The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1876-04-27
AN ARAB TEMPLE.
A Day In the Mosque 10 Of Mohammed Al

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outer door. Of the mosque you enter a
beautiful marble paved court, or clois.
ter, the whole aspect of which appeals
alike to your sentiment of reverence
and your love of artistic fitness. 1t is
50 absolutely pure and white and
stainless that you own instinctively
that to tread its precincts with shoes
stained with the travel of the dusty
streets would be indeed vertiable
proclamation. You go to the graceful
fountain which stands in the center,
honoring the Moslem reverence that
will not enter it's holy place with I'm.
washed hands or feet; and when one
stands Within the richly decorated
doorway he must be dull or prejudiced
indeed 1t he does not confess to the
combined sense; of grandeur and splen-
dor with which its lofty proportions
and brilliant coloring fill his mind.
Even the ''wretched lanters," which
are simply globes of clear glass with
out the faintest tint of color or deco.
ration, somehow fell in, to my barbar-
ic and American vision, with the;
general veneration for light as a sym.
Dol of the source of light, which is 50
characteristic of all Eastern religions,
and scarcely less Of that great body of
Eastern Christians whom we know
generally as the Greek Church. In
deed, it seemed ut first curious, but,
after few moment reflection, not an
unnatural, association of ideas to find
myself comparing the Mosque Of Mo-
hammed Ali with the famous Russo.
Greek Church known as St. Isaac s,
which had seen a few months before
in St. Petersburg. The latter is un-
doubtedly one of the great ecclesias-
tical structures of the world, and yet
am constrained to own that it never
produced upon me the effect of the
Mosque of the Citadel (as tits more
familiarly called) in Cairo. The sense
of height, of splendor and religious
appropriateness, instead of diminish
ing continuously increased, and one
could understand and pardon the inn
pulsiveness of somewhat ELUSIVE
English lady who, during our stay at
Cairo, was seen to prostrate herself in
a mosque in Oriental fervor of posture
and n1ein."
Undoubtedly this feeling, whether
experienced in the Mosque of Moham.
med Ali or any other, is in part to be
explained by the c0ntagion of exam.
pie. Somebody has said that there is
a way Of participating in public wor.
ship among Christian nations which,
If only.sit could generally obtain,
would compel imitation from lockers.
on. And one could understand this in
watching the individual Mohammedan
worshiper. Unfamiliar as it must be,
Frank faces and Frank costumes-un-
welcome a. must be; according to all
the ideas of the Mosulem, the pres.
ence Of Frank wOmen-yet the wor.
shippers in the Mosque Of Mohammed
Ali never turned their heads or evinccd
in any way the slightest consciousness
of our presence. On the floor of the
vast building, which was unincun-
bered with any pews, chairs or sittings
OF any sort, and. covered only with
Turkish rugs OF carpets scattered here
and there, they were dotted, kneeling,
standing, or.prostrate with their fore.
heads to the ground, and wearing in
air Of the most profound seriousness
and intonseness. 1t was Just at sunset,
St41O tllV 4VAVy OuAANAll1s "aSS uUOSlGu Will
the last CLEANS of the departing day,
but the.Worshipers as they prayed here
and there, were turned all alike with
their faces toward the east. Iwish
could at all describe the expression
of those faces. have spoken of their
intenseness. twas at once absorbed,
inquisitive and penetrating; and as
one watching the dusky countenances
turned 10 fixedly toward the blank
walls afew yards distant, he almost
turned TO- go what it was beyond that
blank wall which the Arab; .devotee
seemed to be gazing al. 50 intently.
One OF the ninety nine names of God
in tho Mohammedan ritual is "The
Revealer,'' and we could not but
breathe the prayer that somehow he
whom they 50 blindly sought might
show himself to these simple but most
ferverent worshipers.%4 @sa ss.s5 f., 1T.
As We fingered to watch them, two
or three young men, pilgrims On thei1
way to make their annual visit to tht
tomb Of the Prophet at Mecca, entered
the mosque evidently Tor thu firsttime
Children Of the Desert, as their whole
garb and bearing showed them to be
their ar and conduct were. precisely
sacn 9 one would expect from chill