Rubbish
And Filth Covered All The Streets, And Nobody Appeared Disposed To
Remove It.
The skirts of the town were crowded with the dead carcases of
camels, the smell from which rendered the air, even in the midst of the
town, offensive, and certainly contributed to the many diseases now
prevalent.
Several hundreds of these carcases lay near the reservoirs of
the Hadj, and the Arabs inhabiting that part of Mekka never walked out
without stuffing into their nostrils small pieces of cotton, which they
carried suspended by a thread round the neck. [The Arabs in general, even
the Bedouins, are much more sensitive than the Europeans concerning the
slightest offensive smell. This is one of the principal reasons why the
Bedouins never enter a town without repugnance. They entertain a belief
that bad smells affect the health by entering through the nostrils into
the lungs; and it is for this reason, more than for the disagreeable
sensation itself arising from the smell, that Arabs and Bedouins are
often seen covering their noses with the skirts of their turbans, in
walking through the streets.] But this was not all. At this time the
Mekkans are in the habit of emptying the privies of their houses; and,
too lazy to carry the contents beyond the precincts of the town, they
merely dig a hole in the street, before the door of the dwelling, and
there deposit them, covering the spot only with a layer of earth. The
consequences of such a practice may easily be imagined.
The feasts of nuptials and circumcision now take place, being always
celebrated immediately after the Hadj, as soon as the Mekkans are left
to themselves, and before the people have had time to spend the sums
gained during the residence of the pilgrims; but I saw many
[p.290] more funerals than nuptial processions. Numbers of hadjys,
already ill from the fatigues of the road, or from cold caught while
wearing the ihram, are unable to proceed on their journey homewards;
they remain in the hope of recovering strength, but often terminate
their existence here. If they have some companion or relative with them,
he carries off the dead man's property, on paying a fee to the Kadhy; if
he is alone, the Kadhy and Sherif are his heirs, and these inheritances
are no inconsiderable source of income. When I quitted Mekka, there were
still remaining there perhaps a thousand hadjys, many of whom intended
to pass a whole year in the holy city, and to be present at another
Hadj; others to protract their residence only for a few months.
On the day of quitting Mekka, it is thought becoming to pay a parting
visit to the Kaaba, called Towaf el Wodaa, and to perform the Towaf and
Say. The hadjys generally do it when every thing is ready for departure,
and mount their camels the moment they have finished the ceremony.
[p.291]JOURNEY FROM MEKKA TO MEDINA.
ON the 15th of January, 1815, I left Mekka with a small caravan of
hadjys, who were going to visit the tomb of the prophet:
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