ever been seen which can be compared to this. Whether the solidity of its foundation, or the wonderful beauty and perfection of its different parts, be considered, it must be allowed to be, both within and without, the finest and most durable edifice which the world ever beheld. When it was finished, the architect Sinán said to the sultan: “I have built for thee, O emperor, a mosque which will remain on the face of the earth till the day of judgment: and when Halláj Mansúr comes, and rends Mount Demavund from its foundation, he will play at tennis with it and the cupola of this mosque.” Such were the terms in which he extolled its strength and durability; and indeed, standing on a lofty hill surrounded and strengthened below by various walls and bulwarks, its foundations are peculiarly solid. First, there is the upper wall of the Tahtu-l kal’ah; then, that of Siyávush Pashá’s palace; next, that of the Yenícherí Aghá’s; afterwards, that of the cistern in the little market: then those of the Aghá’s school, the warm bath, the lead magazine, and hospital. The foundations of all these buildings may be considered as the outworks of the foundation of this mosque. The humble writer of these lines once himself saw ten Franc infidels skilful in geometry and architecture, who, when the door-keeper had changed their shoes for slippers, and had introduced them into the mosque for the purpose of shewing it to them, laid their finger on their mouths, and each bit his finger from astonishment when they saw the minarets; but when they beheld the dome they tossed up their hats and cried Maryah! Maryah! and on observing the four arches which support the dome on which the date A.H. 944 (A.D. 1537) is inscribed, they could not find terms to express their admiration, and the ten, each laying his finger on his mouth, remained a full hour looking with astonishment on those arches. Afterwards, on surveying the exterior, the court, its four minarets, six gates, its columns, arches and cupolas, they again took off their hats and went round the mosque bareheaded, and each of the ten bit his fingers from astonishment, that being their manner of testifying the greatest amazement. I asked their interpreter how they liked it, and one of them who was able to give an answer, said, that nowhere was so much beauty, external and internal, to be found united, and that in the whole of Fringistán there was not a single edifice which could be compared to this. I then asked what they thought of this mosque compared with Ayá Sófiyah; they answered, that Ayá Sófiyah was a fine old building, larger than this, and very strong and solid for the age in which it was erected, but that it could not in any manner vie with the elegance, beauty, and perfection of this mosque, upon which, moreover, a much larger sum of money had been expended than on Ayá Sófiyah. Indeed, it is said, that every ten Miskáls of stone used in this mosque cost a piece of gold (a ducat).