ll
the Mocha coffee grown in Yemen would not much more than supply New York
City.

The pearl fisheries along the Arabian coast of the Persian Gulf are also
controlled by Arab traders. From there are obtained some of the finest
pearls to be found, and also many tons of mother-of-pearl shells. The
yearly product of the fisheries is thought to exceed more than two
millions of dollars in value. The pearls are found in a species of
oyster, and to obtain them the divers must go to the bottom in from
thirty to ninety feet of water. Expert divers can remain under water as
long as two minutes.

The oysters are taken ashore to be opened, and Turkish inspectors are on
hand to levy a tax on the product. A few pearls may escape him,
especially if he is temporarily blinded by the glare of several
piasters; but the pearl industry is taxed for about all that it is
worth.

Mecca, the birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad, is the city to which
every disciple of Islam is supposed to make a pilgrimage at least once
in his lifetime. The chief income of the inhabitants of Mecca is
obtained by renting rooms and entertaining the visiting pilgrims who
flock thither.

In the centre of the city is the so-called Sacred Mosque, or area, which
is entirely enclosed by a covered structure of colonnades having
minarets and cupolas. Within the centre of this enclosed space is a
cube-shaped building called the Kaaba, which contains the famous sacred
Black Stone. This stone, probably of meteoric origin, gives to the
building its sanctity, and is an object of the greatest veneration to
every pious Moslem, who kisses it repeatedly. There is also within the
enclosure a building containing the holy well, Zemzem, the only well in
Mecca.

No unbeliever is permitted to enter the sacred enclosure, much less to
pollute the Holy Kaaba by his presence. A few infidels disguised as
pilgrims, at the risk of their lives, have visited this sacred place.

The preparations for pilgrimage are unique. The pilgrims assemble near
Mecca during the holy month and begin the sacred rites by bathing and
assuming the sacred garb. This suit consists of two woollen wrappers,
one worn around the middle of the body and the other around the
shoulders. With bare head and slippers covering neither heel nor instep
the pilgrim sets forth on his holy journey.

While wearing this dress he is admonished to bring his thoughts into
harmony with the sanctity of the territory he now traverse