The latter closes with a visit to the Ka`ba, but its essential ceremonies lie outside Mecca, at the neighbouring shrines where the old Arabs gathered before the Meccan fair.
While the pure-blooded Malays of the Peninsula are Mahommedans, the Siamese and Lao profess a form of Buddhism which is tinged by Cingalese and Burmese influences, and, especially in the more remote country districts, by the spirit-worship which is characteristic of the imaginative and timid Ka and other hill peoples of Indo-China.
The siege was raised in the third month on the news of the death of Yazid, but not before the Ka`ba had been destroyed.
In the centre of the town stands Meshed (strictly Meshhed) `Ali, the shrine of `Ali, containing the reputed tomb of that caliph, which is regarded by the Shi`ite Moslems as being no less holy than the Ka`ba itself, although it should be said that it is at least very doubtful whether `Ali was actually buried there.
Let KA and LB be the positions of NP corresponding to the extreme values of x.
