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PERSONAL NARRATIVE 

OF A 

PILGRIMAGE TO EL-MEDINAH AND 
MECCAH. 


VOL. III. 




PERSONAL NARRATIVE 


OF A 


PILGRIMAGE 

AND 


TO EL-MEDINAH 
MECCAH. 


BY BICHARD F, BURTON, 

LIEUTENANT BOMBAY ARMY. 


u Oui notions of Mecca must drawn from the Arabians ; as no unbeliever is permitted to enter 
the city, our travellers are silent.”— Gibbon, chap. 50. 


IN THREE VOLUMES. 

VOL. III. —MECCAH. 


LONDON: 

LONGMAN, BROWN, GREEN, AND LONGMANS. 

18 S 6 . 


The A uthor reserves to himself the right of authorizing a Translation of this Wort J 




J (,/■ JO ^ctfio £ 

A^c V - w J \) t)s^ ' 

✓ s’ 

S S O' 0 -^ j ✓ O O'^.-' J J 0^5 ' 0 -' 

j_ <f »\i» r aS\j 1 °_^'j i—ft*—l\j 




TO 

LIEUT.-GENERAL W. MONTEITH, 

{MADRAS ENGINEERS) 

K. L. S. F. R. SOC. F. K. G. SOC. 

&c. XC. &c. 

THIS VOLUME IS INSCRIBED, 

A FEEBLE EVIDENCE OF THE AUTHOR’S 


GRATITUDE. 




CONTENTS 


THE THIRD VOLUME. 


CHAPTER XXIIL 

Page 

From El Medinah to El Suwayrkiyah - - 1 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

The Bedouins of El Hejaz - - - 28 

CHAPTER XXV. 

From El Suwayrkiyah to Meccah - - - 101 

CHAPTER XXVI. 

The Bait Ullah - 149 

CHAPTER XXVII. 

The First Visit to the House of Allah - - 197 


CHAPTER XXVIII. 
Of Hajj, or Pilgrimage 


223 



X 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER XXIX. 

Page 

The Ceremonies of the Yaum el Tarwiyah - 245 

CHAPTER XXX. 

The Ceremonies of the Day of Arafat - - 265 

CHAPTER XXXI. 

The Ceremonies of the Day of Victims - - 280 

CHAPTER XXXII. 

The Days of Drying Flesh - 305 

CHAPTER XXXIII. 

Life at Meccah, and the Little Pilgrimage - 317 

CHAPTER XXXIV. 

Places of Pious Visitation at Meccah - - 348 

CHAPTER XXXV. 

Jeddah ------ 365 


Index 


391 



LIST OF PLATES 


PlLGBl&I AND PlLG RT MF .SS _ - FT07ltispieC€» 

Bedouin and Wahhabi Heads and Head¬ 
dresses - To face page 28 

The Pretty Bedouin Girl 42 

Plan of the Mosque „ 61 

View of El Suwaykkiyah - - „ 101 

View of Arafat n 257 

The Great Devil „ 282 

View of Jeddah () 378 






the pilgrims costume 















A PILGRIMAGE 


TO 

EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 


CHAPTER XXIII. 

FROM EL MEDINAH TO EL SUWAYBKIYAII. 

Four roads lead from El Medinah to Meccah. The 
“ Darb El Sultani,” or “ Sultan’s Way,” follows the 
line of coast: this “ General Passage ” has been 
minutely described by my great predecessor. The 
“ Tarik El Ghabir,” a mountain path, is avoided by 
the Mahmal and the great caravans, on account of 
its rugged passes ; water abounds along the whole 
line, but there is not a single village; and the Sobh 
Bedouins, who own the soil, are inveterate plun¬ 
derers. The route called “ Wady El Kura ” is a 
favourite with dromedary-caravans; on this road 
are two or three small settlements, regular wells, 
and free passage through the Beni Amr tribe. The 

VOL.in. B 




2 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 

Darb El Sharki, or “ Eastern road,” down which I 
travelled, owes its existence to the piety of Zubay- 
dah Khatun, wife of Harun el Rashid. That es¬ 
timable princess dug wells from Baghdad to El 
Medinah, and built, we are told, a wall to direct 
pilgrims over the shifting sands.* There is a fifth 
road, or rather mountain-path, concerning which I 
can give no information. 

At 8 a. m. on Wednesday, the 26th Zu’l Kaadah, 
(31st August, 1853), as we were sitting at the 
window of Hamid’s house after our early meal, 
suddenly appeared, in hottest haste, Masud, 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 9 A. m. I found myself 
standing opposite the Egyptian Gate,” sur- 


* The distance from Baghdad to El Medinah is 180 para- 
sangs, according to Abd el Karim: “ Voyage de Unde a la 

Mecque;” translated by M. Langles, Paris, 1797. This book 
is a disappointment, as it describes everything except El Me¬ 
dinah and Meccah : these gaps are filled up by the translator 
with the erroneous descriptions of other authors, not eye-wit¬ 


nesses. 



EC GHADIR. 


rounded by tny friends, who had accompanied me 
thus far on foot, to take leave with due honor. 
After affectionate embraces and parting mementos, 
we mounted, the boy Mohammed and I in the 
shugduf, or litter, and Shaykh Nur in his shi- 
briyah, or cot. Then, in company with some 
Turks and Meccans, for Masud 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 N. to N. E., we fell into the Nejd road and 
came to a place of renown called El Ghadir, or the 
Basin.* This is a depression conducting the 
drainage of the plain towards the Northern Hills. 
The skirts of Ohod still limited the prospect to the 


* Here, it is believed, was fought the battle of Buas, cele¬ 
brated in the pagan days of El Medinah (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. 



4 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINA!! AND MECCAH. 

left. On the right was the Bir Rashid (Well of 
Rashid), and the little white-washed dome of Ali 
el Urays, a descendant from Zayn el Abidin—the 
tomb is still a place of visitation. There we halted 
and turned to take a farewell of the Holy City. 
All the pilgrims dismounted and gazed at the 
venerable minarets and the Green Dome, spots 
upon which their memory would ever dwell with a 
fond and yearning interest. 

Remounting at noon we crossed a fiumara which 
runs, according to my Camel-Shaykh, from N. to 
S.; we were therefore emerging from the Medinah 
basin. The sky began to be clouded, and although 
the air was still full of simoom, cold draughts 
occasionally poured down from the hills. Arabs 
fear this 

“ bitter change 

Of fierce extremes, extremes by change more fierce,” 

and call that a dangerous climate which is cold in 
the hot season and hot in the cold. Travelling over 
a rough and stony path, dotted with thorny aca¬ 
cias, we arrived about 2 p. m. at the bed of lava 
heard of by Burckhardt.* The aspect of the coun- 

* Travels in Arabia, vol. 2. p. 217. The Swiss traveller 
was prevented by sickness from visiting it. 

The 4i Jnzb el Kulub 9 affords the following account of a 



TRACES OF EXTINCT VOLCANOES. 


5 


try was volcanic, abounding in basalts and scoria?, 
more or less porous: sand veiled the black bed 


celebrated eruption, beginning on the Salkh (last day) of 
Jemadi el Awwal, and ending on the evening of the third of 
Jemadi el Akhir, A. h. 654. Terrible earthquakes, accompanied 
by a thundering noise, shook the town; from fourteen to 
eighteen were observed each night. On the third of Jemadi el 
Akhir, after the Isha prayers, a fire burst out in the direction 
of El Hejaz (eastward); it resembled a vast city with a tur- 
retted and battlemented fort, in which men appeared drawing 
the flame about, as it were, whilst it roared, burned, and melted 
like a sea everything that came in its way. Presently, red 
and bluish streams, bursting from it, ran close to El Medinah; 
and, at the same time, the city was fanned by a cooling zephyr 
from the same direction. El Kistlani, an eye-witness, asserts 
that “ the brilliant light of the volcano made the face of the 
country bright as day; and the interior of the Haram was as 
if the sun shone upon it, so that men worked and required 
nought of the sun and moon (the latter of which was also 
eclipsed ?).” Several saw the light at Meccah, at Tayma (in 
Nejd, six days’ journey from El Medinah), and at Busra, of 
Syria, reminding men of the Prophet’s saying, “A fire shall 
burst forth from the direction of El Hejaz; its light shall 
make visible the necks of the camels at Busra.” Historians 
relate that the length of the stream was four parasangs (from 
fourteen to sixteen miles), its breadth four miles (56f 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 Bedouins, 
who, coming from that direction, used to annoy the citizens. 
Jemal Matari, one of the historians of El Medinah, relates 
that the fire, which destroyed the stones, spared the trees; and 

n 3 



6 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 


whose present dimensions by no means equal the 
descriptions of the Arabian historians. I made 
diligent enquiries about the existence of active 
volcanoes in this part of El Hejaz, and heard of 
none. 

At 5 p. m., travelling towards the East, we en* 


he asserts that some men, sent by the governor to inspect the 
lire, felt no heat; also that the feathers of an arrow shot into 
it were burned whilst the shaft remained whole. This he 
attributes to the sanctity of the trees within the Haram. On 
the contrary, El Kistlani asserts the fire to 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 part unscathed. The Kazi, 
the Governor, and the citizens engaged in devotional exercises, 
and during the whole length of the Thursday and the Friday 
nights, all, even the women and children, with bare heads 
wept round the Prophet’s tomb. Then the lava-current turned 
northwards. (I remarked on the way to Ohod signs of a lava- 
field.) 

This current ran, according to some, three entire months. 
El Kistlani dates its beginning on Friday, 6 Jemadi el Akhir, 
and its cessation on Sunday, 27 Eajab: in this period of fifty-two 
days he includes, it is supposed, the length of its extreme heat. 
That same year (a. d. 654) is infamous in El Islam for other 
portents, such as the inundation of Baghdad by the Tigris, and 
the burning of the Prophet’s Mosque. In the next year first 
appeared the Tartars, who slew El Mutasem Billah, the Caliph, 
massacred the Moslems during more than a month, destroyed 
their books, monuments, and tombs, and stabled their war- 
steeds in tLe Mustansariyah College. 



A FEAST FOR MENDICANT PILGRIMS. 


7 


tered a Bughaz *, or pass, which follows the course 
of a wide fiumara, walled in by steep and barren 
hills, — the portals of a region too wild even for 
Bedouins. The torrent-bed narrowed where the 
turns were abrupt, and the drift of heavy stones, 
with a water-mark from 6 to 7 feet high, showed 
that after rains a violent stream runs from E. and 
S.E. to W. and N.W. The fertilising fluid is 
close to the surface, evidenced by a spare growth of 
acacia, camel-grass, and at some angles of the bed 
by the Daum, or Theban palm.f I remarked what 
are technically called “ Hufrah,” holes dug for water 
in the sand; and my guide assured me that some¬ 
where near there is a spring flowing from the rocks. 

After the long and sultry afternoon, beasts of 
burden began to sink in considerable numbers. 
The fresh carcasses of asses, ponies, and camels 
dotted the way-side: those that had been allowed 
to die were abandoned to the foul carrion-birds, 
the Rakham (vulture), and the yellow Ukab; and 
all whose throats had been properly cut, were 
surrounded by troops of Takruri pilgrims. These 

* In this part of El Hejaz they have many names for a 
p ass ; _ Nakb, Saghrah, and Mazik are those best known. 

•j- This is the palm, capped with large fan-shaped leaves, 
described by every traveller in Egypt and the nearer East. 



8 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 

half-starved wretches cut steaks from the choice 
portions, and slung them over their shoulders till 
an opportunity of cooking might arrive. 1 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 tied like sandals 
under the feet, and a long dirty shirt, or some¬ 
times a mere rag covering the loins. Some were 
perfect savages, others had been fine-looking men, 
broad-shouldered and long-limbed; many were 
lamed by fatigue and thorns ; and looking at most 
of them, I saw death depicted in their forms and 
features. 

After two hours’ slow marching up the fiumara 
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 pitched in a hoi- 
low, under hills, in excellent order, the Pacha’s 
pavilion surrounded by his soldiers and guards 
disposed in tents, with sentinels, regularly posted, 
protecting the outskirts of the encampment. One 



HOW PILGRIMS LIVE ON A MARCH. 9 

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 canvass home, 
lighted fires, and prepared, with supper, for a good 
night’s rest. Living is simple on such marches. 
The pouches inside arid outside the shugduf con¬ 
tain 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.* Chi¬ 
bouques may be smoked in the litter; but few 
care to do so during the simoom. The first thing, 
however, called for at the halting-place is the pipe, 
and its delightfully soothing influence, followed by 
a cup of coffee, and a “ forty winks ” upon the 
sand, will awake an appetite not to be roused by 
other means. How could Waterton, the traveller, 
abuse a pipe ? During the night-halt, provisions 
are cooked: rice, or kichri, a mixture of pulse 
and rice, are eaten with Chutnee and lime-pickle, 
varied, occasionally, by tough mutton and indigest¬ 
ible goat. 

* 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. 



10 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 


We arrived at Ja El Sherifah at 8 p. m., after a 
march of about twenty-two miles.* This halting- 
place is the rendezvous of caravans : it lies 50° 
S.E. of El Medinah, and belongs rather to Nejd 
than to El Hejaz. 

At 3 A. m., on Thursday, we started up at the 
sound of the departure-gun, struck the tent, loaded 
the camels, mounted, and found ourselves hurrying 
through a gloomy pass, in the hills, to secure a 
good place in the caravan. This is an object of 
some importance, as, during the whole journey* 
marching-order must not be broken. We met with 
a host of minor accidents, camels falling, shugdufs 

* A day’s journey in Arabia is generally reckoned at twenty- 
four or twenty-five Arab miles. Abulfeda leaves the distance 
of a Marhalah (or Manzil, a station) undetermined. El Idrisi 
reckons it at thirty miles, but speaks of short as well as long 
marches. The common literary measures of length are these: 
— 3 Kadam (man's foot) = 1 Khatwah (pace): 4000 paces = 1 
Mil (mile) ; 3 miles = 1 Farsakh (parasang) ; and 4 parasangs 
= 1 Berid 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; 4000 yards = 1 
mile; 3 miles = 1 parasang. Some call the four thousand yard 
measure a Kuroh (the Indian Cos), which, however, is some¬ 
times less by 1000 Gaz. 

The only ideas of distance known to the Bedouin of El 
Hejaz are the fanciful Saat or hour, and the uncertain Manzil 
or halt: the former varies from 2 to 3^ miles, the latter from 
15 to 25. 



THE APPEARANCE OF THE CARAVAN. 


11 


bumping against one another, and plentiful 
abuse. Pertinaciously we hurried on till 6 a. m., 
at which hour we emerged from the black pass. 
The large crimson sun rose upon us, disclosing, 
through purple mists, a hollow of coarse yellow 
gravel, based upon a hard whitish clay. It is 
about 5 miles broad by twelve long, collects the 
waters of the high grounds after rain, and distri¬ 
butes the surplus through an exit towards the 
N.E., a gap in the low undulating hills around. 
Entering it, we dismounted, prayed, broke our fast, 
and after half an hour’s halt proceeded to cross its 
breadth. The appearance of the caravan was most 
striking, as it threaded its slow way over the 
smooth surface of the Khabt.* To judge by the 
eye, there were at least 7,000 souls, on foot, on 
horseback, in litters, or bestriding the splendid 
camels of Syria.f There were eight gradations of 

* “Khabt” is a low plain ; “ Midan,” “Fayhab,” or “ Sath,” 
a plain generally ; and “ Batha,” a low, sandy flat. 

f 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 el Karim relates, in the rear of the cara¬ 
van, or the post of danger. 



12 TILGUIMAGE TO EL MEDINA!! AND MECCA!!. 


pilgrims. The lowest hobbled with heavy staves. 
Then came the riders of asses, camels, and mules. 
Respectable men, especially Arabs, mounted dro¬ 
medaries, and the soldiers had horses: a led animal 
was saddled for every grandee, ready whenever he 
might wish to leavfc his litter. Women, children, 
and invalids of the poorer classes sat upon a 
“ haml musattah,”—bits of cloth spread over the 
two large boxes which form the camel’s load.* 
Many occupied shibriyahs, a few, shugdufs, and 
only the wealthy and the noble rode in Takh- 
trawan (litters), carried by camels or mules.f 
The morning beams fell brightly upon the glancing 
arms which surrounded the stripped MahmalJ, and 

* Lane has accurately described this article: in the Hejaz it 
is sometimes made to resemble a little tent. 

•J- 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 51 . 
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 Takhtrawan from Damascus and back, would be 
about 12001. 

1 On the line of march the Mahmal, stripped of its em¬ 
broidered cover, is carried on camel-back, a mere framewood. 
Even the gilt silver balls and crescent are exchanged for si¬ 
milar articles in brass. 



MAHATTAH GHURAB. 


13 


upon the scarlet and gilt litters of the grandees. 
Not the least beauty of the spectacle was its won¬ 
drous variety of detail: no man was dressed like 
his neighbour, no camel was caparisoned nor 
horse clothed in uniform, as it were. And nothing 
stranger than the contrasts ;—a band of half-naked 
Takruri marching with the Pacha’s equipage, and 
long-capped, bearded Persians conversing with Tar- 
bushed and shaven Turks. 

The plain even at an early hour reeked with 
vapours distilled by the fires of the simoom: about 
noon, however, the air became cloudy, and nothing 
of colour remained, save that white haze, dull, but 
glaring withal, which is the prevailing day-tint in 
these regions. At mid-day we reached a narrow¬ 
ing 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 2 p. m. we turned towards the 
S.W., ascended stony ground, and found ourselves 
one hour afterwards in a desolate rocky flat, dis¬ 
tant about twenty-four miles of unusually winding 
road from our last station. “ Mahattah Ghurab,”* 

* Mahattah is a spot where luggage is taken down, t. e. a 
station. By some Hejazis it is used in the sense of a halting- 
place, where you spend an hour or two. 



14 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAII. 

or the Ravens Station, lies 10° S.W. from Ja el 
Sharifah, in the irregular masses of hill on the 
frontier of El Hejaz, where the highlands of Nejd 
begin. 

After pitching the tent, we prepared to recruit 
our supply of water; for Masud warned me that his 
camels had not drunk for ninety hours, and that 
they would soon sink under the privation. The boy 
Mohammed, mounting a dromedary, set off with 
the Shaykh and many water-bags, giving me an 
opportunity of writing out my journal. They did 
not return home till after nightfall, a delay caused 
by many adventures. The wells are in a fiumara, 
as usual, about two miles distant from the halting- 
place, and the soldiers, regular as well as irregular, 
occupied the water and exacted hard coin in ex¬ 
change 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 quar¬ 
rels ; but after snapping his pistol at a Persian 
pilgrim’s head, he came forth triumphant with two 
skins of sweetish water, for which we paid ten 
piastres. He was in his glory. There were many 
Meccans in the caravan, among them his elder 
brother and several friends: the Sherif Zayd had 
sent, he said, to ask why he did not travel with his 



THE SAIUYAH OR NIGHT-MARCH. 15 

compatriots. That evening he drank so copiously 
of clarified butter, and ate dates mashed with flour 
and other abominations to such an extent, that at 
night he prepared to give up the ghost. We 
passed a pleasant hour or two before sleeping. I 
began to like the old Shaykh Masud, who, seeing it, 
entertained me with his genealogy, his battles, and 
his family affairs. The rest of the party could not 
prevent expressing contempt when they heard me 
putting frequent questions about torrents, hills, 
Bedouins, and the directions of places. “ Let the 
Father of Mustachios ask and learn,” said the old 
man; “ he is friendly with the Bedouins *, and 
knows better than you all.” This reproof was 
intended to be bitter as the poet’s satire,— 

“ All fools have still an itching to deride. 

And fain would be upon the laughing side.” 

It called forth, however, another burst of merri¬ 
ment, for the jeerers remembered my nick-name to 
have belonged to that pestilent heretic, Saud the 
Wahhabi. 

On Saturday, the 3rd September, that hateful 
signal-gun awoke us at 1 A. m. In Arab travel 


* “ Khalik ma el Badu” is a favourite complimentary saying 
among this people, and means that you are no greasy burgher 



16 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAII. 

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 ca¬ 
lamities of the earth — serpents and wild beasts — 
appear not at night.” I can scarcely find words to 
express the weary horrors of a long night’s march, 
during which the hapless traveller, fuming, if a 
European, with disappointment in his hopes of 
“ seeing the country,” is compelled to sit upon the 
back of a creeping camel. The day sleep too is a 
kind of lethargy, and it is all but impossible to 
preserve an appetite during the hours of heat. 

At half-past 5 A. m., after drowsily stumbling 
through hours of outer darkness, we entered a 
spacious basin at least six miles broad, and limited 
by a circlet of low hill. It was overgrown with 
camel-grass and acacia trees, — mere vegetable 
mummies; — in many places the water had left a 
mark; and here and there the ground was pitted 
with mud-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 scoriae, fantastically piled toge¬ 
ther, and dotted with thorny trees ; Shaykh Masud 
passed the time in walking to and fro along his 



AN “ACACIA-BARREN.” 17 

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 ani¬ 
mals stepping from block to block with the sagacity 
of mountaineers; assuring themselves of their fore¬ 
feet 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 sud¬ 
denness 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 with¬ 
out blackened by sun and rain, cropped out of the 
ground. At half-past ten we found ourselves in an 
“ acacia-barren,” one of the things which pilgrims 
dread. Here shugdufs are bodily pulled off the 
camel’s back and broken upon the hard ground; 

VOT.. TIT. f! 



18 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 

the animals drop upon their knees, the whole line 
is deranged, and every one, losing his temper, at¬ 
tacks 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 over¬ 
thrown by them. It required little stretch of fancy 
to enter into the Arabs’ superstition. These sand- 
columns are supposed to be genii of the waste, which 
cannot be caught,—a notion arising from the fitful 
movements of the wind-eddy that raises them,— 
and, as they advance, the pious Moslem stretches 
out his finger, exclaiming, “ Iron! 0 thou ill- 
omened one! ” * 

During the forenoon we were troubled with si¬ 
moom, which, instead of promoting perspiration, 
chokes up and hardens the skin. The Arabs com¬ 
plain greatly of its violence on this line of road. 
Here I first remarked the difficulty with which the 

* Even Europeans, in popular parlance, call them “ devils.” 



HOW TO ALLAY THIKST IN THE EAST. 


19 


Bedouins bear thirst. Ya Latif—0! Merciful 
Lord,— they exclaimed at times, and yet they be¬ 
haved like men.* I had ordered them to place the 
water-camel in front, so as to exercise due supervi¬ 
sion. Shaykh Masud and his son made only an oc¬ 
casional 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, doz¬ 
ing 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 1 p. M. we crossed a fiumara; and an hour 
afterwards we pursued the course of a second. 

* 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. 

c 2 



20 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAII AND MECCAH. 

Masud called this the Wady el Khunak, and as¬ 
sured me that it runs from the E. and the S.E. in 
a N. and N.W. direction, to the Medinah plain. 
Early in the afternoon we reached a diminutive 
flat, on the fiumara bank. Beyond it lies a Mahjar 
or stony ground, black as usual in Ei Hejaz, and 
over its length lay the road, white with dust and 
the sand deposited by the camels’ feet. Having 
arrived before the Pacha, we did not know where 
to pitch; many opining that the caravan would 
traverse the Mahjar and halt beyond it. We soon 
alighted, however, pitched the tent under a burn¬ 
ing sun, and were imitated by the rest of the party. 
Masud called the place Hijriyah. According to 
my computation it is twenty-five miles from Ghu- 
rab, and its direction is S.E. 22°. 

Late in the afternoon the boy Mohammed started 
with a dromedary to procure water from the higher 
part of the fiumara. Here are some wells, still 
called Bir Harun, after the great Caliph. The 
youth returned soon with two bags filled at an ex¬ 
pense of nine piastres. This being the twenty- 
eighth Zul Kaadah, many pilgrims busied them¬ 
selves rather fruitlessly with endeavours to sight 
the crescent moon. They failed; but we were 
consoled by seeing through a gap in the western 



A GREAT CARAVAN’S ORDER OF MARCH. 21 

hills a heavy cloud discharge its blessed load, and a 
cool night was the result. 

We loitered on Sunday, the 4th September, at 
El Hijriyah, although the Shaykh forewarned us of 
a long march. But there is a kind of discipline in 
these great caravans. A gun * sounds the order 
to strike the tents, and a second bids you march 
off with all speed. There are short halts of half an 
hour each at dawn, noon, the afternoon, and sunset, 
for devotional purposes, and these are regulated by 
a cannon or a culverin. At such times the Syrian 
and Persian servants, who are admirably expert in 
their calling, pitch the large green tents, with gilt 
crescents, for the dignitaries and their hareems. 
The last resting-place is known by the hurrying 
forward of these “ Farrash,” f 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 


* 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 Bedouins think 
much of these harmless atticles, 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, 
f Tent-pitchers, &e. 


c 3 



22 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAII. 

sounds three or four halts at irregular intervals. 
The principal officers were the Emir el Hajj, one 
Ashgar Ali Pacha, a veteran of whom my com¬ 
panions spoke slightingly, because he had been the 
slave of a slave, probably the pipe-bearer of some 
grandee, who in his youth had been pipe-bearer to 
some other grandee. Under him was a Wakil or 
lieutenant, who managed the executive. The Emir 
el Surrah — called simply El Surrah, or the Purse 
— had charge of the caravan, treasure, and remit¬ 
tances to the Holy Cities. And lastly there was a 
commander of the forces (Bashat el Askar): his 
host consisted of about 1000 irregular horsemen, 
half bandits, half soldiers, each habited and armed 
after his own fashion, exceedingly dirty, pic¬ 
turesque-looking, brave, and in such a country of 
no use whatever. 

Leaving El Hijriyah at seven A.M., we passed 
over the grim stone-field by a detestable footpath, 
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 Euphorbia?, 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 



TIIE CONFINES OF EL SUWAYHKIYAU. 


23 


absorbs the water of the adjacent hills. Accus¬ 
tomed 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.* 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 appi’oaching 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 camels’ feet upon large 
curling flakes of nitrous salt overlying caked mud.f 
Those civilised birds, the kite and the crow, warned 
us that we were in the vicinity of man. It was 
not, however, before eleven p.m., that we entered 
the confines of El Suwayrkiyah. The fact was 

* 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 ? 

f Hereabouts the Arabs call these places ‘ bahr milh ” or 
Salt Sea; in other regions “ bahr bila ma,” or “ Waterless 
Sea.” 



24 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAII. 

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 ob* 
served 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 green¬ 
stone averaging from 100 to 200 feet in height. 
The general form is a huge prism; sometimes 
there is a table on the top. From El Medinah to 
El Suwayrkiyah the low beds of sandy fiumaras 
abound. From El Suwayrkiyah to El Zaribah, 
their place is taken by “ Ghadir,” or basins, in 
which water stagnates. And beyond El Zaribah 
the traveller enters a region of water-courses 
tending W. and S.W. The versant is generally 
from the E. and S.E., towards the W. and N.W. 



THE GEOLOGICAL FEATURES OF THE COUNTRY. 25 

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 land* 
ward faces of the hills are disposed at a sloping 
angle, contrasting strongly with the perpendicu¬ 
larity of their seaward sides, and I saw no inner 
range corresponding with, and parallel to, the 
maritime chain. Nowhere is there a land in which 
Earth’s anatomy lies so barren, or one richer in 
volcanic and primary formations.* Especially 
towards the south, the hills are abrupt and highly 
vertical, with black and barren flanks, ribbed with 
furrows and fissures, with wide and formidable 
precipices and castellated summits like the work 
of man. The predominant formation was basalt, 
called by the Arabs Hajar Jehannum, or Hell-stone; 
here and there it is porous and cellular; in some 
places compact and black ; and in others coarse and 
gritty, of a tarry colour, and when fractured shining 

* 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 accu¬ 
racy. 



26 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 

with bright points. Hornblende abounds at LI 
Medinah and throughout this part of El Hejaz : it 
crops out of the ground edgeways, black and brittle. 
Greenstone, diorite, and actinolite are found, 
though not so abundantly as those above mentioned. 
The granites, called in Arabic Suwan *, abound. 
Some are large grained, of a pink colour, and appear 
in blocks, which, flaking off under the influence of 
the atmosphere, form into ooidal blocks and boulders 
piled in irregular heaps. Others are grey and 
compact enough to take a high polish when cut. 
The syenite is generally coarse, although there is 
occasionally found a rich red variety of that stone. 
I have never seen Eurite or Euritic porphyry except 
in small pieces, and the same may be said of the 
petrosilex and the milky quartz. In some parts, 
particularly between Yambu and El Medinah, there 
is an abundance of tawny yellow gneiss markedly 
stratified. The transition 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 

* 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 re¬ 
quirements of our modern geology. 



TWO KINDS OF BUILDING-STONE DESCRIBED. 27 

inserted into the courses of masonry. There is also 
a small admixture of the greenish sandstone which 
abounds at Aden. The secondary formation is 
represented by a fine limestone, in some places 
almost fit for the purposes of lithography, and a 
coarse gypsum often of a tufaceous nature. The 
maritime towns are mostly built of coralline. For 
the superficial accumulations of the country, I may 
refer the reader to any description of the Desert 
between Cairo and Suez. 



28 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINA!! AND MECCAII 


CHAP. XXIV. 

THE BEDOUINS OP EL HEJAZ. 

The Arab may be divided into three races—a 
classification which agrees equally well with ge- 
nesitic genealogy, the traditions of the country, 
and the observations of modern physiologists.* 


* In Holy Writ, as the indigens are not alluded to—only 
the Noachian race being described—we find two divisions: 

1. The children of Joktan (great grandson of Shem), Meso¬ 
potamians settled in Southern Arabia, “ from Mesha (Musa or 
Meccab ?) to Sephar ” (Zafar): that is to say, they occupied the 
lands from El Tehamah to Mahrah. 

2. The children of Ishmael, and his Egyptian wife, peopled 
only the wilderness of Paran in the Sinaitic Peninsula and 
the parts adjacent. 

Dr. Sprenger (Life of Mohammed, p. 18.) throws philosophic 
doubt upon the Ishmaelitish descent of Mohammed, who in per¬ 
sonal 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 






BEDOUIN AND WAHHABI* HEADS AND 
HEAD-DRESSES. 


To face page 28 


3. > a * The hair on crown called 

“ Shushah.” 

4. Shape of shaved head: firmness and self¬ 

esteem high. 


1. This is the typical face. 

2. i ‘ Ringlets called “ Dalik, 


* The Wahhabi tribe generally shave the head, whilst some amongst them still wear the 
hair long, which is the ancient Bedouin practice. 



TIIE ORIGINAL RACE. 


29 


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 Muscat and Hadramaut.* The 
Mahrah, the Jenabah, and the Gara especially show 
a low developement, for which hardship and priva- 

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 Burck- 
hardt, whose manes had long rested in the good will of man. 
This contrasts offensively with Lord Lindsay's happy compli¬ 
ment 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 19th century of the “ Voice 
of Israel from Mount Sinai” and the “India in Greece”: 
they should be informed that all our Eastern students are not 
votaries of such obsolete vagaries. 

* This is said without any theory. According to all his¬ 
torians of long inhabited lands, the advenas—whether migra¬ 
tory tribes or visitors—find indigens or uvflrytmc. 



30 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 


tion only will not satisfactorily account.* These are 
“Arab el Aribah,” for whose inferiority oriental 
fable accounts as usual by thaumaturgy. 

The principal race of advense are the Noachians, 
a great Chaldaean or Mesopotamian clan which 
entered Arabia about 2200 A.c., and by slow and 
gradual encroachments drove before them the 
ancient race and seized the happier lands of the 
Peninsula. The vast Anizah tribe and the Nejdi 
families are types of this race, which is purely Cau¬ 
casian and shows a highly nervous temperament, 

* 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 observa¬ 
tion he has not failed to remark the similarity between the 
lowest type of Bedouin and the Indigens of India, as repre¬ 
sented by the Bheels and other Jungle races. This, from a 
man of science who is not writing up to a theory, may be con¬ 
sidered 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. 



THE ISHMAELITES. 


31 


together with those signs of “ blood ” which dis¬ 
tinguish even the lower animals, the horse and 
camel, the greyhound, and the goat of Arabia. 
This race would correspond with the Arab el Muta- 
arrabah or Arabicised Arabs of the eastern histo¬ 
rians.* 

The third family, an ancient and a noble stock, 
dating from A.c. 1900, and typified in history by 
Ishmael, still occupies the Sinaitic Peninsula. 
These Arabs, however, do not, and never did, extend 
beyond the limits of the mountains, where, still 
dwelling in the presence of their brethren, they 
retain all the wild customs and the untameable 
spirit of their forefathers. They are distinguished 
from the pure stock by an admixture of Egyptian 
blood f, and by preserving the ancient characteris- 

* Of this Mesopotamian race there are now many local 
varieties. The subjects of the four Abyssinian and Christian 
sovereigns who succeeded Yusuf, the Jewish “ Lord of the Pit,” 
produced, in Yemen, the modern “ Akhdam ” or “ Serviles.” 
The “Hujur” of Yemen and Oman are a mixed race whose 
origin is still unknown. And to quote no more cases, the 
“ Ebna ” mentioned by Ibn Ishak were descended from the 
Persian soldiers of Anushirwan, who expelled the Abyssinian 
invader. 

■f That the Copts, or ancient Egyptians, were “ Half-caste 
Arabs,” a mixed people like the Abyssinians, the Gallns, 
the Somal, and the Kafirs, an Arab graft upon an African 



32 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAII AND MECCAII. 


tics of the Nilitic family. The Ishmaelites are sub- 
Caucasian, and are denoted in history as the 
“ Arab el Mustaarabah,” the insititious or half- 
caste Arab. 


stock, appears highly probable. Hence the old Nilitic 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 
Ethiopia, and has been gradually whitened by admixture of 
Persian and Median, Greek and Roman blood. Hence, too, 
the fancied connection of Ethiopia with Cush, Susiana, Khu- 
zistan or the lands about the Tigris. Thus learned Virgil, con¬ 
founding the Western with the Eastern Ethiopians, 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 Sukhutra (Socotra) for a resting place on its way to the 
regions of the remotest west. As regards the difference be¬ 
tween 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 Ge¬ 
nesis) present some remarkable points of resemblance. I 
have attempted in a work on Sindh to collect words common 
to both families. And further research convinces me that 
such vocables as the Arabic Taur jp the Persian Tora \^yj and 
the Latin “ Taurus ” denote an ancient rapprochement , whose 
mysteries still invite the elucidation of modern science. 



THE BEDOUINS. 


33 


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

That Aus and Khazraj, the Himyaritic tribes 
which emigrated to El Hejaz, mixed with the 
Amalikah, the Jurham and the Katirah, also races 
from Yemen, and with the Jews, a northern branch 
of the Semitic family, we have ample historical 
evidence. And they who know how immutable 
is race in the desert, will scarcely doubt that the 
Bedouin of El Hejaz preserves in purity the blood 
transmitted to him by his ancestors.* 

I will not apologise for entering into details con- 


* The Sherif families affect marrying female slaves, thereby 
showing the intense pride which finds no Arab noble enough 
for them. Others take to wife Bedouin girls: their blood, 
therefore, is by no means pure. 

The worst feature of their system is the forced celibacy of 
their daughters: they are never married into any but Sherif 
families; consequently they often die in spinsterhood. The 
effects of this custom are most pernicious, for though celibacy 
exists in the East it is by no means synonymous with chastity. 
Here it springs from a morbid sense of honour, and arose, it is 
popularly said, from an affront taken by a Sherif against his 
daughter’s husband. But all Arabs condemn the practice. 

VOL. III. D 



34 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 


cerning the personale of the Bedouins * : a precise 
physical portrait of race, it has justly been re¬ 
marked, is the sole deficiency in the otherwise 
perfect pages of Bruce and Burckhardt. 

The temperament of the Hejazi is not unfre- 
quently 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 com¬ 
plexion is rare, though not unknown in cities, but 


* I use this word as popular abuse has fixed it. Every 
Orientalist knows that Badawin (Bedouin) is the plural form of 
Badawi, an “ ism el nisbah,” or adjective derived from Badu, 
a desert. “ Some words notoriously 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 TJsmanli, or “ Fellah ” to the Egyptian. But you affront 
the wild man by mistaking his clan for a lower one. “ Ya 
Hitaymi,” for instance, addressed to a Harb Bedouin, makes 
him finger his dagger. 



THE BEDOUINS. 


35 


the leucous does not exist. The crinal hair is fre¬ 
quently lightened by bleaching, and the pilar is 
generally 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 or stupid and inquisitive. Yet there 
is not much difference in this point between men 
of the same tribe, who have similar pursuits 
which engender similar passions. “ Expression ” 
is the grand diversifier of appearance among 
civilised people: in the desert it knows few 
varieties. 

The Bedouin cranium is small, ooidal, long, 
high, narrow, and remarkable in the occiput for the 
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 * : worn in 

* This coarseness is not a little increased by a truly 
Bedouin habit of washing the locks with—* s 
not considered wholly impure, and is also used for the eyes, 
upon which its ammonia would act as a rude stimulant. The 



36 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAII AND MECCAH. 


“ Kurun ” * — ragged elf-locks — hanging down 
to the breast, or shaved in the form “ Shusliah,” 
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 mode¬ 
rately developed ; but nothing can be finer than the 
lower brow, and the frontal sinuses stand out, indi¬ 
cating bodily strength and activity of character. 
The temporal fossa are deep, the cheek bones sali- 
ant, and the elevated zygoma combined with the 
“ lantern-jaw,” often gives a death’s-head appear¬ 
ance 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 f, describe the Arab eye as large, ardent, 


only cosmetic is clarified butter freely applied to the body as 
well as to the hair. 

* “Kurun” properly means “horns.” The Sherifs 

generally wear their hair in “ Haffah long locks hanging 
down both sides of the neck and shaved away about a finger’s 
breadth round the forehead and behind the neck. 

f 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 



THE BEDOUINS. 


37 


and black. The Bedouin of the Hejaz, 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 pur¬ 
sing up the skin below the orbits and half closing 
the lids to prevent dazzle, plants the outer angles 
with premature crows’ feet. Another peculiarity 
is the sudden way in which the eye opens, especi¬ 
ally 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 Bedouin’s face is rather dig¬ 
nity 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, 

in El Hejaz and in the low parts of El Yemen, a whole animal 
does not give a handful fit for weaving. The Arabs attribute 
this, as we should, to heat, which causes the longer hairs to 
drop off. 



38 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 


small, well-cut, “ castey ” and elaborate, with many 
elevations and depressions. His 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 deli¬ 
cate nostrils below which the septum appears: 
in anger they swell and open like a perfectly bred 
mare’s. I have, however, seen, in not a few 
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 hordes , 
denoting rudeness and want of taste, or they form 
a mere line. In the latter case there is an appear¬ 
ance of undue development in the upper portion of 
the countenance, especially when the jaws are as- 
cetically thin, and the chin weakly retreats. The 
latter feature, however, is generally well and 
strongly made. The teeth, as usual among 
Orientals, are white, even, short, and broad — indi¬ 
cations of strength. Some tribes trim their mous- 
tachios according to the “ Sunnat; ” the Shafei 
often shave them, and many allow them to hang 
Persian-like over the lips. The beard is repre¬ 
sented by two tangled tufts upon the chin; where 



THE BEDOUINS. 


39 


whisker should be, the place is either bare or 
thinly covered with straggling pile. 

The Bedouins of El Hejaz are short men, about 
the height of the Indians near Bombay, but 
weighing on an average a stone more. As usual 
in this stage of society, stature varies little; you 
rarely see a giant, and scarcely ever a dwarf. 
Deformity is checked by the Spartan restraint upon 
population, and no weakly infant can live through 
a Bedouin life. The figure, though spare, is square 
and well knit, fulness of limb never appears but 
about spring, when milk abounds: I have seen two 
or three muscular figures, but never a fat man. 
The neck is sinewy, the chest broad, the flank thin, 
and the stomach in-drawn; the legs, though fleshless, 
are well-made, especially when the knee and ancle 
are not bowed by too early riding. The shins 
seldom bend to the front as in the African race.* 
The arms are thin, with muscles like whip-cords, 
and the hands and feet are, in point of size and de- 


* “Magnum inter Arabes et Africanos discrimen efficit ij 
ovpn- Arabum parvula membra sicut nobilis aaqui. Afrieanum 
tamen flaccum, crassum longumque: ita quiescens, erectum 
tamen parum distenditur. Argumentum validissiraum est ad 
indagandam Egyptorum originem : Nilotica enim gens membrum 
habet Afrieanum.” 



40 PILGKIMAGE TO EL MEDINA!! AND MECCAH. 

licacy, a link between Europe and India. As in 
the Celt, the Arab thumb is remarkably long, 
extending almost to the first joint of the index*, 
which, with its easy rotation, makes it a perfect 
prehensile instrument: the palm also is fleshless, 
small-boned, and elastic. With his small active 
figure it is not strange that the wildest Bedouin’s 
gait should be pleasing; he neither unfits himself 
for walking, nor distorts his ancles 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 kind of strut. 

Such is the Bedouin, 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 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 nation may be trusted. Every 

* Whereas the Saxon thumb is thick, flat, and short, extend¬ 
ing scarcely half way to the middle joint of the index. 



THE BEDOUINS. 


41 


Bedouin has a right to marry his father’s brother’s 
daughter before she is given to a stranger; hence 
“ cousin” (bint Amm) in polite - phrase signifies a 
“ wife.” * Our physiologists f adduce the Sangre 
Azul of Spain and the case of the lower animals to 
prove that degeneracy inevitably follows “breeding- 
in.” J Either they have theorised from insufficient 
facts, or civilisation and artificial living exercise 
some peculiar influence, or Arabia is a solitary ex¬ 
ception to a general rule. The fact which I have 
mentioned is patent to every Eastern traveller. 

After this weary description, the reader will 


* 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. 

t Dr. Howe (Report on Idiotcy in Massachussetts, 1848,) 
asserts that “the law against the marriage of relations is made 
out as clearly as though it were written on tables of stone.” 
He proceeds to show that in seventeen households where the 
parents were connected by blood, of ninety-five children one 
was a dwarf, one deaf, twelve scrofulous, and forty-four idiots 
—total fifty-eight diseased! 

J 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. 



42 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 

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 
Hejazi Bedouins are by no means comely. Al¬ 
though the Beni Amur boast of some pretty girls, 
yet they are far inferior to the high-bosomed 
beauties of Nejd. And I warn all men that if 
they run to El Hejaz in search of the charming 
face which appears in my sketch-book as “ a Bedouin 
girl,” they will be bitterly disappointed: the dress 
was Arab, but it was worn by a fairy of the West. 
The Hejazi woman’s eyes are fierce, her features 
harsh, and her face haggard ; like all people of the 
South, she soon fades, and in old age her appearance 
is truly witch-like. Withered crones abound in 
the camps, where old men are seldom seen. The 
sword and the sun are fatal to 

“ A green old age, unconscious of decay.” 

The manners of the Bedouins are free and simple: 
“vulgarity” and affectation, awkwardness and em¬ 
barrassment, are weeds of civilised growth,unknown 
to the people of the desert.* Yet their manners 

* This sounds in English like an “ Irish bull.” I translate 
“ Badu,” as the dictionaries do, “ a desert.” 






THE PRETTY BEDOUIN GIRL 






THE BEDOUINS. 


43 


are sometimes dashed with a strange ceremonious¬ 
ness. When two friends meet, they either embrace 
or both extend the right hands, clapping palm to 
palm ; their foreheads are either pressed together, 
or their heads are moved from side to side, whilst 

m 

for minutes together mutual inquiries are made 
and answered. It is a breach of decorum, even 
when eating, to turn the back upon a person, and 
when a Bedouin does it, he intends an insult. 
When a man prepares coffee he drinks the first cup: 
the “ Sharbat Kajari ” of the Persians, and the 
“ Sulaymani,” * of Egypt, render this precaution 
necessary. When a friend approaches the camp — 
it is not done to strangers for fear of startling 
them — those who catch sight of him shout out his 
name, and gallop up saluting with lances or firing 
matchlocks in the air. This is the well-known 
“ Laab el Barut,” or gunpowder play. As a ge- 

* 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 “poisonbut 
I know not whether it be merely euphuistic or confined to 
some species. The banks of the Nile are infamous for these 
arts, and Mohammed Ali Pacha imported, it is said, professional 
poisoners from Europe. 



44 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAII AND MECCAH. 

neral rule the Bedouins are polite in language, 
but in anger temper is soon shown, and, although 
life may not be in peril, the foulest epithets, dog, 
drunkard, liar and infidel, are discharged like 
pistol shots by both parties. 

The best character of the Bedouin is a truly 
noble compound of determination, gentleness, and 
generosity. Usually they are a mixture of worldly 
cunning and great simplicity, sensitive to touchi¬ 
ness, good-tempered souls, solemn and dignified 
withal, fond of a jest yet of a grave turn of mind, 
easily managed by a laugh and a soft word, and 
placable after passion, though madly revengeful 
after injury. It has been sarcastically said of the 
Beni Harb that there is not a man 

“ Que s’il ne violoit, 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 key-stone 
to the arch. Secondly, there is the terrible blood- 
feud, which even the most reckless fear for their 



THE BEDOUINS. 


45 


posterity. And, thirdly, though the revealed law 
of the Koran, being insufficient for the desert, is 
openly disregarded, the immemorial customs of the 
“ Kazi el Arab ” * form a system stringent in the 
extreme. 

The valour of the Bedouin is fitful and un¬ 
certain. Man is by nature an animal of prey, 
educated by the complicated relations of society, 
but readily relapsing into his old habits. Ra¬ 
venous 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. 

* Throughout the world the strictness of the Lex Scripta 
is in inverse ratio to that of custom : whenever the former is 
lax, the latter is stringent, and vice versa. Thus in England, 
where law leaves men comparatively free, they are slaves to a 
grinding despotism of conventionalities, unknown in the lands 
of tyrannical rule. This explains why many men, accustomed 
to live under despotic governments, feel fettered and enslaved 
in the so-called free countries. Hence, also, the reason why 
notably in a republic there is less private and practical liberty 
than under a despotism. 

The “ Kazi el Arab ” (Judge of the Arabs) was in distinction 
to the Kazi el Shara, or the Kazi of the Koran. The former 
was, almost always, some sharp-witted greybeard, with a 
minute knowledge of genealogy and precedents, a retentive 
memory and an eloquent tongue. 



46 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 


The civilised man, on the contrary, has a hundred 
wants or hopes or aims, without which life has for 
him no charms. Arab ideas of bravery do not pre¬ 
possess 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.* Nor would a truly valo¬ 
rous race admire the timid freebooters who safely 
fire down upon caravans from their eyries. Arab 
wars, too, are a succession of skirmishes, in which 
500 men will retreat after losing a dozen of their 
number. In this partisan fighting the first charge 
secures a victory, and the vanquished fly till 
covered by the shades of night. Then come cries 
of women, deep oaths, wild poetry, excitement, and 
reprisals, which will probably end in the flight of 

* 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 Umar, and the purity of 
Laila and Mejnun under circumstances more trying than aught 
chronicled in Matliilde, or in the newest American novel. 



THE BEDOUINS. 


47 


the former victor. When peace is to be made, both 
parties count up their dead, and the usual blood- 
money is paid for excess on either side. Generally, 
however, the feud endures till all becoming weary of 
it, some great man, as the sherif of Meccah, is called 
upon to settle the terms of a treaty, which is 
nothing but an armistice. After a few months’ 
peace, a glance or a word will draw blood, for these 
hates are old things, and new dissensions easily 
shoot up from them. 

But, contemptible though their battles be, the 
Bedouins are not cowards. The habit of danger 
in raids and blood-feuds, the continual uncertainty 
of existence, the desert, the chase, the hard life and 
exposure to the air, blunting the nervous system ; 
the presence and the practice of weapons of horse¬ 
manship, 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 “Pun- 
donor,” and the Irishman fights for the fun of 
fighting. Gain and revenge draw the Arab’s sword : 
yet then he uses it fitfully enough, without the gay 
gallantry of the French or the persistency of the 



48 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 


Anglo-Saxon. To become desperate he must have 
the all powerful stimulants of honor and fanati¬ 
cism. Frenzied by the taunts of his women, or 
by the fear of being branded as a coward, he is ca¬ 
pable of any mad deed.* And the obstinacy pro¬ 
duced by strong religious impressions gives a stead¬ 
fastness to his spirit unknown to mere enthusiasm. 
The history of the Bedouin tells this plainly. 
Some unobserving travellers, indeed, have mistaken 
his exceeding cautiousness for stark cowardice. 
The incongruity is easily read by one who under¬ 
stands the principles of Bedouin warfare; as 
amongst the Red Indians, one death dims a victory. 


* At the battle of Bissel, when Mohammed Ali of Egypt 
broke the 40,000 guerillas of Faisal son of Saud the "Wahhabi, 
whole lines of the Beni Asir tribe were found dead and tied by 
the legs with ropes. This system of colligation dates from old 
times in Arabia as the “ Affair of Chains ” (Zat el Salasil) proves. 
It is alluded to by the late Sir Henry Elliot in his “ Appendix 
to the Arabs in Sind,” — a work of remarkable sagacity and 
research. According to the “ Beglar-Nameh,” it was a “custom 
of the people of Hind and Sind, whenever they devote them¬ 
selves 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! 



FEMALE INFLUENCE AMONGST THE BEDOUINS. 49 


And though reckless when their passions are 
thoroughly aroused, though heedless of danger 
when the voice of honor calls them, the Bedouins 
will not sacrifice themselves for light motives. 
Besides, they have, as has been said, another and a 
potent incentive to cautiousness. Whenever peace 
is concluded, they have to pay for a victory. 

There are two things which tend to soften the fero¬ 
city of Bedouin life. These are, in the first place, in¬ 
tercourse with citizens, who frequently visit and en¬ 
trust their children to the people of the Black tents ; 
and, secondly, the social position of the women. 

The author of certain “ Lectures 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 the 
philosophy of Greece and Rome.* Passing over 

* Though differing in opinion, upon one subject, with 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, com¬ 
bining 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 ! 

VOL. III. E 



50 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 


the objections of deified Eros and Immortal 
Psyche and of the virgin mother,— symbol of moral 
purity,—being common to all old and material 
faiths*, 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 sen¬ 
timent 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 


* Even Juno, in the most meaningless of idolatries, became, 
according to Pausanias (lib. ii. cap. 38.), a virgin once every 
year. 

And be it observed that El Islam (the faith not the practice) 
popularly decided to debase the social state of womankind, 
exalts it by holding up to view no less than two examples 
of perfection in the Prophet’s household. Khadijab, his 
first wife, was a minor saint, and the Lady Fatimah is 
supposed to have been spiritually unspotted by sin, and ma¬ 
terially ever a virgin, even after giving birth to Hasan and 
Husayn. 



THE EFFECT OF “ CIVILISATION ” ON THE SEX. 51 


moral condition.* In the next stage, “ civilisation,” 
they rise again to be “ highly accomplished,” and 
not a little frivolous. 

* Miss Martineau, when travelling through Egypt, once 
visited a harem, and there found, among many things, especially 
in their ignorance of books and book-making, materials for 
a heart-broken wail over the degradation of her sex. The 
learned lady indulges, too, in sundry strong and unsavoury com¬ 
parisons between the harem and certain haunts of vice in Europe. 

On the other hand, male travellers generally speak lovingly 
of the harem. Sonnini, no admirer of Egypt, expatiates on 
“the generous virtues, the examples of magnanimity and 
affectionate attachment, the sentiments ardent, yet gentle, 
forming a delightful unison with personal charms in the harems 
of the Mamelukes.” 

As usual, the truth lies somewhere between the two ex¬ 
tremes. Human nature, all the world over, differs but in 
degree. Every where women may be “ capricious, coy, and 
hard to please” in common conjunctures : in the hour of need 
they will display devoted heroism. Any chronicler of the 
Afghan war will bear witness that warm hearts, noble senti¬ 
ments, and an overflowing kindness to the poor, the weak, and 
the unhappy are found even in a harem. Europe now knows that 
the Moslem husband provides separate apartments and a dis¬ 
tinct 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 poly¬ 
gamy, 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 

e 2 



52 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 

Were it not evident that the spiritualising of 
sexuality by imagination is universal among the 
highest orders of mankind, I should attribute the 
origin of love to the influence of the Arabs’ poetry 
and chivalry upon European ideas rather than to 
mediaeval Christianity. 

In pastoral 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*,and the 
light o’ love will fly her home. The fugitives 
must brave every danger, for revenge, at all times 
the Bedouin’s idol, now becomes the lode-star of 
his existence. But the Arab lover will dare all 
consequences. “Men have died and the worms 

the harem. It very much resembles a European home com¬ 
posed of a man, his wife, and his mother. And I have seen in 
the West many a “ happy fire-side ” fitter to make Miss Mar- 
tineau’s heart ache than any harem in Grand Cairo. 

* There is no objection to intermarriage between equal 
clans, but the higher will not give their daughters to the 
lower in dignity. 



STYLE OF THE ARAB TOETS. 


53 


have eaten them, but not for love,” may be true 
in the West; it is false in the East. This is attested 
in every tale where love, and not ambition, is the 
groundwork of the narrative.* And nothing can 
be more tender, more pathetic than the use made 
of these separations and long absences by the old 
Arab poets. Whoever peruses the Suspended Poem 
of Lebid, will find thoughts at once so plaintive 
and so noble, that even Dr. Carlyle’s learned verse 
cannot wholly deface their charm. The author re¬ 
turns 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 

* 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 accident are strung. 



54 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 

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 find some consolation for woman’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 El Hejaz. 
But the Arab, with equal simplicity and pathos, 
has a fire, a force of language, and a depth of 
feeling, which the Irishman, admirable as his verse 
is, could never rival. 

As the author of the Peninsular War well re¬ 
marks, women in troublous times, throwing off their 
accustomed feebleness and frivolity, become help¬ 
mates meet for man. The same is true of pastoral 
life.* Here, between the extremes of fierceness 

* It is curious that these pastoral races, which supply poetry 
with nambv-Dambv Colinades, figure as the great tragedians of 



AN AUABIAN HEROINE. 


55 


and sensibility, the weaker sex, remedying its great 
want, power, raises itself by courage, physical as 
well as moral. In the early days of El Islam, if 
history be credible, Arabia had a race of heroines. 
Within the last century, Ghaliyah, the wife of a 
Wahhabi chief, opposed Mohammed Ali himself in 
many a bloody field. A few years ago, when Ibn 
Asm, popularly called Ibn Rumi, chief of the 
Zubayd clan about Rabigh, was treacherously slain 
by the Turkish general, Kurdi Usman, his sister, a 
fair young girl, determined to revenge him. She 
fixed upon the “ Arafat-day ” of pilgrimage for 
the accomplishment of her designs, disguised her¬ 
self 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, how¬ 
ever, was not present, and the girl was arrested to 
win for herself a local reputation equal to the maid 


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. 



56 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 


of Salamanca. Thus it is that the Arab has 
learned to swear that great oath “ by the honor of 
my women.” 

The Bedouins are not without a certain Platonic 
affection, which they call “ Hawa (or Ishk) uzri,” 
—pardonable love.* They draw the fine line be¬ 
tween amant and amoureux : this is derided by the 
townspeople, little suspecting how much such a 
custom says in favour of the wild men. In the 
cities, however, it could not prevail.f Arabs, like 
other Orientals, hold that, in such matters, man is 
saved, not by faith, but by want of faith. They 
have also a saying not unlike ours — 

“ She partly is to blame who has been tried. 

He comes too near who comes to be denied.” 

The evil of this system is that they, like certain 
southerns, pensano sempre al male —always suspect, 
which may be worldly wise, and also always show 
their suspicions, which is assuredly foolish. For 


* Even amongst the Indians, as a race the least chivalrous 
of men, there is an oath which binds two persons of different 
sex in the tie of friendship, by making them brother and 
sister to each other. 

■f I have been told that it is found in the towns of Eastern 
Arabia; but the circumstance appears highly improbable. 



THE SONGS OF ANTAR. 


57 


thus they demoralize their women, who might be 
kept in the way of right by self-respect and a 
sense of duty. To raise our fellow-creatures, we 
have only to show that we think better of them 
than they deserve—disapprobation and suspicion 
draw forth the worst traits of character and 
conduct. 

From ancient periods of the Arab’s history we 
find him practising “ knight-errantry,” the wildest 
form of chivalry.* “ The Songs of Antar,” says 
the author of the “Crescent and the Cross,” “ show 
little of the true chivalric spirit.” What thinks the 
reader of sentiments like these ?f “This valiant 
man,” remarks Antar, (who was “ ever interested 
for the weaker sex,”) “hath defended the honor 
of women.” We read in another place, “Mercy, 
my lord, is the noblest quality of the noble. ” Again, 
“It is the most ignominious of deeds to take 
free-born women prisoners. ” “ Bear not malice, 

O Shibub,” quoth the hero, “ for of malice good 

* Richardson derives our “ knight ” from Nikht, a tilter 
with spears, and “Caitiff” from Khattaf, (_jl]aA-, a snatcher 
or ravisher. 

■(• I am not ignorant that the greater part of “ Antar ” is of 
modern and disputed origin. Still it accurately expresses 
Arab sentiment. 



58 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAII. 

never came.” Is there no true greatness in this 
sentiment ?—“ Birth is the boast of the faineant; 
noble is the youth who beareth every ill, who 
clotheth himself in mail during the noon-tide heat, 
and who wandereth through the outer darkness of 
night.” And why does the “ knight of knights ” 
love Ibla ? Because “ she is blooming as the sun 
at dawn, with hair black 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 Nejd?” Yes, but 
his chest expands also with the thoughts of her 
“faith, purity, and affection,”—it is her moral as 
well as her material excellence that makes her 
the hero’s “ hope, and hearing, and sight.” 
Briefly, in An tar 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 chil¬ 
dren of Antar have not “ ceased to be gentlemen.” 

In the days of ignorance, it was the custom for 
Bedouins, when tormented by the tender passion, 
which seems to have attacked them in the form of 



INSTANCE OF ARABIAN CHIVALRY. 


59 


“ 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 El Mutasem 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, 0 Mutasem! ” and the 
clown said derisively, “ Wait till he cometh upon 
his pied steed! ” The chivalrous prince arose, 
sealed up the wine cup which he held in his hand, 
took oath to do his knightly devoir , and on the 
morrow started for Ammoria, with 70,000 men, 
each mounted on a piebald charger. Having taken 
the place, he entered it, exclaiming, “ Labbayki, 
Labbayki! ”—Here am I at thy call. He struck off 
the 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 sub¬ 
ject with another far-famed instance. When El 



60 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEP1NAH AND MECCAH. 

Mutanabbi, the poet, prophet, and warrior of Hams 
(a. h, 354) started together with his son on their 
last journey, the father proposed to seek a place of 
safety for the night. “ Art thou the Mutanabbi,” 
exclaimed his slave, “ who wrote these lines,— 

“ ‘ I am known to the night, and the wild, and the steed, 

To the guest, and the sword, to the paper and reed ? ’ ” 

The poet, in reply, lay down to sleep on Tigris’ 
bank, in a place haunted by thieves, and, disdaining 
flight, lost his life during the hours of darkness. 

It is the existence of this chivalry among the 
“ Children of Antar ” which makes the society of 
Bedouins (“damned saints,” perchance, and “ho¬ 
norable villains,”) so delightful to the traveller 
who, like the late Haji Wali (Dr. Wallin), under¬ 
stands and is understood by them. Nothing more 
naive than his lamentations at finding himself in 
the “ loathsome company of Persians,” or among 
Arab townpeople, 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, 




BEYS 

PIjLN or THE PROPHET’S MOSQUE AT MECCAT' 



Makanx, Ibrahim, 












BEDOUIN POETRY. 


61 


you address some elder, “ Dakhilak ya Shaykh ! ”— 
(I am) thy protected, 0 Sir,—and he will espouse 
your quarrel, and, indeed, with greater heat and 
energy than if it were his own.* But why multiply 
instances ? 

The language of love and war and all excite¬ 
ment is poetry, and here, again, the Bedouin excels. 
Travellers complain that the wild men have ceased 
to sing. This is true if “ poet ” be limited to a few 
authors whose existence everywhere depends upon 
the accidents of patronage or political occurrences. 
A far stronger evidence of poetic feeling is 
afforded by the phraseology of the Arab, and the 
highly imaginative turn of his commonest expres¬ 
sions. Destitute of the poetic taste, as we define it, 
he certainly is: as in the Milesian, wit and fancy, 
vivacity and passion, are too strong for reason and 
judgment, the reins which guide Apollo’s car.f 

* The subject of “Dakhl” has been thoroughly exhausted 
by Burckhardt and Layard. It only remains to be said that 
the Turks, by ignorance of the custom, have in some cases 
made themselves contemptible by claiming the protection of 
women. 

j- 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 



62 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAII AND MECCAH. 


And although the Bedouins no longer boast a Lebid 
or a Maisunah, yet they are passionately fond of 
their ancient bards.* A man skilful in reading 
El Mutanabbi and the Suspended Poems would be 
received by them with the honors paid by civilisa¬ 
tion to the travelling millionnaire.f And their 


■words, which dazzle and startle, but which, decomposed by re¬ 
flection, are found to mean nothing. Witness 

“ The diamond turrets of Shadukiam, 

And the fragrant bowers of Amberabad! ” 

* I am informed that the Beni Kahtan still improvise, but 1 
never heard them. The traveller in Arabia will always be 
told that some remote elan 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 Bedouin dialect, however, though debased, is still, as of 
yore, purer than the language of the citizens. During the days 
when philology was a passion in the East, those Stephens 
and Johnsons of Semitic lore, Firuzabadi and El Zamakhshari, 
wandered from tribe to tribe and tent to tent, collecting words 
and elucidating disputed significations. Their grammatical 
adventures are still remembered, and are favourite stories with 
scholars. 

f I say “ skilful in reading,” because the Arabs, like the 
Spaniards, hate to hear their language mangled by mispro¬ 
nunciation. When Burckhardt, who spoke badly, began to 
read verse to the Bedouins, they could not refrain from a 
movement of impatience, and used to snatch the book out of 
his hands. 



ARAB POETRY IN THE DESERT. 


63 


elders have a goodly store of ancient and modern 
war songs, legends, and love ditties which all enjoy. 

I cannot well explain the effect of Arab poetry 
to one who has not visited the Desert.* Apart 
from the pomp of words, and the music of the 
sound f, there is a dreaminess of idea and a haze 
thrown over the object, infinitely attractive, but 
indescribable. Description, indeed, would rob the 
song of indistinctness, its essence. To borrow a 

* The civilised poets of the Arab cities throw the charm of 
the Desert over their verse, by images borrowed from its 
scenery—the dromedary, the mirage, and the well—as naturally 
as certain of our songsters, confessedly haters of the country, 
babble of distant kine, shady groves, spring showers, and 
purling rills. 

t 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 dialects 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, attri¬ 
butes the broad sounds and the guttural consonants of moun¬ 
taineers and the people of elevated plains to the physical 
action of cold. Conceding this to be a partial cause, I would 
rather refer the phenomenon to the habit of loud speaking, 
acquired by the dwellers in tents, and those who live much in 



64 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAII. 


simile from a sister art. The Arab poet sets before 
the mental eye, the dim grand outlines of picture,— 
which must be filled up by the reader, guided only 
by a few glorious touches, powerfully standing out, 
and the sentiment which the scene is intended 
to express ;—whereas, we Europeans and moderns, 
by stippling and minute touches, produce a minia¬ 
ture on a large scale so objective as to exhaust 
rather than to arouse reflection. As the poet is 
a creator, the Arab’s is poetiy, the European’s ver- 


the open air. The Todas of the Neilgherry Hills have given 
the soft Tamul all the harshness of Arabic, and he who hears 
them calling to each other from the neighbouring peaks, can 
remark the process of broadening vowel and gutturalising con¬ 
sonant. On the other hand, the Gallas and the Persians, also 
a mountain-people, but inhabiting houses, speak comparatively 
soft tongues. The Cairenes actually omit some of the harshest 
sounds of Arabia, turning Makass into Ma’as, and Sakka into 
Sa’a. It is impossible to help remarking the bellow of the 
Bedouin when he first enters a dwelling-place, and the soften¬ 
ing of the sound when he has become accustomed to speak 
within walls. 

Moreover, it is to be observed there is a great difference of 
articulation, not pronunciation, among the several Bedouin clans. 
The Beni Auf are recognised by their sharp, loud, and sudden 
speech, which the citizens compare to the barking of dogs. 
The Beni Amr, on the contrary, speak with a soft and drawl¬ 
ing sound. The Hutaym, in addition to other peculiarities, 
add a pleonastic “ ah,’’ to soften the termination of words, as 
A’atini lmwajiya^, (for haw&iji), “ Give me my clothes.” 



ARABIC LANGUAGE SUITED TO POETS. 


65 


sical description.* The language, “like a faithful 
wife, following the mind and giving birth to its 
offspring,” and free from that “ luggage of parti¬ 
cles,” 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, f 
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 


* The Germans have returned for inspiration to the old 
Eastern source. Riickert was guided by Jelal el 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. 

t This, however, does not prevent the language becom¬ 
ing optionally most precise in meaning; hence its high philoso¬ 
phical character. The word “ farz,” for instance, means, radi¬ 
cally “ cutting,” secondarily “ ordering,” or “ paying a debt,” 
after which come numerous meanings foreign to the radical 
sense, such as a shield, part of a tinder-box, an unfeathered 
arrow, and a particular kind of date. In divinity 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 pre¬ 
cise as Greek. I have heard Europeans complain that it is 
unfit for mercantile transactions_Perhaps. 


VOL. III. 


F 



66 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 


were a star about which dimly seen satellites 
revolve. And, to cut short a disquisition which 
might be prolonged indefinitely, there is in the 
Semitic dialect a copiousness of rhyme which leaves 
the poet almost unfettered to choose the desired 
expression.* Hence it is that a stranger speaking 
Arabic becomes poetical as naturally as he would 
be witty in French and philosophic in German. 
Truly spake Mohammed el Damiri, “ Wisdom hath 
alighted upon three things — the brain of the 
Franks, the hands of the Chinese, and the tongues 
of the Arabs.” 

The name of “harami”—brigand—is still 
honorable among the Hejazi Bedouins. Slain in 
raid or foray, a man is said to die “ ghandiir,” or a 
brave. He, on the other hand, who is luckj enough, 


* 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 termina¬ 
ting vowels to be alike. We speak of the “sort of harmonious 
simple flow which atones for the imperfect nature of the 
rhyme.” But the fine organs of some races would be hurt by 
that ponderous unison which a people of blunter senses find 
necessary to produce an impression. The reader will feel this 
after perusing in “Percy’s Reliques ” Rio Verde ! Rio Verde ! 
and its translation. 



BONDAGE HONORABLE AMONG THE BEDOUINS. 67 

as we should express it, to die in his bed, is called 
“ fatis ” (carrion, the corps crh'e of the Klephts) ; 
his weeping mother will exclaim, “ 0 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 La- 
habah, a sub-family 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 
Pacha’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 ex¬ 
tremes. They conceal their weakness by pretend¬ 
ing that the Sultan hesitates to wage a war of ex¬ 
termination with the thieves of the Holy Land. 
Hence, petty pilfering has re-appeared in El Hejaz. 

It is easy to understand the respect for brigands. 
Whoso revolts against society requires an iron 
mind in an iron body, and this mankind instinctively 
admires, however mis-directed be its energies. 
Thus, in all imaginative countries, the brigand is a 
hero; even the assassin who shoots his victim 
from behind a hedge appeals to the fancy in 



68 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 

Tipperary or the Abruzzian hills. Romance invests 
his loneliness with grandeur; if he hath a wife or 
a friend’s wife, romance becomes doubly romantic, 
and a tithe of the superfluity robbed from the rich 
and bestowed upon the poor will win to Gasperini 
the hearts of a people. The true Bedouin style of 
plundering, with its numerous niceties of honor 
and gentlemanly manners, gives the robber a con¬ 
sciousness of moral rectitude. “ Strip off that 
coat, 0 certain person! and that turban,” exclaims 
the highwayman, “ they are wanted by my lady- 
cousin.” You will (of course if necessary) lend 
ready ear to an order thus politely attributed 
to the wants of the fair sex. If you will add a 
few obliging expressions to the bundle, and offer 
Lairo a cup of coffee and a pipe, you will talk 
half your toilette back to your 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 , la¬ 
menting 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 ap¬ 
pears. Between Bedouins, to be tamely plundered, 



PRICE OF BLOOD AMONG BEDOUINS. 69 

especially of the mare*, is a lasting disgrace ; a man 
of family lays down his life rather than yield even 
to overpowering numbers. This desperation has 
raised the courage of the Bedouins to high repute 
amongst the settled Arabs, who talk of single braves 
capable, like the Homeric heroes, of overpowering 
300 men. 

I omit general details about the often described 
Sar (Thar), or Vendetta. The price of blood is 
800 dollars (=200Z.), or rather that sum imper¬ 
fectly expressed by live-stock. All the Khamsah 
or Aamam, blood relations of the slayer, assist to 
make up the required amount, rating each animal 
at three or four times its proper value. On such 
occasions violent scenes arise from the conflict of 
the Arab’s two pet passions, avarice and revenge. 

The “ avenger of blood ” longs to cut the foe’s 
throat. On the other hand, how let slip an oppor¬ 
tunity of enriching himself ? His covetousness is 
intense, as are all his passions. He has always a 
project of buying a new dromedary, or of invest¬ 
ing capital in some marvellous colt; the conse- 

» 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. 



70 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 


quence is, that he is insatiable. Still he receives 
blood money with a feeling of shame, and if it be 
offered to an old woman—the most revengeful 
variety of our species, be it remarked,—she will 
dash it to the ground, and clutch her knife, and 
fiercely swear by Allah that she will not eat her 
son’s blood. 

The Bedouin considers himself a man only when 
mounted on horseback, lance in hand, bound for a 
foray or a fray, and carolling some such gaiety as— 

“ A steede! a steede of matchlesse 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 
“ Venator.” The children, men in miniature, begin 
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 Jehayni Bedouin 
when offered some Egyptian plaything. The men 
pass their time principally in hawking, shooting, 
and riding. The “ Sakr,”* I am told, is the only 

* Baron Von Hammer-Purgstall, in the “ Falkner-Klee,” 
calls this bird the “ Saker-falke.” Hence the French and 
English names sacre and saker. 



FALCONRY. 


71 


falcon in general use; they train it to pursue the 
gazelle, which greyhounds pull down when fatigued. 

The learned John Beckmann (History of Inventions, Dis¬ 
coveries, 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. 
(Elian corroborates Aristotle’s testimony. Pliny, however, dis¬ 
tinctly 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 H. wrote “De Arte Yenandi cum 
Avibus,” and the royal author was followed by a host of imita¬ 
tors in the vulgar tongue. 

Though I am not aware that the Hindus ever cultivated the 
art, (Elian, it must be confessed, describes their style of training 
falcons exactly similar to that in use among the modern Per¬ 
sians, Sindhians, and Arabs. The Emperor Frederic owes the 
“capella,” or hood, to the Bedouins, and talks of the “most 
expert falconers ” sent to him with various kinds of birds by 
some of the kings of Arabia. The origin of falconry is 
ascribed by El Masudi, on the authority of Adham bin Muhriz, 
to the king El Haris bin Muawiyah, 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 



72 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAII AND MECCAH. 


I have heard much of their excellent marksmanship, 
but saw only moderate practice with a long match¬ 
lock rested and fired at standing objects. Double- 
barreled guns are rare amongst them.* Their 
principal weapons are matchlocks and firelocks, 
pistols, javelins, spears, swords and the dagger called 
“Jambiyah;” the sling and the bow have long 
been given up. The guns come from Egypt, 
Syria, and Turkey ; for the Bedouin 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 de¬ 
scend from generation to generation. The price 
of a gun varies from two to sixty dollars. The 
Bedouins collect nitre in the country, make excel¬ 
lent charcoal, and import sulphur from Egypt and 
India; their powder, however, is coarse and weak. 


with Mohammed. Thence the sport passed into Turkey, where 
it is said the sultan9 maintained a body of 6000 falconers. And 
Frederic Barbarossa, in the twelfth century, brought falcons to 
Italy. We may fairly give the honor of the invention to 
Central Asia. 

* Here called “bandukiyah bi ruhayn,”or the two¬ 
mouthed gun. The leathern cover is termed “ gushatit is a 
bag with a long-fringed tassel at the top of the barrel, and a 
strap by which it is slung to the owner’s back. 



WEAPONS USED BY BEDOUINS. 


73 


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 fond of backing themselves with wagers, 
and will shoot for a sheep, the loser inviting his 
friends to a feast. On festivals they boil a sheep’s 
head, and use it as mark and prize. Those who 
affect excellence are said to fire at a bullet hang¬ 
ing by a thread; curious, however, to relate, the 
Bedouins of El Hejaz have but just learned the 
art, general in Persia and Barbary, of shooting 
from horseback at speed. 

Pistols have been lately introduced into the 
Hejaz, and are not common amongst the Bedouins. 
The citizens are fond of this weapon, as it is derived 
from Constantinople. In the Desert a tolerable 
pair with flint locks may be worth thirty dollars, 
ten times their price in England. 

The spears*, called Kanat, or reeds, are made of 
male bamboos imported from India. They are 
about twelve feet long, iron shod, with a long 
tapering point, beneath which are one or two tufts 


* I have described elsewhere the Mirzak, or javelin. 



74 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 


of black ostrich feathers. * 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 El Hejaz. The 
Khelawiyah 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 Bedouins 
still use in the remoter parts Diraa, or coats of 
mail, worn by horsemen over buff jackets. 

* Ostriches are found in El Hejaz, where the Bedouins shoot 
after coursing them. The young ones are caught and tamed, 
and the eggs may be bought in the Medinah bazaar. 

■ Throughout Arabia there is a belief that the ostrich throws 
stones at the hunter. The superstition may have arisen from 
the pebbles being flung up behind by the bird’s large feet in his 
rapid flight, or it may be a mere “ foolery of fancy.” Even in 
lands which have long given up animal-worship, wherever a 
beast is conspicuous or terrible, it becomes the subject of some 
marvellous tale. So the bear in Persia imitates a moolah’s 
dress ; the wolf in France is a human being transformed, and 
the beaver of N. America, also a metamorphosis, belts trees 
so as to fell them in the direction most suitable to his after 
purpose. 



SWORD PLAY AMONG BEDOUINS. 


75 


The dagger is made in Yemen and other places: 
it has a vast variety of shapes, each of which, as 
usual, has its proper names. Generally they are but 
little curved (whereas the gadaymi of Yemen and 
Hazramaut is almost a semicircle), with tapering 
blade, wooden handle, and scabbard of the same 
material overlaid with brass. At the point of the 
scabbard is a round knob, and the weapon is so 
long, that a man when walking cannot swing his 
right arm. In narrow places he must enter side¬ 
ways. 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 pur¬ 
poses as cutting wood and gathering grass. In 
price they vary from one to thirty dollars. 

The Bedouins boast greatly of sword play; but it 
is apparently confined to delivering a tremendous 
slash, and to jumping away from a return cut 
instead of parrying either with sword or shield. 
The citizens have learned the Turkish scimitar 
play, which, in grotesqueness and general absurdity, 
rivals the Indian school. None of these Orientals 
know the use of the point which characterises the 
highest school of swordsmanship; their intellects 
could never reach it. 

The Hejazi Bedouins have no game of chance, 



76 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 


and dare not, I am told, ferment the juice of the 
Daum palm, as proximity to Aden has taught the 
wild men of Yemen.* Their music is in a rude 
state. The principal instrument is the tabl or 
kettle-drum, which is of two kinds; one, the smaller, 
used at festivals; the other a large copper “ tom¬ 
tom,” for martial purposes, covered with leather, 
and played upon, pulpit-like, with fist and not 
with stick. Besides which, they have the one¬ 
stringed Rubabah, or guitar, that “ monotonous, 
but charming instrument of the Desert.” In an¬ 
other place I have described their dancing, which 
is an ignoble spectacle. 

The Bedouins of El Hejaz have all the know¬ 
ledge 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 them¬ 
selves by night, and are acquainted with the names 

* Not that the “ Agrebi ” of Bir Hamed and other parts have 
much to learn of us in vice. The land of Yemen is, I believe, 
the most demoralised country, and Senaa the most depraved 
city in Arabia. The fair sex 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 pecca¬ 
dilloes, with perfect impunity. 



SURGERY AMONG THE BEDOUINS. 77 

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 
El Medinah, a man will lose a she camel and know 
her four-year-old colt by its foot. Always engaged 
in rough exercises and perilous journeys, they have 
learned a kind of farriery and a simple system 
of surgery. In cases of fracture they bind on 
splints with cloth bands, and the patient drinks 
camel’s milk and clarified butter till he is cured. 
Cut-wounds are washed carefully, sprinkled with 
meal gunpowder, and sewn up. They dress gun¬ 
shot wounds with raw camels’ flesh, and rely en¬ 
tirely upon nature and diet. When bitten by 
snakes or stung by scorpions they scarify the 
wound with a razor, recite a charm, and apply to 
it a dressing of garlic.* The wealthy have “fiss,” 
or ring-stones, brought from India, and used with 
a formula of prayer to extract venom. Some few 
possess the “Teriyak” (Theriack) of El Irak— 
the great counter-poison, internal as well as 

* In Yemen 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. 



78 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCA H. 

external, of the East. The poorer classes all wear 
the “ hibas ” of Yemen; two yarns of black sheep’s 
wool tied round the leg, under the knee and 
above the ankle. When bitten, the sufferer tightens 
these cords above the injured part, which he im¬ 
mediately scarifies; thus they act as tourniquets. 
The Bedouin’s knowledge of medicine is unusually 
limited in this part of Arabia, where even simples 
are not required by a people who rise with dawn, 
eat little, always breathe desert air, and “ at night 
make the camels their curfew.” The great tonic 
is clarified butter, and the “kay,” or actual cautery, 
is used even for rheumatism. This counter-irritant, 
together with a curious and artful phlebotomy, 
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 Fra- 
castorius sang is cured by sudorifies, 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 



RELIGION OF THE BEDOUINS. 79 

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, cure cataract. Teeth 
are extracted by the farrier’s pincers, and the 
worm which throughout the East is supposed to 
produce tooth-ache, falls by fumigation. And, 
finally, after great fatigue, or when suffering from 
cold, the body is copiously greased with clarified 
butter and exposed to a blazing fire. 

Mohammed and his followers conquered only the 
more civilised Bedouins; and there is even to this 
day little or no religion amongst the wild people, 
except amongst those on the coast or in the vicinity 
of cities. The faith of the Bedouin comes from 
El Islam, whose hold is weak. But his customs 
and institutions, the growth of his climate, his 
nature, and his wants, are still those of his an¬ 
cestors, cherished ere Meccah had sent forth a 
Prophet, and likely to survive the day when every 
vestige of the Kaabah shall have disappeared. Of 
this nature are the Hejazi’s pagan oaths, their hea¬ 
thenish names (few being Moslem except “ Mo¬ 
hammed”), their ordeal of licking red-hot iron, 
their Salkh, or scarification, proof of manliness, 
their blood revenge, their eating carrion ( i.e . the 



80 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 

body of an animal killed without the usual for¬ 
mula), and their lending wives to strangers. All 
these I hold to be remnants of some old creed; 
nor should I despair of finding among the Bedouins 
bordering upon the Great Desert some lingering 
system of idolatry. 

The Bedouins of El Hejaz call themselves 
Shafei; but what is put into the mouths of their 
brethren in the West applies equally well here. 
“ We pray not, because we must drink the water of 
ablution ; we give no alms, because we ask them ; 
we fast not the Ramazan month, because we 
starve throughout the year; and we do no pil¬ 
grimage 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 
carefully avoid offerings. 

The ceremonies of Bedouin life are few and 
simple — circumcisions, marriages, and funerals. 
Of the former rite there are two forms, “ Taharah,” 
as usual in El Islam, and “ Salkh,”* an Arab in- 

* Circumcisioni s causa apud Arabos raanifestissima, ulceratio 
enim endemica, abrasionem glandis aut praeputii, maxima cum 



THE CEREMONIES OF BEDOUIN LIFE. 


81 


vention, derived from the times of Paganism. 
During Wahhabi rule it was forbidden under pain 
of death, but now the people have returned to it. 
The usual age for Taharah is between five and 
six : among some classes, however, it is performed 
ten years later. On such occasions feastings and 
merry-makings take place as at our christenings. 

Women being a marketable commodity in bar¬ 
barism as in civilisation, youths in El Hejaz are 
not married till the father can afford to pay for 
a bride. There is little pomp or ceremony save 
firing of guns, dancing, singing, and eating mut- 

facilitate insequitur. Mos autem quern voeant Arabes El Salkh 

t/C/- 

*’• e. scarifieatio) virilitatem animumque ostendendi 
modus esse videtur. Exeunt amici paterque, et juvenem subdio 
sedentem circumstant. Capit tunc pugionem tonsor et praeputio 
abscisso detrabit pellem rdv alSolwv cal rwv koiXiiov ab umbilico 
incipiens aut parum infra, ventreroque usque ad femora nudat. 
Juvenis autem dextra pugionem super tergum tonsoris vibrans 
magna clamat voce . i. e., csede sine timore. Vae si 

haesitet tonsor aut si tremeat manus ! Pater etiam filium 
si dolore ululet statim occidit. Re confecta surgit juvenis et 

jS\ dJJl “Gloria Deo” intonans, ad tentoria tendit, statim 
nefando oppressus dolore humi procumbit. Remedia Sal, et 
(turmerica); cibus lac cameli. Nonnullos occidit in¬ 
gens suppuratio, decern autem excoriatis supersunt plerumque 
octo: hi pecten habent nullum, ventremque pallida tegit cutis. 

VOL. III. G 



82 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAII AND MECCAII. 

ton. The “settlement” is usually about thirty 
sound Spanish dollars *, half paid down, and 
the other half owed by the bridegroom to the 
fathers, the brothers, or the kindred of his spouse. 
Some tribes will take animals in lieu of ready 
money. A man of wrath not contented with his 
bride, puts her away at once. If,peaceably 
inclined, by a short delay he avoids scandal. 
Divorces are very frequent among Bedouins, and 
if the settlement money be duly paid, no evil comes 
of them.f 


* The Spanish dollar is most prized in El Hejaz ; in Yemen 
the Maria Theresa. The Spanish government has refused to 
perpetuate its Pillar-dollar, which at one time was so great a 
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 per-centage. This coin 
was doubtless preferred by the Bedouins for its superiority to 
the currency of the day : they make from it ornaments for their 
womeD and decorations for their weapons. The generic term 
for dollars is “ Riyal Fransah.” 

f Torale, sicut est mos Judaicus et Persicus, non inspiciunt. 
Novas nuptse tamen maritus mappam manu capit: mane 
autem puellae mater virginitatis signa viris mulieribusque 
domi ostendit eosque jubilare jubet quod calamitas domestica, 
sc. iilia, intacta abiit. Si non ostendeant mappam, mseret domus, 
“ prima enim Venus”in Arabia “debet esse cruenta.” Maritus 
autem humanior, etiamsi absit sanguis, cruore palumbino 
mappam tingit et gaudium fingens cognatis parentibusque 



FUNERAL RITES OF THE BEDOUINS. 


83 


The funerals of the wild men resemble those of 
the citizens, only they are more simple; the dead 
are buried where they die. The corpse, after being 
washed, is shrouded in any rags procurable, and, 
women and hired weepers not being permitted 
to attend, is carried to the grave by men only. 
A hole is dug, according to Moslem custom; dry 
wood, which everywhere abounds, is disposed 
to cover the corpse, and an oval of stones sur¬ 
rounding a mound of earth keeps out jackals and 
denotes the spot. These Bedouins have not, 
like the wild Sindhis and Belochis, favourite ceme¬ 
teries, to which they transport their dead from 
afar. 

The traveller will find no difficulty in living 
amongst the Hejazi Bedouins. “ Trust to their 
honor and you are safe,” as was said of the Crow 
Indians, “ to their honesty, and they will steal 
the hair off your head.” Only the wanderer must 
adopt the wild man’s motto, “ omnia mea mecum 
porto,” he must have good nerves, be capable of 
fatigue and hardship, possess some knowledge 
of drugs, shoot and ride well, speak Arabic and 

ostendit; paululum postea puellse nonnulla causa dat divortium. 
Hie urbis et ruris mos idem est. 



84 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCA H. 

Turkish, know by reading the customs, and avoid 
offending against local prejudices, by causing 
himself, for instance, to be called “ Taggaa." The 
payment of a small sum secures to him a 
“ Rafik 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 hand¬ 
some weapons: these tempt the Bedouins’ cupidity 
more than gold. The other extreme, defenceless¬ 
ness, is equally objectionable. It is needless to 
say that the traveller must never be seen writing 
anything but charms, and on no account sketch 
in public. He should be careful in questioning, 
and rather lead up to information than ask directly. 
It offends some Bedouins, besides denoting ig¬ 
norance and curiosity, to be asked their names 

* An explanation of this term will be found below. 



INSUBORDINATION AMONG BEDOUINS. 


85 


or those of their elans: a man may be living in¬ 
cognito, 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 dare not deprecate, some such pre¬ 
sents 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 considera¬ 
tions, and, as in a civilised army, there gene¬ 
rally is some sharp-witted and brazen-faced 
individual whose voice is louder than the general’s. 
In their leonine society the sword is the great 
administrator of law. 

Relations between the Bedouin tribes of El 
Hejaz are of a threefold character: they are 
either “ Ashab,” “Riman,” or “ Akhwan.” 

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

“Kiman or foes, are tribes between whom a 

* It is the plural of “Kaum,” which means “rising up in 

n 3 



86 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 

blood feud, the cause and the effect of deadly 
enmity, exists. 

“ Akhawat,” or “ brotherhood,” denotes the 
tie between the stranger and the Bedouin, who 
asserts an immemorial and inalienable right to 
the soil upon which his forefathers fed their 
flocks. Trespass by a neighbour instantly causes 
war. Territorial increase is rarely attempted, for 
if of a whole clan but a single boy escape he will 
one day assert his claim to the land, and be as¬ 
sisted by all the Ashab, or allies of the slain. By 
paying a small sum, varying, according to your 
means, from a few pence worth of trinkets, ac¬ 
cepted by man, woman, or child, to a couple of 
dollars, you share bread and salt with the tribe, 
you and your horse become “ dakhil” (protected), 
and every one must afford you brother-help. If 
traveller or trader attempt to pass through the 
land without paying El Akhawah or El Rifkah, 
as it is termed, he must expect to be plundered, 
and, resisting, to be slain : it is no dishonor to 
pay it, and he clearly is in the wrong who 
refuses to conform to custom. The “ Rafik,” 

rebellion or enmity against,” as well as the popular signification 
a ‘‘ people.” In some parts of Arabia it is used for a “ plunder¬ 
ing party.” 



“BLACK MAIL,” OB TRANSIT DUES. 87 

under different names, exists throughout this part 
of the world; at Sinai he was called a “ Ghafir,” 
a “ Rabia ” in Eastern Arabia, amongst the Soma¬ 
lis an “ Abban,” and by the Gallas “ 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 
Bait*, or dwellers in the Black tents, levy the 
tax from the Ahl Hait, or the people of walls; 
that is to say, townsmen and villagers who 
have forfeited right to be held Bedouins. It is 
demanded from bastard Arabs and from tribes 
which, like the Hutaym and the Khelawiyah, have 
been born basely or have become “ 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 Beni Harb, 
will not give their damsels in marriage to 
“ brothers.” 

Besides this Akhawat-tax and the pensions by the 
Porte to chiefs of clans, the wealth of the Bedouins 

* Bait (in the plural Buyut) is used in this sense to 
denote the tents of the nomades. “ Bait ” radically means a 
« nighting-place; ” thence a tent, a house, a lair, &c. &c. 



88 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 

consists in his flocks and herds, his mare, and his 
weapons. Some clans are rich in horses; others 
are celebrated for camels; and not a few for their 
sheep, asses, or greyhounds. The Ahamidah tribe, 
as has been mentioned, possesses few animals; it 
subsists by plunder and by presents from 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 woman¬ 
kind. In exchange the Bedouins give sheep *, 
cattle, clarified butter, milk, wool, and hides, which 
they use for water-bags, as the Egyptians and 
other Easterns do potteries. But as there is now 
a fair store of dollars in the country it is rarely 
necessary to barter. 

The Arab’s dress marks his simplicity; it gives 
him a nationality, as, according to John Evelyn, 
“ prodigious breeches ” did to the Swiss. It is 
remarkably picturesque, and with sorrow we see 
it now confined to the wildest Bedouins and a few 
Sherifs. To the practised eye, a Hejazi in Tarbush 
and caftan is ridiculous as a Basque or a Catalonian 

* Some tribes will not sell their sheep, keeping them for 
guests or feasts. 



THE DRESS OF THE BEDOUINS. 


89 


girl in a cachemire and a little chip. The neces¬ 
sary dress of a man is his Saub (Tobe), a blue 
calico shirt, reaching from neck to ankles, tight or 
loose-sleeved, opening at the chest in front, and 
rather narrow below; so that the wearer, when 
running, must either hold it up or tuck it into his 
belt. The latter article, called Hakw, is a plaited 
leathern thong, twisted round the waist very 
tightly, so as to support the back. The trowsers 
and the “Futah,” or loin cloth of cities, are looked 
upon as signs of effeminacy. In cold weather the 
chiefs wear over the shirt an Aba, or cloak. These 
garments are made in Nejd and the eastern dis¬ 
tricts ; 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 Nejd, supplies also the 
Kufiyah, or head-kerchief. The “ Ukal *,” fillets 
bound over the kerchief, are of many kinds } the 
Bisher tribe near Meccah make a kind of crown 
like the gloria round a saint’s head, with bits of 

* So the word is pronounced at Meccah. The dictiona¬ 
ries give “Aakal,” which in Eastern Arabia is corrupted 
to “Igal.” 



90 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 

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 bare-footed. A leathern bandoleer, 
called Majdal, passed over the left shoulder, and, 
reaching to the right hip, supports a line of brass 
cylinders for cartridges.* The other cross-belt 
(El 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 Bedouin never appears in 
public unarmed. 

The 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 of the Egyptian shape. 
They wear no pantaloons, and rarely slippers or 
sandals. The hair is twisted into “ Majdul,” little 
pig-tails, an'd copiously anointed with clarified 
butter. The rich perfume the skin with rose 
and cinnamon-scented oils, and wear in their 


* Called “ Tatarif,” plural of Tatrifah, a cartridge. 



THE FOOD OF THE BEDOUINS. 91 

hair El Shayh*, sweetest herb of the desert; their 
ornaments are bracelets, collars, ear and nose¬ 
rings of gold, silver, or silver-gilt. The poorer 
classes wear strings of silver coins hung round 
the neck. 

The true Bedouin is an abstemious man, capable 
of living for six months on ten ounces of food per 
diem ; the milk of a single camel, and a handful of 
dates dry, or fried in clarified butter, suffice for his 
wants. He despises the obese and all who require 
regular and plentiful meals, sleeps on a mat, and 
knows neither luxury nor comfort, freezing during 
one quarter and frying three quarters of the year. 
But though he can endure hunger like all savages, 
he will gorge when an 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 Jebel Shamar. 
They are still “ acridophagi,-” and even the citizens 
far prefer a dish of locusts to the “ fasikh,” which 
act as anchovies, sardines, and herrings in Egypt. 
They light a fire at night, and as the insects fall 
dead they quote this couplet to justify their being 
eaten — 


* A hind of absinthian herb. 



92 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 


“ We are allowed two carrions and two bloods. 

The fish and locusts, the liver and the spleen.” * 

Where they have no crops to lose, the people are 
thankful for a fall of locusts. In El Hejaz the 
flights are uncertain; during the last five years 
El Medinah has seen but few. They are prepared 
for eating by boiling in salt water and drying four 
or five days in the sun : a “wet” locust to an Arab 
is as a snail to a 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 journeys is meat cut into 
strips and sun-dried. This, with a bag of milk- 
balls f and a little coffee, must suffice for journey 


* The liver and the spleen are both supposed to be “ con¬ 
gealed blood.” Niebuhr has exhausted the names and the 
description of the locust. In El Hejaz they have many local 
and fantastic terms: the smallest kind, for instance, is called 
“ Jerad Iblis,” Satan’s locust. 

t This is the Kurut of Sindh and the Kashk of Persia. The 
butter-milk separated from the butter by a little water is 



AKABS AND NORTH-AMKRICAN INDIANS. 93 

or campaign. The Bedouins know neither fer¬ 
mented nor distilled liquors, although “ ikhs ya ’1 
khammar I ” fie upon thee, drunkard! is a popular 
phrase, preserving the memory of a better state of 
things. Some clans, though not all, smoke tobacco. 
It is generally the growth of the country called 
Hejazi or Kazimiyah ; a green weed, very strong, 
with a foul smell, and costing about one piastre 
per pound. The Bedouins do not relish Persian 
tobacco, and cannot procure Latakia: it is pro¬ 
bably 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 coinci¬ 
dence of custom identity of origin. Both have the 

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. 



94 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 

same wild chivalry, the same fiery sense of honor, 
and the same boundless hospitality: love elopements 
from tribe to tribe, the blood feud, and the ven¬ 
detta are common to the two. Both are grave 
and cautious in demeanour, and formal in manner, 
—princes in rags or paint. The Arabs plunder 
pilgrims, the Indians, bands of trappers; both 
glory in forays, raids, and cattle-lifting; and 
both rob according to certain rules. Both are 
alternately brave to desperation, and shy of danger. 
Both are remarkable for nervous and powerful 
eloquence, dry humour, satire, whimsical tales, 
frequent tropes, boasts, and ruffling style, pithy 
proverbs, extempore songs, and languages won¬ 
drous in their complexity. Both, recognising no 
other occupation but war and the chase, despise 
artifices and the effeminate people of cities, as the 
game-cock spurns the vulgar roosters of the poultry- 
yard.* The chivalry of the western wolds, like 
that of the eastern wilds, salutes the visitor by a 
charge of cavalry, by discharging guns, and by 
wheeling around him with shouts and yells. The 
“ brave ” stamps a red hand upon his mouth to 

* The North American trappers adopted this natural pre¬ 
judice: the “ free trapper ” called his more civilised confrere, 
“ mangeur de lard.” 



BEDOUINS SUPERIOR TO N.-AMERICAN INDIANS. 95 

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 savages, the 
Bedouin claims our preference on account of his 
treatment of women, his superior development of 
intellect, and the glorious page of history which he 
has filled. 

The tribes of El Hejaz are tediously numerous : 
it will be sufficient to enumerate the principal 
branches of the Bedouin tree, without detailing the 
hundred little offshoots which it has put forth in 
the course of ages.* 

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 

* Burckhardt shrank from the intricate pedigree of the 
Meccan Sherifs. I have seen a work upon the subject in four 
folio volumes in point of matter equivalent to treble the 
number in Europe. The best known genealogical works are 
El Kalkashandi (originally in seventy-five books, extended to 
one hundred); the Umdat el Tullab by Ibn Khaldun; the 
“ Tohfat el Arab fi Ansar el Arab,” a well-known volume by 
El Siyuti; and, lastly, the Sirat el Halabi, in six vols. 8vo. 
Of the latter work there is an abridgment by Mohammed el 
Banna el Dimyati in two vols. 8vo.; but both are rare, and con¬ 
sequently expensive. 



96 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 


informed, are to be found near Kusayr (Cosseir), 
on the African coast, but not in El Hejaz. Of the 
Aus, Khazraj, and Nazir details have been given 
in a previous chapter. The Beni Harb is now 
the ruling clan in the Holy Land. It is divided by 
genealogists into two great bodies, first, the Beni 
Salim, and, secondly, the Masruh *, or “ roaming 
tribes.” 

The Beni Salim, again, have eight subdivisions, viz.: — 

1. Ahamidah (Ahmadi)f: this clan owns for chief Shaykh 
Saad 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 El Badr. 

4. Salaymah (Salimi), also called Aulad Selim. 

5. Saadin (Saadani). 

6. Mahamid (Mahmadi), 8000. 

7. Rahalah (Rihayli), 1000. 

8. Timam (Tamimi). 

The Masruh tree splits into two great branches, Beni Auf 
and Beni Amur4 The former is a large clan, extending from 


* I give the following details of the Harb upon the 
authority of my friend Umar Effendi, who is great in matters 
of genealogy. 

t The first word is the plural, the second the singular form 
of the word. 

$ In the singular Aufi and Amri. 



BEDOUIN TRIBES. 


97 


Wady Nakia .jy nearNejd, to Rabigh and El Medinah. 

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 (Saidi), 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 El Medinah. 

5. Rubaah (Rabai). 

6. Khazarah (Khuzayri). 

7. Lahabah (Lahaybi), 1500 in number. 

8. Faradah (Faradi). 

9. Beni Ali (Alawi). 

10. Zubayd (Zubaydi), near Meccah, a numerous clan of 
fighting thieves. 

Also under the Beni Amur—as the word is popularly pro¬ 
nounced—are ten sub-families. 


1. Marabitah (Murabti). 

2. Hussar (Hasir). 

3. Beni Jabir (Jabiri). 

4. Rabaykah (Rubayki). 


They principally inhabit the 


lands about El Fara 


a 


collection of settlements four 
marches south of El Medinah, 
number about 10,000 men, and 
have droves of sheep and camels, 
but few horses. 


5. Hisnan (Hasuui). 

6. Bizan (Bayzani). 

7. Badarin (Badrani). 

8. Biladiyah (Biladi). 

9. Jaliam (the singular and plural forms are the same). 

VOL. III. H 



98 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 


10. Shatarali (Shitayri).* 

The great Anizah clan now, I was told, inhabits Khaybar, and 
it must not visit El Medinah without a Rafik or protector. 
Properly speaking there are no outcasts in El TIejaz, as in 
Yemen and the Somali country. But the Hitman (pi. of Hu- 
taym or Hitaym), inhabiting the sea-board about Yambu, are 
taxed by other Bedouins as low and vile of origin. The un¬ 
chastity of the women is connived at by the men, who, however, 
are brave and celebrated as marksmen : they make, eat, and 
sell cheese, for which reason that food is despised by the Harb. 
And the Khelawiyah (pi. of Khalawi) are equally despised: 
they are generally blacksmiths, have a fine breed of 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 Hejaz. His informants divide the great clan 
Juhaynah living about Yambu and Yambu el Nakhl into five 
branches, viz.: — 

1. Beni Ibrahimah, in number about 5000. 

2. Ishran, 700. 

3. Beni Malik, 6000 


* To these Mr. Cole adds seven other sub-divisions, viz.: — 

1. Ahali el Kura (“ the people of Kura P ”), 5000. 

2. Kadadah, 800. 

3. Hijlah, 600. 

4. Dubayah, 1500. 

5. Beni Kalb, 2000. 

6. Bayzanah, 800. 

7. Beni Yahya, 800. 

And he makes the total of the Beni Harb about El Jedaydah 
amount to 35,000 men. I had no means of personally ascer¬ 
taining the correctness of this information. 



BEDOUIN TRIBES. 


99 


4. Arwah, 5000. 

5. Kaunah, 3000. 

Thus giving a total of 19,700 men capable of carrying arms.* 
The same gentleman, whose labours in Eastern Arabia during 
the coast survey of the “ Palinurus ” are well-known to the 
Indian world, gives the following names of the tribes under 
allegiance to the Sherif of Meccah. 

1. Sakif (Thakif) el Yemen, 2000. 

2. Sakif el Sham |, 1000. 

3. Beni Malik, 6000. 

4. Nasirah, 3000. 

5. Beni Saad, 4000. 

6. Huz ayh (Hudhayh), 5000. 

7. Bakum (Begoum), 5000. 

8. Adudah, 500. 

9. Bashar, 1000. 

10. Said, 1500. 

11. Zubayd, 4000. 

12. Aydah, 1000. 

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


* The reader will remember that nothing like exactitude 
in numbers can be expected from an Arab. Some rate the 
Beni 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. 

f t: Sham ” which, properly speaking, means Damascus or 
Syria, in Southern Arabia and Eastern Africa is universally 
applied to El Hejaz. 



100 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 


1 . 

2 . 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6 . 

7 . 

8 . 
9. 

10 . 

11 . 

12 . 

13. 

14. 


Ghamid el Badawy (“ of the nomades ”), 30,000. 
Ghamid el Hazar (“ the settled ”), 40,000. 

Zahran, 38,000. 

Beni Malik, 30,000. 

Nasirah, 15,000. 

Asir, 40,000. 

Tamum, •» , _ 

BiIkarn ) } t °S ether ’ 80 ’ 00a 
Beni Ahraar, 10,000. 

Utaybah, living north of Meecali : no number given. 
Shuabin. 

Deraysh, 2000. 

Beni Sufyan, 15,000. 

El Hullad, 3000. 


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

The principal clans which practise the pagan Salkh, or exco¬ 
riation, are, in El Hejaz, the Huzayl and the Beni Sufyan, 
together with the following families in El Tehamah : — 


1. Juhadilab. 

2. Kabakah. 

3. Beni Fahm. 

4. Beni Mahmud. 

5. Saramu (?) 

6. Majarish. 

7. Beni Yezid. 


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





THE VILLAGE EL S U WAY R K IYA H . 








101 


CHAP. XXV. 

FROM EL SUWAYRKIYAU TO MECCAH. 

We have now left the territory of El Medinah. El 
Suwayrkiyah, which belongs to the Sherif of Meccah, 
is about twenty-eight miles distant from Hijriyah, 
and by dead reckoning ninety-nine miles along the 
road from the Prophet’s burial-place. Its bearing 
from the last station was S.W. 11°. The town, 
consisting of about 100 houses, is built at the base 
and on the sides of a basaltic mass, which rises 
abruptly from the hard clayey plain. The summit 
is converted into a rude fortalice — without one 
no settlement can exist in El Hejaz — by a bul¬ 
wark 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 bazaar, well supplied with meat 
(principally mutton) by the neighbouring Be¬ 
douins, and wheat, barley, and dates are grown 
near the town. There is little to describe in the 
narrow streets and the mud houses, which are esseu- 

H 3 



102 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 

tially Arab. The fields around are divided into 
little square plots by earthen ridges and stone 
walls; some of the palms are fine grown trees, and 
the wells appeared numerous. The water is near 
the surface and plentiful, but it has a brackish 
taste, highly disagreeable after a few days’ use, and 
the effects are the reverse of chalybeate. 

The town belongs to the Beni Husayn, a race 
of schismatics mentioned in the foregoing pages. 
They claim the allegiance of the Bedouin 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 El Suwayr- 
kiyah 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 profes¬ 
sion he was a “ Zem Zemi,” or dispenser of water 
from the Holy Well*, and he had a handsome 

* There are certain officers called Zem Zemi, who distribute 
the holy water. In the case of a respectable pilgrim they 
have a large jar of the shape described in Chap. IV., marked 
with his names and titles, and sent every morning to his 
lodgings. If he be generous, cne or more will be placed in 
the Haram, that men may drink in his honor. The Zem 
Zemi expects a present varying from five to eleven dollars. 



A TYPE OP THE ARAB OLD MAN. 


103 


“ 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 El Medinah. These trips had 
given’him the cunning of a veteran voyager. He 
lived well and cheaply ; his home-made shugduf, 
the model of comfort, was garnished with soft 
cushions and pillars, whilst from the pockets 
protruded select bottles of pickled limes and 
similar luxuries ; he had his travelling shishah*, 
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 insom- 
nies. His nerves were so fine, that if any one 
mounted his shugduf, the unfortunate was con¬ 
demned to lie like a statue. Fidgetty and prig- 
gishly neat, nothing annoyed him so much as a 
moment’s delay or an article out of place, a rag 

* 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 hooka-snake projects from one side. 



104 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAII AND MECCAH. 

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 El 
Medinah. This ill-suited pair clave together for 
awhile, but at El Suwayrkiyah some dispute about 
a copper coin made them permanent foes. With 
threats and abuse such as none but 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 intro¬ 
duction to me; he kissed my hand with great 
servility, declared that his servant had behaved 
disgracefully, and begged my protection, together 
with the occasional attendance of my “ slave.” 



A SMALL FEAST. 


105 


This was readily granted in pity for the old 
man, who became immensely grateful. He offered 
at once to take Shaykh Nur into his shugduf. 
The Indian boy had already reduced to ruins the 
frail structure of his shibriyah, by lying upon 
it lengthways, whereas prudent travellers sit in 
it cross-legged and facing the camel. Moreover, he 
had been laughed to scorn by the Bedouins, who 
seeing him pull up his dromedary to mount and 
dismount, had questioned his sex, and determined 
him to be a woman of the “ Miyan.” * I could 
not rebuke them; the poor fellow’s timidity was 
a ridiculous contrast to the Bedouin’s style of 
mounting; a pull at the camel’s head, the left 
foot placed on the neck, an agile spring, and a 
scramble into the saddle. Shaykh Nur, elated by 
ths 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 one half-halt at El Sawayrkiyah we de¬ 
termined to have a small feast; we bought some 

* The Hindostani word for “sir.” Bedouins address it 
slightingly to Indians, Chapter XII. 



106 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 

fresh dates, and paid a dollar and a half for a 
sheep. Hungry travellers consider “ liver and 
fry ” a dish to set before a shaykh. On this oc¬ 
casion, however, our enjoyment was marred by 
the water; even Soyer’s dinners would scarcely 
charm if washed down with cups of a certain mi¬ 
neral-spring found at Epsom. 

We started at 10 a.m. in a south-easterly direc¬ 
tion, and travelled over a flat, thinly dotted with 
desert vegetation. At 1 p.m. we passed a basaltic 
ridge, and then, entering a long depressed line of 
country, a kind of valley, paced down it five 
tedious hours. The simoom as usual was blowing 
hard, and it seemed to affect the traveller’s temper. 
In one place I saw a Turk, who could not speak a 
word of Arabic, violently disputing with an Arab who 
could not speak 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 
burden. They screamed with rage, hustled each 
other, and at last the Turk dealt the Arab a heavy 
blow. I afterwards heard that the pilgrim was 
mortally wounded that night, his stomach being 
ripped open with a dagger. On inquiring what 
had become of him, I was assured that he had been 



THE BAGHDAD CAKAVAN. 


107 


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 *, the 
burning sun heating the brain to madness, and — 
worst of all, for they do not wait till death — the 
attacks of the jackal, the vulture, and the raven of 
the wild. 

At 6 p. m., before the light of day had faded, we 
traversed a rough and troublesome ridge. De¬ 
scending 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 8 p.m. the camels 
began to stumble over the dwarf dykes of the 
wheat and barley fields, and presently we arrived 
at our halting-place, a large village called El 
Sufayna. The plain was already dotted with tents 
and lights. We found the Baghdad caravan, whose 
route here falls into the Darb el Sharki. It con- 

* When Indians would say “ he was killed upon the spot,” 
they use the picturesque phrase, “ he asked not for water.” 



108 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAII. 


sists 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 the fierce mountaineers of Jebel Shamar. 
Scarcely was our tent pitched when the distant 
pattering of musketry and an ominous tapping of 
the kettle-drum sent all my companions in different 
directions to inquire what was the cause of quarrel. 
The Baghdad Cafila, though not more than 2000 
in number, men, women and children, had been 
proving to the Damascus caravan, that, being per¬ 
fectly ready to fight, they were not going to yield 
any point of precedence. From that time the two 
bodies 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 chibouque, 
in which I was peaceably indulging. It was im¬ 
possible 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 di¬ 
rection of El Sufayna from our last halting-place 



THE PILGRIM INTRODUCED TO A NAMESAKE. 109 

was S. E. 5°. Though it was night when we 
encamped, Shaykh Masud set out to water his 
moaning camels: they had not quenched their 
thirst for three days. He returned in a depressed 
state, having been bled by the soldiery at the well 
to the extent of forty piastres, or about eight 
shillings. 

After supper we spread our rugs and prepared 
to rest. And here I first remarked the coolness 
of the nights, proving at this season of the year 
a considerable altitude above the sea. As a general 
rule the atmosphere stagnated between sunrise 
and 10 a. m., when a light wind rose. During the 
forenoon the breeze strengthened, and it gradually 
diminished through the afternoon. Often about 
sunset there was a gale accompanied by dry storms 
of dust. At El Sufayna, though there was no 
night-breeze and little dew, a blanket was neces¬ 
sary, and the hours of darkness were invigorating 
enough to mitigate the effect of the sand and 
simoom-ridden day. Before sleeping I was intro¬ 
duced 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 



110 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINA!! AND MECCAH. 


medicine, and a temporary seat in my shugduf; 
the latter I offered with pleasure, as the boy 
Mohammed was longing to mount a camel. The 
shaykh’s illness was nothing but weakness brought 
on by the hardships of the journey : he attributed 
it to the hot wind, and the weight of a bag of 
dollars, which he had attached to his waist belt. 
He was a man about forty, long, thin, pale, and of a 
purely nervous temperament: and a few questions 
elicited the fact, that he had lately and suddenly 
given up his daily opium pill. I prepared one for 
him, placed him in my litter, and 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, and I never met amongst the Arab 
citizens a better bred or better informed man. 
At Constantinople he had learned a little French, 
Italian, and Greek; and from the properties of a 
shrub to the varieties of honey *, he was full of 


* The Arabs are curious in and fond of honey : Meccali 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. 



DESCRIPTION OF A DESERT IN ARABIA. Ill 

“ useful knowledge,” and open as a dictionary. 
We parted near Meccah, where I met him only 
once, and then accidentally, in the Valley of Muna. 

At half-past 5 a. m., on the 5th of September, 
we arose refreshed by the cool, comfortable night, 
and loaded the camels. I had an opportunity of 
inspecting El Sufayna. It is a village of fifty or 
sixty mud-walled, flat-roofed houses, surrounded 
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 sup¬ 
plied : even fowls can be procured. 

We travelled towards the south-east, and entered 
a country destitute of the low ranges of hill, which 
from El Medinah southwards had bounded the 
horizon. After two miles’ march, our camels 
climbed up a precipitous ridge, and then descended 
into a broad gravel plain. From 10 to 11 A. m. our 
course was southerly, over a high table-land, and 
we afterwards traversed for five hours and a half a 
plain which bore signs of standing water. This 
day’s march was peculiarly Arabia. It was a desert 
peopled only with echoes,— a place of death for 
what little there is to die in it,—a wilderness, 
where, to use my companion’s phrase, there is 

The Abyssinian mead is unknown in El Hejaz, but honey 
enters into a variety of dishes. _ 



112 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 

nothing but He.* Nature, scalped, flayed, dis¬ 
covered her anatomy to the gazer’s eye. The 
horizon was a sea of mirage; gigantic sand- 
columns whirled over the plain; and on both 
sides of our road were huge piles of bare rock, 
standing detached upon the surface of sand and 
clay. Here they appeared in oval lumps, heaped 
up with a semblance of symmetry; there a single 
boulder stood, with its narrow foundation based 
upon a pedestal of low, dome-shaped rock. All 
are of a pink coarse-grained granite, which flakes 
off in large crusts under the influence of the 
atmosphere. I remarked one block which could 
not measure less than thirty feet in height. 
Through these scenes we travelled till about half¬ 
past 4 p.m., when the guns suddenly roared a halt. 
There was not a trace of human habitation around 
us: a few parched shrubs and the granite heaps 
were the only objects diversifying the hard clayey 
plain. Shaykh Masud correctly guessed the cause 
of our detention at the inhospitable “ halting-place 
of the Mutayr” (Bedouins). “Cook your bread 
and boil your coffee,” said the old man; “ the 
camels will rest for awhile and the gun sound at 
nightfall.” 

* “ La Siwa Hu,” i. e. where there is none but Allah. 



A NIGHT JOURNEY DESCRIBED. 1 1S 

We had passed over about eighteen miles of 
ground ; and our present direction was S. W. 20° of 
El Sufayna. 

At half-past ten that evening we heard the 
signal for departure, and, as the moon was still 
young, we prepared for a hard night’s work. We 
took a south-westerly course through what is called 
a Waar — rough ground covered with thicket. 
Darkness fell upon us like a pall. The camels 
tripped and stumbled, tossing their litters like cock¬ 
boats in a short sea; at times the shiigdufs were 
well nigh torn off their backs. When we came to 
a ridge worse than usual, old Masud would seize 
my camel’s halter, and, accompanied by his son 
and nephew bearing lights, encouraged the animals 
with gesture and voice. It was a strange, wild 
scene. The black basaltic field was dotted with 
the huge and doubtful forms of spongy-footed 
camels with silent tread, looming like phantoms 
in the midnight air; the hot wind moaned, and 
whirled from the torches sheets of flame and fiery 
smoke, whilst ever and anon a swift-travelling 
Takhtrawan, drawn by mules, and surrounded by 
runners bearing gigantic mashals *, threw a pass- 

* This article, an iron cylinder with bands, mounted on a 
long pole, corresponds with the European cresset of the fifteenth 
century. 

VOL. III. I 



114 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 

ing glow of red light upon the dark road and 
the dusky multitude. On this occasion the rule 
was “ every man for himself.” Each pressed for¬ 
ward into the best path, thinking only of pre¬ 
ceding others. The Syrians, amongst whom our 
little party had become entangled, proved most un¬ 
pleasant 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 ex¬ 
cluded friend. I seized my sword; but Shaykh 
Abdullah stayed my hand, and addressed the in¬ 
truder in terms sufficiently violent to make him 
slink away. Nor was this the only occasion on 
which my companion was successful with the Syri¬ 
ans. He would begin with a mild “ Move a little, 
0 my father! ” followed, if fruitless, by “ Out of 
the way, 0 father of Syria*! ” and if still ineffectual, 


The Pacha’s cressets are known by their smell, a little in¬ 
cense being mingled with the wood. By this means the fierce 
Bedouins discover the dignitary’s place. 

* “ Abu Sham,” a familiar address in El Hejaz to Syrians. 
They are called “ abusers of the salt,” from their treachery, and 
“ offspring of Shimr ” (the execrated murderer of the Imam 
Husayn), because he was a native of that country. 

Such is the detestation in which the Shiah sect, especially 



THE EASTERN AND WESTERN MAN. 


115 


concluding with a “ Begone, 0 he ! ” This ranged 
between civility and sternness. If without effect, it 
was followed by revilings to the “ Abusers of the 
Salt,” the “ Yezid,” the “ Offspring of Shimr.” Ano¬ 
ther 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! ” * and an occasional switching. Shaykh 


the Persians, hold Syria and the Syrians, that I hardly ever 
met with a truly religious man who did not desire a general 
massacre of the polluted race. And history informs us that 
the plains of Syria have repeatedly been drenched with innocent 
blood shed by sectarian animosity. Yet Jelal el Din (Hist, of 
Jerusalem) says, “as to Damascus, all learned men fully agree 
that it is the most eminent of cities after Meccah and El 
Medinah.” Hence its many titles, “ the Smile of the Prophet,” 
the “Great Gate of Pilgrimage,” “ Sham Sherif,” the “Right 
Hand of the Cities of Syria,” &c. &c. And many sayings of 
Mohammed in honor of Syria are recorded. He was fond 
of using such Syriac words as “Bakh un ! Bakh un !” to Ali, 
and “ Kakh un ! Kakh un I ” 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. 

* There is a regular language to camels. “Ikh! ikh!” 
makes them kneel; “ Yahh I Yahh! ” urges them on ; “ Hai! 
Hai! ” induces caution, and so on. 



116 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAlf. 


Abdullah the Asiatic commended himself to Allah 
by repeated ejaculations of “ Ya S&tir! Ya 
Sattdr! ” * 

The morning of Wednesday (Sept. 6th) 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 tufa- 
ceous gypsum called by the Arabs “ sabkhah ” 
shone like mirrors set in the russet frame-work 
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 in¬ 
creased by the unnatural glare; — 

“ In vain the sight, dejected to the ground. 

Stoop’d for relief: thence hot ascending streams 
And keen reflection pain’d.” 

We were disappointed in our expectations of 
water, which usually abounds near this station, 
as its name, “El Ghadir,” denotes. At 10a.m. 
we pitched the tent in the first convenient spot, 

* 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. 



ANOTHER NIGIIT MARCH. 


117 


and lost no time in stretching our cramped limbs 
upon the bosom of mother Earth. From the 
halting place of the Mutayr to El Ghadir is a 
march of about twenty miles, and the direction 
S.W. 21°. El Ghadir is an extensive plain, which 
probably presents the appearance of a lake after 
heavy rains. It is overgrown in parts with desert 
vegetation, and requires nothing but a regular 
supply of water to make it useful to man. On 
the east it is bounded by a wall of rock, at whose 
base are three wells, said to have been dug by 
the Caliph Harun. They are guarded by a burj, 
or tower, which betrays symptoms of decay. 

In our anxiety to rest we had strayed from 
the Damascus caravan into the mountaineers of 
Shamar. Our Shaykh Masud manifestly did not 
like the company; for shortly after 3 p. m. he 
insisted upon our striking the tent, and rejoining 
the Hajj, which lay encamped about two miles 
distant in the western part of the basin. We 
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. 



118 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 

At 6 p.m. we again mounted and turned towards 
tiie eastern plain. A heavy shower was falling 
upon the western hills, whence came damp and 
dangerous blasts. Between 9 p.m. and the dawn 
of the next day we had a repetition of the last 
night’s scenes, over a road so rugged and dangerous, 
that I wondered how men could prefer to travel 
in the darkness. But the camels of Damascus 
were now worn out with fatigue; they could not 
endure the sun, and our time was too precious for 
a halt. My night was spent perched upon the 
front bar of my shugduf, encouraging the dro¬ 
medary, and that we had not one fall excited my 
extreme astonishment. At 5 a.m. we entered a 
wide plain thickly clothed with the usual thorny 
trees, in whose strong grasp many a shugduf lost 
its covering and not a few were dragged with 
their screaming inmates to the ground. About 
five hours afterwards we crossed a high ridge, and 
saw below us the camp of the caravan not more 
than two miles distant. As we approached it a 
figure came running out to meet us. It was the 
boy. Mohammed, who, heartily tired of riding a 
dromedary with his friend, and possibly hungry, 
hastened to inform my companion Abdullah that 
he would lead him to his shugduf and his son. 



A FEROCIOUS CLAN OF BEDOUINS. 119 

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 Mphammed roughly; but the youth, guess¬ 
ing the grievance, explained it away by swearing 
that he and all the party had tried to find us in 
vain. This wore the semblance of truth: it is 
almost impossible to come upon any one who 
strays from his place in so large and motley a 
body. 

At 11a.m. we had reached our station. It is 
about twenty-four miles from El Ghadir, and its 
direction is S. E. 10°. It is called El Birkat (the 
Tank), from a large and now ruinous cistern built 
of hewn stone by the Caliph Harun.* The land 
belongs to the Utaybah Bedouins, the bravest and 
most ferocious clan in El Hejaz; and the citizens 
denote their dread of these banditti by asserting, 


* 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 el 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 pedestrian visit of 
Harun to the Holy Cities. Nor less known in Oriental history 
is the pilgrimage of Zubaydah Khatun (wife of Harun and 
mother of Amin) by this route. 



120 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 


that to increase their courage they drink their 
enemy’s blood.* My companions shook their 
heads when questioned upon the subject, and 
prayed that we might not become too well 
acquainted with them — an ill-omened speech. 

The Pacha allowed us a rest of five hours at 
El Birkat: we spent them in my tent, which was 
crowded with Shaykh Abdullah’s friends. To 
requite me for this inconvenience, he prepared for 
me an excellent water-pipe, a cup of coffee, which, 
untainted by cloves and cinnamon, would have 
been delicious, and a dish of dry fruits. As we 
were now near the Holy City, all the Meccans were 
busy canvassing for lodgers and offering their 
services to pilgrims. Quarrels, too, were of hourly 
occurrence. In our party was an Arnaut, a white 
bearded old man, so decrepit that he could scarcely 
stand, and yet so violent that no one could manage 


* Some believe this literally, others consider it a phrase 
expressive of blood-thirstiness. It is the only suspicion of 
cannibalism, if I may use the word, now attaching to El Hejnz. 
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 clans are not 
allowed to enter Meccah, even during the pilgrimage season. 



JOURNEY FROM EL BIRKAT. 121 

himbuthis African slave, a brazen-faced little wretch 
about fourteen years of age. Words were bandied 
between this angry senior and Shaykh Masud, 
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 brought the striker headlong to the ground. 
Masud exclaimed, with shrieks of rage, “ Have we 
come to this, that every old dastard Turk smites 
us ?” Our party had the greatest trouble to quiet 
the quarrelers. The Arab listened to us when we 
threatened him with the Pacha. But the Arnaut, 
whose rage was “ like red-hot steel,” would hear 
nothing but our repeated declarations, that unless 
he behaved more like a pilgrim, we should be 
compelled to leave him and his slave behind. 

On the 7th September, at 4 p. m., we left El 
Birkat, and travelled eastwards over rolling ground 
thickly wooded. There was a network of foot¬ 
paths through the thickets, and clouds obscured the 
moon ; the consequence was inevitable loss of way. 
About 2 p. m. we began ascending hills in a south¬ 
westerly direction, and presently fell into the bed 
of a large rock-girt fiumara, which runs from east 
to west. The sands were overgrown with saline 



122 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINA!! AND MECCAII. 


and salsolaceous plants; the coloquintida, which, 
having no support, spreads along the ground *; 
the senna, with its small green leaf; the Rhazya 
stricta f; and a large luxuriant variety of the 
Asclepias gigantea J, cottoned over with mist and 
dew. At 6 A. M. we left the fiumara, and, turning 

* 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. 

+ Used in Arabian medicine as a refrigerant and tonic. 
It abounds in Sindh and AfiTghanistan, where, according to 
that most practical of botanists, the lamented Dr. Stocks, it is 
called “ishwarg.” 

| Here called ashr. According to Seetzen it bears the long- 
sought apple of Sodom. Tet, 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 Bedouins 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 
matrasses, which are expensive, and highly esteemed for their 
coolness and cleanliness. In Bengal a kind of gutta percha 
is made by boiling the juice. This weed, so common in the 
East, may one day become in the West an important article of 
commerce. 



EL ZAKIBAH. 


12 a 

to the west, arrived about an hour afterwards at 
the station. El Zaribah, “thevalley,” is an undu¬ 
lating 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 S. E. 56° from 
our last. 

Having pitched the tent and eaten and slept, we 
prepared to perform the ceremony of El Ihram 
(assuming the pilgrim-garb), as El Zaribah is the 
mikat, or the appointed place.* Between the 
noonday and the afternoon prayers a barber 
attended to shave our heads, cut our nails, and 
trim our mustachios. Then, having bathed and 
perfumed ourselves — the latter is a questionable 
point, — we donned the attire, which is nothing but 
two new cotton cloths, each six feet long by three 

* “El 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. 



124 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 

and-a-half broad, white, with narrow red stripes 
and fringes; in fact, the costume called “El 
Eddeh” in the baths at Cairo.* One of these 
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.f It is said that 
some classes 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 toilet we were placed with our faces 
in the direction of Meccah, and ordered to say 
aloud J, “ I vow this ihram of hajj (the pilgrimage) 

* 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.” 

■f Sandals are made at Meccah expressly for the pilgrimage: 
the poorer classes cut off the upper leathers of an old pair of 
shoes. 

$ This Niyat, as it is technically called, is preferably per¬ 
formed aloud. Some authorities, however, direct it to be 
meditated sotto-voce. 



125 


THE “ TALBIYAT.” 

and the umrah (the little pilgrimage) to Allah 
Almighty ! ” Having thus performed a two-pro¬ 
stration prayer, we repeated, without rising from 
the sitting position, these words, “ 0 Allah! verily 
I purpose the hajj and the umrah, then enable me 
to accomplish the two, and accept them both of 
me, and make both blessed to me! ” Followed the 
“ Talbiyat,” or exclaiming, — 

“ Here I am! O Allah ! here am I — 

No partner hast thou, here am I: 

Verily the praise and the beneficence are thine, and the 
kingdom— 

No partner hast thou, here am I!”* 

And we were warned to repeat these words as 
often as possible, until the conclusion of the ce¬ 
remonies. Then Shaykh Abdullah, who acted as 

* “ Talbiyat ” is from the word Labbayka (“ here I am ”) in 
the cry — 

“ Labbayk’ Allahumma, Labbayk! 

(Labbayka) La Sharika laka, Labbayk! 

Inna 1 hamda wa ’n ’niamata laka w ’al mulk 
La Sharika laka, Labbayk! ” 

Some add, “ Here I am, and I honor thee, I the son of thy two 
slaves : beneficence and good are all between thy hands.” The 
“Talbiyat” is allowed in any language, but is preferred in 
Arabic. It has a few varieties; the form above given is the 
most common. 



126 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 


director of our consciences, bade us be good pil¬ 
grims, avoiding quarrels, bad language, immorality, 
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 de¬ 
struction * ; nor should we scratch ourselves, save 
with the open palm, lest vermin be destroyed, or 
a hair uprooted by the nail. We were to respect 
the sanctuary by sparing the trees, and not to 
pluck a single blade of grass. As regards personal 
considerations, we were to abstain from all oils, 
perfumes, and unguents; from washing the head 
with mallow or lote leaves; from dyeing, shaving, 
cutting, or vellicating a single pile or hair; and 
though we might take advantage of shade, and 
even form it with upraised hands, we must by no 
means cover our sconces. For each infraction of 
these ordinances we must sacrifice a sheep f; and it 
is commonly said by Moslems, that none but the 
Prophet could be perfect in the intricacies of pil- 

* 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. 

t 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. 



A PICTURESQUE SCENE. 


127 


grimage. Old Ali began with an irregularity : he 
declared that age prevented his assuming the garb, 
but that, arrived at Meccah, he would clear him¬ 
self 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 dressed in white 
garments; and they had exchanged the lisam, that 
coquettish fold of muslin which veils without con¬ 
cealing the lower part of the face, for a hideous 
mask, made of split, dried, and plaited palm leaves, 
with two “ bulls’-eyes,” for light.* I could not 
help laughing when these strange figures met my 
sight, and, to judge from the shaking of their 
shoulders, they were not less susceptible to the 
merriment which they had caused. 

At 3 p. m. we left El Zaribah, travelling to¬ 
wards the S. W., and a wondrously picturesque 
scene met the eye. Crowds hurried along, habited 
in the pilgrim garb, whose whiteness contrasted 
strangely with their black skins, their newly 
shaven heads glistening in the sun, and their long 
black hair streaming in the wind. The rocks rang 

* 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. 



128 PILGRIMAGE TO EL ME DINAH AND MHCCAH. 

with shouts of “ Labbayk! Labbayk! ” At a pass we 
fell in with the Wahhabis, accompanying the Bagh¬ 
dad caravan, screaming “ here am Iand, 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 moun¬ 
taineers, dark and fierce, with hair twisted into 
thin dalik or plaits: each was armed with a long 
spear, a matchlock, or a dagger. They were seated 
upon coarse wooden saddles, without cushions or 
stirrups, a fine saddle-cloth alone denoting a chief. 
The women emulated the men ; they either guided 
their own 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 fol¬ 
lowed by spare dromedaries, either unladen or 
carrying water-skins, fodder, fuel, and other neces¬ 
saries for the march. The beasts delighted in dash¬ 
ing furiously through one file, which being col¬ 
ligated, was thrown each time into the greatest 
confusion. And whenever we were observed 
smoking, we were cursed aloud for infidels and 
idolaters. 

Looking back at El Zaribah, soon after our de- 



A SUSPICIOUS-LOOKING PLACE. 


129 


parture, I saw a heavy nimbus settle upon the 
hill tops, a sheet of rain being stretched between it 
and the plain. The low grumbling of thunder 
sounded joyfully in our ears. We hoped for a 
shower, but were disappointed by a dust-storm, 
which ended with a few heavy drops. There arose 
a report that the Bedouins had attacked a party 
of Meccans with stones—classical Arabian missiles, 
—and the news caused men to look exceeding 
grave. 

At 5 p. m. we entered the wide bed of the fiumara, 
down which we were to travel all night. Here the 
country falls rapidly towards the sea, as the in¬ 
creasing heat of the air, the direction of the water¬ 
courses, and signs of violence in the torrent-bed 
show. The fiumara varies in breadth from 150 
feet to three-quarters of a mile; its course, I was 
told, is towards the south-west, and it enters the sea 
near Jeddah. The channel is a coarse sand, with 
here and there masses of sheet rock and patches of 
thin vegetation. 

At about half-past 5 p. m. we entered a sus¬ 
picious-looking place. On the right was a stony 
buttress, along whose base the stream, when there 
is one, flows ; and to this depression was our road 
limited by the rocks and thorn trees, which filled 

VOL. III. K 



130 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 

the other half of the channel. The left side was a 
precipice, grim and barren, but not so abrupt as its 
brother. Opposite us the way seemed barred by 
piles of hills, crest rising above crest into the far 
blue distance. Day still smiled upon the upper 
peaks, but the lower slopes and the fiumara bed 
were already curtained with gray sombre shade. 

A damp seemed to fall upon our spirits as we 
approached this Valley Perilous. I remarked with 
wonder that the voices of the women and children 
sank into silence, and loud Labbaykas of the pil¬ 
grims were gradually stilled. Whilst still specu¬ 
lating 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 his heart,— throwing his rider a goodly 
somerset of five or six yards. 

Ensued terrible confusion; women screamed, 
children shrieked, and men vociferated, each one 
striving with might and main to urge his animal 
out of the place of death. But the road being 
narrow, they only managed to jam the vehicles 
in a solid immoveable mass. At every match-lock 



THE BBAVERY OF THE WAHHABIS. 131 

shot a shudder ran through the huge body, as when 
the surgeon’s scalpel touches some more sensitive 
nerve. The irregular horsemen, perfectly useless, 
galloped up and down over the stones, shouting 
to and ordering one another. The Pacha of the 
army had his carpet spread at the foot of the 
left-hand precipice, and debated over his pipe 
with the officers what ought to be done. No 
good genius whispered “ crown the heights.” 

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

“ Torrents less rapid, and less rash,—” 

with their elf-locks tossing in the wind, and their 
flaring matches casting a strange lurid light over 
their features. Taking up a position, one body 
began to fire upon the Utaybah robbers, whilst 
two or three hundred, dismounting, swarmed up 
the hill under the guidance of the Sherif Zayd. 
I had remarked this nobleman at El Medinah as 
a model specimen of the pure Arab. Like all 
Sherifs, he is celebrated for bravery, and has 
killed many with his own hand.* When urged 

* The Sherifs are born and bred to fighting: the peculiar 
privileges of their caste favour their development of pugnacity. 



132 PILGBIMAGE TO EL MED1NAH AND MECCAH. 


at El Zaribah to ride into Meeeah, 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 Masud was equal to the 
occasion. That many were lost 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 contradic¬ 
tory, and exaggeration unanimous. The robbers 
were said to be 150 in number; their object was 


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 Sherif and his retainer great power 
among the Arabs. As a general rule, they are at the bottom 
of all mischief. It was a Sherif (Husayn bin Ali) who tore 
down and trampled upon the British flag at Mocha; a Sherif 
(Abd el Rahman of Walit) who murdered Captain Mylne near 
Laliedge. A page might be filled with the names of the distin¬ 
guished ruffians. 



A NOT ILL CONTRIVED BRAVADO. 


133 


plunder, and they would eat the shot camels. 
But their principal ambition was the boast “ We, 
the Utaybah, on such and such a night stopped 
the Sultan’s mahmal one whole hour in the pass.” 

At the beginning of the skirmish I had primed 
my 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” but 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 inquired 
from the shugduf behind me. “ Yes, ” I re¬ 
plied 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 



134 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 

every large dry asclepias, to disperse the shades 
which buried us. Again the scene became won¬ 
drous 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 match¬ 
locks. The torch-smoke and the night-fires of 
flaming asclepias formed a canopy, sable above and 
livid red below, which hung over our heads like a 
sheet, and divided the cliffs into two equal parts. 
Here the fire flashed fiercely from a tall thorn, that 
crackled and shot up showers of sparks into the 
air; there it died away in lurid gleams, which lit 
up a truly Stygian scene. As usual, however, the 
picturesque had its inconveniences. There was no 
path. Rocks, stone-banks, and trees obstructed our 
passage. The camels, now blind in darkness, then 
dazzled by a flood of light, stumbled frequently; 



AN ACCIDENT ON CAMEL-BACK. 135 

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 fusti¬ 
gate Masud’s nephew, who resolutely slept upon 
the water-bags. During the hours of darkness we 
made four or five halts, when we boiled coffee and 
smoked pipes, but man and beasts were beginning 
to suffer from a deadly fatigue. 

Dawn found us still travelling down the fiumara, 
which here is about 100 yards broad. The granite 
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. 



136 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 

Abdullah started up furious, and abused the 
Bedouins, who were absent, with great zest. 
“Feed these Arabs,” he exclaimed, quoting a 
Turkish proverb, “ and they will fire at Heaven ! ” 
But I observed that, when Shaykh Masud came up, 
the citizen was only gruff. 

We then turned northward, and sighted El Mazik, 
more generally known as Wady Laymun, the 
Yalley of Limes. On the right bank of the fiu- 
mara stood the Meccan Sherif’s state pavilion, 
green and gold : it was surrounded by his attend¬ 
ants, and prepared to receive the Pacha of the 
caravan. We advanced half a mile, and encamped 
temporarily in a hill-girt bulge of the fiumara bed. 
At 8 A. m. we had travelled about twenty-four 
miles from El Zaribah, and the direction of our 
present station was S. W. 50°. 

Shaykh Masud allowed us only four hour’s halt; 
he wished to precede the main body. After break¬ 
ing 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, 



WADY LAYMUN. 


137 


On Rayyan hill the channel lines have left a naked trace, 

Time-worn, as primal Writ that dints the mountain's flinty 
face*;”- 

and this wady, celebrated for the purity of its air, 
has from remote ages been a 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 the base of the 
southern hill bursts a bubbling stream, whose 

“ Chiare, fresche e dolci acque ” 

flow through the garden, filling them with the most 
delicious of melodies, and the gladdest sound which 
nature in these regions knows. 

Exactly at noon Masud seized the halter of the 
foremost camel, and we started down the fiumara. 

* In these lines of Lebid, the “ Mina ” alluded to must not, 
we are warned by the scholiast, be confounded with “ Mina ” 
{vulff. “ 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 Lelid, 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 disco¬ 
vered in one of the rock monuments a “ lithographed proof ” 
of the presence of Sesostris (Rhameses II.). 



138 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 


Troops of Bedouin girls looked over the orchard 
walls laughingly, and children came out to offer us 
fresh fruit and sweet water. At 2 p. m., travelling 
south-west, we arrived at a point where the 
torrent-bed turns to the right, and, 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 Galled “ 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 moun¬ 
tain road, a white thread upon the nearer heights, 
was pointed out to me. Here I first saw the tree, or 
rather shrub, which bears the balm of Gilead, erst so 
celebrated for its tonic and stomachic properties.* I 


* The “balsamon” of Theophrastus and Dioscorides, a cor¬ 
ruption of the Arabic “ balisan ” or “ basham,” by which name 
the Bedouins know it. In the valley of the Jordan it was 
worth its weight in silver, and kings warred for what is now a 
weed. Cleopatra by a commission brought it to Egypt. It 
was grown at Heliopolis. The last tree died there, we are told 
by Niebuhr, in the early part of the seventeenth century 
(according to others, in a. d. 1502) ; a circumstance the more 
curious, as it was used by the Copts in chrisome, and by Europe 
for anointing kings. From Egypt it was carried to El Hejaz, 
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 



THE BALM OF GILEAD. 


139 


told Shaykh Masud to break off a twig, which he 
did heedlessly. The act was witnessed by our party 
with a roar of laughter, and the astounded shaykh 

Bilkis, Queen of Sheba. In the Gospel of Infancy (book i. 
ch. 8.) we read,— 

“ 9. Hence they (Joseph and Mary) went out to that syca¬ 
more, 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. Maun- 
deville and an old writer allude reverently to the sovereign 
virtues of “ bawme.” I believe its qualities to have been sadly 
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 witii 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 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. 



140 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAII AND MECCAH. 

was warned that he had become subject to an 
atoning sacrifice.* Of course he denounced me as 
the instigator, and I could not fairly refuse assist¬ 
ance. 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 4 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 pre¬ 
sented the aspect of numerous small basins divided 
and surrounded by hills. As we jogged on we 
were passed by the cavalcade of no less a 
personage than the Sherif of Meccah. Abd el 
Muttalib bin Ghalib is a dark, beardless, old man 
with African features, derived from his mother. 
He was plainly dressed in white garments and 
a white muslin turban f, which made him look jet 
black ; he rode an ambling mule, and the only 
emblem of his dignity was the large green satin 

* This being one of the “ Mubarrimat,” or actions forbidden 
to a pilgrim. At all times, say the Moslems, there are three 
vile trades, viz., those of the Harik el Hajar (stone-burner), 
the Kati el Shajar (tree-cutter), and the Bayi el Bashar (man- 
seller). 

f This attire was customary even in El Idrisi’s time. 



THE SHERIF OF MECCAH. 


141 


umbrella borne by an attendant on foot.* Scat¬ 
tered around him were about forty matchlock-men, 
mostly slaves. At long intervals, after their father, 
came his four sons, Riza Bey, Abdullah, Ali and 
Ahmed, the latter still a child. The three elder 
brothers rode splendid dromedaries at speed ; they 
were young men of light 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.-}- 


* From India to Abyssinia the umbrella is the sign of 
royalty: the Arabs of Meccah and Senaa probably derived the 
custom from the Hindus. 

t I purposely omit long descriptions of the Sherif, my fellow- 
travellers, Messrs. Didier and Hamilton, being far more com¬ 
petent to lay the subject before the public. A few political 
remarks may not be deemed out of place. 

The present Sherif, despite his civilised training at Constan¬ 
tinople, is, and must be a fanatic, bigotted 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 
courage. His position at present is anomalous. Ahmed Pacha of 
El Hejaz rules politically as representative of the Sultan. The 
Sherif, who, like the Pope, claims temporal as well as spiritual 
dominion, attempts to command the authorities by force of 
position. The Pacha heads the Turkish, now the ruling party. 
The Sherif has in his interest the Arabs and the Bedouins. 



142 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 


We halted as evening aproached, 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 


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 Sherif having, it is said, insisted upon 
the Pacha leaving Taif. 

The position of the Turks in El Hejaz becomes every day 
more dangerous. Want of money presses upon them, and reduces 
them to degrading measures. In February, 1853, the Pacha 
hired a forced loan from the merchants, and but for Mr. Cole’s 
spirit and firmness, the English proteges would have been com¬ 
pelled to contribute their share. After a long and animated 
discussion, the Pacha yielded the point by imprisoning his re¬ 
cusant subjects, who insisted upon Indians paying, like them¬ 
selves . He waited in person with an apology upon Mr. Cole. 
Though established at Jeddah since 1838, the French and En¬ 
glish consuls, contented with a proxy, never required a return 
of visit from the governor. 

If the Turks be frequently reduced to such expedients for the 
payment of their troops, they will soon be swept from the land. 
On the other hand, the Sherif approaches a crisis. His salary, 
paid by the Sultan, may be roughly estimated at 15,000?. per 
annum. If the Turks maintain their footing in Arabia, it will 
probably be found that an honorable retreat at Stamboul is 
better for the 31st descendant of the Prophet than the tur¬ 
bulent life of Meccah; or that a reduced allowance of 500 1. per 
annum would place him in a higher spiritual, though in a 
lower temporal position. 



THE PILGRIM SIGHTS MECCAH. 


143 


devotions, the following prayer. The reader is 
forewarned that it is difficult to preserve the 
flowers of Oriental rhetoric in a European tongue. 

“ 0 Allah ! verily this is thy safeguard (Amn) 
and thy Sanctuary (Haram)! Into it whoso en- 
tereth becometh safe (Amin). So deny (Harrim) 
my flesh and blood, my bones and skin, to hell- 
fire. 0 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 mer¬ 
ciful, 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 1a.m. I was aroused by 
general excitement. “ Meccah! Meccah ! ” cried 
some voices; “ The Sanctuary! 0 the Sanc¬ 
tuary ! ” exclaimed others; and all burst into 
loud “ Labbayk,” not unfrequently broken by 
sobs. I looked out from my litter, and saw by 
the light of the southern stars the dim outlines of 
a large city, a shade darker than the surrounding 
plain. We were passing over the last ridge by an 



144 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 


artificial cut, called the Saniyat Kudaa.* The 
“ winding path ” is flanked on both sides by watch- 
towers, which command the “ Darb el Maala,” or 
road leading from the north into Meeeah. Thence 
we passed into the Maabidah (northern suburb), 
where the Sherif’s palace is built.f After this, 
on the left hand, came the deserted abode of the 
Sherif bin Aun, now said to be a “ haunted 
house.” J Opposite to it lies the Jannat el Maala, 

* Saniyat means a “ winding path,” and Kudaa, “the cut.” 
Formerly Meccah had three gates; 1. Bab el Maala, north-east; 
2. Bab el Umrah, or Bab el Zahir, on the Jeddah road, west ; 
and, 3. Bab el Masfal on the Yemen road. These were still 
standing in the twelfth century, but the walls were destroyed. 

It is better to enter Meccah by day and on foot; but this is 
not a matter of vital consequence in pilgrimage. 

f It is a large whitewashed building, with extensive wooden 
balconied windows, but no pretensions to architectural’splen- 
dour. Around it trees grow, and amongst them I remarked a 
young cocoa. 

El Idrisi (a. d. 1154) calls the palace El Marbaah. This 
may be a clerical error, for to the present day all know it as 
El Maabidah (pronounced El Mab’da). The Nubian describes 
it as a “ stone castle, three miles from the town, in a palm gar¬ 
den.” The word “ Maabidah,” says Kutb el Din, means a 
“ body of servants,” and is applied generally to this suburb 
because here was a body of Bedouins in charge of the Masjid 
el Ijabah, a mosque now not existing. 

$ 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 



TIIE SYRIAN WARD OF MECCAH. 145 

the holy cemetery of Meccah. Thence, turning to 
the right, we entered the Sulaymaniyah or Afghan 
quarter. Here the boy Mohammed, being an in¬ 
habitant of the Shamiyah or Syrian ward, thought 
proper to display some apprehension. These two 
are on bad terms ; children never meet without ex¬ 
changing volleys of stones, and men fight furiously 
with quarter-staves. Sometimes, despite the terrors 
of religion, the knife and sabre are drawn. But 
these hostilities have their code. If a citizen be 
killed, there is a subscription for blood money. 
An inhabitant of one quarter, passing singly 
through another, becomes a guest; once beyond 
the walls, he is likely to be beaten to insensibility 
by his hospitable foes. 

At the Sulaymaniyah we turned off the main 
road into a bye-way, and ascended by 7 narrow 
lanes the rough heights of Jebel Hindi, upon 
which stands a small whitewashed and crenellated 
building called a “ fort.” Thence descending, we 
threaded dark streets, in places crowded with rude 

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—Southern Europe_with 

its ghost stories and tales of angels, demons, and fairies. To 
quote Milton, the land is struck “ with superstition as with a 
planet.” 

VOL. III. 


L 



146 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 

cots and dusky figures, and finally at 2 A. m. we 
found ourselves at the door of the boy Moham¬ 
med’s house. 

From Wady Laymun to Meccah the distance, 
according to my calculation, was about twenty- 
three miles, the direction S. E. 45°. We arrived 
on the morning of Sunday the 7th Zu’l Hijjah 
(11th September, 1853), and had one day before 
the beginning of the pilgrimage to repose and 
visit the Haram. 

I conclude this chapter with a few remarks upon 
the watershed of El Hejaz. The country, in my 
humble opinion, has a compound slope, southwards 
and 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 El Musahhal is a gentle rise. The water-marks 
of the fiumaras show that El Medinah is consider¬ 
ably above the coast, though geographers may not 



THE WATERSHED OF EL HEJAZ. 147 

be correct in claiming for Jebel Radhwa a height 
of 6000 feet; yet that elevation is not perhaps too 
great for the plateau upon which stands the 
Prophet’s burial-place. From El Medinah to El 
Suwayrkiyah is another gentle rise, and from the 
latter to El Zaribah stagnating water denotes a 
level. I believe the report of a perennial lake on 
the eastern boundary of El Hejaz as little as the 
river placed by Ptolemy between Yambu and 
Meccah. No Bedouins could tell me of this fea¬ 
ture, which, had it existed, would have changed 
the whole conditions and history of the country: 
we know the Greek’s river to be a fiumara, and the 
lake probably owes its existence to a similar cause, 
a heavy fall of rain. Beginning at El Zaribah is a 
decided fall, which continues to the sea. The 
Arafat torrent sweeps from east to west with 
great force, sometimes carrying away the habita¬ 
tions, and even injuring the sanctuary.* 

* This is a synopsis of our marches, which, protracted on 
Burckhardt’s map, gives an error of ten miles. 

Miles. 

1. From El Medinah, to Ja El Sharifah, S. E. 50° - 22 

2. From Ja el Sharifah to Ghurab, - S.W. 10° - 24 

3. From Ghurab to El Hijriyah, - S.E. 22° - 25 

4. From El Hijriyah, to El Suwayrkiyah, S. W. 11° - 28 = 99 



148 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAII AND MECCAH. 


Miles. 

Brought forward - - - - 99 

5. From El Suwayrkiyah to El Sufayna, S.E. 5° - 17 

6. From El Sufayna to the “ Beni 

Mutayr,” - - - S.W. 20° - 18 

7- From the “ Beni Mutayr ” to El 

Ghadir,- - - - S.W. 21° - 20 

8. From El Ghadir to El Birkat, - S.E. 10° - 24 

9. From El Birkat to El Zaribah, - S.E. 56° - 23 

10. From El Zaribah to Wady Laymun, S.W. 50° - 24 

11. From Wady Laymun to Meccah, - S.E. 45° - 23=149 


Total English miles 248 



149 


CHAP. XXVI. 

THE BAIT ULLAH. 

The House of Allah * has been so fully described 
by my predecessors, that there is little inducement 
to attempt a new portrait. Readers, however, may 
desire a view of the great sanctuary, and, indeed, 
without a plan and its explanation, the ceremonies 
of the Harara would be scarcely intelligible. I 
will do homage to the memory of the accurate 
Burckhardt, and extract from his pages a descrip¬ 
tion which may be illustrated by a few notes. 

“ The Kaabah stands in an oblong square (en¬ 
closed by a great wall) 250 paces long, and 200 
broad f, none of the sides of which run quite in a 
straight line, though at first sight the whole 
appears to be of a regular shape. This open square 


* “ Bait Ullah ” (House of Allah) and “ Kaabah,” i. e. cube 
(house), “ la maison carree,” are synonymous. 

t Ali Bey gives 536 feet 9 inches by 356 feet: my mea¬ 
surement 257 paces by 210. Most Moslem authors, reckoning 
by cubits, make the parallelogram 404 by 310. 

x. 3 



150 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAII AND MECCAII. 


is enclosed on the eastern side by a colonnade. The 
pillars stand in a quadruple row; they are three 
deep on the other sides, and united by pointed 
arches, every four of which support a small dome 
plastered and whitened on the outside. These 
domes, according to Kotobeddyn, are 152 in 
number.* The pillars are above twenty feet in 
height, and generally from one foot and a half to 
one foot and three quarters in diameter; but little 
regularity has been observed in regard to them. 
Some are of white marble, granite or porphyry; 
but the greater number are of common stone of 
the Meccah mountains.! El Fasy states the whole 

* 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 el 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. 

■f The “ common stone of the Meccah mountains ” is a fine 
grey granite, quarried principally from a hill near the Bab el 
Shebayki, which furnished material for the Kaabah. Eastern 
authors describe the pillars as consisting of three different 
substances, viz.: Rukham, white marble, not “ alabaster,” its 
general sense; Suwan, or granite (syenite?); and “Hajar 
Shumaysi,” a kind of yellow sandstone, so called from “ Bir 
Shumays,” a place on the Jeddah road near Haddah, the half¬ 
way station. 



THE MOSQUE AT MECCAH. 


151 


at 589, and says they are all of marble excepting 
126, which are of common stone, and three of com¬ 
position. Kotobeddyn reckons 555, of which, ac¬ 
cording 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 occa¬ 
sioned by a torrent in a. d. 1626.* Between every 
three or four columns stands an octagonal one, 
about four feet in thickness. On the east side are 
two shafts of reddish grey granite in one piece, and 
one fine grey porphyry with slabs of white felds- 
path. 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 prin¬ 
cipally 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 

* 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 much under difficulties. Ali Bey 
numbers them roughly at “ plus de 500 colonnes et pilastres.” 



152 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 

exactly alike. The capitals are of coarse Saracen 
workmanship; some of them, which had served for 
former buildings, by the ignorance of the workmen, 
have been placed upside down upon the shafts. I 
observed about half a dozen marble bases of good 
Grecian workmanship. A few of the marble 
columns bear Arabic or Cufic inscriptions, in 
which I read the dates 863 and 762 (a. h.).* A 
column on the east side exhibits a very ancient 
Cufic inscription, somewhat defaced, which I could 
neither read nor copy. Some of the columns are 
strengthened with broad iron rings or bands f, as 
in many other Saracen buildings of the East. They 
were first employed by Ibn Dhaher Berkouk, king 
of Egypt, in rebuilding the mosque, which had 
been destroyed by fire in a. h. 802.” J 


* 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 El Malidi, a traveller would 
have expected better things. 

f The reason being, that “ those shafts formed of the Meccan 
stone are mostly in three pieces; but the marble shafts are in 
one piece.” 

$ To this may be added, that the facades of the cloisters are 
twenty-four along the short walls, and thirty-six along the 



THE MOSQUE AT MECCA1I. 


153 


“ Some parts of the walls and arches are gau¬ 
dily painted in stripes of yellow, red, and blue, 
as are also the minarets. Paintings of flowers, 
in the usual Muselman style, are nowhere seen; 
the floors of the colonnades are paved with large 
stones badly cemented together. ” 

“ Some paved causeways lead from the colon¬ 
nades towards the Kaabah, or Holy House, in 
the centre.* They are of sufficient breadth to 
admit four or five persons to walk abreast, and 
they are elevated about nine inches above the 
ground. Between these causeways, which are 
covered with fine gravel or sand, grass appears 
growing in several places, produced by the Zern 
Zem water oozing out of the jars which are 
placed in (ora) the ground in long rows during 

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 sup¬ 
port 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. 

* I counted eight, not including the broad pavement which 
leads from the Bab el Ziyadah to the Kaabah, or the four cross 
branches which connect the main lines. These “ Firash el 
Hajar,” as they are called, also serve to partition off the area. 
One space for instance is called “ Ilaswat el Ilarim,” or the 
“ women’s sanded place,” because appropriated to female de¬ 
votees. 



154 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 


the day.* 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 colon¬ 
nade, 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, f It is constructed of the grey 
Mekka stone, in large blocks of different sizes 
joined together, in a very rough manner, with 
bad cement. J It was entirely rebuilt, as it now 

* The jars are little amphoraa, each inscribed with the name 
of the donor and a peculiar cypher. 

t My measurements give 22 paces or 55 feet in length by 18 
(45), of 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 El Idrisi’s time it was 25 cubits by 
24, and 27 cubits high. 

J I would alter this sentence thus :—“ It is built of fine grey 
granite in horizontal courses of masonry of irregular depth ; the 
stones are tolerably fitted together, and held by excellent mortar 
like Roman cement.” The lines are also straight. 



THE KAABAH, OR BAIT ULLAH. 


155 


stands, in a.d. 1627. The torrent in the preced¬ 
ing 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 per¬ 
mitted 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.* 
Its roof being flat, it has at a distance the 
appearance of a perfect cube.f The only door 

* This base is called El Shazarwan, from the Persian Sha- 
darwan, 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 cireumam- 
bulation, to keep their bodies outside of the Shazarwan ; this 
would imply it to be part of the building, but its only use 
appears in the large brass rings welded into it, for the purpose 
of holding down the Kaabah covering. 

t Ali Bey also errs in describing the roof as “plat en- 
dessus.” Were such the case, rain would not pour off with 
violence through the spout. Most Oriental authors allow a 
cubit of depression from south-west to north-west. In El 
Idrisi’s day the Kaabah had 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 El Hajjaj a. h. 83. The 
roof was then eighteen cubits long by fifteen broad. 



156 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 


which affords entrance, and which is opened but 
two or three times in the year *, is on the north 
side and about seven feet above the ground, f 
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 

* In Ibn Jubair’s time the Kaabah was opened every day in 
Rajab, 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. * 

f This mistake, in which Burckbardt is followed by all our 
popular authors, is the more extraordinary, as all Arabic 
authors call the door-wall Janib el Mashrik—the eastern side 
— or Wajh el Bait, the front of the house, opposed to Zahr 
el Bait, the back. Niebuhr is equally in error when he as¬ 
serts that the door fronts to the south. Arabs always hold the 
“ Rokn el Iraki,” or Irak angle, to face the polar star, and so 
it appears in Ali Bey’s plan. The Kaabah, therefore, has no 
northern side. And it must be observed that Moslem writers 
make the length of the Kaabah from east to west, whereas our 
travellers mark it from north to south. 

Ali Bey makes 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 
El Multazem (in Burckhardt, by a clerical error, “ El 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. El Multazem, says M. de Percival, fol¬ 
lowing d’Ohsson, was formerly “le lieu des engagements,” 
vt hence, according to him, its name. 



THE KAABAH. 


157 


ground-floor of the mosque. * The present door 
(which, according to Azraky, was brought hither 

* From the Bab el Ziyadah, or gate in the northern colon¬ 
nade, you descend by two flights of steps, in all about twenty- 
fire. 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 Sha- 
miyah to the north) would, we might expect, be the highest, and 
this is actually the case. But I am unable to account satis¬ 
factorily for the second hollow within the temple, and imme¬ 
diately around the House of Allah, where the door formerly, 
according to all historians, on a level with the pavement, and 
now ’about seven feet above it, shows the exact amount of 
depression, which cannot be accounted for simply by cal- 
cation. Some chroniclers assert, that when the Kuraysh re¬ 
built the house they raised the door to prevent devotees enter¬ 
ing 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 



158 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 


from Constantinople in A. D. 1633), is whollj 
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, &e. ” * 

“At the north-eastf corner of the Kaabah 
near the door, is the famous ‘Black Stone J;’ il 


El Hajjaj finally closed up the western entrance. Doctor; 
also differ as to its size; the popular measurement is three 
cubits broad and a little more than five in length. 

* Pilgrims and ignorant devotees collect the drippings oi 
wax, the ashes of the aloe-wood, and the dust from the 
“ Atabah,” or threshold of the Kaabah, either to rub upon theii 
foreheads or to preserve as relics. These superstitious practices 
are sternly rebuked by the Ulema. 

f For north-east read south-east. 

$ I will not enter into the fabulous origin of the Hajar el 
Aswad. Some of the traditions connected with it are truly 
absurd. “ When Allah,” says Ali, “ made covenant with the 
sons of Adam on the Day of Fealty, he placed the paper inside 
the stone;” it will, therefore, appear at the judgment, and beat 
witness to all who have touched it. Moslems agree that it was 
originally white, and became black by reason of men’s sins. It 
appeared to me a common aerolite covered with a thick shaggy 
coating, glossy and pitch-like, worn and polished. Dr. Wilson of 
Bombay showed me a specimen in his possession, which exter¬ 
nally appeared to be a black slag, with the inside of a bright and 
sparkling greyish-white, the result of admixture of nickel with the 
iron. This might possibly, as the learned Orientalist jhen sug¬ 
gested, account for the mythic change of colour, its appearance on 
earth after a thunderstorm, and its being originally a material 



THE FAMOUS “ BLACK STONE,” OR “ HA JAR.” 159 
forms a part of the sharp angle of the build- 


part of the heavens. Kutb el Din expressly declares that, when 
the Karamitah restored it after twenty-two years to the Meccans, 
men kissed it and rubbed it upon their brows; and remarked, 
that the blackness was only superficial, the inside being white. 
Some Greek philosophers, it will be remembered, believed the 
heavens to be composed of stones (Cosmos, “ Shooting Stars ”). 
And Sanconiathon, ascribing the aerolite-worship to the god 
Ccelus, declares them to be living or animated stoses. “ 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 fetishism 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 Kaabah and 
the Hajar are the only two idols which have survived the 360 
composing the heavenly host of the Arab pantheon. Thus the 
Hindu poet exclaims : — 

“ Behold the marvels of my idol-temple, 0 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 witii his consort visited El Hejaz. When the Kaabah 
was rebuilt, this emblem was placed in the outer wall for con¬ 
tempt, but the people still respected it. In the Dabistan the 



160 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 


ing *, at four or five feet above the ground.t It is 
an irregular oval, about seven inches in diameter, 

Black Stone is said to be an image of Kaywan or Saturn; and 
El Sliahristani also declares the temple to have been dedi¬ 
cated 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 loose dark turban. Moslem historians are 
unanimous in asserting that Sasan, son of Babegan, and other 
Persian monarohs, gave rich presents to the Kaabah; 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 Kaabah, 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 “ Meccali.” 
And the Sabaeans equally respect the Kaabah and the pyramids, 
which they assert to be the tombs of Seth, Enoch (or Hermes), 
and Sabi the son of Enoch. 

Meccali, then, is claimed as a sacred place, and the Hajar el 
Aswad, as well as the Kaabah, are revered as holy emblems by 
four different faiths—the Hindu, Sabaean, Gueber, and Moslem. 
I have little doubt, and hope to prove at another time, that the 
Jews connected it with traditions about Abraham. This would 
be the fifth religion that looked towards the Kaabah — a rare 
meeting-place of devotion. 

* Presenting this appearance in profile. The Hajar has 
suffered from the iconoclastic principle of Islam, having once 
narrowly escaped destruction by order of El Hakim of Egypt. 
In these days the metal rim serves as a protection as well as 
an ornament. 

f 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. 



EL HAJAK, “ TIIE FAMOUS BLACK STONE.” 161 

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 millions of touches and kisses it 
has received. It appeared to me like a lava, 
containing several small extraneous particles of a 
whitish and of a yellowish substance. Its colour 
is now a deep reddish brown, approaching to 
black. It is surrounded on all sides by a border 
composed of a substance which I took to be a close 
cement of pitch and gravel of a similar, but not 
quite the same, brownish colour.* This border 

* The colour appeared to me 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 Jubair 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 

VOL. III. M 



162 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 


serves to support its detached pieces; it is two 
or three inches in breadth, and rises a little 
above the surface of the stone. Both the border 
and the stone itself are encircled by a silver band *, 
broader below than above, and on the two sides, 
with a considerable swelling below, as if a part of 
the stone were hidden under it. The lower part 
of the border is studded with silver nails.” 

“ In the south-east corner of the Kaabah f, or, 
as the Arabs call it, Rokn el Yemany, there is 
another stone about five feet from the ground ; 
it is one foot and a half in length, and two 
inches in breadth, placed upright, and of the 
common Meccah stone. This the people walking 

moisture were such, says Ibn Jubair, “that the sinner never 
would remove his mouth from it, which phenomenon made the 
Prophet declare it to be the covenant of Allah on earth.” 

* The band is now a massive arch of gold or silver gilt. 
I found the aperture in which the stone is, one span and three 
fingers broad. 

t The “Rukn el Yemani” is the corner facing the south. 
The part alluded to in the text is the wall of the Kaabah, 
between the Shami and Yemani angles, distant about three 
feet from the latter, and near the site of the old western door, 
long since closed. The stone is darker and redder than the 
rest of the wall. It is called El Mustajab (or Mustajab min 
el Zunub or Mustajab el Dua, “ where prayer is granted ”). 
Pilgrims here extend their arms, press their bodies against the 
building, and beg pardon for their sins. 



EL MAAJAN, “THE PLACE OE MIXING.” 163 


round the Kaabah touch only with the right 
hand; they do not kiss it. * 

“ On the north side of the Kaabah, just by its 
door f, 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 

* I have frequently seen it kissed by men and women, 
f El Maajan, the place of mixing or kneading, because the 
patriarchs here kneaded the mud used as cement in the holy 
building. Some call it El Hufrah (the digging), and it is 
generally known as Makam Jibrail (the place of Gabriel), 
because here descended the inspired order for the five daily 
prayers, and at this spot the archangel and the Prophet per¬ 
formed 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 Bait Ullah from the 
Kaabah, erroneously making the former the name of the whole 
temple, proceeds to say, “ the rain water which falls on its (the 
Kaabah’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 ”-! 

M 2 



164 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 

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*, through which the rain¬ 
water collected on the roof of the building is 
discharged, so as to fall upon the ground; it is 
about four feet in length, and six inches in 
breadth, as well as I could judge from below, with 
borders equal in height to its breadth. At the 
mouth hangs what is called the beard of the 
Myzab ; a gilt board, over which the water flows. 
This spout was sent hither from Constantinople in 
A. h. 981, and is reported to be of pure gold. The 
pavement round the Kaabah, below the Myzab, was 
laid down in a. h. 826, and consists of various 
coloured stones, forming a very handsome specimen 
of mosaic. There are two large slabs of fine verde 
antico f in the centre, which, according to Makrizi, 

* Generally called Myzab el Rahmah (of mercy). It carries 
rain from the roof, and discharges it upon Isbmael’s grave, where 
pilgrims stand fighting to catch it. In El Edrisi’s time it was 
of wood; now it is said to be gold, but it looks very dingy. 

| Usually called the Hajar el Akhzar, or green stone. El 



THE TOMB OF ISMAYL. 


165 


were sent thither, as presents from Cairo, in A. H. 
241. This is the spot where, according to Moham¬ 
medan 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*, leaving an opening, which leads to 
the burial-place of Ismayl. The wall bears the 
name of El Hatym f; and the area which it encloses 

Idrisi speaks of a white stone covering IshmaeFs remains, Ibn 
Jubair of “green marble, longish, in form of a Milirab 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 El Hajar 
Ismail to the parapet about the slab. 

* My measurements give five feet six inches. In El Idrisi’s 
day the wall was fifty cubits long. 

f El Hatim ( lit. the “broken ”). Burckhardt 

asserts that the Mekkawi no longer apply the word, as some 
historians do, to the space bounded by the Kaabah, the Partition, 
the Zem Zem, and the Makam of Ibrahim. I heard it, how¬ 
ever, so used by learned Meccans, and they gave as the meaning 
of the name the break of this part in the oval pavement which 
surrounds the Kaabah. Historians relate that all who rebuilt 
the “ House of Allah ” followed Abraham’s plan till the 
Kuraysh, and after them El Hajjaj, curtailed it in the direction 



166 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 

is called Hedjer or Hedjer Ismayl*, 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 con¬ 
tracted the dimensions of the Kaabah; that it was 


of El Hatim, which part was then first broken off, and ever 
since remained so. 

* El Hijr ( ) is the space separated, as the name 

denotes, from the Kaabah. Some suppose that Abraham here 
penned his sheep. Possibly Ali Bey means this part of the 

Temple when he speaks of El Hajar ) Ismail—les 

pierres d’lsmail. 



LIMITS OF THE KAABAH. 


167 


united to the building by Hadjadj *, and again se¬ 
parated 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, inas¬ 
much 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 en¬ 
closure of the Hatym. The wall is built of solid 
stone, about five feet in height, and four in thick¬ 
ness, cased all over with white marble, and 
inscribed with prayers and invocations neatly 
sculptured upon the stone in modern characters.f 
These and the casing, are the work of El Ghoury, 
the Egyptian sultan, in a. h. 917. The walk 
round the Kaabah is performed on the outside of 
the wall — the nearer to it the better.” 

“ Round the Kaabah is a good pavement of 


* “ El Hajjaj ; ” this, as will afterwards be seen, is a mistake. 
He excluded the Hatim. 

f As well as memory serves me, for I have preserved no 
note, the inscriptions are in the marble casing, and indeed no 
other stone meets the eye. 



168 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 


marble * about eight inches below the level of the 
great square ; it was laid in a. h. 981, by order of 
the sultan, and describes an irregular oval; it is 
surrounded by thirty-two slender gilt pillars, or 
father poles, between every two of which are sus¬ 
pended seven glass lamps, always lighted after 
sunset.f 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 MakamsJ, with 

* It is a fine, close, grey granite, polished like glass by the 
feet of the faithful; the walk is called El Mataf, or the place of 
circumambulation. 

f 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 
Haram is said to be more than 1000, yet they serve but to 
“ make darkness visible.” 

$ There are only four “ Makams,” the Hanafi, Maliki, Han- 
bali, and the Makam Ibrahim ; and there is some error of dic¬ 
tion below, for in these it is that the Imams stand before their 



THE FOUR MAKAMS, OR STATIONS FOR PRAYER. IG9 

the well 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 Han¬ 
baly opposite the Black Stone, are small pavilions 
open on all sides, and supported by four slender 
pillars, with a light sloping roof, terminating in a 
point, exactly in the style of Indian pagodas.* 
The Makam el 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 first built in 
a. h. 923, by Sultan Selim I.; it was afterwards 
rebuilt by Khoshgeldy, governor of Djidda, in 947; 

congregations, and nearest the Kaabah. In Ibn Jubair’s time 
the Zaydi sect was allowed an Imam, though known to be 
schismatics and abusers of the caliphs. Now, not being per¬ 
mitted to have a separate station for prayer, they suppose theirs 
to be suspended from heaven above the Kaabah roof. 

* The Makam el Maliki is on the west of, and thirty-seven 
cubits from, the Kaabah ; that of the Hanbali forty-seven paces 
distant. 



170 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH, 

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.* 

“ 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 pi*ay first 
in the mosque; then the Hamefys, Malekys, and 
Hanbalys. The prayer of the Maghreb is an 
exception, which they are all enjoined to utter 
together.f The Makam el Hanbaly is the place 

* Only the Muezzin takes his stand here, and the Shafeis 
pray behind their Imam on the pavement round the Kaabah, 
between the corner of the well Zem Zem, and the Makam 
Ibrahim. This place is forty cubits from the Kaabah, that is 
say, eight cubits nearer than the northern and southern “ Ma¬ 
kams.” Thus the pavement forms an irregular oval ring 
round the house. 

f In Burckhardt’s time the schools prayed according to the 
seniority of their founders, and they uttered the Azan of El 
Maghrib together, because that is a peculiarly delicate hour, 
which easily passes by unnoticed. In the twelfth century, at all 
times but the evening, the Shafei began, then came the Maliki 
and Hanbali simultaneously, and, lastly, the Hanafi. Now the 
Shaykh el Muezzin begins the call, which is taken up by the 
others. He is a Hanafi; as indeed are all the principal people 
at Meccah, only a few wild Sherifs of the hills being 
Shafei. 



THE ZEM ZEM OB WELL. 


171 


where the officers of government and other great 
people are seated during prayers; here the Pacha 
and the sheriff are placed, and in their absence the 
eunuchs of the temple. These fill the 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 *, 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, 


* The door of the Zem Zem building opens to the south-east. 



172 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 


which serves as a window, into the reservoir, with¬ 
out entering the room. The mouth of the well is 
surrounded by a wall five feet in height and 
about ten feet in diameter. Upon this the people 
stand who draw up the water in leathern buckets, 
an iron railing being so placed as to prevent their 
falling in. In El Fasy’s time there were eight 
marble basins in this room, for the purpose of 
ablution. 

“ On the north-east (south-east) side of Zem 
Zem stand two small buildings, one behind the 
other*, 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.f These two ugly buildings are 

* This is not exactly correct. As the plan will show, 
the angle of one building touches the angle of its neigh¬ 
bour. 

f Their names and offices are now changed. One is called 
the Kubbat el Saat, and contains the clocks and chronometers 
(two of them English) sent as presents to the mosque by the 
Sultan. The other, known as the Kubbat el Kutub, is used as 
a store-room for manuscripts bequeathed to the mosque. They 
still are open to Burckhardt’s just criticism, being nothing but 
the common dome springing from four walls, and vulgarly 
painted with bands of red, yellow and green. In Ibn Jubair’s 
time the two domes contained bequests of books and candles. 
The Kubbat Abbas, or that further from the Kaabah than its 



EL DARAJ, OR THE LAUDER. 173 

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 Kobbert el Abbas, from having been placed 
on the site of a small tank said to have been 
formed by Abbas, the uncle of Mohammed.” 

“ A few paces west (north-west) of Zem Zem, and 
directly opposite to the door of the Kaabah, stands 
a ladder or staircase *, 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, 

neighbour, was also called Kubbat el Sherab (the Dome of 
Drink), because Zem Zem water was here kept cooling for the 
use of pilgrims in Daurak, or earthern jars. The nearer was 
termed Kubbat el Yahudi; and the tradition they told me was, 
that a Jew having refused to sell his house upon this spot, it 
was permitted to remain in loco by the prophet, as a lasting 
testimony to his regard for justice. A similar tale is told of 
an old woman’s hut, which was allowed to stand in the corner 
of the Great Nushirawan’s royal halls. 

* Called “ El Daraj.” A correct drawing of it may be found 
in Ali Bey’s work. 



174 riLGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 


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 con¬ 
founded with the great gate of the mosque, bear¬ 
ing 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, ‘0 God, 
may it be a happy entrance.’ I do not know by 
whom this arch was built, but it appears to be 
modern.” * 

“ Nearly in front of the Bab-es-Salam and 
nearer than the Kaabah than any of the other sur¬ 
rounding buildings, stands the Makam Ibrahim.f 
This is a small building supported by six pillars 
about eight feet high, four of which are surrounded 

* The Bab el Salam, or Bab el Naby, or Bab beni Shaybah, 
resembles in its isolation a triumphal arch, and is built of cut 
stone. 

t “ The (praying) place of Abraham.” Readers will remem¬ 
ber that the Meccan Mosque is peculiarly connected with Ibra¬ 
him, whom Moslems prefer to all prophets except Mohammed. 



STONE ON WHICH ABRAHAM STOOD. 


175 


from top to bottom by a fine iron railing, while 
they leave the space beyond the two hind pillars 
open ; within the railing is a frame about five feet 
square, terminating in a pyramidal top, and said 
to contain the sacred stone upon which Ibrahim 
stood when he built the Kaabah, and which with 
the help of his son Ismayl he had removed from 
hence to the place called Maajen, already men¬ 
tioned. The stone is said to have yielded under 
the weight of the Patriarch, and to preserve the 
impression of his foot still visible upon it; but no 
hadjy has ever seen it *, as the frame is always 


* 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 im¬ 
press of two feet, especially the big toes, and devout pilgrims fill 
the cavities with water, which they rub over their eyes and faces. 
When the Caliph el Mahdi visited Meccah, one Abdullah bin 
Usman presented himself at the unusual hour of noon, and in¬ 
forming the prince that he had brought him a relic which no 
man but himself had yet seen, produced this celebrated stone. 
El Mahdi, rejoicing greatly, kissed it, rubbed his face against 
it, and pouring water upon it, drank the draught. Kutb el 
Din, one of the Meccan historians, says that it was visited in 
his day. In Ali Bey’s time it was covered with “un magni- 
fique 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 el Khalil, are a green “ ibrisham,” or 
silk mixed with cotton and embroidered with gold. They are 



176 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCATi. 


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 * ; 
from which circumstance it is one of the most 
favourite places of prayers in the mosque. In this 
part of the area the Khalif Soleyman I bn Abd el 
Melek, brother of Wolyd (El Walid), built a fine 
reservoir in a.h. 97, which was filled from a spring 


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 el 
Khalil; ” and at each corner is the name of one of the four ca¬ 
liphs. 

In a note to the “ Dahistan ” (vol. ii. p. 410.) we find two 
learned Orientalists confounding the Black Stone with Abra¬ 
ham’s 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.” 

* Not only here, I was told by learned Meccans, but under 
all the oval pavements surrounding the Kaabah, 



THE MAMBAR, OR PULPIT OP THE MOSQUE. 177 

east of Arafat *; 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.f 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.” J 

“I have now described all the buildings within 
the inclosure of the temple.” 


* The spring gushes from the southern base of Mount 
Arafat, as will afterwards be noticed. It is exceedingly pure. 

■f 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. 

| The curious will find a specimen of a Moslem sermon in 
Lane’s Mod. Egypt, vol. i. ch. 3. 

VOL. III. N 



178 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAII AND MECCAH. 


“ The gates of the mosque are nineteen in num¬ 
ber, and are distributed about it without any order - 
or symmetry.” * 

* Burckhardt “ subjoins their names as they are usually 
written upon small cards by the Metowefs; in another column 
are the names by which they were known in more ancient 
times, principally taken from Azraky and Kotoby.” I have 
added a few remarks in brackets. 


Modern names. Arches. 

1. Bab el Salam, composed of 

smaller gates or arches - 3 

2. Bab el Neby - - - 2 


3. Bab el Abbas, opposite to 
this the house of Abbas 


once stood 

- 3 

4. Bab Aly - 

- 3 

5. Bab el Zayt "1 

Bab el Ashra J 

- 2 

6. Bab el Baghlah 

- 2 

7. Bab el Szafa (Safa) 

- 5 

8. Bab Sherif 

- 2 

9. Bab Medjahed - 

- 2 

10. Bab Zoleykha - 

- . 2 

11. Bab Om Hany, so 

called 


from the daughter of Aby 
Taleb ... 2 

12. Bab el Wodaa (El Widaa) 

through -which the pilgrim 
passes when taking his final 
leave of the temple - 2 

13. Bab Ibrahim, so called from 

a tailor who had a shop 
near it - - - - 1 


Ancient names. 

Bab Beni Shaybah (this is properly 
applied to the inner, not the outer 
Salam Gate). 

Bab el Jenaiz, Gate of Biers, the 
dead being carried through it to 
the mosque. 

Bab Sertakat (some Moslem authors 
confound this Bab el Abbas with 
the Gate of Biers). 

Bab Beni Hashem. 

Bab Bazan (so called from a neigh¬ 
bouring hill). 

Bab Beni Makhzoum. 

Bab el Djyad (so called because 
leading to the hill Jiyad) 

Bab el Dokhmah. 

Bab Sherif Adjelan, who built it. 


Bab el Hazoura (some write this 
Bab el Zarurah). 

Bab el Kheyatyn or Bab Djomah. 


Carry forward 


31 



THE EASTERN GATES OF THE MOSQUE. 179 

Burckhardt’s description of the gates is short 
and imperfect. On the eastern side of the mosque 
there are four principal entrances, seven on the 
southern side, three in the western, and five in the 
northern wall. 

The eastern gates are the Greater Bab el Salam, 
through which the pilgrim enters the mosque; it 
is close to the north-east angle. Next to it the 
Lesser Bab el Salam, with two small arches ; 
thirdly, the Bab el Nabi, where the Prophet used 
to pass through from Khadijah’s house ; and, lastly, 
near the south-east corner, the Bab All, or of the 


Modern names. Arches. 

Brought forward - - 31 

14. Bah el Omra, through which 
pilgrims issue to visit the 
Omra. Also called Beni 


Saham - 

- 1 

15. Bab A tech 

- 1 

16. Bab el Bastye - 

- 1 

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 

19. Bah Dereyhe - - - 1 

Total 39 


Ancient names. 


Bah Amer Ibn el Aas, or Bab el 
Sedra. 

Bab el Adjale. 

Bab Zyade Dar el Nedoua. 


(It is called Bab Ziyadah — Gate of 
Excess—because it is a new struc¬ 
ture thrown out into the Shamiyah, 
or Syrian quarter.) 

Bab Medrese. 


n 2 



180 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MED1NAH AND MECCAH. 

Beni Hashem, opening upon the street between 
Safa and Marwah. 

Beyond the north-eastern corner, in the northern 
wall, is the Bab Duraybah, a small entrance with 
one arch. Next to it, almost fronting the Kaabah, 
is the grand adit, “ Bab el Ziyadah,” also known 
as Bab el Nadwah. Here the colonnade, projecting 
far beyond the normal line, forms a small square 
or hall supported by pillars, and a false colonnade 
of sixty-one columns leads to the true cloister of 
the mosque. This portion of the building being 
cool and shady, is crowded by the poor, the dis¬ 
eased, and the dying, during divine worship, and 
at other times by idlers, schoolboys, and mer¬ 
chants. 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 circum¬ 
ambulating the Kaabah.* 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 

* An old pair of slippers is here what the “ shocking bad 
hat ” is at a crowded house in Europe, a self-preserver. Burck- 
hardt lost three pair. I, more fortunate or less wealthy, only 
one. 



THE WESTERN GATES OF THE MOSQUE. 181 

entrance, “ Bab Kutubi,” and beyond it one similar, 
the Bab el Ajlah ( ), also named El Basitiyah, 

from its proximity to the college of Abd el 
Basitah. Close to the north-west angle of the 
cloister is the Bab el Nadwah, anciently called 
Bab el Umrah, and now Bab el Atib, the Old Gate. 
Near this place and opening into the Kaabah, stood 
the “Town Hall” (Dar el Nadwah), built by 
Kusay, for containing the oriflamme “ El Liwa,” 
and as a council-chamber for the ancients of the 
city.* 

In the western wall are three entrances. The 
single-arched gate nearest to the north angle is 
called Bab Beni Saham or Bab el Umrah, because 
pilgrims pass through it to the Tanim and the 
ceremony El Umrah (Little Pilgrimage). In the 
centre of the wall is the Bab Ibrahim, or Bab 
el 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 el Widaa (“of Farewell”): hence 
departing pilgrims issue forth from the temple. 

At the western end of the southern wall is the 

* Many authorities place this building upon the site of the 
modern Makam Hanaii. 



182 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINA!! AND MECCAH. 

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” ^^ 

which derives its name from the large college 
“ Madrasat Ujlan; ” some call it Bab el Sherif, 
because it is opposite one of the palaces. After 
which, and also pierced with two arches, is the 
Bab el Jiyad (some erroneously spell it El Jihad, 
“ of War ”), the gate leading to Jebel Jiyad. The 
next is also double arched, and called the Bab el 
Mujahid or El Rahmah ( “of Mercy ” ). Nearly 
opposite the Kaabah, and connected -with the 
pavement by a raised line of stone, is the Bab el 
Safa, through which pilgrims now issue to perform 
the ceremony “ El Sai; ” it is a small and uncon- 
spicuous erection. Next to it is the Bab el Baghlah 
with two arches, and close to the south-east angle 
of the mosque the Bab Yunus, alias Bab Bazan, 
alias Bab el Zayt, alias Bab el Asharah, “ of the 
ten,” because a favourite with the ten first 
Sahabah, or Companions of the Prophet. “ Most 
of these gates,” says Burekhardt, “ have high 
pointed arches; but a few round arches are seen 
among them, which, like all arches of this kind 
in the Hejar, are nearly semicircular. They arc 



EXPENSES DURING “SEASON” AT MECCAH. 183 

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 enu¬ 
meration 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 con¬ 
sequently open at all times. I have crossed at 
every hour of the night, and always found people 
there, either at prayers or walking about.” * 

“ The outside walls of the 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, f Windows have in con- 

* The Meccans love to boast that at no hour of the day or 
night is the Kaabah ever seen without a devotee to perform 
“ Tawaf.” 

f 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 Burck- 
hardt’s time the colonnato was worth from 9 to 12 piastres: 



184 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAII AND MECCAII. 


sequence 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 apart¬ 
ments 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 temple. Upon a level with the ground floor of 
the colonnades and opening into them are small 
apartments formed in the walls, having the appear¬ 
ance of dungeons; these have remained theproperty 
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.* Some of the surrounding houses still 
belong to the mosque, and were originally in¬ 
tended for public schools, as their names of Me- 
dresa implies ; they are now all let out to Hadjys.” 

“The exterior of the mosque is adorned with 
seven minarets irregularly distributed : — 1. Mi- 

tbe value of the latter coin is now greatly decreased, for 28 go 
to the Spanish dollar all over El Hejaz. 

* I entered one of these caves, and never experienced such 
.a sense of suffocation even in that famous spot for Britons to 
asphixiate themselves— the Baths of Nero. 



THE VICE-INTENDANT OF THE MOSQUE. 185 


naret of Bab el Omra (Umrah); 2. of Bab el 
Salam; 3. of Bab Aly; 4. of Bab elWodaa (Widaa); 
5. of Medesa Kail (Kait) Bey ; 6. of Bab el Zyadi; 
7. of Medreset Sultan Soleyman.* They are quad¬ 
rangular 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, f A beautiful view of the busy crowd 
below is attained by ascending the most northern 
one.” % 

Having described at length the establishment 
attached to the mosque of El Medinah, I spare my 
readers a detailed account of the crowd of idlers 
that hang about the Meccan temple. The Naib 
el Haram, or vice-intendant, is one Sayyid Ali, 

* The Magnificent (son of Selim L), who built at El Medinah 
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. 

f Two minarets, namely, those of the Bab el Salam and the 
Bab el Safa, are separated from the mosque by private dwelling- 
houses, a plan neither common nor regular. 

| A stranger must be careful how he appears at a minaret 
window, unless ho 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 tin's 
reason here, as in Egypt, a blind Muezzin is preferred, and many 
ridiculous stories are told about men who for years have coun¬ 
terfeited cecity to live in idleness. 



186 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINA!! AND MECCAH. 


said to be of Indian extraction; he is superior 
to” all the attendants. There are about eighty 
eunuchs, whose chief, Serur Agha, was a slave of 
Mohammed Ali Pacha. Their pay varies from 
100 to 1000 piastres per mensem; it is, however, 
inferior to the Medinah salaries. The Imams, 
Muezzins, Khatibs, Zem Zemis, &c. &c., are under 
their respective Shaykhs who are of the Ulema. * 

Briefly to relate the history of the Kaabah. 

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 

* I have illustrated this chapter, which otherwise might be 
unintelligible to many, by a plan of the Kaabah (taken from 
Ali Bey el 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 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 or 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. 



LEGEND OF TIIE SECOND HOUSE. 187 

about to send a vicegerent on earth, they depre¬ 
cated the design. Being reproved with these words, 
“ God knoweth what ye know not,” and dreading 
eternal anger, they compassed the Arsh, or throne, 
in adoration. Upon this Allah created the Bait 
el Maamur, four jasper pillars with a ruby roof, and 
the angels circumambulated it, crying, “ Praise to 
Allah, and exalted be Allah, and there is no Allah 
but Allah, and Allah is omnipotent! ” The Crea¬ 
tor then ordered them to build a similar house 
for man on earth. This, according to Ali, took 
place 40, according to Abu Horayrah, 2000 years 
before the creation; both authorities, however, are 
agreed that the firmaments were spread above and 
the seven earths beneath this Bait el Maamur. 

2. There is considerable contradiction concern¬ 
ing the second house. Kaab related that Allah 
sent down with Adam* a Khaymah, or tabernacle 
of hollow ruby, which the angels raised on stone 
pillars. This was also called Bait el Maamur. 
Adam received an order to compass it about; after 

* It must be remembered that the Moslems, like many of the 
.lews, hold that Paradise was not on earth, but in the lowest 
firmament, which is, as it were, a reflection of earth. I have 
borrowed the greater part of these historical remarks from a 
MS. of “ Kutb el Din ” in my possession. 



188 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 


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 Para¬ 
dise, 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, 
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 Bait el 
Maamur,— a Moslem corruption of the legends con¬ 
cerning the heavenly and the earthly Jerusalem. 
Our first father compassed it as he had seen the 
angels, 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 some¬ 
what confused. When the Bait el Maamur, 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 the Moslems. This 



ABRAHAM LEARNS TIIE RITES OF PILGRIMAGE. 189 


Kaabah, according to some, was destroyed by the 
deluge, which materially altered its site. Others 
believe that it was raised to heaven. Others, again, 
declared 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 El 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 west¬ 
ern 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 



190 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAII. 

pilgrimage. When this house was completed, 
Abraham, by Allah’s order, ascended Jebel 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. El Tabari 
and the Moslem 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 Kaabah was built about the be¬ 

ginning of the Christian era by the Beni Jurham, 
the children of Kahtan, fifth descendant from Noah. 
Ismail married, according to the Moslems, a daughter 
of this tribe, Daalah bint Muzaz bin Umar, 

and abandoning Hebrew, he began to speak Arabic 
(Ta arraba). Hence his descendants are called Ara- 
bicised Arabs. After Ismail’s death, which happened 
when he was 180 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 in¬ 
habited the higher parts of Meccah, especially Jebel 



LEGEND OP THE EIGHTH HOUSE. 191 

Kaakaan, 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 Haram. 

8. Kusay’s house was burnt down by a woman’s 
censer, which accidentally set fire to the Kiswat, 
or covering, and the walls were destroyed by a 
torrent. A merchant-ship belonging to a Greek 
trader, called “ Bakum ” (^U), 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 El 
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 from 
nine to eighteen cubits, built a staircase in the 
northern breadth, closed the western dooi; and 



192 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAII AND MECCAII. 


placed the eastern entrance above the ground, 
to prevent men entering without their leave. 

When the eighth house was being built Moham¬ 
med was in his twenty-fifth year. His surname of 
El 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 honor of raising it to 
its place. * He decided for the corner chosen 
by Abraham, and distributed the “ Kudos ” 
amongst the clans. The Beni Zahrah and Beni 
Abd Manaf took the front wall and the door; to 
the Beni Jama and the Beni Sahm was allotted the 
back wall; the Beni Makhzum and their Kuraysh 
relations stood at the southern wall; and at the 
“Stone” corner were posted the Beni Abd el Dar, 
the Beni Asad, and the Beni Ada. 

9. Abdullah bin Zubayr, nephew of Ayisha, re¬ 
built the Kaabah in A.n. 64. It had been weak¬ 
ened by fire, which burnt the covering, besides 
splitting the Black Stone into three pieces, and 
by the Manjanik (catapults) of Husayn 
bin Numayr, general of Yezid, who obstinately 
besieged Meccah till he heard of his sovereign’s 


* Others derive the surname from this decision. 



ABDULLAII BUILDS THE NINTH HOUSE. 193 

death. Abdullah, hoping to fulfil a prophecy *, and 
seeing that the people of Meccah fled in alarm, 
pulled down the building by means of “ thin-calved 
Abyssinian slaves; ” and when they came to Abra¬ 
ham’s foundation he saw that it included El Hijr, 
which part the Kuraysh had been unable to build. 
The building was made of cut stone and fine lime 
brought from Yemen. Abdullah, taking in the 
Hatim, lengthened the building by seven cubits, 
and added to its former height nine cubits, 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, in¬ 
stead of the double row of six placed there by the 
Kuraysh. Finally, he paved the Mataf, or cir¬ 
cuit, ten cubits round with the remaining slabs, and 
increased the Haram by taking in the nearer houses. 
During the building, a curtain was stretched round 
the walls, and pilgrims compassed them outside. 
When finished, it was perfumed inside and outside, 

* As will afterwards be mentioned, almost every Meccan 
knows the prophecy of Mohammed that the birthplace of his 
fate will be destroyed by an army from Abyssinia. Such 
things bring their own fulfilment. 


VOL. III. 


O 



/ 

194 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 

and invested with brocade. Then Abdullah and 
all the citizens went forth to Tanim in procession, 
returned to perform Umrah, slew 100 victims, and 
rejoiced with great festivities. 

The Caliph Abd el Malik bin Marwan besieged 
Abdullah bin Zubayr, who, after a brave defence, 
was slain. In A. h. 74 Hajjaj bin Yusuf, general of 
Abd el Malik’s troops, wrote to the prince, inform¬ 
ing him that Abdullah had made unauthorised 
additions to and changes in the Haram: 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 Haram was enlarged and beau¬ 
tified by the Abbasides, especially by el Mehdi, El 
Mutamid, and El Mutazid. Some authors reckon, 
as an eleventh house, the repairs made by Sultan 
Murad Khan. On the night of Tuesday 20th 
Shaaban, a. h. 1030, a violent torrent swept the 
Haram; it rose one cubit above the threshold of 
the Kaabah, carried away the lamp-posts and the 



PROOFS OF THE KAABAH’S SANCTITY. 195 

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 re¬ 
pairs were not finished till a.h. 1040. The greater 
part, however, of the building dates from the time 
of El Hajjaj ; and Moslems, who never mention his 
name without a curse, knowingly circumambulate 
his work. The Ulema indeed have insisted upon 
its remaining untouched, lest kings in wantonness 
should change its form: Harun el Rashid desired 
to rebuild it, but was forbidden by the Imam Malik. 

The present proof of the Eaabah’s sanctity, as 
adduced by the learned, are puerile enough, but cu¬ 
rious. The Ulema have made much of the verse- 
let: “Verily the first house built for mankind 
(to worship in) is that in Beccah (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 Kaabah, which 
contains such marvels as the foot-prints on 
Abraham’s platform and the spiritual safeguard of 
all who enter the Sanctuary.* The other “signs,” 

* Abu Hanifah made it a temporal sanctuary, and would 
not allow even a murderer to be dragged from the walls. 



196 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 

historical, psychical, and physical, are briefly these: 
The preservation of the Hajar el 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 Haram. 
A wonderful desire and love impel men from distant 
regions to visit the holy spot, and the first sight of 
the Kaabah causes awe and fear, horripilation and 
tears. Furthermore,ravenous beastswill not destroy 
their prey in the Sanctuary land, and the pigeons 
and other birds never perch upon the house, except 
to be cured of sickness, for fear of defiling the roof. 
The Kaabah, though small, can contain any number 
of devotees; no one is ever hurt in it *, 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 Yemen; 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. 

* This is an audacious falsehood; the Kaabah is scarcely 
ever opened without some accident happening. 



CHAP. XXYJI. 


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 In dian 
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 Zagh- 
ritah *, 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 

* 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 Ja- 
gannath. 



198 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 


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 the porter, 
to bring a light. Meanwhile a certain shuffling of 
slippered feet above informed my hungry ears 
that the “ Kabirahf,” the lady of the house, was 
intent on hospitable toil. When the camels were 
unloaded appeared a dish of fine vermicilli browned 
and powdered with loaf-sugar. The boy Moham¬ 
med, 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 lay down, weary, and anxious to snatch an hour 
or two of repose, for at dawn we should be expected 
to perform our “ Tawaf el Kudum,” or “ Circum- 
ambulation of Arrival,” at the Haram. 

Scarcely had the first smile of morning beamed 
upon the rugged head of Abu Kubays J when we 

* 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. 

t “ Sitt el Kabirah,” or simply “ El Kabirali,” the Great 
Lady, is the title given to the mistress of the house. 

$ This hill bounds Meccah on the east. According to many 



THE “PILGRIM’s” PEELINGS AT THE SHRINE. 199 

arose, bathed, and proceeded in our pilgrim garb to 
the Sanctuary. We entered by the Bab el Ziyadah, 
or principal northern door, descended two long 
flights of steps, traversed the cloister, and stood in 
sight of the Bait 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 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 barbaric gorgeousness as in the 
buildings of India; yet the view was strange, 
unique, and how few have looked upon the cele¬ 
brated shrine! I may truly say that, of all the wor- 


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 Jebel 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. 



200 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 


shippers 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 
Kaabah without fear and awe; there is a popular 
jest against new comers, that they generally inquire 
the direction of prayer.* 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 Beni Shay- 
bah, the “ Gate of the Sons of the Old Woman.” f 

* This being the Kiblah, or fronting place, Moslems can pray 
all around it; a circumstance which of course cannot take 
place in any spot of El Islam but the Haram. 

t The popular legend of this gate is, that when Abraham 
and his son were ordered to rebuild the Kaabah, 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 Beni Shaybah means the “ sons of 
an old woman ” as well as “ descendants of Shaybah.” And 



CEREMONIES ON APPROACHING TIIE IIAABAII. 201 


There we raised our hands, repeated the Labbayk, 
the Takhir, and the Tahlil; after which we uttered 
certain supplications, and drew our hands down our 
faces. Then we proceeded to the Shafei’s place of 
prayer — the open pavement between the Makam 
Ibrahim and the well Zem Zem, — where we per¬ 
formed the usual two prostrations in honor of 
the mosque. This was followed by a cup of holy 
water * and a present to the Sakkas, or carriers, who 

history tells us that the Beni Shaybah are derived from one 
Shaybah (bin Usman, bin Talhah, bin Shaybah, bin Talhnh, 
bin Abd el Dar), who was sent by Muawiyah to make some 
alterations in the Kaabah. According to others, the Kaabah 
key was committed to the charge of Usman bin Talhah by the 
Prophet. 

* The word Zem Zem 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 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 El Tslnm , 
who invariably connect their faith with the worship of Venus 
especially, and the heavenly bodies generally, derive Zem Zem 
from the Persian, and make it signify the “great luminary.” 
Hence they say the Zem Zem, as well as the Kaabah, denoting 
the Chutliite or Ammonian worship of sun and fire, deserve 
man’s reverence. So the Persian poet Khakani addresses these 
two buildings : — 

“ 0 Kaabah, thou traveller of the heavens! ” 

“ 0 Venus, thou fire of the world! ” 



202 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 


for the consideration distributed a large earthen 
vaseful in my name to poor pilgrims. We then 

Thus Wahid Mohammed, founder of the Waliidiyah sect, 
identifies the Kiblah and the sun; wherefore he says the door 
fronts the east. By the names Yemen (“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 Black Stone represents Venus, “which in the 
border of the heavens is a star of the planets,” and sym¬ 
bolical of the generative power of nature, “ by whose pas¬ 
sive energy the universe was warmed into life and motion.” 
The Hindus accuse the Moslems of adoring the Bait Ullah. 

“ O Moslem, if thou worship the Kaabah, 

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, men¬ 
tally 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 Zem Zem is held in great esteem. It is used 
for drinking and 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 tea-spoonful of Epsom salts in a large tumbler of 
tepid water. Moreover, it is exceedingly “ heavy ” to the taste. 
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 



THE PILGRIM APPROACHES “ TIIE ” STONE. 203 


advanced towards the eastern angle of the Kaabah, 
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, “ 0 Allah (I do this), in 
thy belief, and in verification of thy book, and in 

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 Zem Zem, are unfounded. Jn 
these days a critic cannot be excused for such hasty judgments; 
at Calcutta or Bombay he would easily find a jar of Zem Zem 
water, which he might taste for himself. 

The water is transmitted to distant regions in glazed earthen 
jars covered with basket work, and sealed by the Zem Zemis. 
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 supersti¬ 
tion is not idle about the waters of Zem Zem. The copious 
supply of the well is considered at Meccali miraculous ; in 
distant countries it facilitates the pronunciation of Arabic to 
the student; and everywhere the nauseous draught is highly 
meritorious in a religious point of view. 



204 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 


pursuance of thy Prophet’s example — may Allah 
bless him and preserve ! 0 Allah, I extend my hand 
to thee, and great is my desire to thee! 0 accept 
thou my supplication, and diminish my obstacles, 
and pity my humiliation, and graciously grant me 
thy pardon.” After which, as we were still un¬ 
able to reach the stone, we raised our hands to 
our ears, the palms facing the stone, as if touching 
it, recited the Takbir, the Tahlil, and the Hamdilah, 
blessed the Prophet, and kissed the finger-tips of 
the right hand.* 

Then commenced the ceremony of “ Tawaf,” or 
circumainbulation f, our route being the “ Mataf,” 


* Lucian mentions adoration of the sun by kissing the 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 second caliph also used to kiss 
it. For this reason most Moslems, except the Shafei 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. 

f The Moslem in circumambulation presents his left shoulder; 
the Hindu’s Pradakshina consists in w’alking 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 



THE “tawaf,” or circumambulation. 205 


or low oval of polished granite immediately 
surrounding the Kaabah. I repeated, after my 
Mutawwif, or cicerone *, “ In the name of Allah, 
and Allah is omnipotent! I purpose to circuit 
seven circuits unto almighty Allah, glorified and 

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 Dervishes. And El 
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 the priestly line 
of princes, into their pantheism. And our processions round 
the parish preserve the form of the ancient rite, whose life is 
long since fled. 

Moslem moralists have not failed to draw spiritual food from 
this mass of materialism. “ To circuit the Bait TJllah,” said the 
Pir Raukhan (As. Soc. vol. xi. and Dabistan, vol. iii. “ Miyan 
Bayezid ”), “ and to be free from wickedness, and crime, and 
quarrels, i3 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 aDgels, is the business of the 
(mystic) path.” Thus Saadi, in his sermons,—which remind 
the Englishman of “ poor Yorick,” — “ He who travels to the 
Eaabah on foot makes a circuit of the Kaabah, but he who per¬ 
forms the pilgrimage of the Kaabah in his heart is encircled 
by the Kaabah.” 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. 

* The Mutawwif, or Dalil, is the guide at Meccali. 



206 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 


exalted ! ” This is technically called the Niyat of 
Tawaf. Then we began the prayer, “ 0 Allah (I do 
this), in thy belief, and in verification of thy book, 
and in faithfulness to thy covenant, and in persever¬ 
ance of the example of the Prophet Mohammed— 
may Allah bless him and preserve! ” till we reached 
the place El Multazem, between the corner of the 
Black Stone and the Kaabah door. Here we 
ej aculated “ 0 Allah, thou hast rights, so pardon my 
transgressing them.” Opposite the door we re¬ 
peated, “ 0 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, “ 0 Allah, 
verily this is the place of Abraham, who took 
refuge with and fled to thee from the fire! — 0 
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 Kaabah we exclaimed, 

“ 0 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 front¬ 
ing the Mizab, or spout, we repeated the words, 

“ 0 Allah, verily I beg of thee faith which shall not 



THE PRAYER. 


207 


decline and a certainty which shall not perish, and 
the good aid of thy Prophet Mohammed—may Allah 
bless him and preserve! 0 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 thy Prophet Mohammed—may Allah," &c.! — 
“ that pleasant draught after which is no thirst to 
all eternity, 0 Lord of honor and glory! ” Turning 
the west corner, or the Rukn el Shami, we ex¬ 
claimed, “ 0 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, 0 thou glorious! 0 thou 
pardoner! ” This was repeated thrice, till we 
arrived at the Yemani, or southern 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. Between the 
south angle and that of the Black Stone, where our 
circuit would be completed, we said “ 0 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 implore thy pardon 
for the present and for the future. 0 Lord, grant 



208 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAII AND MECCAH. 

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 three first 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 
Taammul, slowly and leisurely; the reverse of 
the Sai, or running. 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 vtas deemed 
advisable to attempt to kiss the stone. For a time 
I stood looking in despair at the swarming crowd 
of Bedouin and other pilgrims that besieged it. 
But the boy Mohammed was equal to the occasion. 

* These seven Ashwat, or courses, are called collectively one 
Usbu ( ). 



THE PILGKIM ATTEMPTS TO KISS THE STONE. 209 


During our circuit he had displayed a fiery zeal 
against heresy and schism, by foully abusing every 
Persian in his path * ; and the inopportune introduc¬ 
tion of hard words into his prayers made the latter 
a strange patchwork; as “ Ave Maria purissima 
— arrah, don’t 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 “ 0 thou rejected 


* 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 Kaabali. 
It is scarcely necessary to say, that a Shiah as well as a Sunni 
would look upon such an action with lively horror. The 
people of Meccab, 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 Kaabah defiled 
by a Persian, they rose up, cruelly beat the schismatics, and 
carried them off to their peculiar quarter the Shamiyah, for¬ 
bidding their ingress to the Kaabah. Indeed, till Mohammed 
Ali’s time, the Persians rarely ventured upon a pilgrimage, and 
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. The Turcomaniacs of Europe are now beginning to 
know how their eastern co-religionists, and with ample reason, 
feel towards the Moslems. 


VOL. III. 


P 



210 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 

one, son of the rejected! ” would be the interpolation 
addressed to some long-bearded Khorasani,—“and 
in that to come —0 hog and brother of a hoggess! ” 
And so he continued till I wondered that no one 
dared to turn and rend him. After vainly address¬ 
ing the pilgrims, of whom nothing could be seen 
but a mosaic of occiputs 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 Bedouins turned round 
upon us like wild cats, but 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 mono¬ 
polised 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 a big 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 circum¬ 
ference is sprinkled with little crystals, pointed and straw-like, 



THE PILGRIM PRAYS FOR ALL HE WANTS. 211 

Having kissed the stone, we fought our way 
through the crowd to the place called El Multa- 
zem. Here we pressed our stomachs, chests, and 
right cheeks to the Kaabah, raising our arms high 
above our heads, and exclaiming, “0 Allah! 0 
Lord of the ancient house, freejny 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 Allah but he, the living, the 
eternal, and to him I repent myself! ” After 
which we blessed the Prophet, and then asked for 
ourselves all that our souls desired most.* 


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.” 

* Prayer is granted at fourteen places besides El Multazem, 
viz.:— 

1. At the place of circumambulation. 

2. Under the Mizab, or spout of the Kaabah. 

3. Inside the Kaabah. 

4. At the well Zem Zem. 

5. Behind Abraham’s place of prayer. 

6. and 7. On Mounts Safa and Marwah. 

8. During the ceremony called “ El Sai.” 



212 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 

After embracing the Multazem we repaired to 
the Shafei’s place of prayer near the Makam 
Ibrahim, and there recited two prostrations, tech¬ 
nically called “ Sunnat el Tawaf,” or the (Pro¬ 
phet’s) practice of circumambulation. The chapter 
repeated in the first was “Say thou, 0 ye infidels:” 
in the second, “ Say thou he is the one God.” * 
We then went to the door of the building in which 
is Zem Zem: 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.f During the potation we prayed, 
“ 0 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 Tekbir, the Tahlil, and the 

9. Upon Mount Arafat. 

10. At Muzdalifali. 

11. In Muna. 

12. During the devil-stoning. 

13. On first seeing the Kaabah. 

14. At the Hatim or Hijr. 

* The former is the 109th, the latter the 112th chapter of 
the Koran (I have translated it in a previous volume). 

f These superstitions, I must remark in fairness, belong only 
to the vulgar. 



the pilgrim puts up with a bad lodging. 213 

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.* 

The boy Mohammed had miscalculated the 
amount of lodging in his mother’s house. She, being 
a widow 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 hyaena, 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 this I was obliged to be con¬ 
tent and pass that day in the common male-draw¬ 
ing room of the house, a vestibule on the ground- 
floor, called in Egypt a “ Takhta-bush.” f Enter¬ 
ing, to the left (a) was a large Mastabah, or 

* Strictly speaking we ought, after this, to have performed 
the ceremony called El Sai, or the running seven times between 
Mounts Safa and Marwah. Fatigue put this fresh trial com¬ 
pletely out of the question. 

f 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. 



214 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AJSD MECCAH. 

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’ bag¬ 
gage. 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 stair-case (g). 

I had scarcely composed myself upon the com¬ 
fortably carpeted Mastabah, when the remainder 
of it was suddenly invaded by the Turkish 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 non-chalance.* At 
last one of them addressed me in Turkish, to which 
I replied by shaking my head. His question being 
interpreted to me in Arabic, I drawled out lf My 
native place is the land of Khorasan.” This pro¬ 
voked a stern and stony stare from the Turks, 
and an “ ugh,” which said plainly enough, “ Then 

* This is equivalent to throwing oneself upon the sofa in 
Europe. Only in the East it asserts a decided claim to supe¬ 
riority ; the West would scarcely view it in that light. 





THE PILGRIM RETURNS TO THE KAABAH. 215 

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 in the army, 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. Malapi’op observes, to find it 
all the better by beginning with a little aversion. 

In the evening, accompanied by the boy 
Mohammed, and followed by Shaykh Mur, who 
carried a lantern and a praying-rug, I again re¬ 
paired to the “ Navel of the World ; ” * this time 

* Ibn Haukal begins his cosmography with Meccah “ because 
the temple of the Lord is situated there, and the holy Kaabah 
is the navel of the earth, and Meccah is styled in sacred writ 
the parent city, or the mother of towns.” Unfortunately, Ibn 
Haukal, like most other Mohammedan travellers and geogra¬ 
phers, says no more about Meccah. 



216 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 

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,”— 

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 Ish- 
mael, and of his posterity. Sublime it was, and 
expressing by all the eloquence of fancy the 
grandeur of the One Idea which vitalised El Islam, 
and the sternness and stedfastness of its votaries. 

The oval pavement around the Kaabah 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 
contrast! Here stalked the Bedouin woman, in 
her long black robe like a nun’s serge, and poppy- 
coloured face-veil, pierced to show two fiercely 



MECCAH RESEMBLES BATH OR FLORENCE. 217 


flashing orbs. There an Indian woman, with her 
semi-Tartar features, nakedly hideous, and her thin 
parenthetical 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 turban 
awry and arms akimbo, contemplating the view 
jauntily, as those gentlemen’s gentlemen will do. 
In another, some poor wretch, with arms thrown on 
high, so that every part of his person might touch 
the Kaabah, 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 an humble distance, to Bath. Some writers liken 
it to Florence; but conceive a Florence without 
beauty ! To the south lay Jebel Jiyad the greater *, 


* To distinguish it from the Jiyad (above the cemetery El 
Maala) 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. 



218 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 


also partly built over and crowned with a fort, 
which at a distance looks less useful than romantic*: 
a flood of pale light was sparkling upon its stony 
surface. Below, the minarets became pillars of 
silver, and the cloisters, dimly streaked by oil lamps, 
bounded the view of the temple with horizontal 
lines of shade. 

Before nightfall the boy Mohammed rose to feed 
the pigeons f, for whom he had brought a pocket- 

* The Meccans, however, do not fail to boast of its strength; 
and it has stood some sieges. 

f 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 Semiramiswas 
preserved by that bird. The Meccan pigeons — large blue 
rocks—are held sacred probably in consequence of the wild 
traditions of the Arabs about Noah’s dove. Some authors de¬ 
clare 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 on two occasions 
with their faith; first, when that bird appeared to whisper in 
Mohammed’s ear, and, secondly, during the flight to El Medinah. 
Moreover, in many countries they are called “Allah’s pro- 
claimers,” 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.” 



A FANATIC NEGRO. 


219 


ful 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 revered blue rocks with 
a plentiful meal. 

Late in the evening I saw a negro in the state 
called Malbus — religious phrenzy. To all ap¬ 
pearance a Takruri, he was a fine and a powerful 
man, as the numbers required to hold him testified. 
He threw his arms widely about him, uttering 
shrill cries, which sounded like 16! 16! 16! 16! 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 imagi¬ 
nation, would at once suggest a “ demoniacal 


At Meccah they are called the doves of the Kaabah, and 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. 



220 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 

possession.” * Either their organisation is more 
impressionable, or more probably the hardships, 
privations, and fatigues endured whilst wearily 
traversing inhospitable wilds and perilous seas 
have exalted their imaginations to a pitch bor¬ 
dering 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 ejacu¬ 
lations. 

That night I stayed in the Hararn till 2 A. m., 
wishing to see if it would be empty. But the 
morrow was to witness the egress to Arafat; many, 
therefore, passed the hours of darkness in the 
Haram. Numerous parties of pilgrims sat upon 
their rugs, with lanterns in front of them, con¬ 
versing, praying, and contemplating the Kaabah. 
The cloisters were full of merchants, who resorted 
there to “ talk shop ” and vend such holy goods 
as combs, tooth-sticks, and rosaries. Before 10 p. m. 
I found no opportunity of praying the usual two 
prostrations over the grave of Ishmael. After 

* In the Mandal, or palm-divination, a black slave is con- 
sidered 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. 



THE PILGRIM MEASURES THE KAABAH. 221 

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 re¬ 
marking 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 Kaabah, with the in¬ 
tention of “ obtaining ” a bit of the torn, old 
Kiswat or curtain, but too many eyes were looking 
on.* The opportunity, however, was favourable 

* 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 purloiu 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 unmerciful 
application of the quarter-staff. The piece in my possession 
was given to me by the boy Mohammed before I left Meccah. 
Waistcoats made of the Kiswat still make the combatant 
invulnerable in battle, and are considered presents fit for 
princes. The Moslems generally try to secure a strip of this 
cloth as a mark for the Koran, &c. &c. 



222 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 

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 el 
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 watch¬ 
men, 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 ex¬ 
haustion could induce lethargy there. 



223 


CHAP. XXVIII. 

OF HAJJj OK PILGKIMAGE. 

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: “ 0 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 me¬ 
diaeval Europe, and the processions of the Roman 



224 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 


Catholic Church are, according to her votaries *, 
modern memorials of the effete rite. 

Every Moslem is bound, under certain condi¬ 
tions!, t° pay at least one visit to the Holy City. 
This constitutes the Hajjat el Farz (the one obli- 


* M. Hue’s “Travels in Tartary.” 

f 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 the support of their families ; moreover, he allows 
a deputy-pilgrim, whose expenses must be paid by the prin¬ 
cipal. 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 El Islam there are four Shurut el 
Wujub, or necessary conditions, viz.: — 

1. Islam, the being a Moslem. 

2. B ulugh, adolescence. 

3. Hurriyat, the being a free man. 

4. Akl, or mental sanity. 

Other authorities increase the conditions to eight, viz.:_ 

5. Wujud el Zad, sufficiency of provision. 

6. El Rahlah, having a beast of burthen, if living two days’ 

journey from Meccah. * 

7. Takhliyat el Tarik, the road being open ; and 

8. Imkan el Masir, the being able to walk two stages, if the 
pilgrim hath no beast. 

Others, again, include all conditions under two heads:_ 

1. Sihhat, health. 

2. Istitaat, ability. 

These subjects have exercised jiot a little the casuistic talents 
of the Arab doctors: a folio volume might be filled with differ¬ 
ences of opinion on the subject “ Is a blind man sound ? ” 



THE THREE KINDS OF PILGRIMAGE. 225 


gatory pilgrimage), or Hajjat el Islam, of the 
Mohammedan faith. Repetitions become mere 
Sunnats, or practices of the Prophet, and are there¬ 
fore supererogatory. Some European writers have 
of late years laboured to represent the Meccan 
pilgrimage as a fair, a pretext to collect merchants 
and to afford Arabia the benefits of purchase and 
barter. It would be vain to speculate whether the 
secular or the spiritual element originally prevailed; 
most probably each had its portion. But those 
who peruse this volume will see that, despite the 
comparatively lukewarm piety of the age, the 
Meccan pilgrimage is religious essentially, acci¬ 
dentally an affair of commerce. 

Moslem pilgrimage is of three kinds. 

1. El Mukarinah (the uniting) is when the 
votary performs the Hajj and the Umrah * together, 
as was done by the Prophet in his last visit to 
Meccah. 

2. El Ifrad (singulation) is when either the 
Hajj or the Umrah is performed singularly, the 
former preceding the latter. The pilgrim may be 
either El Mufrid b’il Hajj (one who is performing 
only the Hajj), or vice versa, El Mufrid b’il Umrah. 

* The technical meaning of these words will be explained 
below. 

VOL. III. 0 



226 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 

According to Abu Hanifah, this form is more 
efficacious than the following. 

3. El Tamattu (“ possession ”) is when the 
pilgrim assumes the Ihram, and preserves it 
throughout the months of Shawwal, Z’ul Kaadah, 
and nine days (ten nights) in Z’ul Hijjah *, per¬ 
forming Hajj and Umrah the while. 

There is another threefold division of pil¬ 
grimage : — 

1. Umrah (the little pilgrimage), performed at 
any time except the pilgrimage season. It differs 
in some of its forms from Hajj, as will afterwards 
appear. 

2. Hajj (or simple pilgrimage), performed at the 
proper season. 

3. Hajj el Akbar (the great pilgrimage) is when 
the “ day of Arafat ” happens to fall upon a 
Friday. This is a most auspicious occasion. M. 
Caussin de Perceval and other writers, departing 
from the practice of (modern ? ) Islam, make 
“ Hajj el Akbar” to mean the simple pilgrimage, in 
opposition to the Umrah, which they call “ Hajj 
el Asghar.” 

The following compendium of the Shafei pilgrirn- 

* At any other time of the year Ihram is considered Makruh, 
or objectionable, without being absolutely sinful. 



THE SHAFEI PILGRIM RITES. 


227 


rites is translated from a little treatise by Mo¬ 
hammed of Shirbin, surnamed El Khatib, a learned 
doctor, whose work is generally read in Egypt and 
the countries adjoining. 


Chap. I. — Op Pilgrimage.* 

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

* 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 less than seven silver pieces to the poor. 
The day should be either a Thursday or a Saturday; some, 
however, say 

“ Allah hath honored 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 el Safar, or preambles 
to journeying, are the following. Istikharah, consulting the 
rosary and friends. Khulus el 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 

H2 



228 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAII AND MECCAH. 


“ 1. El Arkan or Faraiz; those made obligatory by 
Koranic precepts, and therefore essentially necessary, and 
not admitting expiatory or vicarious atonement, either in 
Hajj or Umrah. 

“ 2. El Wajibat (requisites); the omission of which may, 
a.cording to some schools *, be compensated for the Fidyat, 
or atoning sacrifice: and — 

“ 3. El Sunan (pi. of Sunnat), the practice of the' Pro¬ 
phet, which may be departed from without positive sin. 

“ Now, the Arkan, the ‘ pillars ’ upon which the rite 
stands, are six in number f, viz.: — 

“ 1. El Ihram (‘rendering unlawful’), or the wearing 
pilgrim garb and avoiding certain actions. 

“ 2. El Wukuf, the ‘ standing ’ upon Mount Arafat. 


mounting, halting, dismounting, and at nightfal. 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. 

* In the Shafei school there is little difference between El 
Farz and El Wajib. In the Hanafi the former is a superior 
obligation to the latter. 

f The Hanafi, Maliki, and even some Shafei doctors, reduce 
the number from six to four, viz.: — 

1. Ihram, with “ Niyat.” 3. Wukuf. 

2. Tawaf. 4. Sai. 



PILGRIM RITES. 


229 


“ 3. The Tawaf el Ifazah, or circumambulation of im¬ 
petuosity.* 

“ 4. The Sai, or course between Mounts Safa and Mar- 
wah. 

“ 5. El Halk ; tonsure (of the whole or part) of the head 
for men ; or taksir, cutting the hair (for men and \vomen).f 

“ 6. El Tartib, or the due order of the ceremonies, as 
above enumerated. 

“ But El Sai (4), may either precede or follow El Wukuf 
(2), provided that the Tawaf el Kudum, or the circumam¬ 
bulation of arrival, has previously been performed. And 
Halk (5) may be done before as well as after the Tawaf 
el Ifazah (3). 

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

“1. El Ihram, or assuming pilgrim garb, from the Mikat, 
or fixed limits 

“2. The Mabit, or nighting at Muzdalifah: for this a 
short portion, generally in the latter watch, preceding the 
Yaum el Nahr, or victim day, suffices. 

“3. The spending at Muna the three nights of the 

* The Ifazah is the impetuous descent from Mount Arafat. 
Its Tawaf, generally called Tawaf el Ziyarat, les3 commonly 
Tawaf el Sadr or Tawaf elNuzul, is that performed immediately 
after throwing the stones and resuming the laical dress on the 
victim day at Mount Muna. 

t Shaving is better for man, 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. 

$ The known Mikat are: north, Zu’l Halifah; north-east, 
Karn el Manazil; north-west, El Juhfah ( ) ; south, 

Yalaml in ; east, Zat Irk. 



230 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 


‘ Ayyan el Tashrik,’ or days of drying flesh: of these, the 
first is the most important. 

“4. The Ramy el Jimar, or casting stones at the devil: 
and — 

“ 5. The avoiding 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 el Widaa, or the circumam- 
bulation of farewell, is a ‘ Wajib Mustakill,’ or particular 
requisite, which may, however, be omitted without preju¬ 
dice 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 ejacu¬ 
lated. The ‘ Tawaf el Kudum ’ must be performed on 
arrival at Meccah, before proceeding to Mount Arafat.* 
The two-prostration prayer should follow Tawaf. A 
whole night should be passed at Muzdalifah and Muna.f 
The circumambulation of farewell must not be forgotten f, 
and the pilgrim should avoid all sewn clothes, even 
slippers.” 


* This Tawaf is described in Chap. V. 
f Generallyspeaking,as will afterwards be shown, thepilgrims 
pass straight through Muzdalifah, and spend the night at Muna. 

J The “ Tawaf el Widaa ” is considered a solemn occasion. 
The pilgrim first performs circumambulation. He drinks the 
waters of Zem Zem, kisses the Kaabah threshold, and stands 
for some time with his face and body pressed against the 
Multazem. There, on clinging to the curtain of the Kaabah, 
he performs Takbir, Tahlil, Tahmid, and blesses the Prophet, 
weeping, if possible, but certainly groaning. He then leaves 



PILGRIM RITES. 


231 


Section I. — Of Ikram. 

“ Before doffing his laical garment, the pilgrim performs 
a total ablution, shaves, and perfumes himself. He then 
puts on a ‘ Rida ’ and an ‘ Izar both new, clean, and 
of a white colour: after which he performs a two-prostra¬ 
tion prayer (the ‘ Sunnat ’ of El Ihram), with a sotto voce 
Niyat, specifying which rite he intends.| 

“ When Muhrim (*. e. in Ihram), the Moslem is forbid¬ 
den (unless in case of sickness, necessity, over-heat, or 
unendurable cold, when a victim must expiate the trans¬ 
gression),— 

“ 1. To cover his head with aught which may be deemed 
a covering, as a cap or turban; 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, any tiling 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. 


the mosque, backing out of it with tears and lamentations, till 
he reaches the “ Bab el Widaa,” whence, with a parting glanco 
at the Bait Ullab, he wends bis way home. 

* See Chap. V. 

f Many pronounce this Niyat. If intending to perform pil¬ 
grimage, the devotee, standing, before prayer says, “ I vow this 
intention of Hajj to Allah the most high.” 



232 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 


“ 3. To knot the Rida, or shoulder-cloth.* 

“4. To deviate from absolute chastity, even kissing 
being forbidden to the Muhrim. Marriage cannot be con¬ 
tracted 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 treef, 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,— 

“ ‘Labbayk ’Allaliumma Labbayk ! 

La Sharika laka Labbayk ! 

Inna ’1 hamda wa ’n niamata laka w’al mulk 
La Sharika laka, Labbayk.’ f 

“ When assuming the pilgrim garb, and before entering 
Meccah, ‘ Ghusl,’ or total ablution, should be performed; but 

* In spite of this interdiction, pilgrims generally, for conveni¬ 
ence, knot their shoulder-clothes under the right arm. 

f 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. 

| See Chap. V. A single Talbiyat is a “ Shart,” or positive 
condition ; to repeat the cry often is a Sunnat, or practice. 
After the “ Talbiyat ” the pilgrim should bless the Prophet, and 
beg from Allah paradise and protection from hell, saying, “ 0 
Allah, by thy mercy spare us from the pains of hell-fire ! ” 



PILGKIM KITES. 


233 


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 
Kaabah he should say, ‘ O Allah, increase this (thy) house 
in degree, and greatness, and honor, and awfulness, and 
increase all those who have honored it and glorified it, 
the Hajis and the Mutatnirs (Umrah-performers), with 
degree, and greatness, and honor, and dignity! ’ En¬ 
tering the outer Bab el Salam, he must exclaim, e 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 cireumambulation.* 

“ Now, the victims of El Ihram are five in number, 
viz.: — 

“ 1. The ‘Victim of Requisites,’ when a pilgrim acci¬ 
dentally 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 Eed el Kurban (in 
addition to the usual offering f), 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 shav¬ 
ing the head or using perfumes. This is a sheep, or a 
three days’ fast, or alms, consisting of three saa measures of 
grain, distributed among six paupers. 

“ 3. The * Victim of suddenly returning to Laical Life;’ 

* Most of these injunctions are “meritorious,” and may 
therefore be omitted without prejudice to tiie ceremony. 

f Namely, the victim sacrificed on the great festival day at 
Muna. 



234 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 


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 e 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 distri¬ 
bute its value, or purchase with it grain for the poor, or fast 
one day for each f 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*; 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 f,’ as in prayer. Ceremonial 
purity of body, garments, and place. Circumambulation 
inside the mosque. Seven circuits of the house. Com¬ 
mencement of circuit from the Black Stone. Circumam¬ 
bulating the house with the left shoulder presented to it. 
Circuiting the house outside its Shazarwan, or marble 
basement4 And, lastly, the Niyat, or intention of Tawaf, 
specifying whether it be for Hajj or for Umrah. 

* So the commentators explain “Badanah.” 

•f 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.” 

J If the pilgrim place but his hand upon the Shazarwan, or 
on the Hijr, the Tawaf is nullified. 



PILGRIM RITES. 


235 


“ 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 el Yemani (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 *, and often to say ‘ Subhan Allah!’ and to mention 
none but Allah; to walk slowly during the three first 
circuits, and trotting the last four f, all the while maintain¬ 
ing an 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 J, 
after Niyat, c In the name of Allah, and Allah is omnipo¬ 
tent ! 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 el Iraki (north corner): *0 Allah, 
verily I take refuge with thee from polytheism (Shirk), 

* This is a purely Shafei practice ; the Hanafi school rejects 
it on the grounds that the Word of God should not be repeated 
when walking and running. 

f The reader will observe (Chap. V.), that the Mutawwif 
made me reverse this order of things. 

J 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. 



236 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 

and disobedience, and hypocrisy, and evil conversation, and 
evil thoughts concerning family (Ahl, ‘ a wife ’), and pro¬ 
perty, 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 eter¬ 
nity, O Lord of honor and glory ! ’ 

“At the corners El Shami and El Yemani (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 ! ’ * 

“ And between the southern and eastern corners: ‘ 0 
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-prostration 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 IIT.— Of Sai, or Course between Mounts Safa 
and Manoah. 

“ After performing Tawaf, the pilgrim should issue from 
the gate ‘ El Safa ’ (or another, if necessary), and ascend 


* This portion is to be recited twice. 



PILGRIM RITES. 


237 


the steps of Mount to Safa, about a man’s height from the 
street.* There he raises the cry Tekbir, and implores 
pardon for his sins. He then descends, and turns towards 
Mount Marw ah at a slow pace. Arrived within six cubits 
of the Mil el Akhzar (the ‘ green pillars,’ planted in the 
corner of the temple on the left hand), he runs swiftly till 
he reaches the 4 two green pillars,’ the left one of which 
is fixed in the corner of the temple, and the other close to 
the Dar el Abbas.f 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 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, e 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 


* A woman, or a hermaphrodite, is enjoined to stand below 
the steps and in the street. 

I Women and hermaphrodites should not run here, but walk 
the whole way. I have frequently, however, seen the former 
imitating the men. 



238 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 


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 reassumes the 
lhram. And if he be engaged in pilgrimage, he continues 
* Muhrim,’ i. e. in lhram, 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. * 

* The Arab legend is, that the angels asking the Almighty 
why Ibrahim was called El 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 children, 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 compre¬ 
hending the scope of the dream, took especial notice of it 

(lJjj) ; hence the first day of pilgrimage is called Yaum el Tar- 
wiyah. The same speaker visited him on the next night, say¬ 
ing, “ Sacrifice what is dearest to thee! ” From the Patriarch’s 

knowing (^» 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 el 
Nahr from the victims offered to the idols in the Muna valley. 



riLGRIM RITES. 


239 


“ On the first day (8th), called Yaum el 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.* * * § 

“ 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 
the Masjid Ibrahim f, joining and shortening them }, 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 §, and 

* The present generation of pilgrims, finding the delay in¬ 
convenient, 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. 

f This place will be described afterwards. 

J The Shafei 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 
Maghib and the Isha prayers together. 

§ 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 



240 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINA!! AND MECCAH. 


be abundant in Talbiyat (supplication), Tahlil (recitations 
of the chapter ‘ Say he is the one God! ’ *), 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.f After a visit to the mosque 
* Mashar el Haram,’ he should collect seven pebbles, and 
proceed to Muna.f 

“ Yaum el Nalir, the third day of pilgrimage (10th Zu’l 
Hijjah), is the great festival of the Moslem year. Amongst 
its many names §, ‘ Eed el Kurban ’ is the best known, as 

Prophet to have preached from his camel El Kaswa on a plat¬ 
form at Mount Arafat before noon, and again to have ad¬ 
dressed the people after the post-meridian prayers at the 
station El Sakharat. 

Mohammed’s last pilgrimage, called by Moslems Hajjat el 
Bilagh (“of perfection,” as completing the faith), Hajjat el 
Islam, or Hajjat el Widaa (“of farewell”), is minutely described 
by historians as the type and pattern of pilgrimage to all 
generations. 

* 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. 

f Most schools prefer to sleep, as the Prophet did, at Muzda¬ 
lifah, pray the night devotions there, and when the yellowness 
of the next dawn appears, collect the seven pebbles and proceed 
to Muna. The Shafei, however, generally leave Muzdalifah 
about midnight. 

X These places will be minutely described in a future chapter. 

§ Eed el Kurban, or the Festival of Victims (known to the 
Turks as Kurban Bayram, to the Indians as Bakar-eed, the Kine 
Fete), Eed el Zuha, “ of forenoon,” or Eed el Azha, “ of serene 
night.” The day is called Yaum el Nalir, “ of throat-cutting.” 



1TLGRIM RITES. 


241 


expressive of Abraham’s sacrifice in lieu [of Ismail. Most 
pilgrims, after casting stones at the Akabah, or ‘ Great 
Devil,’ hurry to Meccah. Some enter the Kaabah, whilst 
others content themselves with performing the Tawaf el 
Ifazah, or circumambulation of impetuosity, round the 
house.* * * § The pilgrim should then return to Muna, sacri¬ 
fice a sheep, and sleep there. Strictly speaking, this day 
concludes the pilgrimage. 

“ The second set of ‘ trois jours,’ namely, the 1 lthf, the 
12th, and the 13th of Zu’l Hijjah, are called Ayyam el 
Tashrik, or the ‘ days of drying flesh in the sun.’ The 
pilgrim should spend that time at Muna J, and each day 
throw seven pebbles at each of the three pillars.§ 

“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 


* 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. 

f This day is known in books as “ Yaum el Karr,” because 
the pilgrims pass it in repose at Muna. 

J “ The days of drying flesh,” because at this period pil¬ 
grims 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. 

§ As will afterwards appear, the number of stones and the 
way of throwing them vary greatly in the various schools. 

VOL. III. R 



242 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 

should be performed after the Zawal, or declension of the 
sun. The pilgrim should begin with the pillar near the 
Masjid el 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 el 
Widaa (‘of farewell’). On this occasion it is a Sunnat 
to drink the water of Zem Zem, to enter the temple with 
more than usual 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 Haram, and similar 
mementos, as they savour of idolatry.” 

Chap. 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. El Ihram. 

“ 2. El Tawaf. 

“ 3. El Sai (between Safa and Marwah). 

“4. El Halk (tonsure), or El Taksir, (cutting the 
hair). 

“ 5. El Tartib, or the due order of ceremonies, as above 
enumerated.* 

* The difference in the pillars of Umrah and Hajj, is that 
in the former the standing on Arafat and the Tawaf el Ifazah 
are necessarily omitted. 



PILGRIM RITES. 


243 


“ The Wajibat, or requisites of Umrah, are but two in 
number. 

“ 1. El Ihram, or assuming the pilgrim garb, from the 
Mikat, or fixed limit; and 

“ 2. The avoiding all things forbidden to the pilgrim 
when in state of Ihram. 

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


Chap. III. — Op Ziyarat, or the Visit to the 
Prophet’s Tomb. 

“ El 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 El Medinah, 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-prostration prayer in honor 
of the Masjid. After this he should supplicate pardon for 
his sins. Then, approaching the sepulchre, and standing 
four cubits away from it, recite this prayer: — 

“‘Peace be with thee, O thou T. H. and Y. S.*, 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 de¬ 
livered 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 

* The 20th and 36th chapters of the Koran. 



244 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MED1NAH AND MECCAH. 


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 Abubekr 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 Umar the Just. After which, re¬ 
turning to his former station opposite the Prophet’s tomb, 
he should implore intercession for himself and all dearest 
to him. He should not neglect to visit the Bakia Cemetery 
and the Kuba Mosque, where he should pray for himself 
and his brethren of the Muslimin, and the Muslimat, the 
Muminin and the Muminat *, the quick of them and the 
dead. When ready to depart, let the Zair take leave of 
the mosque with a two-prostration 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 cir¬ 
cumambulate the tomb, or to carry away the cakes of clay 
made by the ignorant with the earth and dust of the 
Haram.” 

* 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. 



245 


CHAP. XXIX. 

THE CEREMONIES OF THE YAUM EL TARWIYAIt. 

At 10 a.m. on Monday the 8th Zu’l Hijjah, a.h. 
1269 (12th Sept. 1853), habited in our Ihram, 
or pilgrim garbs, we mounted the litter. Shaykh 
Masud had been standing at the door from dawn¬ 
time, impatient to start before the Damascus and 
the Egyptian caravans made the road dangerous. 
Our delay arose from the tyrannical conduct of the 
boy Mohammed, who insisted upon leaving his little 
nephew behind. It was long before he yielded. 
I then placed the poor child, who was crying 
bitterly, in the litter between us, and started. 

We followed the road by which we entered 
Meccah. It was covered with white-robed pil¬ 
grims, some few wending their way on foot *, 
others riding, and all men barefooted and bare¬ 
headed. Most of the wealthier classes mounted 
asses. The scene was, as usual, one of strange 

* Pilgrims who would win the heavenly reward promised 
to those who walk, start at an early hour. 

b 3 



246 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 

contrasts: Bedouins bestriding swift dromedaries ; 
Turkish dignitaries on fine horses; the most pic¬ 
turesque beggars, and the most uninteresting 
looking Nizam. Not a little wrangling, mingled 
with the loud bursts of “ Talbiyat.” Dead ani¬ 
mals dotted the ground, and carcasses had been 
cast into a dry tank, the “ Birkat el Shami,” 
which caused every Bedouin to hold his nose, and 
show disgust. * 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 El Mab’ da, in a valley 
between the two barren prolongations of Kaykaan 
and Khandamah, we turned to the north-east, 
leaving on the left certain barracks of Turkish 
soldiery, and the negro inilitia here stationed, 
with the “Saniyat Kudaa” in the background. 
Advancing about 3,000 paces over rising ground, 
we passed by the conical head of Jebel Nurf, 

* The true Bedouin, when in the tainted atmosphere of 
towns, is always known by bits of cotton in his nostrils, or his 
kerchief tightly drawn over his nose, a heavy frown marking 
extreme disgust. 

+ Anciently called Hira. It is still visited as the place of 
the Prophet’s early lucubrations, and because here the first 
verse of the Koran descended. As I did not ascend the hill, 
I must refer readers for a description of it to Burckhardt, vol. 
i. p, 320. 



MUNA, A HOLY PLACE. 


247 


and entered the plain of many names. * It con¬ 
tained nothing but a few whitewashed walls, sur¬ 
rounding places of prayer, and a number of stone 
cisterns, some well preserved, others in ruins. 
All, however, were dry, and water venders crowded 
the roadside. Gravel and lumps of granite there 
grew like grass, and from under every large 
stone, as Shaykh Masud took a delight in show¬ 
ing, a small scorpion, with tail curled over his 
back, fled, Parthian-like, from the invaders of his 
home. At 11 a.m. ascending a Mudarraj, or 
flight of stone steps, about thirty yards broad, we 
passed without difficulty, for we were in advance 
of the caravans, over the Akabah, or steeps f, and 
the narrow, hill-girt entrance, to the low gravel 
basin in which Muna lies. 

Muna, more classically called Mina J, is a place of 

* El Abtah, “low ground,” El Khayf, “the declivity;” 
Fina Makkah, the “ court of Meccah; ” El Muhassib (from 
Hasba, a shining white pebble), corrupted by our authors to 
Mihsab and Mohsab. 

f The spot where Kusay fought and Mohammed made bis 
covenant. 

t If Ptolemy’s “Minoei” 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 



248 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 

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 flies do 
not settle upon the articles of food exposed so 
abundantly in the bazars.* During pilgrimage 
houses are let for an exorbitant sum, and it becomes 
a “world’s fair” of Moslem merchants. At all 
other seasons it is almost deserted, in consequence, 
says popular superstition, of the Rajm or diabo¬ 
lical lapidation.f Distant about three miles from 
Meccah, it is a long, narrow, straggling village, 
composed of mud and stone houses of one or two 
stories, built in the common Arab style. Tra¬ 
versing 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 

Minyat, which in many Arabic dialects means a village. This 
basin was doubtless thickly populated in ancient times, and 
Moslem historians mention its seven idols, representing the 
seven planets. 

* According to Mohammed the pebbles of the accepted are 
removed by angels; as, however, each man and woman must 
throw 49 or 70 stones, it is fair to suspect the intervention of 
something more material. Animals are frightened away by 
the bustling crowd, and flies are found in myriads. 

f This demoniacal practice is still as firmly believed in 
Arabia as it formerly was in Europe. 



PLACE DEDICATED TO RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES. 249 


over pipes and coffee, we came to an open 
space, where stands the mosque “ El Khayf.” 
Here, according to some Arabs, Adam lies, his 
head being at one end of the long wall, and his 
feet at another, whilst the dome covers his om¬ 
phalic region. Grand preparations for fireworks 
were being made in this square ; I especially re¬ 
marked a fire-ship, which savoured strongly of 
Stamboul. After passing through the town, we 
came to Batn el Muhassir, “the Basin of the 
Troubler at the beginning of a descent leading 
to Muzdalifah (the approacher), where the road 
falls into the course of the Arafat torrent. 

At noon we reached the mosque Muzdalifah, 
also called Mashar el Haram, the “ Place dedicated 
to Religious Ceremonies.” f It is known in El 

* 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 el Haram 
into “ Muzar el Haram ’’ (the holy shrine). 

t Many, even since Sale corrected the error, have con¬ 
founded this Mashar el Haram with Masjid el Haram of 
Meccah. According to El Fasi, quoted by Burckhardt, it is 
the name of a little eminence at the end of the Muzdalifah 
valley, and anciently called Jebel Kuzah ; it is also, he says, 
applied to “an elevated platform inclosing the mosque of 
Muzdalifah.” Ibn Jubair makes Mashar el Haram synony¬ 
mous with Muzdalifah, to which he gives a third name 
“Jami.” 



250 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 


Islam as “ the minaret without the mosque, ” 
opposed to Masjid Nimrah, which is the “ mosque 
without the minaret. ” Half way between Muna 
and Arafat—about three miles from both—there 
is something peculiarly striking in the distant ap¬ 
pearance 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 empire. 

Here, as we halted to perform the mid-day prayer, 
we were overtaken by the Damascus caravan. It 
was a grand spectacle. The Mahmal, no longer 
naked, as upon the line of march, flashed in the 
sun all green and gold. Around the moving 
host of white-robed pilgrims hovered a crowd of 
Bedouins, male and female, all mounted on swift 
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 fre¬ 
quently difficult to distinguish the sex of the 
wild being flogging its animal to speed, as they 
passed. These people, as has been said, often 
resort to Arafat for blood-revenge, in hopes of 
finding the victim unprepared. Nothing can be 



THE PLAIN OF ARAFAT. 


251 


more sinful in El 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 eastwards up the Arafat fiumara, after 
about half an hour we came to a narrow pass 
called El Akhshabayn*, or the “ two rugged hills.” 
Here the spurs of the hill limit the road to about 
100 paces, and it is generally a scene of great con¬ 
fusion. After this we arrived at El Bazan (the 
Basin), a widening of the plain y; and another half- 
hour broughtus to the Alamain (the “ Twin Signs”), 
two whitewashed pillars, or rather thin, narrow 
walls, surmounted with pinnacles, which denote 
the precincts of the Arafat plain. Here, in full 
sight of the Holy Hill, standing quietly out from 


* Burckhardt calls it “ Mazoumeyn," or El Mazik, the pass. 
“ Akhshab” may mean wooded or rugged; in which latter sense 
it is frequently applied to hills. Kaykaan and Abu Eubays 
at Meccah are called El Aksbshabayn in some books. 

The left hill, in Ibn Jubair’s time, was celebrated as a meet¬ 
ing-place for brigands. 

■f Kutb el Din makes another Bazan the southern limit of 
Mcccah. 



252 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 


the fair blue sky, the host of pilgrims broke into 
loud Labbayks. A little beyond, and to our 
right, was the simple enclosure called the Masjid 
Nimrah.* We then turned from our eastern course 
northwards, and began threading our way down the 
main street of the town of tents which clustered 
about the southern fort of Arafat. At last, about 
3 p.m., we found a vacant space near the Matbakh, 
or kitchen, formerly belonging to a Sheriffs palace, 
but now a ruin, with a few shells of arches. 

Arafat is about a six hours’ march, or twelve 
miles f, 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 less than five men fall down and die upon the 


* 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 Haram of Meccah and the Holy Hill. 

f The Calcutta Review (art. 1. Sept. 1853) notably errs in 
making Arafat eighteen miles east of Meccah. Ibn Jubair 
reckons five miles from Meccah to Muzdalifah, and five from 
this to Arafat. 



DEATH EASY IN THE EAST. 


253 


highway; exhausted and moribund, they had 
dragged themselves out to give up the ghost where 
it departs to instant beatitude* The spectacle 
showed how easy it is to die in these latitudes f; 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. J 

The boy Mohammed, who had long chafed at 
my pertinacious claim to dervishhood, resolved 
on this occasion to be grand. To swell the party, 
he had invited Umar Effendi, whom we accidentally 
met in the streets of Meccah, to join us; but failing 
therein, he brought with him two cousins, fat 
youths of sixteen and seventeen, and his mother’s 
ground-floor servants. These were four Indians; 
an old man; his wife, a middle-aged woman of the 
most ordinary appearance; their son, a sharp 

* Those who die on a pilgrimage become martyrs. 

f 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. 

t We bury our dead, to preserve them as it were; the Mos¬ 
lem tries to secure rapid decomposition, and makes the grave¬ 
yard a dangerous as well as a disagreeable place. 



254 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 


boy, who spoke excellent Arabic*; and a family 
friend, a stout fellow about thirty years old. They 
were Panjabis, and the bachelor’s history was in¬ 
structive. He was gaining an honest livelihood 
in his own country, when suddenly one night 
Hazrat Ali, dressed in green, and mounted upon 
his charger Duldulf—at least, so said the nar¬ 
rator—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. J Finding life un- 


* 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, 
“ Barbarat el Hunud.” This root Barbara (jiy ), like the 
Greek “Barbaras,” appears to be derived from the Sanscrit 
Varvvaraha, an outcast, a barbarian, a man with curly hair. 

f Ali’s charger was named Maymun, or, according to others, 
Zul Jenah (the winged). Indians generally confound it with 
“ Duldul,” Mohammed’s mule. 

t These visions are common in history. Ali appeared to 
the Imam Shafei, saluted him,—an omen of eternal felicity,— 
placed a ring upon his finger, as a sign that his fame should 
extend wide as the donor’s, and sent him to the Holy Land. 
Ibrahim bin Adhem, 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 



THE RECKLESS PILGRIMAGE FROM INDIA. 


235 


endurable at home, he sold everything, raised the 
sum of 20 1 ., and started for the Holy Land. He 
reached Jeddah with a few rupees in his pocket, 
and came to Meccah, where, everything being ex¬ 
orbitantly 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 Mo¬ 
hammed’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 El Medinah, without which their pilgrim¬ 
age would not, they believed, be complete. They 
would beg their way through the terrible desert 
and its Bedouins—an old man, a boy, and a woman! 
What were their chances of returning to their 
homes ? Such, I believe, is too often the history of 
those wretches whom a fit of religious enthusiasm, 
likest to insanity, hurries away to the Holy Land. 

forth upon a pilgrimage, celebrated in El Islam. He performed 
it alone, and making 1100 genuflexions each mile, prolonged it 
to twelve years. 

The history of Colonel Gardiner, and of many others amongst 
ourselves, prove that these visions are not confined to the 
Arabs. 



256 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAII. 


I strongly recommend the subject to the consider¬ 
ation of our Indian government as one that calls 
loudly for their interference. No Eastern ruler 
parts, as we do, with his subjects ; all object to lose 
productive power. To an “ Empire of Opinion ” 
this emigration is fraught with evils. It sends forth 
a horde of malcontents that ripen into bigots ; it 
teaches foreign nations to despise our rule; and 
unveils the nakedness of once wealthy India. And, 
we have both 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 as¬ 
sistance in case of necessity. 

The vice-consul at Jeddah ought also to be instructed to assist 
our Indian pilgrims. Mr. Cole (now holding that appointment) 
informed me that, though men die of starvation in the streets, 
he is unable to relieve them. The streets of Meccah abound 
jn pathetic Indian beggars, who affect lank bodies, shrinking 
frames, whining voices, and all the circumstance of misery, 
because it supports them in idleness. 

There are no less than 1500 Indians at Meccah and Jeddah, 
besides 700 or 800 in Yemen. Such a body requires a consul. 
By the representation of a vice-consul when other powers send 
an officer of superior rank to El Hejaz, we voluntarily place 
ourselves in an inferior position. And although the Meccan 







MOUNT ARAFAT. 


257 


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 chibouques and highly 
polished shishas. At the doorway was placed 
a Mankal, a large copper fire-pan, with coffee 
pots singing a welcome to visitors. In front 
of us were the litters, and by divers similar 
arrangements our establishment was made to 
look grand. The youth also insisted upon 
my removing the Rida, or upper cotton cloth, 
which had become way-soiled, and he supplied 
its place by a fine cashmere, left with him, some 
years before, by a son of the king of Delhi. 
Little thought I that this bravery of attire would 
lose me every word of the Arafat sermon next 
day. 

Arafat, anciently called Jebel Hal the 

Mount of Wrestling in Prayer, and now Jebel el 
Rahmah, the “Mount of Mercy,” is a mass of 
coarse granite split into large blocks, with a thin 

Sherif 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. 

VOL. III. S 



258 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 


coat of withered thorns, about one mile in cir¬ 
cumference and rising abruptly from the low 
gravelly plain — a dwarf wall at the southern 
base forming the line of demarcation — to the 
height of 180 or 200 feet- It is separated by 
Batn Arnah (tjjc.) *, a sandy vale, from the spurs 
of the Taif hills. Nothing can be more pic¬ 
turesque than the view it affords of the blue 
peaks behind, and the vast encampment scattered 
over the barren yellow plain below, f On the 
north lay the regularly pitched camp of the 
guards that defend the unarmed pilgrims. To 
the eastward was the Sherifs encampment with 
the bright mahmals and the gilt knobs of the 
grander pavilions; whilst, on the southern and 
western sides, the tents of the vulgar crowded 
the ground, disposed in dowars, or circles, for 
penning cattle. After many calculations, I esti- 

* This vale is not considered “ standing-ground,” because 
Satan once appeared to the Prophet as he was traversing it. 

f According to Kutb el Din, the Arafat plain was once 
highly cultivated. Stone-lined cisterns abound, and ruins of 
buildings are frequent. At the eastern foot of the mountain 
was a broad canal, beginning at a spur of the Taif hills, and 
conveying water to Meccali; 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. 



LEGEND OF ADAM AND EVE. 


259 


mated the number to be not less then 50,000, of 
all ages and sexes; a sad falling off, it is true, 
but still considerable. * 

The Holy Hill owes its name f and honors to 
a well-known legend. When our first parents 
forfeited heaven by eating wheat, which deprived 
them of their primeval purity, they were cast 
down upon earth. The serpent descended at 
Ispahan, the peacock at Cabul, Satan at Bilbays 


* Ali Bey (a.d. 1807) calculates 83,000 pilgrims; Burck- 
hardt (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 least 10,000 are Meccans, as every one who can 
leave the city does so at pilgrimage-time. The Arabs have a 
superstition that the numbers at Arafat cannot be counted, 
and that if less than 600,000 mortals stand upon the hill to 
hear the sermon, the angels descend and complete the number. 
Even this year my Arab friends declared that 150,000 spirits! 
were present in human shape. It may be observed, that when 
the good old Bertrander de la Brocquiere, esquire carver to 
Philip of Burgundy, declares that the yearly caravan from 
Damascus to El Medinah 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. 

t 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 ’arafta 
manasik’ak? ”—hast thou learned thy pilgrim rites ? To which 
the Friend of Allah replied, “ Araftu ! ”—I have learned them 

s 2 



260 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 

(others say Semnan and Seistan), Eve upon 
Arafat, and Adam at Ceylon. The latter, de¬ 
termining to seek his wife, began a journey, to 
which earth owes its present mottled appearance. 
Wherever our first father placed his foot — which 
was large — a town afterwards arose ; between the 
strides will always be “ country. ” Wandering for 
many years, he came to the Mountain of Mercy, 
where our common mother was continually calling 
upon his name, and their recognition gave the place 
the name of Arafat. Upon its summit Adam, in¬ 
structed by the archangel, erected a “ Madaa,” or 
place of prayer; and between this spot and the 
Nimrah mosque the pair abode till death. * 

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 bazaars 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 

* Others declare that, after recognition, the first pair re¬ 
turned to India, whence for forty-four years in succession they 
visited the Holy City at pilgrimage-time. 



SUPERSTITIOUS RITE ON BEHALF OF WOMEN. 261 


another, a huge dimly lit tent, reeking hot, and gar¬ 
nished with cane-seats, contained knots of Egyptians, 
as their red tarbushes, white turbans, and black 
zaabuts 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 men. I was 
surprised at the disproportion of female nomen¬ 
clature,—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 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 0 Fatimah! 0 Zaynab! 
0 Khayzaran ! * Plunderers too, were, abroad. 

* 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,” “0 sister of Umar,” or, tout bonnement, by a man’s 
name. It would be ill-omened and dangerous were the true 
name known. So most women, when travelling, adopt an alias. 
Whoever knew an Afghan fair who was not “Nur Jan,” or 
“Sahib Jan?” 



262 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH 


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 Bedouins. Poor Masud sat holding 
his nose in ineffable disgust; for which he was 
derided by the Meccans. I consoled him with 
quoting the celebrated song of May sun ah.* 

“ 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.” f 


* The beautiful Bedouin wife of the Caliph Muawiyah. 
Nothing can be more charming in its own Arabic than this 
little song: the Bedouins never heard it without screams of 

joy. 

t The British reader will be shocked to hear that by the term 



A 1’RAYEKFUL OLD GENTLEMAN. 


263 


The old man, delighted, clapped my shoulder, 
and exclaimed “ Verily, 0 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 undergra¬ 
duate my neighbour at Trinity College, who would 
spout iEschylus at 2 a.m. Sometimes the chaunt 
would grow drowsy, and my ears would hear a dull 
retreating sound; presently, as if in self-reproach, 


“fatted ass ” the intellectual lady alluded to her husband. The 
story is, that Muawiyah, overhearing the song, sent back the 
singer to her cousins and beloved wilds. Maysunah departed, 
with her son Yezid, and did not return to Damascus till the 
“fatted ass” had joined his forefathers. 

Yezid inherited, with his mother's talents, all her contempt 
for his father; at least the following quatrain, addressed to 
Muawiyah, and generally known in El Islam, would appear to 
argue anything but reverence: — 

“ I drank the water of the vine—that draught had power to 
rouse 

Thy wrath, grim father! now, indeed, ’tis joyous to carouse! 
I’ll drink!—Be wrath!—I reck not!—Ah! dear to this heart 
of mine 

It is to scoff a sire’s command — to quaff forbidden wine.” 



264 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 

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. 



265 


CHAP. XXX. 

THE CEREMONIES OP THE DAT OP ARAPAT. 

The morning of the ninth Zu’l Hijjah (13th Sept.) 
was ushered in by military sounds: a loud dis¬ 
charge of cannon warned us to arise and to 
prepare for the ceremonies of this eventful day. 

After ablution and prayer, I proceeded with the 
boy Mohammed to inspect the numerous conse¬ 
crated sites on the “ Mountain of Mercy.” In the 
first place, we repaired to a spot on rising ground 
to the south-east, and within a hundred yards of 
the hill. It is called “ Jami el Sakhrah ” *— the 
assembling place of the rock—from two granite 
boulders upon which the Prophet stood to perform 
“ Talbiyat.” There is nothing but a small in¬ 
closure of dwarf and white-washed stone walls, 
divided into halves 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 


* Ali Bey calls it “Jami el Bahmah” — of mercy. 



266 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 


offered mats and praying carpets. After two pros¬ 
trations 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 obsta¬ 
cles of tents 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 Bedouins 
and Wahhabis *, who had secured favourable posi¬ 
tions for hearing the sermon. Already their green 
flag was planted upon the summit close to Adam’s 
place of prayer. About half-way up I counted 
sixty-six steps, and remarked that they became 
narrower and steeper. Crowds of beggars instantly 
seized the pilgrims’ robes and strove to prevent our 
entering a second enclosure. This place, which 
resembles the former, except that it has but one 
compartment and no boulders, is that whence Mo¬ 
hammed used to address his followers, and here, to 
the present day, the Khatib, or preacher, in imita- 

* 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 Alamain ranks 
as Arafat. According to Ali Bey, the Maliki school is not 
allowed to stand upon the mountain. 



THE PILGRIMS REACH THE PLAIN. 


267 


tion of the “ Last of Prophets,” sitting upon 
a dromedary, recites the Arafat sermon. Here, 
also, we prayed a two-prostration prayer, and gave 
a small sum to the guardian. 

Thence ascending with increased difficulty to 
the hill-top, we arrived at a large stuccoed plat¬ 
form*, with prayer-niche and a kind of obelisk, 
mean and badly built of lime and granite stone, 
whitewashed, and conspicuous from afar. It is 
called the Makam, or Madaa Sayyidna Adam.f 
Here we performed the customary ceremonies 
amongst a crowd of pilgrims, and then descended 
the little hill. Close to the plain we saw the place 
where the Egyptian and Damascus Mahmals stand 
during the sermon; and descending the wall that 
surrounds Arafat by a steep and narrow flight 
of coarse stone steps on my right was the fountain 
which supplies the place with water. It bubbles 
from the rock, and is exceedingly pure, as such 
water generally is in El Hejaz. 

Our excursion employed us longer than the de- 

* Here was a small chapel, which the Wahhabis were demolish¬ 
ing 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. 

t Burckhardt gives this name to a place a little way on the 
left, and about forty steps up the mountain. 



268 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 

scription requires,— nine o’clock had struck before 
we reached the plain. All were in a state of ex¬ 
citement. Guns fired furiously. Horsemen and 
camel-riders galloped about without apparent 
object. Even the women and the children stood 
and walked, too restless even to sleep. Arrived at 
the tent, I was unpleasantly surprised to find a new 
visitor in an old acquaintance, Ali ibn Ya Sin the 
Zem Zemi. He had lost his mule, and, wandering in 
search of its keeper, he unfortunately fell in with 
our party. I had solid reasons to regret the 
mishap — he was far too curious and observant to 
suit my tastes. On the present occasion he, being 
uncomfortable, made us equally so. Accustomed 
to all the terrible “ neatness ” of an 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 
11 nerves.” 

That day we breakfasted late, for night must 
come before we could eat again. After midday 
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. 



THE BEST BREED OF ARAB HORSES AT NEDJ. 269 


A second discharge of cannon (about?. M. 3 15) 
announced the approach of El Asr, the afternoon 
prayer, and almost immediately we heard the 
Naubat, or band preceding the Sherif’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 view of the 
scene. First came a cloud of mace-bearers, who, as 
usual on such occasions, cleared the path with scant 
ceremony. They were followed by the horsemen 
of the desert, wielding long and tufted spears. 
Immediately behind them came the led horses of 
the Sherif, upon which I fixed a curious eye. All 
were highly bred, and one, a brown Nejdi with 
black points, struck me as the perfection of an Arab. 
They were small, and apparently of the northern 
race.* Of their old crimson-velvet caparisons the less 

* In Solomon’s time the Eygptian horse cost 150 silver 
shekels, which, if the greater shekel be meant, would still be 
about the average price, 18/. Abbas, the late Pacha, did his 
best to buy first-rate Arab stallions: on one occasion he sent 
a mission to El Medinah for the sole purpose of fetching a rare 
work on farriery. Yet it is doubted whether he ever had a 
first-rate Nejdi. A Bedouin sent to Cairo by one of the chiefs 
of Nejd, being shown by the viceroy’s order over the stables, 
on being asked his opinion of the blood, replied bluntly, to the 
great man’s disgust, that they did not contain a single thorough¬ 
bred. He added an apology on the part of his laird for the 



270 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 


said the better; no little Indian Nawab would 
show aught so shabby on state occasions. After 


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 thorough-bred give 
twenty pounds. They are mere “ rats,” short and stunted, 
ragged and fleshless, with rough coats ; and a slouching walk. 
But the experienced glance notes at once the fine snake-like 
head, ears like reeds, wide and projecting nostrils, large eyes, 
fiery and soft alternately, broad brow, deep base of skull, wide 
chest, crooked tail, limbs padded with muscle, and long elastic 
pasterns. And the animal put out to speed soon displays the 
wondrous force of blood. In fact, when buying 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 Yemen ” has 
effectually closed the road against horse-caravans for many 
years past. It is said that the Zu Mohammed and the Zu 
Husayn, sub-families of the Beni Yam, a large tribe living 
around and north of Sanaa, in Yemen, have a fine large breed 
called El Jaufi, and the clan El Aulaki, (^ajy0> rear animals 
celebrated for swiftness and endurance. The other races are 
stunted, and some Arabs declare that the air of Yemen causes 
a degeneracy in the first generation. The Bedouins, 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 



THE PKELIMINAKIES OF THE SERMON. 271 


the chargers came a band of black slaves on foot, 
bearing huge matchlocks; and immediately preceded 
by three green and two red flags, was the Sherif, 
riding in front of bis family and courtiers. The 
prince, habited in a simple white Ihram, and bare¬ 
headed, mounted a mule; the only sign of his rank 
was a large green and gold-embroidered umbrella, 
held over him by a slave. The rear was brought 
up by another troop of Bedouins on horses and 
camels. Behind this procession were the tents, 
whose doors and walls were 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 Lab- 
bayks and waving the skirts of their glistening 
garments violently over their heads. 

Slowly the procession advanced towards the hill. 
Exactly at the hour El Asr the two Mahmals 
had taken their station side by side on a platform 


India now object, it is said, to rearing, at a great cost, animals 
distinguished by nothing but ferocity. 

It is evident that El Hejaz never can stock the Indian mar¬ 
ket. Whether Nejd will supply us when the transit becomes 
safer, is a consideration which time only can decide. Mean¬ 
while it would be highly advisable to take steps for restoring 
the Aden trade by entering into closer relations with the Imam 
of Sanaa and the Bedouin chiefs in the north of Yemen. 



272 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINA!! AND MECCAH. 


in the lower slope. That of Damascus could be 
distinguished as the narrower and the more orna¬ 
mented of the pair. The Sherif placed himself 
with his standard-bearers and retinue a little above 
the Mahmals, within hearing of the preacher. The 
pilgrims crowded up to the foot of the mountain; 
the loud Labbayks of the Bedouins and Wahhabis* 
fell to a solemn silence, and the waving of white 
robes ceased—a sign that the preacher had begun 
the Khutbat el Wakfah.f 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:— 


* I obtained the following note upon the ceremonies of 
Wahhabi pilgrimage from one of their princes, Khalid Bey. 

The WahhalS (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 Kaabah ceremonies, and, if possible, is guided in 
his devotions by one of his own sect. 

f The “ Sermon of the Standing ” (upon Arafat). 



THE PILGRIM’S INATTENTION TO THE SERMON. 273 

“ 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; 
but the shape was what the Arabs love, — soft, 
bending, and relaxed, as a woman’s figure ought 
to be. Unhappily she wore, instead of the usual 
veil, a “ Yashmak ” of transparent muslin, bound 
round the face; and the chaperone, mother, or 
duenna, by whose side she stood, was apparently 
a very unsuspicious or compliant old person. 
Flirtilla fixed a glance of admiration upon my cash- 
mere. I directed a reply with interest at her eyes. 

VOL. III. 


T 



274 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MED1NAH AND MECCAH. 

She then, by the usual coquettish gesture, threw 
back an inch or two of head-veil, disclosing broad 
bands of jetty hair, crowning a lovely oval. My 
palpable admiration of the new charm was rewarded 
by a partial removal of the Yashmak; when a 
dimpled mouth and a rounded chin stood out from 
the envious muslin. Seeing that my companions 
were safely employed, I ventured upon the dan¬ 
gerous 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 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 dis¬ 
appointment ; — 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 ” 
(Amen) and volleys of Labbayks exploded at 
uncertain intervals. At last the breeze brought 
to our ears a purgatorial chorus of cries, sobs, 
and shrieks. Even my party thought proper to be 
affected : old Ali rubbed his eyes, which in no case 
unconnected with dollars could by any amount of 



THE PILGRIMS PERMITTED TO DEPART. 275 

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 com¬ 
menced loading their camels, although at least an 
hour’s sermon remained. On this occasion, how¬ 
ever, all hurry to be foremost, as the race from 
Arafat is enjoyed by none but the Bedouins. 

Although we worked with a will, our animals 
were not ready to move before sunset, when the 
preacher gave the signal of “ israf,” or permission 
to depart. The pilgrims, 

“-swaying to and fro, 

Like waves of a great sea, that in mid shock 
Confound each other, white with foam and fear,” 

rushed down the hill with a Labbayk, sounding 
like a blast, and took the road to Muna. Then I 
saw the scene -which has given to the part of the 
ceremonies the name of El Dafa min Arafat, — the 
“ Hurry from Arafat.” Every man urged his beast 
with might and main: it was sunset; the plain 
bristled with tent-pegs, litters were crushed, pe¬ 
destrians trampled, and camels overthrown : single 
combats with sticks and other weapons took place; 
—here a woman, there a child, and there an animal 



276 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAII AND MECCAH. 

were lost; briefly, it was a state of chaotic con- 
fusion. 

To my disgust, old Ali insisted upon bestowing 
his company upon me. He gave over his newly 
found mule to the boy Mohammed, bidding him 
take care of the beast, and mounted with me 
in the shugduf. I had persuaded Shaykh Masud, 
with a dollar, to keep close in rear of the pretty 
Meccan; and I wanted to sketch the Holy Hill. 
The Senior began to give orders about the camel — 
I, counter orders. The camel was halted. I urged 
it on, old Ali directed it to be stopped. Mean¬ 
while the charming face that smiled at me from 
the litter grew dimmer and dimmer; the more I 
stormed, the less I was listened to — a string of 
camels crossed our path — I lost sight of the 
beauty. Then we began to advance. Now my 
determination to sketch seemed likely to fail before 
the Zem Zemi’s little snake’s eye. After a few 
minutes’ angry search for expedients, one suggested 
itself. “ Effendi! ” said old Ali, “ sit quiet; there 
is danger here.” I tossed about like one suffering 
from evil conscience or the colic. “ Effendi!” 
shrieked the Senior, “ what are you doing ? You 
will be the death of us.” “ Wallah! ” I replied, 
with a violent plunge, “it is all your fault! 



THE riLGRIM’S COMPANION, OLD ALI. 277 

There! (another plunge) — put your beard out of 
the other opening, and Allah will make it easy to 
us.” In the ecstacy 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, bris¬ 
tling with litters, clashed, and gave a shock 
more noisy than the meeting of torrents. It was 
already dark: no man knew what he was doing. 
The guns roared their brazen notes, re-echoed far 
and wide by the voices of the stony hills. A 
shower of rockets bursting in the air threw into 
still 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 Lab- 
bayks *, and “ Eed kum Mubarak ” f — may your 
festival be happy! 

After the pass of the two rugged hills, the road 
widened, and old Ali, who, during the bumping, 

* This cry is repeated till the pilgrim reaches Muna; not 
afterwards. 

f Another phrase is “ Antum min al aidin ” — “ May you be 
of the keepers of festival!’ 



278 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 

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 grum¬ 
bling sounds that proceeded from the darkness of 
the litter. We were at least three hours on the road 
before reaching Muzdalifah, and, being fatigued, 
we resolved to pass the night there.* The Mosque 
was brilliantly illuminated, but my hungry com¬ 
panions f apparently thought more of supper and 
sleep than devotion. J Whilst the tent was raised, 
the Indians prepared our food, boiled our coffee, 
filled pipes, and spread the rugs. Before sleeping, 

* Hanafis usually follow the Prophet’s example in nigliting 
at Muzdalifah; in the evening after prayers they attend at the 
Mosque, listen to the discourse, and shed plentiful tears. Most 
Shafeis spend only a few hours at Muzdalifah. 

f We failed to buy meat at Arafat, after noon, although the 
bazar was large and we,ll stocked.; it is usual to eat flesh 
there, consequently it is greedily bought up at an exorbitant 
price. 

$ Some sects consider the prayer at Muzdalifah a matter of 
vital importance. 



SERMON LESS THOUGHT OF THAN BAGGAGE. 279 

each man collected for himself seven bits of granite, 
the size of a small bean. * Then, weary with emo¬ 
tion 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 peace¬ 
ful or silent. Lines of camels passed us every ten 
minutes, and the shouting of travellers continued 
till near dawn. Pilgrims ought to have nighted at 
the Mosque, but, as in Burckhardt’s time, so in 
mine, baggage was considered to be in danger 
hereabouts, and consequently most of the devotees 
spent the sermon hours in brooding over their 
boxes. 

* Jamrah is a “ small pebble ; ” it is also called “ Hasa,” in 
the plural, " Hasayat.” 



280 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH 


CHAP. XXXI. 

THE CEREMONIES OF THE DAY OF VICTIMS. 

At dawn, on the Eed el Kurban (10th Zu’l Hijjah, 
or Wednesday, 14t.h Sept.) a gun warned us to lose 
no time; we arose hurriedly, and started up the 
Batn Muhassir to Muna. By this means we lost 
at Muzdalifah the “ Salat el Eed,” or “ Festival 
Prayers,” the great solemnity of the Moslem year, 
performed by all the community at day-break. My 
companion was so anxious to reach Meccah, that he 
would not hear of devotions. About 8 A. M. we 
entered the village, and looked for the boy Moham¬ 
med 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, amused my¬ 
self with contemplating the world from my shug- 



OLD ALl’S IRRITATION AND ALARM. 281 

duf, leaving the office of directing it to the old 
Zem Zemi. Now he stopped, then he pressed for¬ 
ward; here he thought he saw Mohammed, there he 
discovered our tent; at one time he would “nakh” 
the camel to await, in patience, his supreme hour; at 
another, half mad with nervousness, he would urge 
the excellent Masud to hopeless inquiries. Finally, 
by good fortune, we found one of the boy Moham¬ 
med’s cousins, who led us to an enclosure called 
Hosh el Uzem, in the southern portion of the Muna 
Basin, at the base of Mount Sabir.* There we 
pitched the tent, refreshed ourselves, and awaited 
the truant’s return. Old Ali, failing to disturb my 
equanimity, attempted, as those who consort with 
philosophers often will do, to quarrel with me. 
But, finding no material wherewith to build a dis¬ 
pute 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 sides. 


* Even pitching ground here is charged to pilgrims. 



282 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 


Mohammed had been delayed, he said, by the 
difficulty of finding asses. We were now to mount 
for “ the throwing,”*—as a preliminary to which, 
we washed “with seven waters” the seven pebbles 
brought from Muzdalifah, and bound them in our 
Ihrams. Our first destination was the entrance to 
the western end of the long line which composes 
the Muna village. We found a swarming crowd 
in the narrow road opposite the “ Jamrat el Aka- 
bah”f, or, as it is vulgarly called, the Shay tan el 
Kabir—the “Great Devil.” These names distin¬ 
guish it from another pillar, the “ Wusta,” or 
“ central place,” (of stoning), built in the middle 
of Muna, and a third at the eastern end, “ El Ula,” 
or the “ first place.” J 

The “ Shaytan el Kabir ” is a dwarf buttress 
of rude masonry, about eight feet high by two 
and a half broad, placed against a rough wall of 
stones, at the Meccan entrance to Muna. As the 


* Some authorities advise that this rite of “ Ramy ” be per¬ 
formed on foot. 

■f The word “ Jamrat ” is applied to the place of stoning, as 
well as to the stones. 

J These numbers mark the successive spots where the Devil, 
in the shape of an old Shaykli, appeared to Adam, Abraham, 
and Ishmael, and was driven back by the simple process 
taught by Gabriel, of throwing stones about the size of a bean. 












DANGEROUS STRUGGLE TO APPROACH THE DEVIL. 283 

ceremony of “ Ramy,” or Lapidation, must be per¬ 
formed on the first day by all pilgrims between 
sunrise and sunset, and as the fiend was malicious 
enough to appear in a rugged pass*, the crowd 
makes the place dangerous. On one side of the 
road, which is not forty feet broad, stood a row of 
shops belonging principally to barbers. On the 
other side is the rugged wall of the pillar, with a 
chevaux de frise of Bedouins and naked boys. 
The narrow space was crowded with pilgrims, all 
struggling like drowning men to 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. Bedouins 
on wild camels, and grandees on mules and asses, 
with outrunners, were breaking a way by assault and 
battery. I had read Ali Bey’s self-felicitations upon 
escaping this place with “ only two wounds in the 
left leg,” and had duly provided myself with a 
hidden dagger. The precaution was not useless. 
Scarcely had my donkey entered the crowd than 

* I borrow this phrase from Ali Bey, who, however, speaks 
more like an ignorant Spaniard, than a learned Abbaside when 
he calls the pillar “ La maison du Diable,” and facetiously asserts 
that “ le diable a eu la malice de placer sa maison dans un lieu 
fort etroit qui n’a peut-etre pas 34 pieds de large.” 



284 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 

he was overthrown by a dromedary, and I found 
myself under the stamping and roaring beast’s 
stomach. By a judicious use of the knife, I avoided 
being trampled upon, and lost no time in escaping 
from a place so ignobly dangerous. Some Moslem 
travellers assert, in proof of the sanctity of the spot, 
that no Moslem is ever killed here : I was assured 
by Meccans that 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, awaited with patience an 
opportunity. Finding an opening, we approached 
within about five cubits of the place, and holding 
each stone between the thumb and the forefinger * 
of the right hand, cast it at the pillar, 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 earthen benches 

* 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 con¬ 
venience. 



CHANGE FROM IHRAM TO IHLAD. 


285 


around it. This was the time to remove the 
Ihram or pilgrim’s garb, and to return to Ihlal, the 
normal state of El Islam. The barber shaved our 
heads*, 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! 
0 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 
“ Naiman ” — Pleasure to you ! To which we as 
ceremoniously replied, “Allah give thee pleasure ! ” 
We had no clothes with us, but we could use our 
cloths to cover our heads and defend our feet 
from the fiery sun ; and we now could safely 
twirl our mustachios and stroke our beards,—placid 
enjoyments of which we had been deprived by the 


* The barber removed all my hair. Hanifis shave at least 
a quarter of the head, Shafeis a few hairs on the right side. 
The prayer is, as usual, 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 
upen the ground, whereas strict Moslems, with that reverence 
for man’s body — the Temple of the Supreme — which charac¬ 
terises their creed, carefully bury it in the earth. 



286 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 

laws of pilgrimage. After resting about an hour 
in the booth, which, though crowded with sitting 
customers, was delightfully cool compared with the 
burning glare of the road, we mounted our asses, 
and at eleven a. m. started Meccah-wards. 

This return from Muna to Meccah is called El . 
Nafr, or the Flight * : we did not fail to keep our 
asses at speed, with a few halts to refresh ourselves 
with gogglets of water. There was nothing remark¬ 
able in the scene: our ride in was a repetition of 
our ride out. In about half an hour we entered 
the city, passing through that classical locality 
called “ Batn Kuraysh,” which was crowded with 
people, and then repaired to the boy Mohammed’s 
house for the purpose of bathing and preparing to 
enter the Kaabah. 

Shortly after our arrival, the youth returned 
home in a state of excitement, exclaiming “ Rise, 
Effendi! bathe, dress, and follow me! ” The Kaabah, 
though open, would for a time be empty, so that 
we should escape the crowd. My pilgrim’s garb, 
which had not been removed, was made to look neat 

* This word is confounded with “ Dafa ” by many Moslem au¬ 
thors. Some speak of the Nafr from Arafat to Muzdalifah 
and the Dafa from Muzdalifah to Mima. I have used the words 
as my Mutawwif used them. 



THE PILGRIM ENTERS THE KAABAH. 287 


and somewhat Indian, and we sallied forth together 
without loss of time. 

A crowd had gathered round the Kaabah, and 
I had no wish to stand bareheaded and barefooted 
in the midday September sun. At the cry of “ Open 
a path for the Haji who would enter the House,” 
the gazers made way. Two stout Meccans, who 
stood below the door, raised me in their arms, 
whilst a third drew me from above into the 
building. At the entrance I was accosted by 
several officials, dark-looking Meccans, of whom 
the darkest and plainest was a youth of the Beni 
Shaybah family *, the true sangre azul of El Hejaz. 
He held in his hand the huge silver-gilt padlock of 
the Kaabah f, and presently taking his seat upon a 
kind of wooden press in the left corner of the hall, 
he 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 recite the 


* They keep the keys of the House. In my day the head of 
the family was “ Shaykh Ahmed.” 

t In Ibn Jubair’s time this large padlock was of gold. It 
is said popularly that none but the Beni Shaybah can open it; 
a minor miracle, doubtless proceeding from the art of some 
Eastern Hobbs or Bramah. 



288 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 


prayers. I will not deny that, looking at the win¬ 
dowless walls, the officials at the door, and the 
crowd below — 


“ And the place death, considering who I was,” * 


my feelings were of the trapped-rat description 
acknowledged by the immortal nephew of his uncle 
Perez. This did not, however, prevent my care¬ 
fully observing the scene during our long prayers, 


and making a rough 
plan with a pencil 
upon my white Ih- 
ram. 

Nothing is more 
simple than the in¬ 
terior of this cele¬ 
brated building. The 



PLAN OF KA AHA FT. 


pavement, which is 
level with the ground, 
is composed of slabs 
of fine and various 


1. Black Stone (exterior.) 

2. Wooden safe, in which key is kept 

3. Yemani corner. 4. Shami corner. 

5. Bab el Taubah, dwarf door, leading to stair* 

case by which men ascend to the roof. 

6. Iraki corner. 7. Door. 

8. Rafters. 9, 9, 9. Columns. 

A. First place of prayer, B. Second place. 

C. Third place. D. Fourth place. 


coloured marbles, mostly however white, disposed 
chequer-wise. The walls, as far as they can be 


* 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. 



THE INTERIOR OF THE ICAABAH. 


289 


seen, are of the same material, but the pieces 
are irregularly shaped, and many of them are en¬ 
graved with long inscriptions in the suls and 
other modern characters. The upper part of tin.' 
walls, together with the ceiling, at which it is con¬ 
sidered disrespectful to look* * * § , are covered with 
handsome red damask, flowered over with gold f, 
and tucked up about six feet high, so as to be 
removed from pilgrims’ hands. The ceiling 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 J about twenty inches in diameter, 
covered with carved and ornamented aloe wood. § 

* I do not know the origin of this superstition ; but it would 
be unsafe for a pilgrim to look fixedly at the Kaabah 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. 

f 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.” 

J Ibn Jubair mentions three columns of teak. Burckhardt 
and Ali Bey, two. In El Fasy’s day there were four. The 
Kuraysh erected six columns in double row. Generally the 
pillars have been three in number. 

§ This wood, which has been used of old to ornament sacred 

VOL. III. U 



290 PILGRIMAGE TO MECCAH AND EL MEDINAH. 


At the Iraki corner there is a dwarf door, called 
Bab el Taubah (of repentance*), leading into a 
narrow passage built for the staircase by which 
the servants ascend to the roof: it is never opened 
except for working purposes. The “ Aswad ” or 
“ As’ad ” f corner is occupied by a flat-topped and 
quadrant-shaped press or safe % in which at times 
is placed the key of the Kaabah. § Both door and 
safe are of aloe wood. Between the columns and 
about nine feet from the ground ran bars of a 
metal which I could not distinguish, and hanging 
to them were many lamps said to be of gold. 
This completes the upholstery work of the hall. 

Although there were in the Kaabah but a few 
attendants engaged in preparing it for the en¬ 
trance of pilgrims ||, the windowless stone walls 


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. 

* Ibn Jubair calls it Bab el Bahmah. 

f The Hajar el Aswad is also called El As’ad, or the Pro¬ 
pitious. 

$ Here, in Ibn Jubair’s time, stood two boxes full of Korans. 

§ The key is sometimes placed in the hands of a child of 
the house of Shaybah, who sits in state, with black slaves on 
both sides. 

|| In Ibn Jubair’s day the Kaabah was opened with more 



THE FEES ON VISITING THE KAABAH. 291 

and the choked-up door made it worse than the 
Piombi of Venice; the perspiration trickled in 
large drops, and I thought with horror what it 
must be when filled with a mass of jostling and 
crushing fanatics. Our devotions consisted of a 
two-prostration prayer*, followed by long sup¬ 
plications at the Shami (west) corner, the Iraki 
(north) angle, the Yemani (south), and, lastly, 
opposite the southern third of the back wall, f 
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 Meccah to be made of gold. J 

ceremony. The ladder was rolled up to the door, and the 
chief of the Beni Shaybab, ascending it, was covered by at¬ 
tendants with a black veil from head to foot, whilst he opened 
the padlock. Then, having kissed the threshold, he entered, 
shut the door behind him, and prayed two Rukats; after which, 
all the Beni Shaybah, and, lastly, the vulgar were admitted. In 
these days the veil is obsolete. The Shaykh enters the Kaabah 
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. 

* Some pray four instead of two prostrations. 

f Burckhardt erroneously says, “ in every corner.” 

I These Indians are ever in extremes, paupers or million- 



292 PILGBIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 

When seven dollars were tendered they were re¬ 
jected 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 at¬ 
tendants, 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 Qf the 
Kaabah, he partly bared it of its green-silk gold- 
lettered etui *, and rubbed a golden knob quatre- 
foil shaped upon my eyes, in order to brighten them. 
I submitted to the operation with good grace, and 
added a dollar — my last — to the former offering. 
The Sherif received it with a hopeless glance, and, 

aires, and, like all Moslems, the more they pay at Meccali the 
higher becomes their character and religious titles. A Turkish 
Pacha seldom squanders so much money as does a Moslem 
merchant from the far East. Khudabakhsh, the Lahore shawl- 
dealer, owned to having spent 800/. in feastings and presents. 
He appeared to consider that sum a trifle, although, had a 
debtor carried off one tithe of it, his health would have been 
seriously affected. 

* 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 
Kaabah,” and a verselet from the “ Family of Amran ” (Koran, 
ch. 3.). It is made, like the Kiswah, at Khurunfish; a place that 
will be noticed below. 



REASONS FOR NOT ENTERING THE ICAABAII. 293 

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 1 was expected to pay them, and ac¬ 
cordingly appointed to meet them at the boy Mo¬ 
hammed’s house; an arrangement to which they 
grumblingly assented. When delivered from these 
troubles, I was congratulated by my sharp com¬ 
panion thus : “ Wallah Effendi! thou hast escaped 
well! some men have left their skins behind.” * 

All pilgrims do not enter the Kaabah f; and 
many refuse to do so for religious reasons. Umar 
Effendi, for instance, who never missed a pilgrim¬ 
age, had never seen the interior. | Those who tread 


* “ Ecorches ” —“ pelati; ” the idea is common to most ima¬ 
ginative nations. 

■(• The same is the case at El Medinah ; many religious men 
object on conscientious grounds to enter the Prophet’s mosque. 
The poet quoted below made many visitations to El Medinah, 
but never could persuade himself to approach the tomb. The 
Esquire Carver saw two young Turks who had voluntarily had 
their eyes thrust out at Meccah as soon as they had seen the 
glory and visible sanctity of the tomb of Mohammed. I 
« doubt the fact,” which thus appears ushered in by a fiction. 

\ I have not thought it necessary to go deep into the list of 
“ Muharrimat,” or actions forbidden to the pilgrim who has en¬ 
tered the Kaabah. They are numerous and meaningless. 



294 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 

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 con¬ 
scientious men cannot afford the luxuries of slippers, 
tongs, and truth. So thought Thomas, when offered 
the apple which would give him the tongue that 
cannot lie. 

“ ‘My tongue is mine ain,’ true Thomas said. 

‘ A gudely gift ye wad gie to 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 Hindoos I have met with men who 
have proceeded upon a pilgrimage to Dwarka, and 
yet would not receive the brand of the god, because 
lying would then be forbidden to them. A con¬ 
fidential servant of a friend in Bombay naively 
declared that he had not been marked, as the act 
would have ruined him. There is a sad truth in 
what he said. Lying to the Oriental is meat and 
drink, and the roof that covers him. 

The Kaabah had been dressed in her new attire 
when we entered.* The covering, however, instead 

* The use of the feminine pronoun is explained below. 
When unclothed, the Kaabah is called Uryanah (naked), in 



THE FIRST COVERING OF THE TEMPLE. 295 

of being 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. 

The origin of this custom must be sought in the 
ancient practice of typifying the church visible by 
a virgin or bride. The poet Abd el Rahim el 
Burai, in one of his Gnostic effusions, has em¬ 
bodied the idea: — 

“ And Meccah’s bride (i. e. the Kaabah) appearetli decked 
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 honor by Tubba the Himyarite when he Ju- 


opposition to its normal state, “ Muhramah,” or clad in Ihram. 
In Burckhardt’s time the house remained naked for fifteen 
days ; now the investiture is effected in a few hours. 

* The gold-embroidered curtain covering the Kaabah door 
is called by the learned “Burkat el Kaabah” (the Kaabah’s 
face-veil), by the vulgar Burkat Fatimah ; they connect it in 
idea with the Prophet’s daughter. 



296 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 

daised.* If we accept this fact, which is vouched 
for by oriental history, we are led to the conclusion 
that the children of Israel settled at Meccah had 
connected the temple with their own faith, and, as 
a corollary, that the prophet of El Islam 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, f 
From the time of Kusay, the Kaabah was veiled 
by subscription, till Abu Rabiat el Mughayrah 
bin Abdullah, who, having acquired great wealth 
by commerce, offered to provide the Kiswah on 
alternate years, and thereby gained the name of 
El Adi. The Prophet preferred a covering of 
fine Yemen cloth, and directed the expense to be 
defrayed by the Bait el Mai, or public treasury. 
Umar 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 Usman the Kaabah was twice clothed, in winter 
and summer. For the former season it received a 
Kamis, or Tobe (shirt of brocade), with an Izar, or 

* The pyramids, it is said, were covered from base to summit 
with yellow silk or satin. 

1" present the Kiswah, it need scarcely be said, does not 
cover the flat roof. 



CHANGES IN STYLE AND MAKE OF KISWAH. 297 

veil; for the latter a suit of fine linen. Muawiyah 
at first supplied linen and brocade; he afterwards 
exchanged the former for striped Yemen stuff, and 
ordered Shaybah bin Usman to strip the Kaabah, 
and perfume the walls with Khaluk. Shaybah 
divided the old Kiswah among the pilgrims, and 
Abdullah bin Abbas did not object to this dis¬ 
tribution.* Ihe Caliph Maamun (9th century) 
ordered the dress to be changed three times a year. 
In his day it was red brocade on the 10th Muharran; 
fine linen on the 1st Rajab; and white brocade on 
the 1st Shawwal. At last he was informed that 
the veil applied on the 10th of 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. El Muta- 

* Ayisha also, when Shaybah proposed to bury the old 
Kiswah, that it might not be worn by the impure, directed him 
to sell it, and to distribute the proceeds to the poor. The 
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 “ Si raj el Wahhaj” positively forbids, as 
sinful, the cutting, transporting, selling, buying, and placing it 
between the leaves of the Koran. Kutb el Din (from whom I 
borrow these particulars) introduces some fine and casuistic 
distinctions. In his day, however, the Beni Shaybah claimed 
the old, after the arrival of the new Kiswah ; and their right to 
it was admitted. To the present day they continue to sell it. 



298 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINA!! AND MECCAH. 


wakkil (9th century), when informed that the dress 
was spoiled by pilgrims, at first ordered two to be 
given, and the brocade shirt to be let down as far as 
the pavement: at last he sent a new veil every two 
months. During the Caliphat of the Abassides this 
investiture came to signify sovereignty in El Hejaz, 
which passed alternately from Baghdad to Egypt 
and Yemen. When the Holy Land fell under the 
power of the Usmanli, Sultan Selim ordered the Kis- 
wah to be black, and his son, Sultan Sulayman the 
magnificent (10th century), devoted considerable 
sums to the purpose. In El Idrisi’stime (12th cen¬ 
tury) the Kiswah was composed of black silk, and 
renewed every year by the Caliph of Baghdad. Ibn 
Jubair writes that it was green and gold. The 
Kiswah remained with Egypt when Sultan Kalaun 
(13th century) conveyed the rents of two villages, 
“ Baysus ” and “ Sindbus to the expense of 
providing an outer black and inner red curtain for 
the Kaabah f, and hangings for the Prophet’s tomb 
at El Medinah. The Kiswah was afterwards renewed 
at the accession of each Sultan, And the Wahhabi, 

* Burckliardt says “ Bysous ” and “ Sandabeir.” 

f Some authors also mention a green Kiswah, applied by 
this monarch. Embroidered on it were certain verselets of the 
Koran, the formula of the Moslem faith, and the names of the 
Prophet’s companions. 



INSCRIPTIONS ON KISWAH. 


299 


during the first year of their conquest, covered the 
Kaabah with a red Kiswah of the same stuff as the 
fine Arabian Aba or cloak, and made at El Hasa. 

The Kiswah is now worked at a cotton manu¬ 
factory called El Khurunfish, of the Tumn Bab el 
Shaariyah, Cairo. It is made by a hereditary 
family, called the Bait el 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 Kaabah, — 
the seams being concealed by the Hizam, a broad 
band, which at a distance looks like gold; it is 
lined with white calico, and supplied with cotton 
ropes. Anciently it is said all the Koran was in¬ 
terwoven into it. Now, it is inscribed, “ Verily, the 
first of houses founded for mankind (to worship 
in) is that at Bekkah*j 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 

* From the “ Family of Amran ” (chap. 3.). “ Bekkah ” j s 
“a place of crowding;’’ hence applied to. Meccah generally. 
Some writers, however, limit it to the part of the city round 
the Haram. 



300 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 

distance.* The Hizam is a band about two feet 
broad, and surrounding the Kaabah at two-thirds 
of its height. It is divided into four pieces, which 
are sewn together. On the first and second is 
inscribed the “ Throne verselet,” and on the third 
and fourth the titles of the reigning Sultan. These 
inscriptions are, like the Burka, or door curtain, 
gold worked into red silk, by the Bait el Sadi. 
When the Kiswah is ready at Khurunfish, it is 
carried in procession to the Mosque El Hasanayn, 
where it is lined, sewn, and prepared for the 
journey.f 

After quitting the Kaabah, I returned home ex¬ 
hausted, 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 

* It is larger than the suls. Admirers of Eastern calli¬ 
graphy may see a “ Bismillah,” beautifully written in Tumar, 
on the wall of Sultan Muayyad’s mosque at Cairo. 

f 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. 



THE PILGRIM ASSISTED IN HIS ABLUTIONS. 301 

Cufic and other inscriptions, large carpets, and 
ample diwans still showed a ragged splendour. 
The family had “ seen better days,” the Sherif 
Ghalib having confiscated three of its houses ; but 
it is still proud, and cannot merge the past into 
the present. In the “drawing-room,” which the 
Turkish colonel occupied when at Meccah, the 
Kabirah supplied me with a pipe, coffee, cold water, 
and breakfast. I won her heart by praising the 
graceless boy Mohammed ; like all mothers, she 
dearly loved the scamp of the family. When he 
entered, and saw his maternal parent standing near 
me, with only the end of her veil drawn over her 
mouth, he began to scold her with divers insinu¬ 
ations. “ Soon thou wilt sit amongst the men in 
the hall! ” he exclaimed. “ 0, 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 



302 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 

sacrificed a sheep at Muna, enjoined me to return 
and perform without delay that important rite. 

After resuming our laical toilette, and dressing 
gaily for the great festival, we mounted our asses 
about the cool of the afternoon, and, returning to 
Muna, found the tent full of visitors. Ali ibn Ya 
Sin, the Zem Zemi, had sent me an amphora of 
holy water, and the carrier was awaiting the cus¬ 
tomary 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 pro¬ 
nounced me to be an “ Ajemi.” After their de¬ 
parture we debated about the victim, which is 
only a Sunnat, or Practice of the Prophet.* It is 
generally sacrificed immediately after the first 
lapidation, and we had already been guilty of delay. 
Under these circumstances, and considering the 
meagre condition of my purse, I would not buy 
a sheep, but contented myself with watching my 
neighbours. They gave themselves great trouble, 
especially a large party of Indians pitched near us, 
to buy the victim cheap; but the Bedouins were 

* Those who omit the rite fast ten days; three during the 
pilgrimage season, and the remaining seven at some other 
time. 



SACRIFICES AT MUNA. 


303 


not less acute, and he was happy who paid less than 
a dollar and a quarter. Some preferred contri¬ 
buting to buy a lean ox. None but the Sherif 
and the principal dignitaries slaughtered camels. 
The pilgrims dragged their victims to a smooth 
rock near the Akabah, above which stands a small 
open pavilion, whose sides, red with fresh blood, 
showed that the prince and his attendants had 
been busy at sacrifice.* Others stood before their 
tents, and, directing the victim’s face towards the 
Kaabah, cut its throat, ejaculating, “ Bismillah! 
Allahu Akbar ! ” f The boy Mohammed sneer- 
ingly 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. 


* 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. 

f It is strange that 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. 



304 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 

Parties of Takruri might be seen, sitting vulture- 
like, contemplating the sheep and goats; and no 
sooner was the signal given, than they fell upon 
the bodies, and cut them up without removing 
them. The surface of the valley soon came to 
resemble the dirtiest slaughter-house, and my 
prescient soul drew bad auguries for the future. 

We had spent a sultry afternoon in the basin of 
Muna, which is not unlike a volcanic crater, an 
Aden closed up at the sea-side. Towards night 
the occasional puffs of simoom ceased, and through 
the air of deadly stillness a mass of purple nimbus, 
bisected by a thin grey line of mist-cloud, rolled 
down upon us from the Taif hills. When darkness 
gave the signal, most of the pilgrims pressed 
towards the square in front of the Muna mosque, 
to enjoy the pyrotechnics and the discharge of 
cannon. But during the spectacle came on a 
windy storm, whose lightnings, flashing their fire 
from pole to pole, paled the rockets, and whose 
thunderings, re-echoed by the rocky hills, drowned 
the puny artillery of man. We were 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. 



305 


CHAP. XXXII. 

THE DAYS OF DRYING FLESH. 

All was dull after the excitement of the Great 
Festival. The heat of the night succeeding it ren¬ 
dered every effort to sleep abortive; and as our 
little camp required a guard in a place so cele¬ 
brated for plunderers, I spent the great part of the 
time sitting in the clear pure moonlight. 

After midnight* we again repaired to the Devils, 
and, beginning with the Ula, or first pillar, at 
the eastern extremity of Muna, threw at each 7 
stones (making a total of 21), with the ceremonies 
before described. 

On Thursday we arose before dawn, and prepared 

* 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 1 Jth Zu’l Hijjah. 

VOL. III. 


X 



306 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINA!! AND MECCAH. 

with a light breakfast for the fatigues of a climbing 
walk. After half an hour spent in hopping from 
boulder to boulder, we arrived at a place situated 
on the lower declivity of Jebel Sabir, the northern 
wall of the Muna basin. Here is the Majarr el 
Kabsh, “the Dragging-place of the Earn;” a small, 
white-washed square, divided 
into two compartments. The 
first is entered by a few rag¬ 
ged steps in the S.E. angle, 
which lead to an enclosure 
30 feet by 15. In the N.E. 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 Ibra¬ 
him’s blade fell when the archangel Gabriel forbade 
him to slay Ismail his son. The second compartment 
contains a diminutive hypogeum (b). In this cave 
the patriarch sacrificed the victim, which gives the 
place a name. We descended by a flight of steps, 
and under the stifling ledge of rock found mats 
and praying rugs, which, at this early hour, were 
not overcrowded. We followed the example of the 
patriarchs, and prayed a two-prostration prayer in 
each of the enclosures. After distributing the 
usual gratification, we left the place, and proceeded 




THE HEJAZI APES. 


307 


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.* They abound in the elevated regions 
about Arafat and Taif, where they are caught by 
mixing the juice of the asclepias and narcotics with 
dates and other sweet bait.f The Hejazi ape is 
a hideous cynocephalus, with small eyes placed 
close together, and almost hidden by a dispropor¬ 
tionate snout; a greenish-brown coat, long arms, 
and a stem of lively pink, like fresh meat. They 
are docile, and are said to be fond of spirituous 
liquors, and to display an inordinate affection for 
women. El Masud tells about them a variety of 
anecdotes. According to him, their principal use in 
Hind and Chin was to protect kings from poison, 
by eating suspected dishes. The Bedouins have 
many tales concerning them. It is universally 

* Traditions about these animals vary in the different part 3 
of Arabia. At Aden, for instance, they are supposed to be a 
remnant of the rebellious tribe of Ad. It is curious that the 
popular Arabic, like the Persian names, Saadan, Maymun, 
Shadi, &c. &c., are all expressive of (a probably euphuistic) 
“ propitiousness. ” 

f The Egyptians generally catch, train, and take them to 
the banks of the Nile, where the “ Kuraydati ” ( ape-leader) is 
a popular character. 



308 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 

believed that they catch and kill kites, by exposing 
the pink portion of their persons and concealing the 
rest: the bird pounces upon what appears to be raw 
meat, and presently finds himself viciously plucked 
alive. Throughout Arabia an old story is told 
of them. A merchant was once 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 pur¬ 
pose/ 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 man¬ 
oeuvres with a tarbush, and concluded with throw¬ 
ing it far away. The recruits carefully imitated 
him, and the drill concluded with his firing a shot: 
the plunderers decamped and the caps were regained. 

Failing to see any apes, we retired to the tent 
ere the sun waxed hot, in anticipation of a terrible 
day. Nor were we far wrong. In addition to the 
heat, we had swarms of flies, and the blood-stained 
earth began to reek with noisome vapours. Nought 
moved in the air except kites and vultures, speck¬ 
ling the deep blue sky: the denizens of earth seemed 
paralysed by the sun. I spent the time between 
breakfast and nightfal lying half-dressed upon a 



COFFEE-HOUSES AT ML'NA. 


309 


mat, moving round the tent-pole to escape the glare, 
and watching my numerous neighbours, male and 
female. The Indians were particularly kind, fill¬ 
ing my pipe, offering cooled water, and performing 
similar little offices. I repaid them with a supply 
of provisions, which, at the Muna market-prices, 
these unfortunates could ill afford. 

When the moon arose the boy Mohammed and I 
walked out into the town, performed our second 
day’s lapidation *, and visited the coffee-houses. 

* This ceremony, as the reader will have perceived, is 
performed by the Shafei on the 10th, the 11th, and the 12th 
of Zu’l IIijja.li. 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 in¬ 
stance, 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 disap¬ 
proved 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 Shafeis, 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 
of 70. 

The 7 first bits of granite must be collected at Muzdalifah; 

x 3 



310 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINA!! AND MECCAH. 

I 

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 ques¬ 
tion always was “ Who is this pilgrim ? ” and more 
than once the reply, “ An Afghan,” elicited the lan¬ 
guage 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 ac¬ 
quainted 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 Hin- 
dostani are generally known ; and the Mutawwifs, 
who devote themselves to particular races of pil¬ 
grims, soon become masters of the language. 

Returning homewards, we were called to a spot 

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. Skafeis may stand at a 
greater distance, which should not, however, pass the limits of 
5 cubits. 



A BEDOUIN SONG. 


31L 


by the clapping of hands* and the loud sound of 
song. We found a crowd of Bedouins 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 Terpsichore. The bystanders joined 
in the song; an interminable recitative, as usual, in 
the minor key, and as Orientals are admirable tim- 
ists, 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 in¬ 
stance : — 

j\^\ 

* Here called Safk. It is mentioned by Herodotus, and 
known to almost every oriental people. The Bedouins some¬ 
times, though rarely, use a table or kettledrum. Yet, amongst 
the “ Pardah,” or musical modes of the East, we find the Hejazi 
ranking with the Isfahani and the Iraki. Southern Arabia has 
never been celebrated for producing-musicians, like the banks 
of the Tigris to which we owe, besides castanets and cymbals, 
the guitar, the drum, and the lute, father of the modern harp. 
The name of this instrument is a corruption of the Arabic “ El 
Ud'’ through liuto and luth, into lute. 

■f That is to say,— 

“ On the Great Festival-day at Muna I saw my lord. 

I am a stranger amongst you, therefore pity me I ” 



312 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 

This couplet may have, like the puerilities of 
certain modern and European poets, an abstruse 
and mystical meaning, to be discovered when the 
Arabs learn to write erudite essays upon nursery 
rhymes. The style of the saltation, called Ru- 
fayhah, rivalled the song. The dancers raised both 
arms high above their heads, brandishing a dagger, 
pistol, or some other small weapon. They followed 
each other by hops, on one or both feet, sometimes 
indulging in the most demented leaps; whilst the 
bystanders clapped with their palms a more enliv¬ 
ening measure. This I was told is especially their 
war-dance. They have other forms, which my eyes 
were not fated to see. Amongst the Bedouins of 
El Hejaz, unlike the Somali and other African 
races, the sexes never mingle : the girls may dance 
together, but it would be disgraceful to perform in 
the company of men. 

After so much excitement we retired to rest, and 
slept soundly. 

On Friday, the 12th Zu’l Hijjah, the camels ap¬ 
peared, 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. 



A REVOLTING SCENE. 


313 


Literally, the land stank. Five or six thousand 
animals had been slain and cut up in this Devil’s 
Punch-bowl. I leave the reader to imagine the 
rest. The evil might be avoided by building 
“ abattoirs,” or, more easily still, by digging long 
trenches, and by ordering all pilgrims, under pain 
of mulct, to sacrifice in the same place. Unhappily, 
the spirit of El Islam is opposed to these pre¬ 
cautions of common sense. “Inshallah” and 
“Kismat” take the place of prevention and cure. 
And at Meccah, the head-quarters of the faith, a 
desolating attack of cholera is preferred to the 
impiety of “flying in the face of Providence,” 
and the folly of endeavouring to avert inevitable 
decrees. 

Mounting our camels, and led by Masud, we 
entered Muna by the eastern end, and from the 
litter threw the remaining twenty-one stones. I 
could now see the principal lines of shops, and, 
having been led to expect a grand display of mer¬ 
chandise, was surprised to find only mat-booths 
and sheds, stocked chiefly with provisions. The 
exit from Muna was crowded, for many, like our¬ 
selves, had fled from the revolting scene. I could 
not think without pity of those whom religious 



314 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 

scruples detained another day and a half in this 
foul spot. 

After entering Meccah we bathed, and when the 
noon drew nigh we repaired to the Haram for the 
purpose of hearing the sermon. Descending to the 
cloisters below the Bab el Ziyadah, I stood wonder- 
struck by the scene before me. The vast quad¬ 
rangle 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 proba¬ 
bly not be seen massed together in any other build¬ 
ing upon earth. The women, a dull and sombre- 
looking group, sat apart in their peculiar place. 
The Pacha stood on the roof of Zem Zem, sur¬ 
rounded by guards in Nizam uniform. Where the 
principal ulema stationed themselves the crowd 
was thicker; and in the more auspicious spots 
nought was to be seen but a pavement of heads 
and shoulders. Nothing seemed to move but a 
few dervishes, who, censer in hand, sidled through 
the rows and received the unsolicited alms of the 
faithful. Apparently in the midst, and raised 
above the crowd by the tall, pointed pulpit, whose 
gilt spire flamed in the sun, sat the preacher, an 



THE SERMON AT MECCAH. 


315 


old man with snowy beard. The style of head¬ 
dress called “ Taylasan ” * covered his turban, 
which was white as his robes f, and a short staff 
supported his left hand.J Presently he arose, took 
the staff in his right hand, pronounced a few in¬ 
audible words §, and sat down again on one of the 
lower steps, whilst a Muezzin, at the foot of the 
pulpit, recited the call to sermon. Then the old 
man stood up and began to preach. As the ma¬ 
jestic figure began to exert itself there was a deep 


* A scarf thrown over the head, with one end brought round 
under the chin and passed over the left shoulder composes the 
“ Taylasan.” 

t As late as Ibn Jubair’s time the preacher was habited 
from head to foot in black; and two Muezzins held black flags 
fixed in rings on both sides of the pulpit, with the staves 
propped upon the first step. 

J 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 El Islam, when the preachers 
found it necessary to be prepared for surprises. And all au¬ 
thors who, like Ibn Jubair, 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 consider¬ 
ably from, and was far more ceremonious than, the present 
Ehutbah. 

§ The words were “ Peace be with ye! and the mercy of 
Allah and his blessings 1 ” 



316 PILGBIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND JIECCAH. 

silence. Presently a general “ Amin ” was intoned 
by the crowd at the conclusion of some long sen¬ 
tence. 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 spectacle. 



317 


CHAP. XXXIII. 

LIFE AT MECCAH, AND THE LITTLE PILGRIMAGE. 

My few remaining days at Meccah sped pleasantly 
enough. Umar 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 reached Meccah in time 
for pilgrimage,—about the possibility of proceeding 
eastward. The honest fellow’s eyebrows rose till 
they almost touched his turban, and he exclaimed 
in a roaring voice, “ Wallah! Effendi! thou art 
surely mad.” Every day he brought me news of 
the different caravans. The Bedouins of El Hejaz 
were, he said, in a ferment caused by reports of 
the Holy War, want of money, and rumours of 
quarrels between the Sherif and the Pacha : already 
they spoke of an attack upon Jeddah. Shaykh 
Masud, the camel-man, with whom I parted on the 
best of terms, seriously advised my remaining at 
Meccah for some months even before proceeding to 



318 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 

Sanaa. Others gave the same counsel. Briefly I 
saw that my star was not then in the ascendant, 
and resolved to reserve myself for a more pro¬ 
pitious 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 pre¬ 
scription ; but, like all his countrymen, he was pining 
to leave Meccah.* Whilst the pilgrimage lasted, said 
they, no mal de pays came to trouble them; but, 
its excitement over, they could think of nothing 
but their wives and children. Long-drawn faces 
and continual sighs evidenced nostalgia. At last 
the house became a scene of preparation. Blue 
china-ware and basketed bottles of Zem Zem water 
appeared standing in solid columns, and pilgrims 
occupied themselves in hunting for mementos of 
Meccah, drawings, combs, balm, henna, tooth-sticks, 
aloe-wood, turquoises, coral, and mother-o’-pearl 
rosaries, shreds of Kiswah-cloth and fine Abas, or 
cloaks of camels’-wool. It was not safe to mount 

* Not more than one-quarter of the pilgrims who appear at 
Arafat go on to El Medinah: 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 “ Haj- 
jat el Islam ” are enjoined to commence at Meccah. 



THE HEAT AT MECCAH UNBEARABLE. 319 

the stairs without shouting “ Tarik ” — out of the 
way! — at every step, or peril of meeting face to 
face some excited fair.* The lower floor was 
crowded with 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 un¬ 
endurable at Meccah. The city is so “ compacted 
together” by hills, that even the simoom can 
scarcely sweep it, the heat reverberated by the bare 
rocks is intense, and the normal atmosphere of an 
eastern town communicates a faint lassitude to the 
body and irritability to the mind. The houses 
being unusually strong and well-built, might by 
some art of thermantidote be rendered cool enough 
in the hottest weather: they are now ovens.f It 

* When respectable married men live together in the same 
house, a rare occurrence, except on journeys, this most un¬ 
gallant practice of clearing the way is and must be kept up in 
the East. 

j- I offer no lengthened description of the town of Meccah : 
Ali Bey and Burckhardt have already said all that requires 



320 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAII AND MECCAH. 


was my habit to retire immediately after the late 
breakfast to the little room upstairs, to sprinkle it 
with water, and lie down upon a mat. In the few 
precious moments of privacy notes were committed 
to paper, but one eye was ever fixed on the door. 
Sometimes a patient would interrupt me, but a 
doctor is far less popular in El Hejaz than in 
Egypt. The people, being more healthy, have less 
faith in physic: Shaykh Masud and his son had 

saying. Although the origin of the Bait 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 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-quar¬ 
ters of a mile would be the extreme breadth between Abu Ku- 
bays eastward,—upon whose western slope the most solid mass 
of the town clusters,—and Jebel Hindi westward of the city. 
In the centre of this line stands the Kaabah. 

I regret being unable to offer the reader a sketch of Meccah, 
or of the Great Temple. The stranger who would do this should 
visit the city out of the pilgrimage season, and hire a room 
looking into the quadrangle of the Haram. This addition to 
our knowledge is the more required, as our popular sketches 
(generally taken from D’Ohsson) are utterly incorrect. The 
Kaabah is always a recognisable building -, but the “ View of 
Meccah ” known to Europe is not more like Meccah than like 
Cairo or Bombay. 



A SAUDAWI OR MELANCHOLIST. 


321 


never tasted in their lives aught more medicinal 
than green dates and camels’ 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 El Hamra, on the Yambu road, accompanied us 
to El Medinah, lived there, and journeyed to 
Meccah with the Syrian pilgrimage; yet he had not 
once come to visit me or to see his brother, the boy 
Mohammed. When gently reproached for this 
omission he declared it to be his way — that he 
never called upon strangers until sent for. He 
was a perfect Saudawi (melancholist) in mind, 
manners, and personal appearance, and this class of 
humanity in the East is almost as uncomfortable to 
the household as the idiot of Europe. I was fre¬ 
quently 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 
VOL. in. y 



322 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 


household. Often, too, I had to curb, by polite de¬ 
precation, the impetuosity of the fiery old Kabirah’s 
tongue. Thus Abdullah and I became friends, after 
a fashion. He purchased several little articles re¬ 
quired, and never failed to pass hours in my closet, 
giving me much information about the country, 
deploring the laxity of Meccan morals, and lament¬ 
ing that in these evil days his countrymen had 
forfeited their name at Cairo and Constantinople. 
His curiosity about the English in India was great, 
and I satisfied it by praising, as a Moslem would, 
their “politike,” their even-handed justice, and 
their good star. Then he would inquire into the 
truth of a fable extensively known on the shores of 
the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. The English, 
it is said, sent a mission to Mohammed, inquiring 
into his doctrines, and begging that Khalid bin 
Walid * might be sent to proselytise them. Un- 

* 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, ». e. bring me my bow and arrows. (Remarks 



DESTRUCTION OF THE KAABAH PROPHESIED. 323 

fortunately, the envoys arrived too late — the Pro¬ 
phet’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 Mos¬ 
lems in Barbary and other countries hold the En¬ 
glish 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 Kaabah,” I was informed that 
towards the end of time a host will pass over from 
Africa in such multitudes that a stone shall be 
conveyed from hand to hand between Jeddah and 
Meccah. This latter condition might easily be ac¬ 
complished by 60,000 men, the distance being only 
44 miles, but the citizens consider it to express a 
countless horde. Some pious Moslems have hoped 
that in Abdullah bin Zubayr’s re-erection of the 
Kaabah the prophecy was fulfilled *: the popular 
belief, however, remains, that the fatal event is still 

on Dr. Dorn’s Chrestomathy of the Pushtu or Afghan Language. 
Trans. Bombay As. Society, 1848.) 

* See the 9th building of the Kaabah, described in Chap. IV 



324 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAII AND MECCAH. 

in the womb of time. In a previous part of thes 
volumes I have alluded to similar evil present; 
ments which haunt the mind of El Islam ; and th 
Christian, zealous for the propagation of his faitl 
may see in them an earnest of its still wider dii 
fusion in future ages. 

Late in the afternoon I used to rise, perforr 
ablution, and repair to the Haram, or wande 
about the bazaars till sunset. After this it wa 
necessary to return home and prepare for supper- 
dinner it would be called in the West. The mea 
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 i: 
the house by one of the princes of Delhi, smoking 
hookah, and drinking sundry cups of strong gree; 
tea with a slice of lime, a fair substitute for milt 
At this hour the seat was as in a theatre, but th 
words of the actors were of a nature somewhat to 
Fescennine for a British public. After nightfa 
we either returned to the Haram or retired to resi 
Our common dormitory was the flat roof of th 
house; under each cot stood a water-gugglet; an 
all slept, as must be done in the torrid lands, on an 
not in bed. 

I sojourned at Meccah but a short time, and, a 



FAMILIARITY BREEDS CONTEMPT. 


325 


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 El 
Medinah. They often leave — 

“ Home, where small experience grows,” 

and —“qui multum peregrinating raro santijicatur ”— 
become a worldly-wise, God-forgetting, and Mam¬ 
monish sort of folk. “Tuf w’ asaa, w’ aamil el 
Saba ” — “ Circumambulate and run (i. e. between 
Safa and Marwah) and do the seven (deadly sins)”— 
is a satire pppularly levied against them. Hence, 
too, the proverb “ El Haram f’ il Haramain ” — 
“ Evil (dwelleth) in the two Holy (Cities) ; ” and no 
wonder, since plenary indulgence is so easily se¬ 
cured.* The pilgrim is forbidden, or rather dis¬ 
suaded, from abiding at Meccah after the rites, and 
wisely. Great emotions must be followed by a 
reaction. And he who stands struck by the first 
aspect of Allah’s house, after a few months, the 
marvel becoming stale, sweeps past it with indif¬ 
ference or something worse. 

* Good acts done at Meccah are rewarded a hundred-thou¬ 
sand-fold in heaven; yet it is not auspicious to dwell there. 
Umar informs us that an evil deed receives the punishment of 
seventy. 



326 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 

There is, however, little at Meccah to offend the 
eye. Like certain other nations further west, a 
layer of ashes overspreads the fire: the mine is 
concealed by a green turf fair to look upon. It is 
only when wandering by starlight through the 
northern outskirts of the town that men may be 
seen with light complexions and delicate limbs, 
coarse turbans and Egyptian woollen robes, speaking 
disguise and the purpose of disguise. No one 
within the memory of man has suffered the penalty 
of immorality. Spirituous liquors are no longer 
sold, as in Burckhardt’s day *, in shop?; and some 
Arnaut officers assured me that they found con¬ 
siderable difficulty in smuggling flasks of “ raki ” 
from Jeddah. 

The Meccan is a darker man than the Medinite. 
The people explain this by the heat of the climate. 
I rather believe it to be caused by the number of 
female slaves that find their way into the market. 
Galias, Sawahilis, a few Somalis, and Abyssinians 
are embarked at Suakin, Zayla, Tajurrah, and Ber- 
bera, carried in thousands to Jeddah, and the Holy 
City has the pick of each batch. Thence the 

* It must be remembered that my predecessor visited Mec¬ 
cah when the Egyptian army, commanded by Mohammed Ali, 
held the town. 



“ BEAUTY-MASKS ” IN VOGUE. 327 

stream sets northwards, a small current towards 
El Medinah, and the main line to Egypt and 
Turkey.* Most Meccans have black concubines, 
and, as has been said, the appearance of the Sherif 
is almost that of a negro. I did not see one hand¬ 
some man in the Holy City, although some of the 
women appeared to me beautiful. The male pro 
file is high and bony, the forehead recedes, and the 
head rises unpleasantly towards the region of firm¬ 
ness. In most families male children, when forty 
days old, are taken to the Kaabah, prayed over, 
and carried home, where the barber draws with a 
razor three parallel gashes down the fleshy portion 
of each cheek, from the exterior angles of the eyes 
almost to the corners of the mouth. These “ ma- 
shali,” as they are called f, may be of modern date: 

* In another place I have ventured a few observations con¬ 
cerning the easy suppression of this traffic. 

f 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 tattooing, to coquetry. 
The citizens told me that the custom arose from the necessity 
of preserving children from the kidnapping Persians, and that 
it is preserved as a mark of the Holy City. But its wide diffu¬ 
sion denotes an earlier origin. Mohammed expressly forbad his 
followers to mark the skin with scars. These “ beauty-marks ” 

x 4 



328 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 


the citizens declare that the custom was unknown 
to their ancestors. I am tempted to assign to it a 
high antiquity.* 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, pen¬ 
sion, stipends, presents, and the “ Ikram ” here, as 
at El Medinah, supply the citizen with the means 
of idleness. With him everything is on the most 
expensive scale, his marriage, his religious cere¬ 
monies, and his household expenses. His house is 

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 hecatombs for fashion’s sake. I have seen cheeks 
gashed, as in the Holy City, among the Gallas. Certain races 
of the Sawahil trace around the head a corona of little cuts, like 
those of a cupping instrument. And, to quote no other in¬ 
stances, some Somalis raise ghastly seams upon their chocolate- 
coloured skins. 

* I cannot but suspect a pagan origin of high antiquity to a 
custom still prevailing, despite all the interdictions of the 
Ulema. 



PRIDE AND COARSENESS OF THE MECCANS. 329 


luxuriously furnished, entertainments are frequent, 
and the junketings of the women make up a heavy 
bill at the end of the year. It is a common prac¬ 
tice for the citizen to anticipate the pilgrimage 
season by falling into the hands of the usurer. If 
he be in luck, he catches and “ skins ” one or more 
of the richest Hajis. On the other hand, should 
fortune fail him, he will feel for life the effect of 
interest running on at the rate of at least 50 per 
cent., the simple and the compound forms of which 
are equally familiar to the wily Sarraf.* 

The most unpleasant peculiarities of the Mec¬ 
cans f are their pride and coarseness of language. 
They look upon themselves as the cream of earth’s 
sons, and resent with extreme asperity the least 
slighting word concerning the Holy City and its 
denizens. They plume themselves upon their 
holy descent, their exclusion of infidels J, their 


* The Indian “Shroff 1 ”—banker, money-changer, and usu¬ 
rer. 

•f When speaking of the Meccans I allude only to the section 
of society which fell under my observation, and that more ex¬ 
tensive division concerning which I obtained notices that could 
be depended upon. 

| The editor of Burckhardt’s “Travels in Arabia” supposes 
that his author’s “ sect of light extinguishers ” were probably 
Parsees from Surat or Bombay. The mistake is truly ludi¬ 
crous, for no pious Parsee will extinguish a light. Moreover, 



330 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 


strict fastings, their learned men, and their purity 
of language.* In fact, their pride shows itself at 
every moment; but it is not the pride which makes 
a man too proud to do a dirty action. My pre¬ 
decessor did not remark their scurrility: he seems, 
on the contrary, rather to commend them for re¬ 
spectability in this point. If he be correct, the 
present generation has degenerated. The Meccans 

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. 

* It is strange how travellers and linguists differ upon the 
subject of Arabic and its dialects. Niebuhr compares their 
relation to that of Provencal, Spanish, and Italian, whereas 
Lane declares the dialects to resemble each other more than 
those of some different counties in England. Herbin (Gram¬ 
mar) draws a broad line between ancient and modern Arabic; 
but Hochst (Nachrichten, Yon 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 Graeca.” 
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 corre¬ 
spondence, and the “ Nahwi,” or grammatical and classical lan¬ 
guage. 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. 



GOOD POINTS IN THE MECCAN CHARACTER. 331 

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 take notice of it. The boy Mohammed 
and one of his tall cousins at last transgressed the 
limits of my endurance. They had been abusing 
each other vilely one day at the house-door about 
dawn, when I administered the most open repri¬ 
mand : “ In my country (Afghanistan) we hold 
this to be the hour of prayer, the season of good 
thoughts, when men remember Allah; even the 
Kafir doth not begin the day with curses and 
abuse.” The people around approved, and even 
the offenders could not refrain from saying, “ Thou 
hast spoken truth, 0 Effendi! ” Then the by¬ 
standers 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 mer¬ 
ciful ! ” — 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 



332 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 

to reason, can confess itself in error, and. displays 
none of that doggedness of vice which distinguishes 
the sinner of a more stolid race. Like the people 
of Southern Europe, the Semite is easily managed 
by a jest: though grave and thoughtful, he is by 
no means deficient in the sly wit which we call 
humour, and the solemn gravity of his words con¬ 
tracts 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 
hasardd, as in the case of the Paradise-coveting old 
woman. The other redeeming qualities of the 
Meccan are his courage, his bonhomie , his manly 
suavity of manners, his fiery sense of honor, his 
strong family affections, his near approach to what 
we call patriotism, and his general knowledge: 
the reproach of extreme ignorance which Burck- 
hardt directs against the Holy City has long ago 
sped to the limbo of things that were. The dark 
half of the picture is pride, bigotry, irreligion, greed 
of gain, immorality, and prodigal 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 



MECCAN AND CHKISTIAN SUPERSTITIONS. 333 


hang a strange unmeaning shroud around the living 
theism of Islam.” But what nation, either in the 
West or the East, has been able to cast out from its 
ceremonies every suspicion of its old idolatry ? 
What are the English mistletoe, the Irish wake, 
the Pardon of Brittany, the Carnival and the Wor¬ 
ship at Iserna? Better far to consider the Meccan 
pilgrimage rites in the light of Evil-worship turned 
into lessons of Good than to philosophise about 
their strangeness, and to err in asserting them to 
be insignificant. Even the Bedouin circumambu¬ 
lating the Kaabali 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 the “ Pure of Allah *; ” and when 
hurling stones and curses at the three senseless 
little buttresses which commemorate the appearance 
of the fiend, the materialism of the action gives to 
its 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 Muz- 
dalifah, the heavenly host whose pinions cause the 
Kaabah’s veil to rise and wave, and the mysterious 
complement of the pilgrims’ total at the Arafat ser- 


* Safi Ullah — Adam. 



334 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 

mon, all belong to the category of spiritual crea¬ 
tures 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 repre¬ 
hension. 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 “ braquds ” 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; 



SUPPOSED EXISTENCE OF TWO ABRAHAMS. 335 


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. 

As regards the Meccan and Moslem belief that 
Abraham and his son built the Kaabah, it may be 
observed that the Genesitic account of the Great 
Patriarch has suggested to learned men the idea of 
two Abrahams, one the son of Terah, another the 
son of Azar (tire), a Prometheus, who imported 
civilisation and knowledge into Arabia from Har- 
ran, the sacred centre of Sabaean learning.* Mos- 

* 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 Taala.” This word, variously spelt Ouro- 
talt, Orotalt, and Orotal (the latter would be the masculine 
form in Arabic), is Urrat-ilat, or the goddess of fire, most pro¬ 
bably the Sun (El 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, Ali- 
lat, is clearly A1 Lat. 

May not the Phoenicians have supplied the word “ Irr,” 
which still survives in Erin and Ireland ? even so they gave 
to the world the name of Britain, Brettanike, Barrat et Tanuki 

^ , * <r-.vU Xjj 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. 



336 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 

lem 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 Kaa- 
bah is, in my humble opinion, an open question. 
The Jewish Scripture informs us only that the 
patriarch dwelt at Beersheba and Gerar, in the 
S.W. of Palestine, without any allusion to the 
annual visit which Moslems declare he paid to 
their Holy City. At the same time Arab tra¬ 
dition speaks clearly and consistently upon the 
subject, and generally omits those miraculous and 
superstitious adjuncts which cast shadows of sore 
doubts upon the philosopher’s mind. Those who 
know the habits of the expatriated Jews and 
Christians of the East — their practice of con¬ 
necting all remarkable spots with their old tra¬ 
ditions * — will readily believe that the children of 
Israel settled in pagan Meccah saw in its idolatry 
some perverted form of their own worship.f 

The amount of risk which a stranger must en- 

* I have before alluded to the curious origin of the Ma¬ 
donna’s Sycamore — Isis in a new shape — at Heliopolis. 

f The best, and indeed the only proof that they did so, is 
the respect paid by the Judaised Tubba to the Ivaabah. 
Chap. VIH. 



DANGERS OF VISITING MECCAH. 


337 


counter at the pilgrimage rites is still considerable. 
A learned Orientalist and divine intimated his in¬ 
tention, in a work published but a few years ago, 
of visiting Meccah without disguise. He was as¬ 
sured that the Turkish governor would now offer 
no obstacle to a European traveller. I would 
strongly dissuade a friend from making the attempt. 
It is true that the Frank is no longer, as in Capt. 
Head’s day *, insulted when he ventures out of the 
Meccan Gate of Jeddah; and that our vice-consuls 
and travellers are allowed, on condition that their 
glance do not pollute the shrine, to visit Taif 
and the regions lying eastward of the Holy City. 
Neither the Pacha nor the Sherif would, in these 
days, dare to enforce, in the case of an Englishman, 
the old law, a choice thrice offered between cir¬ 
cumcision and death. But the first Bedouin who 
caught sight of the Frank’s hat would not deem 
himself a man if he did not drive a bullet through 
the wearer’s head. At the pilgrimage season dis¬ 
guise is easy, on account of the vast and varied mul¬ 
titudes which visit Meccah, exposing the traveller 
only to “ stand the buffet with knaves who smell of 

* Capt. C. F. Head, author of “ Eastern and Egyptian 
Scenery,” was, as late as a.d. 1829, pelted by the Bedouins, be¬ 
cause be passed the eastern gate of Jeddah in a Frankish 
dress. 

VOL. III. Z 



338 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 


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 pro¬ 
tection of the government.* 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 travel¬ 
lers to attempt Meccah without disguise, until the 
day comes when such steps can be taken in the 
certainty of not causing a mishap, which would 
not redound to our reputation, as we could not in 
justice revenge it.f 

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 best way would be to rush, if possible, into a house ; 
and the owner would then, for his own interest, as well as 
honor, defend a stranger till assistance could be procured. 

f Future pilgrims must also remember that the season is 
gradually receding towards the heart of the hot weather. For 
the next fifteen years, therefore, an additional risk will attend 
the traveller. 



THE UMRAH OR LITTLE PILGRIMAGE. 339 


the usual ceremonies, I set- out, accompanied by 
the boy Mohammed and his brother Abdullah. 
Mounting asses, which resembled mules in size 
and speed*, we rode to the Haram, and prayed 
there. Again remounting, we issued through the 
Bab el Safa towards the open country N.E. of the 
city. The way was crowded with pilgrims, on foot 
as well as mounted, and their loud Labbayks dis¬ 
tinguished 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 

* 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 gene¬ 
rally the biped. The asses of the Holy City are tall and plump, 
with sleek coats, generally ash or grey-coloured, the eyes of 
deers, 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. 



340 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 


grim-looking cairn is popularly believed to note th< 
place of the well where Abu Lahab laid an am 
buscade for the Prophet. This wicked uncle sta 
tinned there a slave, with orders to throw headlong 
into the pit the first person who approached him 
and privily persuaded his nephew to visit the spoi 
at night: after a time, anxiously hoping to heai 
that the deed had been done, Abu Lahab incau¬ 
tiously drew nigh, and was precipitated by his own 
bravo into the place of destruction.* Hence the 
well-known saying in Islam, “ Whoso diggeth a well 
for his brother shall fall into it himself.” We 
added our quota of stones f, and proceeding, saw 

* 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 Meccali was summarily “ lynched ” by 
the indignant populace. The two first traditions, however, are 
the favourites, the vulgar — citizens, as well as pilgrims — lov¬ 
ing 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. 

f 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. 



THE EL UMRAH. 


341 


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 
white-washed “ bungalow,” the palace of the Emir 
el Hajj, lay on the left, and all around it clustered 
the motley encampment of his pilgrims. After 
cantering about three miles from the city, we reached 
the Alamain, or two pillars that limit the Sanc¬ 
tuary; and a little beyond it, is the small settle¬ 
ment, popularly called El Umrah.* Dismounting 


This custom of lapidation, in token of hate, is an ancient 
practice, still common in the East. Yet, in some parts of 
Arabia, stones are thrown at tombs as a compliment to the 
tenant. And in the Somali country, the places where it is 
said holy men sat, receive the same doubtful homage. 

* It is called in books El Tanim (bestowing plenty) ; a word 
which readers must not confound with the district of the 
same name in the province Khaulan (made by Niebuhr the 
“ Thumna,” “ Thomna,” or “Tamna,” capital of the Cataban- 
ites). Other authors apply El Tanim to the spot where Abu 
Lahab is supposed to lie. 

There are two places called El Umrah near Meccah. The 
Kabir, or greater, is, I am told, in the Wady Fatimah, and the 
Prophet ordered Ayisha and her sister to begin the ceremonies 
at that place. It is now visited by picnic parties and those 
who would pray at the tomb of 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. 



342 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AKD MECCAH. 

here, we sat down on rugs outside a coffee-tent to 
enjoy the beauty of the moonlit night, and an 
hour of “ Kaif ” 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-prostration prayer in honor of the 
Ihram *, after which we distributed gratuities to 
the guardians, and alms to the importunate beg¬ 
gars. And now I perceived the object of Abdul¬ 
lah’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 pilgrims Yusuf (Joseph) bin Ahmed 
and Fatimah bint Yunus,” my progenitors. It 
was impossible to prevent smiling at contrasts, as 
Abdullah, gravely raising his hands, and directing 

* Some assume the Ihram garb at this place. 



THE N1YAT OK THE RUNNING. 


343 


his face to the Kaabah, intoned, “ I do vow this 
Ihrain of Urarah in the name of Yusuf son of 
Ahmed, and Fatimah daughter of Yunus; then 
render it attainable to them, and accept it of them! 
Bismillah ! Allahu Akbar! ” 

Remounting, we gallopped towards Meccah, 
shouting Labbayk, and halting at every half mile 
to smoke and drink coffee. In a short time we 
entered the city, and repairing to the Haram by 
the Safa Gate, performed the Tawaf, or circum- 
ambulation of Umrah. After this dull round 
and necessary repose we left the temple by the 
same exit, and mounting once more, turned 
towards the hill El Safa, which stands about 100 
yards S.E. 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 steps leading 
up to them out of a narrow road. Without dis¬ 
mounting, we wheeled our donkeys * round, “ left 
shoulders forward”—no easy task in the crowd,— 
and vainly striving to sight the Kaabah through 

* 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. 



344 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 

the Bab el Safa, performed the Niyat, or vow of 
the rite El Sai, or the running.* After Tahlil, 
Takbir, and Talbiyat, we raised our hands in the 
supplicatory position, and twice repeated f, “ There 
is no god but Allah, alone without partner; his 
is the kingdom, unto him be praise; he giveth life 
and death, he is alive and perisheth not; in his 
hand is good, and he over all things is omnipotent.” 
Then, with the donkey-boys leading our animals 
and a stout fellow preceding us with lantern and a 
quarter-staff to keep off the running Bedouins, 
camel-men, and riders of asses, we descended Safa, 
and walked slowly down the street El Masaa, 
towards Marwah.J During our descent we recited 
aloud, “ 0 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, 0 most merciful of the merciful! ” Arrived 
at what is called the Batn el Wady (belly of the 
vale), a place now denoted by the Milain el Akhza- 

* I will not trouble the reader with this Niyat, which is the 
same as that used in the Tawaf rite. 

t Almost every Mutawwif, it must be remembered, has his 
own set of prayers. 

t “ Safa ” means a large, hard rook; “ Marwah,” hard, white 
flints, full of fire. 



MARWAH. 


345 


rain (the two green pillars*), one fixed in the 
eastern course of the Haram, the other in a house 
on the right sidef, we began the running by urging 
on our beasts. Here the prayer was, “ 0 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 ! 0 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 farther 
limits were marked by two other pillars. Again 
we began to ascend, repeating, as we went, “ Verily, 
Safa and Marwah are two of the monuments of 
Allah. Whoso, therefore, pilgrimeth to the temple 
of Meccah, or performeth Umra, 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! ”J 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 

* 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. 

f This house is called in books Eubat el Abbas. 

X Koran, chap. 2. 



346 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINA!! AND MECCAH. 

the Masaa, or street below, a short flight of stej 
leads to a platform, bounded on three sides like 
tennis court, by tall walls without arches. Th 
street, seen from above, has a bowstring curve: : 
is between 800 and 900 feet long *, with hig 
houses on both sides, and small lanes branchin 
off from it. At the foot of the platform w 
brought the “right shoulder forward,” so as t 
face the Kaabah, and raising hands to ears, thric 
exclaimed, “ Allahu Akbar.” This concluded th 
first course, and, of these, seven compose the cert 
mony El Sai, or the running. 

There was a startling contrast with the origin c 
this ceremony,— 

“ When the poor outcast on the cheerless wild, 
Arabia’s parent, clasped her fainting child,” — 

as the Turkish infantry marched, in Europeai 
dress, with sloped arms, down the Masaa to reliev 
guard. By the side of the half-naked, running 
Bedouins, they looked as if epochs, disconnected fr 
long centuries, had met. A laxity, too, there was ii 
the frequent appearance of dogs upon this holy ant 
most memorial ground, which said little in favou; 
of the religious strictness of the administration. 

* Ibn Jubair gives 893 steps: other authorities make th 
distance 780 short cubits, the size of an average man’s forearm 



THE LITTLE PILGRIMAGE COMPLETED. 347 

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, “0 Allah, this my 
forelock is in thy hand, then grant me for every 
hair a light on the resurrection-day, 0 most mer¬ 
ciful 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 ex¬ 
changed for the normal state, “ Ihlal,” we cantered 
to the Haram, prayed there a two-prostration 
prayer, and returned home not a little fatigued. 



348 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAII. 


CHAP. XXXIV. 

PLACES OF PIOUS VISITATION AT MECCAH. 

The lionizer has little work at the Holy City. 
With exceptions of Jebel Nur and Jebel Saur*, all 
the places of pious visitation lie inside or close 
outside the city. It is well worth the traveller’s 
while to ascend Abu Kubays; not so much to in¬ 
spect the Makan el Hajar and the Shakk el Ka- 
marf, as to obtain an excellent bird’s-eye view of 
the Haram and the parts adjacent. J 

* Jebel Nur, or Hira, has been mentioned before. Jebel 
Saur rises at some distance to the south of Meccah, and con¬ 
tains the celebrated cave in which Mohammed and Abubekr 
took refuge during the flight. 

f The tradition of these places is related by every historian. 
The former is the repository of the Black Stone during the 
Deluge. The latter, “ splitting of the moon,” is the spot where 
the Prophet stood when, to convert the idolatrous Kuraysh, he 
caused half the orb of night to rise from behind Abu Kubays, 
and the other from Jebel Kaykaan, on the western horizon. 
This silly legend appears unknown to Mohammed’s day. 

4 The pilgrimage season, strictly speaking, concluded this 
year on the 17th Sept. (13th Zu’l Hijjah) ; at which time tra¬ 
vellers began to move towards Jeddah. Those who purposed 



THE CEMETERY OF MECCAH. 


349 


The boy Mohammed had applied himself sedu¬ 
lously to commerce after his return home; and 
had actually been seen by Shaykh Nur sitting in 
a shop and selling small curiosities. With my 
plenary consent I was made over to Abdullah, his 
brother. On the morning of the 15th Zu’l Hijjah 
(19th Sept.) he hired two asses, and accompanied 
me as guide to the holy places. 

Mounting our animals, we followed the road be¬ 
fore described to the Jannat el Maala, the sacred 
cemetery of Meccah. A rough wall, with a poor 
gateway, encloses a patch of barren and grim- 
looking ground at the foot of the chain which 
bounds the city’s western suburb; and below El 
Akabah, the gap through which Khalid bin Walid 
entered Meccah with the triumphant Prophet. 
Inside are a few ignoble, whitewashed domes : all 
are of modern construction, for here, as at El Bakia, 
further north, the Wahabis indulged their levelling 
propensities.* The rest of the ground shows some 
small enclosures belonging to particular houses,— 
equivalent to our family vaults, — and the ruins 

visiting El Medinah would start about three weeks afterwards, 
and many who had leisure intended witnessing the Muharram 
ceremonies at Meccah. 

* The reason of their Vandalism has been noticed in a pre¬ 
vious volume. 



350 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 

of humble tombs, lying in confusion, whilst a fet 
parched aloes spring from between the bricks am 
stones.* 

This cemetery is celebrated in local history: her 
the body of Abdullah bin Zubayr was exposed b; 
order of Hajjaj bin Yusuf; and the number o 
saints buried in it has been so numerous, that eve] 
in the twelfth century many had fallen into ob 
livion. It is visited by the citizens on Fridays, an< 
by women on Thursdays, to prevent that meeting o 
sexes which in the East is so detrimental to publii 
decorum. I shall be sparing in my description o 
the Maala ceremonies, as the prayers, prostrations 

* The aloe here, as in Egypt, is hung, like the dried crocodile 
over houses as a talisman against evil spirits. Burckhard 
assigns, as a motive for it being planted in graveyards, tha 
its name Saber denotes the patience with which the believe 
awaits the Last Day. And Lane remarks, “The aloe thus hunj 
(over the door), without earth and water, will live for severa 
years, and even blossom: hence it is called Saber, which sig 
nifies patience.” In India it is hung up to prevent mosquito: 
entering a room. 

I believe the superstition to be a fragment of African fe 
tishism. The Gallas, to the present day, plant aloes on graves 
and suppose that when the plant sprouts the deceased has beei 
admitted into the gardens of “ Wak ”— the Creator. Idea: 
breed vocables ; but seldom, except among rhymesters, does i 
vocable give birth to a popular idea: and in Arabic “ Sibr,’ 
as well as “ Sabr," is the name of the aloe. 



TOMBS OF THE PROPHET’S WIFE AND MOTHER. 351 

and supplications are almost identical with those 
performed at El Bakia. 

After a long supplication, pronounced standing 
at the doorway, we entered, and sauntered about 
the burial-ground. On the left of the road stood 
an enclosure, which, according to Abdullah, be¬ 
longed 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 
Fat-hah with tears in his eyes, and hurried me 
away from the spot. 

The first dome which we visited covered the 
remains of Abdel Rahman, the son of Abubekr, 
one of the worthies of El Islam, equally respected 
by Sunni and Shiah. The tomb was a simple 
catafalque, covered with the usual cloth. After 
performing our devotions at this grave, and dis¬ 
tributing 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 



352 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 

resting-place of Sitt Aminah, the Prophet’s mother.* 
Burekhardt chronicles its ill usage by the fanatic 
Wahhabis: it has now been rebuilt in that frugal 
style which characterises the architecture of El 
Hejaz. An old woman exceedingly garrulous 
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 con¬ 
tents smelt strongly of mastic, earnestly directing 
me to drink it in a sitting posture. This tomb she 
informed us is the property of a single woman, who 
visits it every evening, receives the contributions 
of the Faithful, prays, sweeps the pavement, and 
dusts the furniture. We left five piastres for this 
respectable maiden, and gratified the officious 
crone with another shilling. She repaid us by 
signalling to some score of beggars that a rich 
pilgrim had entered the Maala, and their impor¬ 
tunities fairly drove me out of the hallowed Avails. 

* Burekhardt mentions the “ Tomb of Umna, the mother of 
Mohammed,” in the Maala at Meccah ; and all the ciceroni 
agree about the locality. Yet historians place it at Abwa, 
where she died, after visiting El Medinah to introduce her son 
to his relations. And the learned believe that the Prophet 
refused to pray over or to intercede for his mother, she having 
died before El Islam was revealed. 



THE PROPHET’S OLD HOUSE. 353 

Leaving the Jannat el Maala, we returned to¬ 
wards the town, and halted on the left side of the 
road, at a mean building called the Masjid el Jinn 
(of the Genii). Here was revealed the seventy- 
second chapter of the Koran, called after the name 
of the mysterious fire-drakes who paid fealty to 
the Prophet. Descending a flight of steps, — for 
this mosque, like all ancient localities at Meccah, 
is as much below as above ground, — we entered a 
small apartment containing water-pots for drinking 
and all the appurtenances of ablution. In it is 
shown the Mauza el Khatt (place of the writing), 
where Mohammed wrote a letter to Abu Masud 
after the homage of the Genii. A second and in¬ 
terior flight of stone steps led to another diminu¬ 
tive oratory where the Prophet used to pray and 
receive the archangel Gabriel. Having performed 
a pair of prostrations, which caused the perspiration 
to burst forth as if in a Russian bath, I paid a few 
piastres, and issued from the building with much 
satisfaction. 

We had some difficulty in urging our donkeys 
through the crowded street, called the Zukak el 
Hajar. Presently we arrived at the Bait el Nab} r , 
the Prophet’s old house, in which he lived with the 
Sitt fvhadijah. Here, says Burckhardt, the Lady 

vol. nr. a a 



354 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 

Fatimah first saw the light *; and here, according 
to Ibn Jubair, Hasan and Husayn were born. 
Dismounting at the entrance we descended a deep 
flight of steps, and found ourselves in a spacious 
hall, vaulted, and of better appearance than most of 
the sacred edifices at Meccah. In the centre, and 
well railed round, stood a closet of rich green and 
gold stuffs, in shape not unlike an umbrella tent. 
A surly porter guarded the closed door, which some 
respectable people vainly 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 f — fixed at the bottom of a basin of the 
same material. Thence we repaired to a corner, 
and recited a two-prostration at the place where 
the Prophet used to pray the Sunnat and the Nafi- 
lah, or supererogatory devotions. J 

* Burckhardt calls it “ Maulid Sittna Fatimah: ” but the 
name “ Kubbat el Wahy,” applied by my predecessor to this 
locality, is generally made synonymous with El Mukhtaba, the 
“ hiding-place ” where the Prophet and his followers used in 
dangerous times to meet for prayer. 

t So loose is local tradition, that some have confounded this 
quern with the Natak el Naby, the stone which gave God-speed 
to the Prophet. 

\ He would of course pray the Farz, or obligatory devotions, 
at the shrine. 



DESTRUCTION OF SLAVE TRADE CONTEMPLATED. 355 

Again remounting, we proceeded at a leisurely 
pace homewards, and on the way we passed through 
the principal slave-market. It is a large street, 
roofed with matting, and full of coffee-houses. The 
merchandise sits in rows, parallel with the walls. 
The prettiest girls occupied the highest benches, 
below them were the plain, and lowest of all the 
boys. They were all gaily dressed in pink and other 
light-coloured muslins, with transparent veils over 
their heads; and, whether from the effect of such 
unusual splendour, or from the reaction succeed¬ 
ing 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, dawce-looking Abys- 
sinians, and Africans of various degree of hideous¬ 
ness, 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 

A A 2 



356 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 


abolition of this pernicious traffic.* What would 
have become of that pilgrim had the crowd in the 
slave-market guessed his intentions ? 

Passing through the large bazaar, called the Suk 
el Lail, I saw the palace of Mohammed bin Aun, 
quondam Prince of Meccah. It has a certain look 
of rude magnificence, the effect of huge hanging 
balconies scattered in profusion over lofty walls, 
claire-voies of brickwork, and courses of various- 
coloured stone. The owner is highly popular among 
the Bedouins, and feared by the citizens on account 
of his fierce looks, courage, and treachery. They 
described him to me as “ vir bonus, bene strangu- 
lando peritus;” but Mr. Cole, who knew him per¬ 
sonally, 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 


* About a year since writing the above I was informed that 
a firman has been 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. 



PLACES OF PIOUS VISITATION. 


357 


country that can be called princely. He is now 
a state prisoner at Constantinople, and the Bedouins 
pray for his return in vain.* 

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

1. Natak el Naby, a small oratory in the Zukah 
el Hajar, It derives its name from the following 
circumstance: —As the Prophet was knocking at the 
door of Abubekr’s shop, a stone gave him God-speed, 
and told him that the master was not at home. 


* This man was first invested with the Sherifat by Moham¬ 
med Ali of Egypt in a. d. 1827, when Yahya, Prince of Meccah, 
fled, after stabbing his nephew in the Kaabah, to the Beni Harb 
Bedouins. He was supported by Ahmed Pacha of Meccah, 
with a large army ; but after the battle of Tarabah, in which 
Ibrahim Pacha was worsted by the Bedouins, Mohammed bin 
Aun, accused of acting as Sylla, was sent in honorable bondage 
to Cairo. He again returned to Meccah, where the rapacity of 
his eldest son Abdullah, who would rob pilgrims, caused fresh 
misfortunes. In a. d. 1851, when Ahd el Muttaleb was 
appointed Sherif, the Pacha was ordered to send Bin Aun to 
Stamboul; no easy task. The Turk succeeded by a manoeuvre. 
Mohammed’s two sons happening to be at Jeddah, were invited 
to inspect a man-of-war, and were there made prisoners. There¬ 
upon the father yielded himself up; although, it is said, the 
flashing of the Bedouin’s sabre during his embarkation made 
the Turks rejoice that they had won the day by state-craft. 
The wild men of El Hejaz still sing songs in honor of this 
Sherif, and the Sultan will probably never dismiss a prisoner 
who, though old, is still able and willing to cause him trouble. 

A a S 



358 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 


This wonderful mineral is of a reddish-black colour, 
about a foot in dimension, and fixed in the wall 
somewhat higher than a man’s head. There are ser¬ 
vants attached to it, and the street sides are spread, 
as usual, with the napkins of importunate beggars. 

2. Maulid el Naby, or the Prophet’s birth¬ 
place.* This is a little chapel in the Suk el Lail, 
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 “ Shaab Ali,” near the Maulid 
el Naby, is the birthplace of Ali, another oratory 
below the ground. Here, as in the former place, a 
“Maulid” and a Ziyarah are held on the anniversary 
of the Lion’s birth. 

4. Near Khadijah’s house and the Natak el 
Naby is a place called El Muttaka, from a stone 
against which the Prophet leaned when worn out 
with fatigue. It is much visited by devotees; and 
some declare that, on one occasion, when the Father 
of Lies appeared to the Prophet in the form of an 


• The 12th of Rabia el Awwal, Mohammed’s birthday, is here 
celebrated with great festivities, feasts, prayers, and perusals of 
the Koran. These “Maulid” (ceremonies of nativity) are by 
no means limited to a single day in the year. 



SEVENTEEN PLACES OF VISITATION. 359 


elderly gentleman 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 Shebayki cemetery. Here 
was the Bazan, or channel down which the Ayn 
Honayn ran into the Birkat Majid. Many au¬ 
thorities doubt that Hamzah was born at this 
place.* 

* 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. El Mukhtaba, the “ hiding-place ” alluded to in the pre¬ 
ceding pages. Its locality is the subject of debate. 

2. Dar el Khayzaran, where the Prophet prayed secretly till 
the conversion of Omar enabled him to dispense with conceal¬ 
ment. 

3. Maulid Omar, or Omar’s birthplace, mentioned in books as 
being visited by devotees in the 14th Rabia el Awwal of every 
year. 

4. Abubekr’s house, near the Natak el Naby. It is supposed 
to have been destroyed in the twelfth century. 

5. Maulid Jaafar el Tayyar, near the Shebayki cemetery. 

6. El Madaa, an oratory, also called Naf el Arz, because 
creation here began. 

7. Dar el Hijrah, where Mohammed and Abubekr mounted 
for the flight. 

8. Masjid el Rayah, where the Prophet planted his flag when 
Meccah surrendered. 

9. Masjid el Shajarab, a spot at which Mohammed caused a 
tree to advance and retire. 

a a 4 



360 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAS AND MECCAH. 

The reader must now be as tired of “ pious 
visitations ” as I was. 

Before leaving Meccah I was urgently invited 
to dine by old Ali bin Ya Sin, the Zem Zemi; a 
proof that he entertained inordinate expectations, 
excited, it appeared, by the boy Mohammed, for the 
simple purpose of exalting his own dignity. One 
day we were hurriedly summoned about 3 p.m. to 
the senior’s house, a large building in the Zukah 
el Hajar. We found it full of pilgrims, amongst 
whom we had no trouble to recognise our fellow- 
travellers the quarrelsome old Arnaut and his 
impudent slave-boy. Ali met us upon the stair¬ 
case and conducted us into an upper room, where 
we sat upon divans and with pipes and coffee 
prepared for dinner. Presently the semicircle 
arose to receive a eunuch, who lodged somewhere 
in the house. He was a person of importance, 
being the guardian of some dames of high degree 
at Cairo or Constantinople: the highest place and 
the best pipe were unhesitatingly offered to and 
accepted by him. He sat down with dignity, 

10. Masjid el Jaaraoah, where Mohammed clad himself in 
the pilgrim garb. It is still visited by some Persians. 

11. Masjid Ibrahim, or Abu Kubays. 

12. Masjid Zu Tawa. 



A DINNER AT MECCAH. 


361 


answered diplomatically certain mysterious ques¬ 
tions about the dames, and then glued 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 in¬ 
scriptions. 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 



362 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAII AND MECCAH. 

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*, a comfiture 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, f The dinner concluded with a pillaw of 
boiled rice and butter ; for the easier discussion of 
which we were provided with carved wooden 
spoons. 

Orientals ignore the delightful French art of pro¬ 
longing a dinner. After washing your hands, you 

* Familiar for “ Rahat el Hulkum,” — the pleasure of the 
throat,— a name which has sorely puzzled our tourists. 

This sweetmeat would be pleasant did it not smell so strongly 
of the perruquier’s shop. 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 honored, rosewater 
must often take the place of the pure element, even in tea. 

t Meccah is amply supplied with water-melons, dates, limes, 
grapes, cucumber, 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. 



THE PILGRIM’S GENEROSITY. 


363 


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 “ A1 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 “ Kaif.” 

Nor is it customary, in these benighted lands, to 
sit together after dinner — the evening prayer cuts 
short the seance. Before we arose to take leave of 
Ali bin Ya Sin a boy ran into the room, and dis¬ 
played those infantine civilities which in the 
East are equivalent to begging for a present. I 
slipped a dollar into his hand ; at the sight of which 
he, veritable little Meccan, could not contain his 
joy. “ The 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 money had slipped 
from my fingers, and he fondly hoped that he had 
not seen the last piece. “Verily thou art a good 



364 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 

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

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



365 


CHAP. XXXV. 

TO JEDDAH. 

A general plunge into worldly pursuits and 
pleasures announced the end of the pilgrimage 
ceremonies. All the devotees were now “white¬ 
washed”— the book of their sins was a tabula 
rasa: too many of them lost no time in making 
a new departure “down south,” and in opening 
a fresh account.* 

The Moslem’s “Holy Week” over, nothing de¬ 
tained me at Meccah. For reasons before stated, 
I resolved upon returning to Cairo, resting there 

* 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 persua¬ 
sion, there are many notable exceptions to this rule of extremes. 
Several of my friends and acquaintances date their reformation 
from their first sight of the Kaabah. 



366 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 


for awhile, and starting a second time for the in¬ 
terior, via Muwaylah.* 

The Meccans are as fond of little presents, as art 
nuns: the Kabirah took an affectionate leave oi 
me, begged me to be careful of her boy, who was 
to accompany me to Jeddah, and laid friendly but 
firm hands upon a brass pestle and mortar, upon 
which she had long cast the eye of concupiscence. 

Having hired two camels for thirty-five piastres, 
and paid half the sum in advance, I sent on my 
heavy boxes with Shaykh, now Haji Nur, to Jed- 
dah.f Umar 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 on 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 em¬ 
bracing, at the Shebayki quarter. 


* This second plan was defeated by bad health, which de¬ 
tained me in Egypt till a return to India became imperative. 

f 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. 



THE PILGRIM JOINED BY OTHER TRAVELLERS. 367 

Issuing into the open plain, I felt a thrill of 
pleasure — such pleasure as only the captive de¬ 
livered from his dungeon can experience. The 
sunbeams warmed me into renewed life and vi¬ 
gour, the air of the desert was a perfume, and the 
homely face of nature was as the smile of an old 
friend. I contemplated the Syrian caravan, lying 
on the right of our road, without any of the 
sadness usually suggested by a last look. 

It is not my intention minutely to describe the 
line down which we travelled that night: the 
pages of 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 zig¬ 
zag, intended to facilitate the descent for camels 
and laden beasts. About midnight we passed into 
a hill-girt Wady, now covered with deep sands, 
now hard with 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. 



368 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINA!! AND MECCAH. 


Coffee-houses and places of refreshment abound 
ing, we halted every five miles to refresh ourselve 
and the donkeys.* At sunset we prayed near i 
Turkish guard-house, where one of the soldieri 
kindly supplied me with water for ablution. 

Before nightfal I was accosted, in Turkish, by e 
one-eyed old fellow, who,— 

“With faded brow, 

Entrench’d with many a frown, and comic beard,”— 

and habited in unclean garments, was bestriding a 
donkey faded as himself. When I shook my head, 
he addressed me in Persian. The same manoeuvre 
made him try Arabic: still he obtained no answer. 
He then grumbled out good Hindostani. 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 tour- 

* 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 neces¬ 
saries. 



EL HADDAII. 


369 


ists, and that he had visited England, France, and 
Italy, the Cape, India, Central Asia, and China. 
We then chatted in English, which Haji Akif 
spoke well, but with all manner of courier’s phrases; 
Haji Abdullah so badly, that he was counselled a 
course of study. It was not a little curious to 
hear such phrases as “ Come ’p, Neddy, ” and “ Cre 
nom dun baudet, ” almost within earshot of the 
tomb of Ishmael, the birthplace of Mohammed, 
and the Sanctuary of El Islam. 

At about 8 p.m. we passed the Alamain, 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, popu¬ 
larly 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 heavy upon my companions’ 
eyelids, and the boy Mohammed hung over the 
flank of his donkey in a most ludicrous position. 

About midnight we reached a mass of huts, 
called El Haddah.* At “ the boundary,” which 
is considered to be the half-way halting place, pil- 

* Ali Bey places El Haddah eight leagues from Jeddah. 


VOL. III. 


B B 



370 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 

grims must assume the religious garb *, and infidel 
travelling to Taif are taken off the Meccan roai 
into one leading northwards to Arafat. The settle 
ment is a collection of huts and hovels, built wit] 
sticks and reeds, supporting brushwood and burnei 
and blackened palm leaves. It is maintained fo 
supplying pilgrims with coffee and water. Tra 
vellers speak with horror of its heat during th 
day; Ali Bey, who visited it twice, compares it t 
a furnace. Here the country slopes gradual! 
towards the sea, the hills draw off, and ever 
object denotes departure from the Meccan plateau 
At El Haddah we dismounted for an hour’s hall 
A coffee-house supplied us with mats, water-pipes 
and other necessaries; we then produced a baske 
of provisions, the parting gift of the kind Kabirat 
and, this late supper concluded, we lay down t 
dose. 

After half an hour’s halt had expired, and th 
donkeys were saddled I shook up with difficult 
the boy Mohammed, and induced him to mourn 
He was, to use his own expression, dead of sleep 
and we had scarcely advanced an hour when, a: 

* In Ibn Jubair's time the Ihram was assumed at El Furay 
now a decayed station, about two hours’journey from El Hadda 
towards Jeddah. 



THE PILGRIM INSISTS UPON REPOSE. 371 

riving at another little coffee-house, he threw 
himself upon the ground, and declared it impos¬ 
sible to proceed. This act caused some confusion. 
The donkey-boy was a pert little Bedouin, offen¬ 
sively 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 a way. the beasts, and leave us behind 
to be robbed and murdered. A pinch of the wind¬ 
pipe, and a spin over the ground, altered his plans 
at the outset of execution. He gnawed his hand 
with impotent rage, and went away, threatening us 
with the governor of Jeddah next morning. Then 
a£ Egyptian of the party took up the thread of 
remonstrance; and, aided by the old linguist, who 

said, in English, “by G-! you must budge, you’ll 

catch it here! ” he assumed a brisk and energetic 
style, exclaiming, “Yallah! rise and mount, thou 
art only losing our time; thou dost not intend to 
sleep in the Desert!” I replied, “ Son of my uncle, 
do not exceed in talk! ” * rolled over on the other 

* “ Fuzul ” (excess) in Arabic is equivalent to telling a man in 
English not to be impertinent. 


B b 2 



372 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 

side heavily, as doth Encelades, and pretended t 
snore, whilst the cowed Egyptian urged the othei 
to make us move. The question was thus settle 
by the boy Mohammed, who had been aroused b 
the dispute: “ Do you know,” he whispered, i 
awful accents, “what that person is?” and he pointe 
at me. “Why, no,” replied the others. “ Well,” sal 
the youth, “ the other day the Utaybah showed u 
death in the Zaribah Pass, and what do you thin 
he did ?” “ Wallah! what do we know! ” exclaime 

the Egyptian, “ What did he do ? ” “ He called fo 

his dinner,” replied the youth, with a slow am 
sarcastic emphasis. That trait was enough. Th 
others mounted and left us quietly to sleep. 

I have been diffuse in relating this little adver 
ture, which is characteristic, showing what bravad 
can do in Arabia. It also suggests a lesson, whiqj 
every traveller in these regions should take well t 
heart. The people are always ready to terrify hii 
with frightful stories, which are the merest phantom 
of cowardice. The reason why the Egyptian dii 
played so much philanthropy was that, had one < 
the party been lost, the survivors might have falle 
into trouble. But in this place, we were, I believi 
—despite the declarations of our companions that: 
was infested with Turpins and Gasperonis,— as sai 



THE PILGRIM SHOWS HIS INDEPENDENCE. 873 

as if in Meccah. Every night, during the pilgrim¬ 
age season, a troop of about fifty horsemen patrols 
the roads; we were all armed to the teeth, and our 
party looked too formidable to be “ cruelly beaten 
by a single footpad.” 

Our nap concluded, we remounted and resumed 
the weary way down a sandy valley, in which the 
poor 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 *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 salaams to the Governor of Jeddah, and by 
calling the asses after the name of his tribe. He re¬ 
plied by “foul, unmannered, scurril taunts,” which 
only drew forth fresh derision, and the coffee¬ 
house-keeper laughed consumedly, having probably 
seldom entertained such “ funny gentlemen.” 

* The favourite Egyptian “ kitchen; ” held to be contemp¬ 
tible food by the Arabs. 


b b 3 



374 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 

Shortly after leaving the Kahwat Turki we 
found the last spur of the hills 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 the thousands of 
the Wahhabi *, and a small dome outside the walls. 

* In 1817 Abdullah bin Saud 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 



THE WAkXlAH AT JEDDAH. 375 

The sun began to glow fiercely, and we were not 
sorry when, at about 8 A. M., after passing through 
the mass of hovels and coffee-houses, cemeteries 
and sand hills, which forms the eastern approach 
to Jeddah, we entered the fortified Bab Makkah. 
Allowing eleven hours for our actual march, —we 
halted about three,— those wonderful donkeys had 
accomplished between forty-four and forty-six 
miles *, generally of deep sand, in one night. And 
they passed the archway of Jeddah almost as 
nimbly as when they left Meccah. 

Shaykh Nur had been ordered to take rooms for 
me in a vast pile of madrepore, once the palace of 
Mohammed bin 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 requi¬ 
site correction, I found a room that would suit me. 
In less than an hour it was swept, sprinkled with 

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 Medinites with their wall-less port, 
Yambu. 

* El Idrisi places Meccah forty (Arab) miles from Jeddah. 
Burckhardt gives fifty-five miles, and Ali Bey has uot computed 
the total distance. 


a b 4 



376 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINA!! AND MECCAH. 


water, spread with mats, and made as comfortable 
as its capability admitted. At Jeddah I felt once 
more at home. The British flag was a restorative, 
and the sight of the sea acted as a tonic. The 
Maharattas were not far wrong when they kept 
their English captives out of reach of the ocean, 
declaring that we are an amphibious race, to whom 
the wave is a home. 

After a day’s repose at the caravanserai, the 
camel-man and donkey-boy clamouring for money, 
and I not having more than tenpence of borrowed 
coin, it was necessary to cash at the British vice¬ 
consulate a draft given to me by the Royal Geo¬ 
graphical 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 discus¬ 
sions with the Turks about the possibility of an 
Englishman finding his way en cachette to Meccah, 



377 


MR. COLE, THE ENGLISH CONSUL. 

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 pro¬ 
mised himself a laugh at the Turks’ beards ; but, 
since my departure, he wrote to me that the subject 
made the owners’ faces look so serious, that he did 
not like recurring to it. 

Truly gratifying to the pride of an Englishman 
was our high official position assumed and main¬ 
tained at Jeddah. Mr. Cole had never lowered 
himself in the estimation of the proud race with 
which he has to deal, by private or mercantile 
transactions with the authorities. He has steadily 
withstood the wrath of the Meccan Sherif, and 
taught him to respect the British name. The 
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 ad¬ 
dressed to him.” And the writer was right: 
honesty of purpose is never thrown away amongst 
these people. I have no doubt, if Mr. Cole be 
duly supported, that in a few years the Greeks and 
other Christians will remove their place of worship 
from its present place of banishment outside to 



378 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 


within the walls. 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, must know one 
Asiatic language, with many Asiatic customs, and, 
chief merit of all, they have learned to assume the 
tone of command, without which, whatever may be 
thought of it in England, it is impossible to take 
the lead in the East. The “ home-bred ” diplomate 
is not only unconscious of the thousand traps every¬ 
where laid for him, he even plays into the hands 
of his crafty antagonists by a ceremonious polite¬ 
ness; which they interpret — taking ample care 
that the interpretation should spread — to be the 
effect of fear or fraud. 

Jeddah * has been often described by modern 


* 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 Bedouins. Ibn Jubair 
mentions that outside the town were 360 old wells (?), dug, it is 
supposed, by the Persians. “Jeddah,” or “Jiddah,” is the 
vulgar pronunciation; and not a few of the learned call it 
“ Jaddali ” (the grandmother), in allusion to the legend of Eve’s 
tomb. 








SQUARE -IN JEDDAH. 





DIFFERENT DESCRIPTIONS OF JEDDAH. 379 


pens. Burekhardt (in a.d. 1814) devoted 100 pages 
of his two volumes to the unhappy capital of the 
Tehamet el Hejaz, the lowlands of the mountain 
region. Later still, MM. Mari and Chedufau 
wrote upon the subject, and two other French 
travellers, Mil. Galinier and Ferret published 
tables of the commerce in its present state, quoting 
as authority the celebrated Arabicist M. Fresnel.* 

* In Chapters III. and VI. of this work I have ventured 
some remarks upon the advisability of our' being represented in 
El Hejaz by a consul, and at Heccah by a native agent. 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 thi3 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 El 
Hejaz should pay 4 per cent. duty. 

“ 2. That all merchandise imported by British subjects from 
countries not under the dominion of the Porte should likewise 
pay but 5 per cent. 

“ 3. That all goods exported from countries under the domi¬ 
nion of the Porte should pay 12 per cent., after a deduction of 
16 per cent, from the market-value of the articles. 



380 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 


These have been translated by the author of “ Life 
in Abyssinia.” Abdulkerim, writing in 1742, in¬ 
forms 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 pro¬ 
cure a single ancient document. 

Jeddah, when I visited it, was in a state of 
commotion, owing to the perpetual passage of pil- 


“ 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 deduc¬ 
tion 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 reimburse¬ 
ment for the over-exactions.” 



JEDDAH LIKE OTHER SEAPORT TOWNS. 381 

grims, and provisions were for the same reason 
scarce and dear. The two large Wakalah, of 
which the place boasts, were crowded with tra¬ 
vellers, and many were reduced to encamping 
upon the squares. Another subject of confusion 
was the state of the soldiery. The Nizam, or 
Regulars, had not been paid for seven months, 
and the Arnauts could scarcely sum up what was 
owing to them. Easterns are wonderfully amen¬ 
able to discipline; a European army, under the 
circumstances, would probably have helped itself. 
But the Pacha knew that there is a limit to man’s 
endurance, and he was anxiously casting about 
for some contrivance that would replenish the 
empty pouches of his troops. The worried digni¬ 
tary 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.* 

Jeddah displays all the licence of a seaport and 
garrison town. Fair Corinthians establish them¬ 
selves 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 

* M. Rochet ( soi-disant d’Hericourt) amusingly describes 
this manoeuvre of the governor of El Hodaydah. 



382 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 

all such irregularities with a bastinado prepara¬ 
tory to confinement. My guardians and attendants 
at the Wakalah used to fetch araki in a clear glass 
bottle, without even the decency of a cloth, and 
the messenger twice returned from these errands 
decidedly drunk. More extraordinary still, the 
people seemed to take no notice of the scandal. 

The little “Dwarka” had been sent by the 
Bombay Steam Navigation Company to convey 
pilgrims from El Hejaz to India. I was still hesi¬ 
tating about my next voyage, not wishing to coast 
the Red Sea in this season without a companion, 
when one morning Umar Effendi appeared at the 
door, weary, and dragging after him an ass more 
jaded than himself. We supplied him with a pipe 
and a cup of hot tea, and, as he was fearful of pur¬ 
suit, 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 fur¬ 
tively 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 fruit- 



THE RUNAWAY RECLAIMED. 


383 


less search. There was, however, a grim smile 
about his mouth, which boded no good. 

That evening I went out to the Hammam, and, 
returning home, 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 ques¬ 
tioned the youth, who delivered himself of many 
circumstantial and emphatic mis-statements. Then 
they proceeded to open the boxes; upon which the 
boy Mohammed cast himself sprawling, with a vow 
to die rather than to endure such a disgrace. 
This procured for him some scattered slaps, which 
presently became a storm of blows, when a prying 
little boy discovered Umar Effendi’s leg in the 
hiding-place. The student was led away unresist¬ 
ing, 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 Umar 
Effendi by main force. This, which would only 
have brought us all into a brunt with quarter- 
staves, and similar servile weapons, was declined, 



384 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAII AND MECCAH. 

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.” He parted 
as coolly from Shaykh Nur. These worthy youths 
had been drinking together, when Mohammed, 



HOW THE PILGlilM PASSED HIS TIME. 385 

having learned at Stamboul the fashionable prac¬ 
tice of “ Bad-masti,” or “ liquor-vice,” dug his 
“ fives ” into Nur’s eye. Nur erroneously consi¬ 
dering such exercise likely to induce blindness, 
complained to me ; but my sympathy was all with 
the other side. I asked the Indian why he had 
not riposte, and the Meccan once more over¬ 
whelmed the “ Miyan ” with taunt and jibe. 

It is not easy to pass the time at Jeddah. In 
the square opposite us was an unhappy idiot, who 
afforded us a melancholy spectacle. He delighted 
to wander about in a primitive state of toilette, as 
all such wretches do ; but the people of Jeddah, far 
too civilised to retain Moslem respect for madness, 
forced him, despite shrieks and struggles, into a 
shirt, and when he tore it off they beat him. At 
other times the open space before us was diver¬ 
sified by the arrival and the departure of pilgrims, 
but it was a new rechauffe of the feast, and had 
lost all power to please. Whilst the boy Mo¬ 
hammed 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 pro¬ 
miscuous way. After his departure I used to 
spend my days at the vice-consulate; the pro¬ 
ceeding was not perhaps of the safest, but the 

VOL. III. 


c o 



386 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 

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. And I 
was introduced to Khalid Bey, brother of Abdullah 
bin Saud, the Wahhabi. This noble Arab once 
held the official position of Mukayyid el Jawabat, 
or Secretary, at Cairo, where he was brought up by 
Mohammed Ali. He is brave, frank, and unpre¬ 
judiced, fond of Europeans, and a lover of pleasure. 
Should it be his fate to become chief of the tribe, a 
journey to Deraiyah, 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 fol¬ 
lowed by two others; and it struck me at the time 
that they applied the key with peculiar empresse- 



eve’s tomb. 


387 


merit, and made inordinately low cong4es as we 
entered the enclosure of whitewashed walls. 

“ The Mother ” is supposed to lie, like a Mus- 
limah, fronting the Kaabah, with her feet north¬ 
wards, her head southwards, and her right cheek 
propped by her right hand. Whitewashed, and 
conspicuous to the voyager aud traveller from 
afar, is a diminutive dome with an opening to 
the west ; it is furnished as such places usually 
are in El Hejaz. Under it and in the centre is 
a square stone, planted upright and fancifully 
carved, to represent the omphalic region of the 
human frame. This, as well as the dome, is 
called El Surrah, or the navel. The cicerone 
directed me to kiss this manner of hieroglyph, 
which I did, thinking the while that, under the cir¬ 
cumstances, 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 neck, are two tombs, 
occupied, I was told, by Usman Pacha and his 
son, who repaired the Mother’s sepulchre. I 
could not help remarking to the boy Mohammed, 
that if our first parent measured 120 paces from 

c c 2 



388 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 


head to waist, and 80 from waist to heel, she 
must have presented much the appearance of a 
duck. To this the youth replied, flippantly, that 
he thanked his stars the Mother was under ground, 
otherwise that men Avould lose their senses with 
fright* 

* Ibn Jubair (twelfth century) mentions only an old dome 
“built upon the place where Eve stopped on the way to 
Meccah.” Yet el Idrisi (a.d. 1154) declares Eve’s grave to be 
at Jeddah. Abdelkarim (1742) compares it to a parterre, with 
a little dome in the centre, and the extremities ending in 
barriers of palisades; the circumference was 190 of his steps. 
In Rooke’s Travels, we are told, that the tomb is 20 feet long. 
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 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 Bekaa in Syria ( ?). And 
Sir W. Harris, who could not have visited the place, writes 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 con¬ 
sisted of a stone at the head, a second at the feet, and the 
navel-dome. 

The idol of Jeddah, in the days of Arab litholatry, was called 
“Sakhrah Tawilah,” the Long Stone. May not this tomb of 
Eve be the Moslemised revival of the old idolatry? It is to 
be observed that the Arabs, if the tombs be admitted as evidence, 
are inconsistent in their dimensions of the patriarchal stature. 
The sepulchre of Adam at the Masjid el Khayf is, like that of 



THE PILGRIM’S ADIEU TO THE READER. 389 

On leaving the graveyard I offered the guardian 
a dollar, which he received with a remonstrance, 
that a man of my dignity ahould give so paltry a 
fee. Nor was he at all contented with the assur¬ 
ance that nothing more could be expected from an 
Afghan dervish, however pious. Next day the 
boy Mohammed explained the man’s empressement 
and disappointment, — I had been mistaken for the 
Pacha of El Medinah. 

* * * » 

For a time my peregrinations ended. Worn out 
with fatigue, and the fatal fiery heat, I embarked 
on board the “ Dwarka,” experienced the greatest 
kindness from the commander and chief officers 
(Messrs. Wolley and Taylor), and, wondering the 
while how the Turkish pilgrims who crowded the 
vessel did not take the trouble to throw me over¬ 
board, in due time arrived at Suez. And here, 
reader, we part. Bear with me while I conclude, 
in the words of a brother traveller, long gone, but 


Eve, gigantic. That of Noah at El Bakia is thirty-eight paces 
long by one and a half wide. Job’s tomb near Hulah (seven 
parasangs from Eerbela) 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 dimen¬ 
sions. 


c c 3 



390 PILGRIMAGE TO EL MEDINAH AND MECCAH. 

not forgotten — Fa-hian — this Personal Narrative 
of my Journey to El Hejaz: “ I have been ex¬ 
posed 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 per¬ 
mitted to effect the objects I had in view.” 



INDEX 


Aaeal, or fillet, of the Arabs, i. 346. 

Aaron, burial-place of, on Mount 
Ohod, ii. 117. 233 ; iil 339. His 
grave also shown over the summit 
of Mount Hor, 117. ». 

Aba, the, or camel’s hair cloak of 
Arab shaykhs, i. 347. 

Abar, Saba, or seven wells, of Kuba, 
ii. 220. 

Abbas Eflfendi, deputy governor of 
Alexandria, an interview with, LSI. 

Abbas, prayers for, iL 92. 

Abbas, El, unde of Mohammed the 
Prophet, ii. 127. 

Abbas, the fiery Shaykh of the Ha- 
wazim, iL 296. 

Abbas, Ibn, his statement of the 
settlement of the family of Noah, 
ii. 113. 

Abbas ibn Abd-el Muttaleb, bis 
tomb, iL 314. 

Abbas Pacha (Viceroy of Egypt), his 
enlightened policy, L 26. 110. His 
intention to erect a magnificent 
mosque, 145. His present to the 
Prophet’s mosque, ii. 63. His 
respect for the Alim Mohammed 
Ibn Abdillab El Sannusi, 290. n. 

Abbasiyah, Kubbat el (Dome of 
Abbas), visit to the, ii. 312. 

Abbasiyah Palace at Cairo, the, i. 
114. 

Abd el Ashhal, tribe of, El Islam 
preached by the Prophet to, iL 
125. Converted to Mohammedan¬ 
ism, 127. 

Abd el Hakk ol Mahaddis of Delhi, 
Shaykh, iL 135. a. 


Abd el Hamid, the Sultan, his re¬ 
pair of the mosque of El Kuba, 
ii. 211. 

Abd el Malik bin Marwar, the 
Caliph, his additions to the House 
of Allah, iii 194. 

Abd el Mejid, Sultan, his mahmal 
turned back by robbers in Arabia, 
L 379. Imbecility of his govern¬ 
ment in Arabia, 379. His Tan- 
zimat, 380. Sends gifts to the 
robbers of Arabia, 383 His war 
with the Czar, ii. 38. His addi¬ 
tions to the Prophet’s mosque at 
El Medinah, 61. His additions 
to the mosque of the Prophet, 
151. Abolishes Wakf in Turkey, 
137. n. 

Abd el Mutalleb, (Shaybab,) grand¬ 
father of the Prophet, ii. 125. n. 

Abd el Muttalib bin Ghalib, sherif 
of Meccah, i. 332. Description 
of him, iiL 140. His cavalcade, 
140, 141. His children, 141. 
His quarrel with Ahmed Pacha 
of El Hejaz 141. n. His palace, 
144. His procession to the cere- 

^ monies of the day of Arafat, 269 
—271. 

Abd el Rahim el Barai, the saint 
of Jahaydeh, i. 387. 

Abd el Rahim el Burai, the poet, 
quoted, iiL 295. 

Abd-el- Rahman, meaning of the 
oame, i. 20. 

Abd el Rahman, tomb of, iii. 351. 

Abd el Rahman el Ausat, tomb of, 
ii. 319. n. 


c c 


4 



392 


INDEX, 


Abd el R;ihman bin Auf, his tomb, 
ii. 319, n. 

Abd el Wahab, Shaykh, the chief of 
the Afghan college at Cairo, i. 
189. His kindness to the pil¬ 
grim, 189—192. Visits the pil¬ 
grim, 207. 

Abdullah, father of the Prophet, his 
burial-place, ii. 125. n, 

Abdullah bin Jaafar el Tayyar, his 
tomb, ii. 319. n. 

Abdullah bin Jaish, his tomb, ii. 
242. 

Abdullah bin Masad, his tomb, ii. 
319. n. 

Abdullah ben Salam, the Jew, of El 
Medinah, converted to El Islam, 

ii. 135. 

Abdullah bin Saud, concludes a 
peace with the Egyptians, ii. 153. 
His unsuccessful attack on Jed¬ 
dah, iii. S74. n. 

Abdullah bin Zubayr, nephew of 
Ayisha, builds the ninth House of 
Allah, iii. 192. Slain, 194. 

Abdullah, Pacha of Damascus, i. 
388. 

Abdullah, Shayk, the assumed name 
of the author, i. 20. Meaning of 
the name, 20. n, 

Abdullah Sahib, Shaykh, the In¬ 
dian physician of k El Medinah, ii. 
260. 

Abdullah, Shaykh, (the pilgrim’s 
namesake), introduced, iii. 109. 
His acquirements, 110. His suc¬ 
cess with the Syrians in the De¬ 
sert, 114. Acts as director of the 
pilgrims’ consciences, 115. His 
accident on camel back, 135. 

Abdullah, son, of the Sherif of Mec- 
cah, iii. 141. 

Abdullah the Saudawi, or melan- 
cholist, iii. 321. Performs a wakil 
for the pilgrim’s parents, 342, 
343. His farewell of the pilgrim, 
366. 

Abel, his burial-place at Damascus, 

iii. 199. n, 

Abrahah of Sanaa, erects the Kilis to 
outshine the Kaabah, ii. 81. 

Abraham, i. 312. Mosque at Meccah 
connected with, ii. 57. Stone on 


which he stood, preserved at Mec¬ 
cah, iii. 175. History of it, 175. 
n. Legend respecting his having 
learnt the rites of pilgrimage, 189* 
The Moslem idea of the existence 
of two Abrahams, 335. 

Abrahat el Ashram, destruction of 
the host of, ii. 175. n. 

Abrar, or call to prayer, i. 128. 

Abs, the tribe of Arabs so called, 
iii. 95. 

Absinthe, the, of the Desert, i. 228. 

Abu Abbas El-Andalusi, the Wali 
of Alexandria, tomb of, i. 17. 

Abu Ali, the fiery Shaykh of the 
Hawazim, ii. 296. 

Abu Ayyub, the Ansari, receives 
Mohammed after the Flight, ii. 
125. 131. 133. 

Abubekr, the caliph, his window at 
El Medinah, ii. 73. 79. The be¬ 
nediction bestowed on, 79. His 
tomb, 85, 86. Elected caliph, 
109. How regarded by orthodox 
Moslems and Shiahs, 128, 129. n., 
130. His dwelling near the 
mosque, 135. His mosque at El 
Medinah," 192. 326. The first 
who bore the title of Emir el 
Hajj, 229. n. 

Abu Deraj (Father of Steps), wells 
of, i. 231. n. The mountain of, 
232. 

Abu Hurayrah, his account of the 
building of the Prophet’s mosque, 
ii. 139* 

Abu Jubaylah, his destruction of 
the power of the Jews in El Me¬ 
dinah, ii. 122. 

Abu Kubays, the hill, the burial- 
place of Adam, iii. 198. 216. 

Abu Lahab, his ambuscade laid for 
the Prophet, site of, iii. 340. 

Abulfeda, his limits of El Hejaz, 
ii. 164. 

Abu Said el Khazari, tomb of, at El 
Bakia, ii. 308. 

Abuse of Christians in the East, ii. 
349. 

Abu Shujaa of Isfahan, his theolo¬ 
gical work, i. 155. 

Abu Sufiyan routed by Mohammed 
the Prophet, ii. 19. 



INDEX, 


393 


Abu Sufiyan bin el Haris, his tomb, 
ii. 319. n. 

Abu Zulaymah, Shaykh, the Red 
Sea saint, L 293. 295. 

Abura, tomb of Aminah at, ii. 125. 

». 

Abyss, or white, ii. 170. n. 
Abyssinian slaves in Egypt, i. 87. 
Style of courtship of, 87. Deri¬ 
vation of the name, 962. n. 
Abyssinian slave girls, their value, 

ii. 272. Abyssinian mead, 111. n. 
Acacia, quantities of, iii. 16, 17. 22. 
Acacia-barren, terrors of an, iii. 17. 
Academia, the, of El Medinah, ii. 

107. 

Adam, stature of, according to Mos¬ 
lem legends, L 301. His burial- 
place at the hill Abu Kubays, iii. 
198. Legend of Adam and Eve 
at Mount Arafat, 259. Adam’s 
place of prayer at Arafat, 266. 
Adnan, the tribe of Arabs so called, 

iii. 95. 

Adas (lentils). See Lentils. 

Aden, ancient wells at, i. 302. «.; 

dry storms of, 364. 

Adultery, how punished at El Me¬ 
dinah, ii. 281. 

Ad venae, the, of Arabia, iii. 29. n., 30. 
ASlius Gall us, L 277. 

Aerolite worship, iii. 159. n. 
Afghans, the, a chivalrous race, i. 
58, 59. 

Africans, their susceptibility to re¬ 
ligious phrenzy, iii. 219. 
Agapemones, suppression of, in 
Egypt, L 119. n. 

Aghas, *or eunuchs of the tomb of 
the Prophet, ii. 74. 81. 83. n., 

85. n., 95. n .; Agha, pi. Aghawat, 
a term of address to the eunuchs 
of the tomb, ii. 155. n. 

Agni, the Indian fire-god, iii. 199 -n. 
Ague, prevalence of, in the East, i. 
i9 ? 

Ahali, or burghers, of El Medinah, 
ii. 161. 

Ahl el Risa, or the “ people of the 
garment,” ii. 90. n. 

Ahmed Pacha, of El Hejaz, i. 378 ; 
his quarrel with the Sherif of 
Meccah, iii. 141. n. 


Ahmed, son of the Sherif of Meccah, 
iii. 141. 

Ahzab, the Masjid el, ii. 325. 

Ahzab, El, the battle of, ii. 325. 

Aiinmat, the Shaykh el, of the Pro¬ 
phet’s mosque, ii. 159. 

Ajemi, meaning of the term, i. 15. 

Ajwah, the date so called, ii. 199. 

Ajwah (conserve of dates), ii. 199. n. 

Akabah, ill-omened, i. 300. 313. 

Akabah, a steep descent, i. 370. n. 

Akd el Nikah, or Ziwcy (Arab 
marriage), the, at El Medinah, ii. 
288. 

Akhdam, or Serviles, the, of Yemen, 
iii. 31. n. 

Akhshabayn, El, the “ two rugged 
hills,” near Arafat, iii. 251. The 
confusion of the return of the pil¬ 
grims at, 277. 

Akhawah, El, the black mail among 
the Bedouins, iii. 86. 

Akif, Haji, accosts the pilgrim, iii. 
369. 

Akik, Wady el, ii. 24, 25. n. 

Aksa, the Masjid El, at Jerusalem, 
it 57. 

Akhawat, the relationship among 
the Bedouins so called, iii. 85. 

Alai, or regiment, of soldiers, ii. 190. 

Alamain (the “ Twin Signs ”), near 
Arafat, ii. 167 ; iii. 251. Visit to 
the, 341. Their appearance, 269. 

Albanians, or Arnauts, their des¬ 
perate manners and customs, i. 
194. Their man-shooting amuse¬ 
ments, 195. A drinking bout with 
one, J98. One killed by a sun¬ 
stroke, ii. 2. Parade of irregular 
horse, 5. Their singular appear¬ 
ance, 5. Their delight in the 
noise of musketry, 7. n. Their 
method of rifling their bullets, 7. 
n. Fight between them and the 
hill Arabs, 9. 15. A quarrelsome 
one in the caravan, iii. 120, 121. 

Alchemy, favourite Egyptian pur¬ 
suit of, i. 158. n. 

Alexander of Alexandria, i. 209. n. 

Alexandria, i. 10. A city of misno¬ 
mers, 13. Its peculiar interest to 
Moslems, 15. Shopping in, 16. 
Venerable localities in, ib. White- 



394 


INDEX. 


ness of the walls of, 29. «. The 
Foreign Office of, 31. The Tran¬ 
sit Office, 39. 

Algebra, study of, in Egypt, i. 156. 
157. n. 

Alhambra, the, i. 138. 
Alhamdulillah, meaning of the ejacu¬ 
lation, i. 11. 

Ali, the fourth caliph, reference to, 
ii. 27. n. His pillar at El Medi¬ 
na!), 88. n. His spouse, Lady Fa- 
timah, 89. et aeq. Column of, in 
the Prophet’s mosque, 104. Re¬ 
mains with the Prophet, 129. 
Joins Mohammed at Kuba, 131. 
His dwelling near the mosque, 135. 
His mosque at El Medinah, 192. 
Called the “ Musalla el Eed,” ib. 
The birthplace of, at Meccah, iii, 
358. 

Ali the Masjid at El Kuba, ii. 217. 

At El Medinah, 326. 

Ali Agba, an Albanian captain of 
irregulars, or Yuzbashi, i. 192. 
His personal appearance, 192. 
Origin of the pilgrim’s acquaint¬ 
ance with him, 193. Manners and 
customs of his countrymen, 194. 
His call and invitation, 194, 195. 
A drinking bout with him, 198. 
Ali Bey el Abbasi, i. 314. n., 331. n., 
872. n. Employed as a spy by the 
French government, iii. 186. n. 
Value of his works, 186. n. His¬ 
tory of him, 186. n. 

Ali bin Ya Sin, the Zem-zemi, iii. 

102. A type of the Arab old man, 

103. His accident on camel- 
back, 135. His appearance at the 
ceremonies of’ the day of Arafat, 
268. Insists upon bestowing his 
company on the pilgrim, 276. His 
irritation, 280, 281. His invita¬ 
tion to the pilgrim to dinner, 360. 
Description of the meal, 361. 

Ali el Urays, a descendant of the 
Prophet, his tomb, iii. 4. 

Ali Murad, owner of the pilgrim- 
ship, i. 278. 282, 283. 

Aliki tribe of Arabs, i. 212. 

Alms (sadaka), given the Prophet’s 
mosque, ii. 67. The, contributed 
to the Prophet’s mosque, 161. 


Aloe, superstitions of the Arabs and 
Africans respecting the, iii. 350. 

Amalekites, the, identified with the 
Amalik of the Moslems, ii. 114. n. 

Amalikah, their foundation of the 
fifth House of Allah, iii. 190. 

Ambassadors, shameful degradation 
of, by Moslems, L 163. 

Ambari gate of El Medinah, ii. 29. 
32. 191. 

Ambariyah, of El Medinah, house of 
the Coptic girl Mariyah at, ii. 
142. n. 

American Indians, North, compared 
with the Bedouins, iii. 93 — 95. 
Inferiority of the former, 95. 

Amin, El (the Honest), origin of the 
surname of the Prophet, iii. 192. 

Aminah, Sitt (mother of the Prophet), 
her tomb, ii. 125. n .; iii. 352. 

Amlak ben Arfakhshad ben Sam 
ben Nuh, ii. 113, 114. 

Amlak (property in land) of the 
Beni Hosayn, ii. 258. 

Amalik, the tribe. See Aulad Sam 
ben Nuh. 

Amalikah tribes, their mixture with 
the Himyaritic, iii. 33. 

Amm Jemal, the native of Medi¬ 
nah, i. 339. 

Amr, tribe of, saved from the de¬ 
luge of Irem, ii. 121. Their abodes 
at El Medinah, 181. Their lan¬ 
guage, iii. 64. n. 

Amr ben Amin Ma-el-Sama, his 
stratagem, ii. 121, Saved from the 
Yemenian deluge, 121. The fore¬ 
father of Mohammed, 121. 

Amr el Kays, poet and warrior, his 
death from ulcer, ii. 183. 

Amur, the Beni, iii. 96. n. Its sub¬ 
divisions, 97. n. 

Amusements of the Cairenes, i. 168. 

Anakim, Moslem, belief in, i. 301. 

Anatolia, i. 281, 

Angels, place of the (Malaikah), at 
El Medinah, it 88 Prayer at the, 
88 . 

Anizah, the Beni (a Jewish tribe), 
in Arabia, ii. 118. it. Their tem¬ 
perament, iii. 30. 98. 

Ansar, Arab tribe of, ii, 120. 

Ansar, or Auxiliaries, of El Medi- 



index. 


395 


nah, ii. 130. 132. Assist Moham¬ 
med in building the first mosque, 
138. One of the, sells his house 
to the Prophet, 140. 

Antar, songs of, Warburton’s opinion 
of, iii. 57. 

Antichrist (El Dajjal), the Moslem 
belief respecting, ii. 163. n. 

Antimony (Kohl), used as a remedy 
in small -pox, ii. 176. 

Anzah (iron-shod javelin), ii. 209. 

Apes, the, of El Hejaz, iii. 307. 
Traditions respecting them, 307. 
n. Stories told of them, 308. 

Apple of Sodom, the, iii. 122. n. 

“ Arabesque,” origin of, i. 137. 

Arabesques, the vulgar, of the ri- 
waks at £1 Medinah and of the 
tombs at Cairo, it 101. 

Arabia, horses of, i. 4. The Ruba 
el Khali, 4. Abounds in fiuma- 
ras, 5. Possesses no river worthy 
of the name, 5. Testimony of 
Ibn Haukal to this fact, 5. n. Con¬ 
tains three distinct races, 5. Enu¬ 
meration of them, 5. Remnants 
of heathenry in, 6. Destruction 
of the idols of the Arab pantheon, 
133. Origin of Arab art, 139. «. 
Closed against trade with Chris¬ 
tians as early as the 7th century, 
165. n. The “ Mountains of Pa¬ 
radise*' with which it abounds, 
328. The little villages in, con¬ 
tinually changing their names, 
360. The “ dry storm ” of, 364. 
A caravan in, 366, 367. The 
water-courses (misyal) of, 368. 

374. Excellent water found in 
the deserts of, 374. Depopula¬ 
tion of villages and districts in, 

375. Bands of robbers in, 378, 
379. Imbecility of the Turkish 
government in, 379. The “poi¬ 
son wind ” of, ii. 2, 3. n. The ce¬ 
lebrated horses and camels from 
Nijd, 4. n. Wells of the Indians 
in Arabia, 18. Moslem account 
of the first settlements in, 113, 

114. One of the nurseries of 
mankind, 114. n. Causes of the 
continual emigrations from, 114, 

115. *. Governed by the Beni 


Israel, after the destruction of the 
Amalik, 116. Derivation of the 
name Arabia, 118. n. The flood 
oflrem, 121. Former possessions 
of, in Egypt, 137. n. Fire-temples 
of the ancient Guebres in, 164. n. 
Diseases of, 174. et seq . Descrip¬ 
tion of a desert in, iii. 111. A 
night journey in, 113. 

Arabia Petrsea, the, of the Greeks, 
ii. 165. n. 

Arab el Aribah, the, iii. 30. 

Arab el Mustaajamah, the, iii. 33. 

Arab el Mustaarabah, the, or half- 
caste Arab, iii. 32. 

Arabs. (See also Bedouins.) Si¬ 
milarity in language and customs 
between the Arabs and the tribes 
occupying the hills that separate 
India from Persia, 363. n. Gene¬ 
ralisation unknown to the Ajabs, 
369. n. Their ignorance of any¬ 
thing but details, 369. Journey 
through a country fantastic in 
its desolation, 371. Ruinous 
effects of the wars between the 
Wahhabis and the Egyptians, 375. 
Good feelings of Arabs easily 
worked upon, 378. Douceurs 
given by the Turkish government 
to the Arab shaykhs of El Hejaz, 
ii. 4. Fight between the troops 
and Arabs in El Hejaz, 9. 15. 
The world divided by Arabs into 
two great bodies, viz. themselves 
and the * Ajemi,” 26. n. Their 
affectionate greetings, 31. Their 
fondness for coffee, 37. n. Their 
children and their bad behaviour 
and language, 39. An Arab 
breakfast, 48. Melancholia fre¬ 
quent among the Arabs, 49. n. 
Probable cause of this, 50. w. 
Tenets of the Wahhabis, 59. 
Capitulation of the Beni Kuray- 
zah to the Prophet, 103. Moslem 
early history of some of the tribes, 
119. et aeq. Dwellings of the 
Arabs in the time of Mohammed, 
134. The seasons divided by 
them into three, 173. Diseases 
of the Arabs of El Hejaz, 174. 
et seq. The Arabs not the skilful 



396 


INDEX, 


physicians that they were, 184. 
Portrait of the former race of 
Arabs, 207, 208. The Arzah, or 
war dance, 226. Arab supersti¬ 
tions, 240. Difference between 
the town and country Arab, 273, 
274. Their marriages, 285. et 
seq . Their funerals, 288. Their 
difficulty of bearing thirst, iii. 18. 
The races of El Hejaz, 28. et seq. 
Arab jealousy of being over¬ 
looked, ) 85. n. 

Arabic, peculiarities of Arab pro¬ 
nunciation, i. 226. «. Generali¬ 
sation not the forte of the Arabic 
language, 369. Its facilities for 
rhyming, ii. 78. n. Traditions 
respecting its origin, 114; said 
to be spoken by the Almighty, 
114. n. Changes in the classical 
Arabic, 273. Purity of the Be¬ 
douin dialect, iii. 62. n. Exa¬ 
mination of the objections to 
Arabic as a guttural tongue, 
6$- n. Difference in the articu¬ 
lation of several Bedouin clans, 
64. n. Suited to poetry, but, it 
is asserted, not to mercantile 
transactions, 65. The vicious 
pronunciation of Indians and 
slaves, 254. n. The charming 
song of Maysunah, 262. The 
beautiful Tumar character, 299. 
Differences of opinion among 
travellers and linguists respect¬ 
ing Arabic and its dialects, 
330. n. 

Arafat, the Masjid, at El Kuba, ii. 
216. Tall Arafat, 216. 

Arafat, mount (anciently Jebel Hal, 
now Jebel el Rahmab), ceremony 
of the pilgrimage to, iii. 2S8. 
Description of, 257. Former high 
cultivation of the Arafat plain, 
258. Derivation of the name of 
the mount, 259. ». The camp 
arrangements at, 260. Supersti¬ 
tious rite on behalf of women at, 
261. The ceremonies of the day 
of Arafat, 265. et seq. The ser¬ 
mon, 272. The burry from Ara¬ 
fat, 275. The approach to the 
Arafat plain, 251. 


Araki, the Cognac of Egypt and 
Turkey, L 196. Called at Cairo 
“sciroppo di gomma,” 196- » 
A favourite drink among all 
classes and sexes, 196. n . 

Arbun (earnest money), ii. 332. 

Arches, pointed, known at Cairo 200 
years before they were introduced 
into England, i. 141. 

Architecture, the present Saracenic 
mosque-architecture, origin of the, 
it. 145. n. Simple tastes of the 
Arabs in, 1 93. The climate ini¬ 
mical to the endurance of the 
buildings 194. 

Arian heretics, i. 209. n. 

Arimi, tribe of Arabs so called, i. 

212 . - 

Aris, El (a bridegroom), ii. 2S8. 

Arithmetic, Moslem study of, i. 157. 
n. 

Arkam ben Arkam, last king of the 
Amalik, ii. 115. 

Armenian marriage, a, i. 179. 

Arms prohibited from being carried 
in Egypt, i. 25. Arms of Arabs, 

350. 365.; iii. 72, 73. Those 
worn by Oriental travellers, 350, 

351. Should always be kept 
bright, 351. Arms of Arnaut 
Irregular horse, ii. 5. The use of 
the bayonet invaluable, 9. n. 
Stilettos of the Calabrese, 9. ». 
Sabres preferred to rifles by In¬ 
dians, 9. n. 

Array, amount of the Turkish of El 
Hejaz, ii. 189. n. The battalion 
regiment, and ramp, 190. n. 

Arnaud, M., his visit to the ruins of 
the dyke of Mareb, ii. 120. n. 

Arnauts. See Albanians. 

Aroam or Greeks, in El Medinah, ii. 
38. 

Arsh, or throne, of God, iii. 187. 

Art, Arab origin of, i. 139. n. 

Arusah, El (a bride), ii. 288. n. 

Arzah, or Arab war-dance, the, ii. 
226. 

Asad bin Zararah, his conversion by 
the Prophet, ii. 126. 

A sal Asmar, or brown honey, iii. 
100. n. 

Asclepias gigantea (ashr), itsluxu- 



INDEX. 


397 


riance in the deserts of Arabia, 
iii. 122. Bears the long-sought 
apple of Sodom, 122. n. The 
fruit used as a medicine by the 
Arabs, 122. n. Called the “silk- 
tree,” 122. n. Its probable future 
commercial importance, 122. n. 

As-hab, or companions of the Pro¬ 
phet, Li. 80. The Ustuwanat el- 
Ashab, or Column of the Com¬ 
panions, 88. n. Graves of the, 
at El Bakia, 301. 

As-hab el Sutfah, or “Companions of 
the Sofa,” ii. 143. n. 

Ashab, the relationship among the 
Bedouins so called, iii. 85. 

Ashgar, Ali Pacha, the Emir el 
Hajj, iii. 22. 

Ashr (Asclepias gigantea, which 
see). 

Ashwat, or seven courses, round the 
Kaabah, iii. 208. n, 

Askar, the Masjid el, ii. 328. 

Asr, el, or afternoon prayers, ii. 
66. n. 

Assayd, the Jewish priest of El 
Medinah, ii. 123. 

“ Asses turning their back upon 
Allah’s mercy,” ii. 119. 

Asses, the, of El Medinah, ii. 278. 
Usefulness of the ass in the East, 
iii. 339. n. The best and highest- 
priced animals, 339. n. 

Assassination, how put an end to 
at Naples and Leghorn, i. 381. n. 

Assassins (from Hashshasbshiyun), 

i. 275. n. 

Astronomy among the modern 
Egyptians, L 158. n. Among the 
Bedouins, iii. 76. 

Aswad (dark or black), the word, 

ii. 170. n. 

Atakah, Jebel (Mountain of Deliver¬ 
ance), i. 287. 289. 

Atfah, i. 43. 

Auf, the Beni, their language, iii. 64. 
n. Its subdivisions, 96, 97. n. 

Aukaf, or bequests left to the Pro¬ 
phet’s mosque, ii. 161. Those 
given to the Beni Hosayn, 258. 
The Nazir el Aukaf at Constanti¬ 
nople, 264. 

Aulad Sam ben Nuh (or Amalikah, 


Amalik) inspired with a knowledge 
of the Arabic tongue, ii. 113. 
Settles at El Medinah, 114. Iden¬ 
tified with the Phoenicians, Ama- 
lekites, Canaanites, and Hyksos, 
114. n. Supplanted by the Jews, 
119. 

Aus, Arab tribe of, ii. 120. 122. 
Their wars with the Kharaj, 122. 
Converted by Mohammed, 126. 
Their plot against Mohammed, 
135. TTieir mixture with the 
Amalikah, iii. 33. 

Austrians, despised in Egypt, i. 162. 

Awali, the, or plains about Kuba, ii. 
169. 

Awam, the, or nobile vulgus of El 
Medinah, ii. 161. 

Ayat, or Koranic verse, ii. 128. 

Ayisha accedes to the wishes of Osman 
and Hasan to'be buried near the 
Prophet, ii. 87. Her pillar in the 
mosque of the Prophet, 102. Her 
chamber,or the Hujrah, surrounded 
with a mud wall, 143. Anecdote 
of her, 305. Her tomb, 311. Her 
jealousy of the Coptic girl Mariyah, 
324. n. 

Ayn el Birkat, the, i. 335. The Ayn 
Ali, 135. 

Ayn el Zarka (azure spring), the, of 
El Medinah, ii. 170, 171. n. 

Ayr, Jebel, its distance from El Me¬ 
dinah, ii. 167. Cursed by the 
Prophet, 231, 

Ayyas ben Maaz, converted by the 
Prophet, ii. 125. 

Ayyaz, Kazi, his works, i. 155. n. 

Ayyub, Abu, the Ansari, ii. 210. 
The Bait Ayyub, his descendants, 
210 . 

Ayyub, well of, at El Medinah, ii. 
139. 

Azan, or summons to prayer, i. Ill ; 
ii. 142. 

Azhar, El, mosque, the, at Cairo, i, 
142. 145. et aeq. Foundation of, 
149. Immense numbers of stu¬ 
dents at, 150. The course of study 
pursued in, 151. The principal of 
the Afghan College, Shaykh Abd 
el Wahab ibn Yunus el Sulaymani, 
189—192. 



398 


INDEX. 


Azrael, the angel of death, ii. 54.147. 
Azrak, Bahr el, remarks on the 
usual translation of the expression, 

ii. 170. a. 

Bab, gates of the mosque of Meccah, 

iii. 178. 

Bab el Atakhah, “ gate of deliver¬ 
ance,” at El Medinah, ii. 97. n. 
Bab el Jabr, or Gate of Repairing, 
ii. 98. n. 

Bab el Nasr, the gate of Cairo so 
called, i. 209. Tombs outside the, 
ii. 101. a. 

Babel Nisa,the,at El Medinah,ii. 98. 
Bab el Rahmah, or Gate of Pity, at 
El Medinah, ii. 97. 

Bab el Salam, anciently called the 
Bab el Atakah, ii. 97. 

Bab Jibrail, or Gate of the Arch¬ 
angel Gabriel, ii. 98. 

Bab Mejidi, or Gate of the Sultan 
Abd el Mejid, at El Medinah, ii. 
98. 

Babel or Babylon, settled by the 
family of Noah, ii. 113. 

Badanjan, (egg plant), ii. 204. 
Bad-masti, or liquor-vice, iii. 385. 
Baghdad, ii. 4. n. Quarrel between 
the Baghdad caravan and that 
from Damascus, iii. 108. 

Baghlah (corrupted to Bungalow), 
the, i. 262. 

Bait el Ansari, the, at El Medi¬ 
nah, ii. 254. The Bait Abu Jud, 
254. The Bait el Shaab, 254. 
The Bait el Karrani, 255. 

Bait el Maamur, the, iii. 187. 

Bait el Naby, (the Prophet's old 
house) at Meccah, iii. 353. 

Bait Ullah, or House of Allah at 
Meccah, ii. 59. See Kaabah. 
Bakhshish, meaning of, i. 11. n. 
In the deserts of Arabia, 364. 
366.; it 207. The odious sound 
for ever present in Egypt, 277. 
Always refused by Englishmen, 
277. 

Bakia, El, cemetery of at E) Me¬ 
dinah, ii. 24. a. 30. 84. a. 90. 
Prayers for the 90uls of the blessed 
who rest in, 92. Visitation of the, 
300. Graves of the Ashab and 


Sayyids at, 301. Foundation of 
the place by the Prophet, 302. 
Description of a funeral at, 304. 
The martyrs of, 309. Tombs of 
the wives and daughters of the 
Prophet at, 311. The beggars of, 
311. Benediction of, 317. The 
other celebrities of, 318—320. a. 

Balal, his mosque at El Munakhah, 
ii. 192. 

Balsam of Meccah, used in the cure 
of wounds, ii. 183. See Gilead, 
Balm of 

Bamiyah, an esculent hibiscus, ii. 
204. 

Banca tin, i. 265. 

Baras, the kind of leprosy so called. 
See Leprosy. 

Barbers, Eastern, their skill, ii. 
33. n. 

Barr, El, at Medinah, ii. 33. 46. 

Barsim, or Egyptian clover, ii. 204. 

Bartema, reference to, ii. 89. i». His 
account of the colony of Jews 
existing in Arabia, 118. n. 

Basalt (Hajar Jehannum, or hell- 
stone), iii. 25. 

Bash Buluks, irregular troops at 
Cairo, i. 231. 

Bashat el Askar, or commander of 
the forces of the caravan, iii. 22. 

Bashir Agha college, the, at El Me¬ 
dinah, ii. 289. 

Basrah, a den of thieves, how re¬ 
formed, i. 381. a. 

Bastarab, i. 43. 

Bathing in cold water, the Arab 
dislike to, i. 256. The bath in 
the Hart Zawaran of El Medi¬ 
nah, ii. 187. 

Batn Amah, near Mount Arafat, iii. 
258. 

Batn el Muhassir (Basin of the 
Troubler) at Muna, iii. 249. 

Battalin, the lowest order of the 
Eunuchs of the Tomb, ii. 156. 

Batul, El, or the Virgin, the term 
applied to the Lady Fatimah, ii. 
90. n. 

Bawwabin, one of the orders of the 
Eunuchs of the Tomb, ii. 156. 

Bazaar, the, of El Medinah, ii. 186. 

Bayazi schismatics, the, it 262. 



INDEX. 


399 


Bayonet} use of the, not learnt in 
the English army, ii. 9. n. The 
most formidable of offensive wea¬ 
pons, 9. re, 

Bayruha, Bir el, at Kuba, ii. 221. n, 

“ Beauty-masks,” in vogue at Mec- 
cah, iii. 326. 

Bedouins, i. 210, 211. Observa¬ 
tions on the modem Sinaitic or 
Tawarah race of, 212. et eeq. 
Enumeration of the chief clans of, 
212. Ethnographical peculiari¬ 

ties of, 2IS. Improvement in, 
215. How manageable in the 
Desert, 216. The city Arab, 
223. Arab dislike to bathing 

in cold water, 256. Arab food, 
311. Description of a Shaykh 

fully equipped for travelling, 345. 
Dress of the poorer class of 

Arabs, 349. Their songs in the 
Desert, 357. The Aulad Ali, 
163. re. Bedouin robbers, mode 
of proceeding of, 186. Awed only 
by the Albanian irregulars, 195. 
Habits, 210, 211. Tbeir songs, 
211. Their tobacco-pipes, 211. 
n. Remarks on ,the modern Si¬ 
naitic clans, 212. Purity of blood 
of the Muzaynah, 213. Their 
peculiar qualities, 216. How 
manageable in the Desert, 217. 
Their love of the oasis, 219. re. 
How treated by the city Arab, 
223. A Bedouin ambuscade, 230. 
Their food, 269. a. The wreckers 
of the coasts of the Red Sea, 302. 
Their bad character at Marsa 
Damghah, 315. Those of the 
coasts of the Red Sea, 322. The 
camel Bedouins of Arabia, 339. 
The Hazimi tribe “out,” 340. 
The black-mail levied by them 
on stranger travellers, 343. n. 
Their suspicion of persons sketch¬ 
ing, 353. n. Bedouin woman 
leading sheep and goats, 362. 
Character of the tribe of Beni- 
Harb, 364. Their pride, 364. 
The Beni Bu Ali tribe defeated 
by Sir L. Smith, 366. n. Their in¬ 
genuity in distinguishing between 
localities the most similar, 369. 


Quarrel with, 377. The Suma- 
yat and Mahamid,"sub-families of 
the Hamidah, 378. The Beni 
Amr, 378, 379. Attempt to levy 
black mail, 385. Their defeat 
of Tussun Bey in 1811, 387. 
Fight between them and the Al¬ 
banian troops, ii. 9. 15. Their 
method of treating wounds, 12. re. 
Their attack on the caravan, 15. 
Graves of the Beni Salim, or 
Salmah, 17. re. Shape of the 
graves, 18. Their contempt for 
mules and asses, 56. Their pre¬ 
servation of the use of old and 
disputed words, 166. n. Tbeir 
appearance in the Damascus cara¬ 
van, 225. re. The Beni Hosayn 
at El Medinah, 257. The Beni 
Ali at the Awali, 257, 258. 
Almost all the Bedouins of El 
Medinah are of the Shafei school, 
262. Their idea of the degrada¬ 
tion of labour, 267. Furious 
fight between the Hawazim and 
the Hawamid, 296. Practice of 
entrusting children to their care 
that they may be hardened by the 
discipline of the Desert, 308. re. 
Tbeir fondness for robbing a Haj- 
ji, 408. The Sobh tribe inveterate 
plunderers, iii. 1. Their only 
ideas of distance, 10. re. Their 
difficulty of bearing thirst, 18. 
Account of the Bedouins of El 
Hejaz, 28. et seq. The three 
races, 28. The indigens, or auto¬ 
chthones, 29. Tbeir similarity to 
the indigens of India, 30. re. The 
advene, 30. The Ishmaelites, 31. 
Mixture of the Himyaritic and 
Amalikah tribes, 33. Immutability 
of race in the desert, 33. Portrait 
of the Hejazi Bedouins, 34. 
Their features, complexion, &c., 
34. 38. Their stature, 39. Their 
systematic intermarriage, 40. 
Appearance of the women, 42. 
Manners of the Bedouins, 42. 
Their true character, 44. How 
Arab society is bound together, 
44, 45. Fitful and uncertain va¬ 
lour of the Bedouins, 45. Causes 



400 


INDEX. 


of their bravery, 47. The two 
things which tend to soften their 
ferocity, 49. Tenderness and 
pathos of the old Arab poets, S3. 
Heroisms of the women, 55. 
Bedouin platonic affection, 56. 
Arab chivalry, 57. Dakkl, or 
protection, among them, 61. 
Their poetic feeling, 61, 62. 
Effect of Arab poetry in the De¬ 
sert, 63. Brigandage honourable 
among the Bedouins, 66, 67. 
The price of blood among them, 
69. Intensity of their passions, 
69. Their sports, 70. Their 
weapons, 72, 73. Their sword¬ 
play, 75. Their music and mu¬ 
sical instruments, 76. Their 
surgery, 77. Their religion, 79. 
Their ceremonies, 80. Circum¬ 
cision, 80. Marriage, 81. Fune¬ 
ral rites, 83. Methods of living 
on terms of friendship with them, 

83, 84. Their bond of salt, 

84. Their government, 85. The 
threefold kind of relationship 
among the tribes: the Ashab, the 
Kiman, and the Akhawat, 86. 
Black mail, 86, 87. Their dress, 
88—90. Their food, 91. Smok¬ 
ing, 93. The Bedouins com¬ 
pared with the North American 
Indians, 93—95. Superiority of 
the former, 95. Enumeration 
of the principal branches of 
the Bedouin genealogical tree, 
95 —100. n. Ferocity of the 
Utaybah Bedouins, 119. Their 
visit to the House of Allah, 
210. Their graves at Mount 
Ohod, ii. 243. Their disgust 
when in towns, iii. 246. n. Their 
appearance in the Damascus cara¬ 
van on the Arafat plain, 250. 
Their cleanliness compared with 
the dirt of the citizen Arabs, 262. 
Their fondness for the song of 
Maysunah, 262. 71. Their wild 
dances and songs, 311. A pert 
donkey-boy, 371. 

“ Bedr,” the scene of the Prophet’s 
principal military exploits, i. 332. 
384. 


Bedr, reference to the battle of, 
17. n. 

Beef, considered unwholesome by 1 
Arabs, ii. 278. ». 

Beggars in the Prophet’s mosque, 
67. Female beggars near the to 
of the Lady Fatimah, 91.96. 
the tomb of the Prophet, ! 
Strong muster of, at El Bal 
311. 

Bekkah, or place of crowding, M 
cah so called, iii. 299. 

Belal, the Prophet’s muezzin, 
100. 254. 7i. 

Bells, origin and symbolical me; 
ing of, i. 115. 7i. 

Belochi nomads, the, i. 363. n. 

Beni-Harb, the Arab tribe, i. 31 
365. Their pride, 366. Si 
families and families of the, S' 
Their defeat of Tussun Bay a 
his 8000 Turks, i. 387. 

Beni-Israel, Dr. Wilson’s obsen 
tions on the, i. 215. n. 

Beni Jahavnab, the, i. 315. 

Beni Kalb, the, i. 315. 365. 

Benjamin of Tudela, his accounts 
the Jewish colony in Arabia, 
118. 71 . 

Bequests (aukaf) left to the Pr 
phet’s mosque, ii. 161. 

Berberis, characteristics of the, 
90. 93. 298. 

Bertolucci, M„ his visit to Mecca 

i. 6. 7i. 

Beybars, El Zahir, Sultan of Egyj 
his contribution to the mosque 
the Prophet, ii. 150. 

“ Bidaat,” or custom unknown 
the time of the Prophet, ii. 155. 

Bir Abbas, in El Hejaz, i. 38 
Description of it, ii. 1. 

Bir el Aris, the, in the garden 
Kuba, ii. 217. Called also tl 
Bir el Taflat (of Saliva), 219. 

Bir el Hindi, the halting-place, 
18. 

Bir Said (Said’s well), i. 370. 

Bilious complaints common in Ar 
bia, ii. 179. 

Birds, the, of the palm-groves of 1 
Medinah, ii. 197. Carrion bir 
on the road between El Medin; 



INDEX, 


401 


and Meccah, Hi. 7. The Rakham | 
and Ukab, 7. Vicinage of the 
kite and crow to the dwellings of 
man, 23. 

Birkah, El, the village so called, i. 
43. 

Birkat, El (the Tank), description 
of, iii. 119. 

Birni, El, the date so called, ii. 200. 
The grape so termed, 205. 

Bissel, battle of, iii. 48. 

Bizr el Kutun (cotton seed), used as 
a remedy in dysentery, ii. 181. 

Black mail levied by the Bedouins, 
i. 343. n. 385. ; iii. 87. 

Black Stone (Hajar el Aswad), the 
famous, of the Kaabah, iii. 158. 
189. 210. Traditions respecting 
the, 158. n. Its position, 160. 

Its appearance, 161. Ceremonies 
on visiting it, 203. 208. 

Blessing the Prophet, efficacy of the 
act of, ii. 70. n. The idea bor¬ 
rowed from a more ancient faith, 
70. n. 

Blood-revenge, the, i. 346. 

Blood-feud, proper use of the, i. 381. 

Its importance in Arab society, 
iii. 44. The price of blood, 69. 

Boas, battle of, between the A us and 
Kharaj tribes, ii. 122. ; iii. 3. n. 

Bokbari, El, celebrated divine, i. 
155. n. 

Books, Moslem, those read in schools 
in Egypt, i. 152. Works on Mos¬ 
lem divinity, 154. et seq. Books 
on logic and rhetoric, 156. n. 
Algebra, 156. n. History and phi¬ 
losophy, 156. n. Poetry, 157. n. 
Abundance of books at El Medi- 
nah, ii. 289. 

Borneo, pilgrims from, to Meccah 
t 265. 

Botany of the Arabian desert, iii. 

122 . 

Bouda, the Abyssinian malady so 
called, iii. 220. «. 

Brauhi nomads, the, i. 363. n. 

Bravado, its effect in Arabia, iii. 

’ 372. 

Bread in Arabia, i. 361. That 
called Kakh, 361. Fondness of I 


Orientals for stale unleavened 
bread, 361. n. 

Breakfast, an Arab, ii. 48. 

“ Breeding in,” question of, Hi. 41. 

Brigandage, held in honour among 
the Bedouins, iii. 66, 67. 

Britain, probable origin of the name, 
iii. 335. n. 

Bughiz, or defile, the, where Sussun 
Bey was defeated, i. 387. 

Bukht el Nasr (Nebuchadnezzar), 
invasion of, ii. 118, 119. 

Bulak, the suburb of, i. 45. 

“ Bulak Independent,” the, i. 159. n. 

Buraydat el Aslami, escorts Moham¬ 
med to El Medinah, ii. 129. 

Burckhardt, his grave near Cairo, 
i. 123. n. Error in his Map of 
Arabia, 372. Reference to his 
“ Travels,” ii. 30. n. His account 
of the curtain round the Prophet’s 
tomb, 81. n. Extracts from his 
descriptions of the Bait Ullah, 
iii. 149. et seq. 

Burial-places in the East and in 
Europe, iii. 253. 

Burma, or renegade, derivation of 
the word, i. 33. 

Bumoos, the, i. 280. 

Burton, Lieut., what induced him to 
make a pilgrimage, i. 1, His 
principal objects, 3. Embarks at 
Southampton, 7. His Oriental 
“ impedimenta,” 7. His eventless 
voyage, 9. Trafalgar, 9. Gib¬ 
raltar, 10. Malta, 10. Lands at 
Alexandria, 11. Successfully dis¬ 
guises himself, 15. Supposed by 
the servant to be an Ajemi, 15. 
Secures the assistance of a Shaykh, 
19. Visits El Nahl and the ve¬ 
nerable localities of Alexandria, 
16, 17. His qualifications as a 
fakir, magician, and doctor, 18, 
19. Assumes the character of a 
wandering Dervish as being the 
safest disguise, 20. Adopts the 
name of Shaykh Abdullah, 20. 
Elevated to the position of a Mur- 
shid, 20. Leaves Alexandria, 23. 
His adventures in search of a pass¬ 
port, 27. Reasons for assuming 


VOL. III. 


D D 



402 


INDEX, 


the disguise, 35. His wardrobe 
and outfit, 34. Leaves Alexan¬ 
dria, 41. Voyage up the Nile, 
42. Arrives at Bulak, 41. Lodges 
with Miyan Khudabakhsh Nam- 
dar, 51. Life in the wakalah of 
Egypt, 60. Makes the acquaint¬ 
ance of Haji Wali, 62. Becomes 
an Afghan, 65. Interposes for Haji 
Wali, 71- Engages a Berberi as , 
a servant, 91. Takes a Shaykh, 
or teacher, Shaykh Mohammed el 
Attar, 96—99. The Ramazan, ! 
108. Visits the “consul-gene- j 
ral ” at Cairo, 125. Pleasant ac¬ 
quaintances at Cairo, 178. Ac- j 
count of the pilgrim’s compa- j 
nion, Mohammed el Rusyani, j 
180. Lays in stores for the journey, 
182. The letter of credit, 184, 
185. Meets with difficulties re¬ 
specting the passport, 186, In¬ 
terview with the Persian consul, j 
188. Obtains a passport through 
the intervention of the chief of 
the Afghan college, 189. An ad¬ 
venture with an Albanian captain 
of irregulars, 192, et seq. De- j 
parture from Cairo found neces- ■ 
sarv, 205. A display of respect¬ 
ability, 206. Shaykh Nassar, the 
Bedouin, 206—208. Hasty de¬ 
parture from Cairo, 209. The 
Desert, 210. et seq. The mid¬ 
night halt, 225. Resumes the 
march, 226. Rests among a party 
of Maghrabi pilgrims, 228. Ad¬ 
venture on entering Suez, 233. 
An uncomfortable night, 224. 
Interview with the governor of 
Suez, 235, 236. Description of 
the pilgrim’s fellow-travellers at 
Suez, 237. et seq. Advantages of I 
making a loan, 243. Suspicion | 
awakened by a sextant, 245. ] 
Passports a source of trouble, I 
247. Kindness of Mr. West, 
249. Preparations for the voy¬ 
age from Suez, 253. Society at 
the George Inn, 2 55. The pil¬ 
grim-ship, 273. A battle with 
the Maghrabis, 283. Leaves Suez, ■ 
286. Course of the vessel, 287. I 


Halts near the Huramatn Bluffs, 
291. The ‘‘ Golden Wire” aground, 
295. Re-embarkation, 297. 
Reaches Tur, 297. Visits Moses 
Hot Baths, 300. Leaves Tur, 
305. Effects of a thirty-six 
hours’ sail, 309. Makes Dam- 
ghah anchorage, 314. Enters 
Wjjh Harbour, 316. Sails for 
Jebel Hasan, 321. Nearly 
wrecked, 324. Makes Jebel Ha¬ 
san, 325. Wounds his foot, 326. 
The halt at Yambu, 331. Bar¬ 
gains for camels, 339. An eve-, 
ning party at Yambu, 342. Per¬ 
sonates an Arab, 34S. His Ha- 
mail or pocket Koran, 352. De¬ 
parture from Yambu, 336. The 
Desert, 358. The halting ground, 
3.59. Resumes the march, 363. 
Alarm of “ Harami ” on thieves, 
367. Reaches Bir Said, 370. 
Encamps at El Hamra, S7S. 
Visits the village, 374. A com¬ 
fortless day there, 376, 377. 
Attempt of the Bedouins to 
levy black mail, 385. Encamps 
at Bir Abbas, 388. A forced 
halt, ii. 12. Prepares to mount 
and march, 13. Scene in the 
Shaub el Haj, 15. Arrives at 
Shuhada, 17. The favourite halt¬ 
ing place, Bir el Hindi, 18. 
Reaches Suwaykab, 19. Has a 
final dispute with Saad the Devil, 
20. Disappearance of the camel- 
men, 21. First view of the city 
of El Medinah, 25. Poetical ex¬ 
clamations and enthusiasm of the 
pilgrims, 25, 26. Stays at the 
house of Shaykh Hamid, S3. 
The visitors and children there, 
37—41. The style of living at 
El Medinah, 42—55. View from 
the majlis’ windows, 46. Visits 
the Prophet’s tomb, 56—112. Ex¬ 
pensiveness of the visit, 96. Reasons 
for doubting that the Prophet’s re¬ 
mains are deposited in the Hujrah, 
108. Visits the mosque of Kuba, 
195. Sums spent in sight-seeing, 
216. His “Kaif” at El Kuba, 
218. Arrival of the “Damascus 



INDEX. 


403 


pilgrimage ” at El Medinoh, 223. 
The visitation of .Ohod, 227. At¬ 
tends at the Haram in the evening, 
249. Visits the Cemetery of El 
Bakia, 299. Prepares to leave 
El Medinah, 330 Adieus, 335. 
The last night at El Mtdinah, 
339. The next dangers, 340. 
The march from El Medinah, iii. 
2, 3. The first halt, 9- A gloomy 
pass, 10. Journey from El Su- 
wayr Kiyah to Meccah, 101. A 
small feast, 105. A night journey, 
113. An attack of the Utaybah, 
181. The pilgrim sights Meccah, 
143. His first visit to the House 
of Allah, 197. His uncomfortable 
lodging, 213. Returns to the 
Kaabah, 215. Ceremonies of the 
day of Arafat, 265. et aeq .; and of 
the day of Victims, 280. Acci¬ 
dent at the Great Devil, 283. 
Revisits the Kaabah, 287. The 
sacrifices at Muna, 302, 303. 
The sermon at the Haram, 314. 
Life at Meccah, and the Little 
Pilgrimage, 317. The pilgrim’s 
contemplated resolution to de¬ 
stroy the slave-trade, 355. De¬ 
scription of a dinner at Meccah, 
361. Leaves Meccah,366. Events 
on the road, 367. et aeq. Enters 
Jeddah, 375. End of the pilgrim’s 
peregrinations, 389. 

Busat, Bir el, at Kuba, ii. 221. n. 

Business, style of doing, in the East, 

i. 40. 

Bussora, ii. 4. n. 

Butter, clarified (Samn in Arabia, 
the Indian ghee), used in the 
East, i. 268. 361. Fondness of 
Orientals for, ii. 270. 

Buzaat, Bir el, at Kuba, ii. 220. n. 

Cagliostro, Count (Guiseppe Bal- 
samo), the impostor, his settle¬ 
ment of Greeks at El Medinah, 

ii. 38. 291. 

Cain, his burial-place under Jebel 
Shamsan, iii. 199. n. 

Cairo, its celebrated latticed win¬ 
dows, i. 51. Medical practitioners 
in, 84. Expenses of a bachelor 


in, 95. A Cairo druggist de¬ 
scribed, 99. The Abbasiyah pa¬ 
lace, 114. Scene from the Mosque 
of Mohammed Ali by moonlight, 

123—125. A stroll in the city at 
night, 129. Immense number of 
mosques at, 139. Once celebrated 
for its libraries, 148. n. Fanatic 
Shaykhs of, 165. n. The corpo¬ 
rations, or secret societies, of, 165. 
Description of the festival follow¬ 
ing the Ramazan, 1C8. The" New 
Year Calls” at Cairo, 169. Mean¬ 
ing of the name Cairo, 171. The 
Pressgang in, 171. The inhabit¬ 
ants panic-stricken at the ru¬ 
mours of a conspiracy, 172. 
Scenes before the police magis¬ 
trate, 173. Vulgar arabesques 
on the tombs outside the Bab el 
Nasr, ii. 101. ». Gardens in the 
mosques of, 105. Magician of, 
180, 181. a. 

Cambay, Gulf of, i. 313. 

Camel-grass of the Desert, i. 371. 

Camels, remarks on riding, i. 208. 
210. The “ nakh,” 222. ?i. 360. The 
Shaykh or agent of (the Mukhar- 
rij), 339. His duties, 339. n. 
Loading camels in Arabia, 344, 
345. The mas-hab, or stick for 
guiding, 348. The Arab asser¬ 
tion that the feet of the camel are 
pained when standing still, 354. 
n. Mounting a camel, 355. Tra¬ 
velling in Indian file, 358. 366. 
Pace at which camels travel, 360. 
n. Method of camel-stealing in 
Arabia, 368. n. The celebrated 
camels from Nijd, ii. 4. n. Camel¬ 
travelling compared with drome¬ 
dary-travelling, 27. The she- 
camel which guided Mohammed, 
ISO. 132. 138. Cathartic qualities 
of camels’ milk, 184. The huge 
white Syrian dromedary, 225. 
The Delul, 225. The Nakah, 
225. n. The camels of El Medi. 
nah, 277. Camel-hiring at El 
Medinah, 332. Camel’s sure¬ 
footedness, iii. 17. A night- 
journey with, in the Desert, 1 13 . 
Specimens of the language used 



404 


INDEX. 


to camels, 115. «. Mode of sacri¬ 
ficing camels, SOS. n. 

Canaanites, the, identified with the 
Araalik of the Moslems, ii. 
114. w. 

Canal, the proposed, between Pelu- 
sium and Suez, i. 164, 165. 

Capparis, the wild, in Arabia, iii. 22. 

Caramania, i. 281. 

Caravan, a, i. 366, 367. The escort, 
S67. The Tayyarah, or flying 
caravan, ii. S29. The Rakb. or 
dromedary caravan, 329. Princi¬ 
pal officers of the caravan to 
Meccah, iii. 22. 

Caravanserai, the, of Egypt. See 
Wakalah. 

Caste in India, observations on, i. 
52, 53. n. 

Castor-plant, the, ii. 203. 

Cathedrals, the, of Spain, proofs of 
their Oriental origin, ii. 60. n. 
The four largest in the world, 
145. n. 

Catherine, St., convent of, on the 
shores of the Red Sea, i. 298. rt. 

Cattle, breeding of, among the Be¬ 
douins, iii. 76. 

Cautery, actual, the, used in cases of 
dysentery, ii. 181. And for the 
cure of ulcers, 183. 

Cavalry, Albanian irregular, ii. 5- 
English cavalry tactics defective, 
7. Reference to Captain Nolan’s 
work, 8. Ancient and modern 
cavalry, 8. The Chasseurs de 
Vincennes, 8. 

Cave, the, of Mount Ohod, ii. 233. 

Celibacy in the East, pernicious 
effects of, iii. S3, n. 

Cemetery of El Bakia. See Bakia. 

Cemetery of Meccah (Jannat el 
Maala), visit to the, iii. 349. 

Cephren, pyramid of, i. 44. 

Cereals, the, of the Medinah plain, 

ii. 204. 

“ Chains, Affair of,” (Zat el Salasil), 

iii. 48. n. 

Chalda?ans, the, in Arabia, iii. SO. 

Charity, water distributed in, i. 9. 

Chasseurs de Vincennes, ii. 8. 

Chaunting the Koran, i. 156. 

Cheops, pyramid of, i. 44. 


I Children of the Arabs, ii. 39. Their 
bad behaviour and bad language, 
39, 40. Causes of this, 39. n. 
Children entrusted to Bedouins, 
iii. 49. 

Chivalry, Arab, iii. 57. Songs of 
Antar, 57. Chivalry of the Ca¬ 
liph El Mutasem, 57, 

Chob-Chini. See Jing-seng. 

Cholera Morbus in El Hejaz. See 
Rih el Asfar. 

Christ, personal suffering o£ denied 
by all Moslems, ii. 89. n. 

Christians, colony of, on the shores 
of the Red Sea, i. 298. 

Civilisation, the earliest, always took 
place in a fertile valley with a 
navigable river, ii. 114. n. 

Circumambulation. See Tawaf. 

Circumcision, ceremony of, among 
the Bedouins, iiL 80. The two 
kinds, Taharah and Salkh, 80. 
Method of proceeding, 80, 81. n. 

Cleopatra’s Baths, i. 12. 

Cleopatra's Needle, i. 12. Called 
Pharaoh’s packing-needle by the 
native Ciceroni, 14. n. 

Cleopatra, her introduction of balm 
of Gilead into Egypt, iii. 138. n. 

Coffee-house, description of an East¬ 
ern, i. 317, 318. Good quality 
of the coffee drank at El Medinah, 
ii. 36. n. Filthiness of that of 
Egypt, 36. n. The “ Kishr” of 
Yemen, 37. n. The coffee-houses 
of El Medinah, 186,187. Coffee¬ 
drinking on the march, iii. 9. 
The coffee-houses at Muna, 309. 
Coffee-houses on the road near 
Meccah, 368. 

Cole, Mr. Charles, vice-consul at 
Jeddah, his account of the popula¬ 
tion of the principal towns of 
Arabia, ii. 189. m. His straight¬ 
forwardness and honesty of pur¬ 
pose, iii. 377. His letter on the 
trade of Jeddah, 379. n. 

Colleges (Madrasah), the two, of 
El Medinah, ii, 289. 

Colligation, system of, in battle, iii. 
48. The “ Affair of Chains ” 
(Zat el Salasil), 48. n. 

Coloquintida, its growth in the de- 



INDEX. 


405 


serts of Arabia, iii. 122. Used as 
a medicine by the Arabs, 122. n. 

Comet, apprehensions of the Madani 
at the appearance of one, ii. 295. 

Commerce, the, of Suez, i. 264. 

Communist principles of Mazdak the 
Persian, ii. 256. n. 

Consular dragoman, the, a great 
abuse in the East, i. 187. ». In¬ 
stances of the evils caused by the 
tribe, 187. n. Hanna Massara, 
187. n. Remedies proposed, 187. 
n. Consular abuses, 188. 

Conversation, specimen of Oriental, 

i. 127. 

Coptic Christians, good arithmeti¬ 
cians, i. 157. n. Coptic artists em¬ 
ployed on the mosque of El Me- 
dinah, ii. ] 46. Probably half-caste 
Arabs, iii. 31. n. 

Coral reefs of the Red Sea, i. 322. 

Corinthians, fair, not any at El Me¬ 
dina!), ii. 281. Those of Jeddah, 
iii. 381. 

Cosmetic, Bedouin, iii. 36. n. 

Cot, column of the, in the Prophet’s 
mosque, ii. 104. 

Cotton seed ( Bizr el Kutun), used 
as a remedy in dysentery, ii. 181. 

Courtship, Abyssinian style of, i. 87. 

Covetousness of the Arab, its inten¬ 
sity, iii. 69. 

Cressets (Mashals), of the East, iii. 
113. The Pacha’s cressets, 114, n. 

Cressy, reference to the battle of, ii. 
6. n. 

Crown of Thorns, the, ii. 205. n. 

Curtain, the, of the Prophet’s tomb, 

ii. 81, 82. 

Dabistan el Mazahib, the, ii. 114. n. 

Daggers of the Bedouins, iii. 75. 

Dajjal, El (Antichrist), the Mos¬ 
lem belief respecting, ii. 163. n. 

Dak hi, or protection, among the 
Arabs, iii. 61. 

Dakkat el Ayhawat, or eunuch’s 
bench, at El Medinah, ii 73, n. 

Dakuri, El, the shrine of the saint, 
i. 227. 

Damascus, cathedral of, ii. 145. Its 
eminence among Moslem cities. 


iii. 115. n. Epithets applied to 
it, 115. n. Sayings of the Pro¬ 
phet respecting, 115. n. Said to 
be the burial place of Abel, 199. n. 

Damascus caravan, the, ii 81. v. Bro¬ 
cade of Damascus, 82. n. Re¬ 
joicing at El Medinah on the 
arrival of the caravan, 100. De¬ 
scription of the arrival of the, at 
El Medinah, 223. The Emir 
el Hajj, 228. Number of pil¬ 
grims in the, 348. Quarrel be¬ 
tween it and that from Baghdad, 
iii 108. Stopped in a perilous 
pass, 130. Grand spectacle af¬ 
forded by the, on the plain of 
Arafat, 250. 

Damgh^h, Marsa, on the Red Sea, i. 
314. 

Dancing of the Bedouins, its wild¬ 
ness, iii 311 

Daniyal, El-nabi (Daniel the Pro¬ 
phet), tomb of, i. 16. 

Dar el Baida, the viceroy’s palace in 
the Desert, i. 226. 

Daraj, El (the ladder), at the Kaa- 
bah, iii. 173 . 

Darb el Sharki, or Eastern road, from 
El Medinah to Meccah, ii. 2. 

Darb Sultani (the Sultan’s road), i. 
384.; iii. l. 

Dates, the delicious, of Tur, i. 801. 
Those of the hypaethral Court of 
the Prophet’s mosque, ii. 105. 
The date “ El Saybani,” 105. The 
date-groves of Kuba, 170. The 
fruit of Nejd, 173. The Tamr el 
Birni kind used as a diet in small¬ 
pox, 176. Celebrity of the dates 
of El Medinah, 198. Varieties 
of the date-tree, 199. El Shelebi 
date, 199. The Ajwah, 199. El 
Hilwah, 200. El Birni, 200. The 
Wahshi, 200. The Sayhani, 200. 
The Khuzayriyah, 200. The Je- 
beli, 200. The Laun, 201. The 
Hilayah, 201. Fondness of the 
Madani for dates, 201. Rutab, or 
wet dates, 201. Variety of ways 
of cooking the fruit, 201. The 
merry-makings at the fruit gather¬ 
ings, 203. Causes of the excel- 


D D 3 



406 


INDEX. 


lence of the dates of El Medinah, 
203. The date-trees of Kuha, 353. 

Daud Pacha, his palace at El Me¬ 
dinah, ii. 191. 

Daughters of the Prophets, tombs of 
the, ii. 311. 

Daurak, or earthen jars, used for 
cooling the holy water of Zem 
Zem, iii. 173. 

David, King, i. 312. 

Death, easy in the East, iii. 253. 

Death-wail, the, of Oriental women, 
i. 171. 

Deraiyah, the capital of the Wah¬ 
habis, ii. 152. 

Dervishes, wandering, i. 20. A der¬ 
vish’s the safest disguise, 21. The 
two orders of dervishes, 22. 

D’Escayrac-Lantune, M., his prepa¬ 
rations for a pilgrimage to Meccah, 
i. 6. m. 

Desert, the Great, by moonlight, i. 
124. Camel riding in, 208. 210. 
Reflected heat of, 208. n. Habits 
and manners of the Bedouin ca¬ 
mel-men, 210, 211. Peculiarities 
by which inhabitants of the Desert 
may be recognised, 210. n. Feel¬ 
ing awakened by a voyage through 
the Desert, 217, 218. The oases, 
219. Unaptly compared to a 
sandy sea, 219. n. The pleasures 
of the Desert, 220, 221. Effect of 
the different seasons in the Desert, 
221. n. Pleasures of smoking in 
the, 223. A midnight halt in 
the, 225. The absinthe (“ worm¬ 
wood of Pontus”) of the, 228. 
Rest under the shade of the mi¬ 
mosa tree, 228. Perfect safety of 
the Suez road across the, 229. A 
Bedouin ambuscade, 230. Charms 
of the Desert, 232. The desert 
near Yambu, 356. Fears of the 
travellers in crossing, 359. Break¬ 
fast in the, 360. Dinner in the, 
361. Hot winds in the deserts 
of Arabia, 364. Desert valleys, 
371. Fatal results from tak¬ 
ing strong drinks in the Desert 
during summer heats, ii. 3. n. 
Discipline of the Desert, S08. «. 
Effect of Arab poetry in the, iii. 


63. Description of an Arabian 
desert, 311. 

Deri dialect, said to be spoken by 
the Almighty, ii. 114. n. 

Descendants of the Prophet, one of 
the five orders of pensioners at 
Medinah, ii. 161. 

Devil, the Great (Shaytan el Kabir), 
ceremony of throwing stones at, 
iii. 282. 284. Second visit to 
the, 305. 

Dews in Arabia, i. 361. 

D’Herbelot, reference to, ii. 27. ». 

Dickson, Dr., his discovery of the 
chronothermal practice of physic, 

i. 19. 

Dictionaries and vocabularies, Egyp¬ 
tian, imperfections of, i. 158. n. 

Dinner, description of one at Meccab, 
iii. 361. 

Dire, i. 277. 

Discipline, Oriental, must be based 
on fear, i. 313. 

Diseases, the, of El Hejaz, ii. 174. 
The Rib el Asfar, or cholera 
morbus, 174. The Ta6n, or 
plague, 174. The Judari, or 
small-pox, 174. Inoculation, 174. 
Diseases divided by Orientals into 
hot, cold, and temperate, 176. 
Ophthalmia, 176. Quotidian and 
tertian fevers (Hummah Salis), 
176. Low fevers (Hummah), 
179. Jaundice and bilious com¬ 
plaints, [179. Dysenteries, 180. 
Popular medical treatment, 183. 
The Filaria Medinensis(Farantit), 
182. Vena in the legs, 182. Hy¬ 
drophobia, 182. Leprosy (Baras), 
182. Ulcers, 183. 

Divination, Oriental, i. 18. 

Divinity, study of, in Egypt, i. 152, 
153- The Sharh, 153. Books read 
by students in 154. 

Divorces, frequency of, among the 
Bedouins, iii. 82. 

Diwan, luxury of the, ii. 44. 

Diwani, value of the Hejazi coin so 
called, ii. 270. n. 

Doctors. See Medicine. 

Dogs, pugnacity of the, of El Me¬ 
dinah, ii. 52. Superstitions re¬ 
specting them, 54. 



INDEX. 


407 


Donkey 'boys of Egypt, i. 162. n. 
Donkeys, despised by the Be¬ 
douins, ii. 56. 

Dragoman, consular. See Consular 
dragoman. 

Dress, Oriental ; gold ornaments 
forbidden to be worn by the 
Moslem law, i. 50. n. 340. n. 
Fashions of young Egyptians, 144. 
Faults of Moslem ladies’ dressing, 
179. n. Dress of the Maghrabis, 
228. The face-veil of Moslem 
ladies, 337. The lisam of Con¬ 
stantinople, 337. n. The lisam of 
Arab Shaykhs, 344. Description 
of an Arab Shaykh fully equipped 
for travelling, 345. The Kamis, 
or cotton shirt, 347. 359. The 
Aba, or camel’s hair cloak, 847. 
The Arab and Indian sandal, 348. 
Dress of the poorer classes of 
Arabs, 349. The belt for carrying 
arms, 350. Dress of the Beni- 
Harb, 365. The Kufiyah, ii. 3. 
n. Costume of the Arab Shaykhs 
of the Harbis, 4. Dress of Medi- 
nite Shaykh, 33, 34. Articles of 
dress of city Arabs, 34. n. Dress 
of a Zair, or visitor to the se¬ 
pulchre of the Prophet, 63. n. 
Dress of the Beni Hosayn, 259. 
Costume of the Madani, 274,275. 
Dress of the Bedouins, iii. 88. 
The ceremony of El Ihram (or 
assuming the pilgrim dress) on 
approaching Meccah, 123. Cos¬ 
tume of the regions lying west of 
the Red Sea, 124. The style of 
dress called Taylasan, 315. 

Drinking bout with an Albanian, i. 
198. 

Drinking water, Oriental method 
of, i. 8. 

Drinks, intoxicating, not known to 
the Bedouins, iii. 93. 

Dromedaries, sums charged for the 
hire of, i. 206. 

Dromedary-travelling compared with 
camel-travelling, ii. 27. 

Dromedaries, the, of El Medinah, 
ii. 277. 

Drusian mysteries, foundation of, i. 

14 2 . 


Dry storms of Arabia, i. 864. 

Dua, the, or supplication after the 
two prostration prayers, ii. 67. n. 

Dubajet, Aubert, i. 164. n. 

Dust storms, iii. 109. 

Dye used for the heard, ii. 274. 

Dysentery, frequent occurrence of, 
in the fruit season in Arabia, ii. 
181. Popular treatment of, 
181. 

Dwellings of the Arabs in the time 
of Mohammed, ii. 134, 


Earnest money (arbun), ii. 332. 

Ebna, the descendants of the soldiers 
of Anushirwan, iii. 31. n. 

Echinus, the, common in the Red 
Sea, i. 326. n. 

Eddeh, El, the dress in the baths at 
Cairo, iii. 124. 

Edrisi, El, i. 287. 

Education, Moslem, i. 152. et seq. 
Remarks on Dr. Bowring’s stric¬ 
tures on, 160. 

Egypt, curiosity of its police, i. 3. 
Alexandria, 10. 13, 14. Egypt’s 
first steps in civilisation, 25. In¬ 
conveniences of thepassport system 
of, 26. Officials of, 28, 29- Her 
progress during the last half-cen¬ 
tury, 42. The Nile, 43. The 
Barrage bridge, 44. The Wa- 
kalahs or inns of, 60. The to¬ 
bacco of, 95. Shortness of the 
lives of the natives of Lower 
Egypt, 101. The worst part of 
the day in, 113. All Agapemones 
suppressed in, 119. Fashions of 
young Egyptians, 144. Subjects 
taught in Egyptian schools, 151. 
et seq . Theology in Egypt, 155. 
State of learning not purely re¬ 
ligious. 156. et seq. Degenerate 
state of modern Egyptian taste in 
poetry, 157. n. Acquirements of 
the Egyptians in the exact sciences, 

157. n. And in natural science, 

158. n. Their capabilities for 
being good linguists, 158. n. 
Their knowledge of the higher 
branches of language, 158. n. 
State of periodical literature in 


d r 4 



408 


INDEX. 


Egypt, 159. n. Bigotry of the 
Egyptians, 161. Their feelings 
at the prospect of the present 
Russian war, 162. 170. Their 
views respecting various nations 
of foreigners, 162. Their longings 
for European rule, 163. Their 
hatred of a timid tyranny, 163. An 
instance of this, 163. n. The pro¬ 
posed ship canal and railway in, 

164. Importance of, to the rulers 
of India, 165. Secret societies of, 

165. Press-gangs in, 171. Em¬ 
ployment of Albanian irregulars 
in, 195. Semi-religious tradition 
of the superiority of Osmanlis over 
Egyptians, 216. n. Story respec¬ 
ting this, 216. ». Seasons of 
severe drought, 266. Diseases of 
the country, 267, 268. Food of 
the Suezians, 269. Reason of the 
superiority in the field of Egyp¬ 
tian soldiers, 272. Insolence of 
demeanour and coarseness of lan¬ 
guage of the officials in Egypt, 
287. n. Ruinous state of El 
Hejaz the effect of the wars be¬ 
tween the Egyptians and the 
Wahhabis, 375. ». Bad quality 
of the coffee of, ii. 36. w. The 
scourge of ophthalmia, 176. n. 
The pot-bellied children of the 
banks of the Nile, 207. n. Their 
monopoly of milk, curds, and 
butter, at El Medinah, 267. 

4t Elephant, affair of the,” ii. 81. n. 

Embracing, Oriental mode of, ii. 
31. 

Emir cl Hajj, the, of the Damascus 
caravan, ii. 228. His privileges, 
228. n, Abubekr the first Emir 
el Hajj, 229. n. 

English, how regarded in Egypt, i. 
162. Fable in Arabia respecting 
their desire to become Moslems, 
iii. 322. 

Eothen, reference to, ii. 181. n. 

Epithets, Arab, ii. 22. n« 57. 89. 
The epithets applied to El Me¬ 
dinah, 162, 163. ». Applied to 
the Syrians, iii. 114. And to Da¬ 
mascus, 115. n. 


Era, Moslem, commencement of the, 
ii. 131. n. 

Erythraean Sea, the, i. 288. n. 

Esmah Sultanah, sister of Sultan 
Mahmud, ii. 156. 

Etiquette in El Hejaz, ii. 228. n. 

Eunuchs of the Prophets’ tomb, ii. 
74. n., 81. n., 83. 85. 95. ». 

99. 105. 111. 155. Antiquity of 
eunuchs, 155. n. Originated with 
Semiramis, I55.n. Employment 
of, unknown at the time of the 
Prophet, 155. n. Considerations 
which gave rise to the employ¬ 
ment of, 155. n. Method of ad¬ 
dressing them, 155. n. Value of 
the title of Eunuch of the Tomb, 

155. n. Shaykhs of the Eunuchs, 

156. The three orders of Eunuchs 
of the Tomb, 156. The curious 
and exceptional character of the 
eunuch, 157. His personal ap¬ 
pearance, 157. Value of eunuch 
slaves at El Medinah, 272. Eunuchs 
of the mosque at Meccah, iii. 186. 
Respect paid to a eunuch at 
Meccah, 360. 

Euphorbias, in Arabia, iii. 22. 

Eve’s tomb, near Jeddab, iii. 386. 
Traditions respecting it, 388. n. 

Ezbekiyah, the, of Cairo, i. 118. 
Drained and planted by Moham¬ 
med Ali, 118. n. 

Ezion-Geber, i. 277. 

Face-gashing in Meccah, iii. 327. 
In other countries, 327, 328. n. 

Fadak, town of, founded by the 
Jews, ii. 119. 

Fa-hian quoted, iii. 390. [70. *. 

Fairies, good and bad, origin of, ii. 

Fakihs, the, at the mosque at El 
Medinah, ii. 73. 

Falconry, among the Arabs, iii. 70. 
Origin of the sport, 71. n. Its 
perfection as a science in the 12th 
century, 71. 

Farainah (Pharaohs), the, origin of, 
according to the Moslem writers, 
ii. 114. 

Faraj Yusuf, the merchant of Jed¬ 
dah, i. 69. 



INDEX. 


409 


Farantit. See Filaria Medinensis. 
Farrash (tent-pitchers, &c.), iii. 21. 
Farrashin, or free servants of the 
mosque, ii. 157. 

“ Farsh el Hajar,” the, of the mos¬ 
que of the Prophet, ii. 98. 

Faruk, the Spectator, a title of the 
Caliph Omar, ii. 80. 

Farz, or obligatory prayers, ii. 66. n. 
Fasts, Moslems’, i. 110. 

Fath, the Masjid el (of Victory), ii. 
325. 

Fat-hah, the, i. 285. 296. Repeated 
at the tomb of the Prophet, ii. 
78. Said for friends and relations, 
78.*. 

Fatimah, the Lady, her tomb at El 
Medinah, ii. 62. n. Gate of, 72. *., 

89. Prayer repeated at her tomb, 

90. Epithets applied to her, 90. 
n. The doctrine of her perpetual 
virginity, 91. n. Her garden in 
the mosque of the Prophet, 104, 
105. Three places lay claim to be 
her burial-place, 109. Mosque of, at 
Kuba, 215. Her tomb, 315. Ob¬ 
scurity of tradition respecting her 
last resting-place, 315, 316. n. 
Her birth-place, 354. 

Fatimah bin Asad, mother of Ali, 
her tomb, ii. 318, *. 

Fattumab, i. 257. 

Fatur (breakfast), i. 116. 

Fayd, Shaykh, the robber-chief, i. 
378. 

Fayruz, the murderer of Omar, ii. 
253. 

Fazikh, the Masjid el (of Date- 
liquor), ii. 322. 

Fazzab, value of the Egyptian, ii. 
270.*. 

“ Fealty of the Steep, the First,” ii. 
126. “ The Second Fealty of the 

Steep,” 126. K Great Fealty of 
the Steep,” 128. 

Festivals, the, following the Rama¬ 
zan, i. 167, 168. Scene of jollity 
at the cemetery outside the Bab 
el Nasr, 168. 

Feuds between the Desert and City 
Arabs, ii. 280. 

Fevers, quotidian and tertian (Hum- 


mah Salis), in Arabia, ii. 176. 
Remedies for, 178, 179. 

Fiends, summoning of, favourite 
Egyptian pursuit of, i. 158. ». 

Fiji (radishes), ii. 205. 

Fikh (divinity), study of, in schools, 
i. 152. 

Filaria Medinensis (Farantit), not 
now common at El Meninah, ii 
182. 

Finati, Giovanni, Hajji Mohammed, 
his pilgrimage, i. 294. n.; ii. 413. 
Sketch of his adventures, 413. et 
seq. 

Fire-worship introduced into Arabia 
from India, iii. 199. a. Agni, 
the Indian fire-god, 199. n. 

Firuzbadi, his grammatical adven¬ 
tures, iii. 62. n. 

Fiumaras, the, of Arabia, i. 5. The 
fiutnara “ El Sayh," ii. 196. That 
of Mount Ohod, 235. 

Fizurabadi, his Kamus, or Lexicon, 
i. 158. n. 

Flight, the, of Mohammed, ii. 129. 
131. n. 

Flowers of Arabia, i. 370. Of India, 
370. Of Persia, 370. 

Food of the Bedouins, iii. 91. Their 
endurance of hunger, 91. Method 
of cooking locusts, 92. Their 
favourite food on journeys, 92. 

Forscal, i. 322. 

Forster, Rev. C., strictures on his 
attack on Gibbon, iii. 28, 29. ». 

Fortress of El Medinah, ii. 189, 190. 

Forts of the East, a specimen of, i. 
231. 

Fountain, the public (Sabil), of El 
Medinah, ii. 186. 

French, their popularity in Egypt, 

i. 162. Causes of this, 163. 

Friday sermon, the, of the Propbet, 

ii. 102. 

Fruit trees, the, of El Medinah, ii. 
205. 

Fugitives, pillar of, in the mosque 
of the Prophet, ii. 102. 

Fukaha, the, or poor divines, of the 
mosque of the Prophet, ii, 161. 

Fukajrir, Bir el, at Kuba, ii. 220. n. 

Funerals, Arab, ii. 288, 289. De- 



410 


INDEX. 


scription of a burial at El Bakia, 
304. Funeral ceremonies of the 
Bedouins, iii. 83. 

Gabriel the Archangel. See Jib- 
rail. 

Gabriel’s place (Makan Jibrail), in 
the mosque of the Prophet, ii. 104. 

Gabriel, the Archangel, his commu¬ 
nications to the Prophet, ii. 138, 
139. 142. 

Galla slave girls, their value, ii. 272. 

Gallantry of Orientals, i. 310. Un¬ 
gallantry of some “ Overlands,” 
310. 

Gambling, not in existence among 
the Bedouins, iii. 75, 76. 

Gara tribe of Arabs, i. 212. Low 
development of the indigens of, 
iii. 29. 

Garden of our Lady Fatimah, in the 
mosque of the Prophet, ii. 104, 
105. Date trees of, 105. Vener¬ 
able palms of, 105. Gardens not 
uncommon in mosques, 105. 

Garlic and onions, use of, in the 
East, i. 46, 47. n. 

Gates, the, of El Medinah, ii. 185. 

Geesh, Lord of, i. 10, 11. 

Genealogy of the Arabs, intricacy of 
the subject of the, iii. 95. n. The 
best known Arabic genealogical 
works, 95. n. 

Generalisation unknown to the Arabs, 
i. 369. n. 

Geographical Society of London, 
Royal; its zeal for discovery, i. 1. 

Geography among the modern Egyp¬ 
tians, i. 158. n., 369. «. 

Geology of the neighbourhood of 
El Medinah, ii. 30. Of the road 
between El Medinah and Meccah, 
iii. 24, 25. 

Geomancy, favourite Egyptian pur¬ 
suit of, t. 158. n. 

Geometry, studv of, in Egypt, i. 
157. n. 

George Inn, the, at Suez, i. 253. 
Society at the, 255. 

Ghabba, El, or the water-shed of 
El Medinah, ii. 169. 

Ghadir, El, description of the plain 


of, iii. 116, 117. The three wells 
of the Caliph Harun at, 117. 

Ghalib, the late Sherif of Meccah, 
revered as a saint, ii. 111. »'• 
Purchases the treasures of the 
Prophet’s tomb from Saad the 
Wahhabi, 152. 

Ghaliya, her heroism, iii. 55. 

Ghazi, or a crusader, ii. 92. n. 

Ghazi, (twenty-two piastres), paid 
to the free servants of the 
mosque, ii, 157. 

Ghee, the, of India, ii. 271. Con¬ 
sidered by Indians almost as a 
panacea for diseases and wounds, 
271. n. 

Ghul (Devil), how expelled from 
persons suffering from hydropho¬ 
bia, ii. 182. 

Ghul, the hill near Meccah, iii. 136. 

Ghurbal, Bir el, at Kuba, ii. 
220. v. 

Ghuri, El, the Sultan, his additions 
to the Kaabah, iii. 167. 

Ghuzat, or Crusaders, ii. 92. n. 

Giaffar Bey (governor of Suez), i. 
216. 235. Account of him, 235. 

Giants (Jah£birah), the, who fought 
against Israel, ii. 114. 

Gibbon, his derivation of the 
name Saracens, iii. 28. n. The 
Rev. C. Forster’s attack on him, 
28, 29. w. 

Gibraltar, i. 10. 

Gilead, balm of, grows as a weed in 
El Hejaz, iii. 138. Name by 
which it is known to the Arabs, 
138. n. Its value in the valley of 
the Jordan, 138. n. Introduced 
by Cleopatra into Egypt, 138. n. 
Places where the best balsam is 
produced, 139. n. Qualities of 
the best kind, 139. n. Descrip¬ 
tion of the tree, 138. 

Goat, the milk of the, ii. 278. n. 
The flesh of the, 278. n . 

Gold ornaments, forbidden to be 
worn by the Moslem law, i. 
50. n. 

t( Golden Wire,” the pilgrim-ship, i. 
276. Its wretched state, 278. 
Ali Murad, the owner, 278. 



INDEX. 


411 


The passengers, 278—281. Riot 
on board, 281. Halt near the 
Haraman Bluffs, 291. Runs 
aground, 295. 

Goose, sand, the, i. 226. 

Gospel of Infancy, quotation from 
the, iii. 139. n. 

Grammar, how taught in Egyptian 
schools, i. 152. Prosody among 
the Arabs, 157. 

Granites (Suwan), the, of the plains 
of Arabia, iii. 26. Of Mecc&h, 

150. n. 

Grapes of El Medinah, ii. 205. 
The Sherefi grape, 205 The 
Hejazi, 205. The Sawadi, or 
black grape, 205. The Razaar, 
or small white grape, 205. 

Gratitude, no Eastern word for, i. 
75. 

Graves, shape of the, of the Be¬ 
douins, ii. 18. Injunctions of 
Mohammed to his followers to 
visit, 71. n. At Mount Ohod, 243. 
Musannam, or raised graves, 243. 
Musattah, or level graves, 244. 
The graves of the saints at El 
Bakia, 301. 

Greek Emperor, the, his presents to 
the mosque of El Medinah, ii. 
146. 

Greeks, the, hated in Egypt, i. 162. 
Those settled on the Red Sea, 
298. Those in El Medinah, ii. 
38. Guebres, the, fable of, re¬ 
specting man’s good works, ii. 70. 
n. Their ancient fire-temples in 
Arabia and Persia 164. n. 
Their claim to the Kaabah as a 
sacred place, iii. 160. n. Fire 
worship introduced from India, 
199. n. 

Guest-dish, the, ii. 271. 

** Gugglets,” for cooling water, ii, 
196. 

Gunpowder play (Laab el Barut) of 
the Arabs, iii. 43. 

Guns sounding the order of the 
march, iii. 21. The guns of the 
Bedouins, 72. 

Gypsum, tufaceous, in the Desert, 

iii. 116. 


Habash (Abyssinia), i. 261. 

Haddah, El, the settlement so called, 
iii. 369. 

Hadis (the traditions of the Pro¬ 
phet), study of, in schools, i. 152.; 
ii. 57. 

Hadramaut, the Arabs of, i. 353. 

Haemorrhoids, frequency of, in El 
Hejaz, ii. 181. Treatment of, 182. 

Hagar, her tomb at Meccah, iii. 165. 

Hajar el Akhzar, or green stone, of 
the Kaabah. iii. 164. n. 

Hajar el Aswad (Black Stone), the 
famous, of the Kaabah, iii. 158. 
(See Black Stone.) 

Hajar Shumaysi (yellow sandstone) 
of Meccah, iii. 150. n. 

Haji Wali, i. 62,63. His advice to 
the pilgrim, 65—67. His law¬ 
suit, 67. His visit to the “ Con¬ 
sul General” at Cairo, 125. Ac¬ 
companies the author in paying 
visits, 169. Introduces the pil¬ 
grim to the Persian consul, 186. 
His horror at a drinking bout, 201. 
Takes leave of the pilgrim, 208. 

Hajin, the Egyptian she-dromedary, 

ii. 225. n. 

Hajj (pilgrimage), difference be¬ 
tween the, and the Ziyarat, ii. 58. 
The Hajj (or simple pilgrimage), 

iii. 226. Hajj el Akbar (the 
great pilgrimage), 226. 

Hajj ben Akhtah, plots against Mo¬ 
hammed, ii. 135- 

Hajj el Shami (the Damascus pil¬ 
grimage), ii. 223. 

Hajjaj bin Yusuf, general of Abd el 
Malik, ordered to rebuild the 
House of Allah, iii. 194. 

Hajjat el Farz (obligatory pilgri* 
mage), iii. 224 The Hajjat el 
Islam (the pilgrimage of the Mo¬ 
hammedan faith), 225. 

Hakim, El b’amr lllab, his attempt 
to steal the bodies of the Prophet 
and his two companions, ii. 148, 
149. 

Hakim, El, the Sultan of Egypt, i. 
142. 

u Ham,” to, a sheep, i. 377. 

Halimah, the Lady, the Bedouin 



412 


INDEX. 


wet-nurse of the Prophet, her 
tomb, ii. 92. 308. 

Halliwell, Mr., his mistake respect¬ 
ing the “Methone” of Sir John 
Mandeville, ii. 30. 

Hamail, the, or pocket Koran, of 
pilgrims, i. 352. 

Hamid el Samman, Shaykh, de¬ 
scription of, L 239. 296. Lands 
at Yambu, 331. Vaunts the 
strong walls of Yambu, 356. 
Leaves Yambu, 356. Halal of a 
sheep in the desert, 377. His 
fear of the Bedouins, 385. His 
determination to push through the 
nest of robbers, ii. 12. Takes his 
place in the caravan, 14. Arrives 
at El Medinah, 27. His toilet 
after the journey, 33. His hos¬ 
pitality to the pilgrim, 33, 34. 
Improvement in his manners, 35. 
Behaviour of his children, 39, 40. 
His real politeness, 41. Descrip¬ 
tion of his abode, 42. 46. His 
household, 45. Accompanies the 
pilgrim to the Prophet’s tomb, 56. 
Introduces the pilgrim to the 
Prophet’s window, 80. Accom¬ 
panies him to the mosque of 
Kuba, 195. And to Mount 
Ohod, 227. et seq. And to the 
cemetery of El Bakia, 300. et seq. 
Procures a faithful camel-man for 
the journey to Meccah, 331. His 
debt forgiven, 339. Hamidah, 
the principal family of the Beni- 
Harb, i. 378, Their attack on the 
caravan, ii. 15, 16. 

Hammam,or the hotbath,the, i. 103. 

Hamra, El, i. 367. Derivation of 
its name, 372. Called also El 
Wasitah, 372. Encampment at, 
373. Description of the village 
of, 374,375. The fortress of, 376. 

Hamra, El, the third station from 
El Medinah in the Darb Sultani, 
i. 384. 

Hamra, El, the torrent, ii. 24. «. 

Hamzah, friend of Mohammed, 
prayer in honour of, ii. 91. Sent 
forward by the Prophet to El Me¬ 
dinah, 128. Mosque of, 236, 237. 
The place where he was slain, 248. 


Hanafi school, their views respecting 
the proper dress for visiting the 
Prophet's tomb, ii. 63. n. Their 
place of prayer at the, 64. n . 
Mufti of the, at El Medinah, 158. 
Holds the first rank at El Medi¬ 
nah, 262. Their practice of 
nighting at Muzdalifah, iii. 278. 

Hanafi sect, its station for prayer at 
the Kaabah, iii. 169. Its impor¬ 
tance in Meccah, 170. ». 

Hanbali school, the, ii. 158. Its 
station for prayer at the Kaabah, 
iii. 169. 

Hands, clapping of (Safk), practice 
of in the East, iii. 311. 

Hanna Massara, the consular Dra¬ 
goman of Cairo, i. 187. «. 

Haram, '(or Sanctuary,) the Pro¬ 
phet’s, at Medinah, ii. 46. 57. 60. 
The Shaykh el, or principal officer 
of the mosque, 155. The Mudir 
el, or chief treasurer of the Tomb 
of the Prophet, 156. The Huda- 
del Haram, 166. All Muhar- 
ramat or sins forbidden within the, 
167. n. Dignity of the Haram, 
167. n . See Kaabah. 

Haramain, or sanctuaries, the two of 
El Islam, i. 338. ; ii. 57. 

“ Haram i,*’ or thieves, in the Desert, 
i. 367. 

Harb, the Beni, the present ruling 
tribe in the Holy Land, iii. 96. 
Its divisions and sub-divisions, 
96. et n. 

Harbis, the, of El Hejaz, ii. 4. 

Harem, the, of a Medinite, ii. 43. 

Hariri, EL, poem of, i. 157. n. 

Harrah, the, or ridges of rock, i. 
369,370. ; ii. 24. n., 28. El Har- 
ratain, 24. n. 

Harrat, the, or ridge, as represented 
in our popular works, i. 112. 
Meaning of the term, ii. 230. n. 
The second and third Harrats, 
230. n. 235. The Prophet’s pre¬ 
diction at the Harrat El Wakin 
or El Zahrah, 230. n. The 
M Affair of the Ridge,” 230. n. 

Harun, the Kubbat, or Aaron’s 
tomb, on Mount Ohod, ii. 233. 

Harun Bir (well of Harun), iii. 20. 



INDEX. 


413 


Harem, arrangements of the, iii. 51. 
Its resemblance to a European 
home, 52. n. 

Harun el Reshid. His three wells 
at El Ghadir, iii. 117. His pil¬ 
grimages and crusades, 119. 
Hasan, grandson of Mohammed, i. 
142, n. Prayers for, ii. 92. His 
descendants at El Medinah, ii. 
257. Ti. His tomb, 313. Burck- 
hardt’s mistakes respecting him, 
313. 7i. His death by poison, 
313. n. 

Hasan el Marabit, Shaykh, tomb of, 
on the shore of the Red Sea, i. 
321. 

Hasan the Imam, requests to be 
buried near the Prophet, ii. 87. 
Hasan, Sultan, mosque of, at Cairo, 

i. 143. 

Hasan, Jebel (Mount Hasan), i. 
325. 

Hashim, great grandfather of the 
Prophet, ii. 125. n. 

Hashish, smoking the, i. 64. 

Haswat, or gravelled place, it 61. 
Hatchadoor Noory, Mr., his friend¬ 
ship with the author, i. 178. 
Hatim, the generous Arab chieftain, 

i. 244. 

Hatim, El (the broken), of the 
Kaabah, iii. 165. 

Hawamid Arabs. Their fight with 
the Hawazim, ii. 296. 

Hawazim Arabs, their furious fight 
with the Hawamid, ii. 296. Their 
Shayks, Abbas and Abu Ali, 
296. 

“ Haye * in military tactics, ii. 6. ». 
Haykal! Ya (sons of Haykal), ex¬ 
plained, i 43, 44. n. 

Hazirah, or presence, the, ii. 74. 
Hazrat Ali, apparition of, iii. 254. 
Heat, the reflected, at Yambu, i. 
341, 342. The hot wind of the 
Desert, 364.; ii. 1. Sun-strokes, 

ii. 2. ii. The great heats near the 
Red Sea prejudicial to animal 
generation, 4. ti. The hour at 
which the sun is most dangerous, 
18. Terrible heat in El Hejaz, 

iii. 308. Unbearable in Meccah, 
319. 


Heathenry, remnants of, in Arabia, 

1. 6. 

Hebrew, points of resemblance be¬ 
tween, and Pahlavi, iii. 32. ti. 

Hejaz, El, dangers and difficulties 
of, i. 2. Antiquity and nobility 
of the Muzaynah tribe in, 213, 
214. Land route to, from Suez, 
232. Prosecution of Persians in, 
341. ti. The Bedouin black mail 
in, 343. ». Description of the 
shugduf or litter of, 343. n. 
Abounds in ruins, 375. Saad the 
robber chief of, 378. Shaykh 
Fayd, the robber chief, 378. 
Wretched state of the government 
in, 379, 380. The charter of 
Gulhaneh, 380. The Darb Sal- 
tani, 384. Heat in El Hejaz, ii. 

2. Douceurs given by the Turks 

to the Arab shaykhs of, 4. “ El 

Sharb,” 4. ti. Fight between the 
Arabs and soldiers in, 9. Peopled 
by the soldiers of the children of 
Israel, 116. Limits of, 164, 165. 
Meaning of the name, 165. Rainy 
season in, 172, 173. Diseases of, 
174. Number of the Turkish 
forces in, 189. n. Account of the 
Bedouins of, iii. 28. et seq. (See 
Bedouins.) Money of, 82. n. Ob¬ 
servations on the watershed of, 
146, 147. Purity of the water 
throughout, 267. Healthiness of 
the people o£ 320. 

Heliopolis, balm of Gilead of, iii. 
138. ti. 

Hemp-drinkers, Egyptian, iii. 261. 
264. 

Henna powder, ii. 199. n. 

Herklots, Dr., reference to his work 
“ Qanoon-i-Islam,” ii. 180. n. 
Quoted, iii. 163. n. 

Hermaic books, the, ii 176. n. 

“ Herse,” in military tactics, ii. 6. ti. 

Hejazi, the, grape so called, ii. 205. 

Hijriyah, El, halt at, iii. 20. 

Hilayah, the date so called, ii. 200. 

Hilwah, El, the date so called, ii. 

200 . 

Himyaritic tribes, their mixture 
with the Amalikah, iii 33. 

Hinda, mother of Muawiyah, her 



414 


INDEX, 


. ferocity, ii. 248. n. Her name of 
“ Akkalat el Akbad ” 248. n . 

Hindi, Jebel, at Meccah, iii. 145. 

44 Hindu-Kush,” the, i. 358. n. 

Hindus, their square temples similar 
in form to the mosque, iii. 157. n. 
Their litholatry, 159. «. The 
Kaabah claimed as a sacred place 
by them, 159. n. 

History (Tawarikh), study of, little 
valued in Egypt, i. 156. n. 

Hitman tribe of Arabs, the lowness 
of their origin, iii. 98. Unchastity 
of their women, 98. 

Hogg, Sir James, i. 2. 

Holofernes, general of Nebuchad¬ 
nezzar I., ii. 119. n. 

Honey, the Arabs curious in, and 
fond of, iii. 110. n. The dif¬ 
ferent kinds of honey, 110. n. 

Honorarium (ikram), given to the 
Madani who travel, ii. 263. 

41 Horde,” probable origin of the 
word, ii. 190. n. 

Horses, Arabian, i. 4. The cele¬ 
brated, of Nijd, ii. 4. n. ; iii. 269. 
Horses of the Arnaut Irregulars, 
ii. 5. Pugnacity of the, of El Me- 
dinah, 52. The, of El Medinah, 
277. Price of horses in time of 
Solomon, iii. 269. n Egyptian 
horses, 269. n. Qualities of a pure 
Arab horse, 270. n. The former 
horse trade of Yemen, 270- n. The 
breed supplied to India, 270. n. 

Hosanayn mosque, at Cairo, i. 142. 

Hosayn, the Beni, become guar¬ 
dians of the Prophet’s tomb, ii. 
150. 257. n. Head-quarters of 
the, at Suwayrkiyah, 257. Their 
former numbers and power, 258. 
Their heretical tenets, 258. Their 
personal appearance, 258. 

Hosayn, El, grandson of Moham¬ 
med, i. 142. n. His death at 
Kerbela, ii. 313. n. His head 
preserved in the mosque El Hasa- 
nayn at Cairo, 313. n. 

Hosh, El, or the central area of a 
dwelling-house, ii. 61. 194. 

Hosh ibn Saad, at Medinah, the re¬ 
sidence ofthe Beni Hosayn, ii. 258. 


Hospitality in the East, i. 53. 

House hire in Egypt, i. 62. 95. 
Houses of the Arabs at the time 
of Mohammed, ii. 134. Those of 
El Medinah, 187. Those at 
Meccah, description of, iii, 213. 

Hudad el Haram, or limits of the 
sanctuary, ii. 166. 

Hufra wholes dug for water in the 
sand), iii. 7. 

Hufrah, El (the digging), of the 
Kaabah, iii- 163. n. 

Hujjaj, or pilgrims, ii. 92. 

Hujrah, the, or Chamber of Ayisha, 
description of, ii. 71. Errors of 
Burckhardt and M. Caussin re¬ 
specting the word, 71. n. The 
walls of the, rebuilt, 85. n. Re¬ 
ferred to, 88, 89, 89. n, 90. Sur¬ 
rounded by a mud wall by the 
Caliph Omar, 143. Enclosed 
within the mosque by El Walid, 

147. Spared from destruction by 
lightning, 151. n. 

Hukama, or Rationalists, of E 
Islam, iii. 201. n, 

HummamBluflfs(HamraamFaraun), 

i. 288. 290. 

Hummi tobacco, i. 97. n. 

Hurayah, Abu, his account of the 
Beni Israel in Arabia, Ii. 117. 

Husayn, Beni, their town of El 
Suwayrkiyah, iii. 102. 

Husayn bin Numayr, his siege of 
Meccah, iii. 192. 

Hydrophobia, rarity of, in El Hejaz, 

ii. 182. Popular superstitions 
respecting, 182. Treatment of, 
182. 

Hyksos, the, identified with the 
Amalik of the Moslems, ii. 114. n. 

44 Hypocrites,” conspiracy of the, 
ii. 135. 

Iambia, the, of Ptolemy, i. 331. 

Ibn Asm, or Ibn Rumi, slain, iii. 55. 
His sister Kurdi Usman, 58. 

Ibn Bat Utah, reference to, i. 17. n .; ii. 
3. n. 

Ibn Dhaher Berkouk, King of 
Egypt, rebuilds the mosque at 
M eccah, iii, 152. 



INDEX. 


415 


I bn Haukal, reference to, i. 5. n. 
17. n. 

Ibn Hufazah el Sahmi, his tomb, ii. 
SI9. n. 

Ibn Jubain, reference to, ii. 25. n. 

Ibn Kasim, his commentary, i. 155. 
Ibn Zubayr, chief of Meccah, rebuilds 
the Kaabah, iii. 156. 

Ibrahim, Catafalque of, in the great 
mosque of Meccah, ii. 85. n. 
Ibrahim, the Makam, at the Kaabah, 
iii. 168. n. 174. 195. 

Ibrahim, infant son of the Prophet, 
his burial-place, ii. S02. 310. 
Ibrahim Pacha, his ships on the Red 
Sea, i. 250. 

Ibrahim bin Adhem, his vision, iii. 
254. n. 

Ichthyophagi, the modern, of the 
Red Sea, i. 322. 326. 

Ignatius, Epistles, of, to'the Smyr- 
neans, reference to, ii. 89. n. 

Ihlal, the pilgrim dress so called, iii. 
285. 

Ihn, Bir, at Kuba, ii. 221. n. 

Ihram, El (assuming the pilgrim 
garb), the ceremony so called, 
iii. 123. Change from Ihram to 
Ihlal, 285. Ceremonies of, 231. 
The Victims of El Ihram, 233. 
Ijabah, the Majid el (the Mosque of 
Granting), ii. 324. ; iii. 144. n. 
Ikaman, or call to divine service, ii. 
66 . ». 

Ikhlas, El, the chapter of the Koran, 
ii. 242. 

Ikram (honorarium), given to the 
Madani who travel, i. 388.; ii. 

263. The four kinds of, 263, 

264. 

Hal, Jebel (Mount of Wrestling in 
Prayer). See Arafat, Mount. 
Ilfrad, El (singulation), the pilgrim¬ 
age so called, iii. 225. 

Imams, the, of the Prophet’s mosque, 
ii. 69. n. 159. 161. Place where 
they pray, ii. 102. 107. 

Imlik, great-great-grandson of Noah, 
the ancestor of the Amalikah, iii. 
190. 

Immigrations of the Arabian people, 
ii. 115. 

India, style of doing business in, i. 


40. Observations on caste in, 
52. n. Real character of the na¬ 
tives of, 54—56. Popular feeling 
in, respecting British rule, and 
causes of this, 54. n. No Euro¬ 
pean should serve an Eastern 
lord, 57. The natives a cowardly 
and slavish people, 58. Their 
cowardice compared with the 
bravery of the North American 
Indians, 58, 59. Testimony of 
Sir Henry Elliot to this, 59. n. 
An instance of Indian improvi¬ 
dence, 230, ». Luxuriance of 

the plains of, 370. Indian pil¬ 
grims protected by their poverty, 

ii. 3. The Duke of Wellington’s 
dictum about the means of pre¬ 
serving health in, 3. n. Wells of 
the Indians in Arabia, 18. n. 
Their sinful method of visiting 
the Prophet’s tomb, 58. Gene¬ 
rosity of Indian pilgrims, 96, 97. 
n. Their drawings of the holy 
shrines as published at Meccah, 
112. Dress and customs of the 
Indian women settled at El Me* 
dinah, 261. Recklessness of poor 
Indian pilgrims, iii. 255. Reme¬ 
dies proposed, 256. Qualities of 
the horses of, obtained from the 
Persian Gulf, 270. n. Profuseness 
of Indian pilgrims, 291. 

Indian Ocean (Sea of Oman), the 
shores of, when first peopled, ac¬ 
cording to Moslem accounts, ii. 
114. n. 

Inns. See Wakilah. 

Inoculation practised in El Medi- 
nah, ii. 175. 

“ Inshallah bukra” (please God, to¬ 
morrow), ii. 285. 

Intermarriages, theory of the dege¬ 
neracy which follows, iii. 41. 
Dr. Howe’s remarks on, 41. n. 

Intonation and chaunting of the 
Koran taught in Moslem schools, 
i. 156. 

Irak, El, expedition of Tobba el 
Asghar against, ii. 123. 

Ireland, probable origin of its name, 

iii. 335. n. 

Irem, flood of, the, ii. 121. 



416 


INDEX. 


Irk el Zabyat, mountain, ii. 17. n. 
Isa ben Maryam, reference to, ii. 17. 
n. Spare tomb at El Medinah for 
him after his second coming, 87. 
Ishah, the, or Moslem night prayer, 

i. S42. 

Ishmael (Ismayl), his tomb at Mec- 
cah, iii. 165. The two prostra¬ 
tion prayer over the grave of, 
220 . 

Ishmaelites, the, of the Sinaitic pe¬ 
ninsula, iii. 31. Their distinguish¬ 
ing marks, 31. 

Ismail Pasha murdered by Malik 
Nimr, chief of Shendy, i. 203. n. 
Ismid, a pigment for the eyes, ii. 
170. n. 

Israel Beni, rule of the, in Arabia, 

ii. 116. See Jews. 

Israelites, course of the, across the 
Red Sea, i. 288. 

Israfil, the trumpet of, on the last 
day, ii. 110. n. 

Istikharah, or divination, ii. 287. 
Italians, how regarded in Egypt, i. 
163. 

Izar, the portion of a pilgrim’s dress 
so called, iii. 124. 

Ja El Sherifah, the halting-ground, 

iii. 10. 

Jaafar el Sadik, the Imam, his tomb, 
ii. 314, 315. n. 

Jababirah (giants), the, who fought 
against Israel, ii. 114. 

Jabariti, the, from Habash, L 261. 
Jahaydeh, a straggling line of vil¬ 
lages, i. 387. 

Jama, a, meaning of, i. 141. 

Jama Taylun, mosque, i. 141. 
Jamaat, or public prayers, in El 
Rauzab, ii. 95. n. 

Jami el Sakhrah, at Arafat, iii. 265. 
Jami Ghamamah at El Munakhah, 
ii. 192. 

Jannat el Maala (the cemetery of 
Meccah), visit to the, iii. 349. 

Jauf, El, excellence of the dates of, 
ii. 173. 

Jauhar, founder of the mosque of 
El Azhar, i. 149. 

Jaundice, ^common in Arabia, ii. 
179. Popular cure for, 179. 


Java, number of Moslem pilgrims 
from, to Meccah, i. 265. 

Javelin, (Mizr4k), description of the 
Arab, i. 348. 

Jazb el Kulftb ila Diyar el Mahbub, 
the work so called, ii. 135. a., 136. 

it. 

Jebel, observations on the word, i. 
325. n. 

Jebeli, the, the date so called, ii. 

200 . 

Jeddah, slave trade at, i. 69. Price 
of perjury at, 69. Value of the 
exports from Suez to, 264. Jews 
settled in, ii. 118. n. Population 
of, 189. n. Unsuccessful attempt 
of the Wahhabis to storm it, iii, 

374. n. Considered by the Mec¬ 
cans to be a perfect Gibraltar, 

375. The Wakalah of Jeddah, 
375. The British vice-consul, 
Mr. Cole, 377. Different descrip¬ 
tions of the town, 378, 379. The 
fair Corinthians at, 381. How 
the time passes at Jeddah, 885. 

Jehaymah, tribe of Arabs, i. 213. 

Jemal, Amm, his advice to the pil¬ 
grim, i. 342, 343. Reproved for 
his curiosity, 358. 

Jemal ed Din of Isfahan, his im¬ 
provements of the Prophet’s 
mosque, ii. 147. n. 

Jenabah, low development of the 
indigens of, iii. 29. 

Jenazah, Dorb el ( Road of Biers), at 
El Medinah, ii. 191. 

Jerid, or palm-sticks, with which the 
houses of the Arabs were made, ii. 
134. 

Jews, former settlements of, in Ara¬ 
bia, ii. 116. 118, 119. Entirely 
extinct at present, 118. n. Take 
refuge from Nebuchadnezzar in 
Arabia, 119. Towns founded by 
them in Arabia, 119. Fall into 
idolatry, 119. Given over to the 
Arabs, 119. Their power in £1 
Medinah, 122. Their conspiracy 
against the Prophet, 135. Their 
expectation of the advent of their 
Messiah, 135. 

Jezzar Pasha, i. 388. 



INDEX. 


417 


Jibrail, Mahbat, or place of Gabriel’s 
Descent, ii. 88. 98. n. 

Jibrail, Makam (Gabriel’s Place), in 
the mosque of the Prophet, ii. 10*1. 

Jibrail, Bab el (Gabriel’s Gate), ii. 
140. 

Jing-seng, or China root, notice of 
it, i. 82. n. 

Jinn, the Masjid el (mosque of the 
Genii), at Meccah, iii. 353. 

Jiyad, Jebel, the two hills so called, 
iii. 217. 

Jizyat, the, or capitation tax levied 
on infidels, i. 313, n. 

Job, tomb of, iii. S89. w. 

Journey, a day’s length of a, iii. 10. n. 

Jubayr, Ibn, on the position of the 
tombs of the Prophet and the first 
two Caliphs, ii. 87. Referred to, 
197. n. 314. 

Jubair bin Mutim, his march to 
Ohod, ii. 248. 

Jubbeh, the, i. 24. n. 

Judari, El (or Small pox), indigenous 
to the countries bordering the Red 
Sea, ii. 174. Inoculation prac¬ 
tised in EL Medinah, 175. The 
disease how treated, 175. Inocu¬ 
lation in Yemen, 175. n. Diet of 
the patient, 176. 

Jumah, Bab el, or Friday gate, of 
El Medinah, ii. 185. The ceme¬ 
tery of Schismatics near, 191. 

Jumah, the Masjid el, near El Me- 
dinab, ii. 322. 

Jumma Masjid, the, of Bijapoor, the 
third largest cathedral in the world, 
ii. 145. n. 

« Jungle,” an opprobious name ap¬ 
plied to the English rulers of In¬ 
dia, L 52. 

Jurh el Yemani (the Yemen ulcer), 
ii. 183. 

Jurham, the Beni, their mixture 
with the Himyaritic tribes, iii. 33. 
Their foundation of the sixth 
House of Allah, iii. 190. Legend 
of their origin, 190. n. 

Justinian, L 298- n. 

Kaab, the Jewish priest of El Me¬ 
dinah, ii. 123. 

Kaab el Ahbar (or Akhbar), poems 
of, i. 157. n. 213. 

YOL. III. 


Kaabah (or Bait Ullah) the, ii. 58. 
81. n. Superstitious reverence ot 
the Jews of El Medinah for, 124. 
n. Miraculously shown to Mo¬ 
hammed by the arch-angel Ga¬ 
briel, 139. Times of the opening 
of, 422. Extracts from Burck- 
lvirdt’s description of the, 149. 
Its dimensions, 149. Its domes 
and pillars, 150. Its bad work¬ 
manship, 152. Periods of open¬ 
ing it, 156. The doors of, 156, 
157. The famous Hajar el As- 
wad, or Black Stone, 158. The 
Rukn el Yemani. 162. El Maa- 
jan, or place of mixing, 163. The 
Myzab, or water-spout, 164. The 
mosaic pavement, 164. Tombs of 
Hagar and Ishmael, 165. Limits 
of the Knabali, 166 . El Mataf, 
or place of circumambulation, 167, 
168. The four Makams, or sta¬ 
tions for prayer, 168, 169. Zem 
Zem, or the holy well, 171. El 
Darah, or the ladder, 173. Stone 
on which Abraham stood, 175. 
The boast that the Kaabah is 
never, night nor day, without 
devotees, 183. ji. Legends of the 
ten Houses of Allah, 186. et seq. 
Proofs of the Kaabah’s sanctity, 
195. The pilgrim’s first visit to 
it, 197. Legend of the Bab Beni 
Shaybah, 200. Ceremonies of the 
visit, 203. et seq. Visit of the 
pilgrim to, 287. Sketch' of the 
interior of the building, 288. Ce¬ 
remony of opening, in Ibn Ju- 
bair’s time, 290, 291. n. Ex¬ 
penses of visiting, 292, 293. Rea¬ 
sons for all pilgrims not entering 
the, 293. The first covering of 
tlie, 294. Changes in the style 
and make of the Kiswah, or cur¬ 
tain, £95. Inscriptions on the 
Kiswah, 299. 

Kaakaan, Jebel, the residence of the 
Beni Jurham, iii. 191. 

Kabirah, El, or lady of the house, 
iii. 198. Kindness of one to the 
pilgrim at Meccah, 300, 301. Her 
affectionate farewell of the pilgrim, 


E E 



418 


INDEX. 


Kadiriyah, an order of Dervishes, i. 

20 . 

Kaf, “ to go to Kaf,” explained, i. 
24. n. 

Kafr el Zajyat, i. 43. 

Kaid-bey, the Mamluk sultan of 
Egypt, ii. 68. n. Rebuilds the 
mosque of the Prophet, 85. n. 109. 
150. 

“Kaif,” the, explanation of, i. 12, 
13. Sonnini’s description of, 13. 
n. Kaif on the brink of the well 
at El Kuba, ii. 218. 

Kairom and its potteries, i. 43. 
Kalaon, Sultan of Egypt, his im¬ 
provements of the mosque of the 
Prophet, ii. 147. n . 

Kalka-shandi, El, bis testimony re¬ 
specting the tomb of the Prophet, 

ii. 84. 

Kamis, the, or cotton shirt, of Arab 
Shaykhs, i. 347. 

Kanat (spears), the, of the Bedouins, 

iii. 73. 

Kanisat, or Christian Church, ii. 
146. 

Kansooh el Ghori (Campson Gaury), 
King of Egypt, i. 298. n. 

Kara Gyuz, the amusement so called, 

i. 1 18. 

Karashi tribe of Arabs, i. 212. 

Kasr, El, the village of, ii. 165. n. 
Kaswa, El, the she-camel of Mo¬ 
hammed the Prophet, ii, 130. 132. 
138. 209. 214. 

Kata, or sand goose, the (Pterocles 
melanogaster), i. 226. 

Katibs, or writers of the tomb of the 
Prophet, ii. 156. 

Katirah race, its mixture with the 
Himyaritic tribes, iii. S3. 

Kaukab el Durri, or constellation of 
pearls suspended to the curtain 
round the Prophet’s tomb, ii. 82. 
Its apparent worthlessness, 83. 
Plundered by the Wahhabis, 152. 
Kawwas, or police officer, of Egypt, 
i. 29. 

Kazi (Cadi), or chief judge of El 
Medinah, ii. 158. Customs of the, 
iii. 45. 

Kerbela, battle of, ii. 313. n. 
Khadijah (one of the Prophet’s fif¬ 


teen wives), her burial-place, ii. 
311. 351. 

Khadim, or guardian, of a mosque, 

ii. 215, 216. Of the tombs at El 
Bakia, 308. 

Khalid Bey, brother of Abdullah 
bin Saud, his noble qualities, iii. 
386. 

Khalid bin Walid, ii. 237. Anec¬ 
dote of him, iii. 322. n. 

Khaluk, a perfume so called, ii. 102. 
Khandak (the moat) celebrated in 
Arabian history, ii. 197. 

Khakani, the Persian poet, quoted, 

iii. 201. n. 

Kbaraj, Arab tribe of, ii. 120. 122. 
Their wars with the Aus, 122. 
Converted by Mohammed, 126. 
Their plot against Mohammed, ii. 
135. 

Kliasafat el Sultan, the, of the 
mosque at El Medinah. ii. 73. n. 
Khatan ben Saha, the tribe of, ii. 
121 . 

Khatib, or Moslem preacher, iii. 
177. 

Khatibs, the, of the mosque of the 
Prophet, ii. 159. 161. 

Khatim, Bir el, or Kuba well, ii. 
171. n. 

Khattabi, El, his opinions respecting 
El Medinah, ii. 167. n. 

Khaybar, in Arabia, Israelite settle¬ 
ments at, ii. 118, 119. The 
colony entirely extinct, 118. n. 
Capture of, 139. Its distance 
from El Medinah, 298. 

Khayf, El, i. 387. The mosque of 
at Muna, iii. 249. 

Khaznadar, the treasurer of the 
Prophet’s tomb, ii. 156. 

Khazraj tribe, its mixture with the 
Amalikah, iii. S3. 

Khelawiyah tribes of Arabs, despised 
by the other clans, iii. 98. 

Khitbah, or betrothal, in Arabia, ii. 
287. 

Khitmahs, the, or perusals of the 
Koran on behalf of the reigning 
Sultan, ii. 73. n. 

Khubziyah, one of the orders of the 
Eunuchs of the Tomb, ii. 156. 
Kbudabakhsh, the Lahore shawl 



INDEX. 


419 


merchant, his profuse pilgrimages, 
iii. 292. n. 

Khurunfish, El, the manufactory at 
which the Kiswah is now worked, 
iii. 299. 

Khusraw, his work on divinity, “ El 
Durar,” i. 154. 

Khutaba, the Shaykh el, of the 
Prophet’s mosque, ii. 159. 

Khutbah, or Friday Sermon, of the 
Prophet, ii. 102. 141. 

Khutbat el Wakfah (“ Sermon of 
the Standing” upon Arafat), iii. 
272. 

Khuzavriyah, the date so called, ii. 
200 .' 

Khwayah Yusuf, his adventures, 
i. 178. 

Kiblatain, the Mosque El, founda¬ 
tion of the, ii. 320. 

Kichhri, the Indian food so called, 

i. 269. n. iii. 9. 

Kills, or Christian Church, the, of 
Abrahah of Sanaa, it 81. *. 

Kiman, the relationship among the 
Bedouins so called, iii. 85. 

Kiram ei Katibin (the generous 
writers), the personifications of 
man’s good and evil principles, ii. 
70. n. 

“ Kirsh Hajar,” a sound dollar so 
called by the Bedouins, it 153, n. 
Kisra, goblet and mirror of, ii. 
146. n. 

Kissing the hand, iit 204. it. 

Kiswah, the, or “ garment ’’ or cur¬ 
tain round the Prophet's tomb, it 

81. a. Description of a Kiswah, 

82. a. Purloining bits of the, iii. 

221. Notice of the, 296. 

Kiswat, or cover of a saint’s tomb, 

ii. 242. 

Knight-errantry, Arab, iit 57. De¬ 
rivation of the word knight, 57. n. 
Kohl (antimony), a pigment for the 
eyes, ii. 170. n. Used as a remedy 
in small-pox, 176. 

Koran, the, beautiful penmanship 
exhibited in some copies of, i. 151. 

«. Intonation of, taught in schools, 
156. Expositions of, 156. Mode 
of wearing the pocket Koran, 207. 
Precepts respecting the profession 

£ £ 


of belief in the saving faith, 246, 
Texts of, respecting Moses, Abra¬ 
ham, David, Solomon, and Mo¬ 
hammed, 312. n. The Hamail, 
or pocket Koran, of pilgrims, 352. 
The, suspended over the head of 
the Prophet’s tomb, ii. 82. u. 
That of the Caliph Osman, 82. n. 
The Ya-Sin usually committed to 
memory, 94. n. A curious one 
kept in the library of the mosque 
of the Prophet, 107. n. The 
Cufic MSS. written by Osman, 
the fourth Caliph, ii, 150. 

Koraysh tribe of Arabs, i. 212. 

Kotambul, island of, ii. 165. n. 

Kuba, mosque of, ii. 25. n. Gardens 
of, 28. Receives the Prophet, 
130. Date-groves of, 170. The 
Kuba well, 171. n. Cool shades 
of Kuba, 203. Description of the 
village, 207. Its inhabitants, 208. 
History of its mosque, 209. Pu¬ 
rity of the place and people of El 
Kuba, 214. The mosque called 
Masjid el Takwa, or Mosque of 
Piety, 215. The mosque of Sitt- 
na Fatima, 215. That of Arafat, 
216. Date trees of, ii. 353. 

Kubar, or great men of the Muezzins 
of El Medinah, ii. 159. 

Kubbat el Masra, the, at Ohod, ii. 
248. 

Kabbat el Sanaya, or Dome of the 
Front Teeth, at Mount Ohod, ii. 
244. 

Kubbat el Zayt (Dome of Oil), or 
Kubbat el Shama (Dome of Can¬ 
dles), in the mosque of the Pro¬ 
phet, ii. 104. n. 

Kulsum ben Hadmah, gives refuge 
to Mohammed at Kuba, ii. 131. 

Kummayah, Ibn, the infidel, ii. 244. 

Kuraysh, legend of their foundation 
of the eighth House of Allah, iii. 
191. 

Kurayzab, a tribe of the Beni Israel, 
ii. 122. 

Kurayzah, town of, founded by the 
Jews, ii. 119. 

Kurayzah, the Masjid el, ii. 322. 
Extermination of the Jewish tribe 
of El Kurayzah, 322, 323. 



420 


INDEX. 


Kurbaj, or “ Cat o' nine tails,” of 
Egypt, i. SO. 

Kurdi, Usman, her heroism, iii. 55. 

Kus Kusu, the food so called, i. 292. 

Kusah (scant-bearded man), ii. 274. 

Kusay bin Kilab, his foundation of 
the seventh house of Allah, iii. 
191. 

Kuwwat Islam (strength of Islam), 
the building near El Medinah, so 
called, ii. 327. 

Laab el Barut (gunpowder play) of 
the Arabs, iii. 43. 

Labour, price of, at El Medinah, ii. 
266. 

Lance, the Arab. See Javelin. 

Lahd-cess (Miri), not paid by the 
Madani, ii. 262. 

Lane, Mr., reference to, i. 18. n. His 
discovery of the frauds of the 
Cairo magician, ii. 180, 181. n. 

Language; difference between the 
Japhetic and Semitic tongues, iii. 
32. n. Resemblance between 
Pahlavi and Hebrew, 32. n. Tra¬ 
ditions respecting the origin of 
Arabic, ii. 114. See Arabic lan¬ 
guage. 

Lapidation (Rajm), punishment for 
adultery, ii. 281., diabolical prac¬ 
tice of, in Arabia, iii. 248. An¬ 
tiquity of the custom in token of 
hate, 341. n. 

Lapidation (Rami) ceremony of, iii. 
iii. 282 — 284. The second day’s 
ceremony, 309. 

Larking, Mr. John, i. 12. 

Latakia tobacco, i. 95. n. 

Latrinas, not allowed in El Medinah, 
ii. 167. n. 

Laun, the, the date so called, ii, 

200 . 

Law-suit, a Mohammedan, descrip- 

. tion of, i. 67. 

Laymun, Wady, or El Mazik, iii. 
136. Its celebrity, 136. 

Lebid, the poet, his description of 
the rainy seasons of El Hejaz, ii. 
173. His suspended poem, iii. 
53. Quoted, ISO. 

Legends of the house of Allah, iii, 
186. et seq. 

Lentils (Adas), the diet during an 


attack of small-pox, ii. 176. Its 
cheapness on the banks of the 
Nile, 176. Revalenta Arabica, 
176. n. 

Leprosy, the kind called Baras only 
known in El Hejaz, ii. 182. Con¬ 
sidered incurable, 182. 

Levick, Henry, Esq., late vice-con¬ 
sul at Suez, i. 250. His remark* 
respecting Suez, 250. et seq. 

Lex Scripta, strictness of the, every¬ 
where in inverse ratio to that of 
custom, iii. 45. n. 

Libraries, decay of the, in Cairo, i. 
148. n. The library of the mosque 
of the Prophet, ii. 107. The only 
object of curiosity in it, 107. n. 

Lift (turnips), ii. 205- 

Light-extinguishers, sect of, iii. 329, 
330. n. 

Lisam, the, of Constantinople, i. 337- 
n. The, of the Arab Shaykhs, 
346. 

Literature, periodical, state of, in 
Egypt, i. 159. n. 

Litholatrv, iii. 159. u. 

Litter (Shugde of), description of 
the, as used in El Hejaz, i. 343. n. 
The mahmal, or Syrian litter, 
344. n. 

Locusts eaten as food by the Be¬ 
douins, iii. 91. Method of cook¬ 
ing them, 92. • 

Logic, study of, little valued in 
Egypt, i. 156. n. Works on logic, 
156. n. 

Lots, pillar of, in the mosque of the 
Prophet, ii. 102. 

“ Lotus eaters,” ii. 206. 

Lubabah, Abu, column of, in the 
Rauzah, ii. 87. 88. w., 103. 

Story of him, 103. 

Lukman. the Elder (of the tribe of 
Ad), ii. 120. 

Lying among Orientals, iii. 294. 

Maabidah, El, or northern suburb of 
Meccah, iii. 144. Origin of the 
name, 144. n. 

Maajan, El, or place of mixing, at 
the Kaabah, iii. 163. Its origin, 
163. 7i. 

Maaman, El, makes additions to the * 
mosque of the Prophet, ii. 148. 



INDEX. 


421 


Mabrak el Nakah (place of kneeling 
of the she dromedary), the, at El 
Kuba, ii. 214. 

Madam. See Medinah, El. 

Madrasah (or colleges), the two of 
El Medinah, ii. 289. 

“ M'adri village of, i. 360. n. 

Madshuniyah, El, the garden of, near 
El Medinah, ii. 221, 

Ma-el-Sama, “the water, or the 
splendour, of heaven,” a matro- 
nymic of Amr ben Amin, 121. 

Mafish, meaning of the term, i. 

11. re. 

Maghrabi pilgrims, i. 228. 253. 274. 
Their treachery, 229. Obser¬ 
vations on the word and on words 
derived from it, 274. re. Habits 
and manners of the Maghrabis, 
279, 280. Their bad character, 
281. Frays with them on board, 
281—283. Their dislike to to¬ 
bacco, 286. n. Their repentance 
of their misdeeds, 1. 293. Their 
guttural dialect, 293. re. Their 
efforts to get the ship off the sand, 
295, 296. Return of their surli¬ 
ness, 299. Their desire to do a 
little fighting for the faith, S04. 
Effect of a strange place on them, 

i. 341. re. 

Mahamid, a sub-family of the Beni- 
Harb, i. 378. 

Mahatta Ghurab (Station of Ra¬ 
vens), halt at the, iii, 14. 

Mahjar, or stony ground, iii. 20. 

Mahmal, the Sultan’s, turned back 
by robbers in Arabia, i. 379. Its 
appearance in the caravan, iii. 12. 
Place of the Egyptian and Da¬ 
mascus Mahmals during the ser¬ 
mon on Arafat, 267. 

Mahmud, the late Sultan, his dream, 
i. 17. 

Mahmudiyah’Canal, the, i. 42. Bar¬ 
renness of its shores, 43. 

Mahmudiyah College, the, at El 
Medinah, ii. 289. 

Mahr, the, or sum settled upon the 
bride before marriage, ii. 287. 
Average amount of sijch sums, 
287. re. 


Mahrah, the indigens of, iii. 29. 
Their low development, 29. ' 

Majarr el Kabsh ( Dragging-place of 
the Ram), notice of the, iii. 306. 

Makam Ibrahim, the, at Meccah, 

ii. 216. 

Makam Jibrail (place of Gabriel), 
at the Kaabah, ii. ] 63. re. 

Makamel Ayat (place of signs), the, 
at the mosque of Kuba, ii. 214. 

Makams, the four, or stations for 
prayer, at the Kaabah, iii. 168, 
169. 

Maksurah, or railing round a ceno¬ 
taph, ii. 71. re. 

Malabar, Suez trade in the pepper 
of, i. 265. 

Malaikah, or the Angels, at El Me¬ 
dinah, ii. 88. Prayer at the, 88. 

Malakain, El (the two Angels), per¬ 
sonifications of the good and evil 
principles of man’s nature, ii. 
70. re. 

Malbus (religious phrenzy), a case 
of, at Meccah, iii. 219. 

Maliar, Marsa (Maliar anchorage), 
i. 325. 

Malik, the Imam, ii. 58. re. His 
followers, 59.66. re. Few of them 
in his own city, 158. re. His 
strictness respecting El Medinah, 
167. re. School of, reference to, 
27. n. Mufti of the, at El Me¬ 
dinah, 158. Its station for prayer 
at the Kaabah, iii. 169. 

Malik ibn Anas, Imam, his tomb, ii, 
31p. 

Malta, i 10. The Maltese re¬ 
garded with contempt by Egyp¬ 
tians, 162. 

Mambar, the, or pulpit of the Pro¬ 
phet’s mosque, ii. 64. Origin of 
the, 141. Various forms of the, 
141. re. The Mosque of Meccah, 

iii. 177. 

Mandal, the, its celebrity in Europe 
owing to Mr. Lane, i. 18. re. ; iii. 
220 . 

Mandeville, Sir John, his opinion of 
the Bedouins, i. 215. His re¬ 
marks on the word Saracen, 275. 

* re. Reference to, ii. 30. n. * 


E E 



422 


INDEX. 


Manners, Oriental, compared with 
European, i. 8. Manners of 
Eastern officials, 39. 

Marsur, the camel-man, i. 386. 
Bullied by Mohammed El Basy- 
ani, ii. 21. 

Marble, white (Rukham), of Mec- 
cah, iii. 150. n. 

March, distance of a, iii. 10. n. 

The sariyah on night march, 15. 
Mareb, dyke of, ii. 120. Accounts 
of its bursting, 120. n. The ruins 
visited by a late traveller, 120. n. 
Maryiah, the Coptic girl of Mo¬ 
hammed, house of, ii. 142. n. 
The infant son Ibrahim, 310. 
Jealousy of Ayisha of her, 324. n. 
Maryam, El Sitt (the Lady Mary), 
i. 359. ; ii. 2. 12, 13. Affection 
of her younger son, 31. 

Markets, the, of El Medinah, ii. 
186. 

Marriage, an Armenian, i. 179. 
An Arab, ii. 285. The Khitbah, 
or betrothal, 287. The Mahr, or 
sum settled upon the bride, 287. 
The marriage ceremony, 288. ; 

iii. 81. 

Martineau, Miss, her strictures on 
the harem, iii. 51. ». 

Martyrs, in Moslem law, not sup¬ 
posed to be dead, ii. 110. n. 
Martyrs of Mount Obod, ii. 91. 
Of El Bakia, 92. n. Visitation 
to the, of Mount Ohod, 227. 
Marwah, meaning of the word, iii. 

344. n. Ceremonies at, 345*346. 
Marwan, El, governor of El Medi¬ 
nah, ii. 170. Removes Osman’s 
grave-stones, 302. 

Mas-hab, the, or stick for guiding 
camels, i. 348. 

Masad, the Beni, (a Jewish tribe,) in 
Arabia, ii. 118. «. 

Masajid, Khamsah, the, of the 
suburb of El Medinah, ii. 192. 
Mashali, the Madani children’s bo¬ 
dies marked with, ii. 273. 

Mashals (lights carried on poles), ii. 
405; iii. 113. The Pacha’s ma¬ 
shals, 114. n. 

Mashar el Haram (Place dedicated 


to Religious Ceremonies), at 
Muna, iii. 249. 

Mashrabat Umm Ibrahim, the Mas- 
jid, ii. 323. 

Mashrabiyah, or famous carved lat¬ 
ticed window of Cairo, i.51. 144. n. 
Masjid, a place of prayer, i. 141. 
Masjid el Juma, the, ii. 132. 

Masruh tribe of Arabs, the, iii. 96. 

Its subdivisions, 96. n. 

Mastabah, the, of the shops in Cairo, 

i. 100. 

Mastabah, or stone bench before the 
mosque of El Kuba, ii. 212. 
Mastich-smoke, the perfume, ii. 48. 
Arab prejudice against the fumes 
of gum, 48. 

Masud, of the Rahlah, engaged for 
the journey to Meccah, ii. 332.; 
iii. 2. 14, 15. 19. Heavy charges 
for watering his camels, 109. His 
dislike of the Shamar, 117. His 
quarrel with an old Arnout, 121. 
His skill in steering the desert- 
craft, 132. His disgust at the 
dirt of the Meccans, 262. 

Maula Ali, leader of the Maghrabis, 

i. 281. 

Maulid el Naby, or the Prophet’s 
birthplace, iii. 358. 

Maulid Hamzah, or birthplac e of 
Hamzah, at Meccah, iii. 359. 
Maundrell, his error respecting the 
curtain round the Prophet’s tomb, 

ii. 81. n. 

Mauza el Khatt (place of writing) 
at Meccah, iii. 353. 

Mawali, or clients of the Arabs, ii. 

122 . 

Mayda, El, or the Table, in the 
mosque at El Medinah, ii. 73. w. 
Maysunah, the Bedouin wife of the 
Caliph Muawiyah, iii. 262. The 
beautiful song of, 262. Her son 
Yezid, 263. n. 

Mazdak, the Persian communist, ii. 
256. n. 

Mazghal (or matras), long loopholes 
in the walls of El Medinah, ii. 
186. 

! Mazik, El. (See Laymun, Wady.) 

| Measures of length, Arab, iii. 10. 



INDEX. 


423 


Meccah, remnants of heathenry in, 
i. 6. Visit of M. Bertolucci 
to, i. 6. n. And of Dr. George 
Wallin, 6. n. “ Tawaf,” or circum- 
ambulationof the House of Allah 
at, ii. 58. Its mosque compared 
with that of El Medinah, 60. 136. 
n. Pride of the Meccans of their 
temple, 136. n. A model to the 
world of El Islam, 138. Popu¬ 
lation of, ii. 189. n. Vertoman- 
nus’ description of the city, 361. 
Pitts’s account of, 384. et seq. 
Finati’s adventures at, 416. The 
four roads leading from El Medi¬ 
nah to Meccah, iii. I. The sherif 
of Meccah, Abd el Muttalib bin 
Ghalib, 140. The Saniyat Ku¬ 
du near, 144. The old gates of 
the city, 144. n. The slieriPs pa¬ 
lace at, 144. The haunted house 
of the Sherif bin Aun at, 144. 
The Janaat el Maala, or cemetery 
of Meccah, 144, 145. The Afghan 
and Syrian quarters, 145. Ex¬ 
tracts from Burckhardt’s descrip¬ 
tion of the Bait Ullah, or Kaabah, 
149, et seq. The gates of the 
mosque, 178. Expenses during 
“ season " at Meccah, 183. De¬ 
scription of a house at Meccah, 
213. Resemblance of the city to 
Bath or Florence, 217. Ad¬ 
mirable linguistic acquirements of 
the Meccans, 310. Life at Mec¬ 
cah, 317. The city modern, 320. 
Character of the Meccans, 325. 
Immorality of, 326. Appearance 
of the Meccans, 327. Their 
** beauty - masks,” 327. Their 
pride and coarseness, 329. Good 
points in their character, 331. 
Dangers of visiting Meccah, 337. 
Places of, pious visitation at Mec¬ 
cah, 348. 

Medicine, Oriental practice of, i. 18, 
19. The ehronothermal practice, 

19. n. Experiences respecting 
the medicine-chest,) 38. Asiatic 
and European doctors contrasted, 
74. A medical man’s visit in the I 
East, 77. Amount of a doctor’s j 
fee, 79. Asiatic medical treat- ! 

E E 


ment, 80, 81. A prescription, 81. 
Method of securing prescriptions 
against alteration, 83. Medical 
practitioners in Cairo, 84. In¬ 
efficacy of European treatment in 
the East, 84. Superstitious in¬ 
fluences of climate, 85. Descrip¬ 
tion of a druggist’s shop, 99. 

Meerschaum pipe, the, i. 211. n. 

Medinah, El, the first mosque erected 
at, i. 133. Its smallness an annoy¬ 
ance to the people of, 136. n. 
Men of, respected by Bedouin 
robbers, 340. n. First view of the. 
city of, ii. 25. Place whence the 
city is first seen by the pilgrim, 
25, n. Poetical explanations and 
enthusiasm of the pilgrims, 25, 26. 
Distance of, from the Red Sea to, 
27. View of, from the suburbs, at 
sunrise, 28. The scenery of the 
neighbourhood, 28. The Ambari 
gate, 29.32. The Takiyah erected 
by Mohammed Ali, 29. Fortress 
of, 29. Its suburb “El Muna- 
khali,** 29. “The trees of El 
Medinah,” 30. The Bab el Misri, 
or Egyptian gate, 33. Good 
quality of the coffee of El Me¬ 
dinah, 36. n. Coolness of the 
nights at El Medinah, 51. Pug¬ 
nacity of'the horses and dogs of, 
52. Account of a visit to the 
Prophet’s tomb at, 56. 112. Tents 
of the people of El Medinah com- 
pared with those of the Meccans, 
59. Its mosque compared with 
that of Meccah, 60. Ludicrous 
views of El Medinah as printed in 
our popular works, 112. Moslem 
account of the settlement of El 
Medinah, 114. Destruction of 
the Jewish power in El Medinah, 
122. El Medinah ever favourable 
to Mohammed, 125. The Pro¬ 
phet escorted to the city, 129. 
Joy on his arrival, 133. Tomb of 
the Prophet, 136. Various for¬ 
tunes of the city, 1S6. Present 
state of the revenue of the holy 
shrines of, 137. The Prophet 
builds-his mosque at El Medinah, 
138. The second mosque erected 



424 


INDEX. 


by the Caliph Osman, 143. The 
masjid erected with magnificence 
by El Walid the Caliph, 145. 
The second masjid erected by El 
Mehdi, the caliph, 148. Additions 
of El Maamun, 148. Erection of 
the fifth and sixth mosques, 150. 
Besieged and sacked by the Wah¬ 
habis, 151, 152. Almost all the 
people of, act as muzawwirs, 160. 
Epithets of El Medina!), 162, 163. 
n. Its geographical position in 
Arabia, 166. All Muharramat, 
or sins, forbidden within the, 167. 
w. Cause of its prosperity, 168. 
Manner of providing water at, 
169. Its climate, 171—174. 
Diseases of, 174. et seq. The 
three divisions of the city, 184. 
The gates of the town, 185. The 
bazaar, 186. The walls, 186. 
The streets, 187. The Wakalahs, 

187. The houses, 187. Population, 

188. 189. », The fortress of, 

189. The suburbs of El Medinah, 
191. The Khamsah Masajid, 192. 
The suburbs to the south of the 
city, 194. Inhabitants of the 
suburbs, 194. Celebrity of the 
dates of El Medinah, 198. The 
weights of El Medinah, 201. n. 
Cereals, vegetables, &c., of the 
Medinah plain, 204. The fruits 
of, 205. Arrival of the Damas¬ 
cus caravan, 223. The “Affair 
of the Ridge,” 230. Account of 
the people of El Medinah, 254. 
The present ruling race at El 
Medinah, 261, Privileges of the 
citizens, 262. Trade and com¬ 
merce of, 265. Price of labour 
at, 266. Price and indolence of 
the Madani, 268. Dearness of 
provisions at, 261. Tariff of 
1853, 268, 269. The households 
of the Madani, 278. Their per¬ 
sonal appearance, 273. Scarcity 
of animals at El Medinah, 277. 
The manners of the Madani, 278. 
Their character, 280, 281. Their 
marriages and funerals, 285—289. 
Abundance of books at, 289. The 
two Madrasah or colleges, 289. 


The Ulema of El Medinah, 290. 
Learning of the Madani not varied, 
221. Their language, 292. Their 
apprehensions at the appearance 
of a comet, 295. Their cemetery 
of El Bakia, 300. The mosques 
in the neighbourhood of the city, 
320—828. Vertomannus’ descrip¬ 
tion of the city, 353. The four roads 
leading from El Medinah to Mec- 
cah, iii. 1. 

Mehdi, El, the caliph, erects the 
fourth mosque of El Medinah, 
ii. 148. His additions to the 
House of Allah, iii. 194. 

Mejidi Riwak, or arcade of the Sul¬ 
tan Abdul Mejid at El Medinah, 

ii. 61. 

Melancholia, frequent among the 
Arabs, ii. 49. n. Probable cause 
of it, 50. n. 

Mihrab el Nabawi, or place of prayer, 

ii, 64. 140. Origin of the, 140. n. 

1 45.n. The Mihrab Sulamanyi of 
the Prophet’s mosque, ii. 64. 

Milk, laban both in Arabic and 
Hebrew, i. 362. Food made by 
Easterns from milk, 352. Milk- 
seller, an opprobrious and dis 
graceful term, 363. The milk- 
balls of the Bedouins, iii. 92. The 
Kurut of Sindh and the Kasbk of 
Persia, 92. n. Method of making, 
93. n. 

Mimosa, the, compared by poetic 
Arabs to the false friend, ii. 19. n . 

Minarets, the five, of the mosque of 
the Prophet, ii. 99. Invention of the, 
100. n. Origin of the minaret, 140. 
n. 145.71. The erection of the four, 
of the mosque of the Prophet, 147. 

iii. 184, 185. Dangers of looking 
out from a minaret window, 
185. ». 

Mir of Shiraz, the calligrapher, i. 
151. n. 

Mirabaat el Bair, “place of the 
beast of burden,” in the mosque of 
the Prophet, ii. 104. 

Mirbad, or place where dates are 
dried, ii. 138, 

Mirage, iii. 23. Beasts never de- 
eeived by, 23. n.. 



INDEX. 


425 


Mirayat (magic mirrors), used for the 
cure of bilious complaints, ii. 179. 
Antiquity of the invention, 179. 
n. The magic mirrors of various 
countries, 177. «. The Cairo 
magician, 180. Mr. Lane’s disco¬ 
very, 181. n. Sir Gardner Wilkin¬ 
son’s remarks respecting, 181. n. 

Miri, or land-cess, not paid by the 
Madani, ii. 262. 

Mirror, the Magic, i. 18. See 
Mirayat. 

Mirza, meaning of, i. 20. n. 

Mirza Husayn, “ Consul General ” 
at Cairo, i. 125. 

Misri, Bab el, or Egyptian gate, of 
El Medinah, ii. 185. 

Misri pomegranates of El Medinah, 
ii. 206. 

Misriyah,the opprobrious term, i. 260. 

Miyan, or “ Sir,” a name applied to 
Indian Moslems, i. 341. 

Miyan Kbudabakhsh Namdar, the 
shawl merchant, i. 50. 

Moat, battle of the, ii. 319.n. 325. 

Mohammed Abu. See Mohammed. 
His mandate for the destruction of 
the diseased population of Yemen, 
ii. 183. 

Mahommed Ali Pacha, bis improve¬ 
ments in the Greek quarter of 
Cairo, i. 118. n . His mosque, 

123. 144. His establishment of a 
newspaper in Egypt, 159. n. His 
wise regulations for insuring the 
safety of travelling across the 
Desert, 229. His expedition to 
El Hejaz, 262. His strong¬ 
handed despotism capable of 
purging El Hejaz of its pests, 
380,381. The “ Takiyah ” erected 
by him at El Medinah, ii. 29. 
Purchases all the Wakf in Egypt, 
137. His introduction of professed 
poisoners from Europe, iii. 43. 
His defeat of the Wahhabis at the 
battle of Bissel, 48. 

Mohammed bin Aun, (quondam 
prince of Meccah), his palaces, iii. 

356. 375. His imprisonment at 
Constantinople, 256. His history, 

357. *• 


Mohammed el Attar, the druggist, i. 
99. Description of his shop, 99. 
His manners, 101. His sayings 
and sarcastic remarks, 105—107. 

Mohammed el Bakir, the Imam, 
tomb of, ii. 314, 315. «. 

Mohammed El Busyani, account of, 
i. 180. Starts for Suez, 207. Meets 
the author in the Desert near Suez, 
222. His boundless joy, 222. His 
treatment of the Bedouins, 223. 
His usefulness at Suez, 233. His 
savoir faire , 235. His joke, 259. 
Promises to conduct the devotions 
of the Maghrabis at Meccah, 293. 
Change in his conduct at Yambu, 
341. His quarrel with the Be¬ 
douins, 377. And with the Me¬ 
diates, ii. 10. Bears the brunt 
of the ill-feeling of the pilgrims, 
20. Bullies the camel-men, 21. 
Downcast and ashamed of himself 
in liis rags at El Medinah, 36. 
Made smart, 42. Confounded by 
a Persian lady, 55. Distributes 
the pilgrim’s alms in the mosque 
at El Medinah, 67. Takes a 
pride in being profuse, 96. Ac¬ 
companies the pilgrim to the 
mosque of Kuba, 195. His eco¬ 
nomy at El Medinah, 216. His 
indecorous conduct, 245. His 
fondness for clarified butter, 270; 
iii. 15. His adventures in search 
of water on the march to Meccah, 
14. Mounts a camel, 110. But 
returns tired and hungry, 118. 
His house at Meccah, 146. His 
welcome home, 197. Becomes the 
host of the pilgrim, 198. His in¬ 
troduction of hard words into his 
prayers, 209. His resolution to 
be grand, 253. His accident at 
the Great Devil, 284. Conducts 
the pilgrim round the Kaabah, 
287. His sneers at his mother, 
301. His taunts of Shaykh Nur, 
303. Receives a beating at Jed¬ 
dah, 383. Departs from the pil¬ 
grim with coolness, 384. 

Mohammed El-Busiri, the Wali of 
Alexandria, tomb of, i. 17. 



426 


INDEX. 


Mohammed Ibn Abdillah El San- 
nusi, his extensive collection of 
books, ii. 290. Celebrated as an 
Alim, or sage, 290. n. His pecu¬ 
liar dogma, 290. n . Kindness of 
Abbas Pacha to him, 290. n. His 
followers and disciples, 290. n. 

Mohammed Jemal el Lail, his ex¬ 
tensive collection of hooks, ii. 2S9. 

Mohammed Khalifah, keeper of the 
mosque of Hamzah, ii. 239. 

Mohammed Kuba, founder of the 
first mosque in El Islam, i. 133. 

Mohammed of Abusir, the poet, 
works of, i. 157. 

Mohammed Shafia, his swindlings, 
i. 67. His law-suit, 67. 

Mohammed Skiklibha, i. 242. 355. 

Mohammed the Prophet, his tradi¬ 
tionary works studied in Egypt, i. 
155- His cloak, 213- The moon 
and El Burak subjected to, 312. 
The “ Bedr,” the scene of his prin¬ 
cipal military exploits, 384.; ii. 
17. n. Gives the Shuhada the 
name of the “ Sejasaj,” and pro¬ 
phecies its future honours, 17. n. 
His attack of Abu Sufiyan, and 
the Infidels, 19. n. Distant view 
of his tomb at El Medinah, 30. 
His recommendation of the Kay- 
161ah, or mid-day siesta, 49. n. 
Account of a visit to his mosque 
at El Medinah, 56. A Hadis, or 
traditional saying of, 57. His 
tomb, how regarded by the ortho¬ 
dox followers of El Malik and the 
Wahhabis, 59. El Rauzah, or 
the Prophet’s garden, 62. His 
pulpit at El Medinah, 66. Effi¬ 
cacy ascribed to the act of blessing 
the Prophet, 70. Enjoins his fol¬ 
lowers to visit graveyards, 71. n. 
The Shubak el Nabi, or Prophet’s 
window, 73. The Prophet, how 
regarded as an intercessor, 76, 77. 
His prayers for the conversion of 
Omar, 80. The Kiswah round 
his tomb, 81. n. The exact place 
of the tomb, 82. The Kaukab el 
Durri suspended to the Kiswah, 
82. The tomb and coffin, 84. 
Position of the body, 85. Story 


of the suspended coffin, 86. n. 
Reasons for doubting that his re¬ 
mains are deposited in the mosque 
at El Medinah, 108. His ancestors 
preserved from the Yemenian de¬ 
luge, 121. Doubts respecting his 
Ishmaelitic descent, 124. n.,iii. 28. 
w. Finds favour at El Medinah, ii. 
125 . Tombs of his father and mother, 
125. n. Meets his new converts 
on the steep near Muna, 127. 
Receives the inspired tidings that 
El Medinah was his predestined 
asylum, 128. Escorted to El 
Medinah, 129. His she-camel, 
El Kaswa, 130. 132. His halt 
near the site of the present Masjid 
el Juma, 132. Joy on his arrival 
at El Medinah, 133. His stay at 
the house of Abu Ayyub, 130. 
132. 134. Builds dwellings for 
his family, 134. The conspiracy 
of the “Hypocrites,” 135. The 
Prophet builds the mosque, 138. 
Abode of his wives, family, and 
principal friends, 142. Place of 
his death and burial, 142. Attempt 
to steal his body, 148, 149. His 
mosque in the suburb of El Mu- 
nakhah at El Medinah, 192. 
Foundation of the mosque of El 
Kuba, 209. His “Kuif” on the 
brink of the well at El Kuba, 
218. His miraculous authority 
over animals, vegetables, &c., 231. 
His battle with Abu Sufiyan on 
Mount Ohod, 233.236. Anecdote 
of the origin of his Benediction of El 
Bakia, 305. n. Tombs of his wives, 
311. And of his daughters, 311. 
Origin of his surname of El Amin, 
the Honest, iii. 192. His tradition 
concerning the fall of his birth¬ 
place, 323. The Prophet’s old 
house (Bait el Naby) at Meccah, 
353. The birth-place of the Pro¬ 
phet, 358. 

Mohdy, El, the Caliph, his enlarge¬ 
ment of the mosque at Meccah, 
iii. 151. 

Momiya (mummy), medicinal quali¬ 
ties attributed to a, ii. 360. 

Money, the proper method of carry- 



INDEX. 


427 


ing, in the East, i. 36. 38. n. 
Value of the Turkish paper money 
in El Hejaz, ii. 189. n. Value of 
the piastre, the Turkish para, the 
Egyptian fazzah, and the Hejazi 
diwani,270. n. Of El Hejaz, in, 82. 
n. The Sarraf, or money-changer, 
329. 

Monday, an auspicious day to El 
Islam, ii. 131. 

Monteith, General, i. 1, 

Moon, the crescent, iii. 20. 

Moonlight, evil effects of the Arab 
belief in the, i. 226. 

Moor, derivation of the name,i. 274. 

Moplah race, foundation of the, ii. 
115. ». 

Moresby’s Survey, i. 314. n. 

Mosaic pavement of the Kaabah, iii. 
164. 

Moses’ Wells (Uyun Musa), the, at 
Suez, i. 231. ». 288. Visit to the, 
300. Hot baths of, SOO. His 
“great tallness,” according to Mos¬ 
lem legends, 301. “ Moses’ Stones,” 
the bitumen so called, 301. n. 
His pilgrimage to Meccah, ii. 116. 
Inters his brother Aaron on Mount 
Ohod, 117. His tomb, iii. 389. n. 

u Moskow,” the common name of the 
Russians in Egypt and El Hejaz, 
ii. 38. 

Mosque, the origin of, i. 131. Form 
and plan of, 133. Erection of the 
first mosque in El Islam, 13$. 
First appearance of the cupola and 
niche, 133. Varied forms of places 
of worship, 134. Byzantine com¬ 
bined with Arabesque, 137. Use 
of colours, 137. Statuary and 
pictures forbidden in mosques, 

137. The Meccan mosque a 
model to the world of El Islam, 

138. Immense number of mosques 
at Cairo, 139. Europeans not ex¬ 
cluded from mosques, 140. The 
Jama Taylun, 141. The mosque 
of the Sultan El Hakim, 142. 
The Azhar and Hosanyn mosques, 
142. That of Sultan Hasan, 143. 
Of Kaid Bey and the other 
Mameluke kings, 1 43. The mo¬ 


dern mosques, 143. That of 
Sittna Zaynab, 143. Mohammed 
Ali’s “ Folly,” 144. The El Az¬ 
har mosque, 145. Mode of en¬ 
tering the sacred building, 146. 
Details of the El Azhar, 146. 
Scene in it, 147. The Riwaks, 
147. The collegiate mosque of 
Cairo, 149. Mosque of El Shafei, 
155. n. The mosques of Suez, 
256. The mosques of Zu’l Hali- 
fali, ii. 25. n. Account of a visit 
to the Prophet’s, 56—112. The 
Masjid El Nabawi one of the two 
sanctuaries, 57. The Masjid El 
Haram at Meccah, 57. The 
Masjid El Aksa at Jerusalem, 57. 
How to visit the Prophet’s, 57, 
58. Ziyarat, or visitation, 58. 
Points to be avoided in visiting 
the Prophet’s, 58. Comparison 
between the El Medinah and 
Meccah mosques, 60. Descrip¬ 
tion of the Masjib el Nabi, 61. 
Burnt by lightning and rebuilt by 
Kaid Bey, 85. n. The gates of the 
mosque, 97, 98. The five min¬ 
arets of the mosque, 99. The four 
porches of the mosque, 101. The 
celebrated pillars, 102. The gar¬ 
den of our Lady Fatimah in the 
hypasthral court, 104, 105. Gar¬ 
dens not uncommon in mosques, 
105. The pilgrim makes a ground 
plan of the Prophet’s mosque, 
111. n. The Prophet’s mosque 
built, 138. The second Masjid 
erected by Osman, 143. The 
Masjid erected with magnificence 
by the Caliph El Walid, 145. 
Various improvements in the, 147. 
Burnt by fire and by lightning, 
147. n. The fourth mosque of 
El Medinah erected by the Caliph 
El Mehdi, 148. Additions qf El 
Maamun, 148. Erection of the 
fifth and sixth mosques, 150. The 
treasures of the tomb stolen by 
the Wahhabis, 152. The “sacred 
vessels” repurchased from the 
Wahhabis, 153. The various 
officers of the mosque, 155. The 



428 


INDEX. 


executive and menial establishment 
of the Prophet’s mosque, 158. 
Revenue of the Prophet’s mosque, 
161. Pensioners of the, 161. 
Description of the Prophet’s 
mosque at El Munakhah, 192. 
History of the mosque of El Kuba, 
209. The mosque of Sittna Fa¬ 
tima at .El Kuba, 215. The 
Masjid Arafat at El Kuba, 216. 
Hamzah’s mosque, 237. The 
mosques in the neighbourhood of 
El Medinah, 320 — 328. The 
former Masjid el Ijabah at Meccah, 
iii. 144. Description of the 
mosque at Meccah, 149. et seq. 
The mosque El Khayf at Muna, 
249. The mosque Muzdalifah, 
249. The Majid el Jinn, 363. 

Mother of pearl, brought from the 
Red Sea, i. 264. 

Mothers of the Moslems, (the Pro¬ 
phet’s wives), ii. 92. n. 143. 

44 Mountains of Paradise,” i. 328. 

Mourning forbidden to Moslems, ii. 
277. Mourning dress of the wo¬ 
men, 277. 

MSS. 44 bequeathed to God Al- 
mighty,” i. 148. n. 

Muawiah, El, Caliph, ». 381. «. 
His Bedouin wife Maysunah, iii. 
262. His son Yezid, 263. ?i. 

Muballighs, the, or clerks of the 
mosque, ii. 66. n. 

Mubariz, or single combatant of 
Arab chivalrous times, ii. 53. 

Mudarrisin, the, or professors, of the 
Prophet’s mosque, ii. 161. 

Mudir, or chief treasurer, of the 
Prophet’s mosque, ii. 105. 

Muezzin, the, i. 114. 122. The 
Prophet’s, ii. 100. The Ruasa, 
or chief of the, 100. Muezzins, 
the, of El Medinah, 159. Rea¬ 
sons for preferring blind men for 
muezzins, iii. 185. n. 

Muftis, the three, of El Medinah, ii. 
158. 

Muhafiz, or Egyptian governor, i. 
28. 

Muhajirin, or Fugitives, the, from 

Meccah, ii. 138. 


Muhallabah, the dish so called, i. 
116. 

Maharramat, or sins, forbidden 
within the sanctuary of the Pro¬ 
phet, ii. 167. n. 

Mujawerin, or settlers in El Medi¬ 
nah, ii. 161. 

Mujrim (the Sinful), the pilgrim’s 
friendship -with him, ii. 297. 

Mujtaba, El (the Accepted), a title 
of the Prophet, ii. 309. n. 

Mukabbariyah, the, of the mosque, 
ii. 66. 

Mukaddas, Bait el (Jerusalem), 
prostrations at, ii. 211. 

Mukarinah, El (the uniting), the 
pilgrimage so called, iii. 225. 

Mukhallak, El, the pillar in the 
mosque of the Prophet so called, 
ii. 102. 

Mukuttum, Jebel, i. 232. 

Mules, despised by the Bedouins, ii. 
56. Not to be found at El Me¬ 
dinah, 278. 

Multazem, El, the place of prayer in 
the Kaabah so called, iii. 156. n. 
211 . 

Mulukhiyah (Corchoris olitorus), a 
mucilaginous spinach, ii. 204. 

Muna, place of meeting of the new 
converts with the Prophet, ii. 
127. Sanctity of, iii. 247. De¬ 
rivation of the name, 247. n. The 
pebbles thrown at the Devil at, 

248. The mosque El Khayf, 

249. Sacrifices at, iii. 302, 303. 
A storm at, 304. Coffee-houses 
of, 309. Its pestilential air, 312, 
313. 

Munafikun, or 41 Hypocrites,” con¬ 
spiracy of the, ii. 135. 

Munakhah, El, the suburb of El 
Medinah, ii. 91. The Harat, 

or Quarter, El Ambariyah, 32. 
Omitted in our popular represen¬ 
tations of the city, 112. Popula¬ 
tion of, 188. 

Munar Bab el Salam, of the mosque 
of the Prophet, ii. 99. Munar 
Bab el Rahmah, 99. The Sulay- 
maniyah Munar, 99. Munar 

Raisiyah, 100. 



INDEX. 


429 


Murad Bey, the Mameluke, i. 143. 

Murad Khan, the Sultan, his im¬ 
provements in the building of the 
House of Allah, iii. 194. 

Murchison, Sir Roderick, i. 1. 

Murshid, meaning of the term, i. 20. 
Specimen of a murshid’s diploma, 
ii. 341. 

Musab ben Umayr, missionary from 
the Prophet to El Medinah, ii. 
126, 127. 

Musafahah (shaking hands), Arab 
fashion of, ii. 332. 

Musahlah, village of, i. 360. 372. 
Musalla el Eed,” the mosque of 
Ali at El Medinah so called, ii. 
192. The Musalla el Nabi, 192. 

Musalla el Nabi (Prophet’s place of 
prayer), in the mosque of El Me¬ 
dinah, ii. 212. 

Musannam, or raised graves, of the 
Bedouins, ii. 243. 

Muscat, i. 2. Importation of slaves 
into, ii. 272. n. The ancient ca¬ 
ravan from Muscat to El Medi¬ 
nah, 297. *. 

Music and musical instruments, the, 
of the Bedouins, i. 211.; iii. 76- 
Of Southern Arabia, remarks on, 
and on the music of the East, 
311, n. 

Musket-balls, Albanian method of 
rifling, ii. 7. n. 

Muslim, El, celebrated divine, i. 
135. 

Muslim bin Akbah el Marai, his 
defeat of the Madani, ii. 230. n. 
309. 

Mustachios, clipped short by the 
Shafei school, ii. 33S. 

Mustafa, El (the Chosen), a title of 
the Prophet, ii. S09. ». 

Mustallah, or level graves, of the 
Bedouins, ii. 244. 

Mustarah, the, or resting place, on 
Mount Ohod, ii. 234. 

Mustasim, El, last caliph of Bagh¬ 
dad, his assistance in completing 
the fifth mosque of the Prophet, ii. 
150. 

Mustaslim, or chief of the writers of 
the tomb of the Prophet, ii. 156. 


Mustazi Billah, El. the Caliph, ii. 
147. n . 

Mutamid, El, the Caliph, bis ad¬ 
ditions to the House of Allah, iii. 
194. 

Mutanabbi, El, the poet, i. 157. n. 
His chivalry, iii. 60. Admiration 
of the Arabs for his works, 62. 

Mutasem, El, the Caliph, his chi¬ 
valry, iii. 59. 

Mutaaid, El, the Caliph, his addi¬ 
tions to the House of Allah, iii. 
194. 

Muttaka, El, legend of the stone at 
Meccah so called, iii. 358. 

Muwajihat el Sharifah, or “ Holy 
Fronting,” in the Prophet’s mos¬ 
que, ii. 63. 

Muzakaih, El, a surname of Amir 
ben Amin, ii. 121. 

Myzab (water-spout), of the Ka- 
abah, iii. 164. Generally called 
Myzab el Ralimah, 164. n. 

Muzaynah tribe of Arabs, i. 213. 
Its antiquity and nobility, 213. 
Its purely Arab blood, 213. 

Muzdalifah (the approacher), the 

0 mosque so called, iii. 249. 

“ Muzzawir,” the, or conductor of 
the pilgrim to the Prophet’s tomb, 
ii. 58. Almost all the Medinites 
act as, 159, 160. Importance 
of, 160. 

Nabawi, tbe Mihrab el, in the 
mosque of the Piophet, ii. 102. 

Nabi, Bir el. at Kuba, ii. 220. n. 

Nabi, Masjid el, description of the, 
ii. 61. 

Nabi, the Masjid el, or the Pro¬ 
phet’s mosque at El Medinah, 
built by Mohammed, ii. 1S8. 

Nabi, the Shubak el, or Prophet’s 
window, ii. 73, 74. 93. 

Nabi, Bir el, or the Prophet’s well, ii. 
106. Superstitions respecting, 106. 

Nafi Maula, El (Imam Nafi el 
Kari), son of Omar tomb of, ii. 
310. 

Nafil, the Hejazi, his pollution of 
the Kilis, or Christian Church, ii. 
81. n. 



430 


INDEX 


Nafr, El (the Flight), from Muna 
to Meccah, iii. 286. 

Nahl, El, visit to, i. 16. 

Najjar, Beni, the, ii. 133, 134 
Meaning of the name, 134. n. 

Nahw (syntax), study of, in schools, 
i. 152. 

Naib el Haram, or vice-intendant of 
the mosque of Meccah, iii. 185. 

Nakb, the valley of, ii. 25. n. 

♦* Nakh, to,” the camels, i- 360. 

Nakhavvilah, the race of heretics so 
called, at El Medinah, ii. 255. 
Their principles, 255. 

Nakhil (or palm plantations), the, 
of EL Medinah, ii. 197. 

“ Nakhwali,” the, ii. 202. 

Nakib, or assistant mustaslim of the 
tomb of the Prophet, ii. 156. 

Nakil, or apostles, the, of the Pro¬ 
phet, ii. 128. n. 

Namrud (Nimrod), dispersion under 
him, ii. 133. 

Nassar, Shaykh, the Bedouin of 
Tur, i. 206. et seq. His finesse, 
224, 225. 

Ndsur, or ulcer of El Hejaz. See 
Ulcer. 4 

Natak el Naby, the, at Meccah, 
origin of, iii. 357. 

Nazir, the, a tribe of the Beni 
Israel, ii. 122. 

Nebek, the fruit of a palm tree so 
called, ii. 105. 

Nebek, or jujube tree, the, of El 
Medinah, ii. 205. Supposed to 
have been the thorn which crowned 
our Saviour’s head, 205. n. 

Nebuchadnezzar (Bukht el Nasr), 
invasion of, ii. 118, 119. 

Nijd, ii. 4. n. Its choice horses and 
camels, 4. n. The greatest breed¬ 
ing country in Arabia, 5. n» 
View of the ground of, 28. Ex¬ 
cellence of the dates of, 173. The 
Nidji tribes of Bedouins, their 
temperament, iii. 30. 

Newspaper, establishment of a, in 
Egypt, i. 159. n. 

Niebuhr, his remarks on the Sinaitic 
Arabs referred to, i« 215. His 
description of the oriental sandal, 


348. Reference to, ii. 3. ft.; 175. 
His incorrect hearsay descriptic 
of the Prophet’s tomb, 83. n. 

Night journey in Arabia, descri 
tion of a, iii. 113. 118. 

Nile, steam-boat of the, i. 42. D 
scription of, 43. The Barra< 
bridge, 44. Objects seen on tl 
banks of the, 45. Compared wil 
Sindh, 45. n. 

Nimrah, Masjid, the, or mosqi 
without the minaret, iii. 250. 25: 

Nisa, the Bab el, or women’s gate, i 
El Medinah, ii. 61. 

Niyat, the, in Moslem devotions, 
111. The, in the visitation of tl 
mosque of El Kuba, ii. 212. Th 
repeated when approaching Me< 
cah, iii. 124. 

Niyat, or the running, at the Litti 
Pilgrimage, iii. 343. 

Nizam, or Turkish infantry, i. SS2 

Noachians, the, in Arabia, iii. Si 
Their many local varieties, 31. n 

Noah, account of Ibn Abbas respeci 
ing the settlement of his family 
ii. 113. 

Nolan, Captain, reference to h: 
work on Cavalry, ii. 8. 

Nullah, the Indian, identical with th 
fiumara of Arabia, i. 5. 

Nur El Din, El Malik El Adil, i 
149. 

Nur El Din Shahid Mahmud be 
Zangi, the Sultan, ii. 149. 

Nur, Jebel, anciently Hira, ii. 442. \ 
Its celebrity, iii. 246. 

Nur, Shaykh, sensation caused by h 
appearance in the streets of Cair< 
i. 184. His defection, 233. H 
return, 236. His fishing tackl 
291. His dirty appearance at I 
Medinah, ii. 36. His improve 
aspect, 42. Enraptured with I 
Medinah, 260. His preparatioi 
for leaving El Medinah, 330. H 
ride in the shugduf of Ali bin \ 
Sin, iii.105. Accompanies tl 
pilgrim to the Kaabah, 215. B< 
comes now Haji Nur, 366. H 
quarrel with Mohammed el Bus 
yani, 385. 



INDEX. 


431 


Oases, the, i. 219. Derivation of 
the word, 219. n. Vulgar idea of 
an oasis, 219. n. Love of the 
Bedouins for them, 219. n. 

Officials, Asiatic, how to treat, i. 29. 
Habits and manners of, 39. 

Ogilvie, Mr., English consul at Jed¬ 
dah, shot at for amusement by 
Albanian soldiers, i. 195. 

Ohod, Jebel (Mount Ohod), ii. 
25. n. 28. 46. Prayer in honour 
of the martyrs of, 91. Grave of 
Aaron on, 117. Its distance from 
El Medinah, 166. Winter on, 
172. Visitation to the martyrs of, 
227. The Prophet’s declaration 
concerning it, 230. Supposed to 
be one of the four hills of Para¬ 
dise, 231. n. Meaning of the 
word, 231. n. Causes of its pre¬ 
sent reputation, 233. Its springs, 
233. n. The Mustarah or resting- 
place, 234. The fiumara of, 235. 

, Its distance_from El Medinah, 
236. Its appalling look, 237. 

Omar, the Caliph. His window in 
the Prophet’s mosque, ii. 73. 80. 
Benediction bestowed on him, 
80. His tomb, 85, 86. His 

mosque at Jerusalem, 86. n. 
Sent forward by the Prophet to 
El Medinah, 128. Improves the 
Masjid at El Medinah, ii. 143. 
Supplies the town of El Medinah 
with water, 169. Mosque of, at 
El Medinah, 192. His respect 
for the mosque of El Kuba, 211. 
His tomb defiled by all Persians 
who can do so, 251. His mur¬ 
derer Tayruz, 252. 

Omar ben Abd-el-Aziz, governor of 
El Medinah, ii. 89. n. 145. 

Omar Effendi, his personal appear¬ 
ance, i 237. His character, 237* 
His part in the fray on board the 
ship, 283. Effects of a thirty- 
six hours* sail on him, 309. His 
brothers at Yambu, 338. 355. 
His alarm at the Hazimi tribe, 
340. Takes leave of Yambu, 
356. His rank in the camel file, 
358. His arrival at El Medinab, 
ii. 27. His house in £1 Barr, 


46. His intimacy with the pil¬ 
grim, 50. His gift of a piece of a 
kiswah to the pilgrim, 82. n. His 
account of the various offices of 
the mosque of the Prophet, 155. 
His share of the pensions of the 
mosque, 161. Accompanies 'the 
pilgrim to Ohod, 227. Bids them 
adieu, 335. His brothers the 
shop-keepers of El Medinah, 265, 
Runs away from his father at 
Jeddah, iii. 382. Caught and 
brought back, 388. 

Onayn, the Masjid, near El Medi¬ 
nah, ii. 327. 

Onions, leeks, and garlic, disliked 
by the Prophet, ii. 133. Abo¬ 
minable in the opinion of the 
Wahhabis, 134. n. 

Ophthalmia in Egypt, i. 268. Ra¬ 
rity of, in Arabia, ii. 176. Allu¬ 
sions of Herodotus to, 176. «. 
An ancient affliction in Egypt, 
176. n. A scourge in Modern 
Egypt, 177. n. Origin and pro¬ 
gress of the disease, 177. n. Prac¬ 
tices of Europeans to prevent, 
178. n. Remedies of the author, 
178. n. Errors of native practi¬ 
tioners, 178. n. 

Orientals, their repugnance to, and 
contempt for, Europeans, i. 161. 
Discipline among, must be based 
on fear, 313. Effect of a strange 
place on them generally, 341. n. 

Osman, the Caliph, his Cufic Koran, 
ii. 82. n. ; 150. His wish to be 
buried near the Prophet, 87. 
Prayers for, 92. The niche 
Mihrab Osman, 94. Assists in 
building the Prophet’s mosque, 
140. Builds the second mosque 
at El Medinah, 144. Enlarges 
the mosque of El Kuba, 211. 
Loses the Prophet’s seal ring, 
218. His troubles, 219. n. Visit 
to his tomb at El Bakia, 306. 
His funeral, 307. His two wives, 
the daughters of the Prophet, 
307. n. 

Osman, the Pacha, the present prin¬ 
cipal officer of the mosque at El 
Medinah, ii. 155, 



432 


INDEX. 


Osman, Bab, ii. HO. 

Osmanbin Mazun, his burial-place, 
ii. 302. 

Ostriches, found in El Hejaz, iii. 
74. n. Arab superstition respect¬ 
ing them, 74. n. 

Ovington, reference to, ii. 27. n. 

Oxymel. See Sikanjebin. 

Palm-grove, the, of El Medinah, ii. 
138. 

Palm-trees, venerable, of the hypee- 
thral court of the Prophet’s mosque, 
ii, 105. Extensive plantations of, 
in the suburbs of El Medinah, 191. 
Loveliness of the palm-plantations 
of El Medinah, 197. Celebrity 
of its dates, 198. The time of 
masculation of the palms, 202. 
The Daum or Theban palm, iii. 
7. 22. 

Para, value of the Turkish coin so 
called, ii. 270. n. 

“ Paradise, Mountains of,” i. 328. 
ii. 17. n. 

Parasang, the Oriental, its, in the 
days of Pliny, and at the present 
day, ii. 113. n. 

Pass, Arabic terms for a, iii. 7. 

Passports in Egypt (Tezkireh), in¬ 
conveniences of, i. 26. Sir G. 
"Wilkinson’s observations on, 26. 
tt. Adventures in search of one, 
27. British, carelessness in dis¬ 
tributing, in the East, 68. Dif¬ 
ficulty of obtaining one, in Egypt, 
186. et seq. 

“ Path” (Tarakat) to heaven, i. 20. 

Pathan (Afghan), the term, i. 65. 
319. 

Paul’s, St., in London, the fourth 
largest cathedral in the world, ii. 
145. n. 

Pebbles of the accepted, the, iii. 
248. 

Pensioners, the orders of, at the Pro¬ 
phet’s mosque, ii. 161. 

Perceval, M. C. de, reference to, ii. 
19. n. His account of Amlak, 
113. n„ 114. n. His remarks on 
the title €< Arkam,” 115. n. 
Quoted, 119. n. ; 123. n. Re¬ 


ferred to, 128. n.; 129.170. n. 
175. n. ; 197. n. 

Perfumed pillar, the, in the mosqui 
of the Prophet, ii. 102. 

Perfumes, the, of the Zair, ii. 63. n 

Perjury, price of, at Jeddah, i. 69. 

Persia, tobacco and pipes of, i. 265. 

Persian Pilgrims, a disagreeabh 
race, i. 303. They decline a chal 
lenge of the orthodox pilgrims 
327. Persecutions they suffer ir 
El Hejaz, 341. n. Luxuriance o 
the plains of, 370. The Per¬ 
sians’ defilement of the tombs o 
Abubekr and Omar, ii. 81. n 
Eunuchs among the, 155. n. 
Fire-temples of the ancient Gue- 
bres in, 164. n. Large number 
of the, in the Damascus caravan, 
250. Treatment of the “ Ajemi” 
at El Medinah, 250. Charged 
with having defiled the Kaabah, 
iii. 202. n. 

Peshin valley, inhabitants of the, i. 
363. 7i. 

Peter’s, St., at Rome, the second 
largest cathedral in the world, ii. 
145. 7i. 

Pharaoh, the “ Ceesar and Diabolus 11 
of the Nile, i. 14. n. Spot where 
he and his host were whelmed in 
the “ hill of waters,” 294. Arab 
legends respecting that event, 
294. 7i. 

Pharaoh’s Hot Baths (Hammam 
Faraun), i. 288. 290. 

Philosophy (Hikmat), study ofi 
little valued in Egypt, i. 156. n . 

Phoenician colony on the Red Sea, 
i. 298. The Phoenicians identified 
with the Amalik of Moslem 
writers, ii. 114. n. 

Physicians, the Arabs as, not so 
skilful as they were, ii. 184. 

Physiologists, their errors respecting 
the food of the inhabitants of hot 
and cold countries, ii. 270. n. 

Piastre, value of the, ii. 270. n. 

Pickpockets in Egypt, i. 36. 

Pigeons, the, sacred at Meccah, iii, 
218. Enter almost everywhere 
into the history of religion, 218. *. 



INDEX. 


433 


Pilgrims, distribution of, at Alex¬ 
andria, into three great roads, i. 
247. Pauper pilgrims, 248. Steady 
decrease of the number of pil¬ 
grims who pass annually 
through Suez, 260. Reasons as¬ 
signed for this, 260. Takrouri 
pilgrims, 261. The Hamail, or 
pocket Koran of, S52. How they 
live on the march, iii. 9. Or¬ 
dinances of the pilgrimage, 126. 
Offerings for atonements in cases 
of infractions of, 126, 127. Ob¬ 
servations on, 223. Common to 
all old faiths, 223. Conditions 
under which every Moslem is 
bound to perform the pilgrimage, 
224. The three kinds of pil¬ 
grimage, 225. The treatise of 
Mohammed of Shirbin respecting 
pilgrim rites, 227. tt seq. Direc¬ 
tions to the intending pilgrim, 
from other books, 227. n. The 
Prophet’s last pilgrimage the 
model for the Moslem world, 
240. The reckless pilgrimages of 
poor Indians, 255. Note on the 
ceremonies of the Wahhabi pil¬ 
grimage, 272. n. The change from 
Ihram to Ihla, 285. The Umrah, 
or little pilgrimage, iii. 338. 

Pilgrim’s tree, the, L 297. Probably 
a debris of fetish-worship, 227. n. 
Its practice in various Eastern 
countries, 227. n. 

Pistols, the, of the Bedouins, iii. 73. 

Pitts, Joseph, his pilgrimage to 
Meccah and El Medinah, it 376. 
Sketch of his adventures, 376. 
et seq. 

Plague. See Taun. 

Poetry, Arab, those generally studied, 
i. 157. n. The Burdeb and Hara- 
riyah of Mohammed of Abusir, 
157. n. The Banat Suadi of 
Kaab el Ahbar, 157. n. The Di- 
wan Umar ibn Fariz, 157. n. El 
Mutanabbi, 157. n. El Hariri, 
157. n. Simplicity of ancient 
Arab poetry, 157. h. Degenerate 
taste of the modern Egyptians in, 
157. *. Poetical exclamations of 

VOL. III. F 


the pilgrims in obtaining the first 
view of El Medinah, ii. 25, 26. 
Tenderness and pathos of the old, 
iii. 53. The suspended poem of 
Lebid, 53. The poetic feeling of 
the Bedouins, 61, 62. The im¬ 
provisator^ of the Bend Kahtan, 
62. n. Arabic suited to poetry, 

65. The rhyme of the Arabs, 

66 . ». 

Poison. The Teriyak of El Irak, 
the great counter-poison, iii. 77. 

Poisoners, professed, introduced by 
Mohammed Ali, iii, 43. n. 

“ Poison-wind,” the, ii. 2. ». Jts 
effects, 3. n. 

Police of Egypt, curiosity of the, i. 
3. Police magistrates in Cairo, 
scenes before, 173. The “ Pasha 
of the Night,” 175. 

Politeness of the Orientals, i. 310. 
Unpoliteness of some “Overlands,” 
310. 

Polygamy and monogamy, compari¬ 
son between, iii. 51. ». 

Pomegranates, the, of El Medinah, 
ii. 206. The Shami, Turki, and 
Misri kinds, 206. 

Poinpey’s pillar, i. 12. 43. 

Prayer, the Abrar, or call to, i. 128. 
The Maghrib, or evening, 222. n. 
The Ishah, or night prayer, 342. 
Prayer to prevent storms (Hzibr 
el Bahr), 311. The prayer re¬ 
cited, 312. Prayers on first view¬ 
ing the city of El Medinah, ii. 25. 
The prayer at the Prophet’s 
mosque, 63. The places of prayer 
at, 64. The afternoon prayers, 
66. n. The Shujdah, or single 
prostration prayer, 67. The Dua, 
or supplication after the two pros¬ 
tration prayer, 67. n. The posi¬ 
tion of the hands during, 69. Ef¬ 
ficacy ascribed to the act of blessing 
the Prophet, 70. Prayer at the 
Shubah el Nabi, 74. Ancient 
practice of reciting this prayer, 
74. n. The Testification, 77. The 
benedictions on Abubekr and 
Omar, 79, 80. The two-prostra¬ 
tion prayer at the Rauzah or 

F 



431 


INDEX, 


Garden, 87. n. The prayer at the 
Malaikah, or place of the angels, 
88. The prayer opposite to the 
grave of the Lady Fatimah, 90. 
The prayer in honour of Hamzah 
and the martyrs of Mount Ohod, 
91. Prayers for the souls of the 
blessed who rest in El Bakia, 92. 
At the Prophet’s window, 93. 
Public service in El Rauzah, 95. 
n. Origin of the prayer-niche of 
the mosque, 140. 145. n. El 
Kuba the first place of public 
prayer in El Islam, 209. The 
Niyat, or intention, 212. The 
Prophet’s place of prayer at El 
Kuba, 212. The prayers at the 
mosque of El Kuba, 212. The 
prayers at Hamzah’s tomb, 239. 
The Niyat when approaching 
Meccah, iii. 124. The Talbiyat, 
or exclaiming, 125. The prayers 
on sighting Meccah, 143. The 
four Makams, or stations for 
prayer, 168, 169. The prayers 
at the Kaabah, 203. et seq. 291. 

Procrastination of Orientals, ii, 285. 

Preacher, the, at Meccah, his style 
of dress, iii. 315. Origin of his 
wooden sword, 315- n. 

Presents of dates from El Medinah, 
ii. 199. 

Pressgangs in Cairo, i. 171. 

Price, Major, referred to, ii. 175. n. 

Prichard, Dr., on the Moors of 
Africa, i. 275. n. 

Pride of the Arabs, i. 366. 

Printing-press, the, in Egypt, i. 158. n. 

Prophets, in Moslem law, not sup¬ 
posed to be dead, ii. 110. «. 

Prosody (Ilm el Aruz), study of, 
among the Arabs, i. 157. 

Prostration-prayers, ii. 66. n. 67. n. 

Proverbs, Arab, i. 218.; ii. 22. n. 

Ptolemy the geographer, i. 331. 

Puckler-Muskau, Prince, his re¬ 
marks on the reflected heat of the 
Desert, i. 210. «. 

Pulpit, the Prophet’s, at El Medinah, 
ii. 66. 

Pyramids, the, i. 44. Their cover¬ 
ing of yellow silk or satin, iii. 
296. ». 


Rabelais, on the discipline of armies, 
ii. 8. 

Races of Bedouins. See Bedouins. 

Radhwah, Jebel (one of the “ Moun¬ 
tains of Paradise ”), i. 328. 358. 

Rafik, the, or collector of black¬ 
mail, iii. 86, 87. 

R£fizi (rejector, heretic), origin of 
the term, ii. 258. n. 

Rahah, meaning of the term, iii. 
362. 

Rahmah, Bab el, ii. 60, 61. 140. 
Jebel el (Mount of Mercy). See 
Arafat, Mount. 

Rahman of Herat, the calligrapher, 
i. 151. n. 

Rahmat el Kabirah, the attack of 
cholera so called, ii. 174. 

Railway, the, in Egypt, i. 164. 

Rain, want of, at all times, in Egypt, 

i. 266, 267. The rainy season 
expected with pleasure at El 
Medinah, ii. 172. Welcomed on 
the march, iii. 121. 

Raisiyah minaret of El Medinah, 
the, ii. 159. 

Rajm (lapidation), practice of, in 
Arabia, iii. 248. 

Rakb, or dromedary caravan, the, 

ii. 329. 

Rakham (vulture), the, iii. 7. 

Ramazan, the, i. 108. Effects of, 
109. Ceremonies of, 110, 111. 
The “ Fast-breaking,” 115. Ways 
of spending a Ramazan evening, 
116. The Greek quarter at Cairo, 
118. The Moslem quarter, 119. 
Beyond the walls, 123. 

Rami or Lapidation, ceremony of, 

iii. 282—284. 

Ramlah, or sanded place, ii. 61. 

Ras el Khaymah, i. 366. n. 

Ras el Tin, the Headland of Figs 
(the ancient Pharos), i. 10. 

Rasid, Bir (well of Rashid), the, 
iii. 4. 

Rauzah, El, or the Prophet’s garden, 
at El Medinah, ii. 62. Traditions 
respecting it, 65. n. Description 
of it, 68. The two-prostration 
prayer at the, 87. n. Public 
prayers in, 95. n. Farewell visits 
to, 338. 



INDEX. 


435 


Rayah (the Banner), tile Masjid el, 
near El Medinah, ii. 326. 

Rayyan, the hill near Meccah, iii. 
136. 

Raziki grapes, of El Medinah, ii. 
205. 

Red Sea, view of the, on entering 
Suez, i. 232. Injury done to the 
trade of the, by-.the fazzeh or sys¬ 
tem of rotation at Suez, 251. 263. 
Ship building on the, 262. 277. 
Kinds of ships used on the, 262. 
Imports and exports at Suez, 264, 
265. Description of a ship of 
the, 276. Course of ships on the 

287. Observations on the route I 
taken by the Israelites in crossing, 

288. Scenery from the, 288. 
Bright blue of the waters of the, 

289. Phoenician colony on the, 
297, 298. Christian colony on 
the shores of the, 298. Jebeliyah, 
or mountaineers of the, 298. n. 
Morning on the, 305. Fierce 
heat of the mid-day, 306. Har¬ 
mony and majesty of sunset, 307. 
Night on the, 308. Marsa Dam- 
ghah,'314. Wijh harbour, 316. 
The town of Wijh, 316. Coral 
reefs of the Red Sea, 322. The 
Ichthyophagi and the Bedouins 
of the coasts of the, 322. Arab 
legends respecting the phosphoric 
light in the, 323. El Kulzum 
the Arabic name for the, 369. n. 
The great heats near the, in Ara¬ 
bia, prejudicial to animal genera¬ 
tion, ii. 4. The shores of, when 
first peopled, according to Moslem 
accounts, 114. n. 

Rekem (Numbers, xxxi. 8.) identi¬ 
fied with the Arcam of Moslem 
writers, ii. 115, 116, n. 

Religion of the Bedouins, iii. 79. 
Religious phrenzy (Malbus), case of, 
at Meccah, iii. 219. Susceptibility 
of Africans to, 219. 

Rhamnus Nabeca (the Nebek or 
Jujube), the, of El Medinah, ii. 
205. 

Rltazya stricta, used as a medicine 
by the Arabs, iii. 122. 


Rhetoric, study of, in Egypt, i. 

156. a. 

Rhyme of the Arabs, iii. 66. ». 

Ria, the, or steep descents, i. 369, 
370. 

Ridah, El (portion of the pilgrim 
dress), iii. 124. 

41 Ridge, Affair of the,” the battle so 
called, ii. 230. n. 

Rifkah, El, the black-mail among 
the Bedouins, iii. 86. 

Rih el Asfar (cholera morbus), the, 
in El Hejaz, ii. 174. Medical 
treatment of the Arabs in cases 
of, 174. The Rahmat el Kabirah, 
174. 

Ring, seal, the, of the Prophet, u. 
218,219. 

Rites of pilgrimage, iii. 227. et seq. 
Riwaks, or porches, surrounding the 
hypsethral court of the mosque at 
El Medinah, ii. 101.212. 

“ Riyal Hajar,” a stone dollar so 
called by the Bedouins, ii» 153. n. 
Riza Bey, son of the Sherif of Mec¬ 
cah, iii. 141. 

Robbers in the Desert, mode of pro¬ 
ceeding of the, i. 186. 367- Saad, 
the robber-chief of El Hejaz, 
378. Shaykh Fahd, 378. How 
Basrah, a den of thieves, was 
purged, 381. «. Indian pilgrims 
protected by their poverty, ii. 3. 
Rock inscriptions near Meccah, iii. 
137. 

Ruasa, the, or chief of the Muezzins, 
residence of, ii. 100. 159. 

Ruba el Khali (the empty abode), 
its horrid depths and half-starving 
population, i. 4. 

“ Rubb Rumman,” or pomegranate 
syrup, of Taif and El Medinah, 

ii. 207. 

Rukham (white marble) of Meccah, 

iii. 150. n, 

Rukn el Yemani, the, of the Kaa- 
bah, iii. 162. 

Rumah, Bir el, or Kalib Mazni, at 
Kuba, ii. 220. n. 

Rumat, Jebel el (Shooters’ Hill), 
near El Medinah, ii. 327. 

Runjeet Singh, his paramount fear 
and hatred of the British, i, 57. 


r f 2 



436 


INDEX. 


Russia, opinions of the Medinites 
of the war with, ii. SB, The 
present, feeling in Egypt respect¬ 
ing, i, 162. 170. 

Rustam, battles of, i. 1S8. 

Rutab (wet dates), ii. 201. 


Saad el Jinni (the Devil), descrip¬ 
tion of his personal appearance, i. 
238. Hischaracter,238. Equipped 
as an able seaman on board the 
pilgrim-ship, 278. His part in 
the fray on board, 283. Effects 
of a thirty-six hours’ sail on him, 
309. His quarrel with the coffee¬ 
house keeper at Wijh, 318. His 
sulkiness, 329. Leaves Yambu, 
356. His apprehensions in the 
Desert near Yambu, 359. Pur¬ 
chases cheap wheat at El Hamra, 
375. His fear of the Bedouins, 
385. His fear of the robbers, ii. 
12. Takes his place in the cara¬ 
van, 14. Forced to repay a debt 
to the pilgrim, 20. Arrives at 
El Medinah, 27. His intimacy 
with the pilgrim, 50. Accom¬ 
panies the pilgrim to Ohod, 227. 

Saad ibn Maaz, converted to El 
Islam, ii. 127. His tomb, 310. 
n. Condemns the Kurayzah to 
death, 323- 

Saad ibn Zararah, his tomb, ii. 319. n. 

Saad, the robber-chief of El Hejaz, 
i. 378. Particulars respecting 
him, 378. His opponent Shaykh 
Fayd, 378. His blood-feud with 
the sherif of Meccah, 382. De¬ 
scription of Saad, 383. His ha¬ 
bits and manners, 383. His cha¬ 
racter, 383. He sometimes does 
a cheap good deed, ii. 4. Con¬ 
versation respecting him, 10. De¬ 
scription of his haunt, 10, 11. 

Saba, the land of, ii. 120. 

Sabaeans, their claim to the Kaabah 
as a sacred place, iii. 160. n. 

Sabatier, M., i. 164. n. 

Sabil, or public fountain, of El Me¬ 
dinah, ii. 186. 

Sabkhah, or tufaceous gypsum of 
the Desert, iii. 116. 


Sacrifices in cases of infractions of 
the ordinances of the pilgrimage, 
iii. 126. At Muna, 302, 303. 
Sadakah, or alms, sent to the Holy 
Land, ii. 137. n. 

Sadi, the Bait el, the makers of the 
Kiswah of the Kaabah, iii. 299, 
300. 

Safa, a hill in Meccah, ii. 144. 

Safa, El, the hill, at Meccah, the 
ceremonies at, iii* 343. Meaning 
of “ Safa,” 344. n, 

Safk (clapping of hands), practice 
of, in the East, iii. 311. 

Sahal, sells ground to Mohammed, 
ii. 134. 

Sahil, the Sufi, i. 14. n. 

Sahn, El, or central area of a mosque, 
ii. 61. 98. 

Sai, El, the ceremony so called, iii. 
213. «. Compendium of the cere¬ 
mony, 236. 

Saidi tribe of Arabs, i. 212. 

Saint Priest, M. de, i. 164. n. 

Saints, in Moslem law, not supposed 
to be dead, ii. 110. n. Their burial- 
place at El Bakia, 301. 

Saj, or Indian teak, ii. 144. 

Sakka, the, or water-carrier of the 
Prophet’s mosque, ii. 96. 158. 
Salabah ben Amr, ii. 122. 

Salam, the, among the Moslems, i. 
209. 222. Not returning a, mean¬ 
ing of, i. 340. n. 

Salam, or Blessings on the Prophet, 

i. 111. 

Salam, the Bab el, at El Medinah, 

ii. 60 n. 62. 69. n. 

Salat, or mercy, in Moslem theology, 
ii. 70. n. 

Salatah, the dish so called, i. 198. 
Salih Shakkar, description of, i. 241. 
Effects of a thirty-six hours’ sail 
on him, 309. Leaves Yambu, 
356. Arrives at El Medinah, ii. 
27. 

Salili tribe of Arabs, i. 212. 

Salim, the Beni, its subdivisions, iii. 
96. n. Their conversations with 
the Prophet, 132. n. 

Salkh, the kind of circumcision 
among the Bedouins so called, iii. 
80. 



INDEX. 


437 


Salma El Mutadalliyuh, great¬ 
grandmother of the Prophet, ii. 
125. n. 

Salman, the Persian, companion of 
the Prophet, ii. 220. n. 

Salman el Farsi, the Masjid, it. 
326. 

Salmanhudi, El (popularly El Sam- 
houdy), his testimony respecting 
the tomb of the Prophet, ii. 84. 
Remarks on his name, 84, m. His 
burial-place, 84. n. His account 
of the graves of the Prophet and 
the first two caliphs, 109. Un¬ 
successful endeavour to purchase 
a copy of El Samanhudi, 110. 
Visits the tombs of the Hujrah, 
151. n. 

Salt, sacredness of the tie of “ terms 
of salt,” ii. 334, 335. n. The 
bond of, sacredness of, among 
the Bedouins, iii. 84. The Sy¬ 
rians called “ abusers of the salt,” 
114. n., 115. 

Salutation of peace in the East, i. 

209. 222.; ii. 31, 32. 

Samanhud, the ancient Sebennitis, ii. 
84. «. 

Sambuk, the, i. 263. Description of 
a, 276. 

Samman, Mohammed el, the saint, 

ii. 238. His zawiyat, or oratory, 
near Ohod, 238. 

Sanctuary, right of, in the Kaabah, 

iii. 195. The Prophet’s. See 
Kaabah. 

Sandals donned when approaching 
Meccah, iii. 124. 

Sand, pillars of, in Arabia, iii. 18. 
Arab superstition respecting them, 
18 . 

Sandal, the Oriental, i. 348. Un¬ 
comfortable and injurious to wear¬ 
ers of them, 348. n. 

Sanding instead of washing, when 
water cannot be obtained, i. 
385. 

Sandstone, yellow(Hajar Shumaysi), 
of Meccah, iii. 150. n. 

Saniyat Kudaa, near Meccah, iii. 
144. 

Saracen, derivation of the word, i. 
275. «. 


Saracens, Gibbon’s derivation of the 
name, iii. 28. n. 

Saracenic style of architecture, i. 
131. 133.; ii. 145. 

Sarf, El (grammar of the verb), 
study of, in schools, i. 152. 

Sariyah, or night march, disagree¬ 
ableness of a, iii. 15, 16. 

Sarraf, or money changer, iii. 329. 

Sarsar wind, the, i. 221. n. 

Saud, the Wahhabi, i. 356. Be¬ 
sieges the city of El Medinah, ii. 
151, 152. 

Saur, Jebel, Mohammed’s stay in the 
cave of, ii. 131. n. Its distance 
from El Medinah, 166. 

Sawadi, or black grapes, ii. 205. 

Sawik, the food so called, ii. 19. n. 

Sayh, El, the torrent at El Medinah, 
ii. 192. 196. 228. 

Sayhani, El, the date so called, ii. 

200 . 

Sayl, or torrents, in the suburbs of 
El Medinah, ii. 169. 

Sayyalah, the Wady, ii. 17. The 
cemetery of the people of, 17. 

Sayyid Abu ’1 Haija, Sultan of 
Egypt, his present to the mosque 
of the Prophet, ii. 147. n. 

Sayyid Ali, vice-intendant of the 
mosque of Meccah, iii. 185. 

Sayyidna Isa, future tomb of, ii. 
89. 

Sayyids, great numbers of, at El Me¬ 
dinah, ii. 257. Their origin, 257. n. 
Dress of Sayyids in El Hejaz, 259. 
The Sayyid Alawiyah, 259. 
Graves of the, at El Bakia, SOI. 

Schools in Egypt, i. 151. Course 
of study in El Azhar, 151. et seq. 
Intonation of the Koran taught in, 
156. 

Science, exact and natural, state of, 
in Egypt, i. 157, 158. n. 

Scorpions near Meccah, iii. 247. 

“ Sea of Sedge,” the, i. 288. 

Seasons, the, divided into three, by 
the Arabs, ii. 173. 

Sebastiani, General, i. 164. n. 

Sebennitis, the modern Samanhud, 
ii. 84. n. 

Sehrij, or water tank, on Mount 
Ohod, ii. 243. 


F F :j 



438 


INDEX. 


Selim, Sultan, of Egypt, i. 213. 

Semiramis, eunuchs first employed 
by, ii. 155. n. 

Senaa, city of, its depravity, iii. 
76. n. 

Senna plant, abundance of the, in 
Arabia, iii. 22. Its growth in the 
deserts, 122. 

Sepulchre, the Holy, imitations of, 
in Christian churches, i. 138. 

Sermons, Moslem, iii. 177. The 
Sermons of Saadi, 205. The ser¬ 
mon on Mount Arafat, 239. The 
Khutbat el Wakfah (Sermon of 
the Standing [upon Arafat]), 272. 
The sermon at the Haram, SI 4, 
315. Impression made by it on 
the hearers, 316. 

Sesostris, ships of, i. 277. His blind¬ 
ness, ii. 176. 

Shafei, El, mosque of, i. 155. n. 

Shafei, Masalla, or place of prayer of 
the Shafei school, ii. 64. 

Shafei, Imam, his vision of Ali, iii. 
254. n. 

Shafei school, mufti of the, at El 
Medinah, ii. 158, 

Shafei pilgrimage, the compendium 
of Mohammed of Shirbin relating 
to the, iii. 227. et seq. 

Shahan, the Beni (a Jewish tribe), 
in Arabia, ii. 118. n. 

Shajar Kanadil, or brass chandelier 
of the hypsethral court of the Pro¬ 
phet’s mosque, ii, 107, 

Shaking hands (Musafahah), Arab 
fashion of> ii. 332. 

Shame, a passion with Eastern na¬ 
tions, i, 53. 

Shami, Bab el, or Syrian gate, of El 
Medinah, ii. 185. 189. 

Shami pomegranates, of El Medinah, 
ii. 206. 

Shamiyah, or Syrian, ward of Mec- 
cah, iii. 145. Quarrels of the, 
with the Sulaymaniyah quarter, 
i45. 

Shammas bin Usman, bis tomb at 
Ohod, ii. 242. 

Shamsan, Jehel, the burial-place of 
Cain, iii. 199. n. 

Shamud tribe, the, of tradition, i. I 
326. | 


Sharai and Be-Sharai, the two or¬ 
ders of Dervishes, i. 22. 

Shararif, or trefoiled crenelles in the 
walls of El Medinah, ii. 186. 

Sharbat Kajari, the poison of the 
Persians, iii. 43. 

Sharh, El, ii. 4. Explanation of the 
name, 4. n. 

Sharki, the Darb el, ii. 168. 

Sharzawan, El, or base of the Kaa- 
bah, iii. 155. 

Shaub el Haj, (the pilgrim’s pass), 
scene in the, ii. 15. 

Shaving in the East, ii. 274. 

Shaw, Dr. Norton, i. 1. 7. 

Shawarib, Abu, the father of mus- 
tachios, ii. $33. 

Shaybah, generally called Abd el 
Mutalleb, grandfather of the Pro¬ 
phet, ii. 125. n. 

Shaybah, Ibn, his account of the 
burial-place of Aaron, ii. 117. 

Shaybah, Bab Beni, legend of the, of 
the Kaabah, iii. 200. n. The true 
sangre azul of El Hejaz, 287. 
Keepers of the keys of the Kaa¬ 
bah, 287. The chief, Sbaykh 
Ahmed, 287. n. 

Shaykh, explanation of the term, i. 
16. Description of an Arab, fully 
equipped for travelling, 345. His 
method of releasing the pilgrim 
from a difficulty, 189. 

Shaykhain, the “two shaykhs,” 
Abubekr and Osman, ii. 255. 

Shay tan el Kabir (the Great Devil), 
ceremony of throwing stones at, 
iii. 282—284. 

Sheep, the three breeds of, in El 
Hejaz, ii. 278. n. The milk of 
the ewe, 278. n. 

Shems el Din Yusuf, El Muzaffar, 
chief of Yemen, his contribution 
to the fifth mosque of the Pro¬ 
phet, ii. 150. 

Sherifs, or descendants of Moham¬ 
med, ii. 90. Great numbers of, 
at El Medinah, 257. Their origin, 
257. n. Their intense pride, iii. 
33. «. Forced celibacy of their 
daughters, 33. n. Their bravery, 

131. Causes of their pugnacity, 

132. n. 



INDEX. 


439 


Sherifi, El, the grape so called, ii. 
205. 

Shiahs, their defilement of the tombs 
of Abubekr and Omar, ii. 81. n. 
Their antipathy to the Sunnis, 
81. n. Their aversion for Abu¬ 
bekr, 129. n. Their detestation 
of Syria and the Syrians, iii. 114, 
115. n. 

Shiba Katt, i. 43. 

Shibriyah, or cot, for travelling, 
iii. 12. 

Ship-building on the Red Sea, i. 262. 

Ships. The toui or Indian canoe, i. 
277. ». The “ catamaran ” of 
Madras and Aden, 277. w. 

Shiraz, boasts of the Shiahs at, ii. 

81 . n. 

Shisha, or Egyptian water-pipe, l. 
117. 

Shishah, or travelling pipe, iii. 103. 

Shopping in Alexandria, i. 16. 

Shuab Ali, valley of, ii. 25. n. 

Shugduf, difference between the 
Syrian and Hejazi shugduf, ii. 
225. Dangers to, in “ acacia- 
barrens,” iii. 17. 

Shuhada (the Martyrs), ii. 17. Re¬ 
marks on, 17. Its past and future 
honours, 17. n. Visit to the 
graves of the, at Mount Ohod, ii. 
234. 

Shumays, Bir, yellow sandstone of, 
iii. 150 n. 

Shurafa, pi of Sherif, a descendant 
of Mohammed, ii. 91. 

Shurum, the, i. 213. 

Shushah, the, or tuft of hair on the 
poll, i. 239. 

Sicard, Father, i. 288. 

Sidr or Lote tree of the Prophet’s 
mosque, ii. 105. 

Sie-fa of the Bokte, in Tartary, i. 
85 . 

Siesta, the, ii. 49. n. The Kaylu- 
lah, or noon siesta, 49. n. The 
Aylulah, 49. n. The Ghaylulah, 
49. ru 'The Eaylulah, 49. n. The 
Faylulah, 49. 

Sikander El-Rumi, tomb of, i. 17. 

Sikanjebin (oxymel), used as a re¬ 
medy in fevers in Arabia, ii. 
179. 

r f 


Silk-tree, the, of Arabia. See As- 
clepias gigantea. 

Simoom wind, the, i. 218. ii, 2. n. 
Its effects on the skin, iii. 18. 
And on the traveller’s temper, 
106. The, on the road between 
El Medinah and Meccah, 109. 
Sinai, Mount, i. 299. 

Sinaitie tribes of Arabs, modern, ob¬ 
servations on, i. 212. et seq. Chief 
clans of, 212. Impurity of the 
race, 214. Their ferocity, 215. 
How manageable, 216. 

Sindh, dry storms of, i. 364.; ii. 2. 
Singapore, pilgrims from, to Meccah, 

i. 265. 

Silat el Rasul, referred to, ii. 175. ». 
Sittna Zaynab (our Lady Zaynab), 
mosque of, at Cairo, i. 143. 

Siyuti, El, his theological works, i. 
155. «. 

Sketching, dangerous among the Be¬ 
douins, i. 353. 

Slaves, trade in, at Jeddah and in 
Egypt, i. 69. Reform in our 
slave laws throughout the East 
much needed, 72. Abyssinian 
slave style of courting, 87 . Slave- 
hunting in Africa, 88. Condition 
of slaves in the East, 89. The 
black slave-girls of El Medinah, 

ii, 271. Value of slave-boys and 
eunuchs, 272. Value of the Galla 
girls, 272. Price of a Jariyah 
Bayza, or white slave-girl, 272. 
Female slaves at Meccah, iii. 326. 
The slave-market of Meccah, 355. 
The pilgrim’s resolve, if permitted, 
to destroy the slave-trade, 355. 
Ease with which the slave-trade 
may be destroyed in the Red Sea, 
356. 

Small-pox in Arabia. See Judari. 
Smith, Sir L., his defeat of the Beni 
Bu Ali Arabs, i. 366. n. 

Smoking the weed «• hashish,” i. 64. 
Soap, tafl or bole earth used by the 
Arabs as, ii. 221. 

Sobh Bedouins, their plundering 
propensities, iii. 1. 

Societies, secret, in Egypt, i. 165. 
Sodom, the long-sought, iii. 122. n. 
Sola, plain of, near Meccah, iii, 138. 
4 



440 


INDEX. 


Soldier-travellers, fatalities which 
have befallen them lately, i. 2. 
Soldiers in Egypt, i. 171* 

Solomon, king, i. 312. Mosque of, 
at Jerusalem, connected with, ii. 
57. 

Somalis, the, dislike of, to tobacco, 

i. 286. n. Foundation of the, ii. 
115. n. 

Songs of the Bedouin Arabs, i. 211. 
Of Maysunah, the, iii. 262. Spe¬ 
cimen of one, 311. 

Sonnini, his description of the 
“ Kaif,” i. 13. n. Reference to, 

ii. 48. His testimony to the vir¬ 
tues of the harem, iii. 51. n. 

Sophia's, St., at Constantinople, the 
largest cathedral in the world, ii. 
145. n. 

Spanish cathedrals, oriental origin of, 

ii. 60. 

Spears (Kanat), the, of the Be¬ 
douins, iii. 73. 

Sports of the Bedouins, iii. 70. 
Springs, the, of Mount Ohod, ii. 
233. n. 

Stanhope, Lady Hester, her faith in 
magic mirrors, ii. 180. n. 

Statuary and pictures forbidden in 
mosques, i. 137. 

Stimulants, effect of drinking, in the 
East, ii. 3. n. 

Stoa, or Academia, of El Medinab, 

ii. 107. 

Stocks, Dr., of Bombay, reference 
to, i. 363. n. 

Stone, the, obtained near Meccah, 

iii. 150. n. That of Panopolis, 151. 
Stone-worship, iii. 159. ». 

Storm, description of one at Muna, 
iii. 304. Dry storms of Arabia, i. 
364. 

Streets, the, of El Medinah, ii. 187. 
Students, Moslem, 152. n. Wretch¬ 
ed prospects, 159. 

Sudan (Blacksland), i. 261. 

Suez (Suways), a place of obstacle 
to pilgrims, i. 186. Safety of the 
Desert road to, 229. Its want of 
sweet water, 231. n. Its brackish 
wells, 231. n. No hammam (or 
bath) at, 231. n. Number of cara¬ 
vanserais of, 233. n. Want of com¬ 


fort in them all, 23S. n. The faz- 
zeh, or system of rotation, in the 
port of, 251. 263. Exorbitant 
rate of freight at, 251. ». The 
George Inn at {see George Inn), 
254. et seq. Decrease in the num¬ 
ber of pilgrims passing through 
Suez to Meccah, 260. The ship¬ 
builders of Suez, 262. Kinds of 
ships used at, 262. Number of 
ships at, 263. Imports and ex¬ 
ports, 264, 265. Average annual 
temperature of the year at, 266. 
Population of, 267. State of the 
walls, gates, and defences of, 268. 
Food of the inhabitants of, 268, 
269. Their fondness for quarrels, 
274. A ** pronunciamento H at, 
271. Scene on the beach on a 
July morning at, 273. 

Sufayna, El, the village of, iii. 107- 
Halt of the Baghdad caravan at, 
108. Description of the place, 
111 . 

Sufat (half-caste Turk), the, the 
present ruling race at El Medi¬ 
nah, ii. 261. 

SufFah, or sofa, companions of the, 
ii. 143. 

Sufiyan, Abu, his battle with Mo¬ 
hammed at Mount Ohod, ii. 233. 
236. 

Sufrah, the, i. 111. “ Sufra hazir,” 

111. n. 

Suhayl, sells ground at El Medinah 
to Mohammed, it 134. 

Sujdah, the, or single-prostration 
prayer, ii. 67. 

Suk el Khuzayriyah, or greengrocers* 
market of El Medinah, ii. 186. 
Duk el Habbabah, or grain mar¬ 
ket of El Medinah, 186. 

Sula, or Sawab, Jebel, near El Me¬ 
dinah, ii. 327. 

Sulaman the Magnificent, the Sultan, 
his donations to the shrines of 
Meccah and El Medinah, ii. 64. *. 

Sulaymani, the poison so called, iii. 
43. 

Sulaymaniyah, or Afghan quarter of 
Meccah, ii. 99.; iii. 145. Quarrels 
of the, with the Shamiyah ward, 
145. 



INDEX, 


441 


Suls character of Arabic, ii, 82. n. A 
Koran in the library of the Pro¬ 
phet’s mosque written in the, 
107. n. 

Sumayat, a sub-family of the Beni- 
Harb, i. 378. 

Sun, his fierce heat on the Red Sea, 

i. 306. Effects of, on the mind 
and body, 306. Majesty of the 
sunset hour, 307. Heat of the, in 
the Deserts of Arabia, 370. Re¬ 
marks on sun-strokes, in the East, 

ii. 2, 3. ». Hour at which it is 
most dangerous, 18. Adoration 
of, by kissing the hand, iii. 204.». 

Sunnat, or practice or custom of the 
Prophet, ii. 108, 109. a. 

Sunnat el Tawaf, or practice of cir- 
cumambulation, iii. 212. 

Sunnis, their antipathy to the Shiahs, 
ii. 81. n. Their reverence for the 
memory of Abubekr, 129. 

Superstitions of the Arabs, ii. 240. 
Error of Niebuhr respecting, iii. 
144. a. That respecting the ceil¬ 
ing of the Kaabah, 289. The su¬ 
perstitions of Meccans and Chris¬ 
tians compared, 333. Those of 
Arabs and Africans respecting the 
aloe, 3.50. ' 

Supplication, efficacy of the, at the 
Masjid el Ahzab, ii. 325. 

Surat, tobacco of, i. 265. 

Surgery among the Bedouins, iii. 
77. 

Suri (Syrian), Shami, or Suryani, 
tobacco, i. 96. a. 

Surrah, the, or financier of the 
caravan, ii. 161. 

Suwan (granite), the, of Meccah, iii. 
150. n. 

Suwaykah, celebrated in the history 
of the Arabs, ii. 19. Origin of 
its name, 19. a. 

Suwayrkiyah, head-quarters of the 
Beni Hosayn, ii. 257. Confines 
of, iii. 23. The town of, 101. 
The inhabitants of, 102. 

Swords of the Arabs, i.’S65.; iii. 74. 
Their sword-play, 75. 

Suyah in Arabia, i. 367. 

Syria, expedition of Tobba el Asghar 
against, ii. 123. Abhorrence in 


which it is held by the Shiah sect, 

iii. 114, 115. n. Wars in, caused 
by sectarian animosity, 1 1 5. n. 

Syrians on the Red Sea, i. 298. 
Detestation in which Syria and 
the Syrians are held by the Shiahs, 
iii. 114, 115. n. Called “abusers 
of the salt,” 114. n. 

Tabrani, El, his account of the 
building of the Prophet’s mosque, 
ii. 140. 

Tafarruj, or lionising, ii. 62. 

Tafl, or bole earth, eaten by Arab 
women, ii. 222. 

Tafsir (exposition of the Koran), 
study of, in schools, i. 152. 

Taharah, the kind of circumcision 
among the Bedouins so called, iii. 
80. 

Tahlil, or cry of welcome, iii. 197. 

Taif, Population of, ii. 189. «. 
Pears of, 206. n. The “ Rubb 
Rumman ” of, 207. The blue 
peaks of, iii. 138, 

Takat el Kashf (niche of disclosure), 
of the mosque of El Kuba, ii. 
213. 

Takiyah, or dervishes' dwelling- 
place, in Cairo, i. 124. The 
Takiyah erected at El Medinah 
by Mohammed Ali, ii. £ 9 . 

Takruri pilgrims, i. 201. j iii. 7. 13. 
Their wretched poverty, 8. 

Takhtrawan, or gorgeous letters, ii. 
225. Expenses of one, from 
Damascus and back, iii. 12. n. 

Talbiyat, or exclaiming, the, when 
approaching Meccab, iii. 125. 
Derivation of the term, 125. n. 

Talhah, friend of Mohammed, sent 
forward by the Prophet to El 
Medinah, ii. 128. 

Tamarisk tree, the, ii. 203. 

Tamattu, El (possession), the pil¬ 
grimage so called, iii. 226. 

Tanzimat, the, folly of, i. 380. 

Tarawih prayers, i. 116. 

Tarbush and fez, the, ii. 275, 

Tarik el Ghabir, the road from El 
Medinah to Meccah, iii. 1. 

Tarikh Tabari, the, referred to, ii. 
119. 



442 


INDEX, 


Tarikeh ben Himyariah, wife of 
Amr ben Amin, ii. 121. 

Tarsb ish, i. 277. 

Tarwiyat, origin of the ceremony of, 
iii. 238. ». 

Taslim, to say “ salam,” ii. 93. 

Tashrih, the Madani children’s bo¬ 
dies marked with, ii. 273. 

Tashrit (gashing), the ceremony at 
Meccah so called, iii. 327. n. 

Tatarif, or cartridges of the Be¬ 
douins, iii. 90. 

Taun (the plague), never in El 
Hejaz, ii. 174. 

Tawaf, or circumambulation of the 
House of Allah at Meccah, ii. 58. 
Ceremonies of, at the Kaabah, iii. 
204, 205. Its probable origin, 
204, 205. n. The Sunnat el 
Tawaf, or practice of circumam¬ 
bulation, 212. Sketch of the 
ceremony of Tawaf, 234. 

Tawarah tribes of Arabs. See Arabs, 
and Sinaitic tribes. 

Taw&shi, the generic name of the 
eunuchs of the mosque, ii. 155. n. 

Taxation in Egypt, i. 163. n. Capi¬ 
tation tax levied on infidels, 343. 
n. No taxes paid by the Madani, 
ii. 262. 

Tayammum, the sand-bath, i. 385. 

Tayfur Agha, chief of the college 
of eunuchs at El Medinah, ii. 
156. 

Tayr Ababil, the, ii. 175. n. 

Tayyarah, or “ flying caravan,” the, 
ii. 329. 

Theology, Moslem, observations on, 
i. 154. et seq. Poverty of an 
Alim, or theologian, 192. 

Thieves in the Desert, i. 367. 

Thirst, difficulty with which it is 
borne by the Bedouins, iii. 18. 
How to allay, 19. n. 

Tehamat El Hejaz, or the sea coast 
of El Hejaz, ii. 166* 

Teriyak (Theriack) of El Irak, the 
counter-poison so called, iii. 77. 

Testification, the prayer so called, ii. 
77. 79. n. 

Tezkireh. See Passports. 

Tigritiya, the Abyssinian malady so 
called, iii. 220. n. 


Timbak (tobacco), from Persia or 
Surat, i. 265. 

Tinder, Nubian and Indian, iii* 
122. n. 

Tippo Sahib, his treatment of his 
French employes, i. 57. n. 

Tobacco, the, of Egypt, i. 95. La- 
takia, 95. n . Suri (Syrian), 
Shami, or Suryani, 96. n. Tum- 
bak, 96. n. Hummi, 97. n. The 
Shisha, or Egyptian water-pipe, 
117. Pipes of the Bedouins and 
Arab townspeople, 211. n. The 
old Turkish meerschaum, 211. n. 
Aversion of the barbarous tribes 
of Africa to the smell of, 286. n. 
The shisha (hooka) of Arabia, ii. 
45. Syrian tobacco generally 
used in El Medinah, 48. Its 
soothing influence, iii. 9. Water- 
pipes, 9. Salary of a pipe-bearer, 
9. n. Smoking among the Be¬ 
douins, iii. 93. The shisha, or 
travelling pipe, 103. Instance of 
the Wahhabi hatred of, 108. 128. 

Tobba Abu Karb, the, it 123. n. 

Tobba el Asghar, his expedition to 
El Medinah, ii. 123. And to Sy¬ 
ria and El Irak, 123. Abolishes 
idolatry, 124. 

Tobba, “the Great,”or “the Chief,” 
ii. 123. n. 

Tombs; that of El-nabi Daniyal 
(Daniel the Prophet), i. 16. Of 
Sikander El-Rumi, 17. Of Ma- 
hommed El-Busiri, 17. Of Abu 
Abbas El-Andalusi, 17. Of the 
martyred grandsons of Moham¬ 
med, Hasan, and Hosayn, 142. n. 
Of Kaid Bey and the other Ma¬ 
meluke Kings, 143. Peculiar 
form of the sepulchre now com¬ 
mon in El Hejaz, Egypt, and the 
Red Sea, 227. The tomb of Abu 
Zulaymah, 293. Of Shaykh Ha¬ 
san el Marabit, on the Red Sea, 
321. Distant view of the Pro¬ 
phet’s tomb at El Medinah, ii. 30. 
Account of a visit to it, 56 —112. 
The Lady Fatimah’s at El Medi¬ 
nah, 62. n. 89, 90. Exact place of 
the Prophet’s tomb, 82. The tombs 
of Abubekr and Omar, 85, 86. 



INDEX. 


443 


The future tomb of Sayyidna Isa, 
89. Tombs of the father and mo¬ 
ther of the Prophet, 125. n. Tomb 
of Mohammed, 136. 142. At¬ 
tempted robbery of the tombs of 
Mohammed and his two compa¬ 
nions, 148, 149. The tombs in 
the Hujrah visited by El Saman- 
hudi, 151. n. The tomb of Aaron 
on Mount Ohod, 233. Hamzah’s 
tomb, 236, 237. That of Abdul¬ 
lah bin Jaish at Ohod, 242. Vi¬ 
sit to the tombs of the saints of El 
Bakia, 300. et seq. Tombs of 
Hagarand Ishmael at Meccah, iii. 
165. Burial-places of Adam, 
Abel, and Cain, 198, 199. ». 
Tombs of celebrity at the ceme¬ 
tery of Meccah, 351. et seq. Eve’s 
tomb near Jeddah, 386. 

Tott, inspector-general, i. 164. n. 

Trade and commerce, condition of, 
at El Medinah, ii. 265. The 
three vile trades of Moslems, iii. 
140. n. 

Trafalgar, Cape, i. 9* Remarks on 
the meaning of the word, 9. n. 

Travellers, idiosyncrasy of, L 23. 

“ Trees of El Medinah,” the cele¬ 
brated, ii. SO. 

Tripoli, i. 279. 

Tumar character, the, of Arabic, iii 
299, 300. 

Tumbak tobacco, i. 96. n. 

Tunis, i. 279. 

Tur, the old Phoenician colony on 
the Red Sea, i 297. Terrible 
stories about the Bedouins of, 
297. The modern town, 298. 
The inhabitants of, 298. The 
delicious dates of, 301. 

Tur, Jebel (Mount Sinai), i. 299. 

Turki pomegranates of El Medinah, 
ii. 206. 

Turks on the pilgrimage, i. 281. 
Turkish Irregular Cavalry in the 
Deserts of Arabia, 367. Imbeci¬ 
lity of their rule in Arabia, 379. 
Delenda est marked by Fate upon 
the Ottoman empire, 382. n. Pro¬ 
bable end of its authority in El 
Hejaz, 382. Douceurs given by 
them to the Arab shaykhs of El 


Hejaz, ii. 4. Their pride in ignor¬ 
ing all points of Arab prejudices, 
56. Their difficulties in Arabia, 
137. One killed on the march by 
an Arab, iii. 105. Their danger¬ 
ous position in El Hejaz, 142. n. 
Turkish pilgrims at Meccah, au¬ 
thor’s acquaintance with, 214, 215. 
Tussun Bey, defeat of, by the Be¬ 
douins, i. 387. Conclude a peace 
with Abdullah the Wahhabi, ii. 
153. 

Tutty (Tutiyah), used in El Hejaz 
for the cure of ulcers, ii. 184. 

Uhayhah, of the Aus tribe, ii. 125. n. 
Ukab, the bird so called, iii. 7. 
Ukayl bin Abi Talib, brother of 
Ali, his tomb, ii. 811. 319. 

Ulael Din, Shaykh, of El Medinah, 

ii. 267. 

Ulcers (Nasur) common in El He¬ 
jaz, ii. 183. Antiquity of the 
disease in Arabia, 183. Death of 
Am el Kays, the warrior and 
poet, 183. Mandate of Mohammed 
Abu, (see Mohammed,) 183. The 
Hejaz ** Nasur,” and the Yemen 
ulcer the “ Jurh el Yemani,” 183. 
Popular treatment of, 184. 

Ulema, their regulation respecting 
the prostration prayer, ii. 67. 
Their opinion respecting the death 
of Moslem saints, &c. 110., n. One 
of the five orders of pensioners at 
the Prophet’s mosques, 161. 

Urdu, or camp of soldiers in El 
Hejaz, ii. 190. n. 

Urtah, or battalion of soldiers, ii. 
190. n. 

Utaybah Bedouins, ferocity of the, 

iii. 119. Charged with drinking 
their enemies’ blood, 120. 

Umar ibn Fariz, poems of, i. 157. n. 
Umbrella, the sign of royalty, iii. 
141. n. 271. 

Umrah (the little pilgrimage), iii. 
226. The ceremonies of, 242. 
338. 341—347. Its situation, 341. 
Usbu, the, or seven courses round 
the Kaabah, iii. 208. n. 

Usman EfFendi, the Scotchman, ii. 
181. n. 



444 


INDEX, 


Ustuwanat el As-hab, or the Com¬ 
panions' column, at the mosque of 
the Prophet, ii. 88. n. Ustuwa¬ 
nat el M ukhallak, or the perfumed 
pillar, 102. Ustuwanat el Han- 
ranah, or weeping pillar, at the 
Prophet’s mosque, 102. Ustu¬ 
wanat el Ayisha, or pillar of 
Ayisha, 102. Ustuwanat el Ku- 
rah, or pillar of Lots, 102. Ustu¬ 
wanat el Muhajirin, or pillar of 
Fugitives, 103. Ustuwanat el 
Abu Lubabah, or pillar of Luba- 
bah or of repentance, 103. Ustu¬ 
wanat Sarir, or pillar of the Cot, 
104. Ustuwanat Ali, or column 
of Ali the fourth caliph, 104. 
Ustuwanat el Wufud, 104. Us¬ 
tuwanat el Tahajjud, where the 
Prophet passed the night in 
prayer, 104. Ustuwanat el Han- 
nanab, or “weeping-post,” 141. n, 

Utaybah Bedouins. Their stoppage 
of the Damascus caravan, iii. 131. 
Dispersed by Sherif Zayd, 131. 

Utbah bin Abi Wakkas, the infidel, 

ii. 244. 

Utum, or square, flat roofed, stone 
castles in Arabia, ii. 118, 119, 

Valleys in Arabia, longitudinal, 
transversal, and diagonal, i. 371. 

Vasco de Gama, his voyage to Cali¬ 
cut, i. 275. n. 

Vegetables, the, of the plain of El 
Medinah, ii. 204. 

Vena, common at Yambu, ii. 182. 
Treatment of, 182. 

Venus, worship of, by the Hukama, 

iii. 201. n . 

Verdigris used in Arabia for the 
cure of ulcers, ii. 184. 

Vertomannus Ludovicus, his pilgri¬ 
mages to Meccah and El Me- 
dinah, ii. 347. 

Victims, ceremonies of the day of, 
iii. 280. et seq. 

Villages frequently changing their 
names, i. 360. 

Vincent, on the Moors of Africa, i. 
275. n. 

Vine, the, of El Medinah, ii. 205. 


Visions in the East, iii. 254. n. 

Visits of ceremony after the Rama¬ 
zan, i. 169. Of the middle classes 
in Egypt, 198. n. After a jour¬ 
ney, ii. 36, 37. 

Volcanoes, traces of extinct, near El 
Medinah, iii. 5. 

Wady, the Arabian, i. 219. «. The 
Wady el Ward (the Vale of 
Flowers), 220. 

Wady el Kura, town of, founded by 
the Jews, ii. 119. The route from 
El Medinah to Meccah so called, 
iii. 1. 

Wady el Subu, town of, founded by 
the Jews, ii. 119. 

Wady, the Masjid El, ii. 328. 

Wahhabis, the, aversion of to tobacco, 

i. 286. n. Ruinous effect of the 
wars between the, and the Egyp¬ 
tians, 375. Their defeat of Tussun 
Bey and 8000 Turks, 387. Tenets 
of the, ii. 59. Their opposition to 
Ali Bey, 59. n. Their rejection of 
the doctrine of the Prophet’s in¬ 
tercession, 77. n. Their dislike to 
onions, 134. And of Turkish rule 
in El Hejaz, 138. Their siege of 
El Medinah, 151, 152. Defeated 
by Mohammed Ali at the battle 
of Bissel, iii. 48. Instance of their 
hatred of tobacco, 108. 128. De¬ 
scription of their march on the 
pilgrimage, 128. Their bravery, 
131. Their taxation of the Ma- 
dani, 262. Their appearance at 
the ceremonies of the day of Ara¬ 
fat, 266. Their destruction of the 
chapel on Arafat, 267. n. Note 
on the ceremonies of the Wahhabi 
pilgrimage, 272. n. Their unsuc¬ 
cessful attack on Jeddah, 374. n. 

Wahshi, the slave, slays Hamzab, 

ii. 248. 

Wahshi, El, the date so called, ii. 

200 . 

Wahy, the, or Inspiration brought 
by the Archangel Gabriel from 
heaven, ii. 98. n. 

Waiz, the, in the mosque, i. 147. 

Wakdlah, the, or inn of Egypt, de¬ 
scription of the, i. 60. The Wa- 



INDEX. 


445 


kalah Khan Khalil of Cairo, 61. 
The Wakalah Jemaliyah, 62. 
Those of El Medinah, ii. 187. 
The Wakalat Bab Salara, 187. 
The Wakalat Jebarti, 187. The, 
of Jeddah, ii|. $75. 

Wakf, “ bequeathed, w written in 
books, ii. 110. Bought up by 
Mohammed Ali Pacha, 137. n. 
Abolished in Turkey, 137. *. 
Established by the Sultan Kaid 
Bey, 151. 

Wakil (or substitute), in pilgrimage, 
iii. 342. 

Wakin, El, or El Zahrah, the Har- 
rat so called, ii. 230. n. 

Walid, El, the Caliph, ii. 89. n. 
Inventor of the mihrab and mi¬ 
naret, ii. 140. n. His magnificent 
buildings at El Medinah, 145. 
Visits the mosque in state, 148. 
Mosques built by him at El Me¬ 
dinah, 326. 

Walis, the (holy men),of Alexandria, 
L 17. 

Wallin, Dr. George, of Finland, his 
visit to Meccah, i. 6. n. His 
death, 7. n. His Eastern name, 
Wali el din, 64. n. His remarks 
on the Arab tribes referred to, 
212. n. His admiration of Be¬ 
douin life, iii. 60. 

Walls, the, of El Medinah, ii. 186. 

“ War of the Meal sacks” ii. 19. n. 
War-dance, (Arzah), the, of the 
Arabs, ii. 226. 

Wardan and the Wardanenses, i, 43, 
44. ». 

Warkan, Jebel, one of the mountains 
of Paradise, ii. 17. ru 
Wasitah, El. See Hamra, El. 
Watches worn in Arabia, L 245, 
Water-bags in the East, i. 35. 183. 
Value of water in the Desert, 218. 
Carried across the Desert to Suez, 
231. Water-courses (Misyal) of 
Arabia, 368. 374. The water 
found in the Deserts of Arabia, 
374. “Eight” water, ii. 106. 
Oriental curiosity respecting, 106. 
Manner of providing, at El Medi¬ 
nah, 169. Music of the water¬ 


wheels, 198. Quantity of, in the 
palm-gardens of El Medinah, 203. 
Purity of the, throughout El 
Hejaz, iii. 267. 

Water-spout (Myzab), the, of the 
Kaabah, iii. 164. 

Weapons, the, of the Bedouins, iii. 72. 
Weeping pillar in Mohammed’s 
mosque, ii. 102. 

Weights, the, of El Medinah, ii. 
201. n. 

Welcome, the Oriental cry of, 
(Tahlil, or Ziraleet), iii. 197. 
Well, Moses’, at Sinai, i. 302. An¬ 
cient wells at Aden, 302. n. 

Wells of the Indians in Arabia, ii. 
18. n. The Bir el Aris at Kuba, 
217. The pilgrim’s “ Kaif” on 
the brink of, 218. Former and 
present number of wells of El 
Kuba, 219. The Saba Abar, or 
seven wells, 220. The Bir el 
Nabi, 220. n. The Bir el Ghur- 
bal, 220. n. The Bir el Fukay- 
yir, 220. n. The Bir el Ghars, 

220. n. The Bir Rumah, or 
Kalib Mazni, 220. n. The Bir 
Buzaat, 220. n. The Bir Busat, 

221. n. The Bir Bayruha, 221. n. 
The Bir Ibn, 221. n. The three 
wells of the Caliph Harun at El 
Ghadir, iii. 117. 

Wellington, Duke of, his remark on 
the means of preserving health in 
India, ii. 3. ». 

West, Mr., sub-vice-consul at Suez, 
his kindness to the pilgrim, i. 249. 
Wijh Harbour, on the Red Sea, i. 

316- The town, 316. 

Wilkinson, Sir Gardner, his obser¬ 
vations on Egyptian passports, 

i. 26. 

Wind, the Simoom, i. 218. The 
Sarsar, 221. n. The “ poison- 
wind,” ii. 2, 3. n. The eastern 
wintry winds of El Medinah, 172. 
Wishah, the style of dress so called, 
iii. 124. 

Wives of the Prophet, tombs of the, 

ii. 311, His fifteen wives, 311. n. 
Wolf’s tail (Dum i Gurg), the grey 

dawn, i. 226. 



446 


INDEX. 


Women, shrill cries of joy with which 
Arab women receive their husbands 
after returning from a journey, i. 
1S3.; iii. 197. Flirtation and 
love-making at festivals, i. 168. 
The public amusements allowed to 
Oriental women, 171, 172. The 
death wail, 171. An Armenian 
marriage, 179. Faults of Moslem 
ladies’ dressing, 179. n. Condition 
of, in Egypt, at the present day, 
258. The opprobrious term Mis- 
riyah, 258. Dress of the women 
of Yambu, 337. The face-veil, 
Ssi. The lisam of Constantinople, 
337. n. Retired habits of the 
women at El Medinah, ii. 47. 
Soft and delicate voices of the So¬ 
mali women, 47. The Gynaconi- 
tis of Arab women, 47. Ablu¬ 
tion necessary after touching the 
skin of a strange woman, 47. «. 
A Persian lady’s contempt for 
boys, 55. The Bab el Nisa, or 
women’s gate at El Medinah, 62. 
Disgrace of making a Mosiemah 
expose her face, *146. n. The 
women of the farmer race of 
Arabs, 208. Tafl, or bole earth, 
eaten by them, 222. Women de¬ 
votees at the Haram, 249. Wo¬ 
men sometimes not allowed to 
join a congregation in El Islam, 
249. n. Dress and customs of the 
Indian women settled at El Me¬ 
dinah, 261. Value of black slave- 
girls, 271. Price of a Jariyah 
Bayza, or white slave-girl, 272. 
Dress of the women of El Medi¬ 
nah, 275, 276. Their mourning 
dress, 277. Decency of the women 
of El Medinah, 281. Their plea¬ 
sures, 282. Their bad language, 
283. Arab marriages, 285. et seq. 
Unwillingness to name the wife 
among the Arabs, iii. -41. And 
in other countries, 41. n. Un¬ 
comeliness of the women of El 
Hejaz, 42. Softening influence of 
the social position of the women 
among the Bedouins, 49. Poly¬ 
gamy and monogamy compared, 
51. n. The daughters of a higher 


clan of Arabs not allowed to 
marry into a lower, 52. Heroism 
of women, 55. The Arab oath, 
“by the honour of my women,” 
56. Marriage ceremonies of the 
Bedouins, 81. Frequency of di¬ 
vorces among them, 82. Dress of 
the Bedouin women of El Hejaz, 
90. Unchastity of the women of 
the Hitman tribe of Arabs, 98. 
Ejaculations of women when in 
danger of exposing their faces, 
116. Strange dress of pilgrim 
women, 127. Wahhabi women on 
the pilgrimage, 128. Place for 
the female pilgrims in the Kaabah, 
171. The Kabirah, or mistress of 
a house, 198. How directed to 
perform the Sai, 237. Moslem 
prayers for the souls of women, 
244. Superstitious rite on be¬ 
half of women at Arafat, iii. 261. 
Manner of addressing respectable 
Moslem women, 261. n. An ad¬ 
venture with a fair Meccan, 273 
— 27 6. The slave market of 
Meccah, 55. Appearance of the 
slaves, 55. 

“ Wormwood of Pontus,” i. 228. 

Wounds, Bedouin method of treat¬ 
ing, ii. 12. n. 183. 

Writing, Oriental, remarks on, i. 151. 
Skilful penmanship but little 
valued at the present day, 151. n. 
The Turkish ornamental charac¬ 
ter called “ Suls,” 151. n. The 
Persian character, 151. n. The 
Egyptian and Arab coarse and 
clumsy hand, 151. n. The Mirza 
Sanglakh, 151. n. Writing and 
drawing generally disliked by 
Arabs, 354. Writing on noted 
spots, the practice both classical 
and Oriental, ii. 246. 

Wuzu (the lesser ablution), i. 9. 
112. 339. 

Wukuf, or standing upon Mount 
Arafat, Arab legend respecting, 
iii. 238. n. The pilgrim rites of, 
238. 

Y. S., the chapter of the Koran, ii. 
147. n. 243. 



INDEX. 


447 


Yambu, tribes inhabiting the deserts 
about, i. 213. Yambu El Bahr (or 
Yambu of the Sea), SSI. The 
Jambia of Ptolemy, SSI. The 
Sherif of Yambu, SS2. Descrip¬ 
tion of the town, SSS. Varieties 
of the population at, S35. An 
evening party at, 341. Strength 
of the walls and turrets of, 356. 
Attacked by Saud the Wahhabi, 
356. Jews settled in, ii. 118. n. 
Diseases of, 182. Population of, 
189. n. 

Yanbua of the palace-grounds, i. 
SSI. 

Yarab ben Kahtan ben Shalik ben 
Arfakhshad ben Sam ben Nuh, 
descendants of, ii. 120. 

Yasir ben Akhtah, plots against Mo¬ 
hammed, ii. 135. 

Yathreb (now El Medinah), settled 
by fugitive Jews, ii. 119. 

Yaum el Tarwiyah, the, iii. 238. n. 
Description of the, 245. The 
Yaum el Nahr (the day of throat¬ 
cutting), 238. 

Yemen, tamarinds from, i. 265. 
Mountains of, ii. 3. n. The coffee 
of, 37. n. The birth-place of the 
Aus and Kharaj, 120. Sufferings 
of the people of, from ulcers, 183. 
Mandate of the conqueror Mo¬ 
hammed Abu. See Mohammed, 
183. Demoralisation of the Arabs 
of, 76. Former horse-trade of, 
270. n. 

Yezid, El, cursed by the disciples of 
the Shafei school, ii. 309. 

Yezid, son of the Caliph Muawiyah 
and bis Bedouin wife Maysunah, 
iii. 263. n. His contempt for his 
father, 263. n. 

Yorke, Colonel P., i. 1. 

Yusuf, the Jewish “ Lord of the Pit,” 
iii. 31. n. 

Zaabut, the, i. 24. n. 

Zabit, or Egyptian police magistrate, 
i. 28. 

Zabit, or police magistrate, scenes 
before, i. 173. The “ Pasha of the 
night,” 175. 


Zafar, the Masjid Beni, also called 
Masjid el Baghlah, ii. 321. 

Zafaran Point, i. 288. «. 

Zaghritah, or cry of welcome, iii. 
197. 

Zahra, or “ bright blooming Fati- 
mah,” ii. 90. n. 

Zabrah, El, or El Wakin, the Harrat 
so called, ii. 230. n. 

“ Zair,” the, or the visitors to the 
sepulchre of the Prophet, ii. 58. 
n. Dress and perfumes of the 
Zair, 63. n. 

Zakariya el Ansari, his theological 
work, i. 155. n. 

Zamakhshari, El, his grammatical 
adventures, iii. 62. n. 

Zananire, Anton, visit to his hareem, 
i. 178. 

Zarb el Mandal, the magical science 
so called in Egypt, ii. 180. n. 

Zaribah, El, description of the plain 
of, iii. 123. 

Zarka, of Yemama, story of, referred 
to, ii. 170. n. 

Zat el Rikaa, the expedition so called, 
i. 227. n. 

Zat el Salasil (the “ Affair of 
Chains”), iii. 48. n. 

Zat Nakhl, or ** place of palm trees,” 
(El Medinah), ii. 118. 

Zawiyat, or oratory, the, of Moham¬ 
med el Samman, ii. 238. 

Zawwar, or visitors to the tomb of the 
Prophet, ii. 92. n. 

Zayd, Sherif, his bravery, iii. 131. 
Disperses the Utaybah robbers, 
131. 

Zaydi sect, the, iii. 169. n. 

Zayn-el-Abidin, prayers for, ii. 92. 
Tomb of the, 313. 

Zaynab, wife of the Prophet, ii. 
146. «. 

Zem-zem (the Holy Well), i. 9. 
103. 

Zemzem, the well of the mosque of 
the Prophet, ii. 95- Its supposed 
subterranean connection with the 
great Zemzem at Meccah, 106. 
Rows of jars of the water at the 
mosque of Meccah, iii. 153, 154. 
Description of the building enclos¬ 
ing the well, 171. The Daurak, 



448 


INDEX. 


or earthen jars, for cooling the 
water, 173. a. , t Doubtful origin 
of the word, 201. a. Esteem in 
which the water is held, 202. a. 
Its qualities, 202. a. How trans¬ 
mitted to distant regions, 203. a. 
Superstitions respecting it, 203. a. 
212 . 

Zem-Zemi, or dispensers of the water 
of the holy well at Meccah, iii. 102. 
Ali bin Ya Sin, the 2 em-zemi, 
102. 

Zemzemiyah, or goat-skin water-bag, 
i. 35. 

Zikrs, or dervish forms of worship, 
in Egypt, i. 125. 

Ziyad ben Abihi, his destruction of 
robbery in Basrah, i. 381. a. 

Ziyafah, Bab el, or gate of Hospi¬ 
tality, of El Medinah, ii. 185. 

Ziyarat,or visitation, of the Prophet’s 


mosque, ii. 58. 77, Distinction 
between Ziyarat and the Hajj 
pilgrimage, 58. Where the cere¬ 
mony begins, 60. How regarded 
by the Maliki school, 66. a. The 
visitation to Kuba on the 17th 
Ramazan, 210. a. Ziy&rat el 
Widaa, or “ Farewell Visitation," 
337. The ceremony of the visit 
to the Prophet’s tomb, iii. 243. 

“ Ziyaratak Mubarak," or “ blessed 
be thy visitation,” the benediction, 
ii. 95. 

Zubaydah Khatun, wife of Harun 
el Rashid, iii. 2. Her celebrated 
pilgrimage, 119. a. 

Zu'l Halifab, the Mosque, ii. 25. a. 
Also called the “ Mosque of the 
Tree,” 25. a. 144, Its distance 
from El Medinah, 167. 

3uyud schismatics, the, ii. 262. 


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