ibe Sens: Chive OF THE SANDS 
fieite.’ ‘These are the four great divis- 
ions of Mohammedism today. The fol- 
lower of one rite can worship in the 
mosque of any other, and there are other 
rites considered outside the pale; but the 
gist of their religion lies in the words 
one hears five times a day from the tops 
of the minarets: “Allah is Allah! There 
is no god but Allah! Mohammed is his 
prophet!” 
THE GRAND MOSQUE OF SIDI OKBA 
Two of the mosques deserve especial 
attention, the Grand Mosque of Sidi 
Okba and the Mosque of the Barber. 
The best view of the Grand Mosque of 
Sidi Okba is from outside the walls of 
the. city, for the narrow streets prevent 
one from seeing anything except the top 
of a fluted dome or here and there a 
minaret (see page 1070). 
This great mosque is said to have 
served as a university for the teaching 
of Mohammedism during the early times. 
It has a huge rectangular courtyard with 
a double arcade of arches, or cloisters, 
on three sides. 
To the right of the entrance is the 
mosque and its fluted domes, and double 
columns are used instead of single. To 
the left of the entrance is a large and 
curious-shaped minaret, and underneath 
the floor of the courtyard are enormous 
cisterns for holding rain-water. 
The view from the top of the minaret, 
once seen, is never to be forgotten. Look- 
ing back at the facade of the mosque, 
one sees a creamy white flat-roofed Ori- 
ental town with numerous fluted domes 
and minarets; a great wall winding in 
and out and encircling Kairowan; far 
away in the distance a bluish-pink chain 
of mountains; everywhere else an arid 
waste of sand and sage-brush (see page 
L072)’. 
The custodian having opened some 
richly carved wooden doors, we enter the 
mosque, having first removed our shoes, 
for then we can walk wherever we like. 
Mats made of esparto grass cover the 
floor, and these must be rolled up unless 
one has removed one’s shoes. A series 
of large wooden doors extend almost the 
1067 
entire width of the mosque. On great 
occasions these doors are opened wide, 
so that the throng of worshipers may 
join in the service with those in the 
mosque, and they tell me it is very diffi- 
cult to get into the courtyard, owing to 
the crowd (see page 1080). 
No description, photograph, or paint- 
ing can render the effect of the interior 
of the mosque of Sidi Okba. It is over- 
whelming—columns of colored marble, 
porphyry, alabaster, and granite; beauti- 
fully wrought capitals of Ionic, Corin- 
thian, or Byzantine design. Egyptian 
and Roman capitals are to be seen next 
to others from Constantinople or Jeru- 
salem. There may be a capital of one 
period with the column of another period 
and the base of a third (see page 1078). 
The ensemble is remarkable for the 
hundreds of columns, and great arches 
give an impression of grandeur seldom 
equaled. ‘The central nave is wider than 
the others, and at the end is the ‘“‘sacred 
niche,” or “mihrab,” that shows the di- 
rection of Mecca, and toward which all 
Moslems turn when praying. ‘Ihe cen- 
tral nave is decorated with several large 
candelabra of bronze, on which are fas- 
tened countless small glass lamps, like a 
night light, filled with olive oil (p. 1079). 
Near the mihrab is the ‘‘mimber,” or 
pulpit, composed of wonderfully carved 
wooden panels, said to have been carved 
at Bagdad about the ninth century. They 
are famed all over the world, and their 
designs have played an important role in 
the history of decorative art. 
In the mosque are superb twin col- 
umns of porphyry; they do not stand 
parallel, but widen as they ascend. Any 
one who can manage to squeeze between 
them is pure and just, and all Moham- 
medans try to force themselves through. 
THE MOSQUE OF THE BARBER 
The Mosque of the Barber is so called 
because Abouzoumat Obeid Allah ibu 
Adam le Belaout was Mohammed’s bar- 
ber and companion. He preserved three 
hairs of the beard of the Prophet, and 
they are buried with the body of “the 
barber” in the Mosque of the Barber, 
