The Coffin Of The Sheikh Is Deposited In A Small
Rude Stone Building; And Is Surrounded By A Thin Partition Of Wood, Hung
With Green Cloth, Upon Which Several Prayers Are Embroidered.
On the
walls are suspended silk tassels, handkerchiefs, ostrich eggs, camel
halters, bridles, &c. the offerings of the Bedouins who visit this tomb.
I could not learn exactly the history of this Sheikh Szaleh:
Some said
that he was the forefather of the tribe of Szowaleha; others, the great
Moslem prophet Szaleh, sent to the tribe of Thamoud, and who is
mentioned in the Koran; and others, again, that he was a local saint,
which I believe to be the truth. Among
CONVENT OF MOUNT SINAI
[p.490] the Bedouins, this tomb is the most revered spot in the
peninsula, next to the mountain of Moses; they make frequent vows to
kill a sheep in honour of the Sheikh should a wished-for event take
place; and if this happens, the votary repairs to the tomb with his
family and friends, and there passes a day of conviviality. Once in
every year all the tribes of the Towara repair hither in pilgrimage, and
remain encamped in the valley round the tomb for three days. Many sheep
are then killed, camel races are run, and the whole night is passed in
dancing and singing. The men and women are dressed in their best attire.
The festival, which is the greatest among these people, usually takes
place in the latter part of June, when the Nile begins to rise in Egypt,
and the plague subsides; and a caravan leaves Sinai immediately
afterwards for Cairo.
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