THE ARAB COURTYARD

This courtyard was constructed after the Arab pattern. Two porticos were added to it on its western and southern sides. A fountain of multicolored veined marble after the later Ottoman style was also put in the middle of the courtyard.
In the niche, we can see piece of gypsum depicting a lion sitting on a cubic baser the head is bent under another cube. The piece is probably a part of a decorative element used as a capital ( H. 101 cm (
This important archaeological piece was found at the bed of the northern Euphrates, ar-Raqqah. It goes back to the Abbasid Age.
There are also two grave-stones found at the cemetery of Bab al-Sahgir. Each one bears an epitaph carved in Kufic script of the 5th C. A. H. = 11 A.D. We gather from the epitaphs that the first tomb-stone belongs to Abu ad-Darda’ , the companion of the Prophet (Peace be upon him) and the second belongs to his wife Um ad-Darda’ . The epitaphs are undated. Presumably, the two sepultures were well known in the cemetery despite the disappearance of their actual location. Perhaps one of the reformers wanted to immortalize their memory by putting these two tomb stones in the cemetery after the collapse of the Fatimids who used to take great care in honoring the family of the Prophet.