MECCA. 193 



being permitted to walk round the Kaaba with cov- 

 ered feet. 



The only other building within the court worthy 

 of notice is the Bir Zemzem or Zemzem Well. This 

 building, which was erected about the end of the 

 seventeenth century, is a square of massive con- 

 struction, with an entrance opening into the apart- 

 ment which contains the spring. The room is 

 tastefully ornamented with marbles of various col- 

 ours : it is rather more than seventeen feet square, 

 and lighted by eight windows. The depth of the 

 well is said to be fifty-six feet to the surface of the 

 water ; its mouth is surrounded by a brim of fine 

 white marble, five feet high, and about ten in diam- 

 eter. Upon this the persons stand who draw the 

 water in leathern buckets attached to pulleys ; — an 

 iron railing being so placed as to prevent their fall- 

 ing in. The chief of the well has the somewhat 

 alarming title of the Poisoner ; but Ali Bey assures 

 us, he was a very handsome person, of the most 

 winning and graceful manners. The number of 

 pitchers is immense ; they are of unglazed earth, so 

 porous that the liquid filters through. Their form 

 is long and cylindrical, terminating in a point at the 

 bottom, so that they cannot stand unless placed 

 against the wall. The Turks consider it a miracle 

 that the supply never diminishes, notwithstanding 

 the continual demand ; for it serves the whole town, 

 and there is scarcely a family that does not daily 

 use it for drinking or for ablution ; but it is deemed 

 impious to employ it in culinary or common occa- 

 sions. This phenomenon, however, is explained 

 by Burckhardt, who discovered that the water was 

 supplied by a subterraneous rivulet. When first 

 drawn up it is slightly tepid, resembling in this re- 

 spect many other fountains in Hejaz. It is heavy 

 to the taste, and sometimes of a colour resembling 

 milk ; but it is wholesome and perfectly sweet, dif- 



VoL, II.— R 



