Every one who intends proceeding with the caravan is obliged to
assemble before the city gate about 5 o'clock in the evening. Herr
Swoboda accompanied me there, and particularly recommended me to the
care of the caravan guide, and promised him in my name a good
bachshish if he saved me all the trouble he could during the
journey.
In this way I entered upon a fourteen days' journey through deserts
and steppes, a journey full of difficulties and dangers, without any
convenience, shelter, or protection. I travelled like the poorest
Arab, and was obliged, like him, to be content to bear the most
burning sun, with no food but bread and water, or, at the most, a
handful of dates, or some cucumbers, and with the hot ground for a
bed.
I had, while in Baghdad, written out a small list of Arabian words,
so that I might procure what was most necessary. Signs were easier
to me than words, and by the aid of both, I managed to get on very
well. I became in time so used to the signs that, in places where I
could make use of the language, I was obliged to take some pains to
prevent myself from using my hands at the same time.
