Travels In Arabia

J >> John Lewis Burckhardt >> Travels In Arabia

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41

[p.153]

Bab el Omra 1
Through which the pilgrims
issue to visit the Omra.
Also called Beni Saham.
Bab Ateek 1 Bab Amer Ibn el
Aas, or Bab el
Sedra.
Bab el Bastye 1 Bab el Adjale.
Bab el Kotoby 1 Bab Zyade Dar
el Nedoua.
[Taking its name from the
famous author of a History
of Mekka, who lived in an
adjoining lane, and opened
this small gate into the
mosque.
Bab Zyade 3
Bab Dereybe 1 Bab Medrese.
--
Total number of arches 39

The principal of these gates are:--on the north side, Bab-es-Salam, by
which every pilgrim enters the mosque; Bab Abbas; Bab el Neby, by which
Mohammed is said to have always entered the mosque; Bab Aly. On the east
side, Bab el Zeyt, or Bab el Ashra, through which the ten first Sahabe,
or adherents of Mohammed, used to enter; Bab el Szafa; two gates called
Biban el Sherif, opposite the palaces of the Sherif. On the south side,
Bab Ibrahim, where the colonnade projects beyond the straight line of
the columns, and forms a small square; Bab el Omra, through which it is
necessary to pass, on visiting the Omra. On the west side, Bab el Zyade,
forming a projecting square similar to that at Bab Ibrahim, but larger.
Most of these gates have high pointed arches; but a few round arches are
seen among them, which, like all the arches of this kind in the Hedjaz,
are nearly semi-circular. They are without any ornament, except the
inscription on the exterior, which commemorates the name of the builder;
and they are all posterior in date to the fourteenth century. As each
gate consists of two or three arches, or divisions, separated by narrow
walls, these divisions are counted in the enumeration of the gates
leading into the Kaaba, and thus make up the number thirty-nine. There
being no doors to the gates, the mosque is consequently open at all

[p.154] times. I have crossed at every hour of the night, and always
found people there, either at prayers, or walking about.

The outside walls of the mosque are those of the houses which surround
it on all sides. These houses belonged originally to the mosque; the
greater part are now the property of individuals, who have purchased
them; they are let out to the richest hadjys, at very high prices, as
much as five hundred piastres being given, during the pilgrimage, for a
good apartment, with windows opening into the mosque. Windows have, in
consequence, been opened in many parts of the walls, on a level with the
street, and above that of the floor of the colonnades: Hadjys living in
these apartments are allowed to perform the Friday's prayers at home;
because, having the Kaaba in view from the windows, they are supposed to
be in the mosque itself, and to join in prayer those assembled within
the temple. Upon a level with the ground-floor of the colonnades, and
opening into them, are small apartments formed in the walls, having the
appearance of dungeons: these have remained the property of the mosque,
while the houses above them belong to private individuals. They are let
out to watermen, who deposit in them the Zemzem jars; or to less opulent
hadjys, who wish to live in the mosque. Some of the surrounding houses
still belong to the mosque, and were originally intended for public
schools, as their name of Medrese implies: they are now all let out to
hadjys. In one of the largest of them, Mohammed Aly Pasha lived; in
another Hassan Pasha. [One of the finest Medreses in Mekka, built by
order of Kail Beg, Sultan of Egypt, in A.H. 888, in the side of the
mosque fronting the street Masaa, has also become a private building,
after having been deprived of its revenue by the peculation of its
guardians. Besides the Medreses, there were other buildings of less
extent erected by different Sultans of Egypt and Constantinople for
similar purposes, called Rebat, where poor pilgrims might reside, who
chose to study there; but these have shared the fate of the Medreses,
and are now either the private property of Mekkawys, or let to
individuals on long leases by the mosque, and used as common lodging-
houses.]

Close to Bab Ibrahim is a large Medrese, now the property of Seyd Ageyl,
one of the principal merchants of the town, whose ware-house opens into
the mosque. This person, who is aged, has the reputation

[p.155] of great sanctity; and it is said that the hand of Sherif
Ghaleb, when once in the act of collaring him, for refusing to advance
some money, was momentarily struck with palsy. He has every evening
assemblies in his house, where theological books are read, [The cousin of
this man is the famous pirate Syd Mohammed el Ageyl, who has committed
many outrages upon European ships in the Red Sea, and even insulted the
English flag. In the beginning of 1814 he was called to Djidda, with
offers to enter the service of Mohammed Aly Pasha, who, it was then
thought, had some hostile intentions against Yemen. The Pasha made him
considerable presents, either in the hope of engaging him in his
service, or of securing his friendship; but the pirate declined his
proposals. He has amassed great wealth; has establishments in almost
every harbour of the Red Sea; and is adored by his sailors and soldiers
for his great liberality. Like his cousin at Mekka, he has succeeded in
making people believe that he is endowed with supernatural powers.] and
religious topics discussed.

Among other buildings forming the enclosure of the Mesjed, is the
Mehkam, or house of justice, close by the Bab Zyade: it is a fine,
firmly-built structure, with lofty arches in the interior, and has a row
of high windows looking into the mosque. It is inhabited by the Kadhy.
Adjoining to it stands a large Medrese, inclosing a square, known by the
name of Medrese Soleymanye, built by Sultan Soleyman, and his son Selym
II., in A.H. 973. It is always well filled with Turkish hadjys, the
friends of the Kadhy, who disposes of the lodgings.

The exterior of the mosque is adorned with seven minarets, irregularly
distributed:--1. Minaret of Bab el Omra; 2. of Bab el Salam; 3. of Bab
Aly; 4. of Bab el Wodaa; 5. of Medrese Kail Beg; 6. of Bab el Zyade; 7.
of Medreset Sultan Soleyman. 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. A beautiful
view of the busy crowd below is obtained by ascending the most northern
one.

It will have been seen by the foregoing description, that the mosque of
Mekka differs little in its construction from many other buildings of
the same nature in Asia. The mosque of Zakaria at Aleppo, the great
mosque called El Amouy at Damascus, and the greater number of the larger
mosques at Cairo, are constructed exactly

[p.156] upon the same plan, with an arched colonnade round an open
square. None is more like it than the mosque of Touloun, at Cairo, built
in A.H. 263; and that of Ammer, situated between Cairo and Old Cairo,
upon the spot where Fostat once stood: it was built by Ammer Ibn el Aas,
in the first years of the conquest of Egypt; it has an arched fountain
in the midst, where at Mekka stands the Kaaba; but is only one-third as
large as the mosque of Mekka. The history of Beitullah (or God's house)
has exercised the industry of many learned Arabians: it is only in
latter times that the mosque has been enlarged; many trees once stood in
the square, and it is to be regretted that others have not succeeded
them.

The service of the mosque occupies a vast number of people. The Khatybs,
Imams, Muftis, those attached to Zemzem, the Mueddins who call to
prayers, numbers of olemas, who deliver lectures, lamp-lighters, and a
crowd of menial servants, are all employed about the Beitullah. They
receive regular pay from the mosque, besides what they share of the
presents made to it by hadjys, for the purpose of distribution; those
not made for such purpose, are reserved for the repairs of the building.
The revenue of the mosque is considerable, although it has been deprived
of the best branches of its income.

There are few towns or districts of the Turkish empire in which it does
not possess property in land or houses; but the annual amount of this
property is often withheld by provincial governors, or at least it is
reduced, by the hands through which it passes, to a small proportion of
its real value. El Is-haaky, in his History of Egypt, states, that in
the time of Sultan Achmed, the son of Sultan Mohammed, (who died in A.H.
1027,) Egypt sent yearly to Mekka two hundred and ninety-five purses,
destined principally for the mosque, and forty-eight thousand and eighty
erdebs of corn. Bayazyd Ibn Sultan Mohammed Khan (in 912) fixed the
income of Mekka and Medina, to be sent from Constantinople, at fourteen
thousand ducats per annum, in addition to what his predecessors had
already ordered; and Sultan Solyman Ibn Selym I. increased the annual
income of Mekka, sent from Constantinople, which his father Selym had
fixed at seven thousand erdebs of corn, to ten thousand erdebs, and five
thousand for the inhabitants of

[p.157] Medina. [See Kotobeddyn.] He likewise fixed the surra from
Constantinople, or, as it is called, the Greek surra, at thirty-one
thousand ducats per annum. [See Assamy. These surras (or purses) were
first instituted by Mohammed Ibn Sultan Yalderem, in A.H. 816.] Almost
all the revenues derived from Egypt were sequestrated by the Mamelouk
Beys; and Mohammed Aly has now seized what remained. Some revenue is yet
drawn from Yemen, called Wakf el Hamam, and a little is brought in
annually by the Hadj caravans. At present, therefore, the mosque of
Mekka may be called poor in comparison with its former state. [The
princes of India have frequently given proofs of great munificence
towards the mosque at Mekka. In A.H. 798, large presents in money and
valuable articles were sent by the sovereigns of Bengal and Cambay;
those of Bengal, especially, are often mentioned as benefactors by
Asamy.] Excepting a few golden lamps in the Kaaba, it possesses no
treasures whatever, notwithstanding the stories prevalent to the
contrary; and I learnt from the Kadhy himself, that the Sultan, in order
to keep up the establishment, sends at present four hundred purses
annually, as a present to the Kaaba; which sum is partly expended in the
service of the mosque, and partly divided among the servants belonging
to it.

The income of the mosque must not be confounded with that of a number of
Mekkawys, including many of the servants, which they derive from other
pious foundations in the Turkish empire, known by the name of Surra, and
of which a great part still remains untouched. The donations of the
hadjys, however, are so ample as to afford abundant subsistence to the
great numbers of idle persons employed about the mosque; and as long as
the pilgrimage exists, there is no reason to apprehend their wanting
either the necessaries or the luxuries of life.

The first officer of the mosque is the Nayb el Haram, or Hares el Haram,
the guardian who keeps the keys of the Kaaba. In his hands are deposited
the sums bestowed as presents to the building, and which he distributes
in conjunction with the Kadhy: under his directions,

[p.158] also, the repairs of the building are carried on. [The honour of
keeping the keys of the Kaaba, and the profits arising from it, were
often subjects of contention among the ancient Arabian tribes.] I have
been assured, but do not know how truly, that the Nayb el Haram's yearly
accounts, which are countersigned by the Sherif and Kadhy, and sent to
Constantinople, amount to three hundred purses, merely for the expenses
of the necessary repairs, lighting, carpets, &c., and the maintenance of
the eunuchs belonging to the temple. This officer happens at present to
be one of the heads of the three only families descended from the
ancient Koreysh who remain resident at Mekka. Next to him, the second
officer of the mosque in rank is the Aga of the eunuchs, or, as he is
called; Agat el Towashye. The eunuchs perform the duty of police
officers in the temple; [The employment of slaves or eunuchs in this
mosque is of very ancient date. Mawya Ibn Aly Sofyan, a short time after
Mohammed, first ordered slaves for the Kaaba.--Vid. Fasy.] they prevent
disorders, and daily wash and sweep, with large brooms, the pavement
round the Kaaba. In time of rain, I have seen the water stand on the
pavement to the height of a foot; on such occasions many of the hadjys
assist the eunuchs in removing it through several holes made in the
pavement, which, it is said, lead to large vaults beneath the Kaaba,
though the historians of Mekka and of the temple make no mention of
them. The eunuchs are dressed in the Constantinopolitan kaouk, with wide
robes, bound by a sash, and carry a long stick in their hands. The
engraving of their dress given by d'Ohsson is strikingly correct; as
are, in general, all the representations of costume in that work, which
I had an opportunity of comparing with the original. [This excellent work
is the only perfect source of information respecting the laws and
constitution of the Turkish empire; but it must not be forgotten that
the practices prevalent in the provinces are, unfortunately, often in
direct contravention of the spirit and letter of the code of law, as
explained by the author.] The number of eunuchs now exceeds forty, and
they are supplied by Pashas and other grandees, who send them, when
young, as presents to the mosque: one hundred dollars are sent with each
as an outfit. Mohammed Aly presented ten young eunuchs to the mosque. At
present there

[p.159] are ten grown-up persons, and twenty boys; the latter live
together in a house, till they are sufficiently instructed to be given
in charge to their elder brethren, with whom they remain a few years,
and then set up their own establishments. Extraordinary as it may
appear, the grown-up eunuchs are all married to black slaves, and
maintain several male and female slaves in their houses as servants.
They affect great importance; and in case of quarrels or riots, lay
freely about them with their sticks. Many of the lower classes of Mekka
kiss their hands on approaching them. Their chief, or Aga, whom they
elect among themselves, is a great personage, and is entitled to sit in
the presence of the Pasha and the Sherif. The eunuchs have a large
income from the revenues of the mosque, and from private donations of
the hadjys; they also receive regular stipends from Constantinople, and
derive profit from trade; for, like almost all the people of Mekka, and
even the first clergy, they are more or less engaged in traffic; and
their ardour in the pursuit of commercial gain is much greater than that
which they evince in the execution of their official duties, being
equalled only by the eagerness with which they court the friendship of
wealthy hadjys.

Most of the eunuchs, or Towashye, are negroes; a few were copper-
coloured Indians. One of the former is sometimes sent to the Soudan
countries, to collect presents for the Kaaba. The fate of a eunuch of
this description is mentioned by Bruce. Some years since a Towashye
obtained permission to return to Soudan, on presenting another person to
the mosque in his stead. He then repaired to Borgo, west of Darfour, and
is now the powerful governor of a province.

Whenever negro hadjys come to Mekka, they never fail to pay assiduous
court to the Towashyes. A Towashye, after having been once attached to
the service of the Kaaba, which confers on him the appellation of
Towashye el Neby (the Prophet's eunuch), can never enter into any other
service.

In the time of Ramadhan, (the last days of which month, in 1814, I
passed at Mekka,) the mosque is particularly brilliant. The hadjys, at
that period, (which happened to be in the hottest time of the year,)
generally performed the three first daily prayers at home, but assembled

[p.160] in large crowds in the mosque, for their evening devotions.
Every one then carried in his handkerchief a few dates, a little bread
and cheese, or some grapes, which he placed before him, waiting for the
moment of the call to evening prayers, to be allowed to break the fast.
During this period of suspense, they would politely offer to their
neighbours a part of their meal, and receive as much in return. Some
hadjys, to gain the reputation of peculiar charitableness, were going
from man to man, and placing before each a few morsels of viands,
followed by beggars, who, in their turn, received these morsels from
those hadjys before whom they had been placed. As soon as the Imam on
the top of Zemzem began his cry of "Allahou Akbar," (God is most great!)
every one hastened to drink of the jar of Zemzem water placed before
him, and to eat something, previous to joining in the prayer; after
which they all returned home to supper, and again revisited the mosque,
for the celebration of the last evening orisons. At this time, the whole
square and colonnades were illuminated by thousands of lamps; and, in
addition to these, most of the hadjys had each his own lantern standing
on the ground before him. The brilliancy of this spectacle, and the cool
breeze pervading the square, caused multitudes to linger here till
midnight. This square, the only wide and open place in the whole town,
admits through all its gates the cooling breeze; but this the Mekkawys
ascribe to the waving wings of those angels who guard the mosque. I
witnessed the enthusiasm of a Darfour pilgrim, who arrived at Mekka on
the last night of Ramadhan. After a long journey across barren and
solitary deserts, on his entering the illuminated temple, he was so much
struck with its appearance, and overawed by the black Kaaba, that he
fell prostrate close by the place where I was sitting, and remained long
in that posture of adoration. He then rose, burst into a flood of tears,
and in the height of his emotion, instead of reciting the usual prayers
of the visitor, only exclaimed, "O God, now take my soul, for this is
Paradise!"

The termination of the Hadj gives a very different appearance to the
temple. Disease and mortality, which succeed to the fatigues endured on
the journey, or are caused by the light covering of the

[p.161] ihram, the unhealthy lodgings at Mekka, the bad fare, and
sometimes absolute want, fill the mosque with dead bodies, carried
thither to receive the Imam's prayer, or with sick persons, many of
whom, when their dissolution approaches, are brought to the colonnades,
that they may either be cured by a sight of the Kaaba, or at least have
the satisfaction of expiring within the sacred enclosure. Poor hadjys,
worn out with disease and hunger, are seen dragging their emaciated
bodies along the columns; and when no longer able to stretch forth their
hand to ask the passenger for charity, they place a bowl to receive alms
near the mat on which they lay themselves. When they feel their last
moments approaching, they cover themselves with their tattered garments;
and often a whole day passes before it is discovered that they are dead.
For a month subsequent to the conclusion of the Hadj, I found, almost
every morning, corpses of pilgrims lying in the mosque; myself and a
Greek hadjy, whom accident had brought to the spot, once closed the eyes
of a poor Mogrebyn pilgrim, who had crawled into the neighbourhood of
the Kaaba, to breathe his last, as the Moslems say, "in the arms of the
prophet and of the guardian angels." He intimated by signs his wish that
we should sprinkle Zemzem water over him; and while we were doing so, he
expired: half an hour afterwards he was buried. There are several
persons in the service of the mosque employed to wash carefully the spot
on which those who expire in the mosque have lain, and to bury all the
poor and friendless strangers who die at Mekka.

[p.162] SOME HISTORICAL NOTICES CONCERNING THE KAABA,

AND THE TEMPLE OF MEKKA;

EXTRACTED FROM THE WORKS OF EL AZRAKY, EL FASY, KOTOBEDDYN, AND
ASAMY,
WRITERS MORE PARTICULARLY MENTIONED IN THE INTRODUCTION.

MOHAMMEDAN mythology affirms that the Kaaba was constructed in heaven,
two thousand years before the creation of this world, and that it was
there adored by the angels, whom the Almighty commanded to perform the
Towaf, or walk round it. Adam, who was the first true believer, erected
the Kaaba upon earth, on its present site, which is directly below the
spot that it occupied in heaven. He collected the stones for the
building from the five holy mountains: Lebanon, Tor Syna (Mount Sinai),
El Djoudy (the name given by Muselmans to the mountain on which the ark
of Noah rested after the deluge), Hirra, or Djebel Nour, and Tor Zeyt
(the mountain to which, as I believe, an allusion is made in the ninety-
fifth chapter of the Koran). Ten thousand angels were appointed to guard
the structure from accidents: but they seem, from the history of the
holy building, to have been often remiss in their duty. The sons of Adam
repaired the Kaaba; and after the deluge, Ibrahim (Abraham), when he had
abandoned the idolatry of his forefathers, was ordered by the Almighty
to reconstruct it. His son Ismayl, who from his infancy resided with his
mother Hadjer (Hagar) near the site of Mekka, assisted his father, who
had come from Syria to obey the commands of Allah: on digging, they
found the foundations which

[p.163] had been laid by Adam. Being in want of a stone to fix into the
corner of the building as a mark from whence the Towaf, or holy walk
round it, was to commence, Ismayl went in search of one. On his way
towards Djebel Kobeys, he met the angel Gabriel, holding in his hand the
famous black stone. It was then of a refulgent bright colour, but became
black, says El Azraky, in consequence of its having suffered repeatedly
by fire, before and after the introduction of Islam. Others say its
colour was changed by the sins of those who touched it. At the day of
judgment, it will bear witness in favour of all those who have touched
it with sincere hearts, and will be endowed with sight and speech.

After the well of Zemzem was miraculously created, and before Ibrahim
began to build the Kaaba, the Arab tribe of Beni Djorham, a branch of
the Amalekites, settled here, with the permission of Ismayl and his
mother, with whom they lived. Ismayl considered the well as his
property; but having intermarried with the Djorham tribe, they usurped,
after his death, the possession both of the well and the Kaaba. During
their abode in this valley, they rebuilt or thoroughly repaired the
Kaaba; but the well was choked up by the violence of torrents, and
remained so for nearly one thousand years. The tribe of Khozaa
afterwards kept possession of the Kaaba for three hundred years; and
their successors, of the tribe of Kossay Ibn Kelab, again rebuilt it;
for being constantly exposed to the devastations of torrents, it was
often in need of repair. It had hitherto been open at the top: they
roofed it; and from this period its history becomes less involved in
fable and uncertainty.

An Arab of Kossay, named Ammer Ibn Lahay, first introduced idolatry
among his countrymen; he brought the idol, called Hobal, from Hyt, in
Mesopotamia, [See El Azraky.] and set it up at the Kaaba. Idolatry then
spread rapidly; and it seems that almost every Arab tribe chose its own
god or tutelar divinity; and that, considering the Kaaba as a Pantheon
common to them all, they frequented it in pilgrimage. The date-tree,
called Ozza, says Azraky, was worshipped by the tribe of

[p.164] Khozaa; and the Beni Thekyf adored the rock called El Lat; a
large tree, called Zat Arowat, was revered by the Koreysh; the holy
places, Muna, Szafa, Meroua, had their respective saints or demi-gods;
and the historians give a long list of other deities. The number of
idols increased so much, that one was to be found in every house and
tent of this valley; and the Kaaba was adorned with three hundred and
sixty of them, corresponding probably to the days of the year.

The tribe of Kossay were the first who built houses round the Kaaba; in
these they lived during the day, but in the evening they always returned
to their tents, pitched upon the neighbouring mountains. The successors
of the Beni Kossay at Mekka, or Bekka, (the name then applied to the
town,) were the Beni Koreysh. About their time the Kaaba was destroyed
by fire; they rebuilt it of wood, of a smaller size than it had been in
the time of the Kossay, but indicating by the wall Hedjer (already
described) its former limits. The roof was supported within by six
pillars; and the statue of Hobal, the Arabian Jupiter, was placed over a
well, then existing within the Kaaba. This happened during the youth of
Mohammed. All the idols were replaced in the new building; and El Azraky
adduces the ocular testimony of several respectable witnesses, to prove
a remarkable fact, (hitherto, I believe, unnoticed,) that the figure of
the Virgin Mary, with the young Aysa (Jesus) in her lap, was likewise
sculptured as a deity upon one of the six pillars nearest to the gate.