MOSQUE.
On reaching the second gallery, some of us became faint-hearted and stayed to rest. Even from it the view was a grand one; but those who went to the top said that we had really seen nothing in comparison.
Lucy was tired and giddy when we came down, so some of us went home with her while the rest went to see the mosque of El Ghoree.
"It is beautifully painted," said Hugh, when giving us an account of it afterwards. "And inside there are pillars of marble and mother-of-pearl."
"Those are in the niche for prayer," his father said. "The windows and walls of the mosque, and the roof, are ornamented with stone carved like lace-work. But I think, Hugh, that what I admire most are the horseshoe arches, and the four grand columns which look as if they had belonged to some ancient temple."
"What did the man call that niche for prayer?" Hugh asked.
"The Mahrab. In every mosque the Mahrab looks in the direction of Mecca, where Mohammed was born; and which is therefore to the Mohammedans the most sacred of cities."
"Do they pray towards Mecca, then, just as Daniel prayed towards Jerusalem?"
"Yes, they do. When we were looking at the Mahrab, I, like you now, thought of Daniel, and wished for the day when the knowledge of the gospel shall have spread over the earth, and when all places for prayer shall be used for the service of the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom he has sent."