the most
exquisite as well as the most sacred part of the mosque. It is
approached by a vestibule of which the roof is a miracle of grace, with
mosaics that glow like precious stones, ultramarine, scarlet, emerald,
and gold. The arch between the chambers is ornamented with four pillars
of coloured marble, and again with mosaic, the gold letters of an Arabic
inscription forming on the deep sapphire of the background a decorative
pattern. The _Mihrab_ itself, which contained the famous Koran of
Othman, has seven sides of white marble, and the roof is a huge shell
cut from a single block.

I tried to picture to myself the mosque before the Christians laid their
desecrating hands upon it. The floor was of coloured tiles, tiles such
as may still be seen in the Alhambra of Granada and in the Alcazar at
Seville. The columns are of marble, of porphyry and jasper; tradition
says they came from Carthage, from pagan temples in France and Christian
churches in Spain; they are slender and unadorned, they must have
contrasted astonishingly with the roof of larch wood, all ablaze with
gold and with vermilion.

There were three hundred chandeliers; and eight thousand lamps--cast of
Christian bells--hung from the roof. The Arab writer tells of gold
shining from the ceiling like fire, blazing like lightning when it darts
across the clouds. The pulpit, wherein was kept the Koran, was of ivory
and of exquisite woods, of ebony and sandal, of plantain, citron and
aloe, fastened together with gold and silver nails and encrusted with
priceless gems. It needed six Khalifs and Almanzor, the great Vizier, to
complete the mosque of which Arab writers, with somewhat prosaic
enthusiasm, said that 'in all the lands of Islam there was none of equal
size, none more admirable in its workmanship, in its construction and
durability.'

* * *

Then the Christians conquered Cordova, and the charming civilisation of
the Moors was driven out by monks and priests and soldiers. First they
built only chapels in the outermost aisles; but in a little while, to
make room for a choir, they destroyed six rows of columns; and at last,
when Master Martin Luther had rekindled Catholic piety, they set up a
great church in the very middle of the mosque. The story of this
vandalism is somewhat quaint, and one detail at least affords a
suggestion that might prove useful in the present time; for the Town
Council of Cordova menaced with death all who should assist in the