e with their sticks, water
carriers, soldiers, in fact, everybody, hustling, bustling in search of
something. In the bazaar of Khan Khabiel we found copper utensils of all
forms and sizes, coffee pots, perfume burners, ewers, chandeliers for
mosques, Persian caskets chiseled to perfection, articles of rhinoceros
horn, Circassian and Saracen steel armor, inlaid with gold, tables of
mother of pearl and ivory. A dealer in old clothes sat at the angle of
the street playing a game of chance with his neighbor. We see Koran
letters in green on black ground hung in black frames standing against
the wall, while the owner sits dreaming near by, apparently deriving
much comfort from his kief. The streets are narrow, often hedged from
houses by a trellis work, fashioned from palm leaves. The sun penetrates
in spots. Through these apertures one sees the clear blue sky and black
kites, vultures and hawks describing circles, and at intervals wild
geese from the north go flying by. The roads are covered with dust
which, when it rains, becomes almost impassable. We see coming towards
us women accompanied by slave bathing attendants, going to a public
bath house reserved for females. They meet by appointment, burn perfumed
aloes, etc., send for singers and treat themselves to pastry and sweets.

The roofs of carpet bazaars, half covered with mats and shreds of cloth,
permit the soft light to filter through, and upon the sacred prayer rug
throws a mellowed light. Piles of camels' bags, some brilliant in color,
with mountains of rugs from all parts of the east; those of the velvety
silken texture with blended colors come from Persia. A coarser kind of
many stripes comes from Rabah, Tunis and Kurdistan. Long squares with
ground of soft blue are used by the Mohammedans in their devotion and
are made in Smyrna and Bokhara. The gem polisher sits within the doorway
of his shop, with wheels and implements, whereon he perfects his work.
We are interested in the Persian turquoise, the most desirable to be
purchased. We buy, we think, flawless ones of exquisite shades.

The Ramhadin, or season of fasting, by the Moslems, continues one month,
and during that time they neither taste nor smell food or tobacco
between sunrise and sunset. After this vile durance, we were told, their
appetites can scarcely be appeased, nor their tempers curbed.

The weddings in December and January are in rule and, by applying for an
invitation, your dragoman as a great