'Personal Narrative of a pilgrimmage to Al-Madinah and Meccah. Vol. II' [‎384] (419/568)

384 Pilgrimage to Al-Madinah and Meccah.
are they in their worship), and then they travel till next
morning. If water be scarce, what I call an imaginary
Abdes 1 will do. As for ancient men, it being very
troublesome for such to alight off the camels, and get up
again, it is lawful for them to defer these two times of
nomas till the next day; but they will be sure to perform
it then.
" As for provisions, we bring enough out of Egypt to
suffice us till we return thither again. At Mecca we
compute how much will serve us for one day, and conse
quently, for the forty days' journey to Egypt, and
if we find we have more than we may well guess will
suffice us for a long time, we sell the overplus at Mecca.
There is a charity maintained by the Grand Seignior,
for water to refresh the poor who travel on foot all the
way; for there are many such undertake this journey
(or pilgrimage) without any money, relying on the charity
of the Hagges for subsistence, knowing that they largely
extend it at such a time.
" Every Hagge carries his provisions, water, bed
ding, &c., with him, and usually three or four diet to
gether, and sometimes discharge a poor man's expenses
the whole journey for his attendance on them. There was
an Irish renegade, who was taken very young, insomuch
that he had not only lost his Christian religion, but his
native language also. This man had endured thirty
years slavery in Spain, and in the French gallies, but was
afterwards redeemed and came home to Algier. He was
looked upon as a very pious man, and a great Zealot, by
the Turks, for his not turning from the Mahommedan
faith, notwithstanding the great temptations he had so to
do. Some of my neighbours who intended for Mecca,
the same year I went with my patroon thither, offered
1 Pitts means by " imaginary Abdes," the sand ablution,—lawful
when water is wanted for sustaining life.