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73
CAI
every- li ne ; n t 0
a curve, and introduced a semi-arch wherevercould, even in the shape of windows, which were oftenhat in modern phraseology would be termed fan-lights.. ' e front is on the same principle: a second tier of semi-circular arches rises over the portico, which consists of noess than five semicircular entrances decorated with numer-PiUars; the summit is crowned with spiral and pyra-st t f° rms > partaking more of the character of the pointedh/ 1 »^ an ^ le roun< l- Altogether, the exterior of S.r ai * s „’ s a stran £ e mixture, but it is venerable and pictu-
The last description which we shall give is that of S.Theodore, at Athens ; it is extracted from M. Couchaud.
“ Of all the churches which Athens possesses, S. Theodoreis certainly the most complete, since it has three apsides, adome and belfry; but the fresco painting in the interior hasdecayed. The altar-screen, the furniture, and the pulpit, havebeen replaced. It is constructed of a porous stone, separatedby courses of brick; the only peculiarity which it offers isa frieze in terra cotta, running along the front facade, and thetwo side facades, which are pierced with doors of singularproportion, and having a horse-shoe-headed arch.”
c.
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,-^-ABA, a part of the temple of Mecca , to which thecon -° metan3 principally address themselves in prayer. Itfoil ' StS a stone edifice, nearly square, and is said, by the°' ver s of Mahomet, to have been first built by Abraham son Ishmael . _
So le word is Arabic, caaba , and caabah; a name which' v hicl/ laVe ^* ven t0 t ' 1 ’ 3 building, on account of its height,
others,
fro more appearance of propriety, derive the name
its quadrangular form.
na hls edifice is so ancient, that its original use, and thei s e of its builder, are lost in a cloud of idle traditions ; itimprobable, however, that it was built by some of thet]j e , la te descendants of Ishmael . But, whatever was°^S' na l destination of the building, it does not seem to°f o, a tem P^ e > as the door was not placed in the middlep er j. e structure; and for many ages there was no worshipr 0 Jed ' n >t, though the pagan Arabs went in processionPrim ^ t s most probable, however, that the Caaba wasthat • ^ designed for religious purposes ; and it is certain,biftjj 1 *'„ Was held in the highest veneration long before theit ^ °t Mahomet. Having undergone several reparations,Nation* k ^ 6W y ears after his birth, rebuilt, on the old foun-°f it ’ • ^ t ^ e tribe of Koreish , who had acquired possessionby a y ^ er by fraud or force. It was afterwards repairedre buil h'ben Zobeir, the calif of Mecca ; and again
7ear Yussof, surnamed A1 Hejaj, in the seventy-fourthWhig, 0 , the Hegira, with some alterations, in the form inJ t now remains.
t° Sou e t .^gth of the Caaba is twenty-four cubits, from northtb e 11 ’ its breadth, from east to west, twenty-three cubits;the £ j r ° r ’ tvhicli is on the east side, is raised four cubits fromof th e °^ n ^’ an d the floor is on a level with the thresholdthree r, t°° r " ^he Caaba has a double roof, supported bybuiidjn^angnlar pillars of aloes-wood. The outside of thean emb^ 'i covere d with rich black damask, adorned withand whifi ^ re< ^ ^and of gold, which is changed every year,
di
u lstan 13 provided by the Turkish emperors. At somea circuf’ t ^ le Caaba is surrounded, but not entirely, withbal Us t ar en closure of pillars, joined at the bottom by a lowthis en\ 6 ’ an< ^ towards the top by bars of silver. WithoutCa a b a C ° sur e, on the south, north, and west sides of the^here’iif 6 three buildings, which are the oratories, or placesMotion Fee t ' ie orthodox sects assemble to perform their^hicb c 3 ’ an< ^ towards the south-east stands the edifice°f .Aj »°,y® rs the well Zemzem, the treasury, and the cupola*^arabl e jp' these buildings are enclosed, at a con-distance, by a magnificent piazza, or square colon-u
nade, covered with cupolas. From each angle of this piazzarises a minaret, with a double gallery, adorned with a gildedspire and crescent, as are the cupolas which cover the piazza.Between the pillars of both enclosures, hang a great numberof lamps, which are constantly kept lighted by night.
CABLE, a moulding of a convex circular section, risingfrom the back or concave surface of a flute, so that its most Iprominent part may be in the same surface as the fillet, on jeach side of the flute; the surface of the flute being that ot (a concave cylinder, while that of the cable is the surfaceof a convex cylinder, with the axes of the cylinders parallelto each other. A cable represents a rope or staff laid in theflute ; it is always shorter than the flute, and placed at thelower end of it.
Cable mouldings of a somewhat different character aremade use of in Norman architecture; they represent cablesor twisted ropes, laid in mouldings of a concave circularsection, and having one half or greater portion of their bodiesexposed, and projecting from their beds.
Cabled Flutes, such flutes as are filled with cables.
CABLING, the filling of flutes with cables, or the cablesthemselves so disposed. Cabling the flutes of columns wasnot in very frequent use in the works of antiquity. Theflutes of the columns of the arch of Constantine are filledwith cables to about one-third of the height of the shafts.Most of the columns in the ruins of Balbec, Palmyra, andDioclesian ’s palace at Spalatra, have neither flutes nor cablesCabling has sometimes been practised in modern times,without fluting, as in the church of Sapienza, at Rome .See Flutes.
CAGE, in carpentry, an outer work of timber, enclosingother works within it; as, the cage of a stair, is the woodenwall that encloses it.
CAISSON, in water-building, a large chest of strongtimber, made water-tight, and used in large and rapid riversfor building the pier of a bridge. The bottom consists ofa grating of timber, so contrived as to be detached from thesides when necessary. The ground under the intendedpier is first levelled, and the caisson being launched andfloated to a proper position, is sunk, and the pier built ashigh as the level of the water, or nearly so ; then the sidesare detached, and the bottom remains as a foundation forthe pier.
The most considerable work that has come to our know-ledge, where caissons have been used, is Westminster Bridge;of this, therefore, a particular account may be acceptable.Each of the caissons contained 150 loads of fir timber, andmore tonnage than a man-of-war of 40 guns; their size was