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:
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