252 THE MOHAMMEDAN PILGRIMAGE. 



mensions ; and that on the Day of Sacrifice neither 

 vultures nor flies molest the votaries by carrying off 

 the lambs or tainting the raw flesh, vast quantities 

 of which remain unconsumed. 



On the completion of the sacrifice, the pilgrims 

 throw off the ihram, and resume their ordinary attire; 

 many of them putting on their best dresses to cele- 

 brate the day of the feast or beiram. The long street 

 of Muna is converted into a fair; sheds, booths, 

 and tents, being fitted up as shops for provisions and 

 merchandise of all kinds. The Syrian bargains for 

 the goods of India ; the stranger from Borneo and 

 Timbuctoo exhibits his wares to the natives of Geor- 

 gia and Samarcand; while the poor hajjis cry their 

 small stock, which they carry on their heads. The 

 mixture of nations and tongues, costumes and com- 

 modities, is more striking here than at Mecca. At 

 night the valley blazes with illuminations, fireworks, 

 discharges of artillery, and bonfires on the hills. 

 The second day of the feast ends the pilgrimage to 

 Arafat ; when the devotees return to Mecca, testify- 

 ing their delight by songs, loud talking, and laugh- 

 ter. Many of the indigent pilgrims remain behind 

 to feast on the offals and putrefying carcasses of the 

 victims that strew the valley. The starved Indians 

 cut the meat into, slices for their travelling-provisions, 

 which they dry in the sun, or in the mosque, where 

 they are spread on the pavement or suspended on 

 cords between the columns. 



On arriving at Mecca a repetition of the previous 

 ceremonies takes place. The pilgrims must visit the 

 Kaaba, which, in the mean time, has been covered 

 with the new black clothing. The visit to the in- 

 terior of this building is performed by immense 





