THE Climate Of Mekka Is Sultry And Unwholesome; The Rocks Which Enclose
Its Narrow Valley, Intercept The Wind, Especially That From The North,
And Reflect The Rays Of The Sun With Redoubled Heat.
In the months of
August, September, and October, the heat is excessive:
During my
residence at Mekka a suffocating hot wind pervaded the atmosphere for
five successive days in September. The rainy season usually begins in
December; but the rains are not uninterrupted, as in other tropical
countries falling only at intervals of five or six days but then with
great violence. Showers are not unfrequent, even in summer: the Mekkawys
say that the clouds coming from the sea-side are those which copiously
irrigate the ground; while those which come from the East, or the high
mountains, produce only mere showers, or gushes. The want of rain is
very frequently felt here: I was told that four successive years of
copious rains are seldom experienced; which is, probably, the main
reason why all the Bedouins in this neighbourhood are poor, the greater
part of their cattle dying in years of drought, from want of pasturage.
The air of Mekka is generally very dry. Dews begin to fall in the month
of January, after a few heavy showers of rain: the contrary is the case
at Djidda, where the atmosphere, even during the greatest heat, is damp,
arising from the sea vapours, and the numerous marshes on that low
coast. The dampness of the air is there so great, that in the month of
September, in a hot and perfectly clear day, I found my
[p.241] upper gown wet completely through, from being two hours in the
open air. There are heavy dews also by night, during that month and in
October; thick fogs appeared on the coast, in the evening and morning.
During the summer months, the wind blows generally between east and
south, seldom veering to the west, but sometimes to the north. In
September, the regular northerly winds set in, and continue during the
whole winter. In the Hedjaz, as on the sea-coast of Egypt, the north-
east wind is more damp than any other; and during its prevalence, the
stone pavement in the interior of the houses always appeared as if
covered with moisture.
The diseases prevalent in both towns are much the same; and the coast of
the Hedjaz is perhaps among the most unhealthy countries of the East.
Intermittent fevers are extremely common, as are likewise dysenteries,
which usually terminate in swellings of the abdomen, and often prove
fatal. Few persons pass a whole year without a slight attack of these
disorders; and no stranger settles at Mekka or Djidda, without being
obliged to submit, during the first months of his residence, to one of
these distempers; a fact, of which ample proof was afforded in the
Turkish army, under Mohammed Aly Pacha. Inflammatory fevers are less
frequent at Djidda than at Mekka; but the former place is often visited
with a putrid fever, which, as the inhabitants told me, sometimes
appeared to be contagious; fifty persons having been known to die of it
in one day. Asamy and Fasy mention frequent epidemical diseases at
Mekka: in A.H. 671, a pestilence broke out, which carried off fifty
persons a day; and in 749, 793, and 829, others also infected the town:
in the latter year two thousand persons died. These authors, however,
never mention the plague; nor had it made its appearance in the Hedjaz
within the memory of the oldest inhabitants; whence a belief was
entertained, that the Almighty protected this holy province from its
ravages; but, in the spring of 1815, it broke out with great violence,
as I shall mention in another place, and Mekka and Djidda lost, perhaps,
one-sixth of their population.
Ophthalmia is very little known in the Hedjaz. I saw a single
[p.242] instance of leprosy, in a Bedouin at Tayf. The elephantiasis and
Guinea-worm are not uncommon, especially the former, of which I have
seen many frightful cases. It is said that stone in the bladder is
frequent at Mekka, caused, perhaps, by the peculiar quality of the
water; to the badness of which many other diseases also may be ascribed
in this hot country, where such quantities of it are daily drunk. I
heard that the only surgeons who knew how to perform the operation of
extracting the stone from the bladder, are Bedouins of the tribe of Beni
Sad, who live in the mountains, about thirty miles south of Tayf. In
time of peace, some of them repair annually to Mekka, to perform this
operation, the knowledge of which they consider as a secret hereditary
in some families of their tribe. They are said to use a common razor,
and, in general, with success.
Sores on the legs, especially on the shin-bone, are extremely common
both at Mekka and Djidda; but more so at the latter place, where the
dampness of the atmosphere renders their cure much more difficult;
indeed, in that damp climate, the smallest scratch, or bite of any
insect, if neglected, becomes a sore, and soon after an open wound:
nothing is more common than to see persons walking in the streets,
having on their legs sores of this kind, which, if neglected, often
corrode the bone. As their cure demands patience, and, above all,
repose, the lower classes seldom apply the proper remedies in time; and
when they have increased to such a state as to render their application
indispensably necessary, no good surgeons are to be found; fever ensues,
and many of the patients die. I believe that one-fourth of the
population of Djidda is constantly afflicted with ulcers on their legs;
the bad nature of these sores is further aggravated by the use of
seawater for ablutions.
During my stay at Mekka, I seldom enjoyed perfect good health. I was
twice attacked by fever; and, after the departure of the Syrian Hadj, by
a violent diarrhoea, from which I had scarcely recovered when I set out
for Medina.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 91 of 179
Words from 91715 to 92734
of 182297
