I have not seen these pilgrim caravans, but they are said to be extremely interesting. Many of the rich go on camel litters something like the mule litters used in north China. These are beds slung between poles which are fastened to camels, one going before and the other behind and trained to keep step. The camels are adorned for the occasion with coins, shells, and other ornaments, besides hundreds of small bells which jingle as they march. In advance of the procession is a large camel litter hung with green cloth and embroidered with gold. This contains the green flag of the Prophet and one of the oldest copies of the Koran now in existence. In addition to the worshippers themselves there is always an escort of soldiers and Bedouins. There are also many half-naked dervishes who sing and howl and cut themselves, shouting out texts from the Koran as they go on their way. It is a question whether the railway from Damascus to Mecca will not cause this great caravan to become a thing of the past as far as the travel between Damascus and Mecca is concerned. During my stay here I have gone out to the cemetery to see the tomb of Mohammed’s favourite daughter Fatima. Mohammed had several wives in addition to the four which he allows to each of his followers. His first wife was Khadija, the widow whose fortune made him prominent and whose servant he was. As I remember it, she was his first convert. Two of his other wives and Fatima are buried here, and every Thursday many veiled women come to mourn at their graves. Fatima’s tomb is a little domed mosque about fifteen feet square with a praying alcove facing toward Mecca. Her body lies in a marble sarcophagus, which stands on a pedestal covered with green velvet and with a piece of green cloth at its head. As I looked at the tomb I saw several rags tied to the bars of the window and was told that they were put there as the pledges of sick persons, showing that they would give money to the mosque if they should be cured. The tomb of Saladin, the great Mohammedan general who fought Europe during the Crusades, is also in Damascus. It is in a small mausoleum attached to the Great Mosque. At the head of the marble sarcophagus is a glass case in which lies the golden wreath placed on Saladin’s tomb by the German Kaiser. Because this wreath had a cross worked into its design it gave deep offence to the Damascenes, who demanded its removal from the shrine. But the Kaiser’s “great and good friend,” Sultan Abdul Hamid, ordered it to remain, as it was placed there by the Emperor of Germany.