Page:Domestic Life in Palestine.pdf/128

Rh turn, for the space of a few days or a week. The honored one is said to be "holder of the keys," for during her temporary sway she is always in full dress—the mistress of the reception-room—and the favored one of the lord of the harem, while the rest attend to the cooking and household matters. This family seemed to be very well regulated, and I never saw any signs of ill-feeling between the wives, although the youngest and prettiest had no children, while the eldest, a lady of Nablûs, had three sons, and the two others, who came respectively from Saida and Damascus, had each a son and daughter.

The sheikh always sought for wives in various and far distant towns. After marriage the women rarely, if ever, came in contact with their relatives; thus, having no connections in Hâifa, they naturally sympathized with each other as strangers in a strange place. There were no old quarrels or jealousies to revive; on the contrary, there must have been subjects of novelty and interest to communicate. Perhaps this was one of the reasons why Abdallah's harem was more homelike and harmonious than any other which I visited.

The chief room is long and narrow, with unglazed, wooden, latticed windows on three sides of it. A raised divan at the end of the room is regarded as the seat of honor, where the sheikh always sits. Narrow mattresses, carpeted and cushioned, are arranged on the floor close to the walls.