ftliiftirig at one énd. a fomicircular recefs for the holy tables?,
'with a window i for before it was enlightened only by the door,
tobfcóri ty being preferred under the heathen ritual, except Oft
feftivids, when it yielded to fplenöM illüiSiinationa i. the reafoni,
it Kas bèöa formifdd, why templea are commonly fouhd fimple
jarid, uhadoined on thé ioftde's. In the wall beneath the window
.^■ eie ihfeTted tWo pieees/of the ftonfe called Phengites, a fpeoies
« f marble difcoveréd in Cappadocia ih the time of Nero j arid
Ho tra® (parent* fokt he-erefted with it •$- temple td Portbne,
which was luminous’ within* when the doht was fout. sTfetoife
pieces were perforated* and thè light which entered, was B K
with a feddiih or yellowifo hue. • The piftuirb' of fo'è PaiMgia
tor Virgin Mary, in Mdfaic* on the ceiling o f the reteefs, remained
* with two jaiper columns belonging to the- fifteen,
which had feparated that part from the navdyand within, a
canopy fapported by four pillars óf porphyryit with cotiriffian
capitals o f white raarblè* TmddfTwhich -the tablè Had bedn
{placed * and behind [ity beneath the window^ a-foaiMê chair for
■ the arehbifoop* and alfo k^mlpit, ftandiog ©ri four friiall spilkrs
in the middle aile. T hè 'Turks had white-wafoed thé waïlSj tö
obKtei-ate the portraits of faints arid the üth% pahfrfffgs/ Wfth
.which the Greeks üecpratè their pkces Itf wO/ihipi and had
.érefted a pulpit ©n foe light foandffof jfoeir Mari dr reader,- The
•roof Was di^ofed in fl^iareiéÓhipartiffieritsHl thé
and fbrrre had fklhe® ins II hdd beeii fofttiflied ifi tfcê pfoö&ösby
fix columns* bat thepkcbx>f’Ori© was then fuppjfed by a large pile
■ of rude tfeafohry * the Turks not having been ablfe to fill op fob
gSp more w o r th y . The ro'Of o f the natos' W$fe Töppörtedï- by
cotónnadeê ranging With the door* arid ton éSèh r$ êë\ CériftMug
o f twenty two pillars below, and of twenty fo^ée'.»hove. The
odd one was over the, entrance, ’which by that' dxfpófition
was left wide and uösmbaiikffed. In the portico Wére fuf-
perided a few lamps, td be ufeÖ ifl the rriöfqlié at thfeffedfons,
when fob M u fit! men affeelMè before day-break, torfo bè lighted
op round the minaret, as is the cuitom during their Ramazan or
Lent.
I t
f ?
I ? is not eafy to conceive a more hriking objeft than the
partWneri-, though now a mere, ruin. The columns within
the naos have all been renjoyed, but on the floor may be feen
the circles, which direfted the workmen in placing them * and,
at the farther end is a groove acrofs it, as for one of the partitions
tof the cell. The recefs eretted by the Çhrihians is demolifoed,
and from the rubbifo,of,foq ceiling the Turkifo boys- colleft
bits o f the Mofaic, o f different colours, which compofed the
pifture. . We were told at Smyrna» that this hfohance badf taken
a pplifo, and been fet in buckles. , The cell is about half
demolifoed* and in the columns, which fur rounded it, is a large'
gap neat! the .middle» On the walls are fome traces o f the
paintings. Before the portico is a refefvoir, funk in the rock,
to fupply the Turks with water for the purifications cuffomary
on entering their molqUes, In it on the left-hand fo th£ mhbjlh
o f the pile erefted i to fupply. the place, of, a col umn s and on the
right* a haireafe, which lead® out on the arcbitrsye, and has
a marble or two with inferiptidns, but worth. fp.; as ÿ &
to be legible. It belonged to the minaret, which has been
deftroyed,
T he irâvéïffifs, to whom .we'ard indebted for an account, o f
the mofque, have likewife given a defcnptibn of the fculgture
then remaining in the front. In the middle of the pediment Was
feen a bearded Jupiter, with a majeffic countenance, handing*
and naked * thé right arm broken. The thunder-bolt, it has
been fuppofed, was placed in that hand, and the eagle, between
his feet«: On his right was à figure, it js conjeftured*. o f
Viftory,- clothed to the mid-leg ; the head and arms gone.
This was leading on the horfes * ©fa car, in which Minerva fat,
young and unarmed i; her head-drefs-, inhead of a helmet, rer
fembling that of a Venue., The generous ardour .and lively
fpirit vifible in this pair of çèlehial heeds,, was fuch as befpoke
the hand of à maher, bold’ and delicate, of a Phidias or Praxi-
1 Thefe: hqrfes are mentioned in a letter to Crullus.
H teles.