Rensselaer Republican, Volume 16, Number 46, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 July 1884 — The Shrine of Sidi ab Dullah. [ARTICLE]

The Shrine of Sidi ab Dullah.

Here, nearly 1,200 years, has slumbered a personal friend of the founder of the faith of Islam, who lived, died, and was buried, wearing always, as a symbol of devotion, a portion of the Prophet’s beard on his breast The chamber is about twenty-one feet square, and lofty. Its walls are covered with a geometrical pattern, worked out in black and white marble. Fbur lengthy inscriptions are imbedded in them, and the room is dimly lighted by four small windows of rose-colored and blue glass. From the cupola of fretwork hangs a grand old chandelier of twisted Venetian glass. Below this is the tomb itself, surrounded by a high grating of bronze, shut in by four marble columns about seven feet high. From a rod, on a line with the grating, hang festoons of ostrich eggs and golden balls. The catafalque above the grave is covered by two elaborately embroidered balls; the first of black and white velvet, adorned with Arabic inscriptions of silk, was the gift of the late Ahmed Bey; the second, of pink and blue brocade, was a votive offering from Mohamed of Sadek. Over these hung thirteen banners, rich in gold, silver, and needlework—the tribute of the successors of Hussein ben Ali to the sanctuary of the Sidi bou Awib. Our visit was certainly unexpected, for at least a dozen fine Arabic manuscripts rested on as many lecterns of mother-of-pearl and tortoise-shell in front of the screen. The guardian of the zaouia could hardly realize the fact of Christians desecrating by their presence such holy ground. Bunning his amber chaplet through his hands with feverish haste, he suddenly threw himself upon his face, and probably prayed to be forgiven. Some Algerian soldiers who had followed us prostrated themselves before the tomb, and eagerly kissed the edge of the palls through the metal lattice-work. Looking at the bright white marble pillars of the cloister, my eye fell on one remarkable capital; at either corner a bird supported a Greek cross in the center. The spoils of some fair Byzantine church had evidently been brought to honor the resting-place of the “Friend of the Prophet.”— Tunis, Past and Present.