CAIRO. 



Cairo, tiah capital, made Cairo, in the vicinity, his place of 

 " V residence, where he had a magnificent palace. After 

 this period, if we may believe the same authorities, 

 Cairo for the space of '200 years consisted of little 

 more than gardens, barracks for soldiers, and the 

 houses of a few grandees ; till in the 13th century, 

 the victorious Christians, who had invaded Egypt, 

 gave a sudden impulse to its augmentation. Having 

 taken Alexandria, and a number cf other places, 

 these formidable crusaders directed their march upon 

 Fostat ; but the Saracens, in the hope of disappoint, 

 ing their avarice, had already set their capital on fire, 

 which contined to burn for fifty-four days. The 

 town being thus reduced to ashes, the miserable po- 

 pulation sought refuge in Cairo, which from that 

 time became the chief city, and now began to be 

 known by the title Masr, or capital, which formerly 

 was applied to Fostat. The Europeans, not under- 

 standing this circumstance thoroughly, speak of an 

 old and a new Cairoj instead of old and new Masr. 

 Masr, or Mesr, seems a relict of Mizraim, the ancient 

 name of Egypt. 



Soon after this event, the famous Saladin, elevated 

 to the throne of the Egyptian Sultans, became a 

 great benefactor to the new city ; for he not only 

 adorned it with mosques, a university, and other pub- 

 lic edifices, but rendered it a place of great strength. 

 He entirely surrounded Cairo with a wall, three 

 leagues in circuit, which is still almost entire ; built, or 

 at least strengthened, the citadel, and beautified the 

 town with a great number of gates, one or two of 

 which are the admiration of travellers for their simple 

 magnificence. About the beginning of the fifteenth 

 century, Cairo was one of the richest and most flour- 

 ishing cities in the world. It still preserved some re- 

 mains of its ancient learning, it was the common 

 storehouse of European and Asiatic merchandise, 

 and its commerce extended from the pillars of Her- 

 cules to the remotest regions of India. The subse- 

 quent decay of this amazing city was occasioned by 

 twoconcurrent causes, the conquest of Egyptby the 

 Turks, those merciless enemies of learning and of in- 

 dustry, and the discovery of a passage to India by the 

 Cape of Good Hope. Among the interesting par- 

 ticulars connected with the history of Cairo, we can- 

 not forbear reminding the reader, that here, in 1801, a 

 British force took a whole army of French prisoners, 

 and sent them back to their own country laden with 

 the curses of an outraged population. 



Cairo is still of prodigious extent, being, accord- 

 ing to Volney, equal in size to Paris. The town it- 

 self, independently of its suburbs, is above an hour's 

 walk in length, and its circumference more than nine 

 miles. Its general figure is that of an immense cres- 

 eent, winding round the bottom of the citadel. The 

 general appearance of the capital from the Nile, is 

 brilliant in the extreme. Sunk amidst the innumerable 

 hillocks of rubbish, which have been accumulating 

 in its vicinity for ages, the humbler buildings are con- 

 cealed from the view ; while the more lofty edifices, 

 the citadel, and countless minarets, rising out of the 

 gay foliage of the garden trees, present a noble spe- 

 cimen of Egyptian scenery. On a nearer approach* 

 however, the 'llusion in a great measure vanishes. 



Its environs are disfigured by mounds of filth and 

 rubbish already mentioned; and the multitudes of ' 

 tombs, together with the stench of the common sewers, 

 excite disagreeable sensations. Like all oriental cities, 

 which are still what they were five hundred years ago, 

 you perceive on entering it but an irregular assem- 

 blage of dirty hovels, or rather masses of villages, 

 crowded and huddled together in the greatest confu- 

 sion. The streets are extremely crooked and nar- 

 row ; and as they are not paved, the crowds of men, 

 camels, horses, assesj and dogs, which are continually 

 bustling through these narrow passes, keep up an in- 

 cessant atmosphere of dust. It is a singular circum- 

 stance, that the streets are overrun with wild dogs, 

 while clouds of hawks and pigeons are flying above. 

 The principal streets of Cairo run generally from 

 north to south, parallel to the great canal which in- 

 tersects the town ; and the lesser from east to west. 

 These last, many of which have no thoroughfare, 

 communicate with a main street, which extends the 

 whole length of the town, and is lined on both sides 

 with shops, crammed from top to bottom with all 

 kinds of merchandise. The houses, crowdingoften into 

 groups, large vacant spaces intervene ; and these, to- 

 gether with the numerous courts and gardens inclu- 

 ded within the walls, are, during the inundation of the 

 Nile, converted into lakes ; so that what is covered 

 with flowers and verdure in April, is in September 

 sailed over in boats. 



The houses of the poor are built of mud, or un- 

 burnt bricks dried in the sun, and are only one sto- 

 ry high ; those of the better sort of inhabitants are 

 composed of a soft stone brought from Mount Mo- 

 kaddem, and, contrary to the common practice in the 

 East, consist of two and sometimes three stories, ha- 

 ving all flat roofs, or terraces of stone or tiles. The 

 houses, here being wisely calculated for defence, the 

 ground floor is either a shop, or has no windows 

 towards the street. The upper windows, and those 

 which look towards the court behind, are generally 

 latticed ; many are to be seen with paper, while 

 some of the rich indulge in the luxury of glass. The 

 houses of the beys and grandees are large and con- 

 venient structures, being in the form or a square, 

 with a court or garden in the centre ; around which 

 are ranges of apartments for the different de- 

 scriptions of the numerous inmates and domestics ; but 

 being surrounded with high dead walls, these edifices 

 contribute nothing to the decoration of the streets. 

 The gardens, which occupy the area of these courts, 

 are well stored with trees of the most grateful and 

 picturesque appearance, such as the palm and the 

 sycamore ; and these, together with the waterworks 

 and basins, constructed of the finest marble, produce 

 a feeling of coolness and refreshment extremely 

 agreeable in this scorching climate. 



Cairo abounds with large and sumptuous reser- 

 voirs for supplying passengers with water ; and the 

 number and elegance of its baths are no where sur- 

 passed. The okals, or warehouses, in which whole- 

 sale commodities are kept, are remarkable for their 

 size and strength ; and are also convenient and 

 clean uncommon qualities in this country. The 

 bazars, too, or retail market places, are very exten- 



