[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

country at least a hundred years before my time, but their methods of weaving
had been slow to replace the Persian.
The idea of the prayer rug was new, although Moslems had marked off small
areas when in the field or traveling, to keep intruders at a distance when
praying. These were often marked off by sticks or stones. Despite the fact
that the Moslem religion has many elements similar to Christian or Jewish
practice, and all are People of the Book, the true Moslem will not pray where
the footsteps of Jews or Christians have made the ground unclean.
The worshiper will, if water is unavailable, wash his hands with sand or
soil, for he must bathe before praying. He will have with him hiskibleh,a
small compass to ascertain the direction of Mecca, and histesbeth,or rosary.
The devout Moslem will pray five times a day, his devotions preceded by
washing of the face, hands, and feet. Ears that have heard evil are touched
with water. Eyes and mouth that have seen or spoken evil are washed. When
washing the hands, the Moslem cups the water in his hands and lifts them,
allowing the water to run down to his elbows.
It was from this habit of washing our hands before prayer that we physicians
adopted the habit of bathing our hands in this manner, as it was the custom to
pray before each operation.
After bathing, the worshiper would kneel upon his marked-off space or rug,
prostrating himself, touching the rug with his forehead. During the years when
Mohammed lived, it was the custom to pray towardJerusalem , but following his
death, the direction ofMecca was adopted. Mats and rugs had been used by
various religions since earliest times, so the idea was not new to Arab, Turk,
or Persian.
The prayer rugs offered for sale inTabriz were rectangular rugs with an
elaborate border of delicate floral design. At the top of the rug and inside
the border was a panel some four inches wide and at least two feet long
containing a stylized quotation from the Koran in Arabic. Beneath the panel
and outlining the prayer arch was the spandrel with a field of sapphire blue
worked with an intricate design.
The Ghiordes prayer arch or niche possessed a high central spire and
well-defined shoulders. Two pillars supported the arch on the sides, and from
the center of the arch was suspended a representation of the sacred lamp of
the temple.
The coloring of the Ghiordes rugs I saw inTabriz was delicate but beautifully
defined. The rug I purchased had just been completed and was woven from silk
with a few designs in wool. Had the rug been woven entirely of silk or wool,
it would have been perfect, and nothing is perfect but Allah, so the addition
of a few designs in other materials indicated the humility of the weaver. The
blue, light-green, and yellow were beautiful in the extreme, and when held in
different lights the rug possessed a shimmer like a mirage in the desert. The
pile of the rug was woven in such a way that the nap lay in the direction
ofMecca .
The rugs fascinated me, and I wandered through the bazaars studying the
various ideas and motifs expressed in the weaving. The influence of the
Chinese was quite obvious in some of the rugs. Contacts with the Chinese had
begun long before. For several hundred years ships from Cathay had been coming
to the Persian Gulf, and in Constantinople as well as here I had seen bronze
Page 239
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
articles as well as ceramic fromChina .
Rugs fromSamarkand were displayed in the markets, some worked with a
pomegranate design, a Hittite symbol of eternal life and fertility. In others
the pine cone was the basic motif, a Chinese symbol of longevity, and the
cypress tree, often planted in Moslem cemeteries, was often seen. In ancient
times it had been believed that cypress boughs left upon the tombs of the dead
would continue to mourn. The cypress had long been sacred inPersia , sacred to
the fire worshipers who gavePersia its name, for the tall, slender shape of
the cypress symbolized the flame. In Córdoba I had seen many rugs from the
East, fabulous in beauty and texture. It was incredible that such rugs could
be woven, with hundreds of knots to the square inch. The one I finally decided
upon for myself numbered five hundred and forty knots to the square inch,
although this was nothing to such palace rugs as the great rug woven for the
audience hall atCtesiphon , representing a garden. Some such rugs numbered two
thousand five hundred knots to the square inch, an incredible number.
The garden idea was quite common in Persian rugs, and the word paradise is
Persian and means a "walled garden." Khatib found me in the bazaar, worried by
my absence, and reminding me of my meeting with the Emir. It was with rugs as
with pottery and books. I have been fascinated by the ideas expressed and the
symbolism woven into the texture of their work.
An hour after leaving the bazaar I appeared at the palace of the Emir, Mas'ud
Khan. Upon a dais at the far end of the audience hall a low table had been
spread with all manner of fruit and viands. Scarcely had I been shown into the
room than Mas'ud Khan himself appeared, and my expectations were shattered.
Instead of the corpulent emir I expected, round of cheek before and behind, I
found myself meeting a lean, hawk-faced man with black penetrating eyes that
measured me coldly. This was no idle official, fattening upon the deeds of
other men, but a warrior, lean and fierce. He carried the smell of blood and
the saddle about him, and I realized I must proceed'with the greatest caution.
"It is an honor to meet a scholar of such great knowledge." He spoke
smoothly, then abruptly. "You are truly a physician?"
"Truly," I replied, then added, "and you are truly the Emir?"
49
HE SMILED WITH genuine humor, albeit a wolfish humor that had more than a
hint of the sardonic. "Well said!" He seated himself at a table and handed me
a piece of fruit. "I think we shall be friends!"
"A scholar is always a friend to an emir," I said, "or he is not wise enough
to deserve the name of scholar!"
"You must forgive my ignorance," Mas'ud Khan said, "but I believed I knew the
names of the most eminent scholars. What a pity that I know so little of what
you have done!"
Suspicious of me, was he? Suspicious, and therefore dangerous, for this man
would act upon what he believed. Was he an Isma'ili? Perhaps an ally and
friend to Sinan?
"How could you know of me? I, who am but the least of Allah's servants? My
home was Córdoba, and in Córdoba one must be a great scholar indeed to be [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]