Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1891-11-12
AVlSlT TO a MOHAMME DAN MOSQUE.


How Daring woman Succeeded in I'm
tering, Though She Had No slippers.
A commission has been appointed by the
present government whose duty is the
preservation OF the monuments of Arabian
art; occasionally, therefore, in II mosque
one finds scaffolding in place and a general
dismautement. One can only hope for
the best--in much the same spirit in which
one hopes when one sees the beautiful old
front of st. Marks, Venice gradually en-
croached upon by the new raw timbers.
But in Cairo, at least, the work of rapair-
Lg goes on very slowly; 800 mosques,
probably, out of the 400 still remain un-
touched, and many of these are adorned
with II delicate beauty which is unrivalcd.
| know no quest so enchanting as n search
through the winding lanes of the Old
quarters for these gems of Saracenic taste,
which no guide book has as yet chronicled,
no dragonan discovered. The street is so
narrow hat your donkey Ills almost all
the space. Passers by are obliged to hatten
themselves against the walls in response to
the oriental adjurations of your donkey
boy behind: "Take heed, o maidW your
foot, y chief!' Presently you see a nina
ret somewhere, but it is not always easy to
find the mosque to which it belongs, hid
den, perhaps, rs it is, behind other build
ings in the crowded labrynth.
At length you observe a door with n dab
or two of the well known Saraceuic honey
comb work above it, instantly you dis
mount, climb the steps, and look in. You
are almost sure to find treasures, either
fragments of the pearly Cairo mosaic, or n
wonderful ceiling, or gilded kufic (old
Arabian text inscriptions and arabesques,
or remains of the ancient colored glass
which changes It's tint hour by hour. Best
Of all, sometimes you find space open to
the sky, with fountain in the center, the
whole surrounded by arcades of marble
columns adorned with hanging lamps Tor
rather with the bronze chains which once
carried the Lamps, and with suspended os-
trich eggs-the emblenls of good luck.
One day, when my donkey was making
his way through dilapidated region, |
came upon a mosque SO small that it
seemed hardly more than II base for it's eX-
quisite mnaret, which lowered to an I'M
usual height above it. OF course l dis
mounted. The little mosque was open, but
as it was never visited by strangers it pos
sessed no slippers, and without coverings
of some kind it was impossible that I'M
| sanctifed shoes such as niue, should touch
/ its matted floor; the bent, ancient guardian
/ glared at me fiercely for the mere sugges-
/ ton. One sees sometimes in the eyes of
old men sitting in the mosques the original
| spirit of Islam shining still. Once their re-
| ligion commanded the sword they would
| like to grasp it again if they could.
1t was suggested that the mating
might, for a baksheesh, be rolled up and
put away, as the place was small But the
| stern old keeper remained infeXible. Then
the offer was made that so many piasters
ten Chat is, fifty cents)-would be given
to the blind. Now the blind are sacred in
Cairo; this offer, therefore, was success
| full; all the mating was carefully rolled
/ and stacked III Il corner, the three or four
Moslems present withdrew to the door
and the unbeliever was allowed to enter
She found herself in temple of color
which was incredibly rich. The floor was
! of delicate marble, and every inch of tho
/ walls was covered with u mosaic Of por.
pbyry and jasper, adorned with gilded in
scriptions and bands OF kutic text; the tall
! pulpit made of mahogany colored wood
! WAS carved from top to bottom in intricate
| designs and ornameuted with odd little
plaques of fretted bronze; the sacred niche
was lined with a.abaster, turquoise and
cleaning mother Of pearl; the only light
came through the hick glass OF the small
windows far above, in downward falliug
rays Of crimson, violet and gold The Ole
mosaic work Of the Cairo mosques is com
posed of small plates Of marble and OIL
/ mother Of pearl arranged in geometricaI
designs; the delicacy of the minute cube,
employed, and the in;rcacy of the pat
terms are marvellous; the color is faint
unless the turquoise has heen added; but
ha iii Of It,, { f.