It was true; it was the Sharif, Rashid's father, who, with a party of relatives, had come out to meet them. Rashid galloped forward, and in another moment was in the arms of his father. The caravan came to a halt, and, after many greetings on all sides, got under way again, and they all rode together into the city. "Is not the big city a wonderful place?" whispered little Fatimah to her mother as they rode through the great city gates of stone, the walls of which were painted with broad bands of yellow and red. She had never before seen a large city. "Keep clear of the sides, O camel men!" shouted out Nassar-Ben, who had hard work guiding his little caravan through the narrow, winding streets. The camel men had to run behind their charges, prodding them with sticks and crying out: "Go in the middle of the road! O! Hé! O! Hi!" Finally they came to the great square called the "Kneeling Place of the Camels," because all the caravans which came into the city were obliged to unload or encamp there. On one side of the square was the house in which Rashid lived. "Welcome to our house," said the Sharif, as he led his friends through a gateway and into a large courtyard. Here they dismounted. Rashid's mother and his big brother, Ali, and all the other relations and servants rushed out to meet them. And wasn't Rashid glad to see them all again! CHAPTER V HAMID AND FATIMAH SEE THE GREAT CITY "WHAT is that?" asked Hamid, who was awakened in the morning by the sound of a voice shouting, "Great is Allah!" He and Rashid were sleeping on the roof of the house, as city Arabs often do in the hot weather. "That is the 'Muezzin,'" replied Rashid. "Come to the parapet and you can see him." Rashid pointed to a tall, slender tower not far away. Near the top was a small balcony, on which a man was standing. He calls out these words every day at sunrise and sunset to remind the people that they must not forget to say their prayers. In a monotonous sing-song voice he calls: "Great is Allah! there is no God but Allah and Mohammed is his Prophet." When the people hear this cry, they rise and say their prayers, always looking toward Mecca, the Holy City. Hamid could see five of these long needle-like towers or minarets, and a great green dome, rising above the tree-tops not far away. [Illustration: "THEY SCATTERED THE GRAIN ALL ABOUT THE COURTYARD."] "That is the great Mosque," said Rashid; "and we are going there to-day because--" but he got no further, for just at that moment a dozen or more pigeons came flying about him, fluttering their wings on his face and perching on his shoulders. "Oh, what pretty birds! How tame they are!" said Hamid, stroking the smooth wings of one of the white doves.