This Aversion They Probably
Inherit From The Ancient Inhabitants, The Bedouins, Who, As I Have
Remarked, Exclude, To This Day, All Handicraftsmen From Their Tribes,
And Consider Those Who Settle In Their Encampment As Of An Inferior
Cast, With Whom They Neither Associate Nor Intermarry.
They are
differently esteemed in other parts of the East, in Syria, and in Egypt,
where the corporations of artisans are almost as much respected as they
were in France and Germany during the middle ages.
A master craftsman is
fully equal in rank and consideration to a merchant of the second class;
he can intermarry with the respectable families of the town, and is
usually a man of more influence in his quarter, than a merchant who
possesses three times more wealth than himself. The first Turkish
emperors did every thing in their power to favour industry and the arts;
and fifty years ago they still flourished in Syria and Egypt: in the
former country they are now upon the decline, except, perhaps, at
Damascus; in Egypt they are reduced to the lowest state: for, while
Mohammed Aly entices English and Italian workmen into his service, who
labour on his sole account, and none of whom prosper, he oppresses
native industry, by monopolizing its produce, and by employing the
greater part of the workmen himself, at a daily salary thirty per cent
less than they might get, if they were permitted to work on their own
account, or for private individuals.
The only industrious persons found in Medina are the destitute pilgrims,
especially those from Syria, who abound here, and who endeavour by hard
labour, during a few months, to earn money sufficient for the expenses
of their journey homewards.
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