Were originally
intended for public schools, as their names of Medresa implies; they
are now all let out to Hadjys.”
“The exterior of the Mosque is adorned with seven minarets irregularly
distributed:—1. Minaret of Bab el Omra (Umrah); 2. Of Bab el Salam; 3. Of
Bab Aly; 4. Of Bab el Wodaa (Wida’a); 5. Of Medesa Kail (Kait) Bey; 6. Of
Bab el Zyadi; 7. Of Medreset Sultan Soleyman.[FN#58] They are
quadrangular or round steeples, in no way differing from other
minarets. The entrance to them is from the different buildings round
the Mosque, which they adjoin.[FN#59] A beautiful view of the busy
crowd below is attained by ascending the most northern one.[FN#60]”
Having described at length the establishment
[p.319] attached to the Mosque of Al-Madinah, I spare my readers a
detailed account of the crowd of idlers that hang about the Meccan
temple. The Naib al-Harim, or vice-intendant, is one Sayyid Ali, said
to be of Indian extraction; he is superior to all the attendants. There
are about eighty eunuchs, whose chief, Sarur Agha, was a slave of
Mohammed Ali Pasha. Their pay varies from 100 to 1,000 piastres per
mensem; it is, however, inferior to the Madinah salaries.
