Sacred Palmlands; or, the journal of a spring tour

Preface

. Though my mother and I joined no party either for Egypt or Palestine, throughout our travels in the latter country we enjoyed the advantage of being accompanied by a Syrian friend, so that, notwithstanding my journal treats of localities often described before, I may have been thereby enabled to glean a few grains after the abundant harvest already reaped from these fruitful fields by such travellers and ex plorers as Stanley, Thomson, Tristram, Warren, and Conder, whose writings have made us so familiar with the Holy Land. In regard to the vexed question of sites, I have in most cases thought it best to write as if those

PREFACE.

. which, after careful study of all the various autho rities, appeared to me the most probable, were un doubtedly the real ones, than to fill pages with the arguments on either side, which can be read in the authorities themselves by those who desire to form their own opinion on the subject. PAGE CONTENTS.

Chapter I. Alexandria To Cairo

First sight of Egypt — A merchant and his customers — Pompey's Pillar — Cleopatra's Needle — Start for Cairo — Scenes by the way — Birds — Villages — Hotels at Cairo full — A landlord's trick — Bayoumi — The Gama Mohammed — Sparrows — Extensive view . . . . 1

Chapter II. The Hajj And Heliopolis

The Hajis and the Hajj — A Moslem devotee — The gift of water — Heliopolis — Matariyeh — Camels and donkeys — The hour of prayer 14

Chapter III. The Pyramids And The Dervishes

A cold drive — Climbing the pyramid — The Bedawin of Gizeh — Bayoumi's devotions — Watering clover — The house of a Hadji — The Mosque of Sultan Hassan — The Arab gentleman and the beggar — The Dancing and Howling Dervishes — The Coptic quarter — Sand storm at the Fair .......... X CONTENTS.

Chapter IV. Sakhara

PAGE Statue of Rameses II. — Human dust — Baby camels — The Step Pyramid of Sakharah — A thunderstorm in the desert — Memphis — The sorrows of a shepherdess — Bricks — Ferry across the Nile — Heluan — Coptic girls 40

Chapter V. The Doseh

The Saadiyeh — Effects of Hashish — Sheikh Achmaad-el- Huderee — An enthusiast — Bayoumi in difficulties — A dense crowd — Supposed virtues of the Doseh — The three divisions of Moslems — A Dervish at church — The Boulak Museum — Rags — The Bab-el-Alfi — Slaves — Copts — Mosque of Amrou — Hotel du Nil — An Arab family . . 48

Chapter VI. Suez And Port Said

The Land of Goshen — The desert — Afterglow — Passage of the Red Sea — Interesting scenery — The Saadiyeh at Suez — Animals from Arabia — Cruelty of a Turk —Cultivation of the desert — Ismailia — Spiritual destitution of Port Said ........... 60 CHAPTER VH. JAFFA. The longed-for coast — A pleasant landing at Jaffa — Our Syrian friend — A cart-carriage — Howard and Cook — View from the Jerusalem Hotel — Clipping camels —The House of Simon the Tanner — Shipping oranges — Beggars — Crowded streets — Ali's orange garden — The orange harvest — German chorales — The Temple Society CONTENTS. XI PAGE CHAPTER VIH. ' WITHOUT THE GATE.' The high road— Crops, flowers, and birds — Ramleh — Fellahin — Sheep— Price of land — The Valley of Ajalon — Haleel — Wady Ali — Abu Ghaush — Kuloniyeh — Precautions for the safety of the road — Jerusalem hidden by modern buildings — Mount Calvary 77

CHAPTER IX. JERUSALEM AND OLIVET.

The longing of my life fulfilled — A striking view — The Wailing Place — The Great Causeway — David Street — Convent of the Sisters of Zion — Souterrain — Soldiers and nuns — A hard promise to keep — The most famous church in Christendom — Pilgrims — Arab women — Shepherd — The Garden of Gethsemane — Views from Olivet — Bethany — ' The Hosanna Road '...... 89

CHAPTER X. THE HARAM-ESH-SHERIF.

A Bedawy in sorrow — The Holy of Holies — The Great Altar of Burnt Offering — The Double Gateway — The Cradle of Jesus — Solomon's Stables — The Court of the Gentiles — The Golden Gate — A curious tradition — Hellway, the Sweet One — Mr. B 's adventure — Wasted pity — Cruelty to a camel — The Beshlik — Tax collectors — General discontent — French control — A prophecy— The weather — Olive trees 103

CHAPTER XI. ROUND THE CITY WALLS.

The Cœnaculum — Beautiful marbles — The Hospital of St. John— Mounds of rubbish — The Royal Quarries — A lost CONTENTS, XII PAGE sheep — The Grotto of Jeremiah — The south-east angle — The three gateways in the south wall — The Royal Clois ter — ' They shall not leave one stone upon another '■ — The ' sleeping barley ' — Sneezing — Isa's comparison. . 117 CHAPTER XH. THE THREE FOUNTAINS. A rainy Sunday — Experiences of our friends — A robbery at the Dead Sea — The Pilgrim's Mark— A familiar chirp — Snowballing — Valley of Hinnom — The Well of Joab — The Brook Kedron— The Pool of Siloam— The Fountain of the Virgin — The crown of thorns — Tombs of the Kings — Money — Soap — Glass ...... 129 CHAPTER XLTI. BETHLEHEM. Legend of the lentils — Our kind host and hostess — The Church of the Nativity — Female costume — Children of Bethlehem — Nathanael— Youthful Bedawin waiting to be taught — Signs of prosperity amongst the Bethlehemites — Severitj of the winter — On the top of an aqueduct —My last walk with Isa — The Castle of St. Lazarus — Necessity of leaving Jerusalem 138

CHAPTER XIV. RETURN TO THE COAST.

A last look — An accident — A kindly Fellah — Storks — Adding insult to injury — Casting a net — A scarabæus beetle — Miss Arnott's school — What snow is made of — The Beshlik riots — Difficulties of landing at Jaffa — Mr. Bergheim's visit to Petra — Railway bookstalls — Abou Shoushe — Fertility of Palestine — The Levitical tenth — Our proposed journey — A kind invitation .... CONTENTS. XIII PAGE

CHAPTER XV.

A ROUNDABOUT VOYAGE TO HAIFA. A change in our plans — Too late — The ' Odessa ' — Russian steamers not dirty — Favourable impressions of Russians — Bedawin passengers — Captain Coda — Sidon — ' The balmy moon ' — Landing at 1 .30 A.M 161

CHAPTER XVI. NAZARETH.

Rough roads — First sight of Nazareth — The Latin Hospice — The scene of the Annunciation — The English Church — A congregation of Nazarenes — A wondrous panorama — • The Protestant Orphanage — Mr. Bernard Bellamy — Carpenters' shops — Opinions held by the Rabbis of old on trade — Observance of Sunday — Site of the Precipitation — Fern and leopards — Concord between Christians — The Virgin's Fountain — Dress — Fra Giovanni . . . 168 CHAPTER XVU. ON THE SEA OF GALILEE. Bringing friends on their way — Cana of Galilee — Lubieh — ' Thorns ' — The Mount of Beatitudes — The clothing of the grass — A Jewish town — On the shore — ' Toiling in rowing ' — Playing on the reed-pipe — Capernaum — ' The land whither they went ' — The Fountain of Capharnaum — Gorgeous colouring — Chinnereth — The Plain of Gennesareth— Papyrus — Magdala — Massacres by the Romans • 183

CHAPTER XVIII. TIBERIAS.

A sultry day — The hot springs — Insects — Scorpions — Stone doors — A strange scene — Syrian Freemasons — Size of CONTENTS. pagh 197 212 flowers — Scene of the Feeding of the Five Thousand — ' A great calm ' — Farewell to the Lake — Antiquity of smoking in Palestine — An alarm — ' The water that was made wine ' — Bearded wheat — A woman of Cana .

CHAPTER XIX. THE WOOD OF HARTIYEH.

A rainy walk at Nazareth — ' The lily of the valley ' — A dangerous road — Oak trees — Beautiful woodland scenery — A confession — A sad story — Survival of the Middle Ages — Superstition — Storax — Wild flowers — Motto .

CHAPTER XX. DWELLERS IN THE HOLY LAND.

The Kishon — The universal yearning — Characteristics of the 'Modern Canaanites' — The Jews — The Monastery on Mount Carmel — Haifa as a health-resort — Heimweh — The German colonists — Ancient Cayphas — Impressions made on me by the sacred localities of Palestine — A glow-worm — Bustle at the Quay — In the quarantine-master's house — A dense fog ... . . 223

CHAPTER XXI. HAIFA TO DAMASCUS.

Tyre — Cage-birds — Start for Damascus — Sublime scenery of the Lebanon — Mejdel — The Anti-Lebanon — A transformation scene 242

CHAPTER XXII.

' THE EYE OF THE EAST.' Meaning of the word Damascus — Damascus blades, Damask silks, Damassins and Damascening — Brass-work and mother-of-pearl inlay — Buying the Abayeh— Trying on CONTENTS. XV .GE r shoes at the Bedawin Bazaar — Feeling regarding the shoe — Bedawin jewellery — Women's dress — A bit of family history — Cradles— Straight Street— Sweetmeats— Dogs- Lambs — Donkey and blind man — Horses — Blackbirds — Smiles and happiness — A gaping crowd — Rosaries — Christian and Moslem— Assassinations — ' Catch thief ' — The prison — Dark cells — Murderers — Primitive state of things — The Aida Theatre — St. Paul's Schools—' How do you do ? ' 247

CHAPTER XXIII. WALKS IN AND AROUND DAMASCUS.

Jewesses — Visits to Jewish, Christian, and Moslem show-houses — Mr. Reichardt's house — Our hotel, and Damascus houses in general — Historic houses — Lepers — Contrast with Jerusalem — The Great Mosque — Expeditions on roofs — Crowded thoroughfares — The Cemetery of Bab-es- Saghir — Minarets — The Barada — A climb to the ' Dome of Victory ' — The goatherd of the Anti- Lebanon — Hyenas — Game — The wounded stork — A striped spider — Rabbi L'afia — Officers' wives — Chtaura ..... 266

CHAPTER XXIV. BEYROUT AND THE DOG RIVER.

Antiquity of Beyrout — Benefits of education — Dress — Visiting — Salutations — Beggars - M. Perethier's collection — The ' antikat ' shop — The bird market — Flowers — Walks and rides — St. George and the Dragon — Legend of the Nahr-el-Kelb — Rameses II. and the Khita — Sennacherib — Farewell to Palestine 2S4 SACRED PALMLANDS >*4»;'

Chapter I. Alexandria To Cairo

First sight of Egypt. — A merchant and his customers. — Pompey's Pillar. — Cleopatra's Needle. — Start for Cairo. — Scenes by the way. — Birds. — Villages. — Hotels at Cairo full. — A landlord's trick. — Bayoumi. — The Gama Mohammed. — Sparrows. — Extensive view. Thursday, February 12, 1880. — At 7 a.m. this morning my mother and I went on the deck of the ' Sumatra ' to catch the earliest glimpse of the coast of Egypt, as it lay stretched out in a low line on the horizon. The Pharos was the first object we could distinguish ; and then, what looked in the distance like a steamer with two funnels, which re solved itself into the Castle of Meks ; the two funnels beinp* its minaret-like central towers. Between these two buildings, windmills in profusion, palm trees, white houses, and minarets filled up the inter vening space.

By-and-by we crossed the bar, and, B leaving the Pharos close on our left, we steamed into the west harbour with its forest of masts. After all we had heard of the difficulty of the landing, we were most agreeably surprised by the ease with which it was accomplished. In consequence of rain having fallen for the last ten days, we found, instead of sandy dust and a burn ing sky, fleecy clouds overhead, and underfoot mud, with pools of water such as few parts of England could match. But in other respects Alexandria quite tallied with all that I had imagined of it, and in the completely Oriental character of its street life ex ceeded my expectations. From the window of the room in which we sat, we watched a kaleidoscopic succession of costumes of the most artistic colours. A group of a merchant with his wares about him, and his intending customers squatting on the pavement, amused us greatly.

They began by screaming to each other at the top of their voices, emphasising their words by making signs with their fingers, as if they had been deaf and dumb people conversing with their hands. First one of the customers, apparently not satisfied with the price demanded by the merchant, hailed an acquaintance that he might help him to drive a better bargain ; then a casual passer-by, attracted with the chaffering of the buyer and seller, dropped in to give his opinion ; POMPEY'S PILLAR. 3 then one of the group began to strike his neighbour savagely with a stick. After this, the chief customer not having succeeded, in spite of all this fracas, in beating down the price of the article he desired to a low enough rate to suit his purse, jumped up, and beckoning to his friend, the pair walked arm in arm at a rapid pace down the street till they disappeared round a corner.

When the rest saw that they did not return, the group dispersed, leaving the merchant alone with his Nubian attendant, without having disposed of any of his wares. We went in the first place to Pompey's Pillar, which looks imposing as seen at the end of an avenue of tamarisk trees (not shrubs, as with us, but great thick-boled trees). The red granite from Assuan, of which the column is composed, is so weather-worn as to appear almost grey, and it is becoming daily more fractured through fragments being chipped off to sell to visitors. We next drove along the Mahmudiyeh Canal, to the garden of one of the late Viceroy's daughters. On our way we expressed a wish for some pods of the Lebbek tree (Albizzia Lebbeh of the West Indies) which is extensively planted along the roadside ; so down jumped our tall, lithe dragoman Hamaad, and, kicking off his slippers, climbed up the tree in the twinkling of an eye ; then tearing down a branch b laden with pods, he presented it to us.

At the Princess's garden (which was gay with the Poinsettia pulcherrima), he was equally free in gathering ' hashish ' and various plants ; and in rooting up a geranium out of one of a row of flower vases, he broke the vase in two, for which accident he was so far from being sorry that he only swore at the people in charge for its having been so rickety on its base. Lastly we proceeded to the site once occupied by Cleopatra's Needles, alongside of which the stars and stripes proudly floated over a long deal case, not yet fastened down, but still disclosing to view the obelisk destined for America. It is composed of the same material as Pompey's Pillar, and has turned equally grey. The hieroglyphics upon it, like those on its fellow in London, are on a grand scale. The wind had risen so high during the afternoon, that we were glad to exchange our drive by the seashore for a walk through the streets.

Here we passed several long, low carts full of veiled women, who had been to the cemetery near Pompey's Pillar, to weep over the graves of their re lations. Friday, February 13. — Hamaad accompanied us to the station ; right valiantly did he fight in our de fence against the exactions of porters, beggars, &c, his handsome face growing quite anxious, and his FEATURES OF THE COUNTRY. 5 head narrowly escaping a squeeze between two heavy boxes as he battled for us. Before leaving he took care to deposit us in a reserved carriage, duly fitted with Persiane shutters, for the use of the Arab ladies, and we were much amused at hearing ourselves called ' Harim ' for the first time. More than one gentleman tried to get a seat in our first-class carriage ; but was prevented by the porters from entering, with the utterance of the magic word ' Harim.' We were not sorry to be left in undis turbed possession of all the windows, as we could thus better watch the busy life which enlivened every yard of the way from Alexandria to Cairo.

The country rather reminded me of the fen part of Lincoln shire for its flatness and for the canals, as also for the abundant and varied crops which were springing up on the black soil left by the inundation of the Nile. Along the canal on the left-hand side of the rail way ran a road which was thronged by agricultural labourers, and many others were hard at work in the fields. The crops were wheat, clover, barley, and broad beans, the latter in full flower. In some places ploughing was still going on with the ugly buffaloes, whose queer-shaped heads, at the end of a stretched out neck, looked as if they scarcely belonged to their lanky bodies, giving them the appearance of some antediluvian animal ; they were yoked a considerable distance apart. On one occasion I saw a camel and an ox yoked to the same plough.

Besides their use in ploughing, numbers of buffaloes were engaged in turning the ' sakiyeh ' (or water-wheels) to irrigate the fields, for which purpose they are always blindfolded. They seem but little employed as beasts of burden ; the carrying of loads being allotted to donkeys and camels, the latter being in some cases so freighted with canes that the fringed tops of the reeds trailed out behind so as to make the animal resemble a peacock. The alarm of some of the live stock at the pass ing train was curious to witness. Here were camels slipping down a bank, meaning to walk in a dignified manner ; but as one knows camels' legs are not well adapted for climbing or descending, so they sprawled about like geese on a frozen pond. There was a buffalo that had broken loose from its tether, and was leading the old man in charge of it such a dance across the wheat-fields as ill accorded with the gravity becoming his years.

Further on was a young woman in pursuit of a terrified calf. The creatures that seemed as if nothing in nature would daunt or scare them, were the little white egrets ; they took no more notice of the train than if it had been a blade SCENES BY THE WAY. of grass, and delighted in getting as close to the labourers as our own robins do to a gardener at home. They looked very graceful fishing in the stream, poking about the green crops, or flying around in small parties. There were many other wild birds to be seen ; vultures and eagles, hooded crows, a stork, and the most exquisitely beautiful kingfisher I ever beheld. Sparrows there were in plenty, much like ours, and just as tame. The vegetation was not very varied ; willows, tam arisks, and the flowering rush (which was not in bloom) were the most numerous forms.

Palms and orange groves occasionally gave diversity to the landscape ; whilst the picturesque grouping and the costumes of the people supplied the place of flowers. Sometimes a girl tending her father's sheep (of alpaca-like build and fleece), who, as a peasant, was privileged to dispense with the face-veil, brought forcibly to one's mind the story of Eachel. The most frequent sight, however, was that of two men with a vessel slung on a cord be tween them, which they kept constantly dipping into the canal, and then swinging its contents with great force into a pond that they had dug above the level of the canal, to store the water for distri bution on the fields. We noticed numerous villages of squalid mud huts, their walls plastered with cakes of dung drying for fuel. The women seemed quite to enjoy shaping these cakes with their dainty little fingers, and then carrying them piled up in baskets on their heads as if they had been so many buns.

All the peasantry had a comfortable appearance, in spite of their humble homes, and the family groups looked right happy as they trudged along the road to or from their work. I felt considerable excitement at my first introduction to the ' green old Nile,' in crossing over its broad Kosetta branch. Soon after this the villages became more and more frequent, the hovels being of a rounded beehive shape (with erections like a monk's cowl at the top of them for the purpose of pigeon-cotes) ; they were stuck close together and surrounded by heaps of rubbish, about which fowls, goats, and sheep were roaming. The curious scenes we witnessed at the different stations were novel and entertaining to me ; and at one of them I was much amused by watching a conceited dandy, in a handsome maroon caftan and blue tunic, with a yellow kaffeiyeh, admiring himself in a looking-glass which he had bought at the stall of an itinerant vendor.

After passing Tanta (a town of 60,000 inhabitants, famous for its three annual fairs), graceful-looking girls were seen at every station, poising jars of Nile ARRIVAL AT CAIRO. water skilfully in the palm of one hand, and offering the passengers a drink of it ; but few of them wore face-veils. The skirts of the female peasants here abouts are worn shorter than is the custom nearer to Alexandria, so as to show their baggy trousers. We saw the bricks of which the smaller town-houses are built getting dried in the sun, this being all the baking they undergo. It was strange to come across English machinery in company with such primitive affairs as a harrow consisting of a single plank, on which a small boy was sitting, and a man standing, balancing himself on it with great difficulty as it dragged over the ground.

After crossing the Dami etta branch of the Nile, the Pyramids made quite a feature in the view, and ere long the citadel and mosques of Cairo showed themselves, and we were at our journey's end. To our regret, the commissionaires of all the principal hotels informed us that they were quite full ; Shepheard's man called out, ' Try the E .' Accordingly we entered the omnibus of that hotel ; but, not at all liking the quarters we found there, we bethought ourselves of seeing whether the Nil could receive us on the morrow. We therefore told the landlord of the R that we wished to find some friends, and call for our letters at the Hotel du Nil ; desiring him to direct our coachman to drive us there. He held a long parley with that individual in Arabic, the result of which was that we were whisked off at a rapid rate to the very outskirts of Cairo.

On arriving at the banks of the Nile, our driver came to a sudden halt, and, pointing to the river, said, 'Nil.' In vain did we try to make him understand that he was to take us to the hotel of that name ; he did but turn his horses round, and away he went faster than ever, past the Boulak Museum, and through the narrow, dirty streets of this quarter, thronged then, as it always is, with a motley, picturesque crowd of negroes from various parts, Arabs of the poorer classes, &c. — the very St. Giles of Cairo. After bump ing for some time upon the roughest of roads, we found ourselves emerging on a handsome bridge over the Nile, crossing which we were being in the next place conveyed along the road leading to the Pyra mids. Strangers as we were in a strange city, our predicament was by no means a pleasant one, especially as we felt certain we were the victims of a trick played on us by the landlord of the R ; who, wishing to keep us at his hotel, had evidently in structed our coachman to drive us as far away from the Hotel du Nil as he could.

By dint of violent gesticulations, we succeeded, though not without the utmost difficulty, in persuading our suspicious-looking Arab coachman to drive us back to the Hotel STREET NOISES AT NIGHT. 11 R . On arriving there, we alighted from our carriage, and determined we would prove ourselves more than a match for the landlord ; so, instead of entering his house, we walked down the street for some distance, until we came to the shop of a French chemist, with whom we made friends, asking him to get us a carriage, and direct the coachman to drive us to the Hotel du Nil, which he gladly did ; and thus we not only arrived there safely at last, but found to our great delight that a party would be leaving on the morrow whose room we could have. We returned in secret triumph to the R , though we kept our counsel regarding our intention of leaving the hotel, lest some other trick should be played on us, and we should not get off in the morning.

Saturday, February 14. — Our rooms looked out on the street, so we had experience of the noisiness of Cairo during the night. The cries of itinerant merchants, and the shouts of the Sais, as they ran, staff in hand, to prepare the way in front of their masters' carriages, never ceased till past midnight ; after which the cocks and pariah dogs were the most disturbing element till between 4 and 5 a.m., when the city woke again to life. The first human sound I heard in the morning was the oft-repeated ' Allah-la-la,' which had a solemn ring about it. At 11 o'clock Bayoumi, 'the Sheikh of the Hamir,' (donkeys) ! was sent from the Hotel du Nil to fetch us in the carriage which he had brought ; this was a great honour, as Bayoumi seldom accompanies any one, and his helping the porter to take down our luggage was a still greater condescension.

How proud and dignified he looked in his mantle of black lined with sky blue, as he threw it in artistic folds about his shoulders ! He rode by the side of our carriage, with his own donkey boy attending on him, whilst we were preceded by a running footman to shout ' Oa,' take care ; ' Oa riglak,' take care of your toes. So soon as we had settled ourselves in our new quarters, I called with a friend on Mr. Collins, the English chaplain. He pointed out to us the estab lishment of his nearest neighbours, a French sister hood (all ladies of good family), who have undertaken the education of the daughters of the Turkish grandees, under a vow that they will not attempt to make proselytes of them. Schools for all classes and both sexes abound now in Cairo, though to Miss Whately pertains the merit of initiating the move ment.

In the afternoon we drove to the citadel, where we first visited the Gama Mohammed (the modern Alabaster Mosque), and had to pay for having our feet swathed in the most tattered old slippers I ever THE GAMA MOHAMMED. 13 beheld. The sheikh who conducted us over the various buildings was one of the stateliest of men. The way he waved his hand to make us all follow him, the authoritative manner in which he ordered us about, were not to be forgotten. This mosque is built on the model of St. Sophia, and its Kibla reminded me of a High Altar. Flocks of sparrows were making a tremendous chattering inside the dome, and one of the chandeliers was brown with them. We went next to see the view from the parapet over the whole city of Cairo, and away to the tombs of the Mamelukes, the Pyramids of Gizeh and Sakkarah, with the Nile winding through the plain. We would fain have lingered ; but the sheikh hurried us on to show us where the leap of the Mamelukes took place, and the deep well of Joseph.

Chapter II. The Hajj And Heliopolis

The Hajis and the Hajj. — A Moslem devotee. — Thegiftof water. — Heliopolis. — Matariyeh. — Camels and donkeys. — The hour of prayer. Monday, February 16. — For the last day or two the pilgrims who have returned from Mecca (whither they went in October of last year) have been encamp ing outside the Bab-en-Nasr on the road to Helio polis, and at the Pilgrims' Lake. Some of the richer members of the hajj entered Cairo on camels, bearing red litters large enough to recline upon, while some of the poor hadjis have ridden in on the donkeys which had carried them across the desert, their friends rushing to meet them with a storm of greetings. Numbers of the Cairenes went out to see the pilgrims' encampment, and to press the red and green hangings of the sacred camel (inscribed with verses from the Koran) to their foreheads, in order to touch something con nected with Mecca.

About a hundred children were THE CROWD AT THE BAB-EN-NASR. 15 taken by their fathers this year to the prophet's shrine, in order that they might be saved a pilgrimage thither when they grew to manhood. At an early hour this morning all Cairo was astir in eager expectation of the state entry of the Mecca caravan procession into the city; so I mounted my donkey at 8 o'clock, and rode down the narrow, crowded streets, and through the grand old gateways of Bab el-Futuh and Bab-en-Nasr, by which latter gate it was to make its entrance. By dint of bribing an itinerant vendor of coffee, our dragoman Hassan obtained an excellent place for me and for the three ladies whom I had joined. Opposite us was a barred window, through whose gratings we could see a number of women standing ; others were on the housetops, or mingling with the gaily-dressed crowds in holiday attire.