MEZAR OSHA.
B5d
collected by the guardian, and pay the expenses of illuminating -
the apartment during the summer months ; for in the winter
season hardly any body seeks favours at the shrine of the saint. In
one corner stands a small plate, upon which some of the most devout ¬
visitors place a piece of incense. A wooden partition separates ¬
the tomb from the mosque, where the Turks generally say a
few prayers before they enter the inner apartment. On the outside -
of the building is a very large and deep cistern much frequented ¬
by the Bedouins. Here is a fine view over the Ghor.
Rieha, or Jericho, is visible at a great distance to the southward.
About half an hour to the N. W. of Osha, on the lower part of the
mountain, is the ruined place called Kafer Houda (19,4).
As pilgrimage in the east is generally coupled with mercantile
speculations, Osha’s tomb is much resorted to for commercial purposes, ¬
and like Mekka and Jerusalem, is transformed into a fair at
the time of the visit of the pilgrims. The Arabs of the Belka,
especially the Beni Szakher, bring here Kelly or soap-ashes, which
they burn during the summer in large quantities: these are bought
up by a merchant of Nablous, who has for many years monopolized -
the trade in this article. The soap-ashes obtained from the
herb Shiman, of the Belka, are esteemed the best in the country,
to the S. of Damascus, as those of Palmyra are reckoned the best
in northern Syria. They are sold by the Arabs for about half a
crown the English cwt., but the purchaser is obliged to pay
heavy duties upon them. The chief of the Arabs of El Adouan,
who is looked upon as the lord of the Belka, although his tribe
is at present considerably weakened, exacts for himself five piastres
from every camel load, two piastres for his writer, and two
piastres for his slave. The town of Szalt takes one piastre for
every load, the produce of which duty is divided among the public -
taverns of the town. The quantity of soap-ashes brought to
