i88i] A JOURNEY IN THE HEjAZ 557 



Below the step which led into the mejlis a rough carpet 

 of home -spun wool and linen (shamla) was laid, and on 

 this the servants sat who were in attendance on the 

 gentlemen within. Every one left his shoes in the ante 

 chamber before stepping on the carpet. The mejlis 

 itself was a plain room, whitewashed, with a few shelves 

 and cupboards. As the house was an empty one furnished 

 for the occasion, it looked barer than is usual with an 

 Arabian sitting-room. But it had been very nicely 

 carpeted. A line of cushions covered with bright chintz 

 ran round three sides of the room, and pillows for the 

 elbow were placed on the cushions at short intervals. 

 The mejlis has always several lattice windows, of which 

 one or two are oriels, and the deep seats under these were 

 also furnished with rugs and cushions, so that one could 

 curl up comfortably and smoke a pipe while looking out 

 on the street. A few cane-bottomed chairs and a small 

 table had also been introduced. These are getting 

 common, and in Jeddah many of the better class always 

 dine seated on chairs. In Taif I observed that people were 

 still more at their ease when eating from a tray placed on 

 a low kursy or stool round which they could sit squatted 

 on their hams. Above the mejlis were some store places 

 and a stair leading to the terrace of the roof. The latter 

 is enclosed by a parapet sufficiently deep to secure semi- 

 privacy to persons sitting on it. Houses built on this 

 plan are extremely well adapted to a tropical climate. 

 The sitting-room is so high above the ground that it 

 catches every breath of air. In Jeddah great care is 

 taken to secure a through draught, and the court is so 

 arranged that all principal rooms shall have windows 

 on two or even three sides. In Taif this is less necessary, 

 and the system of architecture, but especially the absence 

 of window glass, which ensures that one cannot have 

 light without draught, is not quite suitable for the winter, 

 in which frosts are not infrequent. A larger house would 

 differ from that I have described mainly in having two 



