MEDINA. 263 



lumns. This space is encircled by an iron railing about 

 thirty feet high, of good workmanship, painted green, 

 which fills up the intervals between the pillars, and 

 rises to about two-thirds of their height, leaving the 

 upper part entirely open. The railing is in imitation 

 of fillagree, interwoven with inscriptions of yellow 

 bronze, supposed by the vulgar to be of gold, and of so 

 close a texture that no view can be gained into the in- 

 terior, except through several very small windows, 

 which are placed on each of the four sides, about five 

 feet above the ground. The two principal windows, 

 before which visiters stand when they pray, are 

 on the south side, where the iron fence is thinly 

 plated over with silver, having the of ten -repeated 

 inscription of " La Illha" carried across it in silver 

 letters. 



Four gates lead into this cage-like enclosure, three 

 of which are kept continually shut, one only being 

 opened night and morning to admit the eunuchs, 

 whose office it is to clean the floor and light the 

 lamps. What appears of the interior is merely a cur- 

 tain carried round on all sides, resembling a bed, 

 which is of the same height as the railing, and fills 

 nearly the whole space, leaving only an open walk 

 between of a few paces in breadth. This veil is 

 a rich silk brocade of various colours, interwoven 

 with silver flowers and arabesques ; with a band of 

 inscriptions in gold characters running across the 

 middle, like that on the covering of the Kaaba. 

 Within its holy precincts no person is allowed to 

 enter except the chief eunuchs, who take care of it, 

 and whose business it is to put on during the night 

 the fresh curtain, which is sent from Constantinople 

 whenever the old one is decayed, or when a new 



