Jos. Pitt Says, “It Hath About Forty-Two Doors To Enter
Into It;—Not So Much, I Think, For Necessity,
As figure; for in some
places they are close by one another.”
[FN#34] Bartema alludes, probably, to the Bab
Al-Ziyadah, in the
northern enceinte.
[FN#35] I saw nothing of the kind, though constantly in the Harim at
Meccah.
[FN#36] “The Ka’abah is an oblong massive structure, 18 paces in length, 14
in breadth, and from 35 to 40 feet in height.” (Burckhardt, vol. i. p.
248.) My measurements, concerning which more hereafter, gave 18 paces
in breadth, and 22 in length.
[FN#37] In ancient times possibly it was silk: now, it is of silk and
cotton mixed.
[FN#38] These are the brazen rings which serve to fasten the lower edge
of the Kiswah, or covering.
[FN#39] A true description of the water of the well Zemzem.
[FN#40] There is great confusion in this part of Bartema’s narrative. On
the 9th of Zu’l Hijjah, the pilgrims leave Mount Arafat. On the 10th,
many hasten into Meccah, and enter the Ka’abah. They then return to the
valley of Muna, where their tents are pitched and they sacrifice the
victims. On the 12th, the tents are struck, and the pilgrims re-enter
Meccah.
[FN#41] This well describes the wretched state of the poor “Takruri,” and
other Africans, but it attributes to them an unworthy motive. I once
asked a learned Arab what induced the wretches to rush upon
destruction, as they do, when the Faith renders pilgrimage obligatory
only upon those who can afford necessaries for the way.
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