The Superior Comprises The Whole
Site Of Al-Madinah, Extending From The Western Ridge, Mentioned Below,
To The Cemetery Al-Bakia.
The inferior is the Fiumara here alluded to;
it is on the Meccan road, about four miles S.W. of Al-Madinah, and its
waters fall into the Al-Hamra torrent.
It is called the "Blessed
Valley" because the Prophet was ordered by an angel to pray in it.
[FN#19] The esoteric meaning of this couplet is, "Man! this is a lovely
portion of God's creation: then stand by it, and here learn to love the
perfections of thy Supreme Friend."
[FN#20] Al-Harratayn for Al-Harratani, the oblique case of the dual and
plural noun being universally used for the nominative in colloquial
Arabic. The other one of the Two Ridges will be described in a future
part of this Book.
[FN#21] The city is first seen from the top of the valley called Nakb,
or Shuab Ali, close to the Wady al-Akik, a long narrow pass, about five
miles from Al-Madinah. Here, according to some, was the Mosque Zu'l
Halifah, where the Prophet put on the Pilgrim's garb when travelling to
Meccah. It is also called "The Mosque of the Tree," because near it
grew a fruit tree under which the Prophet twice sat. Ibn Jubayr
considers that the Harim (or sacred precincts of Al-Madinah) is the
space enclosed by three points, Zu'l Halifah, Mount Ohod, and the
Mosque of Kuba. To the present day pilgrims doff their worldly garments
at Zu'l Halifah.
[FN#22] That is to say, "throughout all ages and all nations." The
Arabs divide the world into two great bodies: first themselves, and,
secondly, "'Ajami," i.e. all that are not Arabs. Similar bi-partitions
are the Hindus and Mlenchhas, the Jews and Gentiles, the Greeks and
Barbarians, &c., &c.
[FN#23] Robust religious men, especially those belonging to the school
of Al-Malik, enter into Al-Madinah, after the example of Ali, on foot,
reverently, as the pilgrims approach Meccah.
[FN#24] Barbosa makes three days' journey from Yambu' to Al-Madinah,
D'Herbelot eight, and Ovington six. The usual time is from four to five
days. A fertile source of error to home geographers, computing
distances in Arabia, is their neglecting the difference between the
slow camel travelling and the fast dromedary riding.
The following is a synopsis of our stations:-
1. From Yambu', 18th July, to Musahhal, N.E. - - - - - 16
2. From Musahhal, 19th July, to Bir Sa'id, S. and E. - 34 64 miles
3. From Bir Sa'id, 20th July, to Al-Hamra, N.E. - - - -14
4. From Al-Hamra, 21st July, to Bir Abbas, E. - - - - -24
5. From Bir Abbas, 23rd July, to Suwaykah, E. - - - - -22 68 miles
6. From Suwaykah, 24thJuly, to Al-Madinah, N. and E. - 22
Total English miles - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 132
[p.285]CHAPTER XV.
THROUGH THE SUBURB OF AL-MADINAH TO HAMID'S HOUSE.
As we looked Eastward, the sun arose out of the horizon of low hill,
blurred and dotted with small tufted trees, which gained from the
morning mists a giant stature, and the earth was stained with purple
and gold. Before us lay a spacious plain, bounded in front by the
undulating ground of Nijd: on the left was a grim pile of rocks, the
celebrated Mount Ohod, with a clump of verdure and a white dome or two
nestling at its base. Rightwards, broad streaks of lilac-coloured
mists, here thick with gathered dew, there pierced and thinned by the
morning rays, stretched over the date groves and the gardens of Kuba,
which stood out in emerald green from the dull tawny surface of the
plain. Below, distant about two miles, lay Al-Madinah; at first sight
it appeared a large place, but a closer inspection proved the
impression to be erroneous. A tortuous road from the Harrah to the city
wound across the plain, and led to a tall rectangular gateway, pierced
in the ruinous mud-wall which surrounds the suburb. This is the
"Ambari" entrance. It is flanked on the left (speaking as a sketcher)
by the domes and minarets of a pretty Turkish building, a "Takiyah,"
erected by the late Mohammed Ali for the reception of Darwaysh
travellers; on the right by a long low line of white-washed buildings
garnished
[p.286] with ugly square windows, an imitation of civilised barracks.
Beginning from the left hand, as we sat upon the ridge, the remarkable
features of the town thus presented themselves in succession. Outside,
among the palm trees to the north of the city, were the picturesque
ruins of a large old Sabil, or public fountain; and, between this and
the enceinte, stood a conspicuous building, in the Turkish pavilion
style-the Governor's palace. On the north-west angle of the town-wall
is a tall white-washed fort, partly built upon an outcropping mass of
rock: its ramparts and embrasures give it a modern and European
appearance, which contrasts strangely with its truly Oriental
history.[FN#1] In the suburb "Al-Manakhah," the "kneeling-place of
camels," the bran-new domes and minarets of the Five Mosques stand
brightly out from the dull grey mass of house and ground. And behind,
in the most Easterly part of the city, remarkable from afar, is the gem
of Al-Madinah,-the four tall substantial towers, and the flashing green
Dome under which the Apostle's remains rest.[FN#2] Half concealed by
this mass of buildings and by the houses of the town, are certain white
specks upon a green surface, the tombs that adorn the venerable
cemetery, Al-Bakia. From that point southwards begins the mass of palm
groves celebrated in Al-Islam as the "Trees of Al-Madinah."
[p.287] The foreground is well fitted to set off such a view; fields of
black basaltic scoriae showing clear signs of a volcanic origin, are
broken up into huge blocks and boulders, through which a descent,
tolerably steep for camels, winds down into the plain.
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