Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1907-02-16
doorways, also hung with the

arched doorways, also hung with the
same heavy curtains led TO the m
terror of the mosque proper. IL was
however not through one of these we
now went. for Hassin Bey had decided
TO show first the gallery and therefore
led us to q circular runway of stone
up which a horse and wagon could
have been driven, which brought US,
after considerable effort to the spaci-
Gus gallery surrounding the inter-
Tor This gallery Is so tucked away be-
hind the massive columns that 1t Is
scarcely noticeable.
RELICS OF CHRISTIANITY.
on the outer walls of this gallery
are pillars cut In relief In the stone,
and on each one near the top Is
small cross carved deep in the rock.
Hassin Boy showed these with much
ceremony and / think would have
accepted n few extra piastas for his
personal tolerance in allowing such
relics of Christianity to remain in the
mosque. But the stock of piastas
was getting low and he had to be
satisfied with an appreciative word of
thanks for his consideration, Spirits
dropped a point or two. but he man
aged to keep up.
INEFFACEABLE EMBLEM.
On the sepi-globular dome that
forms the ceiling over the place where
in Christian days the main altar stood.
is still TO be plainly discerned in the
Mosalcs the outlines OF a huge cruel
fixion The Turks have tried to OBJ
literate II by substituting for the orig
inal stones In color. others of the
color OF the rest of the ceiling. 1t
doesn't work we'll for the outline re-
mains very plainly.
a VAST INTERIOR.
From the gallery one has view
of the magnidcently vast interior OF
the mosque; and II is startling to
see how small and insignificant man
looks when standing under that great
dome Like ST. Peters its immense
Hize is impossible of appreciation until
contrasted with some familiar object
NOT ON THE SQUARE.
According to Mohammedan rite all
must face Mecca when praying. and
IN mosques the direction is Indicated
by the prayer-niches. kiosks and tho
mosque itself but Of course the Ala
Sophia's architects could not look down
the vista Of the future. seeing the rise
Of Monalnmedanism, also that OF the
Ottoman Turk, and considerably pre-
pare the building for it's eventual use
as mosque. In consequence of their
negligence ia this direction, the mat
ting, the rugs. kiosks and prayer inches
are placed al IN acute angle 10 the
walls; and the praying Mohammedans
instead Of bowling their prayers square
ont OF one side OF the building let them
glance dlagOnially toward one corner
Things are 10 seldom ON the square in
Turkey that this Is really not noticed
so much as might be supposed In
fact one wonders that the angle is not
move acute.
AGAIN HELD UP"
III an obscure corner of the gallery,
where he thought we couldn't md our
way out If he left us, Hassin Bey made
new demand for "baksh ah." lie
got II ana having tucked II away some
where among the ample folds OF his
nightgoNn. he conducted as once more
through the circular runway and the
fore hall ONO the lower floor. under the
dome OF the building. There Were sew
eral plous looking old gentlemen with
white boards and turbaned heads seat
ed IN their own feet before small X
shaped stools on which We're open
books. probably the koran. They were
evidently chanting from these books
and as they drawled out the long
Phrases In u high pitched monotone
they swayed their bodies back and
forth with bowling motion as monot-
onous as their chant
ouTNGMBlcR PRoTEETANTs
The scene WAS not without its Inn
pressiyeness. Those men represented