The minaret is of the usual
Turkish shape, with a conical roof, and a single gallery for the
Mu'ezzin.
An Acacia-tree or two on the Eastern side, and behind it a
wall-like line of mud houses, finish the coup-d'oeil; the interior of
this building is as simple as is the exterior. And here I may remark
that the Arabs have little idea of splendour, either in their public or
in their private architecture. Whatever strikes the traveller's eye in
Al-Hijaz is always either an importation or the work of foreign
artists. This arises from the simple tastes of the people, combined,
doubtless, with their notable thriftiness. If strangers will build for
them, they argue, why should they build for themselves? Moreover, they
have scant inducement to lavish money upon grand edifices. Whenever a
disturbance takes place, domestic or from without, the principal
buildings are sure to suffer. And the climate is inimical to their
enduring. Both ground and air at Al-Madinah, as well as at Meccah, are
damp and nitrous in winter, in summer dry and torrid: the lime is poor;
palm-timber soon decays: even foreign wood-work suffers, and a few
years of neglect suffice to level the proudest pile with the dust.
The suburbs to the South of Al- Madinah are a collection
[p.397]of walled villages, with plantations and gardens between. They
are laid out in the form, called here, as in Egypt, Hosh-court-yards,
with single-storied tenements opening into them.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 506 of 571
Words from 140140 to 140399
of 157964
