It Is On Account Of This Name Of Rodha, Or Garden,
That The Columns Within Its Limits Are Painted To The Height Of Five Or
Six Feet With Flowers And Arabesques, To Assist The Imagination, Which
Otherwise Might Not Readily Discover Any Resemblance Between This Place
And The Garden Of Eden.
Two mahrabs, or niches, towards which the people
turn when praying, as they indicate the exact bearing of the
Kaaba, [The
Mahrab was turned S. 11 W. (variation not computed), which is therefore
taken here as the exact bearing of Mekka.] are placed on both sides of
the pulpit, and are, together with it, of exquisite workmanship, being
the finest mosaic. One niche was sent from Egypt as a present to the
mosque, by Kait Beg, and the other from Constantinople by Sultan
Soleyman ibn Selym. The floor of the Rodha is covered with a number of
handsome carpets, sent hither from Constantinople; and, as at Mekka,
they are the only articles of real value that I saw in the mosque, and
may be worth, altogether, about a thousand pounds. The upper part of the
colonnades is covered with mats.
The congregation assembles upon the carpets of the Rodha, this being the
favourite spot for prayers. No ceremony is observed in the seats; every
one may place himself where he likes: it is however understood, that the
first row nearest to the partition, and those especially
[p.338] in the immediate neighbourhood of the Imam, are destined for
people of rank, and no one who does not belong to that class intrudes
himself there.
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