Inscription on Bridge, Grand Mosque, Damascus
The Grand Mosque of Damascus is one of the most interesting buildings in the East. It is quadrangular in form, one hundred and sixty-three yards wide, by one hundred and eight yards long. A lofty wall of fine masonry surrounds it. A few years ago the building was almost destroyed by fire. One of the most wonderful things about this mosque is an inscription which is pointed out to the tourist. It runs over an arch in the second story. You can see even in this picture the Greek letters which form the following sentence: “Thy kingdom, O Christ, is an everlasting kingdom, and Thy dominion endureth throughout all generations.” This is the Septuagint rendering of Psalms 145:13, with the simple addition of the name of Christ. What a curious inscription to find on a Moslem mosque! And yet, how true it is that the kingdom of Christ is an everlasting kingdom. To-day the power of Mohammedanism is waning. The oriental systems—all of them—lose their luster in the presence of the shining of His name who is the light of the world. Stronger than ever is the scepter of Christ; more than ever are the thoughts of men turned toward the Christ; more fully than ever does the [Spirit] of Christ enter into national administration and into social life. An “everlasting dominion!” It is surprising that Mohammedan fanaticism has allowed this remarkable inscription to remain here for more than twelve hundred years. The artist and one of the editors climbed to it by means of a ladder and saw it from the roof of the silversmiths’ bazaar. The mosque was undoubtedly a Christian church. And before that, during the earliest centuries of the Christian era, it was probably a heathen temple. Thus the remains of the Christian profession pronounce a glorious fact to the sons of man in this present time.
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