CAIRO. 



oF Ciiod Hope, the commerce of Cairo was very extenfive ; 

 but though it has liiice declined, this city may Hill be re- 

 garded a^ tile metropolis of the trade of catlcrn Africa, as 

 Tripoli chiefly poffclfes that of the well. From Yemen are 

 imported cofl'ce, odours, >^ems, and fome ufefiil drugs : 

 from Surat, and other neighbouring parts of India are ob- 

 tained mudins, and various articles of cotton manufafture ; 

 from Cevlon, fpices ; and fliawls from Cartimire. A few 

 flaves are brought from Abylfmia by the way of Jidda and 

 Mecca. Carav.\ns pading to and from Seiniaar, Darfur, 

 and Fezzan, bring Haves, gold-duit, ivory, horns of the 

 rhinoceros, olbich fcatlicrs, gum, and drugs. See Cara- 

 van. From Tunis and Tripoli are brought oil, red caps, 

 for which Tunis is famous, and line flannel ; from Syria ar- 

 rive cotton, filk, foap, tobacco, and glafs beads; from 

 Conrtantinople they obtain white flaves, male and female, 

 and all kinds of brafs, copper, and iron manufactures. Nu- 

 merous negro flaves pafs from Cairo to the more northern 

 Mahometan countries. 



" Two powerful caufcs," fays Volney, " have contri- 

 buted to render Cairo the feat of an extenfive commerce : 

 the firll of which is, that all the commodities coufumcd in 

 Egypt are coUcftcd within the walls of that city ; and all 

 the'perfons of property, that is, the Mamlukes and law- 

 yers, are alFeniblcd there, and draw thither their whole re- 

 venues, without making any return to the country from 

 which they receive: them. The fecond is the fituation, 

 ■which makes this city a centre of circulation, while, by the 

 Red Sea, it corrtfponds with Arabia and India ; by the 

 Kile, with Abyfiinia and the interior parts of Africa ; and 

 by the Mediterranean, with Europe and the empire of Tur- 

 key. Every year, a caravan from AbyfTinia arrives at Ca- 

 iro, and brings from looo to 1200 black flaves, as alfo ele- 

 phants' teeth, gold duft, oftrich feathers, gums, paiTots, 

 and monkeys; while another, deflined for Mecca, leaves 

 the extremities of Morocco, and receiving pilgrims, even 

 from the river of Senegal, coafts along the Mediterranean, 

 coUtding thofe of Algiers, Tripoli, and Tunis, and arrives 

 by the defert at Alexandria, confifting of not lefs than 

 three or four tlioufand camels. From thence it proceeds 

 to Cairo, where it joins the caravan of Egypt. They then 

 jointly fet out for Mecca, whence they return one hundred 

 days after." — " The lading of thefe caravans confifts in In- 

 dia fluffs, fhawls, gums, pearls, perfumes, and the coffee 

 of Yemen." " The fame commodities arrive by another 

 route at Suez, to which port the foutherly winds bring, in 

 May, 26 or 28 fail of velTcls from Djedda." " Small cara- 

 vans alfo arrive from time to time from Damafcus, with fdk 

 and cotton Huffs, oils, and dried fruits." Befides, " there 

 are always fome veffels in the road of Damietta, unloading 

 hogfheads of tobacco from Latakia, the coufumption of 

 which in Egypt is enormous. Thefe veffels take rice in ex- 

 change, whiift others arrive fuccefGvely at Alexandria, 

 bringing clothing, arms, furs, palfen.;e!S, and wrought fdk, 

 from Conllantinople. Veffels come hkewife from Marfeilles, 

 Leghorn, and Venice, with cloths, cochineal, Lyons' (luffs 

 and laces, grocery, paper, iron, had, Venetian fequins, and 

 German dollars. All thefe articles conveyed by lea to Ro- 

 fetta in barks called " djerm," are firll landed there, then 

 reimbarked on. the Nile, and fent to Cairo." From this 

 account, it appears, that we need not hefitate to admit the 

 report of the com mifiioner general of the cufloms, who af- 

 ferted, that in 1783, Cairo had traded to the amount of 

 near 150 millions of livres, or fix miUions 250 thoufand 

 pounds fttrling. 



Among the manufaftures arc fugar, of a bad quality, fal 

 ammoniac, which is very good, glafs lamps, lalt-pctre, coatfe 



gun-powder, red and yellowleathev,a'.Knincnclotli,madeof the 

 fine Egyptian flax. Tht only manufafture in any degree of 

 perfedtion is filk (luff ; but the workmanfliip is lefs highly 

 iiuidied, and the price much greater than in Europe. Theic 

 mercerv, their hardware, their gun and pidol barrels are all 

 imported from foreisjn countries. It is difficult to find at: 

 Cairo one watchmaker who has fliill enough to repair a 

 watch, and he too is an European. Jewellers, indeed, are 

 more common here than at Smyrna and Aleppo ; but they 

 know not how properly to mount the fimplell rofe. For 

 the mode of hatching eggs at Cairo without incubation, fee 

 Hatching. 



Tlie government of Cairo, and of Egypt in general, is vefted 

 in one of the 24 beys (fee Bey): and the chief judicial autho- 

 rity in the city is delegated to a " MuUa," who is annually- 

 appointed from Conftantinople ; but his jnrifdiftion is prin- 

 cipally diretled to cafes of doubt and difficulty. There are, 

 befides this officer, " Cadis" in all the diilrifts, which, in 

 this great city, amount to more than 300. There are alfo 

 " Imams," or prieils of the four fefts, each having the di- 

 reilion of the adherents of his feft. The revenue of the 

 cadis arifes from a tenth of the value of the thing litigated. 

 See Cadi. 



In Cairo every trade or profefiion has its Iheich or leader, 

 who has great authority over the eft of the clafs to which 

 he belongs ; and this circumftance much contributes to the 

 good order of the city. The gates alfo, which are at the 

 end of every ftreet, impede the progrefs, and render diffi- 

 cult the efcape of ill-intentioned perfuns. Notwithftanding 

 thtfe forms of government and fubordination, Cairo affords 

 no fecurity either for life or for property ; and, therefore, 

 the ftranger on his arrival is ftruck with the univerfal ap- 

 pearance of fqualid wretchednefs. Indeed, he often meets 

 with horfemen richly clad ; but this difplay of luxury only 

 renders the contraft of indigence the more fliocking. Every 

 thing that he fees or hears, reminds him that he is in the 

 country of flavery and tyranny. The chief fubjefts of con- 

 verfation are inteftine diffenfions, the public milery, pecuni- 

 ary extortions, baftinadoes, and murders. " The blood of 

 men," fays Volney, " is (litd hke that of the vilell animals. 

 Juftice herfelf puts to death without formality. The offi- 

 cer of the night in his rounds, and the officer of the day in 

 his circuit, judge, condemn, and execute in the twinkling 

 of an eye, without appeal. Executioners attend them, and, 

 on the firft fignal, the head of the unhappy viftim falls into 

 the leathern bag, in which it is received, for fear of foiling 

 the place." — " Without any other reafon than the avarice 

 of a powerful chief, or the information of an enemy, a man 

 is fummoned before fome bey, on fufpicion of having money. 

 A fum is demanded of him, and if lie denies that he poffeffes 

 it, he is thrown on his back, and receives 2 or 3 hundred blows 

 on the foles of his feet, nay, fometimes is put to death." 



To the north-eaft of Cairo are gardens, and large houfes, 

 to which perfons of rank and opulence occafionally retreat ; 

 and the Mamlukes alfo perform their military evolutions, 

 and exercife their liorfes, in an open fpace appropriate to this 

 purpofe. The ground under the mountains to the call is 

 filled with tombs. The gates of Cairo are numerous ; but 

 the moft remarkable are two at the northern extremity of 

 the city, called " Bab-el-Nafr," and " Bab-el-Fitufch," 

 which prefent a fplendid difplay of Saracenian architefture. 

 N. lat. 30° 2' 44". E. long. '31° 18' 16". Cairo by the 

 mean of feveral accounts is about ^9 geographical miles W. 

 of Suez, equal to 1° 8' of longitude ; and accordingly, Ca- 

 iro fliould Hand at 31° 20' of longitude. Savary's Egypt, 

 vol. i. Volney's Travels, vol. i. Soiniini's Travels. Browne's 

 Travels in Africa. See Egypt, 



CAIROAN, 



