The Dickinson press., 1888-10-20
DURING THE RAMADAN.
FASTING IN DAYTIME AND FAST
ING AFTER SUNSET.

ING Ar tn SONSel.
Scenes In IL Syrian Town Magic Changes
sunset Cun-Nativc Concert -Conscicn-
tiousncss.
1t was Il Massachusetts boy, believe, who
said he s.prvterrc.i fas. to Thanksgiving, be-
cause after Thanksgiving you had 10 live on
pickingS, Int there was always n good,
square meal to make up for the fast. Mo-
hammedani>m agrees with the boy from
Massachusetts. Ii believes in compensation.
Ramatian is the yearly month OF fasting
,laytimeS, but from sunset to sunrise the
Moslem may feast on what be plea>cs. Rama
dan follows the lunar division OF the months
and falls about ten days earlier every year,
so that the number Of hours in tie twenty
four when the people must fast varies &c
cordng rs tho sacred month comes in sum.
mcr on i'll winter. After the fast there are
three days of Teasing, when the Mo>lcms
,lecliel out in their best, indulge in all sorts
OF amuSe,nents.
The other day thought that l would pass
through !, certain Mnslem district uhout sun
set. Expcc.anc: rcigncd. In The cafes, in
The shops in the street, every one was wait
ing for somethins;. was preparing for some
thing. Wc;ll'ied locking men hurried along
with fresh loavos Of bread in their hands
An old Mo>lcm with long robe and white
beard passed me carrying IL narghili all pre-
l,arc,l fo, use S!nal! boys bore along lt,l.
Plates of salad. whicl. came from ;l im,ro-
Nisod shop al . corner, where a lank man in
bite sat on q >too! turning out salads rs fast
ns he could 10 Meet the increasing demand us
a.. L.,
cutting off junks of meat. Turbancl Mos
lc.n., in bright clothing, har-ai,lcl for vesc-
Tables with the pale shop keeper, who sat ..
hind IL ipt ut trays Of wicEcrwurk covered
with Tomatoes cucumberS, potatoes, summer
>tiuashcs, ;,rico;s etc y nonchalant voun.
l.l..a adorned !, wooden booth in the street
With plates and bowls Of staIcHy looking sub
Stances liiic icllics, covered with nuts. Mum.
le,'' of inru and boys stc"d idly waiting.
l.rerv ut.e SCENE tired and laugui.l There
WAS 40 i"v,i talking,
'EtNl,n. reared t. cannon from the bar
ra";s. y dozen matches were struck Z;
,i97cl, cigarettes lighted, and cloud of blue
ain"c arose Smoking even before eating
or drinking. TIL" change was like that
Effected lv the kiss cf the fairy prince. At
the sound Of the gun everything in tho line
q! eating and drinking and smoking went
'!netl" ON as if it never had stopped. Some
bad a hearty meal in several dishes all ready
before them, aud fell to at once, inn business
like Way The shop keepers broke their fast
with what they We're selling. The fruit
dealer sw;ll,wc,l IN apricot, and evidently
caiovch il, \ seller of sweets took up n most
Intigc$.li,!" looking piece of confectionery.
and touri>hel himself With that. Oh the joy
of on" odd fellow. who poured a tiny stream
al water down his throat from a Jug held
ni,.h t,vrv his head. in the eastern fashion.
Tic tvori'c dish seemed TO he made of
pounded pulse. ;;arnishc,l with bit of green
;.;td covered with OIL
Very litll" sleep is taken in Ramacian cx.
re:'t 10y ia" rich, who can prolong theirsllnl-
lci's into the ,iav The cafes are ful for two
u.' three hours after midnight. Last week
some famous wrcsllrrs performed in Il cafe
near the government blnl,ling. Our guide
was Il Young MoScm who is student in the
American college From the wrestling he
took lis to '';nF!, some music ii another part
of the city. was curious to SEQ what the
concert hail Nigh! he. We were taken to an
open place where several roads meet. Al ono
corner WAS Il mosque with IL brilliantly
lighted minurct, at another a couple OF cafes,
at 81 third Il large building with n small door
and no windows. showing that il was Il pub
lc oven. 1t was ut this door hat seen tho
most ludicrous as we'll Il. the suddest figure
i'll Ramadan. ! was passing b. one day when
,Ierc sud'cn Y emerged from the oven Il tall
pale baker III !; long robe Of blue lineu Be-
hind him. as he stood leaning against tho
door post, was the bakery with its cleaning
furnace and fragrant piles of new bread,
crisp and tempting. His white. hungry face
expressed {. despair which seemed unable to
stand for u moment longer the sight of food
which lie must not touch The irony OF TIM,
situation was too much for him
A lurge crowd had assembled to hear the
music. but the people were either silent or
else spoke only i'll whispers. All at once the
sweet sllrill notes of It boys soprano noated
down from behind the three tiers of lights in
the lofty minaret. The voice was of cstraor-
dinary iiexibility, and executed roulades,
turns and c;idenzas with Il skill that brought
forth Abs and Obs of quiet satisfaction
from the widely scattered hearers far below
1t was a unique concert. l could think of
nothing but larls on the Wiltshire downs
Presently another boy began t. sing alone,
then third, and the first began again and
they joined in Il soaring trio, full of curious
Oriental transitions. 1t seemed monotonous,
but then the Orientals call our music mono
tonous, and who is right! Is there not per-
haps some idea underlying the eastern music
Which we have not yet caught.
GLOW many of these people really tast'
isa question havc lately put with n variety
OF answers AS such answers are apt to 10
largely subjective, it is hard for :; stranger
to get Il correct estimate. \ conscientious
Moslem will be apt to conclude that the ma
lorlty are conscientious The man who eats
secretly will probably suspect that his pri
yate transgrcSsions are common to many
others Only tho crazy fast" was ono
answer got fancy that the truth of the
matter is that Mohamucdanisrn, like all
other religions, las q mixed band OF follow
crs, with a varied correspondence between
tSyria) Cor. New York Post