The By-Streets Close To The
Moled Are Denominated Shab El Moled, Or "Rocks Of The Moled," The Ground
Which Rises Here Being Covered With Stones.
The Moamele lies on the side of Djebel Kobeys, and comprises about a
dozen furnaces, of which the chief productions are jars, especially
[P.124] those used in carrying the water of the celebrated well Zemzem.
These Moamele jars, although prettily wrought, are too heavy, dif-fering
in this respect from the beautiful pottery of Upper Egypt and Baghdad,
which are so slight that an empty jar may be thrown down by a mere puff
of wind. The Moamele alone supplies all the Hedjaz, at present, with
these water-vessels; and few hadjys return to their homes without some
jars, as specimens of Mekkawy ingenuity.
Farther on, the Souk el Leyl takes the name of El Ghazze, and so are
called both sides of the main street, which still forms a continuation
of the Geshashye. Several deep wells of brackish water are situated in
this street. Here also are found the shops of carpenters, upholsterers
from Turkey, undertakers, who make the seryrs, or stands, upon which the
Mekkawys sleep, as well as those on which they are carried to the grave.
Wholesale dealers in fruits and vegetables, which are brought from Tayf
and Wady Fatme, here dispose of their stock to the retail dealers early
in the morning. At the northern end of the Ghazze, where the street
widens consi-derably, is held a daily market of camels and cows. On the
east side, towards the mountain, and partly on its declivity, stands the
quarter called Shab Aly, adjoining the Shab el Moled: here is shown the
venerated place of Aly's nativity. Both these quarters, called Shab,
(i.e. rock,) are among the most ancient parts of the town, where the
Koreysh formerly lived; they are even now inhabited principally by
sherifs, and do not contain any shops. The houses are spacious, and in
an airy situation.
Beyond the cattle-market in the Ghazze, the dwelling-houses terminate,
and low shops and sheds occupy both sides of the street. This part is
called Souk el Haddadeyn; and here blacksmiths and Turkish locksmiths
have their shops. A little further, the street opens into that called
Mala, which is itself a continuation of the Modaa, and forms the
division between the eastern and western parts of the town, running due
north along the slightly ascending slope of the valley. The Modaa and
the Mala, (which latter means
[p.125] the High Place, in opposition to the Mesfale, or the low
quarter,) are filled with shops on both sides. Here are found grocers,
drug-gists, corn-merchants, tobacconists, haberdashers, sandal-makers,
and a great number of dealers in old clothes. In the Modaa is a large
corn magazine, formerly a public school; and there is another in the
Mala. From these, the provision-caravans for the Turkish army at Tayf
take their departure: public auctions are held in this place every
morning. At the northern end of the Mala is a market, whi-ther Bedouins
from all quarters bring their sheep for sale. Here, also, are the
butchers' shops, in which beef, mutton, and camels' flesh are sold; and
in the same street is a small chapel, or Mesdjed, [I believe this to be
the Mesdjed mentioned by historians under the name of Mesdjed Rayet. El
Azraky speaks of four or five other mosques at Mekka in his time.] for
daily prayers, the great mosque being distant; but the Friday's prayers
are always said in the latter. Towards this northern end of the Mala,
where it joins the Souk el Haddadeyn, the stone houses terminate, and
are succeeded by a single row of low shops and stands on each side,
where provisions are sold to the eastern Bedouins, who come to Mekka for
grain. Here is a coffee-house, called Kahwet el Hashashein, where are
sold the intoxicating preparations of hashysh and bendj, which are mixed
and smoked with tobacco. This house is frequented by all the lowest and
most disorderly persons of the town. Sherif Ghaleb had imposed a heavy
tax on the sale of hashysh, in order to discourage a practice directly
violating the law.
The Mala is known also under the appellation of Haret el Naga, which is
derived from the ancient name of Wady el Naga, given to this part of the
valley of Mekka.
In the by-streets of the Modaa the richest Indian traders have their
houses; here they receive customers, being too proud to open public
shops or warehouses. An Indian of this quarter, originally from Surat,
called El Shamsy, was esteemed the wealthiest man in the Hedjaz; yet his
mercantile concerns were much less extensive than those of Djeylany, and
several others. Though possessing
[p.126] several hundred thousand pounds sterling, this man bargained
with me personally for nearly an hour and a half about a muslin shawl,
not worth more than four dollars!
In the Modaa, a high, broad mole or embankment was thrown across the
valley, with an iron gate, by Omar Ibn el Khatab, to resist the torrents
flowing in this direction towards the mosque, during heavy rains. Some
vestiges of it remained till the fourteenth century. While it existed,
the pilgrims on arriving at Mekka used to enjoy from its summit the
first sight of the Kaaba; there also they recited prayers, from which
circumstance the street takes its name, Modaa meaning " place of
prayers."
Between the Modaa and Mala, on the one side, and the Ghazze and
Geshashye on the other, are several quarters consisting of tole-rable
buildings, but of extremely dirty and narrow streets, from which the
filth is never removed, and fresh air is always excluded. Here we find
the Zokak e Seiny, or "Chinese street," where gold and silversmiths have
their shops. They work in the coarsest manner, but are very much
employed, principally in making silver rings for men and women - ornaments
very generally used among the Arabs.
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