Justice, a genuine Moorish erection with a turning under it to stay
the onrush of an enemy, and render it easier of defence. The hand
carved on the outer arch and the key on the inner one have given rise
to many explanations, but their only significance was probably that
this gate was the key of the castle, while the hand was to protect
the key from the effects of the evil eye. This superstition is still
popular, and its practice is to be seen to-day on thousands of doors
in Morocco, in rudely painted hands on the doorposts.
The Watch Tower (de la Vela) is chiefly noteworthy as one of the
points from which the Spanish flag was unfurled on the memorable day
of the entry into Granáda. The anniversary of that date, January 2nd,
is a high time for the young ladies, who flock here to toll the bell
in the hopes of being provided with a husband during the new-begun
year.
At a short distance from the Alhambra itself is a group known as the
Torres Bermejas (Vermilion Towers), probably the most ancient of the
Moorish reign, if part did not exist before their settlement here, but
they present no remarkable architectural features.
Across a little valley is the Generalife, a charming summer residence
built about 1320, styled by its builder the "Paradise of the
Wise,"--Jinah el Arîf--which the Spaniards have corrupted to its
present designation, pronouncing it Kheneraliffy. Truly this is a spot
after the Moor's own heart: a luxuriant garden with plenty of dark
greens against white walls and pale-blue trellis-work, harmonious
at every turn with the rippling and splashing of nature's choicest
liquid. Of architectural beauty the buildings in this garden have but
little, yet as specimens of Moorish style--though they have suffered
with the rest--they form a complement to the Alhambra. That is the
typical fortress-palace, the abode of a martial Court; this is the
pleasant resting-place, the cool retreat for love and luxury. Nature
is here predominant, and Art has but a secondary place, for once
retaining her true position as great Nature's handmaid. Light arched
porticoes and rooms behind serve but as shelter from the noonday
glare, while roomy turrets treat the occupier to delightful views.
Superfluous ornament within is not allowed to interfere with the
contemplation of beauty without.
Between the lower and upper terrace is a remarkable arrangement of
steps, a Moorish ideal, for at equal distances from top to bottom,
between each flight, are fountains playing in the centre, round which
one must walk, while a stream runs down the top of each side wall in
a channel made of tiles. What a pleasant sight and sound to those
to whom stair climbing in a broiling sun is too much exercise! The
cypresses in the garden are very fine, but they give none too much
shade. The present owner's agent has Bû Abd Allah's sword on view at
his house in the town, and this is a gem worth asking to see when a
ticket is obtained for the Generalife. It is of a totally different
pattern and style of ornament from the modern Moorish weapons, being
inlaid in a very clever and tasteful manner.
To the antiquary the most interesting part of Granáda is the Albaycin,
the quarter lying highest up the valley of the Darro, originally
peopled by refugees from the town of Baeza--away to the north, beyond
Jaen--the Baïseeïn. As the last stronghold of Moorish rule in the
Peninsula, when one by one the other cities, once its rivals, fell
into the hands of the Christians again, Granáda became a centre
of refuge from all parts, and to this owed much of its ultimate
importance.
Unfortunately no attempt has been made to preserve the many relics of
that time which still exist in this quarter, probably the worst in the
town. Many owners of property in the neighbourhood can still display
the original Arabic title deeds, their estates having been purchased
by Spanish grandees from the expelled Moors, or later from the
expelled Jews. A morning's tour will reveal much of interest in back
alleys and ruined courts. One visitor alone is hardly safe among the
wild half-gipsy lot who dwell there now, but a few copper coins are
all the keys needed to gain admission to some fine old patios with
marble columns, crumbling fandaks, and ruined baths. By the roadside
may be seen the identical style of water-mill still used in Morocco,
and the presence of the Spaniard seems a dream.
V. HITHER AND THITHER
Having now made pilgrimages to the more famous homes of the Moor in
Europe, let us in fancy take an aërial flight over sunny Spain, and
glance here and there at the scattered traces of Muslim rule in less
noted quarters. Everything we cannot hope to spy, but we may still
surprise ourselves and others by the number of our finds. Even this
task accomplished, a volume on the subject might well be written by a
second Borrow or a Ford, whose residence among the modern Moors had
sharpened his scent for relics of that ilk.[28] Let not the reader
think that with these wayside jottings all has been disclosed, for the
Moor yet lives in Spain, and there is far more truth in the saying
that "Barbary begins at the Pyrenees" than is generally imagined.
[28: To the latter I am indebted for particulars regarding the many
places mentioned in this final survey which it was impossible
for me to visit.]
We will start from Tarifa, perhaps the most ancient town of Andalucia.
The Moors named this ancient Punic city after T'arîf ibn Málek ("The
Wise, son of King"), a Berber chief. They beleaguered it about 1292,
and it is still enclosed by Moorish walls. The citadel, a genuine
Moorish castle, lies just within these walls, and was not so long
ago the abode of galley-slaves. Close to Sevílle, where the river
Guadalquivir branches off, it forms two islands--Islas Mayor y Menor.
The former was the Kaptal of the Moors. At Coria the river winds under
the Moorish "Castle of the Cleft" (El Faraj), now called St. Juan
de Alfarache, and passes near the Torre del Oro, a monument of
the invader already referred to. Old Xeres, of sherry fame, is a
straggling, ill-built, ill-drained Moorish city. It was taken from the
Moors in 1264. Part of the original walls and gates remain in the
old town. The Moorish citadel is well preserved, and offers a good
specimen of those turreted and walled palatial fortresses.
But it is not till we reach Sevílle that we come to a museum of
Moorish antiquities. Here we see Arabesque ceilings, marqueterie
woodwork, stucco panelling, and the elegant horse-shoe arches. There
are beautiful specimens in the citadel, in Calle Pajaritos No. 15, in
the Casa Prieto and elsewhere. The Moors possessed the city for five
hundred years, during which time they entirely rebuilt it, using the
Roman buildings as materials. Many Moorish houses still exist, the
windows of which are barricaded with iron gratings. On each side of
the patios, or courts, are corridors supported by marble pillars,
whilst a fountain plays in the centre. These houses are rich
in Moorish porcelain tilings, called azulejos--from the Arabic
ez-zulaïj--but the best of these are in the patio of the citadel.
Carmona is not far off, with its oriental walls and castle, famous as
ever for its grateful springs. The tower of San Pedro transports us
again to Tangier, as do the massy walls and arched gate.
Some eight leagues on the way to Badajos from Sevílle rises a Moorish
tower, giving to the adjoining village the name of Castillo de las
Guardias. Five leagues beyond are the mines of the "Inky River"--Rio
Tinto--a name sufficiently expressive and appropriate, for it issues
from the mountain-side impregnated with copper, and is consequently
corrosive. The Moors seem to have followed the Romans in their
workings on the north side of the hill. Further on are more mines,
still proclaiming the use the Moors made of them by their present name
Almádin--"the Mine"--a name which has almost become Spanish; it is
still so generally used. Five leagues from Rio Tinto, at Aracena, is
another Moorish castle, commanding a fine panorama, and the belfry of
the church hard by is Arabesque.
Many more of these ruined kasbahs are to be seen upon the heights
of Andalucia, and even much further north; but the majority must go
unmentioned. One, in an equally fine position, is to be seen eleven
leagues along the road from Sevílle to Badajos, above Santa Olalla--a
name essentially Moorish, denoting the resting-place of some female
Mohammedan saint, whose name has been lost sight of. (Lallah, or
"Lady," is the term always prefixed to the names of canonized ladies
in Morocco.) Three leagues from Sevílle on the Granáda road, at
Gandul, lies another of these castles, picturesquely situated amid
palms and orange groves; four leagues beyond, the name Arahal
(er-rahálah--"the day's journey") reminds the Arabicist that it is
time to encamp; a dozen leagues further on the name of Roda recalls
its origin, raôdah, "the cemetery." Riding into Jaen on the top of the
diligence from Granáda, I was struck with the familiar appearance of
two brown tabia fortresses above the town, giving the hillside the
appearance of one of the lower slopes of the Atlas. This was a place
after the Moors' own heart, for abundant springs gush everywhere
from the rocks. In their days it was for a time the capital of an
independent kingdom.
At Ronda, a town originally built by the Moors--for Old Ronda is two
leagues away to the north,--their once extensive remains have been all
but destroyed. Its tortuous streets and small houses, however, testify
as to its origin, and its Moorish castle still appears to guard the
narrow ascent by which alone it can be reached from the land, for it
crowns a river-girt rock. Down below, this river, the Guadalvin, still
turns the same rude class of corn-mills that we have seen at Fez and
Granáda. Other remnants are another Moorish tower in the Calle del
Puente Viejo, and the "House of the Moorish King" in Calle San Pedro,
dating from about 1042. Descending to the river's edge by a flight
of stairs cut in the solid rock, there is a grotto dug by Christian
slaves three centuries later. Some five leagues on the road thence to
Granáda are the remains of the ancient Teba, at the siege of which in
1328, when it was taken from the Moors, Lord James Douglas fought in
obedience to the dying wish of the Bruce his master, whose heart he
wore in a silver case hung from his neck, throwing it among the enemy
as he rushed in and fell.
On the way from Ronda to Gibraltar are a number of villages whose Arab
names are startling even in this land of Ishmaelitish memories. Among
these are Atajate, Gaucin, Benahali, Benarraba, Benadalid, Benalaurin.
At Gaucin an excellent view of Gibraltar and Jibel Mûsa is obtainable
from its Moorish citadel. This brings us to old "Gib," whose relics of
Tárîk and his successors are much better known to travellers than most
of those minor remains. An inscription over the gate of the castle,
now a prison, tells of its erection over eleven centuries ago, for
this was naturally one of the early captures of the invaders. Yet the
mud-concrete walls stand firm and sound, though scarred by many a
shot. Algeciras--El Jazîrah--"the Island" has passed through too many
vicissitudes to have much more than the name left.
Malaga, though seldom heard of in connection with the history of
Mohammedan rule in the Peninsula, played a considerable part in that
drama. It and Cadiz date far back to the time of the Carthaginians,
so that, after all, their origin is African. If its name is not of an
earlier origin, it may be from Málekah, "the Queen." Every year on
August 18, at 3 p.m. the great bell of the cathedral is struck thrice,
for that is the anniversary of its recovery from the Aliens in 1487.
The flag of Ferdinand then hoisted is (or was recently) still to be
seen, together with a Moorish one, probably that of the vanquished
city, over the tomb of the Conde de Buena Vista in the convent of La
Victoria. Though odd bits of Moorish architecture may still be met
with in places, the only remains of note are the castle, built in
1279, with its fine horse-shoe gate--sadly disfigured by modern
barbarism--and what was the dockyard of the Moors, now left high and
dry by the receding sea.
The name Alhama, met with in several parts of Spain, merely denotes
"the hot," alluding to springs of that character which are in most
instances still active. This is the case at the Alhama between Malaga
and Granáda, where the baths are worth a visit. The Moorish bath is
called the strong one, being nearer the spring.
At Antequera the castle is Moorish, though built on Roman foundations,
and it is only of recent years that the mosque has disappeared under
the "protection" of an impecunious governor.
Leaving the much-sung Andalûs, the first name striking us in Murcia is
that of Guadíx (pronounced Wadish), a corruption of Wád Aïsh, "River
of Life." Its Moorish castle still stands. Some ten leagues further
on, at Cullar de Baza is another Moorish ruin, and the next of note, a
fine specimen, is fifteen leagues away at Lorca, whose streets are in
the genuine intricate style. The city of Murcia, though founded by the
Moors, contains little calling them to remembrance. In the post-office
and prison, however, and in the public granary, mementoes are to be
found.
Orihuela, on the road from Carthagena to Alicante, still looks
oriental with its palm-trees, square towers and domes, and Elche is
just another such, with flat roofs and the orthodox kasbah, now a
prison. The enormous number of palms which surround the town recall
Marrákesh, but they are sadly neglected. Monte Alegre is a small place
with a ruined Moorish castle, about fifteen leagues from Elche on the
road to Madrid. Between Alicante and Xativa is the Moorish castle of
Tibi, close to a large reservoir, and there is a square Moorish tower
at Concentaina. Xativa has a hermitage, San Felin, adorned with
horse-shoe arches, having a Moorish cistern hard by.
Valencia the Moors considered a Paradise, and their skill in
irrigation has been retained, so that of the Guadalaviar (Wad el
Abîad--"River of the Whites") the fullest use is made in agriculture,
and the familiar water-wheels and conduits go by the corruptions of
their Arabic names, naôrahs and sakkáïahs. The city itself is very
Moorish in appearance, with its narrow tortuous streets and gloomy
buildings, but I know of no remarkable legacy of the Moors there.
There are the remains of a Moorish aqueduct at Chestalgár--a very
Arabic sounding name, of which the last two syllables are corrupted
from El Ghárb ("the West") as in the case of Trafalgár (Terf el
Ghárb--"West Point"). All this district was inhabited by the Moriscos
or Christianized Moors as late as the beginning of the seventeenth
century, and there must their descendants live still, although no
longer distinguished from true sons of the soil.
Whatever may remain of the ancient Saguntum, what is visible is mostly
Moorish, as, for instance, cisterns on the site of a Roman temple. Not
far from Valencia is Burjasot, where are yet to be seen specimens of
matmôrahs or underground granaries. Morella is a scrambling town with
Moorish walls and towers, coroneted by a castle.
Entering Catalonia, Tortosa, at the mouth of the Ebro, is reached,
once a stronghold of the Moors, and a nest of pirates till recovered
by Templars, Pisans and Genoese together. It was only withheld from
the Moors next year by the valour of the women besieged. The tower of
the cathedral still bears the title of Almudena, a reminder of the
muédhdhin who once summoned Muslims to prayer from its summit.
Here, too, are sundry remnants of Moorish masonry, and some ancient
matmôrahs.
Tarragona and Barcelona, if containing no Moorish ruins of note, have
all, in common with other neighbouring places, retained the Arabic
name Rambla (rimlah, "sand") for the quondam sandy river beds which of
late years have been transformed into fashionable promenades. In the
cathedral of Tarragona an elegant Moorish arch is noticeable, with a
Kufic inscription giving the date as 960 A.D. For four centuries after
this city was destroyed by Tarîf it remained unoccupied, so that
much cannot be expected to call to mind his dynasty. Of a bridge at
Martorell over the Llobregat, Ford says it is "attributed to Hannibal
by the learned, and to the devil, as usual, by the vulgar. The pointed
centre arch, which is very steep and narrow to pass, is 133 feet wide
in the span, and is unquestionably a work of the Moors." Not far away
is a place whose name, Mequineza, is strongly suggestive of Moorish
origin, but I know nothing further about it.
Now let us retrace our flight, and wing our way once more to the north
of Sevílle, to the inland province of Estremadura. Here we start from
Mérida, where the Roman-Moorish "alcazar" towers proudly yet. The
Moors repaired the old Roman bridge over the Guadiana, and the gateway
near the river has a marble tablet with an Arabic inscription. The
Muslims observed towards the people of this place good faith such as
was never shown to them in return, inasmuch as they allowed them to
retain their temples, creed, and bishops. They built the citadel in
835, and the city dates its decline from the time that Alonzo el Sabio
took it from them in 1229. Zámora is another ancient place. It was
taken from the Moors in 939, when 40,000 of them are said to have been
killed. The Moorish designs in the remarkable circular arches of La
Magdalena are worthy of note.
In Toledo the church of Santo Tomé has a brick tower of Moorish
character; near it is the Moorish bridge of San Martin, and in the
neighbourhood, by a stream leading to the Tagus, Moorish mills and the
ruins of a villa with Moorish arches, now a farm hovel, may still
be seen. The ceiling of the chapel of the church of San Juan de la
Penetencia is in the Moorish style, much dilapidated (1511 A.D.). The
Toledan Moors were first-rate hydraulists. One of their kings had a
lake in his palace, and in the middle a kiosk, whence water descended
on each side, thus enclosing him in the coolest of summer-houses.
It was in Toledo that Ez-Zarkal made water-clocks for astronomical
calculations, but now this city obtains its water only by the
primitive machinery of donkeys, which are driven up and down by
water-carriers as in Barbary itself. The citadel was once the kasbah
of the Moors.
The Cathedral of Toledo is one of the most remarkable in Spain. The
arches of the transept are semi-Moorish, Xamete, who wrought it
in Arcos stone in 1546-50, having been a Moor. The very ancient
manufactory of arms for which Toledo has a world-wide fame dates from
the time of the Goths; into this the Moors introduced their Damascene
system of ornamenting and tempering, and as early as 852 this
identical "fabrica" was at work under Abd er-Rahman ibn El Hákim. The
Moors treasured and named their swords like children. These were the
weapons which Othello, the Moor, "kept in his chamber."
[Illustration: _Cavilla, Photo., Tangier._
THE MARKET-PLACE, TETUAN.]
At Alcazar de San Juan, in La Mancha, I found a few remnants of the
Moorish town, as in the church tower, but the name is now almost the
only Moorish thing about it. Hence we pass to Alarcon, a truly Moorish
city, built like a miniature Toledo, on a craggy peninsula hemmed in
by the river Jucar. The land approach is still guarded by Moorish
towers and citadel.
In Zocodovar--which takes its name from the word sôk,
"market-place"--we find a very Moorish "plaza," with its irregular
windows and balconies, and in San Eugenio are some remains of an
old mosque with Kufic inscriptions, as well as an arch and tomb of
elaborate design. In the Calle de las Tornarías there used to be a
dilapidated Moorish house with one still handsome room, but it is
doubtful whether this now survives the wreck of time. It was called El
Taller del Moro, because Ambron, the Moorish governor of Huesca, is
said to have invited four hundred of the refractory chiefs of Toledo
to dine here, and to have cut off the head of each as he arrived.
There is a curious mosque in the Calle del Cristo de la Luz, the roof
is supported by four low square pillars, each having a different
capital, from which spring double arches like those at Córdova. The
ceiling is divided into nine compartments with domes.
Madrid has passed through such various fortunes, and has been so much
re-built, that it now contains few traces of the Moors. The only relic
which I saw in 1890 was a large piece of tabia, forming a substantial
wall near to the new cathedral, which might have belonged to the city
wall or only to a fortress. The Museum of the Capital contains a good
collection of Moorish coins. In the Armoury are Moorish guns, swords,
saddles, and leather shields, the last named made of two hides
cemented with a mortar composed of herbs and camel-hair.
In Old Castile the footprints grow rare and faint, although the
name of Valladolid--Blád Walîd, "Town of Walîd," a Moorish
ameer--sufficiently proclaims its origin, but I am not aware of any
Moorish remains there. In Burgos one old gate near the triumphal arch,
erected by Philip II., still retains its Moorish opening, and on the
opposite hill stands the castle in which was celebrated the bridal
of our Edward I. with Eleanor of Castile. It was then a true Moorish
kasar, but part has since been destroyed by fire. On the road from
Burgos to Vittoria we pass between the mountains of Oca and the
Pyrenean spurs, in which narrow defile the old Spaniards defied the
advancing Moors. Moorish caverns or cisterns are still to be seen.
Turning southward again, we come to Medinaceli, or "the city of
Selim," once the strong frontier hold of a Moor of that name, the
scene of many conflicts among the Moors themselves, and against
the Christians. Here, on August 7, 1002, died the celebrated El
Mansûr--"The Victorious"--the "Cid" (Seyyid) of the Moors, and the
most terrible enemy of the Christians. He was born in 938 near
Algeciras, and by a series of intrigues, treacheries and murders, rose
in importance till he became in reality master of the puppet ameer. He
proclaimed a holy crusade against the Christians each year, and was
buried in the dust of fifty campaigns, for after every battle he used
to shake off the soil from his garments into a chest which he carried
about with him for that purpose.
In Aragon the situation of Daroca, in the fertile basin of the Jiloca,
is very picturesque. The little town lies in a hill-girt valley around
which rise eminences defended by Moorish walls and towers, which,
following the irregular declivities, command charming views from
above. The palace of the Mendozas at Guadalajara, in the same
district, boasts of an elegant row of Moorish windows, though these
appear to have been constructed after Guadalajara was reconquered
from the Moors by the Spaniards. Near this place is a Moorish brick
building, turned into a battery by the invaders, and afterwards used
as a prison. Before leaving this town it will be worth while to visit
San Miguel, once a mosque, with its colonnaded entrance, horse-shoe
arches, machiolations, and herring-bone patterns under the roof.
Calatayud, the second town of Aragon, is of Moorish origin. Its
Moorish name means the "Castle of Ayûb"--or Job--the nephew of Mûsa,
who used the ancient Bilbilis as a quarry whence to obtain stones for
its construction. The Dominican convent of Calatayud has a glorious
patio with three galleries rising one above another, and a portion of
the exterior is enriched with pseudo-Moorish work like the prisons at
Guadalajara.
Saragossa gave me more the impression of Moorish origin than any
town I saw in Spain, except Sevílle and Córdova. The streets of the
original settlement are just those of Mequinez on a small scale. The
only object of genuinely Moorish origin that I could find, however,
was the Aljaferia, once a palace-citadel, now a barrack, so named
after Jáfer, a Muslim king of this province. Since his times Ferdinand
and Isabella used it, and then handed it over to the Inquisition. Some
of the rooms still retain Moorish decorations, but most of the latter
are of the period of their conquerors. On one ceiling is pointed out
the first gold brought from the New World. The only genuine Moorish
remnant is the private mosque, with beautiful inscriptions. The
building has been incorporated in a huge fort-like modern brick
structure, which would lead no one to seek inside for Arab traces.
Passing from Saragossa northwards, we arrive at Jaca, the railway
terminus, which to this day quarters on her shield the heads of four
sheïkhs who were left behind when their fellow-countrymen fled from
the city in 795, after a desperate battle in which the Spanish women
fought like men. The site of the battle, called Las Tiendas, is still
visited on the first Friday in May, when the daughters of these
Amazons go gloriously "a-shopping." The municipal charter of Jaca
dates from the Moorish expulsion, and is reckoned among the earliest
in Spain.
Gerona, almost within sight of France, played an important part, too,
in those days, siding alternately with that country and with Spain
when in the possession of the Moors. The Ameer Sulaïmán, in 759 A.D.,
entered into an alliance with Pepin, and in 785 Charlemagne took the
town, which the Moors re-captured ten years later. It became their
headquarters for raids upon Narbonne and Nîsmes. Castellon de
Ampurias, once on the coast, which has receded, was strong enough to
resist the Moors for a time, but after they had dismantled it, the
Normans appeared and finally destroyed it. Now it is but a hamlet.
We are now in the extreme north-west of the Peninsula, where the
relics we seek grow scanty, and, in consequence, of more importance.
Instead of buildings in stone or concrete, we find here a monument of
independence, perhaps more interesting in its way than any other. When
the Pyrenees and their hardy mountaineers checked the onward rush of
Islám, several independent states arose, recognized by both France and
Spain on account of their bravery in opposing a common foe. The only
one of these retaining a semi-independence is the republic of
Andorra, a name corrupted from the Arabic el (al) darra, "a plenteous
rainfall," showing how the Moors appreciated this feature of so well
wooded and hilly a district after the arid plains of the south. The
old Moorish castle of the chief town bears the name of Carol, derived
from that of Charlemagne, who granted it the privileges it still
enjoys, so that it is a memento of the meeting of Arab and Teuton.
At Planes is a church said to be of Moorish origin, and earlier than
Charlemagne; it certainly dates from no later than the tenth century.
These "foot-prints" show that the Moor got a fairly good footing here,
before he was driven back, and his progress stayed.
APPENDIX
"MOROCCO NEWS"
"A lie is not worth the lying, nor is truth worth repeating."
_Moorish Proverb._
So unanimous have been the uninformed reiteration of the Press in
contravention of much that has been stated in the foregoing pages,
that it will not be out of place to quote a few extracts from men on
the spot who do know the facts. The first three are from leaders in
_Al-moghreb Al-aksa_, the present English paper in Morocco, which
accurately voices the opinion of the British Colony in that
country, opinions shared by most disinterested residents of other
nationalities.
"However we look upon the situation as it stands to-day, and
wherever our sympathies may lie, it is impossible to over-estimate
the danger attending the unfortunate Anglo-French Agreement. We
have always--as our readers will acknowledge--advocated the simple
doctrine of the _status quo_, and in this have received the
support of every disinterested person in and out of Morocco. Our
policy has at times thrown us into antagonism with the exponents
of the French colonial schemes; but we at least have the
satisfaction of knowing that, however we may have fallen short of
our duty, it has been one which we have persevered in, prompted by
earnest conviction, by love of the country and its people, and by
admiration for its Sultan. The simplicity of our aim has helped us
in our uphill fight, and will, no doubt, continue to do so in the
future.
"Needless to say we look forward with no little anxiety to the
result of the conference. This needs no explanation. In the
discussion of such a question it is absolutely imperative that the
individual members of the conference should be selected from those
who know their Morocco, and who are acquainted with the causes
which led up to the present dead-lock. Only the keenest, shrewdest
men should be selected, for it must be borne in mind that France
will spare no pains to uphold the recent Anglo-French Convention.
Her most astute diplomats will figure largely, for her dignity is
at stake. Indeed, her very position, diplomatic and political, is
in effect challenged. Taking this into consideration, it is more
than necessary to see that the representatives of Great Britain
are not chosen for their family influence or for the perfection
they may have attained in the French language.
"The task is hard and perilous. England is waking to the fact that
she has blundered, and, as usual, she is unwilling to admit the
fact. Circumstances, however, will sooner or later force her to
modify her terms. Germany, Spain, the United States, and other
nations, to say nothing of Morocco, must point out the absurdity
of the situation. If the agreement is inoperative with regard to
Morocco, it may as well be openly admitted to be useless. This is
not all. Should English statesmanship direct that this injudicious
arrangement be adhered to, France and Great Britain will stand as
self-confessed violators of the Convention of Madrid.
"Fortunately the Moorish cause has some excellent champions. For
many years she has been dumb. Now, however, that she is assailed,
we find a small but influential band of writers coming forward
with their pens to do battle for her.
"This is the great consolation we have. Moorish interests will no
longer be the sport of European political expediency. These men
will, no doubt, protest against the land-grabbing propensities of
the French colonial party, and they may find time to point out
that after a thousand years of not ignoble independence, the
Moorish race deserves a little more consideration than has
hitherto been granted.
"Even those people who are responsible for this deplorable state
of affairs must now stand more or less amazed at their handiwork.
No diplomatic subterfuge can efface the humiliation that underlies
the situation; and no one can possibly exaggerate the danger that
lies ahead of us."
* * * * *
"Two centuries ago Great Britain abandoned Tangier, and it is
only the present generation that has realized the huge mistake. A
maudlin sentimentalism, to avoid displeasing the French King,
prevented us from handing the city back to Portugal; an act which
would have been wise, either strategically, commercially, or with
a view to the suppression of the famous Salee rovers, who were
for long a scourge to ships entering the Straits. A Commission of
experts was appointed to consider the question of the abandonment,
one of them being Mr. Pepys....
"Whatever the opinion may have been of the experts consulted
by the Government on the present agreement with France, we are
strongly disposed to believe that if they have been endowed with
greater sense than those of 1683, there is probably more, as we
must hope there is, in favour of British interests, than appears
to the public eye. Time alone will tell what reservation, mental
or otherwise, may be locked up in the British Foreign Office. It
is difficult to believe that any British statesman would wantonly
give away any national interest, but too lofty a policy has often
been wanting in practical sense which, had that policy descended
from principles to facts, would have saved the nation thousands of
lives, millions of money, and sacrifices of its best interests."
* * * * *
"The events that have been fully before the eyes of British
subjects in Morocco in the abnormal condition of the country
during the past two years, seem to have been ignored by our
Foreign Office. In short, it fully appears that our Foreign
Office policy has been designed to lead the Sultan to political
destruction, and to sacrifice every British interest.
"About two years ago our Foreign Office began well in starting the
Sultan on the path of progress: in carrying out its aims it
has done nothing but blunders. Had it but acted with a little
firmness, the opening up of this country would have already begun,
and there would have been no 'Declaration' which will assuredly
give future Foreign Secretaries matter for some anxiety. The
declaration is only a display of political fireworks that will
dazzle the eyes of the British public for a while, delighting our
Little Englanders, but only making the future hazy and possibly
more dangerous to deal with. It seems only a way of putting off
the real settlement, which may not wait for thirty years to be
dealt with, on the points still at issue, and for which a splendid
opportunity has been thrown away at Downing Street, and could
have been availed of to maintain British interests, prestige, and
influence in this country. Briefly, we fear that the attainment of
the end in view may yet cost millions to the British nation.
"That Morocco will progress under French guidance there can be
no question, and France may be congratulated on her superior
diplomacy and the working of her Foreign Office system."
With regard to the Moorish position, a contributor observes in a later
issue--
"The attitude of the Sultan and his Cabinet may be summed up in
a few words. 'You nations have made your agreements about our
country without consulting us. We owe you nothing that we are
unable to pay on the conditions arranged between us. We did not
ask your subjects to reside and trade on Moorish soil. In fact,
we have invariably discouraged their so doing. Troubles exist in
Morocco, it is true, but we are far greater sufferers than
you--our unbidden guests. And but for the wholesale smuggling of
repeating rifles by _your_ people, our tribes would not be able to
cause the disorders of which you complain. As to your intention to
intervene in our affairs, we agree to no interference. If you are
resolved to try force, we believe that the Faith of the Prophet
will conquer. We still believe there is a God stronger than man.
And should the fight go against us, we believe that it is better
to earn Paradise in a holy war for the defence of our soil, than
to submit tamely to Christian rule.'
"The position, however lamentable, is intelligible; but on the
other hand it is incredible that France--her mind made up long ago
that she is to inherit the Promised Land of Sunset--will sit down
meekly and allow herself to be flouted by the monarch and people
of a crumbling power like Morocco. And this is what she has to
face. Not indeed a nation, as we understand the term, but a
gathering of units differing widely in character and race--Arabs,
Berbers, mulattoes, and negroes--unable to agree together on any
subject under the sun but one, and that one the defence of Islám
from foreign intervention. Under the standard of the invincible
Prophet they will join shoulder to shoulder. And hopeless and
pathetic as it may seem, they will defy the disciplined ranks and
magazine guns of Europe. Thus, wherever our sympathies may lie,
the possibilities of a peaceful settlement of the Morocco question
appear to be dwindling day by day. The anarchy paramount in
three-quarters of the sultanate is not only an ever-increasing
peril to European lives and property, but a direct encouragement
to intervention. Of one thing we in Morocco have no kind of doubt.
The landing of foreign troops, even for protective service, in any
one part of the coast would infallibly be the signal for a general
rising in every part of the Empire. No sea-port would be safe for
foreigners or for friendly natives until protected by a strong
European force. And, once begun, the task of 'pacifying' the
interior must entail an expenditure of lives and treasure which
will amply satisfy French demands for colonial extension for many
a year to come."
One more quotation from an editorial--
"And so it would appear, that, with the smiling approval of the
world's Press, the wolf is to take over the affairs of the lamb.
We use the phrase advisedly. We have never hesitated to criticize
the action, and to condemn the errors, of the Makhzen where such a
course has been needful in the public interest. We can, therefore,
with all the more justice, call attention to the real issues of
the compact embodied in the Morocco clauses of the Anglo-French
Agreement of April, 1904. How long the leading journals of England
may continue to ignore the facts of the case it is impossible
to say; but that there will come a startling awakening seems
inevitable. Every merely casual observer on this side of the
Mediterranean knows only too well that the most trifling pretext
may be at any hour seized for the next move in the development
of French intervention. Evidence is piling up to show that the
forward party in France, and still more in Algeria, is burning to
strike while yet the frantic enthusiasm of the Entente lasts, and
while they can rely upon the support--we had almost written, the
moral support--of Great Britain. Can we shut our eyes to the
deliberate provocations they are giving the Makhzen in almost
every part of the sultanate?
"These things are not reported to Europe, naturally. In spite of
all our comfortable cant about justice to less powerful races, who
in England cares about justice to Morocco and her Sultan? We owe
it to Germany that the thing was not rushed through a few months
ago. Who has heard, who wants to hear, the Moorish side of the
question? Morocco is mute. The Sultan pulls no journalistic wires.
He has no advocate in the Press, or in Parliament, or in Society.
Hardly a public man opens his mouth in England to refer to
Morocco, without talking absolute twaddle. The only member of
either House of Parliament who has shown a real grasp of the
tremendous issues of the question is Lord Rosebery, in the
memorable words--
"'No more one-sided agreement was ever concluded between two
Powers at peace with each other. I hope and trust, but I hope and
trust rather than believe, that the Power which holds Gibraltar
may never have cause to regret having handed Morocco over to a
great military Power.'
"Had that true statesman, and true Englishman, been in power
eighteen months ago, England would never have been pledged to
sacrifice her commercial interests in Morocco, to abandon her
wholesome, traditional policy in the Mediterranean, and to revoke
her solemn engagement to uphold the integrity of the Sultan's
dominions."
An excellent idea of the discrepancies between the alarmist reports
with which the Press is from time to time deluged, and the facts
as known on the spot, is afforded by the following extracts from
_Al-moghreb Al-aksa_ of January 7, 1905, when the London papers
had been almost daily victimized by their correspondents regarding
Morocco:--
"The dismissal of the military _attachés_ at the Moorish Court
threatened to raise a terrible conflagration in Europe, and great
indignation among foreign residents in this country--according to
certain Press reports. This fiery disposition of some offered a
remarkable contrast with the coolness of the others. For instance,
the British took almost no interest in the matter, for the simple
reason that there has never been any British official military
mission in the Moorish Court. It is true there are a few British
subjects in Moorish military service, but they are privately
employed by the Sultan's Government, and their service is simply
voluntary. Even personally, they actually show no great concern in
remaining here or not.
"The Italian military mission is composed of very few persons. The
chief, Col. Ferrara, is on leave in Italy, and the Mission is now
represented by Captain Campini, who lives at Fez with his family.
They report having received all kind attentions from the Sultan
quite recently, and that they know nothing about the dismissal
which has so noisily sounded in Europe. According to the same
Press reports, great fears were entertained of a general rising
against the foreign residents in Fez and other places in the
interior, and while it is reported that the military _attachés_,
consular officers and residents of all nations were notified to
leave Fez and come to Tangier or the coast ports as a matter of
precaution, we find that nobody moves from the Court, because,
they say, they have seen nothing to induce them to leave that
residence. And what has Mulai Abd El Azîz replied to French
complaints and demands respecting the now historical dismissal of
the military _attachés_? A very simple thing--that H.S.M. did
not think that the dismissal could resent any of the civilized
nations, because it was decided as an economic measure, there
being no money to pay even other more pressing liabilities.
However, the Sultan, wishing to be on friendly terms with France
and all other nations, immediately withdrew the dismissal and
promised to pay the _attachés_ as long as it is possible to do so.
The missions, consuls, etc., have now no need to leave Fez, and
everything remains stationary as before. The only thing steadily
progressing is the insecurity of life and property in the
outskirts and district of Tangier, where murders and robberies
proceed unabated, and this state of affairs has caused the British
and German residents in this town to send petitions to their
respective Governments, through their legations, soliciting that
some measure may be adopted to do away with the present state
of insecurity which has already paralysed all overland traffic
between this city and the neighbouring towns.
"The contrasts of the situation are as remarkable as they are
comic, and while the whole country is perfectly quiet, those
places more in contact with the civilized world, like Tangier and
the Algerian frontier, are the only spots which are seriously
troubled with disturbances."
So much for northern Morocco. The same issue contains the following
report from its Mogador correspondent regarding the "disturbed state"
of southern Morocco.
"It would puzzle even the trained imagination of certain
journalists we wot of to evolve anything alarmist out of the
condition of the great tribes between Mogador and the Atlas.
During the recent tribal differences not one single highway
robbery, even of a native, was, I believe, committed. The roads
are open everywhere; the rival chieftains have, figuratively,
exchanged the kiss of peace, and the tribes have confessed that it
was a mistake to leave their farms and farm-work simply to please
an ambitious and utterly thankless governor.
"As for Europeans, they have been rambling all over the country
with their wonted freedom from interference. A Frenchman,
travelling almost alone, has just returned from Imintanoot.
Another has twice crossed the Atlas. Needless to say the route to
Marrákesh is almost as devoid of other than pleasurable novelty as
a stroll on the Embankment or down the shady side of Pall Mall.
When, indeed, will folks at home grasp the fact that the Berber
clans of southern Morocco belong to a race differing utterly in
character and largely in customs from the ruffians infesting the
northern half of the sultanate?
"'Nothing but the unpleasant prospect of being held up by
brigands,' writes a friend, 'prevents me from revisiting your
beautiful country.' How convince such people that brigandage is an
art unknown south of the Oom Rabya? That the prayer of the Shluh,
when a Nazarene visits their land, is that nothing may happen to
bring trouble on the clan? They may inwardly hate the _Rûmi_, or
they may regard him merely as an uncouth blot on the scenery; but
should actual unpleasantness arise, he will, in almost every case,
have himself to thank for it. (London papers please copy!)"
This letter was dated two days after the Paris correspondent of the
_Times_ had telegraphed--
"Events would seem likely to be coming to a head in consequence of
the anarchy prevailing in the Shereefian Empire. The Pretender is
just now concentrating his troops in the plain of Angad, and is
preparing to take an energetic offensive against Ujda. The camp of
the Pretender is imposing in its warlike display. All the caids
and the sons of Bu Amema surround Mulai Mahomed. The men are armed
with French _chassepots_, and are well dressed in new uniforms
supplied by an Oran firm. All the war material was embarked on
board the French yacht _Zut_, which landed it last month on
the shores of Rastenga between Cape Eau and Melilla under the
direction of the Pretender's troops."
Towards Christmas, 1902, circumstantial reports began to appear in the
newspapers of an overwhelming defeat of the imperial army by rebels
who were marching on Fez, who had besieged it, and had cut off the
aqueduct bringing its water, the Sultan retreating to the palace,
Europeans being ordered to the coast, etc., etc. These statements
I promptly and categorically denied in an interview for the London
_Echo_; there was no real "pretender," only a religious fanatic
supported by two disaffected tribes, the imperial army had not been
defeated, as only a small body had been despatched to quell the
disturbance; the "rebels" were not besieging Fez, as they had no army,
and only the guns captured by the clever midnight surprise of sleeping
troops, of which the "battle"--really a panic--consisted; they had not
cut the "aqueduct," as Fez is built on the banks of a river from which
it drinks; the Sultan's palace was his normal abode; the Europeans
had not fled, seeing no danger, but that _on account of the alarming
telegrams from Europe_, their Ministers in Tangier had advised them to
withdraw, much against their will.
So sweeping a contradiction of statements receiving daily confirmation
from Tangier, heightened colour from Oran, and intensification from
Madrid, must have been regarded as the ravings of a madman, for
the interview was held over for a week for confirmation. Had not
thirty-four correspondents descended on Tangier alone, each with
expenses to meet? Something had to be said, though the correspondent
nearest to the scene, in Fez, was two days' journey from it, and six
from Tangier, the nearest telegraph station. It is true that some
years ago an American boldly did the journey "From Fez to Fleet Street
in Eight Days," by forgetting most of the journey to Tangier, but this
was quite out-done now. Meanwhile every rumour was remodelled in Oran
or Madrid, and served up afresh with confirmatory _sauce piquante_, _à
la française_ or _à l'espagnol_, as the case might be. It was not till
Reuter had obtained an independent, common-sense report, that the
interview was published, my statements having been all confirmed,
but by that time interest had flagged, and the British public still
believes that a tremendous upheaval took place in Morocco just then.
Yet, notwithstanding the detailed accounts of battles and reverses--a
collation of which shows the "Father of the She-ass" fighting in
several places at once, captured or slain to-day and fighting
to-morrow, and so on--the Government of Morocco was never in real
danger from the "Rogi's" rising, and the ultimate issue was never in
doubt. The late Sultan, El Hasan, more than once suffered in person
at the hands of the same tribes, defeats more serious than those
experienced by the inadequate forces sent by his son.
The moral of all this is that any news from Morocco, save that
concerning Europeans or events on the coast, must be received with
caution, and confirmation awaited. The most reliable accounts at
present available are those of the _Times_ correspondent at Tangier,
while the _Manchester Guardian_ is well informed from Mogador.
Whatever emanates from Paris or Algeria, not referring directly to
frontier events; or from Madrid, not referring to events near the
Spanish "presidios," should be refused altogether, as at best it is
second-hand, more often fabricated. How the London Press can seriously
publish telegrams about Morocco from New York and Washington passes
comprehension. The low ebb reached by American journals with one or
two notable exceptions in their competitive sensationalism would of
itself suffice to discredit much that appears, even were the countries
in touch with each other.
The fact is that very few men in Morocco itself are in a position
to form adequate judgements on current affairs, or even to collect
reliable news from all parts. So few have direct relations with the
authorities, native and foreign; so many can only rely on and amplify
rumour or information from interested sources. So many, too, of the
latter _must_ make money somehow! The soundest judgements are to be
formed by those who, being well-informed as to the conditions and
persons concerned, and Moorish affairs in general, are best acquainted
with the origin of the reports collected by others, and can therefore
rightly appraise them.
INDEX
A
Abbas, Shah of Persia, 280 _note_
Abd Allah bin Boo Shaïb es-Sálih,
story of: protection system, 247-251
Abd Allah Ghaïlán, former rebel leader, 274
Abd el Hakk and the Widow Záïdah, story of the, 164, 165
Addington, Mr., British Ambassador at Granáda, 354
Aghmát, capital of Southern Morocco, 5
Ahmad II., "the Golden," addressed by Queen Elizabeth, 9
Algeria, 281;
the French in, 294-296, 299;
viewed from Morocco, 307-317;
under French rule, 308-315;
failure as a colony, 309;
Arabs in, 313;
Moors in, 314;
mosques, 315;
tilework, 316;
field for scientist, 317
Algiers (El Jazîrah), the city and people, 310-316
Alhambra, the, at Granáda (_q.v._)
_Al-moghreb Al-aksa_ on the political situation, 381-394
Andorra, the Pyrenean republic of, 7, 337, 379;
its privileges granted by Charlemagne, 379
Anglo-French Agreement, 276, 279, 301, 304, 381;
clauses in, 283, 293
Anne, Queen, 9
Arabs, the wandering, 57-62;
tent-life, 57-62;
food, 59;
hospitality, 60;
in Algeria, 313;
in Tunisia, 322
B
Beggars, native, 115, 116
Berber race, 3, 6, 47-56;
pirates, 3;
men brave and warlike, 48, 49;
Reefian, 48, 50;
women often very intelligent, 51;
they, not Saracens or Arabs, real conquerors of Spain, 6, 54;
origin still a problem, 55;
Ghaïátà Berbers in revolt, 271-273
Boabdil, 356, 365
Boo Ziaro Miliáni, arrest and release of, 34
C
Café, Moorish, 159-165
Carthage, 53;
Christian and Mohammedan, 53
Charlemagne, 379
Charles Martel, the "Hammer," 337
Charles V., "improver" of Spanish monuments of Moorish art, 338,
350, 353
Chess, 133, 144;
an Arab game, 134
Child-life, Moorish, 94-101;
infancy, 95;
school days, 97;
youth, 99;
early vices, 101
"Cid," the, El Mansûr, 376
City life in Morocco, 63-70
Civil war in Morocco: Asni and the Aït Mîzán, 261-266
Coinage, Moorish, 23-25, 125
Córdova, 337, 338-346, 375;
its famous mosque (cathedral), 338-345;
aisles, columns, arches, 339, 340;
the kiblah niche, 342;
Moorish worshippers in, 342;
European additions to, 343-345;
history of the town, 345
Corrosive sublimate tea--for disgraced officials, 28
D
Debts in Morocco, how settled, 30-34
Delbrel, M., leader of the "Rogi's" forces, 273
Dining out in Morocco, 102-106
Diplomacy in Morocco. _See_ Embassy
Draughts, game of, 162
E
Edward I. and Eleanor of Castile, 376
Edward VII. in Algeria, 281
Elizabeth, Queen, 9
El K'sar es-Sagheer, 6
El Menébhi, ambassador to London and Minister of War, 268
El Moghreb el Aksa, native name of Morocco, 14
El Yazeed, Sultan in 1790, declares war on all Christendom, 10
Embassy to court of Sultan, a typical, 206-232;
requisitioning provisions, 206, 207;
_personnel_ and _attachés_, 208, 209;
native agent, 209;
arrival at Marrákesh, 210;
reception, 212, 213;
the diplomatic interview:
ambassador, interpreter, and Sultan, 214-222;
the result:
as it appeared in the Press, 223;
as it was in reality, 224, 225;
diamond cut diamond, 226-230;
failure, and its causes, 227-230
England and Morocco, 276, 293, 294, 381-394;
British trade, 280;
British policy in, 301-304;
Anglo-French Agreement (_q.v._);
"Morocco news," 381-394
F
Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, 3, 334, 350, 353, 362, 378;
their nuptials the death-knell of Moorish rule in Europe, 7;
tomb of, 355
Fez, founded by son of Mulai Idrees, 5;
Karûeeïn mosque at, 44, 337, 339, 358
Football, Moorish, 97, 137
Ford's "Handbook to Spain," 357, 366, 373
France in Morocco, 288, 292-305;
"policing" the frontier, 288;
her rule inevitable and desirable, 294-300;
hope for the Moors, 301, 305, 385;
Anglo-French Agreement (_q.v._);
in Algeria, 308-315;
in Tunisia, 318-320;
_see_ Political situation, the, and Appendix, 381-394
G
German interests in Morocco, 279-282
Gerona: Sulaïmán, Pepin, and Charlemagne, 378, 379
Gibraltar, Moorish castle, 370
Granáda, 337, 352-365;
the Alhambra Palace, loveliest monument of Moorish art in Spain,
352-354, 356-362;
despoiled by Charles V. and the French, 353;
"Tia Antonia," 353, 354;
Morocco-like surroundings, 354;
mosques, 355;
tomb of Ferdinand and Isabella, 355;
remains of Cardinal Mendoza, 356, 377;
Bu Abd Allah's sword, 356, 365;
courts and halls of the Alhambra, 358-362;
other Moorish remains, 362-365
H
Hamed Zirári, story of: protection system, 242-246
Hareems, royal, 73-75;
and other, 82-87
Hasheesh, opium of Morocco, 130
Hay, Sir John Drummond, 294
Herbs, fragrant, use of, 86, 108, 122
I
Infant mortality in Morocco high, 96
Irving, Washington, at Granáda, 354;
his "Tia Antonia," 354
Ismaïl the Bloodthirsty exchanges compliments with Queen Anne, 9
J
Jaca, site of desperate battle between Spaniards and Moors, 378
Jelálli Zarhôni, the "Rogi," head of the revolt of the Ghaïátà Berbers,
271-273
Jewish interpreter, astute, 214-222
Jews in Morocco, 16-17;
justice for, 252-260;
in Spain, traces of, 334
K
Kabyles, 54
Kaïd, the, and his court, 252-259
Kesk'soo, the national dish, 59, 105, 121, 198, 266
Khalia, staple article of winter diet, 197
Korán, the, at schools, 97;
the standard work at colleges, 98
Kufic inscriptions, 351, 361, 373, 375
L
_L'Aigle_ at Mogador and Agadir, 35
"Land of the Moors, The," 292
_Lex talionis_, 48
M
Machiavellian arts, Moors excel in, 38
Madrid Convention of 1880 ... 282, 382;
essential features of, 289, 290
Madrid, Moorish remains in, 376
Malaga, Moorish dockyard, 370
Market-place, Moorish, 107-110, 121-123, 125-132;
and marketing, 109, 113-115, 118-124
Marrákesh, founded in the middle of the 11th century, 5;
kingdom of, 5, 14;
the Kûtûbîya at, 44, 337, 346
Marriage in Morocco, 75, 77;
country wedding, 88-93;
feastings, presents, and rejoicings, 88-91
Mauretania Tingitana, titular North African bishopric still, 3
Mavrogordato, Kyrios Dimitri: typical embassy, 206-232
Medicine-men, 166-178;
cupping, 167-169, 197;
exorcising, 169, 171;
cauterizing, 170;
charms, 172;
curious remedies, 174-177;
philtres and poisons, 177
Mekka, pilgrimage to. _See_ Pilgrimage
Mendoza, Cardinal, 355, 356;
remains of the Mendozas, 377
Merchants, Moorish, 109, 113-115
Mérida, Muslim toleration at, 373
Mokhtar and Zóharah, wedding of, 88-93
Monk, General, 9
Moors in Spain, traces of. _See_ Spain
Morals, Moorish, lax, 39-44, 101
Morocco: retrospect, 1-13;
of present day, 14-65;
races: Berbers, Arabs, Moors, 15-17, 47-62;
life of the people--society, business, pastime, religion, 63-204;
diplomacy (_q.v._);
law and justice, 233-260;
the political situation (_q.v._);
her neighbours, 307-331;
Moors in Spain (_q.v._);
"Morocco news," _Al-moghreb Al-aksa_, 381-394
Morocco-Algerian frontier, France "policing" the, 288
Mosques, French treatment of, 315, 319
Mulai Abd Allah V., 1756, makes war upon Gibraltar, 11
Mulai Abd el Azîz IV., present Sultan, 267-291
Mulai Abd el Káder, a favourite saint, 115
Mulai el Hasan III., late Sultan, 24, 40, 267
Mulai Idrees, direct descendant of Mohammed, and early Arabian
missionary to Morocco, 4;
founded the Shurfà Idreeseeïn dynasty, 5
Mulai Yakûb el Mansûr, builder of mosque towers at Sevílle, Marrákesh,
and Rabat, 347
Musical instruments, 135, 139, 151, 160
O
Official rapacity, 28, 242-251, 252-260
Orihuela, palms at, 371
P
Pawkers, Admiral, 11
Pepys, Samuel, once on a Moorish Commission, 383
Pilgrims to Mekka, 191-204;
sea-route preferred to-day, 191;
camp at Tangier, 192-200;
comforts and discomforts, 192-200;
a novel tent, 193-195;
food, 197-199;
returning home, 201-204
Piracy of Moors, 7-9;
tribute extorted from European Powers, 9, 10, 12;
abandoned by Algiers, 12;
not wholly unknown to-day, 13
Political situation, the, 267-291;
the Sultan and reforms, 268-270;
unsettled state of the empire, 270-275;
a change welcome, 276;
agreement among the three great Powers remote, 276;
Anglo-French Agreement (_q.v._);
famine and unrest, 277;
German interests, 280;
Spanish interests, 283;
conference proposed, 282, 284;
points for discussion, 285-288;
"Morocco news" must be received with caution, 381-394
Postal reform needed, 286
Powder play, 91, 94, 121, 135
Prayer, Moslem, 69, 142, 152;
call to, 69, 70
Prisons and prisoners, miserable, 233-241;
long terms, 234-237;
the lash, 238, 246;
the bastinado, 255;
Jews in, 260
Protection system, the, 29, 242-251;
the need: story of Hamed Zirári, 242-246;
the search: story of Abd Allah bin Boo Shaïb es-Sálih, 247-251;
patent of, 251;
"farming," 251 _note_
R
Rabat, Hassan tower at, 347, 348
Railways would be welcomed by the Sultan, 297
Raïsûli, rebel leader in the disaffected north, 273-275
Rio Tinto copper-mines, 368
Ronda, corn-mills at, 369
Rosebery, Lord, on Morocco, 387
Rudolf II., 1604: his active policy respecting Moroccan affairs, 280 _note_
S
Saragossa, the Aljaferia at, 378
School, Moorish, 97, 98
Sevílle, 337, 346-352, 367;
Girálda tower, 346-348;
palace, El Kasar, 349-351;
royal "improvers" of Moorish work, 350;
capital of Charles V., 352;
Moorish remains at, 367
Sherley, Sir Anthony, 1604, adventurer and diplomatist, 280 _note_
Shurfà Idreeseeïn dynasty founded by Mulai Idrees, 5
Sidi Mohammed, son of Mulai Abd Allah V., 11
Si Marzak and his fair Azîzah, the loves of, 160-162
Slave-markets, Marrákesh and Fez, 179-181
Slavery in Morocco, 8, 17, _et passim_, 179-190;
sources of supply, 180;
girls for hareems, 181;
treatment fairly kind, 181, 182;
men have risen to high positions, 182;
use chiefly domestic, 183;
a slave-girl's cruel story, 185-190
Smeerah, quaint incident at, 198
Smin, use of, 112, 131
Smith, Sir Chas. Euan, 206
Snake-charming, 137, 151-158
Social life, Moorish, 82-87
Spain, Moorish empire in, founded by Berbers, 6, 54;
footprints of Moors in, 332-379;
place-names and words of Arabic origin, 333, 369;
physiognomy of the people, 335;
habits and customs, 335;
salutations, 336;
narrow streets, 336;
forts and mosques (churches), 337;
the mosque at Córdova (_q.v._);
Girálda and El Kasar at Sevílle (_q.v._);
the Alhambra at Granáda (_q.v._);
other Moorish towns, villages, castles, and remains, 366-379;
women of, at the battle of Jaca, 378
Sports and pastimes, Moorish:
active, 96, 133-137;
passive, 138-150, 151-158, 159-165
Stamps and stamp-dealers, 287
Story-teller, the, 122, 137, 138-150;
Mulai Abd el Káder and the Monk of Monks, 141-148
T
Tafilált, home for discarded Sultanas, 73
Tangier, English cede possession of, 9, 383;
drunkenness and vice, 41;
North African Mission, 42;
shopping in, 118-124;
market-place, 121-123;
Sunday market, 125-132;
salt-pans, 129;
English Church at, 132;
starting-place for Mekka pilgrims, 192, 196;
residence of ambassadors, 205;
gaol at, 233;
many Frenchmen at, 300
Tarifa, Moorish remains at, 366
Tarragona, cathedral of, 373
Tea, making, 86, 103
Tilework of Algeria, 316
Toledo, 336, 373;
Moorish hydraulists, 374;
Ez-Zarkal's water-clocks, 374;
cathedral, 374;
sword-manufacture, 375
Tortosa, ancient pirate stronghold, 372
Tripoli, city and people, 326-331;
the Turkish element in, 326;
viewed from Morocco, 326-331;
mosques, 328;
irrigation, 330
Tunis, city, 321, 322
Tunisia, 299, 308;
viewed from Morocco, 318-325;
under French rule, 318-320;
Jews in, 319;
Arabs in, 322;
Moors in, 322;
women in, 325
V
Valencia, ancient Moorish paradise, 372
W
Water-carriers, Moorish, 132, 149
Water-clocks, Ez-Zarkal's, 374
Wazzân, Shareef of, present representative of Shurfá Idreeseeïn dynasty,
5, 296
Wilhelm II. in Tangier Bay, 281
Women of Morocco, occupations, 58, 62, 77, 111, 134;
seclusion, 64, 77, 83, 103, 107;
subservient position, 71-81, 107;
possibilities of influence, 73;
marriages, 75, 77, 88-93;
divorce, 76;
social visits, 82-87;
wearing apparel, 84;
excellent cooks, 85, 105, 111, 112;
slaves, 181, 183, 185, 190;
women in Tunisia, 325;
in Tripoli, 329
X
Xeres, Old, Moorish citadel, 367
Z
Zarhôn, most sacred town, 5
Zawîah of Sîdi Abd er-Rahmán, 316
Zummeetah, "mixed," quaint story of, 198
THE END
PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED, LONDON AND BECCLES.
Transcriber's Note:
Page 6: Missing accent added to Seville (Sevílle).
Page 36: corrected mis-matched quotes.
Page 44: restored missing ^ accent to Karûeeïn
Page 104: 'whch' corrected to 'which'.
Page 128: 'beats' changed to 'beasts', to fit context.
Page 130: 'flead' [sic]
Page 153: corrected mis-matched quotes. ("And when at home? ')
Page 185: 'Rabhah' is spelled 'Rabbah' in previous illustration.
Page 198: sic: carraway/caraway
Page 263: changed comma for period at sentence end. (sighted, This)
Page 273: 'through' changed to 'though', to fit context.
Page 274: 'accetpance' changed to 'acceptance'.
Page 284: 'territoral' changed to 'territorial'.
Page 289: carcase/carcass, both are correct: Oxford Dictionary.
Page 299: sic: instal/install.
Page 346: added missing accent to III SEVILLE (SEVÍLLE), for conformity.
(II CÓRDOVA is accented).
Page 349: added missing accent to Giralda (Girálda), for conformity.
Page 353: corrected 'architectual' to 'architectural'.
Page 372: comma corrected to period. (a Moorish cistern hard by.)
Page 296: colon corrected to semicolon. (Moorish worshippers in, 342;).
Page 296: added comma (Debts in Morocco, how settled, 30-34).
Page 377: added closing quote to "Castle of Ayûb.
Page 395: 'Bobadil' changed to 'Boabdil'.
Page 395: removed extraneous '378' reference for Charlemagne.
Page 396: removed extraneous '3' reference for Ferdinand and Isabella.
Page 397: removed extraneous entry (368) for 'kufic inscriptions';
changed '575' to '375'.
Page 398,399: Missing accent added to Seville (Sevílle).
Page 399: missing accent added to Cordova (Córdova).
Page 399: comma added after 'remains' (other Moorish towns, villages,
castles, and remains, 366-379;).
Page 400: comma added after 'occupations' (Women of Morocco,
occupations, 58, 62, 77, 111, 134;).
oe ligatures are indicated with [oe]
I also removed the partial square brackets before or after the
photographer's names accompanying Illustration titles.