Al-Zaribah, “The Valley,” Is An Undulating Plain Amongst High
Granite Hills.
In many parts it was faintly green; water was close to
the surface, and rain stood upon the ground.
During the night we had
travelled about twenty-three miles, and our present station was
south-east 56° from our last.
Having pitched the tent and eaten and slept, we prepared to perform the
ceremony of Al-Ihram (assuming the pilgrim-garb), as Al-Zaribah is the
Mikat, or the appointed place.[FN#16] Between the noonday and the
afternoon prayers a barber attended to shave our heads, cut our nails,
and trim our mustachios. Then, having bathed and perfumed ourselves,—the
latter is a questionable
[p.139] point,—we donned the attire, which is nothing but two new cotton
cloths, each six feet long by three and a half broad, white, with
narrow red stripes and fringes: in fact, the costume called Al-Eddeh,
in the baths at Cairo.[FN#17] One of these sheets, technically termed
the Rida, is thrown over the back, and, exposing the arm and shoulder,
is knotted at the right side in the style Wishah. The Izar is wrapped
round the loins from waist to knee, and, knotted or tucked in at the
middle, supports itself. Our heads were bare, and nothing was allowed
upon the instep.[FN#18] It is said that some clans of Arabs still
preserve this religious but most uncomfortable costume; it is doubtless
of ancient date, and to this day, in the regions lying west of the Red
Sea, it continues to be the common dress of the people.
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