The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1907-04-21

By Frank G. Carpenter
..o.o.o.o.c.o.o.o.c.c.O
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This ran about a square which could
not have covered more than a quarter
of an acre. have seen many a stable
yard quite as large. Around this were
number of small stores with a motley
crowd Of Arabs shopping and chatting
outside them. Some of the men were
buying wool and others sugar and tea.
The average store was not much bigger
than good sized dog kennel and the GUS
toners stood in the street as they bar
gained.
Here we left our horses In charge of the
soldiers; and, at the suggestion of Mr..
Pascalet, visited one of the principal citi-
zens, a merchant of wealth. He was
probably worth $500. We met our host
in the square | have just referred to.
and went with him to his house. We
were told to wait a short time In the
street outside that he might go IN and
tell his women to go to their own quar-
ters as strange men were coming.
A moment later the door was opened.
We first entered a courtyard rooted by
the sky and surrounded by stables. In
one stall there was a loom at which a
woman had been weaving a blanket and
in another boy waS cutting up palm
roots for firewood.
This court was surrounded by mud
buildings about forty feet high. They
were of two stories with a gallery run
ming around the second floor. These build
ings contained the living rooms of the
family. all of which faced on the gallery.
Such rooms are used chiefly for sitting
or loafng, the sleeping places being on
the roof. Except when the weather Is bad
all Figuig sleeps with only the sky for
a cover, and the whole population thus
practices the open air cure.
Crossing the yard. we were taken up to
the second floor into what 1 suppose
was the best room in the house. 1t was
about twenty feet square, with ceiling
at least twenty-five feet in height. The
walls were whitewashed and the ceiling
was decorated with palm leaves dyed red
and green. The room seemed we'll light
ed, although it had only one little WIN
dow high up in the wall. This had no
glass and it was barred with iron. With
the single exception of a rug about as
big as a bed quilt there was no furniture.
There was not even a divan built out
from the wall as in some Moorish houses.
The room was perfectly bare.
Tea a la Figuie.
Nevertheless, our host seemed to think
his house very fine, and l doubt not that
the rug was better than those of many
other homes in the town. He motioned
us to sit down upon It, and then fearing
that we might not be comfortable with
our legs under us he had several soap
boxes brought in and asked us to sit
upon them. We preferred the rug. After
we had taken our seats about half
dozen dark-faced, bearded men, relatives
and friends of our host, came In and
were introduced to us. They were all
Arabs, and we sat together cross-legged
upon the rug.
After short time a slave appeared with
a musk melon and bowl of ripe dates,
fresh from the trees. We ate them with
our fingers as we watched the man of
the house make the tea. He did this in
an odd way. He first put a handful of
green tea in the pot, and then bunch
of green mint leaves on top. He now
filled the pot with humps of sugar which
he broke with a tack hammer from a
round sugar loaf as hard as rock candy.
He then poured on boiling water from
a kettle brought in by a slave and left
the liquid to steep. AS the sugar melted
he added more from the. loaf. and now
and then put in more mint tasting the tea
from time to time until he had it just
right. He then poured It carefully out
into little wine glasses, seeing that each
guests glass was filled to just the same
height When all were even he handed
them round. We drank the tea slowly,
chatting as we did so. Our host then
made a second pot and u third, and we
each took three glasses as etiquette pre-
scribes The mint gave the tea deli
cious flavor. 1t was not a mint Julep but
sort of mint syrup, and on the whole
it was about as good as any tea I have
TASTED