Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1890-11-20
THE TOMB OF EVE
Visit TO the Gra~- the Mother of the
ffaHasn Race.

Visit TO the Grav- a the s1ot.,ar af the
ffaHasn lsaee.
II IS not very often that an American
visits the little town of Jiddal. 81 shs
Arabian coast Of the Red Sea. sec
every year. as the sacred season OF II
dedjaz comes around, hundreds of thou
sands OF devout Mussulmans are disem-
Larked at its little harbor. infant On
making pilgrimage to Mecca. which
insures TO them the happiness and honor
OF paradise L was not with any inten-
ticn Of attempting 10 visit the tomb OF
Nohammed and 20 gaze on the nysteri-
Gus "kaaba" that took sail one moon
/ lit night from suakin1, and crossed the
turbulent Red Sea TO Jiddab. Nv OBJ
ject was 70 visit shrine of one vcnerated
by Christian and Islamite alike-the
reppted tomb Of Eve, mother Of all man
kind.
The country presents a very sterile
appearance. there being but little vere-
tation- 4 few date palms are dotted
about, and away to the west, in the d.
rection Of Mecca. groups OF stuated
acacia trees render the prospect less
barren The approach to the tomb is
up a sandy slope, rising about 200 feet
above the town. The grave itself is 100
feet long and feet wide. and is sur
rounded by a stone-wall. four feet high.
covered with chunam. In the center o.
1t rises a small dome crowned MOSQUE,
wherein pilgrims assem- bic to say their
prayers. The mosque IS in charge Of
some dervishes, who have plenty to DO
in keeping II clear OF the crowds Of beg
CARS who assem- Bile and clamor for back
sheesh.
Inside the mosque is perfectly plain
except that IN the center IS erected an
altar. This stands about three feet
high, and IS covered with curtains The
curtains being drawn aside disclose a
black stone let into the floor
The stone is supposed to be directly
over the tomb OF Eve, and is polished
like marble BY the kisses OF the faith
full. II IS by no means permitted to
every pilgrim TO place his lips on this
sacred spot, but by liberal amount Of
backsheesh and the presence OF the
consular canvasses l was permitted the
honor, and accordingly the curtain was
raised, and on hands and knees I paid
homage TO our legendary mother.
Tie stone which is treated with sc
much honor IS 4 very curious one, evil
IDENTITY meteoric, and is supposed, like
the kaaba at Mecca, TO have been spe-
cially sent down from Heaven for its
present Use.
had q long chat with the chief Gus.
1odian OF the tomb, who told me that
the office had been in the family for
generations. He said that the most
regular visitors to the shrine are the
Bedouins, who, in their yearly wander
iaEs through the Arabian desert. rarely
fail 10 visit Ewes tomb. I asked him if
there was any legend as to why Eve
was supposed to be buried there, but he
knew none. and asked: Where else
would she be buried except on this
sacred soil?'
It IS certainly curious that legendary
lore should select spots so distant from
each other for the graves OF our first
parents. While Eve rests OH the shores
OF the Red Sea, Adam is popularity sup
posed 10 lie buried under the forest
clad slopes Of Adams Peak, in Ceylon.
On my walk back to Jiddah [ asked nv
companions if they supposed the grave
represented the stature Of Eve, and
they said, surely Cor. y. Y. Herald.