Evening star., 1923-06-24
BY ROsITA FORBES.
ARTICLE III.

and the blessed qubba (tomb) of Sidi
el-Mahdi (founder of the sect). with
clustering colleges and mosques all
looking like grim fortresses; for Tai
boasts no blade of grass nor speck
of green to relieve the monotony
OF black rock and red sand. Below
1t, east and west, runs a wide, fiat
wadi, it's pale. family pink sands
broken by s great mass Of palms
and green gardens, acacias, figs and
feathery bushes, all surrounding a
curly, vividly blue lake.
Jof'Hes in front by the side of the
greenest gardens. east of the first
blue salt lake. Beyond 1t Zuruk is
hidden amidst her palms. Tolab and
Tolelib are too far away to be visible.
y Tor they lie at the western end of
the oasis. where emerald and coral
pIur together at the foot of the
strange purple hills. To the east is
buma, on the way to the second. lake.
with a smaller village. Boema, close
beside, and beyond again more palms,
till the pale sands rise to the dusky
cliffs that shut in the secret oasis
from the south.
4
Tess white jerds, under which gleam-
ed the richest colorings, orange, red
and purple, in splendid embroidered
Jela bias twide coats). we entered
the first big house on the edge OF
the cliff at Tai. 1t was the dwelling
or Sldi Idris. so great honor was
done US. The little council read and
re-read our letters and expressed
calmly and graciously their satisfac-
ton. Then the subject of our deten-
tion in Hawari came up, and with it
smiles
You did not choose your messen-
ger we'll" they said. Had you heard
sthe stories OF Abdullah (the guide)
you would have sympathized with
our hesitation. We did not like to
talk ourselves. However, we will
now relieve you of him."
The tone was decided. We WON
dered what would happen to Abdul
lah. Justice is tactfully slow in the
east, but when it comes it is final
"E were warned that at . am
the whole party in the house of Saved
Saleh. so we arrayed ourselves in our
cfeanest garments not a very impos-
ing spectacle. for | had to wear
Jerd belted with a scarlet hezaam.
tsash). as my only barracan (woman's
cotton dress) had served forty davs
without washing.
slaves came to show us the way.
and We followed these cheery black
personages through winding. sandv
path between high walls across a wide
4 space before the massed buildings of !
the zawia (coilege) with the high. |
square block of Sayed Ahmed Sherirs
house. / began to see that there were
few houses in Tai. but all of them
were large, intricate buildings with
maze of courts and passages.
In the desert had been as careless
of my veil as my namesake Khadija, |
Mohammed's first wife. a lady of |
forceful character, in whose service |
the prophet took a caravan to Syria
before he espoused its owner. some
twenty years older than himself. In |
kufara, however, the greatest care
was necessary, and / had to learn to |
endure more or less perpetual head |
ache from the heavy folds and also |
to make swift photographs from be-
tween them. The faithless Abdullah |
had taught us one thing at least--to |
hide our cameras and notebooks with |
greater care,
Then sunset came and with it the |
summons to dinner in the house of
many courts. I never realized more 1
fully the remoteness of Kufara than
when, after the deft-handed slaves
had spirited away the huge, brass tray
and with 1t every trace of our meal, |
we sat motionless beside our host in
the long, shadowed room, while he
silently and very slowly made his care
fully prepared, tea. The many high
walled courts produced a silence in
the dim room of thick carpets and |
rare lights as profound as the still
ness of the desert. Words, even smiles, |
would have been out of place during |
the little ceremony, while rosewater |
or mint was being measured gravely |
by. the sensitive fingers of our host.
Beyond the circle of light cast by a /
solitary candle in high silver sconce |
, were only vague forms of cushions or |
huge chests looming in remote cor |
nera Within 1t was a dark, thin-fac- |
ed young sheik, all in white, from his |
siiked kufiya theaddress) to his flow
ing jerd, and beside him our grave, |
reflective host, with a vivid green |
shawl bordered in purple framing |
his bronzed face and dropping over |
a long, green jubba Glowing coat). /
which showed the richly embroidered |
, Sedairi (shirt) beneath.
A jewoled HANDY slowly poured drop |
after drop of essence into the amber |
glasses, while the scented smoke of a |
little brazier drifted gently across the |
picture. One heard Time pause to
catch the shadows os thoughts that |
wavered between the light and the |
dark, so mystic was the silence. Then |
suddenly and startlingly clear came
the sound that perfected the harmony |
the cry of the muzzin for the even |
ing prayer!
JANUARY IS, at length, saw the
~ virtual end of our pilgrimage. AS
we took leave of Sidi Saleh he asked
us IL we would like to visit the zawia
college). Daily we had passed the
massive block Of buildings from which
generally issued the sound of the
chanted Koran. We knew that inside
those formidable walls was the Qubba
(tomb) of the Mahdi, symbol only,
for the Senussi believe their saint still
living. hut n nevertheless the goal of all