File 756/1917 Pt 2-3 ‘ARAB BULLETIN Nos 66-114’ [‎311v] (631/834)

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surrender <uid found tlifit much. fiRd been secieted, one privstc
soldier alone, it is alleged, having hoarded some £80. The Bedu
seldom accepted any other form of payment, though it is on
record that they once exchanged carpets for rice. Further,
Fakhri regularly gave monetary rewards for services well rendered.
The troops had a considerable quantity of gold at the time
of the evacuation, purchasing supplies freely from the Bedu at
Geria, but no exact statistics have yet been procured. Some
£2,000 in gold and a large amount in Turkish paper have been
found amongst captured archives recently brought to Cairo.
The Prophet's Tomb.
On the evacuation the Haram was found to be intact. But
it had been depleted of most of its valuables. Early in the war
the mass of the treasure there, worth, according to the official
register, about nine million pounds, was removed for safety to
Constantinople in two consignments. Later Fakhri gave away
many articles of lesser value, to both officers and civilians, partly
as gifts or souvenirs to friends, partly in exchange for gold.
One of his main reasons for doing so was his need of room for the
storing of arms and provisions in the Chamber. He put there
ammunition and supplies for six hundred men for six months,
and widened the Bab el Selam street to admit of bringing a branch
line of the, railway up to the door.
Incidentally, on his departure, he left his sword on the Tomb,
but it is rumoured to have been since abstracted.
A large number of smaller ornaments he actually melted
down. When he surrendered, he himself was wearing on his
wrist as bangles some silver chains taken from lamps. How he
accommodated this with his conscience is not clear. But, as
regards these and all the rest, he kept most elaborate records and
receipts, with a view presumably to their final return. A com
mission on their restoration is sitting at Constantinople, and a
complete list has been made out and signed by the Harem el
Sherif. A petition to King Husein .signed by 200 notables of the
locality gives an account of some of the chief things that are missing.
According to it the Turks have removed the famous Kawkab el
Durri (Star of Pearls); a gold crocodile over a yard in length
and inlaid with pearls and precious stones; a gold crown, worked
with diamonds, emeralds, and a large pearl, the size of a pigeon’s
egg ; six gold candlesticks, two mounted with valuable stones ;
and many other articles. Emin Bey made copy out of the re
moval of these treasures and in his proclamation stated that under
the regime of the Central Committee neither Fakhri nor his
adherents would be allowed to approach the Chamber, and that
everything that they had taken from it must at once be returned.