146 ARCHITECTURE. 
The mosque of El Moyed was built in 1415, by the Sultan Abou el Nasse 
Sheikh Mahmoudy, with the cognomen Melek el Moyed, after his release 
from captivity with the Emir Mentach. Pl. 33, fig. '7, represents its ground 
plan; pl. 31, jig. 5, the interior view of the court. The mosque forms a 
square of about 300 feet. Its court is entirely surrounded by colonnades, 
the east and west sides forming two naves each, the north side three, and the 
south side four. On this side the mehrab is at b ; c is the mimbar, or pulpit ; 
the tribune of the Ahatzb or leader of prayers, with the desks ¢e for read- 
ing the Koran. At the east end of these naves, in g, is the sepulchre of 
Sultan el Moyed; and at the west end, in 7, that of his family. Ath are | 
the magnificent doors leading to the adjoining Bazar of Soukaryeh, 2 the 
passages to the adjoining school and the stairs to the top of the edifice. 
Before the northern side of the court is a kind of portico, ; at its western 
extremity the sinks 7, and connected with it by a passage the public baths, 
m. In the centre of the court, at 7, is the fountain, surmounted by a tent, 
unlike the fountain of the Djama ebn Touloun, which has a cupola. The 
total effect of the edifice is very grand; it is one of the finest monuments 
of Moorish architecture in the 15th century. The archivolts are com- 
posed of red and white stones alternating. The columns, which are all 
antique, are of different heights, the differences being counterbalanced by 
unequal pedestals. The ceilings are of wood, panelled and covered with 
ornaments, which are all painted in bright colors. As usual, the mzhrab is 
the most luxuriously decorated. Its splendor is really astonishing. 
E. Modern Persian and Indian Styles. 
The modern Persian and Indian styles of architecture are peculiar in 
various points. The roofs of the dwelling-houses consist of very flat-arched 
terraces, coated with a durable cement. All mosques and sepulchres, on the 
contrary, have very high artificially vaulted domes. The form of the arches 
employed in these styles for doors and windows and in ornaments, is very 
curious. It resembles the bottom of a ship turned with the keel upwards. 
It is the same form that occurred under the name ass’s-back arch in German 
architecture, towards its decline, and occurs in a number of buildings in 
France and England. 
Among the edifices in the Indian style is the Antler Tower, in Ispahan 
( pl. 33, fig. 10), whose surface is covered with skulls of deer. The colon- 
nade exhibits the curious Persian arches which we have just mentioned. 
The Mausoleum of Ibrahim Adil Shah, at Bedjapur (7g. 8), shows the 
bulbiform cupolas which were placed both on buildings of great diameters 
and on minarets. The Persians were so far advanced in the construction 
of domes that they arched their smaller cupolas entirely without scaf 
folding. 
Near Delhi is a peculiar tower, Kutub Minar (fig. 9), attached to a 
mausoleum. It is nearly 200 feet high ‘and entirely of red granite. Exte- 
riorly it is covered with ornaments, and divided into five stories by far- 
projecting cornices. The interior is occupied by a spiral staircase, leading 
to its summit. 
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