ABSTRACT
And the Arab host, like the English hostess, serves his guests with his own hand; but unlike many a hostess, he does so in a simple and unaffected manner.
Speaking of Abdullah'l-Bassam, Charles Montagu Doughty 1 says: 'His mortar rang out like a bell of hospitality when he prepared coffee.' He once mentions tea, the use of which was not then so extensive in Najd. But no host these days serves coffee without following it with a brew, the major ingredients of which are sugar and milk. It is nevertheless called tea; but I have heard people speak of it as sweet coffee. It is served in glasses, and is an indispensable part of the ceremony. After the tea the host rises with the incense burner in his hand, which he offers to his guests, three or four times in succession, and they perfume their beards, sniffing the fumes of aromatic wood, or place the burner under their gutrahs and their abas to perfume the head and breast. A leisurely manner marks the whole entertainment-I should say, ceremony-which is generally prolonged for the sake of conversation. After the incense, however, the guests may rise and go, saying to the host, Allah favour thee, Allah honour thee.
