The first part of the night I passed in the great
square of the mosque, where a cooling breeze
Always reigns; here, seated
upon a carpet, which my slave spread for me, I indulged in recollections
of far distant regions, while the pilgrims were busily engaged in
praying and walking round the Kaaba.
At the eastern extremity of the Soueyga, the street changes its name
into that of Shamye, which is applied also to several by-streets on
either side, those on the right leading towards the mountain, and those
on the left towards the mosque. At the further end the Shamye joins the
quarter of Shebeyka and Bab el Omar. This is a well-built part of the
town, chiefly inhabited by rich merchants, or by olemas attached to the
mosque. There are few shops in the main street except during the
pilgrimage, when many are opened, in which the Syrian merchants display
the produce and manufactures of their country; a circumstance from which
it derives its name. In these shops are found silk stuffs from Damascus
and Aleppo; cambric manufactured in the district of Nablous; gold and
silver thread from Aleppo; Bedouin handkerchiefs, called keffie, of
Baghdad and Damascus fabric; silk from Lebanon; fine carpets from
Anadolia and the Turkman Bedouins; abbas from Hamah; dried fruits and
the kammereddyn from Damascus; pistacios from Aleppo, &c. Among all the
Syrians at Mekka, I could never discover any indi-vidual whom I had
known in his own country, except the son of the chief of Palmyra, who,
however, did not recognise me. He had come
[p.122] with two or three hundred camels, to transport the baggage of
the Pasha of Damascus.
In returning through the Shamye towards the Soueyga, we find, on the
north side of these streets, a quarter called Garara, the most reputable
of the town, and perhaps the best built, where the weal-thiest merchants
have their houses. The two first merchants of the Hedjaz, Djeylany and
Sakkat, live here for the greater part of the year, and only go to
Djidda (where they also have establishments,) when the arrival of the
Indian fleet demands their presence at that place. In the quarter of
Garara, the women of Mohammed Aly Pasha, with a train of eunuchs
attached to them, have now taken up their abode. The houses are all two
or three stories high, many of them gaudily painted, and containing
spacious apartments. Here Sherif Ghaleb built a palace, the finest of
all those he possessed at Mekka, and resided in it principally during
the winter months, when he divided his time between this mansion and
that near the mosque. Some military chiefs have now taken up their
quarters in this palace, which will soon be ruined. It is distinguished
from the other houses of Mekka only by its size, and the number of
windows; having neither a fine portico, nor any other display of
architecture.
Near the palace, upon a hill which may be described as within the town,
Ghaleb built a fort, flanked by strong towers, but of much smaller size
than the great castle. When the Turkish army advanced towards the
Hedjaz, he mounted it with guns, and stored it well with provisions; but
the garrison, like that of the castle, dis-persed immediately after he
was made prisoner. The hill upon which it stands is known by the name of
Djebel Lala, and is often mentioned by Arabian poets. Opposite to this
hill, in a S.E. direc-tion, upon the summit of a mountain beyond the
precincts of the town, stands another small fort, which was also
repaired by Ghaleb. It is called Djebel Hindy, from the circumstance of
a great sheikh or devotee from Cashmere having been buried there. The
tower is now inhabited by a few Indian families, who enjoy the advantage
of an excellent cistern for rain-water. This mountain is also called by
the
[p.123] present Mekkawys "Djebel Keykaan" - an appellation more ancient
probably than that of Mekka itself. Azraky, however, places the Djebel
Keykaan more to the north, and says that the name is derived from the
cries and the clashing of arms of the Mekkawy army, which was stationed
there, when the Yemen army, under Toba, had taken possession of the hill
of Djyad. Between the two castle-hills, the space is filled with poor,
half-ruined houses, which are principally inha-bited by the lowest class
of Indians established at Mekka.
In turning eastward from the Garara, and passing the quarter called
Rekoube, which, in point of building, nearly equals the Garara, although
it is not reckoned so genteel a residence, we arrive at the great street
called Modaa, which is a continuation of the Mesaa, and then retrace our
steps through the latter to the vicinity of El Szafa, that we may survey
the eastern quarters of the town.
Near the Szafa branches off a broad street, running almost parallel with
the Modaa, to the east of it, called Geshashye. Here, among many smaller
dwellings, are several well-built, and a few lofty edifices; a number of
coffee-houses; several gunsmiths' shops; and a bath. Here resides the
Hakem, or superintendant of the police, who is the first officer under
the Sherif at Mekka. Part of the street is built on the lower declivity
of the eastern mountain, called Djebel Kobeys, to which narrow, dirty,
and steep lanes lead up on that side. The Geshashye is a favourite
quarter of the pilgrims, being broad, airy, and open to the northerly
winds. I lived here during the last days of Ramadhan, in September,
1814, when I first arrived at Mekka from Tayf.
This street, as it proceeds, adopts the name of Haret Souk el Leyl,
which comprises an extensive quarter on the East, where the Moled e'
Nebby, or Prophet's birth-place, is shown, and which adjoins the
Moamele, or establishment of the potteries.
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