350 MECCA-MEDINA-JIDDA, & c. ever, the government and state of society are station- | as the burial-place of Mahomet, has never rivalled ary. The western part of the country, forming the Mecca in the veneration of the Mussulman. To visit sheriffate of Mecca, now belongs to Egypt. The chief this city is not even considered as an indispensable town is Mecca, (the ancient Macoraba,) celebrated as duty, and is little practised, except by the Turkish the birthplace of Mahomet, situated in a dry, barren, pilgrims, in whose route it lies. It contains about five and rocky country, forty miles from the Red Sea. It hundred houses, only a few of which are elegant. is supported by the concourse of pilgrims from every The great mosque, which once enclosed the tomb of part of the Mahometan world. The chief ornament Mahomet, is, however, described as very splendid, of Mecca is the famous mosque, in the interior of being surrounded by numerous pillars of marble, which is the kaaba, an ancient temple, said to have jasper, and porphyry, inscribed with golden letters. been built by Abraham; it is a plain square building Yembo, the port of Medina, has a population of five of stone. The most sacred relic in the kaaba is the thousand. black stone, said to have been brought by the angel Gabriel. The grand ceremony through which pilgrims pass is that of going seven times round the kaaba, reciting verses and psalms, in honor of God and the prophet, and kissing, each time, the sacred stone. They are then conducted to the well of Zemzem, situated in the same temple, where they take large draughts, and perform a thorough ablution in its holy waters. Another ceremony, considered as of equal virtue, is the pilgrimage to Mount Arafat, situated about thirty miles to the south of the city. Mecca is one of the handsomest cities in the East. It stands in a narrow valley, enclosed among rocky hills. The fronts of the houses, instead of presenting, as in some Eastern cities, a long range of dead earthen wall, are of stone, raised to the height of three or four stories, and ornamented with columns and other architectural embellishments. This gay aspect seems to be assumed, in a great measure, to attract pilgrims as lodgers; and with the same view, the apartments are made neat and commodious. The temple forms a very spacious square, about a quarter of a mile in extent, with many rows of columns. A very active commerce in Mecca is combined with pilgrimage, consisting in the exchange of the richest commodities of the Mahometan world. The resort of pilgrims of so many different nations, from the extremities of Tartary to the banks of the Senegal, rendered Mecca, in peaceful times, a very flourishing city. It formerly contained one hundred thousand inhabitants. Since the Wahabite war, however, it has declined; and, at present, the population is estimated at not over thirty thousand. The Meccans are proud, gay, and somewhat dissolute. Medina, (lathrippa,) notwithstanding its high claims Jidda, or Jedda, on the Red Sea, is the emporium of the province of Hedjaz, and the chief medium of the trade between Egypt and Mecca. The annual India fleets here unload their cargoes, which are transported, by the merchants of the place, to Suez and Cairo. The houses are built of madrepore, a sort of shell rock. The place is very flourishing, and has a population of fifteen thousand. Some of the merchants are said to be worth a million of dollars. At the northern extremity of the Red Sea, stands Akaba, a little village, near the site of which is the port of Eziongeber, from which the ships of Solomon sailed to Ophir, and by which the Phoenicians carried on their commerce with India. To the west are Mount Horeb, upon which God appeared to Moses, and commanded him to deliver his countrymen, and Mount Sinai, upon which he gave the law. Here is a monastery, armed with cannon, and accessible only by means of a rope. The imamat of Yemen is a powerful state, in the south-west. The capital and residence of the imam is Sana, built in the middle of a fertile plain, and surrounded with high brick walls and towers. Population, about thirty thousand. Mocha, the principal port on the Red Sea, frequented by Europeans, is in the province of Yemen, and has six thousand inhabitants. The chief article of commerce is coffee, produced in the vicinity, and admitted to be the best in the world. Ten thousand tons are exported annually. Besides this, dates, myrrh, gum Arabic, ivory, gold dust, and other valuable articles, are exported in considerable quantities. The imamat of Muscat, on the eastern coast, is likewise an important state, the government being the most enlightened in Arabia. The imam resides at Muscat, a large city, surrounded with gardens and groves of date-trees. It is the centre of an active commerce with India, and a great market for pearls. It is situated on the Red Sea, just within the Straits of Babelmandel, and is frequented by European ships. It occupies a flat, sandy plain, continually swept by hot winds. Viewed from the sea, it makes a pleasing appearance, with its whitewashed houses, variegated by handsome minarets and tombs. Internally, it exhibits filthy streets and decaying walls. The population is about five thousand; the trade is chiefly in the hands of Hindoo merchants. The kingdom of the Wahabees, who, as we have related, reduced a great part of the peninsula, but were overthrown by the arms of the Egyptians, is in the region of Nedshed. The capital, Derayeh, was destroyed in 1818. There are many other petty states in Arabia; the great number of the inhabitants, who live in small tribes, and lead a wandering life, acknowledge no superiors but their own chiefs. HAPTER CLXXXVI. tion - Geographical Description. nsive territory embraces that portion of the enowned in history. Within its limits are scenes of the creation and fall of man; e, as far as given in the Bible; of the gress of the Jewish nation; and of the f our Savior. Here were Assyria and - the first great empires of antiquity. Here h, and Babylon, and Tyre, and Sardis, d Palmyra; here still are Jerusalem and Antioch and Smyrna. Here are Ararat 1, the Jordan and the Euphrates, the d the Sea of Galilee. Here are scenes itnessed the presence of Semiramis and raham and Melchisedek, of David and Paul and Peter, and James and John. ambyses, Darius, Alexander, Seleucus, r, Saladin, and Tamerlane, have marched of their armies, and performed exploits no in the pages of history. Yet famous ons are in the early annals of mankind, any portion of the globe more unblest condition than this. Asia includes several countries, of which n geographical and historical sketches. only to group them in one general view. es of this country are, the Black Sea on Caucasian countries and Persia on the in the south, and the Mediterranean Sea The Asiatic territories of Turkey are | Boynton's Styograply Boston only divided from those of Europe by the Sea of Mar mora. Constantinople in Europe, and Scutari in Asia are but little more than a mile apart, being separated only by a narrow strait. The following table presents at one view, the several portions of Asiatic Turkey : Koordistan - the ancient Assyria. Armenia - a part only of ancient Armenia, These countries are about one thousand miles in length, from Constantinople to the Persian Gulf; the average width is about two hundred and fifty miles The whole extent is nearly two hundred and fifty thousand square miles. Asia Minor, Armenia, and the northern parts of Koordistan, are mountainous countries. Mount Ararat in Armenia, is seventeen thousand three hundred fee above the level of the sea. The highest peaks of Moun Taurus are twelve hundred feet high. The larges river is the Euphrates, which rises in Armenia, breaks through the chain of Mount Taurus, and after a course of thirteen hundred miles, empties into the Persiar Gulf. The Tigris is a branch of this river. The Kisi Ermak (Halys) is the largest river of Asia Minor. The climate of a country so extensive and so varied in surface, is, of course, marked with diversity. The northern part resembles New England in its mountainous and rugged character, while the middle portions are analogous to our Middle States. The southern parts are like Georgia and Alabama. The products are what might be expected from such a climate: the oranges, figs, olives, pomegranates, and other fruits are | food of the people. We are indebted to this region very delicious, and form a large part of the staple for the peach, apricot, mulberry, various melons, and some of our most beautiful garden flowers and plants. The rose is said to reach its highest perfection here. The moss-rose and the rose of Sharon are products of this favored clime. Figs. Caravan resting at Night. The camel, an animal unknown to our climate, is of infinite use to the people of the East. Being adapted to sandy deserts and hot climates, and at the same time living upon frugal fare, it is chiefly used for transporting burdens in the interior. There being few roads or bridges fit for wheel carriages, and no railroads, the camel is now, as it has been from time immemorial, the chief reliance of merchants and travellers in these regions. A large number of them usually go together for security against robbers, being called a caravan. The stopping places for travellers, are called caravanserais, and are usually provided at the public expense. They consist of large, square courts, with stalls and recesses on all sides for the animals and the people, the latter usually carrying their own provisions. trious; many of them are merchants and mechanics. They are pliant to circumstances, bend to authority, and seek to prosper by peaceful pursuits. They live in large families, closely united. They have an animated physiognomy and good features. The great variety of races in this country, always | Armenians are timid, obsequious, frugal, and induspreserving their several peculiarities of costume, character, and physiognomy-forms one of its most curious features. Besides the Turk, is to be found the Jew, the Greek, the Armenian, Turcoman, Koord, and Arab, all living under the same government, and often in the same community-yet never wholly losing or forgetting their historical and traditional appearance or habits. The Greeks are not numerous, and are confined to Asia Minor and the islands along the coast. They are, as elsewhere, subtle, cheerful, and adroit. The The Jews resemble the Armenians, always maintaining their peculiar characteristics. They have been degraded and depressed in the Turkish dominions, but the milder course of the Turkish government recently adopted toward all religions, has been extended to them. The Arabs have spread themselves over Syria, The Koords, or Kurds, inhabit a long and rugged chain, stretching south-east from the mountains of Armenia, parallel to the Tigris, along the frontier of the Turkish and Persian empires. They are the same people whom we have mentioned under the ancient name of Carduchi, through whom Xenophon fought his way, when conducting the famous retreat of the Ten Thousand. They have still the same name and the same character, being deemed the boldest and rudest in all Asia. Those pastoral pursuits which, on the high table plains of Tartary and Persia, vary and soften the habits of war and plunder, are impracticable in a region which presents nothing but rugged steeps, frightful ravines, and narrow valleys. Here, every chief is seated in his castle, where he meditates, and whence he attempts the plunder of the rich plains which lie beneath him. The Koords have, however, the characteristic virtue of barbarians,- a frank hospitality, and also a pride of pedigree, founded on a national existence which may be traced to high antiquity. Eastern Mode of reclining at Meals. The men, instead of our dresses fitted tight to the body, wear long, flowing robes, which conceal the The Turks are the same in Asia as in Europe. They are an Oriental people, and form a complete contrast in all the external forms of life to Europeans. limbs; and instead of standing, or sitting on chairs, they remain stretched on sofas in luxurious indolence, Marriage is a mere civil contract, fixing t and limiting the number of the husband's w concubines are generally purchased slaves. dren of these are legitimate. The Koran a wives, but the rich have as many as they ple poor are usually content with one. cularly foreign to our manners and ideas. From the ❘ and the property belonging to his wives is moment of marriage, they are immured in the harem, xcluded from the view of the public, and of the pposite sex, their nearest relations being alone admitted on occasions of peculiar ceremony. This cirumscribed existence, and the necessity of sharing with a multitude of rivals the favor of a husband, or ather master, appears intolerable to European ideas. They are allowed to visit and receive visits, and freuent the baths, where they meet numbers of their own ex. Here they get the news, and indulge in gossip. Marriage Procession. Peculiar veneration is attached, in Turkey, to the arental character, and particularly to that of a mother. Even in the fall of a great man, his harem is respected, The amusements of the Turk are chiefly His delight is to give himself up to continue varied revery; to glide down the stream of tir thought or anxiety; to retire under the shade there to muse without any fixed object, and to inhale through the pipe a gentle, inebriating vapor. Stretched in luxurious ease, he takes pleasure, however, in listening to the narrative of the professed story-teller, or in viewing the dances of Greck youths, or Turkish balladiers, at which - though they are by no means remarkable for decorum-Le even allows the presence of his wives. The ball, the theatre, the crowded party, all that in Europe can be accounted gayety, are utterly foreign to Turkish manners. The dress of the Turk consists of longrobes, which do not disturb his stately walk Turkish Costum |