I had left Mekka on foot, at night, with a large party of hadjys, to visit this place, which is usually done on Saturdays. We were on the summit before dawn; and when the sun rose, a very extensive view presented itself to the north and west, the other points being bounded by mountains. The country before us had a dreary aspect, not a single green spot being visible: barren black and grey hills, and white sandy valleys, were the only objects in sight. On the declivity of the mountain, a little way from the top, is a small stone reservoir, built to supply the visitors with water. It was dry when I saw it, and in bad repair. Djebel Thor. About an hour and a half south of Mekka, to the left of the road to the village of Hosseynye, is a lofty mountain of this name, higher, it is said, than Djebel Nour. On the summit of it is a cavern in which Mohammed and his friend Abou Beker took refuge from the Mekkawys before he fled to Medina. A spider had spun its web before the entrance, and his pursuers seeing this, supposed, of course, that the fugitives could not be within. To this circumstance an allusion is made in the Koran (chap. ix.) I did not visit the spot. El Omra. Of this building I have already spoken: it is a small chapel with a single row of columns, on the road to Wady Fatme. Every pilgrim is required to visit it; but he is left to his own discretion respecting the places before mentioned. The Omra is surrounded by ruins of several habitations: there is a copious well near it, and traces of cultivation are seen in the valley. I believe the well to be that called by the historians of Mekka “Bir Tenaym.” According to Fasy, a mosque, called Mesdjed Ahlyledje, stood here in the earliest times of Islam. I shall conclude my description of Mekka with that of [p.177] the opening of the Kaaba, which I deferred, that the description of the mosque might not be interrupted.