Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1882-11-21

An Account of the Ceremonies Attend
Ing the Procession oS tI,c Carpet.
Correspondence of the London Times.

correspondence OF the LONDON i1geS
SIR: venture TO address to you the follow
Ing brief account CT the usual ceremonies attend
Ing the annual departure of the great caravan OF
pilgrims from Cairo to Mecca IN order to show
that the presence OF our troops at them this year
does not il the least impIicate us as a Christian
people, in anything the least OF tine character of
an idoatrous act. | write from information
acquired in Bombay The Sultan of Turkey
provides the Ca1ba OF Mecca every year with
ncw canopy aud new veil or portirre for the
entrance door. TIE Internal hanginGs OF the
Caaoa are provided once OGly by each Sultan at
his accession. This canopy. when completed. is
shaped exactly like that profoundly interesting
canopy of the Egyptian queen. which MIR. Vii
Hers Stuart. MP. has recently described and
Illustrated is, like cross 1t consists
oil a central square about ten strides each way,
and four lGppcts one hanging from each side
o: the central square. also ten strides lcag
AID about three deep. The CaaDa Is almost q
perfect cube oi thirty feet every way and the
canopy covers the whole top of it. ard each of
its four sides to the depth of ten feet, without
forming festo0ns at the corners as il would If il
were square carpet. Ii is partly made up in
the citadel OF Cairo: but immediately after the
close Oh the RanaZan. a great Moila.nrnedan
fast, aEi the Lesser Baira,a. Ed III FIR the
FESTIVAL of Breaking the Fast = 1t is carried i'm
procession through the strectsifom the Citadel
10 ore OF the mosques to be completed Ii is
carried through the streets i'm its five separate
pieces. the central square and four lateral lay-
pets. together with the port!rre This is The
PROCESSION of the Carpet" In this stage ii is i'm
no sense holy carpet; indeed. it is quite the
reverse, for it is made Ofsilk. and silk as an AMI
mai excrement is unciean among Mohomme-
dans until mixed with cotton. This is what is
done at the mosque. its five parts being there
sown together and baked with cotton " lille it's
surface is embroidered all over with texts from
the Koran affirmative of the unity of Gods
Judging by the dates il could not have been at
We're present
When the carpet has been completed it is
placed in charge of the leader of the Mecca pill
grins- They parade the streets of Cairo at
starting in what is called the :. Procession OF
the litter. Some former ruler OF Egypt,
usurping slave girl. believe. matle the pilgrim
age To Mecca. and subsequent rulers not wish
1h- to be behindhand with her in this respect
ana yet finding it impossible to attend i'm person.
Instituted the custom of sending their litter to
represent them. just a. in Europe send our
empty Carriages to funerals. This litter is eX-
actly like an enormous Indian EaIdy-bOX coy
cred with beautifully embroidered haugngs.
and Is carried on the back of a tall camel. and
is the symbol of the regnn@ Sultan of Turkey.
III was. judging bv the Date evidently this
" Procession of the Litter which our troops at
tended. and in compliment to tine Sultan. who
was hctiJiOusly present in his imperial litter.
and Eot ut all in saiutatiOn of the Canopy Of the
Caaba
The carpet is there but still as an unconse-
Grated piece of furniture carefully slowed
away with the baggage of the leader of the
caravan. Ii is only after ii has covered the
Caaba for q year that anything like sanctity
attaches to it. and even then anything like an
1doairOus sentiment in connection with it would
be more abhorrert 30 a MOhammedan than even
to Christian II les on the .Caaba for year.
Then about the end of the RamaZan 1t is cut
up i'm pieces to be sold TO the incoming pilgrims
as charms. During this time the Caala remains
uncovered. and it is not until the arrival of the
pilgrims from Cairo that it is recovered with
the new carpet sent by the Sultan. This
takes place 1T the greater Bairam. or BdL-ari
ED. the greatest festival of the whole NOham-
medan year held in remembrance of the mirac-
uious substitution of Il goat in the place of
1shmae!. of WHOM (and not ISaac) according to
the MohammedGn tradition. Abraham was
about To- make u sacrifice
1t will be seen. therefore, how little OF an
1doatrOus spirit is from first TO last associated
IN MOhammedan feeling with the passage of the
eO-called tby our English writeTs) 'holy" CARPET !
through Cairo on lis way to Mecca. The pres
ence OF our troops on such an occasion could in
M0haminedan eyes be regarded only as a COM
pliment to the Sultan or the Khetiive and is in
Itself as innocent a. their annual part in the
Lord Mayors show. | have. &c.
GEORGE BIRwOOD.