To the ordinary pilgrim the omra has become so much an episode of the hajj that it is described by some European pilgrims as a mere visit to the mosque of Ayesha; a better conception of its original significance is got from the Meccan feast of the seventh month (Rajab), graphically described by Ibn Jubair from his observations in A.D. 1184. Rajab was one of the ancient sacred months, and the feast, which extended through the whole month and was a joyful season of hospitality and thanksgiving, no doubt represents the ancient feasts of Mecca more exactly than the ceremonies of the hajj, in which old usage has been overlaid by traditions and glosses of Islam. The omra was performed by crowds from day to day, especially at new and full moon.[23] The new moon celebration was nocturnal; the road to Tanim, the Mas'a, and the mosque were brilliantly illuminated; and the appearing of the moon was greeted with noisy music. A genuine old Arab market was held, for the wild Bedouins of the Yemen mountains came in thousands to barter their cattle and fruits for clothing, and deemed that to absent themselves would bring drought and cattle plague in their homes. Though ignorant of the legal ritual and prayers, they performed the tawaf with enthusiasm, throwing themselves against the Ka'ba and clinging to its curtains as a child clings to its mother. They also made a point of entering the Ka'ba. The 29th of the month was the feast day of the Meccan women, when they and their little ones had the Ka'ba to themselves without the presence even of the Sheybas.