168 HEJAZ 



CHAPTER V. 



HEJAZ, OR HOLY LAND OF THE MOSLEM. 



Government of Hejaz — Succession and Power of the Sheriffs — 

 Reign of Ghaleb — Sheritf Families at Mecca — Cities and 

 Towns in Hejaz — Jidda — Yembo — Ta'if— Mecca — Descrip- 

 tion of the BeituUah or Grand Temple — The Court and Col- 

 onnades—The Kaaba— The Black Stone— The Tob or Cover- 

 ing of the Kaaba — The Zemzem Well — Servants and Reve- 

 nues of the Mosque — Inhabitants of Mecca — Their Character, 

 Domestic Manners, and Employments — Low State of Arts and 

 Learning in Hejaz. 



The government of Hejaz, which includes the 

 territories of Medina, Jidda, Yembo, Taif, and Gon- 

 fode, belongs to the Sheriff of Mecca. The honour 

 attached even to a nominal authority over the holy 

 cities had led, in former times, to frequent disputes 

 between the caliphs of Bagdad, the sultans of Egypt, 

 and the imams of Yemen ; although the possession 

 of that dignity, instead of increasing their income, 

 obliged them to incur great expenses. The sole 

 benefit they derived was the right of clothing the 

 Kaaba, and of having their names inserted in the 

 prayers of the mosque. The supremacy of Egypt 

 over Mecca, so firmly established from the beginning 

 of the fifteenth century, was transferred by Selim I. 

 to the sultans of Constantinople ; in whose hands, 

 with the interruption of a few years, it has since 

 continued. The sheriflfwas invested annually with 

 a pelisse from the grand seignior, from whom he 

 held his office ; and in the Turkish ceremonial he 

 was ranked among the first pashas of the empire. 

 When the Porte became unable, even by means of 

 large armies, to secure its command over that coun- 



