CAIRO. 



Your or five of t'le mofques at Cairo far exceti] ll:c reft in 



iplcndour. One of the moll iri;i;riijrKent is calLd " lama cl 

 Az-her ;" it is ornamtnted with pillars of inarblf, and IVr- 

 fian carpet-", and has attaclied to it immenfe property. A 



flieich, being an ccclcfiaftio of the higheil order, prefidcs 

 over the tftablinimcnt, which alfo fupports a numlier of 

 pcrfons didini^nilhcd for their profound ()<ill in theology, and 

 accnrate knowledge of literal Arahic. It is fnrniihcd with 

 a large colleiVion of MSS. ; and leAurcs are read on all fub- 

 jcfts which are liere called _/2;fn///7i-, though ccmmoiily very 

 remote from real fciencc. This is alfo a very confiderable 

 eleemofynary ellabliihment, f'.ipplying chiefly poor ecclefi- 

 alUcs, to the amount of fomc thoufands, with brotli, and 

 other articles. At Cairo, moll of the mendicants are ec- 

 clefiaftics, who plead their fhidies as an excr.fe for idlenefs. 



The other mofques moll frefpK']ited are, that of " Sultan 

 el Ghni!!!," el Haffanein," and, of later date, t/iat erefted 

 ty " Mohammed Bey Abiidliahab." For the conllruftion 

 of this latter, the moll coitly materials were provided, and 

 it is edeemcd a chef-d'oeuvre of oriental magnificence. 



The city abounds with large and fumptuous refervoirs, 

 which fupply palTeiigcrs with water; and alfo with commo- 

 dious and magnificent baths. See Bath. The " Okals," 

 or vs'archoufes, tor wholefale goods, are fpacious, (Irongly 

 built, convenient and clean : the bazars, for retail commo- 

 dities, are extcnfivc buihlings, with convenient fliops, each 

 trade being appropriated to its allotted quarter, and fur- 

 nifliing a plentiful fupply of every commodity. Moft of 

 the houfes are built with foft ftone from the adjoining 

 mountain ; many of them are conllrnfted with earth, or 

 biiiks badly burnt ; and they are ivi-o, or fomttimes three 

 (lories higli, with fldt roofs, or terraces of ftone or tiles. 

 The windows of the upper (lories are latticed ; the ground- 

 j?oor being either a (hop, or having no windows to the 

 ftieet. Sometimes they content themfelves with lattices ; 

 fome few have paper windows, and fome of the rich have 

 glafs. The h ufes of the great chiefly furround " Birket- 

 cl-fil," or Birque, alieady mentioned, a pool tvhich re- 

 ceives t!ie water of the Nde from the " Chalige." The 



alace of a bey contains a fquare court, having one or two 

 jdes occupied by his Mamlukes. Apart is the Harem, 

 which fee. The room in which the bey generally fits in 

 fummcr, has a contrivance in the roof for admitting a co- 

 pious fupply of frefti air. In the halls of houfes belonging 

 to perfoiis of fuperior rank, are marble bafons, which re- 

 ceive fpouting water; the paved floor, inlaid with marb'c 

 and coloured earthen ware, is covered with mat» ar-d mat- 

 treffts, and- over all is fprcad a rich carpet, on which they 

 fit crofs legged. Around the wall is a fort of fofa, with 

 cu(hions, to fupport the back and elbows ; and above, at the 

 height of 7 or 3 feet, a range of (helves, decked out with 

 China or Japanefe porcelain. The walls are chequered with 

 fentences extrafled from the Koran, and painted foliage 

 a^id flowers, with which, alfo, the porticos of the beys are 

 covered. Fire is only employed at Cairo for cookery ; the 

 etTefts of cold being fufSciently obviated by warmer cloath- 

 ing. The mean annual heat of Cairo, according to the 

 eltimate of Mr. Kirwan, is 73°. The apartments of the 

 women in this city are furniflied with the (iucft and moll cx- 

 penfive articles ; but thofe of the men are dillinguiflied by 

 plainnefs and neatnefo. The houfes, in general, are irre- 

 gular, but fubllantial and commodious. 



The population of Cairo confifts of the Arabs, or lower 

 clafs of Mahometans, who form the body of the people ; 

 of the Coptic Chrillians, who are numerous; of Mamlukes, 

 whom Browne eilimates at no more than 10 or \x thoufand ; 

 of Greeks, Syrians, and Armenians ; a-id of Muggrcbins, 



I 



fioin Tripoli, Tunis, and Kforoeco, to whom an approprK 

 ate quarter is alFigned, who are remarkable for induilry 

 and frugality, and are attraittcd hither by the grest profits 

 of trade. Bcfides thofe above recited, there are other Ma- 

 lionictaus from Arabia Proper, and countries farther eaft. 

 There are few Tur!;s who are permanent inhabitanto, but 

 tl'.cy occafionally rcfort hither on bulinefs, and return to 

 Conftantinople. Jews were once numerous : but they arc 

 now on the decreafe. Exchifivcly of negro (laves in every 

 houfe, there are blacks from Nubia, who aft as porters at 

 the gates of the rich, and fometimes fell eatables. It is not 

 eafy to calculate the precifc amount of the whole popula- 

 tion, becaufe the Turks have no rcgillers of births, deaths, 

 or marriages ; and if the number of houfes were known, it 

 would furnirti no fufficicnt datum for computing the num- 

 ber of inhabitants, as in Egypt a large proportion of the 

 people have no vifible dwelling. Baron de Tott (tatcs the 

 v.'hol< number at Cairo, and the adjacent port Boulac, 

 on the authority of an officer of the cuftoms, at 700,000 ; 

 andVolney, admitting with Niebuhr, that tlie circumference 

 of Cairo is 3 leagues, and comparing it with Paris, after 

 proper allowances, eflimates the number at 250,000. 

 Browne thinks it cannot be Icfs than joOjOoo. The women 

 of Cairo are, in general, well-formed, but not tall. Thofe 

 of the upper ranks are tolerably fair, in which quality, and 

 fatnefs, confiil. the chief condituents of beauty in the Egyp- 

 tian climate. They marry at 14 or i^„ and at 20 are 

 pafled their prime. The Coptic women have intereftuig 

 features, large black tyts, and a genteel form. Sec 

 Copts. 



Life at Grand Cairo, fays Savary, is more a paffive than 

 an aftive exiftence : the body during nine months of the 

 year being oppreffed with excc(rive heat, and the mind par- 

 taking of this (late of indolence. The Mamlukes breakfid 

 before fun-rife, make their fccond meal at ten, and the third 

 about (ive in the afternoon. They have plenty of animal 

 food, and in the middle of the table appears a large di(h 

 of pilau, furrounded with fmall di(hes of meat, fi(h, and 

 fowl. 'Before they dreis their meat, they cut it in fmall 

 pieces- Their drink is water, which is brought from the 

 Nile into the houfes, and put into jars, called " hammam," 

 previoufly rubbed in the iiilide with a kind of pallc, made 

 of bitter almonds. Thus preferved, it becomes quite clear 

 and limpid in two hours. But it is often drank in its muddy 

 ftate, without any ill efFcfts. After the meal, coffee is 

 lerved j and at the tables of the great (herbel is introduced. 

 A fermented liquor made of maize, millet, barley, or rice, 

 pleafant to the tafl.e, but in the hot feafon fpoihng in the 

 courfe of the day, is drank at Cairo, as well as in Said, in 

 confiderable quantities. The native Chrillians moftly diftil 

 for themfelves, from dates, a liquor called by the general 

 name of " araki ;" it is alfo made from curraats, or the 

 fmall grapes imported from Cerigo. 



The principal difeafes to which the inhabitants of Cairo 

 are fubjeft, are defluxions in the eyes, fometimes terminat- 

 ing in blindnefs ; the diforder called by the vulgar ,thc 

 »* blcifed evil," or Neapolitan diftafe, as the fyphilis lia« 

 been fometimes improperly called, hydrocele, malignant Pa., 

 vers, and the plague. '^- 



Among the amufements of Cairo, we may mention iti 

 dancing girls, (fee Ai.m£) and ropc-daiiccrs ; its chief 

 games are chefs, and I'olilh drafts : on folemn occafiona, 

 lire-works are exhibited ; and on Friday, a mofque without 

 tlie walls is frequented- by the ladies as a pilgrimage of plea- 

 fure. Parties are alfo formed for failing in light boats, like 

 Venetian gondolas, on the iiicreafe of the Nile. 



Before the difcovery of the palfage to India by the Cape 

 4X2 of 



