To the east of the rotunda is the Chapel of the Greeks[427], forming the great nave of the church, in which the rock is found immediately below the marble pavement. Its most remarkable feature is its regularity and uniformity. On the east is the Iconostasis, dividing the 'Holy of Holies' from the rest of the church. This, together with the side walls, is profusely gilded and covered with pictures and other ornaments, producing at first a striking effect, which however is soon effaced by the bad taste, evident not only in them, but also in the two Patriarchal thrones made of Palestine breccia. Above the choir rises a dome supported by four massive piers; a rude iron gallery runs round the drum, and it is lighted by four windows on the level of the Greeks' terrace-roof. The exterior of the drum is crowned by a cornice, apparently supported by little corbels ornamented with various incised carvings, for which many have sought symbolical interpretations; but, in reality, they are only fanciful Græco-Saracenic decorations. All the outer surface of the dome is covered with strong plaster to render it weather-proof; and a small spiral staircase winds outside to the summit, whence a fine panoramic view may be obtained, which gives the visitor a good idea of the topography of the ancient city. Inside the church a small pedestal rises from the middle of the pavement containing a stone ball encircled by crossing hoops, which is believed by the Eastern Christians to be the centre of the world. The idea that Jerusalem was at the centre of the universe has long prevailed among both Jews and Christians, founded, perhaps, on the words of Ezekiel[428], "Thus saith the Lord God, This is Jerusalem: I have set it in the midst of the nations and countries that are round about her." It is alluded to by Dante[429]: Now that horizon had the sun attained, By the high point of whose meridian clear Jerusalem with golden light is stained. The Greeks, undoubtedly, placed the pedestal to mark the centre of the Church of the Resurrection. Returning into the rotunda, and going out of it towards the north, we find the Latin Chapel, at the place where our Lord is said to have appeared to Mary after his Resurrection. It stands above the general level of the church; and the rock is found below its pavement, extending northward under the Latin Convent, where it rises toward the west; so that if the buildings were removed, it would be seen united to that at the tombs of Joseph and Nicodemus; thus affording another proof of the levelling made around the Sepulchre by Constantine. Inside the chapel an altar is pointed out, containing a fragment of the column, to which, according to tradition, our Lord was bound when He was scourged. By a door on the north we enter the Convent of the Franciscans, the guardians of the Holy Places. It can accommodate twelve monks and some pilgrims; but is unhealthy, being damp and ill ventilated.