Evening star., 1935-02-17

its wings. That moon seemed determined b
look through all the 40 ancient panes, and IS
it wheeled the angle of the shafts of light that
fell upon the carpets at my feet wheeled, too.
lay quite still and watched the slow procession
Of these moonbeams, wondering If they were-
the ghosts of the emperors who once ruled
Byzantum, the Christian kings who had wors
SHIPPED here, the sultans of the Saracens COM
vening in this dark and overtowering vault
from which all living human beings but myself
had been driven out.
[ JOUR upon hour these shadow figures
moved, pacing, with the wheeling moon,
their path across the temple floor where they
had known their mortal glory and then the
moonlight waned and one by one the spectera
faded back into their crumbling tombs.
It was early dawn and there was not ghost
in sight. The moon had entirely departed and
pale gray light crept in through the windows
Of the dome. Cold and little apprehensive r
seized my coat and sought the door of the
mosque. It was open, screened only by a heavy
curtain of mats. The guard slept soundly on
the floor of the stone porch outside and did
not disturb him as crept beneath the curtain
and, shoes in hand, slipped past.
But did not reach the street, for at that
moment one Of the muezzins was coming across
the courtyard to ascend the minaret-and !
stood still, seized by a fantastic idea. The
muezzin-the minaret Of Aya Sophia-at dawn
the first call Of the day.
I spoke to him and indicated that wanted
to climb the minaret when he climbed F1e
looked about the courtyard. Not stir. Hs=
nodded assent.
Behind the muezzn in the blackness, feat
my way up the spiraling stairs. We emerged
on the high balcony with the sun Just ready
to spring out of Asia and all Istanbul, gray
and misty. sleeping at our feet. Before us tho
mn rIn In R1Ik nAk
could almost reach it with my hand. From
the Marmora Sea the daybreak wind whispered
past our minaret, blessing alike with its clear,
cool touch the faithful and the infidel
Allah u akbar-Allah' u akbar. T71e
muezzin leaned out to the east, out to the sun
and chanted in that weird, quavering whine
always used. that sounds like mournful wolves
a-howling. .. :
The chanting priest now leaned to the NORTH
toward the Golden Horn, the swirling awaken.
ing Bosporus. the vague Black Sea, II testify
that Mohammed is the prophet Of God Como
to prayer. Come to prayer" He moved 70
face the west, the myriads Of domes and NINA.
rets, the hundred towers Of the great land wallis
all tinted brightly with the first colors Of tho
sunrise.
seeing that Moslems no longer worshiped
there, that services and the muezzn's call had
practically ceased, enterprising American archie.
ologsts petitioned the progressive new governr
ment In Angora to allow them TO take posses
sion, for time, of the great basdlica and be
given free hand to strip off all the dve-cen-
tury-old plaster which Sultan Mohammed
smeared across most of Justinians sixth cen.
tury moSaics.
The petition Was granted
And so for months past the world, both
Moslem and Christian. has been locked out Il
had special permit while inside scaffoldng
has arisen, plaster has fallen and the superb
early Christian mosaic pictures appeared again.
fresh as the day Justinian unveiled them %
the Byzantines.