Evening star., 1923-07-01

and yellow door, and there was the
slave, Durur, with smiling ebony face,
ready to lead us by sandy path and
intricate court and passage to the
wide, carpeted loggia, where waited
our kindly host to wave US into thea
long, dark chamber, redolent of roses
and cinnamon. After we had grave
ly washed our hands in the Damascus
Basin, we crouched cross-legged be-
side the immense brass tray. and
there was a moment Of thrilled ex-
pectation while another slave lifted
the lids OF a dozen dishes. o
Sometimes there was a small
carved tray, inlaid with silver, on
which stood half score of bowls
Of sweatmeats. stiff blancmanges of
all colors adorned with almonds. very
sweet pastes something like York
shire pudding, junket made OF the
milk of a newly lambfng sheep, all
sorts of date concoctions, couss-
couss made with radsins and sugar,
white. sticky cream favored with
mint. Always there were bowls of
sweet hot milk and piles of thin,
crisp. heavy bread fried with butter
and eaten hot with sugar, called in
Egypt "bread of the Judge"
Arab custom ordains that a guest
must be entertained for three days
and three nights, but the generous
kaimakaan (govsrnor) would not
hear of our getting anything for our
selves. Once we protested about the
mighty meals provided in the house
of Sidi el Abed. and the next day. as
a reminder that the hospitality of
the east Is unbounded and must be
accepted with the simplicity with
which II is offered, the number Of
dishes was doubled and there were
no fewer than twenty loaves ranged
around the tray. The center plate
was no longer than a bowl, but 1t
was literally a bath of mellow, golden
rice in which lay the buttery frag-
ments of a whole sheep. Two hours
each morning were spent in that
quiet room going through the various
ceremonies dependent on breakfast
ing
When the highly spiced and pep
pered coffee was finished, there were
always the three glasses Of green tea,
hot and strong, with dignified slow
conversation. punctuated by many
pauses, while the brazier smoke made
little hypnotic spirals, and through
the open door a. splash of sunlight
crept over the castellated wall and
fingered on the purple-and-rose of
the carpets between the great arches
of the loggia-
4 X X X
About II o'clock, scented and very
replete. we took ceremonious leave
of our host and departed slowly,
| but the instant the doors of Sidi
Idris' house closed on the last "Alei-
KUN salaam" of the departing slave,
we dropped the ponderous and re-
hective gait suited to our exalted
| position and ran across the great
court to shut ourselves up In tina
"harem," the only really private bis
of the house, with pencils and paper.
How we regretted, as We struggled
with angles and legrees, the perverss
distrust with which the zouias re-
gard even a compass. We used to
| nave the most ITdHLlC arg ufUenLS
about our primitive maps, but Has
sanein was nearly always right as
to direction and as to distance, fruit
of SO many long journeys in the des-
ert. where all landmarks appear three
times as near as they really are.
| We had long ago lost count of
European time. We used vaguely to
calculate that the sun rose at am.
! and set at 6 pm, but for all prac-
tical purposes we followed the Arab
day, which begins an hour after sum
set. We set our watches each even
| ing to solar time and found ourselves
counting the changing months by the
lunar year of Islam. I never knew
what day OF the week 1t was till
Friday came. when, if we were in a
town. we Joined the stream of wor-
! shippers. clad in their best clothes.
who wended their way to the mosque.
| Copyright 1881