774 THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 
panoramas in Morocco. Despite its smil- 
ing environment, however, it is reputed 
to be the most depraved city in morals 
in the Empire. While at Mequinez we 
enjoyed several rides in the vicinity with 
kaids, who seemed glad to give us infor- 
mation about their city and its inhabit- 
ants. 
THE MOST NORTHERLY SEAPORT 
On leaving Mequinez we turned our 
horses’ heads toward Larasche, the most 
northerly Atlantic seaport of Morocco. 
The first day’s march brought us quite 
close to the most sacred town of the Em- 
pire, Mulai Idrees Zarhon, or simply 
Zarhon. Here is the sacred shrine of 
Mulai Idrees, the Elder, the first mis- 
sionary of Islam to Morocco, buried here 
in 791. No Christian or Jew dare enter 
the town. 
The whole region is quite unsafe. Of 
this fact we were thoroughly convinced. 
Photo by George E. Holt 
ANCIENT BATTLEMENTS AFFORD SHADE AND A COMFORTABLE RESTING PLACE 
We had not been long on the march that 
_day when we overtook and passed a cara- 
van of camels coming from beyond the 
Atlas Mountains. Soon afterward, 
among the foothills of the Zarhon Moun- 
tains, we passed a group of men strik- 
ingly handsome in both face and figure. 
Jilalli informed us that they were Ber- 
bers. Some were standing, others re- 
clining near their handsomely capari- 
soned Arab steeds. From their animated 
gesticulations we could see that they 
were discussing some important ques- 
tion. Jilalli surmised that they were 
planning a raid of some kind. An hour 
or so afterward we heard sharp firing 
from that direction. That night a couple 
of camel-drivers, belonging to the cara- 
van we had passed, arrived at our camp 
and related how they had been set upon 
by Berbers at the point where we had 
seen the group of horsemen, and that the 
ee oe ae ee 
