Page 111 - Travels in Arabia (Vol 2)_Neat

•c
M
02 SHERM TO SINAI. [cn.

panded wings grasping in its beak a chain,
from which a silver lamp was suspended. The
stairs and body of the pulpit are inlaid with
£
V
m tortoiseshell, in the same manner as the arch
before the altar, but the whole effect is de­
r:
stroyed by the ballustrades, which, with that
■
$ singular mixture of tawdriness and profusion
m
generally prevalent in Greek and Coptic
%
churches, is constructed of wood, painted red
I
I and yellow. We were next shown the well
v-i
I of Moses, which has received its appellation
from a tradition that he first drank of its
waters; and not far from hence is exhibited
the identical “ burning bush.” Pity it is,
that the monks by the narration of such
silly traditions should destroy the enthusiasm
which many localities in the vicinity of the
Mount are well calculated to inspire!

It is not amidst the least singular features
% of this establishment, that a Mohammedan
Mosque should be found near to the Great
I
3 Church. It is more spacious than many of
1 the chapels, and has a minaret. Various
stories were related to me as to the cause of
its erection there, but they were all too vague
fl to be worth the trouble of preserving; and

I