Treasures of the East/Hijjaz, Arabia
HIJJAZ, ARABIA
The most famous cities of Hijjaz in Arabia are Mecca and Medina. To visit them, pilgrims go annually either by a steamer to Jeddah, the seaport of Mecca, or by the Damascus to Mecca Railroad line. This route starts at the “Bab Allah” (the Gate of God) in Damascus. From Damascus to Mecca is a distance of 1,007 miles.
For the first few miles, the line traverses the famous fertile land of Hauran, the center of the Druze tribes and the Jordan Valley. Then there is nothing but wilderness and desolation. After crossing the mountains of Moab, past the towns of Tebuk, El Ula, Medina, and desert lands between them, the holy city is thus reached.
Mecca, the holy city of the Muhammadang, is situated in a long, narrow valley. This small city is a little more than two miles long. Its houses are very handsome and its streets are wide and regular. Its chief building is the Mosque of Mecca (the House of God) or ““Al-Harem” (the Sanctuary), in which is the “Caba” (the Holy House). The mosque is about 350 feet long and 300 feet in breadth, supported by 450 marble pillars about 20 feet in height, and roofed by numerous copulas. The walls, arches, and minarets are painted in stripes of red, yellow, and blue.
The Caba is an oblong massive structure, and its doors
are coated with silver and gold: In the Caba is the “Hajar
al-Asad” (the Luckiest Stone), an oval-shaped, black stone,
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Karbilá. Sixty miles southwest of Baghdad is the town of Karbilá, with its shrine of the martyred Hussein, son of ‘Ali, the fourth caliph and grandson of Muhammad. It is estimated that more than 200,000 pilgrims with their women and children journey annually to Karbilá. Many bring the remains of their relatives to be buried in the sacred soil of this town.
Hijjáz, Arabia[edit]
The most famous cities of Hijjaz in Arabia are Mecca and Medina. To visit them, pilgrims go annually either by a steamer to Jeddah, the seaport of Mecca, or by the Damascus to Mecca Railroad line. This route starts at the “Bab Alláh” (the Gate of God) in Damascus. From Damascus to Mecca is a distance of 1,007 miles.
For the first few miles, the line traverses the famous fertile land of Hauran, the center of the Druze tribes and the Jordan Valley. Then there is nothing but wilderness and desolation. After crossing the mountains of Moab, past the towns of Tebuk, El Ula, Medina, and desert lands between them, the holy city is thus reached.
Mecca, the holy city of the Muhammadans, is situated in a long, narrow valley. This small city is a little more than two miles long. Its houses are very handsome and its streets are wide and regular. Its chief building is the Mosque of Mecca (the House of God) or “Al-Harem” (the Sanctuary), in which is the “Cába” (the Holy House). The mosque is about 350 feet long and 300 feet in breadth, supported by 450 marble pillars about 20 feet in height, and roofed by numerous cupolas. The walls, arches, and minarets are painted in stripes of red, yellow, and blue.
The Cába is an oblong massive structure, and its doors are coated with silver and gold: In the Cába is the “Hajar al-Asád” (the Luckiest Stone), an oval-shaped, black stone,