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terminating at the gallery itself, but all highly ornamented by coloured tiles inlaid on their surfaces, and forming altogether a group of imposing splendour.

As Mr. Bellino was of our party, and wore the Frank dress, we made no attempt to go on the inside, as it might have been dangerous. This being the tomb of one of the early martyrs of the Schiahs, (the Persian sect of Mohammedans,) who was executed in the year 185 of the Hejira, by the reigning Khalif of Bagdad, for entertaining in his house the persecuted partisans of Ali, it is a place of pilgrimage among the Persians, and inferior in note only to the tombs of their great leaders themselves at Mesjed Hossein,* and Mesjed Ali, in the Desert south-west of Hillah and the ancient Babylon.

We found here a number of Persian devotees, going in and out of the courts of the temple; and before the outer gate was a sort of fair, exactly like that held in the square before the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem, and furnished with nearly the same kind of commodities, among which chaplets, beads, and trinkets, formed a prominent part. As we continued our way down through the bazār of this village, at least three-fourths of the people we saw were Persians, the remaining fourth being fixed residents and strangers of other races.

On quitting the village, which was at least half a mile long, we went in a south-easterly direction along the river's bank, and passed over what has been considered the site of the ancient Bagdad, the city built by the Khalif Mansoor. It is true that there are slight vestiges of former buildings to be seen here in scattered heaps near the road, but these are too inconsiderable to be taken for the wreck of so comparatively modern a city.

In our way, we halted at one of the little coffee-houses, of which there are many here, formed in vaults or grottos under ground, where a nargeel, cold water, a cup of coffee, shade, and repose, are cheap and welcome refreshments offered to the passenger during the heat of the day.

Mesjed, as well as Jamah, is the common Arabic name for a mosque.

The Tigris, on the very edge of which we now were, was much narrower than the narrowest part of the Nile that I remembered, excepting, perhaps, that narrow arm of it, (for it can be hardly called the main stream,) which flows between Fostat, or Old Cairo, and the Isle of Rhoda on the east. The rate of the current appeared to be about two miles per hour: the banks were steep, and the water dark and turbid.

It was about noon when we reached the Tomb of Zobeida, to which we had directed our course, out of respect to the memory of her spouse and her; the names of the Khalif Haroun el Raschid and his consort Zobeida, recalling many delightful associations when they reminded us of the pleasure with which we had each devoured the Tales of the Thousand and One Nights, in our earlier years.

This tomb, which lies in the midst of an extensive cemetery, consists of an octagonal base, with a porch before it, the whole being about thirty feet in diameter; on this base is elevated a high and pointed dome, of very singular construction, rising to a height of sixty or seventy feet. The entrance from the outer porch into the tomb itself, or the octagonal space, is through a flattened arched doorway, and over this is seen a modern inscription, dated 1131 of the Hejira. It was copied by Niebuhr, and is given by him as recording that, in the year named, Hussan Pasha had buried there, by the side of the celebrated Zobeida, his deceased wife Ayesha, the daughter of one Mustapha Pasha; and that he had, on this occasion, repaired the edifice, and built near it some accommodations for dervishes or poor travellers of the true faith. This was, therefore, many years subsequent to the deposit of the original corpse, for which this sepulchre is said to have been constructed; as Zobeida is considered to have died in the year of the Hejira 216, or the year 831 of

our era.

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On entering within this building, there are seen three distinct tombs erected by the side of each other, and constructed simply of brick-work, in an oblong enclosure above the ground; but whose

remains are encased in the third of these is not generally known. These sepulchres occupy nearly the whole of the interior space, and are now in a state of decay. The walls of the octagonal base, which extend to about half the height of the whole building, are plain, and were once coated with stucco. Opposite to the door of entrance is the fragment of an old Arabic inscription, executed in a coarse enamel on tile-work, though now very imperfect, many of the tiles having disappeared.

On looking upward from within, the spectator sees a sharppointed dome, of the sugar-loaf shape, the inner surface of which is covered by the pointed-arched and slightly-concave niches, which form the Arabic frieze, and are so common in the corners of their doors and buildings. A considerable number of holes are also seen at apparently regular intervals, with two small windows facing each other near the commencement of the dome. These windows, as well as a false door-way under the enamelled inscription in the tomb, are constructed with pointed arches; though the entrance from the porch itself, which may, it is true, be a modern repair, has a flattened arch above it.

We ascended from the porch by a narrow and winding staircase of about twenty-five steps, of very steep acclivity, till we came on the top of the octagonal base, which we judged to be at least thirty feet high. There was here a broad walk all around the pointed dome, which rose from the centre of this lofty pedestal to a height of thirty or forty feet more. The exterior of this presented a number of slightly convex divisions, corresponding to the concave niches within, and had a very singular though characteristic appearance. We enjoyed from hence a fresh air and extensive view, and it was from this elevation that we noted the bearings of the principal objects which we had come out to visit.*

On recrossing the bridge of boats, and returning to the gate of

* Kasr Nimrood, or the Ruin at Akkerkoof Gilded Domes of Imâm Moosa

...

...

W. by N.

Jāmah el Vizier, the Great Mosque near the bridge of Bagdad

...

N. 10 miles. N. N. W. 4 miles.

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Bagdad, we now observed the whole front of the celebrated academic building, called Medrassee el Mostanseree, frequently mentioned by the Arabian authors as a sort of college, and place of retreat for the learned. It is at present in a state of great decay, though part of it is still used as a khan or caravanserai. On its front, towards the river, is seen a broad band, going the whole length of the building, perhaps two hundred feet, and containing a long inscription in Cufic characters, well wrought in high relief, on an ornamented ground, and all in brick-work. Some parts of the wall, along which this inscription ran, having been injured, the subsequent repairs have been made without regard to the restoration of the defaced letters, so that patches of dead masonry interrupt the line in several places. This is still the greatest thoroughfare in Bagdad, being close to the bridge, on the right hand in crossing it from the west, and immediately on the river's brink. Niebuhr, during his stay here, caused the inscription to be copied by a Moollah, by which it appeared that the edifice was built by the Khalif Mostanser, in the year of the Hejira 630, or of the Christian era 1232.

It was about an hour past noon, when we returned from our excursion, just as the heat of the day began to be most oppressive. In our inquiries during the afternoon, we learnt, from a Moollah who visited the house, that the word Akkerkoof might be traced to Arabic etymology, and would signify "The place of him who rebelled against God." This, as applied to the popular tradition of Nimrod's being a rebellious being, and of the ruin at Akkerkoof being his "place" after death, would sufficiently accord with the notion of its being a royal sepulchre; but the subject, from its mere antiquity alone, is necessarily involved in great obscurity.

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JULY 24th. We had fixed on to-day for an excursion to the ruins of Babylon, and were occupied during the whole of the morning in the necessary preparations for our journey. Mr. Bellino, the secretary to the Residency, had expressed a desire to accompany me, although the season, from its excessive heat, was unfavourable for such a journey; but opportunities of going in the company of individuals prepared for researches are rare, and this was thought by him to be a favourable one. We were to be attended by Mr. Rich's chief groom, a Koord horseman, who had been before at the spot, with the addition of a negro servant, and a mule for our provisions and baggage. We were furnished with a letter from Mr. Rich, for the governor of Hillah, and one from the Pasha of Bagdad,

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