The Prophet’s Mosque in the Manakhah.  Abu Bakr’s near the Ayn al-Zarka.  Ali’s Mosque in the Zukak al-Tayyar of the Manakhah.  Some authors call this the “Musalla al-Id,” because the Prophet here prayed the Festival Prayer.  Omar’s Mosque, near the Bab Kuba of the Manakhah, and close to the little torrent called Al-Sayh.  Belal’s Mosque, celebrated in books; I did not see it, and some Madani assured me that it no longer exists.

A description of one of these buildings will suffice, for they are all similar.  Mohammed’s Mosque in the Manakhah stands upon a spot formerly occupied, some say, by the Jami Ghamamah.  Others believe it to be founded upon the Musalla al-Nabi, a place where the

[p.396]Apostle recited the first Festival prayers after his arrival at Al-Madinah, and used frequently to pray, and to address those of his followers who lived far from the Harim,[FN#22] or Sanctuary.  It is a trim modern building of cut stone and lime in regular layers, of parallelogramic shape, surmounted by one large and four small cupolas.  These are all whitewashed; and the principal is capped with a large crescent, or rather a trident, rising from a series of gilt globes:  the other domes crown the several corners.  The minaret is of the usual Turkish shape, with a conical roof, and a single gallery for the Mu’ezzin.  An Acacia-tree or two on the Eastern side, and behind it a wall-like line of mud houses, finish the coup-d’oeil; the interior of this building is as simple as is the exterior.  And here I may remark that the Arabs have little idea of splendour, either in their public or in their private architecture.  Whatever strikes the traveller’s eye in Al-Hijaz is always either an importation or the work of foreign artists.  This arises from the simple tastes of the people, combined, doubtless, with their notable thriftiness.  If strangers will build for them, they argue, why should they build for themselves?  Moreover, they have scant inducement to lavish money upon grand edifices.  Whenever a disturbance takes place, domestic or from without, the principal buildings are sure to suffer.  And the climate is inimical to their enduring.  Both ground and air at Al-Madinah, as well as at Meccah, are damp and nitrous in winter, in summer dry and torrid:  the lime is poor; palm-timber soon decays:  even foreign wood-work suffers, and a few years of neglect suffice to level the proudest pile with the dust.

The suburbs to the South of Al- Madinah are a collection

[p.397]of walled villages, with plantations and gardens between.  They are laid out in the form, called here, as in Egypt, Hosh-court-yards, with single-storied tenements opening into them.  These enclosures contain the cattle of the inhabitants; they have strong wooden doors, shut at night to prevent “lifting,” and they are capable of being stoutly defended.  The inhabitants of the suburb are for the most part Badawi settlers, and a race of schismatics who will be noticed in another chapter.  Beyond these suburbs, to the South, as well as to the North and Northeast, lie gardens and extensive plantations of palm-trees.