The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-07-27

bread. the golden candlesticlls and the
 door which lo9 - fine s7'all dark f,0ly of
 holies. The biblical temple was built of
 magnificent materials and many parts of
 it were decorated with plates of gold. The
 dome of the rock today exhibits no Ness
 fneness in workmanship.
 ON THE SACRED ROCK
 It is beautiful octagonal sanctuary standing on a raised platform in the very center of the haran, and is erected over the sacred rock from which Moslems be- lieve that Mohammed ascended into heaven. Moslems have also adopted the Jewish tradition that the sacred rock
 forms the center of the world and it is said to be IS miles nearer heaven than any other place in the world.
 Most authorities consider that the pres cnt structure was built in the seventh century by the tenth Caliph, Abd el Me- lik The dome fell in the eleventh cen tury when an earthquake shook the Je- rusalem area. so that the present dome is only SO0 years old. It, along with the little dome of the chain. has undergone repa ring every century. It underwent an extensive repairing in the sixteenth cen tury al the hands of Sukeiman the Mag nificent. Its next greatest repairing was done in 1874. It was patched in places for the Kaiser's visit to Jerusalem in 1S9S, the Sultan of Turkey appropriating s2O,OOO for the purpose, and it has been patched within the last 10 years.
 It is covered externally with porcelain tiles and lower down with marble. The effect of these tiles, which are in the Persian style, is very fine, the subdued blue contrasting beautifully with the white and with the green and white squares on the edges. Passages from the Koran. beautifully inscribed in m terwoven characters of Arabic, run round fsiA thace titles has been written upon and baked separately.
 Its interior, which may not be entered without covering ones shoes with slip pers, is divided into three concentric parts | by marble columns, differing in form height and color The upper part of the wall is intersected with arches and adorned with nosaics of a rich and varie- | gated design not easy to describe, IL consists of fantastic lines intertVined
 with striking boldness and frequently or garlands of flowers, all beautifully and ella bora tely executed. Above them IS a broad blue band, bearing very ahclenl | Arabic inscriptions in gold letters. ine dome. which is made of wood. With ieau on the outside. is covered within with tab lets of wood, colored blue and richly
 adorned with painted and gilded stucco' | Tn inc windows is colored glass or mar yellous richness. Under the done IS the | holy rock itself some 60 feet long ana 70 feet wide, on which, according to JeW ish tradition Abraham and Melchlzeoek I ga crifced on which Abraham was on 1 the nojnt of staying Isaac and which IS said to have been anointed by. Jacop.
 Mosley1,s have woven numbers or traut- items about it: on ii. they say, IS written | the shennhamphoras the great ana un sn.akable name of God. by reading wnicn | Iesus succeeded in working His miracle. l in ha. learned that the structural condl- l tion of the dome of the rock is good, that its interior surface is in fairly good condition. and that it's exterior surface IS
 in had condition, particularly on It's most exposed facade, the northwest facade' Such tiles as still exist on this tdctue have been affixed in the last century but i on the least exposed facade. the north
 uest many of the tiles date back to the
 sixteenth century. In general, it may ne
 said that the bones of the building are solnd but that its outer skin needs con l siderable renewal
 IN BAD CONDITION
 ! Certain minor defects have manifested 1 themselves in the lead work of the dome, 1 which requires more complete stoppage l against rain than it now has. The tiles | covering the drum of the building, just below the dome, are in need in places of I complete renewal. and in other places 1 ,les need to be reset. With the exception of that ra-t of the great "a Seon inscrip- i, tion. which lies on the northwest part Of the drum, all the tiles on the northwest na ri have disappeared. The sills of the windows in the drum need cleaning out with a>yiew to making them drain prop 1 erly.
 l On the exterior of the octagon, all the tiles on the northwest are found to have either already fallen or to be about 10 fall. On the other facades numpers or ] tiles have fallen, due largely to the dis l integrating effect of rain water and to the growth of plants which have gained 1, a f.,othold between the tiles. The sills of the windows around the octagon are found to want cleaning out; the cornice 1 on the northwest facade needs to tbe re-