Trû7jels into the Levant. Part 11 
A Maft where 
fhey fhoot 
with Arrows. 
The Gate of 
Aly. 
The rTtrefhold 
of.i Gire in 
Veneration. 
Three San(5|:u- 
aries. 
So fis. 
The Gnte of 
the Palace. 
The G.I tes of 
the Mofque. 
Fronts to the 
rive Gates of 
the Mofque. 
the middle of the Place there is a high Tree or Maft eredled, on the top 
whereof there is a round ball, and there Horfe men praftice Archery, riding 
at full fpeed, and not fhooting their arVow till they be paft, which they do by 
turning themlelvcs quite round upon the crupper of the horfe. 
A htrle farther to the right, or Weft-fide, is the Gate of My, called Alj- 
Cûp/., which is a large plane Gate, over which there is a lovely Dman, the 
roof whereof is onely fupported with wooden Pillars ; and the King comes 
often to take the Air in ttys place. Entering in at this Gate you go along a 
great Alley to another large Gate, whofe threfhhold is a ftep of round ftone, 
to which the Verfians fhew great refpedl, and that is it which is properlv 
cal'ed the Gate of y^ly. All malefaftors that can make their efcapeinto 'a 
Court beyond it, as alfo into the Kings Stables or Kitchins, are in fàfe fàndu- 
ary ; no body dares tread upon that ftep, which many in devotion kifs, and 
the Gate is guarded by Sofis, who are always thçrein great Numbers.. There 
is an entery into the King's Houfe by the Court that is beyond it, but that is 
not the principal Entry, 
Going back again into the Meiâan a little beyond the Gate of Mj, is the 
ordinary Gate of the King's Palace ; it is but an indifferent Gate, and there 
are hundreds better in Ifpahan. Before thefe Gates upon an Earthen work 
raifcd three foot high or thereabouts, there is a great Number of great and 
fmall Guns, fome mounted and others not , which were all taken ac 
Ormus. Oppofite to this Gate, on the other fide of the Square, there is a 
Moique with a Dome covered with Earth, burnt and varnifhed green, the 
Porch whereof is very high, and painted all over with lovely Colours var- 
nifhed ; for the reft it is but inconfiderable, and the entry into it is by fome 
fteps. 
There is another Mofque at the South end of the place, which feems to 
be of the fame contrivance, but is far neater, and this is called the King's 
Mofque, not onely bccaufe it was founded by Schah Abbas the firft'but alfbbe- 
caufè it is near the Palace. Before this Mofque there is a Tarais or Walk of 
many Ang'es,and in the middle of it a Bafon of Water likewife Polygone; the 
Porch is all over painted and varniftied with blew, yellow and many other 
Colours in great Flowers, and over each fide, there is a Minaret painted in 
the fame falhion, with a very pretty Balcony out of which juts a kind of lit- 
tle Turret. It hath two Gates almoft three fathom high a piece, and about 
a fathom wide, which are faced all over with Plates of Silver, with fome 
Curiofities here and there emboffed, and there is a ftep there, juft like to that 
of Aly Capi. Having paffed thefe Gates you enter into a great fquare Coure 
paved v/ith large finoorh Scones, in the middle whereof there is a fquare Ba- 
fon of Water, and along the fide by which you enter, a kind of gallery, 
under which there are fome (hops ; there is another over head, where you 
may foe the doors of a great many little Chambers, which, (as I think,) ferve. 
for lodging Rooms for the Scholars of the Medrefe. In the middle of the 
fourth fide of the Court which faces you as you enter, is the Mofque, which 
hath five Gates and each of them its Porch ; the middlemoft is at leaft ten 
fathom wide, and about ten or twelve high ; the other two on each fide leffen 
proportionably as they are diftant from the middle. This frontifpiece hath a 
Minaret on each fide which furpafs it above three fathom in height, and all 
is built of white Marble about a fathom high, the reft being painted with fo- 
veral lovely colours and varnifhed over. The entry of the middle and chief 
Porch, is about fix or feven fathom broad on the outfide, for on the infide 
it draws narrower by degrees till you com.e at the end of it, where there are 
two doors which are alfb very high, and are each above a fathom wide. 
This is the entry into the Mofque which is large and fpacious, with a vail 
round Dome, very well built, and all painted and varnifhed. It is fquare 
and divided into five Ifles, by a double range of fix or feven great ftone-Pillars 
two or three fathom high on each fide. The fide Ifles have their fcveral en- 
tries by thefe four other Gates, which with that of the middle Porch make all 
the frontifpiece of the Porch of that Mofque, and the middle Ifle or Body 
with its Porch is much higher, (as I faid,j then the refi:, and the two next 
exceed alfo the two remoteft in proportion of he'ght. Alcng the Wall cn the 
left 
