Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1908-01-02
AT JosHUA's TOMB
CITY OF BAGDAD CLAIMS REST
ING PLACE OF LEADER.
MosIem Women Gather There and
Pray for All Kinds of Favors-Has
Been Taken from Custody
of the Jews.

Bagdad, once city of 100000 peo
pie, and 1000 years ago the worlds
center of all which civilization means,
boasts only two graves of its great
characters. The tomb of the Caiiph
AIansur and OF Zobeide., the wife OF
Harun-el-Rashid, alone stand among
its ruins says the Sunday School
Times. Where the long list of caliphs,
the grand vizers and the poets who
made Bagdad famous were buried
none can say. The tombs have prob
ably deem demolished by the ruthless
hunters of bricks.
However, among the ruils OF the
old city of Bagdad. TO the left of the
Tigris, stands large square brick
structure in which the Moslem keep
ers solemnly assert the body Of Josh
ua is buried. 1t is useless to test their
statements by the apparent age of the
building, for the small square bricks
of its walls, gathered from the ruins of
the Arabic period, may indicate only
a reconstruction. The present build
ing is not ancient. The entrance, pro-
tected by a portico. leads into large
open court, which is surrounded by
chambers. In some Of the chambers
are tombs of the recent dead; IN
others the attendants live and in one
is housed a rough board coffin, whicf
renders service at every funeral in
the community. Ii is used to trans
port the body to the cemetery and
is then returned TO the mosque &c
await the next burial. A single date
palm now grows in the court, raising
its head above the fiat roof to which
a brick stairway leads.
At the farther end of the court, oc
cupying the entire rear of the build
ing, is the shrine, a spacious, window
less chamber. lighted only by the door
way, and entirely destitute of furni
ture save for the coarse reed mats
which cover the brick floor It's cen
ter is capped by large dome. and the
walls have recently been white
washed yet in places beneath the
thin white coat appear the more an
cient Hebrew inscriptions which were
once the interior decorations.
The tomb beneath the center of the
dome is protected by a large rectangu
lar paneled case of dark wood. and
excepting in one place. where panel
is missing. il is invisible. At the head
of the case are two tin projections,
about which are tied a number OF
strings or rags torn fro the gar.
ments of the visiting pilgrims. One
day, while | was standing at the head
of the sacred tomb, young Moslem
woman entered, and with eyes wet
with weeping she tore a small rag
from her garment and tied it
about one of the projections. while
she mumbled a prayer to God that be-
fore a year hence, when she. should
come to unite the rag, she might pre-
sent her husband with a child. }.
was but a repetition of the picture of
Hannah, the mother of Samuel, while
she was at the temple weeping and
PRAYING before Eli the priest. In the
shrines of the east, the picture is still
common. Before the government
buildings at Bagdad stands a big
cannon which the ignorant Arab WON.
en-. aware of it's tremendous power
believe can answer prayer.
The old gun is half hidden with the
strings and rags tied about it. each TO
represent prayer, and could it speak
il might tell strange stories of the
confessions which the confding WON
en- have poured out to it, So with the
tomb Of Joshua. There the women
gather and pray for all kinds OF
favors, firm in the belief that the
prophet will in some way cause them
10 be granted
Less than half a century ago the
tomb of Joshua was in Jewish hands,
but the Turkish officials caused
number of them to be arrested as
they were bearing the body of a noted
rabbi there for burial. They were inn
prlsoned for attempting To bury Jew
at the shrine of the great prophet.
They were finally released upon the
payment OF large sums of money, but
the care of the tomb was taken from
them Since then the tomb has been
forbidden to the Jews, and, like most
Moslem things, ii now shows sad neg
lect. Yet should we follow the Jewish
woman as she crosses the old boat
bridge. we might see her turn toward
the tomb and from a distance look
longingly at the doorway which she is
forbidden to enter. while her lips ut
ter prayer with the hope that the
long.buried leader, even so far away,
may hear and answer it.