Page:Archaeological Journal, Volume 29.djvu/158

Sitt Miriam. No. 2. One of the most interesting churches in the neighbourhood of Cairo. It is partly erected in one of the bastion towers of the Roman gateway of Babylon, and being approached by a lofty staircase with a vaulted roof of brick, it is termed El Moallaka (the Suspended). This church has five aisles, the principal of which are supported on either side by pillars of marble and granite. One or two of these, from the introduction of the Cross amidst the Corinthianizing foliage of the capitals, appear to belong to Roman Christian times. Beams of wood, covered with ancient Coptic inscriptions, extend uninterruptedly along upon the top of the capitals and across a series of pointed arches, one of which rises above and between each pair of pillars. The lofty roofs are of wood. In the principal aisle stands a remarkable pulpit. It is of marble, supported on fifteen pillars, and ornamented with mosaies. Its marble staircase is ornamented with two sculptured crosses. A certain Patriarch, named Abraham, lies buried under this pulpit. The principal screen is exquisitely sculptured in wood and ivory, and over it are good paintings of our Lord and saints and angels. Two other screens are also very fine. The woods used are cedar and ebony. In a small space, between the central and left-hand altar-chapels, are preserved the two leaves of a cedar door, sculptured with great delicacy, spirit, and elegance. This is without doubt the finest piece of ancient Christian sculpture in Egypt, and deserves the closest inspection. It is much to be regretted that it has never been engraved. The two upper compartments represent crosses amidst interlacing foliage, carved at different depths. The other compartments display the following subjects:—the Adoration of the Magi, our Lord's Baptism, His Last Entry into Jerusalem, His Ascension, the Descent of the Holy Spirit, and another subject which I have not been able satisfactorily to identify. Over each of the altars is an ancient baldachino of wood, supported on marble columns. In this Church there is the example, so far as I know, unique in a Church, though of course common enough in Mosques, of a window of stained glass. In one of the aisles a portion of the pavement is executed in marble mosaic, and in one of the cupboards I discovered an ancient broken lamp of plain white glass.

In the chapel, called the "Chapel of the Ethiopians," a