Things seen in Palestine . vents—Greek orLatin—and generally speak French with a *43 Things Seen in Palestine quaint accent which reveals the Arabicvernacular. The homes of what may be called theMoslem gentry are, as a rule, inaccessible tothe European, which accounts in somedegree for the wild misstatements upon thesubject which have somehow passed intohistory ! All men are of course excluded,except from the outer apartment of themaster of the house, and all women also, likelyto attempt interference with the religiousviews of the occupants. Few who do entercan speak the language, and the most
Things seen in Palestine . vents—Greek orLatin—and generally speak French with a *43 Things Seen in Palestine quaint accent which reveals the Arabicvernacular. The homes of what may be called theMoslem gentry are, as a rule, inaccessible tothe European, which accounts in somedegree for the wild misstatements upon thesubject which have somehow passed intohistory ! All men are of course excluded,except from the outer apartment of themaster of the house, and all women also, likelyto attempt interference with the religiousviews of the occupants. Few who do entercan speak the language, and the mostludicrous misrepresentations are the result. The Moslem does not put his money intobanks, and often invests it in houses are large, and the rooms spacious,consisting as a rule of rooms built round alarge central hall, known as the liwan,11and which is the common sitting-room ofall the occupants. This is the Hareem, orprivate part, and if there are two stories, ison the upper floor. Below are the apart- 144. AN ANCIENT FOUNTAIN NEAR THE MOSQUE. It is much used by the Christian townspeople who cannot share the advantageof helping themselves from the great cisterns within the sacred area. Town Life ments of the men of the household, andthese alone give on to the street. If, as isusual in the older houses, there is no upperstory, the mens part is a sort of outerannex to the main square. The clan feel-ing is very strong among the Moslems, asurvival from nomadic times. The house-hold consists probably of the head of thefamily and his wife; it is very rarely thathe has more than one. Even the Sultan issaid to have but one, and the Khedivehas but lately married a second wife, aEuropean. When a son marries, he bringshis wife home, and a room or two are added,if needed. The woman is never requiredto get her own living, so long as any sortof male relative is alive, and the householdmay be further increased by widoweddaughters, sisters, aunts, or cousins. Thereare always p
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, bookidthingsseenin, bookyear1913
