b Mosque of Kalaun was built in 1279 by the ruler of that name,
and is adjacent to the fine hospital, bearing the same name also; while
not large, it contains exquisite examples of wood carving, marble
mosaic, and plaster ornament worked in by hand. Seventy-seven years
later, in 1356, we find that, in the Mosque of Sultan Hasan, the
sculpture was in stone; hence, the material being unyielding, the
designs are geometrical, instead of arabesque, as in the plaster. This
is one of the most important mosques of any age, and is the most
characteristic of the madrasah form. Seen from without, the walls appear
even higher than the accredited one hundred and thirteen feet; they are
built of fine cut stone, from the pyramids, and windows relieve the
monotony of bare surface. There is a fine portal, set in an arched niche
sixty-six feet high, which is decorated with geometrical designs and
which has corner columns and capitals. The interior gives one an
impression of immense size, on account of the great span of the four
arches; the one at the east end is ninety feet high and seventy feet
wide, and is unequalled. The mosaics and marbles, however, are less
artistic than in the later mosques. The tomb chamber, entered from the
east, has a finely decorated door of brass, and is encircled by a marble
dado, twenty-five feet high, above which is a verse from the Koran
carved in wood. In the centre of the room is the grave of the founder.
The original dome fell in 1660, and was replaced by an inferior one;
there were to have been four minarets, but these collapsed also. The
court is well proportioned and contains an artistic fountain for
ablution.

[Illustration: _Fountain in the Mosque of Sultan Hasan_]

We saw the bronze lantern and many of the enamelled glass lamps in the
Arabian Museum, which forms a depository for ancient works of art; the
mosque has suffered greatly from devastation and abuse, but it still
retains a prestige among its class that not even time can efface. It is
said that Sultan Hasan was so delighted with the edifice that he ordered
the architect's hands cut off, for fear he might duplicate his
success,--an act committed presumably on the principle that "the end
justifies the means."

The Circassian as well as the Turkish Mamelukes were great builders of
mosques and colleges, particularly Sultan Barkuk (1382-1399) and Sultan
Kait Bey (1468-1496). Their edifices are marvels of artistic skill, and,
by the time of K