Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1857-10-21
NO. XIV.
From the Public Ledger.
Mosaue of Omar.

{ 81 a From the Public Ledger.
| Mosque of Omar.
Messrs. Editors My attention was called to
an interesting article 10 late issue of your val.
liable paper, In which it was stated that the
Duke and Duchess of Brabant, lately admitted
to the tabooed precincts of the Mosque of Omar,
by authority of the Pasha of jerusalem, were the
first privileged explorers of that most attractive
and sacred Fame OF Mosem custody. The noe
turna visit of DR.. Richardson, as well as the fur
tive reconnaissance of Catherwood, revealed ma
nv of the mysteries of this locked up enclosure;
but it was not till 1853 that Dr. Barclay, asso-
ciated with the Turkish architect in renoyating
the Mosque and its adjoining buildings, above
and below ground, made thorough and CON-
plete exploration and survey of the area of Mount
Moriah.
The writer of this article, in an associate CA
pacity had unlimited access at the same time.
IT'S true we were not exactly recognized rs
Christians, during these visits nor yet as human
beings, in the eyes of the swarthy eunuchs, the
conservators of the harem, but were called dom
keys, and were subjected to most thorough alb
luton in the Hanana es Shefa an adjoining bath,
where we submitted to the parboiling, boiling,
soaping and faying, with melancholy serious
ness, in view of our ne,o being which, so far rs
former covering of the body was concerned, was
literally new hide, in which we departed from
this lia6us of Moslem regeneration.
Entering one of the western gates, OF which
there are six, and vending our way beneath the
graceful cypress and delicate acacia, in stocking
feet, we ascended the platform on which the
Mosque stands, looming mp in magnificent gran
deur, surmounted by the raning crescent. The
cross that once crowned it, was long centuries
back, dragged by the victorious Saladin for
weeks through the streets of Jerusalem, and the
entire enclosure washed with rose water to
cleanse it of Christian de6lement.
Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
Thy cross thou Dearest now
An iron yoke is on thy neck,
32 And blood Is on thy brow.
The golden crown, the crown of truth,
Thou didst reject as dross,
And now thy cross is on thee laid,
The Crescent is thy cross"
The Mosque of Omar $50 called from the Ca
lif Omar is the finest piece of Saracenic archi-
lecture in the world, octagonal in shape, and en-
tered by four spacious doors, facing the cardinal
points, The lower part of the building is faced
with white marble, tinged with blue, fragments,
perhaps, of Solomon's Temple, formerly occupy
ing the site;) the upper part is inlaid with va
riegated porcelain, with inscriptions in Turkish
from the Koran, above, forming singular and
beautiful Mosaic The dome is unsurpassed in
symmetry and beauty, and covers the el-Sakera,
which is supposed to have been the Holy of Ho-
lies, where the Shekinab was manifested and
the Ark of the Covenant rested.
The Moslem tradition respecting the el-Sakera
(or Holy Stone) is that it fell from Heaven,
when the spirit of prophecy commenced, and
that the ancients prophesied from it, and that
upon this rock sat the Angel of Death, who, up
on David's rash and inconsiderate numbering of
the people, slaughtered till God commanded
him to put his sword again into the sheath there
Of" At the time of the hegra of the Prophet
from Jerusalem the stone wished to accompany
him, whereupon the Angel Gabriel prevented it
by forcibly holding it Qhe marks of his fingers
are still shown) until the arrival of Mohammed,
who by his prayers fixed it forever to the spot.
Upon this rock you are also shown the print of
the prophets foot
The Mosque is said to contain the scales for
weighing the souls of men, the shield of Moham-
med, the birds of Solomon, the pomegranates of
David, and the saddle of el-Borak, as well as an
original copy of the Koran, the parchment leaves
Of which are four feet long.
A well of living water is also found, from
which believers are said to drink. A green slab
of marble is shown, which has the marks of
eighteen nails of silver three of which still re-
main, the others having disappeared at different
times, to mark the completion of certain great
epochs. Those remaining are to follow, and
when the last takes its fight the fullness of time
will be completed, and the end of the world will
have come. There are not wanting specimens
of true Jewish architecture in the immense sub
structure and rock galleries n the S. E. angle Of
the Temple enclosure to confirm the opinion that
they are of Solomonic origin, and existed here
nearly three thousand years ago. I have no
space to occupy in this sketch Of many otherin-
teresting places within the enclosure. such as
the Mosque El-Aksa El-Borak, the Golden Gate,
and the immense subterranean pools discovered
by DR.. Barclay during his residence in the "City
Of the Great Kingn j. j. b.