Shaylths, Abbas and Abu AH, £9. *' Haye " in military tactics, i. 260. n. "Haykal ! ya, ibn Haykall" (O Haykal ! sons of Hiiykall), the exclamation ex- plained, i. 3U. n. Hazirah (or presence), the, i. 304. Hazramaut, the Arabft of, i. 233. n. Hazrat Ali. apparition of, ii. 207. Heat, the reflected, at Yambu, i. 226. The hot wind of the Desert, 240. 256. Sun- strokes, 257. n. The great hewti near the Red Sea prejudicial to animal gene- ration, 25**, n. The hour at which the sun is most dangerous. 267. Terrible heat in tA Hejaz, ii. 244. Unbearable in Mec- cah, 252. Heathenry, remnants of, in Arabia, i. 4. Hebrew, points of resemblance between, and Fahlavi, ii. 79. n. Hejaz, EI, dangers and difficulties of. i. 2, Antiquity and nobility of the Muzaynah tribe in, 142. Land route to, in Suez, 154. Persecution of Persians in, 226. n. Bedouin black mail in,7227. n. Description ofiheshugduf orliiter of, 227. n. Abounds in ruins, 247. Saad the robber chief of, 249. Shaykh Fahd, the robber, 249. "Wretched state of the government in, 250, The charter of Gulkhaneh, 250. The Darb Saltani, 2b3. Heat in El He- jaz 257. Douceurs given by the Turks to the Arab shaykhs of. 258. " El Shark," 258. rt. Fight between the Arabs and soldiers in. 261. Peopled by the soldiers of the children of Israel, 331. Limits of, 361. Meaning of the name. 361. Rarny season in, 365, 366. Diseases of, 367. Kumber of the Turkish forces in, 376, n. Account of the Bedouins of, ii. 77. et feq. {See Bedouins.) Money of, I10.«. Ob- servations, on the watershed of, 148, 149. Puritv of the water throughout, 216. Healthmess of the people of, 252. Heliopolis. balm of Gilead of, ii. 143. n. Hemp-drinkers, Egyptian, ii. 211. 213. Henna powder, i. 383. n. Herklot's, Dr.. reference to his work *' Qanoon-i- Islam," i. 370. n. Quoted, iii. 160. n. Hemialc hooks, the, i. 368. n. *' Herse," in military tactics, i. 259. n. Hejazi, the, grape so called, i. 387. Hijriyah, El, halt at, ii, 70. Hilayah, the date so called, i. 38.5. Hilwah, El, the date so called, i. 385. Himyaritic tribes, their mixture with the Amalikah, ii. 79. Hinda, mother of Muawiyah, her ferocity, i. 4 1 5. n. Her name of " Akkalat el Akbad," 415. n. Hindi, Jeliel, at Meccah, ii. 148. ** Hindu-Kush," the, i.,236. n. Hindus, their square temples similar iu form to the mosque, ii. 156. n. Their litholatry, 157. n. The Kaabah claimed as a sacred place by them^ 158. n. History (Tawarikh), study of, little valued in Egypt, i. 104. n. Hitman tribe of Arabs» the lowness of their origin, ii. 369. Incontinence of their wo- men, 369. Hogg. Sir James, i. 1. Holofernes, i. 333. ». Honey, the Arabs curious in, and fond of, ii. 125. n. The different kinds of honey, 125. n. Honorarium (Ikram), given to the Madaiii who travel, ii. 7. See Ikram. '* Horde," origin of the word, i. 376. Horses, Arabian, i. 3. The celebrated, of Nijd, 258. n. ; ii. 217- Horses of the Ar- naout Irregulars, 258. The, of El Me- dinah, 289 ; ii. 16. Price of horses in the time of Solomon, 217. n. Egyptian horses, 217. n. Qualities of a purti Ara- bian, 218. n. The former horse trade of Yemen, 218. n. The breed supplied to India, 218. n. Hosh, El, or the central area of a dwelling- house, i. 296. 380. Hosh ibn Saad, at Medinah, the residence of the Beni Husavn, ii. 4- Hospitality in the East, 1..36. House hire In Egypt, i. 42. 64. Houses of the Ar.ibs at the time of Mohammed, 343. Those of El Medinah, 375. Those of Meccah, ii. 194. Hudud el Harara (or Umits of the sanctu- ary), i. 362. Hufrah (holes dug for water in the sand), ii. 62. Hufrah, El (the digging), of the Kaabah, ii. 161. n. Hujjaj, or pilgrims, i. 316. Hujrah, the, or Chamber of Ayisha, de- scription of, i. 302. Errors of Burck- hardt and M. Caussin respecting the word, 302. n. The walls of the. rebuilt. 311. n. Referred to, 313, 314. Sur- rounded by the Caliph Omar with a mud wall. 348. Enclosed within the Mosque by El Walid, 351. Spared from destruc- tion by lighining, 353. n. Hukama(or Rational ists), of El Islam, ii. 187. n. Hummum Bluffs (Hammam Faraun), i. 190. n. 192. Hummi tobacco, i. 65. n. Hurayah, Abu, his account of the Beni Is- rael in Arabia, i. 332. Husayn, the Beni, become guardians of the Prophet's tomb, i. 353. ; ii. 3. Head- quarters of the, at Suwayrkiyah, 3. Their numbers and power at one period, 4. Their heretical tenets, 4. Their personal appearance, 4. Husayn, El, grandson of Mohammed, i. 95. n. His death at Kerbela, ii. 40. n. His head preserved in the mosque EI Hasa- nayn at Cairo, 40. n. Husiiyn bin Numayr, his siege of Meccah, ii. 180. Hydrophobia, rarity of, in EI HeJaz, i. 372, Popular superstitions respecting, 372. Treatment of, 372. Hyksofl, the, identified with the Amalik of the Moslems, i. 329. n. " Hypocrites," conspiracy of the, i. 343. INDEX. 403 lambia, the, of Ptolemr, i. *219. Ibn Asm, or Ibn Rumi, his death, ii. 93. His sister Kurdi Usman, 9"^. Ibn Batutah, rererence to, i. 12. n. 257. n. Ibn Dhaber Berkouk, King of Egypt, re- builds the mosque at Meccah, ii. 153. Ibn Haukal, reference to, i. 3. n., 12 n. Ibn Hufazah el Sahmi, his tomb, ii. 43. n. Ibn Kasim, his commentary, i. 103. Ibn Zubayr, chief of Meccati, rebuilds the Kaabah ii. 156. Ibraliim, Catafalque of, in the great mosque of Meccah, i. 31i.n. Ibrahim, the Makani, at the Kaabah, ii. 164. 71.168. 182. Ibrahim, infant son of the Prophet, his burial-place, ii. 32. 37. Ibrahim bin Adhem, his vision, ii. 207. Ibrahim Pacha, his ships on the Red Sea, i. 166. Ichthyophagi, the modern, of the Red Sea, i. 213. 216. Ignatius, Epistles of, to the Smyrneans, reference to, i. 313. n. Ihlal, the pilfirim dre^s so called, ii. 228. Ihn, Bir, at Kuba, i. 398. n. Ihram. EI (assuming the pilgrim garb), the ceremony so called, ii. 133, Change from Ihram lo Ihlal, 228- Ceremonies of, 377. The victims of El Ihram, 379. Ijabah, the Ma^jid el (the Mosque of Grant- ing), ii. 47. 147. n. Ikamah (or call to divine service), i. 29R.n. Ikram (honorarium), given to the Madani who travel, i. 255. ; ii. 7. The four kinds of, 213- Ilal, Jebel (Mount of Wrestling in Prayer). See Aralat, Mount. Ilfrad, El (singulation), the pilgrimage so called, il. 373. Imams, the, of the Prophet's mosque, i. 300. n. 358. 360. Place where they pray, 323. 325. Imlik, great-great-grandson of Noah, the ancestor of the Amalikah, ii. 179. Immigrations of the Arabian people, i. 330. n. India, style of doing business in, i. 27. Ob- servations on caste in, 35. n. Real cha- racter of the natives of, 36—38. Popular fefling in, respecting British rule, and causesofthis,37.n. No European should serve an Eastern lord, 39. The natives a cowardly and slavish fieople, 39. Their cowardice compared with the bravery of the North American Indians, 39, 40. Tes- timony of Sir Hpnry Elliot to this, 40. n. An instance of Indian improvidence, 153. w. Luxuriance of the plains of India, 244. Indian pilgrims protected by their vo- verty, 257. The Duke of Wellington's dictum about the means of preserving health in, 257. n. Weils of the Indians in Arabia, 267. n. Their sinful method of Tisithig the Prophet's tomb, 293. Gene- rosity of Indian pilgrims, 318. n. Their drawings of the holy shrines as published at Meccah, 328. Dress and customs of the Indian women settled at El Medinah, ii 6. Recklessness of poor Indian piU erinis 208. Remedies proposed, 208. Qualities of the horses of, obtained from the Persian Gulf, 218. n. Profuseness of Indian pilgrims, 233. n. Indian Ocean (Sea of Oman), the shores of, when first peopled, according to Moslem accounts, 1. 330. n. Inns. See Wakalefa. Inoculation practised In El Medinah, i. 367. '' Inshal lah bukra" (please God, to-murrow), ii.21. Intermarriages, theory of the degeneracy which follows, ii. 84. Dr. Howe's re- marks on, 64. n. Intonation and chaunting of the Koran taught in Moslem schools, i. 104. Irak, El, expedition of Tobba el Asghar against, i. 335. Ireland, probable origin of its name, ii. 262. Irem, flood of, the, i. 334. Irk el Zabvat, mountain, i. 266. n. Isa bin Maryam, reference to, i. 266. n. Spare tomb at Rl Medinah for him after his second coming, 312. Ishah, the (or Moslem night prayer), i. 226. Ishmael (Ismayl), his tomb at Meccah, ii. 162. The two prostration prayer over the grave of. 199. Uhmaelites. the, of the Sinaitic peninsula, ii. 78. Their distinguishing marks, 78. Ismail Pacha murdered, i. 134. n. Ismid, a pigment for the eyes, i. :'i66. n. Israel, Beni, rule of the, in Arabia, i. 331. See Jens. Israelites, course of the, across the Red Sea, i. 190. Israfil, the trumpet of, on the last day, i. 3i7. n. Istikharah, or divination, ii. 22. Italians, how regarded in Egypt, i. 109. Izar, the portion of a pilgrim's dress so called, ii. 134. Ja El Sherifah, the halting-ground, ii. 63. Jaafar el Sadik, the Imam, his tomb, ii. 40. n. Jababirah (giants), the, who fought against Israel, i. 330. Jabariti, the, from the Habash, 1. 173, Jahavdah (a straggling line of villages), i. 254. Jama, a, meaning of, i. 95. n. Jama Taylun, mosque, i. 94. Jamaat (or public prayers), in El Rauzab, i.317. Jami p1 Sakhrah. at Arafat, ii. 214. Jami Ghamamah at El Munakhah, i. 378. Janiiat el Maala (the cemetery of Meccah), visit to the, ii. 272, Jauf, El, excellence of the dates of, i. 366. n. Jauhar el Kaid, founder of the mosque of El Axhar, i. 99. Jaundice, common in Arabia, L 370. Po- pular cure for, 370. Java, number of Moslem pilgrims from, to Meccah, i. 175. Javelin (Mizrak), description of the Arab, i. 230. Jazb el Kuldb ila Diyar el MahbUb, the work so called, i. 343. n. Jebel, observations on the word, i. 215. n. Jebeli, the, the date so called, i. 3S4. Jeddah, slave trade at, 47> Price of perjury D D 2 404 INDEX. at, 47. Value of the exports from Suez to, 174. Je^s settled in, 332. n. Popu- lation of, :h76. n. UnsucceBsful attempt of the Wah^ahis to storm it, ii. 2S9. n. Co'isidcred by the Meccans to be a p^ rfcct Gibraltar, 290. The W-ikalah ofJeddnh, 290. The British vicp-consul. Mr. Cole, 291. Different descriptions of the town, 292. 293. The fiiir Corinthians at, 294. How rime passes at Jeddah, 296. Jehivmah, tribe of Arabs, i. 141. Jemal Amm, his advice to the pilprim, i. 226, 227. Reproved for his curiosity, Jemal ed Din, of Isfahan, his improvements of the Prophet's mosque, i. 351. n. Jenabiih, low development of the indigens of, ii. 77. Jenazah, Darb el (Road of Biers), at El Medinah, i. 377. Jerid, or palm-sticks, with which the houses of the Arabs were formerly made, i. 343. Jews, ancient settlements of, in Arabia, i. 331 — 333. Entirely extinct at present, 332. n. Take refuge from Nebuchadnez- zar in Arabia, 333. Fall into idolatry, 333. Given over to the Arabs, 333. Their power in El Medinah, 335. Their con- spiracy against the Prophet, 343. Tiieir expectation of the advent of the Messiah, 343. Jezzar Parha, i. 255. Jibrail, Mahbat, or places of Gabriel's De- scent. J. 313. 320. n. Jibrail, Makam (Gabriel's Place), in the mosqu" of the Prophet, i, 323. Jibrail, Bab el (Gabriel's Gate), i. 347. Jinp-sens. or China-root, notice of, i. 55. n. Jinn, the Masjid el (mosque of the Genii), at Meccah, ii.274. Jiyad, Jfbel, the two hills so called, ii. 179. Jizvat, the (nr capitation tax levied on in. fiilels), i.227. Job, tomb of, ii. 298. n. Journey, length of a day's, ii. 63. n. Jiibayr'bin Mutim, his march to Ohod, 1. 415. n. Jubbeh, the, i. 16. n. Jud^ri, El (or small-pox), indigenous to the countries bordering the Red Sea, i. 367. Inoculation practised in Ei Medinah, 307. And in Yemen, 367. n. The disease, how treated, 368. Diet of (he patient, 368, Jiimah, Bab el (or Friday gate), of El Medinah. i. 374. The cemetery of schis- m^itics near, 377. Jumah, the Masjid el, near £1 Medinah, ii. 45. "Jungli,"an opprobrious name applied to the English rulers of India, i. '.id. Jurli el Yemani (the Yemen ulcer), I. 373. Jurham, the Beni, their mixture with the Himyaritic tribes, ii. 79. Their founda- tion of the sixth House of Allah, 179. Legend of their origin, 179. n. Justinian, i. 179. n. Kaab, the Jewish priest of El Medinah, i. 336. Kaak el Ahbar (or Akhbar), poems of, i. 104. n. 142. I Kaakab (or Bayt UUah) the, i. 293. 306. Superstitious reverence of the Jews of El I Medinah for, 336. n. Miraculously shown to Mohammed by the archangel Gabriel, 346. Extracts Irom Burrkhardt's de- scription of the, ii. 151. Its dimensions, 151. Its domes and pillars. 151. Its bad workmanship, 153. Periods of opening it, 155. The doors of, 156, 157. The famous Hajarel Aswad, or Black Stone, of the, 157. The liukn el Yemani, 160. El Maajan, or Place of Mixing, 161. The Myzab, or water-spout. 161. The mosaic pavement, 161. Tombs of Ha- gar and Ishmael, 162. Limits of the Kaabah, 163. El Mataf, or Place of Cir- cnmambulation, 163, 164. The four Ma- kams, or stations for prayer, 164, 165. The Zem Zem, or the holy well, 166. El Daraj, or the Ladder. 1G7. The stone on which Abraham stood, 168. The boast that the Kaabah is never, night or day, w ithout devotees, 174. n. legends of the ten Houses of Allah, 176. et. seq. Proofs of the sanctity of the Kaabah, 182. The pilgrim's first visit to the, 182. Legen'd of the Bab Beni Shaybah, 186. Ceremonies of the visit to the. IfiS. et seq. Sketch of the interior of the building, 230. Cere- mony of opening, in Ibn Jubair's time, 232, 233. n. Expenses of visiting, 233. Reasons for all riHgrim.i not entering the, 234. The first covering of the, 23.=;. Changes in the style and make of the Kiswah, or 'curtain, 235. Inscriptions ou the Kiswah, 238. Kaakan, Jebel, the residence of the Beni Jurham, ii. 179. Kabirah, El (f^r lady of the house), ii. 184. Kindness of one to the pilgrim at Mec- cah, 239. Her affectionate farewell of the pilgrim, 282. Kadiriyah, nn order of Dervishes, i. 14. Kaf, " to go to Kaf," explained, i. 17. n. Kafr el Zayyat, i. 30. Kaid Bey, the Mamluk sultan of Egypt, ji, 3nn. n. Rebuilds the mosque of the Prophet. 311. n 327. 353. Establishes " Wakf •' for the tomb of the Prophet, 353. Kairom and Its potteries, i. 29. Kalrtun, Sultan of'Egypt. his improvements of the mosque of the Prophet, i. 351. w. Kalkashandi, El, his testimony respecting the tomb of the Prophet, i. 310. Kamis, the cotton shirt, of Arab Sharkhs, i. 229, Kanat (spears), of the Bpdouin.4. Tlie third mosque erected by El Waltd the caliph. :^49. The fourth mosque built bv El Mehdi the Caliph. 3.o2. Additions o'f El iVIaamun, 352. Th? fifth and sixth mocques built. 352, 353. Beslesed and Biickeii by the Wahhabis, 354. The peo- ple of, ahnnst all act as muzawwirs, 359. Its geographical position, 362. All Mu- harramat, or sins, forbidden within the, 3fi2. n- Causes of its prosperitv, 363. Manner of providing w;iter at, 363. Its tliinatp, 3G5, 3*i6. Diseases of, 367. etseq. The three divisions of, 373. Thergates of, 373. The bazaar, 371. The walls, 374. The streets, 375. The Wakalahs, 375. The houses, 375. Population. 376. The fortress of, 376. The suburbs of, 377. The Khamsah Masajid, 37'*. InhabitHnts of the suburbs, 380. Celebrity of the dates of El Medinah, 383. The weights of, 385. n. The ceeals. vegetables, &c., of the Medinah plain, 3'^7. The fruits of, 387. Arrival of the Damascus caravan at, 399. The "Affair of the Kidg-',"4(t4. Account of the people of EI Medinah, ii. 1. The present ruling race at, 5, Privileges of the citizens of, 6 Trade and commerce of, 8. Pricf of labour at, 9, Pride and indolence of the Madani, 9, 10. Deaniess of provisions xt, 10. The tariff '-f 1R53, I'l, II. The liouseholdsof the Madani, 12. Their personal appearance, 13. Scarcity of animals at, 16. Manners of the Ma- tl.itii, 17. Their character. lA, 19, Their marriages and funerals, 21—23. Abun- dance of books at, 24. The two Madrasah or colleges. 21. I he Ulema of El Me- dinah, 24. Learning of the .Madani nut \aried, 25. Their language, 25, Their apprehensions at the appearance of a C'imet, Sy. Their cemetery of El Bakia, 31. 'I'he rnosques in the neighbourhood of the city, 44—49. Vertomannuo* de- scription of the city, 309. The four ro-ids Ipaduii; from El Medinah to Meccah, 5H. Mehdi, EI or El Mohdy, the caliph, erects the fourth mosque of Et Medinah, i. 352.; ii. 182. Mejidi Riwak for arcade of the Sultan Abd el Mejid), at El Medinah, i. 295. Mciancliolia, frequent among the Arabs, i. 28s. n. Probable cause of, 28B. n. Mihrab el Nabawi (or place of prayer), i. 295. 346. Origin of the, 347. n. The Mihrab Sulamanyi of the Prophet's mosque, 29*1, Milk, laban both in Araliic and Hebrew, i. 239. Food made by Orientals from milk, 238. n. Milkseller, an opprobrious and disgraceful term, 239. The milk-balls of the Bedouins, ii. 117. The Kurut of Sindh and the Kushk of Ptfrsia, It?, n. Method of making, )I7. n. Mimosa tree, compared by poetic Arabs to the false friend, i. 268, Minarets, the five, of ihe mosque of the Prophet, i, 32'i. Origin of the mii'aret, 312. 347. n. 349. n. The erection of the four, of the mosque of the Prophet, 351 ; ii. 175. Dangers of looking out from a minaret window, 17'>. n. Mir of Shiraz, the caligrapber, i. 101. n. Mirage, ii. 72. Beasts never deceived by the, 72. n. Mirayat (or magic mirrors), used for the curK of bilious complaints, i. 370. An- tiquity of, 370. n. Those of various conntri-s, 370. n. The Cairo magician, 370. Mr. Lane's discovery, 371. n. Sir Gardiner Wilkinson's remarks respecting, 371. n. Miibaat el Bair (or place of the beast of burden), in the mosque of the Prophet, i. 323. Mirbad (or place where dates are dried), i. 345. Miri (or land-cess), not paid by the Madani, ii. 7. Mirror, the Magic. See Mirayat. Mirza, meaning of, i. 14. n. Mirza Husayn, " Consul General," at Cairo, i. 84. Misri, Bah el or Egyptian gate, of El Medinah, i. 374. Mi<;ri pomegranates of EI Medinah, i. 3S8. IVlisriyah, the opprobrious term. i. 172. Miyan, or " Sir," a name applied to Indian Moslems, i. 226. Moat, battle of the, 43. n 47- Mohammed Abu Si Mohammed, his mandate for the desTuction of the diseased popu- lation of Yemen, i. 372. Mohammed Ali Pacha, his imnrnvements in the Greek quarterof Cairo, I. 80. n. His mosque, 83. 96. His establishment of a newspaper in Egvpt, 106. n. His wise regulations for insuruigthe safety of tra- vellers across the De-jert, 152. His ox- K edition to El Hejaz, 173, His strong- anded despotism capable of purging EL Hejaz of its pests, 250, 251. The *' Takiyah " erected by him at El Me- dinah, 274. Purchases all the Wakf in Egypt, 344. His introduction of professed poisimers from Europe, ji. 86. His defeat of the Wahhabis at the battle of Bissel, 89. Mohammed bin Ann, (quondam prince of Meccah), his palaces, ii. 277. 290. His imprisonment at Constantiaople, 277. INDEX. 409 His history, 277. n- Quells aa insurrec- tioD in £i Hfjaz, 277. n. Mohammpd el AttHi*, Shaykh,the druggist, i. 66. Description of hts shop, 67. His manners, 68. His sayings and sarcasm, 70 — 72. His plan lor releasing the pil- grim from a-difticuUy, 125. Mohammed el Bakir, the Imam, tomb of, ii. 40, 41. Mohammed el Basyuni, account of, i. 119. Starts for Suez, 137. Meets the author in the Desert near Suez, 148. His joy at the meeting, 148. His treatment of the Bedouins, 148. His usefulness at Suez, 154. His savoir faire^ 156. His joke, 171. Promises to conduct the devotions of the Maghrabisat Mecrah, 191. Change in his conduct at Yambu, 226. His quarrel u ith the Bedouins, 24S. And with the Medinites,261. Bears the brunt , of the ill-feeling of the pilgrims, 'iGs. Bullies the camel -men, ''269. Downcast and ashamed of himself in his rags at El Medinah, 279. Made smart, 28;^. Can- foundei by a Persian lady, 291. Dis- tributes the pilgrim's alms in the mosque at El Medinah, >^99. Takes a pride in being profuse, 318. Accompanies the pilgrim to the mosque of El Ktiba, 3SI. His economy at El Medinah, 394. His indecorous conduct, 413. His fondnttss for clarified butter, iL 1 2. 67. His adventures in search of water on the march to Meccah, 67. Mounts a camel, 124. But rvtiirns tired and hungry. 130. His mother*^ house at Meccah, 148. His wehome home, 184. Becomes the host of the pilgrim, 184. His iniroduition of hard words into his prayers, ]9'2. Mis resolution to be grand, 206. His acci- dent at the Great Devil, 228. Conducts the pilgrim round the Kaabah, 230. His sneers at his mother, 239. His taunts of Shaykh Nur. 241. Receives a beating at Jeddah. 295. Departs from the pilgrim with coolness, 296. Mohammed el Bu»iri, the Wali of Alex- andria, tomb of, i. 12. Mohammed Ibn Ab:i)lah £1 Sannusi, his extensive collection of books, ii. 24. Celebrated as an Alim, or sage, 24. n. His peculiar dogma, 24. n. Kindness of Abbas Pacha to him, 24. n. His followers and disciples, 24. n. Mohatnmed Jamal el Layl, his exteDsive collection of books, ii. 21. Mohammed Khaliiah, keeper of the mosque of Hamzah, i. 409. Mohammeduf Abusir, the poet, works of, i. 104. n. Mohammed Shafia, his swindlings, i. 46. His law-suit, 46. Mohammed Shiklibh.t, i. 161. 235. Mohammed the Prophet, founds the first mosque in El Islam, i. 89. His tradi- tionary works studied in Egypt, 104. His ch>ak, 142, ihe moon and Kl Burak subjected to, 207. The " Bedr," the scene oi his principal military exploits, 253. 260. n. Givfs thp Shuhuda the name of the "Sajasaj," and (.rophesit-s ltd future honours, :f'jti. n. His attack of Abu Sufiyan, and the infidels, 2U7. n. 405. 408. Distant view of his tomb at £1 Medinah, 275. Recommends the Kaylulah, or mid-day siesta, 287. n. Ac- count of a visit to his mosque at Kl Me- dm.ih, 292. A Hadis or traditional say- ing of, 293. His tomb, how regarded by the orthodox followers of El Malik and the Wahhabis, 294. El Ranzah, or the Prophet's Garden, 296. His pulpit at £1 Medinah, 299. Etficucy ascribed to the act of blessing the Prophet, 301 . En- joins his followers to viait graveyards, 3 2. n. The Shubak el Nabi, or Pro- phet's window, 303. The Prophet, how regarded as an intercessor, ^Oo, 306 His prayers for the conversion of Omar, 307. The Kiswah round his tomb, 309. n.; ii. 236. The exact place of the tomb, i. 309. The Kaukab et Durri suspended to the Kiswah, 309. The tomb and codin, 311. Fusiuon of the body, 311. Stury of the suspended cotlin, 311. n. Reasons for doubting that his remains are d^o- sited in the mosque at El Medinah, 326. His ancestors pre.served from tiie Yeme- nian deluge, 333. Doubts respecting his Ishmaelidc descent, 336. ii. 76 n. hinds favour at El Medinah, i. 337. Tombs of liis father and mother, 31^7. n. Meets his new converts on the steep near Muna, 308. Receives the inspired tidings that El Medinah w.ts his predestined asylum, 339. Escorted to El Medinah, 339. His she- camel, El Kaswa, 340, 341. His halt near the site of the present Masjid el Jumah, 341. Joy on his arrival ac El Medinah, 342. His stay at the house of Abu Ayyut), 340—342. Builds dwellings for his family, 343. The conspiracy of the *' Hy|io- crites," 343. ErectSj the mosque, 345. Anode of his wives, family, and principal friends, 348. Pl;ices of his death and burial, 348. Attempt to steal his body, 352. His mosque in the suburb of Kl Munakhah at El Medinah, 378. Found- ation of the mosque of El Kuba, 390. His ** Kayf " on the brink of the well at El Kuba, 395. His miraculous authority over animals, vegetables, &c., 404. Anec- dote of the origin of his Benediction of El Bakia, ii. 34. n. Tombs of his wives, 38. And of his daughters, 38. Origin of his burnaine of El Amin, the Honest, 180. His tradition concerning the fall of his birth-place, 254. His old house (Bayt el Naby) at Meccah. 274. The birih-place ol the Prophet, 278. Mohdy, El. See Mehdi. El. Momiya (mummy), meuicinal qualities at- tributed to a, ii. 319. Money, the proper method of c;irrying, in the East, i. 24, 25. n. Value of Turkish paper money in El Hejaz,376. n. And of the piastre, the Turkish para, the Egyp- tian frizzah, and the Uej.izi diwani. ii. 11. n. El Hfjaz, 110. n. The Sarraf, or money-changer, 258. Monday, an auspicious day to £1 Islam, i.311. Mitnteith, General, i. 1. Moon, the crescent, ii. 71. Evil effects of the Arab belief in Moonlight, i. 150. Moor, derivation of the name, i. 182. Moplab, race, foundation of the, i. 330. h. Moresby's survey, 1. 208. n. 410 INDEX. Mosaic pavement of the Kaabah, if. 161. Moses' Wells (Uyun Musa), the, at Suez, i. 154. n. 190. Visit to 198. Hot baths of, 198. His ''great tallness," accordinj? to Moslem legends, 199. " Moses' Stones." the bitumen so called, 199. ». His pil- grimage to Meccah, 321. Inters his brotlier Aaron on Mount Ohod, 331. His tomb. ii. 299. •' Moskow," the common name of the Rus- sians in Egypt and El Hejaz, i. 280. Mosque (Ma'sjid), the origin of the, i. 88. Form and pUn of, 89. Erection of the first, in El Islam, 89. First appearance of the cupola and niche, 89. Varied forms of places of worship 90. Byz;intine com- bined with Arabesque. 92. Use of colours, 92, Statuary and pictures forbidden in mosques, 92. The Meccan masque a model to the world of El Islam, 93. Im- niense number of mosques at Cairo, 93. Europenns not excluded from, 94. The Jama Taylun, 94. That of the Sultan El Hakim. 95. The Azhar and Hasanayn mosqvies. 9.S 97. That of Sultan Hasau, 9G. Of Kaid Bey and the other Mame- luke kings, 9fi. The modern mosques, 96. Thatof Sittna Zaynab. 96. Moham- med All's ** Follv," 96. Mode of entering ■ the sacred building, 97. Scene in the Azhar. .98. The Riwaks, 98. The col- • legiate mosque of Cairn, 99. Mosque of ' El Shafei, 104. n. Those of Suez, 169. And of Zu'l Halifah, 271. n. Account of a visit to the Prophet's, 292-328. The Masjid El Nabawi, one of the two sanc- tuaries, 292. The Macjid El Har^m at Meccah, 293. The Masjid El Aksa at Jerusalem, 293. How to visit the Pro- phet's, 293. Ziyarat, or visitation, 293. Points to be avoided in visiting the Pro- phet's. 293, Comparison between the El Medinah and Meccah mosques, 294. De- scription of the Masjib el Nabi, 295. Burnt by lightning and rebuilt by Kaid Bey, 311. n. Its gates, 319, 320. The five minarets of the, 320. The four porches of the. 321. The celebrated Millars, 322. The garden of our Lady 'atimah in the hyi)ffithral cnurt of the, 323, 324. Gardens not uncommon in. 32-1. The pilgrim makes a ground plan of the Prophet's, 328. n. Building of the Pro- phet's mugqup, 345. The second, erected by Osman, 348. The Ma=jid erected with magnificence hy the Caliph El Walid, 349. Various improvements In the, 351. Burnt by fire and by lightning, 351. n. The fourth mosque of El Medin;ih erected by the Caliph £1 Mehdi. 352. Additions of El Manmun, 352. Erection of the fifth and sixth mosques, 353. The treasures of the tomb stolen by the Wah- habis, 35-1. The " sacred vessels " repur- chased from them, 354. The various officers of the mosque, 356. The exe- cutive and menial establishment of the ProphPt's mosque, 358. Revenue of the, 359, Pensioners of the, 360. Description of that at El Munakhah, 379. History of the. of El Kulia, 390. That of Sittna Fatima at El Kuba, 394. The Masjid Arafat at El Kuba, 395. Hamzah's mosque. 408. The mosques in the neighbourhood of El Medinah, ii.44— 49. The old Masjid el Ijabah at) Meccah, 147. n. Description of the mosque at Meccah, 151. et $eq. Enumeration of the gates of the, 170, 171. The mosque El Khayfat Muna, 203. The mosque Muz- dalifah, 203. The Masjid el Jino, 281. Mother of pearl, brought from the Red Sea, i. 175. Mothers of the Moslems, (the Prophet's wives), i. 315. n. 348. *' Mountains of ParHdise," i. 217. Mourning forbidden to Moslems, ii. 16. Mourning dress of the women, 16. MSS. "bequeathed to God Almighty,"!. 99. n. Muawiyah, El, Caliph, t. 251. n. His Be- douin wife Maysunah, li. 212. His sou Yrzid, 212. n. MubalHghs, the, (or clerks of the mosque) i. 2f*8. n. Mubariz, the, (or single combatant), of Arab chivalrous times, i. 290. Muiarrism, the, lor professors), of the Prophet's mosque, i 360. Mudir (or chief treasurer) of the Prophet's mosque, i. 324. Muezzin, the, i.77 83. The Prophet's, 321. The Kuasa, or chief of the, 321. 358. The muezzins of EKMedinah, 358. Reasons for preferring Ulind men for muezzins, ii. 175. Muftis, the three, of El Medinah, i. 358. Muhafiz, or Egyptian governor, i. 19. Muhajirin, (or fugitives), the, from Meccah, i. 345. Muhallabah. the dish so called, i. 78. Muliarramat, (or tins), forbidden within the sanctuary of the Prophet, i. 362. Mujawirln,! or settlers in £1 Medinah, i. 360. Mujrim (the Sinful), the pilgrim's friendship with him, ii. 29. Mujtaba, El (the Accepted), a title of the Prophet, ii. 37. n. Mukabbariyah, the, of the mosque, i. 298. Mukaddas, Bayt el (Jerusalem), prostra- tions at, i. 391. Mukarinah, El (the Uniting), the pilgrim- age so called, ii. 373. Mukhailak, Kl, the pillar in the mosque of the Prophet so called, i. 322. Mukattem, Jebel, i. 154. Mules, despised by the Bedouins, 1. 292. Not to be found at El Medinah, ii. 17. Multazem, El, the place of prayer in the Kaabah so called, ii. 155. n. 193. Mulukhiyah (Corchoris olltorius), a muci- laginous spinach, i. 387. Mummy (Momiya}, medicinal qualities at- tributed to a, ii. 319. Muna, place of meeting of the new converts with the Prophet, i. 339. Sanctity of, ii. 202. Derivation of the name, 202. n. The pebbles thrown at the Devil at, 203. The mosque El Khayf, 203. Sacrifices at, 240,241. A storm at, 241. Coffee-houses of,-244. Us pestilential air, 247. Munafikun, or " Hypocrites," 'conspiracy ■■ ol the, i. 343. Munakhah, El, the suburb of El Medinah, i. 277. The Harat (or Quarter) El Ain- bariyah, 277. Omitted in our popular representations of the city, 328. n. Po- pulation of, 376. Munar Bab el Salam of the mosque of the Prophet, i. 320. Munar Bab el Rahmah, INDEX. 411 320. The Sulaymaniyah Munar, 320. MuDar Raisiyah, 321. Murad Bey. the Mameluke. I 348. Murad Khan, the Sultan, his improTements in building the House of Allah, il. 182. MurchisoD, Sir Roderick, i. 1, Murshid, meaning of the term, i. U. Spe- cimen era murshid's diploma, ii. 303. Musab bin Umayr, missionary from the Prophet to El Medinah, i. 338. Musafahah (shaking hands), Arab fashion of. ii. 52. Musahlah, village of, i. 238. 245. ** Musallael Eed,** the mosque of AH at El Medinah so called, i. 378. The MuEalla el Nabi (Prophet's place of prayer), in the mosque of El Medinah, 378. 392. Mu»annam (or raised graves) of the Be- douins, !. 412. Muscat, i. I. Importation of slaves into, ii. 13. n. The ancient caravan from Muscat to El Medinah, 29. n. Music and musical instruments of the Be- douins, i. 140. J ii. 107. Of Southern Ara- bia, remarks on, and on the music of the East, 246. n. Musket-balls, Albanian method of rifling, i. 2.'>9. Muslim bin Akbah el Marai. his defeat of the Madani, i. 403. n., ii. 37. Mustachios, clipped short by the Sbafei school, ii. 53. Mustafa, El, (the Chosen), a title of the Prophet, ii. 37. n. MuEtallah (or level graves)of the Bedouins, i. 413. Mustarah, the (or resting place), on Mount Ohod, i. 406. Mustasim, El, last caliph of Bagdad, his as- sistance in completing ihe fiuh mosque of the Prophet, i. 353. Mustaslim, or chief of the writers of the tomb of the Prophet, i. 356. Mustazi Billah. £1, the Caliph, i. 351. Mutamid, El, the Caliph, his additions to the House of Allah, ii. 182. Mutanabbi, El. the poet, i. 104. n. His chivalry, ii. 96. Admiration of the Arabs (or his works, 98. Mutasem.SRl, thelCaliph, his chivalry, ii.tOB. Mutazid, El. the Caliph, his additions to the House of Allah, ii. 182. MuLtuka, £l, lp§!end of the stone at Meccah so called, ii. 278. Muwajihat el Sharifah, (or Holy Fronting), in the Prophet's mosque, i. 297. Muzavkaih, El, a surname of Amir ben Am'in. i. 334. Muzaynah tribe of Arabs, i. 141. Its anti- quity and nubility, 141. Its purely Arab blond. 142. Muzdalifah (the Approacher), the mosque so called, ii. 204. " Muzzawir," the, or conductor of the pil- grim to the Prophet's tomb, i. 293. Al- most all the Mfdinites act as, 359. Im- portance of the othce of, 359. Myzab (water-spout), of the Kaabah, ii. I Gl . Generally called Myzab el Rahmah, lfi2. n. Nabawi, the Mihrab el, in the mosque of the Prophet, i. 322. Nabi, Bir el, at Kuba, ii. 321. Superstitions respecting, 325. n. 397. Nabi, the Masjid el, or the Prophet's mosque at El Medinah, built by Mohammed, de. scription of the, i. 295. ; ii. 345. Nabi, the Shubak el, (or Prophet's window), i. 303, 304. 316. Nafi Maula, El (Imam Nafi el Kari), son of Omar, lomb of, ii. 38. Nafil, the Hejazi, his pollution of.theKilis. or Christian Church, i. 308. n. Nafr, El (ttie Flight), from Muna to Meccah. ii. 229. Nabi, El, visit to, i. 11. Najjar, Beni, the, i. 342, 343. Meaning of the name, 343. n. Nahw (inflexion), study of, in schools,!. 101. Naib el Hjakhwali," the, i, 386. Nakib (or assistant miistaslim of the tomb of the Prophet), i. 356. Nakil (or apostles), the, of the Prophet, i. 339. n. Namrtid (Nimrod), dispersion under him, i. 329. Nassar. Shaykh, the Bedouin of Tur, i. 137. etseq. His finesse, 149. Nasur (or ulcer), ol Kl Hejaz. 5ef Diseases of El llejaz ; Ulcers. Natak el Naby, the, at Meccah, origin of, iu 277. Nazir, the, a tribe of the Beni Israel, i. 82. Nebek, the fruit of a palm tree so called. i. 324. Nebek (or jujube tree), the, of El Medinah, i. 388. Supposed to have been the thorn which crowned our Saviour's head, 388. n. Nebucliadiiezz»r (Bukht el Nasr), invasion of, i. 332, 333. Nijd. i. 258. n. Its choice horses and camels, 258. n. The greatest breeding country in Arabia, 258. n. View of the ground of, 274. Excellence of the dates of. 366. The Nidji tribes of Bedouins, ii. 78. Newspaper, establishment of a, in Egypt, i. 106. n. Niebuhr, his remarks on the Sinaitic Arabs referred to, i. 143. His description of the oriental sandal, 230. n. Reference to him, 257. n. 3(J7. n. His incorrect hearsay description of the Prophet's tomb, 310. n. Night journey in Arabia, description of a, ii. 12G. i:iO. Nile, steam-boat of the, i. 29. Description of, 29. The Barrage bridge, 30. Objects seen on the banks ol the, 31. The country about compared with thatof Sindh,3l. n. Nimrah, Masjid, the (or mosque \\ithout the minaret), iii. 250. 252. Nisa, the Bab el (or women's gate), at £1 Medinah. i. 276. Niyat, the, in Moslem devotions. 1. 75. The. in the visitation of the mosque of El Kuhi». 392. The, repeated whf n approach- ing Meccah, ii. 134. At the Little Pilgrim- age, 267. Nizam (or Turkish infantry), i. 220. Noachians, the. in Arabia,' ii. 77. Their many local varieties, 77- n. Nuah, account of Ibn Abbas respecting the settlement of his family, i. 329. 412 INDEX, ^olan, Captain, reference to his work on cavalry, i. 260. Nullah, the Indian, identical with the fiu- inara of Arabia, i . 3. n. Nur El Din, el Mrlik el Adil, i. 352. Nur el Din Shahid Mahmud bia Zangi, the Sultan, i. 352. Nur, Jebei, its celebrity, ii. 202. Nur, Shaykh, sensation caased by his ap- pearance in the streets of Cairo, i. 122. His defection, 155. His return, 157. His fishing tackle, 193. His dirty appearance at El Medinah, 279. His improved aspect, 282. Enraptured with El Medinnh. ii. 5. His preparations for leaving El Medinah, 5. His ride in the shugduf of Ali bin Ya Sin, 121, r^2. Accompanies the pilgrim to the Kaabah, i06. Becomes Haji Nur, 284. His quarrel with Mohammed el Bus- yani, 2!t6. Oases, the, i. H5. Derivation of the word, 145. ». Vulgar idea of, 145. n. Love of the Bedouins for them, 145. n. Obo, amongst the Tartars, explained, i. 150. n. Officials, Asiatic, how to treat, i. 20. Ha- bits and manners of, 26. Ogilvie, Mr., English consul at Jeddah, shot at for amusement by Albanian soldiers, l 129. Ohod, Jebel (Moimt Ohod), i. 271. 274. 285. Prayer in honour of the martyrs of, 315. Grave of Aaron on,3:U. Its distance from El Medinah. 3G_'. Winter on, 361. Vi- sitation 10 the martyrs of, 402. The Pro- phet's declaration concerning it, 404. Supposed ro be one ol the lour hills of Paradise, 404. n. Meaning of the word, 404 n. Causes of its present reputation, 405. Its springs, 405. n. J'he Miistarah or resting place of, 406. The fiumara of, 407. Its distance from El Medinah, 407. Its appalling look, 408. Olema, iheir regulation respecting the bow- prayer, i. 299. 'i'heir opini'.n respecting the death of Mosl^^m saints, &c.,; 327. n. One of the five orders of pensioners of the Prophrt's mosque, 360. Omar, the Caliph, his window in the Pro- phet's mosque, i. 303. 307. Benediction bestowed on him, 308. His tomb, 311, 312. Mis mosque at Jerusalem, 312. n. Sent forw.ird by the Prophet to El Me- dinah, 339. Improves the Masjid at El Medinah, 34h. Supplies the town of El Medinah with water, 3tJ4. Mosque of, at El Mfdinah, 37*^. His respect lor the mosqueof El Kuba, 391. His tomb de- nied by all Persians who can do so, 417. His murderer Twyruz, 417. Onayn, the Masjid, nt*ar El Medinah, ii. 49. Onions, leeks, and garlic, disliked by the Prophet, i, 312. Ophthalmia in Egypt, i. 177. Harity of, in Arabia, 3ij0. Allusions of Herodotus to, 3ii9. n. An ancient affliction in Egypt, 369. n. A scourge in Modern Egypt, 369. n. Origin ami progress of the disease, 369. n. Practices of Europeans to pre- vent, 370. n. Remedies of the author, 370. n. Errors of native practitioners, 370. n. Orientals, their repugnance to, and con- tempt for, Europeaus, i. 107, lOB. Dis- cipline among, must be based on fear, 207. Effect of a strange place on them generally, 226. n. Osman, the Caliph, his CiiBc Koran. i.309. «. ; 3.=i3. His wish to be buried near the Prophet, 312. Prayers for, 315. The niche Mihrab Osman, 317. Assists in building the Prophet's mosque, 346. Builds the second mosque at El Medinah, 349. Enlarges the mo&oue of £1 Kuba, 391. Loses the Prophet's se.d ring, 396. His troubles, 396. n. Visit to his tomb at El Bakia, ii. 35. His funeral, 35. His two wives, the daughters of the Prophet, 306. n. Osman, Bab, i. 347. Ostriihes found in EI Hejaz, ii. 106. n. Arab superstition respecting them, 106. n. Oxymel. See Sikanjebin. Palm-grove, the, of El Medinah, i. 345. Palm-trees, venerable, of the hypjethral court of the Prophet's mosque, i. 324. Extensive plantations of, in the suburbs of El .Medinah, 380. Loveliness of the palm- plantations of El Medinah, 382. Celebrity of its dates, 383, The time for masculation of the palms, 366. The Daum or Theban palm, ii. 62. 72. Para, value of the Turkish coin so called, ii. II. n. "Paradise, Mountains of," i. 217. 266. n. Parasang, the Oriental, its distance, in the days of Phny, and at the [jreseiit day, i. 329. n. Pass, Arabic terms for a, Ii. 61. Passporis in Egvpt (Tezkireh), inconve- niences of, i. 18". Sir G. Wilkinson's ob- servations on. 18. n. Adventures in search of one, 19. British, carelessness in dis- tribuiing, in the East, 4G. Difficulty of obtainiig one. in Egypt, 123. et seq. Pathan (At>han). the rerm, i. 44. 211. Pebbli'S of the accepted, the, ii. 203. Pensioners, the orders of, at the Prophet's mosque, i 360. Perfumed pillar, the, in the mosque of the Prophet, i. 322. Perfumes, the. of ihe Zair, i 296. n. Perjury, price of, at Jeddah, i. 47. Persia, tobacco »nd pipes of, i. 175. Persia, luxuriance of the plains of, i. 244. Persian Pilgrims, a disagreeable race, ii. 200. They decline a challenge of the orthodox pilgrims, 216. Peisecution tlify suffer in Kl Hej.iZ, 225. n. The Persians' defilement ot the tombs of AOubekr ami O^uar, 308. n. Eunuchs among the. 356. n. Large number of, iu the Damascus caiav»n, 416- Treatment of the •* Ajami" at El Medinah, 416. Pfshin valley, inhabitants of the, i. 239. n. Pharaoh, the "Caesar and Diabolua *' of the Nile, i. 10. n. Spot where he and his host were whelmed in the "hell of waters," 194, Arab legends respecting that event, 194. n, Pharaoh's Hot Baths (Hammam Faraun), i. 190—192. Philosophy (Hikmat), study of, iiitle valued in Egypt, t. 104. n. Phoenician colony on the Red Sea, i. 197. INDEX. 413 The Fhcenicians identiGed with the Amalik of Moslem writers* 330. n. Physicians, the Arabs as, not so skilfiil as thpy were, i, 373. FhysiDlogists, their errors respecting the f od of the iiihrthitants of hot and cold coiintiies, ii. 1 1, n. Piastre, valu** of the, ii. II. n. Pickpockets in Kgypt, i. 2n. Pigeons, the, sacred at Mpccah, Ii. 198. Enter almost everywhere into the history of religion, 198. Pilgrimage, ordinances of the, iii. 135. Offer- jnes for ntoneinents in cases nf infractions of, 135, 135. Obssrvations on,37:^. Common to fill old faiths, 372. Conditions under which every Moslem is bound to perform the pilgrimage, 372. The three kinds of, 373. Tiie treatise of Moh:immed of Shirbin respecting the ntps of, 375. et seq. Direc- tions respecting, from other book*, 37'^. n. The Prophet's last pilgrimage the model for ihe Moslem world, 38fi Reckless pilgri. m;igp3 of poor Indians, 207, 208. Pilgrims, distilbiition of, at Alexandria, into three great roads, i. 164. I'auper pilgrims, 164. Steady decrease of the number of pilgrims who pass annually throuv'h Suez, 172. Reasons assigned for tiiis, 172. Takrouri Silgrims, 172. The Hamail, or pocket Loran of, 233. How they live on the march, 261. Note on the Veremonies of the Wahhabi pilgrimage, 219. n. The change from Ihram to Ihlal, 22ti. The Umrah, or little pilgrimage, 374. Pilgrim's tree, the, i. 150. Probably a de- bris of ietish-worship, 1 150. n. The practice in various Eastern couiitrie:i, 150. ». Pistols, the, of the Bedouins, ii. 105. Pitts, Joseph, his pilgrimage to Meccah and El Medinah, ii. 3:10. Sketch of his ad- ventures, 330 et seq. Plague. See Taun. Por-try, Arab, that generally studied, f. 104. n. The Durdeh and Hamriyah nf Mo- hammed of Ai'Usir, 104. n. The Banat Suadi of Kaab £1 Ahbar, 104. n. The Diwan Umar ibn Fariz, 104. n. Kl Mu- tanabbi, 104. n. El Hariri, 104. n. Simplicity of ancient Arab poetry, 104. n. Dt-generate taste of the modern Egyptians in, 104. n. Poetical exclamations of Che pilgrims on obtaining the firrt view of Kl Medinah, 272. Tenderness and pathos of the old Arab poems, ii. 91. The suspended poem of Lebid, 92. The poetic feeling of the Bedouins, 97, 98. The improvisatorl of the Beni Kahtan, 98. n. The Arabic lai gnage suited to poetry, 99. Therhymeof the Arabs, lOO.n. Poison, the Teriyak of El Irak, the great counter-poison, ii. 108. Poisoners, prolcssed, introduced by Mo- hammed Ali, ii. S.'t. 71. "Poison-wind," the, ii. 257. n. Its effects, 257. n. Police of Egypt, curiosity of the, i. 2. Sceues before police magistrates in Cairo, 114, The *' Pacha of the Night," 116. Politeness of the Orientals, i. 205. Un- politeness of some " Overlands," 205. Polygamy and monogamy, comparison be- tween, ii. 90. n. Pomegranates, the, of EI Medinah, i. 3^8. The Shami, Turki, and Misri kinds, 388. Prmpey's pillar, i. 14, 29. Pray.T, the Abrar. or call to, i. fl6. The M-i^hrib, or evening, 147. n. The Ishah, or night prayer, 2i6. Prayer to prevent storms ( Hizb el Bahr), 21*6. This prayer recited, 206. Prayers on first viewing the city of El Medinah, 271. The prayer at the Prophet's mosque, 21*7. The places of prayer at, 297. The afternoon prayers. 299. n. 'J'he Shnjdah, or single bow prayer, 299. The Dua, or supplica- tion alter the two-bow prayer, i99 n. The position of the hands during, 300. Efficacy ascribed to the act of blessing the Prophet, 301. Prayer at the Shubak el Nabi, 304. Ancient practice of re- citing this prayer, 304. n. The Testifi- catinii, 306. The benedictions on Abu- bekr and Omar, 307, 308. The two-bow prayer at the RauzHh or Garden, 312. n. The prayer at the Malaykah, or place of the angels, 313. That said opposite to the grave of the Lady Fatimah, 314. That recited in honour of Ilainzah and the martyrs of M )unt Ohod, 315. Prayers for t^-e souls of the blessed who rest in El Bakia, 315. That said at the Pro- phet's window, 316. Public service in El Rauzah, 318. n. Origin of the prayer- niche of the mosque, '6A(\. 349. n. El Kuba the first place of public prayer in El Islam, 390. The Niyat, or intention, 392. The Prophet's place of pr.ner at El Kuba, 392. The prayers at the mosque of El Kub-i, 302. The prayers at Ham- zati's tomb. 409. The Niyat when ap- proaching Mcccah, ii. 134. Thn Tal- biyat, or excl timing, 134. The praters on sighting Mcccah. 147. The four Ma- kams, or stations for prayer, 164. The prayers at the Kaabah, 181. et seq. 232. Proci astination of Orientals, ii. 21. Preacher, the. at MeLcah, his style of dress, ii. 249. Origin of his wooden sword, 249. w. Presents of dates from El Medinah, i. 383. Pressjiangs in Cairo, J. 114. Price, Major, referred to, ii. 367. n, Pnchard, Dr., on the Moors of Africa, i. 182. n. Pride of the Arabs, i. 241. Printing-pre-s, the, in Egypt, i. 105. n. Prophets, in Moslem law, not supposed to be dead, i. 327. n. Prosody (Um el Aruz), study of, among the Arabs, i. 104. r. Proverbs Arab, i. 145. 269. n. Ptolemy the geographer, i. 219. Puckler-Muskait, Prince, his remarks on the reflected heat of the Desert, i. 140. n. Pulpit, the Prophet's, at El Medinah, i. 298. Pyiamlds, the, i. 30, Tiieir covering of 'yellow silk or satin, ii. 236. Rabelais, on the discipline of armies, i. 260. Races of Arabs. See Arabs ; Bedouins. Radhwah, Jebel (one of the " Mountains of Paradise"), i. 217. 236. Rafik, tlie (or collector of black-mail), li. 113. Ratizi (rejector, heretic), origin of the term, ii. 4 n. 414 INDEX. Rahah, meaning of the term, ti. 2!^0. Kahmah, Bab el (Gate of Mercy), i. 295. 347. Jebel el (Mount of Mercy). See Arafat, Mount. Rahman of Herat,' the |calligrapher,'i. 101. n. Rdhmat el Knbirah, the attack of cholera so called, i. 367. Railway, the, in Egypt, i. 110. n. Kain, want of, at ull times in Egypt, i. 176, 177. The 'rainy season expected with pleasure at El Medinah, 366. Kain wel- comed on the march, ii. 132. Raisiyah minaret of El Medinah, the, i. 3-'>8. Rajm (lapidation), practice of, in Arabia, ii. 203. Bakb, or dromedary caravan, the, il. 50. Rakham (vulture), the, ii. 62. Ramazan, the, i. 73. Effects of, 73. Cere- monies of, 74, lb. The " Fast-breaking." 77. Ways of spending a Kamayan even- ing, 78. The Greek quarter at Cairo, 79. The Moslem quarter, 80. Beyond the walls, 83. Rami or Lapidation, ceremony of, ii. 226— 228. Ramlah (or sanded place^of the Prophet's mosque, i. 29-'t. Ras el Khaymah, i. 241. n. Ras el Tin. the Headland of Figs (the ancient Pharos), i. 7. n. Rasid, Bir (well of Rashid), the, ii. 59. Kauzah, El, or the Prophet's garden, at El Medinah, i. 296. Traditions respecting it, 298. n. Description of it, 300. The two-bow praver at the, 312. n. Public prayers in, 317. n. Farewell visits to, ii. 56. n. Rayah (the Banner), theMasjid el, near El Medinah, ii. 48. Rayy;m, the hill near Meccah, ii. 142. RazJki grapes, of Kl Medinah, i. 387. Red Sea, view of the, on entering Suez, i. 154. Injury done lo the trade of the, by the farzeh or system of rotation at Suez, 166. 174. Shipbuilding on the, 173. 163. Kinds of ships used on the, 17-^. Im- ports and exports at Suez, 174. 17-i. De- scription of a ship of the, 183. Course of vessels on the, 190. Observations on the route taken by the Israelites in crossing, 190. Scenery from the, 101. Bright blue of the waters of the, 191. Phoenician colony on the, 197. Christian colony on the, 197. Jebeliyah, or mountaineeis of the, 197. n. Morning of the, 202. Fierce heat of the mid-day sun on the, 203. Harmony and majesty of sunset on the, 203. Night on the. 204. Marsa Dam- gliah, SO-*. Wijh harbour, 209. The town of Wijh, 2i)9. Coral reefs of the Red Sea, 213. The Ichthyophagi and the Bedouins of the coasts of the, 213. Arab legends respecting the phosphoric light in tne, 213. ** Kl Zulzum " the Arabic name for the, 243. n. The great heats near the, in Arabia, prejudicial to animal generation, 258. n. The shores of the, when first peopled, according to Moslem accounts, 330. n. Rekem (Numbers, xxxi. 8.) identified with the Arcam of Moslem writers, i. 331. n. Religious phrenzy (Malbus), case of, at Meccah, il. 198. Susceptibility of Afri- cans to, 198. Revalenta Arabica, i. 368. Khamnus Nabeca (Nebek or Jujube), the, of El Medinah, i. 388. Rhazya stricta, used as a medicine by the Arabs, il. 132. Rhetoric, (>tudy of, in Egypt, i. 104. n. Rhyme of the Arabs, ii. 100. Ria, the (or steep descents), i. 243. Rida, El (portion of the pilgrim dress), ii. 134. " Ridge, Affair of the,^' the battle so called, i.404. Rifkah, EI, the black-mail among the Be- douins so called, ii. 113. Rih el Afifar (cholera morbus), the, in EI Hejaz.i. 367. Medical treatment amongst the Arabs in cases of, 367. The Rahmat el Kabirah, 367- Ring, seal, the, of the Prophet, i. 396, 397. Rites of pilgrimage, ii. 375. et seg. Riwaks, or porches, surrounding the bypa>* thral court of the mosque at £1 Medjuah, i. 321. 392. " Riyal Hajar," a stone dollar so called by the Bedouins, i. 3.55. Riza Bey, son of the Sherif of Meccah, ii. 14-5. Robbers in the Desert, mode of proceeding ofthe, i. 122.242. Saad, the robber-chief of El Hejaz, 249. Shaykh Fahd, 249. How Bussora, a den of thieves, was purged, 251. n. Indian pilgrims protected by their poverty, 257. Rock inscriptions near Meccah, ii. 142. Ruasa, tlie (or chief of the Muezzins), resi- dence of, i.321. 358. Ruba el Khali (the empty abode), its horrid depths and half-starving population, i. 3. " Rubb Rummam," or pomegranate syrup, ofTaif and El Medinah, i. 388. Rukham (white marble) of Meccah, ii. 152. n. Ruku el Yemani, the, of the Kaabah, ii. 160. Rumah, Bir el, or Kalib Mazni, at Kuba, f. 397. n. Ru'nat, Jebel el (Shooters* Hill), near El Medinah, ii. 49. Runjeet Singh, his paramount fear and hatred ofthe British, i.39. Russia, opinions of the Medinites of the war with, i. 2r40. The present feeling in Egypt respecting, 108. 113. Rustam, battles of, i. 93. Kutab (or wet dates), i. 385. Saad el Jinni (or'Saad the Devil), descrip- tion of his personal appearance, i. 158. His character, 158. Equipped as an able seaman on board the pilgrim-ship, 185. His part in the fray on board, 187. Effects of a thirty-six hours' sail on him, 204, His quarrel with the coffee-house keeper at Wijh, 211. His sulkiness, 217. Leaves Yambu, 235. His apprehensions in the Desert near Yambu,237. Purchasescheap wheat at El Hamra, 247. His fear of the Bedouins, 253. Takes his place in the caravan, 264. Forced to repay a debt to the pilgrim, 268. Arrives at £1 Medinah, 273. His intimacy with the pilgrim. 288. Accompanies the pilgrim to Ohod, 402. INDEX. 415 Saad ibn Maaz^ converted to El Islam, i. 33B. Condemns the Kurayzah to death, 4G. Saad ibn Zararah, his tomb, ii. 43. n. Saad, the robber-chief of El Hejaz, i. 249. Particulars respecting him, 249. His opponent Shay kh Fayd, 249. His bland- feud with the sheril of Meccah, 252. De- scription of Saad, 252. His habits and manners, 252. His character, 253. He sometimes does a cheap good deed, 257. Conversation respectinfc him. 262. De- scription of his haunt, 262. Saba, the land of, i. 333. Sabxans, their claim to the Kaabah as a sacred place, ii. 158. n. Subaiier, M., i. llO. n. Sabil (or public fountain), of El Medinah, i. 374, Sabkhah (or turaceous gypsum), ofthe De- sert, ii. 1 29. Sacritices in cases of infractions of the or- dinances of the pilgrimage, li. 136. Ac Muna, 240. 241. Sadakah (or alms), sent to the Holy Land, i. 344. Sadi, the Bayt el, the makers of the Kiswah ofthe Kaabah, ii. 238. Safa, a hill in Meccah, i. 349. Ceremonies at, ii. 267. Meaning of " Safa,'* 2G8. n. • Safk (clapping of hands), practice of, in the East, ii. 246. Sahal, sells ground to Mohammed, 1. 342. Sahil, the Sufi, i. 10. r. Sahn, El (or central area of a mosque), i. 295. n., 319. Sai, El, the ceremony so called, ii. 194. n. Compendium of the ceremony, 382. Saidi tribe of Arabs, i. 141. Saint Priest. M. de, i. 110. n. Saints, in Moslem law. not supposed to be dead, i. 327. n. Their burial-place at El Sakia, 31. Saj, or Indian teak, i. 349. Sakka, the (or water-carrier of the Pro- phet's mo&qtie), i. 318. 3o8. Salabah bin Amr, i. 334. Salam, the, among the Moslems, i. 139. 148. Not returning a, meaning of, 22^. Salam, or Blessings on the Propiiet, i. 75. Salam, the Bab el, at Medinah, 1. 295. 296. S.ilat (or mercy), in Moslem theology, i> 301. Salaiah, the dish so called, i. 131. Salih Shakkar, description of him, i. 160. Effects of a thirty-six hours* sail on him, 204. Leaves Yambu, 235. Arrives at El Medinah, 272. Salih tribe of Arabs, i. 141. Salim, the Beni, its subdivisions, ii. 367. n. Their conversations with the Prophet, 139. n. Salkh, the kind of circumcision among the Bedouins so called, ii. 110. Salma El Mutadalliyah. great-grandmother ofthe Prophet, i. 337. Salman, the Persian, companion of the Pro- phet, i. 397. n. Salman, el Farsi, the Masjid. ii. 48. Salmanhudi, El (popularly El Samhoudy), his testimony respecting the tomb of the Prophet, i. 3)0. Remarks on his name, 310. n. His burial-place, 310. n. His ac- count of the graves of the Prophet and the hrst two caliphs, 327. Unsuccessful endeavour tn purchase a copy of his writ- ings, 327. His visit to the tombs of the HujrHh,.353. n. Salt, sacredness ofthe tie of "terms of salt," ii. 53. n." The Syrians called *' abusers of the salt, 128. n. Salutation of *' peace " in the East, i. 139. 147.276. Samanhud, the ancient Sebennitts, i. 310. n. Sambuk, the, i. 174. Description of a, 183. Samman, Mohammed el, the saint, i. 156. His zawiyat. or oratory, near Ohnd, 158. Sanctu^iry, right of, in the Kaabah, ii. 182. n. Sand, pillars of, in Arabia, ii.69. Arab su- perstition respecting them, 69. Sandal, the Oriental, i. 230. Uncomfortable and injurious to wearers of them, 230. n. Donned when approaching Meccah, ii. 134. Sanding instead of washing, when water cannot be obtained, i. 253. Sandstone, yellow (Hdjar Shumaysi), of Meccah, ii. 152. n. Saniyat Kudaa, near Meccah, ii. 147. Saracen, derivation of the wurd, i. 182. n. Saracen, Gibbon's deriv>ayl, or torrents, in the suburbs of El Medi- nah. 1. 363. Sayyalah, the "Wady, i. 266. The cemetery ot the people of, '^^66. Sayyid Abu\ Hayja, Sultan of Egvpt, his present to the mosque of the Prophet, 1. 351.71. Sa\-yid All, vlce-intendant ofthe mosque of Aleccah, ii. 176. Sayyidna Isa, future tomb of, i. 312. Sayyids, great numbers of, at El Medinah, ii. 3. Their origin, 3. n. Dress of Say- yidsinEI Hejaz.4. The Sayyid Alawiyah, 4. Gravfs of the, at El Bakia, 32. Schools in Egypt, i. 101. Course of study, in Kl Azhar, 101. et seq. Intonation of the Koran taught in, 104. n. Science, exact and uatural, state of, in Egypt,!. 104,105.11. Scorpions near Meccah, ii. 202. " Sea of Sedge," the, i. 191, Seasons, the, divided into three, by the Arabs, 1.366. Sehabtiani, General, i. 110. n. Sebennitis, the modem Samanhud, i.310.«i. Srhrij (or water tank), on Mount Ohod, i.412. I Selim, Sultan, of Egypt, i. 142. 416 INDEX. Semiramis, eunuchs first employed by, 1. 336. n. Senaa, city of, its depravity, ii, 107. Senna plant, abundance of thr, in Arabia, ii. 72. Its prowrh in the desert, 72. Sepiilchrp, the Holy, imitations of, in Christian churches, i. 93. Sermons, Moslem, ii. 170. The Sermons of Saadi, 190. The Khutbat el Wakfah (Sermon ol the StandinB [upon Arafat] ), 219. Th.it preached at tiie H;iram, 24H. Impression made by it on ihe hearers, 249. Sesnstris, shfp^ of, i. 184. His blindness, 369. Shaiei, Kl, mosque of, i. 3511. n. Shafei, Masalla (or place of prayer of the Sha'el school), i.297. Mufti of the, at El Medinah, 358. Shafei, Imam, his vision of AH, ii. 207- n. Shafei pilgrimage, the compendium of Mo- hammed of Shirbin relating 10 the, ii. 374. et seq, Shahaii, the Beni (a Jewish tribe), in Arabia, i- 332. n. Shajar Kanata, the, i. 287. n. The Kaylulah, or noon siesta. 287. n. The Aylulah, 287. n. TheGhavlulah, 287. n. The Kaylulah, . 287. n. '1 he Faylulah, 287. Sikander el Humi, t- mb of, i. 12. Sikanjebin (oxymel), used as a remedy ;d fevers in Arabia. i.370. Silk-tree, of Arabia. See Asclepias gi- gantea. Simoon, the, i. 145. 257. n. Its efl*ects on the skin, ii. 69. And on the traveller's tamper, 122. The, on the road between El Medinah and Meccah, 124. Sinai, Mount, i. 197. Sinaitic tribes ot Arabs, modern, obserra- tions on, i. 141 et seq. Chief clans of, 141. Impurity of the race, 142. Their ferocity, 143, How manageable, 143. Sindh, dry storms of, i. 240. 2.'i7. Singapore, pilgrims from, to Meccah, i. 175. Silat el Rasul, referred to. i. 367. n. Sittna Zayn;)b (our Lady Zaynab), moFque of. at Cairo, i.9fi. Siyuti. £1, his theological works, i. 103. n. Sketching, dangerous among the Bedouins, i. 233. Slaves, trade in, at Jeddah and in Egypt, i. 47. Reform in our slave laws throughout INDEX. 417 the East much Deeded, 49. n. Abyssinian slave style of courting, 59. Slavt>-hunt ing in Africa, 60. Condition of slaves in the East, 60. The black slavp>f;irls of £1 Medinah, ii. 12. Value of slave-boya and eunuchs, 12. And of the Galla girls, 13. Price of a Jariyah Bayzo, or white slave- girl, 13. Female slaves at Meccah, 2-^6. The slavp.market of Meccah. 275. The pilgrim's resolve, if permitted, to destroy the slave trade, 276. Demolition of the slave-trade in the Red Se», 276. n. Small-pox in Arabia. See Jiidari. Smiih. Sir L., his defeat of the Beni Bu All Arabs, i. 241. n. Smoking the weed " hashish," i. 43. Soap, taB (or bole earth) used by the Arabs as i. 147. Sobn Bedouins, their plundering propen- sities, ii. 58. Societies, secret, in Egypt, 110. Sodom, the long sought apple of, ii. 132, n. Sola, plain of, near Meccah, ii. 143. Soldier-travellers, fatalities which have be- fallen them lately, i. 2. Soldiers in Egypt, i. 114. Solomon, king, i. 207. Mosque of, at Jeru- salem, connected with, 293. Somalis, the, dislike of, to tobacco, i. 189. n. Cause of this aversion, 330. n. Songs of the Bedouin Arabs, i. 140. Of Maysunah, the, ii. 212. Specimen of one, 246. Sonnini, his description of the ** Kayf," i. 9.91. Reference to, 287. His testimony to the virtues of the harem, ii. 90. n. Spanish cathedrals, oriental origin of, i. 294. Spears (Kanat), the, of the Bedouins, ii. 105. Sports of the Bedouins, ii. 103. n. Springs, the, of Mount Ohod, i. 40^. Stanhope, Ladv Hester, her faith in magic mirrors, i. 370. n. Statuary and pictures forbidden in mosque*, i. 92. Stimulants, effect of drinking, in the East, i. 257. n. Stoa, or Academia, of £1 Medinah, i. 325. Stocks, Dr., of Bombay, reference to, i. 239. n. Stone, the, obtained near Meccah, ii. 152. n. That of Panopolis, 152. Stone-worship, ii. 157. n. Storm, description of one at Muna, iL 241. Dry storms of Arabia, i. 241. Streets, the. of El Medinah, i 375. Students, Moslem, i. 101. Wretched pro- spects of, 106. Sudan (Blacksland), i. 173. Suez (Suways), a place of obstacle to pil- grims, i. Vi4. Safety of the Uesert road to, 152. Its want of sweet water, \f)i. n. Its brackish wells, 154. n. No ham- mam (or bath) at, 154. n. Number of caravanserais of, 155. n. Want of comfort in all of them, 155. n. The farzeh. or system of rotation, in the port of. 166. 174. Exorbitant rate of freight at, 166. n. The George Inn at {see George Inn), 168. et$eq. Decrease in the number of pil- grims passing through, to Meccah, 172. The shipbuilders of, 173. Kind and num- ber of ships used at, 1 73. Imports and ex- VOL. II. E E ports of, 174, 175. Average annual tem- perature of the year at, 176. Population of, 176 State of the walls, gates, and de- fences of, 177. Food of the inhabitants of, 177. Their fondness for quarrels, 178. A " pronunciamento " at, 182. Scene on the beach on a July morning at, 181. Sufayna, El, the village of, ii. 123. Halt of the Baghdad caravan at, 123. Description of the place, 125. Sufat (or half-caste Turk\ a, the present ruling race at EI MedinHti, ii. 5. Suffah (or Sofa), Companions of the, i. 348. Sufiyan, Abu, his battle with Mohammed at Mount Ohod. i. 40.''. 407. SulVah, the, i. 75. " Sufra hazir," 75. n. Suhayl, sells ground at El Medinah to Mo- hammed, i. 342. Sujdah, the (or single-how prayer), i. 299. n. Suk el Khuzavriyah (or grpengrocers' mar- ket), of EI Medinah, i. 374. The Suk el Habbabah (ur grain market) of El Me- dinah, 374. Sula, or Sawab, Jebel, near El Medinah, ii. 48. Sulayman the Magnificent, the Sultan, his donations to the shrines of Meccah and El Medinah, i. 297. Sutaymani, the poison ko called, ii, 65* SuUynianiyah, or Afghan quarter of Mec- cah, i. 320. ; ii. 148. Quarrels of the, with the Shamiyah ward, 148. Sulsi, character of Arabic, i. 309. n. A Koran in the library of the Prophet's mosque written in the, 325. n. Snmaydah, a sub-family of the Beni-Harb, i. 249. Sun. his fierce heat on the Red Sea, 1. 202, 203. Effrcts of, on the mind and body, 203. Majesty of the sunset hour, 203. Heat of the, in the Deserts of Arabia, 244. Remarks on sun-strnkes, in the East, 257. n. Hour at which it is most dangerous, 267. Adoration of the, by kissing the hand, ii. 189. Sunnat el Tawaf, or practice of circumam- bulation, ii. 194. Sunnis, their antipathy to the Shiahs, i. 308. n. Their reverence for the memory of Abubekr, 339. n. Superstitions of the Arabs, i. 410. Error of Niebuhr respecting, ii. 147. n. That re- specting the ceiling of the Kaabah. 231. The superstitions of Meccans and Chris- tians compared. 2C0. Those of Arabs and Africans respecting the aloe, 272. Supplication, efficacy of the, at the Masjid el Ahzab. ii. 47. Surat, tobacco of, i. 175. Surgery among the Bedouins, ii. 107. Suri f Syrian), Shami, or Suryani, tobacco, i. 65. ft. Surrah, the (or financier of the caravan), i. 359. Suwan (granite), the, of Meccnh, il. 152. n. Suwas'kah, celebrated in the history of the Arabs, i. 267. Origin of its name, 2G7. n. Suwayrkiyah, bead-quarters of the Beni Hu'sayn, ii. 3. Confines of, 73. The town of, 119. The inhabitants of, 119. Swords of the Arabs, i. 241.; ii. 106. Their sword-play, 106. Syria, expedition of Tobba el Asghar against, i. 335. Abhorrence in which it is held by 41» IJSDJUJi.. the Shiah sect, ii. 128. n. Wars in, caused by sectarian animoBity, 128. n. Syrians on the Red Sea, i. 197. Detestation in which Syria and the Syrians are hfid by the Shiahs, ii. 128. 7t. Called "abusers of the salt," 128. n. Tabrani, El, his account of the building of the Prophet's mosque, i. 347. Taf.irruj, or lioniiing, i. 296. Tad (or bole earth) used as soap, i. 396. Eaten by Arab women, 398. Tafsir (exposition of the Koran), study of, in schools, i. 101. Taharah, the kind of circumcision among tiie Bedouins so called, ii. 1 10. Tahlit (or cry of welcome), ii. 184. Taif, popul;Uinn of, i. 376. Pears of, 383. n. The " Hnbb Kumman " of, 389. The blue peaks of. ii. M:i. Tiikat el KHshf (niche of disclosure), of the moMjue of El Kuba, i. 393. Taki\eh, or dervishes' dwelling-place, in CaiVo, I. %A. The Takiyah erected at Kl Medinah by Mohammed Ali, 274. Takruri pilgrims, ii. 62. Tlieir wretched poverty, 02. Taklitrawan, nr gorgeous litter, i. 400. Ex- penses of one, from Damascus and back, ii. 6ti. n. Talbiyat (or exclaiming), the. when ap- proaching Meccah, ii. J34. Derivation of the term. 134. n. Talhah, friend of Mohammed, sent forward to El Medinah, i. 339. Tamarisk tree, the, i. 38G. Tamatiu, El (possession), the pilgrimage so called, il. 374. Tanzimat, the, fully of, i. 250. 'J'arawih prayers, i 78. Tarbusli and fez, the, ii. 15. Tank el tihabir, the road from El Medinah to Meccah, ii. 58. Tarikh Tabari, the, referred to, i. 333. Tarikeh bin Himyariah, wife of Amr bin Amm, i. 334. Tarshifh, i. J84. Tarwiyat, origm of the ceremony of, ii. 385. n. Taslim, or to say '* saldm/ i. 316. Tashrih, the Madani children's bodies marked with, ii. 13. Tashrit (gashing), the ceremony at Meccah so called, ii. 2ft7. Tatarit (or cartridges ) of the Bedouins, ii. 115. Taun (the plague), never in El Hejaz, i. 307. Tawaf (or Circnmanibulation)of the House of Allah at Meccah, i. 293. Ceremonies of, at the Kaabah, ii. 169. Itn probable origin, 189. n. 'Ihe Sunnat el Tawaf (or practice of circumambulation) 194. Sketch of the ceremony of, 380. Tawarah tribes of Arabs. See Arabs ; Si- naitic trihes. Tawashi, the generic name of the eunuchs of the mosque, i. 366. | Taxation in Egypt, i. 109. n. Capitation tax levied on infidels, 227. n. No taxes paid by the Madani, ii.7. Tayammum, the sand-baih, i. 2o3. Tayfur Agha, chief of the college of eu- nuchs at El Medinah, i. 356. Tayr Ababil, the, i. 367- Tayyarah, or " flying caravan," the, ii. 50, Thamud tribe, the, of tradition, i. 216. Theology, Moslem, observations on. i. 103. et seg. Poverty of an Alim, or theolo- gian, 127. Tiiieves in the Desert, i. 242. Thir.'«t, difficulty with which it is borne by the Bedouins, ii. 69. How to allay, 69. n. Tehamat El Hejuz, or the sea coast of £ Hejaz, i. .^62. I Teriynk ( 'I'heriack) of El Irak, the counter- pn1.^(ln so called, ii. 108. Testification, the prayer so called, i. 306 307. 71. Tczkireh. See Passports. Tigritiya, the Abyssinian malady so called, ii. 199. n. Timbak. See Tobacco. Tinder. Nubian and Indian, ii. 132. n. Tippo Sahiii, his treatment of French em- ployes, i. 39. n. Tobacco (Timbak) the, of Egypt, i. 64. La- takia, 64. n. Suri (Syrian), Shami, or Suryani. 64. n. Tumbak, 64, n Hummi, 65. n. The Shishii, or Egyptian water- pipe, 78. Pipes of Ihe Bidoums and Arab townspeople, 140. n. The old Turkish meertichaum, 140. n. The tobacco of Persia a- d Surat, 175. Aversion of the barbarous tribes of Africa to the smell of, 169. n. The shisha (hooka) of Arabia, 285. Syrian tobacco generally used in £1 Medinah, 267. n. Its soothing inSuence, ii. 63. Water-pipes, (>3. Salary of a pipe- bearer, 63. n. Smoking among the Be- douins, ,117. Instances of the Wahhabi hatred of, 124. 137. Tobba Abu Karb, the, i. 335. n. Tobba el Asghar, his expetlition to El Me- dinah, i. 335. And to Syria and El Irak, 336. Abolishes idolatry, 336. Tobba, origin of the term, i, 335. n. Tombs ; that of El-nabt Daniyal (Daniel the Prophetl.i. 11. Of Sikander El-Rumi, 12. Ol Mahommed El-Busiri, 12. Of Abu Abbas El-Andalusi, 12. Of the mar- tyred grandsons of Mohammed. Hasan, and Husayn, 95. n. Of Kaid Bey, and the other Mameluke Kings, 96. Peculiar form of the sepulchre now common in El Hejaz, Egypt, and the Red Sea, 151. The tomb of Abu Zulaymah, 194. Of Shaykh Hasan el Marabit, on the Red Sea, 212. Distant view of the Prophet's tomb at £1 Medinah, 275. Account of a visit to it, 292—328. The Lady Fatimah's at £1 Medinah, 296. .^14. Exact place ,of the Prophet's tomb, 309. The tombs of Abubekr and Omar, 31!, 312. The future tomb of Sayyidna Isa, 313. T( mbs of the father and mother of the Prophet, 337. n. Tomb of Mohammed. 344. 348. Attempted robbery of the tombs of Mohammed and his two companions, 352. The tombs in the Hujrah visited by El Samanhudif 353. n. The tomb of Aaron on Mount Ohod, 405. Hamzah's tomb, 407, 4i)8. That of Abdullah bin Jaish at Ohod, 4-11. Visit to the tombs of the saints of £1 Bakia, ii. 31. et seq. Tombs of Hagar and Ishmael at Meccah, 162. Burial-places of Adam, Abet, and Cain, 165. n. Tombs of celebrity at the INDEX. 419 cemetery of Meccah, 273. et seq. Eve's tomb near Jedilah, 297. Tott. Inspector- General, i. 109. n. Trade and cnmmerce, condition of, at El Medinrih, ii. 8. The three vile trades of Moslems, 144. n- Trafalsrar, Cape, i. 7. Remarks on the meaning of the word, 7. n. Travellers, idiosyncrasy of, i. 16. •' Trees of El Medinah," the celebrated, i. 2To. Tripoli, i. 185. Tumar character, the, of Arabic, ii. '238. Tur, the old Phoenician colony on the Red Sea, i. I9G. Terrible stories about the | Bedouins of, 196. The modern town and ■ inhahitants of, 197- The delicious dates ' of. 199. Tur, Jebel (Mount Sinal^. i. 132. 1 Turki pomegranates of Et Medinah, i. 388. Turks on the pilgrimage, i. ISS. Turkish Irregular Cavalry in the Deserts of Arabia, 242. Imbecility of their rule in Arabia, 2-'i0. Probable end of its au- thority in El Hejaz, '2-t1. Douceurs given by them to the Arjib shaykhs of El Hejaz. 258. Their pride in ignoring all points of Arab prejudices, 292. Their difficulties in Arabia, 341. One killed on the march, iii. 105. Their dangerous position in El Hejaz, 142. n. The author's acquaint- ance with Turkish pilgrims at Meccah, 195. Tussun Bey, defeated by the Bedou'ns, i. 255. Concludes a peace with Abdullah the Wahhabi, 355. Tutty (Tutiyah), used in El Hejaz for the cure of ulcers, i. 373. Uhayhah, of the Aus tribe, i. 337. n. Ukab, the bird so called, ii. 62. Ukayl bin Abi Talib, brother of Ali, his tomb. ii. 38. ». 43. n. Ulael Din, Shaykh, of El Medinah, ii. 10. Ulcers ( Nasur) common in El Hejaz, i. 372 . Antiquity of the disease in Arabia, 372. Death of Am e) Kays, the warrior and poet, 372. Mandate of Mohammed Abu Si Mohammed, 372. The Hejaz " Nasur," and the Yemen ulcer the '• Jurh el Ye- raani," 373. Popular treatment of, 373. Umar bin Abd el Aziz, governor of El Me- dinah. i.3I4. n. 350. Umar Effendi. his personal appearance, i. 157. His character, 157. His part in the fravon board the pilgrim-ship, 187. Effects of 'a thirty-six h >urs' sail on him, 204. His brotherslat Yamba,224. 234.; ii. 8. His alarm at the Hazimi tribe, i. 225. Takes leave of Yamba, 235. His rank in the camel file, 236. His arrival at El Medinah, 273. His house in El Barr, 286. His intimacy with the pilgrim, 288. His gift of a piece of a Kiswah to the pilgrim, 309. «. His account of the various offices of the mo-ique of the Prophet, 356. His share of the pensions of the mosque, 360. Accompanies the pilgrim to Ohod, 402. Bids him adieu, ii. 54. Runs away from his father at Jeddah, 294. Caught and taken back, 295. Urdu, or camp of soldiers in El Hejaz, i. 377. B. Urtah, or battalion of soldie s, 370. i. n. E E Umar ibn Fariz, poems of, i. 104. n. Umbrella, the, a sign of royalty, ii. 145. n. 21H. Umrah, El. situation of, iii. 341. Umrah (The Little Pilgrimage), ii. 226. The Ceremonies of, 242. 338. 341—347. Ui^bu, the (or seven courses round the Kiabah),Sii. 191. n. Usman Effendi, the Scotchman, i. 371. n- Usman. the Pacha, the present principal officer of the mosque at El Medinah, i. S.'iB. Usman bin Mazun, his burial-place, ii. 33. Ustuwanat al As-hab, or the Companions* column, at the mosque of the Prophet, i. 313. 71. Ustuwaucit el Miikhallak, or the perfumed pillar, 322. Ustuwanat el Hannanah, or weepine pillar, at the Pro- phet's mosque, 322. 347' n. Ustuwanat el Ayisha, or pillar of Ayisha, 322. Ustu- wanat el Kurah, or pillar of Lots, 322. Ustuwanat el Muhajirin, or pillar of Fu- gitives, 322. Ustuwanat el Abu Lubabah, or pillar of Lubabah or of repentance, 322. Ustuwanat Sarir, or pillar of the Cot, 323. Ustuwanat Ali, or column of Ali the fourth caliph, 323. Ustuwanat el Wufud, 323, Ustuwanat el Tahajjud, where the Prophet passed the night in prayer, 324. Utaybah Bedouins, ferocity of the, ii. 131. Charged with drinking their enemies' blood, 131. Their stoppage of the Da- mascus caravan, ii. 138. Dispersed by Sherif Zayd, 138, CTtbah bin Abi Wakkas, theinadel, 1.413. Utum (or square, flat roofed stone castles, in Arabia), i. 332, 333. Valleys in Arabia, longitudinal, transversal, and diagonnl, i. 344, Vasco de Gama, his voyage to Calicut, i, 182. n. Vegetables, the, of the plain of EI Medinah, i. 387. Vena, common at Yambu, i. 372. Treat- ment of, 372. Venus, worship of, by the Hukama, ii. 187. Verdigris, used in Arabia for the cure of ulcers, i. 373. Vertomannus Ludovicus, his pilgrimages I to Meccah, and El Medinah, ii. 309. Victims, ceremonies of the day of, ii. 225 et seq. Villages frequently changing their names, i. 238. Vincent, on the Moors of Africa, i. 247. «. Vine, cultivation of the, in El Medinah, i. 387- Visions in the East, ii. 207. n. Visits of ceremony after the Ramazan, i. 113. Of the middle classes in Egypt, 131. n. After a journey, 279. 280. Volcanoes, traces of extinct, near El Me- dinah, ii. 60, Wadv, the Arabian, ii. 145. n. The Wady el Ward (the;Vale'of Flowers, 146. Wady el Kura, town of, founded by the Jews, i. 333. The route from El Medi- nah to Meccah, so called, ii. -^8. Wady el Subu, town of, founded by the Jews, i. 333. 2 4:iu Wady, the Masjid ^. i. 217. Wahhabis, aversion of the, to tobacco,!89.n.: ii. 124. l;^6. Ruinous eflfect of the wars between the, and the Egyptians, i, 247. Their defeat of Tussun Bey and 8000 Turks, 255. Tenets of the, 294. Their op- position to A\\ Bey, 294. n. Their rejection of the doctrine of the Prophet's interces- ■ sion, 305. And of Turkish rule in El Hejaz, 345. Besiege El Medinah. 354. Defeated by Mohammed Ali at the battle of Bissel, 89. Description of their march on the pilgrimage, 136. Thtir bravery, 138. Their taxation of the Madani, 212. Their appearance at the ceremonies of the day of Arafat, 214. Their destruc- tion of the chapel of ArafAt,2l6. n. Note on the ceremonies of the Wahhabi pilgrim- age, 219. n. Their unsuccessful attack OD Jeddah. 289. Wahshi, the slave, slays Hamzah, 1. 415. Wahshi El, the date so called, i. 384. Wahy, the (or Inspiration brought b ■ the Archangel Gabriel from heaven), i.320. "Waiz. the, in the mosque, i. 9S. Wakaleh, the, or inn of Egypt, description of the. i. 41. The Wakaleh Khan Khalil of Cairo, 542. The Wakaleh Jemaliyah, 42. Those of El Medinah, 373. The "Wakatat Bab Salam, 375. The Wakalat Jebarti,37o. The, of Jeddah, ii. 290.. Wakf (bequeathed), written in books, i. 327. Bought up by Mohammed Ali Pacha, 344. Abolished in Turkey, 344. n. Es- tablished by the Sultan Kaid Bey, 354. See Aukaf. Wahil (or substitute), in pilgrimage, ii. 267. 'Wakin. El, or El Zahrah, the Harrat so called, i 403. n. "Walid, El, the Caliph, i. 313. n. Inventor of the mihrab and minaret, 347. «. His magnificent buildings at El Medinah, 349. Visits the mosque in state. 351. Mosques built by him at El Medinah. ii. 48. Walls, the (holy men), of Alexandria, i. 12. Wallin, Dr. George of Finland, his visit to Meccah, i. 4. n- His death, 5. n. His Eastern name, Wall el Din, 43. n. His remarks on the Arab tribes referred to, 141. n. His admiration of Bedouin life, ii. 97, Walls, the, of El Medinah. i. 374. " War of the Meal-sacks." i. 267. War Dance (Arzah), the, of the Arabs, i. 401. AVardan and the Wardanenses, i. 30, 31. n. Warkan. Jebel, one of the mountains of Paradise, i. 266. ■Wasitah, El. See Hamra, El. Watches worn in Arabia, i. 162. Water bags in the East. i. 24. 121. Value of water in the Desert. 145. Carried across the Desert to Suez, 154. Water- course! (Misyal)of Arabia. 243.247. The water found in the Deserts of Arabia, 247. "Light" water, 3-25. Oriental cu- riosity respeciing, 325. Manner of pro- viding, at El Medinah, 3G4. Music of the water-wheels, 384. Quantity of, in the palm-gardens of EI Medniah. 386. Puriry of the water throughout £1 Hejaz, ii. 216. Water-spout (Myzab), the, of the Kaabah, ii. 161. Weapons, the, of the Bedouins, ii. 104. Weeping pillar in Mohammed's mosque, 322. Weights, the, of El Medinah, i. 385. n. Welcome, the Oriental cry of (Tahlil, or Ziraleet), ii. 184. Wells Moses*, at Sinai, i. 190. Ancient wells at Aden, 199. n. Of the Indians in Arabia, 267. n. The Bir el Aria at Kuba, 395. The Pilgrim's " Kaif" on the brink of the Bir el Aris, 395. Former and pre- sent number of wells of El Knba, 397. The Saba Abar, or seven wells, 397. The Bir el Nabi, 397. «. The Bir el Ghurbal, 398. n. The Bir el Fukay-yir, 398. n. The Bir el Ghars, 398. n. The Bir Rumah, or Kalib Mazni, 398. n. The Bir Buzaat, 398. n. The Bir Busat, 398. n. The Bir Bayruha, 398. n, The Sir Ibn, 398. n. The three wells of the Caliph Harun at EI Ghadir, ii. 129. Wellington, Duke of, bis remark on the means of preserving health inlindia, 257. West, Mr., sub- vice-consul at Suez, his kindness to the pilftrim. i. 165. Wijh Harbour, on the Red Sea, i. 209. The town. 209. Wilkinson, Sir Gardner, his observations on Egyptian passports, i. 18. Wind, the Simoom, i. 145. The Sarsar, 147. n. The "poison-wind." 257. n. The eastern wintry winds of El Medinah, 365. W^ishah, the style of dress so called, ii. 13^1. Wives of tlie Prophet, tombs of the, ii. 38. His fifteen wives. 38. n. Wolfs tail, (Dum i Gurg), the grey dawn, i. 150. Women, flirtation and love-making at festivals, i. 112. The rublic amusements allowed to Oriental women, 114. The death wail. 114. An Armenian marriage, 119. Faults of Moslem ladies' dressing, 119. n. Condition of women in Egypt, at the present day, 171. Theopprobrious term Misriyah, 171. Dress of the women of Yamba, 22.3. The face-veil, 223. The Lisam of Constantinople, 223. n. Retired habits of the women at El Medinah, 286. Soft and delicate voices of the Som£li women, 286. The Rynsconitis of Arab women, 286. Ablution necessary after touching the skin of a strange woman, 286 n. A Persian lady's contempt for boys, 291. The Bab el '''isa, or women's gate at El Medinah, 296. Disgrace of making a Moslemah expose her face, 350. n. The women of the farmer race of Arabs, 389, 390. Tafl (or bole earth) eaten by them, 398. Women devotees at the Haram, 416. Women sometimes not allowed to join a congregation in El Islam. 416 n. Dress and cu.stoms of the Indian women settled at El Medinah, ii. 6. Value of black slave-girls, 12. Price of a Jariyah Bayza (or white slave- girl), 13. Dress of the women of £1 Medinah, 14, 15. Their mourning dress, 16. Decency of the women of El Medi- nah, 19. Their pleasures, 19. Their bad language, 20- Arab marriages, 21 . et seq. Unwillingness among the Arabs to name the wife, ii. 84. And in other countries, 84. n. Uncomeliness of the women of INDEX. 421 £1 Hejaz, 85. Softening influence o( the social position of the women among the Sedouins, 89. Polygamy and monogamy compareil, 90. n. Tne daughters of a higher ctan of Arabs not allowed to marry into a lower, 91. Heroism of women, 93. The Arab oath, "by the honour of my wonien," 94, Marriage ceremonies of the Bedouins, 110. Frequency of di- vorces among them. 110. Dress of the Bedouin women of El Hejaz. 115. Un- chastity of the women of th** Hitman tribe of Arabs 369. Ejaculations of women when in da 1 ger of exposing their faces, 128. Strange dress of pilgrim women, 136. Wahhabi women on the pilgrimage, 136- Place for the female pilgrims in the Kaabah, 166. Shrill cries of joy with which Arab women receive their husbands after returning from a journey, 184. The Kabirah (or mistress of a house), 184. Women, how directed to perform the Sai, 382. Moslem praters for the souls of women, 386. Superstitmus rite on behalf of women at Arafat, 211. Manner of addressing respectable Moslem women, 212. n. Au adventure with a fair Meccan, 220—222. The slave market of Meccah, 275. Appearance of the slaves, 276. *' Wormwood of Pontus," i. 151. Wounds, Bedouin method of treating, i. 263. n. 373. ■Wriiing, Oriental, remarks on, 1. 101. Skilful penmanship but little valued at the present day. 101 . n. The Turkish or- namental character called " Suls," 101. n. The Persian character, 101. n. The Egyptian and Ar^b coarse and clumsy hand, 101. n. The Mirza Sanglakh, 101. ». Writing and drawing generally disliked by Arabs, 234. Writing on noted spots, the practice both classical and Oriental. 414. Wuzu (or the lesser ablution), i. 6. 76. 224. Wukuf, or standing upon Mount Arafat, Arab legend respecting, ii. 383. The pitgrim rices of, 383. *' Va gadda," the term, i. 71- n. " Ya hu," the exclamation, i. 71. n. Y. S.» the chapter of the Koran, i. 3-51. n. 412. Yambu, tribes inhabiting the deserts about, i. 141. Yambu el Bahr (or Yambu of the Sea), 219. The Jambia of Ptolemy, 219. The Sherif of Yambu. 220. De- scription of the town, 220. Varieties of the population at. 221. An evening party at, 226. Strength of the walls and turrets of, 23o. Attacked by Saud de Wahhabi, 23^. Jews settled in, 332. n. Diseases of, 372. Population of, 376. n. Yanbua of the palace-grounds, i. 219. Yarab bin Kahtan bin Shalik bin Arfakh- shad bin Sam bin Nuh, descendants of, i. 333. Yasir bin Akhtah, plots against Moham- med, i. 343. Yathreb (now El Medinah), settled by fu- gitive Jews, i. 333. Yaum el Tarwiyah, the, ii. 383. n. The Yaum el Nahr (the Day of Throat-cut- ting), 384. Yemen, tamarinds from, i. 175. Mountains of, 257. n. The coffee of, 2T9. n. The birth-place of the Aus and Kharaj. 333. Sufferings of the people of, from ulcers, 372. Mandate of the conqueror Moham- med Abu Si Mohammed, 372. Demorali- sation of the Arabs of, 107- Former horse-trade of, 218. n. Yezid, El, cursed by the disciples of the Shafei school, ii. 37. Yezid, son of the Caliph Muawiyah and his Bedouin wife Maysunah, ii. 213. n. His contempt for his father, 213. n. Yorke, Colonel P., i.H. Ynsuf, the Jewish "Lord of the Pit," ii. 78. n. Zaabut, the. i. 16. Zabit, or Egyptian police magistrate, i. 19. Scenes before, 115. The ** Pacha of the night." 115, Zafar. the Afasjid Beni, also called Masjid el Baghlah, ii. 45. Zafaran Point, i. 190. n. Zaghritah (or cry of welcome), ii. 184. Zahra, or "bright blooming Fatimah," i. 315. n. Zahrah, El, or El Wakin. the Harrat so called, i. 403. n. " Z4ir," the, or the visitors to the sepulchre of the Prophet, i. 293. n. Dress and per- fumes of the Zair, 296. n. Zakariya el Ansari, his theological work, i. 103.71. Zamakhshari, EI, his grammatical adven- tures, iL 98. Zananire, Anton, visit to his hareem, i. 118. Zarb el Mandal, the magical science so called in Egypt, i. 370. n. Z»ribah, El, description of the plain of, ii. 133. Zarka of Yemama, story of, referred to, i. 364. n. Zat el Rikaa, the expedition so called, i. 1.50. n. Zat el Salasil (the '* Affair of Chains "), ii. 89. n. Zat Nakhl (or "place of palm trees "), at El Medinah, i. 332. Zawiyah, or oratory, the, of Mohammed el S^mmau, i. 408. Zawwar, or visitors to the tomb of the Pro- phet, i. 315. Zayd, Sherif, his bravery, ii. 138. Disperses the Ut=iybah robbers, 138. Zaydi sect, the, ii. 164. n. Zayn el Abidln, prayers for, ii. 316. Tomb of the. 40. Zaynab, wife of the Prophet, i. 350. n. Zem Zem, the well of the mosque of the Prophet, i. 6. 69. 318. Its supposed sub. terranean connection with the great Zem Zem at Meccah, 325. Rows of jars of the water at the mosque of Meccah, ii. 154. Description nf the building enclosing the well, 166. The Daurak, or earthen jars, for cooling the water, 166. n. Doubtful origin of the word, 187. n. Esteem in which the water is h»-ld, 187. n. Its qua- Utips, 187. n. How transmitted to distant regions, 188. n. Superstitions respecting it, 18». n., 194. 422 INBEX. Zem Zemi, or dispensers of the water of the holy well at Meccah, ii. 120. Ali bin Ya Sin. the Zem Zemi, 120. Zemzemiyah, or goat-skin water-bag, I. 24. Ztkrs, or dervish forms of fforship, in Enypt. L 84. Ziyad bin Abihi, his suppression of rob- bery in Basrah, i. 251. n. Ziyafah, Bab el (or Gate of Hospitality), of El Medinah, i. 374. Ziyarat, or visitation, of the Prophet's mosque, i. 293. 306. Distinction between Ziyarat and the Hajj pilgrimage, 293. Where the ceremony begins, 295. How regarded by the Malikl school, 295. n. The visitation to Kuba on the 17th Ra> mazan, 3'jI. n. Ziyarat el Widaa, or *' Farewell Visitation,'* ii. 55. The ce- reimmy of the visit to the Prophet's tomb, 385. " Ziyaratak Mubarak " (or " blessed be thy visitation"), the benediction, i. 317. Zubaydah Khatun, nife of Hhi m el Rashid, ii. 58. Her celebrated pilgrimage, 131. n. Zu'l Halifah, the Mosque, i. 271. n. AUo called the "Mosque of the Tree," 271. n., 349. Us distance from El Medinah, 362. Zuyud schismatics, the, ii. 6. THE END. London : t'rinted by SpoTTiiwoobu & Co*t New-It reet • 6q u are ■