890 



THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



Photograph from Frederick Simpich 



THE TOMB OF ALL "THE) LION OF GOD.," IN 

 NFJFF 



AH was the fourth caliph, nephew and son- 

 in-law of Mohammed, husband of Fatima and 

 father of Hassan. He was born in Mecca, in 

 the year 600, and killed at the age of sixty-one, 

 at Kufa. The Shiite Moslems regard AH as 

 the first rightful caliph. Clocks are prominent 

 features in Near Eastern architecture, not only 

 because the Arabs introduced timepieces to 

 Europe and because the people are too poor to 

 carry watches, but also because the time 

 changes daily with the sun, and even the 

 watch-owner must reset his timepiece every 

 twenty-four hours. 



Mission, are active and well known 

 among the Arabs in this region. 



I'Kari, GAZING AND THE DESERT LAW 



The population of Bahrein is a mixed 

 lot, attracted from all over the Middle 

 East by the adventurous, highly profit- 

 able pearling industry. Much inland 

 trade, by caravan, passes through Bah- 

 rein, and a brisk commerce is carried on 

 with the Arabian provinces of Hasa and 

 Nejd. 



At Koweit, on the mainland, the pearl 

 trade is also lively. A singular story is 

 told there of a magic pearl owned by an 

 old hermit. With this pearl the hermit 

 can locate lost treasures, work love 

 charms, and bring bad luck to one's ene- 

 mies, all for a consideration. Once, the 

 story goes, he rented the pearl to an 

 Arab whose young wife had run away 

 with another man. The runaways had 

 left Koweit on two swift Oman drome- 

 daries and had a start of two days on the 

 forsaken husband. But with the aid of 

 the magic pearl he found their trail and 

 held it. Each dawn he would hold the 

 magic pearl toward the rising sun, and in 

 it he would see a tiny picture of the flee- 

 ing couple, showing exactly their loca- 

 tion on the rolling desert ahead of him. 

 As the pursuer gained on the two fugi- 

 tives, their picture in the ma^ic pearl be- 

 came plainer and plainer, till at last he 

 came upon them, and the law of the des- 

 ert was fulfilled. Then, holding up the 

 pearl as before, he beheld nothing! 



UNCLE) SAM'S TRADF WITH ARABIA 



Here at Koweit, too, East brushes 

 West, often in strange, ludicrous ways. 

 The covenant of bread and salt is kept ; 

 sheep are slain to seal vows. Life is 

 simple, as in Abraham's time, except that 

 sheiks carry Yankee "dollar watches," 

 and squat, grinning, about talking ma- 

 chines made in New Jersey. 



Up through old Eden the British have 

 built a railway! And when the Arab 

 leaders cast in their lot with Allenby and 

 joined in this last crusade on Jerusalem, 

 they deserted their dignified camels and 

 rode in motors. 



Although we have long done a rather 

 brisk trade with the Arabs, Yankee sales- 

 men are seldom or never seen in Arabian 

 ports. American goods are handled by 

 native importers at Aden, Hodeida or 

 Maskat, or by the Indian merchants at 

 Bombay, who reship to Arabia. 



Since most of the trade routes in 

 Arabia are mere caravan trails (there is 

 only one railway — that from Damascus 

 to Medina), all goods sent to that coun- 

 try are usually packed with a view to 

 being carried to their final inland destina- 

 tion on mules or camels. 



Boxes and bales somewhat oblong in 



