arebs," or semi-Syr o-Arabs of early times, to whom also Joseph was sold, the other of Midianites, or natives of the Hawran district, are mentioned in Genesis ch. xxxvii. ; the route on which they were passing seems to have coin cided with that nowadays travelled by Syrian caravans on their way to Egypt. Other allusions to caravans may be found in the Hebrew records, e.g., in the book of Job, in Isaiah, and in the Psalms. Eastern literature is, of course,
full of mention of them.The yearly pilgrim-bands, bound from various quarters of the Mahometan world to their common destination Mecca, are sometimes, but inaccurately, styled by European writers caravans; their proper designation is " Hajj," a collective word for pilgrimages and pilgrims. Some description of them may however not unsuitably find a place here.
The two principal pilgrim-caravans, or "Hajj," start yearly, the one from Damascus, or, to speak more exactly, from Mozareeb, a village station three days journey to the south of the Syrian capital, the other from Cairo in Egypt. This latter is joined on its route, near Akabah of the lied Sea, by the Moghrebee, or North African " Hajj," collected from Tripoli, Marocco, and Tunis ; the former gathers up bands from Anatolia, Kurdistan, Mesopotamia, and Syria. Besides these a third, but smaller " Hajj " of Persians, chiefly sets out from Sook-esh-Sheyoukh, in the neighbour hood of Meshed Alee, on the lower Euphrates ; a fourth of Negroes, Nubians, Darfurees, tc., unites at Yembo on the Hejaz coast, whither they have crossed from Koseyr in Upper Egypt ; a fifth of Indians and Malays, centres at Jiddah ; a sixth and seventh, of southern or eastern Arabs arrive, the former from Yemen, the latter from Nejd.
The Syrian " Hajj " is headed by the Pasha of Damascus, either in person or by a vicarious official of high rank, and is further accompanied by the " Sorrah Ameer," or " Guardian of the Purse," a Turkish officer from Constanti nople, charged with the imperial contribution to the expense of the route, but chiefly with presents, or, to put it more truly, black mail, for the benefit of the independent Arab tribes, through whose lands the wayfarers must pass. The Egyptian company is commanded by an "Ameer," or ruler, appointed by the Cairene Government, and is accompanied by the famous " Mahmul," or sacred pavilion. The other bands above mentioned have each their own " Ameer," besides their " Mekowwams " or agents, whose business it is to see after provisions, water, and the like, and are not seldom encumbered with a numerous retinue of servants and other attendants. Lastly, a considerable force of soldiery, one, two, or more regiments strong, accompanies both the Syrian and the Egyptian "Hajj."
No guides properly so called attend these pilgrim-caravans, the routes followed being invariably the same, and well known. But Bedouin bands generally offer themselves by way of escort, and not seldom designedly lead their clients into the identical dangers from which they bargained to keep them safe. This they are the readier to do that, in addition to the personal luxuries with which many of the pilgrims provide themselves for the journey, a large amount of wealth, both in merchandize and coins, is habitually to be found among the travellers, who, in accordance with Mahometan tradition, consider it not merely lawful but praiseworthy to unite mercantile speculation with religious duty. Nor has any one, the Pasha himself or the Ameer and the military, when present, excepted, any acknowledged authority or general control in the pilgrim-caravans ; nor is there any orderly subdivision of management of service. The pilgrims do, indeed, often coalesce in companies among themselves for mutual help, but necessity, Circumstance, or caprice governs all details, and thus it happens that numbers, sometimes as many as a third of the entire "Hajj," yearly perish by their own negligence or by mis fortune, dying, some of thirst, others of fatigue and sick ness, others by robbers on the way. In fact the principal routes are in many places lined for miles together with the bones of camels and men.
The numbers w r hich compose these pilgrim-caravans are much exaggerated by popular rumour ; yet it is certain that the Syrian and Egyptian sometimes amount to 5000 each, with twenty-five or thirty thousand camels in train. Large supplies of food and water have to be carried , the more so at times that the pilgrim season, following as it does the Mahometan calendar, which is lunar, falls for years together in the very hottest season, though, indeed, the Hejaz portion of the route is always hot enough even in winter. Hence, too, the journey is usually accomplished by night marches, the hours being from 3 to 4 P.M. to G or 7 A.M. of the following day. Torches are lighted on the road ; the pace is slower than that of an ordinary caravan, and does not exceed two miles an hour.
For the ceremonial and religious peculiarities of these pilgrim-caravans, or " Hajj," see Burckhardt s Travels in Arabia, and Lane s Modern Egyptians, cc. xxiv. and xxv. In other respects the " Hajj " does not differ materially from an ordinary caravan, and it is from this point of view that it finds place in the present notice.
caravans and of wayfarers generally. It is commonly constructed in the neighbourhood, but not within the walls, of some town or village, and bears the form of a quad rangle, with a dead wall outside, only pierced below by a few narrow air-holes, but with small windows higher up. Within, a cloister-like arcade, surrounded by cellular store rooms, forms the ground-floor ; and a somewhat lighter arcade, giving access to little dwelling-rooms, runs round it above. Broad, open flights of stone steps connect the stories. The central court is open to the sky, and generally has in its centre a well with a fountain-basin beside it ; but sometimes the well is outside the building. A spacious portal, high and wide enough to admit the passage of a loaded camel, forms the sole entrance, which is furnished with heavy iron-plated folding doors, and is further guarded within by massive iron chains, drawn across at night. Each side of the entry is also provided with stone seats, and the entry paved with flagstones. The court itself is most often paved also, and large enough to admit of three or four hundred crouching camels or tethered mules ; the bales of merchandize are piled away under the lower arcade, or stored up in the cellars behind it ; the upstairs apartments are for human lodging ; but cooking is usually carried on in one or more corners of the quadrangle below. Should the caravanserai be a small one, the merchants and their goods alone find place within, the beasts of burden being left outside. A porter, appointed by the municipal authority of the place, is always present, lodged just within the gate, and sometimes one or more assistants. These form a guard of the building and of the goods and persons in it, and have the right to maintain order and, within certain limits, decorum ; but they have no further control over the temporary occupants of the place, which is always kept open from prayer-time at early dawn till late in the evening for all arrivals. A small gratuity is expected by, and is generally given by the guests to, the porter ; but he has no legal claim for payment from travellers, his maintenance being provided for out of the funds of the institution. Neither food nor provender is supplied in a caravanserai, water and shelter only ; the rest the caravan has to find for itself. Many caravanserais in Syria, Mesopotamia, and Anatolia are possessed of con siderable architectural merit ; their style of construction is
in general that known as Saracenic ; their walls are massive,
