Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-03-09
Ms RnED 1oNEk Or NhyouRA

surrounded by buildings which would not
look out Of place in any country town in
France. rises the mighty mosque DIANA ell
kebir. 1t was built in A. D. 1136, but it
is in as good condition today as when the
Moors first worshped in 1t $40 years ago.
The buildings Of this mosque cover about
an acre and the roof is supported by vast
number Of columns which end in great
arches hung with many chandeliers. The
buildings run around the court, in the CEN
ter of which is a fountain Of onyx about
which, as l passed through, the Mohamme-
dams were sitting and washing themselves
before going in to pray. We were allowed
to enter the mosque, but had first to put
on slippers, and we walked about through
the worshipers. who were kneeling on their
prayer rugs and bowling again and again as
they looked toward Mecca.
Built to the Ghost Of a Candy Man.
When Tlemcen was in the height of its
glory 1t had seventy mosques. One of the
most famous was built in honor of a con-
fectioner saint who preached to the chill
dren as they gathered around his candy
stall and whom. 1 doubt not, he attracted
by giving them sweets. He became so
popular that the sultan made him a tutor
to his three sons. This angered the grand
viser. and he had the candy saint con-
demned a sorcerer and beheaded outside
the gates. Shortly after this the ghost
of the candy saint appeared before the
sultan and made a complaint, and the sui
tan tied up the grand visier hand and foot
and threw him into vat of cement. AS
the cement hardened the grand visier hard
ened with it. and he was thus buried alive
in solid block of stone. After this the
sultan built the mosque which remains to
this day. This happened just 100 odd years
before Columbus discovered America.
have no doubt 1t is true, for l saw the
mosque here with my own matter of fact
American eyes.
Another MOSQUE huiIt in 1909 in
honor of an Arab lawyer. 1t contains some
of the most exquisite Moorish work of the
world, and it is perhaps the finest monu-
ment any lawyer has ever had. The law
yer 1T commentaries is said to have been
q man of truth.
Sidi Bou Medin.
One of the most interesting of the mosques
lies several miles from Tlemcen, on the
side of the mountains 1t is that of Sldi
Bou Medin. one of the most famous schol-
ars of the Moorish civilization of 500 years
ago. This man studied at Granada and
Fee. and then Travelled to Mecca. He lee
tured at Bagdad. Seville and Cordova and
ended his career by lecturing here. This
1t is f1oored with mosaic, its doors are Of
bronze and It's decorations are of Moorish
lace work of wonderful patterns Near it
there was famous Moorish college, and
while l walked through the mosque itself
could hear the boys singing out their
Koran as they swayed back and forth
going over and over the Arabic sentences
written on their wooden states. 1 found
many turbaned worshipers at prayers in
side. and the red-faced keeper grew quite
angry when asked If I might make their
photographs.
On my way back to town stopped at an
Arab cafe and drank coffee with a half
dozen dark-faced Berbers who had just left
the mosque. They were bearded and tur-
baned. They had taken OF their slippers
as they sat down to drink. and observed
that their bare feet were clean and the
toe nails almost as well cared for, as
though a manicure or rather a pedicure
had worked upon them. The men looked
strangely at me from under their turbans,
and evidently thought me as much a curl
osity as I considered them. Nevertheless,