Page:Ossendowski - The Fire of Desert Folk.djvu/168

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152
THE FIRE OF DESERT FOLK

help them in their agriculture. You will be able to see all this for yourself, as I shall arrange for you to visit our northern front, which follows along the Spanish Rif and on which some operations are now in progress."

Afterwards the General presented me to some of the members of his staff, who had been working for long periods in Morocco, and later, at a luncheon to which he had invited my wife and myself, to other officers and officials of his command. Thanks to the guiding suggestions and to the assistance of General de Chambrun and his staff, as well as to the courtesy of the French administrative authorities, I succeeded in coming into touch with many of the features of the life of this country which are not revealed to the casual traveler and I am most happy to acknowledge my gratitude to them for this.

After we had returned to our hotel and had rested for a while, I called Hafid and asked him if he had planned to show us the mosque of Mulay Idris, which some of the officers had commended to us as the Mecca of Fez. With a smile our young guide answered:

"I wanted to acquaint you first with the science, politics and art of the capital, afterwards with its faith and every-day life. However, if you so prefer, I shall begin with this last and shall show you our city at its best, that is, in the evening."

Immediately behind Bu Anania and quite up to the gate of Bab Futuh across the river, spreads a labyrinth of innumerable commercial streets. In some of these, which are open to the sky and flooded with the molten sunshine, one can breathe more freely only where the