[Illustration: SULIEMANIYEH OR MOSQUE OF SULIEMAN FOLLOWS STYLE OF S. SOPHIA. NOTE THE SURROUNDING CLOISTERS AND TYPE OF MINARETS. P. 228] [Illustration: ARCADES OF THE MOSQUE, NOW CATHEDRAL, OF CORDOVA, SPAIN NOTE EXTENSIONS OF COLUMNS TO SUPPORT UPPER ARCHES. PP. 221, 224] [Illustration: COURT OF THE LIONS, ALHAMBRA] [Illustration: CONJECTURED RESTORATION OF THE PAVILION OF MIRRORS, AND GARDENS OF THE PALACE OF ISPAHAN] [Illustration: RESTORATION OF COLLEGE OF SHAH HUSSEIN: ISPAHAN SHOWING ARCADED FRONT AND LOFTY CENTRAL GATEWAY; ALSO BULBOUS FORM OF DOME. P. 229] [Illustration: MOSQUE OF AKBUR, FUTTEHPORE-SIKRI NOTE GATEWAY, ARCADES AND SERIES OF LITTLE DOMES. P. 230] [Illustration: TAJ MAHAL, AGRA ERECTED BY SHAH JEHAN AS A TOMB FOR HIS WIFE. IN DISTANCE THE “PEARL MOSQUE”, ANOTHER OF HIS MONUMENTS. P. 230] embellished with minarets. The chief sanctuary is the Kaaba, so called from its resemblance to a cube, of about 40 feet measurement, to the outside of which, on its southeast angle, is affixed the sacred Black Stone, the chief object of veneration. The shrine is surrounded to a depth of 20 yards by successions of colonnades with pointed arches. =Arcades.=--These arcades, affording protection to the worshippers, are a feature common to all mosques; the direction of the arcades being usually at right angles, though occasionally parallel to, the wall of the mihrab--the niche which points toward Mecca. For columns the early Muhammedan builders relied upon what they found in the buildings which they replaced or remodelled; mixing the styles Egyptian, Roman, and Byzantine, and bringing their different sizes to conformity by setting blocks upon the capitals. To resist the thrust of the arches, wooden tie-beams were built into the masonry at the spring of the arches, and utilised for the hanging of lamps and lanterns. As these became a recognised feature of mosques, the beams were retained even after the skill of the builders had made them unnecessary as ties.