An account of the empire of Marocco, and the districts of Suse and Tafilelt; compiled from miscellaneous observations made during a long residence in, and various journies through, these countries. To which is added an account of shipwrecks on the western coast of Africa, and an interesting account of Timbuctoo, the great emporium of Central Africa

by James Grey Jackson

The Millah, or that part of the city inhabited by the Jews, is walled round, and is extensive, and in good repair. Many of the Jews live in affluence.

Contiguous to the Millah is another enclosure called the Negroes’ quarter, built by Ismael for the residence of the families of his black troops;[66] of this, however, nothing remains but the walls.

In this city was an hospitium, or convent of Spanish monks, founded about a century since by the king of Spain, for the relief and spiritual comfort of Catholic captives, and Christian travellers. This convent, and that at Marocco, were much respected by the Mooselemin, from the essential service afforded by the monks to the poor, whom they used to supply with medicines gratis; but, after a long practice, they found their prescriptions were grossly abused by the Moors, who took them without any regard to regimen; they were therefore obliged to make a general medicine for all applicants, composed of a decoction of simples with honey, and this they denominated the dua sheriff, or princely remedy. This convent was deserted by the monks previous to the accession of Soliman, the present Emperor.

The streets of Mequinas are not paved, and on this account it is a very disagreeable place in winter, as the rains cause the mud to accumulate, which renders walking abroad very unpleasant. The inhabitants are extremely hospitable: they invite strangers to their gardens, and entertain them sumptuously: indeed, the manners of the people in this part of the empire, are more mild, perhaps, than in any other.

Nature seems to have favoured the women of Mequinas, for they are handsome without exception, and to a fair complexion, with expressive black eyes, and dark hair, they unite a suavity of manners rarely to be met with even in the most polished nations of Europe.

FAS.

This city (which is divided into old and new, called Fas Jedide, and Fas El Bâlee) is the most celebrated in West Barbary; it was founded about the 185th year of the Hejira (A.C. 786) by Idris,[67] a descendant of Mohammed. It stands for the most part upon gentle hills, except the centre, which is low, and in winter very wet and dirty. It is not so extensive as Marocco, but the houses being more lofty and spacious, it contains more inhabitants. The houses have flat roofs ingeniously worked in wood, and covered with terrace, on which the inhabitants spread carpets in summer, to recline upon, and enjoy the cool breezes of the evening; a small turret, containing a room or two, is also erected upon them for the use of the females of the family, who resort thither for amusement and pastime. In the centre of each house is an open quadrangle surrounded by a gallery, which communicates with the staircase, and into which the doors of the different apartments open; these doors are both wide and lofty, and are made of curiously carved wood painted in various colours. The beams of the roofs of the different apartments are whimsically painted with gay colours in the arabesque style. The portals of the houses are supported with pillars of brick plaistered over. The principal houses have (Mitferes) cisterns under them, containing water used in the baths, which are built of marble or stone. Every house is also supplied with water from a river which rises in the Atlas, and enters the town in various places by covered channels. The hospitals, colleges, and houses of the great and wealthy have, withinside, spacious courts, adorned with sumptuous galleries, fountains, basons of fine marble, and fish-ponds, shaded with orange, lemon, pomgranate, and fig trees, abounding with fruit, and ornamented with roses, hyacinths, jasmine, violets, and orange flowers, emitting a delectable fragrance.

In the city are a great number of mosques, sanctuaries, and other public buildings; about fifty of these are very sumptuous edifices, being ornamented with a kind of marble, unknown in Europe, procured in the Atlas mountains.[68]

The maintenance of professors and students in the mosques, has lately become very scanty, the wars having destroyed many of the possessions by which learning was promoted. The students are mostly employed in reading the Koran; if any one read a text which he does not understand, the professor explains it to him in public; at other times they dispute among themselves, and the professor finally explains the passage.

A public bath is attached to each mosque, for religious ablutions; there are also public baths in various parts of the town, whither the common people resort;[69] the men at one hour and the women at another; when occupied by the latter, a rope is suspended from the cieling of the first apartment, as a signal to the stranger not to proceed farther; and so particular are they in this respect, that a man would not be here permitted to speak to his own wife, such regard have they for their reputation. These baths produce a considerable sum annually. Besides these there are chalybeate, sulphureous, and antimonial baths; there is also a bath celebrated as a specific for the venereal disease, which is said to be an infallible cure in three months.