An account of the manners and customs of the modern Egyptians, written in Egypt during the years 1833-1835 . t orcat pet upon which to pray. The same prayers are said by the congregation in the mosqueon the noon of Friday; but there are additional rites performedby the Imam and other ministers on this occasion. 7^he chiefreasons for fixing upon Friday as the Sabbath of the Muslimswere, it is said, because Adam was created on that day, and diedon the same day of the week, and because the general resurrec-tion was prophesied to happen on that day ; whence, particularly,Friday was named the day o
An account of the manners and customs of the modern Egyptians, written in Egypt during the years 1833-1835 . t orcat pet upon which to pray. The same prayers are said by the congregation in the mosqueon the noon of Friday; but there are additional rites performedby the Imam and other ministers on this occasion. 7^he chiefreasons for fixing upon Friday as the Sabbath of the Muslimswere, it is said, because Adam was created on that day, and diedon the same day of the week, and because the general resurrec-tion was prophesied to happen on that day ; whence, particularly,Friday was named the day of El-Gumah (or the assembly).The Muslim docs not abstain from worldly business on Friday,excc[;ting during the time of prayer, according to the precept ofthe Kuran, ch. Ixii., vv. 9 and 10. To form a proper conception of the ceremonials of the Friday-prayers, it is necessary to have some idea of the interior of amosque. A mosque in which a congregation assemble? toperform the Fiiday-prayers is called game. The mosques of 68 THE MODERN EGYPTIANS. Cairo are so numerous, that none of them is inconveniently. INTERIOR OF A MOSQUE. crowded on the Friday; and some of them are so large as tooccupy spaces three or four hundred feet square. Tiiey are RITUAL AND MORAL LAWS. 69 mostly built of stone, the alternate courses of which are generallycoloured externally red and white. Most commonly a largemosque consists of porticoes surrounding a square open court,in the centre of which is a tank or a fountain for ablution. Oneside of the building faces the direction of Mekkeh, and the porticoon this side, being the principal place of prayer, is more spaciousthan those on the three other sides of the court: it generally hastwo or more rows of columns, forming so many aisles, parallelwith the exterior wall. In some cases, this portico, like the otherthree, is open to the court; in other cases, it is separated from thecourt by partitions of wood, connecting the front row of the centre o
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