some large open spot
round which are erected the tents of the khedive, of great state
officials, and of the dervishes. Next in time, and also in importance,
is the Molid El-Hasanen, commemorative of the birth of Hosain, and
lasting fifteen days and nights; and at the same time is kept the
Molid of al-Salih Ayyub, the last sovereign but two of the Ayyubite
dynasty. In the seventh month occur the Molid of the sayyida Zenab,
and the commemoration of the Miarag, or the Prophet's miraculous
journey to heaven. Early in the eighth month (Sha'ban), the Molid of
the imam Shafi'i is observed; and the night of the middle of that
month has its peculiar customs, being held by the Moslems to be that
on which the fate of all living is decided for the ensuing year. Then
follows Ramadan, the month of abstinence, a severe trial to the
faithful; and the Lesser Festival (Al-'id as-saghir), which commences
Shawwal, is hailed by them with delight. A few days after, the Kiswa,
or new covering for the Ka'ba at Mecca, is taken in procession from
the citadel, where it is always manufactured, to the mosque of the
Hasanen to be completed; and, later, the caravan of pilgrims departs,
when the grand procession of the Mahmal takes place. On the tenth day
of the last month of the year the Great Festival (Al-'id al-kabir), or
that of the Sacrifice (commemorating the willingness of Ibrahim to
slay his son Ismail--according to the Arab legend), closes the
calendar. The Lesser and Great Festivals are those known in Turkish as
the Bairam (q.v.).

The rise of the Nile is naturally the occasion of annual customs, some
of which are doubtless relics of antiquity; these are observed
according to the Coptic calendar. The commencement of the rise is
commemorated on the night of the 11th of Bauna, the 17th of June,
called that of the Drop (Lelet-en-Nukta), because a miraculous drop is
then supposed to fall and cause the swelling of the river. The real
rise begins at Cairo about the summer solstice, or a few days later,
and early in July a crier in each district of the city begins to go
his daily rounds, announcing, in a quaint chant, the increase of water
in the nilometer of the island of Roda. When the river has risen 20 or
21 ft., he proclaims the Wefa en-Nil, "Completion" or "Abundance of
the Nile." On the following day the dam which closed the canal of
Cairo was cut with much ceremony. Th