The evening times., 1898-12-24

colored stream Women in whit robes
or gowns of amber and black fit like
phantomS from shop To shop. hagglinS
over the price of ria"e of silk telling
out piasJres for small phiais Of rose oil.
for henna with which TO stain their nails,
or for that black pigment which is to
add To the luster of THAR dark eyes. Chill
drsn dart hither and thither i'm loose
gowns Of violet and gold and crimson
and blue Small Red0uin women with
shy. tattooed faces, and gowns of dark
blue cotton. look wonderingly on all this
wealth. Sleek Efe6dis in turban or fez,
mounted on gorgeously caparisoned horse
or ass. press through the throng; car
riases hurry along with snrill cries of
''Dahrak " Your back OH sir Your
back OH boy" Vendors of rasin water
and lemonade rattle their brazen cups,
and add 10 the din with shouts OF ''berTid
ala llalhak '-''refresh thy he4r o thirsty
one, Bilious-loOking cakes displayed on
large wooden. tray are loudly commend
ed as ''akei es-snunu food for swal-
lows"
The Greek trader pounces on the hesi-
tating customer, while his Arab rival
puffs away at his nargileh and reflects
that Allah, the giver of sustenance, will
in due time send him also a purchaser.
The barber lets blood and shaves head or
beard. as he did in the days of Harun
al R&scfid. while the scribe at the corner
of the street writes down with wooden
pen tine mysterious condolences of the
yelled lady who sits on nothing by the
side OF his desk And above ali the tu-
multi rises the melancholy note of the
MueZzin. who. stepping across the thresh-
old of his mosque and making a speaking
trumpet Of his hands, calls The people 10
midday prayer.
When the spectator wearies Of these
sights and sounds he may find refuge in
one of the innumerable Turkish baths,
and may realize how much better we do
these things in London. or he may drink
coffee IN one Of the great khans. The ba-
bel of tongues. the cries Of itinerant ven
dors, the barking of dogs and the laugh
ter Of children do not penetrate the vast
silence Of these caravansaries. on whose
massive walls are written the rise and
fall of the commercial supremacy Of Da-
maScus. They are more like cathedraIs
than warehouses and inns. 4 vault-lfke
passage gives access TO the court which
is divided into squares by lofty arches
from which spring domes enriched with
arabesques and pierced with windows in
the center is a huge fountain. with plat
form and prayer mat. so that nothing
may be wanting To the pious traveller.
The walls are of alternate courses Of
white and black stone, and a row of dark
recesses forms a gallery round the first
floor. Here some wholesale business is
done. but ruined arches. time-stained
walls and neglected fountains speak of
decay. Many years have gone by since
the courtyard was packed with the treas
ures of Basdad, and Mecca, and Constan-
tinople, and Cairo: since the galleries re-
sounded with the talk of men who had
come from east and west and south and
north TO the famous marts of Damascus.
The Emperor saw later in the day an
other evidence of those changes unde Z
which Damascus lis waXed feeble and
is taken from being a great city" He
rode through the Gate of God past the
Moslem cemetery. to Meidan, where tie
pilgrim caravan starts for Mecca In
earlier days, before steamboats, called at
Jeddah, all pilgrims from Africa, Persia.
Central Asia and Turkey began their
journey from Meidan. The long street
that leads to the plain, between rows Of
quaint houses. shops and ancient mos
ques, depends for its prosperity on these
annual gatherings. and its prosperity 8
on the decline. 4 pious Mussulman of
the old school would no more think { f
performing the Hal, or pilgrimage. b.
steamboat than a Christian would thi. k
of praying by machinery He sid
tramps or rides from Meidan. But the
Mussulman of the old school, who vii
have none of these "iniidel' aids to the
sanctity of a green turban, is fast dying
out The Algerian, the Tunisian, the
Persian, and even the Turk have aban-