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Updated: May 25, 2025
In the Rodha stand the eunuchs, or the guardians of the temple, waiting till the visiter has finished his last prayer of salutation, to wish him joy on having successfully completed the zyara or visit, and to receive their fees; and the great gate of Bab-es'-Salam is constantly crowded with poor, who closely beset the visiter, on his leaving the mosque: the porter also expects his compliment, as a matter of right.
Those standing nearest to that part of the southern colonnade called El Rodha, are cased for half their height with bright glazed green tiles or slates, decorated with arabesques of various colours: the tiles seem to be of Venetian pottery, and are of the same kind as those used to cover stoves in Germany and Switzerland.
I have already stated, that the north and east sides, and part of the west side, of the mosque are by no means so well built as the south side, where are the Hedjra and Rodha. The columns in those parts are more slender, and less carefully painted; the pavement is coarse, and no kind of ornament is seen on the white plastered walls,
He then returns to the Rodha, where a prayer is said as a salutation to the Deity on leaving the mosque, which completes this ceremony, the performance of which occupies at most twenty minutes.
One niche was sent from Egypt as a present to the mosque, by Kait Beg, and the other from Constantinople by Sultan Soleyman ibn Selym. The floor of the Rodha is covered with a number of handsome carpets, sent hither from Constantinople; and, as at Mekka, they are the only articles of real value that I saw in the mosque, and may be worth, altogether, about a thousand pounds.
It is on account of this name of Rodha, or garden, that the columns within its limits are painted to the height of five or six feet with flowers and arabesques, to assist the imagination, which otherwise might not readily discover any resemblance between this place and the Garden of Eden.
The entrance to the Rodha, near Bab-es'-Salam, has a splendid appearance: the gaudy colours displayed on every side, the glazed columns, fine carpets, rich pavement, the gilt inscriptions on the wall to the south, and the glittering railing of the Hedjra in the back-ground, dazzle the sight at first; but, after a short pause, it becomes evident that this is a display of tinsel decoration, and not of real riches.
The pulpit of the mosque stands close to this partition, about midway between the Hedjra and the west wall of the mosque, and the name Rodha strictly belongs to that space only which is between the pulpit and the Hedjra, though the whole southern colonnade of the temple to the north of the partition is often comprised under that appellation.
The upper part of the colonnades is covered with mats. The congregation assembles upon the carpets of the Rodha, this being the favourite spot for prayers. No ceremony is observed in the seats; every one may place himself where he likes: it is however understood, that the first row nearest to the partition, and those especially
Next to the Hedjra, that part of the southern colonnade north of the partition is considered the most holy place in the mosque, and called Rodha, i. e. a garden, or the Garden of the Faithful; a name bestowed upon it by Mohammed, who said: "Between my tomb and my pulpit is a garden of the gardens of Paradise."
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