122 GRAND CAIRO. 
CHAP. Hammer had the satisfaction to discover, amono- 
in ... ... 
• many Arabic inscriptions yet remaining in the 
Interesting o'reat hall of the buildinof, one in excellent 
Inscription. & &' 
preservation, and in large characters, which he 
copied, with this legend; 
salaheddix, destroyer of infidels and 
heathens: 
so that the origin of the building and its date, 
which before rested, in great measure, on tra- 
dition, is thereby established. Had it not been 
for these inscriptions, it might have been consi- 
dered as of higher antiquity than the age of 
Saladine; for, in many respects, it resembles 
edifices erected in the age of Justinian; and 
Mosaic particularly in the profusion of Mosaic painting, 
whereby its stately ceilings and walls are 
ornamented. We collected specimens of this 
Mosaic. The French, who made use of the 
building as an hospital, had torn it down, in 
many places, during their residence here, and 
scattered it among the rubbish. It corre- 
sponded, in a remarkable manner, both by the 
nature of its composition, and by the style of 
the workmanship, with the Mosaic ornaments of 
St. Sophia at Constantinople ; containing the same 
gilded and coloured fritta, imbedded in fine mor- 
tar, as white as snow. The principal remains 
Paintinff. 
