Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1918-01-04
MECCA THE MYSTIC.
Shrine Of MohammedanIsm Will Prob.
ably be Made Free to the World.

ably be Made Free to the World.
\ striking picture Of Mecca the
Mystic. ,ap!t;I Of the new Kingdom
within Arabia which was established
recently by thc Grand Sherlf OF the
Mnslcrn faith. is contained IN COM
! rnuniration 70 th- National Geo
graphic society from Dr. :. VI. 1--WE
.n.r. \ part of the communication
! ha- hr"E ISSUED by the society as the
! following war geography bulletin.
! ''Of all the provinces Of Arabia. FL
U.laZ, which recently revolted against
Turkish rule and set UP its own king
dom. with the Grand Sheriff of Nee
"a ;tS sovereign. undoubtedly has
! most frequent contact with the out
| SIDE world. yet Is the least known.
! Parts Of il hav" never yet been cX-
| pl"rcd.
"El HcJaz is so named because II
| forms the barrier between TChama.
tho coaSt prOvinc" on tn" south. ana
N.jd IN the interior Its sole import
anc. is due 10 the fact that IT con-
tains the TWO sacred cities. Mecca and
| DcdIna. which for more than thir-
teen centuries hay" been the centers
Of pilgrimage for the Moslcm world.
| "H-fnrc IN. railway was completed
| from Damascus to Medina. the port
nf that city. Ycnbu. VAS as ilourishlnI
as JIddah is now. but al present IL
has almost the appearance OF de-
serted city. The whole pilgrim trhf-
tic has been diverted. and even the
caravan route from tn" coast 10 Me-
dina i at present unsafe.
The importance Of Mecca IL not
,iuc tn its resident population OF per-
hapS lU0.0O0. but To the more than
| 900. 900 pilgrims who visit II each
| wear from every nation Of Islam. Sta-
ristlcs are hopclcssly contradictory
ana confusing regarding the number
Of annual visitors According TO
| Turkish official estimates III l9V'.
there were no less than 2S0.o0O pill
rrlms. II Is a marvel how =" many
thousands can lind food. shelter and'
| most Of all. drink in such Il desert
city.
The religious capital of Islam, AMI
now the temporal capital of the new
kingdom of Arabia. affords an index
To- the growth and strength OF Mo-
hamm"daniSm IN various parts of the
world. for one r@n rightly gauge th"
| ,L ,.f f,pVnr Tins
great mont t'hristian faith b! the
| lnambc: OF those who go on pilgrim
age.
| From Java. Bengal. West Africa.
cape colony. and Russia. as well as
| from the most inaccessible provinces
Of China. they come every year and
return To their native land-if they
ESCAPE the harlships of travel--to tell
of the greatness and glory Of their
| faith. however much they may haN"
been disappointed in the actual con-
dl,ion of the city and It's sacred
buildings
| When we consider Mecca. Mo-
hammcds words of prophecy In the
second chapter Of his book seem TO
| have been literally fulfilled: so we
.iavr made you the center of the ma
tions that you should bcarF%itncss To
men The old pagan pantheon has
tie goal of universal pilgrimage for
one-scvcnth of the human race.
| From Sierra Lecopc to Canton, and
from TobQisk to Cape Town, the
faithful Aead- their prayer carpets,
build their houses lin fulfilmcnt OF
an important tradition. erca their
outhouscsJ, and bury their dead to-
ward the meridian OF Mecca. If the
old World could he viewed from an
| a"ruplarc. the observer would See
concentrated circles OF living wor-
S.;ircrS covering an ever widening
area. and one would also sec vast
areas of Moslcm cemeteries with cv-
cry grave dug toward the sacred city.
| Mecca is no longer vciled city.
\ score of intrepid travellers have un-
veil ID II. From Bartcma. Wild, ana
Ioscpn Pitts to Burton. Burckhardt.
Hurgro!:jc, and Courtellcmont. they
took tteir lives in their hands herded
with strange companions underwent
untold hardships. and by luck or
pluck came scathclesS out of the
/ lions den of Islam. According To
Doughty. scarcely Il pilgrimage takes
place without some person being put
to death as intrudIng Christians. An
educated and pious Moslem here IN
Cairo assured me only few months
ago that when he went on pilgrimage
and took pictures of the city his life
was endangered more than once by
the fanaucisn Of the inhabitants.
However. there arc many who be-
licve that the opening of the HeJaz
railway. especially as branch is to
be- carried to Jiddah. the breaking up
Of Turkish power in Arabia. end the
establishment of the new Kingdom