This Caravan
Returning From Mekka Always Visits Medina, Which The Egyptian Hadj Never
Does, And Sometimes Extends Its Route By Land As Far As Jerusalem.
Few
troops accompany it; but its pilgrims are well armed, and ready to
defend themselves:
Of the two other great caravans, no body fights but
the escort.
The last Moggrebyn caravan passed through Egypt in 1811; the Wahabys
permitted them to visit Mekka, as they saw that they were free from
those scandalous practices with which they upbraided the Egyptians and
Syrians; but the caravan experienced many misfortunes on its return,
from enemies, and from a want of guides, and provisions, in consequence
of which many of its people died. The pilgrims from Barbary arrive now
usually by sea at Alexandria, and re-embark at Suez, in parties of fifty
or a hundred at a time. Although poorly dressed, they have generally
sufficient money to defray their expenses, and few of them are beggars;
of this class, however, I saw a small party, Arabs from Draa, on the
S.E. side of Mount Atlas, who had set out with the Egyptian caravan by
land in September, 1816. They told me that they had obtained a. free
passage by sea from Tunis to Alexandria. One of them was a Bedouin of
the Shilouh nation, whose encampment, when he left it, was at twenty
days' journey from Tombuctou.
In the Moggrebyn caravan also are generally found some natives of the
island of Djerba, or Girba, who are strongly suspected of being
sectaries of Aly; and some of whom are often stationary at Cairo,
[p.253] inhabiting the quarter called Teyloun, and keeping themselves
wholly separate from all other Moggrebyns established in the town. But
the far greater part of the caravan is from the kingdom of Marocco.
I believe that two thousand is the largest yearly number of Barbary
pilgrims. The last caravans comprised altogether from six to eight
thousand men.
Two Yemen pilgrim caravans used to arrive at Mekka, in former times, by
land. The one called Hadj el Kebsy, started from Sada, in Yemen, and
took its course along the mountains to Tayf and to Mekka. Two
itineraries of this caravan, with some notices on it, will be found in
the Appendix. The other, which was formed of natives of Yemen, and of
Persians and Indians who had arrived in the harbours of that country,
came along the coast. This caravan was discontinued about 1803, and has
not yet been re-established. It was once considerable, and rich in
merchandize and coffee; and sometimes enjoyed the honour of being
accompanied by the Imams of Yemen. Like the Syrian and Egyptian
caravans, it had a particular place assigned for its camp near Mekka,
where a large stone tank was built to supply it with water.
I have seen the route of an Indian pilgrim caravan, laid down in several
maps as starting from Maskat, and coming by Nedjed to Mekka; but I could
obtain no information respecting it; that such, however, existed
formerly, appears from the frequent mention of it made by the historian
Asamy. Those persons whom I questioned assured me that no such caravan
had arrived within their memory; but I believe that, in the time of
peace, Indian, Persian, and Arab beggars, in small parties, sometimes
arrive in the Hedjaz by the above route.
Before the power of the Sherifs was broken by the chief Sherif Serour,
the former extorted from every caravan that came to Mekka considerable
sums, besides the surra to which they were entitled. As soon as they
heard of the near approach of a caravan, they issued from Mekka with all
their armed retinue and their Bedouin friends, and often disputed with
the leaders of the caravan for several days before the amount of the
tribute was settled.
To the regular caravans above mentioned, must be added large bodies of
Bedouins, which resort to Mekka, during peace, from every part of the
Desert; for even among the least religious Bedouins, the title of hadjy
is respected: Nedjed sends its pilgrims, as do also the Southern
Bedouins. When the Wahabys were in possession of Mekka, hosts of these
sectaries came to Arafat, as much, perhaps, for the purpose of paying
their court to the chief, who, it was known, liked to see his Arabs
collected there, as from religious motives. The last time the Wahabys
performed the Hadj was in 1811, shortly after the first defeat of
Tousoun Pasha at Djedeyde: they were accompanied by large bodies of
Bedouins of Kahtan, Asyr, with others from the most interior part of the
Desert. The plunder taken from the Turkish army was sold to the Mekkawys
in the market at Arafat. I shall here observe that Aly Bey el Abassy has
made a strange mistake with respect to the host of Wahabys, whom he saw
entering Mekka at the time of the pilgrimage; for he fancied that they
came to take possession of the town, and flattered himself that he was
present at the first conquest of Mekka by the Wahabys, while every child
in the place could have informed him that this event happened three
years before his arrival in the Hedjaz.
At present, as I have already mentioned, most of the hadjys arrive by
sea at Djidda: those who come from the north embark at Suez or Cosseir,
and among them are a large proportion of the Barbary pilgrims, many
Turks from Anatolia and European Turkey, Syrians, and numerous dervishes
from Persia, Tartary, and the realms watered by the Indus. The want of
shipping on the Red Sea, occasioned by the increased demand for ships to
accommodate the Turkish army of the Hedjaz, renders the passage
precarious; and they sometimes lose the opportunity, and arrive too late
for the pilgrimage, as happened to a party in 1814, who reached Mekka
three days after the Hadj, having been long detained at Suez. From the
bad quality of the vessels, and their crowded state, the passage is very
disagreeable, and often dangerous.
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