replied the Doctor; "but if you speak to any of them about it, they will possibly reply that Christian people have put to death those who did not believe in their religion. They might quote a good many occurrences in various parts of Europe in the past five hundred years, and could even remind us that the Puritans, in New England, hanged three men and one woman, and put many others in prison, for the offence of being Quakers. Religious intolerance, even at this day, is not entirely confined to the Moslems."
Frank asked what could be seen at Mecca, and whether the place was really worth visiting.
"As to that," the Doctor answered, "tastes might differ. Mecca is said to be a well-built city, seventy miles from Jeddah, with a population of about fifty thousand. The most interesting edifice in the place is the 'Caaba,' or Shrine, which stands in the centre of a large square, and has at one corner the famous 'Black Stone,' which the Moslems believe was brought from heaven by the angels. Burckhardt thought it was only a piece of lava; but Captain Burton believes it is an aerolite, of an oval shape, and about seven feet long. The pilgrims walk seven times around the Caaba, repeating their prayers at every step, and they begin their walk by prostrating themselves in front of the Black Stone and kissing it. The consequence is that it is worn smooth, as the number of pilgrims going annually to Mecca is not less than two hundred thousand. The pilgrimage is completed with the ascent of Mount Arafat, twelve miles east of Mecca; and when a Moslem returns from his journey he is permitted to wear a green turban for the rest of his life. The pilgrimage is an easier matter than it used to be, as there are steamers running from Suez and other points to carry the pilgrims to Jeddah, and from there they can easily accomplish their journey to Mecca and return in a couple of weeks."
Frank asked how far it was from Mecca to Medina, the place where Mohammed died and was buried.
"Medina is about two hundred and fifty miles north of Mecca," said the Doctor, "and is only a third the size of the latter city. It is next to Mecca in sanctity, and a great many pilgrims go there every year. The tomb of the Prophet is in a large mosque, in the centre of the city, and there is an old story that the coffin of Mohammed is suspended in the air by invisible threads hanging from heaven. Captain Burton visited Medina, and reports that the Moslems have no knowledge of the story, and say it must have been invented by a Christian. The tomb is in one side of the building, but no one is allowed to look upon it, not even a Moslem; the most that can be seen is the curtain surrounding it, and even that must be observed through an aperture in a wooden screen. The custodians say that any person who looks on the tomb of the Prophet would be instantly blinded by a flood of holy light."
So much for the two holiest places in the eyes of the Moslems. Frank and Fred concluded that they did not care to go to Mecca and Medina, and the former instanced the old fable of a fox who despised the grapes which were inaccessible, and denounced them as too sour to be eaten.
As they entered the Gulf of Suez the attention of the boys was directed to Mount Sinai, and they readily understood, from the barrenness and desolation of the scene, why it was called "Mount Sinai in the Wilderness." With a powerful telescope not a sign of vegetation was anywhere visible.
It was late in the forenoon of a pleasant day when the ship came to anchor, as we have described in our opening lines. The Quarantine doctor came on board, and was soon convinced that no reason existed why the passengers, who chose to do so, might not go on shore. Doctor Bronson and his young friends bargained with a boatman to carry them and their baggage to the steps of the Hotel de Suez for a rupee each. The town, with the hotel, was about two miles from the anchorage, and the breeze carried them swiftly over the intervening stretch of water. Half a dozen steamers lay at the anchorage, waiting for their turn to pass the Canal; and a dozen or more native craft, in addition to the foreign ships, made the harbor of Suez appear quite picturesque. The rocky hills behind the town, and the low slopes of the opposite shore, glistened in the bright sunlight; but the almost total absence of verdure in the landscape rendered the picture the reverse of beautiful. Not a tree nor a blade of grass can be seen on the African side of the Gulf, while on the opposite shore the verdure-seeking eye is only caught by the oasis at the Wells of Moses, where a few palm-trees bid defiance to the shifting sands of the desert.
Suez appeared to our friends a straggling collection of flat-roofed houses and whitewashed walls, where the sea terminates and the desert begins. Before the construction of the Canal it was little better than an Arab village, with less than two thousand inhabitants; at present it is a town of ten or twelve thousand people, the majority of whom are supported, directly or indirectly, by the Canal or the railway. There has been a town of some sort at this point for more than three thousand years, but it has never been of much importance, commercially or otherwise. The situation in the midst of desert hills, and more especially the absence of fresh water, have been the drawbacks to its prosperity. There is little to be seen in its shops, and for that little the prices demanded are exorbitant. Few travellers remain more than a day at Suez, and the great majority are ready to leave an hour or two after their arrival.
Chapter II.
SUEZ.—WHERE THE ISRAELITES CROSSED THE RED SEA.—THE SUEZ CANAL.
Frank and Fred were impatient to see the Suez Canal, which enables ships to pass between the Red and Mediterranean Seas. In going from the anchorage to the town they passed near the southern end of the Canal, and from the veranda of the hotel they could see steamers passing apparently through the sandy desert, as the position where they stood concealed the water from sight. As soon as they had secured their rooms at the hotel, they started out with the Doctor to make a practical acquaintance with the great channel from sea to sea.
There was a swarm of guides and donkey-drivers at the door of the hotel, so that they had no difficulty in finding their way. At the suggestion of the Doctor they followed the pier, nearly two miles in length, which leads from the south part of the town to the harbor; the water is very shallow near Suez, and this pier was built so that the railway trains could be taken along side the steamers, and thus facilitate the transfer of passengers and freight. The pier is about fifty feet wide, and has a solid foundation of artificial stone sunk deep into the sand. At the end of the pier are several docks and quays belonging to the Canal and railway companies, and there is a large basin, called Port Ibrahim, capable of containing many ships at once. The Canal Company's repair-shops and warehouses stand on artificial ground, which was made by dredging the sand and piling it into the space between the pier and the land, and Frank thought that not less than fifty acres had thus been enclosed.
A line of stakes and buoys extended a considerable distance out into the head of the Gulf, and the Doctor explained that, in consequence of the shallowness near the land, the Suez Canal began more than a mile from the shore. The sand-bar is visible at low tide, and when the wind blows from the north a large area is quite uncovered. A channel was dredged for the passage of ships, and the dredging-machines are frequently in use to remove the sand which blows from the desert or is swept into the channel by the currents.
At the