123 
Mecca and Medina are the cradles of the Arabic 
language; but this in consequence of the general 
ignorance is degraded and changed, even in the pro- 
nunciation, to such a degree, that it is written without 
vowels, and has a great number of aspirations, which 
each varies according to his pleasure. This arises from 
the want of a national prosody, and the means to pre- 
serve and perpetuate the primitive sounds; so that, far 
from increasing in excellence, it is corrupted every 
d a } T » by the vicious expressions peculiar to each tribe, 
and by their intercourse with strangers. 
The costume of the men at Mecca is, as in Egypt, 
composed of a benisch, or exterior caftan, bound with 
a belt; a shirt; drawers; and babouches, or slippers; 
but this is the dress of persons in place, merchants, 
and those employed about the temple, &c. The lower 
people have hardly ever more than a shirt and drawers. 
The Bedouin Arab wears commonly a large cloak 
without sleeves over his coat, made of a tissue of 
coarse wool, or of a slight cloth, both sides of which 
are alike, and commonly with alternate stripes of brown 
and white, each a foot broad. 
The inhabitants of the city wear red caps and tur- 
bans; but the Bedouins do not: they cover their heads 
with a handkerchief, that is striped yellow, red, and 
black, folded diagonally in the form of a triangle, and 
simply thrown upon the head; so that two of the an- 
gular points fall before the shoulders, and the other 
behind the neck, upon the back. Those that are rich 
wear a piece of muslin twisted round the head, above 
the handkerchief, in the form of a turban; but the poor 
go almost naked. 
With the exception of those employed about the 
temple, and a small number of merchants, the people 
