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Title: Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Al-Madinah & Meccah

Author: Sir Richard Francis Burton

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PERSONAL NARRATIVE OF A PILGRIMAGE TO AL-MADINAH & MECCAH

BY

CAPTAIN SIR RICHARD F. BURTON,

K.C.M.G., F.R.G.S., &c., &c., &c.

EDITED BY HIS WIFE, ISABEL BURTON.

“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.


MEMORIAL EDITION.

IN TWO VOLUMES

VOLUME II.

[p.xii]
[Arabic]
Dark and the Desert and Destriers me ken,
And the Glaive and the Joust, and Paper and Pen.
Al-Mutanabbi

PART II.

AL-MADINAH.
(Continued.)

[p.1]
A PILGRIMAGE

TO

AL-MADINAH AND MECCAH.

CHAPTER XXI.

THE PEOPLE OF AL-MADINAH.

AL-MADINAH contains but few families descended from the Prophet’s
Auxiliaries. I heard only of four whose genealogy is undoubted. These
were,—

1. The Bayt al-Ansari, or descendants of Abu Ayyub, a most noble race
whose tree ramifies through a space of fifteen hundred years. They keep
the keys of the Kuba Mosque, and are Imams in the Harim, but the family
is no longer wealthy or powerful.

2. The Bayt Abu Jud: they supply the Harim with Imams and
Mu’ezzins.[FN#l] I was told that there are now but two surviving members
of this family, a boy and a girl.

3. The Bayt al-Sha’ab, a numerous race. Some of the members travel
professionally, others trade, and others are employed in the Harim.

4. The Bayt al-Karrani, who are mostly engaged in commerce.

There is also a race called Al-Nakhawilah,[FN#2] who,

[p.2]according to some, are descendants of the Ansar, whilst others
derive them from Yazid, the son of Mu’awiyah: the latter opinion is
improbable, as the Caliph in question was a mortal foe to Ali’s family,
which is inordinately venerated by these people. As far as I could
ascertain, they abuse the Shaykhayn (Abu Bakr and Omar): 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 Shi’ah
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 to
low offices, such as slaughtering animals, sweeping, and gardening, and
are not allowed to enter the Harim during life, or to be carried to it
after death. Their corpses are taken down an outer street called the
Darb al-Janazah—Road of Biers—to their own cemetery near Al-Bakia. They
dress and speak Arabic, like the townspeople; but the Arabs pretend to
distinguish them by a peculiar look denoting their degradation: it is
doubtless the mistake of effect for cause, about all such

“Tribes of the wandering foot and weary breast.”
 number of reports are current about the horrid

[p.3]customs of these people, and their community of women[FN#3] 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 al-Din, of a Kurd family, settled at
Al-Madinah, 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 Sharifs,[FN#4] the descendants of the
Prophet, here abound. The Benu Hosayn of Al-Madinah have their
head-quarters at Suwayrkiyah:[FN#5] the 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 centuries
they retained charge of the Prophet’s tomb. They

[p.4]subsist principally upon their Amlak, property in land, for which
they have title-deeds extending back to Mohammed’s day, and Aukaf,
religious bequests; popular rumour accuses them of frequent murders for
the sake of succession. At Al-Madinah they live chiefly at the Hosh Ibn
Sa’ad, a settlement outside the town and south of the Darb al-Janazah.
There is, however, no objection to their dwelling within the walls; and
they are taken to the Harim 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[FN#6]” (heresy) 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 Benu Hosayn are spare dark men of
Badawi appearance, and they dress in the old Arab style still affected
by the Sharifs,—a Kufiyah (kerchief) on the head,[FN#7] and a Banish, 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 two hundred
families of Sayyid Alawiyah,—descendants of Ali by any of his wives but
Fatimah, they bear no distinctive mark in dress or appearance, and are
either employed at the

[p.5]temple or engage at trade. Of the Khalifiyah, or descendants of
Abbas, there is, I am told, but one household, the Bayt Al-Khalifah,
who act as Imams in the Harim, and have charge of Hamzah’s tomb. Some
declare that there are a few of the Siddikiyah, or descendants from Abu
Bakr; others ignore them, and none could give me any information about
the Benu Najjar.

The rest of the population of Al-Madinah is a motley race composed of
offshoots from every nation in Al-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 Al-Madinah. 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
knowledge 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
Al-Madinah 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 Al-Madinah, in consequence of political vicissitudes, is the
“Sufat,[FN#8]” 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
Al-Yaman and other parts of Arabia, Syrians, Kurds, Afghans,
Daghistanis from the Caucasus, and a few Jawis—Java Moslems. The Sindis,
I was told, reckon about one hundred families, who are exceedingly
despised for their

[p.6]cowardice and want of manliness, whilst the Baluch and the Afghan
are respected. The Indians are not so numerous in proportion here as at
Meccah; still Hindustani 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,
pantaloons. This, together with other reasons, secures for them the
contempt of the Arabs. At Al-Madinah they are generally small
shopkeepers, especially druggists and sellers of Kumash (cloth), and
they 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 Al-Madinah, as in most parts
of Al-Islam, although many of the citizens, and almost all the Badawin,
are Shafe’is. The reader will have remarked with astonishment that at one
of the fountain-heads of the faith, there are several races of
schismatics, the Benu Hosayn, the Benu Ali, and the Nakhawilah. At the
town of Safra there are said to be a number of the Zuyud
schismatics,[FN#9] who visit Al-Madinah, and have settled in force at
Meccah, and some declare that the Bayazi sect[FN#10] also exists.

The citizens of Al-Madinah are a favoured race, although the city is
not, like Meccah, the grand mart of the Moslem world or the
meeting-place of nations. They pay 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,

[p.7]as was their wont, in specie and in materials, for which reason
the very name of those Puritans is an abomination. 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 al-Harim, 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, viz.

First and highest, the Sadat (Sayyids),[FN#11] and Ima[m]s, who are
entitled to twelve purses, or about £60. Of these there are said to be
three hundred families.

The Khanahdan, who keep open house and receive poor strangers gratis.
Their Ikram amounts to eight purses, and they number from a hundred to
a hundred and fifty families.

The Ahali[FN#12] (burghers) or Madani properly speaking, who have homes
and families, and were born in Al-Madinah. They claim six purses.

The Mujawirin, strangers, as Egyptians or Indians, settled at, though
not born in, Al-Madinah. Their honorarium is four purses.

The Madani traveller, on arrival at Constantinople, reports his arrival
to his Consul, the Wakil al-Haramayn. This “Agent of the two Holy Places”
applies to the Nazir al-Aukaf, or “Intendant of Bequests”; the latter,

[p.8]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
profitably invested either in merchandise or in articles of home-use,
presents of dress and jewellery for the women, handsome arms,
especially pistols and Balas[FN#13] (yataghans), silk tassels, amber
pipe-pieces, slippers, and embroidered purses. They are packed up in
one or two large Sahharahs, and then commences the labour of returning
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 (bequests and alms),[FN#14] forwarded every year by the
Damascus Caravan; besides which, as has been before explained, the
Harim supplies even those not officially employed in it with many
perquisites.

Without these advantages Al-Madinah would soon be abandoned to
cultivators and Badawin. Though commerce is here honourable, as
everywhere in the East, business is “slack,[FN#15]” because the higher
classes prefer the idleness of administering their landed estates, and
being servants to the Mosque. I heard of only four respectable houses,
Al-Isawi, Al-Sha’ab, Abd al-Jawwad, and a family from Al-Shark (the
Eastern Region).[FN#16] They all deal in grain, cloth, and provisions,
and perhaps the richest have a capital of twenty thousand dollars.
Caravans in

[p.9]the cold weather are constantly passing between Al-Madinah 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 via Al-Rais, a port on the Red Sea, one day and a
half’s journey from Safra. There is an active provision trade with the
neighbouring Badawin, and the Syrian Hajj supplies the citizens 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, labour is exceedingly expensive,[FN#17] 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.[FN#18] This proceeds partly
from the pride of the people. They are taught from their childhood that
the Madani is a favoured being, to be respected however vile or
schismatic; and that the vengeance of Allah will fall upon any one who
ventures to abuse, much more to strike him.[FN#19] They receive a
stranger at the shop window with the haughtiness of Pashas, and take
pains to show him, by words as well as by looks, that they consider
themselves as

[p.10]“good gentlemen 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 Badawi from marrying the daughter of an artisan. Like
Castilians, they consider labour 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 disobedience, 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 “extends 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 his 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 Al-Madinah is not a
cheap place.[FN#20] Yet the citizens,

[p.11]despite 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: as all Orientals, they are
exceedingly fond of clarified butter.[FN#21]

[p.12]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,[FN#22] rice saturated with melted—perhaps I should say—rancid
butter. The “Samn” of Al-Hijaz, however, is often fresh, being brought in
by the Badawin; it has not therefore the foul flavour derived from the
old and impregnated skin-bag which distinguishes the “ghi” of India.[FN#23]
The house of a Madani in good circumstances is comfortable, for the
building is substantial, and the attendance 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; if she be a mother, her value
is less; but neat-handedness, propriety of demeanour, and skill in
feminine accomplishments, raise her to $100=£25. A little black boy,
perfect in all his points, and tolerably intelligent, costs about a
thousand piastres; girls are dearer, and eunuchs fetch double that sum.
The older the children become, the

[p.13]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 £20, and
they often fetch £60. I never heard of a Jariyah Bayza, a white slave
girl, being in the market at Al-Madinah: in Circassia they fetch from
£100 to £400 prime cost, and few men in Al-Hijaz could afford so expensive
a luxury. The Bazar at Al-Madinah 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.[FN#24]

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 Al-Madinah I was not stared at as a white man. The
cheeks and different parts of the children’s bodies are sometimes marked
with Mashali or Tashrih, not the three long stripes of the
Meccans,[FN#25] but little scars generally in threes. In some points
they approach very near the true Arab type, that is to say, the Badawi
of ancient and noble family. The cheek-bones are high and saillant, the
eye small, more round than long,

[p.14] piercing, 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 Badawi, 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—perhaps the only nations in 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
Al-Madinah than anywhere else, for some means of removing the
opprobrium “Kusah,” or scant-bearded man. They blacken the beard with
gall-nuts, henna, and other preparations, especially the Egyptian
mixture, composed of sulphate of iron one part, ammoniure of iron one
part, and gall-nuts two parts, infused in eight parts of distilled
water. It is a very bad dye. Much refinement of dress is now found at
Al-Madinah,—Constantinople, the Paris of the East, supplying it with the
newest fashions. Respectable men wear either a Benish or a Jubbah; the
latter, as at Meccah, is generally of some light and flashy colour,
gamboge, yellow, tender green, or bright pink.

[p.15]This is the sign of a “dressy” man. 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
Hijazis, poor and rich, always prefer these tulip tints. 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,[FN#26]” is much used,
only the Arabs have too much regard for their eyes and faces to wear
it, as the Turks do, without a turband. It is with regret that one sees
the most graceful head-gear imaginable, the Kufiyah and the Aakal,
proscribed except amongst the Sharifs and the Badawin. The women dress,
like the men, handsomely. Indoors they wear, I am told, a Sudayriyah,
or boddice of calico and other stuffs, 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 Burunjuk,
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.[FN#27] Abroad,
they throw over the head a silk or a cotton Milayah, generally
chequered white and blue. The Burka (face-veil), all over Al-Hijaz is
white, a decided improvement in point of cleanliness upon that of
Egypt. Women of all ranks die the soles of the feet and the palms of
the hands black; and trace thin lines down the inside of the

[p.16]fingers, by first applying a plaster of henna and then 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.[FN#28] 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,
attar 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
ankle, with Papush of the same material, sometimes lined with velvet
and embroidered with a gold sprig under the hollow of the foot. In
mourning the men show no difference 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
Al-Madinah did not wear mourning.

The Madani generally appear abroad on foot. Few animals are kept here,
on account, I suppose, of the expense of feeding them. The Cavalry are
mounted on poor Egyptian nags. The horses generally ridden by rich men
are generally Nijdi, costing from $200 to $300. Camels are numerous,
but those bred in Al-Hijaz are small, weak, and consequently little
prized. Dromedaries of good breed, called Ahrar[FN#29] (the noble) and
Namani, from the place of that name, are to be had for any sum between
$10 and $400; they are diminutive, but exceedingly swift, surefooted,
sagacious, thoroughbred, with eyes like the

[p.17]antelope’s, and muzzles that would almost enter a tumbler. Mules
are not found at Al-Madinah, 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 Badawi clans have a fine breed, but I never saw any. Of
beasts intended for food, the sheep is the only common one in this part
of Al-Hijaz. There are three distinct breeds. The larger animal comes
from Nijd and the Anizah Badawin, who drive a flourishing trade; the
smaller is a native of the country. Both are the common Arab species,
of a tawny colour, with a long fat tail. Occasionally one meets with
what at Aden is called the Berberah sheep, a totally different
beast,—white, with a black broad face, a dew-lap, and a short fat tail,
that looks as if twisted up into a knot: it was doubtless introduced by
the Persians. Cows are rare at Al-Madinah. Beef throughout the East is
considered an unwholesome food, and the Badawi 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.

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
ceremoniousness 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 disputing
or bargaining, instead of patiently saying to himself, S’il crache il est
mort, he interrupts the adversary with a Sall’ ala Mohammed,—Bless the
Prophet. Every good Moslem is obliged to obey such requisition by
responding, Allahumma

[p.18] salli alayh,—O Allah bless him! But the Madani curtails the phrase
to “A’n,[FN#30]” supposing it to be an equivalent, and proceeds in his
loquacity. Then perhaps the baffled opponent will shout 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 difficulty. The boys, indeed, still keep it up, turning out in
bodies and making determined onslaughts with sticks and stones.[FN#31]

It is not to be believed that in a town garrisoned by Turkish troops,
full of travelled traders, and which supports 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 white.[FN#32] This is, of course, exaggerated; but it is not
too

[p.19] much to assert that pride, pugnacity, a peculiar point of honour
and a vindictiveness of wonderful force and patience, are the only
characteristic traits of Arab character which the citizens of
Al-Madinah habitually display. Here you 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 Badawin. 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 rigour of the Koranic
law[FN#33]; 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.[FN#34]
Abroad, they have the usual Moslem

[p.20]pleasures of marriage, lyings-in, circumcision feasts, holy
isitations, and funerals. At home, they employ themselves with domestic
matters, and especially in scolding “Hasinah” and “Za’afaran.” In this occupation
they surpass even the notable English housekeeper of the middle orders
of society—the latter being confined to “knagging” at her slavey, 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 melancholy temperament of her eldest
son and his irregular hours of eating, scold him in the grossest terms,
not unfrequently 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 “O spawn of an Infidel—of a
Jew—of a Christian!” Amongst the men of Al-Madinah I remarked a
considerable share of hypocrisy. Their mouths were as full of religious
salutations, exclamations, and hackneyed quotations from the Koran, as
of indecency and vile abuse—a point in which they resemble the Persians.
As before

[p.21] observed, they preserve their reputation as the sons of a holy
city by praying only in public. At Constantinople they are by no means
remarkable for sobriety. Intoxicating liquors, especially Araki, are
made in Al-Madinah, 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 is a
characteristic of the Semitic race, long ago made familiar to Europe by
the Jew. The citizens 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, contrary 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 an one, the
son of such an one,” is a common expletive, especially in times of
danger; and this spirit is not wholly to be condemned, as it certainly
acts as an incentive to gallant actions. But it often excites them to
vie with one another in expensive entertainments and similar vanities.
The expression, so offensive to English ears, Inshallah Bukra—Please God,
tomorrow—always said about what should be done to-day, is here common as
in Egypt or in India. This procrastination belongs more or less to all
Orientals. But Arabia especially abounds in the Tawakkal al’ Allah, ya
Shaykh!—Place thy reliance upon Allah, O Shaykh!—enjoined when a man should
depend upon his own exertions. Upon the whole, however, though alive to
the infirmities of the Madani character, I thought favourably of it,
finding among this people more of the redeeming point, manliness,

[p.22]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
the brain of their wits and sages, who have not failed to indite
notable things concerning it. Saith “Harikar al-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 generally 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.[FN#35]
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 assertion:—

“They declare womankind to be heaven to man,
I say, ‘Allah, give me Jahannam, and not this heaven.’”

Yet the fair sex has the laugh on its side, for these railers at
Al-Madinah as at other places, invariably marry. The

[p.23]marriage ceremony is tedious and expensive. It begins with a
Khitbah or betrothal: the father of the young man repairs to the parent
or guardian of the 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 perform Istikharah[FN#36] (religious
lot casting)”; and, when consent is given, both pledge themselves to the
agreement by reciting the Fatihah. Then commence negotiations about the
Mahr or sum settled upon the bride[FN#37]; and after the smoothing of
this difficulty follow feastings of friends and relatives, male and
female. The marriage itself is called Akd al-Nikah or Ziwaj. A Walimah
or banquet is prepared by the father of the Aris (groom), 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 (bride) at her father’s house; and finally, with a
Zuffah or procession and sundry ceremonies at the Harim, she is brought
to her new home. Arab funerals are as simple as their marriages are
complicated. Neither Naddabah (myriologist or hired keener), nor indeed
any female, even a relation, is present at burials as in other parts of
the Moslem world,[FN#38] and it is esteemed disgraceful

[p.24]for a man to weep aloud. The Prophet, ho doubtless had heard of
those pagan mournings, where an effeminate and unlimited display of woe
was often terminated by licentious excesses, like the Christian’s
half-heathen “wakes,” forbad [a]ught beyond a decent demonstration of
grief. And his strong good sense enabled him to see through the vanity
of professional mourners. At Al-Madinah the corpse is interred shortly
after decease. The bier is carried though the streets at a moderate
pace, by friends and relatives,[FN#39] 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 Harim, they carry the corpse in visitation to the Prophet’s
window, and pray over it at Osman’s niche. Finally, it is interred after
the usual Moslem fashion in the cemetery Al-Bakia.

Al-Madinah, though pillaged by the Wahhabis, still abounds in books.
Near the Harim 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 Najib al-Ashraf, or
chief of the Sharifs, a certain Mohammed Jamal al-Layl, whose father is
well-known in India. Besides which, there is a large Wakf or bequest of
books, presented to the Mosque or entailed upon particular
families.[FN#40] The celebrated Mohammed Ibn Abdillah al-Sannusi[FN#41]
has removed

[p.25] his collection, amounting, it is said, to eight thousand
volumes, from Al-Madinah to his house in Jabal Kubays at Meccah. The
burial-place of the Prophet, therefore, no longer lies open to the
charge of utter ignorance brought against it by my predecessor.[FN#42]
The people now praise their Olema for learning, and boast a superiority
in respect of science over Meccah. Yet many students leave the place
for Damascus and Cairo, where the Riwak al-Haramayn (College of the Two
Shrines) in the Azhar Mosque University, is always crowded; and though
Omar 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 informants claimed for Al-Madinah any facilities of
studying other than the purely religious sciences.[FN#43] 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 Balsamo), who claimed the Meccan Sharif as his father,
asserted that about A.D. 1765 he had studied alchemy at Al-Madinah. The
only trace I could find was a superficial 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

[p.26]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 Sind, Southern Persia, Eastern Arabia,
and many parts of India, would be looked upon as miraculous. Most
probably one of the company had witnessed the performance of some
Italian conjuror at Constantinople or Alexandria, and retained a lively
recollection of every manœuvre. 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[FN#44] their language purely; they are not
equal to the people of the southern Hijaz, still their Arabic is
refreshing after the horrors of Cairo and Maskat.

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 Languedoc. And though Niebuhr has been deservedly

[p.27]censured for comparing the Koranic language to Latin and the
vulgar tongue to Italian, still there is a great difference between
them, almost every word having undergone 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 pronoun which apocope in
the verb now renders necessary.[FN#45] But I greatly doubt the
existence of such a race of philologists. In Al-Hijaz, however, it is
considered graceful 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.”

[FN#1] Ibn Jubayr relates that in his day a descendant of Belal, the
original Mu’ezzin of the Prophet, practised his ancestral profession at
Al-Madinah.
[FN#2] This word is said to be the plural of Nakhwali,—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 with the Mutawalli (also written Mutawilah,
Mutaalis, Metoualis, &c., &c.), the hardy, courageous, and hospitable
mountaineers of Syria, and Cœlesyria 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 Shi’ahs, who are far more particular about ceremonial purity
than the Sunnis. They use ablutions before each meal, and herein remind
us of the Hindus.
[FN#3] The communist principles of Mazdak the Persian (sixth century)
have given his nation a permanent bad fame in this particular among the
Arabs.
[FN#4] In Arabia the Sharif is the descendant of Hasan through his two
sons, Zaid and Hasan al-Musanna: the Sayyid is the descendant of Hosayn
through Zayn al-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
Sharif is the son of a Sayyid woman and a common Moslem. The Sayyid
“Nejib al-Taraf” (noble on one side) is the son of a Sayyid father and a
common Moslemah. The Sayyid “Nejib al-Tarafayn” (noble on both sides) is
one whose parents are both Sayyids.
[FN#5] Burckhardt alludes to this settlement when he says, “In the
Eastern Desert, at three or four days’ journey 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 Benu Hosayn. The
Benu Ali are Badawin settled at the Awali, near the Kuba Mosque: they
were originally slaves of the great house of Auf, and are still
heretical in their opinions.
[FN#6] “Refusing, rejecting.” Hence the origin of Rafizi,—“a rejector, a
heretic.” “Inna rafaznahum,”—“verily we have rejected them,” (Abu Bakr, Omar, and
Osman,) exclaim the Persians, glorying in the opprobrious epithet.
[FN#7] Sayyids in Al-Hijaz, as a general rule, do not denote their
descent by the green turband. In fact, most of them wear a red Kashmir
shawl round the head, when able to afford the luxury. The green turband
is an innovation in Al-Islam. In some countries it is confined to the
Sayyids; in others it is worn as a mark of distinction by pilgrims.
Khudabakhsh, the Indian, at Cairo generally dressed in a tender green
suit like a Mantis.
[FN#8] Plural of Suftah—a half-caste Turk.
[FN#9] Plural of Zaydi. These are well-known schismatics of the Shi’ah
persuasion, who abound in Southern Arabia.
[FN#10] The Bayazi sect flourishes near Maskat, whose Imam or Prince,
it is said, belongs to the heretical persuasion. It rejects Osman, and
advocates the superiority of Omar over the other two Caliphs.
[FN#11] Sadat is the plural of Sayyid. This word in the Northern Hijaz
is applied indifferently to the posterity of Hasan and Hosayn.
[FN#12] 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.
[FN#13] 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 Chasseurs de
Vincennes.
[FN#14] See chapter xvii.
[FN#15] Omar Effendi’s brothers, grandsons of the principal Mufti of
Al-Madinah, were both shopkeepers, and were always exhorting him to do
some useful work, rather than muddle his brains and waste his time on
books.
[FN#16] See chapter xiv.
[FN#17] To a townsman, even during the dead season, the pay of a
gardener would be 2 piastres, a carpenter 8 piastres per diem, and a
common servant (a Bawwab or porter, for instance), 25 piastres per
mensem, or £3 per annum, besides board and dress. Considering the value
of money in the country, these are very high rates.
[FN#18] Who alone sell milk, curds, or butter. The reason of their
monopoly has been given in Chapter xiii.
[FN#19] History informs us that the sanctity of their birth-place has
not always preserved the people of Al-Madinah. But the memory of their
misfortunes is soon washed away by the overwhelming pride of the race.
[FN#20] The market is under the charge of an Arab Muhtasib or
Bazar-master, who again is subject to the Muhafiz or Pasha governing
the place. The following was the current price of provisions at
Al-Madinah early in August, 1853: during the Visitation season
everything is doubled:—
1 lb. mutton, 2 piastres, (beef is half-price, but seldom eaten; there
is no buffalo meat, and only Badawin 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 1/2
Butter is made at home by those who eat it, and sometimes by the
Egyptians for sale).
1 lb. milk, 1 piastre.
1 lb. cheese, 2 piastres, (when cheap it is 1, when dear 3 piastres per
lb.)
A Wheaten loaf weighing 12 dirhams, 10 parahs. (There are loaves of 24
dirhams, costing 1/2 piastre.)
1 lb. dry biscuits, (imported), 3 piastres.
1 lb. of vegetables, 1/2 piastre.
1 Mudd dates, varies according to quality from 4 piastres to 100.
1 lb. grapes, 1 1/2} 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, 4 piastres, (the Yamani 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 Ardeb wheat, 295 piastres.
1 Ardeb onions, 33 piastres, (when cheap 20, when dear 40).
1 Ardeb barley, 120 piastres, (minimum 90, maximum 180).
1 Ardeb 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, 1/2 piastre.
Bag of charcoal, containing 100 Wukkah, 10 piastres. The best kind is
made from an Acacia called “Samur.”
The Parah (Turkish), Faddah (Egyptian), or Diwani (Hijazi word), is the
40th part of a piastre, or nearly the quarter of a farthing. The
piastre is about 2 and two-fifths pence. Throughout Al-Hijaz there is
no want of small change, as in Egypt, where the deficiency calls for
the attention of the Government.
[FN#21] Physiologists have remarked that fat and greasy food,
containing a quantity of carbon, is peculiar 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 olive oil
begins. In Africa and Asia—especially in the hottest parts—the people
habitually eat enough clarified butter to satisfy an Esquimaux.
[FN#22] In Persia, you jocosely say to a man, when he is threatened
with a sudden inroad of guests, “Go and swamp the rice with Raughan
(clarified butter).”
[FN#23] Among the Indians, ghi, 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.
[FN#24] Some of these slaves come from Abyssinia: the greater part are
driven from the Galla country, and exported at the harbours of the
Somali coast, Berberah, Tajurrah, and Zayla. As many as 2000 slaves
from the former place, and 4000 from the latter, are annually shipped
off to Mocha, Jeddah, Suez, and Maskat. 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.
[FN#25] More will be said concerning the origin of this strange custom,
when speaking of Meccah and the Meccans.
[FN#26] The word Tarbush is a corruption from the Persian
Sarpush,—“head-covering,” “head-dress.” The Anglo-Saxon further debases it to
“Tarbush.” 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 small one “Tarbush.”
[FN#27] In India, as in Sind, a lady of fashion will sometimes be
occupied a quarter of an hour in persuading her “bloomers” to pass over the
region of the ankle.
[FN#28] In the plural called Jadail. 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.
[FN#29] Plural of “Hurrah,” the free, the noble.
[FN#30] See vol. i., p. 436, ante.
[FN#31] This appears to be, and to have been, a favourite weapon with
the Arabs. At the battle of Ohod, we read that the combatants amused
themselves with throwing stones. On our road to Meccah, the Badawi
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
civilization. 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 Marylebone and St. Pancras.
[FN#32] 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.
[FN#33] The sentence is passed by the Kazi: in cases of murder, he
tries the criminal, and, after finding him guilty, sends him to the
Pasha, who orders a Kawwas, or policeman, to strike off his head with a
sword. Thieves are punished by mutilation of the hand. In fact, justice
at Al-Madinah is administered in perfect conformity with the Shariat or
Holy Law.
[FN#34] Circumcisio utriusque sexus apud Arabos mos est vetustissimus.
Aiunt theologi mutilationis hujus religiosae inventricem esse Saram,
Abrahami uxorem quae, zelotypia incitata, Hagaris amorem minuendi
gratia, somnientis puellae clitoridem exstirpavit. Deinde, Allaho
jubente, Sara et Abrahamus ambo pudendorum partem cultello abscissere.
Causa autem moris in viro mundities salusque, in puella impudicitiae
prophylactica esse videntur. Gentes Asiaticae sinistra tantum manu
abluentes utuntur; omnes quoque feminarem decies magis quam virorum
libidinem aestimant. (Clitoridem amputant, quia, ut monet Aristoteles,
pars illa sedes est et scaturigo veneris—rem plane profanam cum Sonninio
exclamemus!) Nec excogitare potuit philosophus quanti et quam
portentosi sunt talis mutilationis effectus. Mulierum minuuntur
affectus, amor, voluptas. Crescunt tamen feminini doli, crudelitas,
vitia et insatiabilis luxuria. (Ita in Eunuchis nonnunquam, teste
Abelardo, suberstat cerebelli potestas, quum cupidinis satiandi
facultas plane discessit.) Virilis quoque circumcisio lentam venerem et
difficilem efficit. Glandis enim mollities frictione induratur, dehinc
coitus tristis, tardus parumque vehemens. Forsitan in quibusdam populis
localis quoque causa existit; caruncula immoderate crescente,
amputationis necessitas exurgit. Deinde apud Somalos, gentem Africanam,
excisio nympharum abscissioni clitoridis adjungitur. “Feminina
circumcisio in Kahira Egyptiana et El Hejazio mos est universalis. Gens
Bedouina uxorem salvam ducere nolit.”—Shaykh al-Nawawi “de Uxore ducenda,” &c.,
&c.
[FN#35] A phrase corresponding with our “beaute du diable.”
[FN#36] 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 divining-arrows) of the Pagan times. At Al-Madinah it is
generally called Khirah.
[FN#37] 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.
[FN#38] Boys are allowed to be present, but they are not permitted to
cry. Of their so misdemeaning themselves there is little danger; the
Arab in these matters is a man from his cradle.
[FN#39] They are called the Asdikah; in the singular, Sadik.
[FN#40] From what I saw at Al-Madinah, the people are not so
unprejudiced on this point as the Cairenes, who think little of selling
a book in Wakf. The subject of Wakf, however, is an extensive one, and
does not wholly exclude the legality of sale.
[FN#41] This Shaykh is a Maliki Moslem from Algiers, celebrated as an
Alim (sage), especially in the mystic study Al-Jafr. He is a Wali 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 consider 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 Pasha 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 Al-Madinah, 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.
[FN#42] Burckhardt’s Travels in Arabia, vol. ii. p. 174.
[FN#43] Of which I have given an account in chapter xvi.
[FN#44] The only abnormal sound amongst the consonants heard here and
in Al-Hijaz generally is the pronouncing of k (A[rabic]) a hard g—for
instance, “Gur’an” for “Kur’an” (a Koran), and Haggi or Hakki (my right). This g,
however, is pronounced deep in the throat, and does not resemble the
corrupt Egyptian pronunciation of the jim (j, [Arabic]), a letter which
the Copts knew not, and which their modern descendants cannot
articulate. In Al-Hijaz, the only abnormal sounds amongst the vowels
are o for u, as Khokh, a peach, and [Arabic] for [Arabic], 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 Yemen for
Yaman), or a short i, 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: “Nec refert atrum Salem aut Salim
nominetur; cum vocalibus in medio literis perraro utantur Hebraei; et
pro voluntate lectorum, ac varietate regionum, eadem verba diversis
sonis atque accentibus proferantur.”
[FN#45] e.g., Ant Zarabt—thou struckedst—for Zarabta. The final vowel,
suffering apocope, would leave “Zarabt” equally applicable to the first
person singular and the second person singular masculine.

[p.28]CHAPTER 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 pestilence,—it being still an article of Moslem
belief that the Dread Star foreshows all manner of calamities. Men
discussed the probability of Abd al-Majid’s 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 Hijazis are accustomed to read tidings of the dreaded Rih
al-Asfar.[FN#l]

Whether the event is attributable to the Zu Zuwabah—the “Lord of the
Forelock,”—or whether it was a case of post hoc, ergò, propter hoc, I would
not commit myself by deciding; but, influenced by some cause or other,
the Hawazim and the Hawamid, sub-families of the Benu-Harb, began to
fight about this time with prodigious fury. These tribes are generally
at feud, and the least provocation fans their smouldering wrath into a
flame. The Hawamid number, it is said, between three and four thousand
fighting men, and the Hawazim not more than seven hundred: the latter
however, are considered a race of desperadoes who pride themselves upon
never retreating,

[p.29]and under their fiery Shaykhs, Abbas and Abu Ali, they are a
thorn in the sides of their disproportionate foe. On the present
occasion a Hamidah[FN#2] 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 of August, the sound of
firing amongst the mountains was distinctly heard in the city. Through
the streets parties of Badawin, sword and matchlock in hand, or merely
carrying quarterstaves 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 Badawin 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 Maskat,[FN#3] as originally intended. I had on the way
from Yambu’ to Al-Madinah privily made a friendship with one Mujrim of
the Benu-Harb. The “Sinful,” as his name, ancient and classical 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’, Al-Madinah, Mec[c]ah, and Jeddah. But
he offered to make all inquiries about the route, and to

[p.30] 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 Badawi 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 Badawi—could leave the city in that
direction, even as far as historic Khaybar,[FN#4] which information I
afterwards ascertained to be correct. It was impossible 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 favourable
circumstances, a Badawi-trip from Al-Madinah to Maskat, fifteen or
sixteen hundred miles, would require at least ten months; whereas,
under pain of losing my commission,[FN#5] I was ordered to be at Bombay
before the end of March. Moreover, entering Arabia by Al-Hijaz, as has
before been said, I was obliged to leave behind all my instruments
except a watch and a pocket-compass, so the benefit rendered to
geography by my trip would have been scanty. Still remained

[p.31] to me the comfort of reflecting that possibly 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 Hijaz,
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 Al-Bakia.[FN#6] 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 al-Janazah round the Southern wall of the
town. The locomotion was 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 unfrequent. At last we arrived at the
end of the Darb, where I committed myself by mistaking the decaying
place of those miserable schismatics the Nakhawilah[FN#7] for Al-Bakia,
the glorious cemetery of the Saints. Hamid corrected my blunder with
tartness, to which I replied as tartly, that in our country—Afghanistan—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 Al-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 seventy thousand, or according to others a
hundred thousand saints, all with faces like full moons, shall cleave
on the last day the yawning bosom

[p.32] of Al-Bakia.[FN#8] About ten thousand of the Ashab (Companions
of the Prophet) and innumerable Sadat are here buried: their graves are
forgotten, because, in the olden time, tombstones were not placed over
the last resting-places of mankind. The first of flesh who shall arise
is Mohammed, the second Abu Bakr, the third Omar, then the people of
Al-Bakia (amongst whom is Osman, the fourth Caliph), and then the
incol[ae] of the Jannat al-Ma’ala, the Meccan cemetery. The Hadis, “whoever
dies at the two Harims shall rise with the Sure 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 Rome, Al-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 Al-Bakia was Osman bin Maz’un, the first of
the Muhajirs, who died at Al-Madinah. In the month of Sha’aban, A.H. 3,
the Prophet kissed the forehead of the corpse and ordered it to be
interred within sight of his abode.[FN#9] In those days the field was
covered with the tree Gharkad; the vegetation was cut down, the ground
was levelled, and Osman 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[FN#10]; and in process of
time a dome covered the spot. Ibrahim, the Prophet’s infant second

[p.33] son, was laid by Osman’s side, after which Al-Bakia became a
celebrated cemetery.

The Burial-place of the Saints is an irregular oblong surrounded by
walls which are connected with the suburb at their south-west angle.
The Darb al-Janazah separates it from the enceinte of the town, and the
eastern Desert Road beginning from the Bab al-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 Al-Madinah,
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 never contain did not the Moslem style of burial greatly favour
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 lightens the gloom of a Christian burial-place: the
buildings 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 Sa’ad the Wahhabi and
his puritan followers, who waged pitiless warfare against what must
have appeared 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 “confused accumulation of heaps of earth, wide pits, and
rubbish, without a singular regular tomb-stone.” The present erections
owe their existence, I was told, to the liberality of the Sultans Abd
al-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 cemetery. Suddenly they stay their rapid steps,
and throw the body upon the ground. There is a life-like pliability

[p.34] about it as it falls, and the tight cerements so define the
outlines that the action makes me shudder. It looks almost 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.[FN#11] The corpse
is packed in it with such unseemly haste that earth touches it in all
directions,—cruel carelessness among Moslems, who believe this to torture
the sentient frame.[FN#12] One comfort suggests itself. The poor man
being a pilgrim has died “Shahid”—in martyrdom. Ere long his spirit shall
leave Al-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, and 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[FN#13]: “Peace be upon Ye, O People of Al-Bakia!
Peace be upon Ye, O Admitted to the Presence of the

[p.35] Most High! Receive Ye what Ye have been promised! Peace be upon
Ye, Martyrs of Al-Bakia, One and All! We verily, if Allah please, are
about to join You! O Allah, pardon us and Them, and the Mercy of God,
and His Blessings!” After which we recited the Chapter Al-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 Al-Bakia, we entered the humble mausoleum of the
Caliph Osman—Osman “Al-Mazlum,” or the “ill-treated,” he is called by some
Moslems. When he was slain,[FN#14] his friends wished to bury him by
the Prophet in the Hujrah, and Ayishah 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 Al-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
Al-Bakia. We stood before Osman’s monument, repeating, “Peace be upon Thee,
O our Lord Osman, Son of Affan![FN#15] Peace be upon

[p.36] Thee, O Caliph of Allah’s Apostle! Peace be upon Thee, O Writer of
Allah’s Book! Peace be upon Thee, in whose Presence the Angels are
ashamed![FN#16] Peace be upon Thee, O Collector of the Koran! Peace be
upon Thee, O Son-in-Law of the Prophet! Peace be upon Thee, O Lord of
the Two Lights (the two daughters of Mohammed)![FN#17] 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[FN#18] 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 Eastwards, and performed
the Visitation of Abu Sa’id al-Khazari, a Sahib or Companion of the
Prophet, whose sepulchre lies outside Al-Bakia. The third place visited
was a dome containing the tomb of our lady Halimah, the Badawi
wet-nurse who took charge of Mohammed[FN#19]:

[p.37] she is addressed hus; “Peace be upon Thee, O Halimah the
Auspicious![FN#20] Peace be upon Thee, who performed thy Trust in
suckling the Best of Mankind! Peace be upon Thee, O Wet-nurse of
Al-Mustafa (the chosen)! Peace be upon Thee, O Wet-nurse of Al-Mujtaba
(the (accepted)![FN#21] 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.[FN#22]”

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 Al-Bakia, who received the crown of glory at the hands of
Al-Muslim,[FN#23] the general of the arch-heretic Yazid[FN#24] 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 Al-Islam, some say six months old, others in his
second year. He was the son

[p.38] of Mariyah, 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,—disposed small stones upon it, and pronounced the
final salutation. For which reason many holy men were buried in this
part of the cemetery, every one being ambitious to lie in ground which
has been honored by the Apostle’s hands. Then we visited Al-Nafi Maula,
son of Omar, generally called Imam Nafi al-Kari, or the Koran chaunter;
and near him the great doctor Imam Malik ibn Anas, a native of
Al-Madinah, and one of the most dutiful of her sons. The eighth station
is at the tomb of Ukayl bin Abi Talib, brother of Ali.[FN#25] Then we
visited the spot where lie interred all the Prophet’s wives, Khadijah,
who lies at Meccah, alone excepted. Mohammed married fifteen wives of
whom nine survived him. 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 mustered strong that
morning at Al-Bakia. Along the walls and at the entrance of each
building squatted ancient dames, all engaged in anxious contemplation
of every approaching 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 expectations of the proprietress.
They raised their voices to demand largesse: some promised to recite
Fatihahs, and the most audacious seized visitors by the skirts of their

[p.39] garments. Fakihs, ready to write “Y.S.,” or anything else demanded
of them, covered the little heaps and eminences of the cemetery, all
begging lustily, and looking as though they would murder you, when told
how beneficent is Allah—polite form of declining to be charitable. At the
doors of the tombs old housewives, 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 lame foot, no perceptible good came of their
efforts.

Before leaving Al-Bakia, we went to the eleventh station, [FN#26] the
Kubbat al-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 it is situated on the right-hand side of the gate as you
enter. 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 to 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, and covered over with several “Kiswahs” of green cloth worked with
white letters: it looked like a confused

[p.40] heap, but it might have appeared irregular to me by the reason
of the mob around. The Eastern portion contains the body of Al-Hasan,
the son of Ali and grandson of the Prophet[FN#27]; the Imam Zayn
al-Abidin, son of Al-Hosayn, and great-grandson to the Prophet; the
Imam Mohammed al-Bakir (fifth Imam), son to Zayn al-Abidin; and his son
the Imam a’afar al-Sadik—all four descendants of the Prophet, and buried in
the same grave with Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib, uncle to Mohammed. It is
almost needless to say that these names are subjects of great
controversy. Al-Musudi mentions that here was found an inscribed stone
declaring it to be the tomb of the Lady Fatimah, of Hasan her brother,
of Ali bin Hosayn, of Mohammed bin Ali, and of Ja’afar bin Mohammed. Ibn
Jubayr, describing Al-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

[p.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 own son Hasan.

Standing opposite this mysterious tomb, we repeated, with difficulty 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 also O Lord Zayn
al-Abidin[FN#28]! 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 Ye, and verily He
is the Praised, the Mighty!” After which, freeing 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.[FN#29] I will
not repeat the prayer, it being the same as that recited in the Harim.

[p.42] Issuing from the hot and crowded dome, we recovered our slippers
after much trouble, and found that our garments had suffered from the
frantic gesticulations of the Persians. We then walked to the gate of
Al-Bakia, stood facing the cemetery upon an elevated piece of ground,
and delivered the general benediction.

“O Allah! 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!

[p.43] Have Mercy upon bdullah bin Hantal” (and so on, specifying their
names), “and make Paradise their Resting-place, their Habitation, their
Dwelling, and their Abode! O Allah! accept 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 Time; 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. Repentance, O Lord! Repentance, O
Merciful! Repentance, O Pitiful! Repentance before Death, and Pardon
after Death! I beg pardon of Allah! Thanks be to Allah! Praise be to
Allah! Amen, O Lord of the (three) Worlds!”

After which, issuing from Al-Bakia,[FN#30] we advanced

[p.44] northwards, leaving the city gate on the left hand, till we came
to a small Kubbah (dome) close to the road. It is visited as containing
the tomb of the Prophet’s paternal aunts, especially of Safiyah, daughter
of Abd al-Muttalib, sister of Hamzah, and one of the many heroines of
early Al-Islam. Hurrying over our devotions here,—for we were tired
indeed,—we applied to a Sakka for water, and entered a little
coffee-house near the gate of the town: after which we rode home.

I have now described, at a wearying length I fear, the spots visited by
every Zair at Al-Madinah. 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 celebrated of these
are the few following, which I describe from hearsay. About three miles
to the North-west of the town, close to the Wady al-Akik, lies the
Mosque called Al-Kiblatayn—“The Two Directions of Prayer.” Some give this
title to the Masjid al-Takwa at Kuba.[FN#31] Others assert that the
Prophet, after visiting and eating

[p.45] at the house of an old woman named Umm Mabshar, went to pray the
mid-day prayer in the Mosque of the Benu Salmah. He had performed the
prostration with his face towards Jerusalem, when suddenly warned by
revelation he turned Southwards and concluded his orisons in that
direction.[FN#32] I am told it is a mean dome without inner walls,
outer enclosures, or minaret.

The Masjid Benu Zafar (some write the word Tifr) is also called Masjid
al-Baghlah—of the She-mule,—because, according to Al-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 its
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.[FN#33] This Mosque is to the East of Al-Bakia.

The Masjid al-Jumah—of Friday,—or Al-Anikah—of the Sand-heaps,—is in the valley
near Kuba, where Mohammed prayed and preached on the first Friday after
his flight from Meccah [FN#34]

The Masjid al-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 intoxicating

[p.46] draughts were for the future forbidden, upon which they poured
the liquor upon the ground. Here the Prophet prayed six days whilst he
was engaged in warring down the Benu Nazir Jews. The Mosque derives its
other name, Al-Shams—of the Sun—because, being erected on rising ground
East of and near Kuba, it receives the first rays of morning light.

To the Eastward of the Masjid al-Fazikh lies the Masjid al-Kurayzah,
erected on a spot where the Prophet descended to attack the Jewish
tribe of that name. Returning 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 Gabriel in the figure of a
horseman dressed in a corslet and covered with dust. “The Angels of Allah,”
said the preternatural 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 Al-Madinah, but that mortal eye fell not upon 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 exterminated, sentence of death being passed upon them by Sa’ad
ibn Ma’az, an Ausi whom they constituted their judge because he belonged
to an allied tribe. Six hundred men were beheaded in the Market-place
of Al-Madinah, their property was plundered, and their wives and
children were reduced to slavery.

“Tantane relligio potuit suadere malorum!”

The Masjid Mashrabat Umm Ibrahim, or Mosque of the garden of Ibrahim’s
mother, is a place where Mariyah the Copt had a garden, and became the
mother of

[p.47] Ibrahim, the Prophet’s second son.[FN#35] It is a small building
in what is called the Awali, or highest part of the Al-Madinah plain,
to the North of the Masjid Benu Kurayzah, and near the Eastern Harrah
or ridge.[FN#36]

Northwards of Al-Bakia is, or was, a small building called the Masjid
al-Ijabah—of Granting,—from the following circumstance. One day the Prophet
stopped to perform his devotions at this place, which then belonged to
the Benu Mu’awiyah of the tribe of Aus. He made a long Dua or
supplication, and then turning to his Companions, exclaimed, “I have
asked of Allah three favours, 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 al-Fath (of Victory), vulgarly called the “Four Mosques,” is
situated in the Wady Al-Sayh,[FN#37] which comes from the direction of
Kuba, and about half a mile to the East of “Al-Kiblatayn.” The largest is
called the Masjid al-Fath, or Al-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 affair “Al-Ahzab,” the last fought with
the Infidel Kuraysh under Abu Sufiyan. After three days of devotion, a
cold and violent blast arose, with rain

[p.48] and sleet, and discomfited the foe. The Prophet’s prayer having
here been granted, it is supposed by ardent Moslems that no petition
put up at the Mosque Al-Ahzab is ever neglected by Allah. The form of
supplication is differently quoted by different authors. When Al-Shafe’i
was in trouble and fear of Harun al-Rashid, by the virtue of this
formula he escaped all danger: I would willingly offer so valuable a
prophylactory to my readers, only it is of an unmanageable length. The
doctors of Al-Islam also greatly differ about the spot where the
Prophet stood on this occasion; most of them support the claims of the
Masjid al-Fath, the most elevated of the four, to that distinction.
Below, and to the South of the highest ground, is the Masjid Salman
al-Farsi, the Persian, from whose brain emanated the bright idea of the
Moat. At the mature age of two hundred and fifty, some say three
hundred and fifty, after spending his life in search of a religion,
from a Magus (fire-worshipper)[FN#38] becoming successively 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 Abu Bakr. All these places owe their
existence to Al-Walid the Caliph: they were repaired at times by his
successors.

The Masjid al-Rayah—of the Banner—was originally built by Al-Walid upon a
place where the Prophet pitched his tent during the War of the Moat.
Others call it Al-Zubab, after a hill upon which it stands. Al-Rayah is
separated from the Masjid al-Fath by a rising ground called Jabal Sula
or Jabal Sawab[FN#39]: the former

[p.49] being on the Eastern, whilst the latter lies upon the Western
declivity of the hill. The position of this place is greatly admired,
as commanding the fairest view of the Harim.

About a mile and a half South-east of Al-Bakia is a dome called Kuwwat
Islam, the “Strength of Al-Islam.” Here the Apostle planted a dry
palm-stick, which grew up, blossomed, and bore fruit at once. Moreover,
on one occasion when the Moslems were unable to perform the pilgrimage,
Mohammed here produced the appearance of a Ka’abah, an Arafat, and all
the appurtenances of the Hajj. I must warn my readers not to condemn
the founder of Al-Islam for these puerile inventions.

The Masjid Onayn lies South of Hamzah’s tomb. It is on a hill called
Jabal al-Rumat, the Shooters’ Hill, and here during the battle of Ohod
stood the archers of Al-Islam. According to some, the Prince of Martyrs
here received his death-wound; others place that event at the Masjid
al-Askar or the Masjid al-Wady.[FN#40]

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 Benu Abd al-Ashhal,
Masjid Benu Harisah, Masjid Benu Harim, Masjid al-Fash, Masjid
al-Sukiya, Masjid Benu Bayazah, Masjid Benu Hatmah,

“Cum multis aliis quæ nunc perscribere longum est.”

[FN#1] The cholera. See chapter xviii.
[FN#2] The word Hawamid is plural of Hamidah, Hawazin of Hazimi.
[FN#3] Anciently there was a Caravan from Maskat to Al-Madinah. 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 Al-Hijaz via Jeddah.
[FN#4] According to Abulfeda, Khaybar is six stations N.E. of
Al-Madinah; it is four according to Al-Idrisi; but my informants
assured me that camels go there easily, as the Tarikh al-Khamisy says,
in three days. I should place it 80 miles N.N.E. of Al-Madinah.
Al-Atwal locates it in 65° 20' E. lon., and 25° 20' N. lat; Al-Kanun in
lon. 67° 30', and lat. 24° 20'; Ibn Sa’id in lon. 64° 56', and lat. 27°; and
D’Anville in lon. 57°, and lat. 25°. In Burckhardt’s map, and those copied from
it, Khaybar is placed about 2° distant from Al-Madinah, which I believe
to be too far.
[FN#5] The Parliamentary limit of an officer’s leave from India is five
years: if he overstay that period, he forfeits his commission.
{to me the comfort of reflecting that possibly 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 Hijaz,
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 Al-Bakia.[FN#6] This venerable spot is frequented by the
pious every day after the prayer at the Prophet’s Tomb, and especially on
Fridays.
[FN#6] The name means “the place of many roots.” It is also called Bakia
Al-Gharkad—the place of many roots of the tree Rhamnus. Gharkad is
translated in different ways: some term it the lote, others the tree of
the Jews (Forskal, sub voce).
[FN#7] See chapter xxi., ante.
[FN#8] The same is said of the Makbarah Benu Salmah or Salim, a
cemetery to the west of Al-Madinah, below rising ground called Jabal
Sula. It has long ago been deserted. See chapter xiv.
[FN#9] In those days Al-Madinah had no walls, and was clear of houses
on the East of the Harim.
[FN#10] These stones were removed by Al-Marwan, who determined that
Osman’s grave should not be distinguished from his fellows. For this act,
the lieutenant of Mu’awiyah was reproved and blamed by pious Moslems.
[FN#11] It ought to be high enough for the tenant to sit upright when
answering the interrogatory angels.
[FN#12] Because of this superstition, in every part of Al-Islam, some
contrivance is made to prevent the earth pressing upon the body.
[FN#13] This blessing is in Mohammed’s words, as the beauty of the Arabic
shows. Ayishah relates that in the month Safar, A.H. 11, one night the
Prophet, 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 he might be
about to visit some other wife. He went to Al-Bakia, delivered the
above benediction (which others give somewhat differently), raised his
hands three times, and turned to go home. Ayishah hurried back, but she
could not conceal her agitation from her husband, who asked her 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 Al-Bakia. Some authors relate a more
facetious termination of the colloquy.—M.C. de Perceval (Essai, &c., vol.
iii. p. 314.)
[FN#14] “Limping Osman,” as the Persians contemptuously call him, was slain
by rebels, and therefore became a martyr according to the Sunnis. The
Shi’ahs justify the murder, saying it was the act of an “Ijma al-Muslimin,”
or the general consensus of Al-Islam, which in their opinion ratifies
an act of “lynch law.”
[FN#15] This specifying the father Affan, proves him to have been a
Moslem. Abu Bakr’s father, “Kahafah,” and Omar’s “Al-Khattab,” are not mentioned by
name in the Ceremonies of Visitation.
[FN#16] The Christian reader must remember that the Moslems rank
angelic nature, under certain conditions, below human nature.
[FN#17] Osman married two daughters of the Prophet, a circumstance
which the Sunnis quote as honourable to him: the Shi’ahs, on the
contrary, declare that he killed them both by ill-treatment.
[FN#18] 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.
[FN#19] 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 Sharifs of Meccah still entrust their
children to the Badawin, that they may be hardened by the discipline of
the Desert. And the late Pasha of Egypt gave one of his sons in charge
of the Anizah tribe, near Akabah. Burckhardt (Travels in Arabia, vol.
i. p. 427) makes some sensible remarks about this custom, which cannot
be too much praised.
[FN#20] Al- “Sadiyah,” a double entendre; it means auspicious, and also
alludes to Halimah’s tribe, the Benu Sa’ad.
[FN#21] Both these words are titles of the Prophet. Al-Mustafa means
the “Chosen”; Al-Mujtaba, the “Accepted.”
[FN#22] There being, according to the Moslems, many heavens and many
earths.
[FN#23] See chapter xx.
[FN#24] The Shafe’i school allows its disciples to curse Al-Yazid, the
son of Mu’awiyah, whose cruelties to the descendants of the Prophet, and
crimes and vices, have made him the Judas Iscariot of Al-Islam. I have
heard Hanafi Moslems, especially Sayyids, revile him; but this is not,
strictly speaking, correct. The Shi’ahs, of course, place no limits to
their abuse of him. You first call a man “Omar,” then “Shimr,” (the slayer of
Al-Hosayn), and lastly, “Yazid,” beyond which insult does not extend.
[FN#25] Ukayl or Akil, as many write the name, died at Damascus, during
the Caliphate of Al-Mu’awiyah. Some say he was buried there, others that
his corpse was transplanted to Al-Madinah, and buried in a place where
formerly his house, known as “Dar Ukayl,” stood.
[FN#26] Some are of opinion that the ceremonies of Ziyarat formerly
did, and still should begin here. But the order of visitation differs
infinitely, and no two authors seem to agree. I was led by Shaykh
Hamid, and indulged in no scruples.
[FN#27] Burckhardt makes a series of mistakes upon this subject. “Hassan
ibn Aly, whose trunk only lies buried here (in El Bakia), his head
having been sent to Cairo, where it is preserved in the fine Mosque
called El-Hassanya.” The Mosque Al-Hasanayn (the “two Hasans”) is supposed to
contain only the head of Al-Hosayn, which, when the Crusaders took
Ascalon, was brought from thence by Sultan Salih 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
Al-Hasan died poisoned at Al-Madinah by his wife Ja’adah. Al-Hosayn, on
the other hand, was slain and decapitated at Kerbela. According to the
Shi’ahs, Zayn al-Abidin obtained from Yazid, after a space of forty days,
his father’s head, and carried it back to Kerbela, for which reason the
event is known to the Persians as “Chilleyeh sar o tan,” the “forty days of
(separation between) the head and trunk.” They vehemently deny that the
body lies at Kerbela, and the head at Cairo. Others, again, declare
that Al-Hosayn’s head was sent by Yazid to Amir bin al-As, the governor
of Al-Madinah, and was by him buried near Fatimah’s Tomb. Nor are they
wanting who declare, that after Yazid’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 Al-Islam[.]
[FN#28] The names of the fifth and sixth Imams, Mohammed al-Bakia and
Ja’afar al-Sadik, were omitted by Hamid, as doubtful whether they are
really buried here or not.
[FN#29] Moslem historians seem to delight in the obscurity which hangs
over the lady’s last resting-place, as if it were an honour even for the
receptacle of her ashes to be concealed from the eyes of men. Some
place her in the Harim, relying upon this tradition: “Fatimah, feeling
about to die, rose up joyfully, performed the greater ablution, dressed
herself in pure garments, 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. Omar bin Abd
al-Aziz believed this tradition, when he included the room in the
Mosque; and generally in Al-Islam Fatimah is supposed to be buried in
the Harim. Those who suppose the Prophet’s daughter to be buried in
Al-Bakia rely upon a saying of the Imam Hasan, “If men will not allow me
to sleep beside my grandsire, place me in Al-Bakia, by my mother.” They
give the following account of his death and burial. His body was bathed
and shrouded by Ali and Omar Salmah. Others say that Asma Bint Umays,
the wife of Abu Bakr, was present with Fatimah, who at her last hour
complained 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. Ayishah, 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. Abu Bakr 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 Shi’ahs found a charge of irreverence and
disrespect against Abu Bakr for absence on this occasion. The third
place which claims Fatimah’s honoured remains, is a small Mosque in
Al-Bakia, South of the Sepulchre of Abbas. It was called Bayt
al-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 formerly
been shown there. Now visitors pray, and pray only twice,—at the Harim,
and in the Kubbat al-Abbasiyah.
[FN#30] The other celebrities in Al-Bakia are:—

Fatimah bint As’ad, mother of Ali. She was buried with great religious
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 As’ad.” Historians relate that Mohammed lay down in only four graves: 1.
Khadijah’s, at Meccah. 2. Kasim’s, her son by him. 3. That of Umm Ruman,
Ayishah’s mother. 4. That of Abdullah al-Mazni, a friend and companion.

Abd al-Rahman bin Auf was interred near Osman bin Maz’un. Ayishah offered
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 Maz’un. I have already alluded to the belief that none
has been able to occupy the spare place in the Hujrah.

Ibn Hufazah al-Sahmi, who was one of the Ashab al-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 Osman bin Maz’un.

Abdullah bin Mas’ud, who, according to others, is buried at Kufah.

Sa’ad ibn Zararah, interred near Osman bin Maz’un.

Sa’ad bin Ma’az, who was buried by the Prophet. He died of a wound received
during the battle of the Moat.

Abd al-Rahman al-Ausat, son of Omar, the Caliph. He was generally known
as Abu Shahmah, the “Father of Fat”: he sickened and died, after receiving
from his father the religious flogging—impudicitiae causa.

Abu Sufiyan bin al-Haris, grandson of Abd al-Muttalib. He was buried
near Abdullah bin Ja’afar al-Tayyar, popularly known as the “most generous
of the Arabs,” and near Ukayl bin Abi Talib, the brother of Ali mentioned
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 Al-Madinah.
[FN#31] See chapter xix.
[FN#32] The story is related in another way. Whilst Mohammed was
praying the Asr or afternoon prayer at the Harim he turned his face
towards Meccah. Some of the Companions ran instantly to all the
Mosques, informing the people of the change. In many places they were
not listened to, but the Benu Salmah who were at prayer instantly faced
Southwards. To commemorate their obedience the Mosque was called
Al-Kiblatayn.
[FN#33] I cannot say whether this valuable stone be still at the Mosque
Benu Tifr. But I perfectly remember that my friend Larking had a
mutilated sphynx in his garden at Alexandria, which was found equally
efficacious.
[FN#34] See chapter xvii.
[FN#35] Mohammed’s eldest son was Kasim, who died in his infancy, and was
buried at Meccah. Hence the Prophet’s pædonymic, Abu Kasim, the sire of
Kasim.
[FB#36] Ayishah used to relate that she was exceedingly jealous of the
Coptic girl’s beauty, and of the Prophet’s love for her. Mohammed seeing
this, removed Mariyah from the house of Harisat bin al-Numan, in which
he had placed her, to the Awali of Al-Madinah, where the Mosque now is.
Oriental authors use this term “Awali,” high-grounds, to denote the plains
to the Eastward and Southward of the City, opposed to Al-Safilah, the
lower ground on the W. and N.W.
[FN#37] I am very doubtful about this location of the Masjid al-Fath.
[FN#38] A magus, a magician, one supposed to worship fire. The other
rival sect of the time was the Sabœan who adored the heavenly bodies.
[FN#39] 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
afterwards he made it a frequent resort for prayer.
[FN#40] Hamzah’s fall is now placed at the Kubbat al-Masra. See chapter
xx.

[p.50]CHAPTER XXIII.

THE DAMASCUS CARAVAN.

THE Damascus Caravan was to set out on the 27th Zu’l Ka’adah (1st
September). I had intended to stay at Al-Madinah till the last moment,
and to accompany the Kafilat al-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,[FN#l] and
that all pilgrims must proceed with the Damascus Caravan or await the
Rakb. This is a Dromedary Caravan, in which each person carries only
his saddle-bags. It usually descends by the road called Al-Khabt, and
makes Meccah on the fifth day. The Sharif Zayd, Sa’ad 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 Sharif Zayd returned to Al-Madinah on the 25th Zu’l Ka’adah (30th
August). Early on the morning of the next day, Shaykh Hamid returned
hurriedly from the bazar, exclaiming, “You must make ready at once,
Effendi!—there will be no Tayyarah—all Hajis start to-morrow—Allah will make
it easy to you!—have you

[p.51] your water-skins in order?—you are to travel down the Darb
al-Sharki, where you will not see water for three days!”

Poor Hamid looked horrorstruck as he concluded this fearful
announcement, which filled me with joy. Burckhardt had visited and had
described the Darb al-Sultani, the road along the coast. But no
European had as yet travelled down by Harun al-Rashid’s and the Lady
Zubaydah’s celebrated route through the Nijd 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
fifteen 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 gugglets 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 procurable at this time for gold, I sat down to patch the
damaged articles; whilst Nur was sent to lay in supplies for fourteen
days. The journey is calculated at eleven days; but provisions are apt
to spoil, and the Badawi camel-men expect to be fed. Besides which,
pilferers abound. 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

[p.52] returned, accompanied by a boy and a Badawi, a short, thin,
well-built old man with regular features, a white beard, and a cool
clear eye; his limbs, as usual, were scarred with wounds. Mas’ud of the
Rahlah, a sub-family of the Hamidah family of the Benu-Harb, came in
with a dignified demeanour, applied his dexter palm to ours,[FN#2] sat
down, declined a pipe, accepted coffee, and after drinking it, looked
at us to show that he was ready for nego[t]iation. We opened the
proceedings with “We want men, and not camels,” and the conversation
proceeded in the purest Hijazi.[FN#3] After much discussion, we agreed,
if compelled to travel by the Darb al-Sharki, to pay twenty dollars for
two camels,[FN#4] and to advance Arbun, or earnest-money, to half that
amount.[FN#5] 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

[p.53] 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 remaining hire with a discretionary present.

Hamid then addressed to me flowery praises of the old Badawi. After
which, turning to the latter, he exclaimed, “Thou wilt treat these
friends well, O Mas’ud the Harbi!” The ancient replied with a dignity that
had no pomposity in it,—“Even as Abu Shawarib—the Father of
Mustachios[FN#6]—behaveth to us, so will we behave 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 Badawin 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 salt.[FN#7] He concluded

[p.54] with a copious lecture upon the villainy of Badawin, and on
their habit of drinking travellers’ water. I was to place the skins on a
camel in front, and not behind; to hang them 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, Omar 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[FN#8] 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 al-Manakhah 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 and cots, boxes and
baggage. Horses and mules galloped about. Men were rushing wildly 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 to and fro distracted, or called their vehicles to escape the
danger of being crushed. Every now and then a random shot excited 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

[p.55] and hope,” and, consequently, still far from “one of the two
comforts.[FN#9]” 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 plaint of the dromedary, 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 he had to spend in it 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 Harim for the Ziyarat al-Wida’a,
or the “Farewell Visitation”; but my decided objection to this step was
that we were all to part,—how 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-bow prayer, and afterwards, facing
towards the Harim, to recite this supplication with raised hands:

“O Apostle 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 Harim! May He cause us to return safe and prosperous to our
Birth-places; 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 Allah,
let not this be the last of our Visitations to Thy Apostle'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

[p.56] is no god but Allah, One and without Partner, and verily that
our Lord Mohammed is His Servant and His Apostle! 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 Apostle, and Laud to Allah, the
Lord of the (three) Worlds.” This concludes, as usual, with the
Testification and the Fatihah. Pious men on such an occasion go to the
Rauzah, 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 Al-Madinah, to pass at least one night
in vigils at the Harim, and for learned men to read through the Koran
once before the tomb.

Then began the uncomfortable process of paying off little bills. The
Eastern creditor always, for divers reasons, waits the last moment
before he claims his debt. Shaykh Hamid had frequently hinted at his
difficulties; 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 £5 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 two A.M.,
when, having heard no gun, and having seen no camels, we lay down to
sleep through the sultry remnant of the hours of darkness.

[p.57]Thus, gentle reader, was spent my last night at Al-Madinah.

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 Al-Madinah
discovery would entail more serious consequences. The next risk to be
run was the journey between the two cities, where it would be easy for
the local officials quietly to dispose of a suspected person by giving
a dollar to a Badawi.

[FN#1] The “Tayyarah,” or “Flying Caravan,” is lightly laden, and travels by
forced marches.
[FN#2] 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.
[FN#3] On this occasion I heard three new words: “Kharitah,” used to
signify a single trip to Meccah (without return to Al-Madinah), “Ta’arifah,”
going out from Meccah to Mount Arafat, and “Tanzilah,” return from Mount
Arafat to Meccah.
[FN#4] And part of an extra animal which was to carry water for the
party. Had we travelled by the Darb al-Sultani, we should have paid 6½
dollars, instead of 10, for each beast.
[FN#5] 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.
[FN#6] Most men of the Shafe’i school clip their mustachios exceedingly
short; some clean shave the upper lip, the imperial, and the parts of
the beard about the corners of the mouth, and the forepart 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.”)
[FN#7] Salt among the Hindus is considered the essence and preserver of
the seas; 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 indissoluble 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
Badawin of Al-Hijaz, I shall have occasion to notice their peculiar
notions of the Salt-law.
[FN#8] The import of such articles shows the march of progress in
Al-Hijaz. During the last generation, schoolmasters used for pencils
bits of bar lead beaten to a point.
[FN#9] 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.

[p.58]CHAPTER XXIV.

FROM AL-MADINAH TO AL-SUWAYRKIYAH.

FOUR roads lead from Al-Madinah to Meccah. The [“]Darb al-Sultani,” or
“Sultan’s Highway,” follows the line of coast: this general passage has been
minutely described by my exact predecessor. The “Tarik al-Ghabir,” a
mountain path, is avoided by the Mahmil and the great Caravans on
account of its rugged passes; water abounds along the whole line, but
there is not a single village and the Sobh Badawin, who own the soil[,]
are inveterate plunderers. The route called “Wady al-Kura” is a favourite
with Dromedary Caravans; on this road are two or three small
settlements, regular wells, and free passage through the Benu Amr
tribe. The Darb al-Sharki, or “Eastern road,” down which I travelled, owes
its existence to the piety of the Lady Zubaydah, wife of Harun
al-Rashid. That munificent princess dug wells from Baghdad to
Al-Madinah, and built, we are told, a wall to direct pilgrims over the
shifting sands.[FN#1] There is a fifth road, or rather mountain path,
concerning which I can give no information.

At eight A.M. on Wednesday, the 26th Zu’l Ka’adah

[p.59] (31st August, 1853), as we were sitting at the window of Hamid’s
house after our early meal, suddenly appeared, in hottest haste, Mas’ud,
our Camel-Shaykh. He was accompanied 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 were ordered to lose no
time in loading; all started into activity, and at nine A.M. I found
myself standing opposite the Egyptian Gate, surrounded by my friends,
who had accompanied me thus far on foot, to take leave with due honour.
After affectionate embraces and parting mementoes, 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 Mas’ud owned a string of nine
camels, we passed through 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 North to North-East,
we fell into the Nijd highway, and came to a place of renown called
Al-Ghadir, or the Basin.[FN#2] This is a depression conducting the
drainage of the plain towards 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 al-Urays, a
descendant from Zayn al-Abidin:—the tomb is still a place of Visitation.
There we halted and turned to take farewell of the Holy City. All the

[p.60] pilgrims dismounted and gazed at the venerable minarets and the
Green Dome,—spots upon which their memories would for ever dwell with a
fond and yearning interest.

Remounting at noon, we crossed a Fiumara which runs, according to my
Camel-Shaykh, from North to South; we were therefore emerging from the
Madinah basin. The sky began to be clouded, and although the air was
still full of Samu[m], 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. Travelling over a rough and stony path, dotted with
thorny Acacias, we arrived about two P.M. at the bed of lava heard of
by Burckhardt.[FN#3] The

[p.61] aspect of the country was volcanic, abounding in basalts and
scoriae, more or less porous: sand veiled the black bed whose present
dimensions by no means equal the descriptions of Arabian historians. I
made diligent enquiries about the existence of active volcanoes in this
part of Al-Hijaz, and heard of none.

At five P.M., travelling towards the East, we entered a Bughaz,[FN#4]
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 Badawin. The
torrent-bed narrowed where the turns were abrupt, and the drift of
heavy stones, with a water-mark from six to seven feet

[p.62] high, showed that after rains a violent stream runs from East
and South-East to West and North-West. The fertilising fluid is close
to the surface, evidenced by a spare growth of Acacia, camel-grass, and
at some angles of the bed by the Daum, or Theban palm.[FN#5] I remarked
what was technically called “Hufrah,” holes dug for water in the sand; and
the 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
numbers. The fresh carcases of asses, ponies, and camels dotted the
wayside: 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 by thorns; and looking at most of them, I
fancied death depicted in their forms and features.

After two hours’ slow marching up the Fiumara eastwards, 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

[p.63] pitched in a hollow, under hills, in excellent order; the Pasha’s
pavilion surrounded 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 forward, 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
offer sherbet, lemonade, hot coffee, and water-pipes admirably
prepared.[FN#6] Chibuks may be smoked in the litter; but few care to do
so during the Samu[m]. 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, is eaten with Chutnee and
lime-pickle, varied, occasionally, by tough mutton and indigestible
goat.

We arrived at Ja al-Sharifah at eight P.M., after a march of about
twenty-two miles.[FN#7] This halting-place is

[p.64] the rendezvous of Caravans: it lies 50° south-east of Al-Madinah,
and belongs rather to Nijd than to Al-Hijaz.

At three A.M., on Thursday (Sept. 1), 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. Pertinaciously we hurried on
till six 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. About five miles
broad by twelve long, it collects the waters of the high grounds after
rain, and distributes the surplus through an exit towards the
North-west, 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 (low plain).[FN#8] To judge by the eye, the host was composed of
at fewest seven thousand souls, on foot, on horseback, in litters, or
bestriding the splendid camels of Syria.[FN#9] There were eight
gradations of pilgrims.

[p.65] The lowest hobbled with heavy staves. Then came the riders of
asses, of camels, and of mules. Respectable men, especially Arabs, were
mounted on dromedaries, 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.[FN#10] Many occupied Shibriyahs; a few, Shugdufs, and
only the wealthy and the noble rode in Takht-rawan (litters), carried
by camels or mules.[FN#11] The morning beams fell brightly upon the
glancing arms which surrounded the stripped Mahmil,[FN#12] and upon the
scarlet and gilt conveyances 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 was

[p.66] clothed in uniform, as it were. And nothing stranger than the
contrasts; a band of half-naked Takruri marching with the Pasha’s
equipage, and long-capped, bearded Persians conversing with Tarbush’d and
shaven Turks.

The plain even at an early hour reeked with vapours distilled by the
fires of the Samum: about noon, however, the air became cloudy, and
nothing of colour 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. (Friday,
Sept. 2), we turned towards the South-west, 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,[FN#13]” or the Raven’s Station, lies 10° south-west
from Ja al-Sharifah, in the irregular masses of hill on the frontier of
Al-Hijaz, where the highlands of Nijd begin.


After pitching the tent, we prepared to recruit our supply of water;
for Mas’ud 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 until after nightfall, a delay caused by many adventures. The
wells are in a Fiumara, as usual, about two miles distant from the
halting-place, 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

[p.67] 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 Sharif 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 Mas’ud, 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, Badawin, and the directions of places.
“Let the Father of Moustachios ask and learn,” said the old man; “he is
friendly with the Badawin,[FN#14] 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 belonged to that pestilent heretic, Sa’ud
the Wahhabi.

On Saturday, the 3rd September, the hateful signal-gun 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
Darkness (daljah) for your Wayfarings,” said the Prophet, “as the
Calamities of the Earth (serpents and wild beasts) appear not at Night.”
I can scarcely find words to express the weary horrors of the long dark
march, during which the hapless traveller, fuming, if a European, with
disappointment in his hopes of “seeing the country,”
[p.68] 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
gloom, 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 (Shittim) trees, mere vegetable mummies; in many places the
water had left a mark; and here and there the ground was pitted with
mud-flakes, 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 scoriæ, fantastically piled together, and dotted
with thorny trees. Shaykh Mas’ud 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 mountaineers; 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, however,
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 between 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 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 edgeways, green within, and without
blackened by sun and rain, cropped out of the ground. At half-past ten
we

[p.69] 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 deranged, and every one, losing 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 backwards, in the form of clouds; and on more than
one occasion camels were thrown down by them. It required little
stretch of fancy to enter into the Arabs’ superstition. These
sand-columns are supposed to be Jinnis of the Waste, which cannot be
caught, a notion arising from the fitful movements of the electrical
wind-eddy that raises them, and as they advance, the pious Moslem
stretches out his finger, exclaiming, “Iron! O thou ill-omened one[FN#15]!”

During the forenoon we were troubled by the Samum, which, instead of
promoting perspiration, chokes up and hardens the skin. The Arabs
complain greatly of its violence on this line of road. Here I first
remarked the difficulty with which the Badawin bear thirst. Ya Latif,—“O
Merciful!” (Lord),—they exclaimed at times; and yet they behaved like
men.[FN#16] I had ordered them to place the

[p.70] water-camel in front, so as to exercise due supervision. Shaykh
Mas’ud and his son made only an occasional reference to the skins. But
his nephew, a short, thin, pock-marked lad of eighteen, whose black
skin and woolly 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 afterwards we pursued the
course of a second. Mas’ud called this the Wady al-Khunak, and assured me
that it runs from the East and the South-east in a North and North-west
direction, to the Madinah 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 Al-Hijaz, and over its length lay the road,
white with dust and with the sand deposited by the camels’ feet. Having
arrived before the Pasha, 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. Mas’ud called the place Hijriyah.
According to my computation, it is twenty-five miles from Ghurab, and
its direction is South-East twenty-two degrees.

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
28th Zu’l Ka’adah, many pilgrims busied themselves

[p.71] rather fruitlessly with endeavours to sight the crescent moon.
They failed; but we were 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 September, at Al-Hijriyah, although the
Shaykh forewarned us of a long march. But there is a kind of discipline
in these great Caravans. A gun[FN#17] sounds the order to strike the
tents, and a second bids you move 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, with
gilt crescents, for the dignitaries and their harims. The last
resting-place is known by the hurrying forward of these “Farrash,” or tent
“Lascars,” 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. The principal officers were the Emir Hajj, one
Ashgar Ali Pasha, 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 al-Surrah—called simply Al-Surrah, or the Purse—had
charge of the Caravan-treasure, and of remittances to the Holy Cities.
And lastly there was a commander of the

[p.72] forces (Bashat al-Askar): his host consisted of about a thousand
Irregular horsemen, Bash-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 Al-Hijriyah at seven A.M., we passed over the grim stone-field
by a detestable footpath, and at 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
Euphorbiae, the wild Capparis, and the Daum Palm. Up this line we
travelled the whole day. About six P.M., we came upon 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 was the effects of
the rain which fell the day before: others were more acute. It is said
that beasts are never deceived by the mirage, and this, as far as my
experience goes, is correct. May not the reason be that most of them
know the vicinity of water rather by smell than by sight? 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 descending a long
steep hill, we entered upon the level ground, and discovered our error
by the crunching sound of the camel[s’] feet upon large curling flakes of
nitrous salt overlying caked mud.[FN#18] 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
Al-Suwayrkiyah. The fact was

[p.73] 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 rumour 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 averaging from
one hundred to two hundred feet in height. The general form is a huge
prism; sometimes they are table-topped. From Al-Madinah to
Al-Suwayrkiyah the low beds of sandy Fiumaras abound. From
Al-Suwayrkiyah to Al-Zaribah, their place is taken by “Ghadir,” or hollows
in which water stagnates. And beyond Al-Zaribah the traveller enters a
region of water-courses tending West and South-West The versant is
generally from the East and South-East towards the West and North-West.
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 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 found no inner range
corresponding with, and parallel to, the maritime chain. Nowhere had I
seen a land in which Earth’s anatomy lies so barren, or one richer in
volcanic and primary formations.[FN#19] Especially

[p.74] towards the South, the hills were 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 the Arabs’ Hajar
Jahannam, or Hell-stone; here and there it is porous and cellular; in
some places compact and black; and in others coarse and gritty, of a
tarry colour, and when fractured shining with bright points. Hornblende
is common at Al-Madinah and throughout this part of Al-Hijaz: 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 Suwan,[FN#20] abound. Some
are large-grained, of a pink colour, and appear in blocks, which,
flaking off under the influence of the atmosphere, form 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 did not see eurite or euritic porphyry except in small pieces, and
the same may be said of the petrosilex and the milky and waxy
quartz.[FN#21] In some parts, particularly between Yambu’ and Al-Madinah,
there is an abundance of tawny

[p.75] yellow gneiss markedly stratified. The transition formations are
represented by a fine calcareous sandstone of a bright ochre colour: it
is used at Meccah to adorn the exteriors 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. For the superficial accumulations of the
country, I may refer the reader to any description of the Desert
between Cairo and Suez.

[FN#1] The distance from Baghdad to Al-Madinah is 180 parasangs,
according to ’Abd al-Karim: “Voyage de l’Inde, a la Mecque;” translated by M.
Langles, Paris, 1797. This book is a disappointment, as it describes
everything except Al-Madinah and Meccah: these gaps are filled up by
the translator with the erroneous descriptions of other authors, not
eye-witnesses.
[FN#2] Here, it is believed, was fought the battle of Buas, celebrated
in the pagan days of Al-Madinah (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.
[FN#3] Travels in Arabia, vol. 2, p, 217. The Swiss traveller was
prevented by sickness from visiting it. The “Jazb al-Kulub” affords the
following account of a celebrated eruption, beginning on the Salkh
(last day) of Jamadi al-Awwal, and ending on the evening of the third
of Jamadi al-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 al-Akhir, after the Isha
prayers, a fire burst out in the direction of Al-Hijaz (eastward); it
resembled a vast city with a turretted and battlemental 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
Al-Madinah; and, at the same time, the city was fanned by a cooling
zephyr from the same direction. Al-Kistlani, an eye-witness, asserts
that “the brilliant light of the volcano made the face of the country as
bright as day; and the interior of the Harim 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?).” Several saw the light at
Meccah, at Tayma (in Nijd, six days’ journey from Al-Madinah), and at
Busra, of Syria, reminding men of the Prophet’s saying, “A fire shall burst
forth from the direction of Al-Hijaz; its light shall make visible the
necks of the camels at Busra.” Historians relate that the length of the
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
heat, stood up as a wall, and, for a time, it prevented the passage of
Badawin, who, coming from that direction, used to annoy the citizens.
Jamal Matari, one of the historians of Al-Madinah, 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 Harim. On the contrary, Al-Kistlani asserts the fire to have
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 parts 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. (I remarked on the way to Ohod signs of a
lava-field.) This current ran, according to some, three entire months.
Al-Kistlani dates its beginning on Friday, 6 Jamadi al-Akhir, and its
cessation on Sunday, 27 Rajab: in this period of fifty-two days he
includes, it is supposed, the length of its extreme heat. That same
year (A.H. 654) is infamous in Al-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, who slew Al-Mu’tasim
Bi’llah, the Caliph, massacred the Moslems during more than a month,
destroyed their books, monuments, and tombs, and stabled their
war-steeds in the Mustansariyah College.
[FN#4] In this part of Al-Hijaz they have many names for a pass:—Nakb,
Saghrah, and Mazik are those best known.
[FN#5] This is the palm, capped with large fan-shaped leaves, described
by every traveller in Egypt and in the nearer East.
[FN#6] The charge for a cup of coffee is one piastre and a half. A
pipe-bearer will engage himself for about £1 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 Kaliun is generally used.
[FN#7] 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. Al-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 Khatwah (pace): 1000
paces = 1 Mil (mile); 3 miles = 1 Farsakh (parasang); and 4 parasangs =
1 Barid or post. The “Burhan i Katia” gives the table thus:—24 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 yards measure a Kuroh (the Indian Cos), which, however,
is sometimes less by 1000 Gaz. The only ideas of distance known to the
Badawi of Al-Hijaz are the fanciful Sa’at or hour, and the uncertain
Manzil or halt: the former varies from 2 to 3½ miles, the latter from 15
to 25.
[FN#8] “Khabt” is a low plain; “Midan,” “Fayhah,” or “Sath,” a plain generally; and
“Batha,” a low, sandy flat.
[FN#9] In Burckhardt’s day there were 5,000 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.
I include in the 7,000 about 1,200 Persians. They are no longer placed,
as Abd al-Karim relates, in the rear of the Caravan, or post of danger.
[FN#10] Lane has accurately described this article: in the Hijaz it is
sometimes made to resemble a little tent.
[FN#11] 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 £5. 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
expenditure,—for necessaries, not donations and luxuries,—of a man who
rides in a Takht-rawan from Damascus and back, would be about £1,200.
[FN#12] On the line of march the Mahmil, 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.
[FN#13] Mahattah is a spot where luggage is taken down, i.e., a
station. By some Hijazis it is used in the sense of a halting-place,
where you spend an hour or two.
[FN#14] “Khalik ma al-Badu” is a favourite complimentary saying, among this
people, and means that you are no greasy burgher.
[FN#15] Even Europeans, in popular parlance, call them “devils.”
[FN#16] 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 the 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.
[FN#17] We carried two small brass guns, which, on the line of march,
were dismounted and placed upon camels. At the halt they were restored
to their carriages. The Badawin think much of these harmless articles,
to which I have seen a gunner apply a match thrice before he could
induce a discharge. In a “moral” point of view, therefore, they are far
more valuable than our twelve-pounders.
[FN#18] Hereabouts the Arabs call these places “Bahr milh” or “Sea of Salt”; in
other regions “Bahr bila ma,” or “Waterless Sea.”
[FN#19] 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 Royal Asiatic
Society. His name is a guarantee of accuracy.
[FN#20] 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 our
modern geology.
[FN#21] NOTE TO THIRD EDITION.—This country may have contained gold; but
the superficial formation has long been exhausted. At Cairo I washed
some sand brought from the eastern shore of the Red Sea, north of
Al-Wijh, and found it worth my while. I had a plan for working the
diggings, but H.B.M.’s Consul, Dr. Walne, opined that “gold was becoming
too plentiful,” and would not assist me. This wise saying has since then
been repeated to me by men who ought to have known better than Dr.
Walne.

[p.76]CHAPTER XXV.

THE BADAWIN OF AL-HIJAZ.

THE Arab may be divided into three races—a classification which agrees
equally well with genesitic genealogy, the traditions of the country,
and the observations of modern physiologists.[FN#1]

[p.77]The first race, indigens or autochthones, are those sub-Caucasian
tribes which may still be met with in the province of Mahrah, and
generally along the coast between Maskat and Hazramaut. [FN#2] The
Mahrah, the Janabah, and the Gara especially show a low development,
for which hardship and privation alone will not satisfactorily
account.[FN#3] These are Arab al-Aribah for whose inferiority oriental
fable accounts as usual by thaumaturgy.

The principal advenæ are the Noachians, a great Chaldaean or Mesopotamian
tribe which entered Arabia about

[p.78] 2200 A.C., and by slow and gradual encroachments drove before
them the ancient owners and seized the happier lands of the Peninsula.
The great Anzah and the Nijdi families are types of this race, which is
purely Caucasian, and shows a highly nervous temperament, together with
those signs of “blood” which distinguish even the lower animals, the horse
and the camel, the greyhound and the goat of Arabia. These advenae
would correspond with the Arab al-Mutarribah or Arabicized Arabs of the
eastern historians.[FN#4]

The third family, an ancient and a noble race dating from A.C. 1900,
and typified in history by Ishmael, still occupies the so-called
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
untamable spirit of their forefathers. They are distinguished from the
pure stock by an admixture of Egyptian blood,[FN#5]

[p.79] and by preserving the ancient characteristics of the Nilotic
family. The Ishmaelities are sub-Caucasian, and are denoted in history
as the Arab al-Mustarribah, the insititious or half-caste Arab.

Oriental ethnography, which, like most Eastern sciences, luxuriates in
nomenclative distinction, recognises a fourth race under the name of
Arab al-Mustajamah. These “barbarized Arabs” are now represented by such a
population as that of Meccah.

That Aus and Khazraj, the Himyaritic tribes which emigrated to
Al-Hijaz, mixed with the Amalikah, the Jurham, and the Katirah, also
races from Al-Yaman, 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
Badawi of Al-Hijaz preserves in purity the blood transmitted to him by
his ancestors.[FN#6]

[p.80] I will not apologise for entering into details concerning the
personale of the Badawin[FN#7]; a precise physical portrait of race, it
has justly been remarked, is the sole deficiency in the pages of Bruce
and of Burckhardt.

The temperament of the Hijazi 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 favourable to longevity.
Bartema well describes his colour as a “dark leonine”; it varies from the
deepest Spanish to a chocolate 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

[p.81] similar passions. Expression is the grand diversifier of
appearance among civilised people: in the Desert it knows few varieties.

The Badawi cranium is small, ooidal, long, high, narrow, and remarkable
in the occiput for the development of Gall’s second propensity: the crown
slopes upwards 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[FN#8]: worn in
Kurun[FN#9]—ragged elf-locks,—hanging down to the breast, or shaved in the
form Shushah, a skull-cap of hair, 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
retreating: 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 bones are salient, and the elevated zygomata
combined with the “lantern-jaw,” often give 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 supposed to be, and bent in sign of
thoughtfulness. Most popular writers, following De Page,[FN#10]
describe the Arab eye as large, ardent,

[p.82] and black. The Badawi of the Hijaz, and indeed the race
generally, has a small eye, round, restless, deep-set, and fiery,
denoting keen inspection 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 exclude glare, plants the outer angles with
premature crows’-feet. Another peculiarity is the sudden way in which the
eye opens, especially under excitement. This, combined 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 Badawi
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. The nose is pronounced, generally aquiline, 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 blood mare’s. I have, however, seen, in
not a few instances, pert and offensive “pugs.” Deep furrows descend from
the wings of the nose, showing an uncertain temper, now too grave, then
too gay. The mouth is irregular. The lips are either bordes, 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
[p.83] feature, however, is generally well and strongly made. The
teeth, as usual among Orientals, are white, even, short and
broad—indications of strength. Some tribes trim their mustaches according
to the “Sunnat”; the Shafe’i 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 is thinly covered with straggling pile.

The Badawin of Al-Hijaz 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 restraint
upon population, and no weakly infant can live through a Badawi life.
The figure, though spare, is square and well knit; fulness of limb
seldom 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, especially when the knee and ankle are not
bowed by too early riding. The shins do not bend cucumber-like to the
front as in the African race.[FN#11] The arms are thin, with muscles
like whipcords, 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,[FN#12] which, with its easy rotation, makes it a perfect
prehensile instrument: the palm also is fleshless, small-boned, and
[p.84] elastic. With his small active figure, it is not strange that
the wildest Badawi gait should be pleasing; he neither unfits himself
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 no slouch in his walk; it is light and springy, and errs
only in one point, sometimes becoming a strut.

Such is the Badawi, and such he has been for ages. The national type
has been preserved by systematic intermarriage. 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 its charms for a
while, ends in becoming wearisome. Here no evil results are anticipated
from the union of first cousins, and the experience of ages and of a
mighty nation may be trusted. Every Badawi 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.[FN#13]” Our
physiologists[FN#14] adduce the Sangre Azul of Spain and the case of
the lower animals to prove that degeneracy inevitably follows
“breeding-in.[FN#15]”

[p.85] Either they have theorised from insufficient facts, or
civilisation and artificial living 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 long description, the reader will perceive with pleasure
that we are approaching an interesting theme, the first question of
mankind to the wanderer—“What are the women like?” Truth compels me to state
that the women of the Hijazi Badawin are by no means comely. Although
the Benu Amur boast of some pretty girls, yet they are far inferior to
the high-bosomed beauties of Nijd. And I warn all men that if they run
to Al-Hijaz in search of the charming face which appears in my
sketch-book as “a Badawi girl,” they will be bitterly disappointed: the
dress was Arab, but it was worn by a fairy of the West. The Hijazi
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 Badawin are free and simple: “vulgarity” and
affectation, awkwardness and embarrassment, are weeds of civilised
growth, unknown to the People of the Desert.[FN#16] Yet their manners
are sometimes dashed with a strange ceremoniousness. When two frends
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 if a Badawi

[p.86] does it, he intends an insult. When a man prepares coffee, he
drinks the first cup: the Sharbat Kajari of the Persians, and the
Sulaymani of Egypt,[FN#17] render this precaution necessary. As 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 La’ab al-Barut, or gunpowder play. Badawin are generally
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 disputants.

The best character of the Badawi 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 Benu-Harb that there is not a man

“Que s’il ne violoit, voloit, tuoit, bruloit
Ne fut assez bonne personne.”

The reader will inquire, like the critics of a certain modern
humourist, how the fabric of society can be supported 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 fellows, and this gives a

[p.87] keystone 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 the Kazi
al-Arab (the Judge of the Arabs)[FN#18] form a system stringent in the
extreme.

The valour of the Badawi 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 existence has for him no
charms. Arab ideas of bravery do not prepossess us. Their romances,
full of foolhardy feats and impossible exploits, might charm for a
time, but would not become the standard works of a really fighting
people.[FN#19] Nor would a truly valorous race admire

[p.88] the cautious freebooters who safely fire down upon Caravans from
their eyries. Arab wars, too, are a succession of skirmishes, in which
five hundred men will retreat after losing a dozen of their number. In
this partisan-fighting the first charge secures a victory, 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
Sharif 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 growths, and new
dissensions easily shoot up from them.

But, contemptible though their battles be, the Badawin 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 practice 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
neighbours 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
[p.89] French or the persistent stay of the Anglo-Saxon. To become
desperate he must have the all-powerful stimulants of honour and of
fanaticism. Frenzied by the insults of his women, or by the fear of
being branded as a coward, he is capable of any mad deed.[FN#20] And
the obstinacy produced by strong religious impressions gives a
steadfastness to his spirit unknown to mere enthusiasm. The history of
the Badawi tells this plainly. Some unobserving travellers, indeed,
have mistaken his exceeding cautiousness for stark cowardice. The
incongruity is easily read by one who understands the principles of
Badawi warfare; with them, as amongst the Red Indians, one death dims a
victory. And though reckless when their passions are thoroughly
aroused, though heedless of danger when the voice of honour calls them,
the Badawin 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 must pay for victory.

There are two things which tend to soften the ferocity of Badawi life.
These are, in the first place, intercourse with citizens, who
frequently visit and entrust their children to the people of the Black
tents ; and, secondly, the social position of the women.

The Rev. Charles Robertson, author of a certain

[p.90] “Lecture on Poetry, addressed to Working Men,” asserts that Passion
became Love under the influence of Christianity, and that the idea of a
Virgin Mother spread over the sex a sanctity unknown to the poetry or
to the philosophy of Greece and Rome.[FN#21] 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,[FN#22] 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 Rome, then women fall from their proper
place in society, become mere articles of luxury, and sink into the
lowest moral condition. In the next stage, “civilisation,” they rise again
to be “highly accomplished,” and not a little frivolous.

[p.91]Miss Martineau, when travelling through Egypt, once visited a
harim, and there found, among many things, especially in ignorance of
books and of book-making, materials for a heart-broken wail over the
degradation of her sex. The learned lady indulges, too, in sundry
strong and unsavoury comparisons between the harim and certain haunts
of vice in Europe. On the other hand, male travellers generally speak
lovingly of the harim. 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 harims of the Mamluks.”

As usual, the truth lies somewhere between the two extremes. Human
nature, all the world over, differs but in degree. Everywhere 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 harim. 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 harim.
It often resembles a European home composed of a man, his wife, and his
mother. And I have seen in the West many a “happy fireside” fitter to make
Miss Martineau’s heart ache than any harim in Grand Cairo.

[p.92] Were it not evident that the spiritualising of sexuality by
sentiment, of propensity by imagination, is universal among the highest
orders of mankind,—c’est l’etoffe de la nature que l’imagination a brodee, says
Voltaire,—I should attribute the origin of “love” to the influence of the
Arabs’ poetry and chivalry upon European ideas rather than to mediaeval
Christianity. Certain “Fathers of the Church,” it must be remembered, did
not believe that women have souls. The Moslems never went so far.

In nomad life, tribes often meet for a time, live together 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,[FN#23] and the light o’ love will fly her home. The
fugitives must brave every danger, for revenge, at all times the Badawi’s
idol, now becomes the lodestar of his existence. But the Arab lover
will 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.[FN#24] And nothing can be more tender, more

[p.93] pathetic than the use made of these separations and long
absences by the old Arab poets. Whoever peruses the Suspended Poem of
Labid, will find thoughts at once so plaintive and so noble, that even
Dr. Carlyle’s learned verse cannot wholly deface their charm.

The warrior-bard 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 finds some consolation for
women’s perfidy and forgetfulness. Yet he cannot abandon Nawara’s name or
memory. Again he dwells with yearning upon scenes of past felicity, and
he boasts of his 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 village in Al-Hijaz. 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 troubled
times, throwing off their accustomed feebleness and frivolity, become
helpmates meet for man. The same is true of pastoral life. [FN#25]
Here, between the


[p.94] extremes of fierceness and sensibility, the weaker sex,
remedying its great want, power, rises itself by courage, physical as
well as moral. In the early days of Al-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 Osman, 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 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 honour of my women.”

The Badawin are not without a certain Platonic affection, which they
call Hawa (or Ishk) uzri—pardonable love.[FN#26] They draw the fine line
between amant and amoureux: this is derided by the tow[n]speople,
little suspecting how much such a custom says in favour of the wild
men. 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.”

[p.95]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 by a sense of duty.

From ancient periods of the Arab’s history we find him practising
knight-errantry, the wildest form of chivalry.[FN#27] “The Songs of Antar,”
says the author of the “Crescent and the Cross,” “show little of the true
chivalric spirit.” What thinks the reader of sentiments like
these[FN#28]? “This valiant man,” remarks Antar (who was “ever interested for
the weaker sex,”) “hath defended the honour 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 noontide 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 as 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 Nijd”? 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
[p.96] 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 misjudging the Arab
after a superficial experience of a few debased Syrians or Sinaites.
The true children of Antar, my Lord Lindsay, have not “ceased to be
gentlemen.”

In the days of ignorance, it was the custom for Badawin, 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 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 travelled far, redressing the
injured, punishing the injurer, preaching to the infidel, and
especially protecting women—the chief end and aim of knighthood. The
Caliph Al-Mu’tasim 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 seventy thousand 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 caitiff’s 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 Al-Mutanabbi, the poet, prophet, and warrior of Hams (A.H. 354)
started together with his

[p.97] 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, the wild, and the steed,
To the guest, and the sword, to the paper and reed[FN#29]’?”

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 “Children of Antar” which
makes the society of Badawin (“damned saints,” perchance, and “honourable
villains,”) so delightful to the traveller who[,] like the late Haji Wali
(Dr. Wallin), understands and is understood by them. Nothing more naïve
than his lamentations at finding himself 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 numbers, you address some elder,
Dakhil-ak 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.[FN#30] But why multiply instances?

The language of love and war and all excitement is poetry, and here,
again, the Badawi excels. Travellers complain that the wild men have
ceased to sing. This is true if “poet” be limited to a few authors whose
existence

[p.98] 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.[FN#31] And although the Badawin no longer boast a Labid or
a Maysunah, yet they are passionately fond of their ancient
bards.[FN#32] A man skilful in reading Al-Mutanabbi and the suspended
Poems would be received by them with the honours paid by civilisation
to the travelling millionaire.[FN#33] And their elders have a goodly
store of ancient and modern war songs, legends, and love ditties which
all enjoy.

[p.99]I cannot well explain the effect of Arab poetry to one who has
not visited the Desert.[FN#34] Apart from the pomp of words, and the
music of the sound,[FN#35] there is a dreaminess of idea and a haze
thrown over the object, infinitely attractive, but indescribable.
Description,

[p.100] 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 by the sentiment 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. [FN#36] The language, “like a faithful
wife, 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.[FN#37] Rich and varied
synonyms, illustrating the finest shades of meaning, are artfully used;
now scattered to startle us by distinctness, now to form as it were a
star about which dimly seen satellites revolve. And, to cut short a
disquisition

[p.101] 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.[FN#38] 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 al-Damiri, “Wisdom
hath alighted upon three things—the brain of the Franks, the hands of the
Chinese, and the tongues of the Arabs.”

The name of Harami—brigand—is still honourable among the Hijazi Badawin.
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 creve of the Klephts);
his weeping mother will exclaim, “O that my son had perished of a cut
throat!” and her attendant 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 delinquent 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 proceeding to extremes. They
conceal their weakness by pretending that
[p.102] 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 these
mankind instinctively admires, however misdirected be their 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 on the Abruzzian hills. Romance invests his loneliness
with grandeur; if he have 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 Gasparoni the hearts of a
people. The true Badawi style of plundering, with its numerous niceties
of honour and gentlemanly manners, gives the robber a consciousness of
moral rectitude. “Strip off that coat, O certain person! and that turband,”
exclaims the highwayman, “they are wanted by the daughter of my paternal
uncle (wife).” 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 Badawin, to be tamely
plundered, especially of the mare,[FN#39] is a lasting disgrace; a man
of

[p.103] family lays down his life rather than yield even to
overpowering numbers. This desperation has raised the courage of the
Badawin to high repute amongst the settled Arabs, who talk of single
braves capable, like the Homeric heroes, of overpowering three hundred
men.

I omit general details about the often-described Sar, or Vendetta. The
price of blood is $800 = 200l., or rather that sum imperfectly
expressed by live stock. All the Khamsah or A’amam, 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 himself? 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 Badawi 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 speede!
A sword of metal keene!
All else to noble minds is drosse,
All else on earth is meane.”

Even in his sports he affects those that imitate war. Preserving the
instinctive qualities which lie dormant in civilisation, he is an
admirable sportsman. The children,

[p.104] 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 Badawi when offered some Egyptian plaything.
The men pass their time principally in hawking, shooting, and riding.
The “Sakr,[FN#40]” I am told, is the only falcon in general use; they train
it to pursue the gazelle, which

[p.105] 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.[FN#41] 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 Turkey; for the Badawi cannot make, although he
can repair, 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
Badawin collect 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 distances, and striving at extreme precision. They are ever
backing themselves with wagers, and will shoot for a sheep, the loser
inviting his friends to a feast: on festivals they boil the head, and
use it as mark and prize. Those who affect excellence are said to fire
at a bullet hanging by a thread; curious, however, to relate, the
Badawin of Al-Hijaz have but just learned the art, general in Persia
and Barbary, of shooting from horseback at speed.

Pistols have been lately introduced into the Hijaz, and are not common
amongst the Badawin. The citizens incline to 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.

[p.106]The spears[FN#42] 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.[FN#43] Besides 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 Al-Hijaz. The Khalawiyah 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 is the common Cutch
article, supposed to be made of rhinoceros hide, and displaying as much
brass knob and gold wash as possible. The Badawin still use in the
remoter parts Diraa, or coats of mail, worn by horsemen over buff
jackets.

The dagger is made in Al-Yaman 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 Al-Yaman 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

[p.107] 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 Badawin boast greatly of sword-play; but it is apparently confined
to delivering a tremendous slash, and to jumping away from the
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 East Indian school.
None of these Orientals knows the use of the point which characterises
the highest school of swordsmanship.

The Hijazi Badawin 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 Al-Yaman.[FN#44] 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 Badawin of Al-Hijaz 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

[p.108] with the names of the principal stars. Their local memory is
wonderful. 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 Al-Madinah, 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. Cuts are carefully washed, sprinkled with meal gunpowder, and
sewn up. They dress gunshot wounds with raw camel’s flesh, and 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.[FN#45] The wealthy have Fiss or
ring-stones, brought from India, and used with a formula of prayer to
extract venom. Some few possess the Tariyak (Theriack) of Al-Irak—the
great counter-poison, internal as well as external, of the East. The
poorer classes all wear the Za’al or Hibas of Al-Yaman; 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 tourniquets.
These ligatures also cure cramps—and there is no other remedy. The Badawi
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 phlebotomy,

[p.109] 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
cauterised and stimulated by verdigris. The evil of which Fracastorius
sang is combated 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, roasted and imperfectly
pounded, remove 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 Badawin;
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 Badawi comes from Al-Islam, whose hold is weak. But his
customs 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 Ka’abah shall have disappeared. Of this nature are the Hijazi’s
pagan oaths, his heathenish names (few being Moslem except “Mohammed”), his
ordeal of licking red-hot iron, his Salkh, or scarification,—proof of
manliness,—his blood revenge, and his eating carrion (i.e., the body of
an animal killed without the usual formula), and his lending his wives
to strangers. All these I hold to be remnants of some old

[p.110] creed; nor should I despair of finding among the Badawin
bordering upon the Great Desert some lingering system of idolatry.

The Badawin of Al-Hijaz call themselves Shafe’i 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,
because 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, preserve a religious
element in their plunderings; they make no vows, and they carefully
avoid offerings.

The ceremonies of Badawi life are few and simple—circumcisions,
marriages, and funerals. Of the former rite there are two forms,
Taharah, as usual in Al-Islam, and Salkh, an Arab invention, derived
from the times of Paganism.[FN#46] 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

[p.111] some classes, however, it is performed ten years later. On such
occasions feastings and merrymakings take place, as at our christenings.

Women being a marketable commodity in barbarism as in civilisation, the
youth in Al-Hijaz is not married till his father can afford to buy him
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,[FN#47] half paid down, and the other owed by the
bridegroom to the father, 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 Badawin, and if the settlement money be duly paid, no
evil comes of them.[FN#48]

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

[p.112] not being permitted to attend, it 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 Badawin have not, like the wild Sindis and Baluchis,
favourite cemeteries, to which they transport their dead from afar.

The traveller will find no difficulty in living amongst the Hijazi
Badawin. “Trust to their honour, and you are safe,” as was said of the Crow
Indians; “to their honesty and they will steal the hair off your head.” But
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
the customs by reading, 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 Rafik,[FN#49] and this “friend,” after once
engaging in the task, will be faithful. “We have eaten salt together”
(Nahnu 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 should especially avoid handsome weapons;
these tempt the Badawin’s 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 must
on no account sketch in public. He should be careful in questioning,
and rather lead up

[p.113] to information than ask directly. It offends some Badawin,
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 themselves when they desire to do so by dress, personal
appearance, voice, dialect, and accentuation, points of difference
plain to the initiated. A few dollars suffice for the road, and if you
would be “respectable,” a taste which I will not deprecate, some such
presents as razors and Tarbushes 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 greater administrator of law.

Relations between the Badawi tribes of Al-Hijaz are of a threefold
character: they are either Ashab, Kiman, or Akhwan.

Ashab, or “comrades,” are those who are bound by oath to an alliance
offensive and defensive: they intermarry, and are therefore closely
connected.

Kiman,[FN#50] or foes, are tribes between whom a blood feud, the cause
and the effect of deadly enmity, exists.

Akhawat, or “brotherhood,” denotes the tie between the stranger and the
Badawi, 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
[p.114] allies of the slain. By paying to man, woman, or child, a small
sum, varying, according to your means, from a few pence worth of
trinkets 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 attempt to pass through
the land without paying Al-Akhawah or Al-Rifkah, as it is termed, he
must expect to be plundered, and, resisting, to be slain: it is no
dishonour to pay it, and he clearly is in the wrong who refuses to
conform to custom. The Rafik, 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 Gallas a 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,[FN#51] 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 Badawin. It is demanded from bastard Arabs, and from tribes who,
like the Hutaym and the Khalawiyah, have been born basely or have
become “nidering.” And these people are obliged to pay it at home as well
as abroad. Then it becomes a sign of disgrace, and the pure clans, like
the Benu 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 Badawi 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 sheep, asses, or greyhounds.
The Ahamidah tribe, as has been mentioned, possesses few animals; it
subsists by plunder and by presents from

[p.115] pilgrims. 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
Badawin give sheep,[FN#52] 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 Badawin and a few Sharifs. To the practised eye, a Hijazi 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 trousers and the 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 Nijd and the Eastern
districts; they are of four colours, 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 Nijd, supplies also the Kufiyah or headkerchief. The
Ukal,[FN#53] fillets bound over

[p.116] 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 chaussure of Meccah; the price varies
from a piastre to a dollar, and the very poor walk barefooted. A
leathern bandoleer, called Majdal, passed over the left shoulder, and
reaching to the right hip, supports a line of brass cylinders for
cartridges.[FN#54] The other cross-belt (Al-Masdar), made of leather
ornamented with brass rings, hangs down at the left side, and carries a
Kharizah, or hide-case for bullets. And finally, the Hizam, or
waist-belt, holds the dagger and extra cartridge cases. A Badawi 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 poppy-coloured Burka (nose-gay) of the Egyptian shape. They wear
no pantaloons, and they rarely affect slippers or sandals. The hair is
twisted into Majdul, little pig-tails, and copiously anointed with
clarified butter. The rich perfume the skin with rose and
cinnamon-scented oils, and adorn the hair with Al-Shayh (Absinthium),
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 Badawi 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 plentiful
meals, sleeps on a mat, and knows neither luxury nor comfort, freezing
during one quarter and frying for three quarters of the year. But
though he can endure hunger, like all

[p.117] savages, he will gorge when an opportunity 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 Wahhabis of
the East, and the rugged mountaineers of Jabal Shammar. 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 two carrions and two bloods,
The fish and locust, the liver and the spleen.[FN#55]”

Where they have no crops to lose, the people are thankful for a fall of
locusts. In Al-Hijaz the flights are uncertain; during the last five
years Al-Madinah 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 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 favourite food on the line of march is meat cut into strips and
sun-dried. This, with a bag of milk-balls[FN#56]

[p.118] and a little coffee, must suffice for journey or campaign. The
Badawin know neither fermented nor distilled liquors, although Ikhs ya’l
Khammar! (Fie upon thee, drunkard!) is a popular phrase, preserving the
memory of another state of things. Some clans, though not all, smoke
tobacco. It is generally the growth of the country called Hijazi or
Kazimiyah; a green weed, very strong, with a foul smell, and costing
about one piastre per pound. The Badawin 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 origin. Both have the same wild chivalry, the same fiery sense of
honour, and the same boundless hospitality: elopements from tribe to
tribe, the blood feud, and the Vendetta are common to the to. 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, extempore songs, and languages wondrous in their
complexity. Both, recognising no other occupation but war and the
chase, despise artificers and the effeminate people of cities, as the
game-cock spurns the vulgar roosters of the poultry-yard.[FN#57] The
[p.119] 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 “Harami” it is similarly related, that after mortal combat he
tastes the dead man’s gore.

Of these two chivalrous races of barbarians, the Badawi 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 tribes of Al-Hijaz are tediously numerous: it will be sufficient to
enumerate the principal branches of the Badawi tree, without detailing
the hundred little offshoots which it has put forth in the course of
ages.[FN#58]

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 Kusayr (Cosseir), on the African
coast, but not in Al-Hijaz. Of the Aus, Khazraj, and Nazir details have
been given in a previous chapter. The Benu Harb is now the ruling clan
in the Holy Land. It is divided by genealogists into two great bodies,
first, the Benu Salim, and, secondly, the Masruh,[FN#59] or “roaming
tribes.”

[p.120]The Benu Salim, again, have eight subdivisions, viz.:—

1. Ahamidah (Ahmadi)[FN#60]: this clan owns for chief, Shaykh Sa’ad of
the mountains. It is said to contain about 3500 men. Its principal
sub-clan is the Hadari.
2. Hawazim (Hazimi), the rival tribe, 3000 in number: it is again
divided into Muzayni and Zahiri.
3. Sobh (Sobhi), 3500, habitat near Al-Badr.
4. Salaymah (Salimi), also called Aulad Salim.
5. Sa’adin (Sa’adani).
6. Mahamid (Mahmadi), 8000.
7. Rahalah (Rihayli), 1000.
8. Timam (Tamimi).

The Masruh tree splits into two great branches, Benu Auf, and Benu
Amur.[FN#61] The former is a large clan, extending from Wady Nakia
[Arabic] near Nijd, to Rabigh and Al-Madinah. They have few horses, but
many dromedaries, camels, and sheep, and are much feared by the people,
on account of their warlike and savage character. They separate into
ten sub-divisions, viz.:—

1.  Sihliyah (Sihli), about 2000 in number.
2.  Sawaid (Sa’idi), 1000.
3.  Rukhasah (Rakhis).
4.  Kassanin (Kassan): this sub-clan claims origin from the old “Gassan”
stock, and is found in considerable numbers at Wady Nakia and other
places near Al-Madinah.
5.  Ruba’ah (Rabai).
6.  Khazarah (Khuzayri).
7.  Lahabah (Lahaybi), 1500 in number.
8.  Faradah (Faradi).
9.  Benu Ali (Alawi).
10. Zubayd (Zubaydi), near Meccah, a numerous clan of fighting thieves.

Also under the Benu Amur—as the word is popularly pronounced—are ten
sub-families.

1.  Marabitah (Murabti). They [nrs. 1-5] principally inhabit the land
about Al-Fara [Arabic] a collection of settlements four marches South
of Al-Madinah, number about 10,000 men, and have droves of sheep and
camels but few horses.
2.  Hussar (Hasir).
3.  Benu Jabir (Jabiri).
[p.121]
4.  Rabaykah (Rubayki).
5.  Hisnan (Hasuni).
6.  Bizan (Bayzani).
7.  Badarin (Badrani).
8.  Biladiyah (Biladi).
9.  Jaham (the singular and plural forms are the same).
10. Shatarah (Shitayri).[FN#62]

The great Anizah race now, I was told, inhabits Khaybar, and it must
not visit Al-Madinah without a Rafik or protector. Properly speaking
there are no outcasts in Al-Hijaz, as in Al-Yaman and the Somali
country. But the Hitman (pl. of Hutaym or Hitaym), inhabiting the
sea-board about Yambu’, are taxed by other Badawin as low and vile of
origin. The unchastity 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
Khalawiyah (pl. of Khalawi) are equally despised; they are generally
blacksmiths, have a fine breed of greyhounds, and give asses as a
dowry, which secures for them the derision of their fellows.

Mr. C. Cole, H. B. M.’s Vice-Consul at Jeddah, was kind enough to collect
for me notices of the different tribes in Central and Southern Hijaz.
His informants divide the great clan Juhaynah living about Yambu’ and
Yambu’ al-Nakhl into five branches, viz.:—

1.  Benu Ibrahimah, in number about 5000.
2.  Ishran, 700.
3.  Benu Malik, 6000.
[p.122]
4.  Arwah, 5000.
5.  Kaunah, 3000.
Thus giving a total of 19,700 men capable of carrying arms.[FN#63]

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 Sharif of Meccah.

1.  Sakif (Thakif) al-Yaman, 2000.
2.  Sakif al-Sham,[FN#64] 1000.
3.  Benu Malik, 6000.
4.  Nasirah, 3000.
5.  Benu Sa’ad, 4000.
6.  Huzayh (Hudhayh), 5000.
7.  Bakum (Begoum), 5000.
8.  Adudah, 500.
9.  Bashar, 1000.
10. Sa’id, 1500.
11. Zubayd, 4000.
12. Aydah, 1000.

The following is a list of the Southern Hijazi tribes, kindly forwarded
to me by the Abbe Hamilton, after his return from a visit to the Sharif
at Taif.

1.  Ghamid al-Badawy (“of the nomades”), 30,000.
2.  Ghamid al-Hazar (“the settled”), 40,000.
3.  Zahran, 38,000.
4.  Benu Malik, 30,000.
5.  Nasirah, 15,000.
6.  Asir, 40,000.
7.  Tamum, *
8.  Bilkarn, *   * together, 80,000.
9.  Benu Ahmar, 10,000.
10. Utaybah, living north of Meccah: no number given.
11. Shu’abin.
12. Daraysh, 2000.
[p.123]
13. Benu Sufyan, 15,000.
14. Al-Hullad, 3000.

It is evident that the numbers given by this traveller include the
women, and probably the children of the tribes. Some exaggeration will
also be suspected.

The principal clans which practise the pagan Salkh, or excoriation,
are, in Al-Hijaz, the Huzayl and the Benu Sufyan, together with the
following families in Al-Tahamah:

1.  Juhadilah.
2.  Kabakah.
3.  Benu Fahm.
4.  Benu Mahmud.
5.  Saramu (?)
6.  Majarish.
7.  Benu Yazid.

I now take leave of a subject which cannot but be most uninteresting to
English readers.

[FN#1] 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), a “Mount of the East,”—Genesis, x.
30: that is to say, they occupied the lands from Al-Tahamah to Mahrah.
2. The children of Ishmael, and his Egyptian wife; they peopled only
the Wilderness of Paran in the Sinaitic Peninsula and the parts
adjacent. Dr. Aloys Sprenger (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 Ishmaelitish origin of the whole Arab race is
an utterly untenable theory. Years ago, our great historian sensibly
remarked that “the name (Saracens), 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 for every aspirant to ecclesiastical honours to deal a blow
at the ghost of Gibbon. And, as has before been remarked, Mr. Foster
gratuitously attacked Burckhardt, 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 Quarterly (vol. xxiii.), and thus adopted
as his own. It may seem folly to defend the historian of the Decline
and Fall against the compiler of the Historical Geography of Arabia.
But continental Orientalists have expressed their wonder at the
appearance in this nineteenth 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.
[FN#2] This is said without any theory. According to all historians of
long inhabited lands, the advenae—whether migratory tribes or visitors—find
indigens or [Greek].
[FN#3] 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. For a physiological description of this race, I must refer my
readers to the writings of Dr. 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 Badawi and the Indigens of India, as represented by
the Bhils and other Jungle races. This, from a man of science who is
not writing up to a theory, may be considered strong evidence in favour
of variety in the Arabian family. The fact has long been suspected, but
few travellers have given their attention to the subject since the
downfall of Sir William Jones’ Indian origin theory. 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.
[FN#4] 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 Al-Yaman, the
modern “Akhdam” or “Serviles.” The “Hujur” of Al-Yaman and Oman are a mixed race
whose origin is still unknown. And to quote no more cases, the “Ebna”
mentioned by the Ibn Ishak were descended from the Persian soldiers of
Anushirwan, who expelled the Abyssinian invader.
[FN#5] That the Copts, or ancient Egyptians, were “Half-caste Arabs,” a
mixed people like the Abyssinians, 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 AEthiopia,
and has been gradually whitened by admixture of Persian and Median,
Greek and Roman blood. Hence, too, the fancied connection of Aethiopia
with Cush, Susiana, Khuzistan or the lands about the Tigris. Thus
learned Virgil, confounding the Western with the Eastern Aethiopians,
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
Sukhatra (Socotra) for a resting place on its way to the regions of the
remotest West. As regards the difference between the Japhetic and
Semitic tongues, it may be remarked that though nothing can be more
distinct than Sanscrit and Arabic, yet that Pahlavi and Hebrew (Prof.
Bohlen on Genesis) present some remarkable points of resemblance. I
have attempted in a work on Sind to collect words common to both
families. And further research convinces me that such vocables as the
Arabic Taur [Arabic] the Persian Tora [Persian] and the Latin “Taurus”
denote an ancient rapprochement, whose mysteries still invite the
elucidation of modern science.
[FN#6] The Sharif families affect marrying female slaves, thereby
showing the intense pride which finds no Arab noble enough for them.
Others take to wife Badawi 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 Sharif 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
honour, and arose, it is popularly said, from an affront taken by a
Sharif against his daughter’s husband. But all Arabs condemn the practice.
[FN#7] I use this word as popular abuse has fixed it. Every Orientalist
knows that Badawin (Bedouin) is the plural form of Badawi, an “ism
al-nisbah,” or adjective derived from Badu, a Desert. “Some words
notoriously corrupt,” says Gibbon, “are fixed, and as it were naturalised,
in the vulgar tongue.” The word “Badawi” is not insulting, like “Turk” applied to
an Osmanli, 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 Badawi, makes him finger his dagger.
[FN#8] This coarseness is not a little increased by a truly Badawi
habit of washing the locks with—[Arabic]. 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.
[FN#9] “Kurun” ([Arabic]) properly means “horns.” The Sharifs generally wear
their hair in “Haffah” ([Arabic]), long locks hanging down both sides of
the neck and shaved away about a finger’s breadth round the forehead and
behind the neck.
[FN#10] This traveller describes the modern 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 Al-Hijaz and in the low parts of
Al-Yaman, 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.
[FN#11] “Magnum inter Arabes et Africanos discrimen efficit [Greek].
Arabum parvula membra sicut nobilis aequi. Africanum tamen flaccum,
crassum longumque: ita quiescens, erectum tamen parum distenditur.
Argumentum validissimum est ad indagandam Egyptorum originem: Nilotica
enim gens membrum habet Africanum.”
[FN#12] Whereas the Saxon thumb is thick, flat, and short, extending
scarcely half way to the middle joint of the index.
[FN#13] 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 husband, adding to the word spouse a “saving your presence,” as if
he were speaking of something offensive.
[FN#14] Dr. Howe (Report on Idiotcy in Massachusetts, 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-five children one was a dwarf, one deaf, twelve scrofulous, and
forty-four idiots—total fifty-eight diseased!
[FN#15] Yet the celebrated “Flying Childers” and all his race were
remarkably bred in. There is still, in my humble opinion, much mystery
about the subject, to be cleared up only by the studies of
physiologists.
[FN#16] This sounds in English like an “Irish bull.” I translate “Badu,” as the
dictionaries do, “a Desert.”
[FN#17] 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 Egypt and 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 Pasha imported, it is said, professional
poisoners from Europe.
[FN#18] 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 land 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 al-Arab” (Judge of the
Arabs) is in distinction to the Kazi al-Shara, or the Kazi of the
Koran. The former is, almost always, some sharp-witted greybeard, with
a minute knowledge of genealogy and precedents, a retentive memory and
an eloquent tongue.
[FN#19] Thus the Arabs, being decidedly a parsimonious people, indulge
in exaggerated praises and instances of liberality. Hatim Tai, whose
generosity 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 Laila and Majnun under circumstances more
trying than aught chronicled in Mathilde, or in the newest American
novel.
[FN#20] At the battle of Bissel, when Mohammed Ali of Egypt broke the
40,000 guerillas of Faisal son of Sa’ud the Wahhabi, whole lines of the
Benu 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 al-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 “custom 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!
[FN#21] Though differing in opinion, upon one subject, from the Rev.
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
delicacy 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!
[FN#22] 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 Al-Islam (the faith, not the practice)
popularly decided to debase the social state of womankind, exalts it by
holding up to view no fewer than two examples of perfection in the
Prophet’s household. Khadijah, his first wife, was a minor saint, and the
Lady Fatimah is supposed to have been spiritually unspotted by sin, and
materially ever a virgin, even after giving birth to Hasan and to
Hosayn.
[FN#23] There is no objection to intermarriage between equal clans, but
the higher will not give their daughters to the lower in dignity.
[FN#24] 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 inscriptive 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 incident are strung.
[FN#25] 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 Caesar or Napoleon, they fell like avalanches
upon those valleys of the world—Mesopotamia, India, and Egypt—whose
enervate races offered them at once temptations to attack, and
certainty of success.
[FN#26] 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.
[FN#27] Richardson derives our “knight” from Nikht ([Arabic]), a tilter
with spears, and “Caitiff” from Khattaf, ([Arabic]) a snatcher or ravisher.
[FN#28] I am not ignorant that the greater part of “Antar” is of modern and
disputed origin. Still it accurately expresses Arab sentiment.
[FN#29] I wish that the clever Orientalist who writes in the Saturday
Review would not translate “Al-Layl,” by lenes sub nocte susurri: the Arab
bard alluded to no such effeminacies.
[FN#30] The subject of “Dakhl” has been thoroughly exhausted by Burckhardt
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.
[FN#31] 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
our feeling that “there are too many flowers for the fruit”; the latter is
too often 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!”

[FN#32] I am informed that the Benu Kahtan still improvise, but I never
heard them. The traveller in Arabia will always be told that some
remote clan still produces mighty bards, 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 Badawi
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 Al-Zamakhshari, wandered from tribe to tribe and from tent to tent,
collecting words and elucidating disputed significations. Their
grammatical expeditions are still remembered, and are favourite stories
with scholars.
[FN#33] I say “skilful in reading,” because the Arabs, like the Spaniards,
hate to hear their language mangled by mispronunciation. When
Burckhardt, who spoke badly, began to read verse to the Badawin, they
could not refrain from a movement of impatience, and used to snatch the
book out of his hands.
[FN#34] The civilized 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.
[FN#35] 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 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 by those
who live much in the open air. The Todas of the Neilgherry Hills have
given the soft Tamil 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
bellowing of the Badawi 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 Badawi clans. The
Benu Auf are recognised by their sharp, loud, and sudden speech, which
the citizens compare to the barking of dogs. The Benu Amr, on the
contrary, speak with a soft and drawling sound. The Hutaym, in addition
to other peculiarities, add a pleonastic “ah,” to soften the termination of
words, as A’atini hawajiyah, (for hawaiji), “Give me my clothes.”
[FN#36] The Germans have returned for inspiration to the old Eastern
source. Ruckert was guided by Jalal al-Din to the fountains of Sufyism.
And even the French have of late made an inroad into Teutonic mysticism
successfully enough to have astonished Racine and horrified La Harpe.
[FN#37] This, however, does not prevent the language becoming
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
unfeathered arrow, and a particular kind of date. In theology it is
limited to a single signification, namely, a divine command revealed in
the Koran. Under these circumstances the Arabic becomes, in grammar,
logic, rhetoric, and mathematics, as perfect and precise as Greek. I
have heard Europeans complain that it is unfit for mercantile
transactions.—Perhaps!
[FN#38] 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
the poem sufficing 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.
[FN#39] 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.
[FN#40] 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 Giraldus, 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. Œlian corroborates
Aristotle’s testimony. Pliny, however, distinctly asserts that the hawks
strike their prey down. “In 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, Œlian, it must be confessed, describes
their style of training falcons exactly similar to that in use among
the modern Persians, Sindians, and Arabs. The Emperor Frederic owes the
“capella,” or hood to the Badawi, 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 Al-Mas’udi, on the authority of Adham
bin Muhriz, to the king Al-Haris bin Mu’awiyah, and 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 Mohammed. 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 honour of the
invention to Central Asia.
[FN#41] Here called “bandukiyah bi ruhayn,” or the two-mouthed gun. The
leathern cover is termed “gushat”; it is a bag with a long-ringed tassel at
the top of the barrel, and a strap by which it is slung to the owner’s
back.
[FN#42] I described elsewhere the Mirzak, or javelin.
[FN#43] Ostriches are found in Al-Hijaz, where the Badawin shoot after
coursing them. The young ones are caught and tamed, and the eggs may be
bought in the Madinah 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 North America, also a
metamorphosis, belts trees so as to fell them in the direction most
suitable to his after purpose.
[FN#44] Not that the “Agrebi” of Bir Hamid and other parts have much to
learn of us in vice. The land of Al-Yaman is, I believe, the most
demoralised country, and Sana’a the most depraved city in Arabia. The
fair sex distinguishes 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.
[FN#45] In Al-Yaman, it is believed, that if a man eat three heads of
garlic in good mountain-samn (or clarified butter) for forty days, his
blood will kill the snake that draws it.
[FN#46] Circumcisionis causa apud Arabos manifestissima, ulceratio enim
endemica, abrasionem glandis aut praeputii, maxima cum facilitate
insequitur. Mos autem quem vocant Arabes Al-Salkh ([Arabic] i.e.
scarificatio) virilitatem animumque ostendendi modus esse videtur.
Exeunt amici paterque, et juvenem sub dio sedentem circumstant. Capit
tunc pugionem tonsor et præputio abscisso detrahit pellem [Greek] ab
umbilico incipiens aut parum infra, ventremque usque ad femora nudat.
Juvenis autem dextra pugionem super tergum tonsoris vibrans magna
clamat voce [Arabic] i.e. caede sine timore. Vae si haesitet tonsor aut
si tremeat manus! Pater etiam filium si dolore ululet statim occidit.
Re confecta surgit juvenis et [Arabic] “Gloria Deo” intonans, ad tentoria
tendit, statim nefando oppressus dolore humi procumbit. Remedia Sal, et
[Arabic] (tumerica); cibus lac cameli. Nonnullos occidit ingens
suppuratio, decem autem excoriatis supersunt plerumque octo: hi pecten
habent nullum, ventremque pallida tegit cutis.
[FN#47] The Spanish dollar is most prized in Al-Hijaz; in Al-Yaman the
Maria Theresa. The Spanish Government has refused to perpetuate its
Pillar-dollar, which at one time was so great a favourite 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 percentage. This coin was
doubtless preferred by the Badawin 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 “Riyal Fransah.”
[FN#48] Torale, sicut est mos Judaicus et Persicus, non inspiciunt.
Novae nuptae tamen maritus mappam manu capit: mane autem puellae mater
virginitatis signa viris mulieribusque domi ostendit eosque jubilare
jubet quod calamitas domestica, sc. filia, intacta abiit. Si non
ostendeant mappam, maeret domus, “prima enim Venus” in Arabia, “debet esse
cruenta.” Maritus autem humanior, etiamsi absit sanguis, cruore palumbino
mappam tingit et gaudium fingens cognatis parentibusque ostendit;
paululum postea puellae nonnulla causa dat divortium. Hic urbis et
ruris mos idem est.
[FN#49] An explanation of this term will be found below.
[FN#50] It is the plural of “Kaum,” which means “rising up in rebellion or
enmity against,” as well as the popular signification, a “people.” In some
parts of Arabia it is used for a “plundering party.”
[FN#51] Bayt (in the plural Buyut) is used in this sense to denote the
tents of the nomades. “Bayt” radically means a “nighting-place”; thence a tent,
a house, a lair, &c., &c.
[FN#52] Some tribes will not sell their sheep, keeping them for guests
or feasts.
[FN#53] So the word is pronounced at Meccah. The dictionaries give “Aakal,”
which in Eastern Arabia is corrupted to “Igal.”
[FN#54] Called “Tatarif,” plural of Tatrifah, a cartridge.
[FN#55] The liver and the spleen are both supposed to be “congealed blood.”
Niebuhr has exhausted the names and the description of the locust. In
Al-Hijaz they have many local and fantastic terms: the smallest kind,
for instance, is called Jarad Iblis, Satan’s locust.
[FN#56] This is the Kurut of Sind 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.
[FN#57] The North American trappers adopted this natural prejudice: the
“free trapper” called his more civilized confrere, “mangeur de lard.”
[FN#58] Burckhardt shrank from the intricate pedigree of the Meccan
Sharifs. I have seen a work upon the subject in four folio volumes in
point of matter equivalent to treble the number in Europe. The best
known genealogical works are Al-Kalkashandi (originally in seventy-five
books, extended to one hundred); the Umdat al-Tullab by Ibn Khaldun;
the “Tohfat al-Arab fi Ansar al-Arab,” a well-known volume by Al-Siyuti;
and, lastly, the Sirat al-Halabi, in six volumes 8vo. Of the latter
work there is an abridgment by Mohammed al-Banna al-Dimyati in two
volumes 8vo.; but both are rare, and consequently expensive.
[FN#59] I give the following details of the Harb upon the authority of
my friend Omar Effendi, who is great in matters of genealogy.
[FN#60]The first word is the plural, the second the singular form of
the word.
[FN#61] In the singular Aufi and Amri.
[FN#62] To these Mr. Cole adds seven other sub-divisions, viz.:—
1.  Ahali al-Kura (“the people of Kura?”), 5000.
2.  Radadah, 800.
3.  Hijlah, 600.
4.  Dubayah, 1500.
5.  Benu Kalb, 2000.
6.  Bayzanah, 800.
7.  Benu Yahya, 800.
And he makes the total of the Benu Harb about Al-Jadaydah amount to
35,000 men. I had no means of personally ascertaining the correctness
of this information.
[FN#63] The reader will remember that nothing like exactitude in
numbers can be expected from an Arab. Some rate the Benu Harb at 6000;
others, equally well informed, 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.
[FN#64] “Sham” which, properly speaking, means Damascus or Syria, in
Southern Arabia and Eastern Africa is universally applied to Al-Hijaz.

[p.124] CHAPTER XXVI.

FROM AL-SUWAYRKIYAH TO MECCAH.

WE have now left the territory of Al-Madinah. Al-Suwayrkiyah, which
belongs to the Sharif 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 one hundred 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 Al-Hijaz—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 with meat (principally mutton)
by the neighbouring Badawin; 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 appear 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 Benu Hosayn, a race of

[p.125] schismatics mentioned in the foregoing pages. They claim the
allegiance of the Badawi tribes around, principally Mutayr, and I was
informed that their fealty to the Prince of Meccah is merely nominal.

The morning after our arrival at Al-Suwayrkiyah witnessed a commotion
in our little party: hitherto they had kept together in fear of the
road. Among the number was one Ali bin Ya Sin, a perfect “old man of the
sea.” By profession he was a “Zemzemi,” or dispenser of water from the Holy
Well,[FN#1] and he had a handsome “palazzo” at the foot of Abu Kubays in
Meccah, which he periodically 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 Al-Madinah. These trips had given him the cunning of
a veteran voyageur. 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 pickled limes and
similar luxuries; he had his travelling Shishah (water-pipe),[FN#2] 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

[p.126] one mounted his Shugduf, the unfortunate was condemned to lie
like a statue. Fidgety and priggishly neat, nothing 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 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 Al-Madinah. This ill-suited
pair clave together for awhile, but at Al-Suwayrkiyah some dispute
about a copper coin made them permanent foes. With threats and abuse
such as none but an Egyptian could tamely hear, Ali kicked his quondam
friend out of the vehicle. But terrified, after reflection, by the
possibility 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 protection
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 Badawin, who seeing him pull up his dromedary to mount
and dismount, had questioned his sex, and determined him to be

[p.127] a woman of the “Miyan.[FN#3]” I could not rebuke them; the poor
fellow’s timidity was a ridiculous contrast to the Badawi’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 splendour at
the extravagant price of happiness—the senior’s tongue never rested
throughout the livelong night.

During our half-halt at Al-Suwayrkiyah we determined to have a small
feast; we bought some fresh dates, and we 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 ten A.M. (Monday, 5th September) in a South-Easterly
direction, and travelled over a flat, thinly dotted with Desert
vegetation. At one 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 Samum as usual was blowing hard, and it seemed to
affect the travellers’ tempers. 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

[p.128] open with a dagger. On enquiring what had become of him, I was
assured that he had been comfortably wrapped up in his shroud, and
placed in a half-dug grave. This is the general practice in the case of
the poor 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,[FN#4] 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 six P.M., before the light of day had faded, we traversed 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 porphyry. 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 eight 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 Al-Sufayna. The
plain was already dotted with tents and lights. We found the Baghdad
Caravan, whose route here falls into the Darb al-Sharki. It consists of
a few Persians and Kurds, and collects the people of North-Eastern
Arabia, Wahhabis and others. They are escorted by the Agayl tribe and
by the fierce mountaineers of Jabal Shammar. Scarcely was our tent
pitched, when the distant pattering of musketry and an ominous tapping
of the kettle-drum sent all my companions in different directions to
enquire what was the cause of quarrel. The Baghdad Cafilah, 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

[p.129] encamped in different places. I never saw a more pugnacious
assembly: a look sufficed for a quarrel. Once a Wahhabi stood in front
of us, and by pointing with his finger and other insulting gestures,
showed his hatred to the chibuk, 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 Al-Sufayna from our last halting
place was South-East five degrees. Though it was night when we
encamped, Shaykh Mas’ud 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 stagnated between sunrise and ten 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 Al-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 Samum-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 for a temporary seat in my Shugduf; the latter I offered
with pleasure, as the boy Mohammed was

[p.130] longing to mount a camel. The Shaykh’s illness was nothing but
weakness brought on by the hardships of the journey: he attributed it
to the hot wind, and to 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 persuaded 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 Shugduf. I never met amongst the Arab citizens a better bred or a
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,[FN#5] he was full of “ useful knowledge,” and openable as a
dictionary. We parted near Meccah, where I met him only once, and then
accidentally, in the Valley of Muna.

At half-past five A.M. on Tuesday, the 6th of September, we rose
refreshed by the cool, comfortable night, and loaded the camels. I had
an opportunity of inspecting Al-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 Al-Madinah southwards had bounded
the horizon. After

[p.131] a two miles’ march our camels climbed up a precipitous ridge, and
then descended into a broad gravel plain. From ten to eleven A.M. our
course lay 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.[FN#6] Nature scalped, flayed, discovered all her
skeleton 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-shapen rock. All were 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 fewer than thirty feet in height. Through these scenes we
travelled till about half-past four 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 Mas’ud correctly guessed the cause of our
detention at the inhospitable “halting-place of the Mutayr” (Badawin). “Cook
your bread and boil your coffee,” said the old man; “the camels will rest
for awhile, and the gun will sound at nightfall.”

We had passed over about eighteen miles of ground; and our present
direction was South-west twenty degrees of Al-Sufayna.

At half-past ten that evening we heard the signal for

[p.132] 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 Wa’ar—rough ground covered with thicket. Darkness fell upon us like a
pall. The camels tripped and stumbled, tossing their litters like
cockboats 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 Mas’ud would
seize my camel’s halter, and, accompanied by his son and nephew bearing
lights, encourage 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 flakes and 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 or cressets,[FN#7] 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 preceding his neighbour. The Syrians,
amongst whom our little party had become entangled, proved most
unpleasant companions: 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 Abdullah 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

[p.133] companion was successful with the Syrians. He would begin with
a mild “Move a little, O my father!” followed, if fruitless, by “Out of the
way, O Father of Syria[FN#8]!” and if still ineffectual, advancing 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
“Yazid,” the “Offspring of Shimr.” Another remark which I made about my
companion’s conduct well illustrates the difference between the Eastern
and the Western man. When traversing a dangerous place, Shaykh Abdullah
the European attended to his camel with loud cries of “Hai! Hai[FN#9]!” and
an occasional switching. Shaykh Abdullah the Asiatic commended himself
to Allah by repeated ejaculations of Ya Satir! Ya Sattar[FN#10]!

[p.134]The morning of Wednesday (September 7th) broke as we entered a
wide plain. In many places were signs of water: lines of basalt here
and there seamed the surface, and wide sheets of the tufaceous gypsum
called by the Arabs Sabkhah shone like mirrors set in the russet
framework of the flat. This 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 oppression, 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, Al-Ghadir, denotes. At ten A.M.
we pitched the tent in the first convenient spot, and we lost no time
in stretching our cramped limbs upon the bosom of mother Earth. From
the halting-place of the Mutayr to Al-Ghadir is a march of about twenty
miles, and the direction south-west twenty-one degrees. Al-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 amongst
the mountaineers of Shammar. Our Shaykh Mas’ud manifestly did not like
the company; for shortly after three P.M. he insisted upon our striking
the tent and rejoining the Hajj, which lay encamped about two miles
distant in the western part of the basin. We

[p.135] loaded, therefore, and half an hour before sunset found
ourselves in more congenial society. To my great disappointment, a stir
was observable in the Caravan. I at once understood that another
night-march was in store for us.

At six 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 nine 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,
encouraging the dromedary; and that we had not one fall excited my
extreme astonishment. At five A.M. (Thursday, 8th September) 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 to his son. The Shaykh, a little offended 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 in vain to find us. 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.

[p.136]At eleven A.M. we had reached our station. It is about
wenty-four miles from Al-Ghadir, and its direction is South-east ten
degrees. It is called Al-Birkat (the Tank), from a large and now
ruinous cistern built of hewn stone by the Caliph Harun.[FN#11] The
land belongs to the Utaybah Badawin, the bravest and most ferocious
tribe in Al-Hijaz; and the citizens denote their dread of these
banditti by asserting that to increase their courage they drink their
enemy’s blood.[FN#12] 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 Pasha allowed us a rest of five hours at Al-Birkat: we spent them
in my tent, which was crowded with Shaykh Abdullah’s friends. To requite
me for this inconvenience, he prepared for me an excellent water-pipe,
a cup of coffee, which, untainted by cloves and by 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

[p.137] 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 Shaykh Mas’ud, when the latter insinuated sarcastically,
that if the former had teeth he would be more intelligible. The Arnaut
in his rage seized a pole, raised it, and delivered a blow which missed
the camel-man, but, which brought the striker headlong to the ground.
Mas’ud exclaimed, with shrieks of rage, “Have we come to this, that every
old-woman Turk smites us?” Our party had the greatest trouble to quiet
the quarrel[l]ers. The Arab listened to us when we threatened him with
the Pasha. 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 compelled to leave him and his slave behind.

At four P.M. we left Al-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 inevitable
loss of way. About 2 A.M. we began ascending hills in a south-westerly
direction, and presently we 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[FN#13]; the Senna, with its small
green leaf; the Rhazya stricta[FN#14]; and a large luxuriant variety of
the Asclepias gigantea,[FN#15] cottoned over with

[p.138] mist and dew. At 6 A.M. (Sept. 9th) we left the Fiumara, and,
turning to the West, we arrived about an hour afterwards at the
station. Al-Zaribah, “the valley,” is an undulating plain amongst high
granite hills. In 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 station was
south-east 56° from our last.

Having pitched the tent and eaten and slept, we prepared to perform the
ceremony of Al-Ihram (assuming the pilgrim-garb), as Al-Zaribah is the
Mikat, or the appointed place.[FN#16] 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

[p.139] 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 Al-Eddeh,
in the baths at Cairo.[FN#17] One of these 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.[FN#18] It is said that some clans of Arabs still
preserve this religious 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,[FN#19] “I vow 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 grace are Thine, and the empire—

[p.140]	No partner hast Thou, here am I[FN#20]!” 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
consciences, bade us be good pilgrims, avoiding quarrels, immorality,
bad language, and light conversation. We must so reverence life that we
should avoid killing game, causing an animal to fly, and even pointing
it out for destruction[FN#21]; 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 with 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[FN#22]; and it is commonly said by Moslems that none

[p.141] but the Prophet could be perfect in the intricacies of
pilgrimage. Old Ali began with an irregularity: he declared that age
prevented his assuming the garb, but that, arrived 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. They appeared dresse 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
“bulls’-eyes” for light.[FN#23] 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 three P.M. we left Al-Zaribah, travelling towards the South-West,
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

[p.142] chief. The women emulated the men; they either guided their own
dromedaries, or, sitting in pillion, they clung to their husbands;
veils they disdained, and their countenances certainly belonged 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
beasts delighted in dashing furiously through our file, which being
lashed together, head and tail, 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 Al-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 Badawin had attacked a party of Meccans with stones, and the
news caused men to look exceeding grave.

At five 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 watercourses, and
signs of violence in the torrent-bed show. The Fiumara varies in
breadth from a hundred and fifty 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 five P.M. we entered a suspicious-looking place. On
the right was a stony buttress, along whose base the stream, when there
is one, swings; and to this depression was our road limited by the
rocks and thorn trees which filled the other half of the channel.

[p.143] 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 grey sombre shade.

A damp seemed to fall upon our spirits as we approached this Valley
Perilous. I remarked that the voices of the women and children sank
into silence, and the loud Labbayk 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 ringlet, on the
summit of the right-hand precipice, caught my eye; and simultaneous
with the echoing crack of the matchlock, a high-trotting dromedary in
front of me rolled over upon the sands,—a bullet had split its
heart,—throwing the rider a goodly somersault of five or six yards.

Ensued terrible confusion; women screamed, children cried, 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 match-lock
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 Pasha 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 whispered “Crown the heights.”

Then it was that the conduct of the Wahhabis found favour in my eyes.
They came up, galloping their camels,—

“Torrents less rapid, and less rash,—

with their elf-locks tossing in the wind, and their flaring

[p.144] 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, dismounting, swarmed up the hill under the
guidance of the Sharif Zayd. I had remarked this nobleman at Al-Madinah
as a model specimen of the pure Arab. Like all Sharifs, he is
celebrated for bravery, and has killed many with his own hand.[FN#24]
When urged at Al-Zaribah 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 required much management to steer our
Desert-craft clear of danger; but Shaykh Mas’ud was equal to the
occasion. That many were not, was evident by the boxes and baggage that
strewed the shingles. I had no means of ascertaining the number of men
killed and wounded: reports were contradictory, and exaggeration
unanimous. The robbers were said to be a hundred and fifty 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
[p.145] night, stopped the Sultan’s Mahmil one whole hour in the Pass.”

At the beginning of the skirmish I had primed my pistols, 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” so well
as in the East,—I called aloud for my supper. Shaykh Nur, exanimate with
fear, could not move. The boy Mohammed ejaculated only an “Oh, sir!” and
the people 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 enquired 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 place;
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

[p.146] above and livid red below; it 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 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 endeavouring to fustigate Mas’ud’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 (Saturday, Sept. 10th) found us still travelling down the Fiumara,
which here is about a hundred yards broad. The granite hills 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 furious, and
with great zest abused the Badawin, who were absent. “Feed these Arabs,” he
exclaimed, quoting a Turkish proverb, “and

[p.147] they will fire at Heaven!” But I observed that, when Shaykh Mas’ud
came up, the citizen was only gruff.

We then turned Northward, and sighted Al-Mazik, more generally known as
Wady Laymun, the Valley of Limes. On the right bank of the Fiumara
stood the Meccan Sharif’s state pavilion, green and gold: it was
surrounded by his attendants, and he had prepared to receive the Pasha
of the Caravan. We advanced half a mile, and encamped temporarily in a
hill-girt bulge of the Fiumara bed. At eight A.M. we had travelled
about twenty-four miles from Al-Zaribah, and the direction of our
present station was South-west 50°.

Shaykh Mas’ud 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 Rijam and Ghul wild beasts unheeded roam,
On Rayyan hill the channel lines have left their naked trace,
Time-worn, as primal Writ that dints the mountain’s flinty
 face;[FN#25]”—

and this Wady, celebrated for the purity of its air, has from remote
ages been a favourite resort of the Meccans. Nothing can be more
soothing to the brain than the dark-green foliage of the limes and
pomegranates; and from

[p.148] the base of the Southern hill bursts a bubbling stream, whose

“Chaire, fresche e dolci acque”

flow through the gardens, filling them with the most delicious of
melodies, the gladdest sound which Nature in these regions knows.

Exactly at noon Mas’ud seized the halter of the foremost camel, and we
started down the Fiumara. Troops of Badawi girls looked over the
orchard walls laughingly, and children came out to offer us fresh fruit
and sweet water. At two P.M., travelling South-west, we arrived at a
point where the torrent-bed turns to the right[;] and, quitting it, we
climbed with difficulty over a steep ridge of granite. Before three
o’clock we entered a hill-girt plain, which 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.[FN#26] I told Shaykh Mas’ud to break off a

[p.149] twig, 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. [FN#27] 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 colour a
cherry-stick pipe, the inside was a light yellow, and the juice made my
fingers stick together.

At four P.M. we came to a steep and rocky Pass, up which we toiled with
difficulty. The face of the country was rising once more, and again
presented the aspect of numerous small basins divided and surrounded by
hills. As we

[p.150] jogged on we were passed by the cavalcade of no less a
personage than the Sharif of Meccah. Abd al-Muttalib bin Ghalib is a
dark, beardless old man with African features derived from his mother.
He was plainly dressed in white garments and a white muslin
turband,[FN#28] which made him look jet black; he rode an ambling mule,
and the only emblem of his dignity was the large green satin umbrella
born[e] by an attendant on foot.[FN#29] Scattered around him were about
forty matchlock men, mostly slaves. At long intervals, after their
father, came his four sons, Riza Bey, Abdullah, Ali, and Ahmad, the
latter still a child. The three elder brothers rode splendid
dromedaries at speed; they were young men of light complexion, with the
true Meccan cast of features, showily dressed in bright coloured silks,
and armed, to denote their rank, with sword and gold-hilted
dagger.[FN#30]

[p.151]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
Shaykh Abdullah’s direction I recited, after the usual devotions, the
following prayer. The reader is for[e]warned that it is difficult to
preserve the flowers of Oriental rhetoric in a European tongue.

[p.152]O Allah! verily this is Thy Safeguard (Amn) and Thy (Harim)!
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 Compassionate. 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.

We again mounted, and night completed our disappointment. About one
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 a cutting called the Saniyat Kuda’a, the
winding-place of the cut.[FN#31] The “winding path” is flanked on both
sides by watch-towers, which command the Darb al-Ma’ala or road leading
from the North into Meccah. Thence we passed into the Ma’abidah (Northern
suburb), where the Sharif’s Palace is built.[FN#32] After this, on the
left hand, came

[p.153] the deserted abode of the Sharif bin Aun, now said to be a
“haunted house.[FN#33]” Opposite to it lies the Jannat al-Ma’ala, the 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 apprehension. The two are on bad terms; children never meet
without exchanging volleys of stones, and men fight furiously with
quarterstaves. Sometimes, despite the terrors of religion, the knife
and sabre are drawn. But their 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 byway, and
ascended by narrow lanes the rough heights of Jabal Hindi, upon which
stands a small whitewashed and crenellated building called a fort.
Thence descending, we threaded dark streets, in places crowded with
rude cots and dusky figures, and finally at two A.M. we found ourselves
at the door of the boy Mohammed’s house.

[p.154]From Wady Laymun to Meccah the distance, according to my
calculation, was about twenty-three miles, the direction South-East
forty-five degrees. 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 Harim.

I conclude this chapter with a few remarks upon the watershed of
Al-Hijaz. The country, in my humble opinion, has a compound slope,
Southwards and Westwards. I have, however, little but the conviction of
the 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 geographers 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 Al-Musahhal is a gentle rise. The water-marks
of the Fiumaras show that Al-Madinah is considerably above the coast,
though geographers may not be correct in claiming for Jabal Radhwa a
height of six thousand feet; yet that elevation is not perhaps too
great for the plateau upon which stands the Apostle’s burial-place. From
Al-Madinah to Al-Suwayrkiyah is another gentle rise, and from the
latter to Al-Zaribah stagnating water denotes a level. I believe the
report of a perennial lake on the eastern boundary of Al-Hijaz, as
little as the river placed by Ptolemy between Yambu’ and Meccah. No
Badawi could tell me of this feature, which, had it existed, would have
changed the whole conditions and history of the [p.155] 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
Al-Zaribah is a decided fall, which continues to the sea. The Arafat
torrent sweeps from East to West with great force, sometimes carrying
away the habitations, and even injuring the sanctuary.[FN#34]

[FN#1] There are certain officers called Zemzemi, who distribute the
holy water. In the case of a respectable pilgrim they have a large jar
of the shape described in Chap. 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 Harim, that men may drink in his honour. The
Zemzemi expects a present varying from five to eleven dollars.
[FN#2] The shishah, smoked on the camel, is a tin canister divided into
two compartments, 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
hookah-snake projects from one side.
[FN#3] The Hindustani “sir.” Badawin address it slightingly to Indians,
Chapter xii.
[FN#4] When Indians would say “he was killed upon the spot,” they use the
picturesque phrase, “he asked not for water.”
[FN#5] The Arabs are curious in and fond of honey: Meccah alone affords
eight or nine different 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 Al-Hijaz, but honey enters
into a variety of dishes.
[FN#6] “La Siwa Hu,” i.e., where there is none but Allah.
[FN#7] This article, an iron cylinder with bands, mounted on a long
pole, corresponds with the European cresset of the fifteenth century.
The Pasha’s cressets are known by their smell, a little incense being
mingled with the wood. By this means the Badawin discover the dignitary’s
place.
[FN#8] “Abu Sham,” a familiar address in Al-Hijaz to Syrians. They are
called “abusers of the salt,” from their treachery, and “offspring of Shimr”
(the execrated murderer of the Imam Hosayn), because he was a native of
that country. Such is the detestation in which the Shi’ah 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 Jalal al-Din (History of Jerusalem) says, “As to Damascus,
all learned men fully agree that it is the most eminent of cities after
Meccah and Al-Madinah.” Hence its many titles, “the Smile of the Prophet,”
the “Great Gate of Pilgrimage,” “Sham Sharif,” the “Right Hand of the Cities of
Syria,” &c., &c. And many sayings of Mohammed in honour of Syria are
recorded. He was fond of using such Syriac words as “Bakhun! Bakhun!” to
Ali, and “Kakhun! Kakhun!” to Hosayn. 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 modern European tongues.
[FN#9] There is a regular language to camels. “Ikh! ikh!” makes them kneel;
“Yahh! Yahh!” urges them on; “Hai! Hai!” induces caution, and so on.
[FN#10] 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 accident, or an animal of falling.
[FN#11] 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 favourite with Harun al-Rashid, 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 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.
[FN#12] 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 Al-Hijaz. Possibly
the disgusting act may occasionally 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 during the pilgrimage season.
[FN#13] Coloquintida is here used, as in most parts of the East,
medicinally. 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.
[FN#14] Used in Arabian medicine as a refrigerant and tonic. It abounds
in Sind and Afghanistan, where, according to that most practical of
botanists, the lamented Dr. Stocks, it is called “ishwarg.”
[FN#15] Here called Ashr. According to Seetzen it bears the long-sought
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 effects; 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 Badawin
also have applied it to a similar purpose. Our Egyptian travellers call
it the “Silk-tree”; and in Northern Africa, where it abounds, Europeans
make of it stuffing for the 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.
[FN#16] “Al-Ihram” literally meaning “prohibition” or “making unlawful,” equivalent
to our “mortification,” is applied to the ceremony of the toilette, and
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.
Those coming from the North assume the pilgrim-garb at or off the
village of Rabigh.
[FN#17] These sheets are not positively necessary; any clean cotton
cloth not sewn in any part will serve equally well. Servants and
attendants expect the master to present them with an “ihram.”
[FN#18] Sandals are made at Meccah expressly for the pilgrimage: the
poorer classes cut off the upper leathers of an old pair of shoes.
[FN#19] This Niyat, as it is technically called, is preferably
performed aloud. Some authorities, however, direct it to be meditated
sotto-voce.
[FN#20] “Talbiyat” is from the word Labbayka (“here I am”) in the cry—
“Labbayk’ Allahumma, Labbayk’!
(Labbayka) La Sharika laka, Labbayk’!
Inna ’l-hamda wa ’l ni’amata laka wa ’l mulk!
La Sharika laka, Labbayk’!”
Some add, “Here I am, and I honour thee, I the son of thy two slaves:
beneficence and good are all between thy hands.” A single Talbiyah is a
“Shart” or positive condition, and its repetition is a Sunnat or Custom of
the Prophet. 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.
[FN#21] 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.
[FN#22] The victim is sacrificed as a confession that the offender
deems himself worthy of death: the offerer is not allowed to taste any
portion of his offering.
[FN#23] The reason why this “ugly” must be worn, is, that a woman’s veil
during the pilgrimage ceremonies is not allowed to touch her face.
[FN#24] The Sharifs are born and bred to fighting: the peculiar
privileges of their caste favour their development of pugnacity. Thus,
the modern diyah, or price of blood, being 800 dollars for a common
Moslem, the chiefs demand for one of their number double that sum, with
a sword, a camel, a female slave, and other items; and, if one of their
slaves or servants be slain, a fourfold price. The rigorous way in
which this custom is carried out gives the Sharif and his retainer
great power among the Arabs. As a general rule, they are at the bottom
of all mischief. It was a Sharif (Hosayn bin Ali) who tore down and
trampled upon the British flag at Mocha; a Sharif (Abd al-Rahman of
Waht) who murdered Captain Mylne near Lahedge. A page might be filled
with the names of the distinguished ruffians.
[FN#25] In these lines of Labid, the “Mina” alluded to must not, we are
warned by the scholiast, be confounded with “Mina” (vulg. “Muna”), the Valley
of Victims. Ghul and Rayyan are hills close to the Wady Laymun. 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.).
[FN#26] The “balsamon” of Theophrastus and Dioscorides, a corruption of the
Arabic “balisan” or “basham,” by which name the Badawin 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 Al-Hijaz, 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 Badr-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 Horus 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 hot weather incisions are made in the bark, and the
soft gum which exudes is collected in bottles. The best 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 Bruce declares were shown to him alive at Jeddah and at Yambu’. Dr.
Carter found the balm, under the name of Luban Dukah, among the Gara
tribe of Eastern Arabia, and botanists have seen it at Aden. We may
fairly question its being originally from the banks of the Jordan.
[FN#27] This being one of the “Muharramat,” or actions forbidden to a
pilgrim. At all times, say the Moslems, there are three vile trades,
viz., those of the Harik al-Hajar (stone-burner), the Kati’ al-Shajar
(tree-cutter, without reference to Hawarden, N.B.), and the Bayi’
al-Bashar (man-seller, vulg. Jallab).
[FN#28] This attire was customary even in Al-Idrisi’s time.
[FN#29] From India to Abyssinia the umbrella is the sign of royalty:
the Arabs of Meccah and Sena’a probably derived the custom from the
Hindus.
[FN#30] I purposely omit long descriptions of the Sharif, 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 Sharif, despite his
civilised training at Constantinople, is, and must be a fanatic,
bigoted man. He applied for the expulsion of the British Vice-Consul at
Jeddah, on the grounds that an infidel should not hold position in the
Holy Land. His pride and reserve have made him few friends, although
the Meccans, with their enthusiastic nationality, extol his bravery to
the skies, and praise him for conduct as well as for courage. His
position at present is anomalous. Ahmad Pasha of Al-Hijaz rules
politically as representative of the Sultan. The Sharif, who, like the
Pope, claims temporal as well as spiritual dominion, attempts to
command the authorities by force of bigotry. The Pasha heads the
Turkish, now the ruling party. The Sharif has in his interest the Arabs
and the Badawin. Both thwart each other on all possible occasions;
quarrels are bitter and endless; there is no government, and the vessel
of the State is in danger of being water-logged, in consequence of the
squabbling between her two captains. When I was at Meccah all were in a
ferment, the Sharif having, it is said, insisted upon the Pasha leaving
Taif. The position of the Turks in Al-Hijaz becomes every day more
dangerous. Want of money presses upon them, and reduces them to
degrading measures. In February, 1853, the Pasha 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 Pasha yielded the point by
imprisoning his recusant 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 Sharif approaches a crisis. His salary, paid by the
Sultan, may be roughly estimated at £15,000 per annum. If the Turks
maintain their footing in Arabia, it will probably be found that an
honourable retreat at Stambul is better for the thirty-first 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 Sharif
Abd al-Muttalib has been deposed. The Arabs of Al-Hijaz united in
revolt against the Sultan, but after a few skirmishes they were reduced
to subjection by their old ruler the Sharif bin Aun.
[FN#31] Saniyat means a “winding path,” and Kuda’a, “the cut.” Formerly Meccah
had three gates: 1. Bab al-Ma’ala, North-East; 2. Bab al-Umrah, or Bab
al-Zahir, on the Jeddah road, West; and 3[.] Bab al-Masfal on the Yaman
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 is not a matter of vital consequence in pilgrimage.
[FN#32] It is a large whitewashed building, with extensive wooden
balconied windows, but no pretensions to architectural splendour.
Around it trees grow, and amongst them I remarked a young cocoa.
Al-Idrisi (A.D. 1154) calls the palace Al-Marba’ah. This may be a
clerical error, for to the present day all know it as Al-Ma’abidah
(pronounced Al-Mab’da). The Nubian describes it as a “stone castle, three
miles from the town, in a palm garden.” The word “Ma’abidah,” says Kutb al-Din,
means a “body of servants,” and is applied generally to this suburb because
here was a body of Badawin in charge of the Masjid al-Ijabah, a Mosque
not now existing.
[FN#33] 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 planet.”
[FN#34] This is a synopsis of our marches, which, protracted on
Burckhardt’s map, gives an error of ten miles.
1. From Al-Madinah to Ja al-Sharifah, S.E. 50° - 22 Miles
2. From Ja al-Sharifah to Ghurab, S.W. 10° - 24 Miles
3. From Ghurab to Al-Hijriyah, S.E. 22° - 25 Miles
4. From Al-Hijriyah to Al-Suwayrkiyah, S.W. 11° - 28 Miles
5. From Al-Suwayrkiyah to Al-Sufayna, S.E. 5° - 17 Miles
6. From Al-Sufayna to the “Benu Mutayr,” S.W. 20° - 18 Miles
7. From the “Benu Mutayr” to Al-Ghadir, S.W. 21° - 20 Miles
8. From Al-Ghadir to Al-Birkat, S.E. 10° - 24 Miles
9. From Al-Birkat to Al-Zaribah, S.E. 56° - 23 Miles
10.From Al-Zaribah to Wady Laymun, S.W. 50° - 24 Miles
11.From Wady Laymun to Meccah, S.E. 45° - 23 Miles
Total English miles          248

[p.157]PART III.

MECCAH.

[p.159]CHAPTER XXVII.

THE FIRST VISIT TO THE HOUSE OF ALLAH.

THE boy Mohammed left me in the street, and having at last persuaded
the sleepy and tired Indian porter, by violent kicks and testy answers
to twenty cautious queries, to swing open the huge gate of his
fortress, he rushed up stairs to embrace his mother. After a minute I
heard the Zaghritah,[FN#1] Lululu, or shrill cry which in these lands
welcomes the wanderer home; the sound so gladdening to the returner
sent a chill to the stranger’s heart.

Presently the youth returned. His manner had changed from a boisterous
and jaunty demeanour to one of grave and attentive courtesy—I had become
his guest. He led me into the gloomy hall, seated me upon a large
carpeted Mastabah, or platform, and told his bara Miyan[FN#2] (great
Sir), the Hindustani porter, to bring a light.
[p.160] Meanwhile a certain shuffling of slippered feet above informed
my ears that the Kabirah,[FN#3] the mistress of the house, was intent
on hospitable thoughts. When the camels were unloaded, appeared a dish
of fine vermicelli, browned and powdered with loaf sugar. The boy
Mohammed, I, and Shaykh Nur, lost no time in exerting our right hands;
and truly, after our hungry journey, we found the Kunafah delicious.
After the meal we procured cots from a neighbouring coffee-house, and
we lay down, weary, and anxious to snatch an hour or two of repose. At
dawn we were expected to perform our Tawaf al-Kudum, or “Circumambulation
of Arrival,” at the Harim.

Scarcely had the first smile of morning beamed upon the rugged head of
the eastern hill, Abu Kubays,[FN#4] when we arose, bathed, and
proceeded in our pilgrim-garb to the Sanctuary. We entered by the Bab
al-Ziyadah, or principal northern door, descended two long flights of
steps, traversed the cloister, and stood in sight of the Bayt Allah.

There at last it lay, the bourn of my long and weary Pilgrimage,
realising the plans and hopes of many and many a year. The mirage
medium of Fancy invested the

[p.161] huge catafalque and its gloomy pall with peculiar charms. There
were no giant fragments of hoar antiquity as in Egypt, no remains of
graceful and harmonious beauty as in Greece and Italy, no barbarous
gorgeousness as in the buildings of India; yet the view was strange,
unique—and how few have looked upon the celebrated shrine! I may truly
say that, of all the worshippers who clung weeping to the curtain, or
who pressed their beating hearts to the stone, none felt for the moment
a deeper emotion than did the Haji from the far-north. It was as if the
poetical legends of the Arab spoke truth, and that the waving wings of
angels, not the sweet breeze of morning, were agitating and swelling
the black covering of the shrine. But, to confess humbling truth,
theirs was the high feeling of religious enthusiasm, mine was the
ecstasy of gratified pride.

Few Moslems contemplate for the first time the Ka’abah, without fear and
awe: there is a popular jest against new comers, that they generally
inquire the direction of prayer. This being the Kiblah, or fronting
place, Moslems pray all around it; a circumstance which of course
cannot take place in any spot of Al-Islam but the Harim. The boy
Mohammed, therefore, left me for a few minutes to myself; but presently
he warned me that it was time to begin. Advancing, we entered through
the Bab Benu Shaybah, the “Gate of the Sons of the Shaybah[FN#5]” (old
woman). There we raised our

[p.162] hands, repeated the Labbayk, the Takbir, and the Tahlil; after
which we uttered certain supplications, and drew our hands down our
faces. Then we proceeded to the Shafe’is’ place of worship—the open pavement
between the Makam Ibrahim and the well Zemzem—where we performed the
usual two-bow prayer in honour of the Mosque. This was followed by a
cup of holy water and a present to the Sakkas, or carriers, who for the
consideration distributed, in my name, a large earthen vaseful to poor
pilgrims.

The word Zemzem has a doubtful origin. Some derive it from the Zam Zam,
or murmuring of its waters, others from Zam! Zam! (fill! fill! i.e. the
bottle), Hagar’s impatient exclamation when she saw the stream. Sale
translates it stay! stay! and says that Hagar called out in the
Egyptian language, to prevent her son wandering. The Hukama, or
Rationalists of Al-Islam, who invariably connect their faith with the
worship of Venus, especially, and the heavenly bodies generally, derive
Zemzem from the Persian, and make it signify the “great luminary.” Hence
they say the Zemzem, as well as the Ka’abah, denoting the Cuthite or
Ammonian worship of sun and fire, deserves man’s reverence. So the
Persian poet Khakani addresses these two buildings:—

“O Ka’abah, thou traveller of the heavens!”
“O Venus, thou fire of the world!”

Thus Wahid Mohammed, founder of the Wahidiyah sect, identifies the
Kiblah and the sun; wherefore he says the door fronts the East. By the
names Yaman (“right-hand”), Sham (“left-hand”), Kubul, or the East wind
(“fronting”), and Dubur, or the West wind (“from the back”), it is evident that
worshippers fronted the rising sun. According to the Hukama, the
original Black Stone represents Venus, “which in the border of the
heavens is a star of the planets,” and symbolical of the

[p.163] generative power of nature, “by whose passive energy the universe
was warmed into life and motion.” The Hindus accuse the Moslems of
adoring the Bayt Ullah.

“O Moslem, if thou worship the Ka’abah,
Why reproach the worshippers of idols?”

says Rai Manshar. And Musaylimah, who in his attempt to found a fresh
faith, gained but the historic epithet of “Liar,” allowed his followers to
turn their faces in any direction, mentally ejaculating, “I address
myself to thee, who hast neither side nor figure;” a doctrine which might
be sensible in the abstract, but certainly not material enough and
pride-flattering to win him many converts in Arabia.

The produce of Zemzem is held in great esteem. It is used for drinking
and religious ablution, but for no baser purposes; and the Meccans
advise pilgrims always to break their fast with it. It is apt to cause
diarrhoea and boils, and I never saw a stranger drink it without a wry
face. Sale is decidedly correct in his assertion: the flavour is a
salt-bitter, much resembling an infusion of a teaspoonful of Epsom
salts in a large tumbler of tepid water. Moreover, it is exceedingly
“heavy” to the digestion. For this reason Turks and other strangers prefer
rain-water, collected in cisterns and sold for five farthings a
gugglet. It was a favourite amusement with me to watch them whilst they
drank the holy water, and to taunt their scant and irreverent potations.

The strictures of the Calcutta Review (No. 41, art. 1), based upon the
taste of Zemzem, are unfounded. In these days a critic cannot be
excused for such hasty judgments; at Calcutta or Bombay he would easily
find a jar of Zemzem water, which he might taste for himself. Upon this
passage Mr. W. Muir (Life of Mahomet, vol. i, p. cclviii.) remarks that
“the flavour of stale water bottled up for months would not be a
criterion of the same water freshly drawn.” But it might easily be
analysed.

The water is transmitted to distant regions in glazed

[p.164] earthern jars covered with basket-work, and sealed by the
Zemzemis. Religious men break their lenten fast with it, apply it to
their eyes to brighten vision, and imbibe a few drops at the hour of
death, when Satan stands by holding a bowl of purest water, the price
of the departing soul. Of course modern superstition is not idle about
the waters of Zemzem. The copious supply of the well is considered at
Meccah miraculous; in distant countries it facilitates the
pron[o]unciation of Arabic to the student; and everywhere the nauseous
draught is highly meritorious in a religious point of view.

We then advanced towards the eastern angle of the Ka’abah, in which is
inserted the Black Stone; and, standing about ten yards from it,
repeated with upraised hands, “There is no god but Allah alone, Whose
Covenant is Truth, and Whose Servant is Victorious. There is no god but
Allah, without Sharer; His is the Kingdom, to Him be Praise, and He
over all Things is potent.” After which we approached as close as we
could to the stone. A crowd of pilgrims preventing our touching it that
time, we raised our hands to our ears, in the first position of prayer,
and then lowering them, exclaimed, “O Allah (I do this), in Thy Belief,
and in verification of Thy Book, and in Pursuance of Thy Prophet’s
Example—may Allah bless Him and preserve! O Allah, I extend my Hand to
Thee, and great is my Desire to Thee! O accept Thou my Supplication,
and diminish my Obstacles, and pity my Humiliation, and graciously
grant me Thy Pardon!” After which, as we were still unable to reach the
stone, we raised our hands to our ears, the palms facing the stone, as
if touching it, recited the various religious formulae, the Takbir, the
Tahlil, and the Hamdilah, blessed the Prophet, and kissed the
finger-tips of the right hand. The Prophet used to weep when he touched
the Black Stone, and said that it was the place for the pouring forth
of tears. According to most authors, the

[p.165] second Caliph also used to kiss it. For this reason most
Moslems, except the Shafe’i school, must touch the stone with both hands
and apply their lips to it, or touch it with the fingers, which should
be kissed, or rub the palms upon it, and afterwards draw them down the
face. Under circumstances of difficulty, it is sufficient to stand
before the stone, but the Prophet’s Sunnat, or practice, was to touch it.
Lucian mentions adoration of the sun by kissing the hand.

Then commenced the ceremony of Tawaf,[FN#6] or circumambulation, our
route being the Mataf—the low oval of polished granite immediately
surrounding the Ka’abah. I

[p.166] repeated, after my Mutawwif, or cicerone,[FN#7] “In the Name of
Allah, and Allah is omnipotent! I purpose to circuit seven circuits
unto Almighty Allah, glorified and exalted!” This is technically called
the Niyat (intention) of Tawaf. Then we began the prayer, “O Allah (I do
this), in Thy Belief, and in Verification of Thy Book, and in
Faithfulness to Thy Covenant, and in Perseverance of the Example of the
Apostle Mohammed—may Allah bless Him and preserve!” till we reached the
place Al-Multazem, between the corner of the Black Stone and the Ka’abah
door. Here we ejaculated, “O Allah, Thou hast Rights, so pardon my
transgressing them.” Opposite the door we repeated, “O Allah, verily the
House is Thy House, and the Sanctuary Thy Sanctuary, and the Safeguard
Thy Safeguard, and this is the Place of him who flies to Thee from
(hell) Fire!” At the little building called Makam Ibrahim we said, “O
Allah, verily this is the Place of Abraham, who took Refuge with and
fled to Thee from the Fire!—O deny my Flesh and Blood, my Skin and Bones
to the (eternal) Flames!” As we paced slowly round the north or Irak
corner of the Ka’abah we exclaimed, “O Allah, verily I take Refuge with
Thee from Polytheism, and Disobedience, and Hypocrisy, and evil
Conversation, and evil Thoughts concerning Family, and Property, and
Progeny!” When fronting the Mizab, or spout, we repeated the words, “O
Allah, verily I beg of Thee Faith which shall not decline, and a
Certainty which shall not perish, and the good Aid of Thy Prophet
Mohammed—may Allah bless Him and preserve! O Allah, shadow me in Thy
Shadow on that Day when there is no Shade but Thy Shadow, and cause me
to drink from the Cup of Thine Apostle Mohammed—may Allah bless Him and
preserve!—that pleasant Draught after which is no Thirst to all Eternity,
O Lord of Honour and Glory!” Turning the

[p.167] west corner, or the Rukn al-Shami, we exclaimed, “O Allah, make
it an acceptable Pilgrimage, and a Forgiveness of Sins, and a laudable
Endeavour, and a pleasant Action (in Thy sight), and a store which
perisheth not, O Thou Glorious! O Thou Pardoner!” This was repeated
thrice, till we arrived at the Yamani, or south corner, where, the
crowd being less importunate, we touched the wall with the right hand,
after the example of the Prophet, and kissed the finger-tips. Finally,
between the south angle and that of the Black Stone, where our circuit
would be completed, we said, “O Allah, verily I take Refuge with Thee
from Infidelity, and I take Refuge with Thee from Want, and from the
Tortures of the Tomb, and from the Troubles of Life and Death. And I
fly to Thee from Ignominy in this World and the next, and I implore Thy
Pardon for the Present and for the Future. O Lord, grant to me in this
Life Prosperity, and in the next Life Prosperity, and save me from the
Punishment of Fire.”

Thus finished a Shaut, or single course round the house. Of these we
performed the first three at the pace called Harwalah, very similar to
the French pas gymnastique, or Tarammul, that is to say, “moving the
shoulders as if walking in sand.” The four latter are performed in
Ta’ammul, slowly and leisurely; the reverse of the Sai, or running. These
seven Ashwat, or courses, are called collectively one Usbu ([Arabic]).
The Moslem origin of this custom is too well known to require mention.
After each Taufah[,] or circuit, we, being unable to kiss or even to
touch the Black Stone, fronted towards it, raised our hands to our
ears, exclaimed, “In the Name of Allah, and Allah is omnipotent!” kissed
our fingers, and resumed the ceremony of circumambulation, as before,
with “Allah, in Thy Belief,” &c.

At the conclusion of the Tawaf it was deemed advisable to attempt to
kiss the stone. For a time I stood

[p.168] looking in despair at the swarming crowd of Badawi and other
pilgrims that besieged it. But the boy Mohammed was equal to the
occasion. During our circuit he had displayed a fiery zeal against
heresy and schism, by foully abusing every Persian in his path[FN#8];
and the inopportune introduction of hard words into his prayers made
the latter a strange patchwork; as “Ave Maria purissima,—arrah, dont ye be
letting the pig at the pot,—sanctissima,” and so forth. He might, for
instance, be repeating “And I take Refuge with Thee from Ignominy in this
World,” when “O thou rejected one, son of the rejected!” would be the
interpolation addressed to some long-bearded Khorasani,—“And in that to come”—“O
hog and brother of a hoggess!” And so he continued till I wondered that
none dared to turn and rend him. After vainly addressing the pilgrims,
of whom nothing could be seen but a mosaic of occupits and
shoulder-blades, the boy Mohammed collected about half a dozen stalwart
Meccans, with whose assistance, by sheer strength, we wedged our way
into the thin and light-legged crowd. The Badawin turned round upon us
like wild-cats, but

[p.169] they had no daggers. The season being autumn, they had not
swelled themselves with milk for six months; and they had become such
living mummies, that I could have managed single-handed half a dozen of
them. After thus reaching the stone, despite popular indignation
testified by impatient shouts, we monopolised the use of it for at
least ten minutes. Whilst kissing it and rubbing hands and forehead
upon it I narrowly observed it, and came away persuaded that it is an
aerolite. It is curious that almost all travellers agree upon one
point, namely, that the stone is volcanic. Ali Bey calls it
“mineralogically” a “block of volcanic basalt, whose circumference is
sprinkled with little crystals, pointed and straw-like, with rhombs of
tile-red feldspath upon a dark background, like velvet or charcoal,
except one of its protuberances, which is reddish.” Burckhardt thought it
was “a lava containing several small extraneous particles of a whitish
and of a yellowish substance.”

Having kissed the stone we fought our way through the crowd to the
place called Al-Multazem. Here we pressed our stomachs, chests, and
right cheeks to the Ka’abah, raising our arms high above our heads and
exclaiming, “O Allah! O Lord of the Ancient House, free my Neck from
Hell-fire, and preserve me from every ill Deed, and make me contented
with that daily bread which Thou hast given to me, and bless me in all
Thou hast granted!” Then came the Istighfar, or begging of pardon; “I beg
Pardon of Allah the most high, who, there is no other God but He, the
Living, the Eternal, and unto Him I repent myself!” After which we
blessed the Prophet, and then asked for ourselves all that our souls
most desired.[FN#9]

[p.170] After embracing the Multazem, we repaired to the Shafe’is’ place of
prayer near the Makam Ibrahim, and there recited two prostrations,
technically called Sunnat al-Tawaf, or the (Apostle’s) practice of
circumambulation. The chapter repeated in the first was “Say thou, O
Infidels”: in the second, “Say thou He is the one God.[FN#10]” We then went
to the door of the building in which is Zemzem: there I was condemned
to another nauseous draught, and was deluged with two or three skinfuls
of water dashed over my head en douche. This ablution causes sins to
fall from the spirit like dust.[FN#11] During the potation we prayed, “O
Allah, verily I beg of Thee plentiful daily Bread, and profitable
Learning, and the healing of every Disease!” Then we returned towards the
Black Stone, stood far away opposite, because unable to touch it,
ejaculated the Takbir, the Tahlil, and the Hamdilah; and thoroughly
worn out with scorched feet and a burning head,—both extremities, it must
be remembered, were bare, and various delays had detained us till ten
A.M.,—I left the Mosque.[FN#12]

The boy Mohammed had miscalculated the amount of lodging in his mother’s
house. She, being a widow

[p.171] and a lone woman, had made over for the season all the
apartments to her brother, a lean old Meccan, of true ancient type,
vulture-faced, kite-clawed, with a laugh like a hyena, and a mere shell
of body. He regarded me with no favouring eye when I insisted as a
guest upon having some place of retirement; but he promised that, after
our return from Arafat, a little store-room should be cleared out for
me. With that I was obliged to be content, and to pass that day in the
common male drawing-room of the house, a vestibule on the ground floor,
called in Egypt a Takhta-bush.[FN#13] Entering, to the left (A) was a
large Mastabah, or platform, and at the bottom (B) a second, of smaller
dimensions and foully dirty. Behind this was a dark and unclean
store-room (C) containing the Hajis’ baggage. Opposite the Mastabah was a
firepan for pipes and coffee (D), superintended by a family of lean
Indians; and by the side (E) a doorless passage led to a bathing-room
(F) and staircase (G).

I had scarcely composed myself upon the carpeted Mastabah, when the
remainder was suddenly invaded by the Turkish, or rather Slavo-Turk,
pilgrims inhabiting the house, and a host of their visitors. They were
large, hairy men, with gruff voices and square figures; they did not
take the least notice of me, although[,] feeling the intrusion, I
stretched out my legs with a provoking nonchalance.[FN#14] At last one
of them addressed me in Turkish, to which I

[p.172] replied by shaking my head. His question being interpreted to
me in Arabic, I drawled out, “My native place is the land of Khorasan.”
This provoked a stern and stony stare from the Turks, and an “ugh!” which
said plainly enough, “Then you are a pestilent heretic.” I 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 Mohammed 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 privilege 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 gruff 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 intercourse 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[FN#15]; this time aesthetically, to enjoy the
delights of the hour after the “gaudy, babbling, and remorseful day.” The
moon, now approaching the full, tipped the 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,”—

[p.173] 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 temple of the one Allah, the God of Abraham, of
Ishmael, and of their posterity. Sublime it was, and expressing by all
the eloquence of fancy the grandeur of the One Idea which vitalised
Al-Islam, and the strength and steadfastness of its votaries.

The oval pavement round the Ka’abah was crowded with men, women, and
children, mostly divided into parties, which followed a Mutawwif; some
walking staidly, and others running, whilst many stood in groups to
prayer. What a scene of contrasts! Here stalked the Badawi woman, in
her long black robe like a nun’s serge, and poppy-coloured face-veil,
pierced to show two fiercely flashing orbs. There an Indian woman, with
her semi-Tartar features, nakedly hideous, and her thin legs, encased
in wrinkled tights, hurried round the fane. Every now and then a
corpse, borne upon its wooden shell, circuited the shrine by means of
four bearers, whom other Moslems, as is the custom, occasionally
relieved. A few fair-skinned Turks lounged about, looking cold and
repulsive, as their wont is. In one place a fast Calcutta Khitmugar
stood, with turband 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
might touch the Ka’abah, was clinging to the curtain and sobbing as
though his heart would break.

From this spectacle my eyes turned towards Abu Kubays. The city extends
in that direction half-way up the grim hill: the site might be
compared, at a humble distance, to Bath. Some writers liken it to
Florence; but conceive a Florence without beauty! To the South

[p.174] lay Jabal Jiyad the Greater,[FN#16] also partly built over and
crowned with a fort, which at a distance looks less useful than
romantic[FN#17]: 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 views of the temple
with horizontal lines of shade.

Before nightfall the boy Mohammed rose to feed the Mosque pigeons, 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 provide the reverend blue-rocks with
a plentiful meal.

The Hindu Pandits assert that Shiwa and his spouse, under the forms and
names of Kapot-Eshwara (pigeon god) and Kapotesi, dwelt at Meccah. The
dove was the device of the old Assyrian Empire, because it is supposed
Semiramis was preserved by that bird. The Meccan pigeons, resembling
those of Venice, 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 in wood, and above it another, which Ali, mounting upon the
Prophet’s shoulder, pulled down. This might have been a Hindu, a Jewish,
or a Christian symbol. The Moslems connect the pigeon

[p.175] on two occasions with their faith: first, when that bird
appeared to whisper in Mohammed’s ear; and, secondly, during the flight
to Al-Madinah. Moreover, in many countries 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
grandfathers by pronouncing it a “holy bird.” At Meccah they are called the
doves of the Ka’abah, and they never appear at table. They are remarkable
for propriety when sitting upon the holy building. This may be a minor
miracle: I would rather believe that there is some contrivance on the
roof. My friend Mr. Bicknell remarks: “This marvel, however, having of
late years been suspended, many discern another omen of the approach of
the long-predicted period when unbelievers shall desecrate the sacred
soil.”

Late in the evening I saw a negro in the state called Malbus—religious
frenzy. To all appearance a Takruri, 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 imaginative, would at once suggest “demoniacal
possession.[FN#18]” 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

[p.176] 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, weeping bitterly, and pouring forth
the wildest ejaculations.

That night I stayed in the Harim till two 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 Harim. Numerous
parties of pilgrims sat upon their rugs, with lanterns in front of
them, conversing, praying, and contemplating the Ka’abah. The cloisters
were full of merchants, who resorted there to “talk shop,” and to vend such
holy goods as combs, tooth-sticks, and rosaries. Before ten P.M. I
found no opportunity 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, taught him to wait. Till midnight we sat
chatting with the different ciceroni who came up to offer their
services. I could not help remarking their shabby and dirty clothes,
and was informed that during pilgrimage, when splendour 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 companions, exhausted with fatigue, fell asleep; I went up to the
Ka’abah, with the intention of “annexing” a bit of the torn old Kiswat or
curtain, but too many eyes were looking on. At this season of the year
the Kiswat is much tattered at the base, partly by pilgrims’ fingers, and
partly by the strain of the cord which confines 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 by
selling it, they certainly would visit detection with an
 [p.177] unmerciful application of the quarterstaff. The piece in my
possession was given to me by the boy Mohammed before I left Meccah.
Waistcoats cut out of the Kiswah still make the combatants 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,
or for some such purpose. The opportunity, however, was favourable for
a survey, and with a piece of tape, and the simple processes of
stepping and spanning, 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 al-Ziyadah to our home in the
Shamiyah. The brilliant moonshine prevented our complaining, as other
travellers have had reason 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 everywhere upon cots placed opposite their open
doors. Arrived at the house, we made some brief preparations for
snatching a few hours’ sleep upon the Mastabah, a place so stifling, that
nothing but utter exhaustion could induce lethargy there.

[FN#1] The Egyptian word is generally pronounced “Zaghrutah,” the plural is
Zagharit, corrupted to Ziraleet. The classical Arabic term is “Tahlil”; the
Persians call the cry “Kil.” It is peculiar to women, and is formed by
raising the voice to its highest pitch, vibrating it at the same time
by rolling the tongue, whose modulations express now joy, now grief. To
my ear it always resembled the brain-piercing notes of a fife. Dr.
Buchanan likens it to a serpent uttering human sounds. The “unsavoury
comparison,” however, may owe its origin to the circumstance that Dr.
Buchanan heard it at the orgies of Jagannath.
[FN#2] As an Indian is called “Miyan,” sir, an elderly Indian becomes “bara
Miyan,” great or ancient sir. I shall have occasion to speak at a future
period of these Indians at Meccah.
[FN#3] “Sitt al-Kabirah,” or simply “Al-Kabirah,” the Great Lady, is the title
given to the mistress of. the house.
[FN#4] This hill bounds Meccah on the East. According to many Moslems,
Adam, with his wife and his son Seth, lie buried in a cave here. Others
place his tomb at Muna; the Majority at Najaf. The early Christians had
a tradition that our first parents were interred under Mount Calvary;
the Jews place their grave near Hebron. Habil (Abel), it is well known,
is supposed to be entombed at Damascus; and Kabil (Cain) rests at last
under Jabal Shamsan, the highest wall of the Aden crater, where he and
his progeny, tempted by Iblis, erected the first fire-temple. It
certainly deserves to be the sepulchre of the first murderer. The
worship, however, was probably imported from India, where Agni (the
fire god) was, as the Vedas prove, the object of man’s earliest adoration.
[FN#5] The popular legend of this gate is, that when Abraham and his
son were ordered to rebuild the Ka’abah, they found the spot occupied by
an old woman. She consented to remove her house on condition that the
key of the new temple should be entrusted to her and to her descendants
for ever and ever. The origin of this is, that Benu Shaybah means the
“sons of an old woman” as well as “descendants of Shaybah.” And history tells
us that the Benu Shaybah are derived from one Shaybah (bin Osman, bin
Talhah, bin Shaybah, bin Talhah, bin Abd al-Dar), who was sent by
Mu’awiyah to make some alterations in the Ka’abah. According to others, the
Ka’abah key was committed to the charge of Osman bin Talhah by the
Prophet.
[FN#6] The Moslem in circumambulation presents his left shoulder; the
Hindu’s Pradakshina consists in walking round with the right side towards
the fane or idol. Possibly the former may be a modification of the
latter, which would appear to be the original form of the rite. Its
conjectural significance is an imitation of the procession of the
heavenly bodies, the motions of the spheres, and the dances of the
angels. These are also imitated in the circular whirlings of the
Darwayshes. And Al-Shahristani informs us that the Arab philosophers
believed this sevenfold circumambulation to be symbolical of the motion
of the planets round the sun. It was adopted by the Greeks and Romans,
whose Ambarvalia and Amburbalia appear to be eastern superstitions,
introduced by Numa, or by the priestly line of princes, into their
pantheism. And our processions round the parish preserve the form of
the ancient rites, whose life is long since fled. Moslem moralists have
not failed to draw spiritual food from this mass of materialism. “To
circuit the Bayt Ullah,” said the Pir Raukhan (As. Soc. vol. xi. and
Dabistan, vol. iii., “Miyan Bayazid”), “and to be free from wickedness, and
crime, and quarrels, is the duty enjoined by religion. But to circuit
the house of the friend of Allah (i.e. the heart), to combat bodily
propensities, and to worship the Angels, is the business of the
(mystic) path.” Thus Sa’adi, in his sermons,—which remind the Englishman of
“poor Yorick,”—“He who travels to the Ka’abah on foot makes a circuit of the
Ka’abah, but he who performs the pilgrimage of the Ka’abah in his heart is
encircled by the Ka’abah.” And the greatest Moslem divines sanction this
visible representation of an invisible and heavenly shrine, by
declaring that, without a material medium, it is impossible for man to
worship the Eternal Spirit.
[FN#7] The Mutawwif, or Dalil, is the guide at Meccah.
[FN#8] In A.D. 1674 some wretch smeared the Black Stone with impurity,
and every one who kissed it retired with a sullied beard. The Persians,
says Burckhardt, were suspected of this sacrilege, and now their
ill-fame has spread far; at Alexandria they were described to me as a
people who defile the Ka’abah. It is scarcely necessary to say that a
Shi’ah, as well as a Sunni, would look upon such an action with lively
horror. The people of Meccah, however, like the Madani, have turned the
circumstance to their own advantage, and make an occasional “avanie.” Thus,
nine or ten years ago, on the testimony of a boy who swore that he saw
the inside of the Ka’abah defiled by a Persian, they rose up, cruelly
beat the schismatics, and carried them off to their peculiar quarter
the Shamiyah, forbidding their ingress to the Ka’abah. Indeed, till
Mohammed Ali’s time, the Persians rarely ventured upon a pilgrimage, and
even now that man is happy who gets over it without a beating. The
defilement of the Black Stone was probably the work of some Jew or
Greek, who risked his life to gratify a furious bigotry.
[FN#9] Prayer is granted at fourteen places besides Al-Multazem, viz.:—

1.  At the place of circumambulation.
2.  Under the Mizab, or spout of the Ka’abah.
3.  Inside the Ka’abah.
4.  At the well Zemzem.
5.  Behind Abraham’s place of prayer.
6  and 7. On Mounts Safa and Marwah.
8.  During the ceremony called “Al-Sai.”
9.  Upon Mount Arafat.
10. At Muzdalifah.
11. In Muna.
12. During the devil-stoning.
13. On first seeing the Ka’abah.
14. At the Hatim or Hijr.
[FN#10] The former is the 109th, the latter the 112th chapter of the
Koran (I have translated it in a previous volume).
[FN#11] These superstitions, I must remark, belong only to the vulgar.
[FN#12] Strictly speaking we ought, after this, to have performed the
ceremony called Al-Sai, or the running seven times between Mounts Safa
and Marwah. Fatigue put this fresh trial completely out of the question.
[FN#13] I have been diffuse in my description of this vestibule, as it
is the general way of laying out a ground-floor at Meccah. During the
pilgrimage time the lower hall is usually converted into a shop for the
display of goods, especially when situated in a populous quarter.
[FN#14] 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 scarcely view it in that light.
[FN#15] Ibn Haukal begins his cosmography with Meccah “because the temple
of the Lord is situated there, and the holy Ka’abah 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 geographers, says no more about Meccah.
[FN#16] To distinguish it from the Jiyad (above the cemetery Al-Ma’ala)
over which Khalid entered Meccah. Some topographers call the Jiyad upon
which the fort is built “the lesser,” and apply “greater” to Jiyad Amir, the
hill north of Meccah.
[FN#17] The Meccans, however, do not fail to boast of its strength; and
has stood some sieges.
[FN#18] In the Mandal, or palm-divination, a black slave is considered
the best subject. European travellers have frequently remarked their
nervous sensibility. In Abyssinia the maladies called “bouda” and “tigritiya”
appear to depend upon some obscure connection between a weak
impressionable brain and the strong will of a feared and hated race—the
blacksmiths.

[p.178]CHAPTER XXVIII.

THE CEREMONIES OF THE YAUM AL-TARWIYAH, OR THE FIRST DAY.

AT ten A.M., on the 8th Zu’l Hijjah, A.H. 1269 (Monday, 12th Sept.,
1853), habited in our Ihram, or pilgrim garbs, we mounted the litter.
Shaykh Mas’ud 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 at last we started.

We followed the road by which the Caravans entered Meccah. It was
covered with white-robed pilgrims, some few wending their way on
foot[FN#1]; others riding, and all men barefooted and bareheaded. Most
of the wealthier classes mounted asses. The scene was, as usual, one of
strange contrasts: Badawin bestriding swift dromedaries; Turkish
dignitaries on fine horses; the most picturesque beggars, and the most
uninteresting Nizam. Not a little wrangling mingled with the loud
bursts of Talbiyat. Dead animals dotted the ground, and carcasses had
been cast into a dry tank, the Birkat al-Shami which caused every
Badawi to

[p.179] hold his nose.[FN#2] Here, on the right of the road, the poorer
pilgrims, who could not find houses, had erected huts, and pitched
their ragged tents. Traversing the suburb Al-Ma’b’dah (Ma’abadah), in a
valley between the two barren prolongations of Kayka’an and Khandamah, we
turned to the north-east, leaving on the left certain barracks of
Turkish soldiery, and the negro militia here stationed, with the
Saniyat Kuda’a in the background. Then, advancing about 3000 paces over
rising ground, we passed by the conical head of Jabal Nur,[FN#3] and
entered the plain of many names.[FN#4] 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
grew there like grass, and from under every large stone, as Shaykh Mas’ud
took a delight in showing, a small scorpion, with tail curled over its
back, fled, Parthian-like, from the invaders of its home. At eleven
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,[FN#5] and the narrow,
hill-girt entrance, to the low gravel basin in which Muna lies.


[p.180] Muna, more classically called Mina,[FN#6] is a place of
considerable 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, lastly, flies do not settle upon the articles of food
exposed so abundantly in the bazars.[FN#7] 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.[FN#8] 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. Traversing 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 “Al-Khayf.” Here,
according to some Arabs, Adam lies, his head being at one end of one
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,

[p.181] which savoured strongly of Stambul. After passing through the
town, we came to Batn al-Muhassir, “The Basin of the Troubler,[FN#9]”
(Satan) at the beginning of a descent leading to Muzdalifah (the
Approacher), where the road falls into the valley of the Arafat torrent.

At noon we reached the Muzdalifah, also called Mashar al-Haram, the
“Place dedicated to religious Ceremonies.[FN#10]” It is known in Al-Islam
as “the Minaret without the Mosque,” opposed to Masjid Nimrah, which is the
“Mosque without the Minaret.” Half-way between Muna and Arafat, it is about
three miles from both. There is something peculiarly striking in the
distant appearance of the tall, solitary tower, rising abruptly from
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 Caliph-empire.

Here as we halted to perform the mid-day prayer, we were overtaken by
the Damascus Caravan. It was a grand spectacle. The Mahmil, 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
Badawin, male and female, all mounted on swift dromedaries, 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

[p.182] distinguish the sex of the wild being, flogging its animal to
speed. These people, as has been said, often resort to Arafat for
blood-revenge, in hopes of finding the victim unprepared. Nothing can
be more sinful in Al-Islam than such deed—it is murder, “made sicker” by
sacrilege; 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 Al-Akhshabayn[FN#11] or the “Two Rugged
Hills.” Here the spurs of the rock limited the road to about a hundred
paces, and it is generally a scene of great confusion. After this we
arrived at Al-Bazan (the Basin),[FN#12] a widening of the plain; 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 boldly out from the deep 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.[FN#13] We then

[p.183] 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 foot of Arafat. At last, about three P.M., we found a
vacant space near the Matbakh, or kitchen, formerly belonging to a
Sharif’s palace, but now a ruin with a few shells of arches.

Arafat is about six hours’ very slow march, or twelve miles,[FN#14] 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 beings suffered more. Between
Muna and Arafat I saw no fewer than five men fall down and die upon the
highway: exhausted and moribund, they had dragged themselves out to
give up the ghost where it departs to instant beatitude.[FN#15] The
spectacle showed how easy it is to die in these latitudes[FN#16]; 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.[FN#17]

The boy Mohammed, who had long chafed at my pertinacious
[p.184] claim to Darwaysh-hood, resolved on this occasion to be grand.
To swell the party he had invited Omar 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 spoke excellent Arabic[FN#18]; 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
livelihood in his own country, when suddenly one night Hazrat Ali,
dressed in green, and mounted upon his charger Duldul[FN#19]—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.[FN#20] Finding

[p.185] life unendurable at home, he sold everything; raised the sum of
twenty pounds, 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 he 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 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 Al-Madinah, without which their pilgrimage would
not, they believed, be complete. They would beg their way through the
terrible Desert and its Badawin—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,
likest 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 it unveils the present nakedness of once wealthy
India. And we have both prevention and cure in our own hands.

As no Moslem, except the Maliki, is bound to pilgrimage without a sum
sufficient to support himself and his family, all who embark at the
different ports of India should be obliged to prove their solvency
before being provided 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 to be instructed

[p.186] 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 highways of Meccah 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 fewer than fifteen hundred Indians at Meccah and Jeddah,
besides seven or eight hundred in Al-Yaman. Such a body requires a
Consul.[FN#21] By the representation of a Vice-Consul when other powers
send an officer of superior rank to Al-Hijaz, we voluntarily place
ourselves in an inferior position. And although the Meccan Sharif might
for a time object to establishing a Moslem agent at the Holy City with
orders to report to the Consul at Jeddah, his opposition would soon
fall to the ground.

With the Indians’ assistance the boy Mohammed removed 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 Chibuks, and highly
polished Shishahs. 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 fine. The youth also insisted upon my removing the Rida, or
upper cotton cloth, which had become way-soiled, and he supplied its
place by a rich 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 Jabal Ilal ([Arabic]), “the Mount

[p.187] of Wrestling in Prayer,” and now Jabal al-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, it rises
abruptly to the height of a hundred and eighty or two hundred feet,
from the low gravelly plain—a dwarf wall at the Southern base forming the
line of demarcation. It is separated by Batn Arnah ([Arabic]), a sandy
vale,[FN#22] from the spurs of the Taif hills. Nothing can be more
picturesque than the view it affords of the azure peaks behind, and the
vast encampment scattered over the barren yellow plain below.[FN#23] On
the North lay the regularly pitched camp of the guards that defend the
unarmed pilgrims. To the Eastward was the Sharif’s encampment, with the
bright Mahmils and

[p.188] the gilt knobs of the grandees’ pavilions; whilst on the Southern
and Western sides the tents of the vulgar crowded the ground, disposed
in Dowar, or circles. After many calculations, I estimated the number
to be not fewer than 50,000 of all ages and sexes; a sad falling off,
it is true, but still considerable.

Ali Bey (A.D. 1807) calculates 83,000 pilgrims; Burckhardt (1814),
70,000. I reduce it, in 1853, to 50,000; and in A.D. 1854, owing to
political causes, it fell to about 25,000. Of these at fewest 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 fewer 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 150,000 spirits
were present in human shape. It may be observed that when the good old
Bertrand de la Brocquiere, esquire-carver to Philip of Burgundy,
declares that the yearly Caravan from Damascus to Al-Madinah 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.

The Holy Hill owes its name[FN#24] and honours 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 Kabul, 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 present mottled appearance. Wherever our first father
[p.189] 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 Gabriel, erected a
Mada’a, or place of prayer: and between this spot and the Nimrah Mosque
the couple abode till death. Others declare that after recognition, the
first pair returned to India, whence for 44 years in succession they
visited the Sacred 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
part, a huge dimly-lit tent, reeking hot, and garnished with cane
seats, contained knots of Egyptians, as their red Tarbushes, white
turbands, and black Za’abuts showed, noisily intoxicating 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 of 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 enlightened
me. Egyptian and other bold women, when unable to join the pilgrimage,
will pay or persuade a friend to shout their names

[p.190] 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! O Khayz’ran![FN#25] 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 of Badawin. Poor Mas’ud sat holding
his nose in ineffable disgust, for which he was derided by the Meccans.
I consoled him with quoting the celebrated song of Maysunah, the
beautiful Badawi wife of the Caliph Mu’awiyah. Nothing can be more
charming in its own Arabic than this little song; the Badawin never
hear it without screams of joy.

“O take these purple robes away,
Give back my 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 bays at all but 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.[FN#26]”

[p.191] The old man, delighted, clapped my shoulder, and exclaimed,
“Verily, O Father of Mustachios, I will 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,
Oxford, who would spout Aeschylus at two A.M. Sometimes the chant 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 perfectly 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.

[FN#1] Pilgrims who would win the heavenly reward promised to those who
walk, start at an early hour.
[FN#2] The true Badawi, when in the tainted atmosphere of towns, is
always known by bits of cotton in his nostrils, or by his kerchief
tightly drawn over his nose, a heavy frown marking extreme disgust.
[FN#3] 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 Burckhardt, vol. i. p. 320.
[FN#4] Al-Abtah, “low ground”; Al Khayf, “the declivity”; Fina Makkah, the “court
of Meccah”; Al-Muhassib (from Hasba, a shining white pebble), corrupted
by our authors to Mihsab and Mohsab.
[FN#5] The spot where Kusay fought and where Mohammed made his covenant.
[FN#6] If Ptolemy’s “Minœi” be rightly located in this valley, the present name
and derivation “Muna” (desire), because Adam here desired Paradise of
Allah, must be modern. Sale, following Pococke, makes “Mina” (from Mana)
allude to the flowing of victims’ 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.
[FN#7] 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
are frightened away by the bustling crowd, and flies are found in
myriads.
[FN#8] This demoniacal practice is still as firmly believed in Arabia
as it formerly was in Europe.
[FN#9] Probably because here Satan appeared to tempt Adam, Abraham, and
Ishmael. The Qanoon e Islam erroneously calls it the “Valley of Muhasurah,”
and corrupts Mashar al-Haram into “Muzar al-Haram” (the holy shrine).
[FN#10] Many, even since Sale corrected the error, have confounded this
Mashar al-Haram with Masjid al-H?r?m of Meccah. According to Al-Fasi,
quoted by Burckhardt, it is the name of a little eminence at the end of
the Muzdalifah valley, and anciently called Jabal Kuzah; it is also, he
says, applied to “an elevated platform inclosing the mosque of Muzdalifah.”
Ibn Jubayr makes Mashar al-Haram synonymous with Muzdalifah, to which
he gives a third name, “Jami.”
[FN#11] Buckhardt calls it “Mazoumeyn,” or Al-Mazik, the pass. “Akeshab” may
mean wooded or rugged; in which latter sense it is frequently applied
to hills. Kayka’an and Abu Kubays at Meccah are called Al-Akshshabayn in
some books. The left hill, in Ibn Jubayr’s time, was celebrated as a
meeting-place for brigands.
[FN#12] Kutb al-Din makes another Bazan the Southern limit of Meccah.
[FN#13] Burckhardt calls this building, which he confounds with the “Jami
Ibrahim,” the Jami Nimre; others Namirah, Nimrah, Namrah, and Namurah. 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 Harim of Meccah and the Holy Hill.
[FN#14] Mr. W. Muir, in his valuable Life of Mahomet, vol. i, p. ccv.,
remarks upon this passage that at p. 180 ante, I made Muna three miles
from Meccah, and Muzdalifah about three miles from Muna, and Arafat
three miles from Muzdalifah,—a total of nine. But the lesser estimate
does not include the outskirts of Meccah on the breadth of the Arafat
Plain. The Calcutta Review (art. 1, Sept. 1853) notably errs in making
Arafat eighteen miles east of Meccah. Ibn Jubayr reckons five miles
from Meccah to Muzdalifah, and five from this to Arafat.
[FN#15] Those who die on a pilgrimage become martyrs.
[FN#16] 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.
[FN#17] 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 disagreeable place.
[FN#18] Arabs observe that Indians, unless brought young into the
country, never learn its language well. They have a word to express the
vicious pronunciation of a slave or an Indian, “Barbaret al-Hunud.” This
root Barbara ([Arabic]), like the Greek “Barbaros,” appears to be derived
from the Sanscrit Varvvaraha, an outcast, a barbarian, a man with curly
hair.
[FN#19] Ali’s charger was named Maymun, or, according to others, Zu’l Janah
(the winged). Indians generally confound it with “Duldul,” Mohammed’s mule.
[FN#20] These visions are common in history. Ali appeared to the Imam
Shafe’i, 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 Al-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.
[FN#21] There is a Consul for Jeddah now, 1879, but till lately he was
an unpaid.
[FN#22] This vale is not considered “standing-ground,” because Satan once
appeared to the Prophet as he was traversing it.
[FN#23] According to Kutb al-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 Arafat. The plain is cut with 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.
[FN#24] 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’arafata manasik’ak?”—hast thou learned thy
pilgrim rites? To which the Friend of Allah replied, “Araftu!”—I have learned
them.
[FN#25] 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 Omar,” 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”?
[FN#26] The British reader will be shocked to hear that by the term
“fatted ass” the intellectual lady alluded to her husband. The story is
that Mu’awiyah, overhearing the song, sent back the singer to her cousin
and beloved wilds. Maysunah departed with her son Yazid, and did not
return to Damascus till the “fatted ass” had joined his forefathers. Yazid
inherited, with his mother’s talents, all her contempt for his father; at
least the following quatrain, addressed to Mu’awiyah, and generally known
in Al-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 wroth!—I reck not!—Ah! dear to this heart of mine
It is to scoff a sire’s command, to quaff forbidden wine.”

[p.192] CHAPTER 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 discharge 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 al-Sakhrah[FN#1]”—the
Assembling Place of the Rock—from two granite boulders upon which the
Prophet stood to perform “Talbiyat.” There is nothing but a small enclosure
of dwarf and whitewashed stone walls, divided into halves for men and
women by a similar partition, 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

[p.193] of tent and stone, we ascended the broad flight of rugged steps
which winds up the southern face of the rocky hill. Even at this early
hour it was crowded with pilgrims, principally Badawin and Wahhabis,
who had secured favourable positions for hearing the sermon. Already
their green flag was planted upon the summit close to Adam’s Place of
Prayer. 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. 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 the 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.

Thence ascending with increased difficulty to the hill-top, we arrived
at a large stuccoed platform,[FN#2] 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 Mada’a Sayyidna
Adam.[FN#3]  Here we performed the customary ceremonies amongst a crowd
of pilgrims, and then we walked down the little hill.

[p.194] Close to the plain we saw the place where the Egyptian and
Damascus Mahmils stand during the sermon; and, descending the wall that
surrounds Arafat by a steep and narrow flight of coarse stone steps, we
found on our right the fountain which supplies the place with water. It
bubbles from the rock, and is exceedingly pure, as such water generally
is in Al-Hijaz.

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 Zemzemi. He had lost his mule, and, wandering in
search of its keepers, he unfortunately fell in with our party. I had
solid reasons to regret the mishap—he was far too curious and too
observant to suit my tastes. On the present occasion, he, being
uncomfortable, made us equally so. Accustomed to all the terrible
“neatness” of an 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 mid-day prayer we performed 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 (at about 3.15 P.M.) announced the
approach of Al-Asr, the afternoon prayer, and almost immediately we
heard the Naubat, or band preceding the Sharif’s 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

[p.195] view of the scene. First swept 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 Sharif’s led horses, upon which
I fixed a curious eye. All were highly bred, and one, a brown Nijdi
with black points, struck me as the perfection of an Arab. They were
small, and all were apparently of the northern race.[FN#4] Of their old
crimson-velvet

[p.196] caparisons the less said the better; no little Indian Nawab
would show aught so shabby on state occasions.

After the chargers paraded a band of black slaves on foot bearing huge
matchlocks; and immediately preceded by three green and two red flags,
came the Sharif, 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 Badawin on horses and camels. Behind this procession were the
tents, whose doors and walls were scarcely visible for the crowd; and
the picturesque background was the granite hill, covered, wherever
standing-room was to be found, with white-robed pilgrims shouting
“Labbayk,” and waving the skirts of their glistening garments violently
over their heads.

Slowly and solemnly the procession advanced towards the hill. Exactly
at the hour Al-Asr, the two Mahmils 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
Sharif placed himself with his standard-bearers and his retinue a
little above the Mahmils, within hearing of the preacher. The pilgrims
crowded up to the foot of the mountain: the loud “Labbayk” of the Badawin
and

[p.197] Wahhabis[FN#5] fell to a solemn silence, and the waving of
white robes ceased—a sign that the preacher had begun the Khutbat
al-Wakfah, or Sermon of the Standing (upon Arafat). 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.”—

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 discourse. 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, symmetrical eyebrows, the most beautiful eyes, and a
figure all grace. There was no head thrown back, no straightened neck,
no flat shoulders, nor toes turned out—in fact, no “elegant” barbarisms: the
shape was what the Arabs love, soft, bending, and relaxed, as a woman’s

[p.198] figure ought to be. Unhappily she wore, instead of the usual
veil, a “Yashmak” of transparent muslin, bound round the face; and the
chaperone, mother, or duenna, by whose side she stood, was apparently a
very unsuspicious or complaisant old person. Flirtilla fixed a glance
of admiration upon my cashmere. 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 entered upon the dangerous ground of raising hand to
forehead. She smiled almost imperceptibly, and turned away. The pilgrim
was in ecstasy.

The sermon was then half over. I was resolved to stay upon the plain
and see what Flirtilla would do. Grace 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 silence. Then loud, scattered “Amins”
(Amens) and volleys of “Labbayk” 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 unconnected 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 descend 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 occassion,
[p.199] however, all hurry to be foremost, as the “race from Arafat” is
enjoyed by none but the Badawin.

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 this part of the
ceremonies the name of Al-Daf’a 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 were trampled, camels
were overthrown: single combats with sticks and other weapons took
place; here a woman, there a child, and there an animal were lost;
briefly, it was a 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 Mas’ud, 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. Again, my
determination to sketch seemed likely to fail before the Zemzemi’s little
snake’s eye. After a few minutes’ angry search for expedients, one
suggested itself. “Effendi!” said old Ali, “sit quiet; there is danger here.” I
tossed about like one suffering from evil conscience or from the

[p.200] colic. “Effendi!” shrieked the senior, “what art thou doing? Thou
wilt be the death of us.” “Wallah!” I replied with a violent plunge, “it is all
thy fault! There!” (another plunge)—“put thy beard out of the other opening,
and Allah will make it easy to us.” In the ecstasy of fear my tormentor
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 with litters,
clashed with 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 harsh voices of the stony
hills. A shower of rockets bursting in the air threw into still 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 Labbayk[FN#6] and “id kum
Mubarak[FN#7]”—“May your Festival be happy!”

After the pass of the Two Rugged 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
preamble, 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

[p.201] Muzdalifah, and being fatigued, we resolved to pass the night
there.[FN#8] The Mosque was brilliantly illuminated, but my hungry
companions[FN#9] apparently thought more of supper and of sleep than of
devotion.[FN#10] Whilst the tent was being raised, the Indians prepared
our food, boiled our coffee, filled our pipes, and spread our rugs.
Before sleeping each man collected for himself seven “Jamrah”—bits of granite
the size of a small bean.[FN#11] 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 simplicity 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 thereabouts,
and consequently most of the devotees spent the sermon-hours in
brooding over their boxes.

[FN#1] Ali Bey calls it “Jami al-Rahmah”—of mercy.
[FN#2] Here was a small chapel, which the Wahhabis were demolishing
when Ali Bey was at Meccah. It has not been rebuilt. Upon this spot the
Prophet, according to Burckhardt, used to stand during the ceremonies.
[FN#3] Burckhardt gives this name to a place a little way on the left
and about forty steps up the mountain.
[FN#4] 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, £18. Abbas, the late Pasha, did his best to buy first-rate Arab
stallions: on one occasion he sent a mission to Al-Madinah for the sole
purpose of fetching a rare work on farriery. Yet it is doubted whether
he ever had a first-rate Nijdi. A Badawi sent to Cairo by one of the
chiefs of Nijd, 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 thoroughbred[.] He added an
apology on the part of his laird for the animals he had brought from
Arabia, saying, that neither Sultan nor Shaykh could procure colts of
the best strain. For none of these horses would a staunch admirer of
the long-legged monster called in England a thoroughbred 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 Arabs, 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 Yaman” has effectually closed the road against
horse-caravans for many years past. It is said that the Zu Mohammed and
the Zu Hosayn, sub-families of the Benu Yam, a large tribe living
around and north of Sana’a, in Al-Yaman, have a fine large breed called
Al-Jaufi, and the clan Al-Aulaki, ([Arabic]), rear animals celebrated
for swiftness and endurance. The other races are stunted, and some
Arabs declare that the air of Al-Yaman causes a degeneracy in the first
generation. The Badawin, 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
Al-Hijaz never can stock the Indian market. Whether Al-Nijd 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 Sana’a and the Badawi chiefs in the North of Al-Yaman.
[FN#5] I obtained the following note upon the ceremonies of Wahhabi
pilgrimage 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 Muna, stands upon
the hill Arafat, and, returning to Muna, passes three whole days there.
He derides other Moslems, abridges and simplifies the Ka’abah ceremonies,
and, if possible, is guided in his devotions by one of his own sect.
[FN#6] This cry is repeated till the pilgrim reaches Muna; not
afterwards.
[FN#7] Another phrase is “Antum min al-aidin”—“May you be of the keepers of
festival!”
[FN#8] Hanafis usually follow the Prophet’s example in nighting at
Muzdalifah; in the evening after prayers they attend at the Mosque,
listen to the discourse, and shed plentiful tears. Most Shafe’is spend
only a few hours at Muzdalifah.
[FN#9] 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.
[FN#10] Some sects consider the prayer at Muzdalifah a matter of vital
importance.
[FN#11] Jamrah is a “small pebble;” it is also called “Hasa,” in the plural,
“Hasayat.”

[p.202] CHAPTER XXX.

THE CEREMONIES OF THE YAUM NAHR,
OR THE THIRD DAY.

AT dawn on the id al-Kurban (10th Zu’l Hijjah, Wednesday, 14th September)
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
al-id,” or “Festival Prayers,” the great solemnity of the Moslem year,
performed by all the community at daybreak. My companion was so anxious
to reach Meccah, that he would not hear of devotions. About eight A.M.
we entered the village, and looked for the boy Mohammed in vain. Old
Ali was dreadfully perplexed; a host of high-born Turkish pilgrims
were, he said, expecting him; his mule was missing—could never appear—he
must be late—should probably never reach Meccah—what would become of him? I
began by administering admonition to the mind diseased; but signally
failing in a cure, I amused myself with contemplating the world from my
Shugduf, leaving the office of directing it to the old Zemzemi. 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 Mas’ud to hopeless inquiries.
Finally, by good fortune, we found one of the boy Mohammed’s cousins, who
led us to an enclosure
[p.203] called Hosh al-Uzam, in the Southern portion of the Muna Basin,
at the base of Mount Sabir.[FN#1] 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. When, 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 ribs.

Mohammed had been delayed, he said, by the difficulty of finding asses.
We were now to mount for “the Throwing,[FN#2]” 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 swarming crowd in the narrow road opposite the “Jamrat al-Akabah,[FN#3]”
or, as it is vulgarly called, the Shaytan al-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,
“Al-Aula,” or the “First Place.[FN#4]” 	The “Shaytan al-Kabir” is a dwarf buttress
of rude

[p.204] 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 “Ramy,” 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,[FN#5] the crowd makes the place
dangerous. On one side of the road, which is not forty feet broad,
stood a row of shops belonging principally to barbers. On the other
side is the rugged wall against which the pillar stands, with a chevaux
de frise of Badawin and naked boys. The narrow space was crowded with
pilgrims, all struggling like drowning men to approach 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. Badawin on
wild camels, and grandees on mules and asses, with outrunners, were
breaking a way by assault and battery. I had read Ali Bey’s
self-felicitations upon escaping this place with “only two wounds in the
left leg,” and I had duly provided myself with a hidden dagger. The
precaution 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. Avoiding being trampled upon by a
judicious use of the knife, I 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: Meccans
assured me that accidents are by no means rare.

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 adversity,

[p.205] 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[FN#6] of the right hand, we
cast it at the pillar, exclaiming, “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 earthern benches around it. This was the time to
remove the Ihram or pilgrim’s garb, and to return to Ihlal, the normal
state of Al-Islam. The barber shaved our heads,[FN#7] 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 in 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 “Na’iman—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 to cover our heads, and slippers to 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

[p.206] 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. we started Meccah-wards.

This return from Muna to Meccah is called Al-Nafr, or the Flight[FN#8]:
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 we repaired
to the boy Mohammed’s house for the purpose of bathing and preparing to
visit the Ka’abah.

Shortly after our arrival, the youth returned home in a state of
excitement, exclaiming, “Rise, Effendi! dress and follow me!” The Ka’abah,
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 Ka’abah, 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 officials, dark-looking Meccans, of whom the
blackest and plainest was a youth of the Benu Shaybah family,[FN#9]

[p.207] the sangre-azul of Al-Hijaz. He held in his hand the huge
silver-gilt padlock of the Ka’abah,[FN#10] and presently taking his seat
upon a kind of wooden press in the left corner of the hall, he
officially 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 to recite the prayers. I will not
deny that, looking at the windowless walls, the officials at the door,
and the crowd of excited fanatics below—

“And the place death, considering who I was,”[FN#11] 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 making a rough plan with a pencil
upon my white Ihram.

Nothing is more simple than the interior of this celebrated building.
The pavement, which is level with the ground, is composed of slabs of
fine and various coloured marbles, mostly, however, white, disposed
chequerwise. The walls, as far as they can be seen, are of the same
material, but the pieces are irregularly shaped, and many of them are
engraved with long inscriptions in the Suls and other modern
characters. The upper part of the walls, together with the ceiling, at
which it is considered disrespectful to look,[FN#12] are covered with
handsome

[p.208] red damask, flowered over with gold,[FN#13] and tucked up about
six feet high, so as to be removed from pilgrims’ hands. The flat roof is
upheld by three cross-beams, whose shapes appear under the arras; they
rest upon the eastern and western walls, and are supported in the
centre by three columns[FN#14] about twenty inches in diameter, covered
with carved and ornamented aloes wood.[FN#15] At the Iraki corner there
is a dwarf door, called Bab al-Taubah (of Repentance).[FN#16] It leads
into a narrow passage and to the staircase by which the servants ascend
to the roof: it is never opened except for working purposes. The “Aswad” or

[p.209] “As’ad[FN#17]” corner is occupied by a flat-topped and
quadrant-shaped press or safe,[FN#18] in which at times is placed the
key of the Ka’abah.[FN#19] Both door and safe are of aloes 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 Ka’abah but a few attendants engaged in
preparing it for the entrance of pilgrims,[FN#20] the windowless stone
walls and the choked-up door made it worse than the Piombi of Venice;
perspiration trickled in large drops, and I thought with horror what it
must be when filled with a mass of furiously jostling and crushing
fanatics. Our devotions consisted of a two-bow prayer,[FN#21] followed
by long supplications at the Shami (West) corner, the Iraki (north)
angle, the Yamani (south), and, lastly, opposite the southern third of
the back wall.[FN#22] 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
favourite rhodomontade, boasting of my greatness, and had declared me
to be an Indian pilgrim, a race still supposed at

[p.210] Meccah to be made of gold.[FN#23] 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 Ka’abah, he partly bared it of its green-silk gold-lettered
etui,[FN#24] and rubbed a golden knob quartrefoil-shaped upon my eyes,
in order to brighten them. I submitted to the operation with a good
grace, and added a dollar—my last—to the former offering. The Sharif
received it with a hopeless glance, and, to my satisfaction, would not
put forth his hand to be kissed. Then the attendants began to demand
vails I replied by opening 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 Mohammed’s house; an arrangement to
which they grumblingly assented. When delivered from these troubles, I
was congratulated by my sharp companion thus: “Wallah, Effendi! thou hast
escaped well! some men have left their skins behind.[FN#25]”

[p.211] All pilgrims do not enter the Ka’abah[FN#26]; and many refuse to
do so for religious reasons. Omar Effendi, for instance, who never
missed a pilgrimage, had never seen the interior.[FN#27] Those who
tread the hallowed floor are bound, among many other things, never
again to walk barefooted, to take up fire with 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 which cannot lie:—

“‘My tongue is mine ain,’ true Thomas said.
‘A gudely gift ye wad gie to me!
I neither dought to buy nor sell
At fair or tryst, where I may be,
I dought neither speak to prince 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 who would not receive the brand of the
god, because lying would then be forbidden to them. A confidential
servant of a friend in Bombay naïvely 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
shelters him.

The Ka’abah had been dressed in her new attire when we entered.[FN#28]
The covering, however, instead of being

[p.212] secured at the bottom to the metal rings in the basement, was
tucked up by ropes from the roof, and depended over 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.[FN#29]
	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 al-Rahim al Bura’i, in one of his Gnostic effusions, has embodied the
idea:—
([Arabic])
“And Meccah’s bride (i.e. the Ka’abah) is displayed
with (miraculous) 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

[p.213] honour by Tobba the Himyarite when he Judaized.[FN#30] 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 Al-Islam introduced 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.[FN#31] From the time of Kusay, the Ka’abah was veiled by
subscription, till Abu Rabi’at al-Mughayrah bin Abdullah, who, having
acquired great wealth by commerce, offered to provide the Kiswah on
alternate years, and thereby gained the name of Al-adil. The Prophet
preferred a covering of fine Yaman cloth, and directed the expense to
be defrayed by the Bayt al-Mal, 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 Ka’abah 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. Mu’awiyah at first supplied
linen and brocade; he afterwards exchanged the former for striped Yaman
stuff, and ordered Shaybah bin Osman to strip the Ka’abah and to perfume
the walls with Khaluk. Shaybah divided the old Kiswah among the
pilgrims, and Abdullah bin Abbas did not object to this
distribution.[FN#32] The Caliph Ma’amun (9th century) ordered

[p.214] the dress to be changed three times a year. In his day it was
red brocade on the 10th Muharram; 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 Muharram 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. Al-Mutawakkil (ninth 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 Abbasides this investiture came to signify sovereignty
in Al-Hijaz, which passed alternately from Baghdad to Egypt and
Al-Yaman. In Al-Idrisi’s time (twel[f]th century 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[FN#33] (thirteenth century A.D.)
conveyed the rents of two villages, “Baysus” and “Sindbus,[FN#34]” to the
expense of providing an outer black and an inner red curtain for the
Ka’abah, with hangings for the Prophet’s tomb at Al-Madinah. When the Holy
Land fell under the power of Osmanli, Sultan Salim ordered the Kiswah
to be black; and his son Sultan Sulayman the Magnificent (sixteenth

[p.215] century A.D.), devoted considerable sums to the purpose. The
Kiswah was afterwards renewed at the accession of each Sultan. And the
Wahhabis, during the first year of their conquest, covered the Ka’abah
with a red Kiswah of the same stuff as the fine Arabian Aba or cloak,
and made at Al-Hasa.

The Kiswah is now worked at a cotton manufactory called Al-Khurunfish,
of the Tumn Bab al-Sha’ariyah, Cairo. It is made by a hereditary family,
called the Bayt al-Sadi, and, as the specimen in my possession proves,
it is a coarse tissue of silk and cotton mixed. The Kiswah is composed
of eight pieces—two for each face of the Ka’abah—the seams being concealed by
the Hizam, a broad band, which at a distance looks like gold; it is
lined with white calico, and is 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[FN#35]; 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 character is that called
Tumar, the largest style of Eastern calligraphy, legible from a
considerable distance.[FN#36] The Hizam is a band about two feet broad,
and surrounding the Ka’abah 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 verslet,” 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 al-Sadi. When the
Kiswah is ready at Khurunfish, it is carried in

[p.216] procession to the Mosque Al-Hasanayn, where it is lined, sewn,
and prepared for the journey.[FN#37]

After quitting the Ka’abah, 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 sort of ragged splendour. The family
had “seen better days,” the Sharif 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; and having
heard that I had not yet sacrificed a sheep at Muna, enjoined me to
return and perform without delay that important rite.

[p.217]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, we found the tent full of visitors. Ali ibn Ya
Sin, the Zemzemi, 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.[FN#38] 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 Badawin were not less acute, and he was happy who paid
less than a dollar and a quarter. Some preferred contributing to buy a
lean ox. None but the Sharif 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. [FN#39] Others stood before their tents, and, directing the
victim’s face towards the Ka’abah, cut its throat, ejaculating, “Bismillah!
Allaho Akbar[FN#40]”

[p.218] 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 meritorious 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 seaside. Towards
night the occasional puffs of Samum 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, dumbed the puny
artillery of man. We were disappointed 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.

[FN#1] Even pitching ground here is charged to pilgrims.
[FN#2] Some authorities advise that this rite of “Ramy” be performed on
foot.
[FN#3] The word “Jamrah” is applied to the place of stoning, as well as to
the stones.
[FN#4] 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.
[FN#5] I borrow this phrase from Ali Bey, who, however, speaks more
like an ignorant Catalonian 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.”
[FN#6] 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.
[FN#7] The barber removed all my hair. Hanifis shave at least a quarter
of the head, Shafe’is a few hairs on the right side. The prayer is, as
usual, differently 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 characterizes their
creed, carefully bury it in the earth.
[FN#8] This word is confounded with “Dafa” by many Moslem authors. Some
speak of the Nafr from Arafat to Muzdalifah and the Dafa from
Muzdalifah to Muna. I have used the words as my Mutawwif used them.
[FN#9] They keep the keys of the House. In my day the head of the
family was “Shaykh Ahmad.”
[FN#10] In Ibn Jubayr’s time this large padlock was of gold. It is said
popularly that none but the Benu Shaybah can open it; a minor miracle,
doubtless proceeding from the art of some Eastern Hobbs or Bramah.
[FN#11] 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.
[FN#12] I do not known the origin of this superstition; but it would be
unsafe for a pilgrim to look fixedly at the Ka’abah ceiling. Under the
arras I was told is a strong planking of Saj, or Indian teak, and above
it a stuccoed Sath, or flat roof.
[FN#13] Exactly realising the description of our English bard:—
“Goodly arras 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.”
[FN#14] Ibn Jubayr mentions three columns of teak. Burckhardt and Ali
Bey, two. In Al-Fasi’s day there were four. The Kuraysh erected six
columns in double row. Generally the pillars have been three in number.
[FN#15] This wood, which has been used of old to ornament sacred
buildings in the East, is brought to Meccah in great quantities by
Malay and Java pilgrims. The best kind is known by its oily appearance
and a “fizzing” sound in fire; the cunning vendors easily supply it with
these desiderata.
[FN#16] Ibn Jubayr calls it Bab al-Rahmah.
[FN#17] The Hajar al-Aswad is also called Al-As’ad, or the Propitious.
[FN#18] Here, in Ibn Jubayr’s time, stood two boxes full of Korans.
[FN#19] 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.
[FN#20] In Ibn Jubayr’s day the Ka’abah was opened with more ceremony. The
ladder was rolled up to the door, and the chief of the Benu 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 Benu Shaybah, and, lastly, the vulgar were admitted. In
these day the veil is obsolete. The Shaykh enters the Ka’abah 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.
[FN#21] Some pray four instead of two bows.
[FN#22] Burckhardt erroneously says, “in every corner.”
[FN#23] These Indians are ever in extremes, paupers or millionaires,
and, like all Moslems, the more they pay at Meccah the higher becomes
their character and religious titles. A Turkish Pasha seldom squanders
as much money as does a Moslem merchant from the far East. Khudabakhsh,
the Lahore shawl-dealer, owned to having spent 800l. 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 have been
seriously affected.
[FN#24] The cover of the key is made, like Abraham’s veil, of three
colours, 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 Ka’abah,” 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.
[FN#25] “Ecorches”—“pelati;” the idea is common to most imaginative nations.
[FN#26] The same is the case at Al-Madinah; many religious men object
on conscientious grounds to enter the Prophet’s mosque. The poet quoted
below made many visitations to Al-Madinah, 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.
[FN#27] I have not thought it necessary to go deep into the list of
“Muharramat,” or actions forbidden to the pilgrim who has entered the
Ka’abah. They are numerous and meaningless.
[FN#28] The use of the feminine pronoun is explained below. When
unclothed, the Ka’abah is called Uryanah (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.
[FN#29] The gold-embroidered curtain covering the Ka’abah door is called
by the learned “Burka al-Ka’abah” (the Ka’abah’s face-veil), by the vulgar Burka
Fatimah; they connect it in idea with the Prophet’s daughter.
[FN#30] The pyramids, it is said, were covered from base to summit with
yellow silk or satin.
[FN#31] At present the Kiswah, it need scarcely be said, does not cover
the flat roof.
[FN#32] Ayishah 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 Meccans 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 temple. The “Siraj al-Wahhaj” positively forbids, as
sinful, the cutting, transporting, selling, buying, and placing it
between the leaves of the Koran. Kutb al-Din (from whom I borrow these
particulars) introduces some fine and casuistic distinctions. In his
day, however, the Benu Shaybah claimed the old, after the arrival of
the new Kiswah; and their right to it was admitted. To the present day
they continue to sell it.
[FN#33] 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.
[FN#34] Burckhardt says “Bysous” and “Sandabeir.”
[FN#35] 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 Harim.
[FN#36] It is larger than the suls. Admirers of Eastern calligraphy may
see a “Bismillah,” beautifully written in Tumar, on the wall of Sultan
Mu’ayyad’s Mosque at Cairo.
[FN#37] 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.
[FN#38] Those who omit the rite fast ten days; three during the
pilgrimage season, and the remaining seven at some other time.
[FN#39] 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.
[FN#40] It is strange that the accurate Burckhardt should make the
Moslem say, 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.

[p.219] CHAPTER XXXI.

THE THREE DAYS OF DRYING FLESH.

ALL was dull after the excitement of the Great Festival. The heat of
the succeeding night rendered every effort to sleep abortive; and as
our little camp required a guard in a place so celebrated for
plunderers, I spent the greater part of the time sitting in the clear
pure moon-light.[FN#1]

After midnight we again repaired to the Devils, and, beginning with the
Ula, or first pillar, at the Eastern extremity of Muna, threw at each,
seven stones (making a total of twenty-one), with the ceremonies before
described.

On Thursday (Sept. 15th, 1853), 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 the Jabal Sabir, the northern wall
of the Muna basin. Here is the Majarr al-Kabsh, “the Dragging-place of
the Ram,” a small, whitewashed square, divided

[p.220] into two compartments. The first is entered by a few ragged
steps in the south-east angle, which lead to an enclosure thirty feet
by fifteen. In the north-east corner is a block of granite (A), in
which a huge gash, several inches broad, some feet deep, and completely
splitting the stone in knife-shape, notes the spot where Ibrahim’s blade
fell when the archangel Gabriel forbade him to slay Ismail his son. The
second compartment contains a diminutive hypogaeum (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
overcrowded. 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 transformed
for having broken the Sabbath by hunting.[FN#2] 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.[FN#3] The Hijazi ape is a hideous cynocephalus, with small eyes
placed close together, and almost hidden by a disproportionate snout; a
greenish-brown coat, long arms, and a stern of lively pink, like fresh
meat. They

[p.221] are docile, and are said to be fond of spirituous liquors, and
to display an inordinate affection for women. Al-Mas’udi 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 Badawin have many tales concerning them. It is universally believed
that they catch and kill kites, by exposing the rosy 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
plundered 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 merchant was in despair, when his slave offered for a
consideration to recover the goods. Placing himself in the front, like
a fugleman to the ape-company, he went through a variety of manœuvres
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 recovered.

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 fire from above. 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,

[p.222] 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 lapidation,[FN#4] 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

[p.223] 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 of our continental
nations. Persian, Turkish, and Hindustani are generally known: and the
Mutawwifs, who devote themselves to various races of pilgrims, soon
become masters of many languages.

Returning homewards, we were called to a spot by the clapping of
hands[FN#5] and the loud sound of song. We found a crowd of Badawin
surrounding a group engaged in their favourite occupation of dancing.
The performance is wild in the extreme, resembling rather the hopping
of bears than the inspirations of Terpischore. The bystanders 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—
“La Yayha! La Yayha!”
to which no one could assign a meaning. At other times they sang
something intelligible. For instance:—
[Arabic]
That is to say,—

“On the Great Festival-day at Muna I saw my lord.
I am a stranger amongst you, therefore pity me!”

This couplet may have, like the puerilities of certain modern and
European poets, an abstruse and mystical

[p.224] meaning, to be discovered when the Arabs learn to write erudite
essays upon nursery rhymes. The style of saltation, called Rufayah,
rivalled the song. The dancers raised both arms 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
Badawin of Al-Hijaz, 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
Al-Islam is opposed to these precautions of common sense,—“Inshallah” and
“Kismat” must take the place of prevention and of cure. And at Meccah, the
head-quarters of the faith, a desolating attack of cholera is preferred
to the impiety of “flying in the face of Providence,” and the folly of
endeavouring to avert inevitable decrees.[FN#6]

[p.225] Mounting our camels, and led by Mas’ud, we entered Muna by the
eastern end, and from the litter threw the remaining 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 Harim for the purpose of hearing the sermon. Descending
to the cloisters below the Bab al-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 colours 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 Pasha stood on the roof of Zemzem, 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 Darwayshes, 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

[p.226] called Taylasan[FN#7] covered his turband, which was white as
his robes,[FN#8] and a short staff supported his left hand.[FN#9]
Presently he arose, took the staff in his right hand, pronounced a few
inaudible words,[FN#10] and sat down again on one of the lower steps,
whilst a Mu’ezzin, 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.

[FN#1] It is not safe to perform this ceremony at an early hour,
although 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 be thrown by men until the
morning prayers of the 11th Zu’l Hijjah.
[FN#2] 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, Sa’adan, Maymun, Shadi, &c., &c., are all expressive of (a
probably euphuistic) “propitiousness.”
[FN#3] The Egyptians generally catch, train, and take them to the banks
of the Nile, where the “Kurayeati” (ape-leader) is a popular character.
[FN#4] This ceremony, as the reader will have perceived, is performed
by the Shafe’is on the 10th, the 11th, and the 12th of Zu’l Hijjah. The
Hanafis conclude their stoning on the 13th. The times vary with each
day, and differ considerably in religious efficacy. On the night of the
10th (our 9th), for instance, lapidation, according to some
authorities, 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 11th 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 Shafe’is, 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 first 7 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. Shafe’is
may stand at a greater distance, which should not, however, pass the
limits of 5 cubits.
[FN#5] Here called Safk. It is mentioned by Herodotus, and known to
almost every oriental people. The Badawin sometimes, though rarely, use
a table or kettledrum. Yet, amongst the “Pardah,” or miuscal modes of the
East, we find the Hijazi 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 guitar, the drum, and the lute, father of the modern harp. The name
of this instrument is a corruption of the Arabic “Al-’ud” ([Arabic text]),
through liuto and luth, into lute.
[FN#6] NOTE TO THIRD EDITION.—Since this was written there have been two
deadly epidemics, which began, it is reported, at Muna. The victims,
however, have never numbered 700,000, nor is “each pilgrim required to
sacrifice one animal at the shrine of Mohammed,”(!) as we find it in
“Cholera Prospects,” by Tilbury Fox, M.D. (Hardwicke).
[FN#7] A scarf thrown over the head, with one end brought round under
the chin and passed over the left shoulder composes the “Taylasan.”
[FN#8] As late as Ibn Jubayr’s time the preacher was habited from head to
foot in black; and two Mu’ezzins held black flags fixed in rings on both
sides of the pulpit, with the staves propped upon the first step.
[FN#9] Mr. 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 early
days of Al-Islam, when the preachers found it necessary to be prepared
for surprises. And all authors who, like Ibn Jubayr, described the
Meccan ceremonies, mention the sword or staff. 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.
[FN#10] The words were “Peace be upon ye! and the Mercy of Allah and His
Blessings!”

[p.227] CHAPTER XXXII.

LIFE AT MECCAH, AND UMRAH, OR THE LITTLE PILGRIMAGE.

MY few remaining days at Meccah sped pleasantly enough. Omar Effendi
visited me regularly, and arranged to accompany me furtively to Cairo.
I had already consulted Mohammed Shiklibha—who suddenly appeared at Muna,
having dropped down from Suez to Jeddah, and having reached Meccah in
time for pilgrimage—about the possibility of proceeding Eastward. The
honest fellow’s eyebrows rose till they almost touched his turband, and
he exclaimed in a roaring voice, “Wallah! Effendi! thou art surely mad.”
Every day he brought me news of the different Caravans. The Badawin of
Al-Hijaz were, he said, in a ferment caused by the reports of the Holy
War, want of money, and rumours of quarrels between the Sharif and the
Pasha: already they spoke of an attack upon Jeddah. Shaykh Mas’ud, the
camel man, from whom I parted on the best of terms, seriously advised
my remaining at Meccah for some months even before proceeding to Sana’a.
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.[FN#1] Whilst the

[p.228] 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
chinaware and basketed bottles of Zemzem water appeared standing in
solid columns, and pilgrims occupied themselves in hunting for
mementoes of Meccah; ground-plans; combs, balm, henna, tooth-sticks;
aloes-wood, turquoises, coral, and mother-o’-pearl rosaries; shreds of
Kiswah-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,
on peril of meeting face to face some excited fair.[FN#2] The lower
floor was crowded with provision-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 below, 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 “compacted
together” by hills, that even the Samum 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
well-built, might by some art of thermantidote be rendered cool enough
in the hottest weather:

[p.229] they are now ovens.[FN#3] It was my habit to retire immediately
after the late breakfast to the little room upstairs, to sprinkle it
with water, and to lie down on 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 Al-Hijaz than in Egypt. The people, being more healthy,
have less faith in physic: Shaykh Mas’ud 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 Al-Hamra, on the

[p.230] Yambu’ road, accompanied us to Al-Madinah, 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 is 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 deprecation, 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 at Constantinople. His curiosity about the
English in India was great, and I satisfied it by praising, as a Moslem
would, their politike, their evenhanded justice, and their good star.
Then he would inquire into the truth of a fable extensively known on
the shores of the Mediterranean and of the Red Sea. The English, it is
said, sent a mission to Mohammed, inquiring into his doctrines, and
begging that the heroic Khalid bin Walid[FN#4] might be sent to
proselytise them. Unfortunately,

[p.231] 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 accompanied 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 towards them. As regards the Prophet’s tradition concerning
the fall of his birthplace, “and the thin-calved from the Habash
(Abyssinians) shall destroy the Ka’abah,” I was informed that towards the
end of time a host will pass 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 accomplished by sixty thousand
men, the distance being only forty-four 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 Ka’abah the prophecy was
fulfilled[FN#5]: the popular belief, however, remains that the fatal
event is still in the womb of time. In a previous part of this volume I
have alluded to similar evil presentiments which haunt the mind of
Al-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.
[FN#6]

Late in the afternoon I used to rise, perform ablution, and repair to
the Harim, or wander about the bazars till sunset. After this it was
necessary to return home and prepare for supper—dinner it would be called
in the West.

[p.232] The meal concluded, I used to sit for a time outside 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 Harim 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 population. The citizens appeared
to me more civilised and more vicious than those of Al-Madinah. 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
al-saba—“Circumambulate and run (i.e. between Safa and Marwah) and commit
the Seven (deadly sins)”—is a satire popularly levelled against them.
Hence, too, the proverb Al-haram f’ il Haramayn—“Evil (dwelleth) in the two
Holy Cities”; and no wonder, since plenary indulgence is so easily
secured.[FN#7] The pilgrim is forbidden, or rather dissuaded, from
abiding at Meccah after the rites, and wisely. Great emotions must be
followed by a re-action. And he who stands struck by the first aspect
of Allah’s house, after a few months, the marvel waxing stale, sweeps
past with indifference or something worse.

[p.233] There is, however, little at Meccah to offend the eye. As among
certain 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 citizens may be seen with light complexions and delicate limbs,
coarse turbands, 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,[FN#8] in shops; and some Arnaut officers assured me
that they found considerable difficulty in smuggling flasks of Araki
from Jeddah.

The Meccan is a darker man than the Madinite. 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 Somalis, and Abyssinians are embarked at Suakin,
Zayla, Tajurrah, and Berberah, carried in thousands to Jeddah, and the
Holy City has the pick of every batch. Thence the stream sets
Northwards, a small current towards Al-Madinah, and the main line to
Egypt and Turkey.[FN#9]

Most Meccans have black concubines, and, as has been said, the
appearance of the Sharif 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 Ka’abah,
prayed over, and carried home, where the barber draws with a razor
three parallel gashes

[p.234] down the fleshy portion of each cheek, from the exterior angles
of the eyes almost to the corners of the mouth. These Mashali, as they
are called,[FN#10] 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 lymphatic. 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 degenerate 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 Al-Madinah, 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. His

[p.235] house is luxuriously furnished; entertainments are frequent,
and the junketings of his women make up a heavy bill at the end of the
year. It is a common practice 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 fifty per cent., the simple
and the compound forms of which are equally familiar to the wily
Sarraf.[FN#11]

The most unpleasant peculiarities of the Meccan[s][FN#12] are their
pride and coarseness of language. Looking upon themselves as the cream
of earth’s sons, they 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,[FN#13] their
strict fastings, their learned men, and their purity of
language.[FN#14] In fact, their pride shows itself at every moment;

[p.236] but it is not the pride which makes a man too proud to do “dirty
work.” My predecessor did not remark 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 transgressed the limits of my
endurance. They had been reviling 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
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 exclaimed, “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 open to reason, it can confess itself

[p.237] in error, and it 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 of his words contrasts amusingly
with his ideas. He particularly 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 disdained a joke,
sometimes a little hasarde, as in the case of the Paradise-coveting old
woman. The redeeming qualities of the Meccan are his courage, his
bonhommie, his manly suavity of manners, his fiery sense of honour, his
strong family affections, 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 formed by pride,
bigotry, irreligion, greed of gain, immorality, and prodigal
ostentation. Of the pilgrimage ceremonies I cannot speak harshly. It
may be true that “the rites of the Ka’abah, emasculated of every idolatrous
tendency, still hang a strange unmeaning shroud around the living
theism of Islam.” But what nation, either in the West or in 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 philosophize about their
strangeness, and to blunder in asserting them to be insignificant. Even
the Badawi circumambulating the Ka’abah fortifies his wild belief by the
fond thought that he treads the path of “Allah’s friend.”

At Arafat the good Moslem worships in imitation of

[p.238] the “Pure of Allah[FN#15]”; and when hurling stones and curses at
three senseless little buttresses which commemorate the appearance of
the fiend, the materialism of the action gives to its sentiment 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 Ka’abah’s veil to rise and to wave, and the mysterious
complement of the pilgrim’s 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
phosphor-match; nor do two rival churches fight in the flesh with teeth
and nails, requiring the contemptuous interference of an infidel power
to keep around order. Here we see no fair dames staring with their
glasses, braques 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 shamelessly as the Roman
jeering with ribald jest at the fanaticism of strangers from the bogs
of Ireland. Finally, at Meccah there is nothing theatrical, nothing
that suggests the opera; but all is simple and impressive, filling the
mind with

“A weight of awe not easy to be borne,”

and tending, I believe, after its fashion, to good.

[p.239] As regards the Meccan and Moslem belief that Abraham and his
son built the Ka’abah, it may be observed 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.[FN#16] 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
invention. Whether Ishmael or his sire ever visited Meccah to build the
Ka’abah is, in my humble opinion, an open question. The Jewish Scripture
informs us only that the patriarch dwelt at Beersheba and Gerar, in the
south-west of Palestine, without any allusion to the annual visit which
Moslems declare he paid to their Holy City. At the 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 philosophic mind.

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

[p.240] 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
Captain Head’s day,[FN#17] 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 Pasha nor
the Sharif 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 Badawi 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 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
government.[FN#18] 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’ piu. 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 forbidding 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;

[p.241] an accident would not redound to our reputation, as we could
not in justice revenge it.[FN#19]

On the 14th Zu’l Hijjah we started to perform the rite of Umrah, or
Little Pilgrimage. After performing ablution, 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,[FN#20] we rode to the Harim, and prayed there. Again
remounting, we issued through the Bab al-Safa towards the open country
north-east of the city. The way was crowded with pilgrims, on foot as
well as mounted, and their loud Labbayk 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

[p.242] 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.[FN#21] 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,[FN#22] and
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 al-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 Al-Umrah.[FN#23]
Dismounting here, we

[p.243] 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 payment, 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 honour of the
Ihram,[FN#24] after which we distributed gratuities to the guardians,
and alms to the importunate beggars. And now I perceived the object of
Abdullah’s companionship. 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 pilgrim Yusuf (Joseph) bin Ahmad 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
Ka’abah, intoned, “I do vow this Ihram of Umrah in the name of Yusuf Son of
Ahmad, and Fatimah Daughter of Yunus; then render it attainable unto
them, and accept it of them! Bismillah! Allaho Akbar!”

[p.244] 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 Harim by the Safa Gate,
performed the Tawaf, 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 Al-Safa, which stands about a
hundred yards South-East of the Mosque, and as little deserves its name
of “Mountain” as do those that undulate 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 stairs leading up to them out of a
narrow road. Without dismounting, we wheeled our donkeys[FN#25] round,
“left shoulders forward,” no easy task in the crowd, and, vainly striving
to sight the Ka’abah through the Bab al-Safa, performed the Niyat, or vow
of the rite Al-Sai, or the running.[FN#26] After Tahlil, Takbir, and
Talbiyat, we raised our hands in the supplicatory position, and twice
repeated,[FN#27] “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 Badawin, camel-men, and riders of asses, we descended Safa, and
walked slowly down the street Al-Massa, towards Marwah.[FN#28]

[p.245] 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 al-Wady (Belly of the
Vale), a place now denoted by the Milayn al-Akhzarayn (the two green
pillars[FN#29]), one fixed in the Eastern course of the Harim, the
other in a house on the right side,[FN#30] 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, give us Happiness here and Happiness hereafter, and
spare us the Torture of the Flames!” At the end of this supplication we
had passed the Batn, or lowest ground, whose farthest limits were
marked by two other pillars.[FN#31] 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 Omniscient[FN#32]!” 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 Masa’a, or street below, a
short flight of steps to a platform, bounded on three sides like a
tennis-court, by tall walls without arches. The

[p.246] street, seen from above, has a bowstring curve: it is between
eight and nine hundred feet long,[FN#33] 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 Ka’abah, and
raising hands to ears, thrice exclaimed, “Allaho Akbar.” This concluded the
first course, and, of these, seven compose the ceremony Al-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 Masa’a to relieve guard. By the side of the half-naked, running
Badawin, they look as 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 favour of the
religious strictness of the administration.[FN#34]

Our Sai ended at Mount Marwah. There we dismounted, 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 normal state, “Ihlal,” we cantered
to the Harim, prayed there a two-bow prayer, and returned home not a
little fatigued.

[FN#1] Not more than one-quarter of the pilgrims who appear at Arafat
go on to Al-Madinah: the expense, the hardships, and the dangers of the
journey account for the smallness of the number. In theology it is “Jaiz,”
or admissible, to begin with the Prophet’s place of burial. But those
performing the “Hajjat al-Islam” are enjoined to commence at Meccah.
[FN#2] When respectable married men live together in the same house, a
rare occurrence, except on journeys, this most ungallant practice of
clearing the way is and must be kept up in the East.
[FN#3] I offer no lengthened description of the town of Meccah: Ali Bey
and Burckhardt 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 comparatively modern place, built about A.D. 450, by Kusay and the
Kuraysh. It contains about 30,000 to 45,000 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’dah (North) to the
Southern mount 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 Jabal Hindi Westward of the city. In
the centre of this line stands the Ka’abah. 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 Harim. This
addition to our knowledge is the more required, as our popular sketches
(generally taken from D’Ohsson) are utterly incorrect. The Ka’abah is
always a recognisable building; but the “View of Meccah” known to Europe is
not more like Meccah than like Cairo or Bombay.
[FN#4] It is curious that the Afghans should claim this Kuraysh noble
as their compatriot. “On one occasion, when Khalid bin Walid was saying
something in his native tongue (the Pushtu or Afghani), Mohammed
remarked that assuredly that language was the peculiar dialect of the
damned. As Khalid appeared to suffer from the observation, and to
betray certain symptoms 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. Dorn’s Chrestomathy of the
Pushtu or Afghan Language. Trans. Bombay As. Society, 1848.)
[FN#5] See the ninth building of the Ka’abah, described in chap. iv.
[FN#6] It requires not the ken of a prophet to foresee the day when
political necessity—sternest of [Greek]!—will compel us to occupy in force
the fountain-head of Al-Islam.
[FN#7] Good acts done at Meccah are rewarded a hundred-thousand-fold in
heaven; yet it is not auspicious to dwell there. Omar informs us that
an evil deed receives the punishment of seventy.
[FN#8] It must be remembered that my predecessor visited Meccah when
the Egyptian army, commanded by Mohammed Ali, held the town.
[FN#9] In another place I have ventured a few observations concerning
the easy suppression of this traffic.
[FN#10] The act is called “Tashrit,” or gashing. The body is also marked,
but with smaller cuts, so that the child is covered with blood. Ali Bey
was told by some Meccans that the face-gashes served for the purpose of
phlebotomy, by others that they were signs that the scarred was the
servant of Allah’s house. He attributes this male-gashing, like
female-tat[t]ooing, 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. Mohammed 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
Abyssinians moxa themselves in hetacombs 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-coloured skins.
[FN#11] Sayrafi, money-changer; Sarraf, banker; the Indian “Shroff,”
banker, money-changer, and usurer.
[FN#12] When speaking of the Meccans I allude only to the section of
society which fell under my observation, and that more extensive
division concerning which I obtained notices that could be depended
upon.
[FN#13] 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
extinguish a light. Moreover, infidels are not allowed by law to pass
the frontiers of the Sanctuary. The sect alluded to is an obscure
heresy in Central Asia; and concerning it the most improbable scandals
have been propagated by the orthodox.
[FN#14] It is strange how travellers and linguists differ upon the
subject of Arabic and its dialects. Niebuhr compares their relation to
that of Provençal, Spanish, and Italian, 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 modern 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 tantum differt ab erudita, quantum Isocrates
dictio ab hodierna lingua Græca.” 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 Koran 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.
[FN#15] Safi Ullah—Adam.
[FN#16] The legend that Abraham was the “Son of Fire” might have arisen
from his birthplace, Ur 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 Ta’ala.” This word, variously spelt
Ourotalt, Orotalt, and Orotal (the latter would be the masculine form
in Arabic), is Urrat-ilat, or the goddess of fire, most probably the
Sun (Al-Shams) which the Semites make a feminine. Forbiggen translates
it Sonnen-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 survives in Erin and
in Ireland? even so they gave to the world the name of Britain,
Brettainke, Barrat et Tanuki ([Arabic lettering]), the land of tin. And
I should more readily believe that Eeran is the land of fire, than
accept its derivation from Eer (vir) a man.
[FN#17] Captain C. F. Head, author of “Eastern and Egyptian Scenery,” was,
as late as A.D. 1829, pelted by the Badawin, because he passed the
Eastern gate of Jeddah in a Frankish dress.
[FN#18] The best way would be to rush, if possible, into a house; and
the owner would then, for his own interest, as well as honour, defend a
stranger till assistance could be procured.
[FN#19] Future pilgrims must also remember that the season is gradually
receding towards the heart of the hot weather. For the next fifteen
years, therefore, an additional risk will attend the traveller.
[FN#20] Pliny is certainly right about this useful quadruped and its
congeners, the zebra and the wild ass, in describing it as “animal
frigoris maxime impatiens.” It degenerates in cold regions, unless, as in
Afghanistan and Barbary, there be a long, hot, and dry summer. Aden,
Cutch, and Baghdad 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 generally the biped. The asses of the
Holy City are tall and plump, with sleek coats, generally ash or
grey-coloured, the eyes of deer, heads gracefully carried, an ambling
gait, and extremely sure-footed. They are equal to great fatigue, and
the stallions have been known, in their ferocity, to kill the groom.
The price varies from 25 to 150 dollars.
[FN#21] 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 first two
traditions, however, are the favourites, the vulgar—citizens, as well as
pilgrims—loving to connect 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.
[FN#22] 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. 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.
[FN#23] It is called in books Al-Tanim (bestowing plenty); a word which
readers must not confound with the district of the same name in the
province Khaulan (made by Niebuhr the “Thumna,” “Thomna,” or “Tamna,” capital of
the Catabanites). Other authors apply Al-Tanim to the spot where Abu
Lahab is supposed to lie. There are two places called Al-Umrah near
Meccah. The Kabir, or greater, is, I am told, in the Wady Fatimah, and
the Prophet ordered Ayishah 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 Maimunah, one of the Prophet’s wives. Modern pilgrims
commence always, I am told, at the Umrah Saghir (the Lesser), which is
about half-way nearer the city.
[FN#24] Some assume the Ihram garb at this place.
[FN#25] We had still the pretext of my injured foot. When the Sai rite
is performed, as it should be, by a pedestrian, he mounts the steps to
about the height of a man, and then turns towards the temple.
[FN#26] I will not trouble the reader with this Niyat, which is the
same as that used in the Tawaf rite.
[FN#27] Almost every Mutawwif, it must be remembered, has his own set
of prayers.
[FN#28] “Safa” means a large, hard rock; “Marwah,” hard, white flints, full of
fire.
[FN#29] 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 upon
the place which supported Eve’s knees, when, after 300 years’ separation,
she was found by Adam.
[FN#30] This house is called in books Rubat al-Abbas.
[FN#31] Here once stood “As’af” and “Naylah,” two idols, some say a man and a
woman metamorphosed for stupration in the Temple.
[FN#32] Koran, chap. ii.
[FN#33] Ibn Jubayr gives 893 steps: other authorities make the distance
780 short cubits, the size of an average man’s forearm.
[FN#34] The ceremony of running between Safa and Marwah is supposed to
represent Hagar seeking water for her son. Usually pilgrims perform
this rite on the morning of visiting the Ka’aba.

[p.247] CHAPTER XXXIII.

PLACES OF PIOUS VISITATION AT MECCAH.


THE traveller has little work at the Holy City. With exceptions of
Jabal Nur and Jabal Saur,[FN#1] 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 al-Hajar and the Shakk
al-Kamar,[FN#2] as to obtain an excellent bird’s-eye view of the Harim
and the parts adjacent.[FN#3]

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
[p.248] 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 described to the
Jannat al-Ma’ala, 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
Al-Akabah, the gap through which Khalid bin Walid entered Meccah with
the triumphant Prophet.[FN#4] Inside are a few ignoble, whitewashed
domes: all are of modern construction, for here, as at Al-Bakia,
further north, the Wahhabis indulged their levelling
propensities.[FN#5] The rest of the ground shows some small enclosures
belonging to particular houses,—equivalent to our family vaults,—and the
ruins of humble tombs, lying in confusion, whilst a few parched aloes
spring from between the bricks and stones.[FN#6]

[p.249] The 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 Ma’ala ceremonies, as the prayers,
prostrations, and supplications are almost identical with those
performed at Al-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 al-Rahman,
the son of Abu Bakr, one of the Worthies of Al-Islam, equally respected
by Sunni and by Shi’ah. The tomb was a simple catafalque, spread 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
decorated 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.[FN#7] Burckhardt chronicles its ill-usage by
[p.250] the fanatic Wahhabis: it has now been rebuilt in that frugal
style that characterizes the architecture of Al-Hijaz. An exceedingly
garrulous old woman came to the door, invited us in, and 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 contents 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
Ma’ala, and their importunities fairly drove me out of the hallowed walls.

Leaving the Jannat al-Ma’ala, we returned towards the town, and halted on
the left side of the road, at a mean building called the Masjid al-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
al-Khatt (place of the writing), where Mohammed wrote a letter to Abu
Mas’ud after the homage of the Jinnis. A second and interior flight of
stone steps led to another diminutive oratory, where the Prophet used
to pray and receive the archangel Gabriel. Having performed a pair of
bows, which caused the perspiration

[p.251 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 al-Hajar. Presently we arrived at the Bayt
al-Nabi, the Prophet’s old house, in which he lived with the Sitt
Khadijah. Here, says Burckhardt, the Lady Fatimah first saw the
light[FN#8]; and here, according to Ibn Jubayr, Hasan and Hosayn 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 attempted to open by honeyed
words: a whisper from Abdullah 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[FN#9]—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.[FN#10]

Again remounting, we proceeded at a leisurely pace homewards, and on
the way passed through the principal

[p.252] 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 were the
plainer sort, 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 splendour, or
from the re-action succeeding to their terrible land-journey and
sea-voyage, they appeared perfectly happy, laughing loudly, talking
unknown tongues, and quizzing purchasers, even during the delicate
operation 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 £60. 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, contemplating the scene from his donkey, might become
the instrument of the total abolition of this pernicious
traffic.[FN#11] What would have become of that pilgrim had the crowd in
the slave-market guessed his intentions?

Passing through the large bazar, called the Suk al-Layl, I saw the
palace of Mohammed bin Aun, quondam Prince of Meccah. It has a certain
look of rude magnificence,

[p.253] 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 Badawin,
and feared by the citizens on account of his fierce looks, courage, and
treachery. They described him to me as vir bonus, bene strangulando
peritus; but Mr. Cole, who knew him personally, 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
Meccah, 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 Badawin pray in vain for his
return.[FN#12]

The other places of pious visitation at Meccah are briefly these:—

1. Natak al-Nabi, a small oratory in the Zukak al-Hajar. It derives its
name from the following circumstance.

[p.254] As the Prophet was knocking at the door of Abu Bakr’s shop, a
stone gave him God-speed, and told him that the master was not at home.
The 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.

2. Maulid al-Nabi, or the Prophet’s birthplace.[FN#13] It is a little
chapel in the Suk al-Layl, not far from Mohammed bin Aun’s palace. It is
below the present level of the ground, and in the centre is a kind of
tent, concealing, it is said, a hole in the floor upon which Aminah sat
to be delivered.

3. In the quarter “Sha’ab Ali,” near the Maulid al-Nabi, 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 al-Nabi is a place called
Al-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 occasion, 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.[FN#14]

[p.255] 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 Zemzemi; 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
three P.M. to the senior’s house, a large building in the Zukak al-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 diwans, 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 guardian of some dames of high degree at Cairo
and Constantinople: the highest place and

[p.256] the best pipe were unhesitatingly offered to and accepted by
him. He sat down with dignity, answered diplomatically certain
mysterious questions about the dames, and 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, 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 perfumed 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,[FN#15] a confiture

[p.257] highly prized in these regions, because it comes from
Constantinople. Fruits were then placed upon the table; plates full of
pomegranate grains and dates of the finest flavour.[FN#16] The dinner
concluded with a pillaw of rice and butter, for the easier discussion
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, display 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
lands, to sit together after dinner—the evening prayer cuts short the
seance. Before we rose 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 a present. I slipped a dollar into his hand;
at the sight of which he, veritable little Meccan, could not contain
his joy. “The Riyal!” he exclaimed; “the Riyal! look, grandpa’, the good
Effendi has given me a Riyal!” The old gentleman’s eyes twinkled with
emotion: he saw how easily the coin had slipped from my fingers, and he
fondly hoped that he had not seen the last piece. “Verily thou art a good

[p.258] young man!” he ejaculated, adding fervently, as prayers cost
nothing, “May Allah further all thy desires.” A gentle patting of the back
evidenced his high approval.

I never saw old Ali after that evening, but entrusted to the boy
Mohammed what was considered a just equivalent for his services.

[FN#1] Jabal Nur, or Hira, has been mentioned before. Jabal Saur rises
at some distance to the South of Meccah, and contains the celebrated
cave in which Mohammed and Abu Bakr took refuge during the flight.
[FN#2] 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 convert the idolatrous Kuraysh, he caused half the orb of night to
rise from behind Abu Kubays, and the other from Jabal Kayka’an, on the
Western horizon. This silly legend appears unknown to Mohammed’s day.
[FN#3] The pilgrimage season, strictly speaking, concluded this year on
the 17th September (13th Zu’l Hijjah); at which time travellers began to
move towards Jeddah. Those who purposed visiting Al-Madinah would start
about three weeks afterwards, and many who had leisure intended
witnessing the Muharram ceremonies at Meccah.
[FN#4] This is the local tradition; it does not agree with authentic
history. Muir (Life of Mahomet, vol. iv. p. 126) reminds me that Khalid
and his Badawin attacked the citizens of Meccah without the Prophet’s
leave. But after the attack he may have followed in his leader’s train.
[FN#5] The reason of their Vandalism has been noticed in a previous
volume.
[FN#6] The Aloe here, as in Egypt, is hung, like the dried crocodile,
over houses 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 Mosquitoes entering a room. I believe the superstition to be a
fragment of African fetichism. 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.
[FN#7] Burckhardt mentions the “Tomb of Umna, the mother of Mohammed,” in
the Ma’ala at Meccah; and all the ciceroni agree about the locality. Yet
historians place it at Abwa, where she gave up the ghost, after
visiting Al-Madinah 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 Al-Islam was revealed.
[FN#8] Burckhardt calls it “Maulid Sittna Fatimah”: but the name “Kubbat el
Wahy,” applied by my predecessor to this locality, is generally made
synonymous with Al-Mukhtaba, the “hiding-place” where the Prophet and his
followers used in dangerous times to meet for prayer.
[FN#9] So loose is local tradition, that some have confounded this
quern with the Natak al-Nabi, the stone which gave God-speed to the
Prophet.
[FN#10] He would of course pray the Farz, or obligatory devotions, at
the shrine.
[FN#11] 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 Red Sea, because the 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 Al-Hijaz
resented the measure by disowning the supremacy of the Porte, but they
were soon reduced to submission.
[FN#12] The Prince was first invested with the Sharifat by Mohammed Ali
of Egypt in A.D. 1827, when Yahya fled, after stabbing his nephew in
the Ka’abah, to the Benu Harb Badawin. He was supported by Ahmad Pasha of
Meccah, with a large army; but after the battle of Tarabah, in which
Ibrahim Pasha was worsted by the Badawin, Mohammed Bin Aun, accused of
acting as Sylla, was sent in honourable bondage to Cairo. He again
returned to Meccah, where the rapacity of his eldest son, Abdullah, who
would rob pilgrims, caused fresh misfortunes. In A.D. 1851, when Abd
al-Muttalib was appointed Sharif, the Pasha was ordered to send Bin Aun
to Stambul—no easy task. The Turk succeeded by a manœuvre. 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 Badawi’s sabre during his
embarkation made the Turks rejoice that they had won the day by
state-craft. The wild men of Al-Hijaz still sing songs in honour of
this Sharif.
NOTE TO SECOND EDITION.—Early in 1856, when the Sharif Abd al-Muttalib
was deposed, Mohammed bin Aun was sent from Constantinople to quiet the
insurrection caused by the new slave laws in Al-Hijaz. In a short space
of time he completely succeeded.
[FN#13] The 12th of Rabia al-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.
[FN#14] The reader is warned that I did not see the five places above
enumerated. The ciceroni and books mention twelve other visitations,
several of which are known only by name.
1. Al-Mukhtaba, the “hiding-place” alluded to in the preceding pages. Its
locality is the subject of debate.
2. Dar al-Khayzaran, where the Prophet prayed secretly till the
conversion 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 Rabia al-Awwal of every year.
4. Abu Bakr’s house near the Natak al-Nabi. It is supposed to have been
destroyed in the twelfth century.
5. Maulid Ja’afar al-Tayyar, near the Shabayki cemetery.
6. Al-Mada’a, an oratory, also called Naf al-Arz, because creation here
began.
7. Dar al-Hijrah, where Mohammed and Abu Bakr mounted for the flight.
8. Masjid al-Rayah, where the Prophet planted his flag when Meccah
surrendered.
9. Masjid al-Shajarah, a spot at which Mohammed caused a tree to
advance and to retire.
10. Masjid al-Ja’aranah, where Mohammed clad himself in the pilgrim garb.
It is still visited by some Persians.
11. Mas[]jid Ibrahim, or Abu Kubays.
12. Masjid Zu Tawa.
[FN#15] Familiar for “Rahat al-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. Rosewater 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 element, even in tea.
[FN#16] Meccah is amply supplied with water-melons, dates, limes,
grapes, cucumbers, and other vegetables from Taif and Wady Fatimah.
During the pilgrimage season the former place sends at least 100 camels
every day to the capital.

[p.259] CHAPTER 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
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
fairness, 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 Ka’abah.

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.[FN#1]

The Meccans are as fond of little presents as are nuns: the Kabirah
took an affectionate leave of me, begged me to be careful of her boy,
who was to accompany

[p.260] 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 with Shaykh, now Haji Nur, to
Jeddah.[FN#2] Omar Effendi was to wait at Meccah till his father had
started, in command 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 our donkeys, the boy Mohammed and I left the house. Abdullah
the Melancholy 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 joy as only
the captive delivered from his dungeon can experience. The sunbeams
warmed me into renewed life and vigour, the air of the Desert was a
perfume, 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 parting look.

It is not my intention minutely to describe the line down which we
travelled that night: the pages of Burckhardt 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, intended to facilitate
the descent for camels and for laden beasts. About midnight we passed
into a hill-girt Wady, here covered with deep sands, there hard with
[p.261] 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 in force, the effect
of an order that pilgrims must not proceed singly upon this road.
Coffee-houses and places of refreshment abounding, we halted every five
miles to refresh ourselves and the donkeys.[FN#3] 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 as faded as
himself. When I shook my head, he addressed me in Persian. The same
manœuvre made him try Arabic; still he obtained no answer. Then he
grumbled out good Hindustani. That also failing, he tried successively
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 strange 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 Al-Islam.

[p.262] About eight P.M. we passed the Alamayn, which define 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 Sabil Agha Almas. 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 began to weigh heavily
upon my companions’ eye-lids, 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 Al-Haddah. Ali Bey
places it eight leagues from Jeddah. At “the Boundary” which is considered
to be the half-way halting-place, Pilgrims must assume the religious
garb,[FN#4] and Infidels travelling to Taif are taken off the Meccan
road into one leading Northward 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
supplying 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 Al-Haddah we dismounted for an hour’s halt. A coffee-house
supplied us with mats, water-pipes, and other necessaries; we then
produced a basket of provisions, the parting gift of the kind Kabirah,
and, this late supper concluded, we lay down to doze.

After half an hour’s halt had expired, and the donkeys were saddled, I
shook up with difficulty the boy Mohammed, and induced him to mount. He
was, to use his own expression, “dead from sleep”; and we had

[p.263] scarcely advanced an hour, when, arriving at another little
coffee-house, he threw himself upon the ground, and declared it
impossible to proceed. This act caused some confusion. The donkey-boy
was a pert little Badawi, 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 contemptuous 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 windpipe, 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, “O my Uncle, do not exceed in talk!”—Fuzul (excess)
in Arabic is equivalent to telling a man in English not to be
impertinent—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 dispute: “Do you know,” he whispered, in awful accents, “what
that person is?” and he pointed to 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 the
Egyptian, “What did he do?” “He called for—his dinner,” replied the youth, with a
slow and

[p.264] sarcastic emphasis. That trait was enough. The others mounted,
and left us quietly to sleep.

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 Fra Diavolos,—as safe as in Meccah.
Every night, during the pilgrimage season, a troop of about fifty
horsemen patrol 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 donkeys sank fetlock-deep. At dawn we found
our companions halted, and praying at the Kahwat Turki, another little
coffee-house. Here an exchange of what is popularly called “chaff” took
place. “Well,” cried the Egyptian, “what have ye gained by halting? We have
been quiet here, praying and smoking for the last hour!” “Go, eat thy
buried beans,[FN#5]” 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,

[p.265] having probably seldom entertained such “funny gentlemen.”

Shortly after leaving the Kahwat Turki we found the last spur of the
highlands that sink into the Jeddah Plain. This view would for some
time be my 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 in 1817 the thousands of Abdullah
bin Sa’ud, the Wahhabi,[FN#6] and a small dome outside the walls.

The sun began to glow fiercely, and we were not sorry when, at about
eight 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 fortified Bab Makkah. Allowing eleven hours for our
actual march,—we halted about three,—those wonderful donkeys had
accomplished between forty-four

[p.266] and forty-six miles,[FN#7] generally in deep sand, in one
night. And they passed the archway of Jeddah cantering almost as nimbly
as when they left Meccah.

Shaykh Nur had been ordered to take rooms for me in a vast pile of
madrepore—unfossilized coral, a recent formation,—once the palace of
Mohammed bin Aun, and now converted into a Wakalah. Instead of so
doing, Indian-like, he had made a gipsy encampment in the square
opening upon 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 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 were 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 borrowed
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, suffering 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
a scrawl to Mr. Cole, who decided upon admitting the importunate
Afghan. An exclamation of astonishment and a hospitable 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,

[p.267] he had asserted that his compatriots 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 promised
himself a laugh at the Turks’ beards; but since my departure, he wrote to
me that the subject made the owners look so serious, that he did not
like recurring to it.

Truly gratifying to the pride of an Englishman was our high official
position assumed and maintained at Jeddah. Mr. Cole had never, like his
colleague at Cairo, 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
Sharif, and taught him to respect the British name. The Abbe Hamilton
ascribed the attentions of the Prince to “the infinite 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. The
general contrast between our Consular proceedings at Cairo and Jeddah
is another proof of the advisability of selecting Indian officials to
fill offices of trust at Oriental courts. They have lived amongst
Easterns, and they know one Asiatic language, with many Asiatic
customs; and, chief merit of all, they have learned to assume a 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
politeness, which they interpret—taking ample care that the
interpretation should spread—to be the effect of fear or of fraud.

Jeddah[FN#8] has been often described by modern pens.

[p.268] Burckhardt (in A.D. 18[14]) devoted a hundred pages of his two
volumes to the unhappy capital of the Tihamat al-Hijaz, 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.[FN#9] These

[p.269] have been translated by the author of “Life in Abyssinia.” Abd
al-Karim, 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 Company 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 Wakalahs, 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 amenable to discipline; a European army, under the
circumstances, would probably have helped itself. But the Pasha knew
that there is a limit to a 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 to
plunder, was the Oriental style of settling arrears of pay.[FN#10]

[p.270] Jeddah displays all the license of a seaport and garrison town.
Fair Corinthians establish themselves even within earshot of the
Karakun, or guard-post; a symptom of excessive 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 Al-Hijaz 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 Omar 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.

That evening, returning home from the Hammam, I found the house in an
uproar. The boy Mohammed, 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 returned with a posse comitatus of
friends and relatives. They questioned the

[p.271] 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 Omar Effendi’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 Mohammed, 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 Omar Effendi by main
force. This, which would only have brought us all into a brunt with
quarterstaves, 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
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 Shaykh 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.”

[p.272] He parted as coolly from Shaykh Nur. These worthy youths had
been drinking together, when Mohammed, having learned at Stambul the
fashionable practice of Bad-masti, or “liquor-vice,” dug his “fives” into Nur’s
eye. Nur erroneously considering such exercise likely to induce
blindness, complained to me; but my sympathy was all with the other
side. I asked the Hindi 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 to 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 struggles,
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
perhaps 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 merchants of Jeddah; Khwajah
Sower, a Greek; M. Anton, a Christian from Baghdad, and
others.[FN#11]And I was introduced to Khalid Bey, brother of Abdullah
bin Sa’ud, the Wahhabi. This noble Arab once held the

[p.273] official position of Mukayyid al-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 Riyaz, 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 they applied the key with peculiar
empressement, and made inordinately low conges as we entered the
enclosure of whitewashed walls.

“The Mother” is supposed to lie, like a Moslemah, fronting the Ka’abah, 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 Al-Hijaz. 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 Al-Surrah, or the navel. The cicerone directed me to
kiss this manner of hieroglyph, which I did, thinking the while, that,
under the circumstances, the 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 define the
outlines of the body: they are about six paces apart, and between them,
upon Eve’s

[p.274] neck, are two tombs, occupied, I was told, by Osman Pasha and
his son, who repaired the Mother’s sepulchre. I could not help remarking
to the boy Mohammed, that if our first parent measured a hundred and
twenty paces from head to waist, and eighty from waist to heel, she
must have presented much the appearance of a duck. To this the youth
replied, flippantly, that he thanked his stars the Mother was
underground, otherwise that men would lose their senses with fright.

Ibn Jubayr (twelfth century) mentions only an old dome, “built upon the
place where Eve stopped on the way to Meccah.” Yet Al-Idrisi (A.D. 1154)
declares Eve’s grave to be at Jeddah. Abd al-Karim (1742) compares it to
a parterre, with a little dome in the centre, and the extremities
ending in barriers of palisades; the circumference was a hundred and
ninety of his steps. In Rooke’s Travels we are told that the tomb is
twenty feet long. Ali Bey, who twice visited Jeddah, makes no allusion
to it; we may therefore conclude that it had been destroyed by the
Wahhabis. Burckhardt, who, I need

[p.275] 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 Al-Buka’a in Syria.
Bruce writes: “Two days’ journey from this place (? Meccah or Jeddah) Eve’s
grave, of green sods, about fifty 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 structure is clearly modern; anciently, I was
told at Jeddah, the sepulchre consisted 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
al-Khayf is, like that of Eve, gigantic. That of Noah at Al-Buka’a is a
bit of Aqueduct thirty-eight paces long by one and a half wide. 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 pilgrims. But Aaron’s sepulchre
in the Sinaitic peninsula is of moderate dimensions.

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 Darwaysh, however pious.
Next day the boy Mohammed explained the

[p.276] Man’s empressement and disappointment,—I had been mistaken for the
Pasha of Al-Madinah.

For a time my peregrinations ended. Worn out with fatigue, and the
fatal fiery heat, I embarked (Sept. 26) 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 I arrived at Suez.

And here, reader, we part. Bear with me while I conclude, in the words
of a brother traveller, long gone, but not forgotten—Fa-hian—this Personal
Narrative of my Journey to Al-Hijaz: “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.”[FN#12]

[FN#1] This second plan was defeated by bad health, which detained me
in Egypt till a return to India became imperative.
[FN#2] 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.
[FN#3] 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.
[FN#4] In Ibn Jubayr’s time the Ihram was assumed at Al-Furayn, now a
decayed station, about two hours’ journey from Al-Haddah, towards Jeddah.
[FN#5] The favourite Egyptian “kitchen”; held to be contemptible food by
the Arabs.
[FN#6] In 1817 Abdullah bin Sa’ud attacked Jeddah with 50,000 men,
determining to overthrow its “Kafir-works”; namely, its walls and towers.
The assault is described as ludicrous. All the inhabitants aided to
garrison: they waited till the wild men flocked about the place,
crying, “Come, and let us look at the labours of the infidel,” 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
Gibraltar, and to taunt the Madinites with their wall-less port, Yambu’.
[FN#7] Al-Idrisi places Meccah forty (Arab) miles from Jeddah.
Burckhardt gives fifty-five miles, and Ali Bey has not computed the
total distance.
[FN#8] 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 afford it
drink the produce of hill springs brought in skins by the Badawin. Ibn
Jubayr mentions that outside the town were 360 old wells(?), dug, it is
supposed by the Persians. “Jeddah,” or “Jiddah,” is the vulgar pronounciation;
and not a few of the learned call it “Jaddah” (the grandmother), in
allusion to the legend of Eve’s tomb.
[FN#9] In Chapters iii. and vi. of this work I have ventured some
remarks upon the advisability of our being represented in Al-Hijaz 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 Al-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 1838 a commercial treaty was concluded between
Great Britain and the Porte, specifying (amongst many other clauses
here omitted),—
“1. That all merchandise imported from English ports to Al-Hijaz 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 monopoly
had been established upon salt, and this weighed only upon our
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. *   *
*   I 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 for the over-exactions.”
[FN#10] M. Rochet (soi-disant d’Hericourt) amusingly describes this
manœuvre of the governor of Al-Hodaydah.
[FN#11] Many of them were afterwards victims to the “Jeddah massacre” on
June 30, 1858. I must refer the reader to my “Lake Regions of Central
Africa” (Appendix, vol. ii.) for an account of this event, for the
proposals which I made to ward it off, and for the miserable folly of
the “Bombay Government,” who rewarded me by an official reprimand.
[FN#12] The curious reader will find details concerning Patriarchal and
Prophetical Tombs in “Unexplored Syria,” i. 33—35.

[p.277] APPENDICES.

[p.279] APPENDIX I.

OF HAJJ, OR 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: “O thou who
toilest so hard for worldly pleasures and perishable profit, wilt thou
endure nothing to win a more lasting reward?” 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 Lamaserais. The spirit of
pilgrimage was predominant in mediæval Europe, and the processions of the
Roman Catholic Church are, according to her votaries,[FN#1] modern
memorials of the effete rite.
Every Moslem is bound, under certain conditions,[FN#2]

[p.280] to pay at least one visit to the Holy City. This constitutes
the Hajjat al-Farz (the one obligatory pilgrimage), or Hajjat al-Islam,
of the Mohammedan faith. Repetitions 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; but 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, accidentally an affair of
commerce.

Moslem pilgrimage is of three kinds.

1. Al-Mukarinah (the uniting) is when the votary performs the Hajj and
the Umrah[FN#3] together, as was done by the Prophet in his last visit
to Meccah.
2. Al-Ifrad (singulation) is when either the Hajj or the Umrah is
performed singularly, the former preceding the latter. The pilgrim may
be either Al-Mufrid b’il Hajj

[p.281] (one who is performing only the Hajj), or vice versa, Al-Mufrid
b’il Umrah. According to Abu Hanifah, this form is more efficacious than
the following.
3. Al-Tamattu (“possession”) is when the pilgrim assumes the Ihram, and
preserves it throughout the months of Shawwal, Zu’l Ka’adah, and nine days
(ten nights) in Zu’l Hijjah,[FN#4] performing Hajj and Umrah the while.

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 al-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 al-Akbar” to mean the simple pilgrimage, in opposition to
the Umrah, which they call “Hajj al-Asghar.”

The following compendium of the Shafe’i pilgrim-rites is translated from
a little treatise by Mohammed of Shirbin, surnamed Al-Khatib, a learned
doctor, whose work is generally read in Egypt and in the countries
adjoining.

CHAPTER I.—OF PILGRIMAGE.[FN#5]

“Know,” says the theologist, with scant preamble, “that the acts of Al-Hajj,
or pilgrimage, are of three kinds:—

[p.282]
“1. Al-Arkan or Farayz; those made obligatory by Koranic precepts, and
therefore essentially necessary, and not admitting expiatory or
vicarious atonement, either in Hajj or Umrah.
“2. Al-Wajibat (requisites); the omission of which may, according to some
schools,[FN#6] be compensated for by the Fidyat, or atoning sacrifice:
and—
“3. Al-Sunan (pl. of Sunnat), the practice of the Prophet, which may be
departed from without positive sin.

“Now, the Arkan, the ‘pillars’ upon which the rite stands, are six in
number,[FN#7] viz.:—

“1. Al-Ihram (‘rendering unlawful’), or the wearing pilgrim garb and avoiding
certain actions.
“2. Al-Wukuf, the ‘standing’ upon Mount Arafat.
“3. The Tawaf al-Ifazah, or circumambulation of impetuosity.[FN#8]

[p.283]
“4. The Sai, or course between Mounts Safa and Marwah.
“5. Al-Halk; tonsure (of the whole or part) of the head for men; or
taksir, cutting the hair (for men or women).[FN#9]
“6. Al-Tartib, or the due order of the ceremonies, as above enumerated.
“But Al-Sai (4), may either precede or follow Al-Wukuf (2), provided that
the Tawaf al-Kudum, or the circumambulation of arrival, has previously
been performed. And Halk (5) may be done before as well as after the
Tawaf al-Ifazah (3).

“Now, the Wajibat (requisites of pilgrimage, also called ‘Nusuk’) are five in
number, viz.:—

“1. Al-Ihram, or assuming pilgrim garb, from the Mikat, or fixed
limit.[FN#10]
“2. The Mabit, or nighting at Muzdalifah: for this a short portion,
generally in the latter watch, preceding the Yaum al-Nahr, or
victim-day, suffices.
“3. The spending at Muna the three nights of the ‘Ayyam al-Tashrik,’ or days
of drying flesh: of these, the first is the most important.
“4. The Rami al-Jimar, or casting stones at the devil: and—
“5. The avoiding of all things forbidden to the pilgrim when in a state
of Ihram.

“Some writers reduce these requisites by omitting the second and third.
The Tawaf al-Wida’a, or the circumambulation of farewell, is a ‘Wajib
Mustakill,’ or particular requisite, which may, however, be omitted
without prejudice to pilgrimage.

“Finally, the Sunnat of pilgrimage are many in number. Of these I
enumerate but a few. ‘Hajj’ should precede ‘Umrah.’ The ‘Talbiyat’ should be
frequently ejaculated. The ‘Tawaf al-Kudum’ must be performed on arrival at
Meccah, before proceeding to Mount Arafat.[FN#11] The two-bow prayer
should follow

[p.284] Tawaf. A whole night should be passed at Muzdalifah and
Muna.[FN#12] The circumambulation of farewell must not be
forgotten,[FN#13] and the pilgrim should avoid all sewn clothes, even
slippers.”

Section I.—Of Ihram.

“Before doffing his laical garment, the pilgrim performs a total
ablution, shaves, and perfumes himself. He then puts on a ‘Rida’ and an
‘Izar,[FN#14]’ both new, clean, and of a white colour: after which he
performs a two-bow prayer (the ‘Sunnat’ of Al-Ihram), with a sotto-voce
Niyat, specifying which rite he intends.[FN#15]

“When Muhrim (i.e. in Ihram), the Moslem is forbidden (unless in case of
sickness, necessity, over-heat, or unendurable cold, when a victim must
expiate the transgression),—

“1. To cover his head with aught which may be deemed a covering, as a cap
or turband; but he may carry an umbrella, dive under water, stand in
the shade, and even place his hands upon his head. A woman may wear
sewn clothes, white or light blue (not black), but her face-veil should
be kept at a distance from her face.
“2. To wear anything sewn or with seams, as shirt, trowsers, or slippers;
anything knotted or woven, as chain-armour; but the pilgrim may use,
for instance, a torn-up shirt or trowsers bound round his loins or
thrown over his shoulders, he may knot his ‘Izar,’ and tie it with a cord,
and he may gird his waist.
“3. To knot the Rida, or shoulder-cloth.[FN#16]

[p.285]
“4. To deviate from absolute chastity, even kissing being forbidden to
the Muhrim. Marriage cannot be contracted during the pilgrimage season.
“5. To use perfumes, oil, curling the locks, or removing the nails and
hair by paring, cutting, plucking, or burning. The nails may be
employed to remove pediculi from the hair and clothes, but with care,
that no pile fall off.
“6. To hunt wild animals, or to kill those which were such originally.
But he may destroy the ‘five noxious,’—a kite, a crow, a rat, a scorpion, and
a dog given to biting. He must not cut down a tree,[FN#17] or pluck up
a self-growing plant; but he is permitted to reap and to cut grass.

“It is meritorious for the pilgrim often to raise the ‘Talbiyat’ cry (for
which see p. 140 ante).

“‘Labbayk’ Allahumma Labbayk’!
La Sharika laka Labbayk’!
Inna ’l hamda wa ’l ni’amata laka w’al mulk!
La Sharika laka, Labbayk.’[FN#18]

“When assuming the pilgrim-garb, and before entering Meccah, ‘Ghusl,’ or
total ablution, should be performed; but if water be not procurable,
the Tayammum, or sand ablution, suffices. The pilgrim should enter the
Holy City by day and on foot. When his glance falls upon the Ka’abah he
should say, ‘O Allah, increase this (Thy) house in degree, and greatness,
and honour, and awfulness, and increase all those who have honoured it
and glorified it, the Hajis and the Mutamirs (Umrah-performers), with
degree, and greatness, and honour, and dignity!’ Entering the outer Bab
al-Salam, he must exclaim, “O Allah, Thou art the Safety, and from Thee
is the Safety!” And then passing into the Mosque, he should repair to the
‘Black Stone,’ touch it with his right hand, kiss it, and commence his
circumambulation.[FN#19]

[p.286]“Now, the victims of Al-Ihram are five in number, viz.:—

“1. The ‘Victim of Requisites,’ when a pilgrim accidentally or willingly
omits to perform a requisite, such as the assumption of the pilgrim
garb at the proper place. This victim is a sheep, sacrificed at the id
al-Kurban (in addition to the usual offering),[FN#20] or, in lieu of
it, ten days’ fast—three of them in the Hajj season (viz. on the 6th, 7th,
and 8th days of Zu’l Hijjah) and seven after returning home.
“2. The ‘Victim of Luxuries,’ (Turfah), such as shaving the head or using
perfumes. This is a sheep, or a three days’ fast, or alms, consisting of
three sa’a measures of grain, distributed among six paupers.
“3. The ‘Victim of suddenly returning to Laical Life’; that is to say, before
the proper time. It is also a sheep, after the sacrifice of which the
pilgrim shaves his head.
“4. The ‘Victim of killing Game.’ If the animal slain be one for which the
tame equivalents be procurable (a camel for an ostrich, a cow for a
wild ass or cow, and a goat for a gazelle), the pilgrim should
sacrifice it, or distribute its value, or purchase with it grain for
the poor, or fast one day for each ‘Mudd’ measure. If the equivalent be not
procurable, the offender must buy its value of grain for alms-deeds, or
fast a day for every measure.
“5. The ‘Victim of Incontinence.’ This offering is either a male or a female
camel[FN#21]; these failing, a cow or seven sheep, or the value of a
camel in grain distributed to the poor, or a day’s fast for each measure.”

Section II.—Of Tawaf, or Circumambulation.

“Of this ceremony there are five Wajibat, or requisites, viz.:—Concealing
‘the shame,[FN#22]’ as in prayer. Ceremonial purity of body, garments, and
place. Circumambulation inside the Mosque. Seven circuits of the house.
Commencement of circuit from the Black Stone. Circumambulating the
house with the left shoulder presented to it. Circuiting the house
outside its Shazarwan, or marble basement.[FN#23] And, lastly, the

[p.287] Niyat, or intention of Tawaf, specifying whether it be for Hajj
or for Umrah.

“Of the same ceremony the principal Sunnat, or practices, are to walk on
foot; to touch, kiss, and place his forehead upon the Black Stone, if
possible after each circuit to place the hand upon the Rukn al-Yamani
(South corner), but not to kiss it; to pray during each circuit for
what is best for man (pardon of sins); to quote lengthily from the
Koran,[FN#24] and to often say, ‘Subhan Allah!’ and to mention none but
Allah; to walk slowly, during the first three circuits, and trotting
the last four,[FN#25] all the while maintaining a humble and contrite
demeanour, with downcast eyes.

“The following are the prayers which have descended to us by tradition:—
“When touching the Black Stone the pilgrim says,[FN#26] after Niyat, ‘In
the name of Allah, and Allah is omnipotent! O Allah (I do this) in Thy
belief and in verification of Thy book, and in faithfulness to Thy
covenant, and in pursuance of the example of Thy Prophet Mohammed—may
Allah bless Him and preserve!’

“Opposite the door of the house: ‘O Allah, verily the House is Thy House,
and the Sanctuary thy Sanctuary, and the Safeguard Thy Safeguard, and
this is the place of the Fugitive to flee from Hell-fire!’

“Arrived at the Rukn al-Iraki (North corner): ‘O Allah, verily I take
refuge with Thee from Polytheism (Shirk), and Disobedience, and
Hypocrisy, and Evil Conversation, and Evil Thoughts concerning Family
(Ahl, ‘a wife’), and Property, and Progeny!’

“Parallel with the Mizab, or rain-spout: ‘O Allah, shadow me in Thy Shadow
that day when there is no shade but Thy Shadow, and cause me to drink
from the Cup of Thy Prophet Mohammed—may Allah bless Him and preserve!—that
pleasant Draught after which is no thirst to all eternity, O Lord of
Honour and Glory!’
RESUME

[p.288]“At the corners Al-Shami and Al-Yamani (West and South angles): ‘O
Allah, make it an Acceptable Pilgrimage, and the Forgiveness of Sins,
and a Laudable Endeavour, and a Pleasant Action in Thy Sight, and a
Store that perisheth not, O Thou Glorious! O Thou Pardoner!’[FN#27]

“And between the Southern and Eastern corners: ‘O Lord, grant to us in this
World Prosperity, and in the next World Prosperity, and save us from
the Punishment of Fire!’

“After the sevenfold circumambulation the pilgrim should recite a two-bow
prayer, the ‘Sunnat of Tawaf,’ behind the Makam Ibrahim. If unable to pray
there, he may take any other part of the Mosque. These devotions are
performed silently by day and aloud by night. And after prayer the
pilgrim should return to the Black Stone, and kiss it.”

Section III.—Of Sai, or Course between Mounts Safa and Marwah.

“After performing Tawaf, the pilgrim should issue from the gate ‘Al-Safa’ (or
another, if necessary), and ascend the steps of Mount Safa, about a man’s
height from the street.[FN#28] There he raises the cry Takbir, and
implores pardon for his sins. He then descends, and turns towards Mount
Marwah at a slow pace. Arrived within six cubits of the Mil al-Akhzar
(the ‘green pillar,’ planted in the corner of the temple on the left hand),
he runs swiftly till he reaches the ‘two green pillars,’ the left one of
which is fixed in the corner of the temple, and the other close to the
Dar al-Abbas.[FN#29] Thence he again walks slowly up to Marwah, and
ascends it as he did Safa. This concludes a single course. The pilgrim
then starts from Marwah, and walks, runs, and walks again through the
same limits, till the seventh course is concluded.

“There are four requisites of Sai. The pilgrim must pass over all the
space between Safa and Marwah; he must begin with Safa, and end with
Marwah; he must traverse the distance seven times; and he must perform
the rite after some important Tawaf, as that of arrival, or that of
return from Arafat.

“The practices of Sai are, briefly, to walk, if possible, to

[p.289] be in a state of ceremonial purity, to quote lengthily from the
Koran, and to be abundant in praise of Allah.

“The prayer of Sai is, ‘O my Lord, Pardon and Pity, and pass over that
(Sin) which Thou knowest. Verily Thou knowest what is not known, and
verily Thou art the most Glorious, the most Generous! O, our Lord,
grant us in this World Prosperity, and in the Future Prosperity, and
save us from the Punishment of Fire!

“When Sai is concluded, the pilgrim, if performing only Umrah, shaves his
head, or clips his hair, and becomes ‘Muhill,’ returning to the Moslem’s
normal state. If he purpose Hajj, or pilgrimage after Umrah, he
re-assumes the Ihram. And if he be engaged in pilgrimage, he continues
‘Muhrim,’ i.e., in Ihram, as before.”

Section IV.—Of Wukuf, or standing upon Mount Arafat.

“The days of pilgrimage are three in number: namely, the 8th, the 9th,
and the 10th of the month Zu’l Hijjah.[FN#30]

“On the first day (8th), called Yaum al-Tarwiyah, the pilgrim should
start from Meccah after the dawn-prayer and sunrise, perform his
noontide, afternoon, and evening devotions at Muna, where it is a
Sunnat that he should sleep.[FN#31]

[p.290]“On the second day (9th), the ‘Yaum Arafat,’ after performing the
early prayer at ‘Ghalas’ (i.e. when a man cannot see his neighbour’s face) on
Mount Sabir, near Muna, the pilgrim should start when the sun is risen,
proceed to the ‘Mountain of Mercy,’ encamp there, and after performing the
noontide and afternoon devotions at Masjid Ibrahim,[FN#32] joining and
shortening them,[FN#33] he should take his station upon the mountain,
which is all standing ground. But the best position is that preferred
by the Prophet, near the great rocks lying at the lower slope of
Arafat. He must be present at the sermon,[FN#34] and be abundant in
Talbiyat (supplication), Tahlil (recitations of the chapter ‘Say he is
the one God!’[FN#35]), and weeping, for that is the place for the
outpouring of tears. There he should stay till sunset, and then decamp
and return hastily to Muzdalifah, where he should pass a portion of the
night.[FN#36] After a visit to the Mosque ‘Mashr al-Harim,’ he should
collect seven pebbles and proceed to Muna.[FN#37]

“Yaum al-Nahr, the third day of the pilgrimage (10th Zu’l Hijjah), is the
great festival of the Moslem year. Amongst

[p.291] its many names,[FN#38] ‘id al-Kurban’ is the best known, as
expressive of Ibrahim’s sacrifice in lieu of Ismail. Most pilgrims, after
casting stones at the Akabah, or ‘Great Devil,’ hurry to Meccah. Some enter
the Ka’abah, whilst others content themselves with performing the Tawaf
al-Ifazah, or circumambulation of impetuosity, round the house.[FN#39]
The pilgrim should then return to Muna, sacrifice a sheep, and sleep
there. Strictly speaking, this day concludes the pilgrimage.

‘The second set of ‘trois jours,’ namely, the 11th,[FN#40] the 12th, and the
13th of Zu’l Hijjah, are called Ayyam al-Tashrik, or the ‘days of drying
flesh in the sun.’ The pilgrim should spend that time at Muna,[FN#41] and
each day throw seven pebbles at each of the three pillars.[FN#42]

“When throwing the stones, it is desirable that the pilgrim should cast
them far from himself, although he is allowed to place them upon the
pillar. The act also should be performed after the Zawal, or declension
of the sun. The pilgrim should begin with the pillar near the Masjid
al-Khayf, proceed to the Wusta, or central column, and end with the
Akabah. If unable to cast the stones during the daytime, he is allowed
to do it at night.

“The ‘throwing’ over:—The pilgrim returns to Meccah, and when his journey is
fixed, performs the Tawaf al-Wida’a (‘of farewell’). On this occasion it is a
Sunnat to drink the waters of Zemzem, to enter the temple with more
than usual

[p.292] respect and reverence, and bidding it adieu, to depart from the
Holy City.

“The Moslem is especially forbidden to take with him cakes made of the
earth or dust of the Harim, and similar mementoes, as they savour of
idolatry.”

CHAPTER II.—OF UMRAH, OR THE LITTLE PILGRIMAGE.

“The word ‘Umrah,’ denotes a pilgrimage performed at any time except the
pilgrim season (the 8th, 9th, and 10th of Zu’l Hijjah).

“The Arkan or pillars upon which the Umrah rite rests, are five in
number, viz.:—

“1. Al-Ihram.
“2. Al-Tawaf.
“3. Al-Sai (between Safa and Marwah).
“4. Al-Halk (tonsure), or Al-Taksir (cutting the hair).
“5. Al-Tartib, or the due order of ceremonies, as above enumerated.[FN#43]
“The Wajibat, or requisites of Umrah, are but two in number:—

“1. Al-Ihram, or assuming the pilgrim garb, from the Mikat, or fixed
limit; and
“2. The avoiding of all things forbidden to the pilgrim when in state of
Ihram.

“In the Sunnat and Mustahabb portions of the ceremony there is no
difference between Umrah and Hajj.”

CHAPTER III.—OF ZIYARAT, OR THE VISIT TO THE PROPHET’S TOMB.

“Al-Ziyarat is a practice of the faith, and the most effectual way of
drawing near to Allah through his Prophet Mohammed.

“As the Zair arrives at Al-Madinah, when his eyes fall upon the trees of
the city, he must bless the Prophet with a loud voice. Then he should
enter the Mosque, and sit in the Holy Garden, which is between the
pulpit and the tomb, and pray a two-bow prayer in honour of the Masjid.
After this he should supplicate pardon for his sins. Then, approaching

[p.293] the sepulchre, and standing four cubits away from it, recite
this prayer:—

“‘Peace be with Thee, O Thou T.H. and Y.S.,[FN#44] Peace be with Thee, and
upon Thy Descendants, and Thy Companions, one and all, and upon all the
Prophets, and those inspired to instruct Mankind. And I bear witness
that Thou hast delivered thy Message, and performed Thy Trust, and
advised Thy followers, and swept away Darkness, and fought in Allah’s
Path the good Fight: may Allah requite Thee from us the Best with which
he ever requited Prophet from his Followers!’

“Let the visitor stand the while before the tomb with respect, and
reverence, and singleness of mind, and fear, and awe. After which, let
him retreat one cubit, and salute Abu Bakr the Truthful in these words:—

“‘Peace be with Thee, O Caliph of Allah’s Prophet over his People, and Aider
in the Defence of His Faith!’

“After this, again retreating another cubit, let him bless in the same
way Omar the Just. After which, returning to his former station
opposite the Prophet’s tomb, he should implore intercession for himself
and for all dearest to him. He should not neglect to visit the Bakia
Cemetery and the Kuba Mosque, where he should pray for himself and for
his brethren of the Muslimin, and the Muslimat, the Muminin and the
Muminat,[FN#45] the quick of them and the dead. When ready to depart,
let the Zair take leave of the Mosque with a two-bow prayer, and visit
the tomb, and salute it, and again beg intercession for himself and for
those he loves. And the Zair is forbidden to circumambulate the tomb,
or to carry away the cakes of clay made by the ignorant with the earth
and dust of the Harim.”

[FN#1] M. Huc’s “Travels in Tartary.”
[FN#2] The two extremes, between which lie many gradations, are these.
Abu Hanifah directs every Moslem and Moslemah to perform the pilgrimage
if they have health and money for the road and for the support of their
families; moreover, he allows a deputy-pilgrim, whose expenses must be
paid by the principal. Ibn Malik, on the contrary, enjoins every
follower to visit Meccah, if able to walk, and to earn his bread on the
way. As a general rule, in Al-Islam there are four Shurut al-Wujub, or
necessary conditions, viz.:—
1. Islam, the being a Moslem.
2. Bulugh, adolescence.
3. Hurriyat, the being a free man.
4. Akl, or mental sanity.
Other authorities increase the conditions to eight, viz.:—
5. Wujud al-Zad, sufficiency of provision.
6. Al-Rahlah, having a beast of burthen, if living two days’ journey from
Meccah.
7. Takhliyat al-Tarik, the road being open; and
8. Imkan al-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. Istita’at, 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?”
[FN#3] The technical meaning of these words will be explained below.
[FN#4] At any other time of the year Ihram is considered Makruh, or
objectionable, without being absolutely sinful.
[FN#5] In other books the following directions are given to the
intended pilgrim:—Before leaving home he must pray two prostrations,
concluding the orisons with a long supplication and blessings upon
relatives, friends, and neighbours, and he must distribute not fewer
than seven silver pieces to the poor. The day should be either a
Thursday or a Saturday; some, however, say

“Allah hath honoured the Monday and the Thursday.”

If possible, the first of the month should be chosen, and the hour
early dawn. Moreover, the pilgrim should not start without a Rafik, or
companion, who should be a pious as well as a travelled man. The other
Mukaddamat al-Safar, or preambles to journeying, are the following.
Istikharah, consulting the rosary and friends. Khulus al-Niyat, vowing
pilgrimage to the Lord (not for lucre or revenge). Settling worldly
affairs, paying debts, drawing up a will, and making arrangements for
the support of one’s family. Hiring animals from a pious person. The best
monture is a camel, because preferred by the Prophet; an ass is not
commendable; a man should not walk if he can afford to ride; and the
palanquin or litter is, according to some doctors, limited to invalids.
Reciting long prayers when mounting, halting, dismounting, and at
nightfall. On hills the Takbir should be used: the Tasbih is properest
for vales and plains; and Meccah should be blessed when first sighted.
Avoiding abuse, curses, or quarrels. Sleeping like the Prophet, namely,
in early night (when prayer-hour is distant), with “Iftirash,” or lying at
length with the right cheek on the palm of the dexter hand; and near
dawn with “Ittaka,” i.e. propping the head upon the hand, with the arm
resting upon the elbow. And, lastly, travelling with collyrium-pot,
looking-glass and comb, needle and thread for sewing, scissors and
tooth-stick, staff and razor.
[FN#6] In the Shafe’i school there is little difference between Al-Farz
and Al-Wajib. In the Hanafi the former is a superior obligation to the
latter.
[FN#7] The Hanafi, Maliki, and even some Shafe’i doctors, reduce the
number from six to four, viz.:—
1. Ihram, with “Niyat.”
2. Tawaf.
3. Wukuf.
4. Sai.
[FN#8] The Ifazah is the impetuous descent from Mount Arafat. Its
Tawaf, generally called Tawaf al-Ziyarat, less commonly Tawaf al-Sadr
or Tawaf al-Nuzul, is that performed immediately after throwing the
stones and resuming the laical dress on the victim-day at Mount Muna.
[FN#9] Shaving is better for men, cutting for women. A razor must be
passed over the bald head; but it is sufficient to burn, pluck, shave,
or clip three hairs when the chevelure is long.
[FN#10] The known Mikat are: North, Zu’l Halifah; North-East, Karn
al-Manazil; North-West, Al-Juhfah ([Arabic]) South, Yalamlam; East, Zat
Irk.
[FN#11] This Tawaf is described in chapter v.
[FN#12] Generally speaking, as will afterwards be shown, the pilgrims
pass straight through Muzdalifah, and spend the night at Muna.
[FN#13] The “Tawaf al-Wida’a” is considered a solemn occasion. The pilgrim
first performs circumambulation. He drinks the waters of Zemzem, kisses
the Ka’abah threshold, and stands for some time with his face and body
pressed against the Multazem. There, on clinging to the curtain of the
Ka’abah, he performs Takbir, Tahlil, Tahmid, and blesses the Prophet,
weeping, if possible, but certainly groaning. He then leaves the
Mosque, backing out of it with tears and lamentations, till he reaches
the “Bab al-Wida’a,” whence, with a parting glance at the Bayt Ullah, he
wends his way home.
[FN#14] See chapter v.
[FN#15] Many pronounce this Niyat. If intending to perform pilgrimage,
the devotee, standing, before prayer says, “I vow this intention of Hajj
to Allah the most High.”
[FN#16] In spite of this interdiction, pilgrims generally, for
convenience, knot their shoulder-clothes under the right arm.
[FN#17] Hunting, killing, or maiming beasts in Sanctuary land and
cutting down trees, are acts equally forbidden to the Muhrim and the
Muhill (the Moslem in his normal state). For a large tree a camel, for
a small one a sheep, must be sacrificed.
[FN#18] See chapter v. After the “Talbiyat” the pilgrim should bless the
Prophet, and beg from Allah paradise and protection from hell, saying, “O
Allah, by thy mercy spare us from the pains of hell-fire!”
[FN#19] Most of these injunctions are “meritorious,” and may therefore [be]
omitted without prejudice to the ceremony.
[FN#20] Namely, the victim sacrificed on the great festival day at Muna.
[FN#21] So the commentators explain “Badanah.”
[FN#22] A man’s “Aurat” is from the navel to the knee; in the case of a free
woman the whole of her face and person are “shame.”
[FN#23] If the pilgrim place but his hand upon the Shazarwan, or on the
Hijr, the Tawaf is nullified.
[FN#24] This is a purely Shafe’i practice; the Hanafi school rejects it
on the grounds that the Word of God should not be repeated when walking
or running.
[FN#25] The reader will observe (chapter v.), that the Mutawwif made me
reverse this order of things.
[FN#26] It is better to recite these prayers mentally; but as few
pilgrims know them by heart, they are obliged to repeat the words of
the cicerone.
[FN#27] This portion is to be recited twice.
[FN#28] A woman, or a hermaphrodite, is enjoined to stand below the
steps and in the street.
[FN#29] Women and hermaphrodites should not run here, but walk the
whole way. I have frequently, however, seen the former imitating the
men.
[FN#30] The Arab legend is, that the angels asking the Almighty why
Ibrahim was called Al-Khalil (or God’s friend); they were told that all
his thoughts were fixed on heaven; and when they called to mind that he
had a wife and child, Allah convinced them of the Patriarch’s sanctity by
a trial. One night Ibrahim saw, in a vision, a speaker, who said to
him, “Allah orders thee to draw near him with a victim!” He awoke, and not
comprehending the scope of the dream, took especial notice of it
([Arabic]); hence the first day of pilgrimage is called Yaum
al-Tarwiyah. The same speaker visited him on the next night, saying,
“Sacrifice what is dearest to thee!” From the Patriarch’s knowing ([Arabic])
what the first vision meant, the second day is called Yaum Arafat. On
the third night he was ordered to sacrifice Ismail; hence that day is
called Yaum Nahr (of “throat-cutting”). The English reader will bear in
mind that the Moslem day begins at sunset. I believe that the origin of
“Tarwiyat” (which may mean “carrying water”) dates from the time of pagan
Arabs, who spent that day in providing themselves with the necessary.
Yaum Arafat derives its name from the hill, and Yaum al-Nahr from the
victims offered to the idols in the Muna valley.
[FN#31] The present generation of pilgrims, finding the delay
inconvenient, always pass on to Arafat without halting, and generally
arrive at the mountain late in the afternoon of the 8th, that is to
say, the first day of pilgrimage. Consequently, they pray the morning
prayer of the 9th at Arafat.
[FN#32] This place will be described afterwards.
[FN#33] The Shafe’i when engaged on a journey which takes up a night and
day, is allowed to shorten his prayers, and to “join” the noon with the
afternoon, and the evening with the night devotions; thus reducing the
number of times from five to three per diem. The Hanafi school allows
this on one day and on one occasion only, namely, on the ninth of Zu’l
Hijjah (arriving at Muzdalifah), when at the “Isha” hour it prays the
Magh[r]ib and the Isha prayers together.
[FN#34] If the pilgrim be too late for the sermon, his labour is
irretrievably lost.—M. Caussin de Perceval (vol. iii. pp. 301-305) makes
the Prophet to have preached from his camel Al-Kaswa on a platform at
Mount Arafat before noon, and to have again addressed the people after
the post-meridian prayers at the station Al-Sakharat. Mohammed’s last
pilgrimage, called by Moslems Hajjat al-Bilagh (“of perfection,” as
completing the faith), Hajjat al-Islam, or Hajjat al-Wida’a (“of farewell”),
is minutely described by historians as the type and pattern of
pilgrimage to all generations.
[FN#35] Ibn Abbas relates a tradition, that whoever recites this short
chapter 11,000 times on the Arafat day, shall obtain from Allah all he
desires.
[FN#36] Most schools prefer to sleep, as the Prophet did, at
Muzdalifah, pray the night devotions there, and when the yellowness of
the next dawn appears, collect the seven pebbles and proceed to Muna.
The Shafe’i, however, generally leave Muzdalifah about midnight.
[FN#37] These places will be minutely described in a future chapter.
[FN#38] id al-Kurban, or the Festival of Victims (known to the Turks as
Kurban Bayram, to the Indians as Bakar-id, the Kine Fete), id al-Zuha,
“of forenoon,” or id al-Azha, “of serene night.” The day is called Yaum
al-Nahr, “of throat-cutting.”
[FN#39] If the ceremony of “Sai” has not been performed by the pilgrim
after the circuit of arrival, he generally proceeds to it on this
occasion.
[FN#40] This day is known in books as “Yaum al-Karr,” because the pilgrims
pass it in repose at Muna.
[FN#41] “The days of drying flesh,” because at this period pilgrims prepare
provisions for their return, by cutting up their victims, and exposing
to the sun large slices slung upon long lines of cord. The schools have
introduced many modifications into the ceremonies of these three days.
Some spend the whole time at Muna, and return to Meccah on the morning
of the 13th. Others return on the 12th, especially when that day
happens to fall upon a Friday.
[FN#42] As will afterwards appear, the number of stones and the way of
throwing them vary greatly in the various schools.
[FN#43] The difference in the pillars of Umrah and Hajj, is that in the
former the standing on Arafat and the Tawaf al-Ifazah are necessarily
omitted.
[FN#44] The 20th and 36th chapters of the Koran.
[FN#45] These second words are the feminines of the first; they prove
that the Moslem is not above praying for what Europe supposed he did
not believe in, namely, the souls of women.

[p.294] APPENDIX II.

THE BAYT ULLAH.

THE House of Allah[FN#1] 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
Harim would be scarcely intelligible. I will do homage to the memory of
the accurate Burckhardt, and extract from his pages a description which
shall be illustrated by a few notes.

“The Kaabah stands in an oblong square (enclosed by a great wall) 250
paces long, and 200 broad,[FN#2] none of the sides of which runs 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 are 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.[FN#3] The

[p.295] pillars are above twenty feet in height, and generally from one
foot and a half to one foot and three quarters in diameter; but little
regularity has been observed in regard to them. Some are of white
marble, granite or porphyry; but the greater number are of common stone
of the Meccah mountains.[FN#4] 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, according
to him, 311 are of marble, and the rest of the stone taken from the
neighbouring 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.[FN#5] Between every three or four column 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

[p.296] principally from Akhmim (Panopolis), when the chief (Caliph) El
Mohdy enlarged the 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 coarse Saracen workmanship; some of them,
which had served for former buildings, by the ignorance of the workmen,
have been placed upside down upon the shafts. I observed about half a
dozen marble bases of good Grecian workmanship. A few of the marble
columns bear Arabic or Cufic inscriptions, in which I read the dates
863 and 762 (A.H.).[FN#6] 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,[FN#7] 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.[FN#8]”

“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

[p.297] style, are nowhere seen; the floors of the colonnades are paved
with large stones badly cemented together.”

“Some paved causeways lead from the colonnades towards the Kaabah, or
Holy House, in the centre.[FN#9] 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 the ground in long rows during the day.[FN#10] 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.[FN#11] It is constructed of
the grey Mekka stone, in large blocks of different sizes joined
together, in a very

[p.298] rough manner, with bad cement.[FN#12] It was entirely rebuilt,
as it now stands, in A.D. 1627. The torrent in the preceding year had
thrown down three of its sides, and, preparatory to its re-erection,
the fourth side was, according to Asamy, pulled down, after the Olemas,
or learned divines, had been consulted on the question whether mortals
might be permitted to destroy any part of the holy edifice without
incurring the charge of sacrilege and infidelity.”

“The Kaabah stands upon a base two feet in height, which presents a sharp
inclined plane.[FN#13] Its roof being flat, it has at a distance the
appearance of a perfect cube.[FN#14] The only door which affords
entrance, and which is opened but two or three times in the
year,[FN#15] is on the

[p.299] north side and about seven feet above the ground.[FN#16] 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.[FN#17]

[p.300] The present 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.[FN#18]”

“At the north-east[FN#19] corner of the Kaabah, near the door, is the
famous ‘Black Stone’[FN#20]; it forms a part of the [for p.301, see
footnote 20]

[p.302] sharp angle of the building,[FN#21] at four or five feet above
the ground.[FN#22] 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 perfectly well smoothed: it looks as if the
whole had been broken into many pieces by a violent blow, and then
united again. It is very difficult to determine accurately the quality
of this stone, which has been worn to its present surface by the
million touches and kisses it has received. It appeared to me like a
lava, containing several small extraneous particles of a whitish and of
a yellowish substance. Its colour is now a deep reddish brown,
approaching to black. It is surrounded on all sides by a border
composed of a substance which I took to be a close cement

[p.303] of pitch and gravel of a similar, but not quite the same,
brownish colour.[FN#23] This border serves to support its detached
pieces; it is two or three inches in breadth, and rises a little above
the surface of the stone. Both the border and the stone itself are
encircled by a silver band,[FN#24] 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,[FN#25] or, as the Arab
call it, Rokn al-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.[FN#26]”

[p.304] “On the north side of the Kaabah, just by its door,[FN#27] and
close to the wall, is a slight hollow in the ground, lined with marble,
and sufficiently large to admit of three persons sitting. Here it is
thought meritorious to pray: the spot is called El 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
ancient 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,[FN#28] 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

[p.305] 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 various coloured stones, forming a very handsome
specimen of mosaic. There are two large slabs of fine verdi
antico[FN#29] 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 recite 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,[FN#30] leaving an
opening, which leads to the burial-place of Ismayl. The wall bears the
name of El Hatym[FN#31]; and the area

[p.306] which it encloses is called Hedjer or Hedjer Ismayl,[FN#32] 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 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,[FN#33] 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 pilgrims who have not an
opportunity 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
[p.307] neatly sculptured upon the stone in modern characters.[FN#34]
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.”

“Round the Kaabah is a good pavement of marble[FN#35] about eight inches
below the level of the great square; it was laid in A.H. 981, by order
of the sultan, and describes an irregular oval; it is surrounded by
thirty-two slender gilt pillars, or rather poles, between every two of
which are suspended seven glass lamps, always lighted after
sunset.[FN#36] Beyond the poles is a second pavement, about eight paces
broad, somewhat elevated above the first, but of coarser work; then
another six inches higher, and eighteen paces broad, upon which stand
several small buildings; beyond this is the gravelled ground; so that
two broad steps may be said to lead from the square down to the Kaabah.
The small buildings just mentioned which surround the Kaabah are the
five Makams,[FN#37] with the well

[p.308] of Zem Zem, the arch called Bab es Salam, and the Mambar.”

“Opposite the four sides of the Kaabah stand four other small buildings,
where the Imaums of the orthodox Mohammedan sects, the Hanefy, Shafey,
Hanbaly, and Maleky take their station, and guide the congregation in
their prayers. The Makam el Maleky on the south, and that of Hanbaly
opposite the Black Stone, are small pavilions open on all sides, and
supported by four slender pillars, with a light sloping roof,
terminating in a point, exactly in the style of Indian pagodas.[FN#38]
The Makam el Hanafy, which is the largest, being fifteen paces by
eight, is open on all sides, and supported by twelve small pillars; it
has an upper story, also open, where the Mueddin who calls to prayers
takes his stand. This was built in A.H. 923, by 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
chamber.[FN#39]”

“Near their respective Makams the adherents of the four different 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 exception, which they are all
enjoined to utter together.[FN#40]

[p.309] The Makam el Hanbaly is the place where the officers of
government and other great people are seated during prayers: here the
Pasha and the sheriff are placed, and in their absence the eunuchs of
the temple. These fill the space under this Makam in front, and behind
it the female Hadjys who visit the temple have their places assigned,
to which they repair principally for the two evening prayers, few of
them being seen in the Mosque at the three other daily prayers: they
also perform the Towaf, or walk round the 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,[FN#41] opening
into the room which contains the well. This room is beautifully
ornamented with marbles of various colours; and adjoining to it, but
having a separate door, is a small room with a stone reservoir, which
is always full of 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 [i]n diameter. Upon this the people stand who draw up the
water in leathern buckets, an iron railing being so placed as to
[p.310] 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,[FN#42] called El Kobbateyn; they are
covered by domes painted in the same manner as the Mosque, and in them
are kept water-jars, lamps, carpets, mats, brooms, and other articles
used in the very Mosque.[FN#43] These two ugly buildings are injurious
to the interior appearance of the building, their heavy forms and
structure being very disadvantageously contrasted with the light and
airy shape of the Makams. I heard some Hadjys from Greece, men of
better taste than the Arabs, express their regret that the Kobbateyn
should be allowed to disfigure the Mosque. They were built by
Khoshgeldy, governor of Djidda A.H. 947; one is called Kobbet el Abbas,
from having been placed on the site of a small tank said to have been
formed by Abbas, the uncle of Mohammed.”

[p.311] “A few paces west (north-west) of Zem Zem, and directly opposite
to the door of the Kaabah, stands a ladder or staircase,[FN#44] 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.”

“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
Ullah for the first time are enjoined to do so by the outer and inner
Bab-es-Salam; in passing under the latter they are to exclaim, ‘O God,
may it be a happy entrance.’ I do not know by whom this arch was built,
but it appears to be modern.[FN#45]”

“Nearly in front of the Bab-es-Salam and nearer the Kaabah than any of
the other surrounding buildings, stand[s] the Makam Ibrahim.[FN#46]
This is a small building supported by six pillars about eight feet
high, four of which are surrounded from top to bottom by a fine iron
railing, 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

[p.312] called Maajen, already mentioned. The stone is said to have
yielded under the weight of the Patriarch, and to preserve the
impression of his foot still visible upon it; but no hadjy has ever
seen it,[FN#47] as the frame is always entirely covered with a brocade
of red silk richly embroidered. Persons are constantly seen before the
railing invoking the good offices of Ibrahim; and a short prayer must
be uttered by the side of the Makam after the walk round the Kaabah is
completed. It is said that many of the Sahaba, or first adherents of
Mohammed, were interred in the open space between this Makam and Zem
Zem[FN#48]; from which circumstance it is one of the most

[p.313] favourite places of prayers in the Mosque. In this part of the
area the Khalif Soleyman Ibn Abd el Melek, brother of Wolyd (Al-Walid),
built a fine reservoir in A.H. 97, which was filled from a spring east
of Arafat[FN#49]; 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 marble, with many sculptured ornaments; and was
sent as a present to the Mosque in A.H. 969 by Sultan Soleyman Ibn
Selym.[FN#50] A straight, narrow staircase leads up to the post of the
Khatyb, or preacher, which is surmounted by a gilt polygonal pointed
steeple, resembling an obelisk. Here a sermon is preached on Fridays
and on certain festivals. These, like the Friday sermons of all Mosques
in the Mohammedan countries, are usually of the same turn, with some
slight alterations upon extraordinary occasions.[FN#51]”

“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.[FN#52]”

Burckhardt’s description of the gates is short and

[p.314] imperfect. On the eastern side of the Mosque there are

[p.315] four principal entrances, seven on the southern side, three in
the western, and five in the northern wall.

The eastern gates are the Greater Bab al-Salam, through which the
pilgrim enters the Mosque; it is close to the north-east angle. Next to
it the Lesser Bab al-Salam, with two small arches; thirdly, the Bab
al-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 Benu
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 Ka’abah, is the grand adit, “Bab al-Ziyadah,” also known as Bab
al-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
external arches, pilgrims descend by a flight of steps into the hall,
where they deposit their slippers, it not being considered decorous to
hold them when circumambulating the Ka’abah.[FN#53] A broad pavement, in
the shape of an irregular triangle, whose base is the cloister, leads
to the circuit of the house. Next to the Ziyadah Gate is a small,
single-arched entrance, “Bab Kutubi,” and beyond it one similar, the Bab
al-Ajlah ([Arabic]), also named Al-Basitiyah, from its proximity to the
college of Abd al Basitah. Close to the north-west angle of the
cloister is the Bab al-Nadwah, anciently called Bab al-Umrah, and now
Bab

[p.316] al-Atik, the Old Gate. Near this place and opening into the
Ka’abah, stood the “Town Hall” (Dar al-Nadwah), built by Kusay, for
containing the oriflamme “Al-Liwa,” and as a council-chamber for the
ancients of the city.[FN#54]

In the western wall are three entrances. The single-arched gate nearest
to the north angle is called Bab Benu Saham or Bab al-Umrah, because
pilgrims pass through it to the Tanim and to the ceremony Al-Umrah
(Little Pilgrimage). In the centre of the wall is the Bab Ibrahim, or
Bab al-Khayyatin (the Tailors’ Gate); a single arch leading into a large
projecting square, like that of the Ziyadah entrance, but somewhat
smaller. Near the south-west corner is a double arched adit, the Bab
al-Wida’a (“of farewell”): hence departing pilgrims issue forth from the
temple.

At the western end of the southern wall is the two-arched Bab Umm Hani,
so called after the lady’s residence, when included in the Mosque. Next
to it is a similar building, “Bab Ujlan” [Arabic] which derives its name
from the large college “Madrasat Ujlan”; some call it Bab al-Sharif,
because it is opposite one of the palaces. After which, and also
pierced with two arches, is the Bab al-Jiyad (some erroneously spell it
Al-Jihad, “of War”), the gate leading to Jabal Jiyad. The next is double
arched, and called the Bab al-Mujahid or Al-Rahmah (“of Mercy”). Nearly
opposite the Ka’abah, and connected with the pavement by a raised line of
stone, is the Bab al-Safa, through which pilgrims now issue to perform
the ceremony “Al-Sai”; it is a small and unconspicuous erection. Next to it
is the Bab al-Baghlah with two arches, and close to the south-east
angle of the Mosque the Bab Yunus, alias Bab Bazan, alias Bab al-Zayt,
alias Bab al-Asharah (“of the ten”), because a favourite with the first ten
Sahabah, or Companions
[p.317] of the Prophet. “Most of these gates,” says Burckhardt, “have high
pointed arches; but a few round arches are seen among them, which, like
all arches of this kind in the Heja[z], are nearly semi-circular. They
are without ornament, except the inscription on the exterior, which
commemorates the name of the builder, and they are all posterior in
date to the fourteenth century. As each gate consists of two or three
arches, or divisions, separated by narrow walls, these divisions are
counted in the enumeration of the gates leading into the Kaabah, and
they make up the number thirty-nine. There being no doors to the gates,
the Mosque is consequently open at all times. I have crossed at every
hour of the night, and always found people there, either at prayers or
walking about.[FN#55]”

“The outside walls of the Mosques are those of the houses which surround
it on all sides. These houses belonged originally to the Mosque; the
greater part are now the property of individuals. They are let out to
the richest Hadjys, at very high prices, as much as 500 piastres being
given during the pilgrimage for a good apartment with windows opening
into the Mosque.[FN#56] Windows have in consequence been opened in many
parts of the walls on a level with the street, and above that of the
floor of the colonnades. Hadjys living in these apartments are allowed
to perform the Friday’s prayers at home; because, having the Kaabah in
view from the windows, they are supposed to be in the Mosque itself,
and to join in prayer those assembled within the

[p.318] temple. Upon a level with the ground floor of the colonnades
and opening into them are small apartments formed in the walls, having
the appearance of dungeons; these have remained the property of the
Mosque while the houses above them belong to private individuals. They
are let out to water-men, who deposit in them the Zem Zem jars, or to
less opulent Hadjys who wish to live in the Mosque.[FN#57] Some of the
surrounding houses still belong to the Mosque, and were originally
intended for public schools, as their names of Medresa implies; they
are now all let out to Hadjys.”

“The exterior of the Mosque is adorned with seven minarets irregularly
distributed:—1. Minaret of Bab el Omra (Umrah); 2. Of Bab el Salam; 3. Of
Bab Aly; 4. Of Bab el Wodaa (Wida’a); 5. Of Medesa Kail (Kait) Bey; 6. Of
Bab el Zyadi; 7. Of Medreset Sultan Soleyman.[FN#58] They are
quadrangular or round steeples, in no way differing from other
minarets. The entrance to them is from the different buildings round
the Mosque, which they adjoin.[FN#59] A beautiful view of the busy
crowd below is attained by ascending the most northern one.[FN#60]”

Having described at length the establishment

[p.319] attached to the Mosque of Al-Madinah, I spare my readers a
detailed account of the crowd of idlers that hang about the Meccan
temple. The Naib al-Harim, or vice-intendant, is one Sayyid Ali, said
to be of Indian extraction; he is superior to all the attendants. There
are about eighty eunuchs, whose chief, Sarur Agha, was a slave of
Mohammed Ali Pasha. Their pay varies from 100 to 1,000 piastres per
mensem; it is, however, inferior to the Madinah salaries. The Imams,
Mu’ezzins, Khatibs, Zemzemis, &c., &c., are under their respective
Shaykhs who are of the Olema.[FN#61]

Briefly to relate the history of the Ka’abah.

The “House of Allah” is supposed to have been built and rebuilt ten times.

1. The first origin of the idea is manifestly a symbolical allusion to
the angels standing before the Almighty and praising his name. When
Allah, it is said, informed the celestial throng that he was about to
send a vice-regent on earth, they deprecated the design. Being reproved
with these words, “God knoweth what ye know not,” and dreading the eternal
anger, they compassed the Arsh, or throne, in adoration. Upon this
Allah created the Bayt al-Ma’amur, four jasper pillars with a ruby roof,

[p.320] and the angels circumambulated it, crying, “Praise to Allah, and
exalted be Allah, and there is no ilah but Allah, and Allah is
omnipotent!” The Creator then ordered them to build a similar house for
man on earth. This, according to Ali, took place 40, according to Abu
Hurayrah, 2,000 years before the creation; both authorities, however,
are agreed that the firmaments were spread above and the seven earths
beneath this Bayt al-Ma’amur.

2. There is considerable contradiction concerning the second house. Ka’ab
related that Allah sent down with Adam[FN#62] a Khaymah, or tabernacle
of hollow ruby, which the angels raised on stone pillars. This was also
called Bayt al-Ma’amur. Adam received an order to compass it about; after
which, he begged a reward for obedience, and was promised a pardon to
himself and to all his progeny who repent.

Others declare that Adam, expelled from Paradise, and lamenting that he
no longer heard the prayers of the angels, was ordered by Allah to take
the stones of five hills, Lebanon, Sinai, Tur Zayt (Olivet), Ararat,
and Hira, which afforded the first stone. Gabriel, smiting his wing
upon earth, opened a foundation to the seventh layer, and the position
of the building is exactly below the heavenly Bayt al-Ma’amur,—a Moslem
corruption of the legends concerning the heavenly and the earthly
Jerusalem. Our First Father circumambulated it as he had seen the
angels do, and was by them taught the formula of prayer and the number
of circuits.

According to others, again, this second house was not erected till
after the “Angelic Foundation” was destroyed by time.

3. The history of the third house is also somewhat

[p.321] confused. When the Bayt al-Ma’amur, or, as others say, the
tabernacle, was removed to heaven after Adam’s death, a stone-and-mud
building was placed in its stead by his son Shays (Seth). For this
reason it is respected by the Sabaeans, or Christians of St. John, as
well as by the Moslems. This Ka’abah, according to some, was destroyed by
the deluge, which materially altered its site. Others believe that it
was raised to heaven. Others, again, declare that only the pillars
supporting the heavenly tabernacle were allowed to remain. Most
authorities agree in asserting that the Black Stone was stored up in
Abu Kubays, whence that “first created of mountains” is called Al-Amin, “the
Honest.”

4. Abraham and his son were ordered to build the fourth house upon the
old foundations: its materials, according to some, were taken from the
five hills which supplied the second; others give the names Ohod, Kuds,
Warka, Sinai, Hira, and a sixth, Abu Kubays. It was of irregular shape;
32 cubits from the Eastern to the Northern corner; 32 from North to
West; 31 from West to South; 20 from South to East; and only 9 cubits
high. There was no roof; two doors, level with the ground, were pierced
in the Eastern and Western walls; and inside, on the right hand, near
the present entrance, a hole for treasure was dug. Gabriel restored the
Black Stone, which Abraham, by his direction, placed in its present
corner, as a sign where circumambulation is to begin; and the patriarch
then learned all the complicated rites of pilgrimage. When this house
was completed, Abraham, by Allah’s order, ascended Jabal Sabir, and
called the world to visit the sanctified spot; and all earth’s sons heard
him, even those “in their father’s loins or in their mother’s womb, from that
day unto the day of resurrection.”

5. The Amalikah (descended from Imlik, great grandson of Sam, son of
Noah), who first settled near Meccah, founded the fifth house.
Al-Tabari and the Moslem

[p.322] historians generally made the erection of the Amalikah to
precede that of the Jurham; these, according to others, repaired the
house which Abraham built.

6. The sixth Ka’abah was built about the beginning of the Christian era
by the Benu Jurham, the children of Kahtan, fifth descendant from Noah.
Ismail married, according to the Moslems, a daughter of this tribe,
Da’alah bint Muzaz ([Arabic]) bin Omar, and abandoning Hebrew, he began
to speak Arabic (Ta arraba). Hence his descendants are called
Arabicized Arabs. After Ismail’s death, which happened when he was 130
years old, Sabit, the eldest of his twelve sons, became “lord of the
house.” He was succeeded by his maternal grandfather Muzaz, and
afterwards by his children. The Jurham inhabited the higher parts of
Meccah, especially Jabal Ka’aka’an, so called from their clashing arms;
whereas the Amalikah dwelt in the lower grounds, which obtained the
name of Jiyad, from their generous horses.

7. Kusay bin Kilab, governor of Meccah and fifth forefather of the
Prophet, built the seventh house, according to Abraham’s plan. He roofed
it over with palm leaves, stocked it with idols, and persuaded his
tribe to settle near the Harim.

8. Kusay’s house was burnt down by a woman’s censer, which accidentally set
fire to the Kiswah, or covering, and the walls were destroyed by a
torrent. A merchant-ship belonging to a Greek trader, called “Bakum”
([Arabic]), being wrecked at Jeddah, afforded material for the roof,
and the crew were employed as masons. The Kuraysh tribe, who rebuilt
the house, failing in funds of pure money, curtailed its proportions by
nearly seven cubits and called the omitted portion Al-Hatim. In digging
the foundation they came to a green stone, like a camel’s hunch, which,
struck with a pickaxe, sent forth blinding lightning, and prevented
further excavation. The Kuraysh, amongst other alterations, raised the
walls

[p.323] from nine to eighteen cubits, built a staircase in the northern
breadth, closed the western door and placed the eastern entrance above
the ground, to prevent men entering without their leave.

When the eighth house was being built Mohammed was in his twenty-fifth
year. His surname of Al-Amin, the Honest, probably induced the tribes
to make him their umpire for the decision of a dispute about the
position of the Black Stone, and who should have the honour of raising
it to its place.[FN#63] He decided for the corner chosen by Abraham,
and distributed the privilege amongst the clans. The Benu Zahrah and
Benu Abd Manaf took the front wall and the door; to the Benu Jama and
the Benu Sahm was allotted the back wall; the Benu Makhzum and their
Kuraysh relations stood at the southern wall; and at the “Stone” corner
were posted the Benu Abd al-Dar, the Benu As’ad, and the Benu Ada.

9. Abdullah bin Zubayr, nephew of Ayishah, rebuilt the Ka’abah in A.H.
64. It had been weakened by fire, which burnt the covering, besides
splitting the Black Stone into three pieces, and by the Manjanik
(catapults) of Hosayn ([Arabic]) bin Numayr, general of Yazid, who
obstinately besieged Meccah till he heard of his sovereign’s death.
Abdullah, hoping to fulfil a prophecy,[FN#64] and seeing that the
people of Meccah fled in alarm, pulled down the building by means of
“thin-calved Abyssinian slaves.” When they came to Abraham’s foundation he
saw that it included Al-Hijr, which part the Kuraysh had been unable to
build. The building was made of cut stone and fine lime brought from
Al-Yaman. Abdullah, taking in the Hatim, lengthened the building by
seven cubits, and added to its former height nine cubits,

[p.324] thus making a total of twenty-seven. He roofed over the whole,
or a part; re-opened the western door, to serve as an exit; and,
following the advice of his aunt, who quoted the Prophet’s words, he
supported the interior with a single row of three columns, instead of
the double row of six placed there by the Kuraysh. Finally, he paved
the Mataf, or circuit, ten cubits round with the remaining slabs, and
increased the Harim by taking in the nearer houses. During the
building, a curtain was stretched round the walls, and pilgrims
compassed them externally. When finished, it was perfumed inside and
outside, and invested with brocade. Then Abdullah and all the citizens
went forth in a procession to the Tanim, a reverend place near Meccah,
returned to perform Umrah, the Lesser Pilgrimage, slew 100 victims, and
rejoiced with great festivities.

The Caliph Abd al-Malik bin Marwan besieged Abdullah bin Zubayr, who,
after a brave defence, was slain. In A.H. 74, Hajjaj bin Yusuf, general
of Abd al-Malik’s troops, wrote to the prince, informing him that
Abdullah had made unauthorised additions to and changes in the Harim:
the reply brought an order to rebuild the house. Hajjaj again excluded
the Hatim and retired the northern wall six cubits and a span, making
it twenty-five cubits long by twenty-four broad; the other three sides
were allowed to remain as built by the son of Zubayr. He gave the house
a double roof, closed the western door, and raised the eastern four
cubits and a span above the Mataf, or circuit, which he paved over. The
Harim was enlarged and beautified by the Abbasides, especially by
Al-Mahdi, Al-Mutamid, and Al-Mutazid. Some authors reckon, as an
eleventh house, the repairs made by Sultan Murad Khan. On the night of
Tuesday, 20th Sha’aban, A.H. 1030, a violent torrent swept the Harim; it
rose one cubit above the threshold of the Ka’abah, carried away the
lamp-posts and the

[p.325] Makam Ibrahim, all the northern wall of the house, half of the
eastern, and one-third of the western side. It subsided on Wednesday
night. The repairs were not finished till A.H. 1040. The greater part,
however, of the building dates from the time of Al Hajjaj; and Moslems,
who never mention his name without a curse, knowingly circumambulate
his work. The Olema indeed have insisted upon its remaining untouched,
lest kings in wantonness should change its form: Harun al-Rashid
desired to rebuild it, but was forbidden by the Imam Malik.

The present proofs of the Ka’abah’s sanctity, as adduced by the learned,
are puerile enough, but curious. The Olema have made much of the
verselet: “Verily the first house built for mankind (to worship in) is
that in Bakkah[FN#65] (Meccah), blessed and a salvation to the three
worlds. Therein (fihi) are manifest signs, the standing-place of
Abraham, which whoso entereth shall be safe” (Kor. ch. 3). The word “therein”
is interpreted to mean Meccah; and the “manifest signs” the Ka’abah, which
contains such marvels as the foot-prints on Abraham’s platform and the
spiritual safeguard of all who enter the Sanctuary.[FN#66] The other
“signs,” historical, psychical, and physical, are briefly these: The
preservation of the Hajar al-Aswad and the Makam Ibrahim from many
foes, and the miracles put forth (as in the War of the Elephant), to
defend the house; the violent and terrible deaths of the sacrilegious;
and the fact that, in the Deluge, the large fish did not eat the little
fish in the Harim. A wonderful desire and love impel men from distant
regions to visit the holy spot, and the first sight of the Ka’abah causes
awe and fear, horripilation and tears. Furthermore, ravenous beasts
will not destroy their prey in the Sanctuary land, and the pigeons and
other birds never perch upon the house, except to be
[p.326] cured of sickness, for fear of defiling the roof. The Ka’abah,
though small, can contain any number of devotees; no one is ever hurt
in it,[FN#67] and invalids recover their health by rubbing themselves
against the Kiswah and the Black Stone. Finally, it is observed that
every day 100,000 mercies descend upon the house, and especially that
if rain come up from the northern corner there is plenty in Irak; if
from the south, there is plenty in Yaman; if from the east, plenty in
India; if from the western, there is plenty in Syria; and if from all
four angles, general plenty is presignified.

[FN#1] “Bayt Ullah” (House of Allah) and “Ka’abah,” i.e. cube (house), “la maison
carree,” are synonymous.
[FN#2] Ali Bey gives 536 feet 9 inches by 356 feet: my measurement is
257 paces by 210. Most Moslem authors, reckoning by cubits, make the
parallelogram 404 by 310.
[FN#3] 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 corner, near the Zarurah minaret; 16 at the porch of the
Bab al-Ziyadah; and 15 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 reckon 1352 pinnacles or
battlements on the temple wall.
[FN#4] The “common stone of the Meccah mountains” is a fine grey granite,
quarried principally from a hill near the Bab al-Shabayki, which
furnished material for the Ka’abah. 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 Haddah, the half-way station.
[FN#5] 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.”
[FN#6] The author afterwards informs us, that “the temple has been so
often ruined and repaired, that no traces of remote antiquity are to be
found about it.” He mentions some modern 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 Al-Mahdi, a
traveller would have expected better things.
[FN#7] The reason being, that “those shafts formed of the Meccan stone
are mostly in three pieces; but the marble shafts are in one piece.”
[FN#8] To this may be added, that the façades 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 on the long sides ten, on the short seven.
[FN#9] I counted eight, not including the broad pavement which leads
from the Bab al-Ziyadah to the Ka’abah, or the four cross branches which
connect the main lines. These “Firash al-Hajar,” as they are called, also
serve to partition off the area. One space for instance is called “Haswat
al-Harim,” or the “Women’s sanded place,” because appropriated to female
devotees.
[FN#10] The jars are little amphoræ, each inscribed with the name of the
donor and a peculiar cypher.
[FN#11] My measurements give 22 paces or 55 feet in length by 18 (45)
of breadth, and the height appeared greater than the length. Ali Bey
makes the 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 therefore calls it a “veritable trapezium.” In Al-Idrisi’s
time it was 25 cubits by 24, and 27 cubits high.
[FN#12] 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 are held by excellent mortar like Roman
cement.” The lines are also straight.
[FN#13] This base is called Al-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 circumambulation, 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 Ka’abah covering.
[FN#14] Ali Bey also errs in describing the roof as “plat endessus.” 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 Al-Idrisi’s day the Ka’abah had a double roof. Some say this
is the case in the present building, which has not been materially
altered in shape since its restoration by Al-Hajjaj, A.H. 83. The roof
was then eighteen cubits long by fifteen broad.
[FN#15] In Ibn Jubayr’s time the Ka’abah was opened every day in Rajah, 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.
[FN#16] This mistake, in which Burckhardt is followed by all our
popular authors, is the more extraordinary, as all Arabic authors call
the door-wall Janib al-Mashrik—the Eastern side—or Wajh al-Bayt, the front
of the house, opposed to Zahr al-Bayt, the back. Niebuhr is equally in
error when he asserts that the door fronts to the South. Arabs always
hold the “Rukn al-Iraki,” or Irak angle, to face the polar star, and so it
appears in Ali Bey’s plan. The Ka’abah, therefore, has no Northern side.
And it must be observed that Moslem writers dispose the length of the
Ka’abah from East to West, whereas our travellers make it from North to
South. Ali Bey places the door only six feet from the pavement, but he
calculates distances by the old French 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 Al-Multazem (in Burckhardt, by a
clerical error, “Al-Metzem,” vol. i. p. 173). It derives its name, the
“attached-to,” because here the circumambulator should apply his bosom, and
beg pardon for his sins. Al-Multazem, according to M. de Perceval,
following d’Ohsson, was formerly “le lieu des engagements,” whence, according
to him, its name[.] “Le Moltezem,” says M. Galland (Rits et Ceremonies du
Pelerinage de la Mecque), “qui est entre la pierre noire et la porte, est
l’endroit ou Mahomet se reconcilia avec ses dix compagnons, qui disaient
qu’il n’etait pas veritablement Prophete.”
[FN#17] From the Bab al-Ziyadah, or gate in the northern 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 Rome, by successive layers of ruins; the most populous and
substantial quarters (as the Shamiyah 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, according to all
historians, formerly 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 chroniclers 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 Meccan fane,
exactly resembling their square temples, at whose corners are placed
Brahma, Vishnu, Shiwa and Ganesha, who adore the great 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. Ali 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 Kuraysh when they rebuilt the house in
Mohammed’s day, and that subsequent erections have had only one. The
general opinion is, that Al-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.
[FN#18] Pilgrims and ignorant devotees collect the drippings of wax,
the ashes of the aloe-wood, and the dust from the “Atabah,” or threshold of
the Ka’abah, either to rub upon their foreheads or to preserve as relics.
These superstitious practices are sternly rebuked by the Olema.
[FN#19] For North-East read South-East.
[FN#20] I will not enter into the fabulous origin of the Hajar
al-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 judgment, 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 slaggy
coating, glossy and pitch-like, worn and polished. Dr. Wilson, of
Bombay, showed me a specimen 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 [p.301] with the iron.
This might possibly, as the learned Orientalist then suggested, account
for the mythic change of colour, its appearance on earth after a
thunderstorm, and its being originally a material part of the heavens.
Kutb al-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,
believed the heavens to be composed of stones (Cosmos, “Shooting Stars”):
and Sanconiathon, ascribing the aerolite-worship to the god Cœlus,
declares 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 fetichism of the
Hindus, it is well known, introduced them to litholatry. At Jagannath
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 terra-cotta about three inches and a half long. Without going
deep into theory, it may be said that the Ka’abah 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
Al-Hijaz. When the Ka’abah 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 Al-Shahristani also declares the temple to have been dedicated to
the same planet Zuhal, whose genius is represented in the Puranas as
fierce, hideous, four-armed, and habited in a black cloak, with a dark
turband. Moslem historians are unanimous in asserting that Sasan, son
of Babegan, and other Persian monarchs, gave rich presents to the
Ka’abah; they especially mention two golden crescent moons, a significant
offering. The Guebers assert that, among the images and relics left by
Mahabad and his successors in the Ka’abah, was the Black Stone, an emblem
of Saturn. They also call the city Mahgah— moon’s place—from an exceedingly
beautiful image of the moon; whence they say the Arabs derived “Meccah.”
And the Sabaeans equally respect the Ka’abah 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
al-Aswad, as well as the Ka’abah, are revered as holy emblems by four
different faiths—the Hindu, Sabæan, 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 Ka’abah—a rare meeting-place of devotion.
[FN#21] Presenting this appearance in profile. The Hajar has suffered
from the iconoclastic principle of Islam, having once narrowly escaped
destruction by order of Al-Hakim of Egypt. In these days the metal rim
serves as a protection as well as an ornament.
[FN#22] The height of the Hajar from the ground, according to my
measurement, is four feet nine inches; Ali Bey places it forty-two
inches above the pavement.
[FN#23] The colour was black and metallic, and the centre of the stone
was sunk about two inches below the metal circle. Round 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
little finger-tip) broad, and one span long, with knobs, and a joining
of four pieces, which the Karamitah had broken. The stone was set in a
silver band. “Its softness and moisture were such,” says Ibn Jubayr, “that
the sinner would never remove his mouth from it, which phenomenon made
the Prophet declare it to be the covenant of Allah on earth.”
[FN#24] The band is now a massive circle of gold or silver gilt. I
found the aperture in which the stone is, one span and three fingers
broad.
[FN#25] The “Rukn al-Yamani” is the corner facing the South. The part
alluded to in the text is the wall of the Ka’abah, between the Shami and
Yamani 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 Al-Mustajab (or
Mustajab min al-Zunub or Mustajab al-Dua, “where prayer is granted”).
Pilgrims here extend their arms, press their bodies against the
building, and beg pardon for their sins.
[FN#26] I have frequently seen it kissed by men and women.
[FN#27] Al-Ma’ajan, the place of mixing or kneading, because the
patriarchs here kneaded the mud used as cement in the holy building.
Some call it Al-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” (ch. xii. sec. 5) may
serve to show the extent of error still popular. The author, after
separating the Bayt Ullah from the Ka’abah, erroneously making the former
the name of the whole temple, proceeds to say, “the rain-water which
falls on its (the Ka’abah’s) terrace runs off through a golden spout on a
stone near it, called Rookn-e-Yemeni, or alabaster-stone), and stands
over the grave of Ismaeel.”—!
[FN#28] Generally called Mizab al-Rahmah (of Mercy). It carries rain
from the roof, and discharges it upon Ishmael’s grave, where pilgrims
stand fighting to catch it. In Al-Idrisi’s time it was of wood; now it is
said to be gold, but it looks very dingy.
[FN#29] Usually called the Hajar al-Akhzar, or green stone. Al-Idrisi
speaks of a white stone covering Ishmael’s remains; Ibn Jubayr of “green
marble, longish, in form of a Mihrab arch, and near it a white round
slab, in both of which are spots that make them appear yellow.” Near
them, we are told, and towards the Iraki corner, is the tomb of Hagar,
under a green slab one span and a half broad, and pilgrims used to pray
at both places. Ali Bey erroneously applies the words Al-Hajar Ismail
to the parapet about the slab.
[FN#30] My measurements give five feet six inches. In Al-Idrisi’s day the
wall was fifty cubits long.
[FN#31] Al-Hatim ([Arabic] lit. the “broken”). Burckhardt asserts that the
Mekkawi no longer apply the word, as some historians do, to the space
bounded by the Ka’abah, the Partition, the Zemzem, 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 Ka’abah. Historians relate that all who rebuilt the
“House of Allah” followed Abraham’s plan till the Kuraysh, and after them
Al-Hajjaj curtailed it in the direction of Al-Hatim, which part was
then first broken off, and ever since remained so.
[FN#32] Al-Hijr ([Arabic]) is the space separated, as the name denotes,
from the Ka’abah. Some suppose that Abraham here penned his sheep.
Possibly Ali Bey means this part of the Temple when he speaks of
Al-Hajar ([Arabic]) Ismail—les pierres d’Ismail.
[FN#33] “Al-Hajjaj”; this, as will afterwards be seen, is a mistake. He
excluded the Hatim.
[FN#34] 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.
[FN#35] It is a fine, close, grey polished granite: the walk is called
Al-Mataf, or the place of circumambulation.
[FN#36] 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 of the lamps in
the Harim is said to be more than 1000, yet they serve but to “make
darkness visible.”
[FN#37] 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
Ka’abah. 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 Ka’abah roof.
[FN#38] The Makam al-Maliki is on the west of, and thirty-seven cubits
from, the Ka’abah; that of the Hanbali forty-seven paces distant.
[FN#39] Only the Mu’ezzin takes his stand here, and the Shafe’is pray
behind their Imam on the pavement round the Ka’abah, between the corner
of the well Zemzem, and the Makam Ibrahim. This place is forty cubits
from the Ka’abah, that is say, eight cubits nearer than the Northern and
Southern “Makams.” Thus the pavement forms an irregular oval ring round the
house[.]
[FN#40] In Burckhardt’s time the schools prayed according to the
seniority of their founders, and they uttered the Azan of Al-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 Shafe’i began, then came the Maliki and Hanbali
simultaneously, and, lastly, the Hanafi. Now the Shaykh al-Mu’ezzin
begins the call, which is taken up by the others. He is a Hanafi; as
indeed are all the principal people at Meccah, only a few wild Sharifs
of the hills being Shafe’i.
[FN#41] The door of the Zemzem building fronts to the south-east.
[FN#42] This is not exactly correct. As the plan will show, the angle
of one building touches the angle of its neighbour.
[FN#43] Their names and offices are now changed. One is called the
Kubbat al-Sa’at, 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 al-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 Ka’abah than its neighbour, was
also called Kubbat al-Sharab (the Dome of Drink), because Zemzem water
was here kept cooling for the use of pilgrims in Daurak, or earthen
jars. The nearer was termed Kubbat al-Yahudi; and the tradition they
told me was, that a Jew having refused to sell his house upon the spot,
it was allowed 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 corner of the Great Nushirawan’s royal
halls.
[FN#44] Called “Al-Daraj.” A correct drawing of it may be found in Ali Bey’s
work.
[FN#45] The Bab al-Salam, or Bab al-Nabi, or Bab benu Shaybah,
resembles in its isolation a triumphal arch, and is built of cut stone.
[FN#46] “The (praying) place of Abraham.” Readers will remember that the
Meccan Mosque is peculiarly connected with Ibrahim, whom Moslems prefer
to all prophets except Mohammed.
[FN#47] This I believe to be incorrect. I was asked five dollars for
permission to enter; but the sum was too high for my finances. Learned
men told me that 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 al-Mahdi visited
Meccah, one Abdullah bin Osman presented himself at the unusual hour of
noon, and informing the prince that he had brought him a relic which no
man but himself had yet seen, produced this celebrated stone. Al-Mahdi,
rejoicing greatly, kissed it, rubbed his face against it, and pouring
water upon it, drank the draught. Kutb al-Din, one of the Meccan
historians, says that it was visited in his day. In Ali Bey’s time it was
covered with “un magnifique drap noir brode en or et en argent avec de
gros glands en or;” he does not say, however, that he saw the stone. Its
veils, called Sitr Ibrahim al-Khalil, are a green “Ibrisham,” or silk mixed
with cotton and embroidered with gold. They are made at Cairo of three
different colours, black, red, and green; and one is devoted to each
year. The 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
al-Khalil”; and at each corner is the name of one of the four caliphs. In
a note to the “Dabistan” (vol. ii. p. 410), we find two learned
Orientalists confounding the Black Stone with Abraham’s Station or
Platform. “The Prophet honoured 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.”
[FN#48] Not only here, I was told by learned Meccans, but under all the
oval pavements surrounding the Ka’abah.
[FN#49] The spring gushes from the southern base of Mount Arafat, as
will afterwards be noticed. It is exceedingly pure.
[FN#50] 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.
[FN#51] The curious will find a specimen of a Moslem sermon in Lane’s
Mod. Egypt. Vol. i. ch. iii.
[FN#52] 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[.]

[Mention is made of Modern names; Arches; and Ancient names.]

1. Bab el Salam, composed of gates or arches; 3; Bab Beni Shaybah (this is properly applied to the inner, not the outer
Salam Gate.)
2. Bab el Neby;  2; Bab el Jenaiz, Gate of Biers, the dead being carried through it to the
Mosque.
3. Bab el Abbas, opposite to this the house of Abbas once stood; 3; Bab Sertakat (some Moslem authors confound this Bab al-Abbas with the
Gate of Biers.)

4. Bab Aly; 3; Bab Beni Hashem

5. Bab el Zayt
Bab el Ashra; 2; Bab Bazan (so called from a neighbouring hill).

6. Bab el Baghlah; 2;

7. Bab el Szafa (Safa); 5; Bab Beni Makhzoum.

8. Bab Sherif; 2; Bab el Djiyad (so called because leading to the hill Jiyad)

9. Bab Medjahed; 2; Bab el Dokhmah.

10. Bab Zoleykha; 2; Bab Sherif Adjelan, who built it.

11. Bab Om Hany, so called from the daughter of Aby Taleb; 2; Bab el Hazoura (some write this Bab el Zarurah).

12. Bab el Wodaa (Al-Wida’a), through which the pilgrim passes when
taking his final leave of the temple; 2; Bab el Kheyatyn, or Bab Djomah.

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; Bab Amer Ibn el Aas, or Bab el Sedra.

15. Bab Atech (Al-Atik?); 1; Bab el Adjale.

16. Bab el Bastye; 1; Bab Zyade Dar el Nedoua.

17. Bab el Kotoby, so called from an historian of Mekka who lived in an
adjoining lane and opened this small gate into the Mosque; 1;

18. Bab Zyade; 3; (It is called Bab Ziyadah—Gate of Excess—because it is a new structure
thrown out into the Shamiyah, or Syrian quarter.)

19. Bab Dereybe; 1; Bab Medrese.

Total [number of arches] 39[FN#53] An old pair of slippers is here what the “shocking bad hat” is at a
crowded house in Europe, a self-preserver. Burckhardt lost three pairs.
I, more fortunately, only one.
[FN#54] Many authorities place this building upon the site of the
modern Makam Hanafi.
[FN#55] The Meccans love to boast that at no hour of the day or night
is the Ka’abah ever seen without a devotee to perform “Tawaf.”
[FN#56] This would be about 50 dollars, whereas 25 is a fair sum for a
single apartment. Like English lodging-house-keepers, the Meccans make
the season pay for the year. In Burckhardt’s time the colonnato was worth
from 9 to 12 piastres; the value of the latter coin is now greatly
decreased, for 28 go to the Spanish dollar all over Al-Hijaz.
[FN#57] I entered one of these caves, and never experienced such a
sense of suffocation even in that favourite spot for Britons to
asphixiate themselves—the Baths of Nero.
[FN#58] The Magnificent (son of Salim I.), who built at Al-Madinah the
minaret bearing his name. The minarets at Meccah are far inferior to
those of her rival, and their bands of gaudy colours give them an
appearance of tawdry vulgarity.
[FN#59] Two minarets, namely, those of the Bab al-Salam and the Bab
al-Safa, are separated from the Mosque by private dwelling-houses, a
plan neither common nor regular.
[FN#60] A stranger must be careful how he appears at a minaret window,
unless he would have a bullet whizzing past his head. Arabs are
especially jealous of being overlooked, and have no fellow-feeling for
votaries of “beautiful views.” For this reason here, as in Egypt, a blind
Mu’ezzin is preferred, and many ridiculous stories are told about men who
for years have counterfeited cecity to live in idleness[.]
[FN#61] I have illustrated this chapter, which otherwise might be
unintelligible to many, by a plan of the Ka’abah (taken from Ali Bey
al-Abbasi), which Burckhardt pronounced to be “perfectly correct.” This
author has not been duly appreciated. In the first place, his disguise
was against him; and, secondly, he was a spy of the French Government.
According to Mr. Bankes, who had access to the original papers at
Constantinople, Ali Bey was a Catalonian named Badia, and was suspected
to have been of Jewish extraction. He claimed from Napoleon a reward
for his services, returned to the East, and died, it is supposed, of
poison in the Hauran, near Damascus. In the edition which I have
consulted (Paris, 1814) the author labours to persuade the world by
marking the days with their planetary signs, &c., &c., that he is a
real Oriental, but he perpetually betrays himself. Some years ago,
accurate plans of the two Harims were made by order of the present
Sultan. They are doubtless to be found amongst the archives at
Constantinople.
[FN#62] It must be remembered that the Moslems, like many of the Jews,
hold that Paradise was not on earth, but in the lowest firmament, which
is, as it were, a reflection of earth.
[FN#63] Others derive the surname from this decision.
[FN#64] As will afterwards be mentioned, almost every Meccan knows the
prophecy of Mohammed, that the birthplace of his faith will be
destroyed by an army from Abyssinia. Such things bring their own
fulfilment.
[FN#65] Abu Hanifah made it a temporal sanctuary, and would not allow
even a murderer to be dragged from the walls.
[FN#66] Makkah (our Meccah) is the common word; Bakkah is a synonym
never used but in books. The former means “a concourse of people.” But why
derive it from the Hebrew, and translate it “a slaughter”? Is this a likely
name for a holy place? Dr. Colenso actually turns the Makaraba of
Ptolemy into “Makkah-rabbah,” plentiful slaughter. But if Makaraba be
Meccah, it is evidently a corruption of “Makkah” and “Arabah,” the Arab race.
Again, supposing the Meccan temple to be originally dedicated to the
sun, why should the pure Arab word “Ba’al” become the Hebræized Hobal, and the
deity be only one in the three hundred and sixty that formed the
Pantheon?
[FN#67] This is an audacious falsehood; the Ka’abah is scarcely ever
opened without some accident happening.

[p.327] APPENDIX III.[FN#1]

SPECIMEN OF A MURSHID'S DIPLOMA, IN THE KADIRI ORDER OF THE MYSTIC
CRAFT AL-TASAWWUF.

[ TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE: Footnote 1 gives a description of the original
manuscript. In Burton’s book, the text is presented as follows:
- Firstly, the section of text beginning “This is the tree…” and ending with
the lines “Amen.”, “A.”, presented as a triangle, with each line centred on the
page.
- Below this, the section of text “There is no god but Allah…a thing to
Allah.”, centred, and enclosed in a circle.
- Below that, the section of text “Sayyid A…of C.”, centred, and enclosed in
a horizontal oval.
- The line “And of him…we beg aid.”, in smaller type.
- All the following lines are enclosed in a box filling most of each
page, with a horizontal rule separating the lines of text. Each line
fills the width of the box neatly, except for the last four lines
(beginning “It is finished.”), which are centred.
- Footnotes are presented, in smaller type than usual, at the outside
edge of the page in which the reference occurs, and (as much as
possible) level with the reference.
- The placement of line breaks in the main body of this Appendix has
been preserved from the original (book) text. ]

THIS is the 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 have passed it on, and
I, the poorest of men, and the ser-
vant of the poor, am Sayyid
A,[FN#2] son of Sayyid B the
Kadiri, the servant of the
prayer-rug of his grand-
sire, of the Shaykh
Abd al-Kadir
Jilani, Allah
sanctify his
honoured
tomb!
Amen.
A.

There
is no god but
Allah—Shaykh
Abd al-Kadir
—a thing to
Allah.[FN#3]

Sayyid A
Son of Sayyid B
of C.[FN#4]


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

[p.328] 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 Mohammed, the best of his Prophets and of his Servants, and (I bless and salute) his (Mohammed's) family and companions, the excelling indignity, 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 Abu Bakr the Kadiri, son of Sayyid Ismail the Kadiri, son of Sayyid Abd al-Wahhab the Kadiri, son of Sayyid Nur al-Din the Kadiri, son of Sayyid Darwaysh the Kadiri, son of Sayyid Husam al-Din the Kadiri, son of Sayyid Nur al-Din the Kadiri, son of Sayyid Waly al-Din the Kadiri, son of Sayyid Zayn al-Din the Kadiri, son of Sayyid Sharaf al-Din the Kadiri, son of Sayyid Shams al-Din the Kadiri, son of Sayyid Mohammeda I-Hattak, son of Sayyid Abd al-Aziz, son of the

[p.329] Sayyid of Sayyids, Polar-Star of Existence, the White Pearl, the Lord of the Reins of (worldy) possession, the Chief of (Allah's) friends, the incomparable Imam, the Essence negativing accidents, the Polar Star of Polar Stars,[FN#5] the Greatest Assistance,[FN#6] the Uniter of the Lover and the Beloved,[FN#7]the Sayyid (Prince), the Shaykh (Teacher), Muhiyal-Din, Abd al-Kadir of Jilan,[FN#8] Allah sanctify his honoured Sepulchre, and Allah enlighten his place of rest!—Son of Abu Salih Muse Jangi-dost, son of Sayyid Abdullah al-Jayli, son of Sayyid Yahya al-Zahid, son of Sayyid Mohammed, son of Sayyid Da'ud,son of Sayyid Musa, son of Sayyid Abdullah, son of Sayyid Musa al-Juni, son of Sayyid Abdullah al-Mahz, son of Sayyid Hasan al-Musanna,[FN#9] son of theImam Hasan, Son of the Imam and the Amir ofTrue Believers, Ali the son of Abu Talib—may Allah be satisfied with him!—Son of Abd al-Mut-Talib,[FN#10] son of Hashim, son of Abd al-Manaf, son of Kusay, son of Kilab, son of Murrat, son of Ka’ab, 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

[p.330] Muzarr, son of Nizar, son of Adnan,[FN#11] 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 Noah, son of Shays, son of Adam the Father of Mankind[FN#12]—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,[FN#13] and water is of the rainy firmament, and the rainy firmament is of Power, and Power is of Will, and Will is of the  Omniscience of the glorious God. But afterwards 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 Darwayah Abd-ullah[FN#14] son of
the Pilgrim Joseph the Afghan,—henceforward let him be known by the name of "Darwaysh King-in-the-name-of-Allah!"—hath ccome to us and visited us and begged of us instruction in the Saying of Unity. I therefore taught him the saying which I learned by ordinance from my Shaykh and my instructor and

[p.331] my paternal uncle Sayyid the Shaykh Abd al-Kadir[FN#15] the Kadiri, son of the Sayyid the Shaykh Abu Bakr the Kadiri, son of the Sayyid the Shaykh Ismail the Kadiri, son of the Sayyid the Shaykh Abd al-Wahhab the Kadiri, son of the Sayyid the Shaykh Nur al-Din the Kadiri, son of the Sayyid the Shaykh Shahdarwaysh the Kadiri, son of the Sayyid the Shaykh Husam al-Din the Kadiri, son of the Sayyid the Shaykh Nur al-Din the Kadiri, from his sire and Shaykh Waly al-Din the Kadiri, from his sire and Shaykh Zayn al-Din the Kadiri, from his sire and Shaykh Sharafil al-Din the Kadiri, from his sire and Shaykh Mohammed al-Hattak the Kadiri, from his sire and Shaykh Abd al-Aziz—Allah sanctify his honoured 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 al-Din Abd al-Kadir of Jilan—Allah sanctify his honoured Sepulchre and Allah
enlighten his place of rest! Amen!—from his Shaykh the Shaykh Abu-Sa'id al-Mubarak al-Makhzumi, from his Shaykh the Shaykh Abu 'I Hasan, al-Hankari,

[p.332] from his Shaykh the Shaykh Abu Faras al-Tarsusi, from his Shaykh the Shaykh Abd al-Wahidal-Tamimi, from his Shaykh the Shaykh Abu 'l Kasim al-Junayd of Baghdad, from his Shaykh the Shaykh al-Sirri al-Sakati, from his Shaykh the Shaykh al-Ma'aruf al-Karkhi, from his Shaykh the Shaykh Da'ud al-Tai, from his Shaykh the Shaykh Habib al-'Ajami, from his Shaykh the Shaykh al-Hasan of Bussorah, from his Shaykh the Prince of True Believers, Ali Son of Abu Talib—Allah be satisfied with him! and
Allah honour his countenance!—from the Prophet of Allah, upon whom may Allah have mercy, from Jibrail, from the Omnipotent, the Glorious.
And afterwards we taught him (i.e. that good man Abdullah) the Saying of Unity, and ordered its recital 165 times after each
Farizah,[FN#16] and on all occasions according to his capability. And Allah have mercy upon our Lord Mohammed and upon His Family and upon His Companions one and all! And praise be to Allah, Lord of the (three) worlds!It is finished.There is no god but Allah! Number[FN#17] 165.

[FN#1] This document is written upon slips of paper pasted together, 4
feet 5 inches long, by about 6 1/2 inches broad, and contains
altogether 71 lines below the triangle. The divisions are in red ink.
It rolls up and fits into a cylinder of tin, to which are attached
small silk cords, to sling it over the shoulder when travelling or on
pilgrimage.
[FN#2] The names are here omitted for obvious reasons.
[FN#3] Facsimile of the seal of the Great Abd al-Kadir. This upon the
document is a sign that the owner has become a master in the craft.
[FN#4] This is the living Shaykh's seal, and is the only one applied to
the apprentice's diploma.
[FN#5] Or Prince of Princes, a particular degree in Tasawwuf.
[FN#6] Ghaus (Assistance) also means a person who, in Tasawwuf, has
arrived at the highest point to which fervour of devotion leads.
[FN#7] The human soul, and its supreme source.
[FN#8] For a short notice of this celebrated mystic, see d'Herbelot,
"Abdalcader.
[FN#9] "Hasan the Second," from whom sprung the Sharifs of Al-Hijaz.
[FN#10] Father to Abdullah, Father of Mohammed.
[FN#11] Dated by M.C. de Perceval about 130 years B.C.
[FN#12] Thus, between Adnan and Adam we have eighteen generations!
Al-Wakidi and Al-Tabiri give forty between Adnan and Ishmael, which Ibn
Khaldun, confirmed by M.C. de Perceval, thinks is too small a number.
The text, however, expresses the popular estimate. But it must be
remembered that the Prophet used to say, "beyond Adnan none but Allah
knoweth, and the genealogists lie."
[FN#13] Moslems cleaving to the Neptunian theory of earthy origin.
[FN#14] Your humble servant, gentle reader.
[FN#15] The former genealogy proved my master to be what is technically
called "Khalifah Jaddi," or hereditary in his dignity. The following
table shows that he is also "Khulfai" (adopted to succeed), and gives
the name and the descendants of the holy man who adopted him.
[FN#16] Each obligatory prayer is called a Farizah. The Shaykh
therefore directs the Saying of Unity, i.e. La ilaha illa llah, to be
repeated 825 times per diem.
[FN#17] i.e. number of repetitions after each obligatory prayer.

[p.333]APPENDIX IV.

THE NAVIGATION AND VOYAGES OF LUDOVICUS
VERTOMANNUS, GENTLEMAN OF ROME.
A.D. 1503.

THE first of the pilgrims to Meccah and Al-Madinah who has left an
authentic account of the Holy Cities is “Lewes Wertomannus (Lodovico
Bartema), gentelman of the citie of Rome.[FN#1]” 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 Mahumetans and Turks”), and in
the garb of a

[p.334] “Mamaluchi renegado.” He estimates the Damascus Caravan to consist
of 40,000 men and 35,000 camels, nearly six times its present
number.[FN#2] On the way they were “enforced to conflict with a great
multitude of the Arabians:” but the three score mamluks composing their
escort were more than a match for 50,000 Badawin. 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.[FN#3] This “marveyle”—which is
probably not without some exaggeration—he explains by the “strength and
valiantness of the Mamalukes,” by the practice (still popular) of using
the “camells in the steede of a bulwarke, and placing the merchaunts 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 Hijazi Badawi 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 firearms and lead, and by slow degrees to disarm the
population. After performing the ceremonies of pilgrimage at Al-Madinah
and Meccah, he escaped 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 proclamation
of death to all that should refuse so to

[p.335] doe,” and embarked for Persia upon the Red Sea. He touched at
certain ports of Al-Yaman, 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.[FN#4]” The lieutenant 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 Mahumetan,
who was greatly in loue 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

[p.336] would spend the whole day in beholding Bartema, who wandered
about simulating madness,[FN#5] 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 madness,
converting a “great fatt shepe” to Mohammedanism, killing 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 for Persia with the Indian fleet, in which, by means
of fair promises, 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 seene there.” The 8th book contains the
“voyage of India,” in which he includes Pegu, Sumatra, Borneo, and Java,
where, “abhorryng the beastly maners” of a cannibal population, he made but
a short stay. Returning 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 Bonæ Spei, and repaired to the goodly citie of Luxburne (Lisbon),”
where he had the honour 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

[p.337] 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 romancing. His Jews at Khaybor, near
Al-Madinah, 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 horne
of this is of the length of four handfuls.[FN#6]” 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.[FN#7]” But all things well considered, Lodovico Bartema, for
correctness of observation and readiness of wit, stands in the foremost
rank of the old Oriental travellers.

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
Al-Madinah.

CHAPTER 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

[p.338] or thereabout. They are very little stature, as of the heyght
of fyue 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 fleshes.[FN#8] 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 founde a certayne hole, out of whiche flowed
aboundance of water. By fyndyng this opportunitie, we laded sixtiene
thousand camels; which thyng greatly offended the Jewes. They wandred
in that mountayne, scattered lyke 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 found a payre of turtle doues, which
seemed to vs in maner a miracle, hauying before made so long journeyes,
and sawe neyther beast nor foule. Then proceedyng two dayes journey, we
came to a certayne citie name Medinathalnabi: four 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 changed 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 the citie are seene about fyftie palme trees that beare
dates.[FN#9] There, by a certayne garden, runneth a course of water
fallyng into a lower playne, where also passingers are accustomed to
water theyr camelles.[FN#10] And here opportunitie now serueth to
[p.339] confute the opinion of them whiche thynke that the arke or
toombe of wicked Mahumet to hang in the ayre, not borne vp with any
thing. 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 Medinathalnabi: for we taryed there
three dayes, to come to the true knowledge of all these thynges. When
wee were desirous to enter into theyr Temple (which they call
Meschita,[FN#11] 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.

CHAPTER 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, fourscore in
breadth; the entry into it is by two gates; from the sydes it is
couered with three vaultes; it is borne vp with four hundred columnes
or pillers of white brick; there are seene, hanging lampes, about the
number of three 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
lateese.[FN#12] Towarde the lefte hande, is the way to the tower, and
when you come thyther, you must enter by a narower gate. On euery syde
of those gates or doores, are seene many bookes in manner 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:

[p.340] within the sayde gate is seene a sepulchre, (that is) a digged
place, where they say Mahumet is buried and his felowes, which are
these, Nabi, Bubacar, Othomar, Aumar, and Fatoma[FN#13]; 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 counseller 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 Mahumet. Euery of these haue their proper bookes of 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 between 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.

CHAPTER 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 vnderstande what crafte they vsed to deceyue
our carauans. The first euening that we came thyther to see the
sepulchre of Mahumet, our captayne

[p.341] 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 admitted to the syght of these mysteries should be foure
thousande seraphes of golde. Also that he had no parents, neyther
brothers, sisters, kinsefolkes, chyldren, or wyues; neyther that he
came thyther to buy merchaundies, as spices, or bacca, or nardus, or
any maner of precious jewelles; but only for very zeale of religion and
saluation 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[FN#14], made
aunswere in this maner: “Darest thou with those eyes, with the which thou
hast committed 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 truly; neuertheless I pray you
that I may fynd 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, “O Prince, I will open all thynges unto thee. So it is
that no man can denye but that our Prophet dyed heere, who, if he
woulde, might haue died at Mecha. But to shewe in himself a token of
humilitie, and thereby to giue vs example to folowe him, was wyllyng
rather heere than elsewhere to departe out of this worlde, and was
incontinent of angelles borne into heauen, and there receyued as equall
with them.” Then our captayne sayde to him, “Where is Jesus Christus, the
sonne of Marie?” To whom the Side answered, “At

[p.342] the feete of Mahumet.[FN#15]” Then sayde our captayne agayne: “It
suffyceth, it suffyceth; I will knowe no more.” After this our captayne
commyng out of the temple, and turnyng to vs, sayd, “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 clock of the nyght, ten or
twelue of the elders of the secte of Mahumet entered into our carauana,
which remayned not paste a stone caste from the gate of the
citie.[FN#16] These ranne hyther and thyther, crying lyke madde men,
with these wordes, “Mahumet, 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 rob 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
marueylous thyng chaunceth. The Elders answered, “Sawe you not the
lyghtning whiche shone out of the sepulchre of the Prophet
Mahumet[FN#17]?” Our captayne answered that he sawe nothing; and we also
beyng 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 old
man sayde, “You, my Lordes, cannot see heauenly thinges, as being
Neophiti, (that is) newly come to the fayth, and not yet confirmed in
our religion.” To this our captayne answered
[p.343] agayne, “O you madde and insensate beastes, I had thought to haue
giuen you three thousande peeces of gold; but now, O 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 which the priests caused to come out of the open place
of the towre[FN#18] spoken of here before, whereby they would have
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 Fælix, and Babylon or Alcayr, and also from
Ethiope, by the Redde Sea, which is from this citie but four dayes
journey.[FN#19]

CHAPTER XIV.—The Journey to Mecha.[FN#20]

After we were satisfied, or rather wearyed, with the filthinesse and
lothesomenesse of the trumperyes, deceites, trifles, and hypocrisis of
the religion of Mahumet, we determined to goe forward on our journey;
and that by guyding of a pylot who might directe our course with 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

[p.344] well or fountayne, from the which flowed great aboundance of
water. The inhabitantes affyrme that Sainct Marke the Euangelist was
the aucthour of this fountayne, by a miracle of God, when that region
was in maner burned with incredible drynesse.[FN#21] 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 the 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 ten pases of. And therefore the inhabitants trauayling this
way, are inclosed in cages of woodde, borne with camels, and lyue in
them,[FN#22] so passing the jorney, guided by pilots with maryner’s
compasse and card, euen as on the sea, as we haue sayde. In 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 heate 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.[FN#23] Albeit there is
[p.345] 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 sand riseth and is driuen against a certayne
mountayne, which is an arme of the mount Sinai.[FN#24] There we found
certayne pyllers artificially wrought, whiche they call Ianuan. 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. Departyng,
therefore, from the fountayne, we continued our journey for the space
of ten dayes, and twyse in the way fought with fyftie thousande
Arabians, and so at the length came to the citie of Mecha, where al
things were troubled by reason of the warres betweene two brethren,
contendyng whiche of them shoulde possesse the kyngedome of Mecha.

CHAPTER 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 inhabited, and conteyneth in
rounde fourme syxe thousande houses, as well buylded as ours, and some
that cost three or foure thousande peeces of golde: it hath no walles.
About two furlongs from the citie is a mount, where the way is cutte
out,[FN#25] whiche leadeth to a playne

[p.346] beneath. It is on euery syde fortified with mountains, in the
stead of walles or bulwarkes, and hath foure entries. The Gouernour is
a Soltan, and one of the foure brethern 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 eighteen daye
of Maye we entered into the citie by the north syde; then, by a
declynyng 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, lyke vnto a
valley,[FN#26] and is the waye to the mountayne where they sacrifice to
the Patriarkes Abraham and Isaac.[FN#27] This mountayne is from the
citie about ten or twelve myles, and of the heyght of three stones
cast: it is of stone as harde as marble, yet no marble.[FN#28] In the
toppe of the mountaine is a temple or Meschita, made after their
fashion, and hath three wayes to enter into it.[FN#29] 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.[FN#30]

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

[p.347] conteyned threescore and foure thousande camelles, and a
hundred Mamalukes to guyde them. And here 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.[FN#31] It is scorched with drynesse for
lacke of water, and therefore the water is there growen to suche pryce,
that you cannot for twelve pence buye as much water as wyll satysfie
your thyrst for one day. Nowe, therefore, I wyll declare what prouision
they have for victuales. The most part is brought them from the citie
of Babylon, otherwyse 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.[FN#32] The rest of theyr prouisions
is brought from Arabia Faelix, (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.

[p.348]CHAPTER 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 stage, yet not of marbled or hewed stones, but of
burnt bryckes; for this temple, like vnto an amphitheatre, hath
fourscore and ten, or an hundred gates,[FN#33] and is vaulted. The
entrance is by a discent of twelve stayers or degrees on euery
part[FN#34]: in the church porche, are sold only jewels and precious
stones. In the entry the gylted walles shyne on euery syde with
incomparable 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 bodyes are embalmed.[FN#35] 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 sixe passes in cercuitie,[FN#36] and
inuolued or hanged with cloth or

[p.349] tapestry of sylke[,][FN#37]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 is fastened a rounde circle of
iron, lyke to the ryng of a doore.[FN#38] 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.[FN#39] 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

[p.350] 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.[FN#40] And
remayning there two daies, they make the said sacrifice to Abraham at
the foote of the mountayne.

     CHAPTER 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 their
expectation, I wyll describe theyr maner of sacrifycyng. Therefore,
when they intend to sacrifice, some of them kyll three sheepe, some
foure, and 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 poore people came thither rather for
hunger than for deuotion, which I thinke by this coniectur,—that great
abundance of cucumbers are brought thyther from Arabia Fælix, 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.[FN#41] The

[p.351] daye folowing,[FN#42] 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 should bewayle theyr sinnes, and beate their brestes
with sighes and lamentation. And the preacher hymselfe with loude voyce
spake these wordes, “O 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 that kept the
caraunas beyng greatly feared, with all speede, lyke madde men, fledde
into the citie of Mecha, and we agayne bearyng newes of the Arabians
approche, fledde also into the citie. But whyle wee were in the mydwaye
between the mountayne and Mecha, we came by a despicable wall, of the
breadthe of foure cubites: the people passyng this wall, had couered
the waye 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 follow 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

[p.352] father who tarryed for him. To this the enemie 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 aduertisement 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 lykenesse of an other frendlye person,
and forbade hym as before. Then Isaac taking vp a stone in that place,
hurlde it at the Deuyl and wounded him in the forehead: In witnesse and
remembraunce 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.[FN#43] 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 doue that spake in the eare of Mahumet, in
lykenesse of the Holye Ghost.[FN#44] These are seene euery where, as in
the villages, houses, tauernes and graniers of corne and ryse, and are
so tame that one can scharsely dryue them away. To take them or kyll
them is esteemed a thyng worthy death,[FN#45]

[p.353] and therefore a certayne pensyon is geuen to nourysshe them in
the temple.

CHAPTER 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 prieuly 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?[FN#46] 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, affyrming 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
vnderstoode this, I confessed freely, that I was a Romane, but
professed to the fayth 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 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

[p.354] to grope the mynde 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 language Menaba
Menalhabi, that is to say, “I pray you assist mee.[FN#47]” 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
certain 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 manner 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
[p.355] house with his wyfe, and requyred me earnestly to obtayne 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 thirtie seraphes[FN#48] of golde, for
transportyng of such merchandies for the charge of so many camelles. I
put him in good hope of his request, he greatly reioyced, although he
would ask for a hundred, affyrmyng 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 obtayn his
request, he greatly reioyced, and talkyng with me yet more freely, gaue
me further instructions and counsayled me to repayre to a certayne kyng
of the greater India, in the kyngdome and realme of Decham[FN#49]
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 Mamalukes to make
ready their horses, to directe their journey toward Syria, with
proclamation of death to all that should 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 Mahumetan’s 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 commaundement to his wyfe to bryng me to the
carauana, which shoulde departe from Zida[FN#50] the porte of Mecha to
goe into India. This porte is distant from Mecha 40 miles. Whilest I
laye

[p.356] thus hyd in the Mahumetans house, I can not expresse how
friendly his wyfe vsed me. This also furthered my good enterteynement,
that there was in the house a fayre young mayde, the niese of the
Mahumetan, 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 Arabians, and
there remayned the rest of that nyght, and the next day tyll noone.
	From hence 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 manner
of all nations thyther, except jewes and christians, to whom it is not
lawfull to come thyther. As soone as I entered into the citie, I went
to their temple or Meschita, where I sawe a great multitude of poore
people, as about the number of 25 thousande, attendyng a certayne pilot
who should bryng them into their countrey. Heere I suffered muche
trouble and affliction, beyng 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
vnfruitfull, 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 Nilus, Arabia F[æ]lix, and
dyuers other places. The heate is here so great, that men are in maner
dryed up therewith.

[p.357] And therefore there is euer a great number of sicke folkes. The
citie conteyneth about fyue hundred houses.

After fyftiene dayes were past, I couenaunted with a pilot, who was
ready to departe 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,[FN#51] 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 Redde Sea, otherwise
named Mare Erythræum.

[FN#1] I have consulted the “Navigation and Voyages of Lewes Wertomannus
to the Regions of Arabia, Egypt, Persia, Syria, Ethiopia, and East
India, both within and without the River of Ganges, &c., conteyning
many notable and straunge things both Historicall and Natural.
Translated out of Latine into Englyshe by Richarde Eden. In the year of
our Lord, 1576.”—(Hakluyt’s Voyages, vol. iv.) The curious reader will also
find the work in Purchas (Pilgrimmes and Pilgrimage, vol. ii.) and
Ramusio (Raccolta delle Navigasioni e Viaggi, tom. 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.
[FN#2] 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 ages.
[FN#3] This may confirm Strabo’s account of [Æ]lius Gallus’ loss, after a
conflict with a host of Arabs—two Roman soldiers. Mons. Jomard, noticing
the case, pleasantly remarks, that the two individuals in question are
to be pitied for their extreme ill-luck.
[FN#4] 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 boys—
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,” previously
applied to him by the “Pagan.”
[FN#5] 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 have committed, was that, by his ignorance of the
rules of ablution, he made men agree that he was “no sainct, but a madman.”
[FN#6] 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 naturæ had
deprived of their second horn. But the suspicion of fable remains.
[FN#7] 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 favour of such unnatural diet have been fully
explained by the infamous M. de Sade.
[FN#8] This is, to the present day, a food confined to the Badawin.
[FN#9] This alludes to the gardens of Kuba. The number of date-trees is
now greatly increased. (See chap. xix.)
[FN#10] The Ayn al-Zarka, flowing from the direction of Kuba. (Chap.
xviii).
[FN#11] Masjid, a Mosque.
[FN#12] Nothing can to more correct than this part of Bartema’s
description.
[FN#13] Nabi (the Prophet), Abu Bakr, Osman, Omar, and Fatimah. It was
never believed that Osman was buried in the Prophet’s Mosque. This part
of the description is utterly incorrect. The tombs are within the “tower”
above-mentioned; and Bartema, in his 13th chapter, quoted below, seems
to be aware of the fact.
[FN#14] The request was an unconscionable one; and the “chief priest” knew
that the body, being enclosed within four walls, could not be seen.
[FN#15] This is incorrect. “Hazrat Isa,” after his second coming, will be
buried in the Prophet’s “Hujrah.” But no Moslem ever believed that the
founder of Christianity left his corpse in this world. (See chap. xvi.)
[FN#16] Most probably, in the Barr al-Manakhah, where the Damascus
caravan still pitches tents.
[FN#17] This passage shows the antiquity of the still popular
superstition which makes a light to proceed from the Prophet’s tomb.
[FN#18] 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.
[FN#19] This account is correct. Kusayr (Cosseir), Suez, and Jeddah
still supply Al-Madinah.
[FN#20] 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 Al-Madinah and Meccah there are no “Seas of
Sand.”
[FN#21] The name of St. Mark is utterly unknown in Al-Hijaz. Probably
the origin of the fountain described in the text was a theory that
sprang from the brains of the Christian Mamluks.
[FN#22] A fair description of the still favourite vehicles, the
Shugduf, Takht-rawan, and the Shibriyah. It is almost needless to say
that the use of the mariner’s compass is unknown to the guides in
Al-Hijaz.
[FN#23] Wonderful 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 day.
[FN#24] This is probably Jabal Warkan, on the Darb al-Sultani, or Sea
road to Meccah. For the Moslem tradition about its Sinaitic origin, see
Chapter xx.
[FN#25] The Saniyah Kuda, a pass opening upon the Meccah plain. Here
two towers are now erected.
[FN#26] This is the open ground leading to the Muna Pass.
[FN#27] An error. The sacrifice is performed at Muna, not on Arafat,
the mountain here alluded to.
[FN#28] The material is a close grey granite.
[FN#29] The form of the building has now been changed.
[FN#30] The Meccans have a tradition concerning it, that it is derived
from Baghdad.
[FN#31] 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.
[FN#32] This is still correct. Suez supplies Jeddah with corn and other
provisions.
[FN#33] A prodigious exaggeration. Burckhardt enumerates twenty. The
principal gates are seventeen in number. In the old building they were
more numerous. Jos. Pitt 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.”
[FN#34] Bartema alludes, probably, to the Bab al-Ziyadah, in the
northern enceinte.
[FN#35] I saw nothing of the kind, though constantly in the Harim at
Meccah.
[FN#36] “The Ka’abah 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, concerning which more hereafter, gave 18 paces
in breadth, and 22 in length.
[FN#37] In ancient times possibly it was silk: now, it is of silk and
cotton mixed.
[FN#38] These are the brazen rings which serve to fasten the lower edge
of the Kiswah, or covering.
[FN#39] A true description of the water of the well Zemzem.
[FN#40] There is great confusion in this part of Bartema’s narrative. On
the 9th of Zu’l Hijjah, the pilgrims leave Mount Arafat. On the 10th,
many hasten into Meccah, and enter the Ka’abah. They then return to the
valley of Muna, where their tents are pitched and they sacrifice the
victims. On the 12th, the tents are struck, and the pilgrims re-enter
Meccah.
[FN#41] 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 afford necessaries for the way. “By Allah,” he
replied, “there is fire within their hearts, which can be quenched only
at God’s House, and at His Prophet’s Tomb.”
[FN#42] Bartema alludes to the “Day of Arafat,” 9th of Zu’l Hijjah, which
precedes, not follows, the “Day of Sacrifice.”
[FN#43] Bartema alludes to the “Shaytan al-Kabir,” the “great devil,” as the
buttress at Al-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.
[FN#44] 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;”
the latter word being probably a clerical error for pigeon. When
describing the Ka’abah, I shall have occasion to allude to the “blue-rocks”
of Meccah.
[FN#45] No one would eat the pigeons of the Ka’abah; but in other places,
Al-Madinah, for instance, they are sometimes used as articles of food.
[FN#46] In the vulgar dialect, “Ant min ayn?”
[FN#47] 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.”
[FN#48] Ashrafi, ducats.
[FN#49] The Deccan.
[FN#50] Jeddah
[FN#51] A foist, foyst or buss, was a kind of felucca, partially decked.

[p.358]APPENDIX V.

THE PILGRIMAGE OF JOSEPH PITTS TO MECCAH AND AL-MADINAH.—A.D. 1680

OUR second pilgrim was Jos. Pitts, of Exon,[FN#1] a youth fifteen or
sixteen 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 Meccah and Al-Madinah 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 credulity. Conversant with Turkish and Arabic, he has
acquired more knowledge of the tenets and practice of Al-Islam than his
predecessor, and the term of his residence at Algier, fifteen years,
sufficed, despite the defects of his education, to give fulness and
finish to his observations. His chief patroon, captain of a troop of

[p.359] 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 repeatedly 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 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
impurity, 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 compelled by his patroon’s barbarity to abjure his faith. One
sentence 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 Mahometan.” Indeed, throughout the work, it appears
that his repentance 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

[p.360] 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 having entered
into pay, still living with his master, Pitts began to think of escape.
The Grand Turk had sent to Algier for ships, and the renegade was
allowed to embark on board one of them provided with a diplomatic
letter[FN#2] from 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 £4 for his
passage in a French ship to Leghorn. Therefrom, in the evening before
sailing, he went on board “apparel’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

[p.361] European Christian[FN#3] part of the world.” He travelled through
Italy, Germany, and Holland, where he received many and great
kindnesses. But his patriotism was damped as he entered “England, his own
native country, and the civilised land must have made him for a time
regret having left Algier. 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 Dreadnought
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 protection from the Admiralty office,
upon the receipt of which good news, Joseph Pitts did “rejoice
exceedingly and could not 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 description
of his first meeting with his father. His mother died about a year
before his return.

The following passages are parts of the 7th and 8th chapters of Pitts’
little-known work.

“Next we came to Gidda, the nearest sea-port town to Mecca, not quite one
day’s journey from it,[FN#4] where the ships are unloaded. Here we are
met by Dilleels,[FN#5] i.e. certain persons who came from Mecca on
purpose to instruct the Hagges, or pilgrims, in the ceremonies (most
[p.362] 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.[FN#6] After the camels are laid down, he first
directs us to the Fountains, there to take Abdes[FN#7]; 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-al-salem, i.e. the Welcome Gate, or Gate of Peace. After a
few paces entrance, the Dilleel 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 seven times, and then make two Erkaets.[FN#8] This
being done, we are led 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.[FN#9] 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 trembling they

[p.363] were possessed; in so much that I could scarce forbear shedding
of tears, to see their zeal, though blind and idolatrous. After all
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 of our
Hirrawems,[FN#10] and put on our ordinary clothes again.

“All the pilgrims hold it to be their great duty well to improve 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,[FN#11] 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.[FN#12] But
by reason of the sins of the multitudes of people who kiss it, it is
become black, and is now called Haggar Esswaed, 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 day or night.[FN#13]
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-Allah, they shall
be answered. Many will walk round

[p.364] till they are quite weary, then rest, and at it again;
carefully remembering at the end of every seventh time to perform two
Erkaets. This 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 it.[FN#14] 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 individual 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 devotion, as Allah-waick barick, i.e. Blessed God, or
Allah cabor, i.e. Great God, some such like; and so passing by it till
opportunity of kissing it offers, is thought sufficient.[FN#15] But
when there are but few men at Towoaf, then the women get 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
expressions. When the women are at the stone, then it is esteemed a
very rude and abominable thing to go near them, respecting the time and
place.

[p.365]“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 be a place of no tolerable entertainment, were it not for
the anniversary 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
concerning them, viz.: That when Abraham went about building the
Beat-Allah, God by his wonderful providence did so order it, 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.[FN#16] Between

[p.366] 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,[FN#17] i.e. 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 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
operation 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, unless in some
particular places. Here are several sorts of good fruits to be had,
viz. grapes, melons, watermelons, cucumbers, pumkins, and the like; but
these are brought two or three days’ journey off, where there is a place
of very great plenty, called, if I mistake not, Habbash.[FN#18]
[p.367] 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;
others 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, 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 reading, 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

[p.368] square, and near twenty-four foot[FN#19] 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
embroidered 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 enter into it, a
sort of ladder-stairs are brought for that purpose. The door is plated
all over with silver[FN#20] and there is a covering hangs over it and
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.

[p.369] 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 Patroon
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.[FN#21] 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 side,[FN#22] 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
Beat, as the reward of his vain and unlawful curiosity.[FN#23] 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,[FN#24]
and a bar of iron fastened to them, on which hanged three or four
silver lamps, which are, I suppose, but seldom,

[p.370] 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 no time to read. The walls, though of
marble on the inside, are hung over with silk, which is pulled
off[FN#25] 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 Mahomet, 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 Mecca (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 ground round the Beat (where the people
exercise themselves in the duty of Towoaf) is paved with marble[FN#26]
about 50 foot in breadth, and round this marble pavement stand pillars
of brass about 15 foot high[FN#27] and

[p.371] 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
brasswires 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 burns till the
oil is spent. Every day they are washed clean, and replenished 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 windows all round it, in
which chambers the Emaums (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 Schafee[FN#28]; 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 difference between them in the ceremonial part.

“About twelve paces from the Beat is (as they say) the sepulchre of
Abraham,[FN#29] who by God’s immediate command, they tell you, built this
Beat-Allah; which

[p.372] sepulchre is enclosed within iron gates. It is made somewhat
like the tombstones 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 common water, except that it was somewhat brackish. The
Hagges, when they come first to Mecca, drink of it unreasonably; 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 Ramadan are filled with the said water and placed
all along before the people (with cups to drink) as they are kneeling
and waiting for Acsham-nomas, or evening service; and as soon as the
Mezzins or clerks on the tops of the minarets began 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 oftentimes bathe
themselves with it, at which time they take off their clothes, only
covering their lower parts with thin wrapper, and one of the drawers
pours on each person’s head five or six buckets of water.[FN#30] The
[p.373] person bathing may lawfully wash himself therewith above the
middle, but not his lower parts, because they account they are not
worthy, only letting the water take its way downwards. In short, they
make use of this water only to drink, take Abdes, and for bathing:
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 Ishmael was laid by his
mother Hagar. I have heard them tell the story exactly as it is
recorded in the 21st 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 Ramadan 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 certain hill called Gibbel el Orphat
(El Arafat), i.e. the Mountain of Knowledge; for [p.374] there, they
say, Adam first found and knew his wife Eve. And they likewise say,
that she was buried at Gidda near the Red Sea; at whose sepulchre all
the Hagges who come to Mecca by way of the Red 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 a bow-shot distant 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 hill 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 day after the two months
after Ramadan; 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.[FN#31]

“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 mountain 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 it[FN#32];
[p.375] neither are there any inhabitants 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 time, 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.[FN#33]

“It was a sight indeed, able to pierce one’s heart, to behold so many
thousands in their garments of humility and mortification, 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, viz. until the
time of Acsham-nomas, which is to be performed about half an hour after
sunset. (It is matter of sorrowful reflection, to compare the
indifference of many 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[FN#34]; but
after nomas, before

[p.376] 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,[FN#35] 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!

“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.[FN#36] 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. Erzum le Shetane wazbehe[FN#37];
i.e. stone the devil, and them that please him.[FN#38] And there are
two other of the like pillars, which are situated near one another; at
each of which

[p.377] (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.’ You 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 off
Hirrawem, and put on other clothes, and then salute one another with a
kiss, saying, ‘Byram Mabarick Ela,’ i.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 will 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.[FN#39]

“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 that means willingly lose
their sight, desiring to see nothing evil or profane, after so sacred a
sight as the temple at Mecca; but I never knew any such thing done.

[p.378] “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 performed Towoaf for a while, and a few Erkaets,
they return again to Mina. And when the three days of Byram are
expired, they all, 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 abundance of fine stones for rings and
bracelets, &c., brought from Yeamane[FN#40]; 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, because they have the advantage
of dipping it in the holy water, Zem Zem. They are very careful to
carry the said

[p.379] caffin with them wherever they travel, whether by sea or land,
that they may be sure to be buried therein.

“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 devotions 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 welcome
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 backward 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 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), i.e. one of the West. ‘Pray,’ quoth
he, ‘how far west did you come?’ I told him from Gazair, i.e. Algier. ‘Ah!’
replied he, ‘have you taken so much

[p.380] 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 selling models of
the temple unto strangers, and in being serviceable to the Pilgrims.
Here are also several Effendies, or masters of learning, who daily
expound out of the Alcoran, sitting 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 before), 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 methought 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 powdered incense out of a little pouch that hangs
by his side.[FN#41]

“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.

[p.381] “CHAPTER VIII.— Of the Pilgrims’ return from Mecca: their visit made
at Medina to Mahomet’s tomb there.

“Having thus given you an account of the Turks’ pilgrimage to Mecca, 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 falsehood), 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 therefore, those carriers[FN#42] 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,

[p.382] which are all tied one after the other, like as in
teams.[FN#43] 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 is 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.[FN#44] In the head of every cottor there goes, likewise, a
sumpter camel which carries his treasures, &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 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 make 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 travelling,
because of the exceeding heat of the sun by day), which are carried on
the tops of high poles, to direct the Hagges on their march.[FN#45]
They are somewhat like

[p.382] 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 likewise 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 every one knows by them his respective
cottor. They 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 impossible 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, and having dined, lay down again, till about four
in the afternoon; 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

[p.384] are they in their worship), and then they travel till next
morning. If water be scarce, what I call an imaginary Abdes[FN#46] will
do. As for ancient men, it being very troublesome for such to alight
off the camels, and get up 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 suffice 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 Egypt, and if
we find we have more than we may well guess will suffice us for a long
time, we sell the overplus 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 provisions, water, bedding, &c., with him, and
usually three or four diet together, and sometimes 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

[p.385] this renegado that if he would 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 a 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 meanwhile, 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 the 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 sometimes destroy him immediately; but at other times, being a
little more

[p.386] inclined to mercy, they strip him naked, and let him return to
the Caravan.[FN#47]

“About the tenth easy day’s journey, after we come out of Mecca, we enter
into Medina, the place where Mahomet lies 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, Tartary, Egypt, and Africa, think themselves obliged
to do so.

“Medina is but a little town, and poor, yet it is walled round,[FN#48]
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,[FN#49] 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 impostor is laid,
which hath silk 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

[p.387] of the curtains round it, nor are any of the Hagges permitted
to enter there.[FN#50] None go in but the Eunuchs, who keep watch over
it, and they only 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,[FN#51] between the brass
grates, and to petition the dead juggler, which they do with a
wonderful deal of reverence, affection, and zeal. My patroon had his
silk handkerchief stole out of his bosom, while he stood at his
devotion here.

“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 gate, 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 his 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 Jesus Christ, when he shall come again
personally 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 country, 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 the houses and
Mosques to tread upon.

[p.388] “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, particularly raisins; but from
whence I cannot tell.[FN#52] 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 sweetmeats, &c. 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, 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 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 [p.389] the way, which together make us (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 through by
night; I suppose it was a village, where were some trees, and, we
thought, gardens.”

[FN#1] It is curious, as Crichton (Arabia, vol. 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 Relation 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 remarkable 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[.]
[FN#2] 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 Raye at Smyrna,
to favour the escape of Joseph Pitts, an English renegade, from a
squadron of Algier men-of-war. Had my kindness to him been discovered
by the government of Algiers, my legs and arms had first been broken,
and my carcass burnt—a danger hitherto not courted by any.”
[FN#3] The italics in the text are the author’s. This is admirably
characteristic of the man. Asiatic Christendom would not satisfy him.
He seems to hate the “damnable doctrines” of the “Papists,” almost as much as
those of the Moslems.
[FN#4] He must have been accustomed to long days’ journeys. Al-Idrisi
makes Jeddah forty miles from Meccah; I calculated about forty-four.
[FN#5] Dalil, a guide, generally called at Meccah “Muttawwif.”
[FN#6] Pitts’ Note,—that before they’ll provide for themselves, they serve
God in their way.
[FN#7] Abdast is the Turkish word, borrowed from the Persian, for “Wuzu,”
the minor ablution.
[FN#8] Ruka’at, a bending. This two-bow prayer is in honour of the Mosque.
[FN#9] This is the ceremony technically called Al-Sai, or running
between Safa and Marwah. Burckhardt describes it accurately, vol. i.
pp. 174, 175.
[FN#10] Ihram, the pilgrim-garb.
[FN#11] Now gold or gilt.
[FN#12] This is an error. The stone is called Hajar Aswad, the Black
Stone, or Hajar As’ad, the Blessed Stone. Moreover, it did not change its
colour on account of the sins of the people who kissed it.
[FN#13] The Meccans, in effect, still make this a boast.
[FN#14] Nothing more blindly prejudiced than this statement. Moslems
turn towards Meccah, as Christians towards Jerusalem.
[FN#15] As will afterwards be explained, all the four orthodox schools
do not think it necessary to kiss the stone after each circumambulation.
[FN#16] These are mere local traditions. The original Ka’abah was
composed of materials gathered from the six mountains of Paradise
(chap. xx.) The present building is of grey granite quarried in a hill
near Meccah.
[FN#17] Now Jabal Nur.
[FN#18] They come from the well-known Taif, which the country people
call Hijaz, but never Habbash. The word Taif literally means the
“circumambulator.” It is said that when Adam settled at Meccah, 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 Ka’abah, settled itself down eastward of Meccah. Hence, to the
present day, Taif is called Kita min al-Sham, a piece of Syria, its
fatherland.
[FN#19] This is an error of printing for “paces.”
[FN#20] (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 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.)
[FN#21] This is no longer the case. Few women ever enter the Ka’abah, on
account of the personal danger they run there.
[FN#22] More correctly, at three of the corners, and the fourth
opposite the southern third of the western wall.
[FN#23] It is deemed disrespectful to look at the ceiling, but pilgrims
may turn their eyes in any other direction they please.
[FN#24] There are now three.
[FN#25] It is tucked up about six feet high.
[FN#26] It is a close kind of grey granite, which takes a high polish
from the pilgrims’ feet.
[FN#27] Now iron posts.
[FN#28] The Shafe’i school have not, and never had, a peculiar oratory
like the other three schools. They pray near the well Zemzem.
[FN#29] This place contains the stone which served Abraham for a
scaffold when he was erecting the Ka’abah. Some of our popular writers
confound this stone with the Hajar al-Aswad.
[FN#30] (Pitts’ Note.) The worthy Mons. Thevenot saith, that the waters
of Meccah are bitter; but I never 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 waters of Zemzem brackish. To
my taste it was a salt-bitter, which was exceedingly disagreeable.
(R.F.B.)
[FN#31] They are not so modest. 600,000 is the mystical number; others
declare it to be incalculable. Oftentimes 70,000 have met at Arafat.
[FN#32] The cupola has now disappeared; there is a tall pillar of
masonry-work, whitewashed, rising from a plastered floor, for praying.
[FN#33] On the 9th Zu’l 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.
[FN#34] At Muzdalifah.
[FN#35] This, I need scarcely say, is speaking as a Christian. All
Moslems believe that Ishmael, and not Isaac, was ordered to be
sacrificed. The place to which Pitts alludes is still shown to pilgrims.
[FN#36] (Pitts’ Note.) Monsieur 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 Turkish
matters; and I pay much deference to that great author.
[FN#37] The Rami or Jaculator now usually says, as he casts each stone,
“In the name of Allah, and Allah is omnipotent (Raghman li’sh’ Shaytani wa
Khizyatih), in token of abhorrence to Satan, and for his ignominy (I do
this).”
[FN#38] The Arabic would mean stone the devil and slay him, unless
“wazbehe” be an error for “wa ashabih,”—“and his companions.”
[FN#39] Even in the present day, men who have led “wild” lives in their
youth, often date their reformation from the first pilgrimage.
[FN#40] Al-Yaman, Southern Arabia, whose “Akik,” or cornelians were
celebrated.
[FN#41] This is still practised in Moslem countries, being considered a
decent way of begging during public prayers, without interrupting them.
[FN#42] These people will contract to board the pilgrim, and to provide
him with a tent, as well as to convey his luggage.
[FN#43] The usual way now is in “Kitar,” or in Indian file, each camel’s
halter being tied to the tail of the beast that precedes him. Pitts’ “cottor”
must be a kitar, but he uses the word in another of its numerous senses.
[FN#44] This vehicle is the “Takht-rawan” of Arabia.
[FN#45] He describes the Mashals still in use. Lane has sketched them,
Mod. Egypt. chap. vi.
[FN#46] Pitts means by “imaginary Abdes,” the sand ablution,—lawful when
water is wanted for sustaining life.
[FN#47] As I shall explain at a future time, there are still some
Hijazi Badawin 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 consists in stealing it.
[FN#48] The walls, therefore, were built between A.D. 1503 and A.D.
1680.
[FN#49] These are not windows, but simply the inter-columnar spaces
filled with grating.
[FN#50] 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.
[FN#51] These are the small apertures in the Southern grating. See
Chap. xvi.
[FN#52] The Caravan must have been near the harbour of Muwaylah, where
supplies are abundant.

[p.390]APPENDIX VI.

GIOVANNI FINATI.

THE third pilgrim on our list is Giovanni Finati, who, under the Moslem
name of “Haji Mohammed,” made the campaign against the Wahhabis for the
recovery of Meccah and Al-Madinah. 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 Romish 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 occasion of Napoleon’s short visit, preserved him from a platoon of
infantry. His next move was to Spalato, 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 Ragusa, having
consulted an Albanian “captain-merchant,” Giovanni Finati, and fifteen
other Italians—

[p.391] “including 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 Pasha, 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 apostatize they were made common slaves,
and worked at the quarries till their “backs were sore.” Under 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 the determination of professing to be
Mohammedans. 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 Harim
were open to him[FN#1], and Giovanni Finati repaid his kindness by
seducing Fatimah, a Georgian girl, his master’s favourite 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,[FN#2]

[p.392] so he came to the felon resolution 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 Al-Dorado
to which all poverty-struck Albanian adventurers were then flocking. At
Alexandr[i]a the new Mahomet, after twice deserting from a Christian
service, at the risk of life and honour, voluntarily enlisted as an
Albanian private soldier in a Moslem land; the naïvete with which he
admires and comments upon his conduct is a curious moral phenomenon.
Thence he proceeded to Cairo, and became a “Balik bash” (corporal), in
charge of six Albanian privates, of Mohammed Ali’s body-guard. Ensued a
campaign against the Mamluks 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 Meccah, under Tussun Pasha. 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 the 6th October, 1811, the army started for Suez, where
eighteen vessels waited to convey them to Yambu’. Mahomet assisted at the
capture of that port, and was fortunate enough to escape alive from the
desperate action of Jadaydah.[FN#3] Rheumatism obliged him

[p.393] 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 Pasha’s success in Al-Hijaz, joined a
reinforcement of Albanians, travelled to Suez, touched at Yambu’ and at
Jeddah, assisted at the siege and capture of Kunfudah, and was present
at its recapture by the Wahhabis. Wounded, sick, harassed by the
Badawin, 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 desertion, 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 Meccah.

“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 everything is very silent, except the Muezzins
calling from the minarets.

“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,[FN#4] on which there
are Arabic inscriptions embroidered in gold.

“Facing one of its angles (for this little edifice is of

[p.394] a square form),[FN#5] there is a well which is called the well
Zemzem, of which the water is considered so peculiarly holy 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 multitude of them has
been so prodigious as to have worn the surface quite away.

“Quite detached, but fronting to the Caaba, stand four pavilions
(corresponding to the four sects of the Mahometan religion), 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 not less than about 40,000 persons, who all seemed to be
full of reverence towards the holy place.[FN#6]”

After commenting on the crowded state of the city, the lodging of
pilgrims in tents and huts, or on the bare ground outside the
walls,[FN#7] and the extravagant prices of provisions, Haji Mahomet
proceeds with his description.

“Over and above the general ceremonies of the purification at the well,
and of the kissing of the corner-stone,[FN#8]

[p.395]and of the walking round the Caaba a certain number of times in
a devout manner, every one has also his own separate prayers 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.[FN#9] The road also passes near a spot where was
formerly a well which is superstitiously 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
neighbourhood, 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.[FN#10]

[p.396]“Beyond this point stands a column,[FN#11] 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 complete Hajis, since, without this
circumstance, all the rest remains 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[FN#12] 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 purpose[FN#13]: and when this
is finished the African

[p.397] and Asiatic Caravans part company and return to their own
several countries, many detachments of the pilgrims visiting Medinah in
the way.”

Being desirous of enrolment in some new division of Mohammed Ali’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
Pasha 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 secre[c]y, “since it was of importance that no reverse
or check should be generally talked of.” Before starting our author adds
some “singular particulars” which escaped 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 off all his clothes, and takes a sort of large wrapping garment
in lieu of them to cover himself; upon which he sets off 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

[p.398] pilgrim takes his clothes again, and has finished that act of
devotion.[FN#14]

“There is also near the holy city an eminence called the hill of
light,[FN#15] as I 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 year,[FN#16] 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, or to work for
his livelihood

[p.399] in any way whatever; and, next, he must submit patiently to all
offences and injuries, and must never again touch anything that is
impure or unholy.[FN#17]”

“One more remark with reference to the great scene of sacrifice at
Arafat. Though the Pasha’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 unprotected 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.[FN#18]

     [p.400] After the pilgrimage Haji Mahomet repaired to Taif. On the
road he remarked a phenomenon observable in Al-Hijaz—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 phenomenon[FN#19]? The natives as usual, observing it, have
invested its origin with the garb of fable.

It is not my intention to accompany Mahomet to the shameful defeat of
Taraba, where Tussun Pasha lost three quarters of his army, or to the
glorious victory of Bissel, where Mohammed Ali on the 10th January,
1815, broke 24,000 Wahhabis commanded by Faysal bin Sa’ud. His account of
this interesting 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.[FN#20]

Still less would it be to the purpose to describe the latter details of
Haji Mahomet’s career, his return to Cairo, his accompanying Mr. Bankes
to upper Egypt and Syria, and his various trips to Aleppo, Kurdistan,
the

[p.401] Sa’id, the great Oasis, Nabathaea, Senna’ar, and Dongola. We
concede to him the praise claimed by his translator, that he was a
traveller to no ordinary extent; but beyond this we cannot go. He was
so ignorant that he had forgotten to write[FN#21]; his curiosity and
his powers of observation keep pace with his knowledge[FN#22]; his
moral character as it appears in print is of that description which
knows no sense of shame: it is not candour but sheer insensibility
which makes him relate circumstantially his repeated desertions, his
betrayal of Fatimah, and his various plunderings.

[FN#1] He describes the Harim as containing “the females of different
countries, all 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.
[FN#2] 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 renegadoes do submit to it.” In bigoted Moslem countries, it is
considered a sine qua non.
[FN#3] See Chap. xiii. of this work.
[FN#4] “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
specimen in my possession—a mixture of silk and cotton—proves.
[FN#5] 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.
[FN#6] 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.
[FN#7] Rich pilgrims always secure lodgings; the poorer class cannot
afford them; therefore, the great Caravans from Egypt, Damascus,
Baghdad, and other places, pitch on certain spots outside the city.
[FN#8] 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.
[FN#9] Ali Bey is correct in stating that the running is on the return
from Arafat, directly after sunset.
[FN#10] This sentence abounds in blunders. Sale, Ali Bey, and
Burckhardt, all give correct accounts of the little pillar of masonry—it
has nothing to do with the well—which denotes the place where Satan
appeared to Abraham. 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.
[FN#11] Mr. Bankes confounds this column with the Devil’s Pillar at Muna.
Finati alludes to the landmarks of the Arafat plain, now called
Al-Alamayn (the two marks). The pilgrims must stand within these
boundaries on a certain day (the 9th of Zu’l Hijjah), otherwise he has
failed to observe a rital ordinance.
[FN#12] 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.
[FN#13] This custom is now obsolete, as regards the grand body of
pilgrims. Anciently, a certificate from the Sharif was given to all who
could afford money for a proof of having performed the pilgrimage, but
no such practice at present exists. My friends have frequently asked
me, what proof there is of a Moslem’s having become a Haji. None
whatever; consequently impostors abound. Sa’adi, in the Gulistan, notices
a case. But the ceremonies of the Hajj are so complicated and
unintelligible by mere description, that a little cross-questioning
applied to the false Haji would easily detect him.
[FN#14] No wonder Mr. Bankes is somewhat puzzled by this passage.
Certainly none but a pilgrim could guess that the author refers to the
rites called Al-Umrah and Al-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
only shaved once, and a few strokes of the razor sufficed for the
purpose of religious tonsure.
[FN#15] Jabal Nur, anciently Hira, is a dull grey as of granite; it
derives its modern name from the spiritual light of religion.
Circumstances prevented my ascending it, so I cannot comment upon
Finati’s “custom of leaping.”
[FN#16] Open three days in the year, according to Ali Bey, the same in
Burckhardt’s, and in my time. Besides these public occasions, private
largesses can always turn the key.
[FN#17] I heard from good authority, that the Ka’abah is never opened
without several pilgrims being crushed to death. Ali Bey (remarks Mr.
Bankes) says nothing of the supposed conditions annexed. In my next
volume [Part iii. (“Meccah”) of this work] I shall give them, as I received
them from the lips of learned and respectable Moslems. They differ
considerably from Finati’s, and no wonder; his account is completely
opposed to the strong good sense which pervades the customs of
Al-Islam. As regards his sneer at the monastic orders in Italy—that the
conditions of entering are stricter and more binding than those of the
Ka’abah, yet that numbers are ready to profess in them—it must not be
imagined that Arab human nature differs very materially from Italian.
Many unworthy feet pass the threshold of the Ka’abah; but there are many
Moslems, my friend, Omar Effendi, for instance, who have performed the
pilgrimage a dozen times, and would never, from conscientious motives,
enter the holy edifice.
[FN#18] In 1807, according to Ali Bey, the Wahhabis took the same
precaution, 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 shall explain in another part of this work, it was of old, and
still is, the custom of the fiercer kind of Badawin 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 with the common foe, or if unable to fight with him, the
wild men invariably turn their swords against their private enemies.
[FN#19] 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 atmosphere at night.
[FN#20] Mohammed Ali gave six dollars for every Arab head, which fact
accounts for the heaps that surrounded him. One would suppose that when
acting against an ene[m]y, so quick and agile as the Arabs, such an
order would be an unwise one. Experience, however, proves the contrary.
[FN#21] “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.
[FN#22] 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 fall into convulsions,”—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 favourable
circumstances, learned as little as possible.

[p.402]APPENDIX VII.

NOTES ON MY JOURNEY.

BY A. SPRENGER.

IN the map to a former edition of the Pilgrimage, Captain Burton’s route
from Madina to Meccah is wrongly laid down, owing to a typographical
error of the text, “From Wady Laymun to Meccah S.E. 45°;” (see vol. ii. p.
155, ante), whereas the road runs S.W. 45°, or, as Hamdany expresses
himself in the commentary on the Qacyda Rod., “Between west and south;
and therefore the setting sun shines at the evening prayer (your face
being turned towards Meccah) on your right temple.” The account of the
eastern route from Madina to Meccah by so experienced a traveller as
Captain Burton is an important contribution to our geographical
knowledge of Arabia. It leads over the lower terrace of Nejd, the
country which Muslim writers consider as the home of the genuine Arabs
and the scene of Arabic chivalry. As by this mistake the results of my
friend’s pilgrimage, which, though pious as he unquestionably is, he did
not undertake from purely religious motives, have been in a great
measure marred, I called in 1871 his attention to it. At the same time
I submitted to him a sketch of a map in which his own and Burckhardt’s
routes are protracted, and a few notes culled from Arabic geographers,
with the intention of showing how much light his investigations throw
on early

[p.403] geography if illustrated by a corrected map; and how they fail
to fulfil this object if the mistake is not cleared up. The
enterprising traveller approved of both the notes and the map, and
expressed it as his opinion that it might be useful to append them to
the new edition. I therefore thought proper to recast them, and to
present them herewith to the reader.

At Sufayna, Burton found the Baghdad Caravan. The regular
Baghdad-Meccah Road, of which we have two itineraries, the one
reproduced by Hamdany and the other by Ibn Khordadbeh, Qodama, and
others, keeps to the left of Sufayna, and runs parallel with the
Eastern Madina-Meccah Road to within one stage of Meccah. We find only
one passage in Arabic geographers from which we learn that the
Baghdadlies, as long as a thousand years ago, used under certain
circumstances to take the way of Sufayna. Yacut, vol. iii. p. 403, says
“Sufayna ([Arabic] Cufayna), a place in the caliya (Highland) within the
territory of the Solaymites, lies on the road of Zobayda. The pilgrims
make a roundabout, and take this road, if they suffer from want of
water. The pass of Sufayna, by which they have to descend, is very
difficult.” The ridges over which the road leads are called al-Sitar, and
are described by Yacut, vol. iii. p. 38, as a range of red hills,
flanking Sufayna, with defiles which serve as passes. Burton, vol. ii.
p. 128, describes them as low hills of red sandstone and bright
porphyry. Zobayda, whose name the partly improved, partly newly opened
Hajj-Road from Baghdad to Meccah bore, was the wife of Caliph Harun,
and it appears from Burton, pp. 134 and 136, that the improvements made
by this spirited woman—as the wells near Ghadir, and the Birkat (Tank)—are
now ascribed to her weak, fantastical, and contemptible husband.
	Burton’s description of the plain covered with huge boulders and
detached rocks (p. 131) puts us in mind of

[p.404] the Felsenmeer in the Odenwald. Yacut, vol. iii. p. 370,
describes the two most gigantic of these rock-pillars, which are too
far to the left of Burton’s road than that he could have seen them: “Below
Sufayna in a desert plain there rise two pillars so high that nobody,
unless he be a bird, can mount them; the one is called cAmud (column)
of al-Ban, after the place al-Ban, and the other cAmud of al-Safh. They
are both on the right-hand side of the (regular) road from Baghdad to
Meccah, one mile from Ofayciya (a station on the regular road which
answers to Sufayna).” Such desolate, fantastic scenery is not rare in
Arabia nor close to the western coast of the Red Sea. The Fiumara, from
which Burton (p. 138) emerged at six A.M., Sept. 9, was crossed by
Burckhardt at Kholayc, and is a more important feature of the country
than the two travellers were aware of. There are only five or six
Wadies which break through the chain of mountains that runs parallel
with the Red Sea, and of these, proceeding from south to north, Wady
Nakhla (Wady Laymun) is the first, and this Fiumara the second. Early
geographers call it Wady Amaj, or after a place of some importance
situated in its lower course, Wady Saya. Hamdany, p. 294, says: “Amaj and
Ghoran are two Wadies which commence in the Harra (volcanic region) of
the Beni Solaym, and reach the sea.” The descriptions of this Wady
compiled by Yacut, vol. iii. pp. 26 and 839, are more ample. According
to one, it contains seventy springs: according to another, it is a Wady
which you overlook if you stand on the Sharat (the mountain now called
Jebel Cobh). In its upper course it runs between the two Hamiya, which
is the name of two black volcanic regions. It contains several villages
of note, and there lead roads to it from various parts of the country.
In its uppermost part lies the village of Faric with date-groves,
cultivated fields and gardens, producing plantains, pomegranates, and
grapes, and in its lower

[p.405] course, close to Saya, the rich and populous village Mahaya.
The whole Wady is one of the Acradh (oasis-like districts) of Madina,
and is administered by a Lieutenant of the Governor of that city. Yacut
makes the remark to this description: “I do not know whether this valley
is still in the same condition, or whether it has altered.” Though we
know much less of it than Yacut, we may safely assert that the
cultivation has vanished and the condition has altered.

At Zariba ([Arabic], Dhariba) Burton and his party put on the Ihram
(pilgrim-garb). If the Baghdadlies follow the regular road they perform
this ceremony at Dzat-Irq, which lies somewhat lower down than Dhariba,
to the South-east of it, and therefore the rain-water which falls in
Dhariba flows in the shape of a torrent to Dzat-Irq, and is thence
carried off by the Northern Nakhla. Above the station of Dzat-Irq there
rise ridges called Irq; up these ridges the regular Baghdad Road
ascends to the high-plateau, and they are therefore considered by early
geographers as the western limit of Nejd. Omara apud Yacut, vol. iv. p.
746, says: “All the country in which the water flows in an Easterly
(North-easterly) direction, beginning from Dzat-Irq as far as
Babylonia, is called Nejd; and the country which slopes Westwards, from
Dzat-Irq to Tihama (the coast), is called Hijaz.” The remarks of Arabic
geographers on the Western watershed, and those of Burton, vol. ii. pp.
142 and 154, illustrate and complete each other most satisfactorily. It
appears from Yacut that the Fiumara in which Burton’s party was attacked
by robbers takes its rise at Ghomayr close to Dzat-Irq, that there were
numerous date-groves in it, and that it falls at Bostan Ibn camir into
the Nakhla, wherefore it is called the Northern Nakhla. The Southern
Nakhla, also called simply Nakhla, a term which is sometimes reserved
for the trunk formed by the junction of the Southern and Northern

[p.406] Nakhla from Bostan Ibn camir downwards, is on account of its
history one of the most interesting spots in all Arabia; I therefore
make no apology for entering on its geography. In our days it is called
Wady Laymun, and Burckhardt, vol. i. p. 158, says of it: “Zeyme is a
half-ruined castle, at the eastern extremity of Wady Lymoun, with
copious springs of running water. Wady Lymoun is a fertile valley,
which extends for several hours (towards West) in the direction of Wady
Fatme (anciently called Batn Marr, or Marr-Tzahran, which is, in fact,
a continuation of Wady Nakhla). It has many date-plantations, and
formerly the ground was cultivated; but this, I believe, has ceased
since the Wahabi invasion: its fruit-gardens, too, have been ruined.
This (he means the village Laymun, compare Burton, vol. ii. p. 147) is
the last stage of the Eastern-Syrian Hadj route. To the South-east or
East-south-east of Wady Lymoun is another fertile valley, called Wady
Medyk, where some sherifs are settled, and where Sherif Ghaleb
possessed landed property.[FN#1]” In the commentary on the Qacyda Rod.,

[p.407] Wady Nakhla, as far as the road to Meccah runs through it, is
described as follows: From the ridges with whose declivity the Western
watershed begins, you descend into Wady Baubat; it is flanked on the
left side by the Sarat mountains, on which Tayif stands, and contains
Qarn-almanazil (once the capital of the Minaeans, the great trading
nation of antiquity). Three or four miles below Qarn is Masjid Ibrahym,
and here the valley assumes the name of Wady Nakhla. At no great
distance from the Masjid there rise on the left-hand side of the Wady
two high peaks called Jebel Yasum and Jebel Kafw. Both were the refuge
of numerous monkeys, who used to invade the neighbouring vineyards. As
you go down Wady Nakhla the first place of importance you meet is
al-Zayma. Close to it was a garden which, during the reign of Moqtadir,
belonged to the Hashimite Prince Abd Allah, and was in a most
flourishing condition. It produced an abundance of henna, plantains,
and vegetables of every description, and yielded a revenue of five
thousand Dinar-mithqals (about £2,860) annually. A canal from Wady (the
river) Nakhla feeds a fountain which jets forth in the midst of the
garden, and lower down a tank. In the garden stood a fort (which in a
dilapidated condition is extant to this day, and spoken of by
Burckhardt). It was built of huge stones, guarded for the defence of
the property by the Banu Sa’d, and tenanted by the servants and followers
of the proprietor. Below al-Zayma is Sabuha, a post-station where a
relay of horses was kept for the transport of Government Despatches. To
give an idea of the distances, I may mention that the post-stages were
twelve Arabic miles asunder, which on this road are rather larger than
an English geographical mile. The first station from Meccah was
Moshash, the second Sabuha, and the third was at the foot of the hill
Yasum. The author of the commentary from which I derive this
information leaves Wady Nakhla soon after Sabuha, and

[p.408] turns his steps towards the holy city. He mentions “the steep
rocky Pass” up which Burton toiled with difficulty, and calls it Orayk.
Though he enters into many details, he takes no notice of the hill-girt
plain called Sola. This name occurs however in an Arabic verse, apud
Yacut, vol. ii. p. 968: “In summer our pasture-grounds are in the country
of Nakhla, within the districts of al-Zayma and Sola.”

In W[a]dy Fatima, Burckhardt found a perennial rivulet, coming from the
Eastward, about three feet broad and two feet deep. It is certain that
Wady Fat?ima, formerly called Wady Marr, is a continuation of Wady
Nakhla, and Yacut considers in one passage Nakhla as a subdivision of
Marr, and in another Marr as part of Wady Nakhla; but we do not know
whether the rivulet, which at al-Zayma seems to be of considerable
size, disappears under the sand in order to come forth again in W[a]dy
Marr, or whether it forms an uninterrupted stream. In ancient times the
regular Baghdad-Meccah Road did not run down from Dzat-Irq by the
Northern Nakhla which Burton followed, but it crossed this Wady near
its Northern end and struck over to the Southern Nakhla as far as Qarn
almarazil, which for a long time was the second station from Meccah,
instead of Dzat-cIrq.

[FN#1] Medyq is Burton’s El-Mazik, the spelling in Arabic being [Arabic]
Madhyq. Burckhardt’s account leads us to think that the village now
called Madhyq, or Wady Laymun, lies on the left bank of the Fiumara,
and is identical with Bostan Ibn ’Amir, which is described by Yacut as
situated in the fork between the Northern and Southern Nakhlas, and
which in ancient times had, like the village Wady Laymun, the name of
the valley of which it was the chief place, viz., Batn Nakhla. Burton
gives no information of the position of the village, but he says: “On the
right bank of the Fiumara stood the Meccan Sharif’s state pavilion.” Unless
the pavilion is separated from the village by the Fiumara there is a
discrepancy between the two accounts, which leads me to suspect that
“right” is an oversight for “left.” Anciently [Arabic] was pronounced Nakhlat,
and, if we suppress the guttural, as the Greeks and Romans sometimes
did, Nalat. Strabo, p. 782, in his narrative of the retreat of Aelius
Gallus, mentions a place which he calls Mal?tha, and of which he says
it stood on the bank of a river—a position which few towns in Arabia
have. The context leaves no doubt that he means Batn Nakhla, and that
Maltha is a mistake for Naltha.

[p.409]APPENDIX VIII.

THE MECCAH PILGRIMAGE.

HAVING resolved to perform the Meccah pilgrimage, I spent a few months
at Cairo, and on the 22nd of May embarked in a small steamer at Suez
with the “mahmil” or litter, and its military escort, conveying the “kiswah” or
covering for the “kabah.” On the 25th the man at the wheel informed us that
we were about to pass the village of Rabikh, on the Arabian coast, and
that the time had consequently arrived for changing our usual
habiliments for the “ihram,” or pilgrim-costume of two towels, and for
taking the various interdictory vows involved in its assumption: such
as not to tie knots in any portion of our dress, not to oil the body,
and not to cut our nails or hair, nor to improve the tints of the
latter with the coppery red of henna. Transgression of these and other
ceremonial enactments is expiated either by animal sacrifice, or gifts
of fruit or cereals to the poor.

After a complete ablution and assuming the ihram, we performed two
prayer-flections, and recited the meritorious sentences beginning with
the words “Labbaik Allah huma labbaik!” “Here I am, O God, here I am! Here I
am, O Unassociated One, here I am, for unto Thee belong praise, grace,
and empire, O Unassociated One!”

This prayer was repeated so often, people not unfrequently rushing up
to their friends and shrieking the sacred sentence into their ears,
that at last it became a signal for merriment rather than an indication
of piety.

[p.410]On the 26th we reached Jeddah, where the utter sterility of
Arabia, with its dunes and rocky hills, becomes apparent. The town,
however, viewed from the sea, is not unpicturesque. Many European
vessels were at anchor off the coast: and as we entered the port,
innumerable small fishing-boats darting in all directions, their sails
no longer white, but emerald green from the intense lustre of the
water, crowded around us on all sides, and reminded one by their
dazzling colours and rapidity of motion of the shoals of porpoises so
often seen on a voyage round the Cape.

On disembarking we were accosted by several “mut?awwafs,” or circuit-men,
so termed in Arabic, because, besides serving as religious guides in
general, their special duty is to lead the pilgrim in his seven
obligatory circuits around the Kabah. We encamped outside the town,
and, having visited the tomb of “our Mother Eve,” mounted our camels for
Meccah.

 After a journey of twenty hours across the Desert, we passed the
barriers which mark the outermost limits of the sacred city, and,
ascending some giant steps, pitched our tents on a plain, or rather
plateau, surrounded by barren rock, some of which, distant but a few
yards, mask from view the birthplace of the Prophet. It was midnight; a
few drops of rain were falling, and lightning played around us. Day
after day we had watched its brightness from the sea, and many a
faithful haji had pointed out to his companions those fires which were
Heaven’s witness to the sanctity of the spot. “Al hamdu Lillah!” Thanks be to
God! we were now at length to gaze upon the “Kiblah,” to which every
Mussulman has turned in prayer since the days of Muhammad, and which
for long ages before the birth of Christianity was reverenced by the
Patriarchs of the East. Soon after dawn arose from our midst the shout
of “Labbaik! Labbaik!” and passing

[p.411] between the rocks, we found ourselves in the main street of
Meccah, and approached the “Gateway of Salvation,” one of the thirty-nine
portals of the Temple of Al-Haram.

On crossing the threshold we entered a vast unroofed quadrangle, a
mighty amplification of the Palais Royal, having on each of its four
sides a broad colonnade, divided into three aisles by a multitude of
slender columns, and rising to the height of about thirty feet.
Surmounting each arch of the colonnade is a small dome: in all there
are a hundred and twenty, and at different points arise seven minarets,
dating from various epochs, and of somewhat varying altitudes and
architecture. The numerous pigeons which have their home within the
temple have been believed never to alight upon any portion of its roof,
thus miraculously testifying to the holiness of the building. This
marvel having, however, of late years been suspended, many discern
another omen of the approach of the long-predicted period when
unbelievers shall desecrate the hallowed soil.

In the centre of the square area rises the far-famed Kabah, the
funereal shade of which contrasts vividly with the sunlit walls and
precipices of the town. It is a cubical structure of massive stone, the
upper two-thirds of which are mantled by a black cloth embroidered with
silver, and the lower portion hung with white linen. At a distance of
several yards it is surrounded by a balustrade provided with lamps,
which are lighted in the evening, and the space thus enclosed is the
circuit-ground along which, day and night, crowds of pilgrims,
performing the circular ceremony of Tawaf, realize the idea of
perpetual motion. We at once advanced to the black stone imbedded in an
angle of the Kabah, kissed it, and exclaimed, “Bismillah wa Allahu Akbar,”—“In
God’s name, and God is greatest.” Then we commenced the usual seven rounds,
three at a walking pace, and four at a brisk trot. Next

p.412] followed two prayer-flections at the tomb of Abraham, after
which we drank of the water of Zamzam, said to be the same which
quenched the thirst of Hagar’s exhausted son.

Besides the Kabah, eight minor structures adorn the quadrangle, the
well of Zamzam, the library, the clock-room, the triangular staircase,
and four ornamental resting-places for the orthodox sects of Hanafi,
Shafi, Maliki, and Hanbali.

We terminated our morning duties by walking and running seven times
along the streets of Safa and Marwa, so named from the flight of seven
steps at each of its extremities.

After a few days spent in visiting various places of interest, such as
the slave-market and forts, and the houses of the Prophet and the
Caliphs ’Ali and Abubakr, we started on our six hours’ journey to the
mountain of ’Arifat, an hour’s sojourn at which, even in a state of
insensibility, confers the rank of haji. It is a mountain spur of about
a hundred and fifty feet in height, presenting an artificial appearance
from the wall encircling it and the terrace on its slope, from which
the iman delivers a sermon before the departure of his congregation for
Meccah. His auditors were, indeed, numerous, their tents being
scattered over two or three miles of the country. A great number of
their inmates were fellow-subjects of ours from India. I surprised some
of my Meccah friends by informing them that Queen Victoria numbers
nearly twenty millions of Mohammedans among her subjects.

On the 5th of June, at sunset, commencing our return, we slept at the
village of Muzdalifah, and there gathered and washed seven pebbles of
the size of peas, to be flung at three piles of whitewashed masonry
known as the Shaitans (Satans) of Mun?. We acquitted ourselves
satisfactorily of this duty on the festival of the 6th of [p.413] June,
the 10th day of the Arabian month Zu’lhijah. Each of us then sacrificed a
sheep, had his hair and nails cut, exchanged the ihram for his best
apparel, and, embracing his friends, paid them the compliments of the
season. The two following days the Great, the Middle, and the Little
Satan were again pelted, and, bequeathing to the unfortunate
inhabitants of Muna the unburied and odorous remains of nearly a
hundred thousand animals, we returned, eighty thousand strong, to
Meccah. A week later, having helped to insult the tumulus of stones
which marks, according to popular belief, the burial-place of
Abulah?ab, the unbeliever, who, we learn from the Koran, has descended
into hell with his wife, gatherer of sticks, I was not sorry to
relinquish a shade temperature of 120°, and wend my way to Jeddah en
route for England, after delegating to my brethren the recital of a
prayer in my behalf at the Tomb of the Prophet at Medina.

In penning these lines I am anxious to encourage other Englishmen,
especially those from India, to perform the pilgrimage, without being
deterred by exaggerated reports concerning the perils of the
enterprise. It must, however, be understood that it is absolutely
indispensable to be a Mussulman (at least externally) and to have an
Arabic name. Neither the Koran nor the Sultan enjoins the killing of
intrusive Jews or Christians; nevertheless, two years ago, an incognito
Jew, who refused to repeat the creed, was crucified by the Meccah
populace, and in the event of a pilgrim again declaring himself to be
an unbeliever the authorities would be almost powerless to protect his
life.

An Englishman who is sufficiently conversant with the prayers,
formulas, and customs of the Mussulmans, and possess a sufficient
guarantee of orthodoxy, need, however, apprehend no danger if he
applies through the British Consulate at Cairo for an introduction to
the Amirul Haj, the Prince of the Caravan.

[p.414]Finally, I am most anxious to recommend as Mutawwaf at Meccah
Shaikh Muhammed ’Umr Fanair-jizadah. He is extremely courteous and
obliging, and has promised me to show to other Englishmen the same
politeness which I experienced from him myself.
1862 A.D. 1278 A.H. [Arabic] (EL HAJ ABD EL WAHID.)

END OF VOLUME II.

[p.415]INDEX.

AAKAL, or fillet, of the Arabs, i. 235
Aaron, burial place of, on Mount Ohod, i. 346, 423; ii. 275. His grave
also shown over the summit of Mount Hor, i. 346, n.
Aba, the, or camel’s hair cloak of Arab shaykhs, i. 236
Abar (Saba), or seven wells, of Kuba, i. 414
Abbas Effendi, deputy governor of Alexandria, an interview with, i. 21
Abbas, prayers for, i. 328
Abbas, Al-, uncle of Mohammed the Prophet, ii. 353
Abbas, the fiery Shaykh of the Hawazim, ii. 29
Abbas, Ibn, his statement of the settlement of the family of Noah, i.
343
Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib, his tomb, ii. 40
Abbas Pasha (Viceroy of Egypt), his enlightened policy, i. 18, 78 His
intention to erect a magnificent Mosque, i. 99 His present to the
Prophets Mosque, i. 312 His respect for the Alim Mohammed Ibn Abdillah
al-Sannusi, ii. 25, n.
Abbasiyah, Kubbat al- (Dome of Abbas), visit to the, ii. 39
Abbasiyah Palace at Cairo, i. 78
Abd al-Ashal (tribe of), Al-Islam preached by the Prophet to, i. 352
Converted to Mohammedanism, 353
Abd al-Hakk al-Muhaddis of Delhi, Shaykh, i. 358, n.
Abd al-Hamid, the Sultan, his repair of the Mosque of Al-Kuba, i. 409
Abd al-Malik bin Marwar, the Caliph, his additions to the House of
Allah, ii. 324
Abd al-Majid, Sultan, his mahmil turned back by robbers in Arabia, i.
257 Imbecility of his government in Arabia, i. 257 His Tanzimat, i. 258
Sends gifts to the robbers of Arabia, i. 260 His war with the Czar, i.
291 His additions to the Prophet’s Mosque at Al-Madinah, i. 308 Abolishes
Wakf in Turkey, i. 359, n.
Abd al-Muttalib (Shaybah), grandfather of the Prophet, i. 351, n.
Abd al-Muttalib bin Ghalib, Sharif of Meccah, i. 259 Description of
him, ii[.] 150 His cavalcade, 150 His children, 150 His quarrel with
Ahmad Pasha of Al-Hijaz, 151, n. His Palace, 152 His procession to the
ceremonies of the day of Arafat, 194
Abd al-Rahim al-Burai, the saint of Jahaydah, i. 262
Abd al-Rahim al-Burai, the poet, quoted, ii. 212
Abd al-Rahman, meaning of the name, i. 14
Abd al-Rahman, tomb of, ii. 249
[p.416]
Abd al-Rahman al-Ausat, tomb of, ii. 44
Abd al-Rahman bin Auf, his tomb, ii. 43, n.
Abd al-Wahhab, Shaykh, the chief of the Afghan college at Cairo, i. 130
His kindness to the pilgrim, 131 Visits the Pilgrim, 142
Abdullah, father of the Prophet, his burial-place, i. 351, n.
Abdullah bin Ja’afar al-Tayyar, his tomb, i. 44
Abdullah bin Jaysh, his tomb, i. 429
Abdullah bin Mas’ud, his tomb, ii. 44, n.
Abdullah bin Salam, the Jew, of Al-Madinah, converted to Al-Islam, i.
358
Abdullah bin Sa’ud concludes a peace with the Egyptians, i. 370 His
unsuccessful attack on Jeddah, ii. 265, n.
Abdullah bin Zubayr, nephew of Ayishah, builds the ninth House of
Allah, ii. 323 Slain, 324
Abdullah, Pasha of Damascus, i. 263
Abdullah, Shaykh, the assumed name of the author, i. 14 Meaning of the
name, 14, n.
Abdullah Sahib, Shaykh, the Indian physician of Al-Madinah, ii. 5
Abdullah, Shaykh (the pilgrim’s namesake), introduced, ii. 129 His
acquirements, 130 His success with the Syrians in the Desert, 133 Acts
as director of the pilgrims’ consciences, 133 His accident on camel back,
146
Abdullah, son of the Sharif of Meccah, ii. 150
Abdullah the Saudawi, or melancholist, ii. 230 Performs a wakil for the
pilgrim’s parents, 243 His farewell of the pilgrim, 260
Abel, his burial-place at Damascus, ii. 160, n.
Abrahah of Sana’a, erects the Kilis to outshine the Ka’abah, i. 321
Abraham, i. 212 Mosque at Meccah connected with, i. 305 Stone on which
he stood, preserved at Meccah, ii. 112 History of it, 112, it, n Legend
respecting his having learnt the rites of pilgrimage, 321 The Moslem
idea of the existence of two Abrahams, ii. 239
Abrahat al-Ashram, destruction of the host of, i. 384, n.
Abrar, or call to prayer, i. 88
Abs, the tribe of Arabs, so called, ii. 119
Absinthe, of the Desert, i. 155
Abu Abbas al-Andalusi, the Wali of Alexandria, tomb of, i. 12
Abu Ali, the fiery Shaykh of the Hawazim, ii. 29
Abu Ayyub, the Ansari, receives Mohammed after the Flight, i. 351,
355-357
Abu Bakr, the Caliph, his window at Al-Madinah, i. 316, 320 The
benediction bestowed on, 320 His tomb, 324 Elected Caliph, 339 How
regarded by Orthodox Moslems and Shi’ahs, 354 n. His dwelling near the
Mosque, 358 His Mosque at Al-Madinah, i. 395; ii. 48 The first who bore
the title of Emir al-Hajj, 420, n.
Abu Daraj (Father of Steps), wells of, i. 158, n. The mountain of, 158
Abu Hurayrah, his account of the building of the Prophet’s Mosque, i. 361
Abu Jubaylah, his destruction of the power of the Jews in Al-Madinah,
i. 349
Abu Kubays, the hill, the burial-place of Adam, ii. 160, 173
Abu Lahab, his ambuscade laid for the Prophet, site of, ii. 242
Abulfeda, his limits of Al-Hijaz, i. 376
[p.417]
Abu Sa’id al-Khazari, tomb of, at Al-Bakia, ii. 36
Abuse of Christians in the East, ii. 335
Abu Shuja’a of Isfahan, his theological work, i. 106
Abu Sufiyan routed by Mohammed the Prophet, i. 275
Abu Sufiyan bin al-Haris, his tomb, ii. 44, n.
Abu Zulaymah, Shaykh, the Red Sea saint, i. 199, 200
Abwa, tomb of Aminah at, i. 351, n.
Abyaz, or white, i. 381, n.
Abyssinian slaves in Egypt, i. 59 Style of courtship of, 59. Derivation
of the name, i. 177, n. Abyssinian slave girls, their value, ii. 13
Acacia, quantities of, ii. 68, 69, 72
Acacia-barren, terrors of an, ii. 69
Academia, the, of Al-Madinah, i. 338
Adam, stature of, according to Moslem legends, i. 204 His burial place
at the hill Abu Kubays, ii. 160 Legend of Adam and Eve at Mount Arafat,
189 Adam’s place of prayer at Arafat, 193
Adnan, the tribe of Arabs so called, ii. 119
Adas (lentils). See Lentils
Aden, ancient wells at, i. 204, n.; dry storms of, i. 247
Adultery, how punished at Al-Madinah, ii. 19
Advenae, of Arabia, ii. 77, n.
Aelius Gallus, i. 189
Aerolite worship, ii. 300, n.
Afghans, a chivalrous race, i. 40
Africans, their susceptibility to religious phrenzy, ii. 175
Agapemones, suppression of, in Egypt, i. 81, n.
Aghas, or eunuchs of the tomb of the Prophet, i. 316, n., 321 et seq;
Agha, pl Aghawat, a term of address to the eunuchs of the tomb, i. 371,
n.
Agni, the Indian fire-god, ii. 160, n.
Ague, prevalence of, in the East, i. 13
Ahali, or burghers, of Al-Madinah, i. 375
Ahl al-Risa, or the “people of the garment,” i. 327, n.
Ahmad Pasha, of Al-Hijaz, ii. 256 His quarrel with the Sharif of
Meccah, ii. 151, n.
Ahmad, son of the Sharif of Meccah, ii. 150
Ahzab, the Masjid al-, ii. 47
Ahzab, Al-, the battle of, ii. 47
Aimmat, the Shaykh al-, of the Prophet’s Mosque, i. 374
Ajami, meaning of the term, i. 11
Ajwah, the date so called, ii. 401
Ajwah (conserve of dates), ii. 401, n.
Akabah, ill-omened, i. 203, 213
Akabah, a steep descent, ii. 251, n.
Akd al-Nikah, or Ziwaj (Arab marriage), at Al-Madinah, ii. 23
Akhdam, or Serviles, of Al-Yaman, ii. 78, n.
Akhshabayn, Al-, the “two rugged hills,” near Arafat, ii. 182 The confusion
of the return of the pilgrims at, 200
Akhawah, Al-, the black mail among the Badawin, ii. 141
Akif, Haji, accosts the pilgrim, ii. 261
[p.418]
Akik, Wady al-, i. 278, n.
Aksa, the Masjid al-, at Jerusalem, ii. 305
Akhawat, the relationship among the Badawin so called, ii. 113
Alai, or regiment, of soldiers, i. 394
Alamayn (the “Twin Signs”), near Arafat, i. 379, ii. 182 Visit to the, 242
Albanians, or Arnauts, their desperate manners and customs, i. 133
Their man-shooting amusements, 133 A drinking bout with one, 135 One
killed by a sunstroke, i. 265 Parade of irregular horse, 266 Their
singular appearance, 267 Their delight in the noise of musketry, 267,
n. Their method of rifling their bullets, 267, n. Fight between them
and the hill Arabs, 269 A quarrelsome one in the Caravan, ii. 137
Alchemy, favourite Egyptian pursuit of, i. 108, n.
Alexander of Alexandria, i. 143, n.
Alexandria, i. 10 A city of misnomers, 10 Its peculiar interest to
Moslems, 12 Shopping in, 11 Venerable localities in, ib. Whiteness of
the walls of, 20, n. The Foreign Office of, 22 The Transit Office, 27
Algebra, study of, in Egypt, i. 107, n.
Alhambra, i. 95
Alhamdolillah, meaning of the ejaculation, i. 8
Ali, the fourth Caliph, reference to, ii. 280 His pillar at Al-Madinah,
326, n. His spouse, Lady Fatimah, 327 et seq. Column of, in the Prophet’s
Mosque, 336 Remains with the Prophet, 354 Joins Mohammed at Kuba, 355
His dwelling near the Mosque, 358 His Mosque at Al-Madinah, 395 Called
the “Musalla al-id,” ib. The birthplace of, at Meccah, ii. 254
Ali (the Masjid) at Al-Kuba, i. 412 At Al-Madinah, ii. 48
Ali Agha, an Albanian captain of Irregulars, or Yuzbashi, i. 132 His
personal appearance, 132 Origin of the pilgrim’s acquaintance with him,
132 Manners and customs of his countrymen, 133 His call and invitation,
135 A drinking bout with him, 136
Ali Bey al-Abbasi, i. 215, n.; 225, n. Employed as spy by the French
government, ii. 319. n. Value of his works, 319. n. History of him,
319, n.
Ali bin Ya Sin, the Zemzemi, ii. 125 A type of the Arab old man, 125
His accident on camel-back, 146 His appearance at the ceremonies of the
day of Arafat, 194 Insists on bestowing his company on the pilgrim, 199
His irritation, 202 His invitation to the pilgrim to dinner, 255
Description of the meal, 256
Ali al-Urays, a descendant of the Prophet, his tomb, ii. 59
Ali Murad, owner of the pilgrim-ship, i. 189, 192
Aliki tribe of Arabs, i. 145
Alms (sadaka), given the Prophet’s Mosque, i. 312 The, contributed to the
Prophet’s Mosque, 374
Aloe, superstitions of the Arabs and Africans respecting the, ii. 248
Amalekites, identified with the Amalik of the Moslems, i. 343, n.
Amalik, the tribe. See Aulad Sam bin Nuh
Amalikah, their foundation of the fifth house of Allah, ii. 321
Amalikah tribes, their mixture with the Himyaritic, ii. 79
[p.419]
Ambassadors, shameful degradation of, by Moslems, i. 112
Ambari gate of Al-Madinah, i. 285, 287, 395
Ambariyah, of Al-Madinah, house of the Coptic girl Mariyah at, i. 362,
n.
American Indians, North, compared with the Badawin, ii. 118 Inferiority
of the former, 119
Amin, Al- (the Honest), origin of the surname of the Prophet, ii. 323
Aminah, Sitt (mother of the Prophet), her tomb, i. 351, n.; ii. 249
Amlak bin Arfakhshad bin Sam bin Nuh, i. 343
Amlak (property in land) of the Benu Hosayn, ii. 4
Amm Jamal, the native of Al-Madinah, i. 230
Amr, the tribe of, saved from the deluge of Iram, i. 349 Their abodes
at Al-Madinah, 355 Their language, ii. 99, n.
Amr bin Amin Mal-al-Sama, his stratagem, i. 348 Saved from the Yamanian
deluge, 349 The forefather of Mohammed, 349
Amr al-Kays, poet and warrior, his death from ulcer, i. 390
Amur, the Benu, ii. 120, n. Its sub-divisions, 121, n.
Amusements of the Cairenes, i. 116
Anakim, Moslem, belief in, i. 204
Anatolia, i. 191
Angels, place of the (Malaikah), at Al-Madinah, i. 326 Prayer at the,
326
Anizah, the Benu (a Jewish tribe), in Arabia, i. 347, n. Their
temperament, ii. 78, 121
Ansar, Arab tribe of, i. 347
Ansar, or Auxiliaries, of Al-Madinah, i. 355 Assist Mohammed in
building the first Mosque, 357 One of the, sells his house to the
Prophet, 361
Antar, songs of, Warburton’s opinion of, ii. 95
Antichrist (Al-Dajjal), the Moslem belief respecting, i. 378, n.
Antimony (Kohl), used as a remedy in small-pox, i. 385
Anzah (iron-shod javelin), i. 407
Apes, of Al-Hijaz, ii. 220 Traditions respecting them, 220, n. Stories
told of them, 221
Apple of Sodom, ii. 137, n.
“Arabesque,” origin of, i. 94
Arabesques, the vulgar, of the Riwaks at Al-Madinah and of the tombs at
Cairo, i. 335
Arabia, horses of, i. 3 The Ruba al-Khali, 3 Possesses no river worthy
of the name, 4 Testimony of Ibn Haukal to this fact, 4 Contains three
distinct races, 4 Enumeration of them, 4 Remnants of heathenry in, 4
Destruction of the idols of the Arab pantheon, 91. Origin of Arab art,
94, n. Closed against trade with Christianity as early as the 7th
century, 113, n. The “Mountains of Paradise” with which it abounds, 222 The
little villages in, continually changing their names, 245 The “dry storm”
of, 247 A Caravan in, 249 The water-courses (misyal) of, 250 Excellent
water found in the Deserts of, 254 Depopulation of villages and
districts in, 254 Bands of robbers in, 256 Imbecility of the Turkish
Government in, 257 The “poison wind” of, 265, n. The celebrated horses and
camels from Nijd, 266, n. Wells of the Indians in Arabia, 274 Moslem
account [p.420] of the first settlement in, 343 One of the nurseries of
mankind, 344, n. Causes of the continual emigrations from, 345, n.
Governed by the Benu Israel, after the destruction of the Amalik, 346
Derivation of the name Arabia, 346, n. The flood of Iram, 348 Former
possessions of, in Egypt, 359, n. Fire-temples of the ancient Guebres
in, 379, n. Diseases of, 384, et seq. Description of a desert in, ii.
131 A night journey in, 132
Arabia Petræa, of the Greeks, i. 376, n.
Arab al-Aribah, ii. 77
Arab al-Musta’ajamah, ii. 79
Arab al-Musta’arabah, or half-caste Arab, ii. 79
Arabs. (See also Badawin.) Similarity in language and customs between
the Arabs and the tribes occupying the hills that separate India from
Persia, 246, n. Generalisation unknown to the Arabs, 250, n. Their
ignorance of anything but details, 250 Journey through a country
fantastic in its desolation, 252 Ruinous effects of the wars between
the Wahhabis and the Egyptians, 254 Good feelings of Arabs easily
worked upon, 256 Douceurs given by the Turkish government to the Arab
Shaykhs of Al-Hijaz, 266 Fight between the troops and Arabs in
Al-Hijaz, 273 The world divided by Arabs into two great bodies, viz.,
themselves and the “Ajami,” 290, n. Their affectionate greetings, 287, 280,
n. Their fondness for coffee, 290, n. Their children and their bad
behaviour and language, 292 An Arab breakfast, 298 Melancholia frequent
among the Arabs, 299, n. Probable cause of this, 299, n. Tenets of the
Wahhabis, 306 Capitulation of the Benu Kurayzah to the Prophet, 336
Moslem early history of some of the tribes, 349, et seq. Dwellings of
the Arabs in the time of Mohammed, 359 The seasons divided by them into
three, 383 Diseases of the Arabs of Al-Hijaz, 384, et seq. The Arabs
not the skilful physicians that they were, 390 Portrait of the farmer
race of Arabs, 407 The Arzah, or war dance, 419 Arab superstitions, 427
Difference between the town and country Arab, ii. 13 Their marriages,
23, et seq. Their funerals, 24 Their difficulty of bearing thirst, 69
The races of Al-Hijaz, 76 et seq. Arab jealousy of being overlooked,
318, n.
Arabic. Generalisation not the forte of the Arabic language, 250 Its
facilities for rhyming, i. 319, n. Traditions respecting its origin,
344 Said to be spoken by the Almighty, 344, n. Changes in the classical
Arabic, ii. 15 Purity of the Badawi dialect, 98, n. Examination of the
objections to Arabic as a guttural tongue, 99, n. Difference in the
articulation of several Badawi clans, 99, n. Suited to poetry, but, it
is asserted, not to mercantile transactions, 100 The vicious
pronounciation of Indians and slaves, 184, n. The charming song of
Maysunah, 190 The beautiful Tumar character, 215 Differences of opinion
among travellers and linguists respecting Arabic and its dialects, 235,
n.
Arafat, the Masjid, at Al-Kuba, i. 412 Tall Arafat, 412
Arafat, mount (anciently Jabal Ilal, now Jabal al-Rahmah), ceremony of
the pilgrimage to, ii. 289 Description of, 189 Former high cultivation
of the Arafat plain, 187 Derivation of the name of [p.421] the mount,
188, n. The camp arrangements at, 189 Superstitious rite on behalf of
women at, 189 The ceremonies of the day of Arafat, 192, et seq. The
sermon, 197 The hurry from Arafat, 199 The approach to the Arafat
plain, 182
Araki, the Cognac of Egypt and Turkey, i. 134 Called at Cairo “sciroppo
di gomma,” 144, n. A favourite drink among all classes and sexes, 144, n.
Arbun (earnest money), ii. 52
Arches, pointed, known at Cairo 200 years before they were introduced
into England, i. 96
Architecture, the present Saracenic Mosque-architecture, origin of the,
i. 364, n. Simple tastes of the Arabs in, 396 The climate inimical to
the endurance of the buildings, 396
Arian heretics, i. 143, n.
Arimi, tribe of Arabs so called, i. 145
Aris, Al-, (a bridegroom), ii. 23
Arithmetic, Moslem study of, i. 108, n.
Arkam bin al-Arkam, last king of the Amalik, i. 345
Armenian marriage, i. 123
Arms prohibited from being carried in Egypt, i. 17 Arms of Arabs, 237,
248; ii. 105, 106 Those worn by Oriental travellers, i. 238 Should
always be kept bright, 238 Arms of Arnaut Irregular horse, 266 The use
of the bayonet invaluable, 269, n. Stilettos of the Calabrese, 269, n.
Sabres preferred to rifles by Indians, 269, n.
Army, amount of the Turkish of Al-Hijaz, i. 393, n. The battalion
regiment and camp, 394, n.
Arnaud, M., his visit to the ruins of the dyke of Mareb, i. 348, n.
Arnauts. See Albanians
Arwam or Greeks in Al-Madinah, i. 292
Arsh, or throne, of God, ii. 319
Art, Arab origin of, i. 95, n.
Arusah, Al- (a bride), ii. 23, n.
Arzah, or Arab war-dance, i. 419
As’ad bin Zararah, his conversion by the Prophet, i. 352
Asal Asmar, or brown honey, ii. 130, n.
Asclepias gigantea (ashr), its luxuriance in the deserts of Arabia, ii.
137 Bears the long-sought apple of Sodom, 138, n. The fruit used as a
medicine by the Arabs, 138, n. Called the “silk-tree,” 138, n. Its probable
future commercial importance, 138, n.
Ashab, or Companions of the Prophet, i. 320 The Ustuwanat al-Ashab, or
Column of the Companions, 326, n. Graves of the, at Al-Bakia, ii. 43
Ashab al-Suffah, or “Companions of the Sofa,” i. 363, n.
Ashab, the relationship among the Badawin so called, ii. 113
Ashgar, Ali Pasha, the Emir al-Hajj, ii. 71
Ashr (Asclepias gigantea, which see)
Ashwat, or seven courses, round the Ka’abah, ii. 167, n.
Askar, the Masjid al-, ii. 49
Asr, al-, or afternoon prayers, i. 311, n.
Assayd, the Jewish priest of Al-Madinah, i. 350
[p.422]
“Asses turning their back upon Allah’s mercy,” i. 347
Asses, of Al-Madinah, ii. 17 Usefulness of the ass in the East, ii.
241, n. The best and the highest-priced animals, 241, n.
Assassination, how to put an end to at Naples and Leghorn, i. 258, n.
Assassins (from Hashshashshiyun), i. 187, n.
Astronomy among the modern Egyptians, i. 108, n. Among the Badawin, ii.
107
Aswad (dark or black), the word, i. 381, n.
Atakah, Jabal (Mountain of Deliverance), i. 195
Atfah, i. 30
Auf, the Benu, their language, ii. 99, n. Their subdivisions, 120, n.
Aukaf, or bequests left to the Prophet’s Mosque, i. 374 Those given to
the Benu Hosayn, ii. 4 The Nazir al-Aukaf at Constantinople, 7
Aulad Sam bin Nuh (or Amalikah, Amalik) inspired with a knowledge of
the Arabic tongue, i. 343 Settles at Al-Madinah, 344 Identified with
the Phœnicians, Amalekites, Canaanites, and Hyksos, 343, n. Supplanted by
the Jews, 347
Aus, Arab tribe of, i. 147, 149 Their wars with the Kharaaj, 149
Converted by Mohammed, 352 Their plot against Mohammed, 358 Their
mixture with the Amalikah, ii. 79
Austrians, despised in Egypt, i. 111
Awali, the, or plains about Kuba, i. 380
Awam, the, or nobile vulgus of Al-Madinah, i. 375
Ayat, or Koranic verse, i. 353
Ayishah accedes to the wishes of Osman and Hasan to be buried near the
Prophet, i. 325 Her pillar in the Mosque of the Prophet, 335 Her
chamber, or the Hujrah, surrounded with a mud wall, 363 Anecdote of
her, ii. 34, n. Her tomb, 38 Her jealousy of the Coptic girl Mariyah,
47, n.
Ayn al-Birkat, i. 227 The Ayn Ali, 227
Ayn al-Zarka (azure spring), of Al-Madinah, i. 381
Ayr, Jabal, its distance from Al-Madinah, i. 379 Cursed by the Prophet,
422
Ayyas bin Ma’az, converted by the Prophet, i. 352
Ayyaz, Kazi, his works, i. 106, n.
Ayyub, Abu, the Ansari, ii. 408 The Bayt Ayyub, his descendants, 408
Ayyub, well of, at Al-Madinah, i. 360
Azan, or summons to prayer, i. 76; i. 363
Azbakiyah, of Cairo, i. 81 Drained and planted by Mohammed Ali, 81, n.
Azhar, Al-, Mosque, at Cairo, i. 97, l00, et seq. Foundation of, 102
Immense numbers of students at, 102 The course of study pursued in, 103
The principal of the Afghan College, Shaykh Abd al-Wahab ibn Yunus
al-Sulaymani, 130-131
Azrail, the angel of death, i. 302, 365
Azrak, Bahr al-, remarks on the usual translation of the expression, i.
381, n.

BAB, gates of the Mosque of Meccah, ii. 314
Bab al-Atakhah, “gate of deliverance,” at Al-Madinah, i. 332, n.
[p.423]
Bab al-Jabr, or Gate of Repairing, i. 333, n.
Bab al-Nasr, the gate of Cairo so called, i. 143 Tombs outside the,
335, n.
Bab al-Nisa, at Al-Madinah, i. 332
Bab al-Rahmah, or Gate of Pity, at Al-Madinah, i. 332
Bab al-Salam, anciently called the Bab al-Atakah, i. 332
Bab Jibrail, or Gate of the Archangel Gabriel, i. 333
Bab Majidi, or Gate of the Sultan Abd al-Majid, at Al-Madinah, i. 332
Babel or Babylon, settled by the family of Noah, i. 343
Badanjan (egg plant), i. 404
Bad-masti, or liquor-vice, ii. 272
Baghdad, i. 266, n. Quarrel between the Baghdad Caravan and that from
Damascus, ii. 128
Baghlah (corrupted to Bungalow), i. 178
Bayt al-Ansari, at Al-Madinah, ii. 1 The Bayt Abu Jud, 1 The Bayt
al-Sha’ab, 1 The Bayt al-Karrani, 1
Bayt al-Ma’amur, ii. 320
Bayt al-Nabi (the Prophet’s old house) at Meccah, ii. 251
Bayt Ullah, or House of Allah at Meccah, i. 306 See Ka’abah.
Bakhshish, meaning of, i. 8, n. In the deserts of Arabia, 247, 248; 406
The odious sound for ever present in Egypt, i. 189 Always refused by
Englishmen, 189
Bakia, Al-, cemetery of at Al-Madinah, i. 278, n., 286, 323, n., 327
Prayers for the souls of the blessed who rest in, 328 Visitation of
the, ii. 31 Graves of the Ashab and Sayyids at, 32 Foundation of the
place by the Prophet, 32 Description of a funeral at, 33 The martyrs
of, 37 Tombs of the wives and daughters of the Prophet at, 38 The
beggars of, 38 Benediction of, 42 The other celebrities of, 43-44, n.
Belal, his Mosque at Al-Manakhah, i. 395
Balsam of Meccah, used in the cure of wounds, i. 389 See Gilead, Balm of
Bamiyah, an esculent hibiscus, i. 404
Banca tin, i. 180
Baras, the kind of leprosy so called. See Leprosy
Barbers, Eastern, their skill, i. 289, n.
Barr, Al-, at Madinah, i. 289, 297
Barsim, or Egyptian clover, i. 404
Bartema, reference to, i. 326 n. His account of the colony of Jews
existing in Arabia, 346 n. Adventures of, ii. 333
Basalt (Hajar Jahannam, or hell-stone), ii. 74
Bashi Buzuks, irregular troops at Cairo, i. 157
Bashat al-Askar, or commander of the forces of the Caravan, ii. 72
Bashir Agha college, at Al-Madinah, ii. 24
Basrah, a den of thieves, how reformed, i. 258, n.
Bastarah, i. 29
Bathing in cold water, Arab dislike to, i. 173 The bath in the Hart
Zawaran of Al-Madinah, i. 392
Batn Arnah, near Mount Arafat, ii. 187
Batn al-Muhassir (Basin of the Troubler) at Muna, ii. 181
Battalin, the lowest order of the Eunuchs of the Tomb, i. 372
[p.424]
Batul, Al-, or the Virgin, term applied to the Lady Fatimah, i. 328, n.
Bawwabin, one of the orders of the Eunuchs of the Tomb, i. 372
Bazar, of Al-Madinah, i. 391
Bayazi schismatics, ii. 6
Bayonet, use of, not learnt in the English army, i. 269, n. The most
formidable of offensive weapons, 269, n.
Bayruha, Bir al-, at Kuba, i. 414, n. “Beauty-masks,” in vogue at Meccah,
ii. 233
Badawin, i. 142, 144 Observations on the modern Sinaitic or Tawarah
race of, 146, et seq. Enumeration of the chief clans of, 146
Ethnographical peculiarities of, 146 Improvement in, 147 How manageable
in the Desert, 148 The city Arab, 153 Arab dislike to bathing in cold
water; 173 Arab food, 211 Description of a Shaykh fully equipped for
travelling, 234 Dress of the poorer class of Arabs, 237 Their songs in
the Desert, 242 The Aulad Ali, 112, n. Badawi robbers, mode of
proceeding of, 127 Awed only by the Albanian irregulars, 133 Habits,
142, 144 Their songs, 144 Their tobacco-pipes, 144, n. Remarks on the
modern Sinaitic clans, 145 Purity of blood of the Muzaynah, 145 Their
peculiar qualities, 146 Their love of the oasis, 149, n. How treated by
the city Arab, 152 A Badawi ambuscade, 156 Their food, 182, n. The
wreckers of the coasts of the Red Sea, 205 Their bad character at Marsa
Damghah, 213 Those of the coasts of the Red Sea, 218 The camel Badawin
of Arabia, 230 The Hazimi tribe “out,” 231 The black mail levied by them on
stranger travellers, 233, n. Their suspicion of persons sketching, 240,
n. Badawi woman leading sheep and goats, 246 Character of the tribe of
Benu-Harb, 247 Their pride, 247 The Benu Bu Ali tribe defeated by Sir
L. Smith, 248, n. Their ingenuity in distinguishing between localities
the most similar, 251 Quarrel with, 256. The Sumayat and Mahamid,
sub-families of the Hamidah, 256 The Benu Amr, 257 Attempt to levy
black mail, 261 Their defeat of Tussun Bey in 1811, 262 Fight between
them and the Albanian troops, 269, 273 Their method of treating wounds,
271, n. Their attack on the Caravan, 273 Graves of the Benu Salim, or
Salmah, 274, n. Shape of the graves, 274 Their contempt for mules and
asses, 304 Their preservation of the use of old and disputed words,
377, n. Their appearance in the Damascus Caravan, 418 n. The Benu
Hosayn at Al-Madinah, ii. 4 The Benu Ali at the Awali, 4, 5 Almost all
the Badawin of Al-Madinah are of the Shafe’i school, 6 Their idea of the
degradation of labour, 9 Furious fight between the Hawazim and the
Hawamid, 29 Practice of entrusting children to their care that they may
be hardened by the discipline of the Desert, 36, n. Their fondness for
robbing a Hajji, 385 The Sobh tribe inveterate plunderers, ii. 58 Their
only ideas of distance, 63, n. Their difficulty of bearing thirst, 69
Account of the Badawin of Al-Hijaz, 76, et seq. The three races, 76 The
indigens, or autochthones, 77 Their similarity to the indigens of
India, 77, n. The advenæ, 78 The Ishmaelites, 78 Mixture of the
Himyaritic and Amalikah tribes, 79 Immutability of race [p.425] in the
Desert, 79 Portrait of the Hijazi Badawin, 80 Their features,
complexion, &c., 80, 82 Their stature, 83 Their systematic
intermarriage, 84 Appearance of the women, 85 Manners of the Badawin,
85 Their true character, 86 How Arab society is bound together, 86, 87
Fitful and uncertain valour of the Badawin, 87 Causes of their bravery,
88 The two things which tend to soften their ferocity, 89 Tenderness
and pathos of the old Arab poets, 93 Heroisms of the women, 94 Badawi
platonic affection, 94 Arab chivalry, 95 Dakhl, or protection, among
them, 97 Their poetic feeling, 98 Effect of Arab poetry, in the Desert
98, 99 Brigandage honourable among the Badawin, 101 The price of blood
among them, 103 Intensity of their passions, 103 Their sports, 103
Their weapons, 105 Their sword-play, 106 Their music and musical
instruments, 107 Their surgery, 108 Their religion, 109 Their
ceremonies, 110 Circumcision, 110 Marriage, 111 Funeral rites, 111
Methods of living on terms of friendship with them, 112 Their bond of
salt, 112 Their government, 113 The threefold kind of relationship
among the tribes: the Ashab, the Kiman, and the Akhawat, 113 Black
mail, 114 Their dress, 115 Their food, 116 Smoking, 118 The Badawin
compared with the North American Indians, 118-119 Superiority of the
former, 119 Enumeration of the principal branches of the Badawi
genealogical tree, 119-123 n. Ferocity of the Utaybah Badawin, 144.
Their visit to the House of Allah, 168 Their graves at Mount Ohod, i.
430 Their disgust when in towns, ii. 179n. Their appearance in the
Damascus Caravan on the Arafat plain, 181 Their cleanliness compared
with the dirt of the citizen Arabs, 190 Their fondness for the song of
Maysunah, 190, n. Their wild dances and songs, 223 A pert donkey-boy,
262
“Badr,” the scene of the Prophet’s principal military exploits, i. 225, 260
Badr, reference to the battle of, i. 274 n.
Beef, considered unwholesome by the Arabs, ii. 17
Beggars in the Prophet’s Mosque, i. 312 Female beggars near the tomb of
the Lady Fatimah, 328 At the tomb of the Prophet, 331 Strong muster of,
at Al-Bakia, ii. 38
Bekkah, or place of crowding, Meccah so called, ii. 215, n.
Belal, the Prophet’s mu’ezzin, i. 234; ii. 1, n.
Bells, origin and symbolical meaning of, i. 79, n.
Baluchi, nomads, the, i. 246 n.
Benu-Harb, the Arab tribe, i. 247 Their pride, 248 Sub-families and
families of the, 256 Their defeat of Tussun Bey and his 8,000 Turks, 262
Benu-Israel, Dr. Wilson’s observations on, i. 147, n.
Benu Jahaynah, i. 24
Benu Kalb, i. 214, 248
Benjamin of Tudela, his accounts of the Jewish colony in Arabia, ii.
346, n.
Bequests (Aukaf) left to the Prophet’s Mosque, ii. 374
Berberis, characteristics of the, i. 62, 63, 202
Bertolucci, M., his visit to Meccah, i. 5, n.
Beybars, Al-Zahir, Sultan of Egypt, his contribution to the Mosque of
the Prophet, i. 368
[p.426]
[“]Bida’ah,” or custom unknown at the time of the Prophet, i. 371, n.
Bir Abbas, in Al-Hijaz, i. 264
Bir al-Aris, the, in the garden of Kuba, i. 412 Called also the Bir
al-Taflat (of Saliva), 413
Bir al-Hindi, the halting place, i. 274
Bir Said (Sa’id’s well), i. 251
Bilious complaints common in Arabia, i. 387
Birds, of the palm-groves of Al-Madinah, ii. 399 Carrion birds on the
road between Al-Madinah and Meccah, ii. 62 The Rakham and Ukab, 62
Vicinage of the kite and crow to the dwellings of man, 72
Birkah, Al-, the village so called, i. 29
Birkat, Al- (the Tank), description of, ii. 136
Birni, Al-, the date so called, i. 401 The grape so termed, 404
Bissel, battle of, ii. 89
Bizr al-Kutn (cotton seed), used a[s] remedy in dysentery, i. 389
Blackmail, levied by the Badawin, i. 233, n., 265; ii. 114
Black Stone (Hajar al-Aswad), the famous, of the Ka’abah, ii. 302, 321
Traditions respecting the, 303, n. Its position, 302 Its appearance,
303 Ceremonies on visiting it, 168
Blessing the Prophet, efficacy of the act of, i. 313, n. The idea
borrowed from a more ancient faith, 313, n.
Blood-revenge, i. 235
Blood-feud, proper use of the, i. 259 Its importance in Arab society,
ii. 87 The price of blood, 103
Buas, battle of, between the Aus and Kharaj tribes, i. 349; ii. 59, n.
Bokhari, Al-, celebrated divine, i. 106, n.
Books, Moslem, those read in schools in Egypt, i. 105 Works on Moslem
divinity, 105, et seq. Books on logic and rhetoric, 108, n. Algebra,
108, n. History and philosophy, 108, n. Poetry, 108, n. Abundance of
books at Al-Madinah, ii. 24
Borneo, pilgrims from, to Meccah, i. 179
Botany of the Arabian Desert, ii. 137
Bouda, the Abyssinian malady so called, ii. 175, n.
Brahui nomads, i. 246, n.
Bravado, its effect in Arabia, ii. 264
Bread in Arabia, i. 245 That called Kakh, 245 Fondness of Orientals for
stale unleavened bread, 245, n.
Breakfast, an Arab, i. 298
“Breeding-in,” question of, ii. 84
Brigandage, held in honour among the Badawin, ii. 101
Britain, probable origin of the name, ii. 239, n.
Bughaz, or defile, where Tussun Bey was defeated, i. 262, n.
Bukht al-Nasr (Nebuchadnezzar), invasion of, i. 347
Bulak, the suburb of, i. 31
“Bulak Independent,” the, i. 109, n.
Buraydat al-Aslami, escorts Mohammed to Al-Madinah, i. 354
Burckhardt, his grave near Cairo, i. 84, n. Error in his Map of Arabia,
253 Reference to his “Travels,” i. 286, n. His account of the curtain round
the Prophet’s tomb, 321, n. Extracts from his descriptions of the Bayt
Ullah, ii. 294, et seq.
[p.427]
Burial-places in the East and in Europe, ii. 183
Burma, or renegade, derivation of the word, i. 23
Burnus, i. 193
Burton, Lieut., what induced him to make a pilgrimage, i. 1 His
principal objects, 3 Embarks at Southampton, 5 His Oriental “impedimenta,”
5 His eventless voyage, 6 Trafalgar, 7 Gibaltar, 7 Malta, 7 Lands at
Alexandria, 8 Successfully disguises himself, 11 Supposed by the
servants to be an ’Ajami, 11 Secures the assistance of a Shaykh, 11
Visits Al-Nahl and the venerable localities of Alexandria, 11 His
qualifications as a fakir, magician, and doctor, 12 Assumes the
character of a wandering Darwaysh as being the safest disguise, 13
Adopts the name of Shaykh Abdullah, 14 Elevated to the position of a
Murshid, 14 Leaves Alexandria, 16 His adventures in search of a
passport, 19 Reasons for assuming the disguise, 22 His wardrobe and
outfit, 23 Leaves Alexandria, 28 Voyage up the Nile, 29 Arrives at
Bulak, 31 Lodges with Miyan Khudabakhsh Namdar, 35 Life in the Wakalah
of Egypt, 41 Makes the acquaintance of Haji Wali, 43 Becomes an Afghan,
45 Interposes for Haji Wali, 48 Engages a Berberi as a servant, 62
Takes a Shaykh, or teacher, Shaykh Mohammed al-Attar, 67 The Ramazan,
74 Visits the “Consul-General” at Cairo, 86 Pleasant acquaintances at
Cairo, 122 Account of the pilgrim’s companion, Mohammed al-Busyani, 123
Lays in stores for the journey, 125 The letter of credit, 126 Meets
with difficulties respecting the passport, 127 Interview with the
Persian Consul, 129 Obtains a passport through the intervention of the
chief of the Afghan college, 131 An adventure with an Albanian captain
of irregulars, 132, et seq. Departure from Cairo found necessary, 140 A
display of respectability, 141 Shaykh Nassar, the Badawi, 141 Hasty
departure from Cairo, 142 The Desert, 144, et seq. The midnight halt,
154 Resumes the march, 154 Rests among a party of Maghrabi pilgrims,
156 Adventure on entering Suez, 159 An uncomfortable night, 159
Interview with the governor of Suez, 160 Description of the pilgrim’s
fellow-travellers at Suez, 161, et seq. Advantages of making a loan,
165 Suspicion awakened by a sextant, 166 Passports a source of trouble,
168 Kindness of Mr. West, 169 Preparations for the voyage from Suez,
172 Society at the George Inn, 172 The pilgrim-ship, 186 A battle with
the Maghrabis, 191 Leaves Suez, 194 Course of the vessel, 195 Halts
near the Hammam Bluffs, 197 The “Golden Wire” aground, 200 Re-embarkation,
201 Reaches Tur, 201 Visits Moses’ Hot Baths, 203 Leaves Tur, 207 Effects
of a thirty-six hours’ sail, 209 Makes Damghah anchorage, 213 Enters Wijh
Harbour, 214 Sails for Jabal Hassani, 217 Nearly wrecked, 219 Makes
Jabal Hassani, 220 Wounds his foot, 221 The halt at Yambu’, 225 Bargains
for camels, 230 An evening party at Yambu’, 232 Personates an Arab, 234
His Hamail or pocket Koran, 239 Departure from Yambu’, 241 The Desert,
242 The halting-ground, 244 Resumes the march, 244 Alarm of [p.428]
“Harami” or thieves, 249 Reaches Bir Sa’id, 251 Encamps at Al-Hamra, 253
Visits the village, 254 A comfortless day there, 255 Attempt of the
Badawin to levy blackmail, 261 Encamps at Bir Abbas, 264 A forced halt,
271 Prepares to mount and march, 272 Scene in the Shuab al-Hajj, 273
Arrives at Shuhada, 274 The favourite halting-place, Bir al-Hindi, 274
Reaches Suwaykah, 275 Has a final dispute with Sa’ad the Demon, 276
Disappearance of the camel-men, 277 First view of the city of
Al-Madinah, 279 Poetical exclamations and enthusiasm of the pilgrims,
280 Stays at the house of Shaykh Hamid, 288 The visitors and children
there, 291 The style of living at Al-Madinah, 296 View from the majlis’
windows, 297 Visits the Prophet’s tomb, 304 Expensiveness of the visit,
331 Reasons for doubting that the Prophet’s remains are deposited in the
Hijrah, 339. Visits the Mosque of Kuba, 398 Sums spent in sightseeing,
411 His “Kayf” at Al-Kuba, 412 Arrival of the “Damascus pilgrimage” at
Al-Madinah, 416 The visitation of Ohod, 419 Attends at the Harim in the
evening, 433 Visits the cemetery of Al-Bakia, ii. 31 Prepares to leave
Al-Madinah, 51 Adieus, 54 The last night at Al-Madinah, 55 The next
dangers, 57 The march from Al-Madinah, 59 The first halt, 59 A gloomy
pass, 61 Journey from Al-Suwayrkiyah to Meccah, 124 A small feast, 127
A night journey, 132 An attack of the Utaybah, 143 The pilgrim sights
Meccah, 152 His first visit to the House of Allah, 160 His
uncomfortable lodging, 171 Returns to the Ka’abah, 172 Ceremonies of the
day of Arafat, 192 et seq.; and of the Day of Victims, 202 Accident at
the Great Devil, 204 Revisits the Ka’abah, 206 The sacrifices at Muna,
217 The sermon at the Harim, 225 Life at Meccah, and the Little
Pilgrimage, 227 The pilgrim’s contemplated resolution to destroy the
slave trade, 252 Description of a dinner at Meccah, 256 Leaves Meccah,
260 Events on the road, 261, et seq. Enters Jeddah, 265 End of the
pilgrim’s peregrinations, 276
Busat, Bir al-, at Kuba, i., 414, n.
Business, style of doing, in the East, i. 27
Bassorah, i. 266, n.
Butter, clarified (Samn in Arabia, the Indian ghi), used in the East,
i. 182, 245 Fondness of Orientals for, ii. 11
Buza’at, Bir al-, at Kuba, i. 414, n.

CAGLIOSTRO, Count (Guiseppe Balsamo), the impostor, his settlement of
Greeks at Al-Madinah, i. 292; ii. 25
Cain, his burial-place under Jabal Shamsan, ii. 160, n.
Cairo, its celebrated latticed windows, i. 35 Medical practitioners in,
54 Expenses of a bachelor in, 65 A Cairo druggist described, 67 The
Abbasiyah palace, 78 Scene from the Mosque of Mohammed Ali by
moonlight, 84 A stroll in the city at night, 88 Immense number of
Mosques at, 96 Once celebrated [p.429] for its libraries, 101, n.
Fanatic Shaykhs of, 113, n. The corporations, or secret societies of,
113 Description of the festival following the Ramazan, 115 The “New Year
Calls” at Cairo, 117. Meaning of the name Cairo, 117 The Pressgang in,
117 The inhabitants panic-stricken at the rumours of a conspiracy, 118
Scenes before the police magistrate, 119 Vulgar arabesques on the tombs
outside the Bab al-Nasr, 335, n. Gardens in the Mosques of, 337
Magician of, 388, n.
Cambay, Gulf of, i. 212
Camel-grass of the Desert, i. 252
Camels, remarks on riding, i. 142 The “nakh,” 152 n. The Shaykh or agent of
(the Mukharrij), 230 His duties, 230, n. Loading camels in Arabia, 234
The mas’hab, or stick for guiding, 237 The Arab assertion that the feet
of the camel are pained when standing still, 241, n. Mounting a camel,
241 Travelling in Indian file, 243 Pace at which camels travel, 244, n.
Method of camel-stealing in Arabia, 250, n. The celebrated camels from
Nijd, i. 266, n. Camel-travelling compared with dromedary-travelling,
281 The she-camel which guided Mohammed, 354, 355, 360 Carthartic
qualities of camels’ milk, 390 The huge white Syrian dromedary, 418 The
Dalul, 418 The Nakah, 418, n. The camels of Al-Madinah, ii. 16 Camel
hiring at Al-Madinah, 32 Camel’s sure-footedness, 68 A night-journey
with, in the Desert, 132 Specimens of the language used to camels, 133,
n. Mode of sacrificing camels, 217, n.
Canaanites, identified with the Amalik of the Moslems, i. 343, n.
Canal, the proposed, between Pelusium and Suez, i. 143
Capparis, the wild, in Arabia, ii. 72
Caramania, i. 191
Caravan, i. 249 The escort, 249 The Tayyarah, or flying Caravan, ii. 50
The Rakb, or dromedary Caravan, 50 Principal officers of the Caravan to
Meccah, ii. 71
Caravanserai, of Egypt. See Wakalah
Caste in India, observations on, i. 36, n.
Castor-plant, i. 403
Cathedrals, of Spain, proofs of their Oriental origin, i. 307, n. The
four largest in the world, 364, n.
Catherine, St., convent of, on the shores of the Red Sea, i. 202, n.
Cattle, breeding of, among the Badawin, ii. 107
Cautery, the actual, used in cases of dysentery, i. 389 And for the
cure of ulcers, 390
Cavalry, Albanian irregular, i. 266 English cavalry tactics defective,
268 Reference to Captain Nolan’s work, 268 Ancient and modern cavalry,
268 The Chasseurs de Vincennes, 269
Cave, of Mount Ohod, i. 423
Celibacy in the East, pernicious effects of, ii. 79, n.
Cemetery of Al-Bakia. See Bakia
Cemetery of Meccah (Jannat al-Ma’ala), visit to the, ii. 248
Cephren, pyramid of, i. 30
Cereals, of the Madinah plain, i. 404
“Chains, Affair of,” (Zat al-Salasil), ii. 89
[p.430]
Chaldæans, in Arabia, ii. 77
Charity, water distributed in, i. 6
Chasseurs de Vincennes, i. 269
Chaunting the Koran, i. 106
Cheops, pyramid of, i. 30
Children of the Arabs, i. 292 Their bad behaviour and bad language, 292
Causes of this, 292, n. Children entrusted to Badawin, ii. 89
Chivalry, Arab, ii. 92 Songs of Antar, 95 Chivalry of the Caliph
Al-Mu’tasim, 96
Chob-Chini. See Jin-seng
Cholera Morbus in Al-Hijaz. See Rih al-Asfar
Christ, personal suffering of, denied by all Moslems, i. 326, n.
Christians, colony of, on the shores of the Red Sea, i. 202
Civilisation, the earliest, always took place in a fertile valley, with
a navigable river, i. 344 n.
Circumambulation. See Tawaf
Circumcision, ceremony of, ii. 19 Among the Badawin, ii. 110 The two
kinds, Taharah and Salkh, 110. Method of proceeding, 110, n.
Cleopatra’s Baths, i. 10
Cleopatra’s Needle, i. 10 Called Pharaoh’s packing-needle by the native
Ciceroni, 10, n.
Cleopatra, her introduction of Balm of Gilead into Egypt, ii. 148, n.
Coffee-house, description of an Eastern, i. 215 Good quality of the
coffee drunk at Al-Madinah, i. 290 Filthiness of that of Egypt, 290, n.
The “Kishr” of Al-Yaman, 291, n. The coffee-houses of Al-Madinah, 392
Coffee-drinking on the march, ii. 63 The coffee-houses at Muna, 222
Coffee-houses on the road near Meccah, 261
Cole, Mr. Charles, Vice-Consul at Jeddah, his account of the population
of the principal towns of Arabia, i. 393, n. His straightforwardness
and honesty of purpose, ii. 267 His letter on the trade of Jeddah, 268,
n.
Colleges (Madrasah), the two, of Al-Madinah, ii. 24
Colligation, system of, in battle, ii. 89. The “Affair of Chains” (Zat
al-Salasil), 89, n.
Coloquintida, its growth in the Deserts of Arabia, ii. 137 Used as a
medicine by the Arabs, 137, n.
Comet, apprehensions of the Madani at the appearance of one, ii. 29
Commerce, of Suez, i. 179
Communist principles of Mazdak the Persian, ii. 3, n.
Consular dragoman, a great abuse in the East, i. 128, n. Instances of
the evils caused by the tribe, 128, n. Hanna Massara, 128, n. Remedies
proposed, 128, n. Consular abuses, 129
Conversation, specimen of Oriental, i. 87
Coptic Christians, good arithmeticians, i. 108, n. Coptic artists
employed on the Mosque of Al-Madinah, i. 365 Probably half-caste Arabs,
ii. 78, n.
Coral reefs of the Red Sea. i. 218
Corinthians, fair, not any at Al-Madinah, ii. 19 Those of Jeddah, ii.
270
Cosmetic, Badawi, ii. 81, n.
[p.431]
Cot, column of the, in the Prophet’s Mosque, i. 336
Cotton seed (Bizr al-Kutn), used as a remedy in dysentery, i. 389
Courtship, Abyssinian style of, i. 59
Covetousness of the Arab, its intensity, ii. 103
Cressets (Mashals), of the East, ii. 132 The Pasha’s cressets, 132, n.
Cressy, reference to the battle of, i. 267, n.
Crown of Thorns, i. 405, n.
Curtain, of the Prophet’s tomb, i. 321

DABISTAN al-Mazahib, i. 344, n.
Daggers of the Badawin, ii. 106
Dajjal, Al- (Antichrist), the Moslem belief respecting, i. 378, n.
Dakhl, or protection, among the Arabs, ii. 97
Dakkat al-Aghawat, or eunuch’s bench, at Al-Madinah, i. 316, n.
Dakruri, Al-, the shrine of the saint, i. 155
Damascus, cathedral of, i. 364 Its eminence among Moslem cities, ii.
133, n. Epithets applied to it, 133, n. Sayings of the Prophet
respecting, 133, n. Said to be the burial place of Abel, 160, n.
Damascus Caravan, i. 321, n. Brocade of Damascus, 322, n. Rejoicing at
Al-Madinah on the arrival of the Caravan, 334 Description of the
arrival of at Al-Madinah, 416 The Emir al-Hajj, 420 Number of pilgrims
in the, 334 Quarrel between it and that from Baghdad, ii. 128 Stopped
in a perilous pass, 143 Grand spectacle afforded by the, on the plain
of Arafat, 181
Damghah, Marsa, on the Red Sea, i. 213
Dancing of the Badawin, its wildness, ii. 223
Daniyal, al-Nabi (Daniel the Prophet), tomb of, i. 12
Dar al-Bayda, the viceroy’s palace in the Desert, i. 154
Daraj, Al- (the ladder), at the Ka’abah, ii. 311
Darb al-Sharki, or Eastern road, from Al-Madinah to Meccah, ii. 58
Darb Sultani (the Sultan’s road), i. 260; ii. 58
Dates, the delicious, of Tur, i. 204 Those of the hypæthral court of the
Prophet’s Mosque, 337 The date “Al-Sayhani,” 337 The date-groves of Kuba, 381
The fruit of Nijd, 383 The Tamr al-Birni kind used as a diet in
small-pox, 385 Celebrity of the dates of Al-Madinah, 400 Varieties of
the date-tree, 400 Al-Shelebi date, 400 The Ajwah, 401 Al-Hilwah, 401
Al-Birni, 401 The Washi, 401 The Sayhani, 401 The Khuzayriyah, 401 The
Jabali, 401 The Laun, 401 The Hilayah, 402 Fondness of the Madani for
dates, 402 Rutab, or wet dates, 402 Variety of ways of cooking the
fruit, 402 The merry-makings at the fruit gatherings, 403 Causes of the
excellence of the dates of Al-Madinah, 403 The date-trees of Kuba, ii.
338
Da’ud Pasha, his palace at Al-Madinah, i. 394
Daughters of the Prophets, tombs of the, ii. 38
Daurak, or earthern jars, used for cooling the holy water of Zemzem,
ii. 310
David, King, i. 212
Darwayshes, wandering, i. 13 A Darwaysh’s the safest disguise, 14 The two
orders of Darwayshes, 15
Death, easy in the East, ii. 183
[p.432]
Death-wail, of Oriental women, i. 118
Deir, i. 189
Deraiyah, the capital of the Wahhabis, i. 369
Deri dialect, said to be spoken by the Almighty, i. 344, n.
Descendants of the Prophet, one of the five orders of pensioners at
Al-Madinah, i. 375
Desert, the Great, by moonlight, i. 85 Camel riding in, 143, 148
Reflected heat of, 144, n. Habits and manners of the Badawi camel-men,
146 Peculiarities by which inhabitants of the Desert may be recognised,
146, n. Feeling awakened by a voyage through the Desert, 148 The oases,
149 Unaptly compared to a sandy sea, 150, n. The pleasures of the
Desert, 150 Effect of the different seasons in the Desert, 151, n.
Pleasures of smoking in the, 152 A midnight halt in the, 154 The
absinthe (“Wormwood of Pontus”) of the, 155 Rest under the shade of the
mimosa tree, 155 Perfect safety of the Suez road across the, 156 A
Badawi ambuscade, 156 Charms of the Desert, 158 The Desert near Yambu’,
242 Fears of the travellers in crossing, 244 Breakfast in the, 244
Dinner in the, 245 Hot winds in the Deserts of Arabia, 247 Desert
valleys, 252 Fatal results from taking strong drinks in the Desert
during summer heats, 265, n. Discipline of the Desert, ii. 36, n.
Effect of Arab poetry in the, 99 Description of an Arabian Desert, 223
Devil, the Great (Shaytan al-Kabir), ceremony of throwing stones at,
ii. 204 Second visit to the, 219
Dews in Arabia, i. 245
D’Herbelot, reference to, i. 281, n.
Dickson, Dr., his discovery of the chronothermal practice of physic, i.
13
Dictionaries and vocabularies, Egyptian, imperfections of, i. 108, n.
Dinner, description of one at Meccah, ii. 256
Discipline, Oriental, must be based on fear, i. 212
Diseases of Al-Hijaz, i. 384 The Rih al-Asfar, or cholera morbus, 384
The Taun, or plague, 384 The Judari, or small-pox, 384 Inoculation, 385
Diseases divided by Orientals into hot, cold, and temperate, 385
Ophthalmia, 385 Quotidian and tertian fevers (Hummah Salis), 386 Low
fevers (Hummah), 387 Jaundice and bilious complaints, 387 Dysenteries,
388 Popular medical treatment, 389 The Filaria Medinensis (Farantit),
389 Vena in the legs, 389 Hydrophobia, 389 Leprosy (Al-Baras), 389
Ulcers, 390
Divination, Oriental, i. 12
Divinity, study of, in Egypt, i. 105 The Sharh, 105 Books read by
students in, 105, n.
Divorces, frequency of, among the Badawin, ii. 111
Diwan, luxury of the, i. 295
Diwani, value of the Hijazi coin so called, ii. 11, n.
Doctors. See Medicine
Dogs, pugnacity of, of Al-Madinah, i. 301 Superstitions respecting
them, 302
Donkey boys of Egypt, i. 111, n. Donkeys, despised by the Badawin, i.
304
[p.433]
Dragoman, consular. See Consular dragoman
Dress, Oriental; gold ornaments forbidden to be worn by the Moslem law,
i. 34, n., 236, n. Fashions of young Egyptians, 99 Faults of Moslem
ladies’ dressing, 123, n. Dress of the Maghrabis, 156 The face-veil of
Moslem ladies, 229 The Lisam of Constantinople, 229, n. The Lisam of
Arab Shaykhs, 235 Description of an Arab Shaykh fully equipped for
travelling, 235 The Kamis, or cotton shirt, 236 The Aba, or camel’s hair
cloak, 236 The Arab and Indian sandal, 236 Dress of the poorer classes
of Arabs, 237 The belt for carrying arms, 238 Dress of the Benu-Harb,
248 The Kufiyah, 265, n. Costume of the Arab Shaykhs of the Harbis, 266
Dress of Madinite Shaykh, 289 Articles of dress of city Arabs, 289, n.
Dress of a Zair, or visitor to the sepulchre of the Prophet, 309 n.
Dress of the Benu-Hosayn, ii. 4 Costume of the Madani, 14 Dress of the
Badawin, 115 The ceremony of Al-Ihram (or assuming the pilgrim dress)
on approaching Meccah, 139 Costume of the regions lying west of the Red
Sea, 139 The style of dress called Taylasan, 226
Drinking bout with an Albanian, i. 153
Drinking water, Oriental method of, i. 6
Drinks, intoxicating, not known to the Badawin, ii. 118
Dromedaries, sums charged for the hire of, i. 141
Dromedary-travelling compared with camel-travelling, i. 281
Dromedaries of Al-Madinah, ii. 16
Druze mysteries, foundation of, i. 97
Dry storms of Arabia, i. 247
Dua, the, or supplication after the two-bow prayers, i. 312, n.
Dubajet, Aubert, i. 112. n.
Dust storms, ii. 129
Dye used for the beard, ii. 14
Dysentery, frequent occurrence of, in the fruit season in Arabia, i.
388 Popular treatment of, 389
Dwellings of the Arabs in the time of Mohammed, i. 357

EARNEST money (arbun), ii. 52
Ebna, the descendants of the soldiers of Anushirwan, ii. 78, n.
Echinus, the, common in the Red Sea, i. 221, n.
Eddeh, Al-, the dress in the baths at Cairo, ii. 139
Education, Moslem, i. 185, et seq. Remarks on Mr. Bowring’s strictures
on, 109
Egypt, curiosity of the police, i. 2 Alexandria, 8, 10 Egypt’s first step
in civilisation, 17 Inconveniences of the passport system of, 18
Officials of, 19 Her progress during the last half-century, 28 The
Nile, 29 The Barrage bridge, 30 The Wakalahs or inns of, 41 The tobacco
of, 64 Shortness of the lives of the natives of Lower Egypt, 69 The
worst part of the day in, 77 All Agapemones suppressed in, 81 Fashions
of young Egyptians, 99 Subjects taught in Egyptian schools, 103, et
seq. Theology in Egypt, 106 State of learning not purely religious,
107, et seq. Degenerate state of modern Egyptian taste in poetry, 108,
n. Acquirements of the Egyptians in the exact sciences, 108, n. And in
natural [p.434] science, 108 Their capabilities for being good
linguists, 180, n. Their knowledge of the higher branches of language,
108, n. State of periodical literature in Egypt, 109, n. Bigotry of the
Egyptians, 110 Their feelings at the prospect of the present Russian
war, 111 Their views respecting various nations of foreigners, 111
Their longings for European rule, 111 Their hatred of a timid tyranny,
112 An instance of this, 112, n. The proposed ship canal and railway
in, 113 Importance of, to the rulers of India, 113 Secret societies of,
113 Press-gangs in, 117 Employment of Albanian Irregulars in, 133
Semi-religious tradition of the superiority of Osmanlis over Egyptians,
147, n. Story respecting this, 148 Seasons of severe drought, 180
Diseases of the country, 181 Food of the Suezians, 182 Reason of the
superiority in the field of Egyptian soldiers, 184 Insolence of
demeanour and coarseness of language of the officials in Egypt, 194, n.
Ruinous state of Al-Hijaz, the effect of the wars between the Egyptians
and the Wahhabis, 254, n. Bad quality of the coffee of, 290, n. The
scourge of ophthalmia, 385, n. The pot-bellied children of the banks of
the Nile, 406, n. Their monopoly of milk, curds, and butter, at
Al-Madinah, ii. 9
“Elephant, affair of the,” ii. 321, n.
Embracing, Oriental mode of, i. 287
Emir al-Hajj, of the Damascus Caravan, ii. 420 His privileges, 420 Abu
Bakr the first Emir al-Hajj, 420, n.
English, how regarded in Egypt, i. 111 Fable in Arabia, respecting
their desire to become Moslems, ii. 230
Eothen, reference to, i. 388, n.
Epithets, Arab, i. 277, n., 305, 327 The epithets applied to
Al-Madinah, 377 Applied to the Syrians, ii. 133 And to Damascus, 133, n.
Era, Moslem, commencement of, i. 355, n.
Erythræan Sea, i. 196, n.
Escayrac de Lanture, M., his preparations for a pilgrimage to Meccah,
i. 4, n.
Esmah, Sultanah, sister of Sultan Mahmud, i. 371
Etiquette in Al-Hijaz, i. 419, n.
Eunuchs of the Prophet’s tomb, i. 316, n., 321, n., 322, n., 371, n.
Antiquity of eunuchs, 371, n. Originated with Semiramis, 371, n.
Employment of, unknown at the time of the Prophet, 371, n.
Considerations which gave rise to the employment of, 371, n. Method of
addressing them, 371, n. Value of the title of Eunuch of the Tomb, 371,
n. Shaykh of the Eunuchs, 371 The three orders of Eunuchs of the Tomb,
371 The curious and exceptional character of the eunuch, 372 His
personal appearance 372 Value of eunuch slaves at Al-Madinah, ii. 13
Eunuchs of the Mosque at Meccah, ii. 319 Respect paid to a eunuch at
Meccah, 255
Euphorbiæ, in Arabia, ii. 72
Eve’s tomb, near Jeddah, ii. 273 Traditions respecting it, 275
Ezion-Geber, i. 189

FACE-GASHING in Meccah, ii. 234 In other countries, 234, n.
Fadak, town of, founded by the Jews, i. 347
[p.435]
Faddah, value of the Egyptian, ii. 11, n.
Fahd, Shaykh, the robber-chief, i. 257
Fa-hian quoted, ii. 276
Fairies, good and bad, origin of, i. 314
Fakihs, at the Mosque at Al-Madinah, i. 316
Falconry, among the Arabs, ii. 104 Origin of the sport, 104, n. Its
perfection as a science in the 12th century, 104
Farainah (Pharaohs), origin of, according to the Moslem writers, i. 344
Faraj Yusuf, the merchant of Jeddah, i. 47
Farantit. [See] Filaria Medinensis
Farrash (tent-pitchers, &c.), ii. 71
Farrashin, or free servants of the Mosque, i. 372
“Farsh al-Hajar,” of the Mosque of the Prophet, i. 332
Faruk, the Separator, a title of the Caliph Omar, i. 320
Farz, or obligatory prayers, i. 311, n.
Fasts, Moslems’, i. 76
Fath, the Masjid al- (of Victory), ii. 48
Fatihah, i. 194, 200 Repeated at the tomb of the Prophet, 319 Said for
friends or relations, 319, n.
Fatimah, the Lady, her tomb at Al-Madinah, i. 308, n. Gate of, 315
Prayer repeated at her tomb, 327 Epithets applied to her, 327, n. The
doctrine of her perpetual virginity, 327, n. Her garden in the Mosque
of the Prophet, 337 Three places lay claim to be her burial-place, 339
Mosque of, at Kuba, 411 Her tomb, ii. 42 Obscurity of tradition
respecting her last resting-place, 42, n. Her birth-place, 251
Fatimah bin As’ad, mother of Ali, her tomb, ii. 43, n.
Fattumah, i. 174
Fatur (breakfast), i. 79
Fayruz, the murderer of Omar, i. 435
Fayruzabadi, his Kamus, or Lexicon, i. 108, n., ii. 98, n.
Fazikh, the Masjid al- (of Date-liquor), ii. 45
“Fealty of the Steep, the First,” i. 352 “The Second Fealty of the Steep,” 352
“Great Fealty of the Steep,” 353
Festivals, following the Ramazan, i. 115, 116 Scene of jollity at the
cemetery outside the Bab al-Nasr, 116
Feuds between the Desert and the City Arabs, ii. 18
Fevers, quotidian and tertian (Hummah Salis), in Arabia, i. 386
Remedies for, 389
Fiends, summoning of, favourite Egyptian pursuit, i. 109, n.
Fijl, (radishes), i. 404
Fikh (divinity), study of, in schools, i. 104
Filaria Medinensis (Farantit), not now common at Al-Madinah, i. 389
Finati, Giovanni, Hajji Mohammed, his pilgrimage, i. 199, n., 262, ii.
390 Sketch of his adventures, 390, et seq.
Fire-worship introduced into Arabia from India, ii. 160, n. Agni, the
Indian fire-god, 160, n.
Fiumaras, of Arabia, i. 3 The Fiumara “Al-Sayh,” i. 399 That of Mount Ohod,
424
Flight (the), of Mohammed, i. 354, 355, n.
[p.436]
Flowers of Arabia, i. 251 Of India, 251 Of Persia, 251
Food of the Badawin, ii. 116 Their endurance of hunger, 116 Method of
cooking locusts, 117 Their favourite food on journeys, 117
Forskal, i. 218
Forster, Rev. C., strictures on his attack on Gibbon, ii. 76, n.
Fortress of Al-Madinah, i. 393
Forts of the East, a specimen of, i. 157
Fountain, the public (Sabil), of Al-Madinah, i. 391
French, their popularity in Egypt, i. 111 Causes of this, 111
Friday sermon, of the Prophet, i. 335
Fruit trees, of Al-Madinah, i. 400
Fugitives, pillar of, in the Mosque of the Prophet, i. 335
Fukahs, or poor divines, of the Mosque of the Prophet, i. 375
Fukayyir, Bir al-, at Kuba, i. 414, n.
Funerals, Arab, ii. 23 Description of a burial at Al-Bakia, 32 Funeral
ceremonies of the Badawin, ii. 111

GABRIEL the Archangel. [See] Jibrail
Gabriel’s Gate (Bab Jibrail), i. 333
Gabriel’s place (Makan Jibrail), in the Mosque of the Prophet, i. 336
Gabriel the Archangel, his communications to the Prophet, i. 360, 361,
363
Galla slave girls, their value, ii. 13
Gallantry of Orientals, i. 210 Ungallantry of some “Overlands,” 210
Gambling not in existence among the Badawin, ii. 107
Gara tribe of Arabs, i. 145. Low development of the indigens of, ii. 77
Garden of our Lady Fatimah, in the Mosque of the Prophet, i. 337 Date
trees of, 337 Venerable palms of, 337 Gardens not uncommon in Mosques,
337
Garlic and onions, use of, in the East, i. 32, n.
Gates of Al-Madinah, i. 391
Geesh, Lord of, i. 8
Genealogy of the Arabs, intricacy of the subject, ii. 119, n. The best
known Arabic genealogical works, 119, n.
Generalisation unknown to the Arabs, i. 250, n.
Geographical Society (Royal) of London; its zeal for discovery, i. 1.
Geography among the modern Egyptians, i. 108, n., 250
Geology of the neighbourhood of Al-Madinah, i. 279 Of the road between
Al-Madinah and Meccah, ii. 73
Geomancy, favourite Egyptian pursuit of, i. 158, n.
Geometry, study of, in Egypt, i. 158, n.
George Inn, at Suez, i. 159 Society at the, 161, 173
Ghabbah, Al-, or the watershed of Al-Madinah, i. 381
Ghadir, Al-, description of the plan of, ii. 134 The three wells of the
Caliph Harun at, 134
Ghalib, the late Sharif of Meccah, revered as a saint, i. 340, n.
Purchases the treasures of the Prophet’s tomb from Sa’ad the Wahhabi, 369
Ghaliyah, her heroism, ii. 94
Ghazi, or a crusader, i. 329, n.
[p.437]
Ghazi (twenty-two piastres), paid to the free servants of the Mosque,
i.372
Ghi, of India, ii. 12 Considered by Indians almost as a panacea for
diseases and wounds, 12, n.
Ghul (Devil), how expelled from persons suffering from hydrophobia, i.
389
Ghul, the hill near Meccah, ii. 147
Ghurbal, Bir al-, at Kuba, i. 414, n.
Ghuri, Al-, the Sultan, his additions to the Ka’abah, ii. 307
Ghuzat, or crusaders, i. 329, n.
Giants (Jahabirah), who fought against Israel, i. 344
Gibbon, his derivation of the name Saracens, ii. 76, n. The Rev. C.
Forster’s Attack on him, 76, n.
Gibraltar, i. 7
Gilead, Balm of, grows as a weed in Al-Hijaz, ii. 148 Name by which it
is known to the Arabs, 148, n. Its value in the valley of the Jordan,
148, n. Introduced by Cleopatra into Egypt, 148, n. Places where the
best balsam is produced, 149, n. Qualities of the best kind, 149, n.
Description of the tree, 149
Goat, the milk of, ii. 17, n. The flesh of, 17, n.
Gold ornaments, forbidden by the Moslem law to be worn, i. 34, n.; 236
“Golden Wire,” the pilgrim-ship, i. 188 Its wretched state, 188 Ali Murad,
the owner, 189 The passengers, 189 Riot on board, 191 Halt near the
Hammam Bluffs, 197 Runs aground, 200
Goose (Sand-), the, i. 154
Gospel of Infancy, quotation from, ii. 148, n.
Grammar, how taught in Egyptian schools, i. 104 Prosody among the
Arabs, 107
Granites (Suwan), of the plains of Arabia, ii. 74 Of Meccah, 295, n.
Grapes of Al-Madinah, ii. 404 The Sharifi grape, 404 The Hijazi, 404
The Sawadi, or black grape, 404 The Raziki, or small white grape, 404
Gratitude, no Eastern word for, i. 51
Graves, shape of, of the Badawin, i. 274. Injunctions of Mohammed to
his followers to visit, 314, n. At Mount Ohod, 430 Musannam, or raised
graves, 430 Musattah, or level graves, 430 The graves of the saints at
Al-Bakia, ii. 32
Greek Emperor, his presents to the Mosque of Al-Madinah, i. 365
Greeks, hated in Egypt, i. 111 Those settled on the Red Sea, 202 Those
in Al-Madinah, 292
Guebres, fable of, respecting man’s good works, 313, n. Their ancient
fire-temples in Arabia and Persia, 379, n. Their claim to the Ka’abah,
ii. 301 Fire worship introduced from India, 160, n.
Guest-dish, ii. 12
“Gugglets,” for cooling water, i. 399
Gunpowder play (La’ab al-Barut) of the Arabs, ii. 86
Guns sounding the order of the march, ii. 71 The guns of the Badawin,
105
Gypsum, tufaceous, in the Desert, ii. 134

HABASH (Abyssinia), i. 177
[p.438]
Haddah, Al-, the settlement so called, ii. 202
Hadis (the traditions of the Prophet), study of, in schools, i. 104, 305
Hæmorrhoids, frequency of, in Al-Hijaz, i. 389 Treatment of, 389
Hagar, her tomb at Meccah, ii. 305, n.
Hajar al-Akhzar, or green stone, of the Ka’abah, ii. 305, n.
Hajar al-Aswad (Black Stone), the famous, of the Ka’abah, ii. 300 (See
Black Stone)
Hajar Shumaysi (yellow sandstone) of Meccah, ii. 295, n.
Haji Wali, i. 43, 44 His advice to the pilgrim, 44, 45 His lawsuit, 46
His visit to the “Consul-General” at Cairo, 86 Accompanies the author in
paying visits, 116 Introduces the pilgrim to the Persian Consul, 128
His horror at a drinking bout, 137 Takes leave of the pilgrim, 142
Hajin, the Egyptian she-dromedary, i. 418, n.
Hajj (pilgrimage), difference between the, and the Ziyarat, i. 305 The
Hajj (or simple pilgrimage), ii. 281 Hajj al-Akbar (the great
pilgrimage), 281
Hajj bin Akhtah, plots against Mohammed, i. 358
Hajj al-Shami (the Damascus pilgrimage), i. 416
Hajjaj bin Yusuf, general of Abd al-Malik, ordered to rebuild the House
of Allah, ii. 324
Hajjat al-Farz (obligatory pilgrimage), ii. 280 The Hajjat al-Islam
(the pilgrimage of the Mohammedan faith), 280
Hakim, Al-, bi ’Amri’llah, his attempt to steal the bodies of the Prophet
and his two companions, i. 367
Hakim, Al-, the Sultan of Egypt, i. 97
“Halal,” to, a sheep, i. 256
Halimah (the Lady), the Badawi wet-nurse of the Prophet, her tomb, i.
328, n., ii. 36
Halliwell, Mr., his mistake respecting the “Methone” of Sir John
Mandeville, ii. 286
Hamail, or pocket Koran, of pilgrims, i. 239
Hamid al-Samman, Shaykh, description of, i. 162, 200 Lands at Yambu’, 225
Vaunts the strong walls of Yambu’, 242 Leaves Yambu’, 242 Halal of a sheep
in the desert, 256 His fear of the Badawin, 261 His determination to
push through the nest of robbers, 271 Takes his place in the Caravan,
272 Arrives at Al-Madinah, 281 His toilet after the journey, 288 His
hospitality to the pilgrim, 288 Improvement in his manners, 290
Behaviour of his children, 292 His real politeness, 294 Description of
his abode, 295 His household, 296 Accompanies the pilgrim to the
Prophet’s tomb, 304 Introduces the pilgrim to the Prophet’s window, 321
Accompanies him to the Mosque of Kuba, 398 And to Mount Ohod, 419, et
seq. And to the cemetery of Al-Bakia, ii. 31 et seq. Procures a
faithful camel-man for the journey to Meccah, 51 His debt forgiven, 56
Hamidah, the principal family of the Benu-Harb, i. 257 Their attack on
the Caravan, 273
Hammam, or the hot bath, i. 70
Hamra, Al-, i. 249 Derivations of its name, 253 Called also Al-Wasitah,
253 Encamped at, 253 Description of the village of, 254 The fortress
of, 255
[p.439]
Hamra, Al-, the third station from Al-Madinah in the Darb Sultani, i.
260
Hamra, Al-, the torrent, i. 278, n.
Hamzah, friend of Mohammed, prayer in honour of, i. 328 Sent forward by
the Prophet to Al-Madinah, 354 Mosque of, 426 The place where he was
slain, 433
Hanafi school, their views respecting the proper dress for visiting the
Prophet’s tomb, i. 309, n. Their place of prayer at, i. 310 Mufti of, at
Al-Madinah, 373 Their practice of nighting at Muzdalifah, ii. 201
Hanafi sect, its station for prayer at the Ka’abah, ii. 308 Its
importance in Meccah, 309, n.
Hanbali school, i. 373 Its station for prayer at the Ka’abah, ii. 308
Hands, clapping of (Safk), practice of in the East, ii. 223
Hanna Massara, the Consular Dragoman of Cairo, i. 128, n.
Haramayn, or sanctuaries, the two of Al-Islam, i. 230, n.; i. 304
“Harami,” or thieves, in the Desert, i. 261
Harb, the Benu, the present ruling tribe in the Holy Land, ii. 119 Its
divisions and sub-divisions, 119 et n.
Harbis, of Al-Hijaz, i. 266
Harim, (or Sanctuary), the Prophet’s, at Al-Madinah, i. 298, 305, 307 The
Shaykh al-, or principal officer of the Mosque, 371 The Mudir al-, or
chief treasurer of the Tomb of the Prophet, 371 The Huddud al-Harim,
379 All Muharramat or sins forbidden within the, 379, n. Dignity of the
Harim, 380, n. See Ka’abah
Harim, of a Madinite, i. 298
Harim, arrangements of the, ii. 91 Its resemblance to a European home,
91
Hariri, Al-, poem of, i. 108, n.
Harrah, or ridges of rock, i. 251; 251, n. Al-Harratayn, 279, n.
Harrah, or ridge, as represented in our popular works, i. 341 Meaning
of the term, i. 421, n. The second and third Harrahs, 421, n., 424 The
Prophet’s prediction at the Harrah Al-Wakin or Al-Zahrah, 421, n. “The
affair of the Ridge,” 421, n.
Harun, the Kubbat, or Aaron’s tomb, on Mount Ohod, i. 423
Harun al-Rashid. His three wells at Al-Ghadir, ii. 70, 134 His
pilgrimages and crusades, 136
Harun Bir (well of Harun), ii. 70
Hasan, grandson of Mohammed, i. 97, n. Prayers for, 327 His descendants
at Al-Madinah, ii. 3, n. His tomb, 40 Burckhardt’s mistakes respecting
him, 40, n. His death by poison 40, n.
Hasan al-Marabit, Shaykh, tomb of, on the shore of the Red Sea, i. 218
Hasanayn Mosque, at Cairo, i. 97
Hasan the Imam, requests to be buried near the Prophet, i. 325
Hasan, Sultan, Mosque of, at Cairo, i. 98
Hasan, Jabal (Mount Hasan), i. 220
Hashim, great grandfather of the Prophet, i. 351, n.
Hashish, smoking i. 44
Haswah, or gravelled place, i. 307
Hatchadur Nury, Mr., his friendship with the author, i. 122
[p.440]
Hatim, the generous Arab chieftain, i. 166
Hatim, Al- (the broken), of the Ka’abah, ii. 305
Hawamid Arabs. Their fight with the Hawazim, ii. 28
Hawazim Arabs, their furious fight with the Hawamid, ii. 28 Their
Shaykhs, Abbas and Abu Ali, ii. 28
“Haye” in military tactics, i. 267, n.
Haykal! Ya (sons of Haykal), explained, i. 30, n.
Hazirah, or presence, i. 316
Hazramaut, the Arabs of, i. 240, n.
Hazrat Ali, apparition of, ii. 184
Heat, the reflected, at Yambu’, ii. 232 The hot wind of the Desert, 247,
264 Sun-strokes, 265, n. The great heats near the Red Sea prejudicial
to animal generation, 265, n. The hour at which the sun is most
dangerous, i. 275 Terrible heat at Al-Hijaz, ii. 221 Unbearable at
Meccah, 228
Heathenry, remnants of, in Arabia, i. 4
Hebrew, points of resemblance between, and Pahlavi, ii, 79, n.
Heliopolis, Balm of Gilead of, ii. 148, n.
Hemp-drinkers, Egyptian, ii. 189, 191
Henna powder, i. 400, n.
Herklots, Dr., reference to his work “Qanoon-i-Islam,” i. 388, n. Quoted,
ii. 304, n.
Hermaic books, the, i. 385, n.
“Herse,” in military tactics, i. 267 n.
Hijaz, Al-, dangers and difficulties of, i. 2 Antiquity and nobility of
the Muzaynah tribe in, 145, 146 Land route to, from Suez, 158
Persecution of Persians in, 232, n. The Badawi blackmail in, 233, n.
Description of the shugduf or litter of, 233, n. Abounds in ruins, 254
Sa’ad the robber chief of, 256 Shaykh Fahd, the robber chief, 257
Wretched state of the government in, 257, 258 The charter of Gulhanah,
258 The Darb Sultani, 260 Heat in Al-Hijaz, 265 Douceurs given by the
Turks to the Arab shaykhs of, 266 “Al-Shark,” 266, n. Fight between the
Arabs and soldiers in, 269 Peopled by the soldiers of the children of
Israel, 347 Limits of, 379 Meaning of the name, 380 Rainy season in,
383 Diseases of, 384 Number of the Turkish forces in, 393, n. Account
of the Badawin of, ii. 76, et seq. (See Badawin) Money of, 111, n.
Observations on the watershed of, 154 Purity of the water throughout,
194 Healthiness of the people of, 229
Hijazi, the grape so called, i. 404
Hijriyah, Al-, halt at, ii. 71
Hilayah, the date so called, i. 401
Hilwah, Al-, the date so called, i. 402
Himyaritic tribes, their mixture with the Amalikah, ii. 79
Hinda, mother of Mu’awiyah, her ferocity, i. 433, n. Her name of “Akkalat
al-Akbad,” 433, n.
Hindi, Jabal, at Meccah, ii. 153
“Hindu-Kush,” the, i. 243, n.
Hindus, their square temples similar in form to the Mosque, ii. 300, n.
Their litholatry, 301, n. The Ka’abah claimed as a sacred place by them,
301, n.
[p.441]
History (Tawarikh), study of, little valued in Egypt, i. 107, n.
Hitman tribe of Arabs, the lowness of their origin, ii. 121 Unchastity
of their women, 121
Hogg, Sir James, i. 1
Holofernes, general of Nebuchadnezzar I., i. 347, n.
Honey, the Arabs curious in, and fond of, ii. 130, n. The different
kinds of honey, 130, n.
Honorarium (ikram), given to the Madani who travel, ii. 7
“Horde,” probable origin of the word, i. 394, n.
Horses, Arabian, i. 3 The celebrated, of Nijd, i. 266, n., ii. 195
Horses of the Arnaut Irregulars, i. 267 Pugnacity of the, of
Al-Madinah, 301 The, of Al-Madinah, ii. 16 Price of horses in time of
Solomon, 195, n. Egyptian horses, 195, n. Qualities of a pure Arab
horse, 195, n. The former horse trade of Yaman, 195, n. The breed
supplied to India, 196, n.
Hosayn, Al-, grandson of Mohammed, i. 98, n. His death at Kerbela, ii.
40, n. His head preserved in the Mosque Al-Hasanayn at Cairo, ii. 40, n.
Hosayn, Benu, become guardians of the Prophet’s tomb, i. 368, ii. 3, n.
Head-quarters of the, at Suwayrkiyah, 3 Their former numbers and power,
3 Their heretical tenets, 3 Their personal appearance, 4 Their town of
Al-Suwayrkiyah, 124
Hosayn bin Numayr, his siege of Meccah, ii. 323
Hosh, Al-, or the central area of a dwelling-house, i. 307, 397
Hosh ibn Sa’ad, at Madinah, the residence of the Benu Hosayn, ii. 4
Hospitality in the East, i. 36
House hire in Egypt, i. 42, 65 Houses of the Arabs at the time of
Mohammed, 356 Those of Al-Madinah, 393 Those at Meccah, description of,
ii. 171
Hudud al-Hatim, or limits of the sanctuary, i. 379
Hufrah (holes dug for water in the sand) ii. 62
Hufrah, Al- (the digging), of the Ka’abah, ii. 304, n.
Hujjaj, or pilgrims, i. 329
Hujrah, or Chamber of Ayishah, description of, i. 314 Errors of
Burckhardt and M. Caussin, respecting the word, 314, n. Its walls
rebuilt, 324, n. Referred to, 325-329 Surrounded by a mud wall by the
Caliph Omar, 363 Enclosed within the Mosque by Al-Walid, 366 Spared
from destruction by lightning, 368
Hukama, or Rationalists, of Al-Islam, ii. 201
Hummum Bluffs (Hammam Faraun), i. 197
Hummi tobacco, i. 66, n.
Hurayrah, Abu, his account of the Benu Israel in Arabia, i. 346
Hydrophobia, rarity of, in Al-Hijaz, i. 388 Popular superstition
respecting, 388 Treatment of, 388
Hyksos, the, identified with the Amalik of the Moslems, i. 343, n.
“Hypocrites,” conspiracy of the, i. 358

IAMBIA, of Ptolemy, i. 225
Ibn Asm, or Ibn Rumi, slain, i. 94 His sister, 94
Ibn Batutah, reference to, i. 12 n., 265, n.
Ibn Dhaher Berkouk, King of Egypt, rebuilds the Mosque at Meccah, ii.
296
[p.442]
Ibn Haukal, reference to, i. 4, n., 17, n.
Ibn Hufazah al-Sahmi, his tomb, ii. 43, n.
Ibn Jubayr, reference to, i. 279, n.
Ibn Kasim, his commentary, i. 106
Ibn Zubayr, chief of Meccah, rebuilds the Ka’abah, ii. 299
Ibrahim, catafalque of, in the great Mosque of Meccah, i. 324, n.
Ibrahim, the Makam, at the Ka’abah, ii. 307, n., 311, 325
Ibrahim, infant son of the Prophet, his burial-place, ii. 32, 37
Ibrahim Pasha, his ships on the Red Sea, i. 170
Ibrahim bin Adham, his vision, ii. 184, n.
Ichthyophagi, the modern, of the Red Sea, i. 218, n., 221
Idrisi, Al-, i. 195
Ignatius, Epistles of, to the Smyrneans, references to, i. 326, n.
Ihlal, the pilgrim dress so called, ii. 205
Ihn, Bir, at Kuba, i. 414, n.
Ihram, Al- (assuming the pilgrim garb), the ceremony so called, ii. 138
Change from Ihram to Ihlal, 205 Ceremonies of, 284 The Victims of
Al-Ihram, 286
Ijabah, the Masjid al- (the Mosque of Granting), ii. 47, 153, n.
Ikamah, or call to divine service, ii. 311, n.
Ikhlas, Al-, the chapter of the Koran, i. 429
Ihram (honorarium) given to the Madani who travel, i. 263, ii. 7 The
four kinds of, 7
Ilal, Jabal (Mount of Wrestling in Prayer). See Arafat, Mount
Ilfrad, Al- (singulation), the pilgrimage so called, ii. 280
Imans, of the Prophet’s Mosque, i. 313, n., 374, 375 Place where they
pray, i. 335, 338
Imlik, great-great-grandson of Noah, the ancestor of the Amalikah, ii.
321
Immigrations of the Arabian people, i. 344
India, style of doing business in, i. 27 Observations on caste in, 36,
n. Real character of the natives of, 37-40 Popular feeling in,
respecting British rule, and causes of this, 37, n. No European should
serve an Eastern lord, 39 The natives a cowardly and slavish people, 40
Their cowardice compared with the bravery of the North American
Indians, 40 Testimony of Sir Henry Elliot to this, 40, n. An instance
of Indian improvidence, 157, n. Luxuriance of the plains of, 251 Indian
pilgrims protected by their poverty, 265 The Duke of Wellington’s dictum
about the means of preserving health in, 265, n. Wells of the Indians
in Arabia, 274 n. Their sinful method of visiting the Prophet’s tomb, 305
Generosity of Indian pilgrims, 331, n. Their drawings of the holy
shrines as published at Meccah, 342 Dress and customs of the Indian
women settled at Al-Madinah, ii. 6 Recklessness of poor Indian
pilgrims, ii. 184 Remedies, proposed, 185 Qualities of the horses of,
obtained from the Persian Gulf, 195, n. Profuseness of Indian pilgrims,
210
Indian Ocean (Sea of Oman), the shores of, when first peopled,
according to Moslem accounts, i. 344, n.
Inns. See Wakalah
Inoculation practised in Al-Madinah, i. 384
[p.443]
“Inshallah bukra” (please God, to-morrow), ii. 21
Intermarriages, theory of the degeneracy which follows, ii. 84 Dr. Howe’s
remarks on, 84, n.
Intonation and chaunting of the Koran taught in Moslem schools, i. 106,
n.
Irak, Al-, expedition of Tobba al-Asghar against, i. 349
Iram, flood of, i. 348
Ireland, probable origin of its name, ii. 239, n.
Irk al-Zabyat, mountain, ii. 274, n.
Isa bin Maryam, reference to, ii. 274, n. Spare tomb at Al-Madinah for
him after his second coming, 325
Isha, or Moslem night prayer, i. 233
Ishmael (Ismail), his tomb at Meccah, ii. 305 The two-bow prayer over
the grave of, 176
Ishmaelites, of the Sinaitic peninsula, ii. 78 Their distinguishing
marks, 78
Ismail Pasha murdered by Malik Nimr, chief of Shendy, i. 138, n.
Ismid, a pigment for the eyes, i. 381, n.
Israel Benu, rule of, in Arabia, i. 345 See Jews
Israelites, course of the, across the Red Sea, i. 199
Israfil, the trumpet of, on the last day, i. 340, n.
Istikharah, or divination, ii. 23
Italians, how regarded in Egypt, i. 111
Izar, the portion of a pilgrim’s dress so called, ii. 139

JA AL-SHARIFAH, the halting-ground, ii. 63
Ja’afar al-Sadik, the Imam, his tomb, ii. 40, 41, n.
Ja’afar Bey (governor of Suez), i. 147 Account of him, 160
Jababirah (giants), who fought against Israel, i. 344
Jabariti, from Habash, i. 177
Jahaydah, a straggling line of villages, i. 262
Jama, meaning of, i. 97
Jama Taylun, mosque, i. 96
Jama’at, or public prayers, in Al-Rauzah, i. 330, n.
Jami al-Sakhrah, at Arafat, ii. 192
Jami Ghamamah at Al-Manakhah, i. 395
Jannat al-Ma’ala (the cemetery of Meccah), visit to, ii. 248
Jauf, Al-, excellence of the dates of, i. 383
Jauhar, founder of the Mosque of Al-Azhar, i. 102
Jaundice, common in Arabia, i. 387 Popular cure for, 387
Java, number of Moslem pilgrims from, to Meccah, i. 179
Javelin, (Mizrak), description of the Arab, i. 237
Jazb al-Kulub ila Diyar al-Mahbub, the work so called, ii. 358, n.
Jabal, observations on the word, i. 220, n.
Jabali, the date so called, i. 401
Jeddah, slave trade at, i. 47 Price of perjury at, 47 Value of the
exports from Suez to, 178 Jews settled in, 346, n. Population of, 393,
n. Unsuccessful attempt of the Wahhabis to storm it, ii. 265, n.
Considered by the Meccans to be a perfect Gibraltar, 265 The Wakalah of
Jeddah, 266 The British Vice-Consul, Mr. Cole, 266 Different
descriptions of the town, 267, 268 The fair Corinthians at, 270 How the
time passes at Jeddah, 272
[p.444]
Jahaymah, tribe of Arabs, i. 145
Jamal, Amm, his advice to the pilgrim, i. 233 Reproved for his
curiosity, 243
Jamal al-Din of Isfahan, his improvements of the Prophet’s Mosque, i.
366, n.
Janabah, low development of the indigens of, ii. 77
Janazah, Darb al- (Road of Biers), at Al-Madinah, i. 395
“Jangli,” an opprobrious name applied to the English rulers of India, i. 36
Jarid, or palm-sticks, with which the houses of the Arabs were made, i.
357
Jazzar Pasha, i. 263
Jews, former settlements of, in Arabia, i. 345 Entirely extinct at
present, 347, n. Take refuge from Nebuchadnezzar in Arabia, 347 Towns
founded by them in Arabia, 347 Fall into idolatry, 347 Given over to
the Arabs, 347 Their power in Al-Madinah, 350 Their conspiracy against
the Prophet, 358 Their expectation of the advent of their Messiah, 358
Jibrail, Mahbat, or place of Gabriel’s Descent, i. 326, 333, n.
Jibrail, Makam (Gabriel’s Place), in the Mosque of the Prophet, i. 336
Jibrail, Bab al- (Gabriel’s Gate), i. 333
Jinn, the Masjid al- (Mosque of the Genii), at Meccah, ii. 250
Jin-seng, or China root, notice of, i. 56, n.
Jiyad, Jabal, the two hills so called, ii. 174
Jizyat, or capitation tax levied on infidels, i. 233, n.
Job, tomb of, ii. 275, n.
Journey, a day’s length of, ii. 63, n.
Jubayr, Ibn, on the position of the tombs of the Prophet and the first
two Caliphs, i. 324 Referred to, i. 399, n., ii. 40
Jubayr bin Mutin, his march to Ohod, i. 433
Jubbah, i. 17, n.
Judari, Al- (or Small-pox), indigenous to the countries bordering the
Red Sea, i. 384 Inoculation practised in Al-Madinah, i. 385 The disease
how treated, i. 385 Inoculation in Yaman, i. 385, n. Diet of the
patient, i. 385
Jumah, Bab al-, or Friday gate, of Al-Madinah, i. 391 The cemetery of
Schismatics near, 395
Jumah, the Masjid al-, near Al-Madinah, ii. 45
Jumma Masjid, of Bijapur, the third largest cathedral in the world, i.
364, n.
Jurh al-Yamani (the Yaman ulcer), i. 390
Jurham, the Benu, their mixture with the Himyaritic tribes, ii. 79
Their foundation of the sixth House of Allah, 322 Legend of their
origin, 322
Justinian, i. 202, n.

KA’AB, the Jewish priest of Al-Madinah, i. 350, n.
Ka’ab al-Ahbar (or Akhbar), poems of, i. 107, n., 146
Ka’abah (or Bayt Ullah) i. 305, 321, n. Superstitious reverence of the
Jews of Al-Madinah for, 350, n. Miraculously shown to Mohammed by the
archangel Gabriel, 361. Times of the opening [p.445] of, ii. 398
Extracts from Burckhardt’s description of, 294 Its dimensions, ii. 294
Its domes and pillars, 294 Its bad workmanship, 295 Periods of opening
it, 298 The doors of, 298 The famous Hijar al-Aswad, or Black Stone,
300 The Rukn al-Yamai, 303 Al-Ma’ajan, or place of mixing, 304 The Myzab,
or water-spout, 304 The mosaic pavement, 305 Tombs of Hagar and
Ishmael, 305 Limits of the Ka’abah, 306 Al-Mataf, or place of
circumambulation, 307 The four Makams, or stations for prayer, 307
Zemzem, or the holy well, 307 Al-Darah, or the ladder, 311 Stone on
which Abraham stood, 311 The boast that the Ka’abah is never, night nor
day, without devotees, 317, n. Legends of the Ten Houses of Allah, 319,
et seq. Proofs of the Ka’abah’s sanctity, 325 The pilgrim’s first visit to
it, 160 Legend of the Bab Benu Shaybah, 161 Ceremonies of the visit,
162, et seq. Visit of the pilgrim to, 206 Sketch of the interior of the
building, 208 Ceremony of opening, in Ibn Jubayr’s time, 209, n. Expenses
of visiting, 209 Reasons for all pilgrims not entering, 211 The first
covering of the, 212 Changes in the style and make of the Kiswah, or
curtain, 213 Inscriptions on the Kiswah, 215
Ka’aka’an, Jabal, the residence of the Benu Jurham, ii. 322
Kabirah, Al-, or lady of the house, ii. 160 Kindness of one to the
pilgrim at Meccah, 216 Her affectionate farewell of the pilgrim, 259
Kadiriyah, an order of Darwayshes, i. 14
Kaf, “to go to Kaf,” explained, i. 17, n.
Kafr al-Zajyat, i. 30
Kaid-Bey, the Mamluk Sultan of Egypt, i. 313, n. Rebuilds the Mosque of
the Prophet, 324, n., 340
“Kayf,” explanation of, i. 9 Sonnini’s description of, 9, n. Kayf on the
brink of the well at Al-Kuba, 412
Kairom and its potteries, i. 29
Kalaun, Sultan of Egypt, his improvements of the Mosque of the Prophet,
i. 366, n.
Kalka-shandi, Al-, his testimony respecting the tomb of the Prophet, i.
323
Kamis, or cotton shirt, of Arab Shaykhs, i. 236
Kanat (spears), of the Badawin, ii. 106
Kanisat, or Christian Church, i. 365
Kansuh al-Ghori (Campson Gaury), King of Egypt, i. 202, n.
Kara Gyuz, the amusement so called, i. 81
Karashi tribe of Arabs, i. 145
Kasr, Al-, the village of, i. 376, n.
Kaswa, Al-, the she-camel of Mohammed the Prophet, i. 354, 360, 407
Kata, or sand-goose, the (Pterocles melanogaster), i. 154
Katibs, or writers of the tomb of the Prophet, i. 371
Katirah race, its mixture with the Himyaritic tribes, ii. 79
Kaukab al-Durri, or constellation of pearls suspended to the curtain
round the Prophet’s tomb, i. 322 It[s] apparent worthlessness, 322
Plundered by the Wahhabis, 369
Kawwas, or police officer, of Egypt, i. 20
[p.446]
{|Kazi (Cadi), or chief judge of Al-Madinah, i. 373 Customs of the, ii.
87
Kerbela, battle of, ii. 40, n.
Khadijah (one of the Prophet’s fifteen wives), her burial-place, ii. 38
Khadim, or guardian, of a Mosque, i. 411 Of the tombs at Al-Bakia, ii.
36
Khakani, the Persian poet, quoted, ii. 162
Khalawiyah tribes of Arabs, despised by the other clans, ii. 121
Khalid Bey, brother of Abdullah bin Sa’ud, his noble qualities, ii. 272
Khalid bin Walid, i. 425 Anecdote of him, ii. 230
Khaluk, a perfume so called, i. 335
Khandak (the moat) celebrated in Arabian history, i.399
Khasafat al-Sultan, of the Mosque at Al-Madinah, i.316, n.
Khatan bin Saba, tribe of, i. 340
Khatbys, of the Mosque of the Prophet, i. 375
Khatim, Bir al-, or Kuba well, i. 382, n.
Khattabi, Al-, his opinions respecting Al-Madinah, i. 379, n.
Khatyb, or Moslem preacher, ii. 313
Khaybar, in Arabia, Israelite settlements at, i. 346, 347 The colony
entirely extinct, 347, n. Capture of, 361 Its distance from Al-Madinah,
ii. 30
Khayf, Al-, i. 262 The Mosque of, at Muna, ii. 179
Khaznadar, the treasurer of the Prophet’s tomb, i. 371
Khazraj, its mixture with the Amalikah, i. 79 Arab tribe of, 347 Its
wars with the Aus, 349 Converted by Mohammed, 352 Its plot against
Mohammed, 358
Khitbah, or betrothal in Arabia, ii. 23
Khitmahs, or persuals of the Koran on behalf of the reigning Sultan, i.
316, n.
Khubziyah, one of the orders of the Eunuchs of the Tomb, i. 371
Khudabakhsh, the Lahore shawl merchant, his profuse pilgrimages, ii.
210, n.
Khurunfish, Al-, the manufactory at which the Kiswah is now worked, ii.
215
Khusraw, his work on divinity, “Al Durar,” i. 106
Khutaba, the Shaykh al-, of the Prophet’s mosque, i. 374
Khutbah, or Friday Sermon of the Prophet, i. 335
Khutbat al-Wakfah (“Sermon of the Standing” upon Arafat), ii. 197
Khuzayriyah, the date so called, i. 401
Khwajah Yusuf, his adventures, i. 122
Kiblatayn, the Mosque Al-, foundation of the, ii. 44
Kichhri, the Indian food so called, i. 182, n. ii. 63
Kilis, or Christian Church, of Abrahah of Sana’a, i. 321, n.
Kiman, the relationship among the Badawin so called, ii. 313
Kiram al-Katibin (the generous writers), the personifications of man’s
good and evil principles, i. 314, n.
“Kirsh Hajar,” a sound dollar, so called by the Badawin, i. 370, n.
Kisra, goblet and mirror of, i. 365, n.
Kissing the hand, ii. 164, n.
Kiswah, or “garment” or curtain round the Prophet’s tomb, i. 321, n.
Description of a Kiswah, 322, n. Purloining the bits of, ii. 176 Notice
of, 215
[p.447]
Kiswah, or cover of a saint’s tomb, i. 429
Knight-errantry, Arab, ii. 95 Derivation of the word knight, 95, n.
Kohl (antimony), a pigment for the eyes, i. 381, n. Used as a remedy in
small-pox, 385
Koran, beautiful penmanship exhibited in some copies of, i. 103, n.
Intonation of, taught in Schools, 106 Expositions of, 109 Mode of
wearing the pocket Koran, 142 Precepts respecting the profession of
belief in the saving faith, 167 Texts of, respecting Moses, Abraham,
David, Solomon, and Mohammed, 212, n. The Hamail, or pocket Koran, of
pilgrims, 239 The, suspended over the head of the Prophet’s tomb, 322, n.
That of the Caliph Osman, 322, n. The Ya-Sin usually committed to
memory, 330, n. A curious one kept in the library of the Mosque of the
Prophet, 338. n. The Cufic MSS. written by Osman, the fourth Caliph, 368
Koraysh, tribe of Arabs, i. 145
Kotambul, island of, i. 376, n.
Kuba, Mosque of, i. 279, n. Gardens of, 285 Receives the Prophet, 355
Date-groves of, 381 The Kuba well, 382, n. Cool shades of Kuba, 403
Description of the village, 406 Its inhabitants, 406 History of its
Mosque, 407 Purity of the place and people of Al-Kuba, 410 The Mosque
called Masjid al-Takwa, or Mosque of Piety, 411 The Mosque of Sittna
Fatimah, 411 That of Arafat, 412 Date trees of, ii. 338
Kubar, or great men of the Mu’ezzini of Al-Madinah, i. 373
Kubbat al-Masra, at Ohod, i. 432
Kubbat al-Sanaya, or Dome of the Front Teeth, at Mount Ohod, i. 430
Kubbat al-Zayt (Dome of Oil), or Kubbat al-Shama (Dome of Candles), in
the Mosque of the Prophet, i. 337, n.
Kulsum bin Hadmah, gives refuge to Mohammed at Kuba, i. 355
Kummayah, Ibn, the infidel, i. 430
Kuraysh, legend of their foundation of the eighth House of Allah, ii.
322
Kurayzah, a tribe of the Benu Israel, i. 349
Kurayzah, town of, founded by the Jews, i. 347
Kurayzah, the Masjid al-, ii. 46 Extermination of the Jewish tribe of
Al-Kurayzah, 46
Kurbaj, or “Cat o’ Nine Tails,” of Egypt, i. 21
Kus Kusu, the food so called, i. 198
Kusah (scant-bearded man), ii. 14
Kusay bin Kilab, his foundation of the seventh House of Allah, ii. 322
Kuwwat Islam (strength of Islam), the building near Al-Madinah, so
called, ii. 49

LA’AB al-Barut (gunpowder play) of the Arabs, ii. 86
Labid, the poet, his description of the rainy seasons of Al-Hijaz, i.
383 His suspended poem, ii. 98 Quoted, 147
Labour, price of, at Al-Madinah, ii. 9
Lance, the Arab. See Javelin
Land-cess (Miri), not paid by the Madani, ii. 6
Lane, Mr., reference to, i. 12, n. His discovery of the frauds of the
Cairo magician, i. 388, n.
Language; difference between the Japhetic and Semitic tongues, ii. 79,
n. Resemblance between Pahlavi and Hebrew, 79, n. Traditions [p.448]
respecting the origin of Arabic, i. 344 See Arabic language
Lapidation (Rajm), punishment for adultery, ii. 19 Diabolical practice
of, in Arabia, 180 Antiquity of the custom in token of hate, 282, n.
Lapidation (Rami), ceremony of, ii. 203 The second day’s ceremony, 222
Larking, Mr. John, i. 7
Latakia tobacco, i. 65, n.
Latrinæ, not allowed in Al-Madinah, i. 65, n.
Laun, the date so called, i. 401
Law-suit, a Mohammedan, description of, i. 46
Laymun, Wady, or Al-Mazik, ii. 147 Its celebrity, 147
Legends of the House of Allah, ii. 319, et seq.
Lentils (Adas), the diet during an attack of small-pox, i. 385 Their
cheapness on the banks of the Nile, 385 Revalenta Arabica, 385, n.
Leprosy, the kind called Al-Baras only known in Al-Hijaz, i. 389
Considered incurable, 389
Levick, Henry, Esq., late Vice-Consul at Suez, i. 170 His remarks
respecting Suez, 170, et seq.
Lex scripta, strictness of everywhere in inverse ratio to that of
custom, ii. 87, n.
Libraries, decay of, in Cairo, i. 101, n. The library of the Mosque of
the Prophet, i. 338 The only object of curiosity in it, 338, n.
Lift (turnips), i. 404
Light-extinguishers, sect of, ii. 235, n.
Lisam, of Constantinople, i. 229, n. The, of the Arab Shaykhs, 235
Literature, periodical, state of, in Egypt, i. 109, n.
Litholatry, ii. 300, n.
Litter (Shugduf), description of, as used in Al-Hijaz, i. 233, n. The
mahmil, or Syrian litter, 234, n.
Locusts eaten as food by the Badawin, ii. 117 Method of cooking them,
117
Logic, study of, little valued in Egypt, i. 107, n. Works on logic,
107, n.
Lots, pillar of, in the Mosque of the Prophet, i. 325, n.
“Lotus eaters,” i. 405
Lubabah, Abu, column of, in the Rauzah, i. 325, n., 326, n., 336 Story
of him, 336
Lukman the Elder (of the tribe of Ad), i. 348
Lying among Orientals, ii. 211

MA’ABIDAH, AL-, or northern suburb of Meccah, ii. 153 Origin of the name,
153, n.
Ma’ajan, Al-, or place of mixing, at the Ka’abah, ii. 304 Its origin, 304,
n.
Ma’amun, Al-, makes additions to the Mosque of the Prophet, i. 367
Mabrak al-Nakah (place of kneeling of the she-dromedary), at Al-Kuba,
i. 410
Madinah, Al-, the first Mosque erected at, i. 91 Its smallness an
annoyance to the people of, 94, n. Men of, respected by Badawin
robbers, 96, n. First view of the city of, 279 Place [p.449] whence the
city is first seen by the pilgrim, 279, n. Poetical explanations and
enthusiasm of the pilgrims, 279, 280 Distance of, from the Red Sea to,
281 View of, from the suburbs, at sunrise, 285 The scenery of the
neighbourhood, 285 The Ambari gate, 285-287 The Takiyah erected by
Mohammed Ali, 285 Fortress of, 286 Its suburb “Al-Manakhah,” 286 “The trees
of Al-Madinah,” 286 The Bab al-Misri, or Egyptian gate, 288 Good quality
of the coffee of Al-Madinah, 290, n. Coolness of the nights at
Al-Madinah, 300 Pugnacity of the horses and dogs of, 301 Account of a
visit to the Prophet’s tomb at, 304, 342 Tents of the people of
Al-Madinah compared with those of the Meccans, 306 Its Mosque compared
with that of Meccah, 307 Ludicrous views of Al-Madinah as printed in
our popular works, 341, n. Moslem account of the settlement of
Al-Madinah, 343 Destruction of the Jewish power in Al-Madinah, 349
Al-Madinah ever favourable to Mohammed, 351 The Prophet escorted to the
city, 354 Joy on his arrival, 356 Tomb of the Prophet, 359 Various
fortunes of the city, 359 Present state of the revenue of the holy
shrines of, 359 The Prophet builds his Mosque at Al-Madinah, 360 The
second Mosque erected by the Caliph Osman, 363 The Masjid erected with
magnificence by Al-Walid the Caliph, 364 The second Masjid erected by
Al-Mahdi, the Caliph, 367 Additions of Al-Ma’amun, 367 Erection of the
fifth and sixth Mosques, 368 Besieged and sacked by the Wahhabis, 369,
370 Almost all the people of, act as Muzawwirs, 374 Epithets of
Al-Madinah, 377, n. Its geographical position in Arabia, 379 All
Muharramat, or sins, forbidden within it, 379, n. Cause of its
prosperity, 380 Manner of providing water at, 381 Its climate, 382, 383
Diseases of, 384, et seq. The three divisions of the city, 391 The
gates of the town, 391 The bazar, 391 The walls, 392 The streets, 392
The Wakalahs, 392 The houses, 392 Population, 393, 393, n. The fortress
of, 394 The suburbs of Al-Madinah, 395 The Khamsah Masajid, 395 The
suburbs to the south of the city, 396 Inhabitants of the suburbs, 397
Celebrity of the dates of Al-Madinah, 400 The weights of Al-Madinah,
402, n. Cereals, vegetables, &c., of the Madinah plain, 404 The fruits
of, 404 Arrival of the Damascus Caravan, 416 The “Affair of the Ridge,” 421
Account of the people of Al-Madinah, ii. 1 The present ruling race at
Al-Madinah, 5 Privileges of the citizens, 6 Trade and commerce of, 8
Price of labour at, 9 Pride and indolence of the Madani, 9 Dearness of
provisions at, 10 Tariff of 1853, 10 The households of the Madani, 12
Their personal appearance, 13 Scarcity of animals at Al-Madinah, 16 The
manners of the Madani, 17 Their character, 19 Their marriages and
funerals, 20-24 Abundance of books at, 24 The two Madrasah or colleges,
24 The Olema of Al-Madinah, 25 Learning of the Madani not varied, 25
Their language, 26 Their apprehensions at the appearance of a comet, 28
Their cemetery of Al-Bakia, 31 The Mosques in the neighbourhood of the
city, 44-48 Vertomannus’ description of the city, 338 The four roads
leading from Al-Madinah to Meccah, 58
[p.450]
Madrasah (or colleges), the two of Al-Madinah, ii. 24
“M’adri,” village of, i. 245, n.
Madshuniyah, Al-, the garden of, near Al-Madinah, i. 415
Ma al-Sama, “the water, or the splendour, of heaven,” a matronymic of Amr
bin Amin, i. 348
Mafish, meaning of the term, i. 8, n.
Maghrabi pilgrims, i. 156, 187 Their treachery, 156 Observations on the
word and on words derived from it, 187, n. Habits and manners of the
Maghrabis, 190, 191 Their bad character, 191 Frays with them on board,
191, 192 Their dislike to tobacco, 194, n. Their repentance of their
misdeeds, 198 Their guttural dialect, 198, n. Their efforts to get the
ship off the sand, 201 Return of their surliness, 203 Their desire to
do a little fighting for the faith, 206 Effect of a strange place on
them, 252, n.
Mahamid, a sub-family of the Benu-Harb, i. 256
Mahar, Marsa (Maliar anchorage), i. 220
Mahattah Ghurab (Station of Ravens), halt at, ii. 66
Mahdi, Al-, the Caliph, erects the fourth Mosque of Al-Madinah, i. 367
His additions to the House of Allah, ii. 324 His enlargement of the
Mosque at Meccah, 296
Mahjar, or stony ground, ii. 70
Mahmil, the Sultan’s, turned back by robbers in Arabia, i. 257 Its
appearance in the Caravan, ii. 65 Place of the Egyptian and Damascus
Mahmils during the sermon on Arafat, 194
Mahmud, the late Sultan, his dream, i. 12
Mahmudiyah Canal, i. 29 Barrenness of its shores, i. 29
Mahmudiyah College, at Al-Madinah, ii. 24
Mahr, or sum settled upon the bride before marriage, ii. 23 Average
amount of such sums, 23, n.
Mahrah, the indigens of, ii. 77 Their low development, 77
Majarr al-Kabsh (Dragging-place of the Ram), notice of, ii. 219
Majidi Riwak, or arcade of the Sultan Abd al-Majid at Al-Madinah, i. 308
Makam Ibrahim, at Meccah, ii. 311
Makam Jibrail (place of Gabriel), at the Ka’abah, ii. 304, n.
Makan al-Ayat (place of signs), at the Mosque of Kuba, i. 410
Makams, the four, or stations for prayer, at the Ka’abah, ii. 313
Maksurah, or railing round a cenotaph, i. 314, n.
Malabar, Suez trade in the pepper of, i. 179
Malaikah, or the Angels, at Al-Madinah, i. 326 Prayer at the, i. 326
Malakayn, Al- (the two Angels), personifications of the good and evil
principles of man’s nature, i. 314, n.
Malbus (religious frenzy), a case of, at Meccah, ii. 175
Malik, the Imam, i. 305, n. His followers, 306, 311, n. Few of them in
his own city, 373, n. His strictness respecting Al-Madinah, 379, n.
School of, reference to, 373, n. Mufti of, at Al-Madinah, 373 Its
station for prayer at the Ka’abah, ii. 308
Malik ibn Anas, Imam, his tomb, ii. 38
Malta, i. 7 The Maltese regarded with contempt by Egyptians, 111
[p.451]
Mambar, or pulpit of the Prophet’s Mosque, i. 310 Origin of, 362 Various
forms of, 362, n. The Mosque of Meccah, ii. 313
Manakhah, Al-, the suburb of Al-Madinah, i. 286 The Harat or Quarter,
Al-Ambariyah, 288 Omitted in our popular representations of the city,
341 Population of, 393
Mandal, its celebrity in Europe owing to Mr. Lane, i. 12, n., ii. 175
Mandeville, Sir John, his opinion of the Badawin, i. 147 His remarks on
the word Saracen, 187, n. Reference to, 286, n.
Manners, Oriental, compared with European, i. 6 Manners of Eastern
officials, 27
Mansur, the camel-man, i. 262 Bullied by Mohammed Al-Basyuni, i. 277
Marble, white (Rukham), of Meccah, ii. 295, n.
March, distance of a, ii. 63, n. The Sariyah on night march, 67
Mareb, dyke of, i. 348 Accounts of its bursting, 348, n. The ruins
visited by a late traveller, 348 n.
Mariyah, the Coptic girl of Mohammed, house of, i. 362, n. The infant
son Ibrahim, ii. 37 Jealousy of Ayishah of her, 47, n.
Maryam, Al-Sitt (the Lady Mary), i. 243, 264, 271. Affection of her
younger son, 287
Markets of Al-Madinah, i. 391
Marriage, an Armenian, i. 123 An Arab, ii. 23 The Kitbah, or betrothal,
23 The Mahr, or sum settled upon the bride, 23 The marriage ceremony, 23
Martineau, Miss, her strictures on the harim, ii. 91
Martyrs, in Moslem law, not supposed to be dead, i. 339, n.
Martyrs of Mount Ohod, i. 328 Of Al-Bakia, 328, n. Visitation to the,
of Mount Ohod, 419
Marwah, meaning of the word, ii. 244, n. Ceremonies at, 245, 246
Marwan, Al-, governor of Al-Madinah, i. 381 Removes Osman’s grave-stones,
ii. 32
Mas’hab, or stick for guiding camels, i. 237
Mas’ad, the Benu (a Jewish tribe), in Arabia, i. 347, n.
Masajid, Khamsah, of the suburb of Al-Madinah, i. 395
Mashali, the Madani children’s bodies marked with, ii. 13
Mashals (lights carried on poles), ii. 132, 382 The Pasha’s mashals 132,
n.
Mashar al-Harim (place dedicated to Religious Ceremonies), at Muna ii.
181
Mashrabah Umm Ibrahim, the Masjid, ii. 46
Mashrabiyah, or famous carved latticed window of Cairo, i. 35, 99, n.
Masjid, a place of prayer, i. 97, n.
Masjid al-Jum’ah, i. 356
Maskat, i. 3 Importation of slaves into, ii. 13, n. The ancient Caravan
from Maskat to Al-Madinah, 29, n.
Masruh tribe of Arabs, ii. 120 Its subdivision, ii. 120
Mastabah, of the shops in Cairo, i. 68
Mastabah, or stone bench before the Mosque of Al Kuba, i. 409
Mastich-smoke, the perfume, i. 298 Arab prejudice against the fumes of
gum, i. 298, n.
[p.452]
Mas’ud, of the Rahlah, engaged for the journey to Meccah, ii. 52, 59, 67,
70 Heavy charges for watering his camels, 129 His dislike of the
Shamar, 134 His quarrel with an old Arnaut, 136 His skill in steering.
the Desert-craft, 144 His disgust at the dirt of the Meccans, ii. 190
Maula Ali, leader of the Maghrabis, i. 191
Maulid al-Nabi, or the Prophet’s birthplace, ii. 254
Maulid Hamzah, or birthplace of Hamzah, at Meccah, ii. 254
Maundrell, his error respecting the curtain round the Prophet’s tomb, i.
321, n.
Mauza al-Khatt (place of writing) at Meccah, ii. 250
Mawali, or clients of the Arabs, ii. 349
Mayda, Al-, or the Table, in the Mosque at Al-Madinah, i. 316, n.
Maysunah, the Badawi wife of the Caliph Mu’awiyah, ii. 190 The beautiful
song of, 190 Her son Yazid, 191, n.
Mazdak, the Persian communist, ii. 3, n.
Mazghal (or matras), long loopholes in the walls of Al-Madinah, i. 392
Mazik, Al-. (See Laymun, Wady)
Measures of length, Arab, ii. 63
Meccah, remnants of heathenry in, i. 4 Visit of M. Bertolucci to, 5, n.
And of Dr. George Wallin, 5, n. “Tawaf,” or circumambulation of the House
of Allah at, 305 Its Mosque compared with that of Al-Madinah, 306, 359,
n. Pride of the Meccans of their temple, 359, n. A model to the world
of Al-Islam, 360 Population of, 393, n. Vertomannus’ description of the
city, ii. 345 Pitts’s account of, 365, et seq. Finati’s adventures at, 393
The four roads leading from Al-Madinah to Meccah, 58 The Sharif of
Meccah, Abd al-Muttalib bin Ghalib, i. 259, ii. 150 The Saniyat Kuda’a,
near, 152 The old gates of the city, 152, n. The Sharif’s palace at, 152
The haunted house of the Sharif bin Aun at, 153 The Jana’at al-Ma’ala, or
cemetery of Meccah, 153 The Afghan and Syrian quarters, 153 Extracts
from Burckhardt’s description of the Bayt Ullah, or Ka’abah, 294, et seq.
The gates of the Mosque, 316 Expenses during “season” at Meccah, 317
Description of a house at Meccah, 171 Resemblance of the city to Bath
or Florence, 173 Admirable linguistic acquirements of the Meccans, 223
Life at Meccah, 227 The city modern, 229 Character of the Meccans, 232
Immorality of, 233 Appearance of the Meccans, 233 Their “beauty-masks,” 233
Their pride and coarseness, 235 Good points in their character, 237
Dangers of visiting Meccah, 239 Places of pious visitation at Meccah,
247
Medicine, Oriental practice of, i. 12, 13 The chronothermal practice,
13, n. Experiences respecting the medicine-chest, 26 Asiatic and
European doctors contrasted, 50 A medical man’s visit in the East, 52
Amount of a doctor’s fee, 53 Asiatic medical treatment, 54 A
prescription, 55 Method of securing prescriptions against alteration,
57 Medical practitioners in Cairo, 57 Inefficiency of European
treatment in the East, 57 Superstitious influences of climate, 58
Description of a druggist’s shop, 67, 68
[p.453]
Meerschaum pipe, i. 144, n.
Melancholia, frequent among the Arabs, i. 299, n. Probable cause of it,
299, n.
Mihrab al-Nabawi, or place of prayer, i. 310 Origin of, 361, n., 364,
n. The Mihrab Sulamanyi of the Prophet’s Mosque, i. 310
Milk, laban, both in Arabic and Hebrew, i. 246 Food made by Easterns
from milk, 246 Milkseller, an opprobrious and disgraceful term, 246 The
milk-balls of the Badawin, ii. 117 The Kurut of Sind and the Kashk of
Persia, 117, n. Method of making, 117, n.
Mimosa, compared by poetic Arabs to the false friend, i. 276
Minarets, the five, of the Mosque of the Prophet, i. 333 Invention of,
334, n. Origin of the minaret, 361, n., 364 The erection of the four,
of the Mosque of the Prophet, 366, ii. 318, n. Dangers of looking out
from a minaret window, 318, n.
Mir of Shiraz, the calligrapher, i. 104, n.
Mirba’at al-Bayr, “place of the beast of burden,” in the Mosque of the
Prophet, i. 336
Mirbad, or place where dates are dried, i. 360
Mirage, ii. 72 Beasts never deceived by, 72
Mirayat (magic mirrors), used for the cure of bilious complaints, i.
387 Antiquity of the Invention, 387, n. The magic mirrors of various
countries, 387, n. The Cairo magician, 388, n. Mr. Lane’s discovery, 388,
n. Sir Gardner Wilkinson’s remarks respecting, 388, n.
Miri, or land-cess, not paid by the Madani, ii. 6
Mirror, the Magic, i. 12 See Mirayat
Mirza, meaning of, i. 14, n.
Mirza Husayn, “Consul-General” at Cairo, i. 86
Misri, Bab al-, or Egyptian gate, of Al-Madinah, i. 391
Misri pomegranates of Al-Madinah, i. 405
Misriyah, the opprobrious term, i. 175
Miyan, or “Sir,” a name applied to Indian Moslems, i. 232
Miyan Khudabakhsh Namdar, the shawl merchant, i. 35
Moat, battle of the, ii. 44, n., 47
Mohammed Abu See Mohammed. His mandate for the destruction of the
diseased population of Al-Yaman, i. 390
Mohammed Ali Pasha, his improvements in the Greek quarter of Cairo, i.
81, n. His mosque, 84, 99 His establishment of a newspaper in Egypt,
109, n. His wise regulations for insuring the safety of travelling
across the Desert, 136 His expedition to Al-Hijaz, 177 His
strong-handed despotism capable of purging Al-Hijaz of its pests, 258
The “Takiyah” erected by him at Al-Madinah, i. 285 Purchases all the Wakf
in Egypt, 359, n. His introduction of professed poisoners from Europe,
ii. 86, n. His defeat of the Wahhabis at the battle of Bissel, 89, n.
Mohammed bin Aun, (quondam prince of Meccah), his palaces, ii. 252, 266
His imprisonment at Constantinople, 253 His history, 253, n.
Mohammed at-Attar, the druggist, i. 67 Description of his shop, 67 His
manners, 69 His sayings and sarcastic remarks, 71-73
Mohammed al-Bakir, the Imam, tomb of, ii. 40, n.
[p.454]
Mohammed Al-Basyuni, account of, i. 123 Starts for Suez, 124 Meets the
author in the Desert near Suez, 151 His boundless joy, 151 His
treatment of the Badawin, 152 His usefulness at Suez, 159 His savoir
faire, 160 His joke, 176 Promises to conduct the devotions of the
Maghrabis at Meccah, 199 Change in his conduct at Yambu’, 232 His quarrel
with the Badawin, 256 And with the Madinites, 271 Bears the brunt of
the ill-feeling of the pilgrims, 276 Bullies the camel-men, 277
Downcast and ashamed of himself in his rags at Al-Madinah, 290 Made
smart, 294 Confounded by a Persian lady, 303 Distributes the pilgrim’s
alms in the Mosque at Al-Madinah, 312 Takes a pride in being profuse,
331 Accompanies the pilgrim to the Mosque of Kuba, 398 His economy at
Al-Madinah, 411 His indecorous conduct, 431 His fondness for clarified
butter, ii. 12, 67 His adventures in search of water on the march to
Meccah, 66 Mounts a camel, 130 But returns tired and hungry, 135 His
house at Meccah, 153 His welcome home, 159 Becomes the host of the
pilgrim, 159 His introduction of hard words into his prayers, 168 His
resolution to be grand, 184 His accident at the Great Devil, 204
Conducts the pilgrim round the Ka’abah, 206 His sneers at his mother, 216
His taunts of Shaykh Nur, 218 Receives a beating at Jeddah, 270 Departs
from the pilgrim with coolness, 271
Mohammed Al-Busiri, the Wali of Alexandria, tomb of, i. 12
Mohammed Ibn Abdillah Al-Sannusi, his extensive collection of books,
ii. 24 Celebrated as an Alim, or sage, 24, n. His peculiar dogma, 25
Kindness of Abbas Pasha to him, 25, n. His followers and disciples, 25,
n.
Mohammed Jamal al-Layl, his extensive collection of books, ii. 24
Mohammed Khalifah, keeper of the Mosque of Hamzah, i. 427
Mohammed Kuba, founder of the first Mosque in Al-Islam, i. 91
Mohammed of Abusir, the poet, works of, i. 107, n.
Mohammed Shafi’a, his swindlings, i. 46 His lawsuit, 46
Mohammed Shiklibha, i. 165
Mohammed the Prophet, his traditionary works studied in Egypt, i. 106
His cloak, 146 The moon and Al-Burak subjected to, 212 The “Badr,” the
scene of his principal military exploits, 260, 274, n. Gives the
Shuhada the name of the “Sejasaj,” and prophecies its future honours, 274,
n. His attack of Abu Sufiyan, and the Infidels, 275, n. Distant view of
his tomb at Al-Madinah, 286 His recommendation of the Kaylulah, or
mid-day siesta, 299 Account of a visit to his Mosque at Al-Madinah, 304
A Hadis, or traditional saying of, 305 His tomb, how regarded by the
orthodox followers of Al-Malik and the Wahhabis, 306 Al-Rauzah, or the
Prophet’s garden, 308 His pulpit at Al-Madinah, 310 Efficacy ascribed to
the act of blessing the Prophet, 313 Enjoins his followers to visit
graveyards, 314, n. The Shubak al-Nabi, or Prophet’s window, 316 The
Prophet, how regarded as an intercessor, 318 His prayers for the
conversion of Omar, 320 The Kiswah round his tomb, 321, n. The exact
place of the tomb, 322 The Kaukab al-Durri, suspended to the Kiswah,
322 The tomb and coffin, 323 Position of the body, 324 Story of the
suspended coffin, 325, n. [p.455] Reasons for doubting that his remains
are deposited in the Mosque at Al-Madinah, 339 His ancestors preserved
from the Yamanian deluge, 348 Doubts respecting his Ishmaelitic
descent, 350, n ii. 76, n. Finds favour at Al-Madinah, i. 351 Tombs of
his father and mother, 351, n. Meets his new converts on the steep near
Muna, 352 Receives the inspired tidings that Al-Madinah was his
predestined asylum, 354 Escorted to Al-Madinah, 354 His she-camel,
Al-Kaswa, 354, 355 His halt near the site of the present Masjid
al-Juma, 356 Joy on his arrival at Al-Madinah, 356 His stay at the
house of Abu Ayyub, 357 Builds dwellings for his family, 357 The
conspiracy of the “Hypocrites,” 358 The prophet builds the Mosque, 360
Abode of his wives, family, and principal friends, 363 Place of his
death and burial, 363 Attempt to steal his body, 367 His Mosque in the
suburb of Al-Manakhah at Al-Madinah, 395 Foundation of the Mosque of
Al-Kuba, 407 His “Kayf” on the brink of the well at Al-Kuba, 412 His
miraculous authority over animals, vegetables, &c., 422 His battle with
Abu Sufiyan on Mount Ohod, 423, 425 Anecdote of the origin of his
Benediction of Al-Bakia, ii. 34, n. Tombs of his wives, 38 And of his
daughters, 38 Origin of his surname of Al-Amin, the Honest; 323 His
tradition concerning the fall of his birth-place, 231 The Prophet’s old
house (Bayt al-Nabi) at Meccah, 251 The birth-place of the Prophet, 254
Momiya (mummy), medicinal qualities attributed to, ii. 344
Monday, an auspicious day to Al-Islam, i. 355
Money, the proper method of carrying in the East, i. 25, 25, n. Value
of the Turkish paper money in Al-Hijaz, 393, n. Value of the piastre,
the Turkish parah, the Egyptian faddah, and the Hijazi diwani, ii. 11,
n. Of Al-Hijaz, 111, n. The Sarraf, or money-changer, 235
Monteith, General, i. 1
Moon, the crescent, ii. 71
Moonlight, evil effects of the Arab belief in, i. 154
Moor, derivation of the name, i. 187
Moplah race, foundation of, i. 344, n.
Moresby’s Survey, i. 215, n.
Mosaic pavement of the Ka’abah, ii. 305
Moses’ Wells (Uyun Musa), at Suez, i. 158, n., 195 Visit to the, ii. 203
Hot baths of, 203 His “great tallness,” according to Moslem legends, i. 204
“Moses’ Stones,” the bitumen so called, 204, n. His pilgrimage to Meccah, 345
Inters his brother Aaron on Mount Ohod, 346 His tomb, ii. 275, n.
“Moskow,” the common name of the Russians in Egypt and in Al-Hijaz, i. 292
Mosque, the origin of, i. 90 Form and plan of, 91, 92 Erection of the
first Mosque in Al-Islam, 91 First appearance of the cupola and niche,
92 Varied forms of places of worship, 92 Byzantine combined with
Arabesque, 93 Use of colours, 94 Statuary and pictures forbidden in
Mosques, 94 The Meccan Mosque a model to the world of Al-Islam, 95
Immense number of Mosques at Cairo, 96 Europeans not excluded from
[p.456] Mosques, 96 The Jami Taylun, 96 The Mosque of the Sultan
Al-Hakim, 97 The Azhar and Hasanayn Mosques, 97 That of Sultan Hasan,
98 Of Kaid Bey and the other Mamluk Kings, 98 The modern Mosques, 98
That of Sittna Zaynab, 98 Mohammed Ali’s “Folly,” 98 The Al-Azhar Mosque, 100
Mode of entering the sacred building, 100 Details of the Al-Azhar, 100
Scene in it, 101 The Riwaks, 101 The collegiate Mosque of Cairo, 102
Mosque of Al-Shafe’i, 106, n. The Mosques of Suez, 173 The Mosques of Zu’l
Halifah, i. 279 Account of a visit to the Prophet’s, 304, 342 The Masjid
al-Nabawi, one of the two sanctuaries, 304 The Masjid al-Harim at
Meccah, 305 The Masjid al-Aksa at Jerusalem, 305 How to visit the
Prophet’s, 305 Ziyarat, or visitation, 305 Points to be avoided in
visiting the Prophet’s, 305 Comparison between the Al-Madinah and Meccah
Mosques, 306 Description of the Masjid al-Nabi, 307 Burnt by lightning
and rebuilt by Kaid Bey, 324, n. The gates of the Mosque, 322, 323 The
five minarets of the Mosque, 333 The four porches of the Mosque, 334
The celebrated pillars, 335 The garden of our Lady Fatimah in the
hypæthral court, 337 Gardens not uncommon in Mosques, 337 The pilgrim
makes a ground-plan of the Prophet’s Mosque, 341, n. The Prophet’s Mosque
built, 360 The second Masjid erected by Osman, 363 The Masjid erected
with magnificence by the Caliph al-Walid, 365 Various improvements in
the, 366 Burnt by fire and by lightning, 366 The fourth Mosque of
Al-Madinah erected by the Caliph Al-Mahdi, 367 Additions of Al-Ma’amun,
367 Erection of the fifth and sixth Mosques, 367, 368 The treasures of
the tomb stolen by the Wahhabis, 369 The “sacred vessels” repurchased from
the Wahhabis, 370 The various officers of the Mosque, 371 The executive
and menial establishment of the Prophet’s Mosque, 373 Revenue of the
Prophet’s Mosque, 374 Pensioners of the, 375 Description of the Prophet’s
Mosque at Al-Manakhah, 395 History of the Mosque of Al-Kuba, 407 The
Mosque of Sittna Fatimah at Al-Kuba, 411 The Masjid Arafat at Al-Kuba,
412 Hamzah’s Mosque, 426 The Mosques in the neighbourhood of Al-Madinah,
ii. 44-49 The former Masjid al-Ijabah at Meccah, 153 Description of the
Mosque at Meccah, 294, et seq. The mosque Al-Khayf at Muna, 180 The
Mosque Muzdalifah, 181 The Masjid al-Jinn, 250
Mother-of-pearl, brought from the Red Sea, i. 179
Mothers of the Moslems, (the Prophet’s wives), i. 328, n.
“Mountains of Paradise,” i. 222
Mourning forbidden to Moslems, ii. 16 Mourning dress of the women, ii.
16
MSS. “bequeathed to God Almighty,” i. 101, n.
Mu’awiyah, Al-, Caliph, i. 258, n. His Badawi wife Maysunah, ii. 190 His
son Yazid, 191, n.
Muballighs, or clerks of the Mosque, i. 311, n.
Mubariz, or single combatant of Arab chivalrous times, i. 302
[p.457]
Mudarrisin, or professors, of the Prophet’s Mosque, i. 375
Mudir, or chief treasurer, of the Prophet’s Mosque, i. 337
Mu’ezzin, i. 78, 84 The Prophet’s, 334 The Ruasa, or chief of the, 334
Mu’ezzins, of Al-Madinah, 373 Reasons for preferring blind men for
Mu’ezzins, ii. 318, n.
Muftis, the three, of Al-Madinah, i. 373
Muhafiz, or Egyptian governor, i. 19
Muhajirin, or Fugitives, from Meccah, i. 360
Muhallabah, the dish so called, i. 79
Muharramat, or sins, forbidden within the sanctuary of the Prophet, i.
379, n.
Mujawirin, or settlers in Al-Madinah, i. 375
Mujrim (the Sinful), the pilgrim’s friendship with him, ii. 29
Mujtaba, Al- (the Accepted), a title of the Prophet, ii. 37, n.
Mukabbariyah, of the Mosque, i. 311
Mukuddas, Bayt al- (Jerusalem), prostrations at, i. 408
Mukarinah, Al- (the uniting), the pilgrimage so called, ii. 280
Mukhallak, Al-, the pillar in the Mosque of the Prophet so called, i.
335
Mukattum, Jabal, i. 58
Mules, despised by the Badawin, i. 304 Not to be found at Al-Madinah,
ii. 17
Multazem, Al-, the place of prayer in the Ka’abah so called, ii. 299, n.
Mulukhiyah (Corchoris olitorus), a mucilaginous spinach, i. 404
Muna, place of meeting of the new converts with the Prophet, i. 353
Sanctity of, ii. 179, 180 Derivation of the name, 180, n. The pebbles
thrown at the Devil at, 180, n The Mosque Al-Khayf, 180 Sacrifices at,
217, 218 A storm at, 218 Coffee-houses of, 222 Its pestilential air, 224
Munafikun, or “Hypocrites,” conspiracy of the, i. 358
Munar Bab al-Salam, of the Mosque of the Prophet, i. 332 Munar Bab
al-Rahmah, 333 The Sulaymaniyah Munar, 333 Munar Raisiyah, 334
Murad Bey, the Mamluk, i. 98
Murad Khan, the Sultan, his improvements in the building of the House
of Allah, ii. 324
Murchison, Sir Roderick, i. 1
Murshid, meaning of the term, i. 14 Specimen of a murshid’s diploma, ii.
327
Musab bin Umayr, missionary from the Prophet to Al-Madinah, i. 352
Musafahah (shaking hands), Arab fashion of, ii. 52
Musahhal, village of, i. 245
Musalla al-Id, the Mosque of Ali at Al-Madinah, i. 395
Musalla al-Nabi (Prophet’s place of prayer), in the Mosque of Al-Madinah,
i. 395, 409
Musannam, or raised graves, of the Badawin, i. 430
Music and musical instruments, of the Badawin, i. 145, ii. 107 Of
Southern Arabia, remarks on, and on the music of the East, 223, n.
Musket-balls, Albanian method of rifling, i. 267, n.
Muslim bin Akbah al-Marai, his defeat of the Madani, i. 421, n.
Mustachios, clipped short by the Shafe’i school, ii. 53
[p.458]
Mustafa, Al- (the Chosen), a title of the Prophet, ii. 37, n.
Musattah, or level graves, of the Badawin, i. 430
Mustarah, or resting-place, on Mount Ohod, i. 424
Mustasim, Al-, last Caliph of Baghdad, his assistance in completing the
fifth Mosque of the Prophet, i. 368
Mustaslim, or chief of the writers of the tomb of the Prophet, i. 371
Mustazi b’illah, Al-, the Caliph, i. 366, n.
Mutamid, Al-, the Caliph, his additions to the House of Allah, ii. 324
Mutanabbi, Al-, the poet, i. 107, n. His chivalry, ii. 96 Admiration of
the Arabs for his works, 97
Mu’tasim, Al-, the Caliph, his chivalry, ii. 96
Mutazid, Al-, the Caliph, his additions to the House of Allah, ii. 324
Muttaka, Al-, legend of the stone at Meccah so called, ii. 254
Muwajihat al-Sharifah, or “Holy Fronting,” in the Prophet’s Mosque, i. 309
Muzaykayh, Al-, a surname of Amir bin Amin, i. 348
Myzab (water-spout), of the Ka’abah, ii. 304 Generally called Myzab
al-Rahmah, 304, n.
Muzaynah tribe of Arabs, i. 145 Its antiquity and nobility, 145 Its
purely Arab blood, 146
Muzdalifah (the approacher), the Mosque so called, ii. 181
“Muzzawir,” or conductor of the pilgrim to the Prophet’s tomb, i. 305 Almost
all the Madinites act as, 374 Importance of, 374

NABAWI, the Mihrab al-, in the Mosque of the Prophet, i. 335
Nabi, Bir al-, at Kuba, i. 414, n.
Nabi, Masjid al-, description of, i. 307
Nabi, the Masjid al-, or the Prophet’s Mosque at Al-Madinah, built by
Mohammed, i. 360
Nabi, the Shubak al-, or Prophet’s window, i. 316
Nabi Bir al-, or the Prophet’s well, i. 338 Superstitions respecting, 338
Nafi Maula, Al- (Imam Nafi al-Kari), son of Omar, tomb of, ii. 38
Nafil, the Hijazi, his pollution of the Kilis, or Christian Church, i.
321, n.
Nafr, Al- (the Flight), from Muna to Meccah, ii. 206
Nahl, Al-, visit to, i. 11
Nahw (syntax), study of, in schools, i. 104
Naib al-Harim, or vice-intendant of the Mosque of Meccah, ii. 319
Najjar, Benu, i. 357 Meaning of the name, 357, n.
Nakb, the valley of, i. 279, n.
“Nakh, to,” the camels, i. 244
Nakhawilah, the race of heretics so called, at Al-Madinah; ii. 1 Their
principles, 2
Nakhil (or palm plantations), of Al-Madinah, i. 399
“Nakhwali,” i. 403
Nakib, or assistant Mustaslim of the tomb of the Prophet, i. 372
Nakil, or apostles, of the Prophet, i. 353. n.
Namrud (Nimrod), dispersion under him, i. 343
Nassar, Shaykh, the Badawi of Tur, i, 141, et seq. His finesse, 153
Nasur, or ulcer of Al-Hijaz. See Ulcer
Natak al-Nabi, at Meccah, origin of, ii. 253
[p.459]
Nazir, a tribe of the Benu Israel, i. 349
Nebek, the fruit of a palm-tree so called, i. 337
Nebek, or jujube tree, of Al-Madinah, i. 404 Supposed to have been the
thorn which crowned our Saviour’s head, 405, n.
Nebuchadnezzar (Bukht al-Nasr), invasion of, i. 347
Nijd, i. 266, n. Its choice horses and camels, 266, n. The greatest
breeding country in Arabia, 266, n. View of the ground of, 285
Excellence of the dates of, 383 The Nijdi tribes of Badawin, their
temperament, ii. 78
Newspaper, establishment of a, in Egypt, i. 109, n.
Niebuhr, his remarks on the Sinaitic Arabs referred to, i. 147 His
description of the Oriental sandal, 236 Reference to, 265, n., 385, n.
His incorrect hearsay description of the Prophet’s tomb, 323, n.
Night journey in Arabia, description of, ii. 132
Nile, steamboat of the, i. 29 Description of, 29 The Barrage bridge, 30
Objects seen on the banks of the, 31 Compared with Sind, 31
Nimrah, Masjid, or Mosque without the minaret, ii. 181
Nisa, the Bab al-, or women’s gate, at Al-Madinah, i. 308
Niyat, in Moslem devotions, i. 76 In the visitation of the Mosque of
Al-Kuba, 409 Repeated when approaching Meccah, ii. 139
Niyat, or the running, at the Little Pilgrimage, ii. 244
Nizam, or Turkish infantry, i. 226
Noachians, in Arabia, ii. 77 Their many local varieties, 78, n.
Noah, account of Ibn Abbas respecting the settlement of his family, i.
343
Nolan, Captain, reference to his work on Cavalry, i. 263
Nullah, the Indian, identical with the Fiumara of Arabia, i. 3, 4
Nur al-Din, al-Malik al-Adil, i. 367
Nur al-Din Shahid Mahmud bin Zangi, the Sultan, i. 367
Nur, Jabal, anciently Hira, ii. 398, n. Its celebrity, ii. 179
Nur, Shaykh, sensation caused by his appearance in the streets of
Cairo, i. 126 His defection, 159 His return, 161 His fishing tackle,
198 His dirty appearance at Al-Madinah, 290 His improved aspect, 294
Enraptured with Al-Madinah, ii. 5 His preparations for leaving
Al-Madinah, 51 His ride in the shugduf of Ali bin Ya Sin, ii. 126
Accompanies the pilgrim to the Ka’abah, 172 Becomes now Haji Nur, 260 His
quarrel with Mohammed al-Basyuni, 271

OASES, the, i. 149 Derivation of the word, 149, n. Vulgar idea of an
oasis, 150, n. Love of the Badawin for them, 150, n.
Officials, Asiatic, how to treat, i. 20 Habits and manners of, 27
Ogilvie, Mr., English Consul at Jeddah, shot at for amusement by
Albanian soldiers, i. 133
Ohod, Jabal (Mount Ohod), i. 279, n., 285 Prayer in honour of the
martyrs of, 328 Grave of Aaron on, 346 Its distance from Al-Madinah,
379 Winter on, 382 Visitation to the martyrs of, 419 The Prophet’s
declaration concerning it, 421 Supposed to be one of the-four hills of
Paradise, 421, n. Meaning of the word, 422, n. Causes of its present
reputation, 423 Its springs, 423, n. The Mustarah or resting-place, 424
The Fiumara of, 424 Its distance from Al-Madinah, 425 Its appalling
look, 425
[p.460]
Olema, their regulation respecting the prostration prayer, ii. 312
Their opinion respecting the death of Moslem saints, &c., 340, n. One
of the five orders of pensioners at the prophet’s Mosques, 375
Omar, the Caliph. His window in the Prophet’s Mosque, i. 316 Benediction
bestowed on him, 320 His tomb, 325 His Mosque at Jerusalem, 325, n.
Sent forward by the Prophet to Al-Madinah, 354 Improves the Masjid at
Al-Madinah, 363 Supplies the town of Al-Madinah with water, 381 Mosque
of, at Al-Madinah, 395 His respect for the Mosque at Al-Kuba, 408 His
tomb defiled by all Persians who can do so, 431, 435 His murderer
Fayruz, 435
Omar Bin Abd al-Aziz, governor of Al-Madinah, i. 327, n.
Omar Effendi, his personal appearance, i. 161 His character, 161 His
part in the fray on board the ship, 192 Effects of a thirty-six hours’
sail on him, 209 His brothers at Yambu’, 230 His alarm at the Hazimi
tribe, 231 Takes leave of Yambu’, 241 His rank in the camel file, 243 His
arrival at Al-Madinah, 281 His house in Al-Barr, 297 His intimacy with
the pilgrim, 300 His gift of a piece of a Kiswah to the pilgrim, 322,
n. His account of the various offices of the Mosque of the Prophet, 311
His share of the pensions of the Mosque, 375 Accompanies the pilgrim to
Ohod, 419 Bids him adieu, ii. 54 His brothers the shopkeepers of
Al-Madinah, 8, n. Runs away from his father at Jeddah, 270 Caught and
brought back, 271
Omar ibn Fariz, poems of, i. 107, n.
Onayn, the Masjid, near Al-Madinah, ii. 49
Onions, leeks, and garlic, disliked by the Prophet, i. 357 Abominable
in the opinion of the Wahhabis, 357, n.
Ophthalmia in Egypt, i. 181 Rarity of, in Arabia, 385 Allusions of
Herodotus to, 385, n. An ancient affliction in Egypt, 385, n. A scourge
in Modern Egypt, 386, n. Origin and progress of the disease, 386, n.
Practices of Europeans to prevent, 386, n. Remedies of the author, 387,
n. Errors of native practitioners, 387, n.
Orientals, their repugnance to, and contempt for, Europeans, i. 110
Discipline among, must be based on fear, 212 Effect of a strange place
on them generally, 232, n.
Osman Effendi, the Scotchman, i. 388, n.
Osman, the Caliph, his Cufic Koran, ii. 322, n. His wish to be buried,
near the Prophet, 325 Prayers for, 328 The niche Mihrab Osman, 330
Assists in building the Prophet’s Mosque, 361 Builds the second Mosque at
Al-Madinah, 363 Enlarges the Mosque of Al-Kuba, 408 Loses the Prophet’s
seal ring, 413 His troubles, 413, n. Visit to his tomb at Al-Bakia, ii.
32 His funeral, 35 His two wives, the daughters of the Prophet, 36, n.
Osman, the Pasha, the present principal officer of the Mosque at
Al-Madinah, ii. 371
Osman, Bab, i. 361
Osman bin Mazun, his burial-place, ii. 32
Ostriches, found in Al-Hijaz, ii. 106, n. Arab superstition respecting
them, 106, n.
Ovington, reference to, i. 281, n.
Oxymel. See Sikanjabin
[p.461]
PALM-GROVE, of Al-Madinah, i. 360
Palm-trees, venerable, of the hypæthral court of the Prophet’s Mosque, i.
337 Extensive plantations of, in the suburbs of Al-Madinah, 397
Loveliness of the palm-plantations of Al-Madinah, 399 Celebrity of its
dates, 400 The time of masculation of the palms, 403 The Daum or Theban
palm, ii. 62
Parah, value of the Turkish coin so called ii. 11, n.
“Paradise, Mountains of,” i. 222, ii. 274, n.
Parasang, the Oriental, in the days of Pliny, and at the present day,
ii. 343, n.
Pashin valley, inhabitants of, i. 246, n.
Pass, Arabic terms for a, ii. 61
Passports in Egypt (Tazkirah) inconveniences of, i. 19 Sir G. Wilkinson’s
observations on, 18, n. Adventures in search of one, 19 British,
carelessness in distributing, in the East, 46 Difficulty of obtaining
one in Egypt, 127, et seq.
“Path” (Tarakat) to heaven, i. 15
Pathan (Afghan), the term, i. 45
Paul’s, St., in London, the fourth largest cathedral in the world, i.
364, n.
Pebbles of the accepted, ii. 180, n.
Pensioners, orders of, at the Prophet’s Mosque, i. 375
Perceval, M.C. de, reference to, i. 275, n. His account of Amlak, 343,
n. His remarks on the title “Arkam,” 345, n. Quoted, 347, n., 350, n.
Referred to, 353, n., 354, n., 384, n., 399, n.
Perfumed pillar, in the Mosque of the Prophet, i. 335
Perfumes, of the Zair, i. 309, n.
Perjury, price of, at Jeddah, i. 47
Persia, tobacco and pipes of, i. 179
Persian Pilgrims, a disagreeable race, i. 205 They decline a challenge
of the orthodox pilgrims, 222 Persecutions they suffer in Al-Hijaz,
232, n. Luxuriance of the plains of, 251 The Persians’ defilement of the
tombs of Abu Bakr and Omar, 431, n. Eunuchs among the, 371, n.
Fire-temples of the ancient Guebres in, 379, n. Large number of, in the
Damascus caravan, 434 Treatment of the “Ajami” at Al-Madinah, 434 Charged
with having defiled the Ka’abah, ii. 168, n.
Peter’s, St., at Rome, the second largest cathedral in the world, ii.
364, n.
Pharaoh, the “Cæsar aut Diabolus” of the Nile, i. 10, n. Spot where he and
his host were whelmed in the “hill of waters,” 199 Arab legends respecting
that event, 199, n.
Pharaoh’s Hot Baths (Hammam Faraun), i. 197
Philosophy (Hikmat), study of, little valued in Egypt, i. 107, n.
Phœnician colony on the Red Sea, i. 202 The Phœnicians identified with the
Amalik of Moslem writers, i. 343, n.
Physicians, Arab, not so skilful as they were, i. 390
Physiologists, their errors respecting the food of the inhabitants of
hot and cold countries, ii. 11, n.
Piastre, value of, ii. 11, n.
Pickpockets in Egypt, i. 25
[p.462]
Pigeons, sacred at Meccah, ii. 174 Enter almost everywhere into the
history of religion, 175
Pilgrims, distribution of, at Alexandria, into three great roads, i.
168 Pauper pilgrims, 168 Steady decrease of the number of pilgrims who
pass annually through Suez, 176 Reasons assigned for this, 177 Takrouri
pilgrims, 177 The Hamail, or pocket Koran of, 239 How they live on the
march, ii. 63 Ordinances of the pilgrimage, 140 Offerings for
atonements in cases of infractions of, 140 Observations on, 279 Common
to all old faiths, 279 Conditions under which every Moslem is bound to
perform the pilgrimage, 279 The three kinds of pilgrimage, 280 The
treatise of Mohammed of Shirbin respecting pilgrim rites, 281, et seq.
Directions to the intending pilgrim, from other books, 281, n. The
Prophet’s last pilgrimage, the model for the Moslem world, 290 The
reckless pilgrimages of poor Indians, 185 Note on the ceremonies of the
Wahhabi pilgrimage, 195, n. The change from Ihram to Ihlal, 205 The
Umrah, or little pilgrimage, 251
Pilgrim’s tree, i. 154 Probably a debris of fetish-worship, i. 155, n.
Its practice in various Eastern countries, 155, n.
Pistols, of the Badawin, ii. 105
Pitts, Joseph, his pilgrimage to Meccah and Al-Madinah; ii. 358 Sketch
of his adventures, 358, et seq.
Plague. See Taun
Poetry, Arab, those generally studied, i. 107, n. The Burdah and
Hamziyah of Mohammed of Abusir, 107, n. The Banat Su’adi of Ka’ab al-Ahbar,
107, n. The Diwan Umar ibn Fariz, 107, n. Al-Mutanabbi, 107, n.
Al-Hariri, 108, n. Simplicity of ancient Arab poetry, 108, n.
Degenerate taste of the modern Egyptians in, 108, n. Poetical
exclamations of the pilgrims on obtaining the first view of Al-Madinah,
279, 280 Tenderness and pathos of the old, ii. 93 The suspended poem of
Labid, 93 The poetic feeling of the Badawin, 97 The improvisatore of
the Benu Kahtan, 98, n. Arabic suited to poetry, 99 The rhyme of the
Arabs, 101, n.
Poison. The Tariyak of Al-Irak, the great counter-poison, ii, 108
Poisoners, professed, introduced by Mohammed Ali, ii. 86, n.
“Poison-wind,” i. 265, n. Its effects, 265, n.
Police of Egypt, curiosity of, i. 2 Police magistrates in Cairo, scenes
before, 120 The “Pasha of the Night,” 120
Politeness of the Orientals, i. 210 Unpoliteness of some “Overlands,” 210
Polygamy and monogamy, comparisons between, ii. 91, n.
Pomegranates, of Al-Madinah, i. 405 The Shami, Turki, and Misri kinds,
405
Pompey’s pillar, i. 10, 29
Prayer, the Abrar, or call to, i. 88 The Maghrib, or evening, 151, n.
The Isha, or night prayer, 233 Prayer to prevent storms (Hizb al-Bahr),
211 The prayer recited, 211 Prayers on first viewing the city of
Al-Madinah, 259 The prayer at the Prophet’s Mosque, 309 The places of
prayer at, 311 The afternoon prayers, 312 The Sujdah, or
single-prostration prayer, 312 The Dua, or [p.463] Supplication after
the two-bow prayer, 312 The position during, 313 Efficacy ascribed to
the act of blessing the Prophet, 316 Prayer at the Shubak al-Nabi, 316
Ancient practice of reciting this prayer, 316, n. The Testification,
318 The benedictions on Abu Bakr and on Omar, 320 The two-bow prayer at
the Rauzah or Garden, 325, n. The prayer at the Malaikah, or place of
the angels, 326 The prayer opposite to the grave of the Lady Fatimah,
327, n. The prayer in honour of Hamzah and of the martyrs of Mount
Ohod, 328 Prayers for the souls of the blessed who rest in Al-Bakia,
328 At the Prophet’s window, 329 Public service in Al-Rauzah, 330, n.
Origin of the prayer-niche in the Mosque, 361, 364, n. Al-Kuba, the
first place of public prayer in Al-Islam, 407 The Niyat, or intention,
409 The Prophet’s place of prayer at Al-Kuba, 409 The prayers at the
Mosque of Al-Kuba, 409 The prayers at Hamzah’s tomb, 427 The Niyat when
approaching Meccah, ii. 139 The Talbiyat, or exclaiming, 139 The
prayers on sighting Meccah, 152 The four Makams, or stations for
prayer, 307, 308 The prayers at the Ka’abah, 164, et seq., 209
Procrastination of Orientals, ii. 21
Preacher, at Meccah, his style of dress, ii. 225 Origin of his wooden
sword, 226, n.
Presents of dates from Al-Madinah, i. 400
Pressgangs in Cairo, i. 117
Price, Major, referred to, i. 384, n.
Prichard, Dr., on the Moors of Africa, i. 187, n.
Pride of the Arabs, i. 246
Printing-press, in Egypt, i. 108, n.
Prophets, in Moslem law, not supposed to be dead, i. 340, n.
Prosody (Ilm al-’Aruz), study of, among the Arabs, i. 107
Prostration-prayers, i. 311, n., 312, n.
Proverbs, Arab, i. 149, 277, n.
Ptolemy the geographer, i. 225
Puckler-Muskau, Prince, his remarks on the reflected heat of the
Desert, i. 144, n.
Pulpit, the Prophet’s, at Al-Madinah, i. 311
Pyramids, i. 30 Their covering of yellow silk or satin, ii. 213, n.

RABELAIS, on the discipline of armies, i. 268
Races of Badawin. See Badawin
Radhwah, Jabal (one of the “Mountains of Paradise”), i. 122
Rafik, or collector of blackmail, ii. 112
Rafizi (rejector, heretic), origin of the term, ii. 4, n.
Rahah, meaning of the term, ii. 256
Rahmah, Bab al-, i. 307, 308, 361 Jabal al- (Mount of Mercy). See
Arafat, Mount
Rahman of Herat, the calligrapher, i. 104, n.
Rahmat al-Kabirah, the attack of cholera so called, i. 384
Railway, in Egypt, i. 113
Rain, want of, at all times, in Egypt, ii. 180, 181 The rainy season
expected with pleasure at Al-Madinah, i. 383 Welcomed on the march, ii.
142
[p.464]
Raisiyah minaret of Al-Madinah, i. 373
Rajm (lapidation), practice of, in Arabia, ii. 180
Rakb, or dromedary Caravan, ii. 50
Rakham (vulture), ii. 62
Ramazan, i. 74 Effects of, 75 Ceremonies of, 77 The “Fast-breaking,” 79
Ways of spending a Ramazan evening, 79 The Greek quarter at Cairo, 81
The Moslem quarter, 81 Beyond the walls, 84
Ramy, or Lapidation, ceremony of, ii. 203
Ramlah, or sanded place, i. 307
Ras al-Khaymah, i. 248, n.
Ras al-Tin, the Headland of Figs (the ancient Pharos), i. 7
Rashid, Bir (well of Rashid), ii. 59
Rauzah, Al-, or the Prophet’s garden, at Al-Madinah, i. 310 Traditions
respecting it, 310, n. Description of it, 312 The two-bow prayer at
the, 325 Public prayers in, 330, n. Farewell visits to, 56
Rayah (the Banner), the Masjid al-, near Al-Madinah, ii. 48
Rayyan, the hill near Meccah, ii. 147
Raziki grapes, of Al-Madinah, i. 404
Red Sea, view of, on entering Suez, i. 158 Injury done to the trade of,
by the farzh or system of rotation at Suez, 170 Shipbuilding on, 177
Kinds of ships used on, 178 Imports and exports at Suez, 179, 180
Description of a ship of, 188 Course of ships on, 195 Observations on
the route taken by the Israelites in crossing, 195 Scenery from, 195
Bright blue of the waters of, 196 Phœnician Colony on, 201 Christian
colony on the shores of, 202 Jabaliyah, or mountaineers of, 202, n.
Morning on, 207 Fierce heat of the mid-day, 208 Harmony and majesty of
sunset, 208 Night on, 209 Marsa Damghah, 213 Wijh harbour, 214 The town
of Wijh, 215 Coral reefs of the Red Sea, 218 The Ichthyophagi and the
Badawin of the coasts of, 218 Arab legends respecting the phosphoric
light in, 219 Al-Kulzum the Arabic name for the, 250, n. The great
heats near, in Arabia, prejudicial to animal generation, 266 The shores
of, when first peopled, according to Moslem accounts, 343, n.
Rekem (Numbers, xxxi. 8), identified with the Arcam of Moslem writers,
345, n.
Religion of the Badawin, ii. 109
Religious phrenzy (Malbus), case of, at Meccah, ii. 175 Susceptibility
of Africans to, 175
Rhamnus Nabeca (the Nebek or Jujube), of Al-Madinah, i. 405, n.
Rhazya stricta, used as a medicine by the Arabs, ii. 137
Rhetoric, study of, in Egypt, i. 107, n.
Rhyme of the Arabs, ii. 101, n.
Ria, or steep descents, i. 251
Rida, Al- (portion of the pilgrim dress), ii. 139
“Ridge, Affair of the,” the battle so called, i. 421, n.
Rifkah, Al-, the black-mail among the Badawin, ii. 114
Rih al-Asfar (cholera morbus), in Al-Hijaz, i. 384 Medical treatment of
the Arabs in cases of, 384 The Rahmat al-Kabirah, 384
Ring (seal), of the Prophet, i. 413
[p.465]
Rites of pilgrimage, ii. 281, et seq.
Riwaks, or porches, surro[u]nding the hypæthral court of the Mosque at
Al-Madinah, i. 334
“Riyal Hajar,” a stone dollar so called by the Badawin, i. 370, n.
Riza Bey, son of the Sharif of Meccah, ii. 150
Robbers in the Desert, mode of proceeding of, i. 127, 249 Sa’ad the
robber-chief of Al-Hijaz, 256 Shaykh Fahd, 257 How Basrah, a den of
thieves, was purged, 258, n. Indian pilgrims protected by their
poverty, 265
Rock inscriptions near Meccah, ii. 147
Ruasa, or chief of the Mu’ezzins, residence of, i. 334
Ruba al-Khali (the empty abode), its horrid depths and half-starving
population, i. 3
“Rubb Rumman,” or pomegranate syrup, of Taif and Al-Madinah, i. 405
Rukham (white marble) of Meccah, ii. 295, n.
Rokn al-Yamany, of the Ka’abah, ii. 303
Rumah, Bir al-, or Kalib Mazni, at Kuba, i. 414, n.
Rumat, Jabal al- (Shooters’ Hill), near Al-Madinah, ii. 49
Rangit Singh, his paramount fear and hatred of the British, i. 39
Russia, opinions of the Madinites on the war with, i. 292 The present
feeling in Egypt respecting, 111
Rustam, battles of, i. 94
Rutab (wet dates), i. 402

SA’AD AL-JINNI (the Demon), description of his personal appearance, i.
162 His character, 162 Equipped as an able seaman on board the
pilgrim-ship, 189 His part in the fray on board, 192 Effects of a
thirty-six hours’ sail on him, 210 His quarrel with the coffee-house
keeper at Wijh, 216 His sulkiness, 223 Leaves Yambu’, 240 His
apprehensions in the Desert near Yambu’, 244 Purchases cheap wheat at
Al-Hamra, 254 His fear of the Badawin, 261 His fear of the robbers, 272
Takes his place in the Caravan, 272 Forced to repay a debt to the
pilgrim, 276 Arrives at Al-Madinah, 280 His intimacy with the pilgrim,
300 Accompanies the pilgrim to Ohod, 418
Sa’ad bin Ma’az, converted to Al-Islam, i. 352 His tomb, ii. 44, n.
Condemns the Kurayzah to death, 46
Sa’ad ibn Zararah, his tomb, ii. 44, n.
Sa’ad, the robber-chief of Al-Hijaz, i. 256 Particulars respecting him,
256 His opponent Shaykh Fahd, 257 His blood-feud with the Sharif of
Meccah, 259 Description of Sa’ad, 259 His habits and manners, 260 His
character, 260 He sometimes does a cheap good deed, 265 Conversation
respecting him, 270 Description of his haunt, 270
Saba, the land of, i. 348
Sabæans, their claim to the Ka’abah as a sacred place, ii. 302, n.
Sabatier, M., i. 112, n.
Sabil, or public fountain, of Al-Madinah, i. 391
Sabkhah, or tufaceous gypsum of the Desert, ii. 134
Sacrifices in cases of infractions of the ordinances of the pilgrimage,
ii. 140 At Muna, 217, 218
[p.466]
Sadakah, or alms, sent to the Holy Land, i. 139, n.
Sadi, the Bayt al-, the makers of the Kiswah of the Ka’abah, ii. 215
Safa, Al-, the hill, at Meccah, i. 364 The ceremonies at, ii. 44
Meaning of “Safa,” 44, n.
Safk (clapping of hands), practice of, in the East, ii. 223
Sahal, sells ground to Mohammed, i. 357
Sahil, the Sufi, i. 10, n.
Sahn, Al-, or central area of a Mosque, i. 307, 333
Sahrij, or water tank, on Mount Ohod, i. 429
Sai, Al-, the ceremony so called, ii. 170, n. Compendium of the
ceremony, 288
Saidi tribe of Arabs, i. 145
Saint Priest, M. de, i. 112, n.
Saints, in Moslem law, not supposed to be dead, i. 340 Their
burial-place at Al-Bakia, ii. 31
Saj, or Indian teak, i. 364
Sakka, or water-carrier of the Prophet’s Mosque, i. 331, 373
Salabah bin Amru, i. 349
Salam, among the Moslems, i. 143, 151 Not returning a salam, meaning
of, 231, n.
Salam, or Blessings on the Prophet, i. 76
Salam, the Bab al-, at Al-Madinah, i. 307, n., 309, 313
Salat, or mercy, in Moslem theology, i. 313, n.
Salatah, the dish so called, i. 135
Salih Shakkar, description of, i. 164 Effects of a thirty-six hours’ sail
on him, 210 Leaves Yambu’, 241 Arrives at Al-Madinah, 280
Salihi tribe of Arabs, i. 145
Salim, the Benu, their subdivisions, ii. 120, n.
Salim, Sultan, of Egypt, i. 146
Salkh, the kind of circumcision among the Badawin so called, ii. 110
Salma al-Mutadalliyah, great-grandmother of the Prophet, i. 351, n.
Salman, the Persian, companion of the Prophet, i. 414, n.
Salman al-Farsi, the Masjid, ii. 48
Salmanhudi, Al- (popularly El Samhoudy), his testimony respecting the
tomb of the Prophet, i. 323 Remarks on his name, 323, n. His
burial-place, 323, n. His account of the graves of the Prophet and the
first two caliphs, 340 Unsuccessful endeavour to purchase a copy of
Al-Samanhudi, 340, n. Visits the tombs of the Hujrah, 368, n.
Salt, sacredness of the tie of “terms of salt,” ii. 53, n. The bond of,
sacredness of, among the Badawin, 112 The Syrians called “abusers of the
salt,” 133, n.
Salutation of peace in the East, i. 143, 151, 287
Samanhud, the ancient Sebennitis, i. 323, n.
Sambuk, i. 178 Description of, 188
Samman, Mohammed al-, the saint, i. 426 His Zawiyah, or oratory, near
Ohod, 426
Samun wind, i. 149, 265, n. Its effects on the skin, ii. 69 And on the
travellers’ temper, 127 The, on the road between Al-Madinah and Meccah,
129
Sanctuary, right of, in the Ka’abah, ii. 325 The Prophet’s. See Ka’abah
[p.467]
Sand, pillars of, in Arabia, ii. 69 Arab superstition respecting them,
66
Sandals donned when approaching Meccah, ii. 139
Sandal, the Oriental, i. 236 Uncomfortable and injurious to wearers of
them, 236, n.
Sanding instead of washing, when water cannot be obtained, i. 261
Sandstone, yellow (Hayar Shumaysi), of Meccah, ii. 295, n.
Saniyat Kuda’a, near Meccah, ii. 152
Saracen, derivation of the word, i. 187, n.
Saracens, Gibbon’s derivation of the name, ii. 76, n.
Saracenic style of architecture, i. 90, 92, 364
Sarf, Al- (grammar of the verb), study of, in schools, i. 104
Sariyah, or night march, disagreeableness of, ii. 67, 68
Sarraf, or money changer, ii. 235
Sarsar wind, i. 151, n.
Sa’ud, the Wahhabi, i. 242 Besieges the city of Al-Madinah, i. 369
Saur, Jabal, Mohammed’s stay in the cave of, i. 355, n. Its distance from
Al-Madinah, 379
Sawadi, or black grapes, i. 404
Sawik, the food so called, i. 275, n.
Sayh, Al-, the torrent at Al-Madinah, i. 395, 399, 420
Sayhani, Al-, the date so called, i. 401
Sayl, or torrents, in the suburbs of Al-Madinah, i. 380
Sayyalah, the Wady, i. 274 The cemetery of the people of, 274, n.
Sayyid, Abu ’l Hayja, Sultan of Egypt, his present to the Mosque of the
Prophet, i. 366, n.
Sayyid Ali, vice-intendant of the Mosque of Meccah, ii. 319
Sayyidna Isa, future tomb of, i. 326
Sayyids, great numbers of, at Al-Madinah, ii. 3 Their origin, 3, n.
Dress of Sayyids in Al-Hijaz, 4 The Sayyid Alawiyah, 4 Graves of the,
at Al-Bakia, 32
Schools in Egypt, i. 102 Course of study in Al-Azhar, 103, et seq.
Intonation of the Koran taught in, 106
Science, exact and natural, state of, in Egypt, i. 108, n.
Scorpions near Meccah, ii. 179
“Sea of Sedge,” i. 196
Seasons, divided into three, by the Arabs, i. 383
Sebastiani, General, i. 112, n.
Sebennitis, the modern Samanhud, i. 323, n.
Semiramis, eunuchs first employed by, i. 371, n.
Sena’a, city of, its depravity, ii. 107, n.
Senna plant, abundance of the, in Arabia, ii. 72 Its growth in the
Deserts, 137
Sepulchre, the Holy, imitations of, in Christian churches, i. 95
Sermons, Moslem, ii. 313 The Sermons of Sa’adi, 165 The sermon on Mount
Arafat, 290 The Khutbat al-Wakfah, Sermon of the Standing (upon
Arafat), 197 The Sermon at the Harim, 225 Impression made by it on the
hearers, 226
Sesostris, ships of, i. 189 His blindness, 385
Shafe’i, Al-, Mosque of, i. 105, n.
Shafe’i, Imam, his vision of Ali, ii. 184, n.
Shafe’i, Masalla, or place of prayer of the Shafe’i school, i. 310, n.
[p.468]
Shafe’i pilgrimage, the compendium of Mohammed of Shirbin relating to,
ii. 281 et seq.
Shafe’i school, mufti of, at Al-Madinah, i. 373
Shahan, the Benu (a Jewish tribe), in Arabia, i. 347, n.
Shajar Kanadil, or brass chandelier of the hypæthral court of the Prophet’s
Mosque, i. 339
Shaking hands (Musafahah), Arab fashion of, i. 52
Shame, a passion with Eastern nations; i. 37
Shami, Bab al-, or Syrian gate, of Al-Madinah, i. 391
Shami pomegranates, of Al-Madinah, i. 405
Shamiyah, or Syrian, ward of Meccah, ii. 153 Quarrels of the, with the
Sulaymaniyah quarter, 153
Shammas bin Osman, his tomb at Ohod, i. 429
Shamsan, Jabal, the burial-place of Cain, ii. 160, n.
Sharai and Bi-Sharai, the two orders of Darwayshes, i. 15
Shararif, or trefoiled crenelles in the walls of Al-Madinah, i. 392
Sharbat Kajari, the poison of the Persians, ii. 86
Shark, Al-, i. 266 Explanation of the name, 266, n.
Sharki, the Darb al-, i. 380
Sharzawan, Al-, or base of the Ka’abah, ii. 298, n.
Shaving in the East, ii. 14
Shaw, Dr. Norton, i. 1, 5
Shawarib, Abu, the father of mustachios, ii. 53
Shaybah, generally called Abd al-Muttalib, grandfather of the Prophet
i. 351, n.
Shaybah, Ibn, his account of the burial-place of Aaron, i. 346
Shaybah, Bab Benu, legend of, of the Ka’abah, ii. 161, n. The true sangre
azul of Al-Hijaz, 206 Keepers of the keys of the Ka’abah, 206 The chief
Shaykh Ahmad, 206, n.
Shaykh, explanation of the term, i. 14 Description of an Arab, fully
equipped for travelling, 234
Shaykhayn, the “two shaykhs,” Abu Bakr and Osman, ii. 2
Shaytan al-Kabir (the Great Devil), ceremony of throwing stones at, ii.
203
Sheep, the three breeds of, in Al-Hijaz, ii. 17 The milk of the ewe, 17
Shems al-Din Yusuf, al-Muzaffar, chief of Yaman, his contribution to
the fifth Mosque of the Prophet, i. 368
Sharifs, or descendants of Mohammed, i. 327 Great numbers of, at
Al-Madinah, ii. 3 Their origin, 3, n. Their intense pride, 79, n.
Forced celibacy of their daughters, 79, n. Their bravery, 150, n.
Causes of their pugnacity, 150, n.
Sharifi, Al-, the grape so called, i. 404
Shi’ahs, their defilement of the tombs of Abu Bakr and Omar, i. 321, n.
Their antipathy to the Sunnis, 321, n. Their aversion to Abu Bakr, 354,
n. Their detestation of Syria and of the Syrians, ii. 138, n.
Shibr Katt, i. 30
Shibriyah, or cot, for travelling, ii, 65
Ship-building on the Red Sea, i. 177
[p.469]
Ships. The toni or Indian canoe, i. 188, n. The “catamaran” of Madras and
Aden, i. 189, n.
Shiraz, boasts of the Shi’ahs at, i. 321, n.
Shisha, or Egyptian water-pipe, i. 80
Shisha, or travelling pipe, ii. 125
Shopping in Alexandria, i. 11
Shuab Ali, valley of, i. 279, n.
Shuab al-Hajj, (the pilgrim’s pass), scene in, i. 272
Shugduf, difference between the Syrian and Hijazi shugduf, i. 418
Dangers to, in “acacia-barrens,” ii. 69
Shuhada (the Martyrs), i. 274 Remarks on, 274 Its past and future
honours, 274, n. Visit to the graves of the, at Mount Ohod, 426, 427
Shumays, Bir, yellow sandstone of, ii. 295, n.
Shurafa, pl. of Sharif, a descendant of Mohammed, i. 327
Shurum, i. 145
Shushah, or tuft of hair on the poll, i. 163
Sicard, Father, i. 195
Sidr or Lote tree of the Prophet’s Mosque, i. 337
Sie-fa of the Bokte, in Tartary, i. 58
Siesta, i. 299, n. The Kaylulah, or noon siesta, 299 The Aylulah, 299,
n. The Ghaylulah, 299, n. The Kaylulah, 299, n. The Faylulah, 299, n.
Sikandar Al-Rumi, tomb of, i. 12
Sikanjabin (oxymel), used as a remedy in fevers in Arabia, i. 387
Silk-tree of Arabia. See Asclepias gigantea
Sinai, Mount, i. 202
Sinaitic tribes of Arabs, modern, observations on, i. 145, et seq.
Chief clans of, 145 Impurity of the race, 146 Their ferocity, 147 How
manageable, 147
Sind, dry storms of, i. 247, 265
Singapore, pilgrims from, to Meccah, i. 179
Silat al-Rasul, referred to, i. 384, n.
Sittna Zaynab (our Lady Zaynab), Mosque of, at Cairo, i. 98
Siyuti, Al-, his theological works, i. 106, n.
Sketching, dangerous among the Badawin, i. 240
Slaves, trade in, at Jeddah and in Egypt, i. 47 Reform in our slave
laws throughout the East much needed, 49 Abyssinian slave, style of
courting, 59 Slave-hunting in Africa, 60 Condition of slaves in the
East, 61 The black slave-girls of Al-Madinah, ii. 12 Value of
slave-boys and of eunuchs, 12 Value of the Galla girls, 13 Price of a
Jariyah Bayza, or white slave-girl, 13 Female slaves at Meccah, 233 The
slave-market of Meccah, 252 The pilgrim’s resolve, if permitted, to
destroy the slave-trade, 252 Ease with which the slave-trade may be
destroyed in the Red Sea, 252
Small-pox in Arabia. See Judari
Smith, Sir L., his defeat of the Beni Bu Ali Arabs, i. 248
Smoking the weed “hashish,” i. 44
Soap, tafl or bole earth used by the Arabs as, i. 415
Sobh Badawin, their plundering propensities, ii. 58
[p.470]
Societies, secret, in Egypt, i. 113
Sodom, the long-sought apple of, ii. 138, n.
Sola, plain of, near Meccah, ii. 148
Soldier-travellers, fatalities which have befallen them lately, i. 1
Soldiers in Egypt, i. 118
Solomon, King, i. 212 Mosque of, at Jerusalem, connected with, 305
Somalis, dislike of, to tobacco, i. 194, n. Foundation of the tribe,
344, n.
Songs of the Badawi Arabs, i. 145 Of Maysunah, ii. 190 Specimen of one,
223
Sonnini, his description of the “Kayf,” i. 9, n. Reference to, 299 His
testimony to the virtues of the Harim, ii. 91, n.
Sophia’s, St., at Constantinople, the largest Cathedral in the world, i.
364, n.
Spanish cathedrals, Oriental origin of, i. 307
Spears (Kanat), of the Badawin, ii. 106
Sports of the Badawin, ii. 104
Springs of Mount Ohod, i. 423, n.
Stanhope, Lady Hester, her faith in magic mirrors, i. 288, n.
Statuary and pictures forbidden in Mosques, i. 94
Stimulants, effects of drinking, in the East, i. 265, n.
Stoa, or Academia, of Al-Madinah, i. 338
Stocks, Dr., of Bombay, reference to, i. 246, n.
Stone, obtained near Meccah, ii. 295, n. That of Panopolis, 296
Stone-worship, ii. 301, n.
Storm, description of one at Muna, ii. 218 Dry storms of Arabia, i. 247
Streets, of Al-Madinah, i. 392
Students, Moslem, i. 104, n. Wretched prospects, 108
Sudan (Blacksland), i. 177
Suez (Suways), a place of obstacle to pilgrims, i. 128 Safety of the
Desert road to, 156 Its want of sweet water, 158, n. Its brackish
wells, 158, n. No hammam (or bath) at, 158, n. Number of caravanserais
of, 159, n. Want of comfort in them all, 159, n. The farzah, or system
of rotation, in the port of, 170, 178 Exorbitant rate of freight at,
170, n. The George Inn at (see George Inn), 173, et seq. Decrease in
the number of pilgrims passing through Suez to Meccah, 176 The
ship-builders of Suez, 177 Kinds of ships used at, 178 Number of ships
at, 178 Imports and exports, 179, 180 Average annual temperature of the
year at, 180 Population of, 181 State of the walls, gates, and defences
of, 182 Food of the inhabitants of, 182, 183 Their fondness for
quarrels, 183 A “pronunciamento” at, 183 Scene on the beach on a July
morning, 186
Sufayna, Al-, the village of, ii. 128 Halt of the Baghdad Caravan at,
128 Description of the place, 130
Sufat (half-caste Turk), the present ruling race at Al-Madinah, ii. 5
Suffah, or sofa, companions of the, i. 363
Sufiyan, Abu, his battle with Mohammed at Mount Ohod, i. 423, 425, ii.
47 His daughter, ii. 35
Sufrah, i. 76 “Sufrah hazir,” i. 76, n.
[p.471]
Suhayl, sells ground at Al-Madinah to Mohammed, i. 357
Sujdah, or single-prostration prayer, i. 312
Suk al-Khuzayriyah, or greengrocers’ market of Al-Madinah, i. 391 Zuk
al-Habbabah, or grain market of Al-Madinah, 391
Sula, or Sawab, Jabal, near Al-Madinah, ii. 48
Sulayman the Magnificent, the Sultan, his donations to the shrines of
Meccah and Al-Madinah, i. 310, n., 368
Sulaymani, the poison so called, ii. 86
Sulaymaniyah Munar, i. 333
Sulaymaniyah, or Afghan quarter of Meccah, ii. 153 Quarrels of the,
with the Shamiyah ward, 153
Suls character of Arabic, i. 322, n. A Koran in the library of the
Prophet’s Mosque written in the, 338, n.
Sumaydah, a sub-family of the Benu Harb, i. 256
Sun, his fierce heat on the Red Sea, i. 207 Effects of, on the mind and
body, 208 Majesty of the sunset hour, 208 Heat of, in the Deserts of
Arabia, 251 Remarks on sunstrokes, in the East, 365, n. Hour at which
it is most dangerous, 275 Adoration of, by kissing the hand, ii. 165, n.
Sunnat, or practice or custom of the prophet, i. 340, n.
Sunnat al-Tawaf, or practice of circumambulation, ii. 170
Sunnis, their antipathy to the Shi’ahs, i. 321, n. Their reverence for
the memory of Abu Bakr, 354
Superstitions of the Arabs, i. 427 Error of Niebuhr respecting, ii.
153, n. That respecting the ceiling of the Ka’abah, 207 The superstitions
of Meccans and Christians compared, 237 Those of Arabs and Africans
respecting the aloe, 248
Supplication, efficacy of, at the Masjid al-Ahzab, ii. 47
Surat, tobacco of, i. 179
Surgery among the Badawin, ii. 108
Suri (Syrian), Shami, or Suryani, tobacco, i. 65, n.
Surrah, or financier of the Caravan, i. 374
Suwan (granite), of Meccah, ii. 295, n.
Suwaykah, celebrated in the history of the Arabs, i. 275 Origin of its
name, 275, n.
Suwayrkiyah, headquarters of the Benu Hosayn, ii. 3 Confines of, 72 The
town of, 124 The inhabitants of, 123
Swords of the Arabs, i. 248, ii. 106 Their sword-play, 107
Syria, expedition of Tobba al-Asghar against, i. 350 Abhorrence in
which it is held by the Shi’ah sect, ii. 133, n. Wars in, caused by
sectarian animosity, 133, n.
Syrians on the Red Sea, i. 202 Detestation in which Syria and the
Syrians are held by the Shi’ahs, ii. 133, n. Called “abusers of the salt,”
133, n.

TABRANI, AL-, his account of the building of the Prophet’s Mosque, i. 361
Tafarruj, or lionising, i. 308
Tafl, or bole earth, eaten by Arab women, i. 415
Tafsir (exposition of the Koran), study of, in schools, i. 107
Tahamat Al-Hijaz, or the sea coast of Al-Hijaz, i. 377
[p.472]
Taharah, the kind of circumcision among the Badawin so called, ii, 110
Tahlil, or cry of welcome, ii. 159
Taif, population of, i. 393, n. Pears of, 405, n. The “Rubb Rumman” of, 405
The blue peaks of, ii. 148
Takat al-Kashf (niche of disclosure), of the Mosque of Al-Kuba, i. 410
Takiyah, or Darwayshes’ dwelling-place in Cairo, i. 85 The Takiyah
erected at Al-Madinah by Mohammed Ali, 285
Takruri pilgrims, their wretched poverty, ii. 62
Takht-rawan, or gorgeous litters, i. 418 Expenses of one, from Damascus
and back, ii. 65, n.
Talbiyat, or exclaiming, when approaching Meccah, ii. 139 Derivation of
the term, 140, n.
Talhah, friend of Mohammed, sent forward by the Prophet to Al-Madinah,
i. 354
Tamarisk tree, i. 403
Tamattu, Al- (possession), the pilgrimage so called, ii. 281
Tanzimat, folly of, i. 286
Tarawih prayers, i. 80
Tarbush and fez, ii. 15
Tarik al-Ghabir, the road from Al-Madinah to Meccah, ii. 58
Tarikh Tabari, referred to, i. 347
Tarikah bin Himyariah, wife of Amru bin Amin, i. 348
Tariyak (Theriack) of Al-Irak, the counter-poison so called, ii. 108
Tarshish, i. 189
Tarwiyat, origin of the ceremony of, ii. 289, n.
Tashrih, the Madani children’s bod[i]es marked with, ii. 13
Tashrit (gashing), the ceremony at Meccah so called, ii. 234, n.
Taslim, to say “salam,” i. 329
Tatarif, or cartridges of the Badawin, ii. 116
Taun (the plague), never in Al-Hijaz, i. 384
Tawaf, or circumambulation of the House of Allah at Meccah, i. 305
Ceremonies of, at the Ka’abah, ii. 165 Its probable origin, 165, n. The
Sunnat al-Tawaf, or practice of circumambulation, 170 Sketch of the
ceremony of Tawaf, 286
Tawarah tribes of Arabs. See Arabs, and Sinaitic tribes
Tawashi, the generic name of the eunuchs of the Mosque, i. 371, n.
Taxation in Egypt, i. 112, n. Capitation tax levied on infidels, 233,
n. No taxes paid by the Madani, ii. 6
Tayammum, the sand-bath, i. 261
Tayfur Agha, chief of the college of eunuchs at Al-Madinah, i. 371
Tayr Ababil, i. 384, n.
Tayyarah, or “flying Caravan,” ii. 50
Tazkirah. See Passports
Testification, the prayer so called, i. 318, n.
Thamud tribe, of tradition, i. 221
Theology, Moslem, observations on, i. 105, et seq. Poverty of an Alim,
or theologian, 131
Thieves in the Desert, i. 248
Thirst, difficulty with which it is borne by the Badawin, ii. 69 How to
allay, 69, n.
Tigritiya, the Abyssinian malady so called, ii. 175, n.
[p.473]
Timbak (tobacco), from Persia or Surat, i. 179
Tinder, Nubian and Indian, ii, 138, n.
Tipu Sahib, his treatment of his French employes, i. 39, n.
Tobacco of Egypt, i. 65 Latakia, 65, n. Suri (Syrian), Shami, or
Suryani, 65, n. Tumbak, 66, n. Hummi, 66, n. The Shisha, or Egyptian
water-pipe, 80 Pipes of the Badawin and Arab townspeople, 144, n. The
old Turkish meerschaum, 144, n. Aversion of the barbarous tribes of
Africa to the smell of, 194, n. The shisha (hooka) of Arabia, 296
Syrian tobacco generally used in Al-Madinah, 298 Its soothing
influence, ii, 63 Waterpipes, 63 Salary of a pipe-bearer, 63, n.
Smoking among the Badawin, 118 The shisha, or travelling pipe, 125
Instance of the Wahhabi hatred of, 129, 142
Tobba Abu Karb, i. 350, n.
Tobba al-Asghar, his expedition to Al-Madinah, i. 350 And to Syria and
Al-Irak, 350 Abolishes idolatry, 351
Tobba, “the Great,” or “the Chief,” i. 351, n.
Tombs: that of Daniyal al-Nabi (Daniel the Prophet), i. 12 Of Sikandar
al-Rumi, 12 Of Mohammed a1-Busiri, 12 Of Abu Abbas al-Andalusi, 12 Of
the martyred grandsons of Mohammed, Hasan, and Husayn, 97, n. Of Kaid
Bey and the other Mamluk Kings, 98 Peculiar form of the sepulchre now
common in Al-Hijaz, Egypt, and the Red Sea, 155, n. The tomb of Abu
Zulaymah, 199 Of Shaykh Hasan al-Marabit, on the Red Sea, 218 Distant
view of the Prophet’s tomb at Al-Madinah, 286 Account of a visit to it,
304-342 The Lady Fatimah’s at Al-Madinah, 308, n., 327, 328 Exact place
of the Prophet’s tomb, 322 The tombs of Abu Bakr and of Omar, 324 The
future tomb of Sayyidna Isa, 326 Tombs of the father and mother of the
Prophet, 351, n. Tomb of Mohammed, 359, 363 Attempted robbery of the
tombs of Mohammed and of his two companions, 367 The tombs in the
Hujrah visited by Al-Samanhudi, 368, n. The tomb of Aaron on Mount
Ohod, 423 Hamzah’s tomb, 426 That of Abdullah bin Jaysh at Ohod, 428
Visit to the tombs of the saints of Al-Bakia, ii. 31, et seq. Tombs of
Hagar and Ishmael at Meccah, 305 Burial-places of Adam, Abel, and Cain,
160, n. Tombs of celebrity at the cemetery of Meccah, 249, et seq. Eve’s
tomb near Jeddah, 273
Tott, Inspector-General, i. 112, n.
Trade and commerce, condition of, at Al-Madinah, ii. 8 The three vile
trades of Moslems, 149, n.
Trafalgar, Cape, i. 7 Remarks on the meaning of the word, 7, n.
Travellers, idiosyncrasy of, 16
“Trees of Al-Madinah,” the celebrated, i. 286
Tripoli, i. 190
Tumar character, of Arabic, ii. 215
Tumbak tobacco, i. 66, n.
Tunis, i. 190
Tur, the old Phœnician colony on the Red Sea, i. 201 Terrible stories
about the Badawin of, 201 The modern town, 202 The inhabitants of, 202
The delicious dates of, 204
[p.474]
Tur, Jabal (Mount Sinai), i. 202
Turki pomegranates of Al-Madinah, i. 405
Turks on the pilgrimage, i. 191 Turkish Irregular Cavalry in the
Deserts of Arabia, 249 Imbecility of their rule in Arabia, 257 Delenda
est marked by Fate upon the Ottoman empire, 259, n. Probable end of its
authority in Al-Hijaz, 259 Douceurs given by them to the Arab shaykhs
of Al-Hijaz, 266 Their pride in ignoring all points of Arab prejudices,
304 Their difficulties in Arabia, 359 One killed on the march by an
Arab, ii. 127 Their dangerous position in Al-Hijaz, 151, n. Turkish
pilgrims at Meccah, author’s acquaintance with, 171
Tussun Bey, defeat of, by the Badawin, i. 262 Concludes a peace with
Abdullah the Wahhabi, i. 370
Tutty (Tutiya), used in Al-Hijaz for the cure of ulcers, i. 390

UHAYHAH, of the Aus tribe, i. 351, n.
Ukab, the bird so called, ii. 62
Ukayl bin Abi Talib, brother of Ali, his tomb, ii. 38, 44
Ulcers (Nasur) common in Al-Hijaz, i. 390 Antiquity of the disease in
Arabia, 390 Death of Am al-Kays, the warrior and poet, 390 Mandate of
Mohammed Abu (see Mohammed), 390 The Hijaz “Nasur,” and the Yaman ulcer,
the “Jurh al-Yamani,” 390, n. Popular treatment of, 390
Umar ibn Fariz, poems of, i. 107, n.
Umbrella, the sign of royalty, ii. 150, n., 196
Umrah (the little pilgrimage), ii. 281 The ceremonies of, 241, 292 et
seq. Its situation, 341
Urdu, or camp of soldiers in Al-Hijaz, i. 394, n.
Urtah, or battalion of soldiers, i. 394, n.
Usbu, or seven courses round the Ka’abah, ii. 167, n
Ustuwanat al-Ashab, or the Companions’ column, at the Mosque of the
Prophet, i. 326, n. Ustuwanat al-Mukhallak, or the perfumed pillar, 335
Ustuwanat al-Hannanah, or weeping pillar at the Prophet’s Mosque, 335
Ustuwanat al-Ayishah, or pillar of Ayishah, 335 Ustuwanat al-Kurah, or
pillar of Lots, 335 Ustuwanat al-Muhajirin, or pillar of Fugitives, 335
Ustuwanat al-Abu Lubabah, or pillar of Lubabah or of repentance, 336
Ustuwanat al-Sarir, or pillar of the Cot, 336 Ustuwanat Ali, or column
of Ali the fourth Caliph, 336 Ustuwanat al-Wufud, 336 Ustuwanat
al-Tahajjud, where the Prophet passed the night in prayer, 336
Utaybah Badawin. Ferocity of, ii. 136, 144 Charged with drinking their
enemies’ blood, 136 Their stoppage of the Damascus Caravan, 143 Dispersed
by Sharif Zayd 144
Utbah bin Abi Wakkas, the infidel, i. 430
Utum, or square, flat roofed, stone castles in Arabia, i. 347

VALLEYS in Arabia, longitudinal, transversal, and diagonal, i. 252
Vasco de Gama, his voyage to Calicut, i. 187, n.
Vegetables of the plain of Al-Madinah, i. 404
Vena, common at Yambu’, i. 389 Treatment of, 389
[p.475]
Venus, worship of, by the Hukama, ii. 162
Verdigris used in Arabia for the cure of ulcers, i. 390
Vertomannus Ludovicus, his pilgrimages to Meccah and to Al-Madinah, ii.
333, et seq.
Victims, ceremonies of the Day of, ii. 202, et seq.
Villages frequently changing their names, i. 245
Vincent on the Moors of Africa, i. 187, n.
Vine of Al-Madinah, ii. 404
Visions in the East, ii. 184, n.
Visits of ceremony after the Ramazan, i. 116 Of the middle classes in
Egypt, 135, n. After a journey, 190
Volcanoes, traces of extinct, near Al-Madinah, ii. 61

WADY, the Arabian, i. 150, n. The Wady al-Ward (the Vale of Flowers),
150
Wady, al-Kura, town of, founded by the Jews, i. 347 The route from
Al-Madinah to Meccah so called, ii. 58
Wady al-Subu, town of, founded by the Jews, i. 347
Wady, the Masjid al-, ii. 49
Wahhabis, aversion of to tobacco, i. 194, n. Ruinous effect of the wars
between them, and the Egyptians, 254, n. Their defeat of Tussun Bey and
8000 Turks, 262 Their tenets, 306 Their opposition to Ali Bey, 306, n.
Their rejection of the doctrine of the Prophet’s intercession, 318, n.
Their dislike to onions, 357, n. And of Turkish rule in Al-Hijaz, 360
Their siege of Al-Madinah, 369 Defeated by Mohammed Ali at the battle
of Bissel, ii. 89, n. Instance of their hatred of tobacco, 129, 142
Description of their march on the pilgrimage, 142 Their bravery, 143
Their appearance at the ceremonies of the day of Arafat, 193, n. Their
destruction of the Chapel on Arafat, 193, n. Note on the ceremonies of
the Wahhabi pilgrimage, 197, n. Their unsuccessful attack on Jeddah,
265, n.
Wahshi, the slave, slays Hamzah, i. 433
Wahshi, Al-, the date so called, i. 401
Wahy, or Inspiration brought by the Archangel Gabriel from heaven, i.
333. n.
Wa’iz in the Mosque, i. l00
Wakalah, or inn of Egypt, description of, i. 41 The Wakalah Khan Khalil
of Cairo, 42 The Wakalah Jamaliyah, 42 Those of Al-Madinah, 392 The
Wakalah Bab Salam, 392 The Wakalah Jabarti, 392 The, of Jeddah, ii. 266
Wakf, “bequeathed,” written in books, i. 340 Bought up by Mohammed Ali
Pasha, 359, n. Abolished in Turkey, 359, n. Established by the Sultan
Kaid Bey, 368
Wakil (or substitute), in pilgrimage, ii. 243
Wakin, Al-, or Al-Zahrah, the Harrah so called, i. 421, n.
Walid, Al-,the Caliph, i. 327, n. Inventor of the mihrab and minaret,
361, n. His magnificent buildings at Al-Madinah, 364 Visits the Mosque
in state, 366 Mosques built by him at Al-Madinah, ii. 48
Walis (holy men), of Alexandria, i. 12
[p.476]
Wallin, Dr. George, of Finland, his visit to Meccah, i. 5, n. His
death, 5, n. His Eastern name, Wali al-Din, 5, n. His remarks on the
Arab tribes referred to, 145, n. His admiration of Badawi life, ii. 97
Walls of Al-Madinah, i. 391
“War of the Meal-sacks,” i. 275, n.
War-dance (Arzah) of the Arabs, i. 419
Wardan and the Wardanenses, i. 30, n.
Warkan, Jabal, one of the mountains of Paradise, i. 270, n.
Wasitah, Al-. See Hamra, Al-, i. 253
Watches worn in Arabia, i. 166
Water-bags in the East, i. 24, 125 Value of water in the Desert, 149
Carried across the Desert to Suez, 158 Water-courses (Misyal) of
Arabia, 250, 254 The water found in the Deserts of Arabia, 254 “Light”
water, 338 Oriental curiosity respecting, 338 Manner of providing, at
Al-Madinah, 381 Music of the water-wheels, 400 Quantity of, in the
palm-gardens of Al-Madinah, 403 Purity of, throughout Al-Hijaz, ii. 194
Water-spout (Myzab) of the Ka’abah, ii. 304
Weapons of the Badawin, ii. 106
Weeping-pillar in Mohammed's Mosque, i. 335, 362, n.
Weights, the, of Al-Madinah, i. 402, n.
Welcome, the Oriental cry of, (Tahlil, or Ziralit), ii. 159
Well, Moses’, at Sinai, i. 204 Ancient wells at Aden, 204, n.
Wells of the Indians in Arabia, i. 274, n. The Bir al-Aris at Kuba, 412
The pilgrim’s “Kayf” on the brink of, 412 Former and present number of wells
of Al-Kuba, 414 The Saba Abar, or seven wells, 414 The Bir al-Nabi,
414, n. The Bir al-Ghurbal, 414, n. The Bir al-Fukayyir, 414, n. The
Bir al-Ghars, 414, n. The Bir Rumah, or Kalib Mazni, 414, n. The Bir
Buza’at, 414, n. The Bir Busat, 414, n. The Bir Bayruha, 414, n. The Bir
Ihn, 415, n. The three wells of the Caliph Harun at Al-Ghadir, ii. 134
Wellington, Duke of, his remark on the means of preserving health in
India, i. 264, n.
West, Mr., sub-vice-consul at Suez, his kindness to the pilgrim, i. 169
Wijh Harbour, on the Red Sea, i. 214 The town, 215
Wilkinson, Sir Gardner, his observations on Egyptian passports, i. 18
Wind, the Samum, i. 149 The Sarsar, 151, n. The “poison-wind,” 265, n. The
eastern wintry winds of Al-Madinah, 382
Wishah, the style of dress so called, ii. 139
Wives of the Prophet, tombs of, ii. 38 His fifteen wives, 38
Wolf’s tail (Dum i Gurg), the grey dawn, i. 154
Women, shrill cries of joy with which Arab women receive their husbands
after returning from a journey, i. 357, ii. 154 Flirtation and
love-making at festivals, i. 116 The public amusements allowed to
Oriental women, 118 The death-wail, 118 An Armenian marriage, 123
Faults of Moslem ladies’ dressing, 123, n. Condition of, in Egypt, at the
present day, 175 The opprobrious term Misriyah, 175 Dress of the women
of Yambu’, 229 The face-veil, 229 The lisam of Constantinople, [p.477]
229, n. Retired habits of the women at Al-Madinah, 297 Soft and
delicate voices of the Somali women, 297 The Gynæconitis of Arab women,
298 Ablutions necessary after touching the skin of a strange woman,
298, n. A Persian lady’s contempt for boys, 303 The Bab al-Nisa, or women’s
gate at Al-Madinah, 308 Disgrace of making a Moslemah expose her face,
365, n. The women of the farmer race of Arabs, 406 Tafl, or bole earth,
eaten by them, 415 Women devotees at the Harim, 434 Women sometimes not
allowed to join a congregation in Al-Islam, 434, n. Dress and customs
of the Indian women settled at At-Madinah, ii. 6 Value of black
slave-girls, 12 Price of a Jariyah Bayza, or white slave-girl, 13 Dress
of the women of Al-Madinah, 15, 16 Their mourning dress, 16 Decency of
the women of Al-Madinah, 19 Their pleasures, 20 Their bad language, 20
Arab marriages, 22, et seq. Unwillingness to name the wife among the
Arabs, 84 And in other countries, 84, n. Uncomeliness of the women of
Al-Hijaz, 85 Softening influences of the social position of the women
among the Badawin, 90 Polygamy and monogamy compared, 91, n. The
daughters of a higher clan of Arabs not allowed to marry into a lower,
92 Heroism of women, 94 The Arab oath, “by the honour of my women,” 94
Marriage ceremonies of the Badawin, 111 Frequency of divorces among
them, 111 Dress of the Badawin women of Al-Hijaz, 116 Unchastity of the
women of the Hitman tribe of Arabs, 121 Ejaculations of women when in
danger of exposing their faces, 134, n. Strange dress of pilgrim women,
141 Wahhabi women on the pilgrimage, 142 Place for the female pilgrims
in the Ka’abah, 309 The Kabirah, or mistress of a house, 160 How directed
to perform the Sai, 288 Moslem prayers for the souls of women, 293
Superstitious rite on behalf of women at Arafat, 189 Manner of
addressing respectable Moslem women, 190, n. An adventure with a fair
Meccan, 197-199 The slave market of Meccah, 252 Appearance of the
slaves, 252
“Wormwood of Pontus,” i. 155
Wounds, Badawin method of treating, i. 271, n., 389
Writing, Oriental, remarks on, i. 103 Skilful penmanship but little
valued at the present day, 103, n. The Turkish ornamental character
called “Suls,” 103, n. The Persian character, 103, n. The Egyptian and Arab
coarse and clumsy hand, 104, n. The Mirza Sanglakh, 104, n. Writing and
drawing generally disliked by Arabs, 240 Writing on noted spots, the
practice both classical and Oriental, 432
Wuzu (the lesser ablution), i. 6, 77, 230
Wukuf, or standing upon Mount Arafat, Arab legend respecting, ii. 289,
n. The pilgrim rites of, 289

Y.S., the chapter of the Koran, i. 366, n., 429
Yaman, Al-, tamarinds from, i. 180 Mountains of, 265, n. Coffee of,
290, n. The birthplace of the Aus and Kharaj, 348 Sufferings of the
people of, from ulcers, 390 Mandate of the conqueror Mohammed Abu. See
Mohammed, 390 Demoralisation of the Arabs of, ii. 107 Former horse
trade of, 195, n.
[p.478]
Yambu’, tribes inhabiting the deserts about, i. 145 Yambu’ al-Bahr (or Yambu’
of the Sea), 225 The Iambia of Ptolemy, 225 The Sharif of Yambu’, 226
Description of the town, 226 Varieties of the population at, 228 An
evening party at, 232 Strength of the walls and turrets of, 242
Attacked by Sa’ud the Wahhabi, 242 Jews settled in, 347, n. Diseases of,
389 Population of, 393, n.
Yanbua of the palm grounds, i. 225
Yarab bin Kahtan bin Shalik bin Arkfakhshad bin Sam bin Nuh,
descendants of, i. 348
Yasir bin Akhtah, plots against Mohammed, i. 358
Yasrib (now Al-Madinah), settled by fugitive Jews, i. 347
Yaum al-Tarwiyah, ii. 289 Description of, 178
Yaum al-Nahr (the day of throat-cutting), 202, 290
Yazid, son of the Caliph Mu’awiyah and his Badawi wife Maysunah, ii. 191,
n. His contempt for his father, 191, n. Cursed by the disciples of the
Shafe’i school, ii. 37
Yorke, Colonel P., i. 1
Yusuf, the Jewish “Lord of the Pit,” ii. 78, n.

ZA’ABUT, i. 17, n.
Zabit, or Egyptian police magistrate, i. 19 Scenes before, 119 The “Pasha
of the Night,” 121
Zafar, the Masjid Benu, also called Masjid al-Baghlah, ii. 45
Zafaran Point, i. 196, n.
Zaghritah, or cry of welcome, ii. 159
Zahra, or “bright blooming Fatimah,” i. 327, n.
Zahrah, Al-, or Al-Wakin, the Harrah so called, i. 421, n.
“Zairs,” visitors to the sepulchre of the Prophet, i. 305, n. Dress and
perfumes of the Zairs, 309, n.
Zakariya al-Ansari, his theological work. i. 106, n.
Zamakhshari, Al-, his grammatical adventures, ii. 98, n.
Zananire, Antun, visit to his harim, i. 122
Zarb al-Mandal, the magical science so called in Egypt, i. 388, n.
Zaribah, Al-, description of the plain of, ii. 138
Zarka, of Yamamah, story of, referred to, i. 181, n.
Zat al-Rika’a, the expedition so called, i. 155, n.
Zat al-Salasil (the “Affair of Chains”), ii. 89, n.
Zat Nakhl, or “place of palm trees” (Al-Madinah), i. 346
Zawiyah, or oratory, of Mohammed al-Samman, i. 426
Zawwar, or visitors to the tomb of the Prophet, i. 329, n.
Zayd, Sharif, his bravery, ii. 144 Disperses the Utaybah robbers, 144
Zaydi sect, ii. 307, n.
Zayn al-Abidin, prayers for, i. 328 Tomb of, ii. 40
Zaynab, wife of the Prophet, i. 365, n.
Zemzem, the holy well of the Mosque of the Prophet, i. 6, 70, 331 Its
supposed subterranean connection with the great Zemzem at Meccah, 338
Rows of jars of the water at the Mosque of Meccah, ii. 297 Description
of the building enclosing the well, 309 The Daurak, or earthen jars,
for cooling the water, 310, n. Doubtful origin of the word, 162 Esteem
in which the water is held, 163 Its qualities, 163 How transmitted to
distant regions, 163 Superstitions respecting it, 164
[p.479]
Zemzemi, or dispenser of the water of the holy well at Meccah, ii. 125
Ali bin Ya Sin, the zemzemi, 125
Zemzemiyah, or goat-skin water-bag, i. 24
Zikrs, or Darwaysh forms of worship, in Egypt, i. 86
Ziyad bin Abihi, his destruction of robbery in Basrah, i. 258, n.
Ziyafah, Bab al-, or gate of hospitality, of Al-Madinah, i. 391
Ziyarat, or visitation, of the Prophet’s Mosque, i. 305, 319 Distinction
between Ziyarat and the Hajj Pilgrimage, 305 Where the ceremony begins,
307, n. How regarded by the Maliki school, 311, n. The visitation to
Kuba on the 17th Ramazan, 408, n. Ziyarat al-Wida’a, or “Farewell
Visitation,” ii. 55 The ceremony of the visit to the Prophet’s tomb, 292
“Ziyaratak,” or “blessed be thy visitation,” the benediction, i. 331
Zubaydah Khatun, wife of Harun al-Rashid, ii. 58 Her celebrated
Pilgrimage, 136, n.
Zu’l Halifah, the Mosque, i. 279, n. Also called the “Mosque of the tree,”
279, n., 364 Its distance from Al-Madinah, 379
Zuyud schismatics, ii. 6





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