[p.87] consumed none of the provisions brought hither from Mekka; yet I
learned from good authority that there was only a supply for ten days in
Tayf for the Turkish army.
In the time of the Sherif, this town was governed by an officer of his
appointment, named Hakem, himself a sherif, and who narrowly escaped
the sword of the Wahabys. He has been restored to his office by Mohammed
Aly; but it is at present merely honorary. Several sherif families of
Mekka are settled here; and the mode of living, the dress, and manners,
appear to be the same as at Mekka; but I had few opportunities of making
observations on this subject.
September 7th. I set out early in the morning from Tayf for Mekka, by
the same road which I had come. There is, as I have already mentioned, a
more northern route, by which caravans may avoid the difficulties of
passing Djebel Kora. The first station from Mekka, on that road, is
Zeyme, short of which, about ten miles, are several steep ascents. Zeyme
is a half-ruined castle, at the eastern extremity of Wady Lymoun, with
copious springs of running water. Wady Lymoun is a fertile valley,
which extends for several hours in the direction of Wady Fatme; it has
many dateplantations, and formerly the ground was cultivated; but this,
I believe, has ceased since the Wahaby invasion: its fruit-gardens, too,
have been ruined. This is the last stage of the Eastern-Syrian Hadj
route, or that which lies to the east of the Great Hedjaz chain, running
from Medina to Mekka. To the S.E. or E.S.E. of Wady Lymoun, is another
fertile valley, called Wady Medyk, where some sherifs are settled, and
where Sherif Ghaleb possessed landed property.
From Zeyme, the road to Tayf leads, on the second day, from Mekka to
Seyl, a rivulet so called, flowing across a plain, which is without
trees, but affords abundance of rich pasture. At Seyl, the road enters a
mountainous tract, through which is a difficult and very narrow passage
of about six hours. The station of
[p.88] this day is Akrab, situated in the upper plain, at about three
hours distance from Tayf, to the northward, and on the same level with
it: thus a traveller reaches Tayf on the fourth day from Mekka. This
route was now impassable, except to large and well-protected caravans,
the hostile Arabs of the Ateybe tribe having frequently made inroads on
that side, and plundered small caravans.
Not far from Tayf I overtook three Arnaut soldiers, each, like myself,
mounted on an ass. At Tayf they had exchanged their money, getting
thirteen piastres of the Cairo mint for one Spanish dollar, which at
Djidda was worth but eleven; they had, therefore, made a common purse of
one thousand dollars, and travelled from Djidda to Tayf, whenever the
road was secure, for the sake of the two piastres which they gained upon
each dollar. They carried the money, sewed in bags, upon their asses;
and having forgotten, perhaps, to leave out any cash for travelling
expenses, they joined me, finding that my travelling sack was well
stocked with provisions, and left me to pay for our joint expenses on
the road, whenever we stopped at the coffee-huts. But they were good-
humoured companions, and the expense was not thrown away.
In passing by Wady Mohram, I assumed the ihram, as being now for the
first time about to visit Mekka and its temple. The ihram consists of
two pieces of linen, or woollen, or cotton cloth, one of which is
wrapped round the loins, and the other thrown over the neck and
shoulders, so as to leave part of the right arm uncovered. Every garment
must be laid aside before this is put on. Any piece of stuff will answer
the purpose; but the law ordains that there shall be no seams in it, nor
any silk or ornaments; and white is considered preferable to any other
colour. White Indian cambric is usually employed for the purpose; but
rich hadjys use, instead of it, white Cashmere shawls, which have not
flowered borders. The head remains totally uncovered. It is not
permitted to have the head shaved, in conformity with the oriental
habits, until it is permitted also to lay aside the ihram.
[p.89] The instep must likewise be uncovered: those, accordingly, who
wear shoes, either cut a piece out of the upper leather, or have shoes
made on purpose, such as the Turkish hadjys usually bring with them from
Constantinople. Like most of the natives, I wore sandals while dressed
in the ihram.
Old-age and disease are excuses for keeping the head covered; but this
indulgence must be purchased by giving alms to the poor. The suns rays
become extremely troublesome to persons bareheaded; but although the
law forbids that the head should be protected by any thing in immediate
contact with it, there is no prohibition against the use of umbrellas,
and with these most of the northern hadjys are provided, while the
natives either brave the suns rays, or merely tie a rag to a stick, and
make a little shade, by turning it towards the sun.
Whether assumed in summer or in winter, the ihram is equally
inconvenient and prejudicial to health, particularly among the northern
Mohammedans, who, accustomed to thick woollen clothes, are at this
period obliged to leave them off for many days; yet the religious zeal
of some who visit the Hedjaz is so ardent, that if they arrive even
several months previous to the Hadj, they vow on taking the ihram, in
approaching Mekka, not to throw it off till after the completion of
their pilgrimage to Arafat; and thus they remain for months covered,
night and day, only with this thin cloak; [The Arabian historians relate
that Haroun Errashid and his wife Zobeyda once performed the pilgrimage
on foot, from Baghdad to Mekka, clothed only with the ihram; that at
every station of the caravan there was a castle, with apartments
splendidly furnished; and that the whole road was covered daily with
carpets, on which they walked.] for the law forbids any other covering
even at night; but with this few hadjys strictly comply.
When the ancient Arabs performed their pilgrimage to the idols at Mekka,
they also took the ihram; but that pilgrimage was fixed to a certain
period of the year, probably autumn; for although the Arabs computed by
lunar months, they inserted one month every
[p.90] three years; and thus the month of the pilgrimage did not vary in
its season, as at present. The intercalation of a month, established two
hundred years before Islam, was prohibited by the Koran, which ordained
that the same pilgrimage should be continued, in honour of the living
God, which had before been performed in honour of idols, but that it
should be fixed to a lunar month; thus its period became irregular, and
in the space of thirty-three years was gradually changed from the depth
of winter to the height of summer.
The person covered by the ihram, or, as he is called, El Mohrem, is not
obliged to abstain from particular kinds of food, as ancient Arabians,
who, during the time of wearing it, did not taste butter among other
things; but he is enjoined to behave decently, not to curse, or quarrel,
not to kill any animal, not even a flea on his body, nor to communicate
with the other sex. The ihram of the women consists of a cloak which
they wrap completely about them, with a veil so close that not even
their eyes can be seen: according to the law, their hands and ankles
must be covered, but this rule they generally disregard.
Although my companions, the soldiers, were going to Mekka, as well as
myself, they did not think it necessary to take the ihram, which, as I
have already said, the law prescribes at all times of the year to every
one travelling towards the sacred city.
We remained an hour on the delightful summit of Djebel Kora, and towards
the evening descended the mountain. A shower of rain obliged us to seek
shelter in a spacious cavern by the side of the road, which is used on
similar occasions by shepherds of the Hodheyl tribe; and we arrived
after sun-set at the coffee-huts, before mentioned, on the mountain-
side, where the caravans from Mekka alight. Here we kindled a large
fire, and hired an earthen pot of the Arabs, in which we boiled some
rice for our supper. The long days march, the rain, and my light
covering, brought on a slight fever; but I kept myself well covered
during the night, and was in good health the next morning. The change of
air, during my journey to Tayf, and the comparatively cooler climate of
that place
[p.91] had already completely recovered me from the effects of my severe
illness at Djidda. During the night, the Kadhy of Mekka arrived from
Tayf.
September 8th. At day-break, I went to visit the Kadhy, whom I found
smoking his pipe and drinking coffee; availing himself of the privilege
granted to travellers in Ramadhan, of dispensing with the fast.
According to our agreement at Tayf, I was to join him here on his way to
Mekka; I could not therefore avoid joining him; but I was extremely
averse to continuing with him, because he would probably carry me to his
house at Mekka, where I should be again placed in a situation similar to
that which had proved so uncomfortable at Tayf. He seemed, however,
willing to avoid the trouble and expense of a guest; for when I
expressed some apprehensions that my tired ass would be unable to keep
pace with his fine mule, he immediately answered, that he hoped, at all
events, to meet me again at Mekka. I departed, therefore, with the
soldiers, leaving the Kadhy to repose a little longer. We passed the
mid-day hours at the coffee-hut called Shedad, where several Bedouins
were amusing themselves by shooting at a mark. They gave proofs of great
dexterity, often hitting a piastre, which I placed at about forty yards
distance. Except coffee and water, nothing is to be procured in any of
the huts on this road; the coffee is not served up in single cups, as
usual in most parts of the Levant; but, whoever asks for it, has a small
earthen pot of hot coffee set before him, containing from ten to fifteen
cups: this quantity the traveller often drinks three or four times a
day. These pots are called mashrabe. (See their form in the outlines
annexed.) [Illustration not included].
Into the mouth of the pot is stuck a bunch of dry herbs, through which
the liquid is poured. I have already noticed the immoderate
[p.92] use of coffee in this part of Arabia, and it is said to prevail
still more in the south, and towards the vicinity of the coffee country.
On the road from Shedad, which lies along the lower plains, between
sharp mountains, we were surprised by a most violent shower of rain and
hail, which obliged us to halt. In a very short time the water poured
down in torrents from the mountains and when the hail ceased, after
about an hour, we found that the rain, which still continued, had
covered the Wady Noman with a sheet of water three feet deep, while
streams of nearly five feet in breadth crossed the road with an
impetuosity which rendered it impossible for us to pass them. In this
situation we could neither advance nor retreat, knowing that similar
currents would have been formed in our rear we therefore took post on
the side of the mountain, where we were sure of not being washed away,
and where we could wait in security till the subsiding of the storm. The
mountains, however, soon presented on their sides innumerable cascades,
and the inundation became general; while the rain, accompanied with
thunder and lightning, continued with undiminished violence. I saw the
Kadhy, who had quitted Shedad soon after us, at some distance, separated
from our party by a deep torrent, while several of his women, mounted
upon mules, were also obliged to remain at a distance from him. We
continued in this disagreeable situation for about three hours, when the
rain ceased and the torrents soon diminished; but our asses could with
difficulty be brought to attempt the slippery ground still covered with
water, and we were at last obliged to alight and drive them before us,
till we reached a more elevated surface. The Kadhy and his whole party
were under the necessity of doing the same. Night now overtook us, and
the cloudy sky involved us in complete darkness; but after an
adventurous walk of three or four hours, stumbling or falling almost at
every step, we reached the coffee-houses of Arafat, to the great
satisfaction of my companions, the soldiers, who had entertained
apprehensions for their moneybags. I was not less pleased myself, being
much in want of a fire after such a drenching, with only the scanty
covering of the ihram.