friends passed by Jeddah, the port of Mecca, and from the deck of the steamer the white walls and towers of the town were distinctly visible. Frank and Fred would have been delighted to land at Jeddah and make a pilgrimage to Mecca, but the Doctor told them the journey was out of the question, as no Christian is allowed to enter the sacred city of the Moslems, and the few who had ever accomplished the feat had done so at great personal risk.
"The first European who ever went there was Burckhardt, in 1814," said Dr. Bronson. "He prepared himself for his travels by studying the Arabic language, and went in the disguise of an Arab merchant, under the name of Sheikh Ibrahim ibn Abdallah. Then he travelled through Syria, Asia Minor, and Egypt for several years, and became thoroughly familiar with the customs of the people, so that he was able to pass himself successfully as a learned Moslem. Captain Burton went to Mecca in 1852, and since his time the city has been visited by Maltzan, Palgrave, and two or three others. Captain Burton followed the example of Burckhardt and wore the Arab dress; he spoke the language fluently, but in spite of this his disguise was penetrated while he was returning to Jeddah, and he was obliged to flee from his companions and travel all night away from the road till he reached the protection of the seaport."
"What would have happened if he had been found out?" Frank inquired.
"The mob of fanatical Moslems would have killed him," was the reply. "They would have considered it an insult to their religion for him to enter their sacred city—the birthplace of the founder of their religion—and he would have been stoned or otherwise put to death. Some Europeans who have gone to Mecca have never returned, and nothing was ever heard of them. It is supposed they were discovered and murdered."
"What barbarians!" exclaimed Fred.
"Yes," replied the Doctor; "but if you speak to any of them about it, they will possibly reply that Christian people have put to death those who did not believe in their religion. They might quote a good many occurrences in various parts of Europe in the past five hundred years, and could even remind us that the Puritans, in New England, hanged three men and one woman, and put many others in prison, for the offence of being Quakers. Religious intolerance, even at this day, is not entirely confined to the Moslems."
Frank asked what could be seen at Mecca, and whether the place was really worth visiting.
"As to that," the Doctor answered, "tastes might differ. Mecca is said to be a well-built city, seventy miles from Jeddah, with a population of about fifty thousand. The most interesting edifice in the place is the 'Caaba,' or Shrine, which stands in the centre of a large square, and has at one corner the famous 'Black Stone,' which the Moslems believe was brought from heaven by the angels. Burckhardt thought it was only a piece of lava; but Captain Burton believes it is an aerolite, of an oval shape, and about seven feet long. The pilgrims walk seven times around the Caaba, repeating their prayers at every step, and they begin their walk by prostrating themselves in front of the Black Stone and kissing it. The consequence is that it is worn smooth, as the number of pilgrims going annually to Mecca is not less than two hundred thousand. The pilgrimage is completed with the ascent of Mount Arafat, twelve miles east of Mecca; and when a Moslem returns from his journey he is permitted to wear a green turban for the rest of his life. The pilgrimage is an easier matter than it used to be, as there are steamers running from Suez and other points to carry the pilgrims to Jeddah, and from there they can easily accomplish their journey to Mecca and return in a couple of weeks."
Frank asked how far it was from Mecca to Medina, the place where Mohammed died and was buried.
"Medina is about two hundred and fifty miles north of Mecca," said the Doctor, "and is only a third the size of the latter city. It is next to Mecca in sanctity, and a great many pilgrims go there every year. The tomb of the Prophet is in a large mosque, in the centre of the city, and there is an old story that the coffin of Mohammed is suspended in the air by invisible threads hanging from heaven. Captain Burton visited Medina, and reports that the Moslems have no knowledge of the story, and say it must have been invented by a Christian. The tomb is in one side of the building, but no one is allowed to look upon it, not even a Moslem; the most that can be seen is the curtain surrounding it, and even that must be observed through an aperture in a wooden screen. The custodians say that any person who looks on the tomb of the Prophet would be instantly blinded by a flood of holy light."
So much for the two holiest places in the eyes of the Moslems. Frank and Fred concluded that they did not care to go to Mecca and Medina, and the former instanced the old fable of a fox who despised the grapes which were inaccessible, and denounced them as too sour to be eaten.
As they entered the Gulf of Suez the attention of the boys was directed to Mount Sinai, and they readily understood, from the barrenness and desolation of the scene, why it was called "Mount Sinai in the Wilderness." With a powerful telescope not a sign of vegetation was anywhere visible.
It was late in the forenoon of a pleasant day when the ship came to anchor, as we have described in our opening lines. The Quarantine doctor came on board, and was soon convinced that no reason existed why the passengers, who chose to do so, might not go on shore. Doctor Bronson and his young friends bargained with a boatman to carry them and their baggage to the steps of the Hotel de Suez for a rupee each. The town, with the hotel, was about two miles from the anchorage, and the breeze carried them swiftly over the intervening stretch of water. Half a dozen steamers lay at the anchorage, waiting for their turn to pass the Canal; and a dozen or more native craft, in addition to the foreign ships, made the harbor of Suez appear quite picturesque. The rocky hills behind the town, and the low slopes of the opposite shore, glistened in the bright sunlight; but the almost total absence of verdure in the landscape rendered the picture the reverse of beautiful. Not a tree nor a blade of grass can be seen on the African side of the Gulf, while on the opposite shore the verdure-seeking eye is only caught by the oasis at the Wells of Moses, where a few palm-trees bid defiance to the shifting sands of the desert.
Suez appeared to our friends a straggling collection of flat-roofed houses and whitewashed walls, where the sea terminates and the desert begins. Before the construction of the Canal it was little better than an Arab village, with less than two thousand inhabitants; at present it is a town of ten or twelve thousand people, the majority of whom are supported, directly or indirectly, by the Canal or the railway. There has been a town of some sort at this point for more than three thousand years, but it has never been of much importance, commercially or otherwise. The situation in the midst of desert hills, and more especially the absence of fresh water, have been the drawbacks to its prosperity. There is little to be seen in its shops, and for that little the prices demanded are exorbitant. Few travellers remain more than a day at Suez, and the great majority are ready to leave an hour or two after their arrival.
Chapter II.
SUEZ.—WHERE THE ISRAELITES CROSSED THE RED SEA.—THE
