Note Note XXXVIII — NOTES TO CHAPTER III.

The mosaics which adorn the interior of the mosque es-Sakharah above the pointed arches that spring from the columns, and in the drum which supports the dome, date, according to Mohammedan Chronicles, from the time of Selim I. and Solyman, but I imagine they are of still greater antiquity. The internal ornamentation of the dome has a thoroughly Saracenic character; I conclude that it is perhaps anterior to Solyman, though there is no doubt that he restored it a good deal. All the other decorations are of Solyman's time. The Count de Vogüé has just completed a long examination of the mosques es-Sakharah, and el-Aksa, and we may fairly expect that he, with his clear judgment, and ready intelligence, will not deprive science of the result of his labours.