North. Asum Bari (the gate of Axum), in Somali, Faldano or the Zayla entrance.
West. Asmadim Bari or Hamaraisa.
South. Badro Bari or Bab Bida.
South East. Sukutal Bari or Bisidimo.
At all times these gates are carefully guarded; in the evening the keys are taken to the Amir, after which no one can leave the city till dawn.
[23] Kabir in Arabic means great, and is usually applied to the Almighty; here it is a title given to the principal professors of religious science.
[24] This is equivalent to saying that the language of the Basque provinces is French with an affinity to English.
[25] When ladies are bastinadoed in more modest Persia, their hands are passed through a hole in a tent wall, and fastened for the infliction to a Falakah or pole outside.
[26] The hate dates from old times. Abd el Karim, uncle to the late Amir Abubakr, sent for sixty or seventy Arab mercenaries under Haydar Assal the Auliki, to save him against the Gallas. The matchlockmen failing in ammunition, lost twenty of their number in battle and retired to the town, where the Gallas, after capturing Abd el Karim, and his brother Abd el Rahman, seized the throne, and, aided by the citizens, attempted to massacre the strangers. These, however, defended themselves gallantly, and would have crowned the son of Abd el Rahman, had he not in fear declined the dignity; they then drew their pay, and marched with all the honors of war to Zayla.
Shortly before our arrival, the dozen of petty Arab pedlars at Harar, treacherous intriguers, like all their dangerous race, had been plotting against the Amir. One morning when they least expected it, their chief was thrown into a prison which proved his grave, and the rest were informed that any stranger found in the city should lose his head. After wandering some months among the neighbouring villages, they were allowed to return and live under surveillance. No one at Harar dared to speak of this event, and we were cautioned not to indulge our curiosity.