Descending A Flight Of Steps,—For This Mosque,
Like All Ancient Localities At Meccah, Is As Much Below As Above
Ground,—We Entered A Small Apartment Containing Water-Pots For Drinking
And All The Appurtenances Of Ablution.
In it is shown the Mauza
al-Khatt (place of the writing), where Mohammed wrote a letter to Abu
Mas’ud after the homage of the Jinnis.
A second and interior flight of
stone steps led to another diminutive oratory, where the Prophet used
to pray and receive the archangel Gabriel. Having performed a pair of
bows, which caused the perspiration
[p.251 to burst forth as if in a Russian bath, I paid a few piastres,
and issued from the building with much satisfaction.
We had some difficulty in urging our donkeys through the crowded
street, called the Zukak al-Hajar. Presently we arrived at the Bayt
al-Nabi, the Prophet’s old house, in which he lived with the Sitt
Khadijah. Here, says Burckhardt, the Lady Fatimah first saw the
light[FN#8]; and here, according to Ibn Jubayr, Hasan and Hosayn were
born. Dismounting at the entrance, we descended a deep flight of steps,
and found ourselves in a spacious hall, vaulted, and of better
appearance than most of the sacred edifices at Meccah. In the centre,
and well railed round, stood a closet of rich green and gold stuffs, in
shape not unlike an umbrella-tent. A surly porter guarded the closed
door, which some respectable people vainly attempted to open by honeyed
words:
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