Mohammad Hosayn Farahani
Persia
1885–86
The helpless Iranian traveler is confused: What should he do? Where should he go? To which gang should he entrust himself? How can he renounce his baggage, clothes, food, and drink? How can he bear this amount of customs duties? How can he take refuge from these Russian thieves and Iranian swindlers? On whom can he rely? How can he flee?
—Mohammad Farahani
In contrast to the work of Keane or Burton, Mohammad Farahani’s long, precise account of a Hajj from Persia is not a story of adventure. Nor does it focus on the author or even on the Hajj itself so much as on the regions crossed to reach Mecca from Tehran. The point of this account is fairly simple: to provide contemporary Persian pilgrims all the latest details necessary to travel safely through a radically transformed portion of the world. While the passages here do not pertain to Mecca, they appear in this collection because they provide a valuable view of Hajj travel as it entered modern times. A scholarly bureaucrat, Farahani wrote of Hajj travel as it was entering the machine age. He labored to acquaint Persian-speaking pilgrims with rail and steamer transport, and he sought to shed light on new Hajj routes, too, across western Asia to the Hijaz. Along the way, he educates them in that major development, the quarantine station, together with new international health standards recently adopted to combat decades of pilgrim epidemics. The themes Farahani opens up spread through most of the subsequent Hajj accounts.
Rail and steam combined during this period to make the journey from Asia to the Hijaz shorter, safer, and less costly than ever before. By 1870, India, Afghanistan, parts of the Caspian region, and the Caucasus were linked by rail. Meanwhile, at the western terminus of the great Hajj routes, the Suez Canal and Turkish and British steamships began providing pilgrims access to Jidda on a near mass-transit scale. By the time Farahani set out from Tehran, in 1885, the Black and Red Seas were in close communication. Although he traveled overland, it is by a very different route from that of the traditional Damascus or Baghdad caravans. (See Fig. 13.) After a coach ride to Qazvin, he conducts us on horseback (and later by steamer) to the railhead at Baku. There, in the social and moral free-for-all of an oil-boom Russian city, many Persian pilgrims received their first distressing blast of culture shock. Not since Ibn Jubayr, in the 1180s, had such numbers of hajjis been exposed to Christian lands on the way to Mecca.
On one level, Farahani’s book is an effort to demystify new scenes for first-time pilgrims. On another, it serves as a vast collection of warnings about the journey. In addition to the traditional chasm between Russian Orthodox and Persian Shi’ite societies, thieves, con men, greedy customs agents, corrupt quarantine officers, rich camel brokers, and self-serving guides all pass under the wary eye of this author. At times, the entire stretch of land and sea between Tehran and Mecca seems peopled by nothing but innocent hajjis and a multitude of officials in charge of fleecing and plundering them—when, that is, the debauched wildcatters of Baku are not at work outraging their sense of decorum. In later excerpts, we see that Persian officials could, of course, be scoundrels, too.
The nineteenth century provided hajjis at least one danger more chilling than corruption. Cholera first occurred in Mecca in 1831, introduced by infected pilgrims from British India. Although a quarantine board was immediately established, the disease continued west. By 1845, it threatened Europe. As a result, the French attached médecins sanitaires to their Near Eastern consulates. The Ottoman states and Britain responded too, and a first international conference on the disease was held in Paris in 1851. Despite these early precautions, a major epidemic swept Mecca in 1865, introduced by pilgrim ships from the Dutch East Indies. Fifteen thousand hajjis died in June. Sixty thousand more perished in Egypt; then the disease entered Europe through Marseilles. In November, cholera was reported in New York. Even at the time, these epidemics were correctly ascribed to the added speed and cramped conditions of steamships.178 The slow-paced, open-air caravans, by contrast, made of the desert a natural quarantine.
After the scourge of 1865, large, more efficient centers were rapidly set up at key points bordering the Hijaz, and pilgrims were made to pass through them coming and going. Here signs of the disease could be discovered, pilgrims and their baggage disinfected, then isolated for up to fifteen days while the disease ran its course. Health certificates were also required of every pilgrim entering Egypt from the Red Sea, and all ships submitted to inspection at Suez. In spite of these efforts, John Keane was still recording epidemics at Mecca a decade later. For years to come, the system remained subject to corruption, as we shall see. On another tack, many pious Muslims resented what they saw as interference from the West, wrapping the Hajj in yet another layer of paperwork and ruined schedules. Despite much noncooperation, the huge effort gradually succeeded. After 1912, epidemic cholera vanished for good from the Hijaz, partly due to passport requirements, partly to the required show of sufficient cash to make the journey, and partly to fumigation and quarantine.
Farahani’s descriptions of the quarantine sights are the first attempt in the literature to introduce Muslim pilgrims to modern hygiene. He addressed the reverse of the hygiene question, too: what happens when the non-Muslim world is not clean enough for pilgrims? By 1880, large numbers of Persian hajjis were traveling outside the borders of Islam for the first time. Without the protection of Islamic law, they felt exposed. Whereas Western nations were mainly preoccupied with bacterial contaminants, Muslims had their own concerns about purity. Clean water was crucial: to pray five times a day can require two or three ritual washings and the occasional bath or shower. Proper food, prepared according to Muslim law, was another concern. Farahani proved a reformer in most of these matters. He felt that Islamic law should guide, not obstruct, Hajj travel, and he did not shy from saying so in print.
Farahani wanted to offer useful, clearly stated information at a time when for many pilgrims the world seemed to be turning upside down. Religious interpretation was only one aspect of the problem. He unravels complex visa problems too, gives accurate distances between train stations, depicts each port precisely, and notes down necessary facts about climate, diet, architecture, currency, social customs, hostels, and market prices. Farahani traveled twice through the Suez Canal, minutely describing the ways in which its procedures affected pilgrims, and he clearly described the almost Kafkaesque quarantine stations at Tur and Sinai. By doubling back on the same itinerary, he was also able to register important differences as timetables changed and seasons varied. The result is a Guide Michelin for the round-trip Persian Hajj, starting by coach from Tehran to Enzeli, thence by ship and train to Istanbul, down the Aegean to Alexandria, and through the Suez Canal to the Hijaz.
Mohammad Farahani was a quick, accurate judge of human behavior, and he knew the value of an anecdote. As we read him today, his meticulous book provides keys to the Hajj in the first stage of a radical transition. Farahani was a thoroughly modern pilgrim; the only camel he rode on his three-thousand-mile journey was one that carried him from Jidda into the Hijaz. Although the world he described has largely vanished, its outlines seem strangely familiar even now.
from A Shi’ite Pilgrimage to Mecca, 1885–86:179 by Mirza Mohammad Hosayn Farahani
INTRODUCTION One of the manners and customs of our contemporaries is that for the sake of full and excellent style, even if they only have some trifling subject, they write so much prefatory matter that the subject disappears from view. A brief speech does not justify a lengthy prologue, and it is not necessary to have two thousand lines of preface for a book of a thousand lines. “Get to the point and leave the preliminaries behind.” Modesty has thus induced this devoted servant, Mohammad Hosayn ol-Hosayni ol-Farahani, to write this short, simple preface during the reign of the august Naser od-Din Shah,180 may God perpetuate his kingdom and his rule.
The idea of visiting the House of God occurred to me, so I brought up this matter with a wise mentor. He said concerning this point, “If you display any selfishness or circumspection, it will not be possible to attain such bliss.”
I took to heart the saying “the lightly burdened shall be saved” and recalled that “unencumbered people travel quicker.” I entrusted myself to God and determined to travel all alone.
Thus I started toward my goal with the blessing of the beloved king [Naser od-Din Shah]. . . .
DEPARTURE FROM TEHRAN Thursday evening, 16 July 1885, I went to the tarantass station and, three hours after nightfall, took a seat in a tarantass and departed. As for the fare of the coach, the livery has several classes of transport for passengers; the fare for each varies. One is for the tarantass, which has a folding top but does not have spring mountings or room for more than three people. The fare for the tarantass from Tehran to Qazvin, less the horse, is three tomans.181 Another [vehicle for rent] is known as the troika, which does not have the folding top or springs and which seats three people. The fare for it, without the horse, is two tomans. Another [vehicle] is the droshky, which has a folding top, spring mountings, and room for three people. The fare for the droshky from Tehran to Qazvin, without the horse, is five tomans. Another is the calash, which has a folding top, springs, and seats four people. The fare for it to Qazvin is six tomans. Another is the diligence, which has springs, is covered over, resembles the droshky, and seats ten people. The fare for it, without the horse, from Tehran to Qazvin is ten tomans. . . .
GUARDHOUSES ON THE WAY It is twenty-four farsakhs182 from Tehran to Qazvin. Five guesthouses have been built along the way. The horses are changed at each place. It is four farsakhs from each guesthouse to the next. Three guardhouses have been erected between each of the guesthouses, so that there is a guardhouse every farsakh. The building for the guardhouse is also of necessity the home for the custodian. Some of the custodians have brought their wives and children to the guardhouses and live there. Others live alone. At each guardhouse which has running water near it, the custodians have planted tasteful flower beds, trees, and little gardens in front. . . . The guardhouses which do not have [running] water nearby have had wells dug beside them. The telegraph also has lines strung along the road by the stations.
BAKU, JULY 29 This city has very little water and very few trees. . . . In some of the houses are found a few flowers such as geraniums, storksbill, and evening stock. The climate is humid because of the proximity to the sea. It is not possible to sleep outdoors. Nevertheless, its soil is very dry and has no moisture because of the oil in the vicinity. The curious thing about this is that the people of Baku, despite their water and climate, are very plump and fair and in good physical condition. One of the customs of the people is that they eat [only] one meal a day. Their regular meal is confined to lunch. They do not eat dinner at night. They are awake most of the night visiting with each other.
OIL WELLS On the outskirts of the city as far as the village of Balakhaneh, which is two farsakhs from the city, there are many oil wells, a few of which are state owned but most of which are privately owned. The main commerce in Baku now is the trade in oil which goes to Iran, Europe, and the Ottoman Empire. There are many people who for years have dug wells on their own and labored and have not yet struck oil and have suffered severe losses in the enterprise.183 Usually those wells are dug down about eight zar’ 184 where they strike oil. After striking oil, they set up canals and tanks near the well so that as soon as oil is struck, it gushes up all at once, comes out of the well, empties into the canals, and flows into the tanks. They take it out of those tanks, allow it to settle, and refine it in the factories. After the purification and refining, a third of it becomes kerosene [suitable] for burning and is sent to the provinces. The other two thirds are burned in place of coal in the ships and factories in that immediate area. The principle oil field is in Balakhaneh, where many factories have been built. Every day fifteen thousand poods185 of oil are conveyed from there to the city. They also refine crude oil there and make kerosene.
ANCIENT FIRE TEMPLE IN THE VILLAGE OF SORAKHANI Three farsakhs to the northeast of the city there is a village named Sorakhani where there has been a fire temple since ancient times. Some Zoroastrians and Hindus still come on pilgrimage there. Several Indians are always staying in this village. The fire temple is in the shape of an open square building in the middle of which there is a pit from which the fire comes out. There are chambers around it with a small opening between each chamber and the pit. There is a covering over the openings; whenever they want, they open the covering of the opening, touch a lighted match to the opening, and at once the gas is ignited like a lamp. It is the same everywhere in this village. Anyplace they want to ignite a fire, they dig down into the earth to a depth of one quarter to half a zar’. They put an external flame, such as a match, to the dug-up earth and at once it is kindled and blazes like a fire. However, its heat is not very great. It has no smoke. It cannot be extinguished with water, but if a little earth is poured on it, it is extinguished. Sometimes the fire is ignited spontaneously without the ground being dug up or disturbed. If [people] want to take the fire to another spot, they place a leather bag opposite the excavated earth. When the bag is full of gas, they stop it up and move it. Anywhere a fire is needed, they put an iron pipe on the tip of the bag, touch an external flame to the tip of the pipe, and the end of the pipe is ignited and gives off light in the manner of a gas lamp. As long as there is some of that gas in the bag, it is lighted; after that, it will go out. In this village of Sorakhani, factories have also been set up for refining oil [using] the natural [gas] fire from the earth. There is also an oil field in the midst of the sea. . . .
ADMINISTRATION Most of the government employees in Baku are Russians. Outwardly, they act in such a way that everything [seems] completely orderly and free and no one bothers anyone else. But in actuality it can be said that it is utterly without order, and no one is secure in life, property, or his own affairs. One cannot spend a tranquil night in one’s own home. There are many criminals, and few nights go by that there are not robberies in homes and [on] the streets or two or three people are not killed. If someone wants to travel by night from one quarter to another, he must first of all be [in the company of] five or six people—one or two people would not dare to go [alone] from one quarter to another. After a theft or murder takes place, and they complain to the government, nothing is done. As it is said, “They think the uncaptured thief is a king.” Proof is required; it is not possible to prove it easily, so they are compelled to tolerate the loss of life and property.
CORRUPTION AND DEBAUCHERY One of the things which the people have implemented as a means of freedom and comfort is that whores and young male prostitutes are permitted to indulge in debauchery. If, for example, someone quarrels with his wife or young son, straightaway that woman or boy goes to the coffeehouses or the brothel and says, “By my own wish, I want to engage in debauchery.” It never occurs to anyone to prevent them or to force them to leave there and not permit them to engage in debauchery. In reality, this is a kind of sanctuary. Thus one is not in control of his honor, and the men are [thus] extremely afraid of their own wives and juvenile children. As a result of feeling jealousy and disgrace at this having happened, men who have been afflicted by this situation have often taken opium and poison and died. I don’t understand the meaning of this [sort of] freedom.
ETHICS AND RELIGION Generally, the middle and lower [classes] of Russians, insofar as [I] have seen, are very impolite, wicked, devious, coarse, rude, unjust, harsh, haughty to the peasants, and careless. The institution of marriage does not have much sanctity among these people. Usually when anyone desires someone, they have intercourse without informing father, mother, or monks. They pay no attention to the priests and their own canon law. They imagine the most fanciful things about our prophet Jesus, his family, the disciples, and religious law. They exceed all bounds in drinking wine; they know neither day nor night, right time nor wrong time, too much nor too little. Usually they are so drunk they are senseless. They do not know or understand anything about purity and modesty, which are the norms of humanity, but which are not understood by them at any level. There are few Russians who do not drink one mann186 of wine in a day. Their drink is usually wine. They do not have the sense or intelligence to make or drink any other beverage.187
FROM BAKU TO BATUM Having arrived in Baku on the afternoon of Wednesday the sixteenth, we left Baku at noon on Thursday the seventeenth of the month of Shavval [30 July], took a calash, and went to the train station.
There is a railroad from Baku to Batum.188 It is called the chemin de fer. . . . The train goes daily from Baku to Tiflis and Batum. The Baku station is half a farsakh from the city. It is a very good building, spacious, and constructed with an upper and lower story. A guard and [some] workers are there. There are several counters. One is reserved for issuing and collecting tickets. One must first of all pay for and get a ticket at that counter. Another is reserved for carrying and taking delivery of baggage, of which each passenger may have one pood. . . . They allow baggage, samovar, water pipe, carrying case, and water vessel without charging a separate fee. . . .
There are thirty-six stations from Baku to Batum. . . . The stations are all different. Each one that is located in a principal town, where there are many travelers and passersby, has more rooms, buildings, and workers. From each station to the next in terms of time takes from twenty-two or twenty-three minutes to thirty-five minutes. In each station, [the trains] stop from two minutes to half an hour. . . .
There are four sentry posts between each station and the next. Each [serves] as the residence for one family. All along the way, at intervals of one verst, a sentry and custodian are standing. If they raise a green flag, it signifies that that section is safe and the coach goes along quickly. If they raise a red flag, that is a sign that the railway is in some disrepair and the coach must travel slowly and with caution. If they raise a red and black flag, it is a sign that the railway is in bad shape and the coach must stop until the obstruction is removed. At night, in place of these flags as signals, they light green and red lanterns in the same manner as described. The telegraph line is strung out all along the side of the railway. One is able to telegraph from any station to another station. They give information by telegraph about every section of the railway which is in disrepair. . . .
THE SITUATION ON THE TRAINS The employees of the coach, such as servants, etc., are usually Russians. If anyone is careless, these employees will steal his belongings with utter nimbleness and agility. If, after the theft, the individual complains to anyone, he will never get anywhere because in all the stations the passengers are continuously changing, some going and some coming, so no one can be caught. Thus the individual must be extremely watchful and protect his property. In the coach, men and women, Muslims and infidels, are mixed together. There is no way to avoid it. The status of everyone is equal. Everyone in every class who has obtained a ticket sits anywhere [he wants], and there will be no preventing it. In all the stations, most foods and drinks are found. Every station which is in a principal town has more foods, but the price of everything is expensive. In some stations, foods and fruits are brought for sale from the surrounding villages and are offered cheaply. . . .
THE PORT OF SUEZ The train arrived at Suez at the second hour of the night [before] Friday, . . . 19 August. The Suez station is in the center of the city, and at that time of night it was very crowded. Amid the crowd and throng, several Iranian landlords and coffee shop keepers appeared and invited the Iranian pilgrims to their own residences. I gathered from the situation that since the coffee men’s homes had not been seen and the rate was not fixed, it might be a cause for dispute, and so I went in person and saw the residences, selected one, and ascertained its rates. They brought the baggage and belongings there. Some of the pilgrims also accompanied me. Other pilgrims had quarrels and disputes and were involved in distraint and consular litigation with the landlords and coffeehouse keepers.
THE CONSULATE AND SUBJECTS OF IRAN In Suez, there are seven or eight people of Iranian origin. The representative of the exalted government of Iran is a merchant by the name of Ahmad Afandi, whose father was a well-known merchant and a dignitary of Suez, and who is himself a man of property and wealth. He represents the governments of Iran, Austria, and Brazil. He displays the three flags [of these countries] on the rooftop of his house three days a week. [If] citizens of these three countries have any [legal] business, they have recourse to him. He is a man of considerable competence. Here it is again customary that the pilgrims have their passports endorsed. The Ottoman agent signs the passports of the Ottoman pilgrims, and the Iranian deputy and agent signs the passports for the Iranian pilgrims. They charge one and a half majidis189 per passport. . . .
THE QUARANTINE Another of the difficulties for the pilgrims at Suez is that the chief physician there on behalf of the Khedive must give health certificates to the pilgrims. As for the fee for writing the certificate, he charges . . . about one Iranian kran. However, it is not necessary that the physician see every pilgrim. That is, the object is to collect the fee. One person goes with the money and gets the health certificates for ten or twenty people. . . .
THE PORT OF JIDDA The steamship anchored beside the Jidda pier on Friday, . . . 27 August, at one hour past noon. Its entire trip from Suez to Jidda without any delay took sixty-eight hours. Because of the extreme crowding and cramped space on this steamship, three Arabs perished in the hold and several people had become ill.
The steamship was delayed at the Jidda pier for about three hours. No rowboat or launch came near it until the government quarantine doctor with the quarantine employees first boarded the ship, looked and searched around, and ascertained and verified that there was no serious contagious disease on the ship. Then they gave people permission to enter Jidda. Launches and rowboats came and transported people. They charged more than warranted for the rowboat fare. They said this [fare] is divided into three shares: the government takes one, the consul of each state takes one, and the oarsman one. In all places throughout the Ottoman Empire, exorbitant taxes are exacted from the oarsmen, but especially in Jidda.
THE QUARANTINE First of all, they bring the pilgrims in the launches and rowboats by the quarantine building, which is beside the sea and adjacent to the city. The people disembark, without baggage or belongings, at this guarded enclosure. They give everyone a printed certificate which is the quarantine permit, and they charge each person half a majidi. . . . In this same place, there is another enclosure where they inspect and stamp one’s passport. For stamping the passport, they also charge each person half a majidi and several para. . . .190
Also in this enclosure, the representatives of the professional pilgrim guides are sitting on chairs from one end to the other, waiting to see under the guidance of which of them the pilgrim will place [himself]. After that, they never let go of one and don’t grant one a moment’s peace. They become one’s guardian and provide one with tutorship. A detailed account of the pilgrim guides and their activities will be written in the proper place.
CUSTOMS Anyhow, after one pays the fee for the quarantine permit and the fee for stamping the passport, one then obtains a dismissal ticket, exits from this enclosure, and is free [to go]. As soon as one comes out, one seeks one’s baggage and belongings (which had been placed in the rowboat and left at the quarantine house) at the pier among the rowboats beside the open square fronting the gate of the city. In the same square the pilgrims bring their own things and belongings from the rowboats to land. However, there is no way into the city unless one enters by the gate. They search all one’s things at the customs house. If one has something dutiable, they collect the customary fee; otherwise, if they do not find any dutiable things, they will charge as much as they can squeeze out of people as “reward” for the customs officer.
The customs house closes on Friday one hour before noon. If one disembarks from the steamship then, there is no prohibition against entering the city but the baggage must be left in the square until the next day [when] they inspect the baggage and take it inside the city—except [in the case of] dignitaries who inform the consulates of their own government. The consulate, out of respect, obtains a permit from the customs chief that the belongings not be detained. Thus even on Friday one may enter the city with baggage and belongings. . . .
RESTING We went to an excellent house which the pilgrim guide’s apprentice had indicated. We entered a carpeted room with cushions placed about and sat down tired and hungry until the curtain to a dining room was raised. A very elaborate dining tray had been placed on the floor in which were pilaf and other essentials. It was evident that the servant of the pilgrim guide had exhorted the owner of the house [to arrange] for provisions and ceremonies. We ate and thanked God. Very delicious foods appeared to gratify the palate, but later, when we paid an exorbitant gratuity to the owner of the house, the flavor of the foods was not so tasty! . . .
THE PILGRIM GUIDES After I went . . . to my own residence, Sayyed Mansur, who is one of the Shi’ite pilgrim guides, and whose servants had informed him that some of the pilgrims had arrived at Jidda, came posthaste by donkey from Mecca the Exalted to visit. He swore such oaths of close friendship that it seemed he was my slave or bondsman or an old friend whom for many years I had the favor of raising.
At this point, I must write a description of the circumstances concerning the professional pilgrim guides. In Mecca, there are about thirty Shi’ite and Sunni pilgrim guides appointed by the Sharif191 of Mecca who have permits for leading pilgrimages. Usually they and their fathers have been pilgrim guides for generations. Each of them has seven or eight assistants and servants. Before the pilgrimage season [begins], they go to the cities which are transit points for pilgrims, such as An Najaf, Karbala, Baghdad, Bombay, Bushehr, Bandar ‘Abbas, Rasht, Istanbul, and Odessa. They issue to everyone they locate who wants to go to Mecca the following invitation: “You are without information about the practices and activities there; you must have someone knowledgeable and a pilgrim guide; you will not find [anyone] better than me.” Of course, the pilgrims are beseeching God that they might have a knowledgeable man who will work hard on their behalf. Another thing they do is to promise some of the ‘akkam, hamleh-dars, and hajjeh forushes192 (who are well-known and who come to Mecca every year): “I will give you one Levant dollar . . . for every pilgrim you bring for me.” After making these preparations, they return to Mecca near the beginning of the pilgrimage season. For their part, these [men], with a view to making a profit for themselves, assure every pilgrim they see or know of the commendability of that pilgrim guide: “So and so the pilgrim guide is a marvelous man, good, very hard working, and not greedy. It’s good for you to entrust your pilgrimage to him so that it will be a simple matter in every respect.” The pilgrim is deceived and agrees. Another thing they do is to send one of their agents or servants to every port which is a point of entry for pilgrims to the Hijaz, such as Jidda, Yanbu, or Medina the Agreeable, in order to watch out for and to assemble the followers there. As soon as the pilgrim says one word about “my pilgrim guide is so and so,” these agents and servants report to the respective pilgrim guide that “such and such a pilgrim is under your direction; take note [of him].” If the pilgrim is a notable, the pilgrim guide goes out a day’s journey or two to welcome him and also invites him home one night to give him supper. Thus, the pilgrim is totally dependent upon the pilgrim guide and utterly at his mercy. If, for instance, he has any goods to sell, he is compelled to inform and seek the approval of his pilgrim guide, who arranges with the buyer to get half of the money for those goods.
If . . . the pilgrim wants goods from there for gifts or to buy for commerce, [the guide will] go to the seller [and say], “Let that pilgrim buy at a high price.” At least half the profit goes to [the guide].
Or if, for instance, the pilgrim wants to go from Jidda to Sa’deyyeh193 or Mecca, or to hire transport from Mecca to Medina or Yanbu, this, of course, must be with the assistance of the pilgrim guide. Thus this year everyone who went from Jidda to the Sa’deyyeh miqat194 paid eighteen Levant dollars to hire camels. Of these eighteen Levant dollars, seven dollars is the fare for the camel that carries one. For every camel, the Pasha, the Sharif, the Consul, the pilgrim guide, and the camel broker195 take eleven dollars.
If [the pilgrim] wants to rent a place to stay in Jidda or Mecca, the pilgrim guide has a role in that and will receive a share. If the pilgrim goes to Arafat and Mina, part of the charge for the beast of burden and the tent goes to the pilgrim guide.
If the pilgrim or someone in his party dies, a payment to the pilgrim guide is expected [for] the vows and prayers which are the special duty of the pilgrim guide. In the end, if the pilgrim is poor and has little money, he must certainly give at least two Levant dollars . . . as remuneration for the pilgrim guide. If he does not pay or does not have [the money], the matter will result in hostility, disputes, and petitions to the Sharif, the Governor, and the consuls. It will be collected by force, violence, or the imprisonment of the helpless pilgrim. If the pilgrim is wealthy and a dignitary, the pilgrim guide will try as hard as [he can] to collect from one to ten lira from him.
The earnings of the pilgrim guides during the pilgrimage season varies. It may be from two hundred tomans to three thousand tomans for himself, his associates, and his agents.
ARRIVAL OF NEW PILGRIMS In the two or three days I was in Jidda, two ships arrived from Bushehr, Batra, and Baghdad. About a thousand Iranian pilgrims were on board them. The ship which came first anchored at the Jidda docks; the other ship followed it and came up beside the first ship with such speed that it struck the anchored ship. The anchored ship was immediately wrecked. The captain, the workers, and the pilgrims were alarmed. They left the cargo and baggage and cast themselves into rowboats. Since the land was near, the ship did not sink, but in the excitement and confusion some of the pilgrims’ belongings were lost. Upon investigation and inquiry, it was learned that these two captains had previously had a grudge against each other and had been trying to destroy each other. In the end, they collected indemnities for the wreck from the captain and owner of the ship [that had caused the accident]. . . .
FARES FOR PILGRIMS IN THE PROVINCE OF THE HIJAZ In order for the pilgrims to hire riding animals throughout the Hijaz—from Jidda to Sa’deyyeh and Mecca or from Mecca to Arafat or from Mecca to Medina and Yanbu— a camel broker is designated by the Sharif for each [national] group of pilgrims. That is, six people have been designated as camel brokers: one is the camel broker for the Iranian pilgrims; another is the camel broker for the Ottoman pilgrims; another is the camel broker for the people of Java; another is the camel broker for the Indian pilgrims; another is the camel broker for the North African pilgrims; and another is the camel broker for the Egyptian pilgrims. Their work is that they sit down together and take counsel and fix the hiring rates every year according to the situation. The hiring of riding animals by the pilgrims in every part of the Hijaz is with their knowledge, assignment, and assistance. For example, the camel brokers fix whatever rate they desire for the fare from Mecca to Medina, or from Medina to Yanbu or Jidda. Whatever the amount of the fare they determine is put into practice, and no one will disagree. For each camel, a fee is expected for the Sharif, the Consul, the pilgrim guide, and themselves and is added to the fare. The camel broker for the Iranians is an individual named Mohammad Kaboli, whom the late Hosam os-Saltaneh had bastinadoed. Every Iranian must hire riding animals with his advice and approval. All of these camel brokers have gotten very wealthy. . . .
THE POST-HAJJ QUARANTINE STATION AT MOUNT SINAI, NOVEMBER 1885 We were en route Tuesday, . . . 10 November. Wednesday, 11 November, at nine o’clock, the steamship anchored at the wadi of Mount Sinai, which was the quarantine site this year. When the captain first informed the quarantine officials, ten or twelve government rowboats came below the steamship and transported the pilgrims without charging a fare. Although the oarsmen took one and a half guirsh from the pilgrims as a gratuity, this was not in addition to a fare. On land, they went on foot. A government building had been constructed at the edge of the landing. Most of its rooms were like very spacious storage rooms or halls.
The employees of the quarantine are as follows: chief doctor, one person; doctors, two persons; inspector, one person; assistant inspector, one person; accountant, one person; official in charge of security, called the mohafez, one person; foot soldiers, two hundred persons.
These troops do not allow the pilgrims to wander around. As soon as all the people of a steamer have assembled in the open area in front of the building, they announce that the pilgrims must obtain tickets and enter the quarantine. The inspector, assistant inspector, and accountant are seated in one of the rooms. All the pilgrims must pay them one and a quarter Levant dollars per person and take tickets. They charged some of them who were not knowledgeable about the operation of the quarantine from one and a half to two Levant dollars for the tickets. They cheated in some other ways, too. For example, they took imperials, liras, and other gold money for less [than they were worth]. They gave printed tickets to each person, couple, ten people, or whatever. As soon as they had collected the money from all the pilgrims and given out the tickets, then the accountant stood at the door to the building with two soldiers and inspected the people’s tickets. They entered the building group by group. In some of the rooms of this building, there is fumigating equipment present. . . . If people do not have a disease known to be contagious, they do not have to be fumigated.
THE FIELD TENTS At another door to the building by which the people exit, there is a vast plain. On that plain, four groups of military field tents had been pitched, so that each group was at an interval of about one maydan196 from the next. Each group had three rows of white tents, and each row had twenty-five tents. So all together, there were three hundred tents. In front of each group of tents, there were also six tents where shopkeepers stayed. There were two coffeehouses and four grocer’s tents. They also have fruit and sell everything at exorbitant prices. Those six shopkeepers are Arabs. There is also a tent in each group for two Jewish money changers and two Armenian butchers. Live sheep can also be obtained but they are extremely expensive. Beside each group of tents there are also two iron water tanks. Each one has two or three spigots. They draw water from those spigots. The water is brought in continuously by government camels and poured into the tanks. They give water, however much is desired, to the pilgrims for free. These four groups of tents are the collective property of the four steamers. Each steamer that comes to the quarantine must lodge all its passengers in one of these groups of tents. Variously, every five, seven, eight, or ten people will have one tent. There are thirty soldiers to take care of each group of tents. They watch out for the pilgrims’ belongings at night, and by day they also insure that the people of one ship and group of tents do not mix with the group or people of another ship. Thus, after our arrival at the quarantine, two other ships came which were visible from afar, but we did not see the people of that ship nor did they see us. . . .
THE QUARANTINE To sum up, . . . this quarantine was set up by the Ottoman government’s bureau of health in Istanbul. If there is no contagious disease, the period the pilgrims stay in the quarantine is forty-eight hours. If during the forty-eight hours someone dies [while] on land, the period will be renewed. However, its employees are [employed] by the Khedive of Egypt. The Sinai wadi is also part of the kingdom of Egypt. It seems that the service and fealty and obedience which the Khedive of Egypt renders to the Ottoman Empire is no more than using the moon and star flag and this matter [of the quarantine.] This quarantine in no way causes any loss or expense for the Ottoman Empire. Whatever they expend on it, they get back double from the pilgrims. Exorbitant sums go to the employees of the quarantine. When officials are posted to the quarantine, it is as if [they had been appointed] officials in charge of fleecing and plundering the pilgrims. One of the circumstances that makes this clear is that the authorities of the quarantine, especially the chief doctor, take something from the captains of the steamers so they won’t cause any trouble: if someone dies during the two days stopped at the quarantine, they don’t renew the period and do not delay the steamer.
Anyhow, since the spell of hot weather was broken and the land at this place was less humid and had wholesome water, it was not too hard on the pilgrims at the quarantine. Having arrived at the quarantine on Wednesday, . . . 11 November, and having been released from the quarantine on Friday, . . . 13 November, and having gone to the landing, government rowboats carried the pilgrims to the steamer for free. The steamer left one hour before sunset. . . .
IRANIAN CHARLATANS IN BATUM In this city, a hardship which is worse than the customs business for Iranian pilgrims is this. Several Iranian brokers stay there who have been rascals and rogues since way back. They are divided into two factions. Each faction has several followers, and they are occupied with robbing and vexing the pilgrims. The names of their leaders are as follows:
Tekran the Armenian, who is an Iranian by origin and sometimes has consular authority in Batum.
Hajji Gholam, who is an Iranian and has become one of the soldiers and employees of the customs house; Karbalai Mohammad Ali; Mashhadi Reza; and Mashhadi Ali Yazdi.
First of all, they insist that travelers and pilgrims are responsible for passport fees which are not customarily paid there, so that each person pays about two tomans passport fee. Secondly, [they get money for] every lodging rented by a traveler in Batum. If, for example, that lodging costs half a toman, they, by force or cajolery or sharp talk, hold a person responsible for paying [them] two tomans. Third, everything that one wants to buy there costs double its value since they have an understanding with the merchants and tradesmen. If a traveler wants to sell anything, they belittle his goods so much that he sells for half the value or no one will buy it at all. Fourth, if the broker for this helpless traveler belongs, for example, to Tekran’s faction, the faction of Hajji Gholam tries to harm him or to steal his property. Or if he smuggles something past customs, this faction will reveal his delinquency and thus entangle him with imprisonment and fines. The helpless Iranian traveler is confused: What should he do? Where should he go? To which gang should he entrust himself? How can he renounce his baggage, clothes, food, and drink? How can he bear this amount of customs duties? How can he take refuge from these Russian thieves and Iranian swindlers? On whom can he rely? How can he flee?
Really, it is a strange situation. “These days a father doesn’t know his own son.” “It is like doomsday.” “It is a day when a man flees from his brother.” It is in this place that all the travelers are utterly distraught and upset. Since I did not have anything dutiable, I was at ease and merely observing [what was going on].
They tell the story about Shaykh Shebli,197 that on one of his trips he was with a caravan. Bandits fell on the caravan, and the people were distraught out of grief and sorrow over the loss of property. They were weeping and lamenting. They saw the shaykh seated in a corner laughing. They said, “What reason is there for laughter?” He said, “The bandits stole whatever all these [people] had and thus they are upset and weeping. I didn’t have anything for the thieves to steal. Therefore I am at ease and laughing!” “The lightly burdened shall be saved.”
178 Britain’s rejection of widely agreed upon controls on the Hajj transport industry was another important cause of continued epidemics.
179 The following excerpts maintain the Persian spellings from the 1990 American edition of Farahani’s book, edited, translated, and annotated by Hafez Farmayan and Elton L. Daniel. Diacritical marks have been omitted. The footnotes, selected and on occasion simplified by the present editor, come from Farmayan-Daniel’s edition. They are not Farahani’s. [Ed.]
180 Naser od-Din: The Shah of Iran from 1848 until his assassination in 1896; the Qajar Dynasty to which he belonged ruled Iran from 1786 to 1925. There is as yet no good biography of Naser od-Din. . . .
181 toman: The toman (towman) was a coin, usually gold, first introduced in the Mongol period as the equivalent of ten thousand dinars; here, it is equal to ten silver krans. The kran was . . . equal to twenty copper shahis (about eight cents).
182 farsakh: A traditional unit for measuring distance; since it reflected a distance one could travel in a fixed period of time, the actual length varied from 2.3 to 4.2 miles (3.7 to 6.7 kilometers). It is more or less synonymous with the farsang (or parasang in common English usage).
183 The extensive petroleum resources of the Baku area were known and exploited even in antiquity; the first modern drilling for oil there occurred in 1842. The industry had been opened up to private enterprise in 1872; this, plus the completion of the railway link in 1883, resulted in a considerable boom in prosperity for Baku. . . .
184 zar’: a measurement of length equal to forty-one inches.
185 pood: a Russian unit of weight equal to about thirty-six pounds.
186 Mann: unit of weight varying from 3 to 6 kilograms.
187 In these paragraphs, Farahani may seem to be rather excessive in his criticism of the Russians. On the other hand, it should be remembered that Baku during the oil boom did have a wild life. The English travelers Hone and Dickinson, [in] Persia in Revolution, also wrote that Baku “is a Mecca of adventurers” where “an enemy may be disposed of . . . at a cost of five rubles” and where “prosperous citizens are kidnapped in broad daylight” and “the average number of murders per day is five.” They also quote the famous rebel Shamel as saying, “Alexander the Great took a dislike to this district on account of its barrenness and he turned it into a place of exile for all the criminals of the world.”
188 Once the Transcaucasian Railroad was opened to passenger traffic, it quickly became a popular means of connecting Iran with the Black Sea maritime routes since it alleviated the problem of making either an arduous overland trip across the rugged Caucasus or the longer detour via Tzaritzina and Taganrog. As Benjamin, Persia and the Persians, reported, “The Railway between Tiflis and Batum had been opened about ten days before our arrival in Tiflis. Otherwise, instead of riding comfortably from that city to Baku by rail in twenty-four hours, we should have been obliged to go over the route in springless troikas, over a rough, treeless road, traversing barren plains and mountains infested by brigands, and weeks would have been required to accomplish the distance.”
189 one and a half majidis: approximately twenty-five dollars. [Ed.]
190 para: the smallest denomination of Ottoman coinage.
191 At the time of Farahani’s visit the Ottoman Sultan was attempting to increase his authority in the Hijaz at the expense of the Sharif. As Farahani indicates here, one of the most important (and lucrative) prerogatives of this office was the right to license individuals to transport pilgrims or to serve as pilgrim guides. . . .
192 The ‘akkam were servants hired to pack up baggage and handle other routine aspects of managing a caravan. The hamleh-dar was the actual organizer of the caravan who drew up contracts to transport pilgrims and then led the caravan to its destination. Islamic law permitted a Muslim who could not make the pilgrimage ritual to Mecca in person to hire someone to make the pilgrimage in his stead; an individual who contracted to make the pilgrimage for someone else in this manner was known as a hajjeh-forush (literally, “pilgrimage seller”). Since these individuals regularly made the pilgrimage (and thus could influence other potential pilgrims who would trust their experience), they could be used by the pilgrimage guides to recruit customers. . . .
193 Sa’deyyeh is a more modern name for Yalamlam, the place where pilgrims coming from the town of Taʾif and other areas to the southeast of Mecca, notably the Yemen, put on the ritual pilgrimage garments.
194 Specified locations for donning the ihram. [Ed.]
195 The mokharrej, or camel broker, was an official licensed by the Sharif of Mecca to rent out camels and other mounts to pilgrims traveling between Mecca and Jidda. . . .
196 maydan: Equivalent to one quarter of a farsakh; about a mile. [Ed.]
197 Abu Bakr Dolaf osh-Shebli (861–945): a celebrated Sufi from Baghdad.