THE GREAT ADVENTURE 11 



a beautiful embroidered satin cloth in the centre. Sayed 

 Rida came forward to meet us with a reflection of his 

 brother's smile. One liked him at once. One appreciated 

 instantly his warm kindliness and hospitality. Sidi Idris 

 is a mystic imbued with the aloof dignity of another 

 world, but his wakil is young, spontaneous and sym- 

 pathetic, with a very simple, unaffected manner. He 

 offered us immediately a house to live in while we were 

 in Jedabia and put at our disposal a cook and two 

 other servants. He made me talk Arabic to him and 

 corrected my mistakes with his broadest smile. Sweet 

 tea, flavoured with mint, appeared in delightful, painted 

 glass cups, and I soon felt as if I had known our host 

 for years. He was amused and interested in our divers 

 journeys. He made plans to show us a falcon hunt. He 

 wanted to give us instantly anj'ihing from horses to dates. 

 In fact, I felt that I was in the presence of a magician 

 who could wave his wand and produce the wish of my 

 heart! In appearance Sayed Rida is large and impos- 

 ing with a round, olive face and very dark eyes, soft as 

 velvet, which crinkle up humorously as he smiles widely, 

 showing strong white teeth. He wore a black jelabia 

 under his striped silk jerd, snowy white, and a rolled 

 white turban above a red ma-araka. Arab hospitality is 

 famous throughout the world, but we left the dignified 

 presence of Sayed Rida feehng almost overwhelmed at 

 his gracious welcome. 



Our temporary home fascinated me. A solitary door 

 pierced the mysterious expanse of yellow wall made of 

 sun-dried blocks of sand of all sizes and shapes. One 

 passed through a small roofed court to a wide sunlit 

 yard whose high walls ensure the complete privacy of 

 an Arab family. Hassanein Bey had a small room at 

 one end and I a great high chamber, hung with texts 

 fi*om the Koran. We were a kingdom to ourselves, for 



