Wilson, Charles W. [Hrsg.]; Fenn, Harry [Ill.]: Picturesque Palestine: Sinai and Egypt ; in 2 volumes (Band 1) (New York, 1881)

56

PICTURESQUE PALESTINE.

OLD CYPRESS TREES IN THE HARAM ESH SHER1F.
On the western side.

tent with him. Amen ! There is no a-od but God alone ; H

The piers of the screen are
cased with marble, and the
capitals are gilded. The
arches are ornamented with
fanciful designs in mosaic.
Above the mosaics runs the
remarkable inscription, writ-
ten in letters of gold, which
records the erection of the
Dome of the Rock by El
Mamun in the year 72 of the
Hegira. As, however, El
Mamun, who was a son
of Harun al Rashid, died
in 218 a.il, M. de Vogue
and Professor Palmer be-
lieve that the name of Abd
el Melik, who, according to
their opinion, was the 'ori-
ginal founder, was purposely
erased, and that of the Imam
el Mamun fraudulently sub-
stituted ; the short-sighted
forger, however, omitted to
erase the date. The in-
scription consists chiefly of
verses from the Koran. The
following are some of the
most interesting passages of
the inscription : "In the
name of God, the Merciful,
the Compassionate! The
servant of God, Abdallah,
the Imam el Mamun, Com-
- mander of the Faithful, built
this dome in the year 72
(a.d. 691). May God accept
it at his hands, and be con-
e hath no partner. Say He is