Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Al-Madinah and Meccah, vol 2 | Page 5

and mustachios scanty, consisting of two tufts upon the chin, with,
generally speaking, little or no whisker. These are the points of
resemblance between the city and the country Arab. The difference is
equally remarkable. The temperament of the Madani is not purely
nervous, like that of the Badawi, but admits a large admixture of the
bilious, and, though rarely, the lymphatic. The cheeks are fuller, the
jaws project more than in the pure race, the lips are more fleshy, more
sensual and ill-fitting; the features are broader, and the limbs are stouter
and more bony. The beard is a little thicker, and the young Arabs of the
towns are beginning to imitate the Turks in that abomination to their
ancestors—shaving. Personal vanity, always a ruling passion among
Orientals, and a hopeless wish to emulate the flowing beards of the
Turks and the Persians—perhaps the only nations in the world who
ought not to shave the chin—have overruled even the religious
objections to such innovation. I was more frequently appealed to at
Al-Madinah than anywhere else, for some means of removing the
opprobrium “Kusah,” or scant-bearded man. They blacken the beard
with gall-nuts, henna, and other preparations, especially the Egyptian
mixture, composed of sulphate of iron one part, ammoniure of iron one
part, and gall-nuts two parts, infused in eight parts of distilled water. It
is a very bad dye. Much refinement of dress is now found at
Al-Madinah,—Constantinople, the Paris of the East, supplying it with
the newest fashions. Respectable men wear either a Benish or a Jubbah;
the latter, as at Meccah, is generally of some light and flashy colour,
gamboge, yellow, tender green, or bright pink.
[p.15]This is the sign of a “dressy” man. If you have a single coat, it
should be of some modest colour, as a dark violet; to appear always in

the same tender green, or bright pink, would excite derision. But the
Hijazis, poor and rich, always prefer these tulip tints. The proper Badan,
or long coat without sleeves, still worn in truly Arab countries, is here
confined to the lowest classes. That ugliest of head-dresses, the red
Tunisian cap, called “Tarbush,[FN#26]” is much used, only the Arabs
have too much regard for their eyes and faces to wear it, as the Turks
do, without a turband. It is with regret that one sees the most graceful
head-gear imaginable, the Kufiyah and the Aakal, proscribed except
amongst the Sharifs and the Badawin. The women dress, like the men,
handsomely. Indoors they wear, I am told, a Sudayriyah, or boddice of
calico and other stuffs, like the Choli of India, which supports the
bosom without the evils of European stays. Over this is a Saub, or
white shirt, of the white stuff called Halaili or Burunjuk, with
enormous sleeves, and flowing down to the feet; the Sarwal or
pantaloons are not wide, like the Egyptians’, but rather tight,
approaching to the Indian cut, without its exaggeration.[FN#27]
Abroad, they throw over the head a silk or a cotton Milayah, generally
chequered white and blue. The Burka (face-veil), all over Al-Hijaz is
white, a decided improvement in point of cleanliness upon that of
Egypt. Women of all ranks die the soles of the feet and the palms of the
hands black; and trace thin lines down the inside of the
[p.16]fingers, by first applying a plaster of henna and then a mixture,
called “Shadar,” of gall-nuts, alum, and lime. The hair[,] parted in the
centre, is plaited into about twenty little twists called Jadilah.[FN#28]
Of ornaments, as usual among Orientals, they have a vast variety,
ranging from brass and spangles to gold and precious stones; and they
delight in strong perfumes, musk, civet, ambergris, attar of rose, oil of
jasmine, aloe-wood, and extract of cinnamon. Both sexes wear
Constantinople slippers. The women draw on Khuff, inner slippers, of
bright yellow leather, serving for socks, and covering the ankle, with
Papush of the same material, sometimes lined with velvet and
embroidered with a gold sprig under the hollow of the foot. In
mourning the men show no difference of dress, like good Moslems, to
whom such display of grief is forbidden. But the women, who cannot
dissociate the heart and the toilette, evince their sorrow by wearing
white clothes and by doffing their ornaments. This is a modern custom:

the accurate Burckhardt informs us that in his day the women of
Al-Madinah did not wear mourning.
The Madani generally appear abroad on foot. Few animals are kept
here, on account, I suppose, of the expense of feeding them. The
Cavalry are mounted on poor Egyptian nags. The horses generally
ridden by rich men are generally Nijdi, costing from $200 to $300.
Camels are numerous, but those bred in Al-Hijaz are small, weak, and
consequently little prized. Dromedaries of