Page:Ossendowski - The Fire of Desert Folk.djvu/276

260 "We entered through a patio, with the customary marble fountain in the center, located well back in the serai, which was really only the temporary summer residence of our host. Coal-black, ugly Negro slaves with great thick lips and tight-curled hair awaited us on the steps of the terrace. As they raised a thin silk curtain, we entered a large room whose only light came in through two small windows with colored panes well up toward the ceiling and gave to the place a mysterious air of blending purple and orange hues. The intoxicating fragrance of rose, almond and jasmine mingled with the aroma of the cedar to give the atmosphere a quality appropriate to what we are wont to associate with the exclusive seraglio. As we were left alone to take our places on the comfortable, low divans, I had the impression that I had been borne off somewhere to live out one of my dreams.

"We were allowed to rest by ourselves for half an hour before any of the women of the harem appeared, each one entering alone, as though arriving thus to make a more distinct and greater impression. There were the two wives of our host, his three daughters and the wife of the younger son. All were overdressed, rouged and painted, with eyes elongated and blackened with kohl, with signs tattooed on cheek, chin and brow and with hair and hands dyed with henna. Their jewels were rich and numerous, counting immense gold chains, armlets and ankle bands, immense medallion-talismans, the so-called "hand of Fatma," great circular earrings set with rubies, emeralds, sapphires and garnets and massive bands around the head and forehead, adorned with pendants. Their hair was