On The South Side Of This Mosque, The Colonnade Is
Composed Of Ten Rows Of Pillars Behind Each Other; And On The West Side
Are Four Rows; On The North, And Part Of The East Side, Only Three Rows.
The Columns Themselves Are Of Different Sizes.
On the south side, which
contains the Prophet's tomb, and which forms the most holy part of the
building, they are of larger dimensions than in the other parts, and
about two feet and a half in diameter.
They have no pediments, the
shafts touching the ground; and the same diversity and bad taste are as
conspicuous in the capitals here as in the mosque at Mekka, no two being
alike. The columns are of stone, but, being all plastered white, it is
difficult to decide of what species. To the height of about six feet
from the ground they are painted with flowers and arabesques, in a
coarse and gaudy style; by which means, probably, it was intended to
remedy the want of pediments. Those standing nearest to that part of the
southern colonnade called El Rodha, are cased for half their height with
bright glazed green tiles or slates, decorated with arabesques of
various colours: the tiles seem to be of Venetian pottery, and are of
the same kind as those used to cover stoves in Germany and Switzerland.
[p.331]The roof of the colonnade consists of a number of small domes,
white-washed on the outside, in the same manner as those of Mekka.
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