=Railway Stations.= =1.= _Central Station_ (Pl. B, 1; Buffet), for
Alexandria, Port Said, and Upper Egypt, to the N.W. of the town,
beyond the Ismaîlîyeh Canal, ½ M. from the Ezbekîyeh.—=2.= _Pont Limûn
Station_, or _Gare de Matarîyeh_, adjoining the central, for Matarîyeh
(Old Heliopolis), for the electric line to the Heliopolis Oasis (see
p. 441), etc.—=3.= _Bâb el-Lûk Station_ (Pl. B, 5), for Helwân (p.
464).—The hotel omnibuses and the porters and tourist-agents (p. 441)
await the arrival of the express trains. Or an Arab porter, wearing a
metal badge on his arm, may be engaged to carry luggage to an omnibus
or a cab (tariff, see p. 441). Heavy luggage is taken to the hotels in
separate vehicles.
Footnote 7:
A STREET is often called _sikkeh_ or _tarîk_. A _shâria_ (French
_chareh_) is an avenue or boulevard; _derb_ is a road (also
caravan-route); _hâra_, a lane (also quarter of the city); _atfa_, a
blind alley or _cul-de-sac_; _mîdân_, a square. Most of the names
have been affixed, since the British occupation, in Arabic character
and in English or French transliteration. It should be noted that in
the Plan and in the text the English _ee_ is replaced by the
continental and more usual _i_ or _î_ and the French _ou_ or English
_oo_ usually by _u_ or _û_.
=Hotels= (mostly in the English style and excellent, but generally
crowded in Jan.-March; advisable to telegraph for rooms from
Alexandria or Port Said; closed in summer or charges reduced).
_In the Town_: *SHEPHEARD’S HOTEL (Pl. B, 3), Shâria Kâmel, with
terrace, garden, restaurant, bar, post-office, etc., pens. from 80
pias., patronized by American and English travellers; *SAVOY (Pl. B,
4), Mîdân Suleimân Bâsha, pens. from 80 pias., with excellent
restaurant (déj. 30, D. 50 pias.); *SEMIRAMIS (Pl. A, 5), Kasr
ed-Dubara, on the Nile, with garden and roof-terrace, restaurant,
post-office, etc., pens. from 80 pias.; *CONTINENTAL (Pl. B, C, 3),
Place de l’Opéra, with terrace, restaurant, etc., pens. from 70 pias.,
frequented by English travellers; *HÔT. D’ANGLETERRE (Pl. B, 3),
Shâria el-Maghrâbi, with terrace, etc., pens. 70–80 pias.—*NATIONAL
(Pl. B, 3), Shâria Suleimân Bâsha, pens. from 50 pias.; NEW KHEDIVIAL
HOTEL (Pl. B, 2), Shâria Bâb el-Hadîd, pens. from 45 pias.; EDEN
PALACE (Pl. C, 3), Shâria el-Genaïneh, pens. from 50 pias., frequented
by English and American travellers; VILLA VICTORIA (Pl. B, 3; private
hotel), Shâria Shawarbi Bâsha, quiet and well-situated, pens. 70
pias.; VILLA NATIONALE, Shâria Shawarbi Bâsha (Pl. B, 3), also a
private hotel, with garden and tennis-court, pens. 50 pias.; BRISTOL &
DU NIL (Pl. C, 2, 3), Mîdân el-Khaznedâr, pens. from 65 pias.,
commended; MÉTROPOLE (Pl. B, C, 3), Hâret Zogheb, pens. 50–60 pias.,
well spoken of; HÔT.-PENS. ROSSMORE HOUSE (English), Shâria
el-Madabegh 13, pens. 40–50 pias.—HÔT. DES VOYAGEURS (Pl. B, 2),
Shâria Nubar Bâsha, pens. 45–50 pias., with good cuisine, patronized
by the French; HÔT. ROYAL (Pl. C, 2), Shâria Wagh el-Birket, with
bodega, pens. 60 pias.; HÔT. DE LONDRES (Pl. B, 2, 3), Shâria Kâmel,
pens. 40 pias.; HÔT.-PENS. SUISSE, Shâria el-Genaïneh 10 (Pl. C, 3),
pens. 33–40 pias.
_On the Island of Gezîreh_ (p. 457): *GHEZIREH PALACE HOTEL, with
restaurant, large gardens, daily concerts, etc., open Dec.-April,
pens. from 80 pias. (electr. omnibus to station; motor to Shepheard’s
and Semiramis Hotels frequently).
_At the Heliopolis Oasis_ (p. 459): HELIOPOLIS PALACE HOTEL, a new
extensive establishment of the first class, on the Metropolitan Line
(p. 441), with all modern appliances, a garden, pavilion, etc., open
in winter only, pens. 80–150 pias.; *HELIOPOLIS HOUSE, a first-class
family-hotel, opposite the former, with a large terrace, restaurant,
American bar, and concerts, pens. 40–50 pias.; PENS. BELLE-VUE, with
restaurant (déj. 12, D. 16 pias.), pens. 40 pias.
_Near the Pyramids of Gîzeh_ (p. 461): *MENA HOUSE HOTEL, with
restaurant, swimming-bath, tennis-courts, golf-links, riding-track,
etc., open 1st Nov. to 15th May, pens. 60–100 pias.; SPHINX HOTEL,
near Kafr el-Haram (p. 463), a village 10 min. to the S.E. of the
tramway-station, new, pens. from 10_s._
=Restaurants= at the hotels, with grill-rooms. Also _Santi_, in the
Ezbekîyeh Garden, déj. 20, D. 25 pias.; _St. James’s_, Shâria Bûlâk,
opposite the Egyptian Telegraph Office; _Restaurant du Nil_, Shâria
Elfi Bey, déj. 14, D. 16 pias.; _Hermes_, Shâria Kâmel, opposite the
Ezbekîyeh Garden.
=Bars & Cafés.= _New Bar_, Place de l’Opéra; _Splendid Bar_, Shâria
Kâmel; _Bar High Life_, Shâria Wagh el-Birket 42.—European style, but
not for ladies: _Sphinx Bar_, Shâria Bûlâk, with grill-room; _Café
Egyptien_, opposite Shepheard’s Hotel, with female orchestra;
_Eldorado_, Shâria Wagh el-Birket.—The Arabian cafés (_kahwa’s_) are
small and dirty.
=Confectioners.= _Lehrenkrauss_, Shâria Kasr en-Nîl 34, with tearooms;
_Sault_, _Groppé_, both Shâria el-Manâkh.
=Beer.= _Restaurant Falck_, Shâria el-Mahdi (Pl. B, C, 2, 3);
_Bavaria_, Mîdân Kantaret ed-Dikkeh (Pl. B, 2), good restaurant (déj.
12, D. 15 pias.); _Kemmler_, in the street on the N. side of the
Crédit Lyonnais (p. 442); _Flasch_, near the Ezbekîyeh Garden.
=Tramways= (fare 1 or ½ pias. unless otherwise stated; separate
compartment for women). The following are the chief lines: 1. From the
_Atabet el-Khadra_ (Pl. C, 3) to Place de l’Opéra (Pl. C, 3), Shâria
Bûlâk (Pl. B, A, 3), Kasr en-Nîl (Egyptian Museum), Kasr el-Aïni (Pl.
A, 7), Rôda, Gîzeh Village, and the Pyramids (Mena House, see above),
every 30 (aftern. every 20) min.; fare 4 or 2 pias.—2. From the
_Atabet el-Khadra_ to Bâb el-Khalk (Pl. D, 4; Arab Museum), Shâria
Khalîg el-Masri, Place Seiyideh Zeinab (Pl. C, 6), Shâria Mawardi, and
the _Abattoirs_ (beyond Pl. B, C, 7), every 7½ min.—3. From the _Mîdân
el-Khaznedâr_ (Pl. C, 3) to Kasr en-Nîl, Kasr el-Aïni (Pl. A, 7),
Gezîret Rôda (p. 461), Pont Abbâs II., and the _Village of Gîzeh_ (p.
461), every 10 min.; fare 2 or 1 pias.—4. From the _Mîdân
el-Khaznedâr_ to Mîdân Bâb el-Lûk (Pl. B, 4), Mîdân Ismaîlîyeh (Pl. A,
4, 5; for the Great Nile Bridge and Egyptian Museum), Shâria Kasr
el-Aïni, Fum el-Khalîg (Pl. A, 7), and _Old Cairo_, every 6½ min.—5.
From _Kasr en-Nîl_ (Gezîreh, p. 457) to Zoological Garden and _Village
of Gîzeh_, every 10 min.—6. From _Bûlâk_ (p. 454) to Shâria Abou
el-Ela (Pl. A, 3), Shâria Bûlâk, Atabet el-Khadra (see above), Bâb
el-Khalk (see above), and the _Citadel_ (Place Rumeileh; Pl. E, 6),
every 3 min.—7. From _Zabtîyeh_ (Shubra), to Central Station (Pl. B,
1), Shâria Clot Bey, Atabet el-Khadra, Mîdân Bâb el-Lûk (Pl. B, 4),
and _Mîdân Nasrîyeh_ (Pl. B, 5), every 3 min.—8. From _Central
Station_ (Pl. B, 1) to Shâria Abbâs (Pl. B, A, 2, 3), Shâria Mariette
Bâsha (Pl. A, 4; Egyptian Museum), Kasr en-Nîl, _Mîdân el-Azhâr_ (Pl.
B, 4; Gare de Bâb el-Lûk), every 9 min.—9. From _Ghamra_ (to the N. of
Pl. D, 1) to Mîdân ez-Zâhir (Pl. D, E, 1), Bâb esh-Sharîyeh (Pl. D,
2), Muski, Bâb el-Khalk, and thence as No. 2, every 6 min.—10. From
the _Atabet el-Khadra_ (Pl. C, 3) viâ the Place de l’Opéra, Shâria
Bûlâk, Shâria Imâd ed-Dîn (Pl. B, 3, 2), Bâb el-Hadîd (Pl. B, 1), and
Abbâsîyeh to the _Heliopolis Oasis_ (p. 459), every 10 min.; in ca. 50
min.; fare 1½ or 1 pias.
=Electric Railway= (‘Métropolitain’) from the _Pont Limûn Station_
(Pl. B, 1) every 10 min. (from 6.30 a.m. till 12 p.m.) to the
_Heliopolis Oasis_ (p. 459), in 10 min.; fares 1st cl. 2, 2nd cl. 1
pias.
=Steam Ferries= between Bûlâk (Shâria Abou el-Ela; to the W. of Pl. A,
3; corresponding with tramway No. 6) and Gezîreh (p. 457), and between
Old Cairo (p. 460; corresponding with tramway No. 4) and the village
of Gîzeh (p. 461).—_Local Steamers_ from the Bûlâk Bridge (Pl. A, 4)
to Bûlâk.
=Cabs= (comp. p. 431), open victorias with two horses, abound in the
European quarters and tourist-resorts. Closed cabs (landaus) usually
have to be ordered, and the fares are higher. The TARIFF (in cab) is
for 1–3 pers. (each addit. pers. 2, trunk 1 pias.) as follows:
1. DRIVE within a radius of 4 kil. (2½ M.) from the Administration
Building (Gouvernorat; Pl. D, 4), for 1 kil. 3, each addit. kil. 2
pias.; if dismissed outside the zone named, 2 pias. more per kil.;
waiting, up to ¼ hr., 2 pias.
2. BY TIME (Arab, bis-sâa), in town 1 hr. 10, each addit. ¼ hr. 2
pias.; per day (12 hrs.) 70 pias.
3. LONGER DRIVES. To the Citadel 10, and back 20 pias. (incl. stay of
1 hr.); to Old Cairo 12 or 18 pias. (halt of 1 hr.); to the Pyramids
50 or 80 pias. (halt of 3 hrs.); to the Heliopolis Oasis 30 or 50
pias. (halt of 2 hrs.).
A gratuity (bakshîsh) of 5–10 per cent over the fare is usually given.
Complaints, with the number of the cab and other details, should be
lodged at the police-office (p. 442). During the season the demands of
the cabmen are often exorbitant, but the mere mention of the dreaded
word ‘karakól’ (prison) generally brings them to reason.
=Motor Cabs= (with taximeter): 3½ pias. for the first 1200 mètres (¾
M.), 1 pias. each addit. 400 mètres (¼ M.), waiting 1 pias. for each 5
min. In addition to these fares a surtax must be paid for each drive
as follows: from or to the Mena House (Pyramids) 10 pias., Heliopolis
8 pias., Citadel, Gîzeh 5 pias., Gezîreh 3 pias.
=Donkeys= (Arabic _homâr_; per hour about 2, day 12 pias.) abound.
They are pleasant on bridle-paths free from dust. The donkey-boys
(_hammâr_) often lash the animals into a gallop, but this should be
checked. _Ala mahlak_ means ‘slow’, _erbût_ or the English _stop_
‘halt’. The bakshish should be of course proportioned to the
donkey-boy’s behaviour.
=Post Office= (Pl. C, 3; p. 446), corner of Shâria Tâhir and Shâria
el-Baidak. The outside-offices, for the sale of stamps only, are open
from 7.30 a.m. to 9.30 p.m. (inland letter ½, in postal union 1 pias.;
post-cards 3 and 4 mill.). The offices inside are open from 9 to 6.30,
with a short break at 12.30. Lists of the over-sea mails are exhibited
in the vestibule. Notice of the arrival of registered letters is sent
to the addressee, who obtains delivery by producing the notice,
stamped by the hotel or signed by some well-known person.
Branch-offices at Shepheard’s, the Continental, Ghezireh Palace, and
Mena House. Letter-boxes at all the hotels.
=Telegraph Office.= _Eastern Telegraph Co._ (Pl. B, 3), corner of
Shâria Imâd ed-Dîn and Shâria el-Manâkh. _Egyptian_ (Pl. B, 3), Shâria
Bûlâk, corner of Shâria Imâd ed-Dîn.—Branches at Shepheard’s, the
Crédit Lyonnais, and Ghezireh Palace.
=Consulates.= GREAT BRITAIN, Shâria Gâmia esh-Sherkes (Pl. B, 4):
consul-general and plenipotentiary, _Sir Arthur Hardinge_; consul, _A.
D. Alban_; vice-consul _R. M. Graves_.—UNITED STATES, Kasr ed-Dubara:
consul-general and plenipotentiary, _P. A. Jay_; vice-consul, _L.
Belrose_. Also French, German, Austrian, Italian, etc.
=Tourist Agents.= _Thos. Cook & Son_ (Pl. B, 2, 3), Shâria Kâmel 6;
_Lubin_, Shâria Bûlâk 5; _F. C. Clark_, near Shepheard’s;
_Hamburg-American Line_, Hôt. Continental (Pl. B, C, 3); _D. E.
Munari_, Shâria Kâmel 5.
=Steamboat Offices.= _Khedivial Mail_, _White Star_, _Union Castle_,
_Thos. Cook & Son_ (see p. 441); _Messageries Maritimes_, Shâria
el-Maghrâbi 10; _Società Nazionale_, Figari, Shâria el-Maghrâbi 33;
_Austrian Lloyd_, Heller, same street, No. 2; _North German Lloyd_,
_Rumanian State Maritime Service_, Sterzing, Place de l’Opéra 3;
_German East African Line_, Fix & David, Shâria Mansûr Bâsha; _Russian
Steam Navigation & Trading Co._, Alchewsky, Shâria el-Manâkh
6.—Notices of departure also posted in the hotels.
=Police Office= (Pl. D, 4; p. 450; _Zabtîyeh_). About 300 officials,
incl. a few Europeans, chiefly Italians, obliging to strangers and
well organized. Complaints against the police must be lodged at the
traveller’s consulate.
=Banks.= _Crédit Lyonnais_ (Pl. C, 3), Shâria el-Bosta; _Ottoman_ (Pl.
B, 3), Shâria Imâd ed-Dîn 13; _Bank of Egypt_ (Pl. B, 3, 4), Shâria
Kasr en-Nîl 17; _Anglo-Egyptian_, Shâria el-Manâkh; _National Bank of
Egypt_, Shâria Kasr en-Nîl 35; _Deutsche Orientbank_ (Pl. B, 3),
Shâria el-Manâkh 23; _Banque d’Athènes_.
=Shops.= BOOKSELLERS. _Diemer_, at Shepheard’s Hotel; _British
Library_, opposite the Savoy.—PHOTOGRAPHS, at _Diemer’s_; also sold by
_Dittrich_, Shâria Elfi Bey; _Paul_, Shâria el-Manâkh 26.—EMBROIDERY,
CARPETS, and various ORIENTAL ARTICLES (mostly made in Europe):
_Chellaram_, Hôt. Continental; _Madjar_, at Shepheard’s; _Spartali_,
opposite the Savoy; _J. Cohen_, _Valliram Bros._, and other dealers in
the Khân el-Khalîli (p. 446).—ARABIAN WOODWORK. _Parvis_, next to
Shepheard’s (large warehouse near the entrance to the Muski, p. 446;
to the left in the court); _Haloun_, Sikket el-Gedîdeh (Pl. D, 3);
_Furino_, Shâria Suleimân Bâsha.—ANTIQUITIES (genuine) at the Egyptian
Museum (p. 455).
=Physicians= (addresses obtainable at the hotels, at Diemer’s, or at
the chemists’). _Dr. Keatinge_ (head of the Kasr el-Aïni school of
medicine), _Dr. Murison_ (of Victoria Hospital), _Dr. Milton_, _Dr.
Phillips_, _Dr. Tribe_, _Dr. Madden_, and _Dr. Richards_, all English;
_Dr. Keichline_, American.
=Chemists.= _Pharmacie Anglo-Américaine_, Place de l’Opéra; _Pharm.
Coscarelli_, Shâria Abdîn 17; _Pharm. Nardi_, in the Muski;
_Anglo-German Dispensary_, Shâria el-Bawaki 11; _Savoy Pharmacy_
(_Norton & Co._), Shâria Kasr en-Nîl 34; _Stephenson & Co._, Shâria el
Manâkh 15.
=Theatres.= _Khedivial Opera_ (Pl. C, 3; p. 446; French or Italian),
boxes dear; evening dress compulsory; office open 8–12 and
2–5.—_Théâtre Abbas_ (Pl. B, 2), Shâria Kantaret ed-Dikkeh, Ital.
operas and Fr. operettas.—_Théâtre Printania_ (Pl. B, 3), Shâria
Elfi Bey.—_Ex-Verdi_, Shâria Bâb el-Bahari 5, Arabian and
Greek.—_Nouveautés_, Shâria Nubar Bâsha 9; _Jardin de Paris_, Shâria
Imâd ed-Dîn; at both varieties.—_Summer Theatre_, mostly Italian
pieces, in the _Ezbekîyeh Garden_ (p. 445).—EVENING CONCERTS by
English military bands on Tues. and Thurs. in the Ezbekîyeh Garden
(p. 445).
=Churches.= _Church of England Services_ at _All Saints Church_ (Pl.
B, 3), Shâria Bûlâk (services at 8 and 10.30 a.m. and 6 p.m.), and at
_St. Mary’s_ (Pl. A, 5), Shâria Kasr el-Aïni.—_Church of Scotland_
(_St. Andrew’s_; Pl. A, 3), Shâria Bûlâk, to the S. of the Bridge of
Abu’l Eileh.—_American Mission_ (Pl. B, C, 3), opposite
Shepheard’s.—_Rom. Cath._ (_L’Assomption_; Pl. D, 3), Shâria
el-Banadkiah 2, in the Muski; _St. Joseph’s_, in the Ismaîlîyeh
quarter (Pl. A, B, 4).—_Orthodox Greek_ (_St. Nicholas_; Pl. D, 2, 3),
in the Hamzâwî (p. 447).—_Coptic Cath._ (Pl. D, 3) and _Coptic
Orthodox_ (Pl. C, 2).—_New Synagogue_ (Pl. B, 3), Shâria el-Maghrâbi,
and others.
=Collections= (closed on Frid. and Mohammedan festivals): _Arab
Museum_ (p. 450), 9 to 4.30 (May-Oct. 8–1), adm. 5 (in summer 1)
pias.—_Egyptian Museum_ (p. 455), 9 to 4.30 (May-Sept. 8.30 to 1),
adm. 5 (in summer 1) pias.—_Khedivial Library_ (p. 451),
exhibition-room 9–4, free.
Visitors are admitted to most of the _Mosques_ (p. xxv) and to the
_Mameluke Tombs_ (p. 458) daily except Frid. and at the hour of
noonday prayer. Ticket (2 pias.) at the entrance. Fee of ½–1 pias. to
the attendant who supplies slippers.
THREE DAYS (when time is limited). 1st. Forenoon, _Muski_ (p. 446),
_Market Quarter_ (p. 446), *_Gâmia el-Azhar_ (p. 447), _Muristân
Kâlaûn_ (p. 448), *_Gâmia el-Muaiyad_ (p. 450), _Bâb Zuweileh_ (p.
450); afternoon, _Mameluke Tombs_ (p. 458) or _Gezîreh_ (p. 457) or
_Heliopolis Oasis_ (p. 459).—2nd. Forenoon, _Arab Museum_ (p. 450;
closed Frid.), _Medreseh Kâït Bey_ (p. 451), *_Gâmia Ibn Tulûn_ (p.
451); afternoon, *_Gâmia Sultân Hasan_ (p. 452), _Citadel_ (p.
453).—3rd. Forenoon, *_Egyptian Museum_ (p. 455; closed Frid.);
afternoon, *_Pyramids of Gîzeh_ (p. 461).—Intercourse with natives,
see p. xxv.—Guides, touts, and beggars should be summarily shaken off.
_Cairo_, Arabic _El-Kâhira_ or _Masr el-Kâhira_, or simply _Masr_ or
_Misr_ (after the old Semitic name of Egypt), lies in 30° 4′ N. lat. and
31° 17′ E. long., on the right bank of the Nile, about 12½ M. to the S.
of the ‘cow’s belly’, where the river divides into the Rosetta and
Damietta arms (p. 418).—On the E. side of the city, which covers an area
of about 11 sq. M., rise the reddish rocky slopes of the _Mokattam
Hills_ (p. 454; about 650 ft.), marking the beginning of the Arabian
desert.
Cairo, the largest city in Africa and in the whole of the Arabian world,
is the residence of the Khedive and of all the chief authorities. The
population is estimated at 630,000, including 50,000 Europeans, chiefly
Greeks and Italians. The great majority of the citizens are
Egypto-Arabian, Fellah (peasant) settlers, Christian Copts (also nearly
pure descendants of the ancient Egyptians), Nubians, Turks, Armenians,
and (about 6000) Jews; then negroes of many different tribes, Berbers
and Arabs from the N. African seaboard, Bedouins (nomadic Arabs),
Syrians, Persians, Indians. The street scenes in the older quarters are
very curious and picturesque.
HISTORY. In hoar antiquity a suburb of Heliopolis (p. 459) lay on the
E. bank of the Nile, opposite the great Pyramids, and was called by
the Egyptians _Kherē-ohē_, or place of combat, because the gods Horus
and Seth, the tutelary deities of Upper and Lower Egypt respectively,
are said to have fought there. The Greeks called it _Babylon_,
probably in imitation of the Egyptian name of the island of Rôda,
_Perhapi-n-On_, the ‘Nile city of On’ (Heliopolis). The Roman citadel
of Babylon was garrisoned under Augustus by one of the three legions
stationed in Egypt. In 611 A.D. the town was conquered by _Amr ibn
el-Âsî_ (p. 433), who founded the new capital of the country in the
plain to the N. of the fortress, a city which, unlike Alexandria, was
to be free from the hated Christian element. On the site of his
_fostât_ or tent he built a mosque, and the new city then took the
name of Fostât. Between Fostât and the citadel and adjoining the older
suburb of _El-Askar_ (of 815) the new quarter of _El-Katâi_ was begun
by _Ahmed ibn Tulûn_ (868–83), founder of the Egyptian dynasty of the
Tulunides, but it was burned down in 905. The Cairo of to-day owes its
origin mainly to _Gôhar_, the general of the Fatimites (p. 323), who
conquered Egypt in 969 and founded a new town to the N.E. of El-Katâi
and made it the residence of the caliph and head quarters of his army.
At the hour when its foundations were laid the planet Mars (Arabic
Kâhir, ‘the victorious’) is said to have crossed the meridian of the
new city, whence it received its new name of _Masr el-Kâhira_ or
_El-Kâhira_, while Fostât was afterwards called, by way of
distinction, _Masr el-Kadîmeh_ or _el-Atika_ (Old Cairo). In 973 _Abû
Teminn el-Muizz_ transferred his residence from Mehdia (p. 369) to
Cairo. Two centuries later the famous _Saladin_ comes prominently on
the scene. This was the Kurd general of mercenaries, _Salâheddîn Yûsuf
ibn Aiyûb_, who, on the death of the last Fatimite in 1171, usurped
the supreme power. He built a new citadel on the slope of the Mokattam
Hills and enclosed the whole city with a wall 29,000 ells long (p.
453), and Cairo soon became the most populous place in N. Africa next
to Fez. Under the dynasty of the _Aiyubides_ (1171–1250) and the
_Mameluke Dynasties_ (Bahrite, 1250–1382, and Circassian or Borgite,
1382–1517), the sultans chosen from the white body-guard, Cairo
witnessed almost continuous scenes of revolution, rapine, and
bloodshed. In 1302 it suffered severely also from an earthquake, and
terribly in 1295 and 1492 from the plague. And yet, in spite or all
these disasters, the city grew and prospered wonderfully.
After his victory at Heliopolis in 1517 the Osman sultan _Selim I._
(p. 542) marched into Cairo; _Tûman Bey_, the last Mameluke sultan,
was captured and executed; and Selim caused the finest marble columns
in the citadel to be removed to Constantinople. Cairo now became the
seat of a bey (‘prince’), who was placed over the twenty-four Mameluke
chiefs entrusted with the government of Egypt and was controlled by a
Turkish pasha. Thenceforth the city was a mere provincial capital.
It was not till 1798 that Cairo again became prominent in history.
After the Battle of the Pyramids _Bonaparte_ had his headquarters for
several months in the ancient city of the caliphs. From Cairo in 1799
he started on his Syrian expedition; and when he returned to France
Kléber remained behind as commander-in-chief of the French troops.
Kléber was assassinated in Cairo in 1800, and the following year the
French garrison, hard pressed by the grand-vizier and the British
troops, had to capitulate.
Under _Mohammed Ali_ (1805–48), the new Turkish pasha, with whom
begins the modern chapter in the chequered history of Egypt, and who
did much to develop the resources of the country, the citadel of Cairo
witnessed another tragedy in 1811, when by his order the last of the
Mameluke beys were shot (comp. p. 453). His successors, particularly
_Ismaîl_ (1863–79; Khedive or viceroy from 1867) and _Tewfik_ (Arabic
_Taufîk_; 1879–92), greatly improved and extended the city by the
construction of new quarters (Ismaîlîyeh and Tewfîkîyeh, p. 454),
though to the prejudice of its mediæval architecture; and under the
present Khedive _Abbâs II. Hilmi_ (b. 1874) Cairo has expanded as far
as the islands in the Nile. Since the defeat of the national party
under _Arâbi Bey_ (p. 433) in 1882 the country in general and Cairo in
particular have prospered greatly. The paramount British control of
the administration is more noticeable at Cairo than at Alexandria or
on the Suez Canal.
A convenient short history of Cairo is ‘The Story of Cairo’, by
_Stanley Lane-Poole_, in the ‘Mediæval Towns Series’ (2nd ed., London,
1906). Comp, also ‘Cairo and its Environs’, by _A. O. Lamplough_ and
_R. Francis_ (London, 1909, illus.; 20_s._) and ‘The City of the
Caliphs’, by _E. A. Reynolds-Ball_ (Boston and London, 1897).
HISTORY OF ART. The Arabian architecture of Egypt is founded partly on
antique, on Byzantine, and on Coptic models which the conquerors of
the country found ready to their hand, and partly on Persian types,
developed under the Sassanides and adopted by the Arabs with the aid
of native builders. The chief Arabian edifices at Cairo are the
mosques, the fountains, and the tombs. The period of their
construction extends from the time of the Tulunides (9th cent.) down
to the conquest of Egypt by the Turks (1517). Of the earlier
buildings, known to us only from the fantastic descriptions of Arabian
authors, hardly a trace is left. The later edifices, partly of
Arabian-Turkish type with Egyptian-Arabian ornamentation, seldom show
much artistic merit.
The oldest mosques (_gâmia_, or chief mosque; _mesgid_, smaller mosque
or chapel), such as the Amru Mosque (p. 460) and that of Ibn Tulûn (p.
451), are simple in plan. A quadrangle (_sahn_), answering to the
atrium of the Byzantine basilica, is flanked with four flat-roofed
colonnades (_lîwân_), which on three sides are single or double, while
on the fourth side, in the direction of Mecca, the chief lîwân
(sanctuarium) is composed of several aisles or arcades. The cruciform
_medreseh_ (school-mosque), of Persian origin, was first introduced by
Saladin the Aiyubide. The lîwâns were now roofed with massive
barrel-vaulting, and in their four corners were introduced schools or
lecture-rooms for the four orthodox sects of Islam (Hanefites,
Shafiites, Malekites, and Hambalites). To the second Mameluke dynasty
(1382–1517) Cairo owes its most beautiful specimens of Arabian
architecture. In the smaller mosques the lateral lîwâns were
shortened, the court reduced in size, roofed in, and lighted from
above, and the transepts were again roofed with flat timber ceilings.
In the Turkish period, as in the case of the mosque of Mohammed Ali
(p. 454), the four lîwâns were often replaced by a single vaulted
hall, preceded by a forecourt.
The minarets, always in three stories, are of the Pharos or lighthouse
type (p. 434; Arabic _manara_, light).
Most of the mosques built since the middle of the 14th cent. have a
_sebîl_ attached. This is a public street-fountain, roofed over, with
a chamber above it (_kuttâb_) used as an elementary school.
The tombs of sultans and emirs are always connected with the mosques.
The tombs of saints or _sheikhs_, on the other hand, as everywhere in
the East, are independent buildings, domed like the burial-chapels in
the mosques. The ordinary tombs of the Moslems are underground
chambers; above the vault usually stands a sarcophagus or cenotaph
(_tarkîbeh_). Wealthy families enclosed their tombs with halls for
funeral festivals, rooms for the mourners, a dwelling for the
custodian, etc., collectively called a _hôsh_.
Of the old palaces and caravanserais a few ruins only remain. The
latter (_okellas_; Arabic _wakkâleh_) served also as warehouses
(_khân_). Of the mediæval dwelling-house the so-called Bookbinder’s
House (p. 449) is a good example.
Sculpture and painting existed as independent arts under the Tulunides
and Fatimites, being favoured by the Persians and the sect of the
Shiites, but in the later Egyptian-Arabian art they survived only in
the ornamentation of walls. The main features of this surface
decoration consisted in curiously interlaced geometrical figures
(entrelacs) and conventional foliage (arabesques). Both mosques and
private houses often have charming _kamarîyehs_, or windows of
perforated slabs of plaster, inlaid with coloured glass. The façades
of the older houses are adorned also with picturesque oriel-windows
and with _mashrebîyehs_, or balcony-gratings or lattice-work of
beech-wood rods.
a. Northern Quarters.
The main thoroughfare here is the SHÂRIA CLOT BEY (Pl. B, C, 2; tramway
No. 7, p. 440), leading from the _Railway Stations_ and the _Limûn
Bridge_ (Pl. B, 1) to the Mîdân el-Khaznedâr (Pl. C, 3), adjoining
which, between the old Arabian Cairo and the new town (p. 454), is the—
=Ezbekîyeh Garden=, the chief rallying-point of strangers. The name is
derived from the Ezbek mosque which once stood here, built in 1495 in
honour of a general of the sultan Kâït Bey (p. 458). The grounds (adm. ½
pias.), 20 acres in area, laid out by _Barillet_ in 1870, contain many
rare trees and plants. The open spaces are planted with _Lippia
nodiflora_ instead of grass, which does not thrive in this dry climate.
Among the attractions are a café, a restaurant, a summer theatre, and
evening concerts (see p. 442).
To the S. of the Ezbekîyeh Garden rises the _Opera House_ (p. 442),
between which and the Hôtel Continental is the PLACE DE L’OPÉRA (Mîdân
et-Teatro; Pl. B, C, 3), with the monument of the famous general
_Ibrâhîm Pasha_ (d. 1848). From this point the Shâria Abdîn leads to the
S. to the spacious _Mîdân Abdîn_, where the _Khedivial Palace_ (Pl. C,
4, 5) rises on the left.
To the E. of the Place de l’Opéra, between the Ezbekîyeh and the Opera
House, the Shâria et-Teatro leads to the small Mîdân Ezbek, in which are
the _Tribunaux Mixtes_ (Pl. C, 3; international law-courts). A parallel
street, Shâria Tâhir, in which is the _General Post Office_ (Pl. C, 3;
p. 441), on the right, leads to the ATABET EL-KHADRA, where the
principal tramways intersect (p. 440).
On the E. side of this square begins the *=Muski=, or =Mouski= (Pl. C,
D, 3), which, with its continuations the Sikket el-Gedîdeh and Shâria
esh-Sharawâni (Pl. E, F, 3), is 1 M. long, and forms the chief artery of
the Oriental quarters, intersecting the whole of the old town.
Externally these streets have lost their mediæval character, the shops
appearing quite European, but the motley throng that surges through them
at all hours is still quite Oriental.
At the end of the Muski, near the Sûk el-Kanto (Pl. D, 3), we enter the
old =Fatimite City= (_Masr el-Kâhira_, p. 443), to whose second wall,
dating from 1074, belonged the still existing N. gateways _Bâb el-Futûh_
and _Bâb en-Nasr_ (Pl. E, 2; p. 449), and the S. gateway _Bâb Zuweileh_
(Pl. E, 4; p. 450). The old town was bounded on the W. by the old
town-conduit _El-Khalîg_, now Shâria Khalîg el-Masri (tramways Nos. 2 &
9, p. 440).
The _Gâmia el-Ashraf_ (Pl. E, 3), a small mosque built by Sultan Bars
Bey (1422–38), at the point where the Sikket el-Gedîdeh is crossed by
the old and important line of streets (1 M. long) between Bâb el-Futûh
and Bâb Zuweileh, lies in the heart of the =Market Quarter=, which,
though usually overcrowded, especially in the early morning, should by
all means be visited.
Immediately to the left of the Shâria el-Khordagîyeh (Pl. E, 3; p. 448),
which leads from the mosque to the N., is the _Sûk es-Sâigh_ (pl.
siyâgh), the bazaar of the goldsmiths and silversmiths, who keep their
wares under glass in their cramped little shops, selling them by weight
(but often spurious).
On the opposite (E.) side of the same street is the _Khân el-Khalîli_
(Pl. E, 3), founded in 1400 on the site of the Fatimite tombs, and once
the centre of business. Vendors of silks and carpets, of trinkets and
other wares are still located here. Buyers who are judges of carpets
will select those of Bagdad or Brussa, but exorbitant prices are
generally asked. The silk-stuffs of Lyons and Crefeld often do duty for
those of Damascus. The main street of the khân, Sikket el-Bâdistân,
contains two pretty Arabian gates.
To the S. of the mosque of El-Ashraf runs the Shâria el-Ashrafîyeh (Pl.
E, 3), whence the Shâria el-Hamzâwî es-Seghîr diverges to the right.
This street, continued by the Shâria el-Hamzâwî el-Kebîr (Pl. D, 3),
forms the _Sûk el-Hamzâwî_, the market of the Christian traders (Syrians
and Copts). Here, immediately to the left, is the Shâria et-Tarbîyeh
(Pl. E, 3), with the _Sûk el-Attârîn_, or spice-market (comp. p. 335).
Opposite the entrance to the Hamzâwî is the Shâria es-Sanâdikîyeh (Pl.
E, 3), also called _Sûk es-Sudân_, for the produce of the Sudan
(india-rubber, dûm-palm nuts, etc.).—The last side-street on the left,
the Shâria el-Halwagî (Pl. E, 3; the direct way to the university from
Shâria esh-Sharawâni, p. 446), is the seat of the _Booksellers_ (over 20
shops).
In the Shâria el-Azhar, behind the small _Mosque of Mohammed Bey Abû
Dahab_ (1770), is the chief entrance of the—
*=Gâmia el-Azhar= (Pl. E, 3, 4; adm., see p. 442; photographing
prohibited), ‘the flourishing’, the finest building of the Fatimite
period. It was completed by Gôhar (p. 443) in 973, and converted into a
university by caliph El-Azîz in 988, but after the earthquake of 1302
was almost entirely rebuilt by Emir Salar. The venerable edifice, whose
rectangular plan is still distinctly traceable, was again materially
altered by the wealthy Abd er-Rahmân Kikhya in 1759. The university is
still considered the most important in the territories of Islam. In 1909
there were 10,000 students (_mugâwirîn_) and 319 teachers (_sheikhs_).
The rector is called the _Sheikh el-Azhar_.
Adjoining the N.W. façade, erected by Abbâs II. (p. 444) in the
neo-Arabian style, is the Bâb el-Museiyinîn (‘barber’s gate’), built
in the time of Abd er-Rahmân, now the chief entrance, where a guide is
assigned to the visitor. Adjacent to the gateway, on the right, is the
_Mesgid Taibarsîyeh_, restored by Abd er-Rahmân, containing a superb
mihrâb or prayer-recess of 1309, richly adorned with mosaics. On the
left is the _Zâwiyet el-Ibtighâwîyeh_, also of the 14th cent., now the
library.
The handsome inner portal, built along with the contiguous minaret by
Kâït Bey (p. 458), leads into the _sahn_ (p. 444), or chief
quadrangle, flanked with five minarets, and always enlivened by knots
of students, mostly grouped in their various nationalities. The
colonnades, restored in the time of Tewfik (p. 444), have the Persian
keel-arches, in special favour with the Shiites, the walls above which
are tastefully decorated with medallions and niches and crowned with
pinnacles. The lateral lîwâns on the N.E. and S.W. sides of the
quadrangle are allotted to students of different countries and
provinces as sleeping-apartments and studies (riwâk). The court of
ablutions (p. 63), behind the N.E. lîwân, dates from the time of Kâït
Bey.
The _Chief Lîwân_, or sanctuary, on the S.E. side of the quadrangle,
with its 140 antique and Byzantine marble columns, forms the great
lecture-room. No lectures are given on Thursdays or during the
fasting-month of Ramadan. The low front half of this great hall, with
its four much restored rows of arcades, belongs to the original
building. The dome of the vestibule, the broad transept borne by two
rows of columns, and the dome of the old mihrâb, all point to the Sidi
Okba mosque of Kairwan (p. 374) as their prototype. The raised inner
half of the sanctuary, with its two prayer-niches, was added by Abd
er-Rahmân.
The dilapidated _Okella of Kâït Bey_ (1496), behind the S. angle of the
university, with its sebîl (p. 445), has a charming façade.
We next visit the N. half of the old city of the Fatimites. In the
SHÂRIA EL-GOHERGÎYEH (Pl. E, 3), in line with Shâria el-Khordagîyeh (p.
446), we are struck with the façades (on the left) of the Muristân
Kalâûn, the Medreseh Mohammed en-Nâsir, and the Barkûkîyeh, on the site
of the Fatimite palaces.
The =Muristân Kalâûn= (Pl. E, 3), a great hospital begun by the Mameluke
sultan El-Mansûr Kalâûn (1279–90) in 1285, shows the influence of the
European architectural style which the Crusaders had introduced into
Syria. The massive portal, flanked with a minaret 192 ft. high, leads
into a long corridor. On the left is a small _Mosque_, partly restored.
On the right is the *_Tomb of Kalâûn_, completed in 1293 by his son
Mohammed en-Nâsir (1293–1340), one of the most beautiful Arabian
buildings in Cairo. The square hall has a rich timber ceiling; the
mosaics of the walls and central pillars are composed of marble and
mother-of-pearl, and the superb prayer-niche is enriched with porphyry
columns and dwarf arcades. The wards for the sick and lecture-rooms,
grouped round the large quadrangle, now partly used as store-rooms and
workshops, are sadly disfigured.
The adjoining *_Medreseh Mohammed en-Nâsir_ (Pl. E, 3), dating from
1303, also is in a ruinous condition. It is entered by a Gothic
church-portal brought from Acre in Syria. The fine minaret, the
sanctuary (on the left), and the tomb of the founder (on the right) show
remains of tasteful stucco decoration recalling the Alhambra (p. 79).
The _Barkûkîyeh_ (Pl. E, 3), the medreseh of the Mameluke sultan Barkûk
(1382–99), with its octagonal minaret, has suffered from the gaudy
modern painting of the sanctuary and of the mausoleum, in which reposes
a daughter of Barkûk. The dikkeh for the prayer-reciter (p. 180) is
modern.
Farther to the N. in the same line of streets is the lively SHÂRIA
EN-NAHHÂSÎN, in which is the market of the coppersmiths. On the right is
the façade of the _Dâr Beshtâk Palace_ (Pl. E, 3), erected by Emir
Beshtâk in 1330, but now entirely altered. At the next bifurcation we
come to the *_Sebîl Abd er-Rahmân_ (p. 447), one of the finest
structures of the kind. Upstairs the hall of an elementary school
affords from its windows a capital view of the busy Nahhâsîn Street.
Farther on the main street is called SHÂRIA EL-MARGUSH EL-BARRÂNI.
Immediately to the right is the _Gâmia el-Ahmar_ (Pl. E, 2; ‘red
mosque’), built in 1125 by the grand vizier of the Fatimite Amr ben
Mustali. The fine façade, recently brought to light in part, with its
high pointed niches in square framework alternating with smaller niches
in two stories, shows the oldest stalactite vaulting in Cairo, and is
therefore historically interesting.
Near the end of the same thoroughfare, here called Shâria Bâb el-Futûh,
we come to the entrance, on the right, of the ruinous _Gâmia el-Hâkim_
(Pl. E, 2), begun, outside the oldest town-wall, by El-Aziz (p. 447) in
990, on the model of the mosque of Ibn Tulûn (p. 451), and completed by
his son El-Hâkim in 1012. The two minarets, with their heavy square
setting, rise from the middle of the second town-wall (p. 446), which is
here well preserved. Their superstructures, crowned with domes and
resembling an Arabian censer (_mabkhâra_), belong to the period when the
mosque was restored after the earthquake of 1302.
The two ancient gate-towers, the _Bâb el-Futûh_ (Pl. E, 2; ‘gate of the
conquests’) at the end of the street and the neighbouring _Bâb en Nasr_
(‘gate of victory’; reached by the Shâria el-Kassasineh), which was
pierced with loopholes in the time of Bonaparte, recall the late-Roman
and Byzantine gateway castles. The town-wall (adm. 2 pias.) affords an
interesting survey of the whole group of buildings.
We now return to the Gâmia el-Ashraf (p. 446) to complete our visit to
the S. part of the old town of the Fatimites. At the beginning of the
SHÂRIA EL-GHÛRÎYEH (Pl. E, 4), the continuation of the Shâria
el-Ashrafîyeh (p. 446), rises the double monument of the Mameluke sultan
Kânsûh el-Ghûri (1501–16), with its fine façades: on the right is the
_Medreseh el-Ghûri_ (Pl. E, 3, 4), whose minaret, 213 ft. high, is
incongruously crowned with five modern dwarfed domes; on the left is the
_Mausoleum_, with its charming sebîl. The sultan, who fell in Syria, was
not, however, buried here.—A few paces to the E., in the Shâria
et-Tableta which leads to the Azhar mosque (p. 447), is the _Okella of
El-Ghûri_ (Pl. E, 3, 4), now entirely disfigured.
In line with the Shâria el-Ghurîyeh, farther to the S., is the SHÂRIA
EL-AKKÂDÎN (Pl. E, 4). A little to the E. of it, in the side-street Hôsh
Kadam (No. 12), is the so-called *BOOKBINDER’S HOUSE (_Beit Gamâl
ed-Dîn_; Pl. E, 4), built in 1637 by the president of the merchants’
guild, an admirable example of an Arabian dwelling-house (fee 2 pias.).
A crooked passage (_dirkeh_) leads into the court of the Salamlîk, the
apartments of the owner, with two well-preserved façades. In the S.W.
angle are stairs ascending to the Makad or reception-room, an open
colonnade with two arches. Adjoining it is an oriel-window closed with
mashrebîyehs (p. 445), from which the women could overlook the court.
Farther on we come to the handsome Kâa, the banqueting-room of the
harem, adorned with superb mosaics. In the centre of it is a lower
chamber (_durkâa_) roofed with a wooden dome. The flat timber ceilings
of the two _lîwâns_, or lateral rooms, are very fine.
Still farther to the S., in the same line, runs the SUKKARÎYEH (Pl. E,
4), the market for sugar, dried fruit (_nukl_), fish, candles, etc.—On
the right rises the—
*=Gâmia el-Muaiyad= (Pl. D, E, 4), begun by the Mameluke sultan Sheikh
el-Mahmûdi Muaiyad (1412–21), and completed a year after his death. In
plan it resembles the convent-mosque of Barkûk (p. 458). The sumptuous
portal, with its striped marble enrichment and stalactite or honeycomb
half-domes, is well preserved. The *Bronze Gate, the finest in Cairo,
was brought from the mosque of Hasan (p. 452). The main court and the
lateral lîwâns, with their heavy modern outer walls, now form shady
grounds. The sanctuary, restored in 1880, is a splendid hall of three
arcades with lofty stilted arches. The decoration of the back-wall and
the coloured wooden ceiling are charming. To the left of the sanctuary
is the mausoleum of the sultan, and to the right that of his family. The
two minarets, 167 ft. high, rise from the platform of the _Bâb Zuweileh_
(Pl. E, 4; p. 446), or _Bâb el-Mitwelli_, the S. gate of the Fatimite
city.
From the Bâb Zuweileh the Shâria Taht er-Rebâa leads to the W. to the
Place Bâb el-Khalk (Pl. D, 4; see below); to the S. run the Kasabet
Radowân, a _Shoemakers’ Market_, where the favourite red slippers (p.
97) are sold, and the Shâria el-Khiyamîyeh, the bazaar for gaily
coloured _Tent-Covers_, leading to the Shâria Mohammed Ali (see
below).
To the E. of the Bâb Zuweileh runs a line of streets, bending round to
the S., to the _Citadel_ (p. 453). Nearly opposite the gate, at the
corner of Kasabet Radowân and Derb el-Ahmar, is the small _Mosque of
Sâlih Telâyeh_ (Pl. E, 4), dating from the reign of El-Âdid, the last
of the Fatimites (1160). The sanctuary contains some beautiful stucco
ornamentation in the Syrian-Arabian style.—In the Derb el-Ahmar,
farther on, to the left, rises the small *=Mosque of Emir Kijmâs= (Pl.
E, 4), built in 1481 by a master-of-the-horse of Kâït Bey (p. 458).
The interior is a perfect gem of its kind.
Farther on this line of streets is called Shâria et-Tabbâneh. On the
right rises the *=Mosque el-Merdani= (Pl. E, 5), one of the largest in
Cairo. It was built by the cup-bearer of sultan Mohammed en-Nâsir (p.
448) in 1338–40 and after having almost fallen to ruin was recently
restored. The sanctuary is still separated from the court by its old
_maksûra_, or wooden screen. The prayer-recess and its sides are
lavishly enriched with costly mosaics. The dome in front of the
prayer-niche, partly restored with cement, rests on ancient Egyptian
granite columns.
b. The South-Eastern Quarters.
Starting from the Place Atabet el-Khadra (p. 446) the featureless SHÂRIA
MOHAMMED ALI (Pl. C-E, 3–6), 1860 yds. long, leads to the Citadel
(tramway No. 6, p. 440). After 8 min. it crosses the former town-conduit
_El-Khalîg_ (p. 446). On the left is the PLACE BÂB EL-KHALK, with the
_Gouvernorat_ (government-house; Pl. D, 4; containing the _Police
Office_, p. 442), and the superb new buildings of the _Arab Museum_ and
the _Khedivial Library_ (1902).
The *=Arab Museum=, founded by _Franz Pasha_, a learned German
architect, on the groundfloor of the building, contains a large and
valuable collection of objects of art, mostly from old mosques and
houses in Cairo. Adm., see p. 442; entrance on the E. side. Director, M.
Herz Bey.
In the Vestibule is shown a chronological list of the Mohammedan
dynasties of Egypt.—Room I. Tombstones.—Room II. Sculptures in
stone.—Room III. Stone sculptures, casts, mosaics.
Rooms IV-VIII. Wood-carving, including pulpits (mimbar), reading-desks
for the Koran and tables (kursi), movable prayer-niches and
Koran-boxes from mosques, mashrebîyehs (p. 445).
Rooms IX & X. Metal-work. Fine bronze doors from the mosque of Sâlih
Telâyeh (p. 450) and elsewhere; a Koran-case with brass cover and
silver enrichment, candlesticks, lustres in metal, bronze candelabra
(tannûr).—Rooms XI & XII. Fayence, including tiles of European make, a
favourite wall-decoration in Arabian houses of the 18–19th centuries.
Room XIII. Wall-incrustations in stucco; Arabian room from
Rosetta.—Room XIV. Specimens of textiles; two Koran-cases covered with
leather from the Hasan mosque (p. 452).—Rooms XV & XVI. Enamelled
*Mosque Lamps, the richest collection of the kind, mostly from the
Hasan mosque.
The first floor of the building contains the =Khedivial Library=
(_Kutubkhâneh_, entered from the Shâria Mohammed Ali), founded in 1870
and arranged by German savants. It consists of 68,000 vols. (about
32,000 being Oriental), including 2700 Korans. The illuminated Persian
MSS. are extremely valuable. The Exhibition Room (adm., see p. 442)
contains also a fine collection of the coins of the Moslem rulers of
Egypt.
We now follow, to the S.W., the long SHÂRIA KHALÎG EL-MASRI (Pl. D, C,
4–6; tramways Nos. 2 & 9, p. 440) to a small square with the _Gâmia
es-Seiyideh Zeinab_ (Pl. C, 6, 7), and then turn to the S.E. into the
SHÂRIA EL-MARÂSÎN (Pl. C, 7), near the end of which the Derb Tanaïfa
leads to the right to the—
*=Medreseh Kâït Bey= (Pl. C, 7), in the _Kalat el-Kabsh_ quarter of the
city. Built in 1475, shortly after the sultan’s burial-mosque (p. 458),
and recently restored by Herz Bey, it offers a good example of the
architecture of the second Mameluke dynasty (see p. 445). The minaret is
one of the most tasteful in Cairo. In the richly decorated interior we
specially note the fine ornaments on the arches of the court-façades,
the stalactites of the window-niches, the mosaic pavement, and the
pulpit. The dome is modern.
The Shâria er-Rahaba and the winding Shâria Kalat el-Kabsh lead to the
E. in a few minutes to the picturesque Shâria ez-Ziyadeh (Pl. D, 7), on
the S.W. side of the—
*=Gâmia Ibn Tulûn= (Pl. D, 7), the oldest in Cairo next to the Amru
mosque (p. 460). It stands near the N. border of what was once the Katâi
quarter, on the rocky _Gebel Yeshkûr_ (33 ft.). It was erected by Ahmed
ibn Tulûn (p. 443) on Mesopotamian models in 876–9, immediately after
the last extension of the Kairwan mosque (p. 374), and was the largest
of that period in all the lands of Islam. The total area of its
precincts is 30,720 sq. yds., while the mosque itself, without the
courts, forms a huge square of 150 by 132 yds. The external façades,
which are almost undecorated, are relieved by pointed windows and niches
and with shell-shaped half-domes and are crowned with pinnacles. We
first pass through the E. forecourt to the sanctuary.
The chief quadrangle, about 99 yds. square, is enclosed by double
arcades on three sides, while the sanctuary has four arcades (originally
five, the fifth having collapsed in 1875). The façades of the court are
relieved by pointed windows and rosettes in the spandrels above the
brick pillars; still higher runs a frieze of rosettes, and the whole is
crowned with pinnacles. In the interior the ornamentation framing the
arcades and the foliage frieze on the wall-spaces are carved in stucco,
exhibiting as yet none of the intricate forms of the Byzantine-Arabian
style. The old prayer-recess with its fine Byzantine capitals and
fragments of Byzantine glass-mosaics is noteworthy. The dikkeh (p. 448)
also dates from the earliest period. Above the dikkeh are remains of the
original timber ceiling.
A prayer-recess in the fourth series of arcades dates from 1094. The
pulpit, now bereft of its sumptuous incrustation, the wooden dome in
front of the mihrâb, the plaster windows in the mihrâb wall, and also
the dome in the court are all additions by the Mameluke sultan Melek
el-Mansûr Lagîn (1296–1308).
The peculiar minaret in the great quadrangle, of which the square
basement only was originally built of stone, offers a splendid *VIEW
of the vast city. We look down the Nile, to the N., to the Delta, and
to the W. and S.W. we see the Pyramids.
The small _Medreseh Serghatmash_ (Pl. D, 7) in Shâria el-Khedeiri, on
the N. side of Ibn Tulûn’s mosque, built by a mameluke of sultan Hasan
in the style of Hasan’s mosque (see below) in 1357, is interesting on
account of its original unaltered dome.
We now turn to the E., past the effective marble _Sebîl of the Mother of
Abbâs I._ (1849–54), and through the Shâria es-Salîbeh (Pl. D, 6) and
the Shâria Shekhûn (Pl. D, E, 6), to the PLACE RUMEILEH (Pl. E, 6;
tramway No. 6, p. 440), the starting-place of the Mecca caravans.
To the N. of this square, and at the end of the Shâria Mohammed Ali (p.
450), rise the modern _Gâmia Rifaîyeh_ (Pl. E, 6), of the reign of the
khedive Ismaîl (p. 444), and the famous—
**=Gâmia Sultân Hasan= (Pl. E, 6), the grandest medreseh in Egypt,
erected for the Mameluke Hasan en-Nâsir (1347–61) probably by a Syrian
architect. It rises on a shelving rock opposite the Citadel (p. 453).
The cruciform medreseh has been skilfully adapted to the precincts, an
irregular pentagon, about 9470 sq. yds. in area.
The chief *Portal, 85 ft. high, whose side-pillars were originally to
have borne two minarets, recall the Seljuk buildings of Konia. The
façades terminate in a projecting stalactite cornice, crowned with
modern pinnacles, and the walls are relieved by blind niches with
round-arched windows in pairs. Over the detached mausoleum, which
projects from the S.E. façade, rises a dome 181 ft. high, restored in
1616 in the Arabian-Turkish style, but said to have been originally
egg-shaped. The minaret of 267 ft., at the S. angle of the medreseh, is
the loftiest in Cairo, and after that of the Kutubia at Marakesh the
highest in N. Africa.
INTERIOR (undergoing restoration). The old court of ablutions on the
N.W. side of the building is again in use. The chief portal of the
medreseh leads into a vestibule with a stalactite dome. We then pass
through a second vestibule and a corridor to the main quadrangle, 38½
by 35 yds., containing the ruinous _meidâ_, or basin for ablutions,
and a Turkish fountain (_hanefîyeh_), both disused. The four lîwâns,
with their massive barrel-vaulting, are entered from the court by
lofty marble portals, and are in this exceptional case all used as
halls of prayer. The four small medresehs in the angles of the outer
precincts, each with its court and lîwân, served as lecture-rooms and
dwellings.
The sanctuary, 76 ft. in height, is adorned with a *Frieze bearing an
inscription in Cufic (or old Arabic) characters, carved in stucco on a
beautiful groundwork of arabesques. The wall of the mihrâb is richly
decorated with marble. Of the once sumptuous furnishings the mimbar
(pulpit), the dikkeh (reading-stand), and the wire-chains of the
countless lamps (see p. 451) and candelabra are now the sole relics.
To the right of the pulpit a bronze door, inlaid with gold and silver,
leads into the sultan’s *Mausoleum, a domed chamber of 23 yds. square,
92 ft. in height. The only remains of the original dome are the wooden
spandrels of the stalactites. The inscriptions on the wooden frieze
are in the round characters (naskhi) used since the time of Saladin.
The =Citadel= (Pl. E, F, 6; ‘El-Kala’), commanding the city but itself
overtopped by the Mokattam hills (p. 454), was built by Saladin after
1166, in connection with the third town-wall (p. 444), on the model of
the Crusaders’ castles in Syria. The only remains of that building are
the E. outer wall and several towers in the interior. The palaces of the
Aiyubides (1171–1250), already half in ruins when Selim I. entered the
city (1517), have entirely disappeared. The first restoration of the
fortress dates from the reign of El-Ghûri (1501–16).
The direct way to the Citadel from the Place Rumeileh is by a street
beyond the huge gate-tower _Bâb el-Azab_ (Pl. E, 6), where the Mameluke
leaders were shot by order of Mohammed Ali (p. 444) in 1811. The chief
approaches, ascending from the broad Shâria el-Maghar (Pl. E, 6), are
the Shâria Bâb el-Gedîd and the Shâria ed-Defterkhâneh. The latter, for
foot-passengers only, passes the S. side of the _Defterkhâneh_ (Pl. F,
6; state-archives). The _Bâb el-Gedid_ (Pl. F, 6; ‘new gate’) leads into
the outer court of the Citadel. We then pass through the _Bâb
el-Wastâni_ (‘middle gate’) into the main court, where the ‘alabaster
mosque’ faces us and the mosque of Nâsir rises on the left.
The =Gâmia en-Nâsir= (Pl. F, 6), built by En-Nâsir (p. 448) in 1317,
later used as a military storehouse and a prison, has now been cleared
out, but may be seen by leave of the British military authorities. The
fortress-like façade, and the portals in particular, show traces of
Romanesque influence. The peculiar minarets, with their bulbous domes,
are adorned with coloured fayence in the Persian style. The finest
columns in the court are Byzantine; others are antique. The sadly
disfigured lîwâns still retain their old coloured fretwork ceiling. The
dome in front of the prayer-niche, which has collapsed with the
exception of its drum, rests on ancient Egyptian granite columns, as in
the mosque of Merdani (p. 450).
The =Gâmia Mohammed Ali= (Pl. E, F, 6), known as the ‘alabaster mosque’
from the building-material chiefly used, was begun by Mohammed Ali in
1824 but completed only in 1857 by his successor Saîd. The architect was
the Greek _Yûsuf Boshna_ of Constantinople, who built it on the model of
the Nuri Osmanieh mosque (p. 550) with a staff of Greek workmen. The
tall and unduly slender minarets form one of the chief landmarks of
Cairo. The forecourt, with its hanefîyeh (fountain with taps), is
flanked with arcades. The *Sanctuary, a domed Byzantine hall, borne by
four square pillars, is grandly proportioned and beautifully lighted. To
the left of the entrance is Mohammed Ali’s tomb (d. 1849).
From the S.W. wall of the Citadel, opposite the _Viceregal Palace_, we
enjoy, especially towards evening, a magnificent *View of the city with
its countless minarets and domes. To the N. and W. are the
windmill-hills and the green plains watered by the Nile. To the W. rise
the Pyramids of Gîzeh.
The view is far grander from the **=Mokattam Hills=, or _Gebel
Giyûshi_, a fine standpoint being the conspicuous _Gâmia Giyûshi_, a
Fatimite mosque (1085), reached in ½ hr. from the Bâb el-Gebel (Pl. F,
6), the ‘hill-gate’ of the citadel. A side-path to the right leads to
the _Convent of the Bektashi_ (Turkish dervishes), picturesquely
situated on the bare hill-side.
From the _Bâb el-Attaba_ (Bâb el-Atabeg; Pl. F, 5), the N. gate of the
Citadel, we proceed past the cemetery _Karâfet Bâb el-Wezîr_ (Pl. F,
5) to the Mameluke tombs (comp. p. 458).
c. The New Town.
To the W. of the Ezbekîyeh Garden and the Place de l’Opéra (p. 446), to
the W. also of the fashionable Shâria Kâmel (Pl B, C, 2, 3) and of the
Shâria Abdîn (Pl. C, 3, 4), lie the new =Ismaîlîyeh= and =Tewfîkîyeh=
quarters, extending to the Nile and the _Ismaîlîyeh Canal_, the latter
quarter, named after Tewfik (p. 444), being the most recent. They
contain several of the large hotels, most of the ministerial and
consular offices, the chief banks, and many palaces of wealthy European,
Levantine, and Egyptian magnates.
Ismaîlîyeh and Tewfîkîyeh are separated by the broad and busy SHÂRIA
BÛLÂK (Pl. B, A, 3; tramway No. 6, p. 440), which leads from the
Ezbekîyeh Garden to the Abu’l-Eileh Bridge (Pl. A, 3) and _Bûlâk_. From
October to December the banks of the Nile present a very busy scene, the
state of the river being then most favourable for the goods-traffic from
Upper Egypt, Nubia, and the fertile Delta.—Steam-ferry to _Gezîreh_ (p.
457; bridge now being built).
The direct way to the Nile is by the SHÂRIA KASR EN-NÎL (Pl. C-A, 3, 4),
diverging from the Shâria Abdîn to the S. of the Place de l’Opéra. It
crosses the round Mîdân Suleimân Bâsha and ends at the Mîdân Mariette
Bâsha (Pl. A, 4), near the _Egyptian Museum_.
A little to the S. is the MÎDÂN ISMAÎLÎYEH (Pl. A, 4, 5; tramway No. 4,
p. 440). On the S. side of it runs the Shâria el-Kubri, to the W., to
the Great Nile Bridge (p. 457), while from it to the S. stretches the
long Shâria Kasr el-Aïni (Pl. A, 5, 6). In the latter street,
immediately to the left, is the free =Egyptian University= (Pl. A, 5),
founded in 1908, the purpose of which, in contrast to the old Gâmia
el-Azhar (p. 447), is to offer Mohammedans a liberal modern education.
Farther on, to the left, opposite the handsome houses built on the site
of the palace _Kasr ed-Dubara_, are the _Ministries of Public Works and
War_ (Pl. A, B, 5) and the building of the _Sudan Agency_; on the N.
side of the grounds is the _Geological Museum_.—Still farther to the S.
the street is prolonged by the Shâria Fum el-Khalîg (Pl. A, 7), leading
past the native (Government) hospital _Kasr el-Aïni_ (Pl. A, 7) and
close to the narrow _E. Arm of the Nile_ (Bahr el-Khalîg), opposite the
island of Rôda (p. 461), to _Old Cairo_ (comp. p. 460).
* * * * *
The **=Egyptian Museum= (Pl. A, 4; _El-Antikkhâneh_) is now housed in a
new building (1897–1902) in the Shâria Mariette Bâsha, near the Great
Nile Bridge. The collection, the greatest of its kind, founded in 1857
by the French Egyptologist Aug. Mariette (1821–81), consists of Egyptian
and Græco-Roman antiquities found in the Nile Valley. Adm., see p. 442.
Director, M. G. Maspero.
The two long colonnades adjoining the vestibule, are destined for
casts. They terminate in two pavilions, containing, on the left, the
Library and, on the right, the office for the sale of duplicates,
photographs, and scientific publications.
The GROUND FLOOR contains the large stone monuments, including the
sarcophagi in the Grande Galerie d’Honneur, beyond the vestibule.
From the W. (left) wing of the Grande Galerie we first enter, to the
right, Rooms A-D, containing memorials of the Old Empire (3rd–6th
Dynasties; about B.C. 2900–2350). Noteworthy among the master-works in
Room B are: *74. Wooden statue of a man, known as the Sheikh el-Beled
(village magistrate); 73. Statue in diorite of king Khephren (p. 463);
78. Figure of an official, writing. Case B: *114. Nofer, the brewer;
115. Wooden figure of a man in a cloak.—Room D: *163. Statues in
limestone of prince Ra-hotep and his wife Nofret; 167. Statue of king
Phiops I., in embossed copper, with eyes of enamel; 164, 165. Statues
in limestone of the priest Ra-nofer.
Rooms E-H contain objects dating from the Middle Empire (12–14th
Dynasties; about B.C. 2000–1680) and the era of the Hyksos (Syrian
conquerors; 15th and 16th Dynasties; about 1680–1580). In Room F: 194
(in the middle). Wooden statue of the tutelary genius (Ka) of king
Hor; 199. Limestone statue of king Amenemhêt III.—Room G: 206 (in the
middle). Sacrificial chamber of Harhotep, with drawings of the
furniture of the deceased; 207. Ten colossal statues of Sesostris I.
in limestone.—Room H: 260. Tombstone of Prince Mentuhotep.
Rooms I-P and the large Atrium Central, or covered court, are set
apart for monuments of the New Empire (17–20th Dynasties; about B.C.
1580–1090). Room I: 300 (on the right). Triumphal monument of
Thutmosis III. (1501–1447); 338, 339. The goddess Hathor, as a cow, in
the ancient chapel (naos); *291. Head of king Haremheb (?), in black
granite; 312. Bust of the goddess Mut (?); 327. Statue of the aged
Amenhotep; *334. Statue of Thutmosis II., in slate; 341. Statue of
Isis, mother of Thutmosis III.—Room J: 316. Statue of the god
Khons.—Room L (beyond the N. gallery): 364. Sacred barge in red
granite.—Portique du Nord (beyond the covered court): 398. Memorial
stones of kings Amenophis III. (‘Memnon’; 1411–1375) and Merenptab (p.
457).—Room M: 378. The famous tablet of Sakkâra (p. 464), with its
list of kings; 390. Statue of the god Ptah.—Rooms N and O: Chiefly
objects of the Ramesside period (19–20th Dynasties). Room N: 616.
Granite head of Ramses II. (about 1292–1225), best known of all the
Egyptian kings for his immense building enterprise.
Rooms Q-S: Foreign (B.C. 1090–663) and Late Egyptian (663–332)
Dynasties. Room Q: 1016. Statue of the goddess Toëris in the form of a
hippopotamus, an admirable work in green stone (26th Dynasty;
663–525); 667. ‘Pithom Stele’ or memorial stone of Ptolemy
Philadelphus, from Pithom.—Room S: Ethiopian period (25th Dynasty;
712–663); 685. Alabaster statue of queen Amenertaïs.
Rooms T, V, and X: Ptolemaic (B.C. 332–47; comp. p. 433), Roman (B.C.
47–395 A.D.), and Coptic monuments. Room T: 719. Marble bust of a
Gaul, a Greek original from Thasos; 728. The famous trilingual Decree
of Canopus (B.C. 238), in sacred (hieroglyphic), popular (demotic),
and Greek characters.—Room V: Coptic objects.—Room X (Case A): 688.
Bust of prince Mentemhēt, and 689. Bust of king Taharka (688–663; the
Tirhakah of the Bible), both with negro features.
The UPPER FLOOR contains the smaller antiquities, the objects found in
the royal tombs of Thebes in Upper Egypt, and the mummies.
We begin with the Great Gallery, where the coffins and mummies of
priests of Ammon are exhibited.
In the Salon Méridional, adjoining the central court, and (to the
right) in Rooms A and B, are vessels, implements, toilet requisites,
musical instruments, lamps, candlesticks, candelabra etc.; in Case G
of the South Hall is the *Wooden war-chariot of Thutmosis IV.
(1420–1411), with beautiful reliefs. Also in Room A (later to be
reserved solely for Coptic objects), Coptic utensils.—Rooms C-F:
Burial equipments, including figures of the dead, amulets, jars for
the entrails of the deceased (so-called Canopi).
Rooms G-I: MSS. on papyrus or linen; wooden tablets, potsherds
(ostraca), and slabs of limestone, used as cheap substitutes for
papyrus.—Rooms J-L: Furniture and utensils.
Rooms M, N, and Gallery O (to the N.): Chiefly Greek and Roman
antiquities and foreign objects. In glass-cases C and D of Room N are
(Nos. 433, 434) the famous clay tablets from Tell el-Amarna in Central
Egypt, with cuneiform inscriptions, being letters from Babylonian
kings and the Hittite kings of Arsapi to Amenophis III. (see above).
The Salon Septentrionale, adjoining Gallery O, contains statues of
gods and requisites for their cult. Case B: 886. Hair-pin in the form
of a papyrus stem (Middle Empire); 888. Small bowl in the form of a
dog holding a fish in its mouth; without number, Head of a woman with
a wig; *891. Funerary statuette of the vizier Ptahmosē.—We now cross
Gallery O to—
Room P, with its rich collection of *Trinkets, illustrating the
development of the Egyptian goldsmiths’ art from the earliest age down
to the Byzantine period (A.D. 395–640). Case IV, B, in a recess on the
right, contains jewellery found at Abydos in Upper Egypt (bracelets
from the tomb of king Zer, 1st Dyn.), dating from the earliest period,
and already showing a high degree of skill. To the Middle Empire
belong the *Tomb Treasures of Dahshûr (p. 464; trinkets of princess
Khnumet, etc.), in the centre of the room, showing the Egyptian
goldsmiths’ art in its highest perfection. Admirably executed are also
the *Trinkets of queen Ahhotep, mother of king Amosis, the Hyksos
conqueror (1580 B.C.; p. 455), of the New Empire (niche on the right,
case IV, G-M.). The 20th and 21st Dynasties also are represented by
treasures from Bubastis (p. 439; Case XII). The extensive collection
of Græco-Roman and Byzantine jewellery, partly pure Greek in style,
partly of ancient Egyptian pattern, also merit notice. To the former
class belongs notably, in a niche to the left (stands VII, X), the
*Treasure of Tukh el-Karâmûs, of the early Ptolemaic era (about 300
B.C.).
Gallery Q (continuation of Gallery O) and Rooms R-U contain *Mummies
of the kings of the New Empire, from the ravine Deir el-Bahri near
Thebes. In Gallery Q: 1187. Mummy of Merenptah, son and successor of
Ramses II.; 1251. Gilded coffin-lid of queen Ahhotep (see above).—Room
S: Furnishings from the tombs of Thutmosis III. (p. 456) and Amenophis
II, (B.C. 1447–1420); wooden figures, boxes, shrouds, wigs, etc.—Room
T: *Coffins and furnishings from the tomb of the parents-in-law of
Amenophis III. (p. 456).
Rooms V-Z, Gallery A′, and the last Rooms B′–D′ contain requisites for
the cult of the dead. Room V: Scarabæi (beetle-stones), used as
amulets and as seals.—Room Y: Objects found in tombs of the Middle and
New Empires; in cases D and E, 1337, 1338. Forty Egyptian soldiers and
forty negro soldiers, carved in wood.—Room C′: 115–117. Coffins and
mummy of Oment, priestess of Hathor and lady of the royal harem (11th
Dyn.), with tattooed body.—Room D′: Relics of the earliest period,
mostly from the royal tombs at Abydos (see p. 456).
The =Great Nile Bridge= (Pl. A, 5; Arabic _Kubri Kasr en-Nîl_), 427 yds.
long, at the end of Shâria el-Kubri (p. 455), connects the new town with
Gezîreh. It is usually opened from about 1.30 to 3 p.m. for the passage
of vessels (see notices).
The island _Gezîret Bûlâk_, or simply =Gezîreh= (‘island’), is the
favourite residence of the fashionable world. The *_Park_ (café near the
bridge) at the S. end is much frequented, especially in the afternoon,
and is skirted by a pleasant drive shaded by lebbakh-trees. Passing the
_Race Course_ and the grounds of the Khedivial Sporting Club, we reach
the N. part of the island with its handsome villas, the _Ghezîreh Palace
Hotel_ (p. 440; built by Franz Pasha in 1863–4 as a viceregal palace),
and the interesting _Aquarium_ (8.30 to 5 o’cl., 2 pias.; Frid. 5
pias.).—Steam-ferry to _Bûlâk_ (p. 454).
From Gezîreh a road crosses the sometimes dry W. arm of the Nile, above
the so-called English Bridge, and leads to the S. to the village of
Gîzeh (tramways Nos. 3 & 5, see p. 440). On the right, beyond the _Gîza
Garden_, is the _Polytechnic School_. Farther on, opposite Rôda (p.
461), is the—
*=Zoological Garden= (adm. ½ pias.; on Sun. afternoon, when a band
plays, 5 pias.), containing many Egyptian and Sudanese animals and an
aquarium. The grounds, 50 acres in area, with their superb royal palms
(Oreodoxa regia) and pond for aquatic flowers, are in themselves worth
seeing.
_Gîzeh_ and the _Pyramids_, see pp. 461–463.
d. Environs.
=1.= The *=Mameluke Tombs=, to the E. of the old town, erroneously
called the _Tombs of the Caliphs_ (comp. F, 3, 4), date mostly from the
second Mameluke dynasty (pp. 444, 445). They are most easily reached, on
donkey-back (p. 441), from the Bâb en-Nasr (Pl. E, 2; p. 449).
Passing a large _Moslem Cemetery_ (Pl. E, F, 2) we come first to the
N.E. group of the tombs, all much ruined. These are the _Tomb Mosque of
Emîr el-Kebîr_, son of Bars Bey (p. 446), the *_Monastery Mosque of
Sultan Melek el-Ashraf Inâl_ (1453–68), an irregular quadrangle of 115
by 51 yds., with a fine minaret and dome, and the cubical _Tomb of an
Emir of El-Ghûri_ (p. 449).
We now turn to the S. to visit the *_Monastery Mosque of Sultan Barkûk_
(p. 448), partly restored of late. It forms a square of 80 yds. each
way. The two handsome minarets have been deprived of their bulb-like
summits. In front of the mihrâb is a small dome. Of the two mausoleums
that on the N. was built in 1400–5 by Barkûk’s sons Farag and Azîz; that
on the S., together with the monastery (Khânkâ), was completed by Farag
in 1410.
The old chief portal, with its stalactite niche, is on the N. side. To
the right of it is a sebîl with an elegant kuttâb (p. 445). On the
left are the ruins of the three-storied monastery and a dilapidated
hall connecting the monastery with the tomb of Barkûk’s father, Sharaf
ed-Dîn Anas (d. 1382).
From the present entrance in the outbuilding at the S.W. angle we pass
through a vestibule and a corridor to the quadrangle (sahn) with its
fountain (hanefîyeh). The lîwâns, borne by pillars, are roofed with
flat domes, some of which have fallen in. The beautifully proportioned
sanctuary, with nave and two aisles, contains three plain
prayer-recesses and a stone *Pulpit presented by Kâït Bey (1483; see
below). Large double portals lead to the left to the mausoleum of
Barkûk and his sons, and to the right to the tombs of the ladies of
the family.
Within a walled court a little to the W. are the _Tombs of Emirs
Suleimân ibn Selîm_ (d. 1526) and _Ahmed_. The dome of the former is
richly adorned with trellis-work set in lozenge-shaped meshes, and shows
remains of the inscribed frieze of blue fayence.
A few minutes’ walk to the S.W., past the large flattened dome of the
Turkish _Mabed er-Rifaîyeh_, brings us to the _Hôsh of Kâït Bey_
(1468–96), once 330 yds. long, the largest family burial-place at Cairo,
now occupied by a whole village. A dilapidated dwelling-house (rab), 86
yds. long, and trough, and the tomb-mosque still exist.
The *_Tomb Mosque of Kâït Bey_, the finest of all the Mameluke tombs, at
once strikes the eye with its wall decoration in coloured stripes, the
delicate network of the dome of the mausoleum, and the graceful minaret,
131 ft. high. Between the minaret and the railed-in sebîl is the chief
portal with its trefoil arch, leading into a vestibule containing the
throne of the sultan. The adjoining sanctuary, with its pavement in
coloured mosaic, its two inscription-friezes, its kamarîyehs, and
stained-glass windows, has been almost entirely renewed. The mimbar or
pulpit also is modern. The lîwân opposite still has its fine old timber
ceiling. The mausoleum, on the S.W. side of the sanctuary, also shows
great wealth of colouring. A colonnade adjacent contains the tombs of
the sultan’s four wives.
[Illustration: CAIRO]
[Illustration: MAP OF THE ENVIRONS OF CAIRO as far as the Barrage on the
North & Dahshûr on the South]
We now follow the Shâria es-Sultân Ahmed and (to the right) Shâria
Karâfet el-Mamalik, cross the so-called _Windmill Hill_ (Pl. F, 3), the
central great mound of débris on the E. side of the old town, and thus
regain the Fatimite city (Shâria esh-Sharawâni, p. 446). On the way,
from the ‘Point de Vue’ marked on the Plan, we have a fine *View of the
city of tombs and the Mokattam Hills behind us.
The Shâria Karâfet Bâb el-Wezîr, the S. prolongation of Shâria
es-Sultân Ahmed, leads to the _Citadel_ (comp. p. 453).
=2.= EXCURSION TO THE HELIOPOLIS OASIS AND HELIOPOLIS-ON. The new
_Heliopolis Oasis_ is most quickly (10 min.) reached from Cairo by the
Metropolitan Railway (p. 441), or by railway and electric tramway viâ
_Palais de Koubbeh_ (20–30 min.; comp. below); tramway No. 10 in ca. 50
min., see p. 440; cab, see p. 441.
The =Heliopolis Oasis= or _New Heliopolis_ (hotels, see p. 440), called
by the Arabs _Masr el-Gedida_, _i. e._ ‘New Cairo’, is a new ‘suburb’,
founded in 1906 by a Belgian company, about 5 M. to the N.E. of Cairo.
On this healthy site an entirely modern town, consisting of villas and
buildings mostly in the Moorish style, is being laid out on an ambitious
scale. Broad avenues planted with trees and streets pleasantly
interspersed with spacious squares intersect the town, while recreation
grounds of every description and a race course provide for the
residents’ entertainment.—Heliopolis Oasis is connected with Cairo by a
beautiful _Avenue_ (cab, see p. 441), the favourite promenade of the
inhabitants and visitors in Cairo, which, close to the Oasis, passes the
not yet completed _British Barracks_.
The visit to HELIOPOLIS-ON may be combined with the route just
described by way of rail. station _Palais de Koubbeh_ (tramway, see
below). If, however, we make our visit from Cairo direct we go by
railway from the Pont Limûn Station (p. 439; trains every ½ hr., in 21
min.; also several fast trains in ¼ hr.; return-fare 4½ or 3 pias.).
The train crosses the _Ismaîlîyeh Canal_ (p. 438). 2 M. _Demîrdash_,
or _Demerdache_, station for the villa-suburb of _Abbâsîyeh_. 4¼ M.
_Palais de Koubbeh_, with the Khedivial Palace; from the station an
electric tramway, in connection with the trains, runs to the S.E. to
(1 M.) the _Heliopolis Oasis_ (see above). 5 M. _Ezbet ez-Zeitûn_, a
group of villas; 6¼ M. _Matarîyeh_.
At the village of _Matarîyeh_ (hotel), in a garden to the right of the
road, is the _Virgin’s Tree_, a sycamore marking the spot where the
Holy Family is said to have resided during their exile in Egypt. A
little to the E. of the station is an _Ostrich Farm_ (adm. 10 pias.),
with a belvedere.
From the Virgin’s Garden the Shâria el-Misalleh (obelisk street) leads
to the N. to the site of =Heliopolis-On=, one of tho most ancient
places in Egypt, famous for the cult of the falcon-headed sun-god
Rē-Harakhtē. The _Obelisk_ of red granite is the oldest in the land.
Scanty fragments of the temple and of the town-wall are the only other
ruins.