People who are bored by Gothic churches would not love the mosque of Ibn-Tulun. No longer is it used for worship. It contains no praying life. Abandoned， bare， and devoid of all lovely ornament， it stands like some hoary patriarch， naked and calm， waiting its destined end without impatience and without fear. It is a fatalistic mosque， and is impressive， like a fatalistic man. The great court of it， three hundred feet square， with pointed arches supported by piers， double， and on the side looking toward Mecca quintuple arcades， has a great dignity of sombre simplicity. Not grace， not a light elegance of soaring beauty， but massiveness and heavy strength are distinguishing features of this mosque. Even the octagonal basin and its protecting cupola that stands in the middle of the court lack the charm that belongs to so many of the fountains of Cairo. There are two minarets， the minaret of the bird， and a larger one， approached by a big stairway up which， so my dragoman told me， a Sultan whose name I have forgotten loved to ride his favorite horse. Upon the summit of this minaret I stood for a long time， looking down over the city.
Grey it was that morning， almost as London is grey； but the sounds that came up softly to my ears out of the mist were not the sounds of London. Those many minarets， almost like columns of fog rising above the cupolas， spoke to me of the East even upon this sad and sunless morning. Once from where I was standing at the time appointed went forth the call to prayer， and in the barren court beneath me there were crowds of ardent worshippers. Stern men paced upon the huge terrace just at my feet fingering their heads， and under that heavy cupola were made the long ablutions of the faithful. But now no man comes to this old place， no murmur to God disturbs the heavy silence.
And the silence， and the emptiness， and the greyness under the long arcades， all seem to make a tremulous proclamation； all seem to whisper， "I am very old， I am useless， I cumber the earth." Even the mosque of Amru， which stands also on ground that looks gone to waste， near dingy and squat houses built with grey bricks， seems less old than this mosque of Ibn-Tulun. For its long fa鏰de is striped with white and apricot， and there are lebbek-trees growing in its court near the two columns between which if you can pass you are assured of heaven. But the mosque of Ibn-Tulun， seen upon a sad day， makes a powerful impression， and from the summit of its minaret you are summoned by the many minarets of Cairo to make the pilgrimage of the mosques， to pass from the "broken arches" of these Saracenic cloisters to the "Blue Mosque，" the "Red Mosque，" the mosques of Mohammed Ali， of Sultan Hassan， of Kait Bey， of El-Azhar， and so on to the Coptic church that is the silent centre of "old Cairo." It is said that there are over four hundred mosques in Cairo. As I looked down from the minaret of Ibn-Tulun， they called me through the mist that blotted completely out all the surrounding country， as if it would concentrate my attention upon the places of prayer during these holy days when the pilgrims were crowding in to depart with the Holy Carpet. And I went down by the staircase of the house， and in the mist I made my pilgrimage.
As every one who visits Rome goes to St. Peter's， so every one who visits Cairo goes to the mosque of Mohammed Ali in the citadel， a gorgeous building in a magnificent situation， the interior of which always makes me think of Court functions， and of the pomp of life， rather than of prayer and self-denial. More attractive to me is the "Blue Mosque，" to which I returned again and again， enticed almost as by the fascination of the living blue of a summer day.
This mosque， which is the mosque of Ibrahim Aga， but which is familiarly known to its lovers as the "Blue Mosque，" lies to the left of a ramshackle street， and from the outside does not look specially inviting. Even when I passed through its door， and stood in the court beyond， at first I felt not its charm. All looked old and rough， unkempt and in confusion. The red and white stripes of the walls and the arches of the arcade， the mean little place for ablution--a pipe and a row of brass taps--led the mind from a Neapolitan ice to a second-rate school， and for a moment I thought of abruptly retiring and seeking more splendid precincts. And then I looked across the court to the arcade that lay beyond， and I saw the exquisite "love- color" of the marvellous tiles that gives this mosque its name.
