﻿THE CITY OF CAIRO AND THE SPHINX. 



101 



twenty-eight feet from the chin to the top of the forehead. Let us 

 now return to the city of Cairo. 





MAHMOUDIYEH MOSQUE AND CITY GATE. 



Cairo is about nine miles in circumference, and contains nearly 

 iwo hundred and fifty thousand inhabitants. It was formerly sur- 

 rounded by a wall, strengthened and adorned by towers, and pierced 

 by sixty-nine magnificent gates, several of which still remain. In 

 several places, however, the fortifications have crumbled into dust. 

 The interior is divided into fifty-four quarters, or systems of build- 

 ings, so contrived that each has but one issue by which it communi- 

 cates with the neighboring sections of the city. 



The external doorways of private houses in Cairo are generally 

 arched, and are furnished with a raised threshold consisting of a 

 single stone. ,The door itself commonly consists of a number of 

 planks, rudely put together, and is painted green, adorned above 

 with red and white. It has generally a knocker and a wooden lock. 

 Close to the entrance is a stone seat, which serves horsemen as a 

 mounting stone, and is generally occupied in the cool of the evening 



