MOSLEM MECCA

Lake Wakatip Mail, Issue 3716, 26 October 1926, Page 7

MOSLEM MECCA

WHAT ! SAW OF THE FORBIDDEN CITY [By Sirdar Ikjjal Am Shah, in the ‘Weekly Scotsman.’] Jt is difficult for people of the West ot imagine a city without a cinema, theatre, concert hall, hotel, or bank, where wine drinking and tobacco smoking is strictly forbidden, and yet to be regarded by many millions ot people as the most important place in the world. Such is Mecca, the sacred city ot the Moslems, towards which oncsevonth ot the human family turn their faces when they pray. It is, ot course, a forbidden city, and .1 have no doubt that those outside the faith who have succeeded in penetrating its mysteries could be counted on the lingers of the hand. Being a Mussulman. 1 travelled there as a pilgrim. My object in visiting the city was to attend the All-World Moslem Conference. While in the holy city I was most graciously received by the new Wahabi King, Ibn Sand , whose recent actions in Arabia have stirred the whole Moslem world.

J approached Mecca from Jeddah, covering the fifty odd miles > which separate this port from the city, by motor. It was really a motor lorry, converted into a kind of Red Cross wagon, holding some seven or eight passengers. Some thirty of these vehicles ply between these two points, and the fare charged is £l. By far the greater proportion of the pilgrims travel by camel, and, although the. latter take two days, the fare is only half a crown, against twenty shillings by motor car. IN PILGRIM GARB. As the car covers the distance in about four hours, I wore the regulation pilgrim costume —the Jhram—for no one may eater Mecca without it. It consists of two white garments, one for the upper and the other for the lower part of the body. They are fastened together by knots, for no pin, stitches, or other form of attachment is allowed. With the exception of this garment and sandals, 1 had no other covering. My head also was shaved and devoid of any protection from the sun. The idea of this simple white dress is that all shall enter God’s house in a uniform of humility, with nothing to indicate a worshipper’s position, wealth, or rank. All along the road are caravansaries, with their blockhouses, where pilgrims can find rest and accommodation. Wc passed several caravans of camels, loaded with pilgrims who greeted us with shouts of “God is great!” At Bakra. which lies about halfway, there is a well, the only place where water is to be had. The approach to it was littered with old tin cans, cast-off water bottles, and the carcases of dead animals. The yellow, dirty water looked almost uninviting, yet our driver did not hesitate to clip his receptacle into the well, take a good drink, and then pair the residue back, as it were too valuable to waste. Shortly after this, one of our wheels got stuck in the sand dunes, and, when our driver appealed to a passing Bedouin to help, he shook his head and told us to go to Satan for bringing such a creation of the devil into the fair land of Islam. “Why not ride a camel, like me?” he declared, “ which only stops when I want him to.” The jolting was terrible, and how the axle of our car did not break or the vehicle overturn in negotiating the dried-up river beds and stumpy bushes 1 cannot imagine. Mecca lies in a hollow, surrounded by barren hills, and does not conic into view until you arc close upon it. The first glimpse ot the city, with its minarets. white domes, and buildings never tails to stir the pilgrim’s imagination. Five times daily throughout his life he lias turned his’ face towards this city whose mysteries he is about to view with bis' own eyes. While we wore gazing with awe and rapture upon the city of our faith, wc passed two whitewashed pillars, announcing our approach to the consecrated soil oi Mecca. No pilgrim may pass this barrier unless he is wearing the Jhram. Furthermore, he must not shod blood, shave his lace, oil his hair, or scratch himself, save with the open palm of the hand; use bad language or quarrel. You may not even kill a mosquito, wasp, or such an irritating thing as a ilea, or cause animals or birds to fly from you. THE HOLY OF HOLIES.

-With prayers on our lips, we entered the city, and, alighting from our ear, made our way to the Haram. this is the sacred and celebrated mosque, the most holy spot in the eyes ol all Moslems. It consists of a vast courtyard, 257 paces long and 21.0 paces broad, entered by nineteen gates, and .surrounded on three sides by graceful coloiiiuulcs or cloisters. In centre or the courtyard stands the Kaaba, towards winch all Mohammedans turn their faces when they pray. It is an almost square stone erection, standing about dolt high. Mohammedans believe it was built by Abraham as a place of worship, and it is said to be a jeconstruction of the stone house built by Adam. It was entirely draped in a heavy, khaki-colored cloth, the usual ,r orgeous carpet with which it is generally covered not having arrived from L °We t encircled the Kaaba seven times, reciting certain prayers as we did so, this being the first ceremony every pd<rrim performs on his arrival in the holy ritv. f then kissed the Black Stone, a no*easy feat, as before it surged a mob of excited pilgrims from almost every quarter of the globe, shouting out the i,aino of the Prophet in a babel of tongues. The stone is a meteorite, set in silver, m one corner ot the Kaaba. I drank the waters of the well of Zem /cm. which is said to be the spring shown by God to Ha gar. Pilgrims dip their garments into the waters ol this well, spread them to dry on the sacred soil of the courtyard, and then take them home and use them as burial shrouds. The courtyard of the mosque is capable of holding do,<»<«> worshippers at one time. The spectacle ol thousands of white-robed figures perensure that any future children might forming their salutations in unison is a sight never to bo iorgotten. MECCA'S NEW RULER.

From the time a pilgrim enters Mecca until he leaves, he it three days or a month, he is kept in a whirl ol religious excitement. With prayers live times a day and the innumerable ceremonies winch lie is supposed to pyifurm. there is very little time left tor sight M.'Cing. Strictly speaking, Mecca has no attractions outside the llaram

and a lew places associated with the Prophet, such as the place where ho was born and the house in which he lived. I found these places closed and guarded, lor Mecca’s new ruler, Ihn Sand, does nut believe that they should be made places of worship. In the same way he has razed many of the tombs in Arabia, such as the alleged mausoleum of hive at Jedda, because he found people worshipping at them. 1 had a lengthy conversation with him, ami quickly discovered that he rules according to the Koran, shunning any additions or reservations which generations of priestcraft may have added to the faith. He lias put down with a linn hand wine drinking, tobacco smoking, and has suppressed brigandage in the lledjaz. Although at first sight his outlook may appear narrow, he nevertheless possesses sufficient vision to realise the need of creating a greater spirit of unity among the present scattered forces of Islam. That is the idea ol the All-World Moslem Conference, which he convened, and which was attended by delegates from the leading Moslem countries. We sat and deliberated tor many days, and among the more important resolutions passed was the decision to link Jeddah and Mecca by a railway, and also the latter city with the Hetliaz line at Medina. It was also agreed to carry out certain improvements at the Red Sea ports of Robigli and Yanibo, as well as to impiove the water supply and sanitation of the holy city. Hospitals and base camps are also to he established lor the convenience of pilgrims. PHOTOGRAPHING UNDER FIRE.

Although I i\iis u delegate of the conference, and virtually a guest of the Kin”;, I quickly discovered that tact and discretion were needed during my walks about the city. I was set upon for smoking a cigarette, and once tired at for trying to take a photograph. The fact is, Mecca is unlike any other city. It is a place of prayer, where gather pilgrims from all parts of the world, all imbued with an intense feeling of reverence for the city of their faith, and prepared to put down with a stern hand anything that is at all imitative of the ways of the infidel. There are no places of amusement in Mecca. The very thought of such worldly distractions is unthinkable to the pious minds of the new rulers of the holy city. There are no hotels, the pilgrims being accommodated in lodginghouses. great stone buildings five and six storeys high, where they are looked after by the ‘‘motawifs,” or religious guxles. Mecca has not even a bank, for banks charge interest, and that means usury, which is against the teachings of the Koran. It has many fine bazaars, famous for their silks, beads, and perfumes. A large trade is done in the latter, and scented woods are burnt in the lodging-houses, as otherwise life would be unbearable, for sanitation is conspicuous by its absence. For an Oriental city the streets are vide, and cafes are numerous. The only method of transport is by donkey or quaint little carts, drawn by miserable-looking ponies. The donkeys are close-cropped and painted in stripes of bright colors. Such is Mecca to-day—a city of continuous prayer—held in the highest reverence by ,('OO.OOO followers of the Prophet, M 00,000,000 of whom dwell under the Union Jack.