Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Al-Madinah & Meccah — Volume 1Burton, Richard Francis, Sir
ReligionIslamic
Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Al-Madinah & Meccah — Volume 1
Burton, Richard Francis, Sir
Arabian Peninsula -- Description and travel
to the Nile; his departure was the signal for the general celebration
of Cotyttia.
[FN#17] For La'an abuk, curse thy father. So in Europe pious men have
sworn per diem, instead of per Deum, and "drat" acts for something
stronger.
[FN#18] A daughter, a girl. In Egypt, every woman expects to be
addressed as "O lady!" "O female-pilgrim!" "O bride!" or, "O daughter!"
even though she be on the wrong side of fifty. In Syria and in Arabia,
you may say "y'al mara!" (O woman); but if you attempt it near the
Nile, the answer of the offended fair one will be "may Allah cut out
thy heart!" or, "the woman, please Allah, in thine eye!" And if you
want a violent quarrel, "y'al aguz!" (O old woman!) pronounced
drawlingly,-y'al ago-o-ooz,-is sure to satisfy you. On the plains of
Sorrento, in my day, it was always customary, when speaking to a
peasant girl, to call her "bella fe," (beautiful woman), whilst the
worst of insults was "vecchiarella." So the Spanish Calesero, under the
most trying circumstances, calls his mule "Vieja, rivieja." (old, very
old). Age, it appears, is as unpopular in Southern Europe as in Egypt.
[FN#19] "Fire" is called the "sweet" by euphuism, as to name it
directly would be ill-omened. So in the Moslem law, flame and water
being the instruments of Allah's wrath, are forbidden to be used by
temporal rulers. The "full" means an empty coffee cup, as we say in
India Mez barhao ("increase the table,") when ordering a servant to
remove the dishes.
[FN#20] Or "pleasurably and health": Hanien is a word taken from the
Koran. The proper answer to this is "May Allah cause thee to have
pleasure!" Hanna-kumu'llah, not "Allah yahannik!" which I have heard
abominably perverted by Arnaut and other ruffians.
[FN#21] This in these days must be said comparatively: Ibrahim Pasha's
order, that every housekeeper should keep the space before his house
properly swept and cleaned, has made Cairo the least filthy city in the
East.
[FN#22] Here lies the Swiss Burckhardt, who enjoyed a wonderful
immunity from censure, until a certain pseudo-orientalist of the
present day seized the opportunity of using the "unscrupulous
traveller's" information, and of abusing his memory. Some years ago,
the sum of L20 (I am informed) was collected, in order to raise a
fitting monument over the discoverer of Petra's humble grave. Some
objection, however, was started, because Moslems are supposed to claim
Burckhardt as one of their own saints. Only hear the Egyptian account
of his death! After returning from Al-Hijaz, he taught Tajwid (Koran
chaunting) in the Azhar Mosque, where the learned, suspecting him to be
at heart an infidel, examined his person, and found the formula of the
Mohammedan faith written in token of abhorrence upon the soles of his
feet. Thereupon, the principal of the Mosque, in a transport of holy
indignation, did decapitate him with one blow of the sword. It only
remains to be observed, that nothing can be more ridiculous than the
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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