Page 44 - A Hand book of Arabia Vol 1 (iii) Ch 4,5

ISTRIGTS AND TOWNS 117

with curtains, which is supposed to contain the graves of
hum-'
M.-liam nied, Abu Bekr, and ‘Omar; the reputed tomb of Fatimah
chamber to the N. of this. Within the court of the mosque
‘' "die Prophet’s well, and some palms said to have been planted
l,v l-'atimah. The houses of the town are substantially built of
.,’j'.mite and lava blocks cemented with lime ; some of those in
|)Ctter residential quarters are four or five storeys high and have
;lH wardens behind them. The streets are narrow and dark,
l,m clean, and in part paved.

I'nlike Mecca, Medina has always been a city of agriculturists.
It is surrounded on all sides except the W. by date plantations and
Itivatecl fields, which extend for several miles. A copious supply
oil
,,f water is conducted from a tepid source (Ez-Zarkah) at the village
,,f Kubah (2 miles to t£e S.), and is distributed by underground
CO nduits to each quarter. Good water is also obtained from many
wells ip the oasis, the underground water being within easy reach
at almost any point. Some of the wells are brackish, and the soil
in places is impregnated with salt. The date-palm grows luxuriantly;
no less than 139 varieties are said to be cultivated, of which 60 or
I
70 are well known. The best class is exported (see above, p. 103).
Vines also flourish, the best variety (sherifi) having a long white
grape ; the fruit-trees include jujube-trees, bananas, limes, some
peach-trees, three sorts of pomegranates, but no apricots. Maize
i* largely grown, smaller quantities of wheat and barley, some
Egyptian clover (berslm), and a large assortment of vegetables.
The permanent population, apart from the garrison, is about
■HM>00, living mainly on the Pilgrimage, on the revenues of the
mosque, and on a large Government grant (surra). The suburban
population, composed mainly of landowners and cultivators,
profess Shiah opinions more or less openly and tend to marry
•-
among .themselves. In this respect they form a contrast to the
motley population of the city, which through intermarriage with
ii
l,rks, Kurds, Persians, and other races is Arab only in language
,u.u customs. Further admixture takes place through new settlers,
^ u> remain behind after each Pilgrimage, attracted by the profits
in' ®a*ne<^ as guides and by the Turkish subsidy. All classes I
\
l u (r 6 *°\vn> ^rorn the owners of houses to the water-carriers, make
* fc l)r°fits out of the pilgrims, for while a visit to Medina is not com-
tl'u I'm- Pdgrimage to Mecca), those make it who can afford
ry (see Chapter II); thus the annual influx of pilgrims,
t hough
Xo much below that of Mecca, is still very considerable,
ormally there is a garrison of three battalions and some cameli) .
Tele or
graph to Damascus and Yambo‘.

u