The musjids in Kabul are mostly small ones, and are usually constructed so that three sides are enclosed and the fourth side left open, and they are built in such position that the direction of their length points to Mecca, in which is the tomb of the Prophet, for it is in the direction of Mecca that all Mussulmans face while saying their prayers. One very large musjid, called the Jumah Musjid, was built by the late Amir, who issued a proclamation that all those who were good Mussulmans must bring at least one stone from the mountains to be used in its construction as their share of the work. A large quantity of stone was collected in this way, but the size of the building necessitated the use of carts and coolies to complete the quantity of materials required. It is in this mosque that the people congregate for prayers on festivals, and twenty to thirty thousand are present at times, so that the musjid, and the grounds surrounding it, are filled with men standing, kneeling, and genuflecting all together in long rows, one behind the other. Here, too, they congregate for prayer when cholera or other calamity visits Kabul and makes a long stay, hoping that their united supplication will have the effect of averting the calamity. The month of Ramazan, or fast, entails fasting on all people from sunrise to sunset for thirty days. Nothing whatever must pass the lips during this time, and no one may take snuff or smoke. Very young children, and those who are seriously ill, are exempt, but in the latter case it often happens that a sick person who is unable to bear the ordeal will insist upon fasting, and so dies from exhaustion. The sick person, however, who does not observe the fast must provide a substitute to do so, and pay the substitute for such service, and he must also feed a number of the poor according to his means, and a moullah must certify that the person’s condition is such that he is, by religious law, exempt from fasting. After sunset until the sun rises again the people may eat anything they desire, and they are not limited to quantity. It is usual for a big gun to be fired at sunset as a signal to the people that the day’s fast is over, and many of them have food or their pipes ready to hand, awaiting the signal which allows them to break their fast or take a pull at the pipe, for which the day’s abstinence has created so keen a desire. An hour or so before sunrise another gun is fired to warn those people who have to work the following day that they must wake and eat while there is yet time to fit themselves to bear the next day’s fast. The common practice for those who are able to do it is to turn night into day and sleep during the daytime, and eat and work at night. In the Government offices and factories the working hours are shortened, and men commence work late in the day and finish early. During the first part of the month the men seem to bear their fasting cheerfully, but afterwards the effect