Part 67

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—