The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1911-01-31

Christians. and massacre them NHtiI
ever they can. This was tie tdS9
49, cnrino when thousands were
killed and the most terrible slaughter
of CHRISTIANS by heathens known to
the world took place IN TINS region.
MuItitudes were I~nassacred II 1t WAS
ONLY because The great CHRISTIAN ma
ions of Europe were afraid OF tneii
nocketbooks and Of h loss OF thal
balance OF power which mlsht result
from a war that the Turkish empire
was not wiped out IS q p~unlshnlelt
therefor. The matter was husheo UP
and but little of the true story was
told in the papers. | refer 70 we
~oodsh which took place through
out Asia Minor when the sultan.
Abdul Hamid, was oVerthroWn ana
the present sultan and government
put in his place.
sfoEannned's Holy Tent.
Another strange object IN the Great
Mosque is the holy ten Of the pill
grim caravan. This is used durlns
the pilgrimmage to Mecca, winch
generally starts at Damascus. rms
piIgrimage every Moslem is bound to
take once in his life; and the follow
ers Of the prophet come from all parts
at a certain time of the year, and rice
or march toward their holy city.
AS they approach Mecca they take
off their clothes, laying aside every
thing from the soles of their feet tc
the crown Of their heads. They then
put on aprons, and carrying only a
piece Of cloth over the left shoulder,
walk into the city. They march
around the Kaaba and kiss the black
stone. They pelt Satan with rocks in
the Valley Of Nina, and end their pill
grirnage with q great sacrificial feast.
at which time the end Of ent comes
and the festival Of Beiram begins.
have not seen these pilgrimages,
but they are said to be Interesting to
an extreme. Many of the rich go on
camel filters something like the mule
filters used in north China. These
are beds slung between poles which
are fastened to cameis, one going be-
fore and the other behind and trained
to keep step. The camels are
adorned with coins, shells and other
ornaments for the occasion and nun
dreds Of small bells jingle as they
march. In Of the procession
is d large camel litter hung with green
cloth and embroidered with gold. This
contains the green flag of the prophet
and one of the oldest copies of the
Koran now in existence. In addi-
ton to the worshipers themselves, the
caravan has an escort OF soldiers and
BedOuinS. There are also many half
naked dervishes who sing and howl
and cut themselves. shouting out texts
from the Koran as they go on then
way.
Within the past few months the
railroad which has been building from
Damascus to Mecca has been almost
completed, n it is a question
whether this Will not cause his great
caravan to become a thing of the
past as far as the travel between Da-
mascus and Mecca is concerned. A
pilgrimage also starts out from Cairo
and one of these not long ago was
headed by the present khedive.
At Eratiina's Tomb.
During my stay here [ have gon.
out to the cemetery to take a look al
the. tomb Of Mohammed's favorite
daughter. AS l remember it, Mo
manned had several wives, in addi-
ton to the four which he allows eacI
Of his followers. His first wife was
hhadiJa. the widow whose fortune
first made him prominent, and whose
servant he was. AS [ remember i
she was his first onverr Two Oh
his other wives and Fatima are bu
rled here, and Thursdays many veileC
women come to mourn at their graves
fatlTnaS tomb is a little GOmed mos
que about fifteen feet square with {
praying alcOve facing toward Mecca
tatlma lies in a marble sarcOphagus
which stands on a pedestal covered
With green velvet n With a piece O.
green cloth at its head. AS / looked
at the tomb l saw several rags tiet
to the bars of the window and wa.
told that they We're put there as tn,
pledges Of sick persons showing tina,
they would give money to the MOSQUE
if they should be cured
The tomb of Saladin. the great Mo
general who fought En-
rope during the crusaders, IS also !,
damascus. When the Emperor o
Germany came here he wished to Ia,
a crown Of gold on it. but fh,s va,
contrary to the principle Of the Mo
hammedan religion. which will no
allow such things in their mosone
therefore they built an alcoye RIM
nlns from the mosque outside an,
under glass doors. -
In the EOOtStepS Of ST pan1