The third story resembles the second. The fourth and highest is the
most handsome. It is constructed entirely of white marble, while
the three lower ones are only of red sandstone. Broad-roofed
arcades, whose exterior marble lattice-work is inimitably executed,
form an open square, over which the most beautiful roof--the blue
sky--spreads. Here stands the sarcophagus which contains the bones
of the sultan. On the arches of the arcades, texts from the Koran
are inlaid in characters of black marble.
I believe this is the only Mahomedan monument in which the
sarcophagus is placed at the top of the building in an uncovered
space.
The palace of the Mongolian Sultan stands in the citadel. It is
said to be one of the most remarkable buildings of Mongolian
architecture. {177}
The fortifications are nearly two miles in extent, and consist of
double and treble walls, the outer one of which is said to be
seventy-five feet high.
The interior is divided into three principal courts. In the first
live the guards; in the second, the officers and higher authorities;
in the third, which occupies the side towards the Jumna, stands the
palace, the baths, the harem, and several gardens.
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