All Moslims
Dwelling On The Coasts Of The Ocean Are Certain Of Finding, Towards The
Period Of The Hadj, Some
Ship departing from a neighbouring harbour for
the Red Sea; but the greater number arrive with the regular Indian fleet
In May, and remain at Mekka or Medina till the time of the Hadj; soon
after which, they embark on board country ships at Djidda for Yemen,
where they wait till the period of the trade-winds to pass the Bab el
Mandeb. Multitudes of beggars come to Mekka from the above-mentioned
countries; they get a free passage from charitable individuals in their
own country, or the cost of it is defrayed by those who employ them as
their proxies in performing the Hadj; but when they land, they are
thrown entirely upon the charity of other hadjys; and the alms they
collect, must serve to carry them back to their homes.
Few pilgrims, except the mendicants, arrive without bringing some
productions of their respective countries for sale; and this remark is
applicable as well to the merchants, with whom commercial pursuits are
the main object, as to those who are actuated by religious zeal for to
the latter, the profits derived from selling a few native articles at
Mekka, diminish, in some degree, the heavy expenses of the journey. The
Moggrebyns, for example, bring their red bonnets and woollen cloaks; the
European Turks, shoes and slippers, hardware, embroidered stuffs,
sweetmeats, amber, trinkets of European manufacture, knit silk purses,
&c.; the Turks of Anatolia bring carpets, silks, and Angora shawls; the
Persians, cashmere shawls and large silk handkerchiefs; the Afghans,
tooth-brushes, called Mesouak Kattary, made of the spongy boughs of a
tree growing in Bokhara, beads of a yellow soap-stone, and plain, coarse
shawls, manufactured in their own country; the Indians, the numerous
productions of their rich and extensive region; the people of Yemen,
snakes for the Persian pipes, sandals, and various other works in
leather; and the Africans bring various articles adapted to the slave-
trade.
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