MECCA. 191 



El Hazem, or the; belt) worked in i^njld thread, and 

 running round the entire edifice. An opening is 

 niiide for the blark stone ; but the part of the ke.-soua 

 which covers the door is richly embroidered with 

 silver. 



In the first centuries of Islam the tob was never 

 taken away, — the new one beint:^ always put over 

 the old ; but this custom was at length abolished, — 

 the Meccawees fearing that the Kaaba might sink 

 under such an accumulation of clothing. The re- 

 moval of the old kesoua was performed in a very 

 indecorous maimer; — a contest always ensued 

 among the pilgrims and the people for the shreds 

 or rags. Even the dust that adhered to the wall 

 under it was collected and sold as sacred relics. 

 The curtain and belt belong to the slierifF, who cuts 

 them up and disposes of them at five francs a cubit. 

 Pitts says that a piece the size of a sheet of paper 

 cost nine or ten shillings : it is esteemed an excel- 

 lent amulet, and many have it laid on their breast 

 when dying. 



The clothing of the Kaaba was a practice of the 

 pagan Arabs, who used two coverings, — one for 

 winter and the other for summer. It appears to 

 have always been considered as an emblem of 

 sovereignty over the Hejaz ; and has in consequence 

 been furnished by the princes of Bagdad, Egypt, or 

 Yemen, according as their influence prevailed at 

 Jdecca. It is now supplied at the expense of the 

 grand seignior ; and such a sacredness attaches to 

 it, that the camel which transports it to Mecca is 

 ever after exempted from labour. The black colour 

 of the vestment, and the size of the building, give 

 it at first sight a veiy singular and imposing appear- 

 ance. Seventy thousand angels have this edifice 

 in their holy care, and are ordered to transport it to 

 paradise when the trumpet of the last judgment shall 

 be sounded. The colour of the tob was not always 

 black ; in ancient times it was white, and sometimes 



