Rose conspicuous the bright green pavilion of the Emir Al-Hajj,
the commandant of the Caravan.[FN#8] Hard by, half its height
surrounded by a Kanat or tent wall, stood the Syrian or Sultan's Mahmil
(litter), all glittering with green and gilding and gold, and around it
were pitched the handsome habitations of the principal officers and
grandees of the pilgrimage. On the right hand lay extensive palm
plantations, and on the left, strewed over the plain, were signs of
wells and tanks, built to supply the Hajj with water. We pass two small
buildings, one the Kubbat Al-Sabak, or Dome of Precedence, where the
Prophet's warrior friends used to display their horsemanship;
[p.421]the second the Makan, or burial-place of Sayyidna Zaki al-Din,
one of Mohammed's multitudinous descendants. Then we fall into a plain,
resembling that of Kuba, but less fertile. While we are jogging over
it, a few words concerning Mount Ohod may not be misplaced. A popular
distich says,
"Verily there is healing to the eye that looks
Unto Ohod and the two Harrahs[FN#9] (ridges) near."
And of this holy hill the Apostle declared, "Ohod is a Mountain which
loves Us and which We love:
