At Yembo, Tayf, Mekka, And Djidda, Ghaleb Kept His
Vizier, Who Was Called El Hakem At Mekka And Tayf.
He had, besides, his
khasnadar, or treasurer; his selahdar, or sword-bearer; moherdar, or
keeper of the seal; and a few other officers, who, however, were far
from keeping up so strict an etiquette, or being persons of as much
consequence, as those officers are in the Turkish court.
The whole of
the private establishment of Ghaleb consisted of fifty or sixty servants
and officers,
[p.226] and as many slaves and eunuchs. Besides his wives, he kept about
two dozen of Abyssinian slaves, and double that number of females to
attend upon them and to nurse his children. In his stables were from
thirty to forty horses of the best Arabian breed; half a dozen mules,
upon which he sometimes rode; and as many dromedaries. I learned from
one of his old servants, that an erdeb (about fifteen bushels) was
issued daily from the store for the use of the household; this, with
perhaps half a hundred weight of butter, and two sheep, formed the
principal expenditure of provision. It was partly consumed by the
Bedouins, who came to Mekka upon business, and who were in the habit of
repairing to the Sherif's house, to claim his hospitality, just as they
would alight at the tent of a Sheikh in an encampment in the Desert.
When they departed, their sacks were filled with provisions for the
road, such being the Arab custom, and the Sherifs of Mekka having always
shown an anxious desire to treat the Bedouins with kindness and
liberality.
The dress of the Sherif is the same as that of all the heads of Sherif
families at Mekka; consisting, usually, of an Indian silk gown, over
which is thrown a white abba, of the finest manufacture of El Ahsa, in
the Persian Gulf; a Cashmere shawl, for the head; and yellow slippers,
or sometimes sandals, for the feet. I saw no Mekkawy Sherifs with green
turbans. Such of them as enter into the service of government, or are
brought up to arms, and who are called by the Mekkawys exclusively
"Sherifs," generally wear coloured Cashmere shawls; the others, who lead
a private life, or are employed in the law and the mosque, tie a small
white muslin shawl round their caps. The Sherifs, however, possess one
distinguishing mark of dress - a high woollen cap of a green colour, round
which they tie the white muslin or the Cashmere shawl; beyond which the
cap projects, so as to screen the wearer's face from the rays of the
sun: for its convenience in this respect, it is sometimes used also by
elderly persons; but this is far from being a common fashion.
When the Sherif rides out, he carries in his hand a short, slender
stick, called metrek, such as the Bedouins sometimes use in driving
their camels; a horseman, who rides close by him, carries in his hand
[p.227] an umbrella or canopy, of Chinese design, adorned with silk
tassels, which he holds over the Sherif's head when the sun incommodes
him.
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