Hamid therefore prudently suffered all to depart
before exhibiting his spoils; which, to judge by the exclamations of
delight which they elicited from feminine lips, proved highly
satisfactory to those most concerned.
After sleeping, we all set out in a body to the Harim, as this is a
duty which must not be delayed by the pious. The boy Mohammed was in
better spirits, the effect of having borrowed from Hamid, amongst other
articles of clothing, an exceedingly gaudy embroidered coat. As for
Shaykh Nur, he had brushed up his Tarbush, and, by means of some
cast-off dresses of mine, had made himself look like a respectable
Abyssinian slave, in a nondescript toilette, half Turkish, half Indian.
I propose to reserve
[p.295] the ceremony of Ziyarat, or Visitation, for another chapter,
and to conclude this with a short account of our style of living at the
Shaykh's hospitable house.
Hamid's abode is a small corner building, open on the North and East to
the Barr al-Manakhah: the ground floor shows only a kind of vestibule,
in which coarse articles, like old Shugdufs, mats and bits of sacking,
are lying about; the rest are devoted to purposes of sewerage.
Ascending dark winding steps of ragged stone covered with hard black
earth, you come to the first floor, where the men live. It consists of
two rooms to the front of the house, one a Majlis, and another
converted into a store. Behind them is a dark passage, into which the
doors open; and the back part of the first story is a long windowless
room, containing a Hanafiyah,[FN#14] or large copper water-pot, and
other conveniences for purification. On the second floor is the
kitchen, which I did not inspect, it being as usual occupied by the
"Harim."
The Majlis has dwarf windows, or rather apertures in the northern and
eastern walls, with rude wooden shutters and reed blinds; the
embrasures being garnished with cushions, where you sit, morning and
evening, to enjoy the cool air. The ceiling is of date-sticks laid
across palm-rafters stained red, and the walls are of rough scoriae,
burnt bricks, and wood-work cemented with lime. The only signs of
furniture in the sitting-room are a Diwan[FN#15] round the sides and a
carpet in the centre. A
[p.296] huge wooden box, like a seaman's chest, occupies one of the
corners. In the southern wall there is a Suffah, or little shelf of
common stone, sunk under a single arch; upon this are placed articles
in hourly use, perfume-bottles, coffee-cups, a stray book or two, and
sometimes a turband, to be out of the children's way. Two hooks on the
western wall, hung jealously high up, hold a pair of pistols with
handsome crimson cords and tassels, and half a dozen cherry-stick
pipes. The centre of the room is never without one or more
Shishas[FN#16] (water pipes), and in the corner is a large copper
brazier containing fire, with all the utensils for making coffee either
disposed upon its broad brim or lying about the floor. The passage,
like the stairs, is spread over with hard black earth, and is regularly
watered twice a day during the hot weather.
The household consisted of Hamid's mother, wife, some nephews and
nieces, small children who ran about in a half-wild and more than
half-nude state, and two African slave girls. When the Damascus Caravan
came
[p.297] in, it was further reinforced by the arrival of his three
younger brothers.
Though the house was not grand, it was made lively by the varied views
out of the Majlis' windows. From the East, you looked upon the square
Al-Barr, the town walls and houses beyond it, the Egyptian gate, the
lofty minarets of the Harim, and the distant outlines of Jabal
Ohod.[FN#17] The north commanded a prospect of Mohammed's Mosque, one
of the Khamsah Masajid,[FN#18] or the five suburban Mosques[FN#19]; of
part of the fort-wall; and, when the Damascus Caravan came in, of the
gay scene of the "Prado" beneath. The Majlis was tolerably cool during
the early part of the day: in the afternoon the sun shone fiercely upon
it. I have described the establishment at some length as a specimen of
how the middle classes are lodged at Al-Madinah. The upper ranks affect
Turkish and Egyptian luxuries in their homes, as I had an opportunity
of seeing at Omar Effendi's house in the "Barr;" and in these countries
the abodes of the poor are everywhere very similar.
Our life in Shaykh Hamid's house was quiet, but not disagreeable. I
never once set eyes upon the face of woman, unless the African slave
girls be allowed the title. Even these at first attempted to draw their
ragged veils over their sable charms, and would not answer the simplest
question; by degrees they allowed me to see them, and they ventured
their voices to reply to me; still they never threw off a certain
appearance of shame.[FN#20]
[p.298] I never saw, nor even heard, the youthful mistress of the
household, who stayed all day in the upper rooms. The old lady, Hamid's
mother, would stand upon the stairs, and converse aloud with her son,
and, when few people were about the house, with me. She never, however,
as afterwards happened to an ancient dame at Meccah, came and sat by my
side.
When lying during mid-day in the gallery, I often saw parties of women
mount the stairs to the Gynaeconitis, and sometimes an individual would
stand to shake a muffled hand[FN#21] with Hamid, to gossip awhile, and
to put some questions concerning absent friends; but they were most
decorously wrapped up, nor did they ever deign to deroger, even by
exposing an inch of cheek.
