Our journey around the world; an illustrated record of a year's travel of forty thousand . plaster. Yet in spite of all thisvandalism of fanatical image-haters, St. Sophia retains itsancient glory and impressiveness to a large degree. Itsproportions are magnificently symmetrical. The dome, which hangs like ahuge substantial bub-ble in the air, it is im-possible to describewith any adjectivewhich the dictionaryfurnishes. The floor is nowcovered with prayerrugs, all of them point-ing toward Mecca, sothat the devout Mos-lem when he pros-trates himself on hisrug knows which wayto face, as
Our journey around the world; an illustrated record of a year's travel of forty thousand . plaster. Yet in spite of all thisvandalism of fanatical image-haters, St. Sophia retains itsancient glory and impressiveness to a large degree. Itsproportions are magnificently symmetrical. The dome, which hangs like ahuge substantial bub-ble in the air, it is im-possible to describewith any adjectivewhich the dictionaryfurnishes. The floor is nowcovered with prayerrugs, all of them point-ing toward Mecca, sothat the devout Mos-lem when he pros-trates himself on hisrug knows which wayto face, as he mumbleshis monotonous peti-tion. Not only for itspresent magnificence, however, is St. Sophia interesting,but because of its historic associations. Over this famouschurch, for many a century, has Moslem and Christianquarreled, and it bears within itself many a mark of thehands of its successive conquerors. High up on the wall,at least ten feet higher than a man on horseback canreach, the print of a bloody hand is pointed out, and weare told by our guide that that is the mark which was made. SIDEWALK MERCHANTS, CONSTANTINOPLE. THE STAIN OF A BL06DY HAND. 557 by the conquering Sultan, who finally wrested Constanti-nople from the grasp of the Christians. As the last mark ofhis triumph he rode into this magnificent Christian churchon horseback, after having slain hundreds of worshipers whowere there assembled, and so high were the bodies of thevictims piled one upon another, that when he reached upand struck his bloody palm against the wall it made themark which now we see far above our heads.
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade189, booksubjectvoyagesaroundtheworld
