at hand to dispel their bad dreams. Men are seen, in the middle of the
night, running to the mosque in their sleeping-clothes; here they
perform the walk round the Kaba, kiss the black stone, utter a short
prayer, drink of the water of Zemzem, and then return to their beds.
Near to the gate of the mosque called Bab Omra, from which this quarter
takes its name, is a spacious building, originally a public school, but
now occupied by Hassan Pasha, governor of Mekka. It is probably the
Medrese mentioned by El Fasy, as having been built near Bab el Omra, in
A.H. 814, by the orders of Mansour Ghyath Eddyn Atham Shah, the Lord of
Bengal. In A.H. 519, the governor of Aden also ordered a Medrese to be
built in this neighbourhood, which was called Dar-es'-Selsale. In this
quarter is one of the fountains of sweet water derived from the canal,
and there are several wells of brackish water.

Returning from hence to the Shebeyka, and then turning southerly along
different streets, composed of good buildings, but which are rapidly
falling to decay, we descend by a slight slope into the street called
Souk-es'-Sogheyr, or the little market, which terminates at the gate of
the great mosque, called Bab Ibrahim. The houses on both sides of this
street are low, and inhabited by the lower classes. There is a continued
range of shops, in which are sold all sorts of provisions, but
principally grain, butter, and dates. In some of the shops locusts are
sold by measure. The Souk is fre-quented chiefly by Bedouins of the
southern part of Arabia, who bring hither charcoal. Some poor Negro
pilgrims of Africa take up their abode also in the miserable huts and
ruined houses of this part of the town, and have here established a
market for firewood, which they collect in the surrounding mountains.


[p.112] The extremity of Souk-es'-Sogheyr, towards the mountain, is