TRIP TO MECCA

Greymouth Evening Star, 14 August 1933, Page 12

TRIP TO MECCA

GUEST AT KING’S HAREM. Lady Evolvn Cobbold, the 66-year-old sister of the Earl of Dunmore and the grandmother of three charming children, told a. “Daily Express” representative how she discarded a.I European clothing and donned trousers at one point in her remarkable pilgrimage to Mecca. She. had just, arrived back from the Holy of Holies of the Moslem world—the first. European woman ever Io enter tho sacred city. "From the moment 1 put. foot, on Arabian soil I discarded all European clothes and took the veil,” said Lady Evelyn, who has been a devout Aloslem for many years. “At Medina, the resting-place of the Prophet Mahomet, I wore trousers of striped silk, a blouse of muslin, no stockings, and soft Moorish slippers. I had also a black crepe de chine skirt and cape, with a veil so thick that I could scarcely see. “But when I made my trip across the desert to Mecca I had to dress in pure white, every whisp of hair had to be hidden, even my hands were whitegloved, and my face was covered with a woven veil of straw matting pierced with minute holes. That is the traditional dress of the woman pilgrim.” Then she described- the holy city of Mecca, which so many Europeans have sought to penetrate disguised, losing their lives in the attempt. “’lt is set in the hollow of the desert, surrounded by precipitous mountains, the air always seething like a. cauldron under the tropical sun. “The objective at Alecca is an enormous mosque—dazzling white, a living marvel—made beautiful by the wealth of generations "of princes, shahs, and kings. ' Forty exquisitely carved gates lead into its vast interior. which can seat 200,000 pilgrims at once. “In the very centre is a courtyard. Here is the Kaaba, a square stone building, without windows or light except for one solid beaten silver door, its whole surface entirely covered by a huge silken rug in black and gold. The Kaaba is filled with incredible wealth —gold, precious works of art, priceless jewels, a hoard added to yearly by gifts from the devout. “Only one man has seen this treasure. "He is King Ibn Saud, who, once a year,' clad only in two small towels, bareheaded and barefooted, enters to sprinkle water from the miraculous well of Zem Zem. I was present outside tho Kaaba for that ceremony.” When Lady Evelyn Cobbold arrived in Alecca she was treated like royalty. She was given wonderful apartments by the King's minister in the harem quarters reserved for distinguished guests. ARDUOUS CEREMONIES.

Her bedroom was a huge room, cooled by immense porous earthenware jars, like those used by Alt Baba and the forty thieves, and filled with water, The walls were covered with silk Persian rugs; couches and divans were scattered throughout. Her balconies like those -of the ladies of the harem, whom she thought verv beautiful —-overlooked gardens glowing with roses, jasmine, and lilies. "It. was just like an Eastern fairytale. ’ she said. "My bathroom was a. cool, square room of stone. When 1 bathed I rinsed with softened water from simitar huge jars, the water running away into a bottomless hole. It was all rather primitive, but. fantastic. For twelve days she underwent the arduous ceremonies connected with tho pilgrimage. . “I rose at four in the morning, she said, “and. accompanied by my priest guide. I was led like the rest of the pilgrims seven times around the Kaaba. calling on Allah, and giving praise aloud, slopping at. intervals to perform religious gestures. “Every day, 100. I walked the road followed by Agar and Ishmael, which leads up some rocky steps. 1 did this seven times, although a distance of three and a-half miles” —and always, she was dressed in her voluminous White robes under the broiling sun. “1 saw one woman faint." she added, “and her husband picked her up and carried her until he had finished tho walk seven times.”

1 asked Lady Evelyn how she carried out the rites in the heat. "1 was too ashamed not to.” she replied, “when L saw such examples of fanaticism around me."