فقد عين لها مواقع خاصة في أطراف البلاد بعيدة عن أماكن الناس ومساكنهم ومعتزلة عن نواديهم ومجامعهم ولكنها تخالف كل هذا فهي حكومة مسلمة وتصرح بفتح البيوت للفحشاء وتعطي بيدها الرخصة لأيدي الفاسقات المسلمات يفتحن بها بيوتهن في محلة تكتنفها أحياء الحرائر.
الباشا مازلت منذ دهر أرى العجيب وأسمع بالغريب وما زال التجول بي والتنقل يجمع لي بين النقائض ويزيدني معرفة بالنقائص حتى انتهى بي الحال من التعجب والتأثر الى التجلد لا بل الى التبلد.
Friend There’s neither preacher nor adviser, no authority or restrainer. People are too busy with their own affairs; very few of them bother to help other people. If anyone does offer advice, all he gets by way of response is laughter and mockery from lechers and debauchees. For example, consider the government’s attitude and listen to what it has to say! All these things take place with its full cognizance and before its very eyes. It regards them with approval and accepts them. It’s the government that’s supposed to lay down the laws and administer them. It formulates bills and publishes decrees that keep governors busy and wear out judges, even though people’s lives are much worse and they are faced with a dire plight. What can you say about a government which realizes that its wealth comes from the people and that its life depends on theirs, and yet approves of the spread of these vile practices that result in the squandering of wealth and the destruction of body and soul; a government which has fashioned for its capital city’s centerpiece, a necklace of taverns, gaming rooms, and brothels. It’s incredible that in the provinces the most junior government official has the authority to rid his region of these evil practices, but here—where the center of authority actually subsists, people in government look at the way evil and misery are on the increase, and yet have no opportunity at the very least to soften the violence of its impact. What’s even more incredible and peculiar is that this government does not follow the example of either Islamic or foreign governments. It’s well aware that all Islamic capital cities are completely devoid of brothels where Muslim women prostitute themselves; any such thing is strictly forbidden, and no one dares to contravene it. It also knows that, in countries like England, no brothels exist with the cognizance of the government; furthermore, that governments which are an exception to this rule and turn a blind eye to brothels put them in special places on the outskirts of towns far away from people’s houses and well out of the way of clubs and meeting places. But this government (which is a Muslim government) has gone against all this and given Muslim prostitutes permission to open their houses in an area surrounded by quarters where respectable people live.
Pāshā For some time now I’ve been seeing remarkable things and hearing strange information. My peregrinations have produced a series of contradictions while increasing my awareness of people’s shortcomings. My perception and amazement has now reached a stage of resignation, or, perhaps even more, of apathy.
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قال عيسى بن هشام: وكانت الراقصة بعد ان انتهت من رقصها ذهبت للتغيير ملابسها والاصلاح من حالها ثم جاءت تتهادى في مشيتها وقد جددت ألوانها بانواع أصباغها فتطاولت نحوها الاعناق وشخصت فيها الاحداق وتطلعت اليها النفوس وهلعت القلوب وزحزحت لها المجالس وحلت الحبى وجهز لها كل فريق كرسيًا بجانبه فلم تعبأ بشيء من ذلك ولم تأبه له واستمرت في مشيها قاصدة مقر صاحب الحان فوقفت معه برهة في ملاعبة ومداعبة ومضاحكة وممازحة ثم شاهدنا ذاك الخادم جالسًا في زمرة ذلك الحاكم المغرم يمزح ويمرح وينكت ويبكت فلما مرت به ولم تجلس همس الحاكم في أذن الخادم وغمزه في يده بشيء من الدراهم فوثب ولحق بها عند صاحب الحان وألقى في أذنها كلامًا فرأيناها تشير اشارة الرفض والنبذ فما زال ينفث فيها ويرقيها حتى لانت له فاسرع كانه يبشر الحاكم بحضورها ثم جاءت عقبه تجرر أذيالها فجلست بجانب الحاكم على الكرسي الذي أعده لها وجاء الغلام على أثرها وفي يده أربع زجاجات لشربها فض ختامها كلها مرة واحدة ففارت وفاضت على الارض والغلام صابر لها منتظر لسكونها حتى اذا لم يبق بها الاشفافة أو صبابة صبها في الكاسات فتلمس الفاجرة كل كأس لمسة بشفتيها ثم يعود الغلام ليأخذ فارغة فتأمره بإحضار غيرها فيفعل بها مثل فعله الاول ولا يزال الحال هكذا مرات أربعًا أو خمسًا وقد قطع الناس كلهم حديثهم ولم يق لهم عمل سوى النظر الى حركاتها وسكناتها وما تأتيه من ضروب التقصف والتهتك كانما هم يرصدون كوكبًا أو يرقبون هلالاً
ʿĪsā ibn Hishām said: Once the dancer had finished her routine, she went to change her clothes and put herself in order. After putting on fresh makeup, she came out and started walking falteringly among the crowd. Necks and eyes strained in her direction, hearts and minds yearned for her, tables were adjusted to accommodate her, and gifts were readied. Each group put out a chair, but she paid no attention to any of this and kept walking till she reached the place where the Proprietor was standing. She stood beside him for a while, joking and laughing playfully. We then noticed her assistant sitting with the coterie of the infatuated provincial official; he was joking, jesting, and making merry with him. When the dancer walked right past him and didn’t sit down, the official whispered something in the assistant’s ear and slipped him some coins. With that, the assistant leapt up and went over to the dancer standing beside the Proprietor. He whispered something in her ear, and we watched as she rejected the idea. He persisted and kept on at her till she softened her stance. He rushed back to give the official the good news, and she reluctantly followed him over. She sat next to the official on a chair he had put out for her, and the waiter was soon back with four bottles of champagne. He opened all of them at once, and the bubbling liquid gushed all over the floor. The waiter bided his time and waited till