The St. Johns herald., 1893-01-19
THE SACRED CARPET"
It Covers the Tcrob of Mahomet,
 t1-9 Prophet.
A Fabric of Fabulous Cost Is Made Each Year for his Furp,s-e--'' he In- teresting CereinOniiI Of
 Laying.

Laying.
 Cairo bas'been on are gular ''tear" for a week, says a recent letter in the Los A, les ',''.,1ss. Sru see the holy car D. s,,s a : f-o.1 Mecca, and the Ara. ..1: V. i.iis carpet is most ege t.1 thing to contem- plate, an4 .s se:% iec every year has grown to s,:ch el.r,mous proportions that it comn.ands t.ie attention of the whole civilized world. This carpet is not an old carpet, as is generally sup posed. but a new one is made every year for this service, of which l will tell you Expensive? We'll, rather. It takes whctc year to make it, and when it is fni.led it stands out mar vel of fine sliVer and gold thread worked into ',e;.utiful designs, and the whole e. ;.ining many beautiful stones. To be sure, these stones are preserved from year to year and placed on every new carpet, but the body of the carpet is new every year. This new carpet iS taken to Mecca, where is the tomb of Mahomct, the prophet, and spread over his grave, where it re- mains for two months, and is then brc1.L to tai!, again, where all this hu13lb is i:is..s up.
 I wish .ou 1 at have seen these Arabs the !e :arpet arrived. They woi,e me q. ..,s . :Gci1 in the morning, paradlng the streets in front of my ho- tel. and they i,epE that parade up all day long vnd h;.ve i;ardly stopped since. One brass bond ,fter another, followed by onc Of t:c priests who accompanied the carpet to a.ecua and bowling mul titude, have kept the city in an uproar. However t;'c ca Det was finally taken to j.e a. ,rairo, where it has since besa s..E.oa,. .T-.'1z, the priests and a few .vo,..i Arabs. was favored with a seat -n,"ug the foreign consuls, close b. th: .i..e of inc great priest who re- cei0eo ti;e car2et on its return, and, therefore. mad :. fine view of the whole proceedings. When l arrived at the citadel the carpet had not arrived, but was not long kept waiting. Promptly at nine o'clock the governor of Cairo and escort arrived at the building and a salute of ten guns was fired. Then came the foreign consuls-American, French, British. etc.-and then the trouble be- gan. There were one thousand Arab soldiers drawn up in l1ne, and a fine, manly looking set they were in their white uniforms and red turbans. Then there were one hundred lancers on horseback, with their gorgeous-colored flag, the artillery and about three hun dred thousand Arabs.
 Great Scott, what performance they did have! The carpet came in on a camel and was put up in the shape of a pyramid, only one side left open. Then came the priests who accompanied it to Mecca and all of their retainers, each on camel. They were beating drums, blowing some hideous wind instruments, and to say that camels and men were in gorgeous costumes scarcely approaches the magnificent truth. As soon as the carpet came 8 royal salute of twenty-one guns was fired, the lancers dismounted, the soldiers fell in" and din commenced such as l had never heard. Cannons firing, bands playing and three hundred thousand Arabs crazy as could be made something of row. All this in honor of the prophet. The Arabs rushed like mad to get to touch the sacred piece of silver and gold and precious stones, firmly believing if they could but touch it they were not only sure of Heaven, but had received a sovereign cure for every ill and trouble. Not only this, but they believe if they can only touch the priests robe it is a sure cure for all ills. It is really pitiful to see these Arabs when once they get to touch the carpet. They at once cover their faces with their hands, strike the chest and kiss time and again the hand that touched the carpet. They can be seen all along the streets along which the carpet passes, going through this performance. If one is so fortunate as to receive but small thread, he at once incloses it in small leather bag, ties it around his neck, and from that time on he is not only satisfied that he will have all he may desire, but is sure of everlasting life in the world to come.
 I got the chief janissary to the American consul to get me a piece of this carpet. He is "a Mohammedan, but his long association with American consuls has made him somewhat Christianized. It was only, however, after repeated promises on my part that would never use it as matter of ridicule, that he consented to give it to me. He bears the name of Solomon Mahomet, and is a kind fellow indeed, especially to Americans in Cairo.