Page:Ossendowski - The Fire of Desert Folk.djvu/209

Rh "'I am he whom you saw yesterday, as you stopped at the well. My name is Mulay Idris Abd Allah ben el-Hassan ben Ali, and the blood of the Prophet flows in my veins. I have come to seek you, Gamderoui, and you are to act as the Lord shall order you.'

"Bowing to the will of Allah, Gamderoui and the Aouraba tribe received the banished caliph, who at once began to teach the Koran to pagans, Christians and Jews. Then he reconciled the fighting tribes, united them and formed the Maghreb Empire, ascending the throne as its first great emir. The thankful sultan married a Berber woman, who gave to him a son, the great and holy Idris who built Fez el-Bali. Here in Ulili, the ancient Volubilis, the hand of the revengeful Harun al-Rashid reached the sultan and had him poisoned by a sorcerer.

"Oh, foreigners! Look down upon this city, where the people entombed the ashes of the master. Here the unbeliever cannot remain longer than from sunrise to sunset. The Idrises were wise masters, who taught the faith in One God, the Creator of everything and of all the other gods and spirits. They have all remained here—the ancient gods, the saints of the neighboring tribes and the djinns—and find place enough within the walls of El-Zerhun. At the hours of prayer to Allah they hide in their several abodes and only come out of them when the last words of the Imams and the muezzins have died away. The most celebrated magi, sorcerers, fortunetellers, and clairvoyants have visited our town and have found strength here. Here they have put together the most efficacious talismans, just as they have also uttered the most reliable prophecies. Old men among our people