The
Vegetables Cultivated In The Gardens Are Chiefly For The Use Of
Foreigners, And Are Of Very Indifferent Flavour.
Arabs dislike them, and
they are only used by those who have acquired the relish in foreign
countries.
Fresh onions, leeks, and garlic, are the only vegetables of
which the Arabs are fond.
The prime article of food at Medina, as I have already stated, is dates.
During the two or three months of the date-harvest, (for this fruit is
not all ripe at the same time, each species having its season), from
July till September, the lower classes feed on nothing else; and during
the rest of the year dried dates continue to be their main nourishment.
The date-harvest is here of the same importance as that of wheat in
Europe, and its failure causes general distress. "What is the price of
dates at Mekka or Medina?" is always the first question asked by a
Bedouin who meets a passenger on the road. Of these dates a considerable
part is brought to Medina from distant quarters, and especially from
Fera, a fertile valley in the possession of the Beni Aamer tribe, where
there are numerous date-groves: it is three or four days' journey from
Medina, and as many from Rabegh in the mountains. The dates are brought
from thence in large baskets, in which they are pressed together into a
paste, as I have already mentioned.
[p.379]Although commercial dealings are pretty universal, yet few of the
inhabitants ostensibly follow them.
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