ARCHITECTURE. 143 
sometimes in connexion with semicircular arches, and in a few buildings 
even surmounted by such. The latter arrangement is of exquisite effect, 
being exceedingly picturesque, and it is remarkable that it has never been 
imitated in other styles of building. 2. The Moorish columns, employed 
in great numbers, are remarkably slender. Their capitals are sometimes 
antique, but generally of a peculiar shape, best described as two truncated 
pyramids placed on each other, the upper one inverted, somewhat like an 
hour-glass. 3. The walls and niches are richly inlaid with peculiar orna- 
ments and sentences from the Koran, sometimes in stucco and frequently 
even in precious stones. The ornaments are painted with gaudy colors, 
chiefly purple, azure, and gold. 4. The floors are of colored marble plates, 
laid in elaborate patterns. 5. The vaults and arches exhibit frequently 
lattice-work, through which the buildings are lighted. 6. The entablature, 
consisting a but = members, is. always boldly projecting. 7. The height 
in the clear of the Moorish buildings is generally limited; on the other 
hand they cover extensive areas. The mosque at Gbciosa for instance, 
which is only 35 feet high in the clear, is 620 feet long. 8. The cupolas, 
which frequently occur in the Moorish buildings, are mostly bulbiform. 
Among the numerous edifices of the Moorish style, we mention the 
following as the most interesting : 
The mosque at Cordova, commenced during the caliphate of Abdorrha- 
man, in 787, and finished under his son, is remarkable for the number of 
columns it contains. 2. 33, jig. 1, gives its ground plan; pl. 31, jigs. 1, 
2, interior views; pl. 32, jig. 15, a longitudinal section; jigs. 16 a6, and 
pl. 33, jigs. 2, 3, details of the columns, the two first reminding vividly of 
the antique; jig. 4, a fragment of the principal cornice in the interior ; 
pl. 32, figs. 17-25, ornaments. In the ground plan, the lighter shaded parts 
are the additions made by the successors of Abdorrhaman. AA is the 
original mosque, A the addition made by Almansor, B the forecourt. The 
wall in the rear of the chapel, e, and the hall Maksourah, a, which is inter- 
rupted by the entrance to the sanctuary, is termed JZihrab. Such a wall is 
found in ali mosques. It is always placed at that side of the mosque which 
lies in the direction of Mecca, so that the devout look in that direction 
during their prayers. This wall is always the richest in decoration. The 
apartments d@ and ¢ are other chapels. The section (pl. 32, jig. 15) is in the 
line ec A of the ground plan. The interior view (pl. 31, jig. 1) is taken 
from the east side, the hall Maksourah appearing in the pioaraihl to the 
right ; fig: 2 gives the interior view of this hall. 
The mosque forms a quadrangle 620 feet by 440. The forecourt occu- 
pies 210 feet of the length. The building proper is therefore 410 feet deep 
by 440 feet in width. It had originally 21 doors, of which only five are 
left. They were coated with richly ornamented bronze plates. The 18 
pillars of the front towards the court are surmounted by Moorish arches. 
The breadth of the building is divided into 19 aisles, 14 feet wide in the 
clear, partly extending through the entire depth, in part only a limited dis- 
tance. According to Murphy, the edifice contains 850 columns of granite, 
porphyry, jasper, and various kinds of marble, among which are many that 
143 
